I got a brain thinker for those that are making fanfics for the DAVID movie.
Zeruiah is the younger sister of David in the movie right?
She seems to be like what 7-10. And David looks like an early teen, maybe 14.
By the time David in the bible starts to rule officially is when he was 30, which would make Zeruiah 23-26. Right? (I’m gonna get to the point soon)
Did you know that one of David’s generals notable in his reign, Joab, was the son of Zeruiah?
Did you know that Joab also had two brothers that were notable to be some of the best warriors in David’s army, Abishai and Asahel?
Did you also know that the three of them were with David in the wilderness when David reunited with the people that were hiding from Saul?
With these things out there, wouldn’t that make Zeruiah very young when she had her first child Abishai then Joab then Asahel? Like a child?! 👶
After researching a little bit most people assume with that info that she was an older sister of David, and that she would’ve at least had them when she was a teen?
Not less than 5 years old!
A rough example for her age compared to David would look like this:
Zeruiah -> David
12 -> 8 when she had Abishai
18 -> 14 when Goliath died
34 -> 30 when he ruled as king
Then Abishai would be 22, Joab 20, and Asahel 18 (if it was roughly back to back with time to recover)
If you want them to be closer in age to David, then you have to make Zeruiah even older than him to accommodate.
Honestly, in researching about Joab to introduce him in my series, I realized this little thing that really doesn’t makes sense with the ages of Zeruiah in the movie.
Just something to think about…
Edit: also there was a character in the movie named Abishai who was one of the men that urged David to kill Saul in the movie. Forgot which one, gotta check the credits again and see if there are any available clips with them. And Abishai was also referred in the bible to accompany David to sneak up on Saul a second time in the camp, when they were still on the run (mind you in the bible David was on the run for a handful of years before ruling)
Edit #2: so Abishai is the skinny dude and the round one is Elhanan. Apparently Elhanan was also among thirty men that made up the elites in David’s army since the wilderness, and was one of the men that helped David behead Goliath’s brothers.
Fun fact, did you know that Mark Whitten voiced Abishai? If you don’t know him, he is the dub voice actor for RENGOKU IN DEMON SLAYER!!!!
Uh… what is up with them get such goated casting from the anime va community?! But pop off man
Thank you. I have had a problem with Zeruiah being younger than David from the start. It's like the creators desperately wanted him to be an older brother to somebody, just to hammer down how protective and caring he is. I would have prefered it if Zeruiah was significantly older and David took on an older brother role for her young sons. It would have complicated the script a little (not to mention - stolen the spotlight from a girl character and cast it onto a boy character), so I don't think the idea would have been greenlit. Still, I'm fond of it.
(Plus I hate it when the only opposite gender sibling is the youngest, as it creates the impression that the parents were specificaly trying for said gender.)
ASOIAF – Genderbent from Robert’s Rebellion onwards (ASOIAF GBRR?)
A person talking to me on the chat encouraged me to share this idea in public.
The premise is a genderbent ASOIAF. However, since I don’t feel like rewriting the entire history of Westeros, genderbending only applies to characters born after Robert’s Rebellion – thus, the youngest generation. All of Eddard Stark’s children are genderbent. All of Cersei’s children are genderbent. Theon Greyjoy and Mya Stone remain as their originally were. Characters whose exact age is unknown are up for discussion. Loras Tyrell was born in 282 AC and Margaery Tyrell in 283 AC, so the years Robert’s Rebellion took place. I could either genderbent both of them, just Loras, or leave both as they were. I’m not sure which option works better.
Anyway.
Would Jon Arryn still be assassinated in this AU?
Lysa wanted him gone, because he wanted to send their son away to be fostered. Since their child is a girl in this AU, it’s much more likely the child would be allowed to remain with her mother. Jon might thus have lived long enough to inform Robert of his children’s illegitimacy. Robert might very well have decided to have Cersei, Jaime and the children executed. Tywin could then raise his banners in retaliation. War would ensue, albeit for different reasons.
Alas, people more capable than myself have explored the “Jon Arryn survives AU”, so let’s just assume he is assassinated anyway. Next stop: Winterfell.
Following the death of Jon Arryn, king Robert travels North to ask Eddard Stark to become the new Hand of the King. However, the moment his royal eyes fall on Joy Snow, his brain short-circuits. There is the very image of Lyanna, his one true love. He wants her. Not as a mistress, no, as a rightfully wedded wife. He’s ready to send Cersei away, forsake the crown, anything, just to be with Joy. Oh, right, he’d issue to royal decree to legitimize her as Joy Stark before all of that. Surely his good old friend Ned will grant his this simple request, right?
Lord Eddard Stark is raking his brain for excuses. She is only 14. Your son and heir is only like 10. Nobody will approve of this. A bastard cannot marry a king. You cannot abdicate just yet. What will the Lannisters do? Very reasonable concerns of a devoted father, stacked against a desire as solid as the Wall.
His Grace relents somewhat – he volunteers his daughter Joanna as a hostage, to remain at Winterfell (the girl is unhinged and could use some time away from her mother, really) – officially as a betrothed for Ned’s heir (I don’t really have a good name for male Sansa. I’ve been going with Rickster “Ster”, but am not 100% sold on it). Ned could become the Regent for the minor prince Myrcello. Tywin Lannister should be satisfied, as long as his grandchildren maintain their status, right?
