#ancestry is such an interesting website

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🍁🏠🍂

Credit goes to @astroismypassion

🏠Aries Moons I noticed are the ones who are most often able to be friends with an ex or be friendly with new partner of an ex. They are the ones most often to be found in a throuple since they are emotionally independent.

🍁Sometimes I noticed you can go for a romantic partner that has the same or opposite Sun sign of your sidereal Moon. To give an example: sometimes someone who has Aries Moon in the Natal chart, this is sidereal Pisces Moon would go for a Pisces Sun or Virgo Sun romantic partner. Here it could also be another Mercurial Sun sign, such as Gemini Sun.

🍂 I noticed sometimes women go for partner with the same Sun sign as their father's Moon sign. To give an example: if her father had Capricorn Moon, she might go for a Capricorn Sun (even Aquarius Sun) or Sun in the 10th house. Similarly, if the father had Pisces Moon in the 12th house, she might go for a partner with Pisces Sun or Sun in the 12th house.

🏠Cancer over the 9th house people is most of the type out of all signs to go on an ancestry trip. They also might seriously reconsider dating their partner, if their family (especially the mother) doesn't approve of their partner.

🍁Considering all the recent drama and rivalry between sisters Kim and Kourtney Kardashian. It was actually bound to happen. More prominent and more so with age since Kourtney has Capricorn Moon, she is slowly realizing new things about her own family members, Kim included. I honestly think Synastry wise there is a lot of misunderstandings and misinterpretations on both ends. But considering that Kim has Pisces Moon and Kourtney Pisces Venus, there is certainly some jealousy going on that is being played subconsciously. They are also bound to copy one another due to seeing each other as role models. No, it's not just Kim that sees Kourtney as a role model, it goes both ways here.

🍂 People really remember the face and body of a Scorpio Rising very carefully, like their image is imprinted in other people’s minds. So often times when Scorpio Rising person changes their image, loses weight, people are quick to notice that first! And it’s honest the face that gives it away, having more narrow, sharp features, such as chin.

🏠I also observed that sometimes you attract the Sun sign of planets in the 2nd house and sign that you have over the 2nd house. For example: you have Capricorn over the 2nd house with Uranus and Neptune in the 2nd as well, so you might attract quite a few Cancer Suns, Virgo Sun and Leo Suns.

🍁Neptune in the 2nd house people love buying sleepwear. They like to have a variety of pyjamas, a robe, slippers, nightgowns etc.

🍂A lot of celebrities with a lifestyle brand or a blog tend to have Virgo North Node or at a Virgo degree (6, 18). Such as Jessica Alba (North Node at 6 (Virgo) degree and the Honest Company. Kourtney Kardashian (Virgo North Node) and her Poosh brand.

🏠 I noticed Neptune in the 1st house and Uranus in the 1st house people enjoy changing their hair colour as well as any Leo Ascendant would.

🍁 I noticed sometimes people that express interest in you tend to have some placements of your Juno Persona chart, they quite literally see you as their ideal person. So for example if you are a Cancer Sun and don’t understand why so many Aquarius Suns or Aries Venuses are attracted to you, could sometimes mean you might have Aquarius Sun or Aries Venus in your Juno Persona chart.

🍂People that have North Node in the 12th house or at a Pisces degree (12, 24) or in the 9th house or at a Sagittarius degree (9, 21), to a lesser extent North Node in the 11th house and North Node in the 10th house, could have a passive cash flow, such as through an online store, online website where they sell products. Famous celebrities with e-commerce store are Rihanna (Pisces North Node in the 12t house at a Pisces (24) degree) and her Fenty Beauty. Kylie Jenner (North Node at Sagittarius (21) degree) and her Kylie Cosmetics. The Row by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, they have North Node in the 9th house. And online store Honest by Jessica Alba, she has North Node in the 12th house.

🏠 The person with Neptune in the 12th house really loves to talk about conspiracy theories. 😂 Not necessarily always that they would believe in them, they just find it entertaining to talk about them!

Credit goes to @astroismypassion

[writingwithcolor]

Judaism, Angels, and Monstrosity

@neapolitangirl asked:

I'm writing a story about the angel Muriel traveling through a world inspired by American folklore (Ex. The Bell Witch, Fearsome Critters, etc) while hunting demons. I wanted to draw inspiration from the legend that says Muriel and Abaddon are one and the same because I thought it was interesting. However, I also know that Abaddon is important to Jewish cosmology and wanted to avoid any unfortunate implications. Muriel is very skittish and kind of a coward, but turns into the more violent and vengeful Abaddon in the presence of demons. Appearance-wise both Muriel and Abaddon are tall and skinny, but Muriel is more like an owly-human while Abaddon is a spiky skeletal being. Would this be connecting Judaism to monstrosity? Also, is there anything else I should try to avoid?

So…angelology, the whole idea of angels with names and personalities and individual jobs, is just…not something the average Jewish person thinks or cares about, even the ones who know a little about it. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not something that is prominent enough that it would have tropes attached that we might be able to warn you against.

