#jobey-wan-kenobi

[littlewestern]

Henryships, please!

This one goes out to @belle-aesthetics who asked for Henry as well!

Henry!! Oh Henry, how troublesome you are to ship sometimes. I feel as though he's in a similar situation to Gordon where there aren't any engines that are an exact perfect fit in a way that I find satisfying.

I prefer ships where the whole is greater than the sum and facets of all characters involved are brought out by the relationship that wouldn't be revealed otherwise. But Henry has so much work to do on himself and his own confidence that it's hard to set him up in a relationship that feels balanced in that way. It's not impossible to make work, but it often feels like shipping him with other engines is an exercise in trying to pair everyone off who doesn't have a partner, which I don't care for... But I do have a few thoughts.

HIRO:

Good ship! Solid canonical foundation, mutual respect and admiration, shared experiences on which to build further growth!

I mentioned in the Gordon post that Hiro likes being supportive and leading by example, and it's easy to imagine him finding a relationship with Henry satisfying for that reason. Henry needs someone who will build him up with reassurances and encourage him to be more self-assured. It's really cute, and I think that they'd both get something out of it.

The thing I think holds this ship back from being really top-tier is that I feel like Hiro might fall into the trap of being too helpful? Because he is so cool and nice, I could see him doing the thing he does in Henry's Hero where he tries to let Henry off the hook and ends up taking on way more work/responsibility because of it. Someone with more investment than me could do something with that, but I just don't see the potential for growth here in either of them. That wouldn't (and shouldn't) be a dealbreaker, but it makes it far less appealing for me personally. Now, a similar ship with a little bit more edge to it, that might be something. Which is why I might suggest...

EMILY:

Oh you know I love me some Green Engine Solidarity. And it doesn't get much more solidary than this!

Rewatching the show this last time around, I was a bit surprised by how many incidental little moments these two have together, it's probably about as many interactions as Henry has with, say, Edward - intrigue!

I like this ship for a few reasons. Emily, like Hiro, enjoys "helping" other engines, but she's usually much less gracious about it, especially in the early seasons (which are the ones where I like her the most). Unlike Hiro though, Emily would not be out here cutting Henry any slack if he started getting skittish about ghosts or rain or whatever else. This is an opportunity for growth on both their parts, as Henry gets encouragement without coddling, and Emily gets practice being a bit more defthanded and gentle with her attempts at building Henry up. This is the kind of relationship I like to see!

A unique thing about Bossy Emily, though, is that she's actually never rude to Henry as far as I can remember. She ticks off quite a few engines in those bad old seasons, but Henry she's always quite sweet to. Henry matches that with a joking kind of camaraderie we don't see much from him, which I love. When Hatt asks another engine to take the mail in Percy's stead, Emily volunteers Edward for the job and Henry immediately picks up the assist by saying how Edward knows how to do everything, swanky eyebrows and all.

After all, the mail is a job for a small engine.

They also have a connection with being safety oriented. Henry cares deeply about protocol, and does not fuck around when someone is out here flouting them for the sake of convenience Gator ahem. In another episode, Emily is assigned the title of Safety Engine, which would have been a great addition to her character arc of feeling like she has no job except for the fact that it's never brought up again afterward. Ray never forgets, though, and if it were up to me I would simply pull that into being a regular and acknowledged aspect of her character. But nobody asked me, of course.

Henry is also among the engines Emily asks to be her best friend in a later episode, which... Y'know, she asks every engine she sees but Henry readily agrees!

Idk, I think they're cute. If I wasn't ride or die for Emily/Caitlin also I think this would be my favorite ship for the both of them. That being said I do have one more dark horse contender that might be. Slightly controversial.

SPENCER:

OKAY WAIT. LISTEN. HEAR ME OUT.

I love this episode, it's so funny to me.

"You need a big, strong, Duke's Engine to protect you? ;)" takes me out every time I watch it, and I have watched it a frankly embarrassing number of times.

Spencer, to me, is the kind of blue-blood type who is aware of his station, aware that his build and breeding make him the envy of every railway, and finds the idea of being brought down into the gutter with these common engines... utterly thrilling. He can't say that's what he wants, but oh god does he want it - and it manifests in him trying to get Henry to hide behind him like a scared teen watching a horror movie with their crush. Hi-larious.

They're not good for each other and I'm not sorry. This is my favorite Henry ship by miles. Go watch The Beast of Sodor if you haven't already, it's so great.

[thequeenofsodor]

for the ask game?

I have no idea how to even articulate my thoughts on Thomas. I much prefer him in the books where he’s a bit of a dick sometimes, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the TV portrayals where he’s a bit more of a nice guy who wants to help his friends. To me, Thomas is a cheeky little scamp with a sharp tongue and a heart of gold.

I also very much love his design, though the version I’m most partial to is Awdry’s MK3 model. It’s the platonic ideal of Thomas, its got the proper running board while also accounting for buffer height differences, and justifies the wheel splashers by implementing larger driving wheels. I don’t know why but the larger wheels I think really brings E2-length Thomas’ look together perfectly. His TV Series design is still cute though before they added all the rivets, at least and I greatly enjoy running my Bachmann N Scale Thomas in a loop for hours at a time. He’s just a cute little guy!

[dreamofstarlight]

If you don’t mind sharing, what was your 2023 royal prediction that’s already come true? 👀

It was that a current or former monarch will die...it wasn't something I thought was that far off of a prediction since many of them are quite old but didn't think it would happen so quickly

[heir-less]

Your tags on the Fergie post about took me out, cheers 😆

Thanks, hahah!

[academicgangster]

you are so brilliant, kind, and yes sexy af. i am making a birthday wish for you that you have the best year EVER.

soooooo... which character do you think would best suit you as a co-worker? (complementary problem-solving styles, the field they work in, and your desire to hear them casually roast your colleagues all being valid factors)

💛💛💛💛💛

Not to be all Sam Gerard, but Sam Gerard. Maybe Cosmo Renfro, because Cosmo runs interference when Sam doesn't have the patience to, and boy do I also not have the patience to - as I get older, increasingly so. 😅

[weirdowithaquill]

I think it's time you consider sharing your Duke and Rheneas ship concept (and the pufflings' sabotage efforts!) with the world 🙏

My memory is that they were too cute to languish forever only in DMs

Your memory is correct! And also really good! This conversation was months ago!

But here goes nothing - how I ended up shipping Rheneas and Duke:

It all begins with a certain @jobey-wan-kenobi and shipping Skarloey and Neil. These two are very important for Dukeas (Rhenuke?) - so let's cover them first.

