#multigenerational story

[elliepassmore]

The City in Glass release!

A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.

The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot.

And then the angels come, and the city falls.

Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned.

She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever.

Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.

Bookshop.org

Barnes & Noble

This is a super interesting story, because despite being told in 3rd limited POV via Vitrine, it's very much the city Azril's story. We get to see it as Vitrine remembers it as she grew it the first time, and we get to see real-time how she (and later the angel) rebuild it. The city itself feels like a character, and we get to watch that 'character' grow across centuries and generations.

It's also interesting because this is a love story, but it is not a romantic story. There's love between Vitrine and the city, Vitrine and its occupants, and later the angel and the city, the angel and its occupants, and later even between Vitrine and the angel. While I would say Vitrine and the angel have an enemies to lovers arc, it is not the kind of big fierce romance people may expect from that, but their arc is so good that to write it any other way would be a disservice.

Interested? Check out my full review!

[leguin]

it's like if cobra kai took itself more seriously - arguably too seriously. in both good and bad ways.

[coolishfoolishness]

Is it just me, or are there no multigenerational shows anymore. Like, Scooby Doo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and stuff like that. It feels like there are no characters being made iconic enough to be rebooted every few years anymore. Like, I get the concept of letting a story end, but it feels like all our shows are being made as short as possible. Shows that could've had five seasons being cut down to two. Nothing being made with staying power in mind.

[mycological-mariner]

Hmm… Cornish Western story… hm

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

The Most Pure museum guests are the kids who came for a field trip or a camp and are now back with their personal grownups to very excitedly show them around and talk about the stuff they learned.

[miss-m-winks]

even funnier when it's been like, developing multiple generations in your head, so by the time you have a solid plot and story to actually work on and start showing off, you also have years of extra info and character backstories for ocs that aren't even relevant anymore but you still care about them.

like no, it never actually comes up in the plot that the protagonist's brother in law's older sibling is an intersex man in a relationship with a trans woman, but i love them anyway. yeah, this really fun orc/elf couple i doodle sometimes actually have their own interesting backstory and unique personalities and stuff, but unfortunately the best they're gonna get in the plot is a brief cameo.

all this worldbuilding i'm doing could fill a book all on its own, but i can't put it in the plot without causing excessive info dumps. luckily, a fantasy story having a side book for the worldbuilding is actually a common and acceptable publishing practice.

the worst part about having huge autistic fantasy worlds in your head is that it takes like 8 billion years to turn that into something substantial you can show people

[asterdeer]

bg3 is reminding me that secondary world fantasy is actually my one true love in the whole wide world and that i almost never read it anymore because i feel like i should read Better Shit than high fantasy because somehow i, writer who has dedicated their life to writing fantasy of varying heights, has swallowed the "fantasy is the lowest form of fiction" bullshit and i'm not being a good person if i read a lot of it. anyway i'm reading the eragon books again because i've a massive headache, i am not beholden to make good reading choices at all times, and because one of the angst-causers in later books is a magical grammar mistake gone rogue. i remember tons of people bitching about that but i think it's one of the funniest damn things i've ever read and also if i could do magic i would also be terrified of doing a Heinous Thing because of tenses or whatever. my GOD imagine ruining a child's life because of magical grammar. you can tell he was in college when he wrote this. favorite bad series of all time. BBEG's legend includes being kicked in the balls. nasuada's there. what else do you want? the writing to be good? grow up

[scarlet--wiccan]

Agatha All Along, the highly anticipated follow-up to WandaVision, begins airing this week on Disney+. Now is the perfect to revisit some important information about both shows and the context in which some of Agatha's new characters are being introduced.

WandaVision primarily followed the character Wanda Maximoff and expanded on her family history by introducing her late parents as well her twin sons, who are born from magic and age rapidly over the course of the series.

In the Marvel comics source material, Wanda is part of a large, multigenerational family of Jewish and Romani characters whose stories frequently reflect the systemic violence and oppression that both communities face-- including Romani Holocaust victims, who are critically underrepresented in both education and media. In the MCU, these identities and histories are completely erased, and the characters are all played by white actors. Alternate versions of these characters also appear in the Fox X-Men films, and are similarly whitewashed.

The Romani people are a racialized minority that originated as a South Asian diaspora, and who face severe systemic oppression in Europe and North America. The modern Romani population is quite diverse, but they are not of white ethnic origin, and despite the fact that Wanda and her family have historically been drawn with white features, they are minority characters and ought to be considered as such.

Depictions of witches and witchcraft are often entwined with antisemitism and anti-Romani racism. In pop culture, witches and fortunetellers are typically portrayed as visual stereotypes of Romani women. In the real world, fortunetelling is a profession born from survival work, one which Romani families are often heavily policed and racially profiled for practicing. While Wanda usually subverts these tropes, they are often played straight elsewhere in the superhero genre, and any story about witches, especially one featuring Romani characters, needs to be critiqued in this context.

