#she's an adult when it happens but the fact that it's her GRANDFATHER AND GREAT GRANDFATHER for one and the fact that they most likely

[residences-of-the-darkforest]

Dark Forest Residences: Whimbrelshade & Sunnyshiver

Whimbrelshade

Aliases / Nicknames: Sick Kit, Kin Traitor

Gender: male

Sexuality: homosexual

Family: Birchkite (mother), Meadowpatch (father), Sunnyshiver (sister), Dewpaw, Roseshade, Grebekit, Shiverkit (nieces), Owlkit, Patchkit, Ashenface, Fishkit (nephews), Owlfeather (grandfather), Greentuft (great-grandfather), various other relations

Other Relations: Wettuft (mentor)

Clan: RiverClan

Rank: elder

Characteristics: hates his family, enjoys dirty jokes but won’t admit it, blind and has chronic immune problems

Murder Motive: wants to protect his sister

Number of Victims: 2

Number of Murders: 2

Murder Method: snapping neck

Known Victims: Greentuft, Owlfeather

Victim Profile: his sister’s ‘mates’

Cause of Death: killed by Sunnyshiver

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

His heritage left even the most seasoned medicine cats befuddled.

It was enough to make his head spin even without Sunnyshiver’s involvement.

But involved she made herself, soon birthing a litter of three stillborn kits.

She cried over them constantly, refusing to move their rotting little bodies from the nursery even under the gossip of the other queens.

When he asked her who the father of her kits was, she refused to say, citing that there were many possible fathers in the Clan.

But, a quick check with the long-suffering medicine cat confirmed his suspicions.

The three dead kits were the spitting image of Greentuft. A tom that he and Sunnyshiver could trace their lineage back to with ease.

He confronted Greentuft that day.

The old tom claimed he had mistaken Sunnyshiver for his long-dead mate, but Whimbrelshade knew better.

He knew that the old tom wasn’t dumb, nor blind.

One argument later, and Greentuft was dead.

It wasn’t the first time that he had killed one of his kin.

But it would be the last.

Sunnyshiver

Aliases / Nicknames: Sunny, moron

Gender: female

Sexuality: straight (unfortunately)

Family: Birchkite (mother), Meadowpatch (father), Whimbrelshade (brother), Greentuft (mate/ great grandfather), Dewpaw, Roseshade, Grebekit, Shiverkit (daughters), Owlkit, Patchkit, Ashenface, Fishkit (sons), Tadpolekit (granddaughter), Webkit, Toadkit, Frogtoe (grandsons), Owlfeather (ex-mate/grandfather), various other relations

Other Relations: Hopstone (mentor)

Clan: RiverClan

Rank: queen

Characteristics: forgetful, very defensive of her ‘mates’ and kits, cannot understand why Whimbrelshade keeps getting angry

Murder Motive: defending her 'mate'

Number of Victims: 1

Number of Murders: 1

Murder Method: drowning

Known Victims: Whimbrelshade

Victim Profile: her ‘overprotective’ brother

Cause of Death: drowned

Cautionary Tale: ??

Story:

See Whimbrelshade

Additional Information:

--Submission by @ambitiousauthor

--Ew. Whimbrel had the right idea.

[fractiflos]

Because it suits my sense of humor and personal taste, an AU where Hikage, Banjo, and En are all blood related to All for One. Yes, all of them at once. They could be his kids or Yoichi's kids or even distant cousins. Just as long as All for One has to deal with an excess of family.

I had fun trying to come up with the worst family dynamic for this.

Hikage is Yoichi's biological child. AFO wanted to start over so he used Yoichi's DNA to try and make a new little brother to deal with his grief after his brother's death, but he tweaked it a bit so Yoichi wouldn't be as weak as he had been, but wasn't so strong AFO couldn't control him. The end result was Super Anxiety, er, Danger Sense.

Then as Hikage grows up, AFO decides he wants to be a father again. This lead to Banjo being born as AFOs biological child. He does have a mom since AFO didn't want to spend years in a lab again, but he doesn't know who she is or care. Hikage is the older brother by four years.

Their teenage years were a nightmare with Hikage refusing to give any affection to his father and Banjo constantly getting into trouble. He shaved his head after an argument with his dad and liked the look so much he decided to keep it. AFO almost died from a heart attack when he heard. Then again when he found out that Daigoro went behind his back and became a hero. And a third time when he heard that his little Hikage had a child... Despite the fact that he was 22 when that happened.

Thus, En joins the family. He may take after her in looks, but he has Hikage's personality. AFO adores his grandson and spoils him. As for En's mom, she got a job offer in Australia and took it, but they still face chat from time to time.

Now for the million-dollar question: What about OFA and criminal activity? His family doesn't know. As far as Banjo and Hikage know, their dad is just an ordinary business man and Garaki is a very unlikeable babysitter. And he's just a very young-looking grandpa to En. AFO plans to let them in on a few things once En turns 18 so they can talk it over like rational adults (he says, being the only irrational one)

En decides he wants to be a hero too. At 14 he looks for someone to secretly train him so he can get into one of the new hero schools that just started up. He doesn't tell his father since he doesn't want them to worry and he wants to try and do it without his uncle's help, and he knows his grandpa doesn't think he's capable. Then, he stumbles upon a much older Third who offers to train him if he accepts this quirk and the responsibility that comes with it. En thinks that taking down the villain AFO will be a great way to prove himself to his grandfather and says yes.

I believe the rest is best left to the imagination.

[elizabethan-memes]

I'm seeing some comments about Philip II's marriages floating around and I think it's time for some context, because different things are getting blurred together.

So his first marriage is to a teenager, Maria Manuela. But she's the same age as him. The real problem is she's his double first cousin, making them as closely related as half-siblings. Not good! Very bad! But the blame here really lies more with the parents for arranging this marriage.

Mary I'll skip over as she's older than him and not as closely related.

Then there's Elisabeth of Valois. Yes she's 14-15 when the marriage happens and yes she was intended for his son. But to put it as gently as I can, Don Carlos is not mentally well enough for marriage. Setting aside the fact he's mentally a small child (because love and romance are not the sole preserve of the intelligent) his behaviour is erratic and volatile. It would not be responsible to marry him off to a girl of his own age. According to Patrick Williams, Elisabeth's first pregnancy was in 1564, her nineteenth year. I've seen earlier dates on Wikipedia, but I think a historian trumps Wikipedia. So yes, there is an age gap, but that's not evidence that Philip was assaulting a minor. And as early modern marriages go, theirs seems to have been happy.

And yes, Philip finally married his niece. Not good! I'm not defending it. It is incest and it is genetic Russian roulette given they're as related as half-siblings. More so given they're both already the product of cousin marriages. The family resemblance is also disturbing. But "Philip married his teenage niece" is not completely true. She was in her 21st year when she married him. 20 is by definition not a teenager. Nor is the marriage connected with her death. She died of influenza. And yes, marrying your niece is gross. But gross as it is, the two seem to have been very happy. We have every right to find it weird and disturbing but the evidence points to the two being close and compatible in terms of personality even though the marriage was genetically a terrible decision.

Did Philip fancy Elizabeth? Some historians think it probable he did. Others think the evidence isn't there. But Philip was 6 years older than Elizabeth, and by the time they met she was 21. An adult fancying another adult who is related to them through one common great great great great grandfather is small potatoes.

I'm not saying you have to like Philip II. I'm not defending inbreeding. But let's be exact with our words.

[olderthannetfic]

I'm a run of the mill White American, and I've been doing a lot of geneological research recently and can't help but feel a deep sense of loss. It's not my own loss, but it''s something my ancestors lost and thus were unable to pass down to me.

One of my great great grandfathers, for example, emigrated from Ireland as a child. From what I hear, he spoke English with a mild Irish accent and faced all the anti-Irish discrimination that was common in his time. His daughter, my great grandmother, had an American accent and there was nothing Irish about her aside from her surname. She had no stories or recipes or songs or festivals from Ireland to pass down toher own children, and by the time we got to me the fact that that side of the family was Irish at all had even been forgotten. Word of mouth in my parent's generation was that that brand of the family was Scottish (it was a common Mc/Mac surname, spelled variously in different records), and it wasn't until I traced my great grandmother's census records back to her birth that I learned that my great great grandfather's name was Patrick and he was born in Ireland. Anything Irish, even the very fact that he was Irish, that this man brought with him from his home was entirely lost within the space of a single generation. That loss of culture and identity is tragic, even if it's not my own loss.