These two are terrible at flirting. Like, legitimately bad. Neil gets a repaint when he's bought by the Crovan's Gate Mining Company (into SKR red!!) and Skarloey attempts to flirt and be suave to capture Neil's heart. Here's how he does:

"I like seeing you in my colour--" So far so good - but the engines don't really have good metaphors for clothes so it sort of falls apart: "--it would look better on... uh... oh..." Human pickup lines don't really work for engines, do they? Neil is so confused, and Skarloey is dying of embarrassment (the fireman said that it would totally work!)

Rheneas laughs himself sick.

Skarloey - after grumbling about Rheneas laughing at him - swallows his pride and asks his brother for help. (Side note - this is where our conversation started. We were talking about how the SKR is more interesting for family-values in the RWS.)

Rheneas has never had a crush before, and so his best idea is: "Why not ask him to double head a train with you?" Now, those of you who've instantly spotted the problem with narrow gauge Skarloey and standard gauge Neil double heading a train are doing better than these two hopeless idiots.

But Skarloey is not to be deterred! So he builds 'the truck' to pull trains on the standard gauge railway! Ah... but there's not enough traffic for double heading, so none of the managers will allow it.

It's not like Neil is any better though - this is the same boxy engine who saw Skarloey and went "he's so cute, but I'm too ugly for him..." at which point his crew face-palmed. So his crew convinced Neil to invite Skarloey to hang out at the works while he's being repainted into NWR colours (circa 1915). So Skarloey's there when he's sanded down and repainted.

Skarloey gets a nosebleed and passes out.

And Neil thinks that Skarloey just fell asleep! Even as the mechanics at Crovan's Gate are gathering around him to study him because no engine has ever had a nosebleed before, oh my goodness look at our discovery!

These two are disasters.

Peter Sam is no help either. Peter Sam is about as innocent as a three-year-old (Duke was not going to let no dock workers sully His Puffling, thank you very much) so his best advice is to: "Sing to him!" "What song?" "Uh..." Peter Sam doesn't do proper songs, he makes up ditties! What do you mean, wooing the boxy engine involves actually knowing music?

Skarloey just skips over asking Sir Handel for advice. Which is probably for the best, considering Sir Handel's attempt at flirting was to basically stun Gordon by talking his ear off and insulting his own coaches.

Yeah... none of these engines are very good at this.

But yeah, it probably takes until Rusty and Duncan figure themselves out for Skarloey to get some good advice. Cause of all the engines on the SKR, these two are the first to get into an actual relationship (with each other, but it's not Duncan's first, let's be honest). So, here's this centennarian-and-then-some engine that is Skarloey needing his romance to be chaperoned by these two youngsters... AND IT WORKS!

Finally he has the wingengines he needs: a foul-mouthed factory worker and something called a 'diesel'.

And Rheneas is still laughing in the background.

But it works! Skarloey buys some flowers with his driver's money and asks Neil out - and Neil says yes! (Let's all just headcanon that he was the Crovan's Gate Works engine at this point, okay? Okay.) Rheneas's first words upon hearing this are lost to time, but were either "Oh thank God" or "FINALLY!"

He is very lucky that he is at the works and hears about it there, or else he'd have gotten into a massive argument. But at the same time, he's rather sad, cause he's been using this romantic trainwreck as his entertainment for the last 100 odd years, throwing out slightly bogus suggestions to stir up the drama.

These two are going steady enough in 1965 for Skarloey to tease Neil by calling him "ugly but kind" in front of the Reverend - who accidentally takes it to heart.

We are all very lucky that said Anglican Reverend was out of earshot when Neil shot back a quip about nosebleeds.

But this is Rheneas' life up until 1970 - it's spent doing his job and laughing at his brother's absolutely hilarious and terrible love life. But romance? No, it's not in his cards...

And then Duke arrives.

And Rheneas goes “oh no, he’s hot.”

Rheneas immediately goes to his brother - because they're brothers, and they're supposed to help one another - completely forgetting the past 100 years.

Skarloey bursts into laughter. And then tells Neil, who also laughs. Rheneas is humbled with his own crush on Duke - much to his consternation.

But it’s worse cause Rheneas has to deal with two very overprotective children. See, Sir Handel and Peter Sam don't want to share their Granpuff. Cause they see Rheneas as a friend, not a weird step-grandpa, so stop butting in on our family. These boys have Granpuff-related trauma, and they are not handing over their Granpuff to just any old puffball. Duke for his part thinks Rheneas is cute - but his pufflings just keep calling him "a bad influence" - which is hilariously ironic considering Sir Handel.

Of course, being Peter Sam and Sir Handel, they also do their 'sunshine and thunder thing': "I think it's nice!" "You WOULD." Which naturally evolves into good-cop-bad-cop as Peter Sam is swayed by Sir Handel (and a sniggering Skarloey, but Skarloey's always had the best of intentions, right?)

Rheneas takes his own advice and asks to double head a train (cause at least he's the same gauge!) and Sir Handel slots himself in. Duke thinks it's sweet that Sir Handel is trying to spend more time with him. Rheneas is pulling his metaphorical hair out (oh, he knows - but he's also messing with Rheneas. He also talks to Skarloey).

Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for everyone? Rheneas is just being interrogated in the background while Duke does a deadpan to some documentary crew like he’s in the Office: “This has been going on for 25 years. I have been dating Rheneas for 20 of those years.”

He has conveniently forgotten to mention this fact to Sir Handel and Peter Sam...

And that should have been that.

Right?

No. Cause then we talked about humanisations - and the story picked back up, only now we have to jump back to the year Duke got together with Rheneas. Now, for some reason or another (I blame the boulder), the entire SKR crew (Neil included) are suddenly turned human. After a few days of figuring out how being human works (cause we take most of three decades before we settle into 'humaning' - these engines are gonna need some help), they begin to act as normally as a bunch of engines-turned-humans can. There was one occasion where Peter Sam bear-walked across the yard because he couldn't figure out how walking worked, and humans have four legs! "Those are hands." "Good enough for walking!"

See, the engines pop into being human with bodies and clothes (this is important) - and for the most part, it's pretty stock standard. Rusty has overalls, Duncan has a few piercings, Sir Handel gets wheelie shoes (for his steamroller wheels!) and Duke has a massive overcoat that makes him look - for lack of a better term - rather chubby.

And he does nothing to dissuade the other engines from this line of thinking. On the surface, it makes sense after all! Duke has his large saddle tank, which translated over.

So it comes as a great surprise to everyone when Duke takes off his overcoat after the engine Duncan (who was pulling them in one of the passenger coaches) derails. Duke is not fat - no, he's been hiding tools in his overcoat... like a crowbar. In fact, Duke randomly takes off his shirt too so he can use said crowbar to lever Duncan back onto the rails all by himself (the shirt was... uh... too constricting?).

