#and 2. monty surname just dropped

[kendelias]

DYNAMICS: cordelia ward (part 1)

“ And we know you don't like James, but - ” “ What? I like James! What made you think I don’t like James? ”

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 10 first part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Palaver) 

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Meet the Hotties

Since there have been only 7 or 8 brutally hot men in this show so far, which is clearly not sufficient, this episode drops three fresh ones right from the jump. Meet true loves cultivation partners travel buddies SongXiao. The ethereal one, Xiao Xingchen...

The forceful one, Song Lan...

...and their nemesis Xue Yang.

Xue Yang has some Yin Metal...oh hai I just noticed, his name is Yang and he has Yin Metal. Which...probably doesn’t mean anything. When he first appears he’s so fey and over the top he could be taken for a comic relief character, except for all of the corpses he’s scattered around, and the one moment where he is caught off guard in the fight and looks genuinely angry. 

Later, of course, we discover that he’s a fucking psycho an extremely complex person with a fascinating range of emotions, none of which are good. 

Did OP make a fighting fanvid just for this charming asshole? She did. Spoiler: Hanguang Jun fucks him up. [Is OP a shameless self-linker? She is.]

(more after the cut!)

Not Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Wei Wuxian tells Jiang Cheng not to join the fight but just to watch Xiao Xingchen’s moves; then he proceeds to join the fight by using his web shooter binding talisman to keep Xue Yang off guard and in the field of battle. 

Do as I say, not as I do, bro.

It’s all right it’s all right it’s all right, Cocaine

Far from comic relief, Xue Yang is one of the strongest fighters in the show and is a master of his own variety of crafty tricks--the chemical variety. He launches a devastating white powder attack at our gang. His powder attacks later in the show will blind Song Lan and will poison the junior cultivators. 

This powder attack does...nothing. Well okay then. 

Fanmeet

After Xue Yang has been properly suspended tied up to a rafter, the cultivators introduce themselves, and Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng proceed to squee over their idols. Lan Wangji drops some flowery titles for both of them and offers to organize a mass donation of their brand of spring water. 

Jiang Cheng is so happy he shows nearly all of his teeth without being angry. 

Xue Yang butts in to harsh on their fandom and call them hypocrites. Can’t let the nerds have too good of a time. 

Two Minutes in the out of the Closet

Now we have an interesting moment in which characters discuss queerness directly, albeit briefly. Wei Wuxian searches Xue Yang to see if he’s carrying the Yin Iron. 

Most other instances in which queerness is lampshaded in CQL are about Lan Wangji’s discomfort, or growing comfort, with Wei Wuxian and his stripping flirting. 

In this instance, Wei Wuxian fondles Xue Yang’s chest and ass while Xue Yang  asks “what will people think about this M/M action?”

We Wuxian responds, for the whole room to hear, that he DGAF; in fact, he’s proud of being a disaster bi “cheeky.”

I don't give a damn 'Bout my reputation I've never been afraid of any Qi deviation An' I don't really care If ya think I'm strange I ain't gonna change An' I'm never gonna care 'Bout my bad reputation

While Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, Lan Wangji takes note. 

Clan with a Plan 

Nie Huaisang and his entourage arrive, and once again the Netflix subtitles take away the meaning of his words as he calls out for Wei-Xiong, Lan-Xiong, and Jiang-Xiong; Netflix has him using surnames only, like an English public school lad. 

The group decides to send Xue Yang to Nie Mingjue for judgement. Meng Yao invites them all to come hang with Nie Mingjue at the Unclean Realm, to decide how to best fuck up the Wen clan.

Note: “Unclean” seems to be an accurate translation but it has particular connotations for western audiences who grew up steeped in the Bible or Monty Python. Like, “would you like to come to the plague castle?” type of connotations. 

Meng Yao: Can you all come with me? I’ve got another hot man to add to this episode. 

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian look deeply into each other’s eyes in order to decide if they’re going to go to Unclean Realm with the Nie gang , and they opt yes. 

SongXiao do the same thing and opt no, with a speech about how the clans are a bunch of eugenicist snobs, or words to that effect. 

This speech convinces Wei Wuxian to immediately join their fan club.  He is...really not cut out for clan life. 

Night Swimming Hunting

September's coming soon I'm pining for the moon And what if there were two Side by side in orbit Around the fairest sun?

Wei Wuxian praises SongXiao for their egalitarian values, and compares himself and Lan Wangji to them, giving Lan Wangji one of his sweetest, warmest smiles.

This moment is clearly embarrassing to Lan Wangji, but most things are embarrassing to Lan Wangji, and unlike the “shut up!” moment in Episode 09, this time it doesn’t make him angry, barely earning a tiny glare. 

It’s different this time for Wei Wuxian as well, because he’s not teasing or being provocative; he’s genuinely moved to tell this roomful of people that he cherishes Lan Wangji. 

It does make Jiang Cheng angry, and he tells Wei Wuxian, not for the first time, that because of his attachment to Lan Wangji, he should not come home. 

This is a standard jealous response from Jiang Cheng, and he doesn’t mean it...yet.  But there’s a direct line between each of these false banishments, and the moment when he actually does banish the two of them from the Jiang family shrine. 

Baoshan Sanren

Wei Wuxian quickly goes from being cheerfully aflutter over these kindred spirits, to being stunned and even devastated when he discovers an unexpected family connection. 

Xiao Xingchen: My grand master is Baoshan Sanren

For once Lan Wangji doesn’t seem all that attuned to WWX’s feelings, while Jiang Chang super is. 

Jiang Cheng: Should I say something? Words? About feelings? Yeah no.

Outside of the compound, Xiao Xingchen and Wei Wuxian talk about WWX’s mother. In this moment we see how kind Xiao Xingchen is, when he carefully softens the blow of his revelation that Baoshan Sanren is not accepting students or visitors or new patients at this time or at any time. 

I hope that finding Baoshan Sanren is what Wei Wuxian did with his solo road trip at the end of Episode 50. 

XXC and WWX acknowledge their clan relationship, which takes Wei Wuxian another step away from his membership in the Jiang clan, and creates a filial obligation to his newfound shishu that he will fulfill much later, in Yi City.

Once again Jiang Cheng sees and understands Wei Wuxian’s pain, and gazes at him with love and concern, but he doesn’t reach out or speak. They are not a reaching out & speaking pair of people. Once we see their whole family together, we will understand why.

Farewell to SongXiao

When SongXiao hit the road, Lan Wangji watches them with a look of pure yearning, and then turns that look, with total openness, to Wei Wuxian. 

Lan Wangji: Ow

The open road and the chivalrous path pull equally at both WWX and LWJ, but Lan Wangji lives under a weight of formal obligation that he will carry for his entire life. During WWX’s second life he will find ways to compromise between the forces that are pulling him, but not escape them.

Wei Wuxian’s obligations are just as heavy, eventually costing him his family and his life, but they are dictated only by his heart and conscience. Yet he never suggests that Lan Wangji should follow his path. He constantly insists on LWJ’s attention, but he accepts that their roads are different, which is part of what makes Lan Wangji’s declaration on the Carp Tower steps so touching; he is giving Wei Wuxian something he never, ever asked for. 

Here, WWX acknowledges both of their sorrows with a nod, and they walk away together to play their parts in the coming war. 

Keep an Eye on the Psycho

Nie Huaisang sighs in admiration of the departing hotties, while Xue Yang tells Xiao Xingchen not to forget him. Which is very, very, very good advice.

Meng Yao is put in charge of guarding Xue Yang. I hope that doesn’t awaken anything in him. 

Soundtrack: 1. Joan Jett, Bad Reputation  2. REM, Night Swimming 3. INXS, Devil inside

Smut Prompt: If the story of Wei Wuxian searching Xue Yang does get out among the clans, what will it have morphed into by the time Clan Leader Yao hears it?

[fellowstrangetownappreciator]

Well, that was cold

I have mod that makes diseases actually dangerous. (actually several of them and they’re all listed here on Pleasant Sims’ modlist)

The first rotation? Everything’s fine. The only one who fell ill was John Burb and he, as a family Sim, was able to soup himself to health in no time.

The second rotation... Ajaj Loner got sick.

With cold.

I was like, “I know flu is pretty dangerous with this mod but cold should be fine, right? I mean, I used to have it four times a year. So glad it’s not flu!”

I thought I was lucky.

I wasn’t.

After Ajaj’s turn ended, he was free to wander around and spread the cold everywhere.

Because they have chemistry and she was on a prowl, I even had Nina Caliente seduce Ajaj. She got the cold but I was like whatever, she’s a strong quasi-alien, running nose for a few days won’t kill her!

How fatally wrong I was I realized during a vacation that Nina went on with her sister and Ajaj. She was just chilling, sleeping in her hotel room, when all of the sudden, Grim Reaper!

You sure, Dina?

Nina was dead. Dead from the cold. And she was pregnant, no less!

I reloaded because it was on a vacation and Nina was the only playable Sim, so I was quite worried what would become of the grave. I managed to get her home and moved Chloe Curious in, so that someone can eventually plead for her. She was lucky the second time around and survived. Chloe got infected but survived as well.

But we had an epidemic on our hands now. Ajaj and Nina have been quite successful generously sharing their cold all across the hood and I failed to keep track of who has it.

Still, I thought it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t understand the scale, I was still thinking that it was just Ajaj, Consort Capp and the Pleasants.

Again, I was wrong.

