#Or guessing a character's job/birth place based on descriptions of it

[sadrockandwaltzes]

Just to sort of add on to that in case anyone wanted more info/examples, canon is just the bare facts.

What did this character do? What was the color of this scarf? Where did it take place? The explicitly stated stuff

And then headcanons are the audience's interpretation of hows and whys, generally. It's the fill in the blanks

Like canon would be: jackson held out his umbrella to this girl from his class. Or, Jackson felt sad.

Headcanon would be: Jackson held out the umbrella because he likes her, or Jackson felt sad because he bombed his test that day. People reading it are drawing inferences about this, but it isn't actually confirmed. He could've held out his umbrella because he knew it was raining hard and felt bad letting someone get drenched, or is trying to cozy up to her because she's the smartest in his class.

You see this a lot with arguments over whether characters liked each other😅 A lot of authors leave characters' feelings/relationships ambiguous, sometimes by accident, sometimes to keep fans of different ships happy, and sometimes just because they want people to draw their own conclusions- the truth is less important than what is taken from the books.

Authors (and fans) do take issues with people taking interpretation for fact though, so it's good to keep it in mind. Sometimes it's easy to tell the difference, but sometimes it's really not. Everyone does it too, books you read in class often have 'accepted versions' of what they're about, and teachers will spout them like they're fact. Similarly, any confusing movie will have a collection of interpretations with usually one or two being considered 'the truth'.

As an example, I've been hearing recently that some schools are teaching Gatsby or A Separate Peace as gay, which (I agree but) I don't really like. Even though I think it's true, they were written in ways that purposely attempt to make it ambiguous (it depends who you ask how well it worked), and I think it's nice to let people come to their own conclusions rather than being told that 'this is the truth'. (I do like hearing other interpretations after I read though. It's crazy how different some of them can get)

Sometimes it's hard to know if it's canon or headcanon too, because the actual wording will say something that sounds like it's for sure the truth, but then there will still be fights because people say that that evidence was based on a misunderstanding, or that it doesn't actually prove anything.

Like I think a character from a show, Karamatsu is bi. An official description of him somewhere states that he dresses the way he does to attract 'karamatsu girls' and 'karamatsu boys'. I feel as though that should be enough proof, but the show itself never actually shows him attempting to flirt or mentioning anything alluding to him liking dudes (tbf there aren't that many characters outside if his family) so I think it's canon but I still wonder😅 One that's way more up for debate is Holden Caulfield. He calls male characters in the book attractive and goes on about it for long stretches at a time, but a lot of people say he's straight. Then others think he's gay because they don't think there's sufficient evidence of him liking girls. It doesn't really matter, but this is an example of headcanons that are taken directly from the text, but still can't say for sure what the intended meaning was.

Also you can remember canon vs headcanon, because canon is (I believe) taken from the bible, hence being told as gospel, the ultimate truth (not that I necessarily believe bible canon is canon), while head canon means that it's specifically canon in your head, canon to you.

What’s the difference between canon and headcanons?

um um um!! I’m not very good at explaining things and all that! but I’ll try!!

canon is what actually happened in the piece of media (book, show, comic, etc.), or an actual, stated fact about a character.

headcannons are traits and quirks of a character that are made up by a fan of the show, and were not actually stated or shown in the show.

yeah, something like that !!

[porta-decumana]

Introducing Lillian Willows...

Formally, I guess, because I’m basically making her into a secondary character on this blog, although Kaida will still be my focus!  A full profile/page for Lillian will be made in the near future but I just wanted to do an intro post for her because I regret not really doing one for Kaida when I started posting here.

CW: References to alcoholism, abuse, domestic violence.

BASICS// Name: Lillian Willows Age: 25 years old Gender: Female Sexuality: Heterosexual Race: Hyur, Midlander with some Highlander Ancestry

RESIDENCE & FAMILY// Place of Birth: Quarrymill, The Black Shroud Current Residence: Quarrymill, The Black Shroud Parents: Harald Willows & Fiona Willows Siblings: n/a Significant Other: Avannaut of the Redbelly Bandits (married) TALENTS AND SKILLS// Job Stone Acquired: Red Mage (Canonical Verse), White Mage (Dark AU) Classes Trained in: Botanist, White Mage (Dark AU) Additional: Lillian is self-taught at reading and writing.  She did this in order to learn more about botany so she could provide for her family.  However as a side effect of this, she also took up poetry writing, though is very hesitant to show anyone her works.  She is surprisingly eloquent for a woman that grew up in the slums of Quarrymill, her house no more than a 2-room shack with little in terms of luxuries.  She bases most of her speech after high society in hopes it will make people see past a woman who is a mere notch above destitution.

PERSONALITY// Likes: Walking in the woods, flowers, feeling in control, poetry, romance novels, the color purple, butterflies Dislikes: Hypocrisy, alcohol, strangers, when people raise their voices Description: Lillian has an outward demeanor that would likely make a winter in Ishgard seem warm.  Life has not been exceptionally kind to her-- she was born into a happy home that turned cold and sour by the time she was five years old.  She has only known a life in which her parents argued and that has constantly acted as a source of fuel for her to get out of the house.  She works nonstop to provide for her parents and herself, knowing her mother too mentally broken to do much other than knit and her father too drunk to get out the door some days.  Botany provides an escape for her and the escape provides some semblance of peace-- enough to keep her sane.  Her outward personality is no-nonsense, strategical, and efficient in everything she does.  Lillian acts to survive until the next day.  It’s for these reasons she comes across as uncaring.  Inwardly, however, Lillian is more attached to good morals than she would like to admit.  But her rage is palatable; a tedious build of frustrations over her life that she fears one day will swallow her.

HISTORY//

Born in Quarrymill to Harald Willows and Fiona Willows.  Harald is an ex-Ala Mhigan veteran who was discharged after receiving a near fatal blow that left him with chronic pains and Fiona is a Gridanian native with a history in weaving and botany.

Harald begins turning to alcohol to deal with his depression/chronic pain.  Fiona and Lillian are subjected to his drunken rampages.  Lillian is 5 years old when this starts.

Lillian starts learning writing, reading, and botany, getting started with the help of her mother but largely teaching herself.  She continues her studies through her childhood.

At the age of 21, Lillian is kidnapped by Redbelly bandits looking to make gil off of ransoming her.  One of the Redbellies, Avannaut, convinces the others to let her go.  She returns to Quarrymill and does not report the incident.  Avannaut and Lillian run into each other a week later and Lillian offers to teach him reading and writing as a “thank you” for letting her go. This turns into a romantic relationship that is kept secret from everyone else.

When Lillian turns 24, Avannaut proposes to her and they wed in secret.  Lillian remains living with her parents and sees her husband occasionally.  Avannaut eventually decides this is not the life he wants for her and decides to enlist in the Ala Mhigan army, since they will not know him as a bandit.  Lillian lets him do this reluctantly and Avannaut leaves for Gyr Abania, becoming an archer in the army. He tells her he will send for her when he has enough gil for them to buy a home in the Ala Mhigan Quarter.  This is around the events of 5.4.

Avannaut goes missing and Lillian is distraught beyond belief.  In a bid to find her missing husband, she goes to Gridania in hopes she can hire an adventurer to track him down with the pitiful amount of coin she has to offer.  The story from here will be written in fic-form but will involve her finding a Red Mage job stone.

And then, of course, there’s the Dark AU version of Lillian...

The Dark AU -- Dawn’s Last Light/Matron of the Boughs (contains fic spoilers)//

This AU exists alongside Kaida’s Dark AU, Dawn’s Last Light, which is featured in my longfic, The Last Light of Dawn.  In this verse, Garlemald launches a massive invasion against Eorzea and the Black Shroud sees all of the Padjal slain but Kan-E-Senna.  The Elementals go wild, many of them perishes or giving in to a berserk-like rage as the aether is disturbed greatly during the invasion.  In a gambit to right the destabilized aether in the land, a handful of Elementals approach the fleeing members of Gridanian society and grant them blessings that make them into a new generation of Padjal.  Lillian, who loses both her parents as Quarrymill burns, is selected.  However, her grief over the loss of her family and her husband, Avannaut (who presumably died in the invasion), is so great that it overcomes her.  She discards her name, taking up the name Almeria instead, and vows her vengeance.  When Kan-E-Senna decides to surrender to the Garleans, Almeria turns on her and her fellow Padjali colleagues.  She assassinates them all and tosses them into the depths of the Palace of the Dead, not knowing she did not successfully kill Kan-E-Senna.  She declares to the remnants of Gridania that the peace talks were unsuccessful, resulting in the deaths of all of the other Padjal, and is crowned as their loving Matron.  She then begins her plan to take revenge on Garlemald.

[what-goesaround-comesaround]

Let's talk about some Irish newsies-

Hey! So I thought it'd be cool to look into the research I've found indicationg that some of the newsies might have Irish ties! (I'm Irish so that might explain my interest) I'm not an expert at all or anything, this is just the research I've collminated while scouring through newsies facts.

Oh course this isn't set in stone, this is just information I've found so if I've got anything wrong, please tell me! I was inspired by this post to do my own research. (A lot of my research has to do with the original movie but stick around for some fun facts about surnames?)

And now, onto Jack Kelly :

^This is David's description of Jack in Newsies : a novel by Jonathan Fast which can be found here on pg 9. Both surnames "Kelly" and "Sullivan" have their roots in Irish history.

^on pg 27 of the same book David describes Jack again as "an Irish boy". I just thought this would be worth noting, seeing how David wants to make it obvious to us, the reader that Jack appears to be Irish or of Irish descent.

"Kelly", originally anglicized from the Gaelic "Ó Ceallaigh" meaning 'descendant of Ceallach', an ancient Irish personal name, originally a byname meaning 'bright-headed' or 'troublesome' (fitting huh?) Source found here.

Fun fact for you livesies fans, the reigning chieftain of Ui Maine (mid Galway, South Roscommon, sometimes referred to as "O'Kelly's Country") O'Ceallaigh (c1351), was a renowned patron of the arts. Source found here.

Another fun fact : Jack means Seán in Irish.

Bet you weren't expecting that. Or maybe you were. Anyway, source is found here. I also remember it being a topic of conversation in 3rd class Irish class. Wonder how Spot and Jack would feel about that.

^On pg 23 of the original 1992 movie script found here Jack describes himself as a "mick" which was a commonly used derogatory term used against those of Irish decent/Irish immigrants at the time. However this line was not included in the movie. Source found here.

Now for "Sullivan". The original Irish for the surname Sullivan is O'Suileabhain, however the actual derivation of the name is debated. There is no doubt that the root word is 'suil' meaning eye, but whether it is to be taken as 'one-eyed' or 'hawk-eyed' is usually left an open question. Sources found here and here.

The surname is associated with the southwestern part of Ireland and was originally found in County Tipperary before the Anglo-Norman invasion. Source found here

Also, in both movie and stage versions Jack tells us his father "taught me not to starve" indicating his father may have taught Jack about the horrors of the Famine/An Drochshaol/The Great Hunger that plagued Irish families for years after. Source is found here.

Okay! On to Spot Conlon :

^This is David's description of Spot Conlon from the same book, pg 51 (okay he may not outright say he's Irish but they really said "throw all the stereotypes at him like red hair". But seriously in the Hard Promises script and the Newsies script he's described the same way. I guess they really invisioned that red hair huh?)

Spot is interesting seeing as he is the leader of the Brooklyn newsies, Brooklyn being an infamously known place for Irish immigrants to live due to the Great Hunger/An Drochshaol (translated meaning "Hard Times") or as it's more commonly known as "the potato famine" between 1845-1852. Source found here. At least 1 million people died from this and another 1 million immigrated, a lot to America (although the exact numbers are disputed.) Around this time New York becoming the busiest port city in the world. There was labor work to be had in Brooklyn, in the manufacturing and loading and unloading of goods to be sent around the country and around the world. Irish immigrants who had been left poor and malnourished by the famine had no other option but to take on this manual labour to earn money. Many took jobs by the ports and settled by the Watershed i.e. near the ports. This could be a reason to why we're first introduced to Spot and his "cronies" at the port in the movie. Source is found here and here.

Supposing Spot was born between 1880-1886 (he's quoted to be 14 in real life in this article however it's stated in the Newsies Novel on pg 51 to "be around Jack's age" and it's stated in original script before Newsies was rewritten to be a musical and was still a drama, "Hard Promises" he's quoted to be 19 on pg 28. So take this with a grain of salt.) the U.S. census, which counted both place of birth and parents’ birth place as well, estimated that one-third of all New Yorkers were of Irish parentage. By 1890 as Brooklyn neighborhoods were expanding east and south, the amount of people with Irish stock is at 196,372. Source found here.

Also how people will usually use the name "Seán" or sometimes "Patrick" for Spot (one of the fandom wiki pages cites it as his real name here but admits to having no proof of it). Both of these are traditional Irish first names, Patrick being popularised by the patron saint of Ireland St. Patrick/Pádraig. Might have heard of it-

Now for his surname.

Conlon is an Irish family name, it being a variation of the anglicised version of Ó Connalláin. The name may be derived from two Irish Gaelic words "Con" (the genitive case of Cú, meaning "hound") and "Lón" meaning lion - thereby implying a person who has the characteristics of a lion born of a hound - strength and speed. Source found here.

Conlon had a Gaelic form of Ó Conallain or Ó Coinghiollan in Connacht however it's Ó Caoindealbhain in Munster and Leinster. Fun fact, Connal or Connall is claimed to be a pet name for a sprout or little sprout. Source found here.

The history regarding the Conlon surname is complicated to say the least- however it can be traced back to County Meath, where the Conlon descendants are from an important sept near Trim, which traces back to Laoghaire, King of Ireland circa 432. O'Coindealbhain was also anglicised 'Quinlivan' in Munster. Source is found here and here.

This post isn't letting me include the video of Jack, David and Boots going to Brooklyn to negotiate with Spot and the Irish traditional music in the background but I'll make a separate post about that.