The same thing happens on nearly every branch of my family.

Another great great grandfather emigrated from Italy as an adult; records from 1890 described him as a naturalised citizen who looks and sounds Italian. His son, my great grandfather, had am American accent, did not speak any Italian, and had no Italian culture to pass down to his children. Aside from the name and the basic fact that the surname is Italian, all Italian culture and identity was lost, again within the space of a single generation. All the Italian food my parents cooked when I was growing up were things they learned from recipe books simply because they liked it, and had nothing to do with my father's Italian heritage.

Another branch of my family is Swiss, it took one generation to lose Swiss accents, language, and culture there, too.

Another is Danish. it seems to have taken two generations for all Danishness to have disapeared.

The Dutch and German branches of the family both came to the US earlier than these, so it's harder to track down information about who came from where and when, but there was no Dutchness or Germanness in those respective branches by 1900, they spoke English and were considered Americans, and if they had any specifically Dutch-American or German-American culture or traditions, they did not pass them down to my great grandparents' generation.

All these cultures are things I could have had, but that my ancestors lost or hid or had taken from them before we got to me. I'm comfortable in my cultural identity as a white American, I don't feel any need to go out and claim to be Italian or Irish or Danish or Swiss or anything, and I especailly don't want to talk over anyone actually from those parts of the world, but for my American identity to exist, countless people lost their own European cultural identites. Some were more marginalised than others (a recent reblog posted some newspaper ads that demonstrated how German Americans were prefered over Irish Americans, and I can't help but think about that in context of my own German and Irish ancestors who were in the US at that time), and some are more at risk than others. The Italian language isn't going anywhere any time soon, but every person who learns to speak Irish is one more drop in the bucket against that language going extinct.

I think it's important for White Americans to remember where we came from and to know what our ancestors lost to create the identity we have today. Even if I have no Italian-American culture, it's good to be able to say "my surname is from Italy and I know what the world was like for my great great grandfather". It's also important to realise that our ancestors' identities are not our own, and what they lost cannot be regained simply by claiming their identities for ourselves. I can try to learn about and participate in their cultures, I can learn to speak Italian and cook Danish food and sing Irish songs, and in doing so I can even help keep at-risk cultures or languages or traditions alive, and this is good, but we also have to keep in mind that having an Irish great great grandfather does not mean that we are Irish the same way he was.

--

The loss of culture is sad, though one thing I will say is that immigrants between anywhere and anywhere tend to lose their old language by the third generation unless they're going back and forth or there are a lot of monolingual speakers in the new country. That probably wouldn't ever have stuck around, but the food and the festivals could have.

[fetus-lol]

[it’s raining, it’s pouring]

(Part 3-the old man is snoring)

Eyeless jack x gn reader

I have to add that you’re a construction worker for the plot later on— I never talk about body shape and whatnot, just that you’re stronger cuz yk, construction lol

———

"He's okay, just asleep." The lady at the counter, who i knew as Kathy, said. 

"Oh, well that's good. He hasn't been sleeping much, has he?"

"You'd be correct.. he's been having trouble, and is refusing any sort of sleep medication.." Kathy glanced away, seeming guilty that he wasn't sleeping—like it was her fault. Ive felt that type of guilt before. It was understandable, but she couldn't help how he didn't sleep much.

"..do you still wanna see him?"

"If it's okay, then yeah"

Kathy smiled warmly. She was nice, and made sure grandpa was in good shape.

Kathy was a good person—friend., Kathy was a good friend.

She led me to grandpas room, 207. It wasn't too far from the front desk, just a few halls down.

Once we were outside his room, Kathy opened the door.

"I'll leave it to you, then — tell him I said hi if he wakes up!" She spoke, waving to me as she walked back to the front.

"Will do, Kathy!" I grinned back.

I walk over to grandpa, sound asleep and snoring. I smiled looking down at him; he was great. He listened to me when I talked about something that happened during work, laughing at my jokes, and he would never decline a new story.

My smile fades as i see his gown slightly altered, it was clearly wrinkled but that wasn't it. There was a red stain near his abdomen — which could have easily been a food stain; but the trays cover that portion of the gown.

I've got a bad feeling about this..

I saw a young nurse walk by — I turn to ask for her help.

"Hey! Could you come here?" I ask tapping her shoulder. 

"Of coarse, what do you need?"

"..i" i hesitated. "I think there's something wrong"

"Something wrong with what?" She asks nervously; glancing at the room i came from, grandpas. 

"My grandfather has red stains on his gown, it doesn't look like food stains.." i get quiet at the end.

"Show me" she replied anxiously.

I grabbed her forearm and basically dragged the teenage nurse to my grandfathers room. 

"See the stains?" I point.

"Yeah, i do. That doesn't look like any food stains I've ever seen.."

She hesitates, but lifts up the gown. Grandpa was in some sort of boxers, so nothing showed — but what I was looking at, were the stitches where one of his kidneys should be.

"Go get one of the doctors." She demands, staring at the bloody stitches.

I stay there, frozen in place. 

"Now.!" She basically yells, she got loud, but not because she was angry, because she was anxious.

I basically ran to whatever doctor i could find. The differences between their outfits were noticeable, so I didn't have to guess.

"Please help! My grandfathers stomach is stitched and he has had no surgeries!" I beg, pulling on the doctors uniform towards the direction grandpas room was.

"Wha-"

"Please come!" 

"I'm- I'm coming." He replies, mostly confused at the situation but anxious as to what's wrong.

———

"Holy shit" the doctor said.

"Yeah" i reply shakily.

"We've got to get an x-ray or something to figure out why he's stitched on the abdomen."

"Okay, how much would that be?" I ask wearily, worried.

"Well, we didn't preform surgery, and it's just an x-ray, so I'd say around 100." He responds

Silence engulfs the room as both adults look at the elder in a mix of curiosity and anxiety.

———

"Well?" I question as a doctor, who I didn't know, comes up to me.

My nerves are through the roof as they look to the side.

"He's missing his left kidney."

What the fuck!?

"What?"

"We're not too sure how it happened, but the fact stands.. he's missing kidney."

Holy shit

"It most likely happened at night when he was asleep, although the windows are locked at those hours."

"So whatever took his kidneys was already in the building," I state, "that's the shit you're trying to tell me!?" My voice gets louder as my anger boils. He was supposed to be safe. Wasn't that the whole point of putting him where he was supposed to get better?

The doctor stands still. Not sure how to react to my outburst. 

"What am I supposed to do now? Keep him home with me? Because it's damn clear that you don't know how to keep your own patients safe!" I exclaim in anger; face red. 

"We can-" the doctor begins, but I didn't let them finish. I close my eyes.

"No. No, I'm leaving. We'll talk over the phone tomorrow. I have a job that I can actually get done," I look to the doctor, "unlike some people." 

I turn around, not looking back. I had a job to get to. And I wasn't about to be late.

My job required my attention, and i would do it right. Unlike these so called professionals.

———

Polls stuck out of the ground as tarps covered most the ground. The construction site was looking good as I stepped out of my car. While we weren't continuing the build, i still had to check up on structure and check off safety precautions. It would've been Joshua's turn today, but he had just gotten a cold.

So me it was.

Taking the clipboard off from the console, i begin to check things off.

As i moved towards the actual structure, checking boxes off, I think about grandpa.

I think about the hospital and nursing home, how a whole organ was taken while grandpa was asleep, the first night where he gets a full nights rest and his kidney is taken.

The security in that place definitely hasn't worked for a while or else my grandfather would still have both kidneys.

———

With everything in good condition, I head back to my car. It felt off, but then again everything felt off right now. After the recent events nothing felt normal.

But what could I do?

Not much.

Shutting the car door, I sat in silence for a good minute. Thinking things over, and organizing my thoughts.