When I got in the rotation to the Capps (the Capps 1), everyone was infected. I was still optimistic, though, because we were talking about a household where 2/4 Sims are Family and one is a Family Secondary, they can bathe in the soup!

The teens ate their soup and survived.

Consort died that night. He was due to die at the end of their round anyway but because he didn’t do so of old age, his grandchildren received no bonus inheritance.

The only one who gained something from that was Olive Specter who was delighted to see Consort, her crush, perish, so she could finally raise him as a zombie.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a screenshot of her actually raising him, so here’s at the very least Olive walking menacingly to work.

Anyway, moving onto the Capps again (the Capps 2, Goneril edition), things looked bleak. Goneril was pregnant and she and all the kids were infected. Albany was immediately called to action to generate enough soup but the house devolved into utter chaos. Everybody had their soup but just as they recovered, they got infected again!

Ok, I was thinking, Consort was quite old and fragile. Nina must’ve had the cold for a long time, given she was on a vacation. There’s no way the kids are gonna die on the first day they got infected. They had the soup, so I’ll send them to beds, so they can get a good-night sleep and enough rest.

Nope.

Ariel, a child, died in her sleep.

Nobody was able to get to her in time to plead for her.

While I was contemplating an in-character way of resurrection, Desdemona, a young teen, died in her sleep just about two hours after her sister.

Again, nobody was fast enough.

Luckily, Miranda was already in college and she was roommates with Ophelia Nigmos, who was in possession of a genie lamp she was safeguarding from Olive. Hearing about the tragedy that befell her friend’s family, moved by the death of a little girl and her not much older sister, Ophelia the Family Sim offered Miranda the lamp on the spot.

Miranda rushed home to drop off the lamp and then ran off so she doesn’t get infected. Well, she did anyway but since I haven’t played the college Sims yet, I don’t know of her fate.

Hal made a good use of the lamp. He rolled the wants to resurrect both his sisters and that’s exactly what he did.

He triumphantly finished making the wishes...

And dropped dead.

Another young soul succumbed to cold.

But! Since there was still a wish left and his sisters were back alive, Desdemona swiftly brought him back.

Ariel’s and Hal’s resurrections were perfect.

Desdemona’s was faulty, so her personality got reversed.

But as long as they’re alive and preferably not zombies, everything will do.

The Capps were all cured! Hooray!

Wait. Not all Capps. There was still Regan’s branch and, predictably, they were all infected. And this time, there was no Family Sim in sight.

The only non-infected Sim in the family was a little toddler. The poor, poor child was in for a life-long trauma.

Kent went quick and quiet the first night of their round. Regan fortunately recovered. Cornwall did too. They had a very lucky start of the round all together, I may add. Kent’s tragic death was followed by Regan’s demotion that lead to her subsequent want to quit her job (...and she was the only one who was making any significant money), then Cornwall set the house on fire while cooking breakfast, then he got fired.

Poor thing. First got house-fired, then job-fired.

Regan’s LTW was to reach the top of the Law career, so she got herself a new job there. On her first day, she got promoted!

And she brought home a friend! Sweet!

No... nooooo...

It was Ajaj F*ckin’ Loner.

Both Regan and Cornwall got infected before you could say “act your surname and social-distance, you jerk!”

Cornwall died almost immediately. Unfortunately, Regan was asleep and failed to get up and ambush the Grim Reaper in time.

On the bright side, she recovered!

So I watch her go to work, the nanny arrives to baby-sit the toddler, everything seems to finally have settled down.

But then I spot an unexpected movement in the house.

It’s Titania Summerdream. Who let her in? I have no idea.

It would be quite sweet of her to check on her friend Regan after she lost two family members and to help with her young daughter.

If... if she didn’t have the fricking cold!

Regan returned from work and I rushed to have her send Titania away.

Of damn course she didn’t go before giving the cold to Regan.

Now it was the third time Regan got infected and there were no other family members to take care of the toddler if she dies. It was very suspenseful. I decided to use extreme measures and I teleported Albany in, made him selectable and had him cook the soup.

Instead of that, he proceeded to bicker with Regan.

If he got re-infected, I swear...

Anyway, after a three tries or so, Regan got her soup and Albany was on his merry way away.

What a relief! I sent Regan to sleep, trusting the soup to do its magic. The next morning her needs all looked great! No notification yet but I was sure it’s gonna arrive any second. When suddenly...

Yeap, she died.

Regan Capp died the way she lived. Paying her family’s bills.

I used Simblender again to quickly move in Hal. He was there in time to plead for Regan!

And for the first time in the Capp household, he actually made it! He pleaded!

And... and... lost.

So I had him stay to take care of the toddler until their round was over. Then I moved them both back with Goneril’s branch.

At the very least young Ione, the genius toddler with maxed Logic skill, got something resembling a birthday party with her cousin and his boyfriend Alexander Goth.

Given that Montys had their losses as well, the cold has already taken out much of the adult population of Veronaville.

The only two adults left (not counting fresh elders Albany and Goneril) in Veronaville were in fact the Summerdreams who were extremely lucky and with an abundance of soup, they survived.

To be completely honest, I’m very happy with the mod. I tend to play large hoods and although it tends to be rather tragic, the occasional epidemic of cold trims the population down a bit without me killing anybody off and it gives the game an additional bit of challenge and randomness.

...or maybe I’m just a sh*tty person to my Sims.

Bonus screenshots of the Strangetown cold outbreak:

Vidcund Curious spent two nights sleeping in a chair in his children’s bedroom because he was afraid they’re going to die from the cold in their sleep and wanted to be there to plead for them. In the end it actually happened, he pleaded and managed to save his daughter.

The Smiths had to be unfortunately visited by the Therapist. PT9 died on the day he was supposed to die of old age but hours prior, he became yet another victim of the cold. And it was very unlucky, since it meant no inheritance and by the Watcher, Jenny and their 5 kids could definitely use it. They were completely broke.

But not everything was morbid and tragic!

Lazlo rolled quite the unexpected want to get married to his girlfriend, Cassandra Goth. They weren’t engaged, she wasn’t pregnant, he’s not a Family secondary, and the date they were on wasn’t even in the stage Sims usually roll engagement wants, he simply rolled it out of the blue. And of course I went with it! (Cassandra had recently divorced Don, rolling the wish to remarry almost immediately.)

The only family in the hood that could technically mass-produce medicine so that not everyone is dependent on the soup, the Beakers, of course didn’t. Why would they risk their hides, toying with the Mysterious Disease, when they didn’t have to? Instead, they social-distanced and spent the rotation raking in promotions and taking care of their army of children. (Loki kept rolling wants to get abducted and ARC wasn’t kind to them either. But with Loki being Family secondary and Circe leaving most of the parenting on him anyway, I don’t think they mind.)

Note the alien toddler, the second youngest child. He has 10 Nice points. That’s 4 points more than all 5 of his siblings and his parents combined. He’s gonna have a rough childhood, the poor thing.

Jill Smith managed to get nibbled on by the pack leader just in time, a few days before going to college. She’s thrilled by her new wolf-y powers! And regardless of what her mother says, she knows the fur goes with her school uniform just perfectly!

Rachel Pleasant, the youngest offspring of Daniel that he knows about (the second youngest overall), aged up into a child! And judging by the look on her face, she already knows how much of a mess her family is.

Not even being brought back from the dead made Desdemona Capp immune to the Summerdream charm. Bottom, the young Romance Sim, invited her girlfriend to hang out in their hot tub. It was an afternoon to remember for both of them.

Local ageing general married a successful young athlete, Kristen Loste. Unfortunately for everyone attending the wedding, the bride’s former roommate Chloe Curious decided that flirting with her literally the next interaction after Kristen said, “I do.” was a smart idea. No need to add that the wedding cake was left to rot forgotten, never cut. It was a sad wedding cake but even though it started to stink around two hours after the wedding, it still lasted longer than the marriage.

And far away in La Fiesta Tech, two estranged siblings were talking things out and healing their relationship.

Now I lost this hood (again) and started a new one, so the next gameplay post will probably feature the same characters in completely different circumstances and nothing is going to make sense but... what does anyway?

[yikesharringrove]

tagged by: @lostnoise ty 💕

1. do you prefer writing with a black pen or a blue pen? I write almost entirely in this one specific brand of purple pen (I’ve found it helps with ye olde dyslexia) but black is the second best option. I also have a collection of gel pens, so I like those too.

2. would you prefer to live in the country or in the city? City. But like, a smaller city is okay.

3. if you could learn a new skill, what would it be? Um, like any skill? I have none? I want to learn ASL, though.

4. do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? When I drink coffee (which is almost never) I put a lil in.

5. what was your favorite book as a child? The Gaspard and Lisa series.

6. do you prefer baths or showers? I’m the fucking worst bc when I shower, I’ll just like, lay down in the tub for a while. So technically shower.

7. if you could be a mythical creature, which one would you be? It’s be cool to be a fairy.

8. paper or electronic books? I’m not a huge reader, so I have a LOT of audiobooks lol. I mean, I love paper books, but I also love on electric books how I can change the font size and color and stuff.

9. what is your favorite item of clothing? My banana skirt, or I have a collection of vintage band shirts from my parents, that are pretty cool. 

10. do you like your name? would you like to change it? My legal name is Abigail and I fucking hate it, but I don’t want to go through the rigor of leagally changing it when everyone jsut calls me Abbi anyway 🤷‍♀️

11. who is a mentor to you? One of my professors. She’s an AMAZING woman, and she’s so wonderful. She and a few other women spoke out against one of their old bosses that sexually assaulted several of them, and they managed to get him fired and kicked off the board of a newspaper he was on. She was the first person I opened up to about my own experiencees after that.