That said, we’re posting on the Niche Scholarship and Special Interest website, so if there’s a reader who happens to have a lot of knowledge and feelings about Jewish angelology we would welcome the contribution and specialized expertise.

As it stands, my instinct is to give these more general considerations:

Balancing Jewish and Christian Elements

To what degree are you trying to tell a Jewish story, a Christian story that does not harm Jewish readers, or a story strongly influenced by Christian ideas about the heavens in a way that does not harm Jewish readers? How does deciding where you fall among those distinctions affect how you construct your story, and how you portray your angels?

Jewish Concept of God and Angelic Appearances

To Jews, God Godself does not have a physical body or visible appearance. If you’re describing the appearance of God as you’re navigating your angel-centering narrative, you’re squarely outside the territory of inclusivity toward Jewish readers. That’s okay, if you’re clear with readers that you’re not telling a Jewish story. It’s not okay if you’re trying to conflate Jewish and Christian ideas into a single narrative when they are often incompatible.

Angelic Appearances and Jewish Scripture

Angels might have appearances, and some descriptions of some types of angels in some Jewish scriptures have body parts of various animals. I haven’t the foggiest clue if it matters to anyone what appearances belong to which angels, so if it matters to someone reading this I hope they will speak up.

Are angels Jewish? This is a subject that could make for a fun discussion among Jewish people as a way of exploring the nature of Jewishness, but in your narrative you will have to think this through in your own way. If your angels engage in Jewish practices, then what does that look like and why, and if they don’t, why don’t they? The answer to that may of course be “Because I’m not actually telling a Jewish story.”

Christian Themes and Sensitivity to Jewish Culture

It’s okay to not be telling a Jewish story. But in that case keep in mind what demonstrations of Jewishness you include in a Christian story.

Especially, if you’re depicting a divine Jesus, or a Jesus character with any type of more-than-human powers or ancestry, or you are including any reference to the idea that Christianity might be in any way objectively correct, then you must tread EXTREMELY CAREFULLY with including any depiction of Jewish practice in your work, as the line where depiction turns to appropriation is in that case extremely near.

In all things, try and avoid depicting Jewish humans and any character who might be Jewish or be seen as Jewish in ways that are otherwise harmful: we’ve often talked about tropes around greed, sneakiness, power-grabbing, gender and sexual dynamics, and other tropes that apply to portrayals of Jewish characters. If your angels are Jewish, or Jew-ish in flavor, that goes for them as well.

Again, I know absolutely zero about Muriel and Abbadon and am not very interested in learning more as their lore has zero bearing on my Jewish practice in any way, and that’s a somewhat important point to me to be making because…2J3O. Two Jews, three opinions. So again, if a reader does in fact have knowledge and opinions about the specific angels themselves, please speak up.

–Meir

[candicornart]

Gloxie!

New ancestry art for our TTRPG system Anyventure D12!

Creatures from a frozen, glacial moon. They are the product of a magical experiment gone wrong, and mostly work as arcane assistants. They are also very vulnerable to compliments!

If you're interested in module based character creation, check out our website! : https://anyventured12.com/

[copperbadge]

Hi, please ignore if this is too personal, but as someone with Jewish ancestors who is considering conversion, I'd love to know your reasons for converting? For me it's more about community and reconnecting with that part of my family (there's a complicated family history there) than about religious belief, but I'm worried that might not be enough of a reason, if you know what I mean?

I don't know, I think conversion to Judaism is hard enough that if you don't have "enough" of a reason, you'll find out -- but I also think that one doesn't have to have a "sufficient" reason to convert to any faith which allows it, just determination and respect. If you want a connection to your ancestors and community, that's a very powerful motivation. And if it's not enough to sustain you through conversion, that's still a huge self-discovery for you, and while some practice should remain closed, you can still connect through things like traditionally Jewish foods and appreciation for Jewish art and culture.

For me, it's not that it's too personal, but it's difficult to vocalize; often when I'm asked about converting there's an assumption that I'm marrying a Jewish person, and when I say no, I usually add, "I just hear a call." Which admittedly is much more often said by Christians joining a ministry, but it's the most truthful I know how to be in short. Something in Judaism speaks to something in me. I have very little Jewish ancestry (although every time the DNA websites reevaluate their calculations it ticks up a percentage point, which is hilarious to me; I'm up from 2% to 6% currently) but the attitude towards the divine, the strength of tradition, the respect for learning, they all speak to my soul.

Even the hard stuff -- content in Torah or Talmud that I find difficult to reconcile with modern sensibility -- is at least something to challenge me, and Judaism is a faith that encourages argument, so I'm allowed to have a critical opinion of it. I think a lot about a quote I read from someone (possibly a reader, if so I am so sorry I can't find your name in my memory) who said, "I keep kosher, but sometimes I eat bacon when I'm mad at G-d." I think a lot about my Methodist confirmation class, where I was almost kicked out because I thought the Parable of the Wedding Feast was stupid and continued to argue against it after, realistically, I should have stopped; if it had been a class for a Bar Mitzvah, we might have been allowed to really examine it instead of glancing across it awkwardly and moving on. (As I found out years later, it was basically about how anyone can be a Christian but Jews should be punished for refusing to convert, so you know. Even as a kid I was very Jewish in my approach to theology and knew anti-Semitic propaganda when I heard it.)

