Lima Heights Adjacent

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Thu, 23 May 2013 14:29:44 -0600

Something I've been wondering from the start of TKTD, and maybe this will be addressed by the end and this ask will be unnecessary, but a physician like Dr. Lopez would be reasonably wealthy, right? Being able to provide the bachelor cottage and an education for Santana leads me to believe so. So what happened to his money when he died? Was he unable to recognize Santana in his will? Did the circumstances of his death create legal troubles? It seems like everything was lost when he died.

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:46:00 -0600

Hey!

So Santana mentions briefly when she first meets Brittany that her father tried to “make provisions for [her]” before he died (see here), but in so doing she implies that he was unable to carry out his intentions, which is why she ended up with nothing.

You’re right that Dr. “Lucas” was wealthy and well-respected by other men of his class, so he did have plenty of assets. Santana suspects that she didn’t inherit these assets both due to her race and because she was technically her father’s illegitimate child, and she’s mostly right—though there’s more to the story than she knows.

(Santana isn’t even sure of her father’s cause of death, really.)

I’ve been mulling writing a one-shot piece told from Santana’s father’s perspective once I finish TKTD. This story would explain the circumstances surrounding his death, as well as why Santana didn’t stand to inherit anything from her father, though he tried his best to ensure that she would be cared for in the event of his passing.

Is that piece something that y’all might be interested in reading? If not, I can always post just a usual headcanon about Dr. Lucas. Otherwise, I’ll hold off on answering your question until I write the story, if that’s all right. Let me know what you’d prefer in the replies!

EDIT: I think I’ll write the one-shot, then. Once I finish up TKTD proper, of course. Thanks, y’all!

This may be a weird question. I was just wondering because it is almost never mentioned in any kind of fiction. Do Brittany and Santana (already?) have their periods in TKTD? Because I'd imagine that to be more unpleasant than nowadays.

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:25:00 -0600

Hey, E.!

So I actually ended up talking a lot about this topic. Jabbering under the cut!

_____________________

Dealing with menstruation in the nineteenth century was indeed an unpleasant affair.

Early in the century, when Santana’s grandmother was young, the received wisdom was that it was simply best to bleed into one’s clothing and that if one changed her undergarments while she was menstruating, she would either block bleeding or cause herself to bleed more intensely.

For this reason, women tended to simply wear the same clothing and bleed into it while they were on their periods. As many women at this time did not actually wear underwear—just underskirts—this practice would involve them having blood running down their legs and getting in their petticoats.

Luckily for Santana, by the 1870s—i.e., the time when she was born—commercial menstruation pads became widely available. These pads were held in place first with suspenders and later with belts (see here).

In the 1890s, when our story takes place, disposable pads were commercially available, but few people used them. Instead, most women used washable cloth or knit pads, an invention that has recently come back into widespread use thanks to the Go Green Movement (see here).

Though women of the upper and middle classes almost universally used pads by the 1890s, women of the lower classes or who lived in rural areas sometimes still just bled into their clothing. However, the nineteenth century medical community advocated against this practice, as by this point in history they had realized that it was unsanitary to wear blood-soaked clothing for an extended period of time.

It is worth noting that, in the nineteenth century, women tended to start menstruating later in life than women nowadays do. Whereas many twenty-first century girls get their periods between the ages of eleven and thirteen, with some girls starting their periods as young as age eight, in the late nineteenth century, girls tended to get their periods between the ages of fifteen and twenty.

Nineteenth century girls also menstruated differently than “modern” girls do. Whereas many modern girls have a regular monthly period, nineteenth century girls would often have erratic periods and would sometimes go months at a time without menstruating.

Historians and historical biologists theorize that many factors play a role in the way menstruation has changed over time, including fluctuations in nutrition, life expectancy, and even basic body composition (i.e., body fat distribution).

As per the usual for their times, Santana didn’t actually start her period until she was about seventeen years old (i.e., two years before the story takes place). Brittany, who lives an “itinerant lifestyle,” which affects her nutrition, and has an “athletic build” and high degree of physical activeness, which are two more factors that can affect amenhorrhea, didn’t start her period until she was almost nineteen years old.

