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cinnamon-phrog · 10 months

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Just to give you an excuse to shout about him, what's your favourite trait of kryten's?

Bald :)

So like have you ever seen of the Benny Hill show and seen the running gag where he takes this short bald dude and just smacks his head like an honest to god boo. I wanna d that to Kryters bc it would be funny.

But to be a little more specific, I like his story the most.

WARNING: A very long discussion about Kryten like genuinely I've been writing this for like genuinely hours read my deranged ramblings at your own risk

It's expanded upon a little more in the novels, and in it there's more information about his time at Nova 5.

Poor bog-bot just wanted to help out the only way he knew how to: Cleaning, and in the process he killed most of the crew and nursed the dying ones to the where he was just straight-up in denial over their deaths to the point where he believed his own internal lies.

He can lie to himself, but not to others. I find that really interesting about him. Makes me want to learn more.

He wants to be a sarcastic little bitch-droid, but outwardly he will always behave like a mild-mannered single divorced 50's housewife with three demanding human/humanoid beings to take care of.

In the books, his existence is touched upon in a... very depressing light.

In Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, instead of being talked out of deactivating himself, he actually does so.

Only for Lister to bring him back, of course.

And throughout the entire book series he thinks of or nearly deactivates himself, it's more prominent in the books but I ~think~ he says it in the show too, but I can't be sure.

And oh my god Backwards. Backwards my best friend whom I despise.

There's so much Kryten in there, and his little internal insights are interesting to me.

He kills in reverse, for example. And the whole idea of him killing someone is enough to make him want to deactivate himself.

He also, canonically, when he has nothing to do or have any use in that given moment, will sit in his bunk in complete fear that he isn't doing what he was made to do, and the guilt drives him near insane.

I realize I'm only grasping at the books but they make me AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. He's such a. All the Dwarf boys are angstty but I've seen nobody fully touch on Kryten so it might as well be me, it is my SilliconGod given right.

I like how glittery he is in the middle series', it's very subtle but I see it and am transfixed. Bewitched even.

He ism't ugly to me. I mean yeah he's not going to get onto the cover of Vogue [he should though. Can you fucking imagine. Rob or Doug if you need any promotional ideas for those new projects you teased this would be so fucking funny please.]

But his eyes ARE pretty. To ME.

Also may I touch up on the comics because they are wonderful.

There's a few bits about Androids, that robot sitcom he likes, and there's a literal [offscreen] sex-scene, which can mean either:

Even though the demographic is specified for droids, because of the obvious, thinly veiled by humour classism sex exists purely in the show simply to appeal to humans because they're the ones who made it and even though it's a show for robots it's still got to appeal to their masters.

To go against the all robots are asexual allegations Kryten just genuinely doesn't like it because it is Icky to him and he's rather Get It On by cleaning [another canon thing in the books, dirty things, like literal dirty things like unwashed plates and umopped floors, fill him with rapture and make his mouth dry with lust. Also need ye forget DNA and becomes a human where he gets a major chubby while looking at a magazine article for vacuum cleaners...........

And his disdain for cute and conventionally attractive is evident in both the show and the comics.

He thinks Cammiles' appearance [both mechanoid and blob form] to be cute not despite of her imperfections, but because of them, and if that isn't just the cutest thing in the entire world I don't know what is.

He disdains a creature called the Geep in the comics, a autism-creature looking ass bitch that leeches off of human protectiveness with it's adorable fluffiness, to which Kryten is unbothered by, in fact annoyed by.

Same for the episode in the later series where........ uh........... well............. Cat gets pregnantenant and the kiddos use their shapeshifting abilities to look cute [like a hedgehog in a top hat with a little shopping trolley] to which Kryters Could Not Give a Single Fibre optic Fuck about.

He just wants to chill and be a little selfish and honestly he deserves it. He deserves that garden he dreamt of dammit.

Speaking of, it's not mentioned in the books. But he most definitely is hinted to have desires.

In Better Than Life, he's mopping the floor for Cat before Rimmers psyche taints the virtual world, and when the milk turns sour and Cats' Valkirie Sex Slave Army walk out on him seem awfully convenient since in IWCD one of Krytens' favourite scenes in Androids is where a character sets all the prosti-droids free, that combined with his response to Cat makes me think that he definitely willed that to happen himself and Rimmers' mind actually started poisoning he and Cats' part of BTL at the volcano.