Now, onto Racetrack Higgins.

I'm going to keep this kind of brief. We know Racetrack is described as "tall, skinny gambling Italian beanpole" in the Hard Promises script on pg 1 and he's described as "an Italian beanpole" on pg 5 of the Newsies Script. However the surname "Higgins" is Irish as far as my research has told me, not Italian.

The real Ed "Racetrack" Higgins lived in Brooklyn and is quoted to be the real leader of the Brooklyn union, and was elected vice-president of the general union after Kid Blink and David Simmons were accused of selling out. Source found here. I haven't been able to find much information about Racetrack Higgin's life after the strike or his family life which could connect him to Ireland however I thought it would be interesting. If anyone is curious about the real Racetrack Higgins this source has been really useful!

'Higgins" is an Irish family name with ancient royal connections. It is an anglicisation of O'hUigin, from the Irish word 'uiginn' meaning Viking. The original holder of the name was a grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, High King of Tara, and all of the O'Higgins claim a common descent from him. Ancient records show that several members of the O'Higgins claimed a hereditary right to be file or poet in the courts of the Irish Chiefs and Kings. Source is found here and here.

Because of their loyalty to Gaelic culture and religion, the Higgins suffered under the English Crown in Ireland and had lost all their lands in Sligo and Westmeath by 1654. Some of them remained in Ireland as tenants on their own lands, but many of them migrated to Spain where they achieved high office in the service of the King. Source is found here.

Fun fact, Racetrack has the same surname as the current (9th) President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins!

Lastly, on to Crutchy/ie Morris!

^This is from the 1991 original script of Newsies when it was called Hard Promises and was written to be a drama. Obviously this wasn't the movie that we have today but I thought this would be a cool add on. I couldn't find a lot of information about the real Crutch Morris, whom Crutchy/ie is based on. The surname Morris isn't strictly Irish, it's a popular surname throughout the British Isles however with this piece of information I thought it would make sense to research it anyway.

"Morris" (Ó Muiris in Irish) was introduced to Ireland by the Normans, along with the variant Firzmaurice (Mac Muiris). A branch of these Morrises moved to Galway in 1485 CE and later became one of the Tribes Of Galway. The name may also have been an abbreviation of Morrissey (Ó Muireasa), a branch of the Uí Fiachrach clan. Sources found here and here.

The ancient Irish name Ó Muirgheasa (variant Ó Muirghis), a personal name thought to derive from muir, meaning "sea" and geas, meaning "taboo" or "prohibition." Source found here.

The Morris family does have an Irish family crest/coat of arms which I'll post at a later date, further cementing themselves in Irish history.

This is most of the information I have regarding the origins of the characters and their surnames however I could go on about the music in Newsies, the family crests, the housing circumstances of poor Irish immigrants in New York at the turn of the 19th century ect.

If you want to learn more about what life was like for Irish immigrants in New York I recommend reading the non-fiction book The Gangs Of New York (or watching the movie. It isn't completely historically accurate but give a decent overview of what was life) or reading this article by the Irish Times.

I've barely scratched the surface of this topic and hope to go into it father in the future!

May I leave you with this gif of the boys doing some Irish (inspired) dancing and David with his twirl combo!

Ps. If the links aren't working for you I'd be happy to provide a list of the resources I’ve used throughout my research on a separate post if needs be.

pps. @maggs-is-a-muppet @annihilatedthenightstalker @newsies-bun @letter-from-the-refuge thanks for the motivation last night 😌

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Unedited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Thirty: The One With His View

Warnings: Weight loss

Word Count: 2376

    Bucky's POV

   Bucky sat in his bed with his arm laying detached beside him. His eyes stared down at the photo of Hunter and Lily on the beach, Joey there with them. His glassed over eyes focused on that bright beaming smile on the blonde's lips. One he hadn't seen in person for over a month now. One that he only saw in his dreams at night, or in the photos on his phone.

    Scattered around his apartment were printed photos of her that he had taken. The day after she broke up with him he had them printed out, just to have her in his hands once more. Her bright eyes crinkled at the sides as he took sneaky photos of her, ones he only showed her the night he took them, to avoid her from dodging him. She always hated having her photo taken, but he just couldn't help himself.

    She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

    He ran a shaky hand through his grown out hair, tugging gently on the roots, just as she always did. He ran those same hands down the front of his face, his overgrown facial hair scratching the callouses that he earned over the years. Glancing down at his phone, the brunette sighed. May 3rd. Her birthday was tomorrow. He could only take a guess how she was celebrating it.

     Her and Hunter probably sitting on the couch with Chinese, Gen and Rose occupying the other sofa as a cheesy rom-com played on the TV. When Hunter went to bed, she'd probably change it to a horror movie. He never understood how she enjoyed them so much. To Bucky, horror movies were something he could never get on board with, yet Lily adored them so much, he would sit there with her. He would typically end up curled into her side, wincing whenever there was a loud noise from the screen.

    But she'd never say anything about it. She'd just chuckle and call him a "big ol' baby", and kiss the top of his head before throwing more popcorn in her mouth.

     Her favourite was The Nun. Bucky despised it. Whether it be her desensitization to it, or her strange love for things that made her yelp in fear, she would watch it so often. Eventually, Bucky actually opened his eyes for some of the more scary parts. But he always ended up curled into her side once more, breathing in her scent to sooth him. She'd never watch ones that were more so thriller based, the psychological ones that messed with peoples heads and typically involved person to person violence though. He knew she watched them alone, but wouldn't with Bucky.

     Because he told her what they did to him mentally. So she didn't. Because his comfort was always her main priority, especially with his trauma.

     The alarm on his phone blared, sending a jerk through his body. Glancing down, Bucky groaned. He had therapy in half an hour, which meant he had to leave now. He'd managed to dodge the conversations about Lily with his therapist, but the Doctor knew that. Which meant, sooner or later, she would pry and get him to open up about his heartbreak.

-----

     "Lily was her name, right?" Dr. Raynor asked, tilting her head as she stared down the man across from her.

     "I'd prefer not to talk about it." Bucky stated simply, readjusting in his seat on the couch.

     "Mmm you said that a month ago. Then again three weeks ago. Then again two-"

     "I get it."

     Bucky knew that his luck would go against him. Of course Dr. Raynor would bring her up the day before her birthday. As her present sat heavy in his coat pocket. He'd carried it around with him for the past month, never letting it far from his sight. So much sat inside of the case, begging for her.

     "She has a son. I have that here in the notes. You loved him, and even saw him as your own," the Doctor began, crossing her legs, "did you imagine having a family with her yourself, James?"

     "We were a family already," he stated softly, voice cracking halfway through, "from the moment I first stayed at her house, we were a family."

     "Let me rephrase," Dr. Raynor continued, tilting her head, "did you imagine having a child of your own with her?"

     Yes. The answer was yes. He pictured it in his head whenever he saw her with Hunter, or pictures of her with Hunter when he was a baby. What Bucky would have given to be there for her then, to have been Hunter's father since birth. But he took what he could. Instead, he imagined her pregnant with his child. They'd talked about it briefly. Both agreeing they'd love to have a little girl, name her Stella, or Amelia, something classic. They even tossed Rebecca back and forth, for Bucky's sister. In the end they decided on Rose-Rebecca for a middle name instead. For a boy, they came up with Wyatt or Theo, with Steve as the middle name.

     They'd imagine their home. Somewhere in the countryside, a large backyard for Hunter and their other kid. A dog or two, maybe even a cat. Lily wasn't fussy on the idea of cats, not their biggest fans. But Bucky always wanted one.

     "You told me two months ago you planned on retiring," Dr. Raynor commented, pulling him out of his thoughts, "Was that to settle down with her? And start that family of your own?"

     "Yes." He stated, voice loose and breathy.

     "Did you end up following through with it?"

     "Yes."

     "How do you spend your days now?" she pushed, trying to get the truth out of him.

     "I volunteer at the old folks home near my apartment," he answered honestly, sighing as he spoke, "Tony offered me a job at the tower but I'm not sure I want to take it."

     "What was the job?"

     "Talking to retired veterans, young and old." He stated softly, fiddling with his gloves.

     "Does Lily know this?"

     He shook his head. He'd debated calling her over the last few weeks. Wondering if she'd even pick up. He drove past her street once, before doubting himself and refusing to ever step foot near there again. Too much pain followed when he realized he wouldn't have anywhere to go on that street. He wasn't allowed back at her place, not after she told him to get out, and said goodbye. With her back to him.

     "Have you had any contact with her son?"

     "No. No, I won't do that to him," Bucky whispered, voice failing him, "I couldn't. He deserves happiness, and peace. It's not for me to contact him."

     "And her sister, you said she was pregnant a while back," she continued, "what about her?" He shook his head again, prompting her to continue, "And...Gen. I think that was her name. Her best friend. Anything?"

     Another shake of his head.

     "Hand me your phone."

     Bucky sighed and tossed the device over, watching the Doctor swiftly catch it and turn it on. Her eyes softened when she saw his lockscreen. Bucky stared down at his lap, knowing what she saw. On his lockscreen, Lily stood on a balcony, a grey suit jacket on and a white lace dress. The sun shined bright on her face as she leaned her head back, blonde hair dancing in the wind. Her smile was slight, as she enjoyed the feeling of the sun. He took it when they were at his apartment in October, on a particularly warm day. She raided his closet and took the jacket.

     She still had it.

     "She's beautiful." Dr. Raynor stated, swiping up to unlock the phone. A tear fell down Bucky's cheek. His home screen was different, but still Lily.

     Lily and Hunter were asleep on the couch, Joey curled at the base of the couch. Bucky had come over for dinner to find them like that. So he draped a blanket over the two and got to work on the food in the kitchen. Not daring to disturb the two. He always loved seeing her asleep. The stress lines he adored along her forehead and cheeks disappeared, her face was calm and supple. Her lips slightly parted slightly and eye lashes laid against her slightly flushed cheeks.

     "Cute kid," Raynor commented, moving on to his messages, "You've ignored everyones texts James. Only Sam and Steve seem to be getting an answer from you. If you can even call it that."

     "They mostly come over unannounced to my apartment," Bucky said gravely, shifting once again, "typically to force me into this exact same conversation we're having."

     Tossing his phone back, the doctor sighed, "When did you realize you had fallen in love with her?"

      "I couldn't tell you, Doc," he sighed, running a hand through his hair, "there were so many times where I would just look at her and know. Know that she would have an unspoken power over me."

     "Tell me more about her."

     Bucky knew where to start. He began by talking about her appearance, all walls he had up disappearing after the doctor saw just how much he was still in love with her. He began with her hair. Describing it as something that he could play with for days on end. It was always soft and was bright and reminded him of the sun. Her eyes were a deep amber hazel with flecks of green in certain lights. Her skin was bright and boisterous, always seemingly full of life when he was around. Her nose was something that he could only describe as sculpted. A strong ridge with a dip near the top. Her lips were that of a love song. Soft and welcoming, seemingly molded to his own. A beautiful cupid's bow that had him longing to kiss her from the moment he saw her for the first time.

     Her body was something Bucky could barely voice. A simple figure, dips and curves. Gentle stretch marks along the thicker parts, her hips, her thighs. Her stomach and waist was his favourite thing next to her hands. Her stomach had small marks along the bottom where she grew to carry Hunter. He would typically wake her up on weekends by kissing those marks, reminding her of the beauty. Her hands were gentle and calloused from years of hard work. But always so gentle, skilled fingers that would trace simple patterns along his skin and run through his hair.

     He left out the explicits.

     Her personality though. Bucky didn't know where to start. He was rendered speechless when he got to it. But he started with the dirtier parts. The harsher parts of her that he didn't always enjoy, but loved more than anything else. She was snappy, and had an affliction with everything being perfect. She was controlling, and never let him lead her through different things. Sometimes she wouldn't listen, and focus on that dark voice that plagued her head instead of listening to him. But she was kind. Kinder to him than anyone. She would sit him down some nights and point out all that she loved about him. She was warmhearted, and never let herself see the bad in people. Her mind was something that fascinated him beyond words. She was a quick thinker, always ready with a comeback or some fact he probably didn't need, but loved to hear anyways.

     When he became coherent to his words again, he felt the warm tears flooding his cheeks rapidly. Something that only ever happened in the confines of his own apartment, away from everyone else. But this time, he spoke. Three simple words that shattered his heart.

     "She was mine."

-----

     Standing in his kitchen, Bucky used his flesh hand to mix the blueberries into the batter in the black mixing bowl on the counter. He wasn't sure what possessed him to make these today of all days, but he did.

     The lock on his door turning made the brunette sigh. Steve or Sam, or both even, were here. Which meant that he wouldn't be able to get the peace and quiet he wanted for the day. Ignoring the struggle, Bucky poured the batter into circles on the skillet, smiling at the sizzle they made. Something Lily said was what he wanted. He watched intently, waiting for the bubbles to begin popping. When the door swung open, he chuckled. They figured it out.

     "I told you to turn it that way first," Sam muttered to Steve as the two walked in, "but nooo Mr. America had to do it his way."

     "Former, Mr. America." Steve corrected, shutting the door.

     "And now Mr. Pain-in-my-ass." Bucky sighed, flipping the pancakes before turning to face the two men standing near his kitchen.

      "Hey Buck," Steve smiled softly, walking forward, "How're you feeling?"

      "Well it's 2 o'clock and cyborg is making pancakes. So either he's so old he's losing his mind, or he's not doing great." Sam grinned walking over to the counter and leaning on it.

      "I've had a long month." Bucky smiled tightly, flipping the pancakes onto a plate beside him.

      "You could call her." Steve offered, stealing a blueberry from a container.

      "She doesn't want to talk to me." Bucky muttered, covering his pancakes in butter and icing sugar. Just as she used to in the mornings for him.

     "You sure about that?" Sam whispered, eyes staring down Bucky.

