#capt-ann

[capt-ann]

All I’ve been saying is R*ck Riordan never deserved such a complex and wonderful character that is Jason Grace.

[amphibious-thing]

Historical queer language is so interesting to me and one word that has caught my attention is inclination. So here is a non-exhaustive list of the word inclination being used to describe same-sex love or same-sex sexual attraction from the late-16th century to the early-19th century. I intentionally wanted to get some variation, some of these examples are from love letters, some are from fiction of the period, one a trial record and one a petition to decriminalise sodomy.

Then Rigby kist Minton several times, putting his Tongue in his Mouth, and taking Minton in his Arms, wisht he might lye with him all night, and that his Lust was provoked to that degree, he had — in his Breeches, but notwithstanding he could F[uck] him; Minton thereupon said, "sure you cannot do it here," "yes," answered Rigby, "I can," and took Minton to a corner of the Room, and put his Hands into Mintons Breeches, desiring him to pull them down, who answered "he would not, but he (Rigby) might do what he pleased"; thereupon Rigby pulled down Mintons Breeches, turn'd away his shirt, put his Finger to Mintons Fundament, and applyed his Body close to Mintons, who feeling something warm touch his Skin, put his hand behind him, and took hold of Rigbys Privy Member, and said to Rigby "I have now discovered your base Inclinations, I will expose you to the World, to put a stop to these Crimes";

~ The Trial of Capt. Edward Rigby 1698

One of these girls tied Monsieur [a dildo] to her middle, To try if she the Secret could unriddle: She acted Man, being in a merry Mood, Striving to please her Partner as she cou’d; And thus they took it in their turns to please Their lustful inclinations to appease.

~ Monsieur Thing's Origin (1722)

I am this moment come from Richmond, but late as it is, your absence allows me too few pleasures for me to neglect any opportunity of taking so sensible a one as that of writing to you. You are by this time at Redlynch, and finding your park wall advanced, the foundations of your new building laid, your slopes improving, your puddles filling, and your plantations thriving. 'Tis possible your joy for these changes without doors may banish all the pain I flattered myself you would feel for one you will find within. If I should guess right, at least have the charitable dissimulation to swear I do not, and sacrifice your sincerity to my vanity; rather than give me the mortification of thinking you did not sacrifice your inclination to your business, when you left the place where I was, for any other. Walk often through "Hervey Grove", and now and then visit the ash by the pas-glissant....

~ Lord Hervey to Stephen Fox, 18 June 1728

Nay, I have been told, that there is another motive perhaps more powerful than all these, that induces people to cultivate this inclination; namely, the exquisite pleasure attending its success.

~ Earl Strutwell's defense of sodomy in The Adventures of Roderick Random by Tobias Smollett (1748)

Ternant will relate to you how many violent struggles I have had between duty and inclination—how much my heart was with you, while I appeared to be most actively employed here—

~ John Laurens to Alexander Hamilton, July 14, 1779

Alas! why am I not with you; Why can I not pass at least one or two nights of the week in your company_ It is necessary to hope that a time will come when I will be more able to follow my inclination_ and if this time comes I will be certainly more often with you my loveable friend.

~ Baron von Steuben to General William North, 11 November 1789 (translated from french)

Anne sat by my bedside till 2. I talked about the feeling to which she gave rise. Lamented my fate. Said I should never marry. Could not like men. Ought not to like women. At the same time apologizing for my inclination that way. By diverse arguments made out a pitiful story altogether & roused poor Anne's sympathy to tears.

~ Diary of Miss Anne Lister, 15 August 1816

That all whether Male or Female have certain inclinations or propensities which must be and are gratified, & for aught I see should be so – they are implanted in us by some unknown power, and that the penalty of Death ought not to be inflicted for the exercise of those inclinations which have been implanted in us by some Superior Agency, and over which we have so little controul.

~ Anonymous Petition to Decriminalise Sex Between Men, 1828

[yen-sids-tournament]

Pirates of the Caribbean First Mates

(no the First Mate doesn't come with the ship, it's their resume. but if you want the ship why not take it, yer a Pirate ain't ya?)

And yes, this is to match with our Captains poll

*Arabella "Bell" Smith is a character from the Jack Sparrow series by Rob Kidd. She is his first crew member and first First Mate. In the books she take up with Bootstrap Billy leading to speculation she is Will's mom. She also has a role in the Magic Kingdom, as a tavern proprietress.

[john-laurens]

Patriot Mother vs. Loyalist Son: Anne Kinloch's Attempts to Change Francis Kinloch's Political Beliefs

Francis Kinloch's transition from a loyalist receiving an education in England to a (reluctant) patriot fighting in the American military is one that has long intrigued me. In this post, I'll explore how Francis's relationship with his mother contributed to his change of heart. As a preview of the information contained below, please enjoy this (questionably historically accurate) meme:

For those interested in the John Laurens-Francis Kinloch relationship, it is well known that Francis Kinloch was a loyalist at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, much to the detriment of his personal relationships. His loyalist beliefs and preference for a monarchy are conveyed in his letters to John, particularly when they engaged in their political debate throughout the year 1776 (the letters can be found here). Francis's political views may have in part been due to the fact that he was placed under the guardianship of Thomas Boone, a staunch loyalist, after his father's death. Under Boone's direction, Francis was educated in England during 1768-1774 and again during 1777-1778. Despite this, Francis would return to the colonies in 1778 and fight on the American side. This post will address but one of the various factors that contributed to this decision.