And oh my god..... Backwards' ending.

He sacrifices himself for his friends, killing himself, not out of feeling useless, but because it was the only way he could come at use and save them. Or at least he was able to save just Lister and Cat.

The next book, The Last Human, doesn't really grab my eye but theres' a part where Kryten greets this GELF dude [or the dictator of the GELFS or something I don't know] And it's briefly mentioned that he just loves people that go against the system, that he totally would if it wasn't in his stupid code to obey, and it makes him 'shiver'.

He seems to want love, after being more than disappointed to have to tell Cammile to go off the her blob husband Hector [Hector is a fucking Cuck] but he did it anyway, even though the truth was he wanted her to stay, he lied to make her happy.

Because he doesn't see himself highly at all. He demeans himself to such an extreme it makes me want to take his stupid geometric head and kiss it because he NEEDS affection he needs to KNOW WHT IT'S LIKE SO BADLY and I want him to receive that!!!!!!! I want to give him that!!!!!

When I was a little kid I switched the channel to one playing Red Dwarf and all I could remember some years later was Kryten and how silly he was.

I then saw the promotional Red Dwarf AA ads for TPL, and I had no idea what RD even was at the time and thought they were just some weird mascots.

THEN. A little bit later. I was bored as shit with nothing to do and I flicked the channel again. Low and behold, enter El Roboto.

I could just FEEL the crush coming on so I had to literally force myself to stop watching RD and forget about it because god damn it not him anything but him. I even tried to get myself to develop a crush on literally any other character [as you can probably tell by now, and if not well... I think your reading comprehension might need a tad of work] it did not work.

So, he's been present in my life before I even knew his name, [and before I could even spell my own] and by that logic it makes sense why I just adore him as much as I do, it's like that dream you can't remember but the feelings you felt never left.

I joke about hating him but the opposite is true. The complete opposite.

He's my own special little guy, who I rotate in my mind when I'm bored and who's existence eases me when I'm sad.

I have been writing this for literally hours nonstop because I cannot hold back when it comes to talking about him. I'm sure if I thought a little more I could come up with another thousand reasons I love him but I have to go to bed.

#rd #red dwarf #kryten #kryten 2x4b 523p #f/o #<--- i am slightly confident enough to put this in the f/o tag as well as the rd tag and i'll ease into it #🤖🌠#it is nearly ten and i've been writing this since seven fucking SMITE ME

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facetsofthecloset · 2 months

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I have been thinking a lot about vampires and my recent ADHD diagnosis and now I’m thinking about vampirism as a metaphor for ADHD (though I’m sure I’m not the first person to make this comparison)

(Warning for personal mental health rambling and suicide mentions) (also blood bc vampires)

The bulk of it is the constant…aching. The world feels like sandpaper on my brain, always and forever, unless I have something distracting me or keeping me focused.

(Or possibly if I get medication. Which I have not yet because did you know Adderall and other stimulant ADHD meds are straight up banned in Japan bc it’s potentially abusable?!?!? I had no idea the laws were THAT fucking draconic bc I’m not really a drug person personally. Like obviously I knew about pot being illegal but ADDERALL?? I’m 100% certain based on personal experience with suicide ideation caused by chronic understimulation that this is a factor in Japan’s high suicide rate!!!! I literally get suicidal when I’m hungry and I’m sure that’s due at least in part to the emotional disregulation and difficulty identifying emotions/triggers, although I need to discuss that with my psychiatrist next time!)

Lots of vampire stories/lore touch on the hunger for blood in kind of similar terms, or at least in ways that aren’t too far off.

A deep down, uncontrollable and insatiable longing, a drive that can cause you to fixate on achieving a goal that you think will satisfy you, yet every success has a hollowness at its core bc you KNOW that satiation is temporary?

A drive that can be destructive and detrimental to you and everyone around you if you’re not careful or always mindful?

A need that can be overpowering, intoxicating, pushing you to temptation and impulse, or subtle and pervasive and creeping in the background?

Familiar, right?

At least vampires know there’s one answer that will satisfy them every time, even if it’s temporary. People with ADHD have to jump from stimulus to stimulus, spending so much energy just searching for a solution, never knowing what might do the trick.

Or having something that works today be a useless dried out husk tomorrow.