I like that so many of the traditions involve things that I find compelling: bread, fire, water, the written word, the cycle of the harvest. I like that there's a search for truth and precision in Jewish scholarship, and that scholarship often seems to reward a neurodiverse approach to faith and study. As someone committed to philanthropy and versed in radical compassion, the exhortation to care for others baked into every foundational Jewish text is also very attractive. Some of the prayers I find viscerally satisfying (particularly the Traveler's Prayer, for some reason).

I find faith in a single divine entity extremely difficult, but one of the first things that got me to seriously consider Judaism (something I'd already been interested in) was being told that you can be an atheist Jew. To be able to commit to a faith community while still struggling with faith itself feels special to me. Whether a divine entity caused the miracle of the oil we celebrate this time of year is immaterial to me; the beauty of the narrative, the righteous rebellion rewarded with eight nights of light, is enough for me.

I might never finish conversion; realistically while I've done a lot of studying I still haven't worked extensively with a rabbi on a conversion path, and I do not call myself a Jew and won't until I complete conversion (I do observe a lot of the holidays and prayers, but mainly because that's generally advice to converts, so they can understand the demands of the faith and the myriad issues with being Publicly Jewish). But that's fine too; Judaism has been around for thousands of years, it'll wait for me, and if I never convert I'm still enjoying the journey.

[kaccvcate]

where do you find literature about indigenous groups in america? i'm trying to learn about my taino ancestry, but i don't know where to start. i have a book containing artifacts from puerto rico and managed to find a site by the Jatibonicu Tainos in pr, but im thirsting for more knowledge that isn't written by a bot or whatever.

this is the site in question btw. very early web 2.0 but it's a good starting point for me, and just in case you're interested. https://www.taino-tribe.org/

I'm not Taino so I don't know if this will work for you. Basically I started on this website:

https://www.native-languages.org/

and I bought a couple books they recommended from the used book market Alibris (a top tier website.) Unfortunately I haven't been able to afford most of what I want to read. Within those books were references to other published writers. I've barely scratched the surface of anything so I'm not an expert by any means.

The earliest sources are written by racists but they were the least racist people of their time period so it's often very depressing. They'll describe these beautiful utopian societies and then just call everyone retarded animals for no reason. I think lots of white people still feel this way and don't say it out loud, judging by how many "friends" I have to quit speaking to.

[flyingfortress1]

Can I just say.. your research and breakdowns of memoirs like Leckie’s and Sid’s are my absolute favorite things to see on tumblr!! I always love reading through them and learning more about the real life men in The Pacific.

I don’t know if you’ve already answered this, but I was wondering how you found all these records and newspapers? Is there a particular website you like to use? Thanks!!

First of all- I just want to say thank you!! I'm glad to hear that you enjoy them, and find the memoirs as interesting as I do! I'm glad you enjoy my research as well- it's something I really enjoy doing, and I'm glad I can share it. It's unfortunate that a lot of these guys just don't have a lot on them- besides Sledge/Leckie/kinda Phillips- and we just don't have something like the Winters Files for H Company. That's what kinda motivated me to do this- I felt like they deserved to have more told about their lives- if that makes sense.

So for how I find these sources: Ancestry. You can probably find them elsewhere, but it's going to take a lot more time and effort to do so- Conley's census record I actually found originally on the National Archives, but his name is not too common, and it did take me time. Additionally, the muster rolls are held by the Archives but through some partnership with Ancestry, you can only access them through there.

Ancestry is sort of like google for public archival sources- you can find censuses, military records, marriage registrars, etc on there. They have sub websites that are more specific. Fold3 is the one for the military records, and they also have one for newspapers.

I'm lucky enough that my library has a subscription to Ancestry- including most of their sub-websites- so I don't have to pay for it. They don't have the Newspapers one, so things will come up but I can't access it. However, I have to give some credit to @bleedingcoffee42 (who does some excellent research on the Band of Brothers side, go check them out) who has a Las Vegas library card and that library does have access to the Newspapers sub-website. They were able to find the newspaper articles for me- which includes obituaries and marriage announcements- which I'm very grateful for. But yeah, check your local library- can be a great resource.

Hope that answers your question, and once more, thank you so much for your kind words!! it's very appreciated.

[a-d-nox]

i bought a DNA test - here is my assessment of the DNA (asteroid 55555) persona chart

23 & me + health is very comprehensive, so i am just going to touch on some of the topics i already predicted based on their test breakdown from their website. for privacy reasons i won't be talking about how much of any given ethnicity i have. the only "evidence based" screenshots i will be providing are from the traits section of the test.

paid reading options: astrology menu & cartomancy menu

enjoy my work? help me continue creating by tipping on ko-fi or paypal. your support keeps the magic alive!

ancestry

i know for sure that i am polish and slovakian so tesinsko (38674) 10h and sextile saturn makes sense. těšínsko is basically the dividing line czechoslovakia and poland. so to have that in my dna 10h status makes me believe it will be pretty prevalent in the test breakdown - 50% +. plus i have polonia (1112) conjunct moon and that is very true - i got it from my mom's side lol.