     Bucky shook his head and grabbed his utensils and orange juice before walking past the two into the living room. He sat down, turning on the TV and trying his hardest to ignore the heavy stares of his best friends from the other end of the room. He knew they were here for a reason. It could be the fact it was her birthday and Bucky had plans to make it special for her a month ago. Or it could be to pester him. Or even if something happened they won't tell him. The last was his best guess.

     "I'm guessing by your annoying stares," Bucky sighed, turning his attention to the men, "You're not here for pancakes."

[shirophantomvox]

Hewo its me again lol! I never thought Krolia and Kolivan had a similar leadership personalities but now it kind of makes sense :0 Also I want to know your headcanons on the Galra in general. Like the empire, culture, society whatever you can think of lol. I genuinely enjoy hearing your thoughts on this stuff and I'm interested in hearing what you have to say :D

Great question, anon! For the last 3 years, I have gathered so much information about them it’s crazy! FYI anon and everyone else, I am in the process of writing a VLD fan fiction. It will take sometime but be on the look out!

When I watched Voltron for the first time, I was immediately attracted to the Galra and their interesting ways of working, secrecy, and (sometimes) unnecessary vengeance. When I say “attracted” I mean their characters interested me more than the heroes. In many shows, the heroes are the interesting characters because we already know that they are the good guys, and their origin stories aren’t exciting as compared to the villains. Now, I still don’t like the Galra and how they handled business, but their origin and background history are interesting.

Before Daibazaal was destroyed, it seemed to be a place full of elegance and discipline. Seeing that Zarkon yelled at Blaytz for fraternizing with one of his servers. To Zarkon, following a narrow line was the perfect way to run his empire so nothing out of the ordinary would happen unless nature caused it. I can understand why Zarkon preferred his people to be disciplined. This way, the planet doesn’t have to experience tragedy regarding crime or worse. In the real world, I don’t view disciplined people as people who “fear” the law but are aware of the law and know the consequences of breaking them. Because of Zarkon’s way of discipline, after he becomes corrupted, he takes “discipline” to an extremely high level and turns it into a dictator/destroyer method of ruling. Essentially, he says: “Destroy this planet or else”. Since these people were already disciplined to follow the law, I (guess now that I realize in this context) now see they only followed Zarkon’s Law because they were fearful of dire consequences.

Sometimes I associate elegance with something I can see with my eyes. This includes lighting, clothes, detailed painting patterns, carpet, way of talking (I’ll get into that next), etc. For example, if you’ve just been awarded a job opportunity on Broadway, here is how I imagine the restaurant should look. Be sure to read this description (it’s going to be good)!

The shiny black Jeep Sahara slowly pulled up to the front of the luxurious restaurant. The yellow lights reflected off the sign into your eyes. You slowly but carefully take one foot out of the Jeep, proceeded by the other, and walked through the double doors on in. Surprisingly, the lights were rather dimmed, so dim that you remove the sunglasses that you once had on to block out the lights outside. A red carpet was beneath your feet leading to the main dining hall. There, multiple white clothes were draped in all angles across the ceiling above the white circle chandeliers. The red carpet ended and turned into a beautiful mixture of brown patterns that made your eyes tickle if you stared too long. Your friends and family raised their glasses in the air once they saw you approach them and yelled: “Congratulations!”

I don’t know if you’re familiar with this, but both versions of Zarkon seem to have a Mid-Atlantic accent. A Mid-Atlantic accent is a mixture of an “American” and British inflection in your throat and is released when you speak. This became very popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. That means that Zarkon’s way of talking is firm, straight to the point, and doesn’t use any contractions (Ex: don’t or can’t).

Although I strongly dislike the Galra, I’ll give them credit where is it due. The thought of gender roles never existed. Women had the same responsibility as men; they fought hard and tough, they endured pain, no one was exempted from fighting the monster for Zarkon’s entertainment, and a woman oversaw a base that hid Ranveig’s super weapon. I’m sure after the women gave birth, they were right back at their posts. In Zarkon’s eyes, it is safe to say that he views males and females as equals. Geez, what’s taking us so long to realize this? Doesn’t it seem like society functions better with everyone TRULY working together (before the destruction of Daibazaal)? After all, Zarkon listened to Honerva and allowed her to continue her research on the rift.

The society? They maneuvered in ships (no cars), were more open to herbs and natural remedies, and heavily relied on science. It seemed futuristic in a way; something the Americans want like flying cars etc.

This is a bit off topic, but at the end of the series, I would have loved to see the “afterlife” screen. I am referencing when Allura and Honerva walked into another reality to reunited with their family and the old paladins. Although Lotor irks me, I would have loved to see him and Honerva have a mother-son moment since he never saw her in his life. I will say that if Lotor grew up on Altea with his mother, he probably would have turned out much different than he is now.

Thanks for the question anon! Feel free to ask more!

[shera-dnd]

The Princess of Power - Part 1 Being She-ra

Y’all asked for some GM lore and here you have some GM lore. Featuring some Mara lore for some good measure (I did tell you most important NPCs were based on real people)

