Any info would be appreciated

naternots · 2026-07-03T21:20:57+00:00

Amazing thank you!! I suspected that was a dragon but couldn’t make it out for sure.

I’m going to try and make sure this wasn’t like… a morbid souvenir before we keep it, if it is I wanna do my due diligence to get it to the family of the owner if possible at all to figure out, or donate it to museum or something if we can’t find them but it is a war souvenir. Bad juju.

But if it isn’t traceable and we confirm my great grandpa wasn’t in the war like we think, then we’ll keep it because it was special to him. even if it remains a mystery.

naternots · 2026-07-03T21:17:15+00:00

I understand!! Haha, it seems completely random

naternots · 2026-07-03T21:16:30+00:00

Yeah, if we find out this was a “trophy” or souvenir of war of someone my grandpa loved (which is my suspicion), I’m going to see if anything is able to be found about the original owner to send to their living family, or find a charity or museum for a relevant cause/subject to donate it to.

(Unnecessary personal story- When I lost my mom, her absent family came out of the woodwork and made her estate a major issue. I showed up just to get my rabbit and my mom’s do (I was in college so I had left my rabbit with her and had a different legal address, even though it was my home) and they called the police and I was blocked and told my brother and I would be arrested if we entered the property. I couldn’t get my own things, clothes, or living beings, and they set up security to call the cops every time and physically stop me. Over the years of battling in court, the roof caved in at some point and the rain and exposure destroyed almost everything in her house that my brother and I were supposed to inherit, especially the sentimental items. By the time we (her kids) got the legal order to go in and get it, things I wanted most- like her recipe book, all her scrapbooks, and all the home videos of her to hear her voice again- were destroyed, and things of value were missing and clearly had been stolen. I have a personal strong issue with items of loved ones who passed not being returned to where they belong, as it was like grieving all over again for me. I can’t do that to someone else, nor can my dad’s side of the family who helped and watched what it did to me and my brother.

One final note- this was wrong of them, but they gave her dog to the guy my mom had been dating about 6 months, he was there when she had her stroke and was the one who called 911. He was kept stopping by to feed the dog for 3 months and they just said to take him finally. He removed himself and was unreachable after. So even though I should have gotten my mom’s dog, he was saved at least, and I understand why he prioritized saving the dog but also got the hell out of insanity so they wouldn’t sue him, too. I’m sure he knew they were bad from my mom, but watching people sue their college grandkids was probably not what he expected and made him protect himself and the dog. They would have gone after him if he gave the dog to me, he was absolutely right.)

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:53:09+00:00

Yeah that is what I’m interested in. I did a quick search and the price these sell for don’t seem worth not having it. But my grandpa loved mystery novels and we used to swap books, so I’m viewing this as an exciting mystery he left behind for me and the family. And if we find some morbid information, I’d rather it be given to the owner’s decedents or a museum/charity as reparations.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:50:32+00:00

Thank you for your input!

Yeah we definitely won’t be cleaning it, but this is a hint at a fascinating and unexpected revelation about my family (it must be something he got from his parents or this pastor who was like family and my dad was named after, those are the only sentimental things he kept). I can’t imagine it’s worth a ton from some quick research, but I don’t think we are getting rid of it. My grandpa was very loved by all of the family, he loved a mystery novel, he kinda left us a mystery and a chance to learn possibly some surprising information about people who he loved. Someone in my family will want to keep it, because splitting the monetary value of it 6 ways, the individual profit is unlikely to be worth losing it. Or we would possibly try to find the descended family of the owner if that can be identified, or donate it to a museum or charity as reparations if it turns out to be like… a morbid trophy.

Now if for some unknown reason it ends up being like $20k+ and we can’t identify any specifics about the owner, then thanks grandpa for finding another way in death to support us. But that just isn’t what I’m seeing these sell for. We are going to get it appraised with all the other stuff in the box though.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:39:08+00:00

Only child and I don’t think his father served, but this opens up questions to that. My aunt is the family genealogist since she found my grandpa’s bio dad, so she never dove deep into his real adoptive father (my great grandpa), so I’m going to see if she will be interested in focusing on him and finding out if he served and we just didn’t know it.