Then there’s the tendency of ADHD folks to be night owls—not always of course, but I think it’s relatively common? Or at least having irregular/unaligned-to-broader-society sleep schedules. Oh, and schedules, who ever heard of a vampire with schedules? (Don’t @ me I’m sure there are plenty of examples in media 😂, but I’m talking your stereotypical pop culture Dracula [and not to actual book Dracula since that guy actually seems to have had a schedule or at least an agenda lol])

Discworld vampires who take up the Black Ribbon (a vow to not drink human blood for those who don’t know) do it by switching their fixation on drinking blood to something else—explicit textual examples being light (in practice photography)(Otto Chriek my beloved) and coffee (don’t let the beans run out). I think you can argue this as more of a special interest than hyperfixation, but they’re along similar lines.

You can also talk about the social isolation. It’s not always true but plenty of people with ADHD have a hard time in general society bc the way we think doesn’t align. Vampiric isolation tends to be more along the lines of not wanting to live near something that could and would kill you so obviously not a one to one there, but there’s also lots of media that depict sympathetic vampires who WANT to be part of society “normally” but can’t bc people don’t understand them and thus don’t want them around.

I don’t really know how to end this, it’s just something I was thinking about today. I’ve always liked vampires as a concept but never thought about the need for blood as the main appeal—but maybe subconsciously I was relating to it?

Idk I’m dizzy and tired and want the sandpaper to go away. I’m gonna go play around with my vampire OC lol

#ramblings #adhd and vampires #you can tell by the use of parentheses that I have adhd lol #too tired to edit and like. mask that #anyway don’t take any of this too seriously it’s personal anecdotes

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scott-mccall-the-hot-girl · 3 years

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my ultimate guide to thiam fic !!

( as a new teen wolf stan )

the classic post war, long ass (multi chapter) fic !!with great development that genuinely made me laugh out loud, they have the best friendship in this & i love it very much. ( like theo teaches liam to drive and i just *happy sobs* ) a fundamental in thiam fanfiction !! all stans have probably already read it but if you haven’t this is in fact a threat ,, go show this vv iconic story some love !!

Airplanes - Captainmintyfresh

Summary: After the Anuk-ite and the hunters are dealt with Liam needs a break. Cue Theo and a road trip that Liam should know better than to think will be peaceful.

Not Rated, No Archive Warnings Apply, Completed, 43/43 Chapters, Words: 236,875 (236k)

okay okay so this one is also post 6B !! but ,, now we introduce fighting monroe & the hunters again ,, so we get the boys & a new mission !! so if you like an intresting plot 11/10 would recommend !! just to be clear this ISN’T complete ,, if that turns you off i understand but definitely give this one a read !! it litterally have theo doing crossword puzzles & fighting zombies

Vacancy Signs - LovelyLittleGrim

Summary: Theo and Liam are in Manhattan negotiating a pack allyship when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. Now, the two of them have to find their way back to Beacon Hills without getting eaten by zombies or killing one another.

Rated: Explicit, Graphic Description of Violence, Not Completed, 15/17 Chapters, Words: 89,605 (89k)

Royalty AU !! I REPEAT ROYALTY AU !! a fantastic au where i stan their moms more than i stan them !! genuinely so good at the childhood rivals to lovers trope !! i’m genuinely obsessed with this one. has made me cry more than once ,, hurts in a good way <3 the ending is just *chefs kiss* also one of the tags is genuinely: # theo and liam make bad choices for over 130k straight !! if that doesn’t sound appealing i don’t know what does !!

Artificial Love - songbvrd

Summary: Prince Theo and Prince Liam are forced to spend every Summer together from age five onwards. They hate each other, and usually find ways to make each other miserable as much as possible in their six weeks together. But when they're reunited because of intended unions as adults, things change. They're both supposed to be married to noble women, but neither of them is as interested in anyone else as they are with their childhood rival.

Rated: Mature, No Archive Warnings Apply, Completed, Chapters: 32/32, Words: 172,935 (172k)

so if you are in the mood for a crack fic that’s not explicitally a crack fic this is for you !! okay so i’m really hit or miss with AU’s ,, sometimes i feel like they don’t quite capture the characters right but this story have the BEST dramatic liam i have ever seen in my life !! basically they all live in the same apartment building & it’s fantastic !! i saw this one floating around a lot but the summary didn’t really unrest me until i have it a shot !! so go read it rn !! also nolan & brett are genuinely fantastic and make me wheeze ,, LIKE ACTUALLY VERBALLY LAUGHING !! all i’m gonna say is that my fav characters are scott & the beetles but that won’t make actual sense until you read it !!