Francis's loyalist views were not shared by others in his family. His mother Anne Cleland Kinloch and sister Mary Esther Kinloch Huger remained in South Carolina and supported the patriot cause. Being located in the colonies for the entirety of the war, the two certainly had a much greater exposure to the ongoing conflict. While Francis was abroad, Mary Esther married Major Benjamin Huger, who served in the 5th South Carolina Regiment. Mary Esther unfortunately lost her husband to the war, as Benjamin was killed in a friendly fire incident in Charleston in 1779.

Anne and Francis exchanged letters while Francis was in Europe, and Francis must have made his loyalist beliefs apparent to his mother. A recurring theme in their correspondence is Anne encouraging her son to rethink his views and to return home while Francis wonders how to respond to his mother's exhortations. The collection "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files" in the South Carolina Historical Society archives contains transcripts of parts of letters from Anne to Francis during the American Revolutionary War period. While the following paragraphs were written in different sections across the collection, they all appear to be from the March 10, 1776 letter from Anne to Francis. Any x's are directly copied from the transcripts and may indicate a skipped portion of the transcribed letter. Any ellipses are my own.

"this will be sent to you by an Officer in our Continl [Continental] Troops, who has promised to see you xx who is besides an intimate friend & acquaintance of ours. xx shall show Capt. Gillon & c xx I hope before he leaves you, you may perhaps be able to congratulate yourself on being the subject of a free and great Empire, that may in future times vie with ancient Greece or Rome xx"

"this will be sent you from a Sea port in France by an Officer in our Continental troops who has promised to see you; I have assured him you will with pleasure go to him, as he will be 4 or 5 days ride from you, he says he will meet you half way & perhaps return with you as he will have little else to do but to travel about xxx I have taken the liberty to give him an invitation to your house_ I tell him I am sure you will do everything in your power to make agreeable to him & suppose that tho' tis Bachellor's Hall that you have a spare bed for a friend. We shall all be much obliged to you for any civilities You, or thro' your means your friends shall shew Capt. Gillon whom you will find a agreeable sensible obliging intelligent man & who can give you a very good account of the unhappy differences between our unnatural Parent & us xxx I have had for some time very little of my amiable worthy Huger's company, he being obliged to be on duty in Town in the Service of his Country & has lately been made a major of a Company of Riflemen ... Your old friend Mr Baird is again our neighbour but quite different & an imperious young wife & young children bawling about his ears & for heavens sake my dear Francy if you don't take a wife when you are young, never marry at all & to ad to poor Archie's troubles he cannot be prevailed upon to sign the association so that no person can buy from him, his situation is truly Deplorable, looked at unkindly by his old friends & stigmatized with the detested name of Tory xxx"

"... cause I am hopes to send you a book wrote by a native American, whose arguments will I hope convince you, we are right & which I assure you it will give me great pleasure to hear. … you'll please not to mention to Mr Boone, your going to meet this Gentn [Gentleman], till his return to America, as I suppose you sometimes make little excursions with out his leave, then you may if you please make an apology. At the same time this present situation of our affairs, renders this caution necessary, you'll please likewise to introduce him as coming from America, to none of your English friends. As he is not an American nor an English Man, & speaks many different languages, you may converse in which you please."

Anne appears to have sent both literature and people engaged in the American cause to convince her son to support the side of the colonies. Captain Gillon is likely Alexander Gillon, who was a merchant in Charleston, captain of the German Fusiliers of Charleston, and later Commodore of the South Carolina Navy. He was born in the Dutch Republic, which explains Anne's comments about him being neither American nor English. Anne made her opinions of the British Empire and the revolutionary American colonies clear in her letters. She describes the British Empire as an "unnatural parent" and hopes that her son will one day be proud to call himself a free citizen of America, a soon-to-be formed country that she believes will rival ancient empires. She also clearly realizes that Thomas Boone would be unhappy to know that Francis is associating with members of the American military, and she cautions Francis to avoid mentioning his meeting with Captain Gillon to his guardian. I do not know what role Anne played in naming Boone as the guardian of her children (I assume her late husband Francis was likely the one who made this decision), but it is interesting to see her strive to counteract Boone's influence on her son.

Captain Gillon may not have been the only person who helped Anne get through to her son. According to the "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files," Anne may have worked with John Laurens to persuade Francis to join the American side. As described above, John debated the merits of monarchism and republicanism with Francis in 1776, and the Kinloch family collections suggest that Anne may have been involved in this exchange. There are some brief mentions of John that describe his potential partnership with Anne. These descriptions, to my understanding, are written by descendants of the Kinlochs who compiled biographical information about the family:

"When 21 and travelling in France the American War was beginning and his [Francis's] mother [Anne] wrote to him to return and sent his friend John Laurens & Com. Gillon to urge his doing so."

Another anecdote mentions John without directly connecting him to Anne:

"He [Francis] was [loathe] to abandon England, his allegiance, career, & hopes there and the influence of his guardian & protestations of his friends & relations there detained him But his Mother's earnest solicitations brought him back to Carolina (I have one of her letters to him & his dear friend John Laurens alludes to his position in a letter to his father [Henry Laurens])."

I see two possibilities for these potential interactions between Anne, Francis, and John.

The Kinloch family has correspondence between Anne and John or other documents that indicate the two directly communicated and jointly endeavored to change Francis's political views. These documents, if they exist, do not appear to be present in the "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files."

