#INCOMING HISTORIC RAMBLE

[usagi-milktea]

One thing I love about ikesen is that without it I would have never heard what the sengoku period was. Im so glad I’ve come across this game and come to b aware of this time period.

(Currently learning bout (irl) hideyoshi’s failed invasions of Korea- very interesting stuff!)

[yukinohiko]

Moon Orchid | Itoshi Rin

✧ A/N: My second (and a half) tribute to period pieces, and I enjoyed it every much as its preceding pieces in the regency verse I’m creating. It was really this idea that inspired the concept of expanding my Blue Lock fics within a mini regency universe. So I hope you enjoy as they fall into place in indulgent historical romances.

✧ Synopsis: Rin’s place in society as the second son of a Viscount has been one that he’s had to adapt to. With news of his older brother swirling around the ton, Rin only learns this fact when he, himself, is faced with a florist and a bouquet of damning flowers. Of course, the language of flowers is one you speak fluently — and one he cannot speak at all. But when you have luck (common peony) and luxury (orchid) in play, what could go wrong?

The second son. It isn’t a title that ever particularly bothered Rin most of his life. His elder brother, the scion, the heir to the family’s Viscount status and responsibilities, held that role handsomely.

But when his brother fails to return from his time abroad, sending home letters that bear Madrid’s seal and smell of peaches and carnations — well, Rin’s opinions change.

He doesn’t take the mantle easily or out of any real desire, either. He completed his studies in etiquette and decorum, in fencing and horseback riding, in Latin and financials. Not because he cares much for his estate’s affairs, or because he seeks his father’s approval or his mother’s admiration.

If anything, he does it to catch his brother’s. To force Sae, wherever he might be in Spain, to take note of Rin and his work here in London’s ton.

He’s blinded by his single-track pursuit of acknowledgement. He’s always been that way — something he’ll soon realize applies more to than just his ambition, but in matters of the heart, too.

He’s always been prone to impulse. As much as he pretends otherwise, masks his temper under a facade of composure that always came so easily to Sae, it fits uneasily on him. Like glass encasing magma.

When his mother is fussing at a florist shop one day, he stands aside, staring idly out the window. It wouldn’t have been proper for her to be dallying about unaccompanied, and his father was away on business. She had insisted on his companionship over the maids today, though he doesn’t particularly care to know why.

If he had asked, in hindsight, perhaps things would not have gone so awry.

As he drums his knuckles against the wooden paneling of the window, wondering idly if the clouds outside were hinting at an incoming storm, he faintly hears his mother’s voice rambling on to the florist.

“Yes, I’m very excited,” she says, “he hasn’t been home in oh, so long. Why, I dare say it’s been four years? Perhaps five.”

Who the devil is she talking about? Rin wonders. Father’s never left home, and Rin feels as though he was constantly visiting home even during his university days.

“It’ll be a well-awaited day in the ton, then,” another voice replies.

Warm, amiable. He turns slightly, out of bored interest, and sees you. The florist, tending to his mother with an easy smile as you compose her flower arrangements.

��Indeed, indeed,” his mother goes on. “I imagine the young ladies of the court will be vying for his attention.”

“Perhaps roses to celebrate the occasion?” You offer her red roses, twirl a few pink. “Or orchids?”

Rin can admire your cleverness, if nothing else. It’s clear you’re experienced in the ways of upselling your flower shop’s customers. Quick and pleasant, your cheeks dimpling with a smile as you hold up different flowers for his mother’s approval.

“Orchids have always been my Rin’s favourite,” his mother preens, finally looking back at him.

He holds back a recoil, tensing only slightly as she plucks and smooths the lapel of his shirt and fusses with his coat.

“It’s fine, mother.”

“Oh, of course, darling. But orchids have always been your preference.”

He withholds a sigh, looking away. “I don’t particularly have any preference when it comes to flowers.”

“No?” He shifts his gaze at the voice. Not his mother — you. There’s something almost impish about your expression, eyes bright and sly. “Surely, sir, you can tell the difference between the common peony and a well-bred moon orchid.”

You hold up the flowers, as though to prove your point. He stares. Perhaps, if it were Sae, he’d be able to tell the difference more calculatingly. If it were Sae, he’d coolly note that the coral blush of the peony petals were abrasive and an eye sore compared to the silky white of the orchid. If it were Sae, he’d stroke the blossoms’ leaves and stems and be able to tell which had been grown in common soil and which had been cultivated in prestigious gardens.

But Rin is not Sae. And he never has been. The common peony looks no different to him from the moon orchid. If they were planted together, re-rooted into the same pot, housed in the same home, they would look fine together.

He meets your gaze, winter eyes like the tundra frozen over. “They look no different to me.”

You pause. Look from him to your flowers, then back to him. At his fine, dark hair, glossy in the faint sunlight coming in through the window. The clouds are coming in outside, though in the brief break of light, he appears almost angelic. Pale and dark in equal terms. His tailored clothes, fitted like a scion. Aloof, though you catch the trace of something more.

“I see,” you say softly, perhaps misreading his words. But in a florist’s humble attire, your dress marred with plant trimmings and fertilizer, your hands scratched with thorns and briars, the difference between you both has never been clearer.

Despite that, there is a clearness in his gaze that tells you he is assessing you on your words alone. Your actions and little else.