~~As a point of interest (maybe), Rachel still doesn’t have her period and she’ll be twenty years old in December 1898.~~

Santana menstruates fairly regularly—i.e., every month and a half or two months or so, which is pretty usual for a girl of her age in her time period—whereas Brittany has an erratic period and sometimes goes months without menstruating. When Brittany does get her period, it’s oftentimes very painful; she has hella bad cramps. Mrs. Evans usually tends to her while she’s hurting. To date, Brittany has only had about three periods before in her life, prior to the start of the story.

Though I would have liked to include some discussion of how women approached menstruation in TKTD (and actually thought about the topic a lot as I was planning out the story), I specifically chose not to have either Santana or Brittany get her period during the two week period when the story takes place just because either one or both of them having their periods would have limited the ways in which I could write their romance.

Not that you asked, but I also chose not to include anything about how or where folks at the circus go to the toilet, as I decided that, though the history of how human beings deal with their bodily functions is interesting in itself and relevant to the human condition, including those specific details would not advance the story.

At the bachelor cottage, Santana wore washable pads upheld by a menstrual belt while she was on her period. She has those pads in her valise, but hasn’t had need to use them so far in her travels.

You’ll note that Brittany doesn’t actually wear underpants in TKTD; when she is clothed in her tatty blue dress, her only undergarment is a simple chemise (i.e., a short cloth dress or tunic).

~~With her show costume, she wears white hose to cover her legs.~~

Since Brittany doesn’t wear underpants, she uses the “more economical” rag-on-strings menstrual device (see here), if she uses any device at all. When she is in too much pain to move around, she’ll sometimes just lie in bed with a towel between her legs, though Rachel complains that such a practice is unsanitary.

Living in such close quarters, most of the menstruating women at the circus are on something of the same cycle, so when Brittany does menstruate, she tends to do so at the same time as the kitchen girls, seamstresses, Equestrienne Coterie, Ma Jones, Theresa Schuester, Mrs. Evans, and the rest. Should Santana remain at the circus for an extended period of time, she may find that her cycle shifts to match those of the other circus women, as well.

Hard as it may be to believe, it was only in the 1830s that doctors and scientists first realized that menstruation and ovulation were linked. Prior to that time, doctors and scientists—all men, of course—tended to believe that menstruation was a release of “unnecessary blood” meant to “cool down” a woman’s natural hysterical state.

Throughout the nineteenth century, male-dominated Western society continued to pathologize menstruation as a form of illness (see here). Due to the fact that menstruation was linked to reproduction, it was a very taboo topic; oftentimes, menstruation devices were not publicly advertised and menstruation itself was not discussed “aloud” at all. Women tended to learn about menstruation from their mothers at the time when they started menstruating—or in Santana’s case, from her grandmother, and in Brittany’s case, from Mrs. Evans.

Since women did not discuss menstruation openly, it tended to be something that was euphemized.

You’ll note that in Chapters Six and Seven of TKTD, a lot of people talk about Santana “not feeling well,” but no one ever asks Santana to specify what exactly ails her.

Well, the circus folk don’t ask Santana what’s wrong not necessarily because they’re rude and don’t care but because about half of them believe that Santana is likely pregnant—because why else would Puck, a habitual cad-about-town, marry some “yeller gillie girl” and bring her back to the circus with him unless he had “gotten her in a family way,” right?—and the other half of them suppose that Santana is probably experiencing some sort of menstrual pain or nausea.

Since it would be impolite or even vulgar to ask about Santana’s condition in either case, no one does so.

Anyway, I think I’ve jabbered enough.

Thanks for the question!

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Wed, 22 May 2013 20:32:47 -0600

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Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:26 -0600

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Tue, 21 May 2013 12:01:02 -0600

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Mon, 20 May 2013 18:11:03 -0600

Your partners will be chosen by fate.

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:05:22 -0600

Your partners will be chosen by fate.

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Mon, 20 May 2013 11:39:22 -0600

"I would love to have them introduce a time machine and reveal that Sugar was a visitor from the..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:12:06 -0600

““I would love to have them introduce a time machine and reveal that Sugar was a visitor from the future.””