Joy Snow is terrified. Even Lady Stark feels sorry for her (an illegitimate girl does not bother her as much as an illegitimate boy, since she’s not a threat to her son’s inheritance). Lannisters are upset. So upset, in fact, they are seriously considering arranging an accident for the king.
Alas, a casual fan such as myself can only speculate so far. Somebody better read could come up with more satisfactory scenarios.
I know I haven't been much around here, and I forgot to mention we're on the September Fever month. So today, the first day of the patriotic celebrations in México, I wanna explain this event a little more.
Back in 1810, the Mexican Independentist movement received a concerning new: they've been discovered. Their plans to start the independence had to be advanced before they were detained. On the early morning of September 16, according to the story, the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called the town of Dolores in the state of Guanajuato to join the fight, while the bell of the Church was sounded.
But why, if Hidalgo's Call was on September 16, does the recreation of Hidalgo's Call is done on the previous day, on September 15?
It's not an Eve thing. There's not such a thing as an Eve for civic celebrations. That only belong to Catholic traditions, rooting in both Roman and Jewish traditions, as there's a series of prayers said along each roman hour, being "Vesperas/Eve" the time when the Sun sets and as soon as the night falls, the day's off. It's considered that the celebration of the next day starts immediately at that hour. For Jewish, as soon as in Friday the night falls, they stop doing work and celebrate the Sabbath. That's why we have a Christmas Eve and an Easter Eve. That being said, Miguel Hidalgo called to battle at the "Laudes" hour, the first time of the day when the first mass is said.
Give thanks to president Porfirio Diaz for that change on the Independence celebration. He related the Independence festivities with his own birthday. He was born on a September 15, and when he became president, he used the patriotic celebrations part of his birthday celebrations. That was also a propagandistic strategy. He painted himself as a figure of progress and as an icon of Mexican history. Yes, he made a lot of beneficial work, as much as harmful's. And more for being remembered for establishing the train routes along the Republic or the telegraph communication, he was remembered for being the president who triggered the Mexican Revolution on November of 1910, a century later of the Mexican Independence from Spain, for staying on the presidency along 30 years.
Mexicans have been celebrating the Independence on September 15 long before Diaz made this event change on his birthday date tho. The recreation of Hidalgo's Call is made in this night, and sometimes we have the day off. So, thanks, Porfirio Diaz, I guess? And happy Birthday??? 🤷🏻♀️
...15 looks better than 16, I guess? * shrug emoji *
On a related note - I've heard that the reason Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate birthdays is because John the Baptist was executed on Herod's birthday.
So you can avoid them stealing things from you, the artist/writer, etc.
Pro GenAI websites/Programs:
Facebook
Instagram
X/Twitter (Remember, Grok gives people cancer)
Threads
Pro Writing Aid
Grammarly
Duolingo
Google Docs
Microsoft Word/all Microsoft products Takes from and will feed their machine.
Youtube (taking advantage of people who are hearing impaired. ==;;)
Adobe Products. All of them. If you HAVE to use them (Some businesses require it), save offline because there is a film of at least some privacy protections there, so if you have to sue, you can say it violates US privacy law. Remember, contracts do not circumvent US law.
Corel won't feed the machines, but still uses AI stolen from other artists. Which sucks since Corel Draw is the second best overall for vector programs. (Plus I love Painter, but I bought the offline version to avoid AI). (Canadian company)
Canva Takes and feeds their machine.
Deviant Art Not only supports AI, but put a tool in and said they are going to steal your work if you like it or not for their machine.
Sketchup went Pro-GenAI. The thing is that you can do the same thing in Blender these days with precise measurements.
Autodesk has stated they are Pro-Gen AI here. It is not clear if they will use your models to feed their machine. But be on guard. They make Maya and 3Dmax. You can replace it with Blender.
Neutral ground:
Tumblr (there is a way to opt out [Link] and they don't have an active AI machine.) https://www.tumblr.com/dookins/743519550598987776/heres-how-to-disable-third-parties-like-ai
Etsy allows GenAI, but still has some (minor) restrictions. I'd still be cautious. (Also be cautious of drop shippers). Complaints about too much AI and AI images+patterns made by Ai still exist on the website. They lean slightly more pro-AI, but still won't let it run completely amok, say like Facebook. They won't feed your work into a machine, but also don't ban it through robots.txt.
Bluesky They don't use an AI algorithm except for in the "Discover" section of their website, but while they are anti-GenAI strongly, they don't seem to block the Gen AI bots from entry, so you'd still have to use Nightshade or Glaze (links below). There is no opt-out because they don't need an opt out. (Leaning towards strong position on AI, but I wish they would block GenAI bots).
Searxng- If you super want to screw over Google, in general, and have some tech savvy, you can set up your own search engine through searxng. It's easier on Windows and Linux than it is on a Mac. (Mac you need Docker), but if you're determined on privacy, Searxng adds a layer of privacy. Some of it sometimes uses bits of AI, but most of it doesn't and you can fuss with the settings so it doesn't spit out AI results. At sheer minimum Google will stop spitting out weird videos on Youtube at you because in your private browsing, you searched for the origin of ball bearings while not logged in for a book and Google likes to break privacy laws.