The Kinloch family read some of John's letters to Francis in 1776 and assumed that Anne encouraged John to send these letters. This assumption may have been false, as there are no surviving letters (or at least no publicly available letters) between Anne and John that suggest they worked together or otherwise interacted. The families certainly knew each other, but we do not know the extent of their interactions outside of Francis Kinloch, Sr. and Henry Laurens engaging in business with one another. I do think it's hilarious that the Kinloch descendants potentially read John's scathing letters to Francis and went "Wow, Anne Kinloch must have asked him to send such blistering letters. Why else would John have been so highly motivated to criticize Francis's beliefs?" When in reality...John was a very passionate person who was Just Like That.

Francis was not immediately receptive to the arguments of his mother and friends, but his mother's criticism did eventually wear him down. He repeatedly wrote to Johannes von Müller about his mother and the conflict he felt between pursuing a career in England and returning home to South Carolina:

"My Mother, I hear, has suffered very much with a pain in her face. This has broke her health so much that She is scarce to be Known again, I hope in God that She may have got rid of it by this time, but the bane idea of her suffering at this very moment perhaps, added to all She must feel on my account, this wrings my very soul_ In the middle of my dreams of Ambition, the thought of Her shoots like lightning across my mind, I see her pale emaciated face, I see Her beckon to me, I hear her tell me how many times She has watched the live long night at my bedside, & Nature stirs within Me._ What can I do, my Muller, You Know, as well as I do, what I owe to My Guardian, You & every one must see the propriety of the plans that he has lay’d for my future welfare, & there is now every probability of their succeeding, on the other hand_" – Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, April 4 [or 14], 1777

"some times I think of living in Switzerland, but then I am afraid of getting too much dishabituated to the World, & particularly to the English world, nor do I Know how soon the sources of my money may be dry, at others I have thought of serving a Campaign as a volunteer with General Howe, but that idea my Guardian has already smothered by objecting that it would immediately be attributed to Him, besides, I should draw down the curses of an angry mother, of a Mother whom I love too, upon my head. What remains then to do? An Idle life I neither can nor will lead_" – Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, July 30, 1777

"Born to a fortune as ample as was necessary to render me independent, for upon moderate Computation My Brother & I would have been worth a thousand a year each, I find myself reduced to thank a Merchant for allowing me what I can just live upon for one year, burning with Ambition & preferring a military life, I am prevented from entering the field of Glory now opened to All corners in my Native Country, & am daily agitated by the sense of what I owe my Mother, whose solicitations should melt a heart much harder than mine, joined to the reflection of the numerous obligations I have received from Mr Boone._" – Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, August 3, 1777

"If a man who is deprived of his fortune, who is cut off from his country, who is daily incurring the displeasure of His Mother, & who sees no probability of being provided for but by wading through the Chaos of an interested, laborious, sedentary, profession should utter some complaints, why clothe them with the appellation of ennuie, & cut off his only resource_" – Francis Kinloch to Johannes von Müller, August 14, 1777

After much contemplation, Kinloch would ultimately leave Europe and return to America in 1778. One can only imagine how Anne felt to finally be reunited with a son she had not seen for 10 years - a son who had left a boy and returned a man, a son who defied her pleadings for so long but ultimately heeded his mother's call.

[bethanydelleman]

Giggling at your and anon wishing instead for OPTIONS for Fanny. I was thinking it's odd that Ms. Austen decided that her crush on Edmund was reciprocated at the end when she could've been given justice of some sort with how she's been looked and talked over.

It feels like she's out of choices but then I suppose she is out of choices in the end. This is a woman who is shy in an era where you gotta put yourself out there to be seen by the society and she's not even on a level in a society for her to be out and noticed by the gentlemen even if she does, rank-wise

Which is why my friend and I (who has no talent whatsoever in writing) been talking about this writing idea; a boarding school AU where all the Austen ladies is in it,

Mind you we were just going by vibe and not accurate research, so we put Elinor Dashwood, and Maria Bertram, Mary Crawford and Lucy Steele, Caroline Bingley are in the same year, being the oldest

Eleanor Tilney, Jane Bennet, Emma, and Jane Fairfax are in the same year below the others already mentioned

Elizabeth and Marianne are in the year below them

Mary Bennet and Harriet

Catherine Morland and Lydia Bennet

(the ages are 13-18)

Anne Elliot is one of the matrons

This is kind of controversial, for me and I'm not really a fan of this concept myself tbh, but it'll be kind of a fanfictiony story like the Bridgerton with the society being a little more lenient (lol?); because it's a mixed boarding school

The plot is basically all the stuff in the Austen og universe but they're not all the same, the ages can be tweaked a bit lol, with some plot tangled with the other stories but they're leading to the same endings like, so.....

Catherine doesn't marry while studying, but she keeps talking about the Tilneys because she has a penpal whom she met in Bath before school started, she didn't realize that said penpal has a sister who studies in the same school

Catherine's really that student that just spent most of her time in the library, not studying per se, reading novels, she often has to be told to focus in class for daydreaming

and then one summer vacation spends the entire break at Northanger Abbey,

Later, after new semester starts, Lydia tells her sister in an offhand remark that Catherine seemed really down and her visit to Northanger seemed to be the reason.