12. would you like to be famous? if so, what for? I think it’d be cool to be really recognizable by a certain group, so like be famous for a niche thing where those fans would recognize you, but not EVERYONE in the world would recognize you. I’d like to be an actor or a musician I think.

13. are you a restless sleeper? oh yee

14. do you consider yourself to be a romantic person? Depends. I can be, but I also don’t really care about romantic things in general.

15. which element best represents you? um, idk. Fire, maybe?

16. who do you want to be closer to? my friends that live three states away.

17. do you miss someone at the moment? my friends that live three states away.

18. tell us about an early childhood memory. My earliest memory is of driving in the car listening to DMX with my mom, which describes her pretty well.

19. what is the strangest thing you have eaten? I’ll put really anythign in my maw. I’ve been lucky to travel a lot and I’ll try anything, so I’ve eaten sheep liver, and bull testicle, and pig brain, and cricket.

20. what are you most thankful for? The opportunities in life I’ve had.

21. do you like spicy food? oh yeah

22. have you ever met someone famous? Yeah, I have some good stories lol

23. do you keep a diary or journal? I try to. It’s helpful for me to write things out, I’m just bad at actually doing it daily. I’ve been keeping one for the past few weeks pretty well though, since there’s been a lot on my mind.

24. do you prefer to use pen or pencil? I fucking hate writing in pencil.

25. what is your star sign? taurus/aries

26. do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy? Crunchy!!!! I only pour a lil cereal in at a time so that it doesn’t get soggy

27. what would you want your legacy to be? That I was kind.

28. do you like reading? What was the last book you read? I’m not a big reader, so again, audiobooks. I just finished Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography By Eric Idle of Monty Python and I really liked it.

29. how do you show someone you love them? my love leanguage is giving/recieving gifts, so I give a lot of stuff. Like jsut little things, like nice post it notes, or like, by them a coffee or smthn

30. do you like ice in your drinks? depends

31. what are you afraid of? amounting to nothing, that everyone hates me, being a failure, letting my family down. To name a few

32. what is your favorite scent? I realy like floral scents, or good food cooking, or like, pine.

33. do you address older people by their name or surname? If I don’t know them well, it’s title and surname, but I have a lot of middle aged adult friends, so they’re first names always.

34. if money was not a factor, how would you live your life? I’d travel the world.

35. do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? I’ve only been in the ocean a few times and I’ve only swam in it twice, but that was to snorkel and my sister and I swam with leopard sharks and it was amazing, but it’s easier to swim in a pool lol

36. what would you do if you found $50 in the ground? If I saw the someone dropped it, I’d give it back, but if not, mine. 

37. have you ever seen a shooting star? did you make a wish? I’ve seen a lot and I wish on all of them.

38. what is one thing you would want to teach your children? To love, to be soft and kind and giving, but to understand when to be hard and put yourself first.

39. if you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I have a lot of plans. The first one I get is gonna match with my sister, in memory of a friend of ours.

40. what can you hear now? I’m listening to some music

41. where do you feel the safest? In my room in my apartment. I’m subleasing to a friend rn bc I had to move back in with my parents for quarantine :/

42. what is one thing you want to overcome/conquer? My deeply ingrained feelings of not being good enough.

43. if you could travel back to any era, what would it be? I would like to live in the late 60s-early 70s for a bit. See good artists when they were up and coming, go to Woodstock.

44. what is your most used emoji? 🥺

45. describe yourself using one word. cold

46. what do you regret the most? Moving back home, tbh.

47. last movie you saw? I watched Gremlins. I went to the drive in the other day with my sister and we saw The Goonies and Gremlins.

[of-muppets-and-men]

Qrow as Ruby’s Dad

I am fully aware of the ugly can of worms I am opening just by discussing this but whatever. Here we go.

Just a disclaimer, I mean no disrespect to Monty, Miles or Kerry. I am simply stating the possibility and leaving all options on the table.

The idea of Qrow being Ruby’s biological father has been around since Qrow was introduced back in Volume 3. And although it’s been shot down by the creator and current writers of the show, I’m going to go over as much I can to show that the theory/headcanon still has some level of validity.

This is also pretty long so brace yourself.

Point #1: The Writers

Monty originally “debunked” this theory while dismissing another by saying Yang and Ruby were half-sisters. And recently it was debunked again by Miles, who outright said Qrow wasn’t her dad. The word of the Writer’s is, under most circumstances, Law. But let me say this: What is the one thing you are supposed to do above all else? Preserving your narrative, meaning doing everything you can to protect your plot.

Many writers have concealed or just lied to their audience about certain plot points to maintain the story. And just because Monty, Miles and Kerry don’t seem like they would, doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of it.

Why would Monty lie? Because Ruby and Yang being sisters was what he had presented at the time. Qrow was only a name at the time, so revealing so detrimental so soon wouldn’t make any sense for the show’s longevity. Thus, he kept his lips sealed.

Now there’s Miles; why would he outright deny this theory. Well, if I had to guess, it would be to quell the speculation, to stop people from outwardly talking about it. Has he succeeded? For the most part, yes. Fans and Haters alike have stopped discussing it en mass, but it hasn’t stopped fanfic writers and artists much.

While debunking this theory, Miles gave his reasoning to be “Ruby just admires him so much that she mimics a lot of what Qrow does.”.

Let’s unpack that for a moment.

What about Ruby’s character is reminiscent of Qrow?  Ruby is, by all accounts, opposite to Qrow in many facets of her personality. She overwhelmingly optimistic, despite witnessing the deaths of Penny and Pyrrha. She’s open and honest, though a bit naive and socially awkward, but after all she’s still a teenager. Qrow, from the few accounts we know of, is actually pretty suave and quite the ladies man too.

Basically, anything Ruby is, Qrow is not. The only real thing that statement applies too, is her love of her scythe, but even then that argument is flimsy. As an impressionable young girl with a passion for weapons/huntsman, and then seeing her uncle wielding the coolest weapon in entire show; I mean who wouldn’t want a scythe at that point.

Point #2: Appearance

First and foremost, the most obvious thing people tend to bring up; Ruby’s appearance. In current canon, Taiyang is Ruby’s father, but you’d never be able to tell as they share absolutely no physical traits or attributes. Already a bit strange, no? Now I get Ruby is SUPPOSED to be a near spitting image of her mom, Summer Rose, but to no share anything with Tai is a bit of stretch.

Then there’s Yang in stark (hehe) contrast; who is a near even split of her parents. She has Raven’s long bushy hair, is taller than most other girls, has Raven’s general shape of face and paler skin, but is blonde and has lilac eyes; a combination of Raven’s red eyes and Tai’s blue eyes (even though that isn’t how genetics works but whatever). Even Yang’s outfits have been greatly inspired by Tai’s in terms of colour palette and design.

Even comparing other characters within RWBY, such as Weiss, Blake or Ren, have a striking resemblance to both their parents/siblings. So for Ruby to not designed in a similar fashion is odd to say the least. Ruby isn’t exactly identical to Qrow by means, she stills shares a great deal more with Qrow than we’ve ever seen with Taiyang.

Qrow is also a fraternal twin. Or in other words, Ruby is also liable to look like Raven too. Male and Female character models are different looking in RWBY, so it’s reasonable to think to Ruby would share some traits with her could-be aunt.

Ruby’s current overall aesthetic has subtle cues from both Qrow and Summer. Dark but red tipped hair, her mother’s eyes and a near identical outfit. Ruby’s cloak is red and tattered like Qrow’s, but large and hooded like Summer’s. Her aura is red, but generates flower petals when she uses her semblance. Ruby even had Cross as her emblem, until it was changed to be the same as her mom’s. But even still, she had cross pins in her cloak till her outfit change in Volume 4. Only one character shares this cross motif, and it’s you guessed it, Qrow.

One minor thing is that Ruby’s alternative outfit in Volume 2, dubbed Slayer, gives her a noticeably large resemblance to Qrow; even more so than her current or former outfits.

I’m very aware that any of this could be just simple coincidence and random choices in design but let me say this. Colour is an underlying basis for RWBY, and it plays a semi essential role in the show’s lore. So for it’s main protagonist’s colour pallette have next to nothing to do with her actual parent, but share parallels and such to someone she has no genetic relation to is, to me, unbelievably suspect. If Ruby was a strawberry blonde or even a bit tanned, we wouldn’t be even having this discussion, but given everything we know, it just doesn’t add up.

I’ve seen a handful of people say that it doesn’t matter that Ruby doesn’t look like Taiyang or It’s okay because not all children look like both parents. Well that may be true in reality, but in RWBY, this is contrary to the underlying theme of the show.

Point #3: Ruby’s Mentor

Let’s look at Ruby’s phenomenal skill with the scythe. As we well know, Qrow was her mentor and taught her most of her current fighting skills. However, this begs the question of why Qrow taught her and not Taiyang. Taiyang is incredibly skilled at hand to hand combat and is evidently a good teacher, as he trained Yang and currently still is a professor/licensed huntsman.

So why is Ruby so utterly abysmal without Crescent Rose? Since she’s Tai’s daughter, you’d think she’d be at least somewhat talented like Yang but such isn’t the case here. Why would Taiyang heavily train Yang, but leave Ruby practically defenseless (given her dream of being a huntress too)? Seems a bit strange no matter how you look at it.

