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arsnovacadenza · 4 years

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Day 5-Stilts

Characters: Napoleon, Jean, Isaac, and Yukari (MC)

Pairings : Jean x Napoleon, Isaac x MC

Ao3 Link : Here

All was quiet, save for the soft pitter-patter of rain on the attic window. If it wasn't for his superior hearing, Jean might've missed the heavy sigh that escaped his companion's lips.

Napoleon was leaning on the sill with his cheek propped by the back of his hand. He looked neither sleepy nor deep in thought, gazing absent-mindedly towards the city down below.

They had been sitting this way for half an hour. Jean recalled how the emperor gently took his hand and urged him to come with him after sparring.

"I haven't spent enough time with you," Napoleon spoke sternly. "Can I borrow you for today?"

Jean was correct to let Napoleon lead him up the stairs, thinking that it was loneliness he saw in his eyes. This strange relationship between them, toeing the lines between amour and camaraderie, allowed Jean to see Napoleon's colors which he seldom revealed to anyone.

That 'anyone' apparently included Isaac, the subject of today's woes.

Jean was by no means unobservant. His newfound courage to come downstairs more often in daylight (which Sebastian applauded) meant he could observe the other mansions' residents more closely. Though he still had to dodge the troublemakers Arthur and Dazai whenever possible.

But that also meant he was able to discover new facts about his fellow residents, both directly or from other sources, namely Sebastian. Sometimes, when he entered the kitchen to ask for Rouge (at Napoleon's urging), he'd get roped into the butler's early morning gossip with the mysterious young woman whom he'd learned came from the future through that despicable count's door.

The girl, Yukari, was Isaac's paramour.

Jean supposed her arrival was instrumental in making Napoleon seek his company. What little time Isaac had when not teaching the children, he'd spend more of it with his lover, and less with Napoleon.

It must be boring being a reincarnated emperor, seeing as Napoleon latched onto Jean and his weapons shop. He even made Jean a new tutor in his makeshift school where he, Isaac, and Yukari, taught.

(Jean himself thought it was sweet seeing Napoleon interact with children).

Recently, he'd been sensing something amiss between the two original teachers. Isaac was more awkward with him than usual (and that was saying something), while Yukari's expression changed to a troubled one at any mention of Napoleon. But the woman always skilfully dodged Jean's questions when he asked if his partner had done something towards her.

( Not a very good liar, Jean concluded.)

Everything fell in place when one of the younger children casually asked if "Napoleone" was fighting with Isaac since they were now rarely seen together. " I don't know about that" was his answer, the same one he used when Sebastian suddenly spilled all his speculations on the physicist and former emperor's state of affairs and egged Jean for details.

"They're almost brothers, the two of them." Sebastian sighed. "To think they'd drift apart like this was unthinkable."

It's because of the girl Jean was tempted to say. But he decided to keep his peace instead. Napoleon would come to him in due time. That led Jean to where he was now, spending the gloomy rainy afternoon with a similarly gloomy man.

The taciturn soldier came to attention when the man before him sucked in a deep breath.

"Relax, Jean. I wasn't going to whip you." Napoleon snickered. It sounded hollow.

"Forgive me," Jean apologized for nothing in particular. Time seemed to halt at that very moment, emerald eyes locking with his.

"Isaac is afraid of getting hurt," Napoleon began. "So much so that Yukari even refrains from being frank with him, even when she needs to be. When they need to be with one another."

The eyepatched soldier gazed at him intently, waiting for him to finish.

"Handling people like Isaac, well, it requires you to be cautious both ways," He combed his bangs back with his hand. "If he wants to be comfortable with you, you will have to assure him that you don't feel burdened with his presence, that having him come to you is gratifying enough."

Napoleon paused, seemingly in conflict over what he was about to deliver next.

"In hindsight, maybe this was an error on my part." he sighed, for what was the umpteenth time this afternoon. "I told him, once..."

Jean closed his eye and nodded.

"'At this point, there is nothing that you can say or do to hurt me'" Napoleon repeated his promise he gave Isaac long ago." And trust me that no circumstance will ever cause us to part."

Jean's eye flew open. Yet he remained silent. His eyed one of Napoleon's hands, clenching and unclenching the fabric of his cape. Then, with the same trembling hand, the emperor reached out to graze his cheek. He leaned into the touch, thinking that it might offer Napoleon some respite.

It was true. The softness of Jean's skin was soothing. Warm despite the frigid air outside.

After some time, Napoleon withdrew and looked at Jean expectantly, allowing him to speak.

"But you hurt him instead," Jean stated, matter-of-factly. "And he is now avoiding you."

"Sure did," Napoleon mumbled, gazing out into the drenched city below. "Too many times over the course of their relationship, of course."

"You're worried."

"Well, why shouldn't I?" he barked. "I can't say this out loud. Won't say this out loud. Not even to my real brothers. I dote on him the same way I did them. I was stern, which I'm not with Isaac. I took responsibility for them as their guardian. Still, I need to respect my distance and believe that they'll make the best decisions for themselves even without my input."

"I've heard of historians and even courtiers of my time accusing me of steering my family to further my goals. Well," Napoleon paused to catch his breath. "They can say whatever they wish to say, but bold of them to assume that I waste my nights thinking about what my brothers do or don't do to keep their marriage afloat."

Jean took Napoleon's tirade in a sedated manner, mollifying the emperor's burst of anger to some extent.

Shame soon took over Napoleon's conscience as the lone dark eye regarded him calmly.

"In the end, I have to admit," Napoleon exhaled. "I do care too much about him. And Yukari too."

"I noticed little things that didn't sit well with me about their relationship. In good faith, I tried relaying my thoughts to Isaac, but he didn't take it well." He admitted. "I was a fool. It was a matter of Isaac's pride as a man. Who wouldn't feel wounded if an outsider came up to him and pointed out the faults in his intimate relationship with a woman?"

"I failed to think of him as a man," his lament continued. "I saw him as a brother and failed to acknowledge his worth as his own, mature man with responsibilities." Napoleon finished, burying his face into the crook of his arm.

Outside, the rain was ceasing. Jean could discern the arc of a rainbow in the far-off distance.

Gingerly, he covered Napoleon's hand with his own. He has long removed his gloves, eliminating the barrier between flesh.

"That wasn't a brother you were describing," Jean whispered. "You spoke of him as a son."

Once, they too had walked on eggshells with this particular subject.

Sebastian spoke to Jean once —in meticulous detail —about the King of Rome and Napoleon's distraught at being torn apart from his son. Jean pretended not to know about it afterward, only for Napoleon to bring up the topic himself one day when they were out in the fields letting their horses graze.

He allowed —nay, invited Jean to indulge in his nostalgia of lost family and friends, even his previous loves.

(Jean felt a tinge of irritation whenever Napoleon mentioned Josephine, though he supposed there was no point envying a woman long dead and buried.)

Jean understood Isaac by a fraction. The man saw relationships as walking on stilts, carefully balancing yourself lest you tip and crash.

And bring the other person down with you.

Jean had numerous other parables to illustrate his connections, but he'd rather not dwell upon them now. Not when the man who helped complicated them were here to seek comfort

(In him).

Napoleon's snicker brought Jean out of his reverie.

"I suppose I do play the role sometimes," he contemplated Jean bemusedly. "That would make you his mother, then."

"But I'm not —" Jean flushed upon realizing what he meant. " Napoleon Bonaparte. " He mock-threatened.

Napoleon laughed, a sound Jean had been yearning to hear.

"But I do like to picture us with children," Napoleon leaned back. "I bet they'd be just as beautiful as you."

Jean's blush grew redder at the moment, provoking the other man to tease him further.

"Knowing you, I hope you don't scare them too much," Napoleon cooed. "You frown too much. It breaks my heart to see that delicate face contort into a scowl."

"Stop it already," Jean was burning scarlet right up to his ears. "You're embarrassing me."

"But I know you'd spoil those tykes to no end," the Nightmare of Europe continued. "I wonder what they'd grow up to be, under our nurture."

Jean furiously wiped his face. "That's impossible. You know that."

"True," Napoleon smiled wistfully. "But what an entertaining thought."

The exquisite soldier peeked warily at Napoleon behind his sleeve.

"What?" the smirking man chuckled. "Was that a bit too sappy?"

Jean pouted at him impishly. "For an allegedly terrifying conqueror such as you? Definitely."

"But now that I've known you, nothing about you is ever surprising anymore, Napoleon." Jean lied. He knew there were still many layers of Napoleon that he had yet to uncover.

In that familiar attic, the two men beamed at each other in comfortable stillness, the problem of Isaac and Yukari temporarily forgotten.

They could hear Jupiter's cry in the open, a sure sign that the rain had ended.

Made for @kissmetwicekissmedeadly‘s Napoleon Birthday Prompt 2020. The prompt was “was that too sappy for you?”.

@kisara-16, @thedollarstoresatan @delicateikemenmemes, @ikesensrandomninjagirl, @ashavazesa, @hokkaido-fox, @nuclearwinterexe, @lulu-the-hedgehog, @longingkisses, @weird-profiterole, @napoleonstan, @scummy-writes, @an-otome-cally-correct, @nafeary, @orangenji

#ikemen vampire #ikevam napoleon bonaparte #ikevam jeanne d'arc #ikevam fic #jeanpoleon #riri tries ikevam

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kilmokea · 3 years

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Self Funded Private Gardens of County Wexford on the Wexford Garden Trail

Out of the earth, these garden owners

are creating living miracles.

These Gardens of Wexford have a few things in common which inspire them to keep going, be creative and open their gates to the public. They are all in County Wexford, privately owned and managed and are self-funded. Together with Garden Centres and Government funded Gardens they are members of The Wexford Garden Trail. This trail welcomes visitors and their members are more than happy to assist with any information visitors require to enjoy their visits to the Gardens and Garden centres of County Wexford.

There really is something special and treasured about Irish Gardens. They represent a natural environment of plants and trees taking in carbon and releasing oxygen into the air while their roots stabilize the soil and filter water. As trees reduce air pollution they help us to breathe better. Spending time within a natural setting often reduces our stress & improves our sleep. Just being among trees is good for our wellbeing and they make a lovely setting for walking, an activity shown to reduce stress and illness. With roots reaching deep into the earth, trees have excellent grounding energy. Indeed the healing powers of a garden have been portrayed in art and literature since our earliest beginnings. Out of the earth these garden owners are creating living miracles.

Nature has long been known for its relaxing qualities. Visiting gardens is so good for our health having vital positive effects on mental health as they boost our mood and generally make us feel more cheery. The Holistic benefits are huge. Relaxation, stress reduction and the value of improved quality of life to name but a few.

So much inspiration can be received through visiting gardens to assist the creation of our own garden too. Meeting the gardeners and owners adds enormously to the visit.

The sharing of valuable knowledge and stories while appreciating someone else’s hard work and creation adds to our lives. So often we are creating and planting for the future generation to enjoy so sharing knowledge cements the continuity of gardening systems. Stories of pioneering gardeners over the years who created and contributed to gardens over time add a depth to our visit helping us appreciate the garden while gaining inspiration for our own gardens. Great inspiration too for poets, artists and writers alike.

The visit provides us with the benefit of expanding our knowledge of horticulture, new technologies and making connections with like-minded people. They are a great way to introduce gardening as a hobby to children teaching them to nurture living things.

Some of the deepest preoccupations of thoughtful gardeners are the weather and the seasons. It is from Spring to Autumn, that magical time of year when many of Wexford’s self- funded private gardens open their gates to the public for you to explore.