And with my mind in order, I get ready to drive off — but then there was a scratch.

And that a small noise.

A cat, maybe?

 Getting out the car, I look around. And there it was again.

It came from under my car — and then I heard it again.

As I bent down, nothing.

Maybe I just imagined it, things like that happen.

But I heard it again.

I took a closer look under my car; and there it was. A small kitten covered in dirt and mud. Taking my time, I reach out to it.

The kitten backed away, as expected.

I thought for a split second, then I remembered I had some cat food in the back seat that I forgot to take out last time I got groceries. 

Getting up, i open the side door. Rummaging through the backseats, I find a singular jar of cat food.

I step back, shutting the car door carefully as to not scare the cat.

Opening the jar, I put it on the ground. I backed up, far enough to not be intimidating but close enosis so I could grab the kitten when they came out from under my car.

Slowly but surely, it came out to eat. I gave it a second, then grabbed it.

Scratching and biting me, I still got a hold of it. My hands bled slightly as their unkempt claws dug into my skin. 

I might end up getting an infection from the dirt; but I'll worry about that when I get home. Snatching the food, I get back in my car.

———

The drive home was hell. The small cat scratched up my seats and me, although they called down after a bit. Somewhat.

In my house, the kitten swatted and clawed me as I tried to wash them up, but I was unable to flip the tiny cat over without injuring myself further with scratches so I planned on figuring out another time when the feline trusted me more.

The kitten was cleaned and dried, several scratches and cuts covered their body that I had wrapped up (it was a struggle, but I made it work), now there was a fluffy orange tabby. I would have to bring them to the vets later on, but I'll have to gain the cats trust first.

...I wonder how grandpa is.

This whole cat dilemma had me only focused on the stray, but now that I've got free time — I'm worried again. I stiffen up as I think of what could go wrong.

So many things.

But I shouldn't think about that.

Looking out the window, I realize just how late it is. Pitch black out with some twinkle stars scattered around the sky.

I should really go to bed.

———

Night came and went, and now it was morning.

My cat was sat next to me, and the tabby not in the room. I sat up in bed, rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes. As I move the blankets off of me, I feel just how cold it is in the house.

I put on some slippers and wrap a blanket around myself as I walk to the thermostat. Same as ever, it must just be cold outside.

I stepped into the living room, seeing the stray tabby on my couch, wrapped in blankets that were definitely in the closet before. 

I glance at the closet; it was closed. I look back to the cat in a nest of blankets, they looked so peaceful. 

I sad down next to the tabby, and my cat climbs up with me. Taking a few pillows, I lay on the couch myself. It was a day off today; I could rest.

Nothing wrong with some extra sleep.

———

Jack limped, after getting caught by an older man who woke up in the middle of jack trying to get a meal.

He didn't know where to go now.

They took care of that cat... would they take care of me?

Jack was hopeful — he had to be. He was far away from his own cabin and he only knew Y/n. 

But they didn't know him. 

They were kind though, they might help. 

Maybe.

[lya-dustin]

All is bliss

Chapter 17

Cw:suicidal thoughts, suicidal ideation, some violence, mentions of misscarriages, pregnancy and infant deaths, aside from the usual shit.

Taglist:@mercedesdecorazon @aemondx @darylandbethfanforever9 @sweethoneyblossom1 @ewanmitchellcrumbs

Gif by: @vera-kozhemiakina

When Aegon introduced Alys Rivers, he smiled broadly ---as if ignorant of the humiliation it was for her and her family--- as he called her the mother of his child.

Had Helaena and Aemond not held her back, she would have punched and maybe killed Aegon.

She doesn’t care for him as a husband, she barely likes him as a friend and kinsman, but she at least puts the effort to keep people from mocking him for their arrangement.

Only one man had been bold enough to call her a whore, and he had not lived long enough to be heard by him.

“Do not worry, your highness, you will have a son soon enough. Aenys, the first of fifteen little green and black dragons.” Alys pronounced with an eerily sweet tone.

No malice in it and yet there is that knowing that scares her.

It was the fact that there will be fifteen children is what has Aemond stealing a look at Aemma that wished Daeron and Helaena were not between them.

They have had their fun at tedious dinners, or luncheons and even mass.

Unfortunately, Alicent had caught on and now they are seated at a distance where such foreplay is impossible whenever the queen has a chance to rearrange the seating charts.

Or add one in case of this last dinner with the king.

Really who makes sitting charts for family dinners.

“Should we be concerned?” mother asked Daemon quietly, same Daemon who is utterly unbothered about this.

“Her bastards never live, besides, who is to say the bastard is even Aegon’s. Almost all the guests of Harrenhal have enjoyed the services of Lady Alys.” This is said with a casual air that earns him a glare from mother who wanted to ensure little Aenys has no Maegor.

Gods, to know she is pregnant before her moon blood stops is not as great as it sounds.

She doesn’t want to be pregnant.

Even if the baby is Aemond’s just the idea that the man he will call father is Aegon makes her want to run out of there.

The dry moat around Maegor’s Holdfast sounds so inviting right now.

All she has to do is jump out of the pretty windows of the Queen’s Ballroom.

Who would stop her, she wonders.

Father taking off his mask is the least strange thing to happen at the dinner.

It was worse to discover that save for Aemma, mother and Helaena, most of the adults present had slept with Alys Rivers.

How and when is not important.

Aemond had had her during his progress last year and Aemma knew of this.

How and when Father and Grandfather had done it was something he was pretending not to care about.

“I am actually forty.” Alys replied to the unspoken question making Baela have her watered-down wine come out her nose.

“You still look as you did when you were six and ten, Lady Alys.” Father said to mother’s and Rhaenyra’s horror.

It takes a no time for the rest to understand what he has admitted to.

Four and twenty years ago, Rhaenyra and mother had been one and eleven and two and ten respectively.

Queen Aemma had lost her father and the royal family had stayed in Harrenhal for a night before leaving to the Vale.

Aemond knows this because Lord Symon Strong had told him that as he gave him a tour of the keep as he gave him the same chamber.

“And you do not look a day over two and thirty.” The enigmatic woman returned the compliment, and this time the entire table hid their shock to know father also was disloyal to mother on their wedding progress.

Before Daeron can point out that was exactly twenty years ago, Helaena stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth saying something about being so thin silk would crush him to death.

Across the table five- and ten-year-old Jace shares a look with his betrothed that had them do the same to Luke.

Luke who sits across him and makes his blood boil with just his mere existence.

He would love to hurt him. Not kill him, as much as he wants to do that, he knows Aemma would hate him for it and he cares too much ---far more than it is socially acceptable to care and possibly love one’s paramour--- to let that happen.

Besides, the gods punish kinslayers by killing their children.

Before Aemond could be caught staring for too long as he daydreams about breaking his nose again and maybe putting him on his arse at the tiltyard, mother clears her throat and suggests saying grace before eating.

A good distraction that promises to provide a small reprieve for Lady Alys who is by far the most fascinating dinner guest to date.

Far better than the Myrish philosopher who eviscerated mother and the clairvoyant Septon who told Grandfather he will not live to see winter.

“May the Mother smile down on this gathering with love. May the Smith mend the bonds that have been broken for far too long. And to Vaemond Velaryon, may the gods give him rest.” Mother has her heart in the right place, but even with his eye closed he knows everyone just grimaced at that last part.

Even Helaena disliked her late goodfather, the man had the audacity to complain Daenaera was not born Daerik.

Aemond doesn’t think this dinner could get worse.

It does not last even an hour.

The arrival of the pig tells her this well end badly.

Aegon propositions Baela after harassing her and Jace all dinner, Jace asks her to dance in return and while that happens, the pig is brought out.

It shouldn’t surprise Aemma that Alicent forgets that Aemond has not been able to stand the sight of the animal since the day Joffrey was born.

Pigs, certain sweets and being told he is not whole for lacking an eye.

These things and some more set him off.

“If kinslaying were not a sin, I would gladly make you a widow, mandia.” Jace said as they danced with Helaena and Daeron.