Now how about a little blast from the past, looking through the early stages of “The Princesses of Power RPG”

~~~

The Moon Opal was a calm place in the earlier hours of the day, most of its customers were the nocturnal type, leaving the store mostly empty and the perfect place to get some work done. It was at this serene time of day that a tired figure toiled once again at a task that had been bothering them for over a week now: Balancing She-ra

Project Etheria - a placeholder name - was supposed to be about collaboration and teamwork, yet someone decided that giving a player an extremely overpowered form, with insane martial and magical skills was a good idea and now it was their job to get that mess to work somehow.

Sure, it made sense for She-ra to be this strong, she is supposed to be the protector of the world, the key to the world’s magic, every princess had an element, but She-ra, the Princess of Power, was supposed to be the center of...the center of everything.

They grabbed a piece of paper and quickly began scribbling notes, there was an obvious solution staring them right in the face all this time and they finally got it. Oh they couldn’t wait to see Mara’s face when they showed her this.

“Hey, someone is feeling productive today” Mara greeted, apparently summoned by that errant thought.

“Mhm” they agreed distractedly, not even taking their gaze away from their work.

“Earth to GM” She joked, the mention of their name stealing their attention “You there, GM?”

GM, Game Master, they had been called that most of their life, but when Mara did it felt different. It was not a simple title or description of function, it was a name, their name, at least one they identified with more than they ever did with the one they were given at birth. She truly felt like she was greeting a friend and that made them happy.

“Sorry” They apologized, putting their work aside “Hey, Mara”

“Hi” She greeted again, cheerfully “What got you so excited today?”

“Rebalancing She-ra for the sixth, and hopefully last, time” They explained handing her their work “I removed most of the new Traits from She-ra itself and made it so she granted those to nearby princesses”

“I’m gonna have to rewrite my whole character sheet again, aren't I?” She asked, reading over their notes “Oh, I almost forgot!” She exclaimed,  handing them her own notes “I finished some more Lore on Etherian magic and the First Ones”

GM took the notes titled ‘Heart of Etheria’ and skimmed over them. They sat there silently reading each others notes. This too felt nice, Mara wasn’t a very energy demanding friend, even though she could be very loud and energetic when she wanted to, she also did not mind sharing moments of silence, they appreciated that. Unfortunately they were the ones to break the silence this time.

“The planet is a what!?” GM loudly blurted.

“A weapon of mass destruction” Mara stated, as if saying it out loud suddenly made it make sense “I thought the setting needed bigger stakes”

“We already have an invading alien empire, giant monsters and evil sorcerers” GM declared, but all they got from her was a shrug “I guess Mara, Princess of World Building would know better than me”

“I like that one, let’s use it in the book” Mara exclaimed “You got anything we could play while I change up my traits?” She asked, picking up her character sheet. It was her third one, the last two had been severely damaged from constant rewriting.

“Preferably nothing combat heavy then” GM pondered for a moment “Well, you had just finished a mission last time, so we could maybe have a chill scene in the Crystal Castle?” They proposed

“Perfect!” She declared, full of glee “I wanna flirt with Light Hope”

“Excuse me?” They asked “She is an AI”

“So…?” She didn’t seem to understand their point

“She is not programed for romance” They explained, a little exasperated

“Nothing a little love can’t fix” She said, with a shrug

“You’re not teaching a robot to love, Mara” They declared

“Hey, look at it this way: I’m preparing you for all the players who will absolutely try to romance everything and everyone in this setting” She explained herself “Also Light Hope is really cute”

“Miss me with that allo shit, Mara” GM groaned.

They played out a couple more scenes, testing out the new and rebalanced She-ra, along with some NPC princesses, against the Crystal Castle’s robot spiders and for the first time Mara seemed satisfied with the combat.

“Yes!” She exclaimed, as the last spider fell “You’re the best”

“I...hmmm...thanks” GM mumbled, not used to receiving compliments “You’re the one making the world, I just turn stuff into rules text”

“But that is the important part” Mara assured them “I can say what it means to be She-ra all I want, but it’s all pointless if the rules say something different”

“And what did the rules say?” GM asked, a little surprised. They were so focused on making She-ra balanced that they didn’t even consider that aspect of things.

“That She-ra is not meant to make people feel weaker, you shouldn’t feel like you’re less than them, you should feel stronger by being with them” She explained, her voice loud and full of excitement “Helping other be their best selves, that is what it should mean to be She-ra!”

_____

The Moon Opal bustled with people in the late hours of the night, its more nocturnal customers taking up the tables with games of all kinds, but if you got there early you could still grab a table for yourself and get some work done. GM was finishing up their notes on the new version of The Princesses of Power, when someone unceremoniously crumbled on the chair in front of them.

“Long day?” GM greeted, not taking their eyes away from their work.

“Long day” Adora responded. She opened up her back and began looking for something inside it “Sorry for jumping right to the point, but I still gotta pick up dinner” She explained herself, handing them a few sheets of paper.

“Oh right, your backstories” They remarked, taking them both and skimming over them “Why is Catra’s six pages long?”

“Because my girlfriend is the most competitive person in the planet” Adora groaned. Of course Catra would consider this a competition

“You two want to call dibs on any of the homebrew powers?” GM asked

“Nah, I’m good with whatever you send my way” She waved it off “and Catra doesn’t want any powers, because she wants to prove she can kick everyone’s ass without any”

“I’m not surprised in the slightest” They commented, reading through Adora’s story a second time, they couldn’t avoid the strange sense of nostalgia that came from it “What it means to be She-ra” they mumbled without really thinking.

“You said something?” Adora asked, perkin up on her chair

“Nothing” They deflected “Just had a few ideas for your character. Do you mind if I keep these?”

“Sure sure, we don’t mind” She handed it to them “If that is all, I should probably get going”

“I’ll text you if I need any more details” They stated “Have a good night, Adora”

“You too, GM!” She said, waving at them as she left.

They smiled and gave the papers in their hand one last read through. Oh Mara, you would’ve loved this one.

[demiiharperr]

The issues I have with That 70’s Show:

The different ways the Intro Song is sang throughout the seasons. I was content until they introduced Randy and then the whooooole vibe in the song changed.

The on and off relationship of Jackie & Kelso. Their relationship was very unhealthy. The way Jackie would speak to Kelso, followed by Kelso repeatedly cheating on Jackie.

After Season 1 Episode 3, we rarely ever see Steven Hyde without his sunglasses.

In Season 1 Episode 2, Eric got the Vista Cruiser and Red told him all the responsibilities that come with owning the car BUT how was Eric going to afford it? He didn’t get a job until Episode 5.

Season 1 Episode 2, Midge mentions their daughter Valerie but, we never see Valerie. In fact, as the series goes on we’re made to believe Donna is an only child.

Bob. Don Stark’s cheesy acting was sometimes almost unbearable. The delivery on all of his punch lines just never stuck. Every scene they attempted to make him funny always seemed forced. Especially when he’d go “oh boy”. Bob was too corny for me to ever like his character.

Jackie wears a sweater vest with the initials JSB. I’m assuming it stands for her name except... we later find out Jackie’s middle name is Beulah. Her initials would then be JBB. I need answers!

The air hockey game at The Hub that was there for Season 1 Episode 4 and then never again.

You never see the entire view of The Forman’s house or The Pinciotti’s house.

Season 1 Episode 5 Donna mentions her little sister Tina. Again, another Pinciotti daughter that winds up disappearing. She only makes one appearance and then she’s never seen again.

The Forman kitchen table goes from having 3 legs (S1E4) to then only having 1 leg (S1E5)

Danny Bonaduce is another character who’s lines never landed.

(S1E6) Jackie’s mom (Eve Plumb) is showing the house where the gang is trying to throw a kegger. Jackie’s mom in this episode is not the same woman we later came to know as “Jackie’s Mom” (Brooke Shields) way later in the series.

How pot is perceived throughout the show with the moving wall, the floating heads, demonic voices etc.

Donna occasionally entertaining Hyde’s crush he had on her. She then gets upset with Eric when he makes out with Laurie’s friend, Kate, from College.

Hyde willing to learn how to dance, buying gifts — i mean, the lengths this man will go & step out of his own character in order to impress Donna. But, when he begins dating Jackie, the poor girl almost has to pull teeth to get a romantic gesture out of him. HE WAS WILLING TO DANCE TO DISCO FOR DONNA!

(S1E8)The customer service at Blanigans is quite appalling. Between the rude hostess and the singing employees nearly running over The Forman’s, what kind of restaurant is this?! Then as The Forman’s are storming out, you can see a casting extra mouth the words “what the fuck [.....]”. I couldnt make out what the last few words were but my guess is he said “what the fuck is that guys problem?” How did no one catch that?!

(S1E8) Kitty & Red get caught hooking up in their car by a police officer. Them getting caught isn’t the part that’s the issue, it’s the way Red speaks to the officer and then the officer cowers away from him. What kind of cop is this guy?

(S1E9) Kate, Laurie’s friend from college, not giving two fucks about making out with Eric, a boy who is underage. Kate being unmoved by the possibilities of jail time is worrisome.

When do they ever actually go to school?!

How does Laurie stay Red’s favorite? She smokes in front of him, flunks out of college, drinks all of his beer, marries Fez, is caught lying repeatedly, & is openly slut-shamed by the whole gang in front of Red. CAN THIS GIRL REALLY DO NO WRONG?! It’s only when she gets caught living with a man that for a brief moment Eric is the new favorite.

(S1E17) That cringe worthy moment when Bob picks up Donna’s birth control from the Pharmacy and Bob recreates the Macaulay Culkin/Home Alone face. One of the many cheesy Bob moments that I mentioned before.

(S1E18) The frustration of having absolutely no idea what Kelso’s dad actually does for a living. Based off of many Google searches he’s a Senior Executive Statistical Analysis Technician. If you read the description of what a Statistical Analysist does I could see how a teenager like Kelso would get extremely confused.

(S1E18) “Gross Edna” aka Hyde’s mom asks Hyde if he has his fake i.d., to which he replies “you know it”. So, if Hyde has had a fake i.d. this whole time then why is the gang always on a mission to steal beer?!

(S1E18) Jackie working on Red’s car with him on Take Your Kid To Work Day. This is so out of character for Jackie and her knowledge about cars is never brought up again.

The show starts off in 1976 but, halfway through season 1 we’re in 1977. We chill in ‘77 until the end of season 3 when we finally enter 1978. But then, we stay there until season 6. We then wrap up the show with the final seasons all taking place in 1979. Time really doesn’t make any sense throughout That 70’s Show.

THERE’S A BRITISH VERSION OF THIS SHOW?!?! Why do we as human beings continue to do this?! I get it that the remake of a television show into an American version or the remake into a British version can be a huge hit! I also know how much of a fail this can turn out to be. The British tried with recreating the classic Golden Girls (UK: Brighton Belles), Saturday Night Live aka SNL (UK: Saturday Live), Friends (UK: Coupling). Then America tried with Skins (UK: Skins) and The Inbetweeners (UK: The Inbetweeners). Sometimes you just gotta leave the originals alone. But, if you’re interested in watching the British remake of That 70’s Show, the show is called Days Like These.

(S1E22) Eric tells Hyde that he can’t leave for New York because they were “gonna paint that pot leaf on the Water Tower”. BUT WAIT — HOLD UP!! We already saw them paint the pot leaf on the Water Tower (S1E21). The painting of the pot leaf literally happened one episode before Forman says this to Hyde!! It’s the same episode where Kelso falls off the Water Tower and breaks his arm while he was trying to perfect the Pot Leaf Painting to Hyde’s liking. How did Hyde & Eric forget all of this happening? How did the That 70’s Show crew forget this just happened?

Danny Masterson (Hyde) is a Scientologist IRL?! This has nothing to do with the show, i’m just shook.

There’s never a discussion of Hyde losing his virginity. With the rest of the gang they would all sit around and speak in detail about how it was for them. But, not with Hyde. I’m assuming he lost his virginity to Christy (S1E22) since this is the first sexual partner of his we are introduced to but, since the gang doesn’t talk about it WE DONT KNOW!

(S1E23) The very odd almost accepting nature of The Forman family losing Bernice Forman aka Mother Forman. Other than Red’s brother Marty, nobody really showed sadness to losing a loved one.

(S1E10) We finally get to meet Red’s mother, Bernice. She’s very transparent about her hatred for Kitty, which causes everyone to be on edge and want to stay clear of Bernice’s sharp tongue. Fortunately for Eric, his friend Fez is an admirer of Bernice’s feet and rubs them until her whole demeanor changes. She leaves The Forman home complimenting Kitty’s cooking, as well as complimenting their car. Which brings me to this.. They left episode 10 on such a good note! What happened inbetween episode 10 and episode 23 (the episode covering Bernice’s death and funeral)?! By episode 23 Bernice was back to her snarky self and I need answers as to why she couldn’t just stay nice!

(S1E23) The Funeral Director walking over to Bernice’s casket to close her eyes. This is 1. confusing to me & 2. kind of morbid if you think about what that must’ve looked like.

(S1E23) What ever happened to Red’s train set? You can clearly see how much that train set meant to him and how bad he wanted it for himself but, we never see that sentimental train set again.

(S1E23) The cemetery where Mother Forman is buried and Eric goes to visit at night looks a whoooooole awful lot like The Forman’s backyard. Change the stucco of the house and the fence, then add a tomb stone... boom! Eric’s backyard is now a cemetery.

(S1E24) The gang all go skinny dipping meaning they are swimming butt naked. The skinny dipping isn’t where I find an issue. The issue is actually in the episode later on (S4E20) when the gang is reminiscing on the time they’ve spent together over the years. One of the memories being that Kelso is the only one who’s never seen Donna’s boobs. WHICH DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE! They all went skinny dipping together. They were all naked. Kelso being Kelso.. he would’ve definitely made sure he never blinked. Not even for a second if that meant he could see any girl naked. So, Kelso claiming to have never seen Donna’s boobs seems false.

(S1E24) Midge welcoming the members of the Women Warriors group into her home only to have Sharon so disrespectfully flirt with Midge’s husband, Bob. Bob is not clueless to Sharon’s flirting. He actually seems to enjoy as well as entertain this woman making passes at him. This is one of the first signs that Bob & Midge’s marriage may not be eternal.

(S1E24) This is the episode when Hyde moves in with Eric because Edna (Hyde’s mom) has abandoned him. But, what ever happened to the house that Hyde left behind? We’re aware that his mom was renting the place but, he never went back to pick up anymore belongings. Edna was ok with all of her clothes and other things she owned just being tossed out?

(S1E24) Fez’s tattoo. Fez tells the gang that it’s a tattoo of the Blessed Virgin of Yorba Linda. What that looks like we don’t know because we never see it & after this episode we never hear about it again. The only thing Google gave me was that Yorba Linda is a suburban area in California. Who this Blessed Virgin is, we may never know.

(S1E25) Eric attempts to bounce a bowling ball in the living room, resulting in the ball breaking Red’s TV. I understand wanting to replace the television but, I’m also confused as to why they didn’t just take the TV from the basement in place of the broken television until Eric could afford to buy the house a new one. In fact, you never hear of or see Eric purchasing a new TV for the family after this episode. The replacement is all-of-a-sudden there. AND how did Red expect him to buy one? Eric hasn’t had a job since the Fatso Burger episode. Just as soon as he started working, he quit.

(S2E1) The Forman’s & The Pinciotti’s not realizing that they were high. Midge reveals in a later episode(S3E1) that her & Bob partake in smoking marijuana stating “That stuff was right here in our neighborhood? And to think of all the times we have to drive across town..” after finding out that Hyde was arrested for possession. So, if The Pinciotti’s know what smoking pot feels like you’d think they’d know that they were stoned after eating Hyde’s brownies (S2E1). And Red of all people not noticing that something felt a little off after eating the brownies? How’d he not catch on that something felt different? Which would be a solid reason for Red to be mad once he sobered up. But, I guess he never caught on. Weird.

According to an article I read, Red Forman threatened to put his foot in someone’s ass 38 times. I actually question whether or not this is accurate because I swear it felt like he said it at least double that amount of times. Even if he did only threaten people with his foot 38 times, he still never actually followed through with any of his threats. Red was all bark & no bite.