Her studies decline even more when she was upset about the whole Gen Tilney situation and one evening she goes to their dorm matron to ask for advice; that's Anne, and there Catherine finds a crying Lucy Steele who had just been visited by Fanny Dashwood and basically well, verbally harassed by a visiting older sister of Edward Ferrars

My friend was adamant we either pair up Fanny Price with an oc (original character) or with~~ Colonel Fitzwilliam, who, in this AU of ours is an exchange student, same with Mr. Willoughby

Willoughby is an exchange student for a year who got attached to Marianne, and then gradually stops replying to her letters after he left their school. Colonel Brandon is one of the school beneficiaries

One of the classes go for a trip to Lyme with Captain Wentworth as one of the guides and that's where Louisa smacks her head and later fellow poetry club member Benwick falls for her (or not! I'm also not comfortable with this pairing tbh.Louisa had a one-sided crush on Capt Wentworth)

I'm sorry this is sooooo long. My friend and O kept going at it from the side of the female characters only tbh and we didn't quite know where to put Darcy and Bingley. Are they students? Or older students visiting from Oxford? Horse riding enthusiasts and club members, sharing a hobby with Elizabeth? We don't know 😂

Hope you like it! It's not going anywhere because we are both not writers, but it's a good giggling source! :D

You should write this! The only thing that makes a "writer" is writing. Go for it. It sounds fun!

[napoleonic-sexyman-tournament]

Friends, enemies, comrades, Jacobins, Monarchist, Bonapartists, gather round. We have an important announcement:

The continent is beset with war. A tenacious general from Corsica has ignited conflict from Madrid to Moscow and made ancient dynasties tremble. Depending on your particular political leanings, this is either the triumph of a great man out of the chaos of The Terror, a betrayal of the values of the French Revolution, or the rule of the greatest upstart tyrant since Caesar.

But, our grand tournament is here to ask the most important question: Now that the flower of European nobility is arrayed on the battlefield in the sexiest uniforms that European history has yet produced (or indeed, may ever produce), who is the most fuckable?

The bracket is here: full bracket and just quadrant I

Want to nominate someone from the Western Hemisphere who was involved in the ever so sexy dismantling of the Spanish empire? (or the Portuguese or French American colonies as well) You can do it here

The People have created this list of nominees:

France:

Jean Lannes

Josephine de Beauharnais

Thérésa Tallien

Jean-Andoche Junot

Joseph Fouché

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Joachim Murat

Michel Ney

Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte (Charles XIV of Sweden)

Louis-Francois Lejeune

Pierre Jacques Étienne Cambrinne

Napoleon I

Marshal Louis-Gabriel Suchet

Jacques de Trobriand

Jean de dieu soult.

François-Étienne-Christophe Kellermann

17.Louis Davout

Pauline Bonaparte, Duchess of Guastalla

Eugène de Beauharnais

Jean-Baptiste Bessières

Antoine-Jean Gros

Jérôme Bonaparte

Andrea Masséna

Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle

Germaine de Staël

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas

René de Traviere (The Purple Mask)

Claude Victor Perrin

Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr

François Joseph Lefebvre

Major Andre Cotard (Hornblower Series)

Edouard Mortier

Hippolyte Charles

Nicolas Charles Oudinot

Emmanuel de Grouchy

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Géraud Duroc

Georges Pontmercy (Les Mis)

Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont

Juliette Récamier

Bon-Adrien Jeannot de Moncey

Louis-Alexandre Berthier

Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald

Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier

Catherine Dominique de Pérignon

Guillaume Marie-Anne Brune

Jean-Baptiste Jourdan

Charles-Pierre Augereau

Auguste François-Marie de Colbert-Chabanais

England:

Richard Sharpe (The Sharpe Series)

Tom Pullings (Master and Commander)

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Jonathan Strange (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell)

Captain Jack Aubrey (Aubrey/Maturin books)

Horatio Hornblower (the Hornblower Books)

William Laurence (The Temeraire Series)

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey

Beau Brummell

Emma, Lady Hamilton

Benjamin Bathurst

Horatio Nelson

Admiral Edward Pellew

Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke

Sidney Smith

Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford

George IV

Capt. Anthony Trumbull (The Pride and the Passion)

Barbara Childe (An Infamous Army)

Doctor Maturin (Aubrey/Maturin books)

William Pitt the Younger

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry (Lord Castlereagh)

George Canning

Scotland:

Thomas Cochrane

Colquhoun Grant

Ireland:

Arthur O'Connor

Thomas Russell

Robert Emmet

Austria:

Klemens von Metternich

Friedrich Bianchi, Duke of Casalanza

Franz I/II

Archduke Karl

Marie Louise

Franz Grillparzer

Wilhelmine von Biron

Poland:

Wincenty Krasiński

Józef Antoni Poniatowski

Józef Zajączek

Maria Walewska

Władysław Franciszek Jabłonowski

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski

Antoni Amilkar Kosiński

Zofia Czartoryska-Zamoyska

Stanislaw Kurcyusz

Russia:

Alexander I Pavlovich

Alexander Andreevich Durov

Prince Andrei (War and Peace)

Pyotr Bagration

Mikhail Miloradovich

Levin August von Bennigsen

Pavel Stroganov

Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna

Karl Wilhelm von Toll

Dmitri Kuruta

Alexander Alexeevich Tuchkov

Barclay de Tolly

Fyodor Grigorevich Gogel

Ekaterina Pavlovna Bagration

Ippolit Kuragin (War and Peace)

Prussia:

Louise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Gebard von Blücher

Carl von Clausewitz

Frederick William III

Gerhard von Scharnhorst

Louis Ferdinand of Prussia

Friederike of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Alexander von Humboldt

Dorothea von Biron

The Netherlands:

Ida St Elme

Wiliam, Prince of Orange

The Papal States:

Pius VII

Portugal:

João Severiano Maciel da Costa

Spain:

Juan Martín Díez

José de Palafox

Inês Bilbatua (Goya's Ghosts)

Haiti:

Alexandre Pétion

Sardinia:

Vittorio Emanuele I

Lombardy:

Alessandro Manzoni

Denmark:

Frederik VI

Sweden:

Gustav IV Adolph

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"It is that which turns my soul to water."