“If only, little brother.” Aemma replied wondering why she doesn’t have the sensation of Aemond’s eye on her.

She’s grown accustomed to feeling him watching her that the moment he isn’t, she feels dreadfully alone.

“Do you think the peace will hold?” Jace asks, noticing that sensation that hangs in the air after everyone’s toasts.

Some were genuine, some were not.

And yet all those words will be forgotten the moment grandfather dies and the masks fall off.

Luke chuckles at something and a fist slam on the table.

Aemma doesn’t even have to look to know it was Aemond’s fist.

“Final tribute.” He hides his venomous anger well, but not well enough for her.

“To the health of my nephews: Jace, Luke, and Joffrey. Each of them handsome, wise… strong.”

“Aemond.” His mother reprimanded him and yet he goes on.

“Come let us drain our cups to these three…Strong boys.” He the last fucking person here who can say such a thing.

His bastard grows in her womb as he smirks and yet he has the fucking audacity to use that in his insult.

Aemma doesn’t know what overcomes her, but she finds herself slapping Aemond before leaving the ballroom in furious tears.

[radioactive-earthshine]

Hi. I was talking with my best friend and we were going over the rogues of Young Justice and who had which person as their common adversary such as Tim with all of Batman's rogues being his and the point of it was that when they were all adults who would be their own personal nemesis? Batman has The Joker clearly, Superman with Lex Luthor, The Flash and Reverse Flash, Wonder Woman and Cheetah etc but what about the YJ crew especially Bart? Who would be Bart's main nemesis when he's an adult?

Did you forget about Thad Thawne?

Thad Thawne is absolutely Bart's main nemesis NOW in current, no matter how much Thad deserves and SHOULD get a redemption arc (which likely will never happen considering Fastest Man Alive is canon again).

I also really am hesitant to say Tim's rogues are just Batman's rogues because he ran into a lot of other people and themes in his own comics on a fair basis that there are other options available. Also it looks like the one responsible for Young Justice Dark Crisis (Mxyzptlk's son, allegedly) has already decided Tim is his nemesis (see Tim Drake's Pride Special).

***Edit*** Mickey was in fact NOT the person who Tim is currently up against in his comics. When this was written, it was assumed they were going to be the same.

King Shark (yes, he's a Superboy character) with Kay Fury as well as Amanda Spence (allegedly dead) are Kon's in his own comics but having them extend into the future with him as an adult is... iffy. His 2011 solo comic had Simon Valentine (his FRIEND) being setup as his Lex Luthor with a parallel narrative as well but meh, I really liked Simon and I just want these heroes to have fucking civilian friends and have their own rogues not just mirror their assumed mentor's.

Bart however is a little more tricky because in his own comics he rarely had reoccurring villains (Thad) that truly wanted to harm him (Thad), and many of them were more Max's adversaries anyway or were guest rogues.

We do have a few however but I do not foresee them as being a problem for Bart when he is older. But they could be brought back for fun.

For fun let's just explore a few interesting people from Bart's run that were presented as villains, see if they are a candidate for future rogue-ness, then I will tell you my own personal pick for his true nemesis that isn't Thad.

White Lightning

The first 'major adversary' we see is White Lightning who has some mild 'pheromone mind control' that allows her to manipulate men just like Poison Ivy, only she has not shown any murderous intentions.

Impulse #80

She shows up early on in his series, and she shows up every now and then and is predominately a thief who uses adolescent boys to assist her in her heists.

Impulse #4

She would make a GREAT current 'rogue' because she's basically a social media influencer. She uses the internet of 1995 to attract potential 'gang members', and she even has her own merch! This would translate VERY WELL for today for a morally gray rogue.

She's FUN, but she's not really a villain so she's out for being Bart's nemesis. She's more like a Robin Hood character than a true crook (a Robin Hood that KEEPS the money).

Likelihood of being a future rogue: 6/10

lmfao white lightning has her own merch but bart doesn't

Evil Eye Eddie/Wilfred Parker (once called "Danny" by his dad)

His first appearance is in Impulse is in issue #27 and he shows up on the regular up until the near end of the series. He's a very well written character that when he first shows up he is a thug and a bully that wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of his father, and grandfather (Dr. Morlo) and be a super villain, and a gang member.

As time progresses with him in the series, we see that he does not actually have the disposition to do what he needs to do in order to be that, but he still retains a shitty attitude which makes him more likable. He also has a friendship with Rolly that from everything we see is genuine and he does care about him. One day I'll make a meta post about Eddie because he's fascinating as fuck.

Impulse #47

Evil Eye also finds out on his own who Bart is later and doesn't tell anyone about it so he's not a good candidate for being a rogue of Bart's later. Dr. Morlo couldn't even keep up with being Max's rogue and they instead have a divorced spouse relationship. It would be fun to have him back though. I want him to meet Stephanie Brown.

Likelihood of being a future rogue: 1/10

Pocket Pal

A better contender is Pocket Pal who was penned for issue #60 by the legendary Dwayne McDuffie (yes, Milestone's McDuffie. RIP).

His particular abilities were similar to Chester Runk's aka The Chunk in that he had a pocket dimension in which he could put an infinite number of things into. He was slick, angry, and a young thief who could definitely grow up into a regular rogue for Bart to deal with later.

Impulse #60

I could absolutely see him coming back as an adult rogue for Bart to deal with on occasion. There's a lot of writing potential for a character that has a bag of infinite carrying.

Name's gotta change though. I like Supermassive (as in black hole) but I do not write for DC and I likely never will so Pocket Pal it is.

Likelihood of being a future rogue: 8/10

Honorable Mention: Shanela

Shanela first shows up in Issue #82 and she and her twin sister Shantay both have the ability to manifest illusions. Shanela is just an A N G R Y teen, and her sister Shantay is seen as the one who is constantly trying to keep her in check.

Impulse #83

Shanela has a great narrative and she deals with a lot of internal teenage negativity and low self esteem. She does not really use her power to physically hurt anyone but she definitely has enough anger and hatred towards her peers to get to that point and probably would have had Bart not intervened. Her weakness it turned out was dogs as she is petrified of them.

She was a fascinating 'villain' and it would be fun to see her and her sister again; whether working together as some sort of hero team, working against each other, or simply being civilian metas.

Likelihood of being a future rogue: 5/10 (it's circumstantial)

And now... The person I feel personally strong about being Bart's rogue (other than Thad)...

Bedlam/Matthew Stuart

There's something about a Speedster having an adversary that has infinite power and ability through use of magic that just offers infinite potential when it comes to possible stories. It's terrifying and exciting. When it comes to this particular character however we have established history AND motivation and this character has already mentioned that he HATES Bart (and his friends) and will absolutely given the opportunity wreck his life just out of spite.

Good god don't let him team up with Thad.

Impulse #85

For context here we first meet Matthew in the story that started Young Justice. JLA: World Without Grownups and he is supposed to be a brat even before he comes into his powers.

Now, you can make the argument here that he is justifiably irritated that his father almost did not make it back in time for his 13th birthday, and that his family dynamic is not the best here, and there is probably some toxic dynamic but he's also a moody teen with some anger at the world that helps him along the path of being Bedlam. You can read this scene as him being a brat, or you can read it as him just being a normal kid dealing with loneliness and acting out. Either way, things go bad quick.

He comes into his powers by accident from that clearly stolen archeological artifact his father dug up, someone get Arthur because the Atlantean artifact contains the magical power of Garn Daanuth.

He becomes possessed by this entity Bedlam and immediately changes reality to mirror something he finds fitting; one without grownups where children rule.

Eventually he is apprehended by Tim, Kon and Bart and it is Bart who is key to finally beating him.

Matt remembers Bart very fervently when he shows back up 2 years later without the entity, but with all of his powers roiling through him (TLDR the actual entity was able to be born as a mortal human being and he ditched his magical powers and they went back to Matt).

Impulse #85

Matt to me would be top tier level for an original adversary for Bart specifically considering he targeted Bart (and other members of Young Justice but not the the same extreme as Bart).

He has history, motivation, and a kick ass power that would be nothing short than mayhem any time he showed up.