Strong positions against AI:
Scrivener (Creator vowed against AI) Writing program. There is an active forum, and versions for Mac, Linux and PC. It is paid, but at ~60 USD, it's cheaper than most programs. There is usually a holiday sale around Christmas. It has a learning curve, but with an active forum with the programmer of it there to ask obscure questions it's not a dead zone. They often take suggestions and implement them over time. (Especially if you rank the importance, applications, etc) US company.
LibreOffice Open source and free Spreadsheet and Word processor program that can replace Microsoft Word. Some people might have seen older versions where it was called Neo Office (now extinct) and Open Office. LibreOffice is still populated, plus the forums are super helpful if you get stuck. The UX is pretty intuitive if you've used Microsoft Word. Scrivener, BTW, supports exporting to odt (the native file) as well as .doc, and this can open both. The slight thing is that sometimes it doesn't export to .doc smoothly. And I DO wish more magazines, and agent (big clue here) supported .odt files since it is free. Part of the reason .odt isn't as supported is because Microsoft and Adobe have a deal with the devil with each other, so Adobe's Book formatting program InDesign doesn't support ODT. (BTW, if you have a good open source replacement for InDesign that supports ODT, let me know.)
Dabble (as suggested by SF stories, see reblog) is a writing program. Similar to Scrivener. Has vowed against AI and to resist it. 108 dollars a year for Basic. It is almost twice the price of Scrivener who lets you update for fairly cheap. 29 dollars a month, v. 59 dollars for the whole program (Scrivener) for the same features of Premium. You choose.
yWriter is a free Writing program and like Scrivener, and has vowed against AI Last I looked it had some UX issues, but some people swear by it. The learning curve is higher than Scrivener which is saying something.
Ellipsus is an online writing program and vowed against AI. The main feature I like (which Scrivener doesn't have) is the ability to change spellcheck based on region/language. It is a requested feature of Scrivener, but lower priority. So if you have a Brit, you can get the spelling for the character. They are a British-based company.
Cara.app (The creator of the website sued GenAI there is no chance they'll convert) is an artist website. Cara is trying to institute an auto Glaze/Nightshade into the website if given enough funds. People see it as a soft replacement for deviant art. (which went fully AI) If you believe in human art, please donate if you can. Zhang Jingna, the Creator,is Chinese-Singporean. She lives in Singapore.
Clip Studio Paint added AI, but saw the light and decided to protect artists instead because of protest and removed it. There are tutorials and a good forum if you get super stuck. Based in Japan, so the UI and UX is really clean.
Davinci Resolve Pro is a film editing software that's super good. There is a free version and a paid version. The forums are responsive. The programmers aren't always present. There is a healthy group of tutorials. US company. Clean UX. It does take a little bit of time to remember the shortcuts.
Tahoma2D is anti-AI and open source animation program. Takes a little getting used to, but is good for animations and doesn't crash as often as Animate. Programmers are in the forums and some bugs are fixed within hours. The forums are super responsive and helpful.
Krita open source and free, no AI. I'd rank it secondary to Clip Studio Paint (which is paid) I haven't tried the forums, but it's pretty intuitive and can stand for a lower level replacement for Painter, and do a lot of the basics of Photoshop. It's usually ranked higher than the equally open source Gimp.
Writer P AKA Writer+ (app for when you're on the go) is a simple word processor app for your phone that doesn't use AI. The original programmer stopped updating, so Writer+ person took over and isn't out to make a profit since it's free in the spirit of the original app. It has subfolders you can use. Since it was programmed before GenAI it doesn't have AI. Intuitive, easy to use. Fairly easy to upload the files through three dots->share. The files can save to your card or phone with some settings fussing. Simple word processor.
Inkscape is a free vector program and no AI. It is harder to use than illustrator and has less features. But if you're doing smaller vectors for one-offs with less complexity, it'll do you after some learning curve. Best of the lot. I hate Affinity Designer which is the same thing, only paid. (Neither Affinity program was worth the money paid)
Affinity (Designer, etc) swore to be AI-free and does Vector and Photos. The UX is messy, I dislike the program and regret paying for it. Inkscape and Krita are better UX and do the same thing. The forums aren't as friendly since there has been an onslaught of people seeing it's supposed to be a replacement for Photoshop and Illustrator, but the programmers aren't present. The people on the forums are often on edge about this assertion. And the capabilities of the program don't outshine basically Krita or Inkscape capabilities (both free). What is usually intuitive is not. UK company. If you're going to pay for a program, go for Clip Studio Paint which rivals Corel Painter.
Blender is a 3D art program and does not use GenAI. It can do 2D animation, but Tahoma is easier to use in this regard. It's open source and free. Plus there are plenty of tutorials. The forums can be touch and go sometimes, but there are plenty of sub Blender communities that might be responsive. It can also do animation.
Handmade vowed against AI and promised to never sell itself for stock prices to prevent AI (as a replacement for Etsy.)
Discover a world of creativity and craftsmanship through Handmade, an innovative platform connecting passionate artisans with discerning buy
Proton (to replace Google Suite) as suggested by SF Stories (see reblog) Vowed against AI. They are missing a spreadsheet, but have online and offline capabilities, plus a built-in VPN.
But you need a pro website...