Little moments from Granada's The Return of Sherlock Holmes S2Ep5, "The Abbey Grange" (1986). Dir. by Peter Hammond. Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson, Anne-Louise Lambert as Lady Mary Brackenstall, and Oliver Tobias as Capt. John Crocker

[toontown-corporate-confessions]

Sorry for a bit of a long one but I am VERY normal about the Field Office NPCs. Not the ones featured in the taskline for the Field Offices in Rewritten, but like the ones that were introduced when they released back in TTO. The SOS Toons got overhated even if they are admittedly pretty terrible. Phil Bettur's trying his best, Bea Sharpe is sounding her heart out, and Anne Ville couldn't afford any actual anvils, okay? The caged toons that would show up if an office occupied a building with no assigned NPC are great too, and I'm kinda sad that they didn't get brought back in TTR with the SOS toons somehow. At least those guys got to act in new roles for the Field Offices, the caged toons got left behind! Personal favorites include; Dewin Tymme, Ima Cagedtoon, and Lemmy Owte (also fun fact, the TTO wiki lists three toons that are a part of this group; "Prys O. Ner, Capt. Ured, and Anna Cage", but. Those toons don't actually exist in the code last I checked?)

.

[holylulusworld]

Nrfth (11) – New beginnings or past mistakes - FIN

Summary: Betrayal cuts deep. If your heart and trust get damaged. Can you find a way back?

Pairing: Chris Evans x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, mentions of past heartbreak/shitty behavior/break-ups, groveling, angry reader, arguments, adorable Lilly Anne, plot twist

No rest for the heartbroken masterlist

<< Part 10

“He’s here,” Tracey wrinkles her nose when she sees Chris walk toward the gate. “There is still time, babe. Let me give him a new face.”

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” you nervously wring your hands. Lilly Anne is busy talking to her friends. She hasn’t seen Chris and his dog yet. You can just tell her Chris didn’t make it to her birthday party. “Can you distract Lilly Anne? I need to talk to Chris first…”

You walk toward the gate, swallowing thickly as prepare yourself for another confrontation with Chris. “Y/N, hey. Uh-I got presents in the back of my car. I wanted to bring Dodger here first.”

Chris awkwardly glances at you. He holds a Captain America balloon, in his hand, and a large unicorn stuffy tugged under his arm. “Thank you for having me.”

“Chirs, listen…maybe this was a bad idea. We haven’t seen each other for years and now you are here, at my daughter’s birthday party. I didn’t think this through.”

“Please don’t send me away. I don’t want her to believe that I didn’t show,” he sniffs. “I’ll do anything. If you can’t forgive me for the way I acted back then, I understand. I don’t expect you to even like me. But give me the chance to get to know my daughter.”

“Daughter?” Your daughter gasps. “OH MY GOD! Captain America is my daddy!” She jumps up and down, squealing. “I knew it, mommy.”

Lilly Anne looks up at Chris with glassy eyes. She smiles sweetly and softly says his name.

“Y/N,” Tracey stumbles toward you and Chris. “She tricked me. Lilly said she wants water, not juice.” Your friend guilty looks at you. “I’m sorry.”

“Auntie Trace! Captain America is my daddy!” Lilly Anne hugs you before running off to tell all of her friends Captain America is her father.

“Great.” You hide your face in your hands. “I knew this was a bad idea. How could you just drop you’re her father? She won’t stop talking about you now!”

“I’m sorry…I didn’t…” Chris stammers. He looks at his shoes, sighing. “I fucked up again.”

“Hey, stop cursing! We have kids here,” Tracey grunts. “And yes, you fucked up epically. Lilly won’t stop asking Y/N about you from now on.”

“What did you tell Lilly about her dad?” You square your jaw at his question. How dare he to even ask?

“What do you think I told him? You treated me like trash.” You snap at Chris. “I told her that her father is busy with work. That he would love to be with us, but can’t because he’s so busy.”

Chris drops his gaze. “I’m sorry…”

“You should be more than sorry,” Tracey grunts. “You left this wonderful woman, pregnant with your child. But this wasn’t enough. You had to ruin her career too. Now you blame that woman when it was your fault everything fell apart.”

“I could’ve done more,” he admits. “I was scared of my feelings. Falling for Y/N wasn’t in my plans, but I did. When she came, and showed me the pictures and footage I did what I had to do to…”

“Protect your sorry ass.” Your friend jabs her finger into Chris’s chest. “That’s what you did! Don’t you dare to pretend that you did this to protect my friend!”

“Tracey…” you whisper. “We shouldn’t discuss this now. I said my part.” You look at your daughter. She runs back toward you, Tracey and Chris to wrap her hand around his wrist.

“Mr. Chris…Capt—” Lilly Anne frowns as she looks up at Chris. For a moment they just look at each other. Your daughter puckers her lips. “Can I call you daddy, Mr. Chris?”

Your chest tightens at her innocent question. It feels like someone squeezes your heart and tries to rip it out. She sniffles as Chris needs too long to answer.

He looks at you, a silent question in his eyes as your own fill with tears. “Doll, how about we celebrate your birthday first? You don’t want to miss having fun with your friends, right?” Chris clears his throat when you shoot him an angry look. “Or…uh…”

“A word,” you crouch down to press a soft kiss on your daughter’s cheek. “How about you go and talk to your friends? We will talk later. Okay. I need to talk to Mr. Chris first.”

“Okay,” your daughter sighs deeply. “I can show them the doggo.” She grins and turns her attention toward Dodger. “Come, doggo. I’ll show you my birthday presents.”