Rheneas gets a nosebleed - only none of the engines know how human nosebleeds work and panic. This of course tips Duke off that yes, Rheneas does have a thing for him.

So, Duke basically tortures Rheneas for weeks by volunteering to join the track-workers gang, and wearing a singlet and he has arms, why does he have arm muscles he is a steam engine! (I told someone about this, and they said - and I quote: "It's cause they're always pumping iron!")

Duke also keeps Werther's Originals in his overcoat to distribute to both his Pufflings and the local schoolchildren. Rheneas' heart cannot handle the adorableness.

This of course led to Rheneas confessing to Duke in the rain after the stationmaster's cat got lost. Rheneas had thought Duke would think he was cool if he found said cat first and rushed off... and fell into a ditch and sprained his ankle cause he's a human now, and people don't walk normal, why don't they have wheels - (oh wait, that's what trains are for). Rheneas had saved the cat, and then Duke helped him, asked why Rheneas ran off and didn't stick with the search party - and so Rheneas confessed in the moment. Very cliche romantic, but so am I a bit.

So that's how Duke and Rheneas ended up as a couple. A bit of magic, a whole lot of Duke's family torturing Rheneas and a missing cat.

[batrachised]

Hi! I am not sure if you haven't been asked this question already, but I shall take my chances :). Your knowledge about Anne's books is amazing, so I'd absolutely love your opinion about Walter: do you think he is homosexual?

If I remember correctly, you mentioned that you thought so, after reading an article about him. It would be lovely if you could say something more :). And what do you think about Walter's fancy for Faith or Alice? Was it just a platonic admiration of their beauty, from a young poet's pov?

Of course, no need to rush, take your time! Thank you so much in advance! I'd be happy to hear from you anytime.

Yes, of course! so @gogandmagog and I had a lengthy discussion about this earlier this year which really delves into the details. My opinion has evolved a bit since then. For one, after delving into LMM's history, it's very obvious the intent wasn't there. Briefly, I'll take a stab at Faith and co first-- they read much more as platonic ideals to me, and if my memory serves, Walter himself never confirms interest in Faith - it's another character theorizing. (and also, bi people exist lol but even then faith really never seemed like true interest to me, although i do love the idea of walter watching faith fall in love with jem because i enjoy suffering :D)

I think importantly, Walter plays a key symbolic role in the text from the beginning. The signifiers for this role, while intended by LMM to point towards his fate, inadvertently double as signifiers for him being gay. These range from his near total lack of interest in women, to the other characters' perception of him.* While other significant characters get paired up, Walter doesn't. LMM meant this to be a demonstration of the tragedy of life cut too short; it can come across as a complete lack of interest in women. Walter, like Emily, has a sort of second sight. LMM meant this to be a terminal and aware of it type of ominous foreshadowing; it can come across as conveying the queer experience (@jobey-wan-kenobi had a great post about this!). Walter has stereotypically feminine characteristics, something commented on at length by the other characters. LMM meant this to denote Walter as someone who lives as an "other;" this can come across as characters questioning Walter's sexuality, right down to the implications of calling him slurs.

And so the list goes on! Those are the cornerstones for that interpretation. As you can see, the text is loaded with accidental double-meanings. To my impression (and I am speaking VERY broadly, and VERY anecdotally here), people who are very absorbed in the series tend to have the walter as an emblem take-away, and people who are very casual readers tend to read walter as gay, which I find interesting but I also think makes a lot of sense. I love both interpretations because I love walter and tbh would read anything about him lmao

[angryskarloey]

Early Victoria State Locomotives - 1866-1872.

A/N.: This is by no means comprehensive, nor does it start at the very beginning of railways in Victoria. It is an excuse for me to say Buzzwinker several times. Most of the information here comes from one source. This is what we will call the 'context' portion. For those wanting to read about only about Buzzwinkers, see the next portion. I wish to inform @jobey-wan-kenobi this is your fault.

Characters.:

- The Protectionists - a faction in the Victoria State administration, with two key goals. Reclaiming as many local sheep runs as they could, and keeping industry development in the state.

- Thomas Higinbotham - Engineer-in-Chief of Vic Rail.

- Francis Longmore, William Wilson, Joseph Jones - various Ministers for Railways (this being a Govt position, its holder changed regularly.)

- William Meikle - Chief Mechanical Engineer of the system, from around 1870 to 1877. Also known as the poor bastard holding the whole together.

- The locomotives - a mixed bag. Some decade-old ex-Geelong & Melbourne, Stephenson-built tank engines, and a clamp of rigid English tender engines, consistent of some designs by Daniel Gooch, some by Archibald Sturrock (of the English GWR and GNR respectively), as well as a few others from Beyer, Peacock. Those still extant by the mid-1880s got letter designations, and I have used these where applicable.

As of 1866, the effective roster stood at 77 engines (discounting the G&MR engines, which were stored rusting in a shed.) Of these engines, most of the work was being done by Sturrock's B-class 2-4-0, and O-class 0-6-0. The track so far extended nearly two-hundred miles from Sandhurst to Ballarat, with steep gradients everywhere except the original 45-mile route from Melbourne to Geelong.

The authorisation to construct a new North Eastern Main-line to Wodonga arrived shortly before Meikle - the new route would increase the route mileage of the Govt. Railway by 72%, and therefore more locomotives would be needed.

Only a few engines had so far been built in the colony, so Francis Longmore, although anxious to promote local construction, was on unsure footing. The Melbourne & Hobson's Bay (not incorporated into the state system at this point) had constructed a couple, and opened its line with them, but they'd had relatively brief careers.

In 1862, Enoch Chambers, a Melbourne firm, had put together a Robert Stephenson 2-4-0, which came with a set of spare wheels, axles, springs, and boiler tubes. Little Collins Street Foundry used these, as well as copies of every part of the existing engine, and outshopped the 'First Victorian' that October. This sort of thing would become commonplace as time went on.

Longmore's investigation had found that colonial builders would be unable to fulfil a large order of locomotives, so instead sent for 14 of Sturrock's designs from Beyer, Peacock. However, when William Wilson took over as Minister for Railways, and got wind of this, he sent a telegram cancelling part of this order (six of the 14 engines.) He believed that with Meikle as his CME they could, in fact, build sufficient engines locally.

This telegram could only make part of its journey by wire, and took six weeks to reach Beyer, Peacock's works. Wilson got confirmation of the stopped contract another six weeks later, and instructed Meikle to start work on eight engines at the railways' own works at Williamstown. Local ironworkers, up to this point out of work, were given this good news in late October, but this only lasted a week before a second telegraph came from B.P., saying they'd already purchased the relevant material for the cancelled locomotives, and that therefore the cancellation would incur a penalty.