Look up robots.txt and AI bots: https://www.cyberciti.biz/web-developer/block-openai-bard-bing-ai-crawler-bots-using-robots-txt-file/
Use cloudflare:
Use Nightshade:
https://nightshade.cs.uchicago.edu/whatis.html
which will poison the algorithm
Use Glaze:
Take Away:
The thing is you think you doing it alone will do nothing, but the more AI feeds on itself, AI images, the worse they become, and the less detailed so, denying it the images, adding poison or not being able to read the human text is eventually going to lead to an AI collapse.
Analysis shows that indiscriminately training generative artificial intelligence on real and generated content, usually done by scrapi
And why not help that along?
I don't want to give cancer to poor people [Link] or make the planet burn faster [Link]. So GenAI collapse is everything I dream of. GenAI apocalypse is not.
So is Catwin now a Thing, Tumblr? Let’s make it a Thing. Back in the day @onionjulius was the only person I knew who shipped Catelyn/Tywin and I made this AU comic for a fandom exchange which coincided with her birthday. Now that I look at it again it’s chock full of flaws but I’m not going to lie, it’s still quite dear to my heart <3
Genderbent Todoroki family ideas (Himura family now, I guess)
Genderbent Todoroki family ideas (Himura family now, I guess)
TLDR: MaleRei is less passive than FemaleRei. FemaleEnji is less physically abussive, but still a shitty parent and partner. The family is still messed up, but in slightly different ways.
@flame-tits @ackerbang
Himura Reijin descends from old nobility. Since his family had become poor, he is not surprised when they advise him to find a wealthy woman to marry. However, when he receives a marriage proposal from Todoroki Kaen - who, by the time she was 20, had become Japan’s No. 2 pro-hero - he is quite shocked. Why should a woman with such an amazing career wish to tie herself to an impoverished nobleman?
Todoroki Kaen is quite honest about her intentions - she wishes to conceive a child with both fire and ice quirks, who could one day surpass her and become the greatest hero the world has ever seen. Reijin is not at all pleased with his potential wife’s ethics and apparent obsession with topping the famous All Might, but he cannot afford to reject her proposal. His family needs money. So he bites his tongue and the proverbial bullet.
The newlyweds have separate bedrooms. Kaen cannot afford to leave the job market for 9+ months, so she hires a surrogate to carry hers and Reijin’s children. Again, Reijin is conflicted, but convinces himself it’s for the best (it’s not like he actually WANTS to go the traditional route with this woman).
From Kaen’s eggs and Reijin’s sperm, three viable embryos are obtained. The surrogate is successfully implemented with one and produces a daughter - Touka (who has pink hair rather than red going on white, because of my personal preference). The second pregnancy results in a son - Yukio. Touka has a fire quirk while Yukio has an ice quirk. Reijin is happy to have two healthy children. Kaen is initially satisfied with them as well, seeing Touka as her successor. The mother and daughter initially have a very healthy and close relationship. Kaen trains Touka and inspires her to strive for the top hero rank. The little girl idolizes her mother and wishes to be just like her - big, strong and magnificent. Meanwhile Reijin takes greater care of Yukio, passing onto him his love for art and nature. Those are relatively happy times for the young Himura family.
Unfortunately, as Touka gets bolder with her training, it becomes apparent she is susceptible to burns. Medical consults reveal her body is suited for handling extreme coldness rather than extreme heat. The girl thinks she can overcome those limitations by training harder, but her mother has already given up on her. With such a constitution, Touka can only ever be a mediocre fire user. Consumed by her disappointment, Kaen escapes into work, leaving Reijin to deal with the fallout.
Touka doesn’t understand why her mother doesn’t love her anymore. She continues to experiment with her quirk, deaf to her mother’s scoldings and her father’s pleas. The spouses fight a lot in this period, with Reijin demanding more involvement from Kaen and Kaen arguing she's doing everything she can to discourage Tuka from self-harm, only the stubborn child won’t listen. Amidst this mess it comes to the light that Kaen had gone behind Reijin’s back and had their final embryo implemented into a surrogate as well. The resulting daughter, Natsumi, appears to be a natural ice user. Kaen washes her hands off her family, disappearing for months at a time to fight off crime.
Finally, Reijin has had enough. He leaves the three children with their grandparents and confronts Kaen in her office. He lays onto her like he never had before. Their eldest is constantly starting fights with other children and teachers. She’s skipping school to train. The younger two children are neglected, because their father has to constantly put down Touka’s fires. If Reijin’s hair wasn’t white to begin with, he’d have gone gray by now. They cannot go on like this. Kaen has to step the fuck up, talk to her kids, and understand she is a part of a family. If he has to drag her ass back home, then so be it!
Surprisingly, Kaen finds this new, ferocious side of her husband, extremely arousing. All the stress of their respective lives pushes them into a wild frenzy, wherein the marriage is, at long last, consummated.
Afterwards, Kaen agrees to spend more time with her family. With Reijin’s help, she approaches Touka. They discuss ways to help her. If her body is suited for extreme coldness, she could become a hero in the far North. All the surrounding ice would keep her safe from her own flames. People would worship her as the fire bringer. Alternatively, she could train precision rather than raw power. Every fire user can burn a building, but few control their quirk well enough to cauterize a surgical wound. Focusing all the heat in a tiny spot is the way to go. Kaen might be a powder keg, but Touka could become the silent sniper.
The little girl is stubborn. She sees all those talks as a rejection on her mother’s part. She wants to be the kind of hero Kaen is. Anything else is pitiful. Still, she might have become open to those new opportunities. Might have. If it wasn’t for Kaen’s pregnancy.