Forward by Emma Hewlett

Coolaught Gardens was created and is owned by Harry & Caroline Deacon

“We were both probably always really into gardening but for me it started as an interest in growing to eat vegetables and fruit from a young age, but not into the floral side, I left that to my mother. She loved keeping the garden going and I was often called to help out, not really willingly I may add. When I married Caroline she was really interested as well, so much so that when they teamed up, I needed to find somewhere to escape to when they were both after me to do something or other!

The years that followed saw us become more interested and the garden grew in size and to be fair it was Caroline was now the driving force but we visited more gardens in our time off and I suppose the gardening bug had bitten.

The start of Coolaught Gardens really happened as a result of us deciding for the hell of it to enter what was then the National Garden competition, we came second in the Wexford section but we never realized how much it would impact us and by the end of the following week we had about 4 garden clubs asking us would we open the garden for viewing for their clubs! It seems that up to that point no private garden had come as high up the competition and a lot of people wanted to see this unknown garden. We started playing with the idea of opening the garden for a limited time Sundays 2 to 6 for the Summer months, but we underestimated the response, and we were run off our feet on those Sundays and the tours that came on weekdays again made us realize that we were going to have to open more days to spread the load. We opened from Wednesday through to Sunday next and after that we opened the full seven days and of course by then we had added the garden centre and the garden during this time had also more than doubled in size and now stands at more than 2.5 acres. So even though now when the garden is closed we have the sales area to take care of.

We have loved the time we have spent in making the garden but we have also loved meeting all the like-minded people we have met through the past 20 years because of what we started here. True gardening folk are the best people you can be around, they are generally very positive people who work their way through every adversary, none have been tested as much as by what has happened in the last year. Things and situations have changed utterly for a lot of people, life as we know it has been turned on it's head, these lockdowns have had a devastating impact on families, business, economies across the world are suffering but nothing compared to the families of the people that have died. There has on the other hand been more time for parents to spend with their children, that has to be a bonus. The realization that most people won't be able to travel away for holidays and breaks has seen the nation change by being much more conscious of their homes and their gardens. After the first lockdown we started a call and collect service which I found very difficult. It is not the same as meeting with your customers face to face and making sure what they are buying will suit them, but as the Summer wore on and the economy opened we found that a lot of people had also found the joy of having the space around their homes and now wanted to make that area more beautiful and a place to relax and unwind in i.e. make a garden out of it! Last Summer all the tours both National and International were cancelled as were all the new Brides and Grooms that come for to take their photos in the garden. We were reluctant at first to open the garden as we weren't sure of the protocols to put in place to keep people safe but as we finally became more confident, we did open it and our new customers and old seemed to get new enjoyment from the garden and that also lifted our spirits.

We have passed the first day of Spring St. Bridget's day and even though the weather is still dismal, that too will change the days are getting longer and warmer and Summer will come again and eventually Covid will be consigned to the history books and life will return to the new normal. We will look forward to meeting both our regular customers and those that have been bitten with the gardening bug recently back to Coolaught Gardens again.”

Clonroche, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford

Telephone:

053 9244137

Mobile:

087 6446882

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.facebook.com/coolaughtgardens

Contact:

Caroline & Harry Deacon

Opening Hours:

Garden is open Mid May to Mid September, or by appointment to individuals and groups Garden Centre open all year round.

Glenavon Japanese Garden was created by and is owned by Iris Checkett.

“During the winter of 1999 I attended gardening classes run by Frances McDonald in Gorey Community School. As part of the course we were asked to design our dream gardens. I decided to create a Japanese themed garden. The garden developed over the next few years ,constructed by Drinagh Garden Centre. Originally based on the four seasons of the year over the years it has matured and changed.

Some years ago I joined The Wexford Garden Trail and opened my garden to the public for a few months in the summer. All proceeds are given to charity. The Garden Trail has helped enormously with the marketing of my garden through the Web site, Social Media and The Brochure. It is enormously beneficial too for our garden visitors as we introduce them to the trail and suggest other gardens for them to visit and Garden centres for them to purchase plants and garden related tools, compost, pots and ornaments.

Unfortunately, because of the pandemic last year there were very few visitors and this year I hope Government restrictions allow more people to avail of the wonderful spaces we have all created in the Wexford Garden Trail for visitors to enjoy safely.

Working in the garden keeps me fit and gives me the opportunity to meet like-minded people. Hopefully these visitors get as much pleasure from the beauty of the garden as I do, and the peaceful place helps them to reduce the stresses of life.

Each season brings its own particular pleasures. In Spring we have the beauty of the Cherry Blossom. Summer features Hydrangeas, Autumn, the Liquid Amber walk and in Winter all the grasses.

Of course, there are problems associated with any garden. The area is all macamore soil so it requires quite a lot of chicken manure and hard work. I have to contend with the Macamore soil and Mr Heron repeatedly comes for my fish! On the upside I buy all my replacement plants and receive help and advice from my good friends in Springmount Garden Centre. Nothing takes away from the pleasure and enjoyment of being surrounded by the beauty of a garden. I love Glenavon Japanese Garden and enjoy every moment I have in this gorgeous space.

Glen Richards, Courtown Harbour, Gorey, Co. Wexford

Telephone:

053 9425331

Mobile:

085 2048737

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.facebook.com/glenavonjapanesegarden

Contact:

Iris Checkett

Opening Hours:

Sunday and Friday May to August 2pm – 5pm, or by appointment to individuals and groups.

Kilmurray Gardens was created and is owned by Paul & Orla Woods

Opening your garden to the public is a work of passion it requires complete dedication and a little bit of lunacy which we have in spathes. It is a moving feast which is never complete but which hopefully inspires people to try and achieve parts of it in their own garden space. Opening your garden requires courage as you are opening yourself up to other people opinions and criticism but it also can give you huge rewards for all the hours you are on your hands and knees weeding. Our greatest concern is when people return from a walk in the garden with armfuls of flowers they have picked to see if we have it for sale in the nursery a tight lipped smile usually is the response with a gentle reminder not to pick the flowers. The responses can be quite amusing.

The development of our garden started in conjunction with the development of the nursery as we found people enjoyed seeing the plants they were interested in buying growing in a garden. It is planted in an informal style with the inclusion of pond areas over the past few years. We completed our long border in a formal setting six years ago and they give a formal entrance into the garden joined to the more informal areas. My favourite spot is sitting in the long borders surrounded by hornbeam hedging completely surrounded by foliage and flowers. It is the most perfect tranquil spot. My favourite plants are definitely the ones that continue flowering for a long time like Alstroemeria and are wonderful cut flowers for the house and also the scented ones like phlox and paeonias which are brief but in the few weeks they flower give so much joy. Our gardening opening is self- funded as we have a donation box for the RNLi in Courtown which we are past crew of and which our daughter has now joined. Our greatest pleasure is seeing people enjoying the space we have created and sitting and relaxing which in these times is so important .Our opening last year was hampered with Covid regulations but hopefully when summer arrives we will be able to reopen and allow people to enjoy our space

Kilmurry Nursery, Gorey, Co. Wexford

Telephone:

053 9480223

Mobile:

086 8113171 / 086 8180623

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.kilmurrynursery.com

Contact:

Paul & Orla Woods

Opening Hours:

Nursery Open Jan-March Mon-Friday 10-5 March 30th -Sept 27th open Monday-Saturday-10-5pm 30th Sept-13th December -Monday -Friday-10am-5pm

Entrance Fee:

Donation to Courtown RNLI

Kilmokea Gardens is owned by Mark & Emma Hewlett

“Ancient garden heritage goes back to earliest settlers. In the seventh Century the patron Saint of gardening, Saint Fiachra was adopted. He holds a special place in our hearts as the Kilmokea Monastic site dates back to this time. It is situated next to the walled garden.

When the Church of Ireland purchased the Monastic lands to build the rectory for the Rector of White Church, the fruit and vegetables for the house were grown in the walled Garden. Today it is home to a series of interchanging garden rooms with herbaceous planting, rose gardens and sheltered garden seats positioned to reflect on the beauty of the place. My favourite place is our Italian Loggia and pool which I have adopted as my summer office. As the business has grown, I become more office bound so I may as well be close to the garden on my laptop! Without doubt Roses are my favourite summer flowers and Hellebores in the spring. Many of the healing properties of the flowers and plants in the garden are now bottled as last lockdown I completed a flower essence course and these will be available to purchase in the Conservatory. To further assist the health and wellbeing of our guests we are introducing the concept of ‘Forest Bathing’ in the woodland garden. This Japanese practise known as ‘Shinrin Yoku is a simple method of being calm and quite amongst trees, observing nature around you while breathing deeply. A wonderful way to de-stress and boost the immune system at the same time.

We have been maintaining the seven acres of gardens for 24 years now and have weathered many storms! One of the first things we did was to build a large wooden Conservatory which is our Café where we offer guests lunch and afternoon tea. We then created a new food garden where fruit and vegetables are grown using organic methods for the kitchen which feeds guests staying in the house, self catering cottages and are essential ingredients for our lunch menu the conservatory café. This is really important to us as our philosophy of “ground to fork” is ingrained in our objectives.

Since the food travels only a few feet to reach the plate in the Conservatory Café, it is more sustainable. We strive to offer local & sustainable food and food grown with Organic methods to our guests and our family.

Our parents were all keen gardeners and fostered an interest in Gardens and nature and the outdoors. When we first started caring for the gardens my father would drive down from Dublin arriving at 8am, peel himself out of his low Honda and put on his overalls to mow the lawns and tend to the Roses. He was great inspiration and got involved in many of our early projects, giving advise, even when it wasn’t needed! Over the years we have created a large new food garden, which is very close to our hearts. We have built board walks and wooden structures in the woodland garden, designed fairy houses & viking boats and planted many hundreds of plants not to mention spending many hundreds of hours weeding! We now employ a full time gardener who gardens five days a week. We are very involved with decision making, planning new plantings, building structures, graveling pathways and discussing all the planting of seeds for the Vegetables and Flowers. We are totally indebted to Marty Reville our gardener who tends to the gardens with the love and passion which we hold for the gardens. With him we have created no-dig vegetable beds and he is extending biodiversity throughout the gardens. Large bug hotels are the latest structures! We really hope Government restrictions allow us to open Kilmokea Gardens to visitors this season, and we look forward to welcoming you”.

Great Island, Campile, Co Wexford

Telephone:

051 388109

Mobile:

086 6641946

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.kilmokea.com

Contact:

Mark & Emma Hewlett

Opening Hours:

Opening hours. 10am to 5pm

March 17th to end of May. September & October. Wednesday to Sunday

June, July, August. Every Day.

Entrance Fee:

Adults €7; OAP €6; Children under 16 €4; Children under 2 Free; Groups welcome. Up to 12.5% discount for groups of over 20

Marlfield House Gardens

Marlfield House is owned by The Bowe Family and managed by Margaret and Laura Bowe

When our parents Mary and Ray Bowe bought Marlfield House just outside Gorey in 1977 it was with the intention of opening the house and gardens to guests as a country house hotel. The Dower house of the Courtown Estate, the Earls of Courtown had entertained lavishly in both Marlfield and the nearby Courtown House. With Marlfield’s opening as a hotel in 1978 it began again to welcome guests from all over the world.

The garden was smaller then and has been developed and extended extensively by Mary and Ray in the early days. On 36 acres in total there are 12 acres in woodland walks and garden today. While the gardens have always been enjoyed by hotel guests, since opening ‘The Duck Restaurant’ in 2015 the number of people coming to enjoy a coffee, lunch or dinner and a wander in the gardens has multiplied tenfold. The restaurant is located in a long stone building with French doors opening onto a sandstone terrace overlooking the kitchen garden filled with vegetables, soft fruits, a plethora of herbs and beds of blooming roses! Our guests enjoy seeing chefs picking herbs, vegetables and salad as they dine al fresco on the south facing Terrace. The ‘garden to plate’ ethos could not be more evident!