danmark (2117) in the 2h rx makes me feel like i am not as danish as my father told me i was nor... i am correct because i am not danish nor am i a descendant of the danes.

am i as german as he made it seem. 7h germania (241) is not as convincing plus the lack of aspects just makes it all the less convincing... also true because my descendants were from southwestern germany not so much the core of german territory.

italia (477), hispania (804), and copenhagen (13586) in the 4h. perhaps i will revoke my statement above about the danish ancestry, but we will see. i do believe italian and hispanic descent might be probable based on these placements. try sardinia.

i know i am welsh but i can't find an asteroid related to wales :(... fun story 23 & me couldn't detect welsh ancestry in me, BUT nearly all the locations for the "british & irish" section regarding where my ancestors were from were in wales so lol yes i am welsh though i don't feel that snowdonia in my 4h is a very solid indicator.

i did discover that i have irish ancestry - i have ireland (5029) square moon, it is my mother's side that has irish descent! my grandmother found paper work confirming that.

i also discovered russian ancestry - my grandmother told me a very interesting story about my ancestor alex who used to be alexei but escaped via moscow... i have moskva (787) trine moon. the shoe fits.

a majority of my lineage and the asteroids associated with aspect the moon and/or saturn in my dna persona chart. 23/41 asteroids do at least; that's about 50% which is pretty good considering that 23&me ALSO isn't 100% accurate - they don't nail down where your ancestors are from they give possible regions from which your ancestors were likely from.

that being said, i am not sure that dna persona should be used alone - i feel like it was helpful to confirm and nail down which regions from the options in the dna results are even more likely for ancestry.

i do think that the 4h, moon aspects, and/or saturn aspects to country/city asteroids in a dna persona chart tend to be most accurate for determining ancestry.

trait report

ability to match musical pitch: air venus at 17° - i am gonna say this comes back positive.

asparagus odor detection: mercury at 1° conjunct chiron; i definitely will have a heightened sense of smell.

bitter taste: capricorn mercury... get it? its a saturn ruled mercury? saturn can be bitterness? i don't know i thought it was funny...

earwax type: on the other hand... a saturn ruled mercury - soft wax (i'm of the mindset there are only two options hard or soft wax).

health

type 2 diabetes: it kind of looks like i can beat the odds... like venus square saturn - that's just genetic. BUT venus sextiles moon and pluto AND conjuncts uranus - these are all planets of change, so i feel like i can/will prevent diabetes. true because i have the typical likelihood for developing diabetes per the test.

brca: it's not looking too hot and i know my father's mother passed from breast cancer at a rather young age i think she passed at 40... my moon conjuncts pluto and is opposite jupiter. fortunately, it conjuncts chiron, so i might beat it or catch it early thanks to the test. a grey area in my eyes... of the 4000 variants of brca they only test 44 of them. they found 0 of the 44 though. so we will see 44 is like nothing though to be honest.

thrombophilia: it's a given... uranus square saturn - the blood flow is just not that good. i kind of knew this before going in - i have factor 5 leiden; they found 1 of 2 thrombophilia variants that they test for and it was that variant/mutation.

alzheimer's: mercury conjunct sun and chiron AND sextile mars makes me believe it's fine and i'm good - i will get the negative here. i tested positive for late onset alzheimer's... i mean i feel like it can sort of be challenged - i know i am fighting something out of denial of the possible, but i really don't like that they don't test particularly for the early onset variant. if i have one, why wouldn't i have the other? i think we all could understand why that developing early would be horrible...

have ideas for new content? please use my “suggest a post topic” button!

return to nox's guide to metaphysics

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© a-d-nox 2023 all rights reserved

[percabeth4life]

Thank you for answering! I haven't read tkc in a hot minute so I might get some things wrong haha bear w me

1. Are the tkc events happening earlier than canon? Because that would be interesting as Sadie and Carter might be wondering where Nepthys has gone lolol.

2. Ooo Is percy ethnically egyptian in this story 👀👁. Or is percys ancestry some sort of cross pantheon?

3. " An echo of death, a breath of the sky [...] enough for her to connect and to weave herself into" is this implication of percy being a legacy of some sort, I'm very curious what this means.

4. I know you do alot of research for your stories and I was wondering what books/articles you read for this because I too want to read more upon egyptian mythology.

I'm spacing them out way more for TKC! They happened pretty quick, within like a year and a half, in canon. Here theyre gonna have a big break for all the "building up the Brooklyn house" and stuff. But yes they are wondering where Nephthys is.

He is! His mom is half white and half Egyptian and Native American <3. She missed a lot of culture of her family cause her parents died and her white uncle raised her but she has some mementos she passes down to Percy. We'll get more on his family history eventually.

I'm referencing Mykenaian Poseidon there! He was King of the Gods (probs, based on the info we have) and ruled the underworld and sky as well when he was king. But you could definitely argue there's some legacy in his family (I have incorporated Venus before) but it won't touch on that.

