#give her a name at least

[pinkroseblooms]

THANK YOU!

Seriously, not to harp but this is the exact sort of thing that kind of keeps coming up in JJK that keeps me from loving it. Like, I love it, but also...there's a pattern here I dislike and megumama is a prime example of what that is and some bigger issues I have when it comes to how JJK handles characterization, particularly when it comes to the women.

It just irks me how female characters like mamaguro are so central to the plot, to the motivations of male characters and their arcs, heavily influence how they act, etc. but damn this woman doesn't even get a name. She's just Toji’s dead wife and Megumi's dead mom. We don't know anything about her except how her death impacted their lives.

Don't get me wrong, Gege generally has this habit of introducing characters and then they get sidelined or, ya know, unceremoniously killed/gravely injured, but his male characters get so much more focus and development in comparison and they hardly are ever used as plot devices in the narrative for female character's stories/arcs. There's literally a scene where Momo is about to fight Nobara in the tournament and she's like "I'll teach you what it means to be a female jujutsu sorcerer!" and it is immediately interrupted by Panda and Mechamaru's fight and the story goes into their back stories and stuff 😐.

That sort of sums up how Gege views a lot of his female characters. They're mainly there to serve as plot devices, background, or eye candy. They will always take a back seat, maybe a passenger seat, in comparison to their male colleagues. Gege has no problem writing these interesting, nuanced, compelling, three dimensional, and quickly iconic male characters (Yuji, Sukuna, Gojo, Geto, Toji, Megumi, etc etc.) and as much as I do love Yuki, Shoko, Nobara, and Maki, they feel so overlooked and underused by the story.

Genie's Rambles

I think Megumama is the true MVP of JJK, period.

Cause just imagine JJK verse if she were still alive. Toji wouldn't have spiraled down to his self destructive lifestyle, he wouldn't have left Megumi, wouldn't have returned to being the sorcerer killer, wouldn't have taken the commission to kill Riko, Riko wouldn't have died, Gojo wouldn't have awakened early, Geto wouldn't have a midlife crisis at 16 and become a racist mass murderer, Megumi would've grown up with a complete happy family because you bet Megumama would keep Toji tame, Toji would've given up on gambling and fucking around because he'd be too smitten with her and maybe that way he'd have a better relationship with Megumi, Riko could've enjoyed her youth a bit longer before assimilating with Tengen so Tengen's state would've been more stable, Geto wouldn't be killed, Kenny wouldn't have gotten his hands on his technique, and if still by sheer shit luck shibuya still happened we could've had Daddy Toji making a bitch out of every curse user/curse, Geto wiping the floor with Mahibitch AND GOJO WOULD NEVER HAVE GOTTEN SEALED! And there's SO much more!

We don't even know Megumama's name, but SHE is a BIG catalyst of JJK and people don't talk about this enough. We could've had it all if only Gege was a bit less of a sadistic kitty... *sigh*

Rest in power, Megumama. Throughout heaven and earth, you truly did no wrong.

[blorbologist]

okay now that I've slept and delt with my headache, for completely benign reasons I'm thinking about Emhira, and how she compares to the raven-haired mage Patia knew over two centuries before.

The Raven Queen that ascended was an arcane master and follower of her predecessor, implied to live in Avalir. We don't have a confirmed class for the Matron's og self, but given she taught Patia I'd bet Wizard... which is a very different way of accessing power than a Warlock. And if she was trusted to teach the Por'co grandchild, presumably this woman was highly regarded indeed.

As much as Emhira is coming to Downfall with a unique perspective among the gods (as touched on in Cooldown, being a mortal who usurped a god AND death / fate being her domains), her perspective as a mortal was an outlier among mortals even before she ascended. Not just that she was the only one to pull off this ritual successfully, but in being in the upper class of a mageocracy in one of the most powerful flying cities to exist.

And now she has been living on the ground, under the supervision of her Champion, for decades. Her Champion who stepped onto Avalir with muddy boots and ranger leathers.

Is Emhira a likeness to the Matron's first body? Was she born to be herself again, only to be molded by cataclysm and suffering into a far more ragged, worn woman than she was before? Hell; was that mage in Avalir all that familiar with death at all, with magic always so close at hand? How has it been to see death and death and death around her, out of her control?

How does it feel, to have a name again for the first time in two hundred years? To not be a porcelain mask but a person?

Given this war between gods is an extinction level event (the ash covering the sun reminds me of thd K-PG extinction event, and also how are y'all growing apples??), I wonder if Emhira is just as changed as Asha is. Life is choked and slaughtered and dying, they are both sides to that coin. How frayed are the strands of fate?

Is Emhira more like the Matron, or more like the woman who came before them both? Or is she a third, more mortal thing?

[empty-dream]

“You’re not hollow.”