(S2E5) The gang finds out the Kelso is a year older than all of them meaning he could have been buying them beer this whole time. But, let’s not forget that Hyde has also had a fake i.d. and could’ve been doing the purchasing of the beer as well.

There were several times throughout the series when you can see that it was hard for the cast to execute their lines without cracking a smile or laughing. Thankfully they’re playing teenage stoners so, breaking into laughter can be overlooked.

The on going shame the gang continues to throw at Donna for not having sex with Forman. A teenager wanting to wait isn’t a reason for people to not respect her decision.

(S2E7) Donna tells Eric she loves him and he can’t say it back. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK! Eric has been in love with Donna since they’ve met & for him to leave her hanging like that, ugh—- I cant!

The racist references made throughout the whole series. They were mostly directed towards Fez & I’m aware that the 70’s were a different time. But, racism is racism no matter what era we’re talking about. The jokes about not knowing where he’s from or that his accent is weird— this is can be funny. But, once we cross into poking fun at his skin color by calling him by names of people of color.. that’s disrespectful.

(S2E18) Red forgets Eric’s age.

(S2E24) Red forgets Eric’s age AGAIN! His memory is becoming a concern.

(S2E20) How come we’ve never heard of The Pinciotti’s cat, Mr. Bonkers, until now?! & as quick as we’re introduced to the cat he’s out of our lives. RIP Mr. Bonkers’ short lived screen time.

(S3E2) I’m not a fan of watching The Forman’s & Hyde break out into song.

(S3E8)(S3E9)We jumped from Veterans Day to Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving?!

(S3E15) The way Donna eats this one piece of candy. Very odd.

(S3E16) Red confirms with Eric that Kelso’s parents are dumb. But, in an earlier season we are to believe that Kelso’s dad is a Statistical Analysist. Not a job for dumb people.

(S3E18) The way directors thought we were suppose to believe this poor excuse of a fight between the Girls Lacrosse Team and Eric, Hyde & Fez. The girls were barely even lifting their legs. Unbelievably Unbelievable.

Eric is way too big for his bed. His feet literally hang off the end.

[theletterspage]

Max Porter, our Bath correspondent, in conversation with The Letters Page

(Illustration: Natasha Nayee)

The arrival of Max Porter’s letter for The Letters Page, Vol 3, was one of the highlights of our editorial year, featuring as it did a correspondence with John Berger and an enthusiastic endorsement of fraternal hugs. We caught up with him again recently, and asked him to tell us about his new book; he told us about much more besides. 

Words by Kyle Brown, MA student in Creative Writing at the University of Nottingham. Illustration by Natasha Nayee, BA student in English at the University of Nottingham and Artist-in-Residence with The Letters Page.

‘Sorry for any typos, I was writing while being shouted at by small children,’ Max Porter tells me, via email, shortly after sending a charitably detailed response to my interview questions, with, I must note, no typos. 

He immediately strikes me as intelligent, passionate, and modest, especially regarding his 2015 breakthrough debut novel, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, for which he received the International Dylan Thomas Prize and The Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award, as well as being short-listed for The Guardian First Book Award and the Goldsmiths Prize. The novel tells a story of grief and recovery, following the character of Dad – a Ted Hughes scholar in mourning – his two sons, and Crow, who appears one day to offer his own unique brand of therapy, combining a Mary Poppins-like job description with several other literary devices: ‘[Crow is] kids’ books and joke books and fables and all the good stuff smashed together, and up he flies.’ Like Crow, the form and structure of Porter’s book is also an amalgamation of fable, family drama, poem, folklore, and much more, combining traditional storytelling with contemporary approaches to form in literature. Porter describes the novel as ‘a love letter to the hybrid form.’ 

There is also something particularly English about the book. Perhaps the relationship between Dad and his sons, the latter based on himself and his brother, and his own sons. Perhaps it is Dad’s introverted nature in handling sensitive issues. Or perhaps it is Crow: foul-mouthed, nanny, healer, trickster, demon-slayer, baby-sitter, crow, with his glib but highly caring attachment to Dad and his sons. Crow is by-and-large, one of the most interesting characters I have ever read. However, Porter merely agrees that the book is English: ‘painfully so, I think.’ 

Born in 1981, in High Wycombe, Max Porter lived and worked in London for many years, before moving to Bath with his wife and three children. His introduction into the literary world was not traditional. He studied a bachelor’s degree in Art History at Courtauld Institute of Art, London, which he called, ‘a very strange place,’ and remarked that he wasn’t especially happy at this time. This changed once he started his master’s degree, in Psychoanalysis and Feminism: ‘I wrote about a very Crow-like performance artist called Paul McCarthy, and that was a brilliant year. My mind was blown time and time again by some of the books I found in that library.’ 

Perhaps this was the moment of birth for Porter’s love of books and literature, as although it wasn’t until his mid-thirties that Grief is the Thing with Feathers was published, he has spent his career around books and literature, holding more behind-the-scenes roles. Initially, working in a bookshop, opening two branches of Daunt Books in London. ‘I loved it. Bookselling is wonderful. I met great people and read a lot. I read insane amounts.’ 

After ‘doing some reading for publishers’ and ‘sitting on a few panels about translated literature,’ he applied for the role of editorial director for Granta Books and Portobello Books, joining the team in 2012. ‘They took a punt on me,’ he tells me, adding, ‘Bookselling is good training for publishing. Both jobs are about the hand-sell.’ 

It was during this time that the foundations for his first novel began to take form. He would write poems and bits of prose, create drawings and music – both of which he says are part of his creative process and influential to him. ‘I was always writing, but with no serious intent. I’d started a few fables, some short pieces about siblings and memory. Doing it for love, and for fun. When I landed on the structure for Grief, I knew it was something I was taking more seriously, something I’d probably want to show people.’ He developed the smaller ideas into longer work, while working during the days and being a parent the rest of the time: ‘This was all in the evenings, after work, and when the kids were in bed; sort of a secret project.’ He tells me he didn’t think about it being published while he was writing; how to a large degree it was still for the love and enjoyment of the craft, as well as a calming distraction from his more editorial work. 

After publication, the book had almost instant success, which Porter took in what I imagine to be his usual cool and considered manner: ‘Praise is tricky, and not always good to listen to. You have to take it with a pinch of salt. Just as you would hostility.’ 

In addition to its initial success, the novel was adapted for theatre in 2018 by Irish playwright, Enda Walsh, (Once, 2012 – after the 2007 award-winning film; Lazarus, 2016 – music and lyrics by David Bowie) for the London theatre company, Complicité, and starring Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders, The Dark Knight Trilogy) as Dad. 

‘I loved Enda’s adaptation. He just used the text as it is, which was very flattering. And he made some lovely and profoundly well-thought-through decisions about how to portray Dad and Crow. It was a very interesting experience for me. They welcomed me in, they used my ideas, we played and fiddled with the piece and I think the result is amazing. Different to the book but singing the same song.’ 

2018 also brought the announcement of his second novel as well as the end to his stint at Granta and Portobello Books, stating, ‘It’s become too much for me, hence my leaving this year. It’s very hard to focus, to dig deep and grow as a writer, when you’re juggling dozens of other people’s books, and the thousands of accompanying emails.’ But the writer still has great affection for the publishing world, telling of his appreciation for the ‘joy of being in the middle of it all,’ aiding writings, seeing the entire process through; covers, bindings, the finishes. ‘The day to day making of books, I’ll miss that.’ 

Porter’s second novel, Lanny, is an extension of his debut’s love letter to the hybrid form. ‘It’s got some characteristics in common with Grief; a mythic character, short sections, some prose poetry, conventional narrative removed/redacted, etc. but it’s got much more of a story, and some pace, even some plot!’ 

Set in a small village sixty miles outside London, the novel tells the tale of an urban legend told by the local school children, known as ‘Dead Papa Toothwort,’ and his mysterious interest in the mischievous and enchanting boy of a family new to the village. 

If Grief is the Thing with Feathers addresses, well, grief, Lanny proposes a balm to perhaps one of the aptest of issues, our contemporary political angst. ‘We’ve all been run by maniacs. Time trundles on, and none of us survive it.’ It is in this subject that Porter’s timely binding of the historic and the contemporary finds its perfect companion - ‘I’m obsessed with the past.’ Having a great appreciation for the radical Olde English poets, the fables, the great dramas, and folklore; Porter believes that, as an individual and a society, we can’t have any healthy forward progression until we have learnt to properly appreciate what has come before us. ‘In folklore we find our richest, most radical heritage, and our best nature.’ 

So, what does the future hold for Max Porter? I doubt he will go without interests to stimulate his creativity, and knowing his career history, his love of literature and literary publishing could lead him down any number of paths. ‘I guess I’ll be working in and around publishing in some form. I’m keen to do more literacy and outreach. I’m sitting on boards and that sort of thing, so, I’ll see how the new book goes and play it by ear.’ Needless to say, I believe this author has a fruitful future ahead of him, and I am excited to see where his ambitious, form and genre merging ideas, so rich in emotion and life, will lead him next.

Max Porter’s letter appears in The Letters Page, Vol 3, which is still just about available to purchase here.

[hallowedhearthstone]

Character Chart

Character’s Full Name:  Ariandielle Aranna Dal’anar

Reason or Meaning of Name: N/A

Character’s Nickname/Alias: Elle, mostly. Andi or Freckles by her husband.

Reason for Nickname/Alias: Her nicknames are just necessary shortenings of her absurdly long name. But Freckles is a more physically based nickname, obviously because of her characteristic freckles.

Birth Date: March 8th

Physical appearance

Age:  133 

How old does he/she appear: Late 20′s - early 30′s

Weight: 122lbs

Height: 5′2

Body build: Soft, Clearly a caster

Shape of face: Square-jawed with feminine features

Eye color: A bright teal which, on closer inspection is actually a bright blue with neon green accents

Glasses or contacts: Neither

Skin tone: Pale 

Distinguishing marks: She bears distinct freckles across her cheeks and nose, on the tips of her ears, her shoulders and at her lower back.

Predominant features: HAIR

Hair color: A deep, ruddy brown

Type of hair:  Long, thick, and wavy. 

Hairstyle:  All over the place, and consistently raked back by her fingers

Voice:  Sweet and calm with a posh English accent. 

Overall Attractiveness: She’s a solid 8, but that might just be me.

Physical Disabilities: She’s short af, is that a disability?

Usual Fashion of Dress: Conservative gowns with rich colors and bold accents.

Favorite Outfit: N/A

Jewelry or Accessories: She wears a necklace made from a bracelet her husband gave her. The charm that sits on her collar serves as a reminder that the best way is usually not the easiest.

Personality

Good Personality Traits: Calm and welcoming. She’s a steadfast friend and an understanding woman, often to a fault. 

Bad Personality Traits: She’s a jealous woman, the sort to hold everything in until it becomes an issue, and she doesn’t really take care of herself emotionally. 

Mood Character is Most Often In: Comfortable

Sense of Humor: Dry and deadpan, or impish teasing - depending on how well she knows the person she’s joking with. 

Character’s Greatest Joy In Life: Her children, all 6 of them.

Character’s Greatest Fear: Being a bad mother to her brood, letting people down, losing her husband, her brother (just in general), and fire.

What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil?  Seridyn’s death

Character Is Most at Ease When: In small groups of people or at home with her family. 

Most Ill at Ease When: Large gatherings are ill-fitted for her. She usually ends up with a painful headache mere minutes into it. 

Enraged When: Someone threatens her children. 

Depressed or Sad When: It comes and goes. She has moods and lulls like everyone else.

Life Philosophy: The only way out is through.

If Granted One Wish, It Would Be: There isn’t anything she would change, so perhaps.. financial security for the rest of her life and the lives of her children. 

Character’s Soft Spot: Men trying to redeem themselves

Is This Soft Spot Obvious to Others?: Probably, if you know her well enough.

Greatest Strength: Tenacity

Greatest Vulnerability or Weakness: Her empathy often works against her

Biggest Regret: Not saving her brother

Minor Regret: There is one secret she keeps, and she regrets ever letting that lie get started.

Biggest Accomplishment: She once ran a successful business, offering personal therapy to those in need.

Minor Accomplishment: Nowadays? Making it through the day without collapsing. 

Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Way too many to list here. Character’s Darkest Secret: For fear of metagaming, I can’t put that out onto this blog. Her darkest secret isn’t terribly dark - most people already know about her brother - but it is something she holds close to her chest.

Does Anyone Else Know?: Seridyn, but only recently.

Goals

Drives and Motivations: Meeting her family’s needs

Immediate Goals: Making it through the day, managing to sneak in a meal or a few moments with her husband while the kids sleep. And a shower.

Long Term Goals: Possibly opening up that orphanage

How the character plans to accomplish these goals: Nothing’s set in stone

How Other Characters Will Be Affected:  Some kids might find a home?

Past

Hometown: Northern Quel’thalas. A large estate just outside of Silvermoon City.

Type of Childhood: Studious, well-cared-for, a little spoiled maybe.

Pets: N/A

First Memory: Watching the shadows of the snowfall on her wall as she tried to sleep

Most Important Childhood Memory: Her family’s murder? I mean...

Childhood Hero: Aegwynn

Dream Job: Arcanist

Education: Higher education in the principles and application of magic - specifically cryomancy, and personal tutoring in all subjects 

Religion: N/A

Finances: Wealthy

Present

Current Location: Valley of the Four Winds, Pandaria

Currently Living With: Herself, Seridyn, and her children. 

Pets: Soliloquy, a tabby cat that comes and goes as it pleases. Omen, a raven given to Aelwynn as a gift.

Religion: N/A

Occupation: Stay at home mother

Finances: Struggling (She no longer works due to time constraints and there are a lot of mouths to feed)

Family

Siblings: Two brothers, one deceased - the other... probably deceased?

Relationship With Them: Non-existent

Spouse: Seridyn

Relationship With Them: Solid

Children: In order of age: Erelle (Nightborne, adopted), Aelwynn, Sebastian, Taeral, Verrin, Andulin

Relationship With Them: Good

Other Important Family Members:  N/A

Favorites

Color: Blue

Least Favorite Color: Red

Music: Anything upbeat

Food: Nothing specific, but she’s fond of meat and potato meals

Literature: Romance

Form of Entertainment: Hearthstone

Expressions: That look that Seridyn gets when he’s up to no good...

Mode of Transportation: Teleportation

Most Prized Possession: She doesn’t put a lot of stock into material things. But I guess her necklace?

Habits

Hobbies: Cooking, gardening, alchemy, fishing

Plays a musical instrument?: No

Plays a sport?: No

How she would spend a rainy day?: Inside with a book and a cup of tea 

Spending Habits: Very frugal

Smokes: No

Drinks: Once in a while

Other Drugs: No

What does he/she do too much of?: Breed...?

What does he/she do too little of?: Spend time on herself

Extremely Skilled At: Cryomancy and Alchemy

Extremely Unskilled At: Turning away someone that needs her help

Nervous Tics: Running her fingers through her hair

Usual Body Posture: Weight on her left foot, chin raised haughtily

Mannerisms: Proper and demure, always watching those around her with affection

Peculiarities: Her empathic abilities give her insight into those nearby and she finds it hard not to react to the thoughts of others sometimes.

Traits

Optimist or Pessimist?: Realist

Introvert or Extrovert?: Introvert

Daredevil or Cautious?: Cautious

Logical or Emotional?: Emotional, but she does try to think things through before reacting

Disorderly and Messy or Methodical and Neat?: Very neat and organized

Prefers Working or Relaxing?: Relaxing

Confident or Unsure of Himself?: Confident in some things, uncertain in others.  

Animal lover?: Oh yes

Self-perception

How She Feels About Herself: Fairly neutral

One Word Character Would Use To Describe Themselves: Underwhelming

Paragraph Description on How They’d Describe Themselves: I am... haunted and frequently melancholy, but I try to engage, to listen, to understand the people around me, so that I can help to make their lives a little easier. 

What does the character consider his/her best personality trait?: Tenderness

What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait?: Her guilt complex

What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic?: Her eyes

What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic?: Her hair

How does the character think others perceive him/her? Boring

What would the character most like to change about himself/herself? Nothing that she CAN change

Relationships with others