However. There is something I noticed about Qrow. We know and seen how badass he is with Harbinger in tow; his skills are nothing to scoff at. Many in the RWBY universe are aware of Qrow’s prowess and would prefer to not engage him at all. But when Harbinger was wretched from his hand during his fight with Tyrian, he showed that he is capable without his weapon.

The thing that’s intriguing is he looked very rigid and doesn’t seem too confident without his scythe, especially comparing him to hand-to-hand combatants like Yang or Mercury. It felt like it was just a ‘screw it’ moment so to speak. A weird thing to point out, I know, but it creates another parallel between him and Ruby. Masters of the scythe that don’t fare too well without it.

Point #4: Ruby’s Name

A small thing to point is why Ruby has her surname as Rose. Ruby Xiao Long doesn’t flow off the tongue by any stretch, but there must be some other reason why she hasn’t taken Tai’s last name. Is it to honour Summer? Or is it because she isn’t a Xiao Long at all?

Now a point I don’t love but must mention is the line from Qrow’s theme song Bad Luck Charm.

The line in question is “You don’t want the burden of my name”. Many believe it is Qrow referring to Ruby and how she’s better not being known as a Branwen. As Qrow mentioned, his tribe is a group of “killers and thieves” and likely didn’t want a innocent child to be associated with such a group. There’s a chance it could mean he deliberately convinced Summer to let Ruby have her name, to protect her from the Tribe’s retribution. If Ruby was a Branwen on top of being a SEW, it would likely make her a target for not only Salem’s forces but bounty hunters too. (Going after Ruby to punish the “Traitor” so to speak)

Point #5: Qrow’s Semblance

An argument against Qrow being Ruby’s Dad is that it doesn’t make sense to hide the truth from her but then teach her the most difficult weapon to master in Remnant. While at first glance, this is a fair argument, but let me dive a bit deeper.

In Episode 8 of Volume 4, we learned that Qrow’s semblance is Misfortune. It intermittently causes bad luck to every person around him, from simple inconveniences like a bartender dropping a glass to life threatening things like a massive beam almost falling on Ruby. This gives him a logical reason for his loner persona.

He can’t control what will and can happen to his friends, his allies, or his family. He is, much to his own grief, a constant danger to those he loves. Why does this matter? Because he’d be Ruby’s only remaining parent; meaning she’d always want to be with him, ironically putting herself in more danger. He’d keep the truth from her until she was hopefully old to understand why he kept it from her.

Qrow was also a former Professor at Signal Academy. Though most of the details of his career as a teacher are sadly unknown, It can be at least gathered his semblance wasn’t potent enough to cause too much trouble on campus or he’d have never been allowed as a teacher in the first place (perhaps it’s less effective in crowds?).

Now Qrow likely would have trained Ruby in a controlled environment to ensure his semblance would cause as little damage as possible. Qrow and Ruby are arguably the two closest characters in the series as far as we know and they have been shown to be this way. They understand each other, know each other’s mannerisms and Ruby even gets Qrow pervy jokes. So it’s no shock to think Qrow knew much she idolized the hunter lifestyle and helped her live out her dream, all the while getting to spend time with his baby girl.

Point #6: The Timeline

Another thing many have taken note of is the amount of time it took Taiyang to father both Yang and Ruby. The math is a bit difficult as we don’t know Yang’s birthday, but let’s get an estimate.

As of Volume 6, Yang is about 19 and Ruby is about 17.

Ruby’s birthday is October 31st, so she was conceived near the end of January or early February. Yang was likely already around 15 months (give or take) at the time of Ruby’s conception. In short, Taiyang would have had Yang, been abandoned by Raven, gotten together with Summer and impregnated her in little more than a year. A situation like this is not impossible, but it is extremely unlikely.

Getting over a significant other varies per person, but given how Tai talks about Raven; it doesn’t seem like their relationship has run its course quite yet. Summer was most likely helping Tai because he genuinely needed it. Dealing with a newborn and the fact his lover just left him alone, Tai wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind.

In “Two steps forward and two steps back”, Tai finally opens up to Yang about her mother. The way he speaks about Raven feels as though he still fondly remembers her, despite her leaving so abruptly. It feels as if he still loves her, but if that’s the case, why would he shack up with Summer and have another child so quickly? Anyway you slice it, this is a pretty irresponsible thing to do.

UNLESS, Taiyang was never a part of the equation and Summer and Qrow were together the entire time.

Another thing people tend to point is why Qrow would have Ruby believe Taiyang was her father and Yang her sister.  Simple, he didn’t want her to feel isolated. Her mom was gone, and he couldn’t there for her. Children can be cruel, and Ruby not having a dad around would definitely be fuel for any and all types of bullying. Making Ruby and Yang “sisters” would have been made things simple; Qrow was already Yang’s Uncle so why not Ruby’s too.

And if this were canon, it would mean Qrow gave up his only child, just so she could have some semblance of a proper family; something he never had or would be able to give her. That is weapon’s grade bittersweet.

A reason Qrow could be hesitant to reveal himself is because of the backlash. Ruby is just a teenager and to drop a bomb on her like that would be a terrible thing to do. Tai wouldn’t be her dad, Yang wouldn’t be her sister and she’d have to come to terms with the fact the two adults she trusted the most have been actively lying to her face her entire life. Qrow is fully aware of the fact of how this revelation could shatter her whole world. So instead of causing her anguish, he lets her live in happy ignorance with her friends.

Point #7: Scenes of Interest

Now there is a handful of moments from the show that highlight the relationship between Ruby and Qrow. I’m going to over a few that are questionable, to me at least.

First the most notable scene is from finale of Volume 3. Ruby is safely at home, in bed, while Taiyang patiently waits for her to awaken. When she does, she asks Tai about what happened. In his brief recollection, he makes a small mention of her silver eyed abilities. Ruby asks him to clarify, but Taiyang immediately dismisses the subject.

Enter Qrow and he then asks Taiyang to “give them a minute”. Taiyang retorts but ultimately leaves to make tea, letting Ruby and Qrow talk. He asks her if she recalls what happened, to which she does through tears. Seemingly out of nowhere, Qrow then asks if she remembered what Ozpin first said to her; something about silver eyes. He goes off about supposed legendary warriors he Grimm singularly feared and how Ruby was special just like her mom.

(The line ‘You’re special, Ruby. and not in the “daddy loves his special angel” kinda way’ is also really interesting. Is it a throwaway line or foreshadowing?)

This seems like a relatively normal scenario until you realize a couple things. Why is Qrow asking Tai to leave the room? And why does Tai give practically no resistance to the notion? Taiyang should have absolute authority, not only as Ruby’s father, but as the owner of the household too. Yet, he relinquishes control of the situation as if it wasn’t his place, as if he knew he shouldn’t be there. 

Qrow’s simple yet sincere plea of  ‘Tai… please.’ is peculiar because it sounds like he needed to do this, as if it was his responsibility to Ruby. Tai even gives Qrow a small scowl when he exits the room, so there is some discord here, but not enough Tai to act on it. Reinforcing the idea that Tai knows he shouldn’t argue.

Stranger still, Qrow is the one that tells Ruby of her abilities and the first person to liken her to Summer. The fact Qrow, who isn’t an open book by ANY means, was the one to tell her such important albeit limited information about her lineage, while Tai continued to keep as much as he could from her is a dubious sign something is up. As a parent, it should have been Taiyang's duty to comfort Ruby in such trying times, telling her about herself and about Summer.

Another scene that was weird to me was in ‘A Much Needed Talk’. After Qrow finished telling Team RNJR of the gods, maidens, relicts and so on, Ruby asks him if there was anything else he wanted to tell them. A second after she asked, Raven in corvid form perches herself on a nearby branch, prompting Qrow to say “not tonight”. But what could Qrow possibly say that Raven doesn’t already know about? Raven is already privy to Ozpin and Salem’s secret war, about maidens and the relicts. What information could Qrow not want Raven to know about? (A secret child perhaps? Imagine the blackmail between Raven and Qrow if this were the case) 

Even over the course of the show, Qrow has been continuously protecting Ruby all her life. Killing Grimm to keep safe and diving in at the last moment when she’s in a real bind. He goes unnecessarily out of his way for her, but doesn’t do the same when his actual niece needs it. Very dedicated for an “Honorary Uncle”.

There are many minor nuances in Volume 6 (specifically Episodes 10-12) as well; many of which having to do with the way Qrow looks when Ruby is danger. When she misses the cliff, the camera switches to Qrow; absolutely horrified when she starts falling.

Another time is when Ruby gets bold and dives into the Mech’s cannon, the camera again pans to Qrow about to have a damn heart attack. The look on Qrow’s face both times conveys the idea of the fact Qrow is terrified of losing Ruby. Perhaps the same way he lost Summer, and perhaps lose the last piece of her he has left. Bottom line is, this doesn’t look like an uncle concerned for his niece, it’s a father worried for the safety of his child.

Lastly, when Qrow catches Ruby after she comes flying out the cannon. The worry on his face tells the same story. The gentle nudge and the panic when she doesn’t immediately wake up is highly reminiscent of when Tai waited for her to wake up in Volume 3; is my baby girl okay?

And a quick shoutout to @anthurak who made a very in-depth post about the Father-Daughter dynamic of Qrow and Ruby in Volume 6. I highly recommend it if haven’t read it already.

Point #8: Qrow’s Alcoholism and Summer’s Death

Though not overtly obvious, it would appear Qrow’s drinking problem and Summer’s passing are intertwined to a degree.