I have- so many Egyptian books now. Send me another ask just on that so I don't forget and I'll write up a full list + websites and articles I go through. I'm out and about rn and don't have them

But in general I LOVE talking about my lore, it's so fun, lore is the best. I always welcome lore asks and I'll answer them way faster than other asks in general.

[jupernaturalweek]

we're so fucking back

So, the world sucks right now. And the internet is not much better. In the interest of spreading some Jewish Joy on this website, the team behind Jupernatural Week have reunited to bring you...

Jupernatural Week 2023, starting November 5th!

If you've never participated before, hi, welcome! This event was created in 2021 as a way for the Jewish Supernatural fandom to celebrate what makes the show so uniquely ours. We have a calendar for prompts, but you're welcome to take it in whatever direction speaks to you. And you don't have to be Jewish to participate, we just ask that you take a look at our FAQ and Guide/Resources pages first.

Without further ado... the prompt calendar!

November 5th: Life

It's Destiel Day! We're looking at the Jewish Life Cycle today, the Rites of Passage, Love, and Death. Think big and small, even the tiniest moment can be made monumental.

November 6th: Community

Family doesn't end in blood, and neither does community. Think Interfaith, Intercultural, and Intersectional.

November 7th: Sustenance

What keeps us going? What fills us up? Think Food, Warmth, and Understanding.

November 8th: Home

Whether its the Impala or the cabin by the lake, the relationship Supernatural has with the concept of Home is pretty... complicated. Think Reconnection, Ancestry, and L'dor V'dor (from generation to generation).

November 9th: Character Spotlight!

During our time off, one of our mods created the @nicejewishcharactershowdown, which defines a Nice Jewish Character (NJC) as such. So, with those guidelines in mind, it's time to give some love to some of the many NJCs in Supernatural. From the canonical (Rufus and Aaron) to the implied (Moishe, Becky) to the transitive (Eileen, Jo, and Bela), it's their time to shine.

November 10th: Judaica

The things that remind us who we are, where we're going, where we've been, and of our continued existence. Think Physical Reminders, Inheritance (metaphoric and literal), and Stories.

November 11th: Shabbos

No need for elaboration, you guys got this one down.

November 12th: Free Space!

As always, if you want us to see a post, @ us or use the Jupernatural Week hashtags, we're tracking with and without the space. We look forward to seeing what you create!

[deeisace]

Genealogy/research commissions, if anyone is interested?

It seems involved, and whenever I mention it to anyone they seem to go 🫩😴 lmao but actually I find it very fun! And it would help me pay for dentistry bills, absolute bonus!

Weird lil diagram to explain what I mean, but -

🌳

I can do this for UK based families/history, and also USA and Canada (tho I do not have access to quite so many records there as for the UK)

If we're talking about beginning with someone born 1930-60, then -

Paternal-line tree (dad's dad's dad's dad etc etc for as far as possible) - £60

Maternal-line tree (mum's mum's mum's etc etc for as far as possible) - £100 cs it's a bit more involved

Complete tree, all branches - £400 (or £300 if you want to stop at the 1841 census/es, instead of continuing back with available baptism/marriage/death records)

🌳

These prices are min wage for my time, rounded down, and excluding the time and subscription costs for looking for military/newspaper/criminal records (where possible), which I'll throw in for free, and I'd be using online websites like ancestry, findmypast and the British Newspaper Archive.

The most basic complete tree, starting from scratch, again excluding the time for newspapers etc, is at least 36 hours work, based on ones I've timed myself doing before. Prices include a digital copy of the tree and corresponding info (newspapers, military and court records where available).

The above will be available, one slot for the complete tree or 3 slots for p/m branches, mid-April onwards (when I've finished the current job I'm doing), and I will take payment by PayPal, half before and half after the job is complete. DM me for details.

🌳

Some less serious numbers at a very steep discount -

Single-residence research (eg find out about as many people who lived in one house as possible, A House Through Time style, seems like it might be fun to do?) - £60 for 10 hours work

Single-person research (eg. Find out everything you can about Great-Aunt Gwendolyn, or What did Uncle Terry do in WW1 (unforch WW2 records are largely unavailable to me), or Can you find all the newspaper articles pertaining to George Wright's sportsmanship in 1932 Wiltshire? etc etc) - £30 for 5 hours work and a refund if there's nothing I can find, since I'm only working with online records

Single-person/name research, fun edition (eg see these posts - the Dracula's of New Jersey, Frankensteins in Victorian England, Sherlock Holmes of Yorkshire, all the Victorian Sophie Devereaux's - you're welcome to literally make up a name, so long as it's not "John Smith" lmao) - £10 for 2 hours work

Again, payment via PayPal, DM me for details.

Less serious ones are available now, 3 slots open at a time.

[lealdog]

🤔, 💔,💜,💯! For Yves

The Tumblr app did not let me know about this ): I only saw it when I opened the website. Thank you!

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms?

When he dislikes something, and you're not completely daft, you'll see it on his face. His lip curling upward in disgust or disapproval while his glare bears down on you with suffocating intensity.

He has a tendency to be rather still, stiff like a statue. He takes his time before speaking in such a way that may make his opposite sweat, waiting for his response.