Tracey follows Lilly Anne to make sure she won’t hear what you are going to tell your ex. “You-“ you point a finger at Chris, “follow me inside.”

You are fuming as Chris stands in your living room. He clutches the unicorn to his chest as you look like you are about to rip him a new one.

“If my daughter asks you if she’s allowed to call you daddy,” you snarl, “you say yes, of course, baby girl. You don’t let her wait and feel like her father doesn’t love her.”

“I panicked.”

“You panic a lot,” you scoff. “Not days ago, you begged me to let you be a part of her life. If this is how things will go with you around, I’ll never let you get close to my daughter again.”

“Our daughter,” he holds the unicorn a little tighter. “I didn’t want to overstep when Lilly Anne asked me if she can call me daddy.”

“Bullshit.” You just love to talk back. “You chickened out. If you admit that you are her father, people will find out. And it scares you to hell and back.”

“I-“ he sighs and shakes his head. “You truly believe I’m the worst.”

“Because you are the worst,” you grit your teeth. “This is so…” you groan and kick an imaginary stone. “Frustrating. I hate you. My daughter adores you. What am I supposed to do?”

You choke out a sob when Chris drops the unicorn to the ground to wrap his arms around you. He whispers your name, but you ignore his words. Burying your face in his chest you pretend things between you didn’t end the way they did.

The tears finally fall, as you allow yourself to bask in his warmth and the smell of his cologne. He sighs as you rub your face on his chest. “Doll, I love you so much…so much…”

Chris closes his eyes; he nuzzles his nose in your hair. He feels lightheaded, ready to fall asleep as he enjoys having you back in his arms.

He drifts into darkness as you slip out of his grasp.

“Y/N!” He jolts up on the bed, panting heavily. “No…I…” Chris looks around the bedroom. His heart still races when he dips his head to look at you.

“What’s wrong?” you blink your eyes open. “Chris? Baby?”

“I-I had a nightmare,” he chokes out. “I fucked up, and we broke up.”

You worriedly look at Chris as he starts to rock back and forth. “She extorted me, and I fucked up… you’ll never let me see my daughter.”

“Chris?” Now you are really worried. “She went to jail, remember? You came to me and told me about the pictures.” You sit up to run your hand over his back to calm Chris. “We worked this out, baby.”

“It felt so real.” He sniffs. “I lost you. I lost Lilly Anne.”

“DADDY! MOMMY!” your daughter storms into the bedroom before you can talk to Chris. He seems to be shaken but plays it cool when your daughter jumps onto the bed, followed by Dodger.

She squeals and crawls toward her father. “DADDY it’s my birthday.”

“Of course, it is, little Cap,” Chris chuckles when your daughter peppers his face with kisses. “So, what do you want to do today?”

“I wanna eat ice cream…”

“You’ll get ice cream,” your husband wraps his arms around your daughter, holding her tight while you run your hand over his back. “Right, mommy?”

“Daddy will buy you your favorite ice cream, and later we will celebrate your birthday with Auntie Tracey and all of your friends.”

Chris nods and tries not to choke on tears. The dream felt so real, and he wonders what would’ve happened if he hadn’t told you the truth years ago…

THE END...

Bazinga! ... I tricked you...😁

Tags in reblog.

[lightning-and-sparks]

favorite coaches?

Hmm, I’m gonna say some random ones too

The coach from Small Town Boy

Every Disco alien ever, all of them (Si’ha, Wander, Masi’el, ugh ig Kaa’rik too)

The Danger! High Voltage guys for sure

Luke Cypher and Ann G Lina ofc

Capt Crimson from Sail absolutely

Out of all the mains, I think Brezziana is one of the best coaches w the best theming and maps

What does the fox say guy bc everyone hates it

All the Gaga’s

[hplovecraftmuseum]

Part 1 : The Shunned House is one of Lovecraft's best known tales. Though not considered a firm example of the "Cthulhu Mythos" by most critics it contains a lot of interesting material that Lovecraft would reference in other tales. Unusual too is the fact that the tale takes place in Lovecraft's own beloved Providence, RI. The house the story is based on actually exists. It is photographed frequently by Lovecraft fans visiting College Hill, much to the annoyance of the current residents! The following are bits appearing in The Shunned House: "the ancient city of Providence" Edgar Allan Poe. "The Mansion House in Benefit Street" Mrs. Whitman. "The renamed Golden Ball Inn" "Washington, Jefferson and Lafayette" St John's (church) "Georgian" (architecture) "Back Street" "North Burial Ground" Wheaton Street. Dr. Elihu Whipple. Sidney S. Rider. Thomas W. Bicknell. North Court Street. "Capt. Whipple, who burnt His Majesty's armed schooner Gasped in 1772" Rhode Island Colony. William Harris. Rhoby Dexter. ElkanahHarris. Abigail Harris. William Jr. (Harris) "West India trade" Obadiah Brown. "The firm of Nicholas Brown & Co." "The brig Prudence" "Cheapside" Dr. Job. Hannah Bowen. Eli Liddeason (a servant) Rehoboth, Mehitabel Pierce. Martinique. Mercy Dexter. Preserved Smith (a servant) Ann White. North Kingstown. "the township of Exeter" Zenas Low. Nooseneck Hill. "A faithful and amiable Amazon from Newport, Maria Robbins" Exhibit 633)

[princessanneftw]

Only a few days to go to the Royal Wedding and last night Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips were dancing the night away in London.

Forgotten for the moment are those last minute preparations as the Princess and her fiancé attended a private party at the Hyde Park Hotel, for a regimental dance. The Princess and Capt. Phillips were guests of the officers of his regiment, the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, who have come over from Germany for the wedding.