Opinion of Other People in General: Generally good, trying to make their way in the world however possible

Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others?: Sometimes

Person Character Most Hates: Herself

Best friend(s): Scarlet

Love interest(s): Just Seridyn

Person Character (Would) Go to For Advice: Seridyn, or Aden

Person Character Feels Responsible For: Her children

Person Character Feels Awkward Around: Death Knights

Person Character Openly Admires: Aden

Person Character Secretly Admires: N/A

[pxrtgasdace]

(Rouge!Anon) I know I don't have to include them, but I want to. I've always felt the little details give a little bit more life to one's writing, which is something that you and your blogs absolutely glow with! Whether it's intentional or not, everything you write is so beautiful. Yes, even the funny stuff! Though I may not have the time to run a blog of my own, coming back here to this blog after work is a big highlight of my day! You don't need to have posted anything new, just looking over

the old stuff brings a smile to my face. As for my views on Rouge, I have to agree with a large majority if not all of the points you made in your last post, especially the first two. I never quite understood why someone might make those arguements without having any logical basis behind them. Not only does it not make any sense for Rouge to be a part of Roger’s crew for the very reasons you’ve given, but there is also no reason to connect Nami with Rouge as they are and always havebeen two completely separate characters. I think it has something to do with shipping, but I don’t think those that make the connection between Roger + Rouge and Luffy + Nami gave it much thought in the first place. And can I just say how on point your point on Rouge’s character is? Because it is. It is so on point that it might as well be a dart hitting the middle of a dartboard target. Truly, why should a woman have to conform to a male’s role to be strong? I know quite a few stay athome mothers that would give even the biggest of men a run for their money with words alone. No need to raise a hand in violence at all. I feel, no, I know if Rouge were to “fight” at all, it would be with her words, not her fists, in spite of any physical strength she may have had due to the labor she’d done around her home. On to Roger, if there is anyone I love just as much as Rouge and Ace, it’s Roger. Rouge, in contrast to him, would definitely be his foil, someone to calm him downif only a little bit for a while. However, I firmly believe she’d also be just as stubborn as him if not more so. The one to put her foot down or reel him in before things go southward, so to speak. Perhaps the best way to describe it would be to say she’s the voice of reason? I feel Ace falls between his parents here, eager for a fight, but still thinking a lot more than his father would before starting something. He’s more like Rouge in that regard, he’d want an explanation for things.Hoo, boy, this a lot, but I’m still going! I do indeed doubt Rouge would ever truly be unkind in any way. Maybe stern or disappointed with someone, but unkind? Most certainly not. For her to couple Roger would mean that she is an extraordinarily understanding individual. Roger was figuratively crowned King of the Pirates, a title rightly feared by many. She’d have to have given him a chance and gotten to know him before Ace could ever be conceived. The love of her community would bea result of that kind and understanding nature. However, let it not be said that she wouldn’t stand up for herself or her loved ones should it be called for. Going on about her, a firm belief I have is that she would always call Ace her boy, her son, because he is. She spilt her own blood, sweat, and tears -though not in that particular order- to make certain that he would live. She was willing -and ultimately did- give up her life for Ace. He is, above all, her child and she’d foreverproudly claim him as such. Even shout it to the world as she pleased. It would not matter to her how old he was, he would always be her little boy in her eyes. He is her world and she’d give everything up for him if she had to. I’ve also given thought as to what her occupation may be… I don’t know why, but I can see her as a potter. Her small hands would be an advantage in creating various complicated pieces, and her willingness to get her hands a bit dirty also aids this thought.Another thought I’ve had is what her background could have possibly been and how old she was. We know Roger was in his fifties when he was executed and I’d like to think Rouge was at least well within twenty years of that age range… maybe in her thirties? Perhaps her mid to late thirties when they first met? I have so many thought threads going that it’s hard to keep track. Did they plan to have Ace or was it spur of the moment? I honestly don’t think it was the later.There’s one thing I’m kind of on the fence about when it comes to her though. I’ve put a lot of thought in it, but I think having another person weigh in with their perspective would help. During her pregnancy, it’s shown -from what I understand- that Rouge could sense Ace fairly well. Not only that, but delaying his birth through sheer will alone… Do you think she could have had Haki? I don’t think it’d have been all that strong, but maybe it was a weak form of Observation Haki?

I must agree that yes, it’s about the details. I love to read them - they are the most revealing of a person or character’s nature, intentions and so on & of great use to the writer, for establishing a coherent story/chronology or for foreshadowing, for instance - and thus hope I do a good job at writing them as well. I guess that’s why I abuse adverbs so much and I reckon I’d be more descriptive if my vocabulary was superior. 

I do try to… Well serious threads will always be my favourite but I reckon silliness is needed to lighten the mood, though I’m not always in the mood for it. Still, even in crack things, I try to keep Ace’s nature the same, you know? If I fail… well that’s why it’s called crack, I guess. But I am very glad you think so, that even the things where I have freedom to go stupid are not that utterly idiotic! I am oh so very glad someone notices it ;; It’s not like I am making an effort and being in control but I do make decisions before publishing something and I’m glad those seconds I spend are showing.

Ah, how many times can I thank you? I do wonder what other blogs of mine you keep track of, since you used the plural. I am really flattered that you check on my blog often and take time in writing to me, whether through asks like this one or as Rouge & co. Never thought someone would go through all that trouble and if my blog makes you happy, then I’m happy! Reckon I’ve been slow but I’d rather take weeks to answer something and have a sense of pride when I do.

It’s totally a shipping thing! Of King and Queen, Roger/Rouge and Luffy/Nami. While I can respect that, and even respect it when people consider Luffy their King or Nami their Queen because they’re partial to the characters - hey, I’m very partial to Ace, I understand the feeling - there’s no reason to shape Rouge at will in order to make LuffyxNami a legitimate, more ‘official’ pairing or, again, to ‘justify’ Rouge’s importance with giving her a more active role.

To paraphrase you a bit,or at least to use your words as base, how strong is a woman who can tame a man with words alone? That’s no display of weakness, quite the contrary. How commanding is a woman whodoes not have to take much action - maybe even a nod will suffice - to make a man stay or advance? Not that we know to what point Rouge could control Roger’s temper, of course, this is just to say there is phenomenal strength and authority in such things. Yet, some would have it that being strong equals being loud. 

It might seem I’m going down another road but… The Mummy’s (1999) Evelyn and Rick have always been my favourite cinema couple and there’s a scene that makes me melt and speaks volumes of Evy’s strength. It’s when Rick is ready to fire but Evelyn simply grabs his arm firmly and gently, the way only a woman is capable of, and with that and a look she makes him lower his guns.

This is the kind of strength I can see Rouge having over Roger. I am not saying he’s a puppet in her hands - and quite frankly I don’t see her as manipulative or anything of the sort - and I am not saying this would always work. But if Roger is being his eager self around Rouge, she can protect him before he even puts himself in trouble. I am not sure I can phrase it any better but this is it - and you have explained it better. Again, stubborness can be channelled in different ways… 

That is an ingenious observation! That Ace is somehow the synthesis or the balance between his parents’ personalities. It’s also an evolutionary thing, of sorts, as he paradoxically learns to control his fire within only to become actual living fire. We see him being just as eager in nature as an adult - it’s not like Ace’s penchant for violence disappears but it subsides. But it’s clear he does a lot of thinking from what we see in Impel Down/Marineford, all those twists near his death - he accepts his fate but doesn’t want to die, he deserves it but he still fights… Oh, Ace cannot decide which of his desires - to keep on living, to get absolution, to rest, to give the world the biggest middle finger he’s ever given - is the strongest. So yes… I do see him giving things more thought than it might seem at first tight and I do hope my writing is a vehicle for it.

Had Rouge lived, had Ace been raised by her, she would have always called him her son or her boy, yes. I actually have an idea of how things would be if that were the case… Ace would still hate Roger, that would not change. Only the way/why of doing so would. He’d hate Roger for leaving his mother alone. As a child, and though he’s quite bright or ‘street smart’, there is no way he can see the full dimension of his parent’s affair or relationship and would aptly, childishly, blame Roger for ‘walking away’ and abandoning them - because that’s his pov. That ‘father’ left his family… And then it would change into Ace hating Roger for getting close to Rouge in the first place, even if it puts his own existence at stake, and this I do include in my canon setting - how did he have the nerve to approach a lady like her while fully aware a fairytale relationship, the happiness she deserved, could never be achieved? It’s not like they could live together until the end of days… Ace doesn’t know if Roger tricked Rouge, if it was a carnal thing…In short, he doesn’t know the dynamics - but he knows Rouge deserved better.

But I see Rouge trying to make Ace change his mind. It should hurt her to hear her son - his son - say he hates him or that he has no father. She would definitely scold Ace for saying such things if he was abusing it, otherwise I can see her trying to calm him down or lessen his hatred by randomly recalling episodes of Roger’s wooing of her. I don’t know, she’s making a pie, Ace is watching/helping her and she breaks the silence with a ‘did I ever tell you…?’ kind of story. 

At least in the anime dub, I recall a line about Roger being in Baterilla ‘like a civilian’ or ‘any regular man’, something like that, which might be revealing, too - Roger knows he can’t stay by Rouge’s side thanks to piracy and his illness as well but that doesn’t seem to be an impediment. He truly does as he wants! We can only speculate about what this actually means - say, is Roger casually being bread like a regular Joe? - but that’s a kind of story survivor!Rouge could tell her son in the hopes of making Roger less of a beast in his eyes!

I also imagine Rouge would get lost in thought every now and then while watching the sea, thinking of her dear Roger and times of old and memories they had never got the chance to make… If only you could see your son now… I see he gets more and more like you everyday…Imagine teenage!Ace get in trouble and being dragged to Rouge’s doorstep. “Your boy was at it again”. Though she has to give the neighbour reason, she can’t help feeling proud of herself at hearing the words ‘your boy’. Maybe he stole some crops? Maybe he saw a dog all tied up and tried to free it? I am sure there’s mischief Rouge would secretly feel proud of, if it meant Ace has a good core.

And again, your idea is brilliant! Rouge as a potter is a good analogy for… ultimately what she did with Roger, isn’t it? She shaped something into something else, rather more refined. (And I recall clay/earth is also the material humans come from in some cultures). I guess that’s another of her powers: to transform things into something beautiful. Like with the flowers! 

Oh, Rouge is a goddess walking this earth! To me she is. To me, flowers grow where she steps. Sometimes I can’t believe a character that is so short-lived can have all this impact.

I love the idea of Rouge in her thirties. She would find Roger’s age and the contrast between the maturity he should have and his boyish penchant for trouble interesting, if not charming. And I imagine her listening to his adventures very intently, filling her cup with tea and his with the drink of his choice so he can go on… If she’s never sailed or if she’s never left the South Blue at least she’d be positively overwhelmed by his stories. All the things he has seen!

I really can’t help you any further now. I don’t see them sitting down and saying they should have a baby, yet, as Roger was said to ‘be acting like any other man in Baterilla’, I suppose establishing a family is part of that thought! Maybe it’s not that they decide on it but maybe some hints are dropped. There are many means to achieve on end. You know, Roger talking of a strapping young lad and Rouge using her female charms to ask him what he thinks of baby feet when he least expects… We can only speculate. So while I can’t say I totally believe Ace was planned, I can easily see a desire for it that can be supported by that canon reference. 

As for Rouge and her possible Haki, I’m afraid I am not smart enough to give it thought. Let’s see... I guess not much can be truly discussed without the truth of the Will of the D being out there, for Rouge is a ‘D’. On one hand, we don’t know much about women’s health in the world of OP.

 (I actually wrote a lot from this point on but decided to erase it al for fear of walking way out of the topic, so...)

Long story short, there are three things we have to consider here: the state of medicine and the particular views of women’s health in the world of OP, the Will of the D, and Haki and its forms - and I don’t think what we have for any of the three is satisfactory enough to let us test hypotheses. Or what we have about Haki is good enough indeed but the other two instances are lacking... There is something uncommon about Rouge, that much is obvious - but what name it goes by I do not dare try and guess.

(I am sorry I am useless about the questions that matter most to you!)

[haveashran]

So it looks like there have not been any canon ages for the Lower Decks character confirmed yet, HOWEVER we can make an educated guess for Boimler based on his Academy graduation year.

[Description: A screenshot from Memory Alpha. Highlighted text reads "He graduated and was commissioned as an officer in 2379".]

The Academy seems to run in a similar vein as many North American universities, with individuals becoming eligible to apply at age 18 for humans and whatever the equivalent age is for non-human species. Programs appear to generally last around 4 years.

[Description: A screenshot from Memory Alpha. Title text reads "Attending the Academy". Smaller text reads "The Academy program typically lasted four years, though certain programs lasted five, six, or eight years."]

The Command track seems to be one of the programs that lasts a bit longer, though we don't know for sure whether this applies to Boimler (I have a headcanon that cadets who did not make it into their preferred track at the Academy may request a less prestigious and competitive assignment like the Cerritos specifically in order to switch tracks and get on-the-job training for their new career, based on how easy it was for Rutherford to switch departments and how open the senior staff were to training him in episode 2. It's possible Boimler did something similar but we can't know for sure).

Regardless, if we assume that Boimler applied and was accepted to the Academy between the ages of 18-20 (cause let's be honest, it may have taken our boy a couple tries to get in), and we assume he graduated in 4 or 5 years, then served on the Cerritos for 1 year, that would put him around age 23-26 at the beginning of Lower Decks (which takes place in 2380). From here we can estimate his birth year, which works out to between 2354 and 2357.

Now we compare that to TNG's timeline.

[Description: A screenshot from Memory Alpha. Next to the word "Timespan", highlighted text reads "2364-2370". Below it sits an image of the Enterprise in space.]

Based on our evidence, we can estimate Boimler to be age 7-10 at the beginning of the TNG era and 13-16 by the end. This puts him at a perfect age to have grown up celebrating Captain Picard Day (and getting interupted by Q's antics) on board the Enterprise 1701-D.

What's more, spending a good chunk of his childhood surrounded by the glory and prestige of the flagship and it's legendary senior staff may have contributed to his staunch belief in Starfleet's mission and hero-worship of the Cerritos' bridge crew that he displays at the beginning of Lower Decks. Likewise, idolizing Picard may have contributed to his preoccupation with regulations and "proper" behaviour. This is to say that the theory fits thematically for Boimler's character as well as mathematically for his age.

TL;DR - By estimating Boimler's age based on his Academy graduation year, we can assume he was 7-10 at the beginning of TNG and 13-16 by the end, meaning he could ABSOLUTELY have celebrated Captain Picard Day on the Enterprise.

It just occurred to me that Boimler knew what Captain Picard Day was. So this only has to mean that he grew up on the Enterprise.

[groundramon]

*eyes light up with anger and passion*

WHERE DO I EVEN START

So I guess the best place to start is that in Jessie, every single one of the characters is an appearance-based stereotype.  Every single one of them.  And almost all of them are racial stereotypes.

The main four characters (minus the titular character, who I’ll get to later) are all racial stereotypes.  All of them.  And two of them are white.  How do you even do that.