When things don't go his way, he'll break stuff and beings. Whatever is in his path at the time. He tries very hard to suppress his own emotions which leads to him exploding not infrequently.

He's an incredibly principled man which makes him very predictable. He's all for honesty and loyalty to the pack and the Sabbat. And he protects those things fervently. It's very rare that he'd pursue his own interest where they'd conflict with or compromise the pack.

💔 BROKEN HEART — what are three of your oc's negative traits?

Stubborn, Strict, Arrogant

💜 PURPLE HEART — what is your oc's ancestry/genetic background?

He can trace back his ancestry to white, French colonists who settled in the New Orleans area (where he also grew up in). As far as his Cainite lineage is concerned, he's a descendant of Alexander -> Gaius Marcellus -> Doran (previous Prince of New Orleans) and from there I need to make up some names, including his Sire's name.

💯 HUNDRED POINTS SYMBOL — share three random facts about your oc that others may not know.

He used to have a wife and three kids. His Sire made him arrange for their deaths some time after his embrace but he secretly helped his youngest daughter survive. She's a psychologist in her ~50s now and still a touchstone.

He only feeds on Catholics

He is in love with a Gangrel in his pack that turned out to be a Bahari and thus a heretic which is causing him great distress. For multiple reasons: a) It's a hit to his pride — his pack could not possible have harbored heretics. b) He must kill him but he can't.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Writing Report December 13, 2024

I’ve been a smidge sporadic on this blog recently, missing a couple of Friday posts due to family obligations.

Nothing serious, all good, just…time consuming.

My first scheduled 2025 project isn’t going to start on January 1st as planned…

…because I already started working on it November 18th of this year.

It was one of those things when the project just said, “It’s time!” and I found myself facing no other option than to just start writing.

Work on it has been sporadic; I’m at 7,600+ words right now but I haven’t had a real chance to write two days in a row on this project due to aforementioned family obligations.

This one is an indirect offshoot of my previous WIP, a story set in the very earliest days of the film industry in Hollywood.

When working on that novel, I needed to do some research on prostitution in the Old West since one of the supporting characters in the story is a real cowboy of mixed ancestry. 

I was pretty sure his backstory was possible based on what little I knew at that time about prostitution in the Old West, but admitted the exact circumstances of his ancestry did sound a bit farfetched.

I figured no harm, no foul since no matter how unlikely the circumstances, they weren’t flat out impossible and besides, his ancestry wasn’t a main point in my story.

But when I stumbled across a copy of Michael Rutter’s Upstairs Girls:  Prostitution In The American West at our local Open Book outlet, I figured great, now I can double check my assumptions and make sure my character’s backstory isn’t completely impossible.

Well, in the book Rutter mentions a real madam who possessed a backstory of her own that was so oddball it got me to wondering how she ended up where she ended up.

So I started noodling around ideas for a completely fiction story of a character like the real madam and how she might have found herself involved in the trade back in the day.

Originally I thought of doing this as a stage play, with most of the action taking place in the main parlor and all the shenanigans going on out of sight upstairs.

Problem : While a great set-up, I had no real story, just some interesting characters.

Again, a supporting character came to my rescue.  If I set my story in a specific year, I could place in the sporting house a then brand new technology that virtually nobody would know about except a small ground of people such as saloon keepers and madams.

If the ladies of the house didn’t know about it, it could be used to hide a crime by providing a criminal with an apparent alibi.

Great!  Now I knew my plot would be a mystery.  Act One would be my main character arriving to take charge of the sporting house, Act Three would be her figuring out how the crime was committed using the then-new technology.

What goes on in Act Two?

Well, we know the answer to that one, don’t we, boys and girls?

More research!!!

So now I’m delving into a whole bunch of books and history websites, not just on prostitution in the Old West but also on mining boom towns (because the ladies who serviced cowboys at the end of a long cattle drive were a different breed of cat from the ladies who serviced miners because the former customers would blow through town in a few days but the latter were regulars and as a result the mining town ladies needed to be something more than just passive, anonymous partners).

Rutter came to my aid again with another volume on the history of prostitution in the Old West, Boudoirs To Brothels (and dude, I am eternally grateful to you for all the detailed research you did but gawd, with a name like that you were pretty much doomed to make this topic your life’s work, no?).

And boy howdy, did Rutter ever supply me with a wealth of ideas to make Act Two work.

It mean abandoning the idea as a stage play and turning it into a novel, but by that time it was chompin’ at the bit and there was no denying it so…

…I started typing.

My previous WIP -- the Hollywood novel -- completed, I really didn’t need to do any more research on it. 

But in Boudoirs To Brothels Rutter included the story of one sex worker in the Old West that not only showed me my cowboy character’s backstory was one hundred percent plausible, but what actually happened was even more outrageous than I imagined.

And while my current WIP will not include the real historical person, I was glad to see she enjoyed a real life happy ending.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mrs. Polly Bemis.