At the ball the couple were presented with a 14-inch high statuette of w Dragoon Guards officer in full dress.

Associated Newspapers | 10 November 1973

[chesh-cat-rus]

I'm re-reading 'Persuasion' again just because I can.

Every time I read it, Anne is like, "Woe is me, he doesn't love me anymore, yet I still love him passionately and don't know how to act around him, but he thinks that I've gotten older and don't look as good anymore."

Meanwhile Frederick: acts jealous whenever a guy shows any interest in Anne (Charles Musgrove, Mr Elliot, Capt Benwick).

This books is hilarious.

[docrotten]

THEM! (1954) – Episode 194 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“Pfah! What kind of sense does that make? Is sugar a rare cargo? Is there a black market for it? Did you ever hear of a fence for hot sugar? If I was gonna make a deal with crooks to steal somethin’, it wouldn’t be for forty tons of sugar.” If you were a giant ant you would. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr, along with guest Gregory Crosby – as they take a deep crawl into THEM! (1954), one of the all-time great big-bug movies!

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 194 – THEM! (1954)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era! Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website. Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop. https://classicscifichannel.com/; https://classichorrorchannel.com/; https://wickedhorrortv.com/

Synopsis: The earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.

Director: Gordon Douglas

Writing Credits: Ted Sherdeman (screenplay); Russell S. Hughes (adaptation) (as Russell Hughes); George Worthing Yates (story)

Special Effects by: Ralph Ayres (special effects); Ardell Lytle (pyroeffects supervisor) (uncredited)

Selected Cast:

James Whitmore as Sgt. Ben Peterson

Edmund Gwenn as Dr. Harold Medford

Joan Weldon as Dr. Patricia Medford

James Arness as Robert Graham

Onslow Stevens as Brig. Gen. Robert O’Brien

Sean McClory as Maj. Kibbee

Christian Drake as Trooper Ed Blackburn (as Chris Drake)

Sandy Descher as The Ellinson Girl

Mary Alan Hokanson as Mrs. Lodge (as Mary Ann Hokanson)

Don Shelton as Trooper Capt. Fred Edwards

Fess Parker as Alan Crotty

Olin Howland as Jensen (as Olin Howlin)

Richard Bellis as Mike Lodge (uncredited)

John Beradino as Patrolman Ryan (uncredited)

Robert Berger as Patrolman Sutton (uncredited)

Oscar Blank as Alcoholic Ward Patient (uncredited)

Willis Bouchey as Official at D.C. Meeting (uncredited)

Richard Deacon as Bald Reporter (uncredited)

Ann Doran as Child Psychiatrist (uncredited)

Leonard Nimoy as Army Sergeant in Information Center (uncredited)

William Schallert as Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)

Douglas Spencer as Bit Part (uncredited)

Dub Taylor as Railroad Yard Watchman (uncredited)

Dick York as Teenager in Police Station (uncredited)

THEM! is generally considered the first giant bug movie, and according to the Grue Crew, who are joined by Gregory Crosby, it’s the best of the lot! A top-notch script delivered by a great cast and helmed by an experienced, successful director makes for an excellent film. Combine some pretty-damn-fine giant ants with expert cinematography, just the right editing, and some very disturbing ant-chirping, and the ants are truly terrifying. Edmund Gwenn (who is not in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms), Joan Weldon, James Whitmore, and James Arness lead the way with an incredibly long list of familiar character actors. Even Dick York (Samantha’s first husband on Bewitched, not her second) makes an uncredited appearance.

The Grue Crew again go for a record-length talkabout but there really is so much to discuss with THEM! and we had so much fun doing it! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it.

At the time of this writing, THEM! (1954) is available to stream by subscription from IndieFlix and PPV from multiple sources. The film is available on physical media as a Blu-ray disc from Warner Home Video. 

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Next in their very flexible schedule – this one chosen by Chad – is Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (1959). Was it directed by Riccardo Freda, Robert Hamton, Mario Bava, or all of the above? Bill Mulligan (known as “Bava Bill”) will be joining us to help us untangle the entanglement, and to help us find the source of that awful smell. 

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel, the site, or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”

Check out this episode!

[specificpollsaboutbooks]

(Unverified yet) submissions for couples from books (polyamory ships will get their own tournament too later) :

Other :

Magnus Chase/Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard)

Tak/Sidra (The Wayfarers)

F/F :

Rosethorn/Lark (Emelan)

Blue/Red (This Is How You Lose the Time War)

Dellaria “Delly” Wells/Winnifer "Winn" Cynallumwynsurai (The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry)

Kyoshi/Rangi (Chronicles of the Avatar)

Sarah Bishop/Emily Mather (All Souls trilogy)

Maud Blyth/Violet Debenham (A Restless Truth)

Snow White/Lilith (Tales from the Kingdom)

Rosemary Harper/Sissix Seshkethet (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet)

Gideon Nav/Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb)

Carmilla Karnstein/Laura (Carmilla)

Miri/Leah (Our Wives Under the Sea)

Evelyn Hugo/Celia St. James (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo)

Mina Murray/Lucy Westenra (Dracula)

Viv/Tandri (Legends & Lattes)

Eadaz uq-Nāra/Sabran Berethnet (The Priory of the Orange Tree)

Pip Quintana/Rooney Bach (Loveless)

S2 -

Emmanuelle/Selene (Dominion of the Fallen)

M/M :

Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish (The Raven Cycle)

Naolin/Brennan Sorrengail (The Empyrean series)

Henry "Monty" Montague/Percy Newton (The Montague Siblings series)