First there is the photo of his team from when they were still together. Why does he tote this ragged photo around with him? Well if you take a closer look, you can make out a ring of condensation around Summer. You typically only get such stains from cups and glasses, so it would seem Qrow used the photo as a coaster to hide the image of Summer.

But why? Well, Summer, being deceased, is the only member of his team he can’t see anymore, but it seems as though he was closer to her than the rest of STRQ.

From what can be gathered, Qrow broke down while drinking over the loss of Summer and was so devastated that he couldn’t even bare to look at a picture of her. Grief like this usually stems from the loss of someone of immeasurable importance to you; a parent, a child, or a significant other.

According to psychology, losing a spouse (child too but not applicable here) is the most stressful thing that can happen to an adult. A loss of this magnitude can have lasting effects for years after their passing. Given Qrow’s previously mentioned breakdown and continuous drinking, it’s very likely that Summer was of said importance to him. I’m not trying to undermine Taiyang’s own grief, giving that he “shut down” when Qrow told him what had happened.

Speaking of which When Qrow was still suffering from Tyrian’s venom, so much so he couldn’t walk, he mumbles something; “Tai… She’s not coming… Tai.”. The line implies that Qrow was there when Summer died and he was charged with letting Tai and the girls know happened.

Another moment that reinforces this is from Episode 10 of Volume 6 (8:12 timestamp). Qrow goes a tirade about he’s causing Jaune’s plan to go awry. Then he says ”I shouldn’t have come, shouldn’t have let any you come. What was I THINKING?”. I don’t know about you but to me that sounds like he’s been down this road before. Like he knows something bad will happen again.

Qrow’s alcoholism is exacerbated when he finds out Salem, the very enemy he’s been fighting against for years, cannot be beaten.

This sends him deeper and deeper into despair and when he socks Ozcar in the jaw, he says “Meeting you was the worse luck of my life”. This is a remarkably harsh thing to say, but it feels as though he isn’t regarding himself in this line. Yes, much of Qrow’s life was spent fighting for Oz and all that time is ultimately wasted, but Qrow has lost many friends and allies in this war as well. Chiefest among them I’d say is Summer. If Qrow was intimate with Summer, then her presumably dying at the hands of Salem’s forces was entirely meaningless. The woman he loved and all the huntsman/huntresses he knew died for a lost cause, which is absolutely tragic.

It’s difficult to discuss Qrow being Ruby’s Dad without mentioning another theory; Was Qrow involved in Summer’s death? I personally think he was, though not intentionally. I’m under the impression Summer sacrificed herself to protect him on her last mission but that’s a topic for another time.

Because of Ruby’s large resemblance to her mom, it has been seen giving Qrow flashbacks of his time with Summer.

When Ruby stands up to Qrow for likely the first time in her life (Volume 6 episode 9), Qrow is not only taken aback by his niece’s strength of will, but is also recognizing how much she is like Summer. The camera angles and shots depict it as if it’s history repeating itself, the daughter walking in the mother’s footsteps. Not letting Qrow spew his bullshit is apparently a Rose thing.

Another time in Volume 6 is when Ruby decides to confront Cordovin alone. Qrow tries to stop her but she shoots a look while saying “i need you to trust me”. Qrow glances back at Ruby, and he ultimately relents, brought down by that stare. He’s definitely heard those words before.

While this may not seem important, it actually lays the foundation for when Qrow finally talks about Summer. After all, besides Yang, he’s the only person who’s actually mentioned her, albeit not by name. (Raven too but that was more of an insult)

Point #9: Thematic Purpose

Qrow being Ruby’s dad I find, adds more than it takes away. It doesn’t do as much for the overlaying plot, it does create many avenues for Character Development.

Take Ruby: she’s been the same bundle of optimism and joy since she first debuted. Then take this and flip it on it’s head. Her faith in her loved ones is now crumbling and is in desperate need of guidance. This revelation could potentially be the most impactful event of her entire life. This scenario would see Ruby peel away from her Paragon attitude and give her much needed development.

It would also explain a curious theme in Volume 4. Every member besides Ruby is seen with their father. Yang is shown training and gaining valuable lesson from Tai. Blake is shown to reconnect with her estranged parents for the first time in years. And sadly, it is shown how far Weiss’s relationship with her family has degraded, particularly with Jacque. Only Ruby is left out of this trend. Or is she? Only one person was beside her the whole time, protecting her from Grimm and Tyrian: Qrow.

This would shed much needed light on Qrow too. It would explain practically he’s done, everything he’s put himself through and why he’s loathed himself the entire way. This creates a unexpected parallel between him and Raven too. If Qrow is Ruby’s father, then it would mean he’s been loving her from the sidelines while never really exposing himself. In contrast, Raven abandoned her family though never denying who she was to Yang.

And speaking of Yang, it gives her and Ruby’s relationship development as well. This revelation would mean they are cousins, not sisters, but they could persevere beyond this fact. Imagine Yang embracing her cousin and simply saying “I don’t care what the truth is. You will ALWAYS be my little sister and nothing will change that.” 

And a brief mention to the fact it sheds more light of the dynamic of Team STRQ and by extension Summer herself.

Closing Statement

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty biased on this subject because I adore this theory/head canon and Hummingbird/Flown North is my absolute favourite ship in the fandom without a shadow of a doubt (I prefer the name Hunter’s Dream). I know people who hate this theory/head canon will more than likely shit on this for all it’s worth. But I wanted to finally put my two cents in on this. I will always hope for this to be canon, even though it’s extremely unlikely.

If the writers at one point or another explain/debunk away any of what I've mentioned in the narrative and reinforce the current canon of Taiyang being Ruby’s Dad, I will gladly concede and admit that I was wrong. Until then, I will hold on to the last vestiges of this theory/head canon.

Let a man dream, okay?

[frangipanidownunder]

For the AU headcanons thing: what would have happened if Scully had been assigned to Quantico when Mulder had been working with Diana Fowley (maybe their relationship was rocky at that point? you decide), and M+S crossed paths working on a case? Thank you! 😘

1She’s heard all about him but only seen the back of him, walking the corridors with a stride that strikes her as single-minded but thoughtful. Something about his gait, the pattern of his steps. She’s intrigued, of course. Spooky Mulder is a name that floats off the tongues of agents and instructors alike, like a ghost haunting the building, lurking in corners and disappearing behind closing doors. Today, she’s finished her lecture and is taking a look at some samples in the lab. Jack has promised to take her out later but she’s tired and cranky and really just wants to slump in front of the tv with a tub of Ben and Jerry’s. Outside, she hears a woman’s voice, commanding to the point of imposing. Scully can’t help but lift her head from the microscope and listen. There’s a man’s voice too but his tone seems defeated. His one-word responses give away the dynamics in the relationships, she thinks, as she looks back at the slide. She wonders if that’s how her relationship with Jack comes across. She’s lost the will to spend hours talking to him, these days. The virus sample is unlike anything she’s ever seen but she’s too fatigued to think further than that ice-cream so she finishes up, still conscious of the debate outside. When there’s a lull, she takes a chance and opens the door. She narrowly misses hitting the tall brunette.“Excuse me,” the woman snaps.Scully stops. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there,” she says and looks beyond the glare of the agent, one Diana Fowley, according to her name badge, to see Fox Mulder skulking away, jacket over his shoulder, head down. “Do you have the Planter samples in there?” “Planter…? Um, yes. I think so, but I’ve just fini…” “I need to see them.”

2She’s jogging in the drizzle, fighting off last night’s pasta, rushed down at an ungodly hour after Jack had been late for their date. She’s wasn’t even angry. It seems to her that the relationship has simply run its course. She should just say it, she’s musing, as she runs over the bizarre conversation she had with Agent Fowley yesterday. “I can’t tell you what’s happening here because I’ve never seen it before. It’s a virus. But I can’t tell you more than that, Agent Fowley.” “I need answers. Who do I need to see?” Fowley’s chin was permanently tilted upwards, arms wrapped tightly around her middle for the entire exchange. Scully felt her lack of experience, and height, even more heavily when exposed to this kind of interrogation. It was something she had to work on. Learn to make her presence felt just as surely as Fowley did. “I could ask…” “Call me. It’s urgent.” Fowley thrust a card in her hand. “Lives may be at stake.” She runs until her lungs burn. She’d called Carla, a virologist buddy from the Academy labs. Described the virus and its rapid mutation. Carla had promised to take a look and Scully had faxed her the details but there had been no word yet. Now, she’s bent over, hands braced on knees, heaving out breaths. She sees the running shoes, the grey jogging bottom legs approaching her, slowing, stopping opposite. She raises herself up and finds herself face to chest with Fox Mulder.

3 “Agent Scully?” He proffers a long hand and she takes it automatically, letting his fingers wrap around her own. “I’m Fox Mulder, I’ve been assigned to look for you.” “Assigned?” He barks a laugh of surprise, then looks away, embarrassed. “I mean, my partner and I have been calling you. Agent Fowley, she met with you the other day. About the Planter samples?” “Yes, I’m waiting on a call from a virologist colleague. Viruses aren’t my area of expertise.” He drops her hand and nods, curtly. It’s as though he’s suddenly remembered what his task was. “I was under the impression that you…” She thinks back to Fowley. “If you have any doubt about my qualifications or credentials…” His shoulders slump. “No,” he says, hand up. “No. I don’t.” He emphasises the I and, unexpectedly, places his hand on the small of her back, guiding her along the path to the Academy building. “You’re a medical doctor, you teach at the Academy, you did your undergraduate degree in physics.” He looks down at her, rain drops studding his glasses. Einstein’s Twin Paradox, A New Interpretation. Dana Scully Senior Thesis. Now that’s a credential, rewriting Einstein.” He grins.“Did you bother to read it?” His expression softens. “I did. I liked it.” They arrive at the door and he opens it for her. “It’s just that in most of my work, the laws of physics rarely seem to apply.”“You might find it’s the laws of biochemistry that might be more applicable to your strange virus, Agent Mulder.” “Why do you say strange, Scully?” There’s an unexpected reaction to the use of her surname. She likes it.