Before you can say anything more, his mother says cheerily, “But the occasion calls for carnations! Peonies and orchids will have to wait, I fear.”

“Carnations?” Rin furrows his brows, finally looking to his mother. “Why carnations?”

Something about them rings a bell. Something about them makes him care more about flowers than he normally would.

“Why, dear, you simply never listen to me,” she scolds, “I’ve been telling this young woman since we arrived at the shop. I received the letter just earlier today, it’s why your father is so busy with preparations and couldn’t accompany me here himself.”

“It must’ve slipped my mind,” Rin mutters.

“Oh, dear, you really should be more attentive —”

“Why carnations?” he presses impatiently.

His mother looks vaguely fussed about his tone, though it isn’t her who finally answers. It’s you, wrapping up the bouquet of bright red carnations in a white ribbon and handing them to him.

Outside, there’s a roll of thunder.

You say, with an innocent smile while dealing words that send an arrow through his heart, “Your brother is returning to the ton, my lord. Congratulations.”

He accepts the flowers on instinct. His brain feels as though it’s lost the capacity to process. Your hands brush his, and he reacts on reflex. On impulse alone, as he’s always been prone to.

Your warm fingers against his own cool ones. He feels every print as vividly as a petal on his lips.

Lightning flashes across the sky.

[kohiandie]

hi your lifestyle?? is literally so inspiring can i ask like. how did y'all do all that...

ok but more specifically i guess how long did it take you to work/get the funds to 1. buy a house(?) rescue space? and upkeep everything?

sorry if this is a repeat question you get a lot!

asgkdlhadsg this is incredibly sweet thank you TT to be totally honest with you, we're still figuring stuff out on the daily / weekly / monthly! we've been individually self-employed & selling at cons for over ten years now & being partners has exponentially made things easier alongside having (somewhat?) supportive parents. i don't think either of us could grow to the level we're at now and handle everything we're handling on our own! we would definitely need an employee or something, LOL. we feel so lucky to have been able to find each other, since so many of the things we love are aligned -- conventions / artist alley / making merch / media we like & how we consume it, rescue, etc.! UHHH THIS CAME OUT a way longer response than i meant it to so more below the cut

even now, i wouldn't say we're at a place where we're 100%. this past year we've been able to make huge strides in paying off debt that we accrued through covid & originally moving into this house -- our credit scores are finally starting to recover. as for the house itself, we were living together with jasmin's family for a while & just using the money we made to remodel different parts of the house bit by bit because it was really falling apart -- we cleaned and gutted so much of it, haha. our merch barely fit. summers were dreadful without central ac in the office. but we had our own little place and her family was okay with us fostering. it let us get our foot in the door, volunteering with different rescues, learning more about TNR, and saving lives in our area. we learned a lot and ultimately, that's kind of how it still is, even if we've upgraded these days. my (andie) parent's were sent to work in europe but weren't ready to sell their current house, so they basically gave it to us to live in as property managers here in tx. we would take care of the house, pay a smaller portion of the mortgage, & move out when they came back. texas is a lot more affordable, especially our city, and we're both really fond of san antonio, the people, the culture, food, etc. i lived here for a few years when i was younger, a few years before i moved in with jas, and jas used to fly back and forth to visit. it was already a second home, so it was kind of perfect. it's sort of the issue we're running into now, haha. my parents will be moving back this summer & we need to find a place since we now have so many fosters & the rescue / our home & business has grown so much. we can't stay in an apartment, but don't have enough to get our dream house yet, so the biggest likelihood is that we'll get a place we aren't too attached to and work to getting our dream place. or maybe buy this off my parents? there are so many messy options atm, sorry for rambling LOL for ex: this house is historic, property taxes have jumped up the last few years, but we might be able to get exempt because of the non-profit. because my family isn't actually planning to retire here long term, there might be an opportunity to keep this place, because the home we have now is soooo not affordable to purchase anymore (but was, years ago) we'd love to keep it, tbh. our income is definitely more than it ever has been, but it's still 'average' i'd say, split between two people and the rescue. we've been really lucky with the circumstances we've been given & not everything's perfect but!! we're still figuring stuff out every day HAHA. constantly thinking about the long term even though things are always changing as for upkeep, man............ with the fosters, it's basically like running a zoo, haha. we're in a constant routine of buying / getting huge amounts of litter, food, etc. transporting cats, traps, medicating anyone who needs it, cleaning poop, pee, vomit. taking care of babies, not sleeping because they gotta eat every few hours or there's a health scare / emergency. handling people in our community who reach out to us for help.

most of the staff at our humane society & veterinarian are pretty familiar with us because of how often we go.

being a team of two makes a world of a difference -- ex. jas doesn't like putting away dishes, so she washes & i put them away. when a kitty is sick, she stays home & i go to con. we worked nearly 20 cons a year for several years together. handling manufacturers, new products, different store fronts, emails, taxes, socials, loss. new ideas! we always talk through disagreements because we're in this together. it's not just about us either, it's about the cats, the rescue, the community, etc. jas is way better at talking to people in person than i am while i tend to handle all the online / email stuff. we've just really learned how we fit together over the years and we're always improving or making mistakes and learning. SO TLDR; LOTS OF TIME, EXPERIENCE, MISTAKES, TRAVEL, TALKING TO PEOPLE, LEARNING, EXPLORING NEW THINGS, DECIDING WHAT WE LIKE / DON'T LIKE, TALKING, BOUNCING IDEAS. nothing happens overnight and ofc there are always those times where we sit and just kind of mourn that we aren't exactly where we want to be, but like?? it's abt the process. the goals. there are joys every step of the way and obstacles, ofc, but! nothing happens overnight and breaking things into steps / small accomplishments really helps you enjoy the more i think!

idk I'm sorry LOL this journey is still ongoing and has had so much pain and tears along the way but also lots of positives & happy moments.