It brings us great pleasure to see our garden enjoyed by so many.

Woodlands form the back drop of the garden, with meandering paths through a kitchen garden of herbs, vegetables and fruits. Long borders of shrubs and herbaceous perennials flank a yew hedge and lead to the lawns and formal gardens.

The duck pond forms a completely separate garden to the front of the hotel and the island, reached by a wooden bridge, has beautiful specimen shrubs and trees. It has only recently become the location of five private stand alone pond suites where guests can sleep, each in its own grounds amid oak and chestnut trees, surrounded by nature. The many paddling ducks, waterhen, squirrels, rabbits and George our peacock are happy to share this piece of the garden with those sleeping in the pond suites!

Spring is our favourite season and our gardener Sean Kehoe plants thousands of daffodils and tulips annually. Unfortunately in 2020 the pleasure of seeing the carpets of daffodils and rainbows of tulips and Camellias was confined to those on social media , and it seems that history might repeat itself this Spring! But our herb and rose gardens will be filled with a plethora of colour of blooms and fragrances and enjoyed by many this Summer when we are very hopeful that Covid restrictions will lift.

We are Looking forward to welcoming lots of people back to Marlfield and our gardens this year. Now more than ever we all need to Enjoy nature and spending time with each other, enjoy the outdoors, the beauty of our county and its gardens and produce and be grateful for the beautiful gardens in the Wexford Garden Trail.

Courtown Road R742, Gorey, Co Wexford

Telephone:

053 9421124

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.marlfieldhouse.com

Contact:

Margaret & Laura Bowe

Opening Hours:

Garden visit and Lunch/Afternoon Tea by appointment (March to December)

Entrance Fee:

€12.00 which includes morning coffee or afternoon tea with dressed scones in Marlfield House Hotel

Wexford Lavender Farm

My name is Moira Hart, I am the Owner and Manager of Wexford Lavender Farm, a privately run garden and tourism business located 10 km north of Gorey in North Co. Wexford.

We opened to the public in April 2014 with 2 acres of lavender plants in a field located close to old disused stables, which we had converted into our Café/Giftshop prior to opening.

We are currently Irelands’ only dedicated commercial lavender farm and added a second 2 acre field in 2018 with 5,000 more lavender plants. We planted rows of English Lavender Hidcote, English Lavender Rosea, Dutch lavender Grosso and some English Lavender Munstead. My late mum (Betty) was a keen organic gardener, animal lover and bee keeper, my love of gardening, lavender and animals comes from her and after visiting many lavender farms in England (I grew up in rural Dorset) decided to set up my own business here in Ireland. We’re (mostly) fortunate with the weather here in Co. Wexford and grow the English Lavender varieties which are hardy.

Farming anything involves lots of hard work, a passion for what you love and lots of energy, especially in the busy Summer months when the lavender is in bloom and visitor numbers are high. We keep ducks, chickens, goats, ponies and horses too, which all need looking after 365 days a year, whatever the weather. Being self-employed it’s important to be self-motivated and drive yourself forward.

When we first opened the business our daughters (Clara & Martha) were 6 and 9, I didn’t have any experience running a business, managing staff or working in a café so to say it was a steep learning curve would be a big understatement! Seven years later our daughters are now involved working in the business in the summer months when school is closed. We have a fantastic, hardworking team working alongside us, being a seasonal business can be difficult with staffing as its ‘all hands-on-deck’ during the summer then nothing during the winter.

We were at the beginning of planning and building a wooden Maze as an extension to the Lavender Farm in January 2020 when COVID-19 arrived unwelcomed into our lives, with this unknown threat and all the uncertainty it brought, I decided reluctantly to halt plans for 2020. We eventually re-opened on 30th June 2020 and had a strong but short domestic season in between Lockdown one and two, with so many people not being able to travel abroad. The Maze plans are back on track and will be built before June 2021. This will be a welcome addition to the business, as well as being the only wooden Maze in Ireland, it will not be dependent on the lavender flowering season (mid June through early September).

The first Covid lockdown was a welcome break, with fantastic weather and time-off that I hadn’t had through the spring/early summer since opening but this latest Lockdown has been tough on everyone and the very wet winter has made getting outdoor maintenance jobs impossible for the time-being.

We are SO looking forward to Summer, lavender, visitors, long days and being outside with nature and the things we love!

Coolnagloose, Inch, Gorey, Wexford, Y25 NW42

Telephone:

087 068 6774

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.wexfordlavenderfarm.com

Contact:

Moira Hart

Opening Hours:

Closed January, February & March.

Opening 1st May (if restrictions allow) to Mid September: Tuesday - Sunday: 10.30am - 5pm (plus Bank Holiday's)

Mid September to December: Saturday & Sunday: 10.30am - 5pm

Entrance Fee:

€5 per car in June, July & August

Woodville Gardens

Gerald Roche is a farmer and gardener at Woodville, New Ross where his family have lived since 1876.

As a farmer I know that I am simply a custodian of the farm for subsequent generations. A garden is just the same. A garden is shaped by the tastes and fashions of each generation that works in it but it goes on from one generation to the next. So it is with the gardens at Woodville, the apple and pear trees were planted by my grandmother, I think in the 1930s, so they are well past their prime though still productive and a strong structural element in the garden as many of them are espaliered. My interest in gardening came later in life with the realisation that gardening is an all absorbing occupation, once bitten by the gardening bug, there is no escape. The garden is not a chore, as a gardener, one wants to be in the garden planning, planting, shaping, altering, propagating.

At Woodville the walled garden was laid out when the house was built in the early 1800s. It was extended and remodelled in the 1830s and further developed in the 1880s when it was acquired by PJ Roche. He extended the house and built a conservatory. He also extended the existing glasshouse by building a vinery. These houses came from the Messenger Company in England and having restored the conservatory a few years ago and more recently, the peach house, the Messenger greenhouse, home to the vines, is my next project. I have sourced the timber and the help, we will probably lose this year’s crop of grapes unless we have a very warm summer.

In the last decade of the 19th century, plentiful labour and cheap coal meant these glasshouses were both productive and ornamental, these days they are a labour of love. The boilers are gone and they rely on solar gain to heat them, an uneven source of energy even with climate change. I try to garden in as sustainable and environmentally friendly way as I can, using manure and compost produced on site and to choose plants that will flourish in this microclimate.

These days, I look after the garden with the help of the family, a Teagasc student if one is available and the (very) occasional contractor. Help comes in the form of S.482 tax relief in return for which the gardens are opened to the public for two months each year. Covid 19 put a big dent in the visitor numbers in 2020 and I expect the same for 2021 as we rely on garden tours from abroad for much of our income.

Wet weather such as we have endured in January/February 2021 causes anxiety and impatience, even in a garden with free draining soil such as ours and spring sunshine and March breezes are eagerly anticipated. Small highs come from spotting the first bud or flower or fruit, comparing notes from other years. Pleasure comes from the harvest of fruit and vegetables, sweet new carrots, pencil thin, big bowls of autumn raspberries, sculptural romanasco, artichokes, validating puddles of melted butter on the plate. Satisfaction is a freezer filled with vegetables after summer evenings podding and chopping, blanching and bagging. Sweetcorn, broccoli and beans both broad and French, raspberries and blackcurrants all are saved and whatever else is surplus to the day’s requirements. Not for the gardener long days on the beach, those sunny days are spent mowing and edging lawns, harvesting and weeding and at the end of the day, a dash to the sea to cool down and wash off the dust. Just as paper never refuses ink, gardens soak up labour. There is never enough time, power tools have speeded up tasks but there is always more to be done.

In another era, an army of gardeners assisted by carpenters and painters maintained these gardens. Today we do what we can as best we can and relish producing food for the table – nil food miles, kind to the environment. It is an ongoing challenge but one we cherish.

New Ross, Co Wexford

Telephone:

051 422957

Mobile:

087 9709828

Email:

[email protected]

Website:

www.woodvillegardens.ie

Contact:

Gerald Roche

Opening Hours:

May – June: 10am – 2pm, or by appointment

Entrance Fee:

€5.00

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lollytea · 5 years

Photo

Some Moomin OCs! (Above art by @ask-artsy-oncie who was sweet enough to draw my kiddos!!)

My original thought for Moomin and Snufkin’s future together was that they would have no children, as canonically Snufkin has made it very clear that he’s not sure if he likes kids. However, Moomin was kinda tricky to think about. He does come from a family that’s famous for adopting any lonely little creature that seeks a home. So, maybe this sort of thing is in his nature. It’s possible that when he’s older and more mature, he may wish to start a family of his own.

( A ton of stuff under the cut about how Moomin and Snufkin decided to adopt them and some info/HCs focusing each of the kids individually.)

When Too Ticky shows up at their doorstep with three escapees from a rotten ol’ children’s home, the couple are hesitant but welcome them with open arms regardless. While she was willing to care for them herself until she found them a permanent home, she had urgent business to attend to (invisible moose turf wars up south.) and left them in the care of Moomintroll and Snufkin for a week or two until she returned.

Moomin becomes fond of the children almost immediately. They’re a handful, obviously, but their spirit is incredible. He begins to feel quite comfortable and content in this parental role and even though he tries not to show it, he’s devastated when Snufkin reminds him that they’ll be leaving soon. He’s come to realize that he does want children but is also aware of how Snufkin feels about it. He would would never want to force him into that sort of thing if it’s not what he wants.

Meanwhile, Snufkin has been thinking. Though Moomin has been doing his best to hide his feelings on the matter, Snufkin knows just how attached he is to the kids and how upset he’ll be once they’re gone. He’s in a difficult position here as his conscience is reminding him repeatedly that Moomintroll had always let him choose the life he wanted. He let him wander whenever he pleased and never forced him to stay. Would it not be worth it of Snufkin to return the favor and not stand in the way of what Moomin wanted out of his life?

They discuss it one night after putting the children to bed and they let themselves be honest. Moomintroll adores the kids and wants to raise them. But under no circumstance would he ever pressure Snufkin to do the same. Because he loves Snufkin.

Snufkin admits that he feels uncomfortable with the title of Papa. He likes the kids, he wouldn’t mind sharing a home with them and spending time with them and watching them grow. It’s just that thinking of himself as a father makes him very anxious. But more than anything, he wants Moomin to do whatever makes him happy. Because he loves Moomin.

So, an odd sort of agreement is reached but nonetheless, it’s an agreement both are happy with. Moomin will adopt the children. They will be Moomin’s children. Snufkin will continue to be Moomin’s husband. They will all live together in the same house and they will all love eachother as families do. But the children will not be Snufkin’s. At least not now. If he’s ever ready to be a father alongside Moomin, the kids will still be there. But there’s no rush. The agreement is silly, of course but it puts Snufkin at ease.

It doesn’t happen right away, but within a few years of raising the kids, Snufkin finds himself warming up to the idea.

The Children

Torben - The Witch. Oldest of the three children, Torben is extroverted, witty, charming and a true rowdy boy at heart. He has a hard time juggling responsibilities with immaturity, as while he’s a fiercely protective and nurturing older brother, he’s usually the driving force of mischief that tends to get them all into trouble.

- Is excellent at annoying Moomin. Not that he doesn’t love his papa dearly and vice versa but that boy is the most prominent reason that the poor ol’ troll is going grey. Despite this, Moomin always trusts him with the job of taking care of his siblings. It’s the one thing he has 100% faith in him in. Maybe they’ll cause a bit of mischief but at least he knows that with Torben, they won’t be hurt.