4In her office, he takes a phone call. His has one of those new cellphones, button antenna poking up from the top. She wonders about the necessity to be available all the time, but supposes you can’t stop the advance of technology. Her desk phone trills. She answers as Mulder finishes his call. “I’ll call you back,” she says and hangs up as Jack tries to rush out his offer of a date at Magellan’s. The phone rings again. She cuts off the call. “Boyfriend trouble?” Mulder says with a conspiratorial grin. She leans on her elbows, doesn’t give him the response he wants. “Your virologist colleague? Can we see her? We need those results.” “She’s doing me a favour.” “Is there any reason why we can’t see her, right now? It’s important, Scully. This case…it could redefine the way we investigate the paranormal.” Her eyebrows rise to a point she didn’t know they could reach. “Paranormal?” Her tone, she knows, is just a tad shy of shrill and at that moment, Diana Fowley walks in. No knocking. She just takes her place next to Mulder so there is no light between them and looks down at Scully. Physically and figuratively. “What’s the problem?” Scully tidies the pile of notes on her desk and stands. She grabs her coat from the back of the door and turns to face Fowley. There’s a knot of something in her gut. Fear? Maybe. Anger? Definitely. But also resolve. She’s determined not to let a woman belittle her. Women in institutions like this, she thinks, should support each other. But now is not the time to debate the finer points of the sisterhood. Mulder is looking at his feet. “I don’t know,” she says, straightening her spine, “are you expecting one?”

5Carla explains the similarities and differences between viruses she’s seen and the Planter sample. It’s a fascinating field and Scully listens intently, trying to ignore the waves of antagonism emanating from Fowley. On the way to the lab, she alternately fawned over and pawed off Mulder’s attempts to insert himself into the situation. At one point, she took off, taking a call tucking the phone in the crook of her neck. Scully took her chance. “Paranormal? What does that even mean?” “Unexplained cases, left to rot in the basement of the Hoover Building, Scully. There are piles of them. I’ve devoured each one. And this virus. This could be the key to solving some of the biggest questions in the X-Files.” “X-Files?” Ahead of them, Fowley had finished her call and was waiting for them to catch up. “Is this about building your career?” “No, Scully. It’s far more important than that.” And she knows he means it. She’s still feeling contrite when Fowley asks for the findings to be faxed over instantly. Carla nods and takes her report to the machine in the far corner of the lab. “This could be it,” Mulder says to Fowley as they leave the lab. Scully struggles to keep up with their loafing strides. His face is a mask of awe. Whatever Scully thinks about his bizarre workload, it’s clear he’s driven, passionate and desperate to solve this particular case. She’s guessing that its implications might be even more wide-ranging than his Monty Propps work. Fowley doesn’t bat an eyelid, even with his enthusiasm on overdrive. He’s practically bouncing around like a toddler on a pogo stick. His hands flay out from his sides. His voice rises and rises. As they near the exit and grey slants of watery sunshine filter through the door, Fowley stops. She looks over her shoulder at Scully. Waits a second before putting a hand flat on Mulder’s chest. “This isn’t it,” she says and walks through the door, leaving it swinging. “What was that about?” Scully asks, watching Fowley walk across the courtyard. The sound of his jacket hitting the wall with a dull thud makes her heart lurch. From wonderstruck kid to wounded adult in one strike of a woman’s tongue. She wonders if Jack would take her decision that badly. “Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?” he asks out of nowhere. “Logically, I’d have to say no,” she begins but he walks past her to the door, shoulder hitting hers. She thinks about the virus. It’s strange presentation. It hits her like a bolt of lightning and she runs outside after him. “Mulder!” The way he waits for her, like she’s his new best friend, takes her back to high school and the unlikely allies formed in the hallways. She looks up at him. “I want to believe.”

[180abroad]

Day 183: Operation Market Garden (and a not-so-brief primer on Early Modern Dutch history)

For today, we had booked an all-day tour of the sites of Operation Market Garden, an impossibly bold operation that ended in failure and has been immortalized in movies like A Bridge Too Far and featured in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Being WWII history buffs, we were already familiar with the broad strokes of the operation, but today we'd get to learn some of the blow-by-blow details while standing in the actual locations where they happened.

Market Garden was far too large and complex an operation for us to see everything in the one day we'd allotted, so we opted to focus on the parts of the operation handled by the American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division. It seemed appropriate, given our previous crossovers with the 101st in Normandy and Berchtesgaden.

And at the risk of continuing to say this so often that it loses what little meaning it might still possess, this day was truly one of the highlights of the trip.

We met our guide Murk outside the train station, where we discovered two cool things about him. First, he was a former history teacher with an extensive knowledge and passion for teaching European history. Second, it was actually a private tour, so we had him all to ourselves.

There was a third cool thing, too. Murk was a massive Rolling Stones fan. He even wrote his masters thesis on the socio-historical significance of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' early songwriting.

Operation Market Garden took place in the eastern part of the Netherlands, so we had a little bit of time to kill on the drive over. Luckily, Murk was a fountain of knowledge and more than happy to answer all the random questions we could think of.

We learned that he loved being a teacher, but he finally quit after years of frustration with the increasingly restrictive lesson plans he was being saddled with. Making sure that every student gets an equivalent education is an admirable goal, but when the scope of a WWII history class becomes so rigidly defined that the teacher isn't even allowed to discuss the importance of WWI for context, something has clearly gone wrong.

As a private tour guide, he can now teach history as holistically as he wants, and only to people who are interested enough in history to hire him for essentially a full-day private field trip. (Appropriately enough, his business is called History Trips.)

We also enjoyed an interesting lesson on Dutch names. It started with a seemingly simple question---Nic asked what the proper pronunciation of the surname Van der Veen (the last name of some of his close friends). Murk laughed goodheartedly at our American pronunciation, then gave us the correct pronunciation, which I would describe as roughly like "Fahn dur Fen."

He explained that it was a place name, meaning "From the…"---he trailed off as he searched for the right English word. "Like, when plants die and turn into a bog."

"Peat?" I suggested after a moment's hesitation. After all the talk of peat in Ireland and Scotland, there was no way such a niche topic could come up as fortuitously as this. But it did. "Yes! Peat!" (Which is a delightful exclamation to hear in a Dutch accent, by the way.)

Van der Veen means "from the peat bog." And as I thought about it, it makes sense. If you pronounce "veen" as "fen," you get an English word that means basically the same thing. And the more I looked after that, the more I noticed that a lot of Dutch words actually sound a lot like equivalent English words once you know the right way to say them.

Speaking of surnames, we went on to learn that most Dutch people didn't have last names until the early 1800s. And they would have kept on not having them were it not for Napoleon. After the Netherlands were absorbed into Napoleon's empire, he ordered a census to determine how many able-bodied men he could conscript into his armies. And to complete their forms, the French census-takers needed a last name---even if it meant having to make one up on the spot.

Some people went with occupational names---like the equivalent of Smith or Miller---while some used their father’s given name, and others named themselves after the place they were from. Van der Veen was a common choice among people from the northern peat bogs, and one of the most common of all was “Van Dyke,” meaning (obviously) from the dyke.

And that dovetailed into a neat little linguistic history lesson. Modern Dutch uses the letters “IJ” more-or-less in place of the English letter “Y," and they're basically treated as a single compound letter. At the beginning of a proper noun, both letters are capitalized together, and the main river that runs through Amsterdam is simply called the IJ---a "single" letter with both characters capitalized. The Dutch even pronounce the name of this letter the same way that Americans pronounce the name of the letter “Y." The Dutch refer to the letter “Y” as the Greek Y, since it resembles the Greek letter Upsilon. The bottom line of all this is that if you see a Dutch word with the letter “Y” instead of “IJ,” that means it is an older word---most likely a name---that was cemented before modern Dutch spelling was standardized.

Finally, we reached our first stop in the village of Overloon, the site of a major battle between British and German forces just after the end of Operation Market Garden. The Allies had managed to secure a spaghetti-thin strand of road all the way through the Netherlands to the doorstep of Germany, and the German army threw everything they had in an attempt to cut the strand while it was still thin.

Today, the village is home to a British war cemetery, as well as one of the most impressive war museums that we'd never heard of. The Overloon War Museum was listed on Murk's website as a highly recommended add-on to the standard tour, but I think even that is seriously underselling just how incredible this place is.

Opened in 1946, Overloon was one of the very first WWII museums in Europe. It is set in a patch of woods where a massive tank and infantry battle between the Allied and German forces during Operation Market Garden. The disabled tanks other vehicles from the battle were left in the woods and converted into an open air museum. Since then, the museum has amassed a stunning collection of tanks, trucks, and other military vehicles.

A few vehicles and art installations are still outdoors, but the bulk of the collection is now kept safely indoors. As we walked through the forest, Murk commented that he liked the movie Fury because it showed how it took a clever use of multiple American Sherman tanks to take out a single German Tiger.