Simon Snow/Bazilton "Baz" Grimm-Pitch (Simon Snow series)

Jesper Fahey/Wylan van Eck (Six of Crows duology)

Aristotle Mendoza/Dante Quintana (Aristotle and Dante books)

Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood (Ths Shadowhunters Chronicles)

Robin Blyth/Edwin Courcey (A Marvellous Light)

Jack Alston/Alan Ross (A Power Unbound)

Dorian/Zachary Ezra Rawlins (The Starless Sea)

Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables)

Jean Valjean/Javert (Les Misérables)

Dogberry/Verges (Much Ado About Nothing)

Nico Di Angelo/Will Solace (Riordanverse)

Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry “Prince Henry” Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor (Red, White & Royal Blue)

Patroclus/Achilles (The Song of Achilles)

F/M :

S1 -

Blue Sargent/Richard Campbell Gansey III (The Raven Cycle)

Sophie Hatter/Wizard Howl Jenkins Pendragon (Howl's Moving Castle)

Abdullah/Flower-in-the-Night (Castle in the Air)

Lettie Hatter/Wizard Suliman a.k.a Benjamin Sullivan (Castle in the Air)

Lady Amalthea/Prince Lír (The Last Unicorn)

Schmendrick/Molly Grue (The Last Unicorn)

Christine Daaé/Vicomte Raoul de Chagny (The Phantom of the Opera)

Jonathan Harker/Mina Murray Harker (Dracula)

Linh Cinder/Prince Kai (The Lunar Chronicles)

Scarlet Benoit/Wolf a.k.a Ze'ev Kelsey (The Lunar Chronicles)

Winter Hayle-Blackburn/Jacin Clay (The Lunar Chronicles)

Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa (Six of Crows duology)

Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbrair (The Folk of the Air series)

Puck Connolly/Sean Kendrick (The Scorpio Races)

Laia of Serra/Elias Veturius (An Ember in the Ashes series)

Evie/Lend (Paranormalcy)

Margaret Welty/Weston Winters (A Far Wilder Magic)

Emily Wilde/Wendell Bambleby (Emily Wilde books)

Lucivar Yaslana/Marian (The Black Jewels trilogy)

Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark (The Hunger Games)

Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy (Pride and Prejudice)

Isaac Bell/Marian Morgan (Isaac Bell Books)

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase (Riordanverse)

William "Will" Herondale/Tessa Gray (The Infernal Devices)

Princess Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee a.k.a Ani or Isi/Prince Geric (Goose Girl)

Anne Elliot/Capt. Frederick Wentworth (Persuasion)

Finlay Donovan/Det. Nick Anthony (Finlay Donovan)

Francesca Stirling/Micheal Stirling (Bridgerton)

Matthew Clairmont/Diana Bishop (All Souls trilogy)

Penelope/Odysseus (The Odyssey)

Romeo Montague/Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet)

Patricia Delfine/Laurence Armstead (All the Birds in the Sky)

S2 -

Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson (Nancy Drew series)

Pepper/Blue (A Closed and Common Orbit)

Matthias Hevlar/Nina Zennik (Six of Crows)

Jane Bennet/Charles Bingley (Pride and Prejudice)

Lucy Carlyle/A.J. Lockwood (Lockwood & Co.)

Kell Maresh/Lila Bard (Shades of Magic)

Marisa Coulter/Lord Asriel Belacqua (His Dark Materials)

Celia Bowen/Marco Alisdair (The Night Circus)

Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley/Thomas "Tommy" Beresford (The Secret Adversary and others)

Roran/Katrina (The Inheritance Cycle)

Mo Folchart/Resa Folchart (Inkheart trilogy)

Kvothe/Denna (Kingkiller's Chronicle)

Anne Shirley/Gilbert Blythe (Anne of Green Gables)

Margaret Hale/John Thornton (North and South)

Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre)

Cordelia Naismith/Aral Vorkosigan (The Vorkosigan Saga)

Miles Vorkosigan/Ekaterin Vorsoisson (The Vorkosigan Saga)

Hazel Grace Lancaster/Augustus Waters (The Fault in Our Stars)

Alanna of Trebond/George (Tortall)

Commander Sir Samuel Vimes/Lady Sybil Ramkin (Discworld)

Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane (Lord Peter Wimsey)

Faramir/Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings)

Cimorene/Mendenbar (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)

Fox | Celeste/Jacob Reckless (Mirrorworld)

Oliver/Celia (Foul Lady Fortune Duology/These Violent Delights Duology/Secret Shanghai Universe)

Rosalind/Orion (Foul Lady Fortune Duology/These Violent Delights Duology/Secret Shanghai Universe)

Carrie Soto/Bowe Huntley (Carrie Soto Is Back)

Emma Woodhouse/George Knightley (Emma)

Aaron/Kim (This Blood That Binds Us)

Yumi/Painter (Yumi and the Nightmare Painter)

Ashby/Pei (The Wayfarers)

S3 -

Zia Rashid/Carter Kane (The Kane Chronicles)

Catherine Morland/Henry Tilney (Northanger Abbey)

Addie LaRue/Luc (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue)

Christine Daaé/Erik (The Phantom of the Opera)

Princess Buttercup/Westley (The Princess Bride)

Arwen/Aragorn (The Lord of the Rings)

Lyra Belacqua/Will Parry (His Dark Materials)

Captain Thorne/Cress (The Lunar Chronicles)

Paige Mahoney and Arcturus Mesarthim (The Bone Season)

Nynaeve al'Mera/al'Lan Mandragoran (Wheel of Time)