- When he first came to Moominhouse, Torben suffered from frequent nightmares. He was five years old at the time and having cared for his siblings alone until then, he had a hard time accepting that he could finally relax. It was Moomin who pulled him into his lap and sang him back to sleep every night. Nowadays, Torben is very embarrassed about these memories and it’s a silent agreement between himself and his papa to keep it a secret

- Absolutely Idolizes Snufkin. Ever since he was little, Torben has been enthralled with the stories Snufkin tells from his youth, and wants to be just like him one day. Naturally, Snufkin receives an earful from Moomin the first time they have to collect Torben from a holding cell. Not that Snufkin would say it but he was beyond proud that day.

- Torben adores music. Instruments, singing, dancing, he’s invested in all of it. Another reason he looks up to Snufkin so much is his talent with a harmonica, which he eventually teaches to Torben. As he gets older, he picks up a wide array of instruments, his favourite being the violin. If there’s ever a party/social gathering at Moominvalley, either Torben planned it himself or he had some part in it. You will most definitely see him encouraging everyone to dance once the party gets into full swing too.

- Makes his own clothes. Enjoys knitting, sewing, crocheting and embroidery. Cloaks, coats, ponchos, hats, gloves, quilts, whatever he pleases, all decorated with the most showy of patterns. Moomin jokes that they could never survive hibernation without Torben’s blankets to keep them warm.

- Wants to smoke like Snufkin but Moomin won’t let him until he’s older so he just carries around an empty pipe to pretend to puff on and look cool.

- Grows to be far taller than his Papas and his siblings.

- Isn’t aware of his witch heritage just yet. He learns in his early teens by pure accident when roaming though the woods and encountering an older Alicia. She tilts her head at him curiously, commenting that he bears a striking resemblance to a witch she was friends with long ago. With a little encouragement from her, they manage to find some trace of magic in him over a cup of tea. He realizes with great fear and great excitement that there’s been this whole side of himself that he went all these years without noticing.

- Moomin is shocked by this development while Snufkin takes it in stride, saying that it’s no wonder Torben would always nick his hat as a small child. Every witch needs a hat!

- Though Alicia handles most of Torben’s witch training, Snufkin also pitches in by teaching him how to read tarot cards. Meanwhile Moomin tells his son that it’s okay if he believes in the cards but if they tell him to leave home before he’s ready if he catches a certain amount of fish or something silly like that, then they’re wrong!

Birch - The Woodie. The middle child. Two years younger than Torben and three years older than Essi. Primarily the voice of reason among his more reckless siblings. However, he is still a child and loves a good adventure and a laugh every so often so he’ll usually tag along without question. While the trio have been thrown in jail several times, it’s worth mentioning that there’s plenty of times they haven’t gotten arrested and Birch’s quick thinking is usually to thank for that.

- Birch is quite the introvert. Calm, reserved and a bit shy around strangers. But that does not stop him from having a tongue sharp as a pinprick when he’s around those he’s comfortable with. He’s good with a snarky retort to any of Torben’s comments and will gladly dish them out at any opportunity.

- He and Torben bicker constantly. They are always a word away from launching at each other into a full blown wrestling match over the kitchen table. They disagree on all trivial things. They’re also best friends and there is no force in this world that can tear the brothers apart.

- Keeping Essi safe is usually their top priority but Birch often forget that he’s also a younger sibling and Torben is always looking out for him too.

- Likes to collect the things he finds, especially funny shaped rocks and seashells. He’s always carrying around a little pouch to store his treasures. The shelves in his bedroom are packed tight with everything he’s gathered over the years, which he polishes every day.

- Doesn’t like affection from just anyone but will allow it from his family and actively seeks it from Moomin. His papa gives very good hugs and Birch often finds himself needing a specific kind of comfort that only Moomin can give him.

- He’s cleaner than the average Woodie, bathing twice as regularly as is required of him. He then has to scrub the shedding moss he left in the bathtub.

- The little flower patches that grow on his body tend to wilt and fall off during the colder months and burst into bloom again in Spring. The older he gets, the more flowers he accumulates.

- Birch is a dreamer. He’s the musing, pondering sort who likes to fall away to his own imagination. He likes reading and enjoys writing and while he’s tried out a variety of different types, such as stories, plays and memoirs (at Moominpapa-…or rather moomingrandpapa’s insistence) he finally finds that he��s best suited for poetry.

- When Birch and Snufkin first met, his future father was sceptical. Seeing a Woodie child again brought back a mix of nostalgia and an instinctive urge to back away before the confounded little one imprinted on him like last time. And true, while as a young child, Birch was a lot more touchy and clingy but much to Snufkin’s relief, he had an obvious favouritism towards Moomin.

- Snufkin was astonished as Birch grew older and it became clearer with each day that they had a lot in common. Birch often needed his space too, he needed alone time, he didn’t like large crowds and he got grumpy when he wasn’t left alone when asked. And while his siblings didn’t always get that, Moomin and Snufkin understood and allowed him his solitude when he needed it.

- One year, Birch’s heart tells him he needs to leave. Not forever but just for a bit. He doesn’t understand the urge but every inch of him is suddenly screaming “we need to go!” and he has no idea how to react to it. Eventually, he realizes that this is the exact feeling Snufkin always described as he hugged them goodbye every winter. It was something he simply needed to do.

- He’s very anxious about telling Moomin, knowing how family-oriented his papa was and how worried he could get over his childrens’ wellbeing. But once he finally works up the courage to announce his plans over the dinner table, his two papas share a shocked look but the response from both of them is surprisingly supportive. Moomin explains that if it’s what he must do, then do it. Though he had never gotten that feeling himself, being with Snufkin so long has given him a lot of insight on wanderers and the way their souls are. Snufkin says nothing on the matter but Birch catches his smile from across the table and the proud gleam in his eye.

- Birch is the first of the children to go a winter without hibernating. He’s not entirely sure if he’ll do this every year but maybe once in a while would be nice. When the time to leave finally came, Essi clings to him and weeps as Birch holds her close and assures her that he’ll be back again in no time. He can tell Moomin wants to burst into tears too but he holds himself together as not to hold Birch back. Torben is doing the same thing but Birch suspects that more on account of his own self-pride.

- For his first time vagabonding, it’s not as nerve-wracking as he thought it would be. He’s alone of course, but every so often he and Snufkin would cross paths on their respective journeys and share a campfire and talk into the night. It’s only every few weeks but it’s comforting to know that no matter how vast the woods seem to be, his father is out there somewhere. And he doesn’t always need him there. The peace he gets in the weeks between is quite nice. His journal bursts with poems in a way it never has before. Birch believes he might do this again next year.

Essi - The Mumrik. The baby of the bunch. An exploding ball of sunshine and an unstoppable force of nature fused into one tiny form. Often considered the second generation Little My due to how small and rambunctious she can be. That being said, while the similarities are certainly there, there are plenty of differences between the two in the personality department. Essi was put on this planet solely to have fun and play and love, love, love with every beat of her heart.

- Essi has never spoken a word in her life but that doesn’t stop her from having plenty to say. Since she was a baby, her family has caught on to her way of communicating which she does through her paws, facial expressions, whistling, body language and the thump and swish of her tail. Her tail tends to be reserved for her more intimate sayings. When referring to Moomin for example, she bats her tail twice against the nearest surface, producing a little ‘pah pah’ sound.

- Has absolutely no idea how to pace herself. Essi bursts from the house every day to go play, her brothers in hot pursuit and once she’s out, she’s go, go, go. Never stops running, jumping, climbing, swimming, fishing, whatever. She can never make it home on her own as she’s always burned out and snoring in the meadow by sundown. Torben carries her home on his shoulders.

- Does not like baths and prefers to simply groom herself. However, she falls in the river at least once a day when trying to swipe for fish. Snufkin believes that to be an adequate form of bathing. Moomin disagrees. He also does not appreciate it when Snufkin helps Essi to hide when Moomin is hunting her for bath time. Meanwhile, his husband and daughter consider this quite a fun game.

- Is extremely cuddly, especially where Moomin is concerned. He hardly gets a chance to sit down without Essi hopping on her papa’s stomach and curling up to the warmth of his fur, purring happily. When content, she’ll knead her paws and when affection is being demanded, she will bash her head into Moomin’s nose to receive the cuddles she wants.

- While Birch sometimes finds her nonstop energy annoying/draining at times, Essi looks up to her big brother unconditionally. She doesn’t understand his rock collection or why he’s always writing or locking himself in his room but he’s good! He kisses her scratches when she gets hurt and he hugs her, even if he doesn’t want to and shares his lunch with her he tells really good stories! He even includes more knights at Essi’s request. She tries to thank him for everything he does by bringing him dead bugs but for whatever reason, he doesn’t seem to like it.

- Torben dotes on Essi and he always has. Whether it be by tickles or funny voices or throwing her up in the air, he loves to make his sister laugh. And when Birch isn’t in the mood to join in their nonsense, they make an excellent crime duo. He’s not the greatest influence sometimes but he loves her. He also doesn’t enjoy dead bugs as gifts, which Essi can’t wrap her head around at all.

- Like Snufkin, Essi has an inexplicable bond with nature. She attracts beasts of every sort, who have followed her home on several occasions. Though of course, she isn’t half as annoyed as Snufkin. She’s absolutely delighted by all her new pets! She’s on the lookout for a dragon of her very own though. Like the little one from her papa’s stories. She is a knight after all and what’s a knight without a dragon. (Birch tends to leave out the part of his stories where the knight slays the dragon. Essi is far happier with the interpretation of them being best friends.)

- She found an old sword washed up by the riverbank once and it has become her prized possession. Her family have tried everything but simply cannot talk the little one out of giving up her sword. Torben believes she’s entitled to keep it under the ‘Finder’s, Keepers’ rule. So, she has a sword now and that is that.

- It took Snufkin a while to accept being a father. At first, he didn’t want anything to do with that title at all. Of course, he lived with them, they were his home, he cared for them but it was always Moomin who was the father. Snufkin was just Snufkin. They called him by his name. That’s all he was and all he wanted to be. But one night, he was feeling particularly night owl-ish. Moomin had retired to bed and Snufkin was sitting by the stove, basking in the heat. Silence was then disturbed by the pat pat pat of little feet down the stairs. A tearful Essi, stricken by a bad dream, was welcomed into Snufkin’s arms as he gathered the child into his lap. Little paws going wild as she recounted it all, she was finally soothed by Snufkin’s stroke of her hair and the way he rocked her back and forth. All was quiet, as she began nodding off against his chest, when her tail batted once, then twice, against his leg. ‘Pah pah’ His breath hitched. But he said nothing. There was nothing to say, really, as everything seemed to click in that moment. He hugged Essi tight.

#moomin #moominvalley #moomin ocs #moomin oc #springdove children

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royal-writer · 5 years

Text

Best Dad Award goes to...

sobbing quietly into my tissues... i love Dadmon very much...

“Shhhh, sweetheart, it’s alright. I’m here. I’m here,” Amon whispered, rising out of the rocking chair. His right knee popped from settling as he rose; grimacing more from the noise than the sensation. Feet shuffling, he paced the length of the lounging room with a raspy hum echoing in the back of his throat.

He held his arms careful around the sniveling swaddle of blankets and cloth. Swollen, red cheeks and furious little fists strained up at him; peering from beneath the security of the cover. It was her eyes however, he wondered on. They were light; a wash of grey-ish blue with her newborn youth. What color would they be, as she matured? Would they darken, much like his own? Would they grow that soft amber color, like her stunning mother? They would be filled with pearls of all the worlds happiness, if nothing else. He would make sure of that.