As we moved inside the museum, we got a quick refresher on the backstory of Operation Market Garden. Inspired by the successful use of paratroopers on D-Day, British Field Marshal Montgomery drew up an even larger, more complicated operation. Essentially, the Allies would try to capture a two-lane highway cutting 60 miles deep into German-occupied territory

(Source: Wikimedia)

The ultimate target of the push was the town of Arnhem, which sat astride the furthest branch of the Rhine just after it splits up into a delta that spiders across the Netherlands. If the Allies could capture Arnhem and fortify their supply lines, they would have cut the German forces in half and given themselves an open path eastward into the heart of Germany.

It was a bold plan, to say the least. And according to Murk, pretty much everyone outside of Monty's inner circle knew it was crazy from the start. It was audaciously complex, requiring clockwork cooperation between tens of thousands of soldiers among multiple divisions, and the slightest misfortune or miscalculation could bring the whole thing toppling down.

General Eisenhower---recently promoted to the role Allied Supreme Commander---had a different plan for Monty’s troops. The Allies had already surrounded the Belgian port city of Antwerp and secured the south bank of its estuary to the Atlantic. A good push with the help of British paratroopers support could have driven the German forces out of the city and off of the north bank of the estuary. That would have allowed the Allies to begin shipping war supplies directly to the front line in Antwerp instead of using the existing, painfully stretched supply lines running hundreds of miles back to Cherbourg in Normandy. It also would have allowed them to then pivot toward Germany and advance eastward without fear of counterattacks from behind.

Eisenhower was shrewd enough to appreciate how much Montgomery resented being made to serve under an American general, and how eager he was to find a way back into the limelight. Eisenhower told Montgomery that he could do his operation, but only with British troops. Eisenhower wasn't about to sacrifice any Americans for Monty’s suicide mission.

Then everything changed when Germany started barraging London with their deadly new V-2 rockets. Churchill and the rest of the British government was intent on cutting off the V-2 launch sites in Holland at any cost, and Montgomery convinced them that his plan would be the fastest way to get it done. Eisenhower was compelled to support Operation Market Garden to the hilt---committing the entire strength of 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions to the job.

It was a mess from the start. Speed and surprise were key, yet it ended up taking three days just to drop all of the men and equipment because there were so many of them and not enough planes. Many troopers landed only to find their equipment---dropped hours or even days earlier---had been long since stolen or blown up by the Germans.

There were around a dozen bridges that needed to be captured, and there were no provisions made for repairing or replacing a single one if it was sabotaged by the Germans. So when multiple bridges where inevitably ruined, it took days to fix the problem. And all the while, German artillery rained down on the jammed convoy and the paratroopers stuck far behind enemy lines. The British paratroopers that were dropped on the city of Arnhem---the operation’s ultimate objective with its bridge across the Rhine---were sent in with only 48 hours' worth of supplies. They managed to hold out for nine days without reinforcement before finally running out of ammo and being forced to surrender.

Inside, the museum holds a stunning collection of military tanks, trucks, and other vehicles from WWII and beyond. It started with some life-size dioramas telling the story of the Allied invasion of Europe from D-Day leading up through Market Garden.

We saw firsthand the massive superiority in size, armor, and weaponry that the German tanks had over the American tanks. Germany had designed its tanks to take on the Soviet Union, which at the time had the most formidable tank corps in the world. By comparison, British tanks had fallen woefully behind the cutting edge, and American tanks were still in their infancy.

The most memorable tank on display was one that actually fought in the battle of Overloon and was disabled by a landmine. Enshrined on the front of the tank is a grisly letter written by the tank's driver after he learned that the museum had put it on display. The letter recounts in grisly detail the moment of the explosion and the driver's efforts to save his crew members, several of whom died from their horrific wounds shortly after being pulled from the wreckage.

There were a number of planes in the collection, too, including a Spitfire, a B-25 Mitchell, and a C-47 transport in the middle of being restored.

The museum includes a small collection of more modern tanks as well, including a Dutch tank that served in UN peacekeeping missions.

In addition to tanks, the museum has a stunning variety of other vehicles, including jeeps, motorcycles, gigantic logistical trucks, and even a snowmobile.

It was amazing to see just how much variety and specialization there was.

One corner of the museum highlights how black American soldiers were mainly used for logistical operations and unskilled labor, with only a relative few assigned to black combat units. (The US military remained strictly segregated by race until 1948, three years after the end of the war.) Despite being disproportionately relegated to the more ignoble roles during the war, many black soldiers came to enjoy a level of pride and respect for their service that they had never gotten back home. When they returned from the war, however, it was like nothing had changed at all. They were once again treated as mere "boys," socially inferior even to the former German POWs who had opted to become naturalized US citizens after the war.

There were other fun curiosities, too, like a sign used on the "Red Ball Express"---the complex convoy system that carried essential supplies from Cherbourg at the tip of Normandy all the way up to the front lines.

There was also a pretty impressive display of just about every type of explosive and ammunition used during the war.

And we probably shouldn't have been surprised to find some LEGO dioramas there, too.

We could have easily spent an entire day in the museum, but it was really just the appetizer to the main event. Like I said before, we were already having to pick and choose what we would get to see today, focusing on the American half of the operation. Getting to see the entire breadth of the operation would have required a two or even three day trip, which in retrospect would have been incredibly cool, though perhaps not the best use of our time when we only had a week in the country.

We started in the village of Son, just north of the city of Eindhoven in the southeastern Netherlands. Between Son and Eindhoven runs a major waterway called the Wilhelmina Canal. The bridge crossing the canal was one of the many bridges that needed to be successfully captured as part of Market Garden. And it was at this very river crossing where Murk told us the story.

As the convoy of British ground forces (”Garden”) pushed up through Eindhoven to secure the bridge from the south, the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne (including Easy Company), was dropped near Son to secure the bridge from the north and stop the Germans from blowing up the bridge as soon as the British troops reached it. The American paratroopers were held up by an unexpected German gun battery, however, and the Germans destroyed the bridge. This set the operation back until the following morning as the British engineers scrambled to bring in a replacement Bailey bridge.

Leaving the modern bridge behind, Murk took us around the village of Son, showing us where the German guns that held up the 506th had been entrenched. Comparing the photos to the town today, we could actually see where some of the original buildings still stand.

Meanwhile, the 502nd Regiment of the 101st was locked in a brutal fight just a mile west, in the woods between Son and the neighboring village of Best. Best had its own bridge across the canal, and the 502nd had been tasked with capturing that bridge as a backup. The village was heavily defended by German forces, however, and the 502nd couldn't break through. Furthermore, the Germans began to counterattack into the woods in an attempt to recapture the fields where the 502nd and 506th had landed, cutting them off from their supplies.

Those woods were our next stop. Murk had wanted to take us on a shortcut that ran along a series of dirt roads, but they were too muddy and treacherous after the recent rainstorms, so we backtracked and took the paved country roads instead. (Which would prove to be a bit of foreshadowing.)

Stopping at an intersection on the western edge of the woods, we learned the stories of two particular men of the 502nd---one a lowly enlisted man and the other a high-ranking officer.

Private First Class Joe Mann was a Toccoa man, having gone through the original batch parachute infantry training with the 506th Division at Camp Toccoa before being transferred to the 502nd. (Anyone who’s seen Band of Brothers will recall the grueling training that the troopers of the 506th went through at Toccoa and the significance of being a “Toccoa man” later on in the war, as more and more veterans were wounded and replaced with fresh-faced recruits with no experience and little sense.)

During the attack on Best, Mann's unit had been dispersed by enemy fire. Taking a rocket launcher and his M1 rifle, Mann crept up to a fortified German 88 mm gun and took out the entire crew by himself. He sustained four wounds in the process, but he refused to be evacuated. The next morning, the Germans assaulted his unit's position. A German grenade landed within a few feet of Mann. His arms having been bandaged tightly to his sides, Mann threw himself onto the grenade and sacrificed himself to protect his fellow soldiers.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole was already a legend, having lead his battalion of paratroopers in a bayonet charge into the hedgerows of Normandy on D-Day. That was the kind of leader Cole was---always at the front, always taking the riskiest position himself. While commanding his battalion in the woods outside Best, Cole radioed in for air support. But his troops were very close to the German lines, and the woods were obstructing the pilot's view. To avoid friendly fire, Cole needed to set out some bright orange markers to show the pilot where his men were positioned. Cole chose to deploy the markers personally, and he was killed almost instantly by a German sniper after breaking cover.

Both PFC Mann and Lt. Col. Cole were posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Moving north, we saw the fields used as drop zones for 502nd and 506th, as well as a farmhouse that was used as a supply headquarters. The current owner of the farm is an older gentleman who was there on the day of the drop as a young boy. He keeps a nice little monument to the 101st Airborne near his driveway. It's private property, but the owner is friendly and allows Murk to visit with his tour groups. At least, that's what Murk says.

We learned that in addition to the C-47 transports, gliders were also used to bring in supplies and support staff that weren't parachute trained. The gliders eventually had to go back where they came from, it was painfully time-consuming for a C-47 to land, attach a glider, and take off again. Instead they developed a clever skyhook system where the transport planes could snatch the gliders off the ground without having to land at all.