  © Buzz Dixon

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Your Apollo & Aphrodite response is making me excited and I'm kinda rambling now, but Aphrodite does have the domain of war 👀

HOWEVER, only Sparta, Kytheria, and some other cities acknowledged it while the rest of Greece erased and ignored it so maybe Rome's impression of Venus makes a huge impact on the slight differences between Venus and Aphrodite because this is the first time an entire civilization acknowledges her military aspect? 👀👀

It's very convenient that in my library book about Rome I came across a lil' something interesting about Venus.

Venus was originally an Italian goddess, and the book actually introduces her as "The Great Goddess Venus".

She was the goddess of substantial homely virtues, and was invoked regularly as Venus Cloacina - "Venus the Purifier"

And, well, Cloacina was the goddess of the Roman sewage system so her and Venus were kinda one in the same until younger people began associating her with Aphrodite in Greece.

Until that happened though, she wasn't a large presence in Rome.

This website talks in the Venus section about how her popularity went up during Rome's war with Carthage, and her (Venus Eurcina) cult was given approval via the infamous Sibylline Books.

She also had lots of different incarnations in Rome

Venus Eurcina

Venus Verticordia (change of the human heart)

Venus Genetrix ("the Mother"; mother of Aeneus; lover of Mars)

Her Genetrix aspect was highly venerated, especially by Julius Caesar and Augustus due to the whole "we're descended from Aeneus" thing (although, I'm raising my eyebrow at Julius because also in my book, I found out he was actually an atheist??? And used the religious system to fool the populace??? so I'm going "hmmm" on that if we're talking in-universe ToA canon)

Anyway. Genetrix aspect was even brought into the Imperial Cult because of that and she had many, many many temples in Rome.

(sidenote: that website also talking about the other gods and their Greek/Roman aspects!!! Take a look because I certainly am!)

So here's how I'm seeing it:

Venus and Aphrodite were separate entities up until Rome took over Greece and people began mixing Venus and Aphrodite together.

Venus was made primarily the goddess of love and beauty, while Cloacina took the sewage area, and Venus Genetrix shot up the popularity charts.

According to this website, Venus also actually became a symbol of imperial power, so that is probably where her war influences and domains got a bit of attention.

And the previous website has a bit more to say on it too! Temples were erected to her to gain her aid in battles, and both Julius Caesar and Augustus claimed her ancestry through Aeneus.

(going ToA canon, that mean Augustus has the blood of Venus and Apollo in him. Damn. Man's got a lot going for him)

The website also has a picture of a statue of Venus, and it used to have her bearing a shield - all in all, she was a symbol of military success and civic peace.

Also she took on more of a matronly persona, which led to empresses being regularly identified with her in carvings, busts, and etchings on coins.

Damn. Aphrodite/Venus has quite the resume.

PJO, HoO, and ToA fans give this woman the proper respect and love she deserves we stan a queen.

I found this thing to it's basically an entire essay on Venus's military importance in Rome. I've only read the first paragraph but damn.

I mean, just read it;

"The Roman goddess Venus is conventionally associated with love, sex, and beauty. However, these were only some of her areas of influence. In reality, her role within the Roman religious system was far more complex and multi-faceted, and was not confined to these associations. Venus, in the Roman mind, bore associations with warfare and military success that were just as prominent. On one hand, this is hardly surprising due to her divine status, especially as one of the Dii Consentes. All Roman deities could be thought of as ‘militaristic’ in some sense. However, even the Romans themselves made a sharp distinction between her role as the goddess of love, and her martial qualities. This indicates both her importance as a martial deity, and the surprising nature of her multi-faceted role in Roman religion."

DAMN

[sootyships]

i am honestly confused by some choices people trying to preserve rare animal populations make

like

if you start off from 4 mares and zero stallions, and you have to use a foreign stallion, at that point i would be absolutely dying to find any horses with even a quarter of that breed, even if the other 3/4 are fucking... draft horse-welsh cross, or whatever. I mean, maybe not for a stallion, at least not one who would be used a lot, but if you breed the animal back to the original population, and you avoid repeating that same foreign influence when pairing animals, the foreign influence will be quite damn well diluted in a few generations.

hm. but probably better if crossbred stallions are not allowed (maybe at some specific point, like only 1/16 foreign breed or whatever), because using a crossbred stallion on a purebred mare essentially takes away time that she could be carrying purebred foals. but using crossbred mares should be fiiiiiiine so long as the goal is always towards increasing the percentage of the rare breed in the offspring

this was actually kinda done with new forests! essentially, there was this one super popular stallion in the netherlands called golden wonder, who apparently was switched for another animal at some point. and the dutch new forest breeders had a problem. Because he had been so popular, he had been used a lot. so the solution was this: by a specific year a while back (idr the year shush), the maximum percentage of golden wonder in a pony should be 6.25%, and any foal born past that date, if the GW percent is higher than that, it won't be considered a new forest pony. so basically, people were given time to breed out the GW influence.