She certainly wore the quivering lip of Essätha quite well. Her quiet cries silenced, yet she remained to hold the pout like a threat. Daring him to deceive her; to lie. As if he would ever leave her alone, or without a moment of his endless devotion and affection.

“Mommy just went to the bathroom, my little Hepsiba. She’ll be bright back,” he promised, bouncing her gently in his hold. Curling his fingers, he adjusted the folds of the blanket around her face with great care. The thin wisps of her dark hair sprang out; already forming into loose springs.

By Pelor’s light, she was so tiny. Her innocent eyes tracked him between slow, almost cat-like blinks the more she settled into his embrace. Despite what the books told him, Amon could swear that they held an intelligent light in them. She looked back at him, like she saw straight into the vastness of a person’s soul with deeper knowledge than any adult ever showed.

Her mouth opened up; closed, opened again, and she expressed a wide yawn. Such purity in her expression; such delight on his own.

“I know, you’re still so tired aren’t you?” the nobleman cooed swinging his arms slowly from side to side. “You can sleep. Daddy’s got you. I’ve always got you.”

His wee little newborn curled in to a fetal position against his chest with understanding. Lulled by the deep spools he hummed as he moved idly around the room, cradling her. Her eyes closing, opening, and drifting gradually closed once more.

“I love you so very, very much my precious Hepsiba. I will never let you down. I promise.”

He leaned in, brushing a kiss against the drowsy babe’s forehead. She babbled some tired nonsense to him in return, but it sounded a lot like ‘I love you too’, in his heart.

The door to the room opened, and Lord Illiad perked up from his slow sway. He expected ebony hair and light butterscotch eyes to a warm skin, but instead got dark, reddish-tinted chestnut hair and dark eyes. They came with a pale complexion, followed by the curl of fingers against the oaken edge of the door as they figure moved to slip inside. A fine line of wrinkles on her face pulled into a frown as the woman moved inside.

“Allow me, Lord Amon-”

“I’ve got her, Regina.”

The midwife inhaled sharply as she approached. Her hands insisted; holding them outward with a gesture of her fingers like a thief ominously gesturing for your goods in an ally.

“I can relieve you, milord,” she stated quietly. “You can perform your other duties-��

“This is my duty,” he hissed, careful not to spook the figure in his arms while turning away. The quiet anger in his voice softened, looking down to his daughter’s cute chubby face as he murmured, “She is my daughter, Regina. She is my priority, above all else. Being this beautiful child’s father, and Essätha’s husband, are more important to me than anything else in the world. I can manage my work any time. I can not get back the precious hours of the day I have to spend with her. Essie will be back shortly; and she can take over while I finish my responsibilities.”

Knitting her eyebrows, Regina stepped around to face him. Her hands were on her hips and she scowled deeply with disapproval before him.

“I am trying to help you, milord. She is nearly asleep now; hand her to me, and I will take care of it.”

Pulling his arms inward, Amon nestled Hepsiba deeper into his chest. He offered the woman the cold shoulder. Literally turning to an angle to throw it her way.

“She is my daughter, Regina,” he affirmed in a deep hush. “I promised to love her, and to protect her. I want her to know what a good father looks like. I want her to know that my word is my vow. I want her to know that she can trust me with anything; that I will never judge her or turn her away. I want her to know that I value her, and her choices and ideas.”

“I want to set an example to her, how a good husband acts. I want her to see me, and see my wife, and know how we feel about each other, and how we feel about her. That family is important, and that we’re always there for each other. I want her to witness love all around her, all the time. That we are, as her parents, models of a healthy, happy, stable life. A life she deserves to have; knowing how to navigate by the norms we teach her of acceptance and commitment.”

“I don’t want her to feel like she ever has to settle for less,” Amon resolved quietly; a burning light in the dark twins of his eyes as he looked upon the now-sleeping bundle. Her breathes shallow against him, her eyes closed. A perfect vision of youth’s virtue.

“She’ll never have to take less, because she will know she is already loved,” he finished. “She has, and always will be, loved.”

The room fell mute. Indescribably lacking of everything but the sound of breathing.

Regina finally cleared her throat after a lengthy span of the silence. Amon dared to raise his gaze to meet hers; awaiting the challenge. He would fight her, tooth and nail, if he had to. He didn’t need the last word; he just needed her acceptance.

But all she had was tears in the corners of her eyes, and a ghostly smile on her face. No bared teeth, no claws shown.

“I do believe you do not require our assistance as midwives any further, Lord Amon,” the woman choked.

This was not the fiery woman who continuously harassed the way he wanted to do things. His mouth hung open, surprised by what sounded like… a resignation.

“Why would you say that?”

“Well Chantalle and I have been here weeks, offering our help since the Lady of the manor gave birth,” the midwife murmured slowly. “In all this time, neither of you have accepted our gestures to assist. Either you, or she, or both of you are up in the middle of the night before either of us are in the room, tending to miss Hepsiba and shooing us away if she cries. You’ve both committed to the changing, which is altogether totally unexpected to see of Lords or Ladies. Essätha is nursing regularly. Frankly, we are bored without the work. I don’t see a need for us here, when the child clearly has very involved and devoted parents to look after her and dot on her every need.”

Amon exhaled slowly. Still rocking his arms from side to side, he looked down to the flawless child in his arms, and back up to the elder woman.

“What should happen if we do need you?”

Regina scoffed, waving her hand. “I live in town, Lord Amon. I would not be far if I was hailed to the manor. But I do not think you will be needing me, anymore. You have your staff, your wife, the doctors, the entire town’s support behind you. Little miss Hepsiba is in adequate hands.”

“Besides that, you have your books,” she chided, making a face mingled between teasing and disgust.

“If you feel certain, we could still provide the pay for the time we had requested initially for you,” Amon muttered. His mind felt torn. Partial to guilt, but seeing no line of disagreement with the woman’s words. They were very attentive and insisting parents; not wishing to miss a single milestone by allowing another to raise their child.

Yet he held misgivings; fearful something would go amiss when the added security of a midwife left the home. It was a noble career of older woman; having born and raised children, studied in birth-giving to offer assistance. They were not officiated and licensed medics, but they knew old world technique and nurturing methods that modern medicine and science did not always account for.

Clicking her tongue to the roof of her mouth, the woman swished her head; dark auburn hair moving from side to side.

“Thank you for the offer, Lord Amon, but I insist you keep your pay with the exception of time already spent,” she noted faintly, not wishing to wake the baby. A softness he’d never seen aimed towards him, anyway, moved over the older lady’s face. The creases in her face diminished, and she reached out to place a weathered hand against his shoulder.

With a voice ragged with emotion, she spoke: “You are an exceptional father, Lord Amon. The best I’ve ever seen. I did not meet your father, my Lord, but my mother did. I heard stories. It does my heart good to know that his son is a better man than he ever was, especially to his children. Your family, and this town, is blessed to have you.”

The nobleman brought in a ragged, shaky rush of air. A cold shiver rushed down his spine as Regina removed her hand from him, and moved for the door. Too speechless to call her back; too speechless to say a word as he held his daughter close. Close to his heart as he could, where he could keep her safe with all the love he had.

As Regina squeezed out the door, the silhouette of much of the most joyous memories in his life moved to slip by her. Braided long hair and a curved smile on plush lips.

“Oh, excuse me, miss Regina.”

“No no, excuse me, milady Essätha. I was just going,” the midwife stated, dropping her head as she hurried past.

Quirking her eyebrows in a quizzical motion, the Briarton Lady turned her sunny disposition upon him.

“She seems in a rush, what did you say to her?” Essie mused, moving closer.

“… Nothing I hadn’t thought to already have made clear,” Amon murmured, smiling lightly.

The stunning smile on his wife’s face began to diminish slightly. She made a quiet murmur of concern while reaching up to him as she reached his side. Delightfully gentle fingers stroked his face, and moved to run along his beard and cheeks. Soothing little circles massaged into his skin that, for a moment, made him close his eyes to relish the feeling.

“What did she say to you, m’lord,” she gasped, wiping away tears. Fury began to purse her lips, and narrow her eyes into a venomous glare of anger as his eyelids arose to look upon her gentle beauty.

“I’m fine,” Amon assured her in a rasp, grinning like a fool as he pulled away. “I was just… I got emotional, looking down at our perfect little girl.”

“Oh. Awwwww,” she breathed, stepping closer once more as the anger turned to glee once more. “You’re such a good father. Trusting our little girl to see you all vulnerable and mushy. Here: hand her over, it’s my turn.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Amon.”

Ignoring the scolding in his wife’s tone, he shook his head and turned away from dainty little fingers exploring his face. A wild, broad smile flashed over his complexion. Eager dancing light blazing his eyes with stars, watching from over his shoulder as she glowered at him.

“Nu-uh,” he refused. “I’m not done with baby time. I just got her; you’ve had her all morning. It’s my turn to love all over our precious daughter. Hepsiba’s sleeping in my arms now anyway, it’d be rude to move her.”

“Lord Amon Thomas Illiad,” Essätha hissed; her voice lacking any threatening implication as she grinned just as infectiously. Her hands reached for him, pawing at his shoulder.

“No.”

“Will you at least sit on the couch then, so I can snuggle both of my loves?” she whined, the same pout he’d witnessed earlier from their little girl now upon the mother’s face. Just the same. It folded him, and made him deliver his heart without question.

Smirking so wide his face hurt, Amon offered her a sly glance as he offered: “If my Lady Essätha Meduza Illiad promises to play nice, and lets me have her until she wakes up.”

“Done,” Essätha eagerly accepted, bouncing on her heels at his side. She reached up to kiss his cheek quickly, expressing a soft ‘mwah’ as she did so.

Before she could retreat too far, he leaned in and sealed a quick kiss over her lips. Soft laughter in her throat, jolting his heart to life. Infinite joy in her shining regard, radiantly staring up to him with more fondness than he was warranted. He held that blissful feeling tight within his aching chest, nearly bursting with love.

He had everything he could ever need, wrapped in his arms and holding on to his forearm as he lead the way to the sofa. And he was going to keep his intended promises to both his girls, for time eternal, and even beyond that.

Because they were the fighting fire inside of him. In his every waking thought and drifting through every dream. In every deed and act he did, he did with the intention of being the best version of himself, for them both.

This. This was the happiness that made life worth living for.

#eci artz #essamon ship #Essie rw #amon illiad

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thebanyanworld-blog · 4 years

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5 Ways to Help Kids During Early Foundation Stage

Children are like clay, we can mould them as we want. The first few years of a child’s life are very critical for his holistic development. They need to experience stable, responsive, nurturing relationships and have rich learning experiences in the early years. These experiences give him/her lifelong benefits for learning, behaviour, physical and mental health. Let’s look at how we can help children grow into healthy, responsible adults.

Healthy atmosphere: Being an adult who is responsible for their wellbeing it is our job to provide them with a healthy atmosphere to mature into good human beings. To secure the future of our children we must invest in early year’s education and quality childcare. These years, as mentioned earlier, are vital years to a child’s growth. This is the time when the brain is the most plastic and receptive to stimulation. During this time we can entrench good habits and values in them.

Initial Years: The initial years of a child’s life are vital as they prepare him/her for the formative years of his life. The 'Foundation Stage' as we call it – is very significant – it formulates a secure educational foundation for later learning. Early Years Foundation Stage stresses the importance of a holistic approach and emphasizes the singularity of every child. It believes that each child is unique and is constantly learning and can be ‘resilient, capable, confident and self-assured’.