[problematic-president]

Watching I Made America after having recently seen Hamilton live in west end.....i have incoherent Thoughts (incoming rambling)

In so many ways Hamilton could be considered the perfect musical but a TERRIBLY flawed historical adaptation. Meanwhile IMA has the opposite problem, it's not as flashy or polished as Hamilton but i think it works better as a historical adaptation. Right now for me this discrepancy is....quite hard to explain. I have a Hamilton analysis in the works (no idea when, or whether i'll get it finished). Maybe Hamilton was too ambitious, maybe the sillier concept of IMA made it inherently easier for the writers to adapt the historical aspects, maybe it's that Hamilton had a set of ideals it was trying to push which directly contradicted its purpose of existing in the first place (not elaborating on that but if you know YOU KNOW). Idk man.

But something about IMA felt different. Something about Alexander Hamilton's rant in the episode People Hate Bastards really struck a chord with me and made me understand the man better than Hamilton the musical ever could, even though the latter literally covers his entire life story. It's truly fascinating.

Funnily enough i've observed historical adaptations that "try less" to be faithful end up being better at adapting the source material. Classic example of this is Blood Bloody Andrew Jackson. Historical accuracy is NON EXISTENT in that musical but look at that!!! It provides a hard hitting depiction of Andrew Jackson which both perfectly shows how much of a POS he was while also getting the audience to care about him!!!!! It's crazy to me!!!!!

Honestly this is such a fascinating recent social phenomenon and i think it should be studied more

[onyourleftpunk]

Pre-Serum Steve Rogers Part 1/?

My biggest “beef” with Marvel comic writers is that no one can agree on an “official” canon for Steve Rogers, pre-serum. On the official Marvel Comics Wikipedia page, they don’t confirm any illnesses, etc. that Steve previously suffered from. For example, it states, “Rogers grew up a frail youth during the Great Depression in New York City, New York. Little else is known about Rogers' early life other than the fact that a strong sense of duty, honor, and humility was instilled in him; perhaps due to his Irish Protestant Christian upbringing.” Now keep in mind, this Wikipedia page is only for the 616 canon universe, so any other universe could be a different story. However, it is confirmed with other fans that, it is VERY hard to confirm what “canonical” ailments Steve Rogers had. Yet, as someone who got their undergrad and graduate degree(s) in Historical studies, I would like to ramble a bit.

First of all, his historical setting. As most kids who grew up in American K-12 public schools, you learn the basics about the Great Depression. It was extremely hard times with limited income, resources were scare, technically we were at war (that’s a whole other can of worms to open up as historians), and the economy was downright awful. While, yes, I do count these as truths, they don’t cover the real environment that many city, specifically New York City, folk were living through. Now, keep in mind, yes the photographs of immigrants cramming into a box size apartment to live were true. (Highly recommend looking into the photographers because good Lordy those photos are so hard to look at yet so important for historical documentation) But, the key element that people miss, mostly Hollywood, in all renditions of the Great Depression, is that disease was RAMPANT! Imagine, there are 8-10 people per small box apartment. Indoor plumbing was NOT wildly accessible, if at all. So it smelled downright PITIFUL in the cities. This includes running water. It was very limited to certain parts or even buildings within the city itself. So, you were the very lucky few how got, not JUST water, but “clean” water. Now add all of this on top of the fact that vaccines were “just coming” to the U.S. Vaccines WERE a thing at this time, yet, the actual science behind them was quite lacking. Keep in mind, we’re in this era where if you were even slightly different from “the common Joe” the law enforcement could arrest and transport you to a mental institution. Essentially, as I sum it up to my students, we are barely making progress on health and science. The public knew soap and water equals less germs, thus less disease or sickness. And, believe it or not, the public knew that masking would help keep themselves safe from preventable sicknesses such as the flu. Yes, canonically, Steve Rogers lived through the Spanish flu and is totally aware that masking and staying away from one another helps prevent the spread of an illness such as the flu. (Take that haters!)