- The youngest kid is a black girl named Zuri.  Guess what her personality is.  She’s sassy, rebellious, and mean to those around her.  I’m 99% certain that she says “mmmmhmmm” multiple times in the show.  I know she says it at least once because I can literally hear her saying it in my brain while I’m writing this.

- The second youngest is an asian boy from India named Ravi (was that how it was spelled? do I care?).  Guess what his personality is.  He’s a nerdy, awkward social outcast who gets perfect grades, is cowardly, and is made fun of for his awkward behavior.

- The second eldest is a white boy named Luke, who makes fart jokes, slacks off in school, and makes a lot of bad snarky jokes.  I guess that’s not necessarily a white person stereotype but... //shrugs

- The eldest daughter is a blonde white girl named Emma.  She loves makeup, boys, gossip, being pretty, and is self-centered and disrespectful to everyone around her.  She’s the epitome of the “blonde bitch” villain trope you see in so many school-centric shows, except she’s a protagonist that you’re supposed to sympathize with and care about.  Idk if this is a white girl only issue (i dont think that blonde bitch in Miraculous Ladybug is white [i dont remember her name bc i havent watched the show in like a year, sorry] but I might be wrong) but I’ve literally only ever seen this character with blonde-haired people so I’m counting it as racist.

As for the titular character, she’s from Texas.  She had an overbearing, possibly abusive military father (which is only used for laughs, obviously), she’s helped a cow give birth, she knows how to handle a gun, and im p sure they made fun of her for having an accent (even though its so incredibly neutralized in the actresses’ performance. Debby [her actress] isnt even from texas so like....no wonder)  I mean I dont really have much of a problem with like half those things bc the cow and the gun are just harmless stereotypes.  Nobody’s going to be hurt by those; they just arent funny.  BUT DONT MAKE FUN OF PEOPLE WITH ACCENTS OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE ABUSIVE PARENTS, JESUS FUCK.

And then there’s another, more minor main character whose name I’m too lazy to spell so I’ll just call him Fat Butler Dude and....I think you can guess his personality based on that description.  He’s lazy, he loves food, he complains about his job, ect.  And listen.  Buddy.  Bro.  Dude.  I dont have a problem with fat characters who like food.  I dont have a problem with lazy fat characters.  I’m a fat person, and I’m a lazy person who likes food.  People who “meet” stereotypes exist.  But those are pretty much his only defining traits, and when you do nothing but build your character outside of a stereotype (which is true of all the above characters) then you’re doing it wrong.

And the show in general is just paper-thin and unfunny and not good.  I guess it depends on your style of humor whether you’ll find it funny or not (some people would be too revolted by one episode to analyze it, but I can handle the writing and even laughed at a few jokes while watching it) but the humor is not very intelligent generally.  Also there are like...a lot of innuendos in this show??  In one episode, Zuri says “you should’ve seen what [insert this other young kid bitch] did to Mr. Bearyton! (her stuffed toy bear)  Now he’ll never have children!”  And I’m just...........ok, sure, pretend like anyone who will find that joke funny is watching your show.  I’m sorry but personally I’m of the mindset that if your show isn’t trying to be something mature and appeal to all ages, you shouldn’t use innuendos.  Either make it bland, forgettable, and non-offensive, or try to do something great with your kids show - dont try to sneak in a joke for the adults if your show has no fucking adult audience because the rest of your writing is so abysmal.  Also that joke isn’t even remotely subtle or cute in any way.  I would rather not think of a young child mutilating a bear’s genitalia, thanks

As for the paper-thin part, it tries to sneak in emotional bonding moments between the four children characters (the racial stereotypes) and the babysitter/titular character (Jessie) and even the butler gets to join in sometimes, but honestly? nothing they do is remotely emotional, to no one’s surprise.  If I cant at least say “aw, that’s cute” because the characters are so infuriating, you’re doing it wrong.  Not every emotional moment needs to have people in tears, especially in a sitcom, but for fuck’s sake...

BUT BUNK’D IS WORSE

Take all the paper-thin emotions out of Jessie and replace them with even shittier jokes and even shittier writing.  Take out the three least racist characters (Jessie, the butler, and Luke) and replace them with:

- An overachieving asian girl with overbearing, abusive parents.  Yes, somehow they got TWO stereotypes in for the same goddamn race.  She has intense anxiety over doing things perfectly, takes on way too much for her mental health, and expresses legitimate fear over her mothers’ reaction to her doing anything other than be perfect.

- A fat mexican kid who likes food, is lazy, is dumb, and farts a lot.  I bet he got more racist as the show went on but I dont care enough to go and check.

- A Hot White Boy (TM) who is just eyecandy for Emma.  He plays guitar, he’s good-looking, he has a high-ranking position at the camp....i want to call him a Gary Stu but if there’s one thing Jessie got right, its that they at least gave all their characters discernible flaws (the problem is that they have no personality outside of those flaws :/ how do you even make a character too flawed when they arent a complete evil bastard, like what the fuck, i wish i could fuck up writing that badly)  Also his name is Xander.  I forgot the names of the above two characters but i looked em up but honestly idc enough to write them down

- A white girl named Lou who I had completely forgotten about but she’s like Jessie except on country steroids and 10x more annoying from what I remember.  She’s still the most tolerable character in the show.

- A LITERAL FUCKING STALKER, WHO STALKS XANDER, AND ITS PLAYED FOR LAUGHS, WHAT THE FUCK.  She’s an antagonist clearly BUT STILL WHAT THE FUCK.  She’s also blonde

- There’s also this evil camp councilor that is played by Freddy Benson’s mother.  She’s a stereotype too, probably a suburban white mom stereotype, but she’s still the last racist of all the characters.  She’s still annoying tho.

There are other characters too but I dont ever remember seeing them in the episodes I saw of the show, so whatever.

Basically Bunk’d is a more racist, more paper-thin, more toilet humor/bad humor-filled, more “lol random xd”-filled version of Jessie, which was already all of those things.

Honestly Bunk’d and Jessie are by far two of the most hateful sitcoms I’ve seen, and I’d say they’re a bad influence on kids of today.  The show isn’t...flat out saying its okay to be racist?  But literally I dont even think I can chock this up to ignorance or accidental racism.  Every character of a racial minority, and even white characters, and fat characters, and characters from the country.... just so happens to fall perfectly into a racial stereotype.  If it was one or two characters? maybe I could pass it off as “well television writers are just fucking idiots” (like I do whenever the PPG reboot tries to say it’s making a difference in the world lmao).  But EVERY. SINGLE. CHARACTER. IS A RACIST STEREOTYPE.  And the fact that Jessie ran until 2015ish (and started in 2010ish) and Bunk’d is still running?  If that doesn’t tell you racism is real in hollywood, idk what will.

I never see anyone talk about this either, and ive hardly seen people talk about the show in general, and it makes me rlly mad because ???  I thought you guys cared about this kind of stuff??  I understand most people dont pay attention to sitcoms but still.  You’d think SJWs would be more concerned with LITERAL TRANSPARENT AND UNDENIABLE RACISM in KIDS SHOWS but apparently they arent.  Or just nobody knows.  But that makes me even madder because we should be calling this kind of trash out.  You say that media is important but then ignore one of the biggest genres of children’s programming, which is arguably the most influential television of them all....like idk it just seems hypocritical to me.

 so yeah tldr Jessie is just a bad/eh show in general but its made 100x worse by racial stereotypes, obesity stereotypes, jokes about things that shouldnt be joked about (especially in kids show), and lots of other things - and Bunk’d is even worse in all those regards.

[brianmarshalltampa-blog]

Brian Marshall’s St Petersburg Historic Hotels of Ghosts, Love, and Money

From St Pete Beaches to Downtown Streets, the History of 3 Landmark Hotels

St Petersburg is just across the bridge from Tampa, but some people who live on this side of the Bay think it’s an ordeal to cross it for pretty much anything besides work.

I, on the other hand, love St Pete and don’t mind driving over for something other than a job, like a great restaurant, a cool bar, or the beach…and St Petersburg seems to have all three.

One of the many upsides to living in Tampa Bay is that you can have a staycation at a great hotel near the beach with a short drive. That’s what I enjoy doing with the family when we all have a chance.

For me, three hotels that standout not only for their charm but for their…you guessed it… history, are the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, The Don CeSar, and The Cordova Inn. I’m going to take you down the road of each for a lesson in St Pete historic hotels with spook, splendor, and saga.

Vinoy With a View

According to hotel lore (there are different variations of this story), the Vinoy Park Hotel, aka Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, became a reality all because of a bet between Pennsylvania businessman Aymer Vinoy Laughner and the era’s golf champion Walter Hagen. You see, Laughner had a house on Beach Drive, near this beautiful piece of land. Laughner bet Hagen he couldn’t hit golf balls off the top of his watch without breaking the crystal. Hagen proved him wrong. When Laughner and another guest went to collect the balls Hagen hit from a neighbor’s lawn, the guest told him what a nice site the waterfront home would be for a hotel. The rest, as they say, is hotel history.

So in 1923 Laughner purchased the property on Tampa Bay, hired architect Henry Taylor to design a hotel, and after two years and $3.5 million, the Vinoy Park Hotel opened for business on New Year's Eve 1925. At the time, the Vinoy was the largest construction project in Florida history and the largest and most luxurious of St. Petersburg’s boom-era hotels.

St Pete Native

The Mediterranean Revival style, salmon-colored hotel charged $20 per night (wish it still costs that much) and celebrities, athletes and dignitaries such as Babe Ruth, Marilyn Monroe, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and James Stewart flocked to the St Pete hotel.

Then the party was over and the US Army converted it into a training school during World War II and later as an R&R facility for the U.S. Maritime Commission. Following the war, the 347-room hotel changed hands again, this time

In 1945, Laughner sold the Vinoy to Charles Alberding, who owned a Chicago-based hotel chain, Alsonett Hotels.

Although Alberding brought back the Vinoy to its glory, it eventually lost steam and in 1972 a 20-year-old offered to buy the hotel. Bob Reynolds was a St. Petersburg native who loved the hotel ever since he was a kiddo. Because Reynolds didn't have the money to buy it, Alberding agreed to lease the hotel with the option to buy for $5 million. Even though Reynolds got some partners to organize a company, commissioned then St Pete mayor Randy Wedding who happened to be an architect to restore it, he wasn't able to raise the funds and in '74, the hotel closed. The hotel reopened a year later, only to reclose again the same year. In '78, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places which gave investors tax breaks. The Vinoy sold most of its contents at auction and remained empty. Its lease changed hands several times and the downtown St Pete area went through growing pains.

The Rennaissance of Vinoy

Then a fine group of men formed the Vinoy Development Corporation, found an equity partner, and Stouffer Hotels and Resorts begun a $93 million restoration in 1990. Two years later, it reopened as the Stouffer Renaissance Vinoy Resort. Four years later (yeah, that’s the hotel biz), another hotel group bought the Stouffer hotel chain and renamed it the Renaissance Hotel Group. Just a year later, Marriott International bought the Renaissance brand name and in 2005, then bought by FelCor Lodging Trust of Dallas, but is still managed by Marriott.

But enough about who owned it…let’s get to the good stuff. Ghosts.

The Baseball Effect

For some reason, visiting major league baseball teams have most frequently reported seeing ghosts. Perhaps they’re trying to scare-off visiting teams? Take Miami Marlins relief pitcher, Scott Ryan Williamson who in 2003 when alone in his room, rolled on his stomach and felt an immediate pressure on his back and couldn’t breathe. When he turned over, the pressure was released, so he rolled back on his stomach again and felt the same pressure. When he turned back over, he noticed a man standing near the curtains wearing a coat.

Freaky? Oh, yeah.

Other guests have said they’ve seen a well-dressed man in a formal suit walking the halls, thinking he’s a concierge at the Vinoy. When they look back to ask him something, they notice he’s disappeared into thin air.

Pink Lady

Another member of the Historic Hotels of America also built in the heyday of the jazz era is The Don CeSar.

A year after the Vinoy was purchased, real estate developer, Thomas Rowe, purchased the property on which The Don CeSar sits and hired architect, Henry H. Dupont to design it.

The story of this hotel and its owner isn’t much about the building, selling, and renovating of the Don CeSar. It’s more about a love story that some say still roams the halls of this historic hotel.

80-year-old St Pete Don CeSar aka The Pink Palace, aka the Pink Lady, aka Loews Resort on St. Pete Beach, aka 'the Don' story starts in 1872 with Rowe while in London attended the performance of Vincent Wallace's light opera 'Maritana'. The leading lady was a stunning Spanish young woman named Lucinda. It was love at first sight for Rowe, so following the performance, he went backstage to meet her.  The feeling was mutual, and so their romance began. But not everyone was thrilled about it, such as Lucinda's parents who were members of the Spanish aristocracy. They didn't want their daughter having anything to do with a poor boy from Massachusetts, so they forbad her to see him.

That didn't stop her and Rowe from continuing to see each other in secret. One of their favorite spots to meet was at night in a closed courtyard with a beautiful fountain. It seemed their budding love mimicked the opera as Lucinda became 'Maritana' and Thomas Rowe 'Don CeSar', another character. On the night of the last performance, they made plans to meet at their beloved fountain and run away together to America.

Love letters between the young couple went back and forth until servents intercepted the last one from Lucinda, discussing their plans. As soon as her parents found out, they immediately took her back to Spain.  

In the meantime, young Rowe was oblivious to this and waited by the fountain, as planned, until sunrise, but Lucinda never appeared.

Heartbroken, he continued writing to her without a response. Rowe finished his studies, went back to the States and then he received a letter addressed to 'My beloved Don CeSar.' There was a clipping of her death in the envelope along with a letter begging Rowe to forgive her parents for taking her away from him and saying, 'We found each other before, and we shall do so again. This life is intermediate. I leave it without regret and travel to a place where the swing of the pendulum does not bring pain. Time is infinite. I will wait for you by our fountain... to share our timeless love, our destiny is time. Forever, Maritana.'

Romantic? Oh, yeah.  

Birth of 'The Don'

In mourning, Rowe fell ill and his doctors recommended a warmer climate to get him away from the dreaded winters. So in 1925, he visited St. Petersburg, Florida found land on the beach, and began to develop one of the most pristine properties in honor of his beloved Lucinda aka 'Maritana'. The Don CeSar was actually styled after the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

With guests such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lou Gehrig, and Al Capone, it would be thee place where people would stay when they wanted to get away from bleak winter weather during peak seasons, January - March.

Rowe never got over the love of his life, Lucinda, and eventually married a companion.

In the lobby of the St. Pete hotel the courtyard and fountain where the two love-birds once met, was replicated. He was known to spend countless hours at this spot wearing a white Panama hat and white tropical suit, most likely reminiscing about his time with Lucinda.

The Great Depression hit, but Rowe had a brilliant idea to keep the Don in business during hard times. He called the Ruperts in New York and they created the first Florida baseball spring training program. The New York Yankees came to Florida for training, stayed at the Don, and began a tradition to this day.

St Pete History Buffs to the Rescue

Rowe died in 1940 leaving the Pink Lady to his wife. She knew nothing about the hospitality industry, made poor decisions, and eventually, the hotel went out of business.

Just like the Vinoy, the U.S. Army purchased the Pink Palace in '42 and it became a convalescent hospital for aviators and pilots of the Second World War. When it became no longer needed by the army and government, it was boarded-up, barricaded, and downright creepy. Soon rumors of bats and ghosts of the dilapidated hotel ran rampant in St Petersburg for years until '72 when a group of history buffs rescued it from being demolished.

The glory of the Don was resurrected and more ways than one.

St Petersburg Ghost Stories

Time passed and the staff began noticing weird things happening at the Pink Palace.

Such as a front desk clerk taking a stroll as sunset with her husband on the beach noticed a man wearing a tropical white suit and Panama hat walking with a can. Does that description sound familiar?

Then there was another hotel staff member who walked through the old kitchen at midnight and turned to see a 1940s nurse dressed in full army medical corps uniform watching him.