Combined Approach: Parents and educators need to be on the same page, their combined approach towards physical, social and cognitive learning of a child can help him/her grow into a secure and healthy human being. Good relationships with teachers and caregiving adults can also influence the abilities of young children to learn.

Small Group: We believe that smaller group sizes can work wonders with children as they lead their own learning. In small-groups there are more opportunities to work on improving the language, developing social skills, encouraging creativity, supporting exploration and problem-solving. Children who attend early childhood programs are well prepared at the start of their formal schooling as compared to children who do not.

Early Experiences: Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support that enables them to fulfil their potential. Children develop quickly in the early years and a child’s experiences between birth and age five or six have a major impact on their future growth and attitude. A safe, secure and happy childhood is essential in its own right. Good parenting and high quality early learning together provide the foundation children require to make the most of their abilities and talents as they grow up.

The Banyan: The Banyan, is a chain of Pre-schools, Day Cares and Activity Centres that has grown since 2003 and has a pan India presence. The company continues to advance in the field of childcare and aim to support more families as they grow. They provide childcare to children from as-early-as 3 months to 12 years. In addition, they provide after school programs for older children, and conduct summer and winter camps to keep the kids occupied and make learning fun and simple while the parents are away at work.

#daycare #childcare #parenting #EarlyChildhoodEducation

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Gambles Away in Episodes 85-91

Hello there! Once again, it's the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Noelle Ogawa here, and this week I'll be your host as we make our way through the many arcs of the shonen giant Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 78-84, and this time we're going to sweep episodes 85-91.

This time, we have new introductions and new threats, starting off with the mysterious Akatsuki retreating and ending with Tsunade contemplating a tough choice. We get a little glimpse of the last of the three Sannin, and how that bond has fragmented over the years. Most importantly, Tsunade is confronted with two life-changing decisions, neither which are easy to make. This arc is a pretty heavy one. Let's see what the team has to say about this batch!

The Akatsuki have retreated for now, leaving us with an uncomfortable feeling of something greater out there. What are your impressions of the group, especially Itachi and Kisame?

Paul: I want to know what the political goals of Akatsuki are. Both Itachi and Kisame wear their Village headbands with the symbols defaced, so I'm wondering if – despite being obviously cruel and evil villains – they're also the heroes of their own story, because the current entente system that turns children into weapons in order for rival nations to publicly flex their military muscle is pretty messed up, yo.

Kevin: Early on, Itachi seems like there’s some kind of frailty to him, that he’s incredibly strong but can’t fight for long. Kisame also seems like a competent fighter (albeit with a strange weapon), but otherwise is Itachi’s henchman. Having seen how their characters develop, this is an interesting starting place.

Carolyn: Yeah, it seems to me that they believe in what they are doing. That seems to be a common trope with this show so far, though. Lots of characters who may or may not be bad guys but they have a tragic backstory and a firm belief in what they think is right. David: I understand why it happens for dramatic reasons, but I do kind of wish there were just slightly more straightforward foreshadowing about the motivations for our villains, and this the introduction of the Akatsuki makes the best case for this. On the positive side, Itachi serves as a solid example of what Sasuke should probably not become, complete with a skillset they both can theoretically share. “Look out, Sasuke!” Or so I would tell him, if he wasn’t put completely out of commission in multiple ways so that the plot could move on without his obsessions getting in the way.

Joseph: I’m a big fan of introducing villains and painting them as irredeemably evil only to turn that notion on its head later, so I’m excited to watch them develop. Kisame looks more like he belongs in Arlong’s crew from One Piece, but I dig how they only partially revealed the power of his weird shark sword.

Danni: A shadowy group of super powerful villains after the main character sounds pretty cool, so I don’t really know why I’m not all that interested in the Akatsuki yet. I think I’d like to learn more about their motivations first. For now, though, I’m pretty satisfied with the continued conflict with Orochimaru.

Jared: There’s certainly still a number of unanswered questions surrounding the group. Who else is in it and why are these two out and about by themselves? What’s with the headbands being defaced? Those will get answered at some point I’m sure, but from what we’ve seen thus far, Itachi seems like a pretty big deal with how he quickly he dispatches Sasuke and comes up with a way to escape Jiraiya’s trap. Kisame seems more like his muscle, but has that pretty wild sword.

Kara: This was yet another case of seeing the cosplayer before the character, so now I have at least some context for those coats. Also, Itachi’s presence has been in the background of the story for… 80-something episodes now? This has been a slow burn finally getting to him. I wasn’t disappointed; there’s a lot here I’m looking forward to exploring.

Here we encounter another training arc, where Naruto is trying to master the Rasengan. How do you think this compares to previous training, and do you think it’s being handled well?

Paul: Although the completed Rasengan technique is visually impressive, I'm already sick of seeing Naruto playing with balloons. I wish there were some other aspect to the three stages of the training.

Kevin: During the tree climbing, it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke mastered the technique very quickly due to competing against each other; and during the water walking, Naruto caught on in less than a day, then mastered it when Jiraiya undid Orochimaru’s seal. Mastering the Summoning Jutsu was better, since Naruto had to keep practicing, but it realistically became training for drawing out the Nine-Tailed Fox’s chakra, which boiled down to “run out of energy, then put your life in danger.” For me, the Rasengan training is the first time the show has successfully conveyed how difficult and time consuming ninjutsu training is supposed to be and just how hard Naruto pushes himself to grow faster than anyone else.

Carolyn: As always, I was impressed with Naruto’s dedication to learning and advancing his craft. He is very dedicated despite all of his obstacles and it warms my heart.

David: I was honestly just going to say what Kevin said, so I guess I’ll elaborate a little bit instead. The first time we see Rasengan performed is against a random yakuza guy, which works well for introducing the technique while also not giving away just how important it is. Jiraiya’s explanation to Naruto about how the technique fits him well because it doesn’t require hand signs demonstrates both Jiraiya’s understanding of Naruto’s strengths while also serving as a valid cover-up for how powerful he realizes Naruto can be. Seeing in small, increasing stages what exactly the Rasengan does, while grounding that all in the mechanics of the show we’ve been taught so far, makes the whole process feel much more satisfying than a general “power-up”. And, most important, the scenes where Naruto is just walking around practicing on his balloons are endearing as heck. I’ve been there too, little buddy.

Joseph: I appreciated the mundanity of his practice sessions. It may not make for the most compelling television, but, like Kevin said, it got the point across well enough. Now we can sit back and be duly impressed when he unleashes his full Rasengan potential.

Danni: It’s a little mundane, but I appreciate it. The mundanity of it is helping Naruto mature a bit since he’s beginning to realize that he maybe shouldn’t have been goofing off so much in school. I also like how the balloons provide a good tangible example of what the Rasengan is and how to control it.

Jared: There sure is a lot of Naruto just hanging out in the woods struggling with this portion of training, but it fits considering how big of a deal Jiraiya makes the technique out to be. Plus, using balloons and rubber balls seems like a strange choice, but really works with what Jiraiya wants to teach Naruto so he can understand the technique.

Kara: I really enjoy the fact that Naruto learned the Rasengan in a way that made sense to him — the whole thing with the cat, for example — to the point where even Tsunade looks at it and, while recognizing what it is, also recognizes that it’s different. That’s something I’m liking about Naruto’s progress in this set of episodes: he may not be by-the-book, but he’s working it out for himself in a way that makes sense to him, which is a valuable thing no matter what you’re learning.

We have a fair chunk of time devoted to Jiraiya and Naruto’s mentor-mentee relationship. What do you think of this particular dynamic?

Paul: I don't have much of an opinion about it yet, because Jiraiya has a very “hands off” approach to instruction, and he's not exactly a very supportive or nurturing type. He may be extremely skilled as a ninja, but as a teacher, he kinda sucks. I don’t feel like he’d stick his neck out for his charges in the same way that Kakashi and Iruka would.

Kevin: I am liking Jiraiya more and more as he spends time as Naruto’s teacher. He’s more hands off than Naruto would necessarily prefer, but he knows that Naruto learns best by figuring things out himself, and still keeps on eye on his student to check up on progress and probably make sure Naruto doesn’t do anything too reckless. He’s still not great as the father figure Naruto seems to be looking for, but they’re both still warming up to each other.

Carolyn: Man, hands-off style could be cool. And Jiraiya doesn’t necessarily have to be a father figure to Naruto (though it makes me sad he’s not). But overall I just find him to be a giant jerk. I got very upset about Jiraiya blowing all of Naruto’s money. (He wanted to be responsible and save it!) Good for Naruto for letting that Pervy Sage have it.

David: It’s a trade-off that serves a few purposes. Jiraiya is completely correct to recognize Naruto as being mostly self-motivated; it’s hard to imagine a Naruto who improves because he is constantly coddled, right? At the same time, Naruto clearly desires that kind of relationship, because it’s something he’s been denied almost his whole life (thank goodness for Iruka). And for Jiraiya’s side, it plays into something I think I see developing among the Sannin as a whole - a theme of strong latent abilities not being realized to their fullest potentials. Orochimaru is obsessed with progress, but only to the extent that is helps him, which is why he tries to sabotage the village instead of support it. Tsunade is more capable than anyone else to help others, but also too scared of failure to help anyone but herself, which is why she is hesitant to become Hokage and willing to consider Orochimaru’s current proposal. Finally, Jiraiya is ridiculously charismatic, but so empathetic that he can only see the disadvantages to his presence, which is why he refuses the proposition to become Hokage and can’t commit fully to Naruto’s growth.

Joseph: Despite the fact that he blew Naruto’s money, I feel like there’s a hidden lesson in everything Jiraiya does. Remember when he first started trying to summon and kept bugging Jiraiya to “watch his training?” Even then getting him to do so was like pulling teeth, but the way he leaves Naruto to his work now shows how he’s attempting to foster his independence and prevent him from leaning too heavily on the desire for praise and exterior encouragement. He still has a ways to go, but Jiraiya is improving as a character each installment.

Danni: I appreciate Jiraiya in this batch as more of a goofy grandpa and less of a wild horndog. He seems like a good fit to be mentoring someone like Naruto. Their shared goofiness plays well, and Jiraiya’s apparent callousness is just a front help Naruto become more independent. In the end, he always rewards Naruto for his accomplishments.

Jared: Jiraiya becoming less of just the prototypical perv character has been better and I like how Naruto and him are able to almost keep each other in line. Like they’re calling each other out on their own bs. He’s certainly different as a teacher as it’s more hey, you’ve got to figure this out on your own, I’m not going to hold your hand, which is certainly something that Naruto will need to learn in general. So I think overall it isn’t what Naruto would’ve wanted at first, but it works.

Kara: It was a lot easier to be a Jiraiya fan this week. Like I said before, we’re seeing a lot more of how Naruto learns, and that he and Jiraiya were a lot the same. It was a little thing, but I loved the exchange between them about being the the type that has trouble focusing in class. I think all of Naruto’s teachers so far have been good for him and connected with him in some way, but Jiraiya really seems to “get” him and what he needs to grow.

Your closest loved ones returning from the dead in exchange for dooming your home- Orochimaru delivers a harrowing proposal. Is this a good deal in your eyes? If you don’t think so, what’s something that would tempt you?

Paul: As the audience, we've already seen one example of Orochimaru's Resurrection Jutsu, and it was clear that the people brought back to life were just an image of the departed, dancing like puppets while Orochimaru pulled the strings. Tsunade didn't witness that, and her trauma isn't helping her to think clearly, because the likelihood of Orochimaru betraying her is 100 percent.

I honestly don't know what would tempt me. I'm a pretty simple person, and I'm generally happy as long as my basic needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.) are met. Maybe if the villain threatened my loved ones, I'd be forced to comply, but I can't imagine voluntarily striking a deal in exchange for some good or service knowing that the end goal was the destruction of my entire community.