[adam-whiteley]

i feel bad. i pick up a book. i misread напутствие (valediction (in context)) as действие (doing, deed). i start thinking about the word.

aaaa somewhat linguistic ramblings with russian words incoming

we have special questions to refer to perfective and imperfective verbs (что сделать? что делать?), to adjectives (какой? with its variations), to nouns (кто? что?). so i thought, how good that'd be if we had a special question for specifically -ствие nouns.

this suffix, -ствиj-, often conveys the specific meaning, which is the result of an action named with the verb that the word is made from. so why not use the question какое действие? to refer to those words? it even has the same root as что делать? how convenient that would be for everyone to use that question!

and then i think for like a second and

-ствие words have different meanings and

действие and делать have different roots and

some words with -ствиj- aren't even verb-motivated

my brain suggests me the word спокойствие (calmness) and i cannot find the necessary verb. the word спокоить does not exist. and i highly doubt we have the verb покоить, though i am not sure in that either.

and then i think about what root the word действие does have and which word it does come from. and i remember that it too, at the moment, cannot come from the word деять (it is like... do. in an elevated style). because we do not have that word anymore. and what root the word действие has then?

luckily Tihonov is here to help me! what do we have in the dictionary?

ah. so you're saying that действие comes from the word that has historically been made from the word действие. okay cool 👍

now i am not reading the book i have been reading i am looking for деять.

ok. so. it still exists and there are words made from it. cool. but not действие? cool

i hate when synchronic and diachronic analysis come together in my head to make me feel even worse.

why did it happen? i don't know. what did it teach me? nothing. i can't read words, apparently.

[outofangband]

Rambling thoughts about the public nature of Aerin’s ordeal in The Children of Húrin versus the private, hidden nature of her ordeal in BoLT and then I started rambling about other things

cw: abuse, forced marriage, etc

Also it’s six am and I got up an hour ago for work so this might not be entirely coherent

in the Narn Aerin’s suffering is public and there’s another element of anguish and shame there.

She is taken as the wife of the incomer who has declared himself lord of Dor-Lómin (though fittingly, poignantly, Brodda himself is the only to declare that there is no lady of Dor-lómin…)

Everyone knows who Brodda is and why he’s chosen Aerin and her position as his wife might be understood to be unwilling by her people and even by his but it’s still understood. then at the same time there are those who call her lucky…that line that she was taken as a wife and not a slave (though let’s be honest…Brodda’s distinction between the two is dubious at BEST, I actually have another post I’m working on about marriage in Tolkien and how his views of it are different…and similar to both other male characters and historical beliefs). Honestly, by “a wife and not a slave” I read that the primary difference is that Aerin is required more to act as though there is a meaningful difference, not that there is one. As the "wife" of a lord, she

Among both Hadorians and Incomers, views on Aerin's situation range from viewing her as a depressed wife to a prisoner of war; the latter is in my opinion closer to the truth. Aerin isn't a bride, she's a captive and the fact that her captor is forcing her into what he calls marriage is another way she's denied agency.

The nature of forced marriage is such that Aerin is chosen, against her will, to inhabit a role she has not asked for.

It’s not like the others are allowed to express their opinions or discontent but Aerin especially must sit beside Brodda, must act and appear how he wants.

And then as I talked about here there is the inherent trauma of how intimately she must know him, even just in ways to keep herself safe.

Aerin has slightly more mobility and maybe if Brodda is possessive enough or his men think he is then she might be spared the worst of abuse from others though frankly I don’t think he cares all that much and if anything happened, he’d punish Aerin, not whoever hurt her.

From what we get from Sador, her leadership among her people and her using this to feed and shelter some of them is largely unknown to Brodda whether because he doesn’t notice or he doesn’t care. It’s not necessarily something she’s been allowed.

And any ‘privileges’ she has aren’t meaningful. We know she was beaten for giving food to Morwen and that she might be hurt if she was caught talking to travelers. She doesn’t have any real freedom and even if she’s not subjected to manual labor like some of the slaves she’s not living comfortably. (This does not even get into the elements of sexual violence and reproductive abuse of course, I have another post about those elements here so I won’t go into that now. I think “took by force to be his wife” functions as a euphemism for rape and describes that Aerin is being forced to act in a social and personal role, defined by Brodda and re-enforced by everyone else. Does that make sense?)

We don’t see much of her actual interactions with Brodda but I’m always struck by his anger at Túrin for continuing to push Aerin to speak about Morwen. (Obviously) this is not because Aerin is uncomfortable and afraid, she is uncomfortable and afraid because of him, but because his perception of his ownership of her is so absolute that Túrin “gainsaying” Aerin when she repeats the narrative she thinks Brodda wants is viewed as an insult to him. He’s obviously angry about any of this being brought up, it’s very clear that he views Aerin’s aiding Morwen as another insult, another act of undermining his ownership of her (as I rambled a lot about on this post) and him and Aerin know as well as Túrin that she’s lying…there is no doubt in my mind that she would have been hurt very badly for this afterwards. But also her lie is of the narrative he wants and Túrin challenging it challenges him. Even as her terror is so palpable she is almost invisible in some ways to at least some of those at the table

(It’s also worth noting that Brodda wrongly states that Morwen was his thrall. He’s still very clearly angry that he never had the chance to enact violence against her but that’s for later…trust me I have a post on this too)

Also, was making a darker post about Aerin but while I was writing it I was just thinking about the ways Sador describes her. The almost reverence he has. I think there was some resentment and victim blaming from some of the other captives* I think for the most part people felt compassion for her and even respected her especially when she was able to do more to help the others. That’s what Sador seems to imply. And that’s so important to me!!! Aerin is genuinely loved by her people and they do not blame her for what Brodda does, to her or to them. They don’t seem to expect her to try and temper him. Sador describes Brodda as her husband ‘by need’ but other than that it’s understood that she’s a captive like they are. It sort of goes into my thoughts about Aerin’s kindness as defiance in the face of both personal and cultural violence

Also to be clear, Aerin deserves compassion and respect regardless of her ability to help her people. None of the victim blaming or just generally unfair sentiments she endured is fair. I talked about Aerin’s trying to help her people even at her own cost and their respect for her for this because I think it’s such a compelling and painful aspect of her character and story and I do think that it changed or at least influenced how she was viewed by her people, whether or not that’s fair. but yeah I love and respect Aerin so much I just wanted to be clear that even if there was nothing she could do for them she would still deserve to be viewed with compassion. I think I’ve primarily talked about the conflicts and blame she faced in my post about her extended family and in part of great was the company. It makes me very sad and I find the dynamics of environments of coercive control, whether occupied Hithlum or Angband, interesting to explore

Anyways I will make a follow up post about BoLT and this soon because the similarities and differences are fascinating.