Williamstown only had sufficient boiler-plate to build one locomotive, so at any rate, Wilson decided to let the B.P. contract stand, but told Meikle to construct a single prototype 2-4-0. Work on this design began in November 1870. The engine was not wholly new, more an amalgamation of the best of the English designs, as Meikle only had a very small team (probably less than five) in the drawing office.

In January tenders (tenders for supply, not engine tenders) were called for, to make the complex cylinder casting, which Williamstown were not yet equipped for. Meikle also began to rebuild the five J-class 2-2-2s into 2-4-0s with smaller driving wheels. The intention was that these could be installed on the Geelong - Melbourne section, and some of the existing B-class 2-4-0s could be put to work in the North East.

The first of these rebuilds showed great promise, consuming less fuel than a B, and keeping time well. Two more followed by May 1871, but with plenty of engines to go around for the time being, the remaining two only appeared in the latter half of the next year.

There was a secondary reason for this slowing of work - uncertainty about the gauge. For a while it was mooted that the North Eastern line would be converted to 3'6", spoiling all of Meikle's efforts. But this would surely have upset the North Eastern backers, and so Longmore, back in office, contented himself ensuring all future locomotives were locally made. Hopefully.

After work on Meikle's all-new 2-4-0 had commenced, he had also begun to develop a new 0-6-0, slightly smaller than an O-class but able to draw the same load, albeit more slowly. Williamstown turned out the 2-4-0 in January of 1872. No.100 it was, and a proud achievement. It would go on to draw the first train over the new North Eastern main line a few months later.

The railwaymen, flushed with success, had probably hoped to build the new 0-6-0s at Williamstown, however there were not sufficient facilities. Plans to the tune of £1,190 for a new boiler-shop were approved, with the likely idea of building more 2-4-0s, however there still wouldn't have been capacity for the six-coupled engines.

Wilson had, while in office, ordered six 0-6-0s from the Yorkshire Engine Co., which started to arrive in May 1871. Meikle was less than impressed - the 'Yorkies' were expensive (nearly three grand each) and shoddily built (you could talk them into coming apart.) Meikle wrote a disgruntled letter, with a laundry list of problems and concluding that no English company would accept machines such as this. The whole debacle gave the protectionists plenty of ammunition - when the Commissioner called tenders for ten more 0-6-0s to Meikle's new design, he gave only six weeks, keeping the English buildes out, and put on a 20 per cent import duty, to prevent builders in New South Wales weighing in.

Longmore, to the horror of the free-traders, also gave any fledgling Victorian builders a fortnight extension, and in answer to criticism cited Meikle's letter re. the 'Yorkies'. He also terminated the highly expensive English agent's contract, for allowing such dodgy work to be sent on.

The new 0-6-0 was neat but austere, with the object of competing with English builders on cost - Meikle did away with unnecessary brightwork - stove-pipe chimneys, plain splashers and painted dome covers, which prompted the nickname 'Greenbacks'.

There were a handful of very new foundries in Ballarat. The Victoria Foundry, the Phoenix Foundry, Victoria Ironworks, and Soho Works. Each had built a small number of 3'6" gauge locomotives for customers in Western Australia and New Zealand, mostly for use on timber tramways. All were quite eager for the job, and in the end, the contract for the 'Greenbacks' was awarded, tentatively, to a ready and willing Pheonix Foundry.

These new machines, the 'Q' class, might well have been the last new 5ft 3in gauge engines, with the govt. still reeling from the decision to make the new North Eastern line broad-gauge. Highinbotham and Longmore, the latter a strong narrow-gauge advocate, struggled over this issue for another year.

The new lines in the north-east were laid light, with 50lb iron rails, and the large, rigid English engines absolutely hammered them. The effect was nearly as disastrous as a break-of-gauge would have been - of the 102 engines rostered or ordered when the new light lines were confirmed, only a handful were light enough for the task. A locomotive of axle load 14 tons could do serious damage, crushing or laminating the rails, and splitting frail wooden sleepers.

There was also no way to prevent badly balanced locomotives being driven far too hard, and the light lines suffered badly. The Americans had solved this with their flexible 4-4-0s, and even the English had locomotives that could manage, but the protectionists wouldn't have it.

Worse still, on the steep light lines the small engines necessary to keep axle loading down would tend to have small driving wheels, and therefore would use a lot of steam to run even at low speeds, with the cylinders making more strokes in the same distance. They simply ran out of steam working at 'high' speeds (25mph) for too long. The large, heavy O class weighed 39 and a quarter tons, and could pull a 200-ton train up a 1-in-50 gradient. A Queensland Rlys. 'C', of 16 and a quarter tons, could only draw 65 tons up the same grade.

It was quite clear by mid-1872 that no local builder could supply all the engines required - the first 'Greenback' would not steam until March 1873, and with Longmore for the time being out of the way on the Opposition, Higinbotham and Meikle asked the new govt. to call tenders in England. This was done, with plans for six engines as a stop-gap measure, and two more light engines, one of a bogie design, which could be used as patterns and copied in the approved manner.

The protectionists were furious about this, and, lead by Major William Collard Smith MLA, or just 'The Major', raised hell in the Legislative Assembly that August. Not only was the Major the Mayor of Ballarat, he was also Chairman of the Pheonix Foundry Board... The idea of a conflict of interest apparently had not reached colonial Victoria just yet. At any rate, the Major, while prepared to accept the two 'pattern engines', he trusted that 'the Government will make an effort to withdraw the contract for the six engines.'

Somebody also raised the possibility of refurbishing the old G&MR engines, but the Minister of Railways tried to placate the protectionists by stating that he would call tenders in just a fortnight for nine more engines to be built locally, but Major Smith was not satisfied. The debate went on for some time. In the event for order for the six engines was cancelled, and with work on the telegraph cables somewhat more complete, this development reach Beyer Peacock in a timely manner.

The next day, 15th August, the Overseer of Locomotives' Office must have been in a state of disarray and panic. Design work for the nine engines may have been underway, but certainly not to a point at which it might tender for the contract with only two weeks' notice, not to mention specifications for the other six locomotives to be prepared. The two designs that came from this flurry of development were rather against Meikle's personal ideas, but are reflective of the state of being at the time.

Longmore had been assured by local ironworkers that local builders could build whole engines, sans wheels and complicated cranked-axles (ever the bane of locomotive builders.) To avoid them, the onus was on Meikle to put the cylinders outside. There were only two outside-cylindered engines on the roster at that point, G&M 'singles' No.34 and No.36, and Meikle therefore objected. He said that 'if you want a perfect engine, you must have inside cylinders.'