The Neighbors Song - TheodoreR

Summary: “I always hear you singing on your balcony every morning, but suddenly you’ve stopped?”

Or the one where Theo annoys Liam every morning with his awful singing until he doesn’t anymore and Liam is even more annoyed. Liam hates every single thing about his mornings -the fact that they happen in the morning alone is enough. The thing Liam hates the most about his mornings though is the terrible voice of the guy who lives below him. He can’t sing for shit and Liam tried to politely let him understand that by throwing flour and water on his balcony, and also by shouting it to him, you can’t sing for shit!, and then by writing it into a note he proceeded to attach to his door, but this Raeken guy just keeps doing it, every single morning, like a fucking rooster. Liam did nothing to deserve this. He probably didn’t do anything to deserve better either to be fair, he doesn’t expect to open his window and be welcomed by some angelic voice singing him good morning, he’d just be happy with nothing. Silence. That’s something Liam can appreciate in mornings. Just some bark from his dog and the sound of his misery and that’s it. But no, god forbid the new guy lets him have that.

Rated: Explicit, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Wanrings, Completed, 8/8 Chapters, Words: 42,814 (42k)

me: i’m not a big fan of AU’s ,, proceeds to talk about ANOTHER au… OKAY BUT THIS ONE !! it’s not complete but the author has been updating regularly ,, vv slow burn !! but in a REALLY intresting way !! i lOVE LIAM IN THIS SO MUCH ,, he is such a diaster of a person and it’s wonderful !! they have a great dynamic & i’m sucker for general puppy pack content ( and erica reyes being a badass ) !! also theo plays lacrosse in this & i really like it ahhhhh ,, also liam is just being an artic monkeys stan the whole time & theo is like *que confused repressed gay noises*

Inglorious Roommates - honeyscape

Summary: A roommate is defined as “a person with whom one shares a room.”

Theo would say a roommate was more along the lines of, “The person who's the bane of his existence. The weirdo that sleeps for days. The spaz that exercises at 3am. The guy with a revolving door of annoying friends. An insufferable human being that Theo has no control over living in his room.”

Example: Theo hates his roommate Liam.

okay okay i hate myself but i have another WIP for y’all !! this one is jUST FANTASTIC. i’m genuinely so upset it’s most likely not going to updated again *incoherent screaming ensues*. for this story ,, it’s very theo-centric bUT thats bc it ends right before liam becomes a concrete member of the story !! ANYWAY: basic plot = theo & acquiring not one but two children ,, so #dad theo but he is still crusty & homeless and i love him very much. it’s just so GOOD !! just read if you want to experience my fav theo coming out story & him etching high school musical

Look who's talking - Captainmintyfresh

Summary: Theo had been labeled many things in his life. Evil, failure, monster. He'd never thought Father would be one of those things but as he looked across the table to a six year old with blue smears of bubble gum icecream across her face trying to coax the first words out of her sister. Finger jabbing towards Theo's face as she repeated 'Daddy' again and again he couldn't bring himself to dispute the label.

(Theo accidentally adopts two young werewolves)

Not Rated, Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings, Not Completed, Chapters: 16/?, Words: 48740 ( 48k )

so here me out: post-canon ( poetry like angst ) summer get away !! just the boys doing cute little domestic things together whilst pining !! theo’s guilt in this is just so powerful & aGjffkgkkfkvkdlv !! i think it’s so interesting to see how they interact in this one, it’s just very heart warming !! and it features one of my favorite niche teen wolf tropes of theo being great with like seven year old girls- it’s just so good ,, very much a wonderful little one shot that just makes your heart happy.

(next time i see you you'll show me) a hundred different ways to say the same things - cherrysprite

Summary: “...You deserve good things,” Liam says eventually. He makes sure not to look at Theo even though he can feel his eyes turn on him. Somehow he can already tell that Theo doesn’t believe him.

Liam instantly makes that the goal of this summer - making Theo believe him.