Kevin: I legitimately don’t know what I would do in that situation. Sure, the many should outweigh the few, but the few are people who I care about more than anyone else. I would definitely be tempted, and shows how good the character writing in Naruto can get. Put in Tsunade’s position, I could seriously see myself going either way.

Carolyn: I suppose it depends on the situation. It might sound terrible, but I’m sure I would take the deal for my kids in a heartbeat. David: Hard to admit, but I also completely sympathize with Tsunade here, and it’s hard not to see her gambling addiction as a coping mechanism for how her powers that should have been ‘definitely’ useful ultimately failed her twice.

Joseph: It’s a solid proposal from Orochimaru, and I think it’s reasonable for anyone’s gut answer to be “it depends.” With that said, Tsunade knows Orochimaru. One would think despite her emotions she would know he’s a walking monkey’s paw in this situation.

Danni: Why on earth would anyone ever trust Orochimaru?

Jared: I dunno, I think it’d be hard to accept a deal like that when the person offering is saying he’s going to do some big ole terrorism afterwards. Although, if the offer was that my student loan debt was wiped away, I might think differently.

Kara: I actually sat with this for a few minutes, because there are people I’ve lost whom I’d give just about anything to have more time with. That said, not only do I know a Monkey’s Paw when I see one, I also don’t trust people of even a fraction of Orochimaru’s badness to hold up their end of a deal. It’d either not happen, or happen and be awful. I’d probably buckle faster to threats than promises, because I can see him delivering on those.

Jiraiya reveals that Tsunade doesn’t just need to return to heal Sasuke and Kakashi, but also to become the new Hokage. She has a lot of reservations about the position, considering she has a complicated past with the world of shinobi. If you were in her place, would you take the title? Why or why not?

Paul: Tsunade, just like Jiraiya, clearly doesn't want the job. I think both of them realize that to be Hokage means always being willing to sacrifice one's personal well-being for the good of the Village, and neither of them are ready to do that, because Jiraiya is too self-centered, and because Tsunade has already lost so much already. I wouldn’t want that kind of responsibility, either. I can barely look after a pet goldfish, let alone a whole community.

Kevin: In short, I would probably take the position, mostly out of a sense of being able to change things for the better so that history did not repeat itself. Tsunade’s idea for medical ninja in every team was eventually implemented and shown to be effective, and adding in that she clearly wants to keep as many shinobi alive as possible, she would probably try to keep the ninja villages as peaceful as possible, and if war broke out minimize the Leaf’s losses. So even though she has a lot of baggage concerning the position, in her position I would try to use that baggage as my motivation to change how the village operates.

Carolyn: I think I would take it, if only because of some sort of misplaced “I’ll show them” attitude and because it would kill me to think I couldn’t help prevent other people from going through the same thing. Which … is super hypocritical in light of my resurrection answer, but there you go.

David: Pretending I was in Tsunade’s position right now, I would take it, but for entirely selfish reasons - I know that jerk Orochimaru is out there trying to tempt me and do even worse, so being the leader of essentially a nation of ninjas would be the ultimate revenge. Definitely not the best reasons to do anything, though.

Joseph: The practical me knows I don’t want that kind of position, but the part of me that wants to be the center of attention would probably win out.

Danni: As someone who doesn’t know any ninjutsu, I think I’d make a pretty bad Hokage overall.

Jared: It’s a bit of a mixed bag because the village is basically demanding she take the position regardless of her feelings. Considering how complicated her feelings are about the village and all of that in general, it makes sense why she’d be like nah. I think to really get into the headspace for that kind of position, you’d really need the type of drive that Naruto has.

Kara: In her exact position? Big nope. Her grandfather was Hokage and she had people around her who fully understood the real responsibilities involved. Between their demises and the way things went in general for the village, I’m not sure I could step into a role I’d held to a certain ideal in very dark, very different conditions. Adding insult to injury. That said, I like Tsunade so far, so I’m hoping she goes for it regardless.

Last up, what are the high and low points for this week?

Paul: My high point was the reveal that Tsunade is absolutely terrible at gambling, because I like it when heroic characters are really bad at some morally dubious activity. My low point was how thoroughly destroyed Sasuke was by his confrontation with Itachi. The poor kid gets physically and mentally traumatized and put into a coma, and Itachi didn't even break a sweat in the process. Sasuke doesn't deserve that kind of treatment.

Kevin: High - Jiraiya coming forward as Naruto makes progress in his training after hiding in the shadows to silently observe. He’s still kinda of a dick to Naruto a lot of the time, but we are seeing more of his caring side that eventually makes him everyone’s favorite ninja grandpa.

Low - I honestly really like the vast majority of this arc so… people not being much more vocal about how the town’s castle is suddenly gone? Sure, we get a few people running away, but that’s the kind of thing that should’ve made much more of a general panic, especially since a giant snake exploded out of it.

Carolyn: High point: Naruto giving Jiraiya the third degree for stealing his money. Tell him what’s what, Naruto.

Low point: The Sasuke meme, actually. It was harder to watch than I was expecting. He seemed very broken.

David: High: Jiraiya wakes up hungover and asks Naruto to fetch him some water, to which Naruto responds by blowing up a water balloon over his face. Low: Honestly this was my favorite batch of episodes so far, and I don’t remember disliking anything, but Jiraiya’s character flaws are very frustrating to watch because Naruto is honestly a great kid who deserves a ton of respect and attention. So, that.

Joseph: High: The gradual development of Jiraiya and Naruto’s relationship is fun to watch. Low: I find it hard to believe the ninja clans had never thought to have a freaking medic on the field until Tsunade suggested it.

Danni: The high point for me this batch was when we found out Tsunade is 50. The low point for me is when anyone acted like that was at all a bad thing and not an incredible bonus.

Jared: High point would be when Tsunade was constantly winning and instead of celebrating, immediately knew that something was about to go very badly. Low point, I kind of felt like parts of how Tsunade was written was very generic in a way that felt too tropey and just taking from a list of bad things that can happen to characters and slapping them on her. With how the series handled Sakura in the beginning and has kind of forgotten about her recently, I’m not that surprised it feels like it’s happening again.

Kara: High point is Tsunade going outside to scrap with a kid. I can respect that, I don’t care if Jiraiya thinks it’s immature. Low point is once again having action take place in an animal interior or reasonable facsimile thereof. I don’t cope with that mess well at all.

COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 6 (32 total) Bowls of ramen consumed: 0 bowls (33 bowls, 3 cups total) Shadow Clones created: 0 (297 total)

With that concludes this week! Please join us for this rewatch, anytime, especially if you haven't already watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

-Next week, on April 19th, NICOLE MEJIAS will show us the deadly and legendary faceoff in episodes 92-98.

-April 26th will have DAVID LYNN take us to the Land of Waves in episodes 99-105.

-March 3rd features PAUL CHAPMAN, who will walk us through the inevitable Naruto vs Sasuke in episodes 106-112.

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! See you next time!

Have a question for next week's batch of Episodes 92~98? Drop it in the comments and you might find your answer in next week's installment!

----

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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fivestarglam · 6 years

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by Dr. Ricardo Duchense

Some white men are identifying with the Alt Right as they realize that the goals and norms celebrated by our social order are underpinned by multiple deceptions, suppression of debate, anti-scientific notions about human equality, and unjust opposition to white identity in the midst of outright celebration of minority group rights.

But it is not easy to dissent. The playbook of the establishment is very simple and very effective: claim that questioners of diversity are driven by plain hatred, that they are poorly-educated hicks who can’t stand losing their white privilege, and are too parochial to understand the progressive cosmopolitanism marvelously spreading through the West.

Nevertheless, the establishment is having difficulties keeping men away from the Alt Right due to the widening gap between its ideals and the sickening realities engendered by these ideals, between the ideal of equality and black crime statistics, between the ideal of multicultural harmony and the reality of Islamic terrorism, between the ideal of freedom of expression and the suppression of criticism against Islamization, and between the ideal of gender equality and the feminist acquiescence to migrant sexual assaults.

Still, one can’t help wonder why the vast majority of white males are still entrapped in these ridiculous ideals. The standard answer is that whites have been brainwashed since birth and the media still has a near-monopoly over the news. The establishment controls the narrative concerning all those realities that don’t square with their ideals. They know how to narrate black crimes as instances of discrimination and enduring inequalities. They know how to portray Islamic terrorism as acts committed by a minority rather than by “most peace-loving Muslims.” They know how to portray the shortcomings of diversity as “challenges” that can be minimized through further sensitivity training and the education of children against xenophobic feelings. They know how to ignore countless stories that run against the narrative while playing up stories that demonstrate its success.

This argument is lacking. Many whites know what’s going on and yet they prefer escapism, secure careers, or a comfortable network of politically correct friends and family members, even when they have a chance to take risks. The majority seem to welcome their own demise. One has to wonder if Alt Right men even have the vigor, vitality, and commitment of the 1960s generation. Everyone knows that contemporary White men are emasculated. Feminism is blamed. My view is that white men are the weakest in the world today because they inhabit the most comfortable, easygoing civilization. Prolonged luxurious living, where food is easily obtainable, as the ancient Greeks understood, breeds indulgent men, malleability, and softness. This weakness is a natural consequence of the cyclical nature of history.

Cyclical Decline

Chateau Heartiste and Return of Kings abound with articles of accusations against feminism. The current article by Heartiste is The Innocent Victims of Feminism are Boys. But feminism is a symptom of a wider decline in Western civilization. Western decline has long been written about. Oswald Spengler’s interpretation is the best-known. But even though Spengler spoke about the rise of pacifism, loss of youthful vitality, senescence, and the dissipation of strong identities and moral values in large metropolitan centers, many have a hard time making sense of his biological metaphors; specifically, his talk about the youth, maturity, old age, and eventual death of civilizations, as if they were organisms.

Giambattista Vico (1668-1744), writing when the West was still rising, and taking the decline of Rome as his main example, identified three main cyclical phases in the trajectory of civilizations:

1. Anarchy and savagery 2. Order and civilization 3. Decay and a new anarchic barbarism

Vico’s novelty was to suggest that the underlying mechanism behind these recurrent cyclical phases was the changing psychological state of human beings in response to different realities facing them in civilizational development. When humans face anarchy and savagery, they accept the necessity of behaving in ways that are useful for protecting themselves. They achieve this by creating order, which leads to civilized behavior. But once they achieve comfort through civilization, they focus more on amusements, growing dissolute in luxury and incapable of the discipline and seriousness required to sustain a civilization.

These underlying psychological dispositions were long understood by the ancient Greeks and Romans as common-sense observations about how the demands of survival and living without comforts nurtured strength of character, whereas a life of luxury and easy acquisitions encouraged effeminacy and licentiousness. Ancient Greek literature is full of objections to the pernicious luxury of the Orientals, the older civilizations surrounding them: their harems, eunuchs, and their corrupt intrigues. The very concept of the “Orient” came to mean opulent meals, indulgence, wantonness: effeminacy.

But the thinkers of the modern era, the ones who came up with a lineal view of history, starting with the Scottish philosophers Adam Ferguson, John Millar, and Adam Smith, rejected this cyclical view, and argued instead that all societies pass through a series of “progressive” stages: from primitive savagery to agricultural civilizations to a final stage of commerce. It was their view that the last stage of commerce would bring peaceful relations among nations and commercial riches, and thus the necessary conditions for the full development of human potentialities.