The implication of outside cylinders is that, on a small six-wheeled engine, the short connecting rods would create great lateral oscillation, but with the situation desperate, and no-one in the colony being able to make cranked axles, they were a rigid design requirement. For the sake of avoiding importing this single piece, the protectionists almost ended the light lines before they had begun.

[thesudrianchronicles]

Based on a comment by @jobey-wan-kenobi On George & The Trucks

[boasamishipper]

15 Questions and 15 Mutuals

tagged by @midnighterapollo ❤️

1) Are you named after anyone?

My great-grandmother.

2) When is the last time you cried?

Last night, not for any particular reason.

3) Do you have any kids?

Nope.

4) Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Very often, as I'm sure my friends can attest.

5) What’s the first thing you notice about people?

It depends, honestly! Hairstyle, a lot of the time; sometimes their outfits, sometimes their jewelry if they're wearing any (my eyes are always drawn to cool earrings).

6) What’s your eye colour?

Brown.

7) Scary movie or happy ending?

Happy ending, hands down.

8) Any special talents?

I can always make little kids laugh (I have a handful of tricks that work every time).

9) Where were you born?

Wisconsin.

10) Do you have any hobbies?

Tennis, writing (fic and original), reading, making playlists for my ships, getting Far Too Invested in film/tv awards season, slowly making my way through all of Tom Cruise's filmography.

11) Do you have any pets?

Yes! I have a Golden Retriever named Toby, he's a sweetheart but also Very Evil. My little motherfluffer.

12) What sports are/have you played?

I played tennis in high school and college, and I was on the volleyball team in middle school (back when none of my peers had really hit their growth spurts yet lol). I still play beach volleyball when I'm on vacation; it's a fun time even though I'm not very good.

13) How tall are you?

5'0, but 5'1 per my driver's license.

14) What’s your favourite subject in school?

English and History.

15) Dream job?

Film/TV critic (provided I'm able to rake in money by the metric fuckload).

tagging @lilalbatross @naturallyoccurringminotaur @champagneauntie09 @power-chords @indifferentvincent @saltyfilmmajor @stonesandswords @roseverdict @patbbangg @rochc93 @threeoaksy @maverickcalf @majoras-skull-kid @trenchnote @jobey-wan-kenobi if you're interested!

[shinygoku]

WIP Gaamu

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS. 

Tagged by the splendid @jobey-wan-kenobi, and I thought I’d hafta pass as my Fanfic well is dry at the moment, but I do have notions and ideas for future posts here, they’re just more Factual and have a bit less narrative thrust! lmao

For fun I’ll format ‘em like a DBZ episode title, which may get more interest for the asks ;3

Flood or Drought?! A beautiful region torn in two!

Distortion World looming above! Fight, Piano music!

“I can fight, too!” The forgotten child’s hidden potential

The Finalists Assemble! Rivals from days gone by

Terror of the Mid Remake! Recency bias vs Nostalgia

Four Elements Combine! Stray thoughts and observations

Placeholder spot! I’m sure more will come to mind later?

That’s all I have for now ^^; Some of these have been started, others are just ideas that I would like to realise before too long. Most are somewhat connected to a common thread, which if it ain’t obvious yet will sure be when asks roll in or I eventually shoo the Essay outta the door lol

Uhm... I’m copping out with a “You may do this if ya like” note lol, be it fic or posts or maybe even art! Whatever yer workin’ on and fancy sharing later, methinks ;3

[jobey-wan-kenobi]

I posted 5,224 times in 2022

That's 3,808 more posts than 2021!

75 posts created (1%)

5,149 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@youcandalekmyballs

@moonlightsdreaming

@jobey-wan-kenobi

@quasi-normalcy

@academicgangster

I tagged 3,759 of my posts in 2022

Only 28% of my posts had no tags

#q - 743 posts

#tweets - 185 posts

#revolutionary girl utena - 173 posts

#art - 142 posts

#the good place - 132 posts

#tropes are fun - 132 posts

#pokemon - 124 posts

#dracula daily - 114 posts

#nd - 109 posts

#tumblr moment - 95 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#(turned out this card was completely useless in gameplay tho... took me way too long—and several ass-kickings—to accept this patent fact)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

To continue the Larry=Dennis parallels, of course at some point there were calls for them to just replace the latest bozo pol with Dennis.

Now, this isn't quite as much of a joke as it is in real life, because, you know. The engines can talk and stuff. Isabella once ran for office, Trevor has served as an alderman, etc.

Sudrians have also, of course, been seriously talking about drafting railway vehicles into their government for years. For one thing, they have great name recognition. For another thing, Skarloey, Rheneas, Duke, Edward, and Toby have all been discussed, at various points, as perfectly reasonable candidates for mayors, MPs, etc.

Now, usually this gets no further than (at most) the Thin or Fat Controller feeling the need to make a statement reminding everyone that their respective railways could not possibly spare the potential candidates in question.

Dennis, though. After a memetic press conference photobombed and then taken over by the laziest diesel ever built, the island starts clowning about just replacing Exiting Disgraced Politician with Dennis.

And FC3 is all like, "Yes, we fully support Dennis if he chooses to pursue a career in government service. 🙃 Please. Do it. He'd be great."

27 notes - Posted July 10, 2022

#4

"This engine is a Metropolitan-Vickers diesel-electric type two!"

'... lol I'm being so Normal™ right now.'

40 notes - Posted August 10, 2022

#3

The Engines as Mentors

Okay but I'm eternally salty that TVS in particular—though it was RIGHT to expand the NWR fleet—failed to use the dynamic of the OG characters from the books all functioning as Mentors and Elder Statesmen to the newer and more obscure and younger engines.

It would have been THE way to effectively integrate the newbies (looking especially hard at you, HIT era). Like, some of the best use of the new characters already are when they fall into a mentee dynamic with one of the established characters. But the TVS writers really only ever let this happen with, like, Thomas? To a degree? And Edward? A bit? And then the best and most beloved BWBA episodes (BWBA!) are when Gordon and, again, Edward get more of this sort of material. And then again, in fuckin' AEG, the most popular thing so far seems to be Gordon's whole Grumpy Dad shtick.

But I think canon and fan writers should have done this with all the classic characters. After decades as The Famous Eight—erm, Ten—(but not Eleven—to me Oliver is in that category of newbie that needs looking after. which is what the rest of the Little Western spends most of his one book doing!) they are all  kinda old af and well-qualified and honestly just should be mentoring the diesels and younger steam engines and whatever wide-eyed newcomers are brought to the Island Where Fever Dreams Come True and Culture Shock Is Probably One Hell of a Bitch.