Another interesting and kinda applicable deal is the one that the azteca horses have. essentially, the horses are categorized according to ancestry, by percentage of different breeds (real aztecas are Andalusian/Quarter horse/Criollo, yankees learn to call your custom breeds by their own names challenge your american "shetland" ponies are not shetland ponies and your american "aztecas" are no aztecas either...), and there are limitations on which categories can breed with each other. (idk the details, can't easily find a breakdown, but the concept is sound.)

anyway for preserving rare bloodlines i'd go for something like no crossbred stallions until 1/16 max of foreign blood, mares can be whatever essentially but maybe they get categorized a bit so maybe you have an "E registry" for mares with more than 50% of foreign blood (but must verifiably (DNA test) have at least 1/16 of the rare breed), and then you get closer to the main registry (A?) the less you have of foreign blood. But that way you could glean any glimmer of genetic diversity from those crossbreeds that you may have available.

and hopefully eventually you could close the E registry, hoping that any mares with trace amounts of the rare breed have been found and utilized to boost the genetic diversity of the breed

i literally just read a letter a rare horse breed's association had on its website where a breeder said that the horses were so inbred that sires and sons were genetically almost indistinguishable!!!??? hello????

[bloodbowlminis]

5 PARSECS FROM HOME: A Mandalorian Saga

So although my main idea was to highlight my brothers and my efforts to make and show off cool thematic Blood Bowl teams (and believe me the dream is still very much alive and in progress) anyone who follows this blog will know about my passion for ALL things miniature related. Whether it be D&D, or the myriad of skirmish games I play.

This has all lead me to some pretty interesting miniature agnostic games the Star of which, at this moment, is FIVE PARSECS FROM HOME

FIVE PARSECS FROM HOME, published by MODIPHIUS, is described thus on their website:

Five Parsecs From Home is a solo adventure wargame where you assemble a ragtag crew of galactic trailblazers and head out to explore the stars, pick up jobs, and every now and then — engage in some action-packed, sci-fi combat!

Battles are procedurally generated with huge combinations of enemies, weapons, battlefield circumstances and objectives whether fighting rivals or carrying out jobs.

With each encounter you earn experience and loot, progressing your crew and story as you send your crew to look for contacts, trade, explore the colony, recruit replacements or train up their skills.

The game is playable with any miniatures you have on hand and requires only a small number to get started, making it ideal for both experienced and new science fiction gamers. All you need is a few six-sided dice and a couple of ten-sided dice.

So I decided to put my Star Wars Legion and Imperial Assault minis to use after binging season 3 of The Mandalorian and LOVING it. Bellow you can see the crew I ended up with. For the most part I used what I rolled except I accidentally created 8 characters instead of the standard 6 but I just discarded the two I liked the least.

CREW: The Covert

SHIP: JAI’GALAAR (Shrieking Hawk)

Background, motivation, class

DIN DJARIN

* Wasteland Nomad

* Survival

* Bounty Hunter

DIN GROGU

* Research Station

* Loyalty

* Technician

ATAKOATH FARR

* Long term space mission - his clan was a space faring clan that explored the Unknown Regions

* Truth - wants to know what the Chiss are up to (Believes Onewa is the key to discovering more about the Chiss)

* Explorer

CRASS ELDAR

* Lower Mega City class - Grew up in a covert on Corellia

* Revenge (Rival: Empire) - Empire wiped out her covert and have captured her friend

* Mercenary - made living as a hired gun/body guard

IMUPAEK ORDO

* Primitive World - was abandoned on Dathomir in the jungles and refused to believe that Maul had died

* Truth - Is hunting for Maul to slay a god and find the truth

* Punk (Rival: Maul/Crimson Dawn)

ONAEWA (KAO’NAE’WATARO)

* Alien Culture - Was brought up by a Mandalorian who found the Chiss foundling in the Unknown regions where he brought her up as a follower of The Way. ATAKOATH and his covert found her in an escape pod

* Adventure - Her father was a lost bounty hunter that found himself in the Chiss ascendancy and brought up ONAEWA

* Trouble Shooter - Her tactical and problem solving acumen are down to her Chiss ancestry, but this can make her seem cold and distant. She is a devotee of The Way

These are just broad strokes that will develop as the campaign develops but I have already played 2 campaign turns that I will put into narrative battle report posts later on.

I cannot recommend this game enough for anyone who wants to play a Cowboy Beebop or Firefly style game that scratches both the skirmish war game and RPG itches and can be played in any universe, preexisting or completely new.

[stalwart-spirit]

So with the Media Tour out and getting a closer look at class abilities AND the Dawntrail website giving us handy blurbs on the new classes, I have my brain churning on possible character lore to why Saeed becomes a Viper. Of course expected to change once Dawntrail drops and I can go through the job story BUT here are my concepts!

Viper job description has a part here I'm interested in:

"Once a foe is weakened, they empower themselves with the strength of their ancestors to deliver a powerful and decisive finishing blow."

Which definately ties into the Reawaken skill tied to the blue gauge and it's linked skills, all being First through Fourth Generation (4 skills, 5th is Oroboros) and these in turn activating First though Fourth Legacy attacks. It's got me thinking, it's all linked to history, to ancestry...

What's stopping me from having this tie in to Ivalician lore for Saeed 👀

With how ancient Rabanastre itself is, and how it was eventually built atop the old Ivalician city of Lesalia, nothing is stopping me for being cheeky and potentially having his bloodline tied to some ancient Ivalican lore of my own making!! RUMBLES EXCITEDLY