Rating: Teen and Up, No Archive Warnings Apply, Chapters: 1/1, Words: 28875 ( 28k )

okay so this next section of fic recs is a bit different !!

two of my favorite authors !! and a compilation of fics i’ve read by them both !!

for context: these two have written some genuinely gorgeous fics, like pure poetry, they explore the real gritty & scary side of our boys relationship in such a wonderful way. they’ve both used some of my favorite tropes & i love them very much !!

whenever i need something soothing but so genuinely intresting & enticing these are my go to !! ( also they both write a lot of good nolan angst & some vv good fics with hayden )

go check out:

eneiryu

as well as fallingforboys

here are some of my favorite fics by them ~

darling i want you here in my arms (kiss the pain away, i know you can) - fallingforboys

even before you touched me, i belonged to you (all you had to do was look at me) - fallingforboys

memories linger like tattoo scars (but your touch on my skin is just as permanent) - fallingforboys

skin, bones, a stolen heart, and an ugly creature lurking underneath -fallingforboys

i don't know how to breathe in the place i called home - fallingforboys

whisper your gossamer truths into the shadow, maybe you'll find the answers you're searching for - fallingforboys

between the mountains and the valley we built a monument to our regret - eneiryu

cracked the hinges of the cage and waited for you - eneiryu

okay and finally: since i am a self centered whore

my own fic: an rendition of the # elevator scene

it’s basically my version of post canon if we did get the kiss in the elevator. we got a classic liam pov in which he is has 12/10 for extreme bi diaster energy even whilst being shot at !! so go him ig…

Fuck Off, Fuck This & Fuck It! - nefelibata_peach

Summary: Liam thought to himself heart rate climbing, they were bound to be dead by morning. So he thought with everything but his brain and he kissed him.

Where Liam Dunbar is very confused, slightly traumatized, and just a bit scared but hey, aren't they all! Bad decisions ensue as two boys fight in a war they never did sign up for.

Rating: Teen and Up, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Chapters: 1/1, Words: 3558 ( 3k )

#this took me so long #please go read these or i’ll cry #fan fiction #fan fic recs #teen wolf fic recs #thiam fanfiction #thiam fic recs #thiam #theo raeken #liam dunbar #theo x liam #teen wolf fandom #teen wolf gay #teen wolf #ao3 #fuck you fuck this & fuck it #thiam fanfic rec #thiam fanfic #thiam is endgame

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ailuronymy · 3 years

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do you think every disabled character in wc is handled poorly? i understand theres def some cases of ableism but at the same time when i hear ppl say that its usually bc the disabled cat wasnt able to become a warrior due to their disability. and i feel like ppl forget, that not everyone irl CAN do what they want after they become disabled. ex. someone wants to be an athlete, but their legs have to be amputated. a cat like briarlight esp i feel is p realistic and could be a source of comfort

Hello there, thank you for writing in. I’m going to reply to this question with a series of questions I think are a bit more useful, given what you’re trying to ask me. I hope that’ll clarify what is a deeply complex, multilayered issue.

Do I think Erin Hunter handles anything in the series “well”? Not really. I don’t have a high opinion of the work of the collective and, broadly speaking, I think every right note they play, metaphorically speaking, is an instance of chance rather than effort, skill, or intention. Stopped clocks are right twice a day, mediocre writers will sometimes do something cool by accident, similar principle. That’s not to say Erin Hunter hasn’t ever done anything on purpose--just that overall the underlying drive of the series isn’t so much quality as it is quantity, and speed of production, and it shows.

Do I think Erin Hunter puts any significant research into how they portray disability? No. I do not think it is a priority for this series. They’re not trying to make a meaningful work of literature, or capture a realistic experience of disability, or tell especially impactful or thoughtful stories, or even make a particularly good or coherent fantasy world. Warriors is a specifically commercial product that was commissioned by HarperCollins to appeal to a particular demographic of drama-loving, cat-loving kids. It’s not really trying to do anything but sell books, because it’s a business, so the text in many ways reflects that. They’re not going for disability representation, in my opinion. They’re including disability in many cases as a plot-point or an obstacle.

Do I think this means that people can’t connect to these characters and narratives in meaningful ways? No. Often I say that a work is completed only when it is read. Before that point, it doesn’t have a meaning: a reader finishes the work through the act of reading, and interpretation, and filling in the spaces and resonance of the story with their own values and experiences. When people talk about subjectivity, this is what they are talking about. What this means in the context of disabled characters in Warriors is that these characters and their stories can be multiple, conflicting, even mutually exclusive things at the same time, to different people, for different reasons.