Now YES he did technically lose all his powers (Bart again, foiled him) and they jumped into Bart's body, but there is no real reason to not have Matt regain the abilities in some way. These are comics, after all.

I feel that in a hypothetical scenario where Bart had to have primary rogue that was not Thad it would be Matt Stuart 100%.

So these are just my own thoughts and Bart certainly dealt with a lot more than just those I have listed but this was still fun to explore and I hope this got you thinking into the subject of hypotheticals and maybe it inspired some fan works.

Thank you for the probing question!

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group G Round 2: #G1 vs #G2

#G1: Golf made interesting by the power of anime antics and yuri

#G2: Bachelor takes in orphan, and they become a family

Details and poll under the cut!

#G1: Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story

Summary:

Infamous among those who gamble on golf games, Eve uses her exceptional skill in the sport to earn a living—by betting and winning against various opponents. Known as the "Rainbow Bullet," she vows to beat her foes and conquer the world of underground golf using only three clubs. However, the universe where Eve knows no defeat is shaken after she plays a clean game with Aoi Amawashi, a golfing prodigy that came to the country of Nafrece to enter a golf tournament. Armed with talent and born into the perfect environment for golf, Aoi the "Innocent Tyrant" calmly crushes her enemies with a bright smile on her face.

After their game-changing match, Eve and Aoi become intrigued with each other and promise to battle again someday. As Eve's aggressive and risk-taking approach challenges the elite and steady playstyle of Aoi, the two geniuses may just manage to bring golf to unexpected heights.

Propaganda:

Birdie Wing is one of the most absurd, hilarious, and entertaining anime that I’ve ever seen!! Mafia that solves infighting by betting on highly illegal golf matches, golf eugenics, a high school golf tournament feeling like a more high-stakes event than the ACTUAL GODDAMN MAFIA… It’s incredibly campy in the best way possible, and the creators embrace the wild premise of the show with open arms. It’s masterful in suspension of disbelief, as by the end of the series I was nodding my head, thinking that truly, everything is possible with the power of golf. The series also has heavy yuri overtones, which, while not quite pulling through in the end, are definitely a big part of the appeal, and Aoi is my favorite lesbian daughter <3

Trigger Warnings: Guns, Child Abuse. Mother is manipulative to her daughter, and she is used as a tool. Father arranges an unwanted marriage for his daughter.

#G2: Bunny Drop (Usagi Drop)

Summary:

Daikichi Kawachi is a 30-year-old bachelor working a respectable job but otherwise wandering aimlessly through life. When his grandfather suddenly passes away, he returns to the family home to pay his respects. Upon arriving at the house, he meets a mysterious young girl named Rin who, to Daikichi’s astonishment, is his grandfather's illegitimate daughter! The shy and unapproachable girl is deemed an embarrassment to the family, and finds herself ostracized by her father's relatives, all of them refusing to take care of her in the wake of his death. Daikichi, angered by their coldness toward Rin, announces that he will take her in—despite the fact that he is a young, single man with no prior childcare experience. Usagi Drop is the story of Daikichi's journey through fatherhood as he raises Rin with his gentle and affectionate nature, as well as an exploration of the warmth and interdependence that are at the heart of a happy, close-knit family.

Propaganda:

Usagi Drop is great at showing the ups and downs of raising a child, and it’s so, so soft. It’s a great reminder of what it means to be a family, what it means to be responsible, and what it means to grow up, even after becoming an adult.

Trigger Warnings: In the manga, Rin grows up and gets a crush on Daikichi and it becomes a creepy grooming romance between them. Just a fair warning that if you really like the show and check out the manga, that will happen.

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how they’re presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.

[shadowyvoidfreakoaf]

Okay so I just got done today watching MatPat's gameplay of what remains of Edith Finch and so it I loved it and I'm officially obsessed with that game now I would love to play it myself someday and I thought you know what let me just go and since I saw some lines that Edith during the game has said about the family members I'm going to put down my favorite ones and yeah I am also going to list who they are to Edith

⚠️Spoilers!!!!!⚠️

(Great Aunt) Molly: she seems like the kind of girl I would have been friends with if she didn't die in 1947

(Great-Great Grandfather) Odin: Whatever's wrong with this family goes back a long ways

(Great Grandfather) Sven: Sven made this music box for Barbara, Sven had refurbished the camera he gave it to Sam

(Grandfather) Samuel "Sam": I never met my grandpa Sam but I think he and my mom had a lot in common

(Grandfather's Twin) Calvin: Calvin stories adult strangely funnier when I was I remember trying to do the exact same thing

(Great Aunt) Barbara: I never thought about how hard it must have been for her afterwards

(Great Uncle) Walter: I remember asking about mom once where Walter had gone, she said after Barbara died he got as far away as he could

(Mother) Dawn: I'm sure my mom was trying to Protect me, but the older I get the more I say from my mom was coming from,

(Uncle) Gus: mom never talked about him but she told me once that if I was a boy that they were going to name me Gus

(Uncle) Gregory: (she never really says anything about Gregory and he's not messing a lot other than his story so I'll just be able to my favorite quotes that Sam had made about him since he was the main person talking) whatever he saw, it sure made him happy, remind me so much of Calvin

(Brother) Milton: whatever Milton had found in the house Mom didn't want it getting out

(Brother) Lewis: Lewis and I spent a lot of time playing games together but he was surprisingly bad at them he died a lot

(in Christopher's case she was talking to him through her journal / diary) ( Son) Christopher: my brother was really cool I wish you could have met him, and I was alone, the last Finch Left alive, until I found out about you, this is where your story begins I'm sorry it will be there to see it it's a lot to ask but I don't want you to be sad I'm gone I want you to be amazed that any of us ever had a chance to be here at all

The ending of that game really sad and I literally found the fandom and I was very shocked at the fact that there's another game and it kind of explains what happened to Milton it's called The unfinished swan but if you search up the wiki page for what remains of Edith Finch then you'll find out all that stuff and that they are in fact actually connected and it is confirmed so there's that and I think I literally just became obsessed and have a new fans in now could could receive me watching people play this game and so you might see more of that content on here but anyways I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day and stay safe bye-bye

[setsuraposting]

My Thoughts On The “Discourse”

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of accusations of NuraMago having “problematic content” in regards to the ages of characters, and I just wanted to make one big post addressing all the arguments with one fell swoop.

Of course the real answer here is that it doesn’t matter that much morally because it’s fiction, but that’s the boring response. I want to engage these people on the same level and address their actual arguments, so as to not let one of my favorite series get slandered and misrepresented without proper analysis being done on it.

The first thing to bring up, is Nurarihyon marrying Youhime when she was 15, and Rihan marrying Wakana when she was around 17 (guess it runs in the family). These are, I will admit, kind of weird. With Wakana it’s not QUITE as bad, but Youhime’s case is pretty clear-cut. Considering the time period, I think it makes sense for the author to have written it that way (in that same arc, her own father was getting ready to sell her into prostitution, so this was just kind of a thing back then), but for Nurarihyon as a character it’s definitely not a great look.

Next, onto Setsura and Rihan. While there’s not any definitive proof that Setsura loves Rihan in the same way she loves Nurarihyon, there are certainly a lot of details that suggest it to be the case, and the rest of this post will be operating under that assumption (that’s a topic for another time). Essentially, Setsura helped raise Rihan when he was a child, he developed a crush on her, he grew up and she (presumably) started liking him back, but by this point it was already too late, his feelings had changed and he ended up marrying Otome instead. This is a deeply unfortunate situation, but what it definitely isn’t, is grooming. That’s not what that term means, and would imply Setsura was psychologically priming Rihan to be more susceptible to her or some insidious shit like that. No, she was just raising him normally, he thought he liked her for a while, and then he grew out of it, that’s all that happened.

And finally we arrive at the thing people actually care about, the real meat of this discourse, Rikuo x Tsurara. There are two main arguments used here to invalidate their relationship, that Tsurara groomed Rikuo, and that Tsurara is an adult while Rikuo is a child. For the first one, it’s basically the Setsura and Rihan example all over again, except Rikuo’s crush didn’t happen immediately, it seems to have taken a while to form and didn’t fade away like Rihan’s. Those specifics aside, the same logic as before applies here.