LIKE. Percy. Yes, absolutely Percy! He's inconsistent about standing up for himself or making good decisions in his own working life but honestly his instincts when it comes to others have always been completely on-point. And he never has any hesitation about acting on his instincts so there is a recipe here for big-brother success. He must be so wonderful with uncertain new engines. I think he would have been much better for taking Molly under his wing than Thomas, and he must be a god among many of the newer tank engines. Like the dynamic I tried to paint in my headcanon post about Harvey—Percy gives whiplash as your mentor because he will always support you 100% but sometimes he will suddenly make the most baffling decisions and if you are not, yourself, a natural chaos gremlin, you are just along for the ride and possibly dying of secondhand embarrassment. But again, you also get over it because no one will ever show up for you more consistently than Percy the Caterpillar Engine.

The BWBA era thing where Gordon winds up mentoring Rebecca is... like, fine, I guess. I don't have any complaints about it, but—as I tried to show in my ficlet with him and Derek—I think Gordon's most typical mentorships have two unmistakable characteristics:

it is insanely arbitrary as to whether or not he decides to take you on. if you wind up in his circle of trust you probably weren't trying or even remotely expecting. it is also hard for anyone else to understand why Gordon looked at a new engine and said to himself "Yes. That one." Because the way Gordon makes emotional decisions is utterly impenetrable—this is RWS canon. Why did Gordon one day go from being Pure Unadulterated Jackass Whose Only Thought So Far In His Life Has Been "Me! Me! Meeeee!" to the engine who (evidently? without?? snark???) suggested the Fat Controller let Henry out of the tunnel to take a turn on his train? Honestly we don't know but it remains Gordon's signature style. Why did Gordon do an about-face after James took the express and graciously decide James was his new buddy? Well, to save face of course, but Gordon is also not above a good grudge so it feels like a coin toss. Why did Gordon decide to be super gracious when he rescued Percy and Thomas from their RWS scrapes? No one knows but somehow these moments are so quintessentially him (even though showing up moaning and scolding would have also been quintessentially him). And—most relevantly of all—there is what I regard as his archetypal moment with BoCo. 'My dear engine! You SAVED MY LIFE.' 'I mean, you're welcome for getting rid of them but they were never actually going to kill you.' 'YES THEY WERE. THEY HAD MURDER IN THEIR HEARTS. YOU ARE A GOD AMONG DIESELS, STANDING STRONG AGAINST THE FORCES OF DARKNESS.' '... Sure.' Gordon logic is not the same as earth logic and his reasons for rejecting or accepting others seldom make much sense.

If he does take you on, you may not even notice. Gordon is very stuffy and kind of... emotionally remote. His mentorship style consists of long rambling bouts of relating/boasting about his own experiences and/or advising you, without you able to get much of a word in edgewise—but then, he does this with everyone who is ever stuck with him—and doing extraordinarily nice things for you such as pulling strings to get you the best assignments or upgrades but he'll do it all behind your back, so it might take a while before you realize. (But you'd better, because even though he deliberately decides to do these things in secret, he will also privately feel hurt and hard-done-by if you don't figure it out and thank him. Or at least exclaim happily in his presence and sing the praises of your unknown fairy godfather.)

So yes, mentor!Gordon is a lot like friend!Gordon and worker!Gordon. He is pretty damn high-maintenance but he is also genuinely quite worth it. What his relationships lack in... comprehensibility they make up for in loyalty and generosity. ALTHOUGH. It's worth laughing because I think most of the engines he takes on are decent, polite engines who perhaps have some self-confidence issues. Basically it's like any engine he meets afterwards who is in the Edward mould he is actually magnificent to, which is hysterical considering that one of the keynotes in early canon was Gordon bullying the shit out of Edward. (I still think that wasn't malicious though, and more Gordon did not yet have the remotest understanding of Himself, Theory of Mind, or How to Be a Friend.)

If you have self-confidence issues but you do not win Gordon's capricious favor, never fear! You have James. Who is even more capricious, but that's not to say he's never been the most faaaaaabulous mentor in the world, c'est ne pas? Look. I want to see James as the catalyst for shy newcomers having a glow up. In appearance and attitude. I don't think he does he often but it has definitely happened around twice. I somehow have never actually watched "Rosie is Red" or "The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" while paying attention but I've been assuming that's exactly how Rosie's Confident Girl Arc went down. Maybe he could be a similar idol for Neville or Flora. Another thing that has happened twice is James just flat-out corrupting a couple of the Good, Buttoned-Down Boys and Girls. I still want to see James take, like, Porter or Arthur and teach 'em anger. Introduce them to the world of (tiny) rebellions. By the time James is done with them, they are starting to Display Behaviors, and Act In Certain Ways.

Henry, I firmly believe (sticking out my tongue at most of the TVS and magazine writing for him), is actually regarded very intimidating. Like Gordon and James are intimidating too, but they are also known jackasses and the universe is known to have slapped them around reliably when they get too far up their own tenders. Also Gordon usually puts on an air of affability—in RWS it's Henry who is the Grumpy One (and meanwhile James, though he has a foul temper, is just too ADHD to be properly intimidating). I suspect Henry's actually always had the reputation for being extremely snobbish. Which is silly because he's only mildly to moderately snobbish, but there you are. He also doesn't put himself out there socially, but of course if you put yourself out there to him he's perfectly friendly. Anyway newcomers and young engines wouldn't know this right away. I think Henry's specialty is mentees in the mold of Bear and my OC Laura and even Rebecca—extroverted, expressive engines who show him respect. In those cases you see his best side, all kindliness and unstinting support. And Henry's support is really valuable, for the usual reasons that all the OGs have a lot of pull on the railway but also because Henry is surprisingly sage and sensible. He doesn't have the reputation for it the way Edward does, due to some of his notoriously poor decision-making in his earlier years and the way he can still sometimes be a bit literal or naive. But even if he's had to learn most things the hard way, he hasn't lied to himself about it and therefore he's developed a very clear-eyed view on things. Refreshingly simple and sound. We see this already in the RWS Super Rescue—he's got Bear and Spamcan pretty well-pegged long before the story ends. He also values engine solidarity in a really consistent, utterly unpretentious way that shows you he doesn't even think about it, it's just become a part of who he is. I love it. And, of course, he's bold as brass. He once hissed steam at his boss and essentially told him to fuck off for no better reason than it was raining and he just wasn't feelin' it. He had the most horrid wreck in the series and after being rebuilt he just got right back on that horse, pulling Flying Kippers again for the next century without the slightest sign of trauma. So if you need him for something, he won't hesitate to move earth and heaven for a friend. He may be a bit of a hypochondriac and likes to predict doom and gloom but he is fundamentally pretty fearless when it comes time for action. (Cut him a break with the elephant thing—he's allowed to have tunnel-related trauma, okay?)