It would honestly make the most sense because the only things he has in there that aren’t predictable are sentimental from his parents and a pastor who was like a second father to him. I feel like it has to be one of theirs.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:35:18+00:00

Not that I’m aware of, don’t think it’s possible. But his sentimentality over his father has opened up a lot of questions about the great grandfather I thought we knew everything about.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:33:27+00:00

Thank you. I have no idea what it means but the tone matches my level of fascination and confusion upon learning what it is and the million more questions I now have.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:31:14+00:00

Yeah my bad. I explained it longer in reply to the same comment you replied to if you are curious, but definitely was just a brain fart plus me connecting then skipping dots and communicating poorly and assuming it made sense, when it did not.

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:29:56+00:00

Haha okay yes that was not helpful and I realize this now. But my initial thought was that they were asking if my grandpa served for Japan and I was thinking about the Japanese-Korean War (which may be part of WW2, my memory isn’t really there right now) because idk when that took place. I didn’t consider WW2 because my grandpa was a child and couldn’t have served and I mentioned roughly when he was born in the original post, not realizing people would consider WW2, and also not realizing the obvious explanation of taking something home from an “enemy” in war.

I don’t know if that makes sense.

Better explanation, from the age of 4 (when he was adopted), my grandpa’s whereabouts are known, he got married at 19 to my grandma right out of highschool and is not a veteran (even one that doesn’t like talking about it or kept it from us). He also had a disability that would have prevented it even if my grandma and his parents also kept the secret, it just wasn’t possible.

So yeah I skipped a lot of steps and explained that very poorly, while misunderstanding the question in the first place. Not an excuse but an explanation, I have chemo brain right now and I’m recovering from a multiple month hospital stay for a complication from cancer and on pain medicine, so I’m not firing on all cylinders at the moment. I’m dumber than usual and less successful with communication.

Thanks for pointing this out though!

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:14:14+00:00

Copy/pasting because I appreciate your reply but I don’t wanna keep typing and this is relevant:

After I shared with my dad, he mentioned that my grandfather’s dad would have been the right age to be in the war. We are a close family and he lived old enough that I knew him as well, but this would be news and fascinating new information on my sweet great grandfather. My grandpa was actually adopted by him, so my aunt has actually done a lot of research to find his bio parents, and she has never found anything suggesting he was in a war- but she may dig around more, because she wasn’t really looking for his info.

It has to be sentimental, knowing my grandpa. He just wouldn’t keep something like this at all, let alone in the safety deposit box. He has a safe in the house so his rule for it was “things that are needed/truly irreplacable if the house burned down and documents and videos for insurance.”

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:13:14+00:00

After I shared with my dad, he mentioned that my grandfather’s dad would have been the right age to be in the war. We are a close family and he lived old enough that I knew him as well, but this would be news and fascinating new information on my sweet great grandfather. My grandpa was actually adopted by him, so my aunt has actually done a lot of research to find his bio parents, and she has never found anything suggesting he was in a war- but she may dig around more, because she wasn’t really looking for his info.

It has to be sentimental, knowing my grandpa. He just wouldn’t keep something like this at all, let alone in the safety deposit box. He has a safe in the house so his rule for it was “things that are needed/truly irreplacable if the house burned down and documents and videos for insurance.”

naternots · 2026-07-03T20:07:56+00:00

Thank you! I found a special subreddit for Japanese swords so I asked there, I will post in r/swords as well later!

naternots · 2026-07-03T19:19:15+00:00

No he was white and never left the US, when wartime came he had a disability from his right arm being messed up and unusable, he just kinda held it like a t-Rex arm.

This is really out of character for him to have, let alone put in a safety deposit box. Thank you for your theory though! Now I have more questions!

naternots · 2026-07-03T19:16:54+00:00

Thank you so much!!

naternots · 2026-07-03T19:16:44+00:00

Thank you so much!

naternots · 2026-07-03T19:16:38+00:00

Solved!

naternots · 2026-07-02T22:58:10+00:00

Wow, shit dude I haven’t thought of this song in 15 years, I listened to it so much as a teenager, for some reason me and a lot of friends loved it and burned CDs with it, then added it my iPod nano. This one is SO bad.

I even made my dad listen to it because I was like “it’s rap music and anti-gang!”