Do I think characters have to be “good” to be significant to someone? No. I think genuinely “bad” (i.e., not researched or poorly researched, cliche, thoughtlessly written, problematic, etc. etc.) characters can be deeply meaningful, and often are. Ditto above: for many people, and especially marginalised or stigmatised people, reading is almost always an act of translation, wherein the person is reading against the creative work of the dominant culture in a way that the author likely didn’t intend or didn’t even imagine. There’s a long documented history of this in queer culture, but it’s true for just about everyone who is rarely (or unfairly) represented in media. Disabled people often have to read deeply imperfect works of fiction featuring disability and reinterpret them in the process--whether to relate to a kind of disability they don’t experience themselves but which is the closest they’re offered to something familiar, or to turn positive and meaningful what is intended as narrative punishment, or simply to create what’s commonly called headcanon about “non-disabled” characters who echo their personal experiences.

Do I think everyone has to agree? Extremely no. As I said before, people will actually always disagree, because all people have different needs and different experiences. What can be interpreted as empowering to one person might be very othering and painful for another. There is no “right” answer, because, again, that is how subjectivity works. This is especially true because marginalised communities are often many different kinds of people with different lives and needs brought together over a trait or traits they share due to the need for solidarity as protection and power--but only in a broad sense. It’s why there is often intracommunity fighting over representation: there isn’t enough, there’s only scraps, and so each person’s personal interpretation can feel threatening to people whose needs are different. You can see examples of this especially when it comes to arguments over character sexuality: a queer female character might be interpreted as bisexual by bisexual people who relate to her and want her to be, while being interpreted as lesbian by lesbians who also relate to her and want her to be like them. Who is correct? Often these different interpretations based on different needs are presented as if one interpretation is theft from the other, when in fact the situation is indicative of the huge dearth of options for queer people. It becomes increasingly more intense when it comes to “canon” representations, because of the long history of having to read against the grain I mentioned above: there’s novelty and, for some people, validation in “canon” certainty. And again, all of this is also true for disabled people and other stigmatised groups.

Do I think this is a problem? Not exactly. It is what it is. It is the expected effect of the circumstances. Enforced scarcity creates both the need for community organising and solidarity and the oppressive pressure to prioritise one’s self first and leave everyone else in the dust (or else it might happen to you). The system will always pit suppressed people against each other constantly, because it actively benefits from intracommunity fighting. Who needs enemies when you have friends like these, and so on. A solution is absolutely for everyone in community to hold space for these different needs and values, and to uplift and support despite these differences, but it’s not anyone’s fault for feeling threatened or upset when you don’t have much and feel like the thing that you do have is being taken away. It’s a normal, if not really helpful, human response. But until people learn and internalised that the media is multifaceted and able to be many things at once, without any of those things being untrue or impacting your truth of the text, then there will be fighting.

Do I think my opinion on disability on Warriors is all that important? No, not really. I can relate to some characters in some moment through that translation, but my opinion on, say, Jayfeather is nowhere near as worthy of consideration than that of someone who is blind. I don’t have that experience and it’s not something I can bring meaningful thinking about, really. That’s true for all these characters. If you want to learn about disability, prioritise reading work about disabled rights and activism that is done by disabled people, and literary criticism from disabled people. And as I mentioned above, remember that community isn’t a monolith: it’s a survival tactic, that brings together many different people with disparate experiences of the world. So research widely.

Finally--do I think there’s only one kind of disabled narrative worth telling? No. For some people, a disabled character achieving a specific, ability-focused dream is a good story. For other people, a story that acknowledges and deals with the realities, and limitations, of disability is a good story. The same person might want both of those stories at different times, depending on their mood. That’s okay. Sometimes there’s power and delight in a fantasy of overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles and defying all expectations. Sometimes there’s value and catharsis in a narrative that delves into the challenges and grief and oppression experienced because of disability. There’s no one truth.

To round all this off, I’m going to give my favourite example of this, which is Cinderella. I think it’s a great and useful tool, since for many it’s familiar and it’s very simple. Not much happens. In the story, she is bullied and tormented, until a fairy godmother gifts her over several nights with the opportunity to go to a royal ball, where she dances with a prince. The prince eventually is able to find Cinderella, due to a shoe left behind, and they are married. In some versions, the family that mistreated her are killed. In others, they’re forgiven.