[lunar-years]

Do you think Roy was the first partner Keeley ever had to ask to give her more space? Like. I know there was a lot going on there, because Roy was giving her a frankly unsustainable amount of his time if they were ever going to have friends and lives outside of each other. But I also think of how quickly she jumped to "are you leaving?" at the end of the episode and her stated abandonment issues and the fact that she could tell everyone else around them but still couldn't tell Roy--probably, again, because she was that terrified he'd leave her immediately for daring to request it.

I just think there's something super interesting in there about Keeley, and her inability to ask for something basic like space in a relationship, and the way that perhaps sheds some additional light on all her previous relationships, too. Like, we're meant to believe I think that Roy was her first truly serious adult relationship (and I do think Jamie fell into the gray space between casual and committed tbh, but that's another discussion), and everyone she dated before was just a litany young fit footballers who made for a good shag and had a lot of disposable income. But then, it also feels deliberate to have someone like Shandy come in as sort of the "stereotype" ~what Keeley could have been~ character and have her state she's already gotten married and divorced from a rich footballer. (plus, I'm pretty sure someone told me once a lot of irl young players get married very young).

So it just makes me think about Keeley deliberately picking relationships where 1) space was sort of built-in, because at the very least these footballers were going off to training and hanging with their mates and taking trips to away matches. 2) but she always has someone to keep her company when she wants it, because Keeley is definitely a serial monogamist who struggles I think very much with being single 3) she has enough security to think they won't leave her, because she knows she makes good arm candy and good fun and can play the part of a wag like no other. 4) she can break it off before it gets to the point of hasty marriage proposals (I think in the scene in jamie's kitchen it's sort of implied she's historically done most of the breaking up)

I know this has been super rambly with no clear point, lol, but I guess what I'm trying to say is I think the "you've got to leave before you get left" mentality is actually one she and Roy share. And I think she really might hate herself for needing space from Roy, because with him it's the first time she feels like she's sort of gotten over her inability to have a serious relationship and not want to run from it. her going around telling everyone but Roy she wants him to leave her alone sometimes, is, maybe unconsciously, a sort of "trial run" to see how people react and to determine if she's asking too much here like she thinks she is, and if he's going to up and leave her if she tells him this. obviously that's no excuse for what was really quite poor/immature behavior, but it helps it make more sense to me.

[squeegeesprout]

the ramblings of an intriged never-mormon

mormonisim and it's history has become my hyperfixation. i cant stop researching. i think my bf is sick of me info dumping on him so i am info dumping here. to the lovely lds tbms out there, i may not say the nicest things about church history. but i have so much love and kindness and compassion for you and this has nothing to do with you. every criticism i have is with the institution, not the people. including the historical members from the inception of the church.

final disclaimer: i feel like everyone deserves to know the whole unfiltered history of a church they dedicate their lives to.

but like, the history is insane, wdym some known treasure digging scam artist who found a rock in a well and claimed he could translate gold plates? gold plates he found with his well rock? that he would put in his hat? and he would read the rock with his face in the hat? the plates supposedly contained the history of semi extinct group of native american people? who came to america from Jerusalem? of which genetic evidence continuously disproves? the vast majority of the church's truth claims do not line up with modern scientific understanding, but the higher ups refuse to acknowledge it as anything other than true fact? like a worldwide flood and 6000 year old earth? wdym said treasure digger kept claiming revelation from god that contradicted his previous scripture? that so much of the book of mormon is directly in opposition or does not mention so much significant later revelation? no temples, no higher priesthood, no crazy afterlife? and then he has a polygamy revelation, again directly against bom scripture, all so he could have 30 wives? some being 14 and some already married to other men? and he told his first wife god would smite her if she didnt agree?

and now theres like a dozen mormon sects, and the lds sect is like the richest church in the world? are they a church or a real estate empire? not to mention the required 10% of your income annually so you can have all necessary blessings? a culture that enforces missionary work missionaries have to pay to go on? they have to pay to be church salespeople? bishops being able to ask invasive questions to 8 year olds? and i know you do not have 17 million active members russel m nelson!! im fucking onto you, you yellow notepad eternal polygamist asshole. IT IS WEIRD YOU MARRIED A WOMAN YOUNGER THAN YOUR ELDEST CHILD.

but i have heard some of the nicest experiences of people from a ward level down, people banding together in struggle and having a strong sense of community. and i respect the emergency food storage practice. mormonisim has lowkey had a huge impact, more than i ever thought when i started researching this for fun. the intense cultural marks left all over the western us, idaho, wyoming, arizona, nevada, all so much mormon history. i have seen so many kind and loving lds people in the tumblr stake and you are all so amazing, please be true to yourself.

i understand my stating this may be unwelcome and unwanted, and no one may even read this, but i just wanted to put my thoughts and feelings out there. i can provide sources if anyone asks and feel free to dm if you would like.

images: anthony sweat (gazelem, a stone & nauvoo expositor destruction)

[nevert-the-guy]

First Post, now Edited with my info:

You can call me Nevert, Nevert the Guy, Nevertheless Theodore Guy, Nev, or "that guy". You're not getting my real name.