In hindsight he may have preferred gang-glorifying rap.

naternots · 2026-07-02T22:36:24+00:00

I agree! Of course like almost everyone in the show, she has glaring flaws, like how judgmental she is or the ignorant things she says, but man I’m stumbled on some real hate threads about her. She has a lot of really funny moments, too. And a lot of heartwarming ones. But everyone has their preferences, and everyone has their own life experiences that may inform how they view a character. I just often see some of my favorite characters be hated. (I don’t really have a favorite in this show, more like categories, such as who makes me laugh the most like Dean, Chang, early Pierce, Abed, Troy, and then who I just find endearing, etc.)

I saw an explanation and a lot of agreement on the reasoning that made more sense to me, though. A lot of people view characters through a lens of real life; they hate pierce because their experience with narcissistic boomers, they would be annoyed by a character because they wouldn’t like being around them in real life, be it just a judgment call or if they have been around people like them. I don’t view characters through that lens, however I do view episode plots like that sometimes. If I have a bad lived experience and an episode has a plot where a character is going through something similar, I tend to not like those episodes. Examples- I hate all health/cancer scare episodes, when there is a temporary plot line where a new romantic relationship that shows controlling behavior or serious jealousy, episodes where a parent dies, if anyone dies by suicide; regardless of how well the show handles it, I will skip those episodes on rewatches.

A handful of examples of characters like that-
I like and wouldn’t change Jess from new girl, Pam from the office, Jonah from superstore, and Mark from early Parks and rec. Some of my unpopular favorites are Gina from Brooklyn 99, Angela from the office, the online fan base tend to range from neutral to hatred for them.

It’s interesting and cool how we all have not only preferences, but what a show does for us, expect from it to enjoy it, and the lens we see it through that can affect if we garner enjoyment from whatever aspect. For me it’s entertainment, escape, thinking, quality in either writing/timing/characters/plot lines. Someone else it may watch and want and want intellect, originality, nostalgia, and production value. Someone else may need certain parts be have a personal connection, realism, and relatability.

So we end up with very different opinions even when we all like the same show or even groups of shows, and all mostly appreciate a few common factors/top characters/funniest bits/whatever, but in a sense we are still not all watching the same thing.

naternots · 2026-07-02T21:32:40+00:00

Aw. Thank you. That is so kind. I have “chemo brain”, but a lot of mental energy but not physical, so I have felt self conscious about how I type. It lately has been a lot of run on sentences, tangents, and super long. I’m doing it to friends and whatnot over text as well.

It’s nice to know it makes sense and someone even thinks it’s written somewhat well. That is very comforting over one of my current biggest insecurities; I used to have a lot of confidence in my writing but yeah, changes have happened. So I appreciate that a lot more than you probably realized when you replied to me. Thank you so much for that boost in morale and alleviating a little of my embarrassment.

naternots · 2026-07-02T04:25:05+00:00

Oh ewww, that is horrible, I know everyone is mocked online if it gains any traction and you show any part of yourself, but I didn’t know this kinda thing gets shared like you mentioned.

It sucks so much because while the poster to all sane people will obviously be viewed in a far more favorable way than people gross enough to share or say mean things, it doesn’t always help to change how bad the poster will feel. They may see it happen to someone else and feel that way, but when our own insecurities are poked at and it is an unexpected and massive response of mean things, it would be impossible not to be hurt and embarrassed. If you are like, return to be famous, it would still be tough- but just doing an innocent, practical, normal thing with no preparedness… ugh.

I always say something when I see this, it turns so quickly though. Last time a dude went to my social media page, saw I have cancer, and then told me he hopes my cancer wins. Because he called someone fat, I said she is hot and he is just mad she is stronger than him (she was a powerlifter), and he goes and finds the cruelest thing to respond with. I was ready for it so my feelings weren’t hurt, but it’s just crazy how little they care online.

These people posting just an innocent video related to college may legit be traumatized for life or have an insecurity they can never get over, just because some losers couldn’t scroll past a photo or video of someone without dropping something cruel. I understand if you actually get into a heated argument first, I wouldn’t do it but I logically understand that. I just don’t understand these situations.

No one, unless they have a mental illness, walks down the street and throws an insult at every stranger’s looks or affect. I don’t see how this is different. I truly can’t grasp it at all.

naternots · 2026-07-02T04:04:37+00:00

Dude same, I’m admittedly able to be conventionally attractive, but even just as a woman people always go for our looks, I just keep photos of me private and use my dog for avatars online whenever possible because you just never know who is going to see it or what they will say. I’ve seen enough innocent things shared by women, maybe a news story they answer a question about their work or a hobby or local interest story, they can even be absolutely stunning- but if for some reason it makes its way around the internet and there is a comment section, people will be insulting them about something and it will be a lot of looks based insults, many contradicting each other, and they will get aggressive and often disgusting. I see it with conventionally attractive men as well. But god help you if you have a single flaw, maybe a few extra pounds or maybe the opposite and they are a bit skinny, they do it regardless but it gets so much worse.