Some people hate the story of Cinderella, because she is seen as passive. She tolerates the bullying and never fights back. She does every chore she’s told. She is given an opportunity by a fairy godmother, and she doesn’t help herself go to the ball. She runs from the prince and he does the work to find her again. Eventually, she’s married and the prince, presumably, keeps her in happiness and comfort for the rest of her life.

For some, this story is infuriating, because Cinderella doesn’t “save herself”: she is largely saved by external forces. She is seen as a quintessential damsel-in-distress, and especially for people who have been bullied, infantalised, or made to feel less capable or weak, that can be a real point of personal pain and discomfort.

However, for some others, Cinderella is a figure of strength, because she is able to endure such hostile environments and terrible people and never gives up her gentle nature or her hope. She never becomes cruel, or bitter. She is brave in daring to go outside her tiny, trapped world, and she is brave to let the prince find her. She doesn’t have to fight or struggle to earn her reward of happiness and prove her worth, because she was always deserving of love and kindness. The prince recognises at once, narratively speaking, her goodness and virtue, and stops at nothing to deliver her a better life.

Depending on the version, the wicked family disfigure themselves for their own greed--or are punished, which for some is a revenge fantasy; or Cinderella forgives them and once again shows her tenacious kindness, which for others is a different revenge fantasy.

The point? Cinderella is the same character in the same story, but these are almost unrecognisable readings when you put them side-by-side. Which one is right? Which one is better? In my opinion, those are the wrong questions. I hope this (long, sorry) reply is a set of more useful ones.

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numbaoneflaya · 3 years

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You can count on me to pull up with a thousand of questions sbdhdh. A3, A22, C5, D3, F3 for Jilly ; A18, A23, B9, C1, H2 for Nirn ; A5,B9, C8, D1, I5, for Thurwen ; A9, A13, C1, E8, and G6 for Valkya? 😏

A3, A22, C5, D3, F3 for Jilly ;

A3.Do they have any emotional or psychological conditions? Are they aware of it? Do they try to treat it?

Shawty got that stockholm syndrome in a way. She is…. Sometimes aware of it, though she wouldn't call it that any more. Maybe at first in the basement she was more aware, but now that she can come and go she thinks its a thing of the past. tries not to dwell on it. Kind of in a “well its literally not that bad its kind of fun its kind of romantic were just quirky <3” way, will get mad if someone insists she has stockholm or that the relationship is fucked. Will get enraged and upset on Vincent's behalf, probably cry and yell at you.

A22. Is your OC intended to be found generally attractive? Unattractive? Average? Is there a reason why?

I intended her to be fairly average, maybe kind of cute. It's generally the way she dresses/acts in public that draws attention, not her looks. I tend to make most of my ocs on the average scale besides a select few.

C5. Do your OC’s morals and rules of common decency go out the window when it comes to those they don’t like, or when it’s inconvenient? Aka, are their morals situational?

Good question…. Jillys morals are pretty simple- always be kind and nice, murder and hurting other people is bad, and you shouldnt lie. She sticks to those pretty strictly herself despite the situations she gets put in, often to her own detriment. But she doesn't always put a stop to those behaviors from the people she surrounds herself with, so she's sort of accomplice to bad acts of violence just by not snitching. So somewhat situational? She tries not to think about it.

D3. How comfortable are they with the idea of death?

Not comfortable! She hadn't seen a lot of it before her early twenties and was always sort of sheltered. dead fish are flushed down the toilet bcs they go to the ocean to live again, right? Thought cows and such all died of old age peacefully before they were made into burgers until she was like… twelve. 💀Won't kill mice and other critters despite her prey drive bcs she would feel too bad. And this is just for animal death, she's much more uncomfortable with human death. Also a thing she tries to ignore.

F3. Could they ever live in a “tiny home”?

God no. She hates small spaces unless she's hiding in them and tiny homes have no room for all the shit she stashes! No room for zoomies, or climbing on the furniture, or wrestling around on the floor. It would be filled with junk within a week.

A18, A23, B9, C1, H2 for Nirn ;

A18. Do they get jealous easily? Do they feel bad if they do?