Current Age: 21

Primary Interests: Kirby, Pokémon, Sonic, Mario (of both the Paper and the & Luigi varieties), robots, indie games, various webcomics.

Current Side Interests: Ultrakill (I haven't even played it...)

Favorite Food: the humble cheeseburger

Self-Appointed Titles: Mass Attack's Strongest Soldier, The Vivian Post Guy, the Checkered Champion

Art Post Frequency: Tragically Low

Art Tag: #nevert's funky lines

General Tag: #nevert's rambling

Birthday Tag: #nevert's birthday bash

Also Look At: #important, #palestine

Donation Reblog Frequency: As I See Them (note: I do not have my own income, so as of now I won't be able to donate)

Personal Vow: I will attempt to tag every Pokémon mentioned or referenced in every post on here. Every one is someone's favorite, so y'all can find something easily.

Good Point: Creative

Bad Point: Low Motivation

Likes: video games, drawing

Dislikes: doing things twice

Favorite Pokémon Type: Ghost

Favorite Classic Mega Man: Mega Man 4

Favorite Pokémon: Pichu

Elemental Attributes: Ice, Lightning

Opinion on fish: afraid of them in life, don't like eating them in death

Handedness: Right

Mario Kart Main: Shy Guy if available, Luigi if not

Current Favorite Song: The Hounds - The Protomen

Current Favorite Video Game Song: War Without Reason - Ultrakill

Favorite Balatro Deck: Checkered

Max Hit Points: 25

Favorite Colors: Yellow, Cyan, Green, Red, in that order

Favorite Words: ennui, grandiose, rather, allegedly

Favorite Historical Figure: Giles Corey

Least Favorite Pokémon: Galarian Stunfisk

Favorite Season: Fall, probably

Prized Possession: a Pichu plush I got as a kid

Pokéwalker: Currently At Large

Favorite Transformers:

-Autobot / General: Jazz

-Decepticon: Soundwave and/or Starscream

-Minicon: High Wire (cartoon design)

Favorite Robot Master: Three way tie between Crash Man, Galaxy Man, and Dust Man

Favorite Koopaling: Lemmy

Firefox Tabs Left Open: 13 (11 webcomics, one non-Tumblr blog, and Bluesky)

Favorite Ship: SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Preferred Outfit: Assorted caps, T-shirt, cargo shorts, and maybe a jacket. Think Soos but a little bit thinner, and you're in my ballpark.

Warnings & Notes:

-I might make and/or reblog a sex joke/sex-related topic on rare occasion, but almost never anything visually explicit. Discretion is advised.

-I swear, but not too often, and this is a recent development. If you are adverse to swearing, just be a bit careful (and maybe skip the next two bullet points).

-I am not perfect. If I reblog a scam or something from a shitty person, please let me know as soon as possible.

Line in the Sand: Racists, sexists, LGBT-phobes, ableists, and any other discriminators of that sort, you all can fuck off my blog and fuck off this site

-If you send me a donation link, while I don't currently have the means to donate myself, I will promote it when I'm able to, with a bit of spacing out to give other links some time as well

Dream Projects:

-A webcomic about a modernish society with robots (I'm WAY more passionate about it than that description implies)

-"The Quirky Kirby-Inspired Platformer with Themes of Anti-Capitalism" (see Guycon)

-An RPG with M&L inspiration, a mild element system, exchangeable teammates, and a peculiar focus on being set in Michigan (very little on paper) (EDIT: Well THAT hole in my heart got filled)

And now, the Guy in my Icon (the Guycon, if you will)

Also, my art tag is "nevert's funky lines" for my stuff, and "other people's art" for, well, other people's art.

More Pablo under the cut:

Some stuff I want him to do. If it ain't signed, it ain't near final.

Character bios for the main players of the story, sorry if the normal humans look a bit funky:

Intermission: See those little skull-faced guys earlier on? The throwable ones? Those are Goons (the minion kind). Here's an old species runby (ignore the element stuff):

...I have GOT to get a way to scan this stuff.

...anyway: Pablo's old Halloween costume from October 2024: Hasty Construction!

[arabellaflynn]

Life updates or: "Where the hell have you been?"

Hello! I am not dead. I have at points wished I could just be in a coma until it stopped being hot out, but alas, we do not always get what we want. If you are one of my Patrons, you've been getting sporadic updates, but for the lay public, here's the rundown:

Bad news: Cheddar has left us. Obituary here on Instagram. I figured the respiratory problems would eventually get them both, but didn't expect it quite so soon. Cheese is still here, although he is a little lonesome. I am consoling him with pets and pudding.