[art-is-kayos]

Sight of a Star - Blue-ish Star Ryōshū and Don Quixote

[raticalshoez]

i'm having hyperfixation drought so i did what i did best and created a crossover episode

[necrotic-nephilim]

there is not enough femslash in batcest circles. the girls deserve to be just as weird about each other as the boys are. if BruDick gets to be weird father/son/brothers/lovers/friends/rivals/soulmates then it is only fair that Babs/Cass get to be mother/daughter/sisters/lovers too. Something about that deep intrinsic but undefinable love that is born out of trauma, especially if you consider Cass not knowing what healthy love looks like in the first place. i think it's fun and deserves just as much fandom content.

besides that, you can get even more niche with rarepairs like Helena/Steph. Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma is already a fantastic comic and even though it's their only real canon interaction it has so much potential. very comparable to TimJay in how Helena tries to get Steph to understand her morals and the corruption you could play with it.

batman: huntress/spoiler: blunt trauma (1998)

that comic also highlights on how both Steph and Helena are outcasts of the Batfamily and don't have the approval of Bruce to be doing what they do in "his city". I think there's so much Potential in Helena taking Steph under her wing because Bruce won't let her in and it becomes a weird codependent toxic sapphic mess. I think the protectiveness Helena feels over Steph from the get-go is so clear and the way she wants to look out for Steph, wants to make sure Steph understands the real world? I love them. Helena should be allowed to steal Steph, actually. I think it'd be fun.

there are a lot of other possibilities too like Babs/Steph or even getting weird with Helena Bertinelli/Helena Wayne and the existential question of "is it selfcest or not." But these two specifically live in my head rent-free, especially Helena/Steph and one day I'll convince everyone else to ship it too.

[hydrachea]

The achievement's name completely flew over the EN localization team's head, huh.

(The reason Kafka starts saying "A-" before correcting herself to "SAM" is that in the original CN, she calls Blade "A-Ren". EN localized that pretty well with "Bladie" but they seem to have missed it here... The achievement should be called "Go Now, Bl- SAM".)

[nefnefnefnef]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[mc-critical]

1.06 / 2.09 (33)

[verminvamp]

YiffY iS thE truE reasoN I goT intO homestucK

I watcheD a videO essaY abouT thE “deatH oF thE fandoM” 0,..,0 anD wheN theY goT tO hs^2 Ò,..,Ó I kneW I haD tO reaD iT….ọ,..,ọ FoR thE angrY furrY girL oF prophesY-;..;-

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

ok this is a deeply deeply weird manifesto and i'm sorry but i feel suddenly very burdened to say it so. if you felt like we were friends and i unfollowed you, this is for you. (don't be scared this is not about problems with anyone this is just my mess. that I think is ok to have which is why I'm talking about it)

so I joined tumblr in 2020 when a) the world was isolated b) I had just moved to a new city and was living alone taking Zoom classes in my apartment. what started as a mindless distraction became such a lifeline of connection and friendship! and still such a support as things started to open back up and get busier in 2021, when I was teaching and in class in person but still struggling for close in-person friendships. I know the group dynamic on here has shifted a number of times, as some of you probably experienced from various vantage points. my use of tumblr has shifted too, on and off, as I've needed different things out of it and been in different spiritual and emotional states. and I've kind of come to realize that I probably threw myself in too eagerly in some ways. it was so exciting to have actual friends on here and for them to actually turn into friends in person, that honestly I maybe prized that dynamic too much for what it symbolized over actually valuing the people. I'm sorry for doing that.

anyway, that worked fine for a bit, but as (glory be to God) I've become much more plugged into my in-person community in the last couple years, I've felt more and more emotionally strained. I've taken up a new attitude towards my family that's much more in line with God, but also much more draining as it means I have to just pour out in prayer and love and wait with patient sorrow over some things rather than fighting and defending my perspective as always right and necessary; and then there's the church-related grief my family has gone through over the last year. I've had a very delicate and difficult friendship that pulled up a lot of unresolved stuff from a college situation and felt endlessly wearying at times. I've had another issue from college recur in a way I thought had been healthily resolved years ago. I've had this whole roommate marriage situation that as y'all know is a very weird trial and pressure. My church has been dealing with a strange and tough ongoing struggle that was already stressing me out before I started working there. My small group has been amazing and I've loved connecting with and relying on them more, but that connection also means more fully bearing the griefs of a lot of different people dealing with the different struggles of life. My advisor situation has been so weird and tough, making my academic work really hard, and then this recent church work has been fulfilling but physically and often mentally exhausting. My future location, work, and community is up in the air after a few years of stability. (I really didn't mean to make this a recitation of my woes, but honestly it's really helpful to see it all written out here; helps explain my deep deep exhaustion, I guess.)