Having briefly considered termination, Kaen chooses to keep the child and takes time off work. While Yukio and Natsumi are happy, Touka is not. Her mother only returned to them for the sake of this new baby. This child, the great hero Endeavor chose to carry herself rather than hire a surrogate. This child she obviously loves the most of all. So Touka hates the new sibling from the get go.
The new baby, Shinka, is the successor Kaen has always dreamed of. The child with both the fire and ice quirks. The perfect heir. The one who could become the greatest hero of them all. The idea excites her so much she once again forgets about her remaining children.
Reijin is conflicted. He knew this would happen. He knew this new baby would disturb the peace he and Kaen had only started to rebuild. He knew it would have been better for the children they already had if she terminated the pregnancy. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to push for it. HE didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a child. Thus he had traded his own peace of mind for his family’s stability. He is as much to blame as his wife is. And he shall spend the rest of his life repenting for it.
Reijin and Kaen divorce. He takes the three older children far North. They can start anew, away from the toxic influence of that horrible woman.
While Kaen has regrets about the situation, she decides it’s for the best. All she knows is how to be a hero. There is nothing she can do for her older children. So she shall devote all her time and energy to Shinka. Todoroki Shinka.
Todoroki Kaen (Male Enji) and Shinka (Female Shouto) live at Kaen and Reijin’s old marital home. Reijin and the remaining children have moved up North. Shinka is thus raised separately from her siblings.
While Kaen is occasionally struck with guilt over sacrificing her family’s well-being for her ambitions, she pushes those feelings aside and pours all of herself into Shinka’s training. If this daughter of hers becomes the number one pro hero, then her remaining children’s suffering will not have been in vain.
Needless to say, Shinka is not very fond of her mother. Still, Endeavor is her parent, the sole role model and mentor. They are each other’s only family. To Himura Reijin, Shinka was the sacrifice with which he bought freedom for himself and his older children. The girl resents her father and would choose Endeavor over him any time.
(She has no reservations about using both her quirks, though - the world is cruel and one has to utilize all the advanatages she has.)
On his part, Reijin shares his youngest daughter’s sentiments. He did not fight for her. It may have been a case of cutting off a finger to preserve a hand, but Reijin did abandon one of his children to a terrible fate. Shinka’s suffering shall weigh on his conscience, forever. He shall thus do anything in his power to care for the children he claimed as his.
Himura Touka does not burn herself on a daily basis, but she still searches for creative ways to overcome her limitations. For a while, she was dead set on becoming the best of all heroes, to show her estranged mother just how much more valuable she was than Shinka, that genetically blessed fluke. At some point, a devious idea took root in her troubled head - how much more she could fuck Endeavor up if she became the greatest VILLAIN instead? The possibility was just too good to pass. Respect of virtual strangers could never satisfy Touka as much as ruining her mother’s reputation. The young woman kept a pleasant enough facade for her father and siblings before disappearing out of the blue at the age of 16.
Himura Natsumi (Female Natsuo) has no real memories of her mother and youngest sister - they are distant figures to her, like characters in a TV show. Later, they become the reason behind her eldest sister’s disappearance. Touka had been a constant in Natsumi’s life - sometimes grumpy, sometimes explosive, but generally a reliable comrade. An almost-adult who talked about serious stuff, making Natsumi feel important (even if her rants didn’t always make sense). Naturally good-humored and cheerful, Natsumi made Touka feel like somebody could love her without reservations. Sadly, the eldest of the Himura siblings never admitted this to her little sister. As a result, Natsumi came to the conclusion that she had failed Touka. If only she had been more observant, she may have noticed the signs and helped her sister in a way that actually worked. Alas, Natsumi had been ignorant and ultimately useless. The girl decides to pursue a degree in medical welfare, hoping to save troubled children and adolescents the way she couldn’t save Touka.
Himura Yukio (Male Fuyumi) grows up as the easily ignored middle child. He honestly just wants everybody to get along and make the best of their circumstances, but it seems that the universe just hates his family. He finds a sense of purpose in becoming his father’s confidante, the one who listens attentively and doesn’t judge. The father and son are close, bonding over chores and ice sculpting (getting Touka to help around the house was like pulling teeth, so Yukio stepped up). Reijin does realize, at some point, that he had forced his son into the co-parent role, and regrets it, but cannot help leaning on Yukio.
Following Touka’s disappearance, Yukio prevails in the role of the glue that holds his family together. Later, ever so slowly, Natsumi begins to assist him. There is never closeness between them, not the kind that Natsumi and Touka had shared. Still, Natsumi takes interest in maintaining their house. She will do her part. She will clean up. Unenthusiastically, but she will. In her, Yukio finds a reliable assistant. Perhaps not a happy tag-along, but he will make do with whatever scraps are thrown his way. He always does.
In the end, Reijin, Yukio and Natsumi care deeply about one another. Endeavor and Shinka are bound by loyalty. Touka adopts the nickname Diarrhea and seeks her own path.
Why Diarrhea? Because nobody - no matter how brave, strong or smart they might be - could ever hope to overcome a raging diarrhea ^_^
The fact that conservative reporters disproportionately mispronounce Xi Jin Ping’s name used to drive me crazy. Like, simplistically, Xi Jin Ping’s family name, Xi, is pronounced “she.” Like the nominative female pronoun. It's one of the easiest Chinese family names for native English speakers to say.