And can't forget the time when a new late-night dishwasher took a break from the mounds of dishes. When he returned, all of the dirty dishes were cleaned and stacked neatly in the middle of the kitchen floor. That's really nice of whichever ghost washed them, but the dishwasher did like most of us would...he immediately left and never came back.

Yet another story of a housekeeper while cleaning the 5th floor where Rowe once lived, heard repeated knocking on the door of the room she was cleaning. Becoming annoyed, she opened the door, but no one was there. She left the room, went downstairs thinking it may be another housekeeper knocking, but found everyone was already gone for the day. Needless to say, from that day on, she refused to clean any room on the 5th floor.

Goosebumps? Oh, yeah.

There are more stories to tell of the paranormal activity at the St Petersburg Don CeSar, but you get the picture.  

Love After Life

Following the Don's becoming part of the National Trust for Historic Hotels in America, new stories emerged of a young couple strolling the hotel grounds, as well as the 5th floor, hand in hand at sunset. The man wearing...you guessed it...a tropical white suit and Panama hat and the beautiful young lady with long dark locks wearing a Spanish-style peasant dress.

Were Lucinda and Rowe's forbidden love finally brought together through the Pink Lady in the afterlife?

I'll let your mind wander for a min...

St Pete Local Lore

Another one of my favorite St Pete hotels with a haunted past is The Cordova Inn. Although not as famed as the Don and Vinoy with the same long, rich history, this boutique hotel boasts its own resident ghost.

The Cordova family from Michigan built the hotel 1921, downtown St Peterburg.

The story goes, when the family built the hotel, they sent their personal butler to manage it. This butler ruled the property with an iron fist. He was known to always dress in full uniform and maintained a white-glove reputation for impeccable accommodations, attention to guests, and Euro-style service.

After 20 years, he passed away in the hotel and became somewhat of a legend. It would be nice to put a name to the ghost, but apparently, no one remembers it.

The Cordova family sold the hotel in the 50s and for 50 years, the property changed hands several times, but the name remained the same.

In the early 80s and 90s, St Pete became a less than desirable city to visit and The Cordova closed its doors. While waiting for its fate, schoolboys would break into the hotel after dark and later tell stories of hearing unhappy howling...rumor has it, it was the butler (it's always the butler).

St Pete Sundial

Back when the Sundial was known as BayWalk, new life begun to blossom into downtown St Pete and a local investor saw the potential of The Cordova and purchased it. The hotel was completely renovated...even the water basins in the hall where servants apparently cleaned-up before serving their wealthy employers.

The St Pete Butler

In 2001 the St Petersburg hotel reopened as The Pier Hotel and finally as The Cordova Inn.

Although they say after 2001 no one heard or seen the infamous butler, there are guests to this day who've experienced fans turning off and on by themselves, rooms becoming suddenly freezing cold, hearing heavy footsteps in the halls, and smells of rotting flesh.

Rather tame events compared to the Don and Vinoy, but nevertheless, spooky.

No matter what hotel you stay in St Petersburg, FL, make sure you take note of the history, the charm, the character and of course, the ghosts. ~ Brian Marshall

[cover2covermom]

Goodbye March & hello April!

April is such an awesome month, don’t you think?  I mean, I guess I am a little bias since it is my birth month and all.  I will be turning 29 for the 3rd year in a row, and I must say 29 still feels great 🙂

Anyways!  Let’s see what I read & accomplished in March…

  » As Good As True by Cheryl Reid

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This book took me longer than normal to get through, which I attribute to the heavy tone throughout the book

The writing was really good

Explores complex themes like segregation, dysfunctional family dynamics, race issues, motherhood, etc.

I struggled with the main character, Anna.  On one hand I respected her strength, but on the other I was frustrated with her weakness.  I also struggled with her neediness in regards to her daughter

There was just something “off” about this book – possibly the lack of balance.  There needed to be some lighter-hearted moments to balance out Anna’s life

Content/Trigger warning: domestic violence & rape

» Warcross by Marie Lu

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I’m so glad I decided to give this one a go – it was definitely outside of my comfort zone

The concept behind this book was absolutely fascinating – loved the world building

You don’t need to be avid gamer to enjoy this book – I’m sure not – but I feel like those who are into gaming will appreciate this book even more

It did include some of the typical YA tropes: orphaned main character – Why do parents always have to be killed off or abandon their kids in YA books?  and the rich guy/poor girl trope – which here it didn’t overly bother me because the rich guy wasn’t showering her with lavish gifts, so I guess it was ok.

I enjoyed the plotline – I saw one of the big twists coming, but did not expect the other one.

Loved the chemistry between Emika & her love interest

My one hang up is that I wanted to see more inside the Warcross Games & the training.  We get to see the first round of the games & the training for the first match, but the 2nd round is glazed over… I just wanted a little more about the rest of the competition.  The book needed to be longer.

» Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The concept for this one is so clever & unique – very Gaiman (who came up with the original idea from what I understand)

Good vs. Evil

I adored the quirky characters.  My favorites would be Aziraphale, Crowley, Shadwell, & Madame Tracy

Aspects of this book felt like Gaiman, while others did not – I felt like this book went off on tangents quit a bit that hindered the flow of the story for me – I’ve never read any of Terry Pratchett’s work, so I wonder if this was more his style

Despite the intriguing plot line & great characters, my attention tended to wander

I listened to the audiobook format (which was wonderfully narrated) but maybe this (paired with the random tangents) was why I had a hard time concentrating

Will possibly revisit in print form – will not rate until then

Possibly too many perspectives – I could have done without Newt & Anathema’s perspectives

Adam’s perspective felt off in the story

Can’t wait to see how this translates to a TV mini-series

  » Eligible (The Austen Project #4) by Curtis Sittenfeld

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Pride & Prejudice retelling – I think the author did a great job of bringing this story up to modern times.

I am actually shocked at how much I enjoyed this book – probably one of the more captivating “chick-lit” books I’ve read, BUT this may have more to do with the fact it was a retelling of one of my favorite classics.

I’d call this book a guilty pleasure type of book – family drama to the extreme

Despite the fact that it was very readable & I enjoyed the retelling, there felt like there were some problematic issues.  I felt like some of the diversity was thrown in for the sake of diversity – a transgendered character, a bi-racial couple, a woman who decides to get pregnant via a sperm donor…  It just felt like these were thrown into the story to make it more modern and to provide drama, which didn’t feel right to me.

The final chapter felt oddly placed – I appreciated the insight into that particular character, but didn’t like how the book ended on that note.

» Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» Bygone Badass Broads by Mackenzie Lee

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

*4.5 Stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The layout of this book was wonderfully executed.  We slowly learn about Hawley over the course of the book by seeing how he received each of his bullet wounds.  These alternating chapters between Hawley’s sketchy past & Loo’s present day kept the pace of the book steady throughout & kept me interested from start to finish.

Themes: coming of age, father-daughter relationships, love, forgiveness, loss & grief, small town living, and the blurred lines between good & bad.

As much as this is Loo’s coming-of-age story, it is also very much about a father’s love for his daughter.

I feel like this book appeals across a wide range of readers – thriller readers, mystery readers, and literary fiction readers.  While there are thriller & mystery elements, there is much more depth to this book as well.

The characters in this book blur the line between good & bad, you might not always approve of their actions & decisions, but we are given enough character development to understand them.

» Women Who Dared by Linda Skeers

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» The Daughter’s of Palatine Hill by Phyllis T. Smith

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The Fictionalized account of Emperor Augustus (Julius Ceaser’s successor), his descendants, & the descendants of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.  Despite the fact that this is a work of fiction, the people and events are based in history.  I knew almost nothing about these historical figures.

Holy complicated family tree batman!  Trying to figure out all the family ties made my head hurt – this is history, you can’t make this up.

Lots of political intrigue and family drama

Book is told in 3 alternating perspectives: Lavia (Augustus’s Wife), Julia (Augustus’s daughter from a previous marriage), and Selene (daughter of Mark Antony & Cleopatra) – I found each POV & story equally interesting.  The 3 POV’s worked well here.  All the characters felt well fleshed out.

The biggest weakness in The Daughter’s of Palatine Hill was the setting.  When I read historical fiction, I need the author to put me in that time period.  Unfortunately, there was almost no descriptions of the setting or context to the era.

   » The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

*3.5 Stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially in the beginning.  I would have preferred the author introduce us to Tea & Fox BEFORE the raising, it would have helped me emotionally connect to them.

I really enjoyed the unique world, the culture & customs, the magic system, etc.

I really liked HOW Chupeco presented the story itself – weaving back and forth between Tea’s current situation, and the past events that led to the present.

This is a slower paced book – typical first book where the author introduces us to the world and characters.  I’m sure the second book will be more action packed.

I feel like fans of this book would also like The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.  Not a similar story by any means, but I feel like the writing styles are similar.

  February 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + Book Haul

March 2018 TBR

Books I Read for #BlackHistoryMonth 2018

Kids’ Corner: Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

Author Event: An Evening with Neil Gaiman

eBooks:

» The Reluctant Queen (The Queens of Renthia#2) by Sarah Beth Durst

Print Books:

» Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman *Signed Copy*

» The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee *Signed Copy*

» Bygone Badass Broads by Mackenzi Lee *Signed Copy*

  Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

March 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + #Book Haul #BookBlogger #Reading #Bookworm Goodbye March & hello April! April is such an awesome month, don't you think?  I mean, I guess I am a little bias since it is my birth month and all. 

[mille-at-home]

Easter and leave.

I know it’s Easter Sunday but blog I must, as emotions may get the better of me by tomorrow! It’s his last day of leave and he will be returning to base. (Boo hoo!) But what a fantastic week we have had, we are not having the planned extension due to costs but we have a log cabin in the planning stage to incorporate a hot tub, oh and a bar! Well, it’s a luxury item that we have been dreaming about for the past three years, so we did it! Our local store couldn’t get the square one down from the storage as the fork lift truck has broken down, so cue me and a little persuasive ‘nice damsel in distress that we wanted one today’ voice and a nice man agreed he and the manager could “put their hands on one not displayed for £450” (£50 more) Ok, ok I reiterated as long as it’s that price I will send husband back down. He returned home with this huge 4-6 seater thing with bloody LED lights, numerous jets and in short - is shear heaven. We have not watched any TV all week nor indeed, been on the Internet or had any inclination to play candy crush! This tub has been a good purchase!

Then he wants to get a gazebo, twinkly lights and a shed?! The husband has worked really hard in the back garden for the week making it just a relaxing area for us, we have gained a decking area this year as obviously both children do not need to be safely enclosed and tend to play in the woods. The bonus is that we have a whole level of decking previously reserved for the smaller person - it now has a shed (not a man shed) and we are managing to clear boxes from the spare room. We have agree should we go to war at any stage that we could probably kit out a few 'soldiers’ in the bloody kit he has but alas for now it has to be stored until he can get it back to some master?! There is a name for this particular person but I can’t remember, anyway it’s the person who takes all the surplus uniform to be returned to? Well another surplus store which is better than our spare room I might add!

I am so crap at all the army stuff (as you all know) and there is a new blogger in the midst who is raw and very real but I have to say, I can’t understand why - when people respond to her funnies that there is such a bloody need for all the fooking T.L.A.’s it drives me nuts trying to figure out this foreign language other wives talk! Give me a break please - just write it in English eh? It doesn't make you part of the military, neither does it make you important for other subordinates to have to ask WTF is that?! But I guess that’s the downside to MU living. I am just not in the 'zone’. AND another thing that bugs the hell out of me…(sorry, got to just get this off my chest)… A partner, wife, girlfriend or whatever; posts about how sad they are that husband is deploying, this is the most mind boggling, character changing shite any partner, wife, girlfriend or whatever might go through and yet…many see this as a freaking competition with lines like “been there, done that” “husband had done 3,590 tours so far and counting” “mine was away for all children’s births” etc etc etc Ladies - what is this shite?! What’s wrong with saying “Hey, I’m sorry chick, it will be ok, you can do this we know how it feels? Here for you?” Now in my book, that’s far more supportive but noooooo this is too easy for most?! *rant over!

Anyway, onto delightful MU things and aside from hot tub and shed building we have managed to get a family day out or two in. We pottered off to Prickly Ball Farm on Friday. It’s a hedgehog hospital and our children love animals of any description especially if they have a 'rescue story’ to boot. So we walk around this little farm and fall in love with all of the little animals deciding that when we win the lottery this is what we would love to do and of course Erin still has her heart set on a chicken or two! But apart from that I can’t help but notice that most of these places are geared towards your average toddler and pre-schooler with soft play areas and slides etc which every screaming kid around us is enjoying. This is great but as I found with my own two at this age, they have little fooking interest in conservation or rescue animals and actually once you have paid whatever extortionate entrance fee it is to get into these place all the little darlings want to do is go to the play areas?! Ours are older and much more interested in the animals and conservation coupled with a rescue story so when we sit in the hedgehog hospital to meet 'Bob’ the hedgehog, this young girl comes out to tell us about their extra sensitive ears and can we all keep quiet so that Bob doesn’t get too frightened? Yep, all of the 30 odd toddlers got this bit for sure *rolls eyes and the young girl had no control over them! Erin was whispering how worried she was about Bob because 'these kids are not quiet’ I sat very very glad that we had passed this bloody stressful stage in parenting! That said, little Bob coped well and will be released back into the wild this week. I predict little Bob will be a very happy little hedgehog away from the farm!

I collected Mum for Easter dinner today and she is doing well, she is still talking about leaving the home as she keeps getting a bill for the supposed 'care package’ that was taken away from her 7 months ago? £200 a month for hoovering, dishes and a shower? She has had none of it but is still being charged? Guess who is contacting a bloody care manager this Tuesday?! Here we go again! Erin and I did take the staff a bucket full of rice crispie cakes that we made this morning, so at least they have a bit of a sugar rush with their coffee! Husband cooked and I took Mum back to the home at 5pm. Norton is my leach at the moment (actually; hes always my leach) and he watched me intently as I got Mum into the car - I told him I wouldn’t be long (as you do) and drove off. As I drove back down the lane 10 minutes later, there is Norton, half way up the bloody lane having a good sniff around and no one else has noticed he is missing! Erin tries to round him up but he has no collar on (due to the throat tumour) and he is too deaf to hear me calling him! Erin gets in a panic and starts crying so I leave the car and fetch him but he is wet and covered in mud? He had a good ten minutes of freedom but lord only knows what he was doing!

Erin delights in running into Dad and asking if he is missing something?! What a week! A beautiful week to be fair; which I really don’t want to end but reality is happening and I need to do a job search for some more hours! I’m not gonna get that little 4x4 anytime soon otherwise! The only thing I will not miss is the snoring, because quite frankly if I hadn’t have come downstairs last night at 3am I would have smothered the fooker with a pillow! Roll on undisturbed sleep is all I can say!

Have a great week all. Mille xx