If I ever followed you on tumblr, I love you. In a number of different ways. I feel fondness at the thought of you and at your presence; I want to know you more fully; I desire the good for you; and I find my well-being to be, at least a little bit, tied up with yours. That last one is the rub. As I'm sorting through all the callings and duties in my life, trying to identify what counts as changing my tires versus what wears my tires out, I've found that my tumblr dashboard can switch back and forth very unpredictably between one thing and the other. Often it's a delight to come on here and find my friends and the cool things we're showing each other and the joys and sorrows and goofy moments of our lives! But at other times, when what I desperately need is an escape and rest and humor to provide solace from in-person cares, I find myself pricked all over again by the sorrow of the world and the stress of sin--or even just irritated by stuff I find irrelevant or disagree with or don't want to be reminded of.

To be clear, I'm not saying anyone's doing anything wrong on here. The opposite; I love the freedom y'all have to seek out what helps you, whether that's a lot of facts and ideas or a lot of goofy content or recipes or weird TV or music or venting about life or seeking prayer or advice! We all have the freedom and responsibility to determine how to use the tools we have to aid us in pursuing the good, whether the good is a quick laugh or building up virtue. But I think for me, at this point in my life, my duty and calling has swung back towards my in-person connections in a variety of ways, and I have to honor that.

The lie of infinity that the internet offers is just that--a lie. for me, that lie right now is being laid bare in my inability to have infinite care for everyone whose path I cross. I could follow everyone on here whom I'm endeared to, could keep messaging and replying and building relationships, but it would be a lie to think I can offer that love and care to everyone I would like to. In-person friendships are limited by physical proximity and time; online friendships can't be unlimited either. I need to apologize for acting as though they could be, and committing myself beyond my limits; but also, my life has really changed, and I'm not going to be caught either by the lie that online is only worthwhile if it's permanent.

I want to be clear that I value the connections I've had with you. I've loved exchanging mail and phone calls, messaging fun things back and forth, being online at the same time or learning about your day after the fact. Please know, also, that I have gone to war in prayer for you, and I continue to do so. I wish that I knew how to love widely without feeling pulled apart and worn down, by difference and sorrow and sin (mine and yours). I hope God is sanctifying me toward that end. But right now I'm fairly convinced I need to honor my calling to in-person friendships; I need to protect my mind and heart from even little pricks and distractions, so that I can keep my desires in order and use my energy for prayer and Scripture and to do good work and love the people God's made my physical neighbors. I really do love you, and I wish we had infinite time to talk and think together. I'm so excited to be with y'all in heaven forever. And who knows--maybe my life will shift yet again (it's looking likely) and I'll have a ton of spare energy and love and will come sheepishly back looking to connect with you again. We'll see. You deserve love and attention and connection, in person and online, and I'm sorry that--at least as it feels to me--I held out the promise of giving you that and then had to withdraw it.

so. there's all that. My dash is super quiet these days, thwarting my dopamine search but pushing me towards texting friends, towards meditating more fully on Scripture, towards praying over my work and burdens. I hope you can understand and maybe even be glad that, God willing, this is how I'm able and needing to work for the kingdom right now. love you love you

[holocene-sims]

amalie von tassing for @windermeresimblr's bachelor beaumaris challenge 🤍💜

recently forced into an early retirement from her illustrious career in opera after an unfortunate stage accident left her too fearful to return to the spotlight, lady amalie is ready to enter life's next act. oh yes, a duet with mr. gregory beaumaris. she hopes to charm him with her vibrant and sentimental disposition, her beguiling social skills, and her tasteful appreciation of the finer things in life ✨

[maingh0st]

@belabellissima's tags on this post deserve a post of their own, i—

[slow-reader-reads-books]

There's another fictional Shen Qingqiu in the Chinese webnovel world??? And the story also has a sort of system?? But this Shen Qingqiu is a lady???! And she's described as seductive by the female main character Xiao Muyu, who is also female! And it's a baihe story!!!??

The title is 玩家请就位 Wánjiā Qîng Jiù Wèi, English title either "Players, Be On Standby" or "Players Please Take Your Positions" and is written by 时微月上 Shi Wei Yue Shang (Tiny Time On The Moon)

The synopsis makes it sound like Shen Qingqiu is the baddie everyone is scared of, I'm intrigued and want to read about some lesbians

[adipostsstuff]

No matter how you feel about Mikoto, you have to give him credit for Mappi.

[soup-of-the-daisies]

dunno why but orion black slapping the ‘best protective spells known to wizardkind’ on grimmauld place prompts the image of him knowing sirius ran away the moment sirius made the decision. like the house wakes him up all “MASTER!! MASTER THERE IS A DISTURBANCE!!” so orion goes to sirius’ room in his snork mimimi nightshirt and makes direct eye contact with his oldest son. who is halfway through the window with his school trunk and an ancient broom orion’s quite certain he bought for himself when he turned 23. and sirius lifts his middle finger to his mouth shush and flip orion off simultaneously and orion simply turns back around and goes back to bed. because that’s fair and most importantly something to deal with when he isn’t still half drunk from his nightly nightcap.