Good news: I have yet another new job. Someone figured out I could work the sound board at one of the theaters and started paying me to do that. About 50% of the people who ask are also willing to pay me adult amounts of money for it. The adult amounts of money are enough that I can politely turn down the ones who think "exposure" is as good as a paycheck. I'm not going to be buying any superyachts anytime soon, but money has come in faster than I spend it. It's weird.

More good news: The COVID recovery grant I've been waiting on finally showed up. The grantors bit off a bit more than they could chew and kept sending us 'soz, handing out several million $$ in five grand increments is taking longer than we thought, plz stop calling us' emails. I had to borrow to keep myself afloat, but it's all paid back now and I'm confusingly solvent, at least for a while.

Yet more good news: I'm moving. Why is this good news, you ask? Because my current roommates suck. One moved out to shack up with his boyfriend and the replacement has a raging case of Main Character Syndrome. The married couple broke up and it turns out the one who moved out was adulting for both of them. I have been stuck floating the rent for one useless narcissist who doesn't think 'rent is due by the first' applies to him and one dysfunctional soon-to-be-divorcee who has no job and no income. I found a new place to park myself, the paperwork came back with all the rubber stamps today, I just emailed the same guys who moved me the last time to ask for another quote. 

Sorta bad news that might be okay?: All of my short-term and one-off performance proposals for the summer have been politely turned down. With the grant money in the bank I could technically sit on my ass for a month or two before I even had to start looking for more work, but I would die of boredom. Instead, I am signing myself up for a bunch of one-off classes and summer activities that I've always kind of wanted to take, but could never wedge into my schedule or budget, and once I get moved into my new place I'm going to start work on a sort of... video essay let's play thing? Final Fantasy II (the Japanese edition, not the SNES one) is an incredibly boring game, but it's boring for interesting historical reasons. I've been toying with doing a letsplay of the game with a fun rambly history lecture in the voiceover. I'll be able to get a goddamned air conditioner in the window of the new place, so there's no reason for me not to hole up in my room in between gigs and classes and just play video games for a while. 

As mentioned above, I'm pretty okay for right now, but if any of the anony-mice are inspired to help anyway, here is a list of things I intend to have Amazon dump directly onto the porch of the new house. The bed frame and sheets are the most important things; the previous occupant had a king-size mattress she didn't need, and rather than make anyone haul that thing down the stairs I'm just taking it over. (My current bedroom is small enough to violate the Geneva Convention. I have a twin in here now.) I'm going to enjoy being able to sprawl again without falling over the edge.

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[quillofspirit]

I know I already reblogged it, but there's a whole lot of interesting research about this. Someone probably already pointed it out, but I am excited to talk about this - I did two years of university where we talked about this, so I find it very interesting and I hope you will too!

I should note though that this is not a universal experience, and is mostly recognized as an emeging Westcentric and Eurocentric issue.

Biologically, we aren't really fully adults until the age of 25, where we can solve problems, anticipate consequences and regulate our emotions and behaviours.

Then the question becomes, what is an adult?

Is it when you finish school? With growing postsecondary attendance, that pushes back the number from a few years to almost a decade depending on the education.

Is it when you are financially independent? It's becoming increasingly difficult to survive on single income, and it's been proven time and time again that on average, jobs do not provide enough.

It is when you marry and have children? Historically, this was the case, but changing moeurs mean these are milestones the large majority will not get to.

There's this incredibly fascinating experience of not 'feeling like an adult' even when from an outside point of view, most people would consider someone an adult. Would you consider a teacher an adult? Some of them wouldn't.

Even though I did study these things, I always recommend you find your own sources! These are starting reads, and points of conversation that bring more dimension to the issue.

I hope you enjoyed my small ramble, and happy reading!

The social attitude regarding age is consistently getting weirder. You’re not ‘pushing 30’ you’re just in your late 20s. 30 is not old and neither is 40 while I’m at it. Growing older is an enormous privilege and displaying that age is a gorgeous component of life. Spending your days trying to reverse that grace breeds an eternally wasted life.

[theraiderramble]

Let's get you caught up with all of the latest musings around the NFL, courtesy of The Ramble. The incoming rookies are making headlines across the league at the moment…

[iamthepulta]

Alright. I'm at page 59 and for my sanity, I think I need to wash over some brief generalizations. Academic rambling.

In the fall, I should compile a list of the most pressing topics and just pass them out to students who want a challenge so they can find me papers. Is that illegal? It's probably illegal.

When starting early, we know that alum played a huge role in Mesopotamia's development and Egypt's development. This is because of the numerous and accessible alum mines in Turkey and Egypt's high-quality sedimentary deposits. (Where else did this happen? Try for Chilean desert, China, because we know they used it early for wool and paper as well, along with uhh the desert northeast of China- Kazakstan? We'd also see this in Vietnam probably. Note: the huge Bronze civ there that I've since forgotten. Likely on old accretionary wedge material that has high/low sulfidation characteristics.)

Silverization is a new term I've learned that requires investigation. During the late Bronze Age as silver was coming online, we see Lydia and the Achaemenid Empire contributing to the trade and development of currency around the Assyrian Empire. What really happens as a civilization switches from barter to coinage and back again?

On that note ^ The Babylonian/Neo-Assyrian Empire is weirdly... cohesive....? for a civilization that has no fucking access to resources outside of trade. No copper. No tin. Not even alum really. But they had massive longevity. There's something there. Were they just the agricultural hub turned "ancient Silicon Valley"? I don't know what. But something's there.