Of course there was one extroverted engine inclined to hero-worship that Henry rejected in canon as a mentee, and that was Philip. Which brings us to Edward, and I fully agree with the fandom consensus that he is the mentor ever, capable of and inclined to look out for, like, everyone. All I'm saying is that I think the others can also step up in this way... Anyway, Edward's specialty of course is engines who are in the mould of Thomas, engines who are excited and eager to work but who talk a lot and might have a streak of mischief and who are definitely considered Too Much by everyone else. Edward likes energetic gremlins. They've always kept him young at heart. And, more importantly, they trust him so completely. Probably because they can tell he's one of the few who genuinely doesn't mind them at what everyone else considers their Most Annoying. He never tells them to hold still or quiet down or make themselves smaller in any way, so they are incredibly receptive to whatever he does tell them.

But what if you're Too Much and you are not eager? If you are not susceptible to admiring Edward's stellar work ethic? I think this is where Thomas shines. Like I think HIT abbreviated and simplified the conflicts with Dennis and Billy too much but it was such a gold mine. Because Thomas, see. You get these little sneaky rotters who don't want to listen to anyone—and at first Thomas seems like the most out-of-touch engine on the rails. Coz Thomas is a tryhard. He also has that whole "corporate positivity" thing going on. Like, the way I resolve the way TVS massacring my boy is by supposing that, after all, Thomas might have really tried to adopt that persona, especially in the '80s when he was inducted into the National Collection and the, well, television series got underway and Thomas becomes damn near the most famous locomotive in the world, certainly he knows he is an icon for children, and he might have figured that, well, this means I have to be a Good Role Model and Teach Children Valuable Lessons. And so he really did try to do this whole pep-talk, moralizing, sugary sweet encouragement thing (and he has a Word of the Day calendar, lol).

And the Dennises and Billies of the world look at that and—understandably, I think—retch a little. But then they double down. And the thing is, when they push Thomas too far, Thomas forgets to be sweetness and light, and just becomes himself. First of all, a foul-mouthed little drill-sergeant wannabe ("Cinders and ashes!!!!" "Who's been late every afternoon this week?!" "You're too fat—you need exercise!" "IF YOU DIE? IF YOU DIE, MOTHERFUCKER? SO WHAT?! I WOULDN'T GIVE A SHIT COZ I'D BE TOO BUSY FINALLY RUNNING MY GODDAMN TRAIN TO TIME." - all direct quotes from Thomas the Tank Engine, ladies and gents) Secondly, an extremely experienced engine who really has done a bit of everything by this point (he even hitched a ride on the Wild Nor'wester that one time, lol) and who is pretty skeptical so he's hard to fool (Percy was the last engine to really ever get one over on him, during the Ghost Train incident, and that's ancient history by this point). If you try to get away with doing a shitty job he's bound to notice and he will be quite acid-tongued if you've pierced his PR Persona. Third, although he can be kinda self-involved and the last to "get" what's going on with newcomers, he is surrounded by his old friends, who are all pretty good about either clocking an engine's whole Deal, getting all the tea like the gossips they are, or both. So while he was still in his amiable-idiot stage of your acquaintance, you, poor rebellious fool, thought you had the run of things but all the while he was getting up to speed on your whole deal. Which means you won't be prepared, should you really commit to ongoing antisocial behavior, for Thomas the Beacon of Children Everywhere to abruptly cast up your entire life story to you and to read it for filth, telling you the merciless truth about yourself in a way that the other engines pieced together but with which they probably never hit you deadass between the eyes.

Of course, this doesn't mean the would-be punks and malcontents who get onto Sodor are instantly cured, lol (though it has gone down that way a few times—my alternate version of Billy's intro story would feature an end where he's just gobsmacked into submission). Sometimes it just means you are going to decide Thomas is your Hated Enemy for Life, but you know what? You will have to step up your game in order to compete with him or even to gain enough clout to try and sabotage him so you're still playing into his hand (if we accept TVS's idea that 'Devious Diesel' did become a part of the Sodor family, I think this is how he was successfully integrated. At some point Thomas unexpectedly read him the riot act and Diesel was like 'who the FUCK are you?? like i know i already had beef with all the main line engines but where the hell did YOU come from???' but then after decades of competition they are essentially frenemies). But mostly the thing is, you are shell-shocked for just long enough, and you'd probably shift to being a bigger asshole than before... but, during that period where you're still burned, you are also looking at all of Sodor and every engine on it with fresh eyes (because if Thomas the Merchandise Engine could ream you out like that, perhaps you underestimated everything about this place). And you are noticing something else. Once Thomas has scalded you with his bitchery, he's also your friend. It's almost his version of sharing his lunch with you on the playground. (Something something salt and vinegar.) For all he rode Henry so hard from some of the earliest days of canon, I bet you he also beat down any 'outsiders' who took shots at him. For all he and Percy squabble, they are the closest of friends (and they weren't! for decades! but the more they squabbled, the closer they got). Getting into a knock-down fistfight is alarmingly close to Thomas's love language, and by the time he's savaged you verbally he is also invested in you. Once he's told you what he really thinks of you, he's also going to start showing up for you genuinely.

And that's when the little shits see the final side of Thomas. The genuine good humor. Obviously it doesn't win over everyone but there is a real groundedness and humility that I am sure Thomas can show (I tried to show this in the fic I made with @shinygoku based off their artwork of Thomas and Daisy) that is hard to resist. He's also fucked up along the way in every way imaginable so even when he side-eyes you, he's not looking down at you. I can just see him showing screw-ups a lot of grace so long as they let down their guard even somewhat because he's been there. Hoo boy, has he been there. That's why kids actually love him (it's not your vocabulary lessons and beaming smile, Thom, though the effort is appreciated), and it's why young engines can wind up loving him too. He doesn't hold what you've done in the past against you; he genuinely believes in second chances (and third, and...). Plus he knows every engine needs some excitement and responsibility in their lives. He has never forgotten the insanity-inducing frustration of being tethered to Vicarstown station.

Basically, once you cut past Thomas's earnest (and bullshit) attempt to be Perfect Kids' Role Model, he's actually always been great at keeping it real. And that's where a genuine respect can often grow.