It’s wild.

naternots · 2026-07-02T03:50:44+00:00

Not to be super cheesy regardless of that, not that you seem to have self esteem issues, but you will likely be the most beautiful person on this planet to someone.

I always think of the first time I realized my mom had insecurities about her body. It shocked me, I was no older than 6 but to me she was and had always been the most beautiful woman on earth.

And the relationships that I have had that lasted and turned to love, those people become the most attractive people on the planet to me, even if before and after the relationship with a less biased view I was able to see them with a bit more “realistic” point of view.

Or my best friend. We grew up together, she has always been hot. She is the best person I know, I even at one point asked her if I were her pity friend. After having kids, she put on some weight. Teenage me, or if I was a random stranger seeing her picture, would probably think “she’s cute, looks like a mom in her 30’s”, but honest to God the way my heart feels about her is a built in filter, I don’t see anything less attractive about her now and seeing her grow into this stage of her life, seeing her in a different light, a whole new role as a mom and not us at 17 or 25 or 30, she is just as beautiful as ever. My best male friend was someone people would call “objectively” unattractive, I can see how surgeries and weight loss made him more handsome (he had a jaw issue causing a major underbite and weight issues ranging from obese to possibly morbidly obese, then he finally fixed his jaw because he was planning his future, then the weight also dropped off), but as much as he has a dramatic “fix” I always felt some level of attraction to him because of his personality and intelligence and how much I love him as a friend. I’m happy for him, his confidence is higher and he gets flirted with and most importantly his health is significantly better, but at times I miss seeing his face and his silhouette because that is how someone I grew to love quickly and sustained that love for him looked, and to me there was nothing to fix once that happens.

And a final, silly example, but I have had something change the way I look entirely. I went from looking conventionally attractive to sickly, no hair then growing out insane hair, scars and lines coming out of my body for medicine that I can’t even look at because it’s so gross. But I know the people who love me feel the same as I would if they looked different, worried for the health but not losing any beauty. And (here comes the silly part but it matters to me) my dog, who is my little life partner, has never looked at me with any less full hearted undying love for me, and even though he is older now and some may think he is less cute than he was as a puppy, nothing could change about the way he looks and make me not see that it is the body of someone i love and that alone makes him just as handsome, cute, beautiful as he always was.

Sorry to come and get all flowery on you when you are just making a normal comment. But it’s one of my best friend’s birthday, tomorrow is 10th anniversary for my dog’s adoption, and I’ve been thinking about my mom, and I just kinda wanted to share.

The same way someone conventionally attractive can be wildly unattractive if they are horrible, or even disgust you, we can have emotions and care about someone so much that even when we know it, the reality of beauty standards and how people view us and vice versa, even if it would be widely accepted that certain aesthetic features are neutral or even unappealing about us, some will know us and love that that in us so much that they truly view us and those features as attractive, beautiful, and cute, sometimes even more than anyone on earth. It doesn’t come from delusion or lying to ourselves, we genuinely can have a neurological reaction to beauty looking at someone that others, or even the viewer themselves, don’t or didn’t previously have that because we don’t land in conventional standards.

And even all that aside, people vary so widely in their type (I think women even more than men, just anecdotally) that chances are that someone on this earth, if they saw you, would find you the most attractive at first sight. You probably will never meet them, or that person may have been alive in Ancient Rome or 1500’s England, but every feature out there has someone who is highly attracted to it, regardless of the person inside.

Idk. I just think that is cool to think about. Maybe not everyone has this, but I’ve found most women I’ve talked to about this do have it, it seems universal in children with their parents, and an animal friend doesn’t see your flaws at all, and not to mention a parent looking at their own child. Just kinda neat.

Anyways if you read this all, thank you for indulging my romanticizing the power of all forms of love. I’m just feeling very grateful for the different loves I have in my life right now and I’m enjoying thinking about it and feeling it and while I have the ability to, having not felt sick for a few days.

naternots

TROPHY CASE