Then I had a thought: what if it’s on purpose? Maybe if a reporter on OAN or Fox or something said it correctly, the dumbest viewers would flood the station with angry messages along the lines of, “You telling me the president of China is 'a trans'?” And if they corrected, said, “No, no, he is definitely a cis male dude, a mannish manly man from Mansville. Doc slapped his ass and called him a boy and that's just how he likes it. His name is just pronounced ‘she.’ Like the pronoun,” those same viewers might come back and say, “PrOnOuNs?!?!?!?!?” Like, what if they’re trying to mispronounce it as closely to the actual pronunciation as possible to keep from triggering the lowest denominator of viewers?
I respectfully disagree. Pinyin "Xi" is not pronounced the same as the English common noun "she". The phoneme for "xi" does not exist in English, which is why native English speakers may interpret it as "she" (Upper Power knows I still use the vibrant Polish "R" when I speak English, and can't quite get the "th" phoneme right unless I consciously focus on it). In the International Phonetic Alphabet Xi Jin Ping reads [ɕǐ tɕîn.pʰǐŋ]. "Sh" would be [ ʃ ], so a different phoneme than [ɕ]. The [ɕ] does exist in my native language, which is why I can differentiate between the two. I do not juge those who cannot, just wanted to contribute to the discussion.
Genderbent Todoroki family ideas (Himura family now, I guess)
Genderbent Todoroki family ideas (Himura family now, I guess)
TLDR: MaleRei is less passive than FemaleRei. FemaleEnji is less physically abussive, but still a shitty parent and partner. The family is still messed up, but in slightly different ways.
@flame-tits @ackerbang
Himura Reijin descends from old nobility. Since his family had become poor, he is not surprised when they advise him to find a wealthy woman to marry. However, when he receives a marriage proposal from Todoroki Kaen - who, by the time she was 20, had become Japan’s No. 2 pro-hero - he is quite shocked. Why should a woman with such an amazing career wish to tie herself to an impoverished nobleman?
Todoroki Kaen is quite honest about her intentions - she wishes to conceive a child with both fire and ice quirks, who could one day surpass her and become the greatest hero the world has ever seen. Reijin is not at all pleased with his potential wife’s ethics and apparent obsession with topping the famous All Might, but he cannot afford to reject her proposal. His family needs money. So he bites his tongue and the proverbial bullet.
The newlyweds have separate bedrooms. Kaen cannot afford to leave the job market for 9+ months, so she hires a surrogate to carry hers and Reijin’s children. Again, Reijin is conflicted, but convinces himself it’s for the best (it’s not like he actually WANTS to go the traditional route with this woman).
From Kaen’s eggs and Reijin’s sperm, three viable embryos are obtained. The surrogate is successfully implemented with one and produces a daughter - Touka (who has pink hair rather than red going on white, because of my personal preference). The second pregnancy results in a son - Yukio. Touka has a fire quirk while Yukio has an ice quirk. Reijin is happy to have two healthy children. Kaen is initially satisfied with them as well, seeing Touka as her successor. The mother and daughter initially have a very healthy and close relationship. Kaen trains Touka and inspires her to strive for the top hero rank. The little girl idolizes her mother and wishes to be just like her - big, strong and magnificent. Meanwhile Reijin takes greater care of Yukio, passing onto him his love for art and nature. Those are relatively happy times for the young Himura family.
Unfortunately, as Touka gets bolder with her training, it becomes apparent she is susceptible to burns. Medical consults reveal her body is suited for handling extreme coldness rather than extreme heat. The girl thinks she can overcome those limitations by training harder, but her mother has already given up on her. With such a constitution, Touka can only ever be a mediocre fire user. Consumed by her disappointment, Kaen escapes into work, leaving Reijin to deal with the fallout.
Touka doesn’t understand why her mother doesn’t love her anymore. She continues to experiment with her quirk, deaf to her mother’s scoldings and her father’s pleas. The spouses fight a lot in this period, with Reijin demanding more involvement from Kaen and Kaen arguing she's doing everything she can to discourage Tuka from self-harm, only the stubborn child won’t listen. Amidst this mess it comes to the light that Kaen had gone behind Reijin’s back and had their final embryo implemented into a surrogate as well. The resulting daughter, Natsumi, appears to be a natural ice user. Kaen washes her hands off her family, disappearing for months at a time to fight off crime.
Finally, Reijin has had enough. He leaves the three children with their grandparents and confronts Kaen in her office. He lays onto her like he never had before. Their eldest is constantly starting fights with other children and teachers. She’s skipping school to train. The younger two children are neglected, because their father has to constantly put down Touka’s fires. If Reijin’s hair wasn’t white to begin with, he’d have gone gray by now. They cannot go on like this. Kaen has to step the fuck up, talk to her kids, and understand she is a part of a family. If he has to drag her ass back home, then so be it!
Surprisingly, Kaen finds this new, ferocious side of her husband, extremely arousing. All the stress of their respective lives pushes them into a wild frenzy, wherein the marriage is, at long last, consummated.