- Vanessa Lengies (hopes she’ll be able to give Sugar a proper send-off next fall)

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Sun, 19 May 2013 13:55:02 -0600

Wherever the Dandelion Falls Chapter 2: Casing

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:21:16 -0600

Wherever the Dandelion Falls Chapter 2: Casing:

lingeringlilies:

Author: Lingering Lilies

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: M

Total Word Count: ~20k

Summary: Like a rope that has come untwisted, there are three strands of Brittany Pierce’s life. How could a simple interaction between two people be the difference between becoming a bartender, a lab assistant, and a sex worker? Maybe random events determine our destiny; maybe they don’t.

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Sat, 18 May 2013 14:24:28 -0600

asdotnet: something I threw together *** The Knife Thrower’s...

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:07:22 -0600

asdotnet:

something I threw together

***

The Knife Thrower’s Daughter by themostrandomfandom

“In the summer of 1898, Santana Lopez joined the J.P. Adams & Son Traveling Circus & Menagerie as it toured the states of the Upper American Midwest. She also fell in love with the knife thrower’s daughter.”

This one's for the girls

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:54:04 -0600

This one's for the girls

msfire: i’m jus sayin

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:43:09 -0600

msfire:

i’m jus sayin

A Beta's Companion to "The Knife Thrower's Daughter", Chapter 13, 'Birthday Girl'

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:02:49 -0600

doctoruth:

A while ago, I wrote an essay in my Sexy Analysis series about the love scene in JJ’s “The Knife Thrower’s Daughter”. I have long hoped to write another essay about the later parts of the story, at the point of its completion. I still hope to do so, but time is sometimes not compliant and, regardless of whether I do write a more structured essay in the future, I thought it might be of interest to provide a form of commentary on the latest chapter.

I’ve been lucky enough to have the honor of guest beta-ing for JJ for the past few chapters while Han has been kicking ass with her PhD completion, and, with JJ’s kind consent, the following is a different kind of analysis — one which provides some snippets of what happens between writer and beta, and then elaborates on them in a more critical commentary.

Please Note: Under the cut are spoilers for the entirety of TKTD, up to the end of Chapter 13; if you haven’t read the chapter yet, please be aware that I talk about the whole of it, and from the very beginning of this commentary.

Read More

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Thu, 16 May 2013 11:16:27 -0600

Fic: The Knife Thrower's Daughter: Chapter Thirteen: "Birthday Girl"

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:06:00 -0600

Fic: The Knife Thrower's Daughter: Chapter Thirteen: "Birthday Girl":

Thank you all for your patience in waiting for the new chapter. We’re getting down to the final leg of our journey with this story. After this, we have two more chapters plus an epilogue to go. Thank you for reading, reviewing, asking questions about, and making beautiful art for my story. Y’all are the best! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Pairing: Brittana

Rating: M

Word Count: ~36,000

Part: 13/15

Summary: “Not for the first time in her life, Santana wishes she could believe in one good thing. She can’t ask the devil on her shoulder to save Brittany because it doesn’t seem right to do so, so instead she just whispers to anything that will hear her.”

Author’s Note: I feel extraordinarily lucky to get to work with not one but two brilliant betas and an amazing Spanish translator. A thousand-million thank yous to Han for knowing the rules of my story so amazingly well and for going above and beyond the call of beta duty. A thousand-million thank yous to the wonderful Dr. Ruth for being so incredibly insightful and for being such a good reader. She does so much and helps me to up my game in ways I can’t even explain. A thousand-million thank yous to the fantastic Lu for translating for me. She always makes sure I say what I mean with the Spanish. Also, I dedicate this chapter to Alice. Happy belated birthday, bb!

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Wed, 15 May 2013 10:29:00 -0600

Lima Heights Adjacent

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This may be a weird question. I was just wondering because it is almost never mentioned in any kind of fiction. Do Brittany and Santana (already?) have their periods in TKTD? Because I'd imagine that to be more unpleasant than nowadays.

Photo

Photo

Photo

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Your partners will be chosen by fate.

Photo

"I would love to have them introduce a time machine and ­reveal that Sugar was a visitor from the..."

Photo

Wherever the Dandelion Falls Chapter 2: Casing

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asdotnet: something I threw together *** The Knife Thrower’s...

This one's for the girls

msfire: i’m jus sayin

A Beta's Companion to "The Knife Thrower's Daughter", Chapter 13, 'Birthday Girl'

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Fic: The Knife Thrower's Daughter: Chapter Thirteen: "Birthday Girl"

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"I would love to have them introduce a time machine and reveal that Sugar was a visitor from the..."