The second point, however, is more complicated. On the matter of Tsurara’s age, we know she was probably a few years old when she arrived at the Nura Clan, ten years went by, and then she wrote a letter back to her mother, at a point after Rikuo’s birth but before Rihan’s death. This could only have taken place from 1997 to 2002, meaning she arrived at the clan anywhere between 1987 and 1992, and was born even earlier than that. This would mean that by 2011 (the end of the series), she had been with the clan anywhere from 18 to 24 years, so unless Yuki-Onna have their own weird system of aging, she would most definitely be an adult, just a petite adult.

Rikuo, meanwhile, seems to exist in a paradox; on one hand, his human form looks like a kid and goes to middle school, while his youkai form looks and acts just like his father and grandfather in their primes, and is in every imaginable sense coded as an adult. Coupled with the fact that the youkai age of adulthood is said to be 13, it can be hard to make heads or tails of this. The most intuitive explanation I can think of is that his youkai form is an adult and his human form is a child, which is kind of supported by how his two states are portrayed as not merely transformations of the same person (like when his bodyguards take on human disguises at school), but separate personalities within himself who can interact with each other, as shown during the Tsurara sakazuki scene.

To add to this confusion, in extra chapter chapter 210.2 (best chapter ever, if you know you know) there’s a scene where Kana, Yura, Tsurara, and Kejourou are all suggested as possible brides for Rikuo in the near future. The fact that 13 year-old schoolgirls can be put next to centuries-old youkai women in this context without anyone batting an eye suggests to me that Rikuo is in fact considered both a kid and an adult, or rather, it switches depending on his form. (A 13 year-old human Rikuo marrying another 13 year-old would admittedly still be kind of strange, though…)

So, it would be fine for Kana or Yura to be with his human form, and then for Tsurara or Kejourou to be with his youkai form, I guess? That’s some ammunition for the people who support a harem ending, if nothing else.

Whether this makes the situation better or worse is up for you to decide, perhaps in the act of defending the series I actually made it look worse in some of your eyes, but eh, shit happens. My goal wasn’t to blindly defend it but rather to look at the evidence fairly and try to sort things out as best I could, so do with this information what you will. This has been your host Stratovariant, the worst Nura fan ever, and thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[enbysorcerer]

🖋 for Atticus pls?

I cannot draw so have a piccrew instead!

So this is Atticus. He's a feline shapeshifter and fire mage.

Backstory

He was born in France to happily married parents, Angela and Alex.

He was excited to gain a little sister and very confused when his maman didn't seem to like her as much (Angela had severe postpartum depression for reasons that I won't go into on Atticus' bio).

Moving to the US was exciting. He'd heard stories about New York and his great-grandfather from Alex, but getting to see it for himself was a new level of excitement. (The fact that it only happened because his parents were struggling was something he was oblivious to.)

Shortly after moving in, Atticus decided to do the thing he'd been expressly forbid from doing (playing with his fire magic) and ended up burning Alex's arms pretty severely. To this day, he still can't look at the scars without feeling guilty no matter how much Alex has tried to assure him it's fine and was just an accident.

Since Alex was forced to work in the US (he'd largely been a stay at home father in France but now they needed two incomes), he would often bring the children (Atticus and little sister Arianna) to work with him. It was there that he met the first of his future queerplatonic partners, Yashira.

(She was there due to being mute following the death of her parents and Atticus was the first person to really get her talking after their deaths).

I feel I should mention Alex is a psychiatrist before this gets misinterpreted.

Anyway, the two became fast friends and soon Alex was forced to encourage them to seek a different psychiatrist because he'd come to see Yashira as a second daughter.

(He still saw her unofficially but legally they were in a blurry zone that he didn't feel comfortable wtih)

Zane, the second queerplatonic partner, entered a few years later when their mum sent them to Mystic to learn how to control their magic.

He was twelve when he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and boy did he struggle with it. He stressed his poor parents to the extent that all four children (Atticus, Arianna, Yashira, and Zane) were convinced the adults were going to get divorced because "that's what happens when children get sick like this".

(Zane's parents being divorced were the only reference they had for divorced parents and that was not the best example since their divorce was... a lot more complicated than the children realized.)

At some point around here, Amara (Yashira's adoptive mother) started training the trio (Yashira, Zane, and Atticus) to hunt and fight monsters.

Their first solo hunt was when the trio was 18, and resulted in Zane being scarred. Atticus blames himself for that too since he witnessed it happen, and maybe sort of caused it. It's complicated.

Fun Facts

He hates his magic. He'll likely never admit it, but he wishes he'd inherited Alex's plant magic instead of Angela's fire.

He's polyamorous! Even without the two queerplatonic partners, he doesn't think he'd be happy in a monogamous relationship.

Despite this, he hopes to one day find a love like this parents where they're hopelessly devoted to each other. He just wants more than one of them.

This is why the triad with Zane and Yashira works so well. It's just not romantic in nature... at least not on Yashira's part (she's aro).

He's a chemistry teacher at Mystic Academy, the town's school for magical beings.

He was raised pagan and continues to practice as one to this day. He, like Alex, is particularly fond of Persephone.

He loves pokemon and has played every pokemon game there is to some degree. His favorite type is probably fire and he loves the original Ninetales.

He's a video game nerd in general tbh. Pokemon is just his favorite.

He's worn feminine clothes before as an experiment. Ultimately decided he was definitely a boy though, and the clothes were donated to a Mystic charity for people who've had to leave everything behind to run to the safe haven.

He did theater in high school. He tried band as well, but decided it wasn't for him after a few weeks and switched to choir for the remainder of the year.

He knows a fun fact for just about everything. Between Alex (an avid reader and Jeopardy enjoyer), his own love of reading, and being a liberal arts major for two years before switching to teaching, he knows a little about most things.

[unohanadaydreams]

I read online somewhere that Kubo didn't intend for Mayuri to survive to the end of Bleach and that he and Ishida were meant to have more fights before Ishida ultimately killed him. I can't help but wonder when that changed.

I would believe that, since Kubo went out of his way to have Mayuri rescue Uryu in Hueco Mundo (which comes off weird af when they interact not at all in TYBW and the interaction itself devolves into comedy salad).

Mayuri against Giselle is also so weak outside of them just being fun characters to see interact. I don’t buy Mayuri as being any less horrible than Giselle (despite Kubo’s lame cock sniffing efforts and trying to show Giselle as a Worse SS Arc Mayuri). The efforts to make him seem admirable fail unless your definition is just ‘wow how great he didn’t wanna see the world end’.

Not sure when it changed exactly, but it’s clear there was a shift towards the end of the fullbringer arc. The shinigami come in. They save Ichigo. They’re our final allies and lens for the upcoming TYBW. We are no longer giving a shit about the culpability of Gotei 13. They now have the ultimate right: either you support them or you support destroying the world. (This happened to a lesser extent when Mayuri saved Uryu and no confrontation happened.)

Ginjo’s ire was diminished to ‘isn’t it fucked up they’ve been listening to you’ RIGHT before the shinigami start talk about their intent to kill Ichigo if he showed any waver in faith towards them. The timing of Ichigo’s salvation, too, seems awfully convenient for Yhwach’s timeline (Yamamoto has kept that simmering under his beard for 1000 years, for sure). This wouldn’t be the first time Rukia wanted to save Ichigo and Yamamoto let it happen bc it lined up with an agenda.

To me the end of Uryu vs Mayuri is the end of the Soul Society being viewed as an entity that needs to be changed. Everything about change in the fullbringer arc is fucking lip service. We get three novels of how fucked things still are via CFYOW after the manga.

It makes me wonder if that was something that was fought about internally, since the shinigami are by far the most popular part of Bleach (which makes sense since they were by far the most well introduced and written).

Uryu joining the Sternritter solely as a convoluted plan to kill Yhwach doesn’t work as well imo as him joining because he’s promised a shot at the guy who bragged with photo evidence about torturing and killing his grandfather—the one adult who treated Uryu like he was a person and not a burden after his mother died—as well as Quincy at large. It can not be over stated that Mayuri was not doing this against orders

Uryu has plenty of reason to hate SS and Mayuri in particular and he’s a guy who feels pretty strongly. He likes to have the last line.