Afterwards, Kaen agrees to spend more time with her family. With Reijin’s help, she approaches Touka. They discuss ways to help her. If her body is suited for extreme coldness, she could become a hero in the far North. All the surrounding ice would keep her safe from her own flames. People would worship her as the fire bringer. Alternatively, she could train precision rather than raw power. Every fire user can burn a building, but few control their quirk well enough to cauterize a surgical wound. Focusing all the heat in a tiny spot is the way to go. Kaen might be a powder keg, but Touka could become the silent sniper.
The little girl is stubborn. She sees all those talks as a rejection on her mother’s part. She wants to be the kind of hero Kaen is. Anything else is pitiful. Still, she might have become open to those new opportunities. Might have. If it wasn’t for Kaen’s pregnancy.
Having briefly considered termination, Kaen chooses to keep the child and takes time off work. While Yukio and Natsumi are happy, Touka is not. Her mother only returned to them for the sake of this new baby. This child, the great hero Endeavor chose to carry herself rather than hire a surrogate. This child she obviously loves the most of all. So Touka hates the new sibling from the get go.
The new baby, Shinka, is the successor Kaen has always dreamed of. The child with both the fire and ice quirks. The perfect heir. The one who could become the greatest hero of them all. The idea excites her so much she once again forgets about her remaining children.
Reijin is conflicted. He knew this would happen. He knew this new baby would disturb the peace he and Kaen had only started to rebuild. He knew it would have been better for the children they already had if she terminated the pregnancy. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to push for it. HE didn’t want to be responsible for the death of a child. Thus he had traded his own peace of mind for his family’s stability. He is as much to blame as his wife is. And he shall spend the rest of his life repenting for it.
Reijin and Kaen divorce. He takes the three older children far North. They can start anew, away from the toxic influence of that horrible woman.
While Kaen has regrets about the situation, she decides it’s for the best. All she knows is how to be a hero. There is nothing she can do for her older children. So she shall devote all her time and energy to Shinka. Todoroki Shinka.
Hi there! So you didn't watch Boruto but just in case you were interested, here's a quick summary of everything that has happened so far (canon only) :
🔴The birth of Boruto Uzumaki :
Our boy Boruto is born into luxury: Hokage dad, fancy apartment, Shadow Clone babysitters, and a mom who can benchpress demons. But he’s mad. Why? Because "Daddy is too busy running a village to attend Parent Teacher Day." Tragic. So, like every angsty anime kid, Boruto joins a ninja academy just to rebel by... becoming a ninja.
🔴The Chunnin exam arc :
Boruto, allergic to effort, slaps on a Scientific Ninja Tool to cheat during exams. Naruto catches him red-handed and publicly disowns him faster than you can say "Dattebayo!" But THEN! The alien Momoshiki crashes the party like it’s a Naruto movie crossover, and Boruto ends up saving the day with help from daddy and Sasuke, of course. As for the prize, he got a glowing Karma tattoo that basically screams “You’ve been marked by space demons.”
🔴The Kara arc :
Enter Kara: a villain group with a budget, a vibe, and a leader named Jigen who’s definitely not a vessel for an evil space god named Isshiki. (Spoiler: he is.) Kawaki enters the chat, a traumatized, tatted-up boy with anger issues and amazing cheekbones. Naruto adopts him like a stray cat, and now Boruto and Kawaki are brothers but rivals but maybe frenemies but also trauma-bonded. It’s complicated
🔴Isshiki :
when Isshiki attacks, Naruto unlocks Bayron Mode, which is basically Super Saiyan but with consequences. He looks cool for five minutes, beats Isshiki, but loses his beloved fox buddy in the process. Sasuke also got nerfed because no one is allowed to have both eyes in this economy
🔴 Code arc :
With Jigen and Isshiki gone, Code takes over Kara with all the menace of a teenager who listens to too much emo music. He wants revenge, power, and maybe a hug. He gets claw marks instead. He also teams up with Eida (a simp magnet) and Daemon (a child who could solo Goku if he wasn’t too busy being annoying)
🔴 Kawaki's emo phase arc :
Plot twist! Kawaki becomes so obsessed with Naruto’s safety that he decides to murder Boruto. Boruto dosen't stay dead. Thanks to Momoshiki, who’s like that creepy uncle who won’t leave your soul, Boruto revives and is now half alien. Hooray?
🔴Two Blue Vortex manga :
After doing a disappearing act for three years, Boruto returns looking like he’s been through a Pinterest glow-up and trained with John Wick. Meanwhile, Kawaki’s out here rewriting history like he’s got admin rights to everyone’s memories. He literally made the whole village think he's Naruto’s biological son. Sarada’s the only one whose WiFi wasn’t hacked, so she’s just standing there watching everyone go full Truman Show, trying not to scream. Meanwhile, Code is still around, trying to be a villain, but he just shows up, talks big, gets punched, and leaves.
Oh, and there are ninja trees now! Carnivorous, DNA hacking trees, because chakra wasn't weird enough already. Boruto’s main job now? Dramatic rooftop stares, cryptic warnings, and trying not to stab people who think he's the enemy.
Thank you for your service, anon. It was really helpful. I've seen a handful of clips of Boruto, entirely Sasuke-related content, but have had no idea about the other characters, but it makes sense now.
Also, is Momoshiki the same guy who has that iconic fight against Sasuke and Naruto, because I have seen it, and Sasuke looks fine there!
I think nostalgia can be a positive emotion, when you remember things from the past endearingly. But I dislike how nostalgia is currently used as a form of criticism for the media we have today.