The logic of this idea was accepted in varying ways by most modern European thinkers. Marx’s innovation was to reject the idea that commercial capitalism would be the last stage. The subsequent rejection of the unilineal theories of cultural evolution that Franz Boas initiated – the celebration of primitive ways of life, which is currently a cornerstone of multicultural thinking – remains a variation of progressivism, since it asks Westerners to treat less-developed cultures with equal respect while calling for everyone to be integrated into a liberal modern world order dedicated to the elimination of poverty, warfare, and inequalities. All these arguments, from Adam Smith to Marx to Boas, are of the view that humans can be improved through changes in cultural development. Even the environmentalists have been unable to escape supporting innovations that cut back on pollutants and create nature-friendly technologies.

We have underestimated the cyclical argument and the simple truth that prolonged comfort, peacefulness, relaxation, and a lack of stress and tension weaken the human character. I am going to leave the theory of historical cycles for a future post, and here show that long ago, before the age of feminism, there were some astute observations about the emasculating effects that luxurious living had on the male character. I already alluded to the Greek association of Persian or Oriental luxury with effeminacy (which academia now dismisses as part of a “racialist discourse” intrinsic to the origins of Western civilization).

Greek and Roman Effeminacy

The Greeks themselves were later to be viewed by the Romans as over-intellectualized and over-refined in their tastes. As the Romans began to enjoy abundant wealth for the first time following their victories over the Carthaginians, with the upper classes developing an appetite for the refined tastes of the Greeks, and wanting their male children to learn about Greek rhetoric, art, and philosophy, Cato the Elder (234-149 BC) warned Romans of the weakening effects that Greek ways would have on their traditional toughness. Cato, although a Roman noble, was known for his “rusticity, austerity, and asceticism.” He hated the permissiveness and hedonism that came along with luxury. Plutarch observes about Cato:

His enemies hated him, he used to say, because he rose every day before it was light and neglecting his own private matters, devoted his time to the public interests. He also used to say that he preferred to do right and get no thanks, rather than to do ill and get no punishment; and that he had pardon for everybody’s mistakes except his own.

The Greek historian Polybius (200-118 BC), who bore witness to the ways in which Imperial plenty affected the lives of young Romans, noted how:

…some of [the young Roman men] had abandoned themselves to love affairs with boys and others to consorting with prostitutes, and many to musical entertainments and banquets and all of the extravagances that they entail … infected with Greek weaknesses.

Sallust (86-35 BC) would attribute the collapse of the Republican form of government to the corrupting influence of wealth and the resulting abandonment of traditional values:

When toil is replaced by an attack of indolence, and self-control and fairness by one of lust and haughtiness, there is a change in fortune as well as in morals and behavior.

By the time of Livy (64 or 59 BC-AD 17), we have a historian who believed that the decline of Roman morals was irreversible, lamenting in the Preface to his monumental history of Rome that:

…with the gradual decline of discipline, morals slid, and then more and more collapsed, and finally began to plunge, which has brought us to our present pass, when we can endure neither of vices nor their cures.

Don’t Blame Feminist Women

Some years ago, Chateau Heartiste had a post with the strange title Feminism Responsible for the Fall of Rome. It was strange in that no one has ever spoken about feminism in ancient times, but this post, which consists essentially of a long quote from a comment by some unknown person, could find no other way to account for this commentator’s observations about the dramatic changes that took place in the relation between the sexes in Roman times following the arrival of luxurious living. The commentator goes overboard in his efforts to draw parallels between our times and Rome, but is correct in noting that relations between men and women changed drastically, going from a very patriarchal culture in which family life was revered to a situation in the first century AD in which women had more say over financial and family matters, and the upper classes were uninterested in children:

~1 century BC: Roman civilization blossoms into the most powerful and advanced civilization in the world. Material wealth is astounding, citizens (i.e.: non slaves) do not need to work. They have running water, baths and import spices from thousands of miles away. The Romans enjoy the arts and philosophy; they know and appreciate democracy, commerce, science, human rights, animal rights, children rights and women become emancipated. No-fault divorce is enacted, and quickly becomes popular by the end of the century.

~1-2 century AD: The family unit is destroyed. Men refuse to marry and the government tries to revive marriage with a “bachelor tax,” to no avail. Children are growing up without fathers, Roman women show little interest in raising their own children and frequently use nannies. The wealth and power of women grows very fast, while men become increasingly demotivated and engage in prostitution and vice. Prostitution and homosexuality become widespread.

Blaming feminism for this change in Rome is anachronistic. Feminism is an ideology that emerged in the contemporary West as an expression of decline, but in Rome the decline happened without this ideology. Feminism has accentuated decline in our times, and celebrates it. But blaming feminism, or Cultural Marxism writ large, independent of any other factors, misses the fundamental cyclical nature of history. The Great Depression raised the vitality of men, and produced the “greatest generation” and the baby boom, but this was a temporary check on an otherwise declining trend that began in the nineteenth century.

Rise and Decline of Europe

When Rome fell apart, Germanic barbarians revived the West and brought in new blood, vitality, aggression, and expansionism, culminating in Charles the Great’s empire. This empire broke apart with the intrusion of new barbarians in the ninth century, combined with the decentralizing dynamic of vassal-lord relations. While the more brutalizing aspects of the nobility were “civilized” with the spread of chivalry and the Christian “Truce of God” after 1000 AD, Europeans were still full of zest for glorious actions, testified in their Crusading marches from the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, the Portuguese rounding of Africa at the end of the fifteenth century, and the Spanish crossing of the Atlantic, culminating in the Industrial Revolution.

Through these major epochs, Europeans came to de-emphasize the martial virtues associated with feudalism, and as they turned to commerce, new virtues came to gain precedence: commodious living, orderly existence, and the Protestant emphasis on hard work (notwithstanding the excessive brutality of the religious wars and the interstate rivalries resulting from nation-building during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries).

David Hume, in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1777), noted this transformation from the martial temper of medieval times to the “sociable, good-natured, humane, merciful, grateful, friendly, generous, beneficent” qualities of the moderns. This was a relative contrast; the eighteenth century was hardly merciful and soft by today’s standards; this was the age of worldwide colonization and the imminent brutal Napoleonic wars. The point is that the violent aggressiveness of earlier centuries, which still prevailed in the religious wars and found its expression in Hobbes’ pessimistic view of human nature, was declining and being replaced by a new form of civilized vitality, industriousness, and an intense desire to master the laws of nature.

In 1836, just a year before the great Victorian Age began, when Britain was known for its military vitality and its consolidation of the greatest Empire in history, John Stuart Mill was already lamenting the fact that:

…there has crept over the refined classes, over the whole class of gentlemen in England, a moral effeminacy, an ineptitude for every kind of struggle. They shrink from all effort, from everything which is troublesome and disagreeable . . . They cannot undergo labor, they cannot brook ridicule, they cannot brave evil tongues: they have not the hardihood to say an unpleasant thing to any one whom they are in the habit of seeing … This torpidity and cowardice, as a general characteristic, is new in the world … it is a natural consequence of the progress of civilization, and will continue until met by a system of cultivation adapted to counteract it (“Civilization – Signs of the Times,” in Prefaces to Liberty: Selected Writings of John Stuart Mill, [Boston: Beacon Press, 1959]).

One wonders what J. S. Mill would have said about the preoccupation of our current manosphere, such as Return of Kings, with clothing, color, fabric matching, and complexion. Victorian men cared about clothing, but with the intent of reinforcing the ideal of the proper British man as being self-sufficient, an adventurer, and scientifically-minded, which they felt was damaged with clothing of rich color; only dark colors, straight cuts, and stiff materials could project hardiness and endurance.

The key in J. S. Mill’s observation is that “torpidity and cowardice” are a “natural consequence of the progress of civilization” and of the comforts brought by bourgeois affluence. The expectation recently articulated in a Counter-Currents article that reading about Rome’s glories can teach current White men to regain their valor and heroism is pure wishful thinking. White men today will never build up their “resolve as great as that of the Romans” by reading about the Romans. The Romans built their character, before and during the time of Cato the Elder, by living at a point in the historical cycle when anarchy and savagery demanded hardness, by working extremely hard as farmers, by living in a very patriarchal culture that had harsh laws and expectations, and by undergoing intense military training and warfare. The Rome of Cato was a civilization at its peak; the West today is senile and childless, its families in decline, preoccupied with appearances, and overall too lazy and comfortable.

Decline is irreversible. The relentless occupation of the West by hordes of Muslims and Africans is an expression of White male decadence and effeminacy. Only out of the coming chaos and violence will strong White men rise to resurrect the West.

Ricardo Duchesne is a Canadian historical sociologist and professor at the University of New Brunswick.

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Robert says:April 11, 2017 at 7:33 am

That is an accepted state brought about by the evil influence of a powerful, and hostile minority which is physically undetectable.

Societies can be sabotaged. We have a virus in our system for which the only cure required to break the spell is the courage to speak the truth while it is still permissible, or should I say legal, to do so.

The Alt-right is here.

Andrew says:April 13, 2017 at 7:06 pm

#1 – The problem is – that humans are covetous. In order for them to focus (after a century of brain-washing – through media), you must destroy their idols (if not physically – you must destroy their romantic image, and prove that they are tyrants – in reality).

#2 – Now…physically – we have no means of defeating war-mongers. But…why are they always in power? It is because they are lauded by gullible societies – who believe that they (the elite) have god-like power. // The secret is: the elite are good liars and good war-mongers, but the weakness in their armor – is what they don’t want exposed about their Satanic life-styles. This includes the following:

-Blood-drinking (look up “adrenal-chrome” – which is the chemical released from the brain to the blood, when a human is being killed)

-Cannibalism (it’s scientifically proven that consumers of human-flesh get a disease called “kuru”)

-Education-Revisionism (every-thing we’re taught is a direct-lie or half-truth; and it all directs us away from any blame of the Jesuits or Zionists)

-Fiat-Banking (we’ve been learning about it (for years) – thanks to G. Edward Griffin & Ron Paul)

-Media-Manipulation (every-thing in movies or on t.v. is a lie; and it all directs us away from any blame of the Jesuits or Zionists)

-Paedophilia (the continental-governments (monarchies), corporations, media, & military are rife with this gross behavior; and it’s all based on the ancient-mystery religions & the “Talmud” – both out of Babylon)

-Murder (of course – goes with the blood-rituals & cannibalism; but these people are also known to “suicide” whistle-blowers; and you might check out Randy Quaid’s press-conference (years ago) about “star-whacking” in Hollywood)

-Voting is no more a solution – than a cure-all drug from a pharmaceutical-company (if cure-alls & votes served their purpose, both the corporations & politicians would be out of a job)

So (my point is) – expose what they don’t want you to expose. Stop (so much) lingering on the representatives in D.C., and begin informing people about the “Illuminati”-connections. (They are the ones sabotaging our world, while we’re distracted – by what’s on media & the D.C.-drama.) // Time’s wasting folks; and its up to our generation to conquer these issues. Our parents’ generation are retired (many of them) – just wanting to relaxing in the sun-set; and the younger people just want to party and stay stupid (and my apologies – to the few exceptions who give a damn).

So – that’s it: our enemies (lying about us) – have turned us into slaves; and we need to merely tell the truth (about them) – to be set free again. (It may induce Martial Law – when they have no exit of refuge, but I’d rather lose my freedom fighting for it – instead of being a vulnerable duck on a pond (waiting to get shot).)

My regards to the “Cess-Pool”-family. Andrew (4-13-17) (5:06 p.m.)

Beth says:April 15, 2017 at 9:19 am

Very interesting. It’s refreshing to hear about other things besides Feminism as the reason for our decline. I’m going to recommend this article on social media. Thanks.

#alt right #feminism #james edwards #Ricardo Duchense

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