The fact that the text refuses to engage with WHY Uryu wouldn’t support the Seireitei is fucking insane. It’s right there!!!! It’s so clear!!!

It’s just weird to me that Kubo shoddily slapping some nazi imagery on the Sternritter really did make ppl go en masse ‘what Quincy genocide’.

Like Seireitei has done everything Yhwach did except try to kill the Soul King (that we know of).

Mayuri vs Uryu would have fucked. Nemu turning into an independent being and having to deal with possibly being ousted from her division now that Mayuri isn’t there to insist she stays/proving she is fully a shinigami would have fucked. Uryu finally returning the favor to a woman who has been codependent her entire life WOULD HAVE FUCKED.

I heavily enjoy seeing what we got in TYBW as far as Mayuri goes because I love him as a character and I’ll take literally anything. But story wise, yeah. Mayuri vs Uryu would have been so cool.

[princesssarisa]

Beth March for the 7 questions ask?

Three facts about them from my personal headcanons.

She's on the autism spectrum, or would be if she lived today.

She probably couldn't put into words why she's so especially close to Jo out of all her sisters, when on the surface they're opposites. But deep down she knows the reason why, besides "opposites attract": it's because they're both misfits. Meg and Amy are much better at following the rules their society expects of young women; Jo and Beth never fit that mold, Jo because of her tomboyishness and Beth because of her shyness. This mutual sense of being different draws them closer together, even though they're different in opposite ways. (I headcanon them both as neurodivergent – ADHD Jo, autistic Beth.)

If she had lived, she might have eventually and unexpectedly fallen in love and gotten married. I don't think that would have been impossible. But it would have to have been with a very unique, understanding young man. He might be the only Little Women OC I'd ever be tempted to create.

A reason they suck:

She doesn't think she was ever meant to live long, because she never wants to leave her family, get married, or lead a "normal" adult life. What does that say to those of us in the real world who have that in common with her?

A reason they are great:

She's one of the kindness, most loving, most unselfish and generous people you'll ever meet, and she shows just how valuable the most easily-overlooked person (sickly, shy, never leaves home, etc.) can be.

A reason I relate to them:

I'm also "young" for my age, don't have any grand ambitions, and just want a quiet, peaceful life near my family.

(what I consider to be) the top tier otp/ot3 for that character:

None.

Five things that never happened to the character that I believe should have happened:

Someone (maybe Jo) should have taken time to imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn't gotten sick. That someone should have told her, or at least spelled out to the readers, that even if she had lived with her parents until they died, and then maybe moved in with Jo and Friedrich to help care for the children at Plumfield, that even if she reached old age without ever marrying, having children, or "achieving" anything outside the home, her life would still have been happy and valuable.

Her musical compositions should have been published, even anonymously or under a pseudonym.

During her final months, she should have talked with Meg and Jo about a subject that's not even brought up again after Part I – the idea that the scarlet fever that started her decline was Meg and Jo's fault, because they wouldn't go to the Hummels in her place when she asked them to. She should have told them never to blame themselves, that she had been caring for the sick baby for a week and was almost certainly infected already when she asked them to go. Though it isn't mentioned, I suspect that Jo wouldn't have been so crushed with grief and depression after Beth's death if a part of her didn't still feel it was her fault.

She should have had more one-on-one interactions with Meg and Amy; even though she's clearly the closest to Jo, it would be nice to see more of her relationships with the other two.

After her death, someone (maybe Laurie in one of his ignorant moments) should have made a passing comment that she was "too fragile for this world," and someone else (either Jo or Amy) should have argued against that perspective. I'm just sick of seeing critics say that Beth has to die because she's too fragile for this world, and I wish the book spelled out that she wasn't.

Five people that character never fell in love with and why.

Laurie. He's a good friend; that's all.

John Brooke. Ditto.

Mr. Laurence; he's much too old and is more of an honorary grandfather.

Friedrich Bhaer. She sadly never meets him, but even if she had, he would just have been a good friend.

Frank Vaughn. Another friend, but not a love interest.

Fred Vaughn. Unlike Frank, he has nothing in common with her.

[jasperlion]

[ I have Thoughts on the FB, let me tell you. ]

lets divide it into bits:

The fairies

Idc about them sorry.

Peony was wholesome and good on Triandra for finding out nightmares aren't hated. That's about all I have to say. I'm not sure how I felt about the Tharja segment tbh.

Sonya's Solo Story

For this I have nothing bad to say at all. I think Niime as a choice for someone for Sonya to talk to was a great idea, especially because they have a very similar history with the kind of magic that took away some of their family. Granted, the circumstances were Very Different, as is highlighted in the FB, but at least they have this to share in and research on together.

The Celica bit took me by surprise, I actually did not expect her to show up. However, I think it was also a good idea, seeing as Celica is probably the only person alive who has been turned into a witch and lived* to regain her true self. (*she did, however, have to die for it) Clearly, her circumstances were Special to say the least, but the fact it happened means saving a witch could be possible, perhaps even without the death part, they just have to keep looking. "The day I give up on trying to save my sisters is the day they truly die." Damn.

Mycen's Solo Story

It was nice to see FEH acknowledge that Alm was his own war tactician and is quite experienced and knowledgeable as a commander.

That said, we really could have done without Fjorm here beyond perhaps her role in being the player stand-in explaining Alm and Rudolf's beef if they hadn't played Gaiden/SoV.

I also feel it's a little odd of Rudolf to be avoiding Alm considering the Paralogue for Valentines literally ends on Alm and Rudolf trying to make amends and Talk (Celica pushing for it), and all of them going to the festival together. That said, it's not TOO odd, especially since this is a *different* Alm. It does feel like a bit of backpeddaling on the valentines event, though. Idk, I think this could have been elaborated more on.

Also, very silly of two old men to be arguing on who is responsible for Alm being who he turned out to be lol. No complaints on that, as much as it shows a little bit of what each other believes.

I do think it makes sense that Alm is a little sensitive about the patricide thing towards Rudolf and not Mycen simply because Rudolf in his world is already dead. There's no way to make peace with that, or amends with that. Mycen, however, is still alive. He probably already buried the hatchet with his adoptive grandfather by the point he got sent to Askr, so there's no need for sensitivity and hostility. To a point, anyways.

Anyway, mainly, all of this is minor 'eh... huh', my main issue is Fjorm being so prevalent in the story when it feels like she's just there to be a soundboard. Poor woman.

RIP Anna btw.

The FB Story Itself

I got jumpscared by the fact that it starts off ad verbatim like one of me and Bern's (@indumasname ) threads lol

I think the concept of the nothing, and the nightmares, is interesting.

Sonya's resolution with her own nightmares about being unable to save her sisters before she dies, and how they question her resolve, were touching and ended on a strong note. Very good stuff.

Mycen's, however...

That's the one I take issue with, of course, lol.

Mycen doesn't do anything to disprove what Alm and Celica say, he just speaks over them. Sure, they're nightmares, but they have a good point — he kinda threw two kids in a conflict he should have lead or at least could have assisted in.

In a way it felt more like writers trying to justify Mycen, but having no actual reasonable reason for him. Just "Well, he's right because they weren't shouldering it alone". Except adults around them forced them to take responsibility, and so did he, over a situation and world they had no hand in making at just 17.

It'd have felt more resolute if he had faced the children he harmed and admitted they're right, he DID put them in that situation. Maybe they weren't alone, but he set them on a path that forced them to grow up and suffer when they were barely adolescents, because he believed there was no other way to end the reign of the Gods. He believed in the prophecy, and while it worked out, they suffered for it. That would have at least felt like he was answering what the nightmares said… not just speaking over them and ignoring what they said. In a way, it made Mycen look like he constantly avoids the responsibility of what he did to those kids, and the writing put him in the right for it.