Nostalgic people are complaining on how they miss the old days (which, we are viewing in a sort of idealized way attached to happy memories) and how'd they like things to be as before.
This has been highly affecting film corporations in their decisions. Instead of refreshing the film industry with original works, they know they'll sell what people will buy, which is nostalgia content. This results in an epidemic of sequels, prequels, reboots, live actions, another overused book adaptation and media similar to others that we don't need, but that Hollywood is willing to exploit just for us to keep consuming.
This kind of Nostalgia keeps us attached to the past and doesn't allow us to enjoy the good things we have currently.
I realized that by watching a video I can't find at the moment, but while searching for it, I found many other more that talk about this issue.
Respectfully, I shall present a different point of view.
(For when it comes to the term “nostalgia”, it appears that our semantic fields do not overlap.)
When I was a child – in the early 90-ties – there was a cartoon I watched about an old man and a dog and their bizarre adventures. The old man was crushing on a young neighbor (maybe 20 years old) and remained oblivious to the advances of another woman (a 40-, maybe 50-year-old). I don’t remember what exactly I felt about this situation, but I sympathized with the old man. Of course he was attracted to the pretty girl. Of course he preferred the young lass to the old hag. It made perfect sense.
Some time ago my mother bought a VHS player and we watched this same old cartoon after almost 30 years. It was a positive experience, because it brought back happy memories – the joy associated with following a funny story. As an adult, I am still able to appreciate the animation and the antics of animal characters. Still, I acknowledge a story like this could not be made today. Not with an old man acting like a school boy around a girl young enough to be his granddaughter. This is not a dynamic I want presented as normal in the content aimed at my son.
When you re-watch old cartoons and find joy in it, despite perhaps seeing them differently as an adult, that is nostalgia.
When you re-make these cartoons – that’s laziness and obliviousness. Perhaps unwillingness to take risks. Perhaps a result of subconscious insecurities or complexes. Or maybe hope for quick cash and lack of faith in the common sense of your audience. Whatever that is, it’s not nostalgia.
A while ago I read a text on hospitality. The text was religious in nature. I don’t want to specify which religion it was associated with, but I can’t help it if you figure it out. I apologize and swear it is not my intention to spread hatred of any kind.
Anyway, a random man came to the Important Person, begging for food. It was a time of hunger, so there was no food in the Important Person’s household. Important Person asked his comrades to accommodate the random man. One of the comrades volunteered and brought the random man home.
“We have to feed this man,” Important Person’s Comrade said to his wife.
“We only have enough food for our children,” said the wife.
“Distract the children then. Send them to bed early. Then we will find some excuse to turn off the lamps and sit at the table with our guest. We will pretend we are eating, so he won’t feel guilty and sate his hunger.”
And so the random man was fed while Important Person’s Comrade and his family went to bed hungry. The following day, they sent the guest off. Important Person praised his Comrade for his hospitality.
I am going to be brutally honest now - the text rubbed me the wrong way.
It is tales like this that mold us into chronic people pleasers. It is tales like this that have us feeling guilty for not sharing our resources, no matter how meager they are. For all that is holy, this abomination of a life lesson praises a man for putting a literal stranger before his children. If a legal adult choses to endure hardships for the sake of others, they should be applauded, but a legal adult who neglects his or her own children to support anybody else is a piece of shit. Yes, a piece of shit. Perhaps a clueless idiot, but more likely a deeply insecure individual who craves external validation. Alternatively, in the most favorable interpretation I can think of - a victim of systematic brainwashing. One that conditions us to give, and give, and give away whatever we can get our hands on, even if it doesn’t belong to us. Because other people need it more. Because, somehow, having something to put on your plate makes you the reason why an entire country’s population starves.
This is NOT a healthy mindset to have.
Jesus Christ did not die upon the cross so that people would crucify themselves. Do not seek to imitate God mindlessly.
If you are taught to respect all living creatures, shouldn’t you include yourself in the list?
If you view your physical body as a vessel for your soul, doesn’t it make sense to take care of it? Cherish this wonderful gift that was bestowed upon you by your divine creator?
There is no sin in looking after yourself. There is no sin in meeting your basic needs before you entertain the idea of helping another person. In fact, nourishing your own body should be seen as a sign of appreciation for the Lord.
In other words - do not beat yourself if you don’t donate to every poor family trying to escape the war zone. You are not to blame for their troubles.
Share what you can without compromising your own standard of living. This is the healthy mindset to have, the one we should be teaching our children. Whom we should feed before entertaining the thought of feeding anyone else.
I binged season 6 of the Dragon Prince. And (without major spoilers) - Viren's arc brings to my mind a certain song / poem from another dragon-centric franchise. It fits him so dang well. Somebody with more time on their hands might draw a comic or write a song fic.
(Lyrics below the cut)
The Last Song of Grimbeard the Ghastly
Words by Cressida Cowell;
I sailed so far to be a King but the time was never right
I lost my way on a stormy past, got wrecked in starless night
But let my heart be wrecked by hurricanes and my ship by storm weather
I know I am a Hero, and a Hero is… forever
In another time, another place, I could have been a King
But in my castle’s ruined towers the lonely seabirds sing
I burned up my Tomorrows, I cannot go back ever
But I am still a Hero, and a Hero is… forever