43 notes - Posted December 14, 2022

#2

us, for ages now: lol ishmael was so gay and autistic, he woulda done numbers on tumblr

ishmael in the year of our lord 2022: doing numbers on tumblr

182 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

the absolute contrast between most of the dracula daily content and mina's entries...

renfield and seward: stuck with each other (we're sposed to feel sorry for seward i think? but renfield is just vibing in a damn lunatic asylum and seward is a self-important jackass, so, you know. fuck him. i hope renfield feeds his corpse to some flies.)

captain of the demeter: his men are disappearing and he's facing imminent mutiny

jonathan harker: literally battling the forces of hell for his life and soul

mina: ahhhhh holidaying at the yorkish seaside is so pleasant! 😊 the scenery fulfills the soul! 😊 i tried to get one of the old locals to tell me a spooky story but he preferred to go home for tea haha, so quaint

also mina: i met my darling lucy at the station 😊😊😊 and let me just tell you, diary, that girl of mine looking fine af

594 notes - Posted July 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[allkinds-oftrash]

@jobey-wan-kenobi Can I just say I LOVED waking up to your comments on my The Crown posts!! It's been a hectic day so just give me some time to reply ☺

I am so glad you enjoyed the reactions and thanks for reading and commenting - really made my day!!

Anyone else interested in reading my unhinged reactions to S5 of the Crown, can find it here

[ezekielbhandarivalleros]

hi!

Here it is.....

Here we go, Through the waterfall 

Everytime I Scratch My Butt, I create a new One

Who do you call when the chips are down?

I'm at the supermarket, gonna cop some rhubarb

Nobody move, there's blood on the floor

[academicgangster]

bringing you roses because of all us tryhards on tumblr you OWN the art of 'make a mediocre post incredible by tagging it with a character.'

apparently effortless. often spectacular. always magnificent. #Cain2022

💐💐💐

[weirdowithaquill]

WIP Game:

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS. (... I do not know this many people)

Thank you @jobey-wan-kenobi for tagging me in - here's my best attempt to categorise the various inane WIP pieces I have floating about. Oh, and cause I'm a multi-fandom writer, the fandom is at the end of the title.

Edit: Alright, so now I'm sort of using this as a check-off list for things I've written. Things people ask about generally get more progress done on them - so ask about what you want to read!

1: Jinty, Pug and the Ffarquhar Branch Engines (RWS) 2: Bowler the Redeemed Engine (RWS) 3: Arry the Churlish Engine (RWS) 4: Murdoch the Mighty Engine (RWS) 5: Seaside Engines (RWS) 6: Duncan the Disagreeable Engine (RWS) 7: Sir Topham Hatt and his Engines (RWS) 8: Ivo Hugh the Young Engine (RWS) 9: Arthur the Midland Engine (RWS) 10: Mixed-Traffic Engines (RWS) 11: Mid Sodor Engines (RWS) 12: The Caledonian Twin Engines (RWS) 13: Very Important Engines (RWS) 14: Silent Engine Bert Again (RWS) 15: Duke's and Duchess' Engines (RWS) 16: The 2004 Special: The World-Famous Engine (RWS) 17: Edward; a Requiem in Steam (RWS) 18: Mavis the Quarry Engine (RWS) 19: History of the Sodor Highland Railway (RWS) 20: The Island Song (RWS) 21: Five American Engines (RWS) 22: TATMR Horror Story (RWS) 23: The Reject Railway (RWS) 24: Tales From the Other Railway (RWS) 25: Tidmouth Train to Hell (RWS) 26: RWS/World Trigger Crossover (RWS, World Trigger)

27: Hyuse & The Iron Horse (World Trigger) 28: Crash-Course in Meeden (World Trigger)

29: In Orwell's World (Voltron) 30: Comfort Food (Voltron) 31: Pidge & Dr Strangelove (Voltron) 32: Keith and the Wolf (Voltron) 33: Grandma McClain and Adam Join the Voltron Crew (Voltron) 34: Planet Obscure (Voltron)

35: TDWT Rewrite (Total Drama) 36: Total Drama Grand Tour (Total Drama) 37: Pull Your Weight (Total Drama) 38: X-Treme Torture Rewrite (Total Drama) 39: A Night To Remember (Total Drama) 40: In the Hold (Total Drama) 41: Total Drama King Lear AU (Total Drama)

42: BirdFlash story (DC) 43: Jingle Bells, Nightwing Noel (DC) 44: Red Hood Reading Club (DC) 45: WikiHow Does Not Have An Article For That! (DC) 46: Manor on the Hill (DC) 47: Swear Jar (DC)

48: Malevolent Spirit (Saiki K) 49: When You Fall, I Will Pick You Up (Saiki K) 50: Dark Reunion's Anti-Love Ray (Saiki K) 51: Rome (Saiki K) 52: How to Win Over Saiki K, or a Rhapsody of a Man Not in Love (Saiki K) 53: Saiki K Europe Trip (Saiki K) 54: Kusuo's Christmas (Saiki K)

55: Jinrao (Naruto) 56: Obito, Father of the Jinchuuriki (Naruto) 57: Akatsuki Parents (Naruto) 58: Naruto & Nazis (Naruto) 59: Sakura Out-trains Everyone (Naruto) 60: Dogs Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 61: Refuelling Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 62: Work Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 63: Barbeques Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 64: Snorkelling Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 65: Adoption Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 66: Children Shouldn't Be This Hard! (Naruto) 67: KakaObi Regency Story Part 2 (Naruto) 68: Sasuke/Naruto Story (Naruto) 69: The Club (Naruto) 70: Atomic (Naruto) 71: Only Love Can Hurt Like This (Naruto) 72: The Railwayman AU (Naruto) 73: The Hidan Story (Naruto) 74: School Shenanigans (Naruto)

75: Just Ask Him Out Already! (Assassination Classroom) 76: AssClass Yearbook (Assassination Classroom) 77: The Theoretical Sequel to 'The Informant' (Assassination Classroom) 78: Lost in the Night (Assassination Classroom)

79: Britain in the AtLA World (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 80: Picture of Sokka of the Water Tribe (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 81: Night at the Fire Temple (Avatar; The Last Airbender) 82: Fast Car (Avatar; The Last Airbender)

83: Stay Away From Minnemeny Island (One Piece) 84: Kaoru and the German (Ouran High School Host Club) 85: Romantic Killer AU (Romantic Killer)

86: The White Elephant *The Sherlockverse* (Various)

Right... so that took way longer than expected. Originally, it all seemed fine - I have most of my things in a single, neat folder. And then I remembered I have a Microsoft Account... and a WordPad full of old fics... and several workbooks with their own things in them. I think I'm still missing one workbook, all truth be told!

@lswro2-222 @predawnrex04 and that's all the people I know who aren't @jobey-wan-kenobi

Edit 2: When I get down to like... 60 or something WIPs on here, I'm going to overhaul the list to take them off and put up the new ones. Until then, remember to ask about the WIPs you're most interested in!