Our goal was to keep cutting northwards along country roads, following the path of the paths of the 101st Airborne and the British ground forces. But at almost every turn, we ran into closures caused by road resurfacing projects. It was almost as if the resurfacing projects had been strategically placed to prevent us from moving more than a kilometer or so in any direction from the Paulushoef farm. Murk had never seen anything like it, and his knowledge of the Dutch east-country back roads was tested to the limit, but he pulled through for us in the end.

Our next stop was the town of Sint-Oedenrode, just north of Son. It was here that General Maxwell Taylor---commander of the entire 101st Airborne---established his divisional headquarters during Market Garden. He originally set up shop in a nice building near the center of town, but he soon relocated to an old fortified manor house on the outskirts of town. Complete with a moat, gatehouse, and tall crenelated towers, it seemed to Taylor a much more fitting residence for someone of his station. (And honestly, who wouldn't take the opportunity to set up shop in a castle if they could?)

On our way out of Sint-Oedenrode, we stopped to visit another monument. In a touching reversal of the usual story, this monument was built by the 101st Airborne in honor of the Dutch citizens who aided them during the campaign.

The next village north of Sint-Oedenrode was Veghel, and it had another essential bridge that the Allies needed to capture. Fortunately, the elements of the 101st that landed near Veghel were able to capture the town on day one with relative ease. Unfortunately, the two towns were separated by about three and a half miles of exposed two-lane highway running through open floodplains and farmland. It was stretches like this that helped to earn this route the nickname "Hell's Highway."

The land to either side was soft and marshy---impossible for the Allied vehicles to drive on. If a vehicle broke down or was damaged by enemy fire, the rest of the convoy couldn't just go around them. Everyone behind the disabled vehicle came to a dead stop until it could be pushed off the side of the road. And all the while, the rest of the convoy were sitting ducks for the German artillery and 88mm anti-tank guns.

A full week into the operation that was only supposed to last two or three, the Germans launched a major counter-offensive to cut off the highway between Sint-Oedenrode and Veghel. Since there was no alternative path for the Allied supply convoy to take, the Germans knew that if they could capture just a tiny sliver of the highway and hold it for even a few hours, that might be enough to put the final nail in the coffin of the already floundering Allied operation.

And that's exactly what they did. The American 501st Regiment of the 101st Airborne was able to repel the German attacks against Veghel itself, but the Germans succeeded in capturing a small stretch of the highway south of Veghel and held it for a full day before finally retreating. The Allies retook the highway only to find it covered in mines and booby traps that took hours to clear, by which point the operation had already ended in the failure to take the final bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem.

A wide, modern highway now runs along the route of Hell's Highway, but sections of the old two-lane highway still run alongside it. And we were able to stand at the side of the road where all this happened as Murk recounted the story.

Our next stop was a windmill in the small community of Eerde on the western fringe of Veghel. It was here that the 501st Regiment fended off a fierce counterattack from the German 6th paratrooper regiment, a unit that the 101st Airborne had previously faced off against during the invasion of Normandy. With the help of some British tanks, the Allies were able to hold off the German assault, but at great cost.

The windmill was badly damaged during the fighting, but it has since been rebuilt by donations and volunteers. There's a small shop nearby with murals inside that tell the story of the battle.

Our last stop was the town of Veghel itself. We saw the Klondike Manor, which served as the headquarters of the 501st and still bears the Screaming Eagle crest of the 101st Airborne. We also saw a monument to the 101st Airborne that included an inscribed boulder, a bronze kangaroo, and a buried urn containing soil from all 50 US states. The kangaroo was a bit perplexing until we learned that "Kangaroo" was the call sign for the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Market Garden. That's also where the name of Klondike Manor comes from. All of the units in the 101st had call signs starting with the letter K, and the 501st's call sign was Klondike.

Translated into English, the inscription on the monument reads:

In honor of the heroes of the 101st Airborne Division of the American Army under the command of General Maxwell D. Taylor, Operation Market Garden, 17 Sept. - 28 Nov. 1944, North Brabant, Gelderland.

In everlasting gratitude, the government and people of the Netherlands

As we drove back toward Amsterdam, we had more time to ask Murk our random questions about Dutch history and culture.

Nic asked about why so many people call the Netherlands “Holland” when Holland is just one part of the country. We learned that at one point in its history, the Netherlands were a confederation of independent states---a bit like the United States before the constitution was signed. Hence the plural name “the Netherlands.” Holland was the richest and most politically powerful state in the Netherlands. Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam are all in Holland. If someone from another country did business with a Dutchman, odds were good he was from Holland. So Holland became synonymous with the Netherlands as a whole. And to be fair, while plenty of people are more than happy to correct those who mistakenly refer to the entire country as Holland, the Dutch have heavily bought into name's brand recognition. "Holland" is emblazoned on almost all of the tourist trinkets we saw, and even the country's national soccer team goes by the name Holland.

Next, I asked Murk for some clarification on the history of the Netherlands as a nation. During the Golden Age of the 17th century, the Netherlands was a republic. But today, it is a kingdom. And before it was an independent country, they belonged to the duchy of Burgundy at one point and the kingdom of Spain at another point.

He explained that the Netherlands–including Belgium and Luxembourg–became a territory of the dukes of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. Through marriage, the Burgundian house of Valois intertwined with the Austrian Habsburgs and the royal family of Spain. Thus, it came to be that a boy named Charles was born in the Netherlands in the year 1500 and grew up to become Duke of Burgundy, Master of the Netherlands, Emperor of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Spain and all its overseas territories.

Charles was a Catholic, but he let the Dutch continue practicing their Protestantism. Charles’s son Philip, however, was not so accommodating. He cracked down on the Dutch Protestants, which lead to the Eighty Years’ War and the independence of the Dutch Republic. According to Murk, though, the religious persecution was merely an excuse for the Dutch, who realized they could make a lot more money if they didn’t have to pay taxes to Philip.

The Netherlands stayed a republic for the next hundred and fifty years or so, until Napoleon swept across Europe. After Napoleon’s defeat, the rest of Europe’s leaders decided that they wanted a strong kingdom---not a wishy-washy republic---guarding the northern border of France. They elevated the most powerful Dutch nobleman, Prince William VI of Orange-Nassau, making him King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (whose royal barge we'd seen the previous day at the National Maritime Museum). The house of Orange-Nassau has served as the figurehead royal family ever since, hence the reason why orange is the national color of the Netherlands.

And if you're wondering, yes---the "Orange" in Orange-Nassau refers to that old Roman city in the south of France that we'd visited months earlier with Jessica's mom Donna. How does a Dutch royal family get its name from an ancient city in southern France? The story is as complicated as the story of Western Europe itself.

To start with, we have to go back over a thousand years to Charlemagne, who managed to unite all the lands of modern Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and northern Italy into a single empire. After Charlemagne's death, the Empire was divided between his three grandsons into the kingdoms of West Francia (France), Middle Francia (the Netherlands, Burgundy, Provence, Switzerland, and Northern Italy), and East Francia (Germany and Austria).

Middle Francia was nominally the most prestigious of the three Kingdoms. It contained both the imperial capital of Aachen and the holy city of Rome. But it lacked the overarching cultural and geographic ties that unified the other two kingdoms. Almost immediately, it began to crumble and splinter into smaller and smaller kingdoms, duchies, and principalities, which then fell into political orbit around either France to the west or the Holy Roman Empire to the east. The lines became messy, loyalties became divided, and conflict inevitably arose.

At the risk of grossly oversimplifying the story, this is the reason why the borderlands between France and Germany have always been so fiercely contested---a thousand-year squabble between two siblings over how to divvy up their older brother's toys.

But back to the House of Orange-Nassau. For complicated political reasons, the city of Orange was elevated to a principality within the territory of Burgundy. Even though Orange was geographically tiny and economically insignificant, it was still highly desirable because whoever owned it got to call himself a prince. Through a series of strategic marriages, the title "Prince of Orange" was eventually inherited by the House of Nassau, a noble family whose original territory was centered around the German town of Nassau (sort of near Koblenz) but who had managed to marry their way into ownership of various valuable territories, including much of the Netherlands.

The family also made marital connections to the British royal dynasty, and Prince William III of Orange-Nassau eventually became King of England and Scotland after the ousting of James II (a move which would in turn lead to the Jacobite rebellions whose ultimate failure at the Battle of Culloden resulted in the near annihilation of Scottish Highland culture).

William III was a staunch enemy of Louis XIV of France, and it was during Louis' consolidation of French territory that the city of Orange was taken by force and made part of the Kingdom of France.

William III died without any direct heirs, so his titles and territories were divided among their closest respective claimants. The title "Prince of Orange-Nassau"---now having basically no connection to the actual territories of either Orange or Nassau---was inherited along with several Dutch lordships by William's closest male-line relative, a man named John William Friso. Friso died at just 23 years old, but his son became Prince William IV of Orange-Nassau, and Friso's great-grandson Prince William VI became King William I of the Netherlands after the end of the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Friso’s progeny thrived across the rest of Europe as well. So well, in fact, that all ten hereditary monarchs currently ruling in Europe can find Friso in their family trees.

European history is unimaginably complicated, and all the threads are intertwined. One of the coolest things about the way Jessica and I did this trip is how it let us appreciate this connectedness. Trying to understand it all is like trying to understand the books of a massive multinational conglomerate with a thousand years of mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs.

Anyway, I think that's enough history for one day. To sum up, the Operation Market Garden tour was amazing, Murk was amazing, and we would heartily recommend them both to anyone planning a trip in the Netherlands who has at least a moderate interest in history. You can find Murk at www.historytrips.eu.