^ peat/tar???????

The fuck is happening in Greece during silverization?

What the fuck is happening in Africa. I know they weren't sitting on their asses and there are regions in Tunisia and Sudan(?) with very old alum and textile production sites. Compare Ethiopia and Madagascar as part of the Persian Gulf-India trade route. Also. Note the cultural textile differences within historical fashion for Africa: color vs textures/designs.

I believe the Roman's conquest of Egypt was ~30BC. We see Alexandria's importance shoot up in 79AD after the destruction of Pompeii, but was this interest spurred by resources or general conquest greed? This requires a brief annoying read into Roman history.

On that note, the Samnites were working textiles, possibly with or without the Etruscans. Figure out what the hell was going on there. How old are those vats in Pompeii?

^ I'm so mad I actually went to Pompeii and Herculaneum and I didn't know enough to ask the guide these questions. Fucking hell wasted opportunity.

We see Egypt alum take a front-row seat until ~300, when Constantine moved his ass east. Honestly? Knowing what I know now? Smart ass move. Turkey has silver and alum. No wonder the Byzantines kept their seat for another ~1000 years.

EARLY in that Italian scattering, Genoa and Venice go hard: Genoa acted as shipping merchants for cargo which netted them their first alum mine off the coast of Greece, run by the Zaccharias.

Genoa dominance continued for ~200 years, during which the Zaccharias held a near monopoly and exported to the rest of Europe and developed their shipping lines to Southhampton and Bruges. Both Southhamptom and Bruges exploded in available income, population, textile manufacturing, and shuttered just as quickly when (FUCK WHAT HAPPENED flips to pages) Ah. The import of English cloth (after the influx of alum expanded their textile industry) made it easier to export to Antwerp than Bruges because Bruges had no local supply of high-quality wool. So Bruges declined and the Italian and German merchants moved to Antwerp.

Add note: Wool is theoretically a non-renewable resource in this instance.

While this was happening, Genoa and Venice are duking it out during the Crusades trying to back the right team to get a boon from the Church.

Mongols

Genoese bring back the Black Death from Caffa because they pissed off the Mongols in Tana farther up the Black Sea/River Don. Good job, Genoa.

Alum trade that the Genoese didn't pay thus contributed to the taking of Constantinople because the Ottomans said Fuck That we'll just take the whole thing. Only the brother of the Ottoman sultan was instigating his own rebellion at the time, and the Genoese said we could maybe take you across if you're willing to overlook the tribute we haven't paid in Phocaea... Murad took Constantinople, the rebellion was put down, and the Genoese came on top.

Man they were good. Blue from OSP stans Venice, but I'm REALLY here for Genoa.

Anyway, all this shit is happening during the early Renaissance. And this isn't including Tunisia, Egypt, and Sudan who are also exporting to Spain. Also we have the Silver Beef going on, which is what I call the war of attrition between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanyids. The Sassanyids figured out that if they put their exchange rate for silver at a lower price than gold, they could slowly drain all the gold out of the Byzantine economy. The only reason the Byzantines stayed afloat for so long was they had the Genoese holding off the northern end of Turkey for free because they got to export alum from it.

The Muslim expansion causes problems in here somewhere.

The rest of Europe was in a silver shortage. And technically the Vikings play a role here too via hacksilver and whatnot. But I don't know if it's important, and why. Good question for WeekendViking tbh.

Theoretically this is also the era of exploration for them and this could be a funding issue for Iceland etc. Idk. I don't know enough Nordic history.

Anyway. That's how far I've gotten in the book. I have like 150 pages to go.

[your-old-man]

Incoming ramble about your last post re: good dad energy and sleazy scenarios (Critical analysis of kink dynamics is one of my favourite things to yap about, no pressure to respond if this is too long!)

Okay so! Real life dad energy is something that absolutely cannot be faked, and I love how it bleeds over into your content. This is why I couldn’t get into other dad blogs, like unless genuine dad energy is there, then you’re literally just. some guy. being creepy. and thats my experience dealing with real world men like no thank you.

For me, anon kink interactions are a kind of escapism! And escapist fantasy needs immersion to work - different kinks/mediums have different requirements (eg historical romance novels avoiding anachronism) - fauxcest, both written and in porn, I feel relies heavily on energy/vibes to bring that suspension of disbelief, you know?

Idk gonna stop myself rambling here, theres just something special about your energy and the wholesome dad moments in some of your anons. It’s a delicate balance of wholesome/sleaze, and you do it wonderfully!

-🍄

Wait, no, come back, I love kink analysis that isn't just basic "you have daddy/mommy issues" or whatever.

I fully agree though, and I especially agree with that kinda energy needin to already be there, otherwise you're just coming across as a creep. I think a great example is a dom I used to text occasionally. I really liked his ideas and writing, and we matched on a lotta kinks, but his actual energy completely ruined it for me. I get this kinda thing a lot with the men I look for, so I'm really used to it, but I never really stopped to think about it.

I think that's also why I avoid a lot of actual porn, since I'm more interested in very specific power dynamics instead of actual sex. A lotta porn just goes straight into the action with very little build up, and it completely pulls me outta it. Not as bad tho for writing.