Closing thoughts

Alm vc

[sweaterkittensahoy]

I finished "Fierce Valor," the Ronald Speirs biography, and actual Speirs--despite the efforts of Dick Winters to get him to contribute--gave no interviews for Ambrose or for Spielberg and Hanks. He ended up very upset with how Edwyna (his first wife) was portrayed in both the book and miniseries.

Edwyna had NOT been previously married as reported in Ambrose's book. What had happened was that a previous beau she'd assumed dead had returned from the POW camp, and she'd written to Ron about her struggle with what to do. They agreed to a divorce with her and her new husband raising Robbie (his son with Edwyna). She also did not refuse to return the war prizes. As mentioned in Ambrose's book, Ron adored Robbie, though they were only reunited when Robbie was an adult.

Ron was very upset that there were the printed "facts" in the book. In fairness, Winters attempted several times to get him to review what the other men said of him or to sit down with Ambrose himself, but all Ron did was write a six-page letter with what he remembered with no further comment.

Ron admitted to Winters in a letter at one point that he loved Edwyna even decades after their divorce. Ron himself had two failed marriages after divorcing Edwyna and finally found a great fit in Elsie. Wiki has her listed as his second wife, but she was his fourth. She also was the reason Ron showed up to any reunions or the BOB premiere in France. Basically, Dick Winters tried to coax Ron to show up, and he never agreed, but then he'd write Dick saying, "Well, Elsie says she wants to go, so I'll see you there." And if that's not the cutest shit, I don't know what is.

When Spielberg and Hanks started planning for the miniseries, Ron also didn't want to participate. Dick Winters tried, again, to get him to open up, but Ron just wouldn't. According to his family, Ron simply didn't think he'd ever done anything spectacular. He was just a career Army fellow. Dick Winters ended up--I assume--selling a kidney to get Spielberg and Hanks to send Ron a script to review. Ron didn't like how he was portrayed but also--again--refused to provide any help in making it match how he saw himself.

Matthew Settle says he's disappointed he only ever got to speak to him briefly because he had family who fought in WW2 and just felt a lot of respect for the difficult decisions Ron had to make.

BTW, all of Elsie's kids and grandkids and great-grandkids considered Ron their Dad/Grandfather/Great-Grandfather. She was a widow when they married, and everyone in the family remembers him being kind and sweet and practical with a sternness that only came out when necessary but was unmovable when it showed up.

He also had poodles. Which delights me because poodles look so cute and silly but are absolutely fucked-up smart and assholes if you've ever actually dealt with them.

A little cry: At the final reunion with Easy, Ron greeted everyone who spoke with him by asking "Which war?" which was a go-to response when a solider he formally worked with called him. His hearing was going, so the guess is that he used his go-to way of talking to fellow soldiers as a way to try and hide it.

A different little cry: Lipton absolutely considered him one of the best men he ever knew. It's very, very sweet.

(I read Band of Brothers right before reading Fierce Valor, and there's a lot of borrowed passages from BOB (properly sourced), so some parts of the book felt like a photo-copy, but Speirs himself wrote very little about himself and didn't leave a huge trove of journals or correspondence, so the writers did the best they could with what they had. It reads more like the biography on an ancient philosopher--where you have to conjecture and guess to some extent--rather than the biography on a very recently deceased man immortalized in book and film, but I appreciate the effort to look more deeply at the man and put together an idea of who he was as a whole person.)

[johannwolfgangvongoethe]

Further Umineko Posting

episode 1, part 2

battler is in the unique position of having been a Normal Guy™ ages 12 to 18, which explains a lot of his weirder comments on wealth (i didnt choose to be born rich.... my family owns a yacht.... pensive emoji) after all, he just got there. add to that, jessica (future heir) and george (oldest of his generation) bear the brunt of expectations while he is Just above a 9yo in the hierarchy. it makes sense the story focusses on his view, he is somewhat of an outsider and its easy to explain dynamics through his eyes.

saying the natural beauty of the island and its large wild bird population should give way for a golf course was a terrible take, still.

i said before that he is a very believable 18yo. so far the writing did well to capture that weird sort of liminal period between Playing Adult and internalizing the adult play behaviours so that they manifest in Being An Adult. hope this makes sense.

another conflict has been reoccuring; the servants call themselves furniture. there has been little direct interaction between ushiromiya family members and servants so far so its hard to tell whether this mindset is employed but them or the the older servants themselves. POSSIBLY related to that, shannons winged emblem is on her thigh. no idea whether this is a funny design choice or, more dubiously, marks her in her role for life. interestingly, gohda and kumasawa seem to be the only servant characters without this emblem. their names also dont follow the same convention as kanons and shannons. possibly because they existed elsewhere before they were hired to work here, while shannon and kanon ....??!?!? grew up in this enviroment and had to accept their names from it. maybe this is what "being furniture" means, their status is quite belonging-like. genji seems to have been with kinzo forever, so he fits that category too. would be funny if they ended up being some sort of enchanted candleholders, all beauty and the beast like.

i finally saw every family member, i believe. krauss and jessicas hair colour is suspicious but oh well. kinzos mental state has been tanking dramatically. he seemed stressed out in the intro but sociable at least. now he just appears as a drunken choleric. genjis is in the weird role of enabling his selfdestruction. how much of this is him spiralling over some business he has with beatrice and how much of it is ???? dementia? i up in the air. krauss believes it to be later. it struck me when he said his father is already dead, only a phantom remains.

unhinged out there thing to say but kinzo reminds me so much of my own grandfather, though he had no beatrice..... there was always Someone bestowing evil unto him in his very potent paranoia, though. a few years ago i would not have been able to read umineko, i think. but my grandfather has been dead for a while and my family is poor and we didnt all get murdered on an island. so thats great!!! they are very similar though, lol.

also weird that i read two visual novels in a row and both of them closely describe how absinthe is prepared and looks. unlikely but not impossible. ANOTHER UNEXPECTED PERSONAL THING: funny how i Just learned about the hour of the ox from enstars of all places lmao. are both topics a staple in vn or am i just running into them by chance. whats happening.

according to kinzo, beatrices curse (everything she gave kinzo must be returned upon his death? or something?) manifests in the fact that all of his heird are incapable. i somehow think it will manifest in beatrice swallowing the family whole as if they never existed. women be eating.

i fully expect kinzo to die soon and for hell to break lose afterwards. currently the conference has the uncomfortable yet normal vibes of a family meetup but with his inheritance at stake it could get very ugly very soon. its funny genji hasnt come up in related conversations at all. it is not unlikely for him to inherit a lot as a lifelong butler and the only person kinzo tolerates around him.

oh so thats where all that comes from. huh.

"lol" rudolf said, and "git gud"

and i thought it was the witch who was supposed to murder

all siblings seem to be very business savy, safe for rosa perhaps, who openly admits that she still feels like a child. even before that battlers inner monologue informed us that being in adult in the ushiromiya family has little to do with age and all to do with success. indeed, krauss gets accused of embezzlement because there is no other way to explain the source of his funds. the siblings goals in all this seem quite clear for now. krauss needs his father financially to avoid debt and failure. eva sees herself as the most capable of the four, with an intelligent husband, son, and successful enterprise in the background. rudolf wants a piece of the cake. rosa is not yet as financially stable as she would like to be. and natsuhi is caught in the crossfire, with tons of responsibilities but little power, as she is not related by blood. her chronic headaches are probably psychosomatic and/or stress related. her own family, while not clearly explained (yet?) seems to be very unfortunate and this much nobler cutthroat enviroment is destroying her.

the girls are, once again, fighting

natsuhis struggle has much to do with gender. she is related by marriage, left another family, will never be seen as an equal in her new one, and has the expectation of producing a child. it is also mentioned she organizes the private household and family meetings, so she got stuck playing along with her conservative patriarchal wife role. this contrasts eva, who by all means is shown as empowered and ambitious (her husband took her name, she does multiple martial arts). by design those two are to be pit against each other, when they would have had no further beef otherwise.

the core issue seems to be whose child is to continue the main ushiromiya bloodline. their real problem does not lie with each other but with traditional values and expectations towards women. unfortunately being a narrative foil doesnt always mean you get to have gay sex or else we wouldnt be here.