Agatha All Along introduces viewers to a new cast of characters, including Lilia Calderu, played by Patti LuPone, and the enigmatic "Teen", played by Joe Locke, who is heavily speculated to be an incarnation of Wanda's son, Billy.

In the comics, Lilia is a member of a prominent Romani family in Wanda's community. Often lauded as the "witch queen of the gypsies," Lilia embodies many racial stereotypes about Romani women. In Agatha All Along, Lilia is depicted as an older Sicilian woman, however, being portrayed as a batty fortuneteller with a tawdry psychic shop, she still embodies an offensive trope. Although Lilia is far from "good" representation, this is not an improvement-- if anything, it's even more exploitative.

Billy was raised in a Jewish American household and places a very strong emphasis on his Jewish identity, in addition to having Romani heritage. His identity as a young gay man is always presented in conjunction with this heritage, not in spite of it. Though there is a significance to Locke being a gay actor playing a gay character, his casting-- if he is indeed playing Billy-- is not authentic. White gay representation should not supersede racial inclusivity, and it is not an excuse for whitewashing or Jewish erasure.

Marvel Studios recently announced that the character Doctor Doom will be played by Robert Downey Jr., who is returning to the franchise after many years in the role of Iron Man. In the source material, Doom is also a Romani character with a very similar background to Wanda's. This identity is central to Doom's character-- although he is written to be both morally and politically challenging, the liberation of his people has always been a primary motive.

Clearly, this type of whitewashing is an ongoing pattern in the MCU franchise. Although "Teen's" identity is still unconfirmed and Lilia may, ultimately, be of little consequence, they are part of a larger problem, and Agatha All Along needs to critiqued in that context.

[hfepro]

Review: Bedtime Bonnet written by Nancy Redd, illustrated by Nneka Myers

Are you or a child looking for a bedtime story with lots of Black hair (covering) love? Treat yourselves to Bedtime Bonnet written by Nancy Redd, illustrated by Nneka Myers.

Are you or a child looking for a bedtime story with lots of Black hair (covering) love? Treat yourselves to Bedtime Bonnet written by Nancy Redd, illustrated by Nneka Myers. (more…)

[whosplayerthree]

(BEST WITH HEADPHONES)

I wanted to put it together with the comic in a video editor, but until I figure my new one out, I'll just leave this here.

1. The year is 2003.

Just a funny lil guy. Hehehehehahahahgagehehehehdhdhhd

[dinahjane97]

Transitional Exterior

[papasmoke]

My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.

Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. 

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.

But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength. 

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together.

I want to be clear,” Romman said. “We’ve been in negotiations for days. This did not just come up…We’ve been talking about this for at least a week. In addition, the campaign told us that not getting a ‘no’ [initially upon first hearing the request] was a really good sign. For them to give us a ‘no’ the same day that Geoff Duncan [a Republican from Georgia] was on the stage—especially when it was my name—was just absolutely a slap in the face.”

[takami-takami]

The Uncommitted Movement and Uncommitted Delegates have been petitioning to have just one Palestinian-American speak at the DNC for months; among a sea of speakers, including a random border patrol agent, Trump voters, and the CEO of Uber.

They were told three words and no other explanation: "It's a no."

The delegates and Palestine protesters have been working tirelessly to get the DNC to rescind this decision on the last day of the convention and apply pressure. There is only one ethnic background that is not allowed to speak at the DNC, and that is Palestinians.

Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman is at the top of the list of Palestinian democrats that were offered— of which the Uncommitted Movement and delegates generously offered the DNC to take their pick.

In case they don't let her speak, this is her speech.

"My name is Ruwa Romman, and I’m honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic National Convention. My story begins in a small village near Jerusalem, called Suba, where my dad’s family is from. My mom’s roots trace back to Al Khalil, or Hebron. My parents, born in Jordan, brought us to Georgia when I was eight, where I now live with my wonderful husband and our sweet pets.

Growing up, my grandfather and I shared a special bond. He was my partner in mischief—whether it was sneaking me sweets from the bodega or slipping a $20 into my pocket with that familiar wink and smile. He was my rock, but he passed away a few years ago, never seeing Suba or any part of Palestine again. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him.

This past year has been especially hard. As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. 

But in this pain, I’ve also witnessed something profound—a beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition rising from despair within our Democratic Party. For 320 days, we’ve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. That’s why we are here—members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. What we do here echoes around the world.

They’ll say this is how it’s always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer—shunned for her courage, yet she paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and it’s her example we follow.

But we can’t do it alone. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our party’s greatest strength has always been our ability to unite. Some see that as a weakness, but it’s time we flex that strength. 

Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur. Let’s fight for the policies long overdue—from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. To those who doubt us, to the cynics and the naysayers, I say, yes we can—yes we can be a Democratic Party that prioritizes funding our schools and hospitals, not for endless wars. That fights for an America that belongs to all of us—Black, brown, and white, Jews and Palestinians, all of us, like my grandfather taught me, together."

[thetrueressii]

ive been cooking up an rw anthro(?) au and i decided to work on arti first since she is a favorite of mine and i have her general storyline and stuff below the cut if you wanna read it lol

i have plans for the others soon

the general gist of this au is that slugcats and scavengers have small settlements, typically just called colonies or villages, that have loose connections

both slugcats and scavengers typically live in multigenerational homes, containing many different families in one shelter

major colonies or cities are usually settled on top of or around iterators, with those colonies taking up the ancients' housing

the timelines also are a lot more compressed with all the base game and downpour slugcats co-existing within close time frame, but still follows spearmaster > arti > hunter > gourmand > etc...

basically arti's story is that after the deaths of her pups, she goes mad from grief and vows to kill anyone who she deems responsible for taking away her pups (and those who get in her way)

she makes her way to five pebbles and eventually metropolis where she has her long-awaited confrontation with the scavenger king, expecting closure that never came

once it was done, she was left with nothing but misery and uncontrollable rage, and unwilling to leave, she became the next chieftain, of whatever was left of the scavengers in metropolis, making them do her bidding

tho over time her anger became mere embers, leaving her tired and miserable and five pebbles increasingly impatient with her

she is forced out of metropolis and leaves five pebbles facility grounds after hunter fights her on behalf of five pebbles along his journey to help moon, where shes going and for what reason is left up for debate (like literally i don't know where shes going and/or for what reason)

dont mind my horrid writing lol i barely write anything, still ironing out what i want and what i don't want so a lot of this is still up for change, but i think honestly this is a good writing and drawing exercise for me

[makingqueerhistory]

Brown Neon

Raquel Gutiérrez

A meditation on southwestern terrains, intergenerational queer dynamics, and surveilled brown artists that crosses physical and conceptual borders. Part butch memoir, part ekphrastic travel diary, part queer family tree, Raquel Gutiéeacute;rrez's debut essay collection, Brown Neon, gleans insight from the sediment of land and relationships. For Gutiérrez, terrain is essential to understanding that no story, no matter how personal, is separate from the space where it unfolds. Whether contemplating the value of adobe as both vernacular architecture and commodified art object, highlighting the feminist wounding and transphobic apparitions haunting the multigenerational lesbian social fabric, or recalling a failed romance, Gutiérrez traverses complex questions of gender, class, identity, and citizenship with curiosity and nuance.

(Affiliate link above)

[barrenclan]

I think people forget that, even though it's upsetting and sad, Asphodel needed to die to drive the story forward. Of course, you could have turned the story a bit differently, but it's like that with every story written... Asphodel just happened to be the character you picked (it worked out quite beautifully story-wise though). It's sad, it sucks, it makes you wish things could be different. That's the tragedy. Not only did someone die JUST as they were growing into themselves, but we also witnessed the "first(second?) death" of someone who has been established as 'good' and 'right.' Rain's character development isn't as dissimilar to Asphodel's as you might think. I do believe that if Dust had died earlier in the story Rain's and Asphodel's growth could have mirrored each other (Rain being bi and Asphodel being aroace).

Both of their TRUE stories (about self-growth, even if it contradicted everything they were taught) were killed by the circumstances of their lives.

If the great disaster never happened, If Wheatstar had tried to warn the other clans, If Barrenclan's ideals were beaten into every generation; If Rain had stayed with his clan, If, if, if, if, if, if... they could have grown together as people.

Guys, I am SO normal about these kitty cats and the effects of multigenerational trauma hahahaha I'm totally not writing an in-depth analysis about Rain and Asphodel hahahahahahhahah

(debating if killing mom was the first death or rain realizing he couldn't change his mother' and becoming passive at his sister's abuse. ofc you can say, what can a kid do? and the small community ideals didn't help either. But I could talk about Rain for hours so again: debatable 'first' death)

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I, and even Raz prob, wish things turned out differently. But don't be sad Asphodel died, be happy she lived. However short it was. Trust me, you'll go crazy if you keep thinking about how you wished things turned out differently (Which is OKAY to do!!! Just don't spiral ;v;). I'm sorry to everyone who knows the pain of loss in any form. It's hard to accept and it's not easy or simple. But that's life. I give you all a big hug. (I'm calling myself here too btw, as I am still struggling with different losses in my life)

Awh, what a lovely analysis! Many of the things I was thinking about while writing the story.