He's never had much to be jealous of, as he's never really been over involved in romantic relationships. They were usually mutually beneficial and somewhat clinical in nature. Hes also pretty sure of himself and his value as an asset and lover. If he finds someone who peaks his interest and they become an item though, he might get jealous if he catches them flirting with other people. Hell be peeved at first but know flirtation in business has its value, so to make himself feel better might flirt with someone else while they are nearby. Make a game of it, see who wins.

A23. Does your OC place much importance on their appearance? Do they feel confident in it?

Appearances are crucial to him and spends a lot of time and money making sure he looks his best. He needs to appear above the rabble and impenetrable, dressing well and having immaculate posture and an air of both grace and otherworldliness.

B9. What kind of humor does your OC like the most? Slapstick, ironic, funny sounds, scare pranks, xD sO rAnDoM…

Definitely not one to find fart jokes funny. Very rarely laughs genuinely or full heartedly, he keeps all his expressions of emotion close to his chest. Sharp sardonic wit is appealing to him in the right circumstances, even a jab directed at himself can make him chuckle if it's well formed enough. Irony almost always gets him, even if its dark irony or gallows humor. Bit of a hard nut to crack. Would laugh enough that hed have to cover his mouth with his hand if he were to see Felix fall face first into mud, though. More often than not you can tell he finds something amusing by a gleam in his eyes and a slight squint.

C1. Does your OC have a moral code? If not, how do they base their actions? If so, where does it come from, and how seriously do they take it?

Well he used to have a real moral code :/. Now I mean…. The ends justify the means. By any means necessary. He considers his family's needs first, then the good of the world, then any individual in the world. Has ordered executions of entire families, had babies stolen and sent away, sent armies to certain death knowing full well they would all die, commanded individuals be tortured for information, sacrificed many in what he considers to be a game of chess where he is the player and others are the pawns. He finds senseless violence and savagery to be unforgivable, but if violence has a sense and purpose to employ it, then he will do so.

H2. Is your OC a thoughtful partner, in whatever aspect of that you want to cover?

Nirn tends to be a very thoughtful and attentive person in general, just for the wrong reasons lmaoooo. But with a lover? He's going to be utilizing that to show them how much he cares and using his powers for good. Mention you like a certain fabric while shopping one time and then complain your favorite tunic has a wine stain in it several months later, he's going to be taking your measurements for a new one in your preferred material without a moment's notice. Very keen on picking up moods, expressions and tone. Also has a very good memory. He doesn't really think about it but gifts are how he shows his love. Also a great attentive listener.

A5,B9, C8, D1, I5, for Thurwen ;

A5. Are they good at handling change in their life?

I would say so, yeah. Shes been used to things constantly changing since she was little and has had little to no control on outside influences. Shes also not one to over think about the past and lament, shes more of a one foot in front of the other, the only time is the present kind of gal. Of course large changes like becoming a warden were a bit more severe, but shes mostly able to think in the present as long as she has immediate problems to deal with.

B9.What kind of humor does your OC like the most? Slapstick, ironic, funny sounds, scare pranks, xD sO rAnDoM…

Slapstick is always gonna make her laugh as long as nobody gets seriously hurt, even if its her own ass tripping into a tree. Not a fan of scare pranks, 0/10 recommend trying to scare Thurwen. You will end up with a broken nose at best and an angry elf. Likes puns, but she's the one to groan at them and try and hide the grin spreading across her face. Gallows humor but only if its her in the gallows, otherwise doesn't find it funny at all. If a little kid calls someone a fartcicle she will be tears in the eyes giggling, which is hard when your warden commander and everyone looks toward you to be serious and mature gyshsdhdfsghsd.

C8. Is your OC more practical or ideal morally? I.e., do they hold people to high expectations of behavior even if it’s not realistic for the situation, or do they have a more realistic approach and adapt their morality to be more practical?

She definitely holds herself to moral ideals and is very hard on herself, but has realistic moral expectations for others. She can understand self serving and people only wanting to survive and she will only give people a little bit of shit for it, no one's perfect. But then she expects herself to be perfect and berates herself constantly for not living up to the hero of ferelden warden commander ideals.

D1. How religious is your OC? What do they practice, if anything? If they don’t associate with any religion, what do they think of religion in general?

Atheist ever since her mom died when she was a kid, but now Shes in a weird mixed state ever since the urn of sacred ashes where shes like. fuck the maker, but Andraste is cool I guess. So respects/believes in the power of Andraste while thinking the maker is a piece of shit and the chantry sucks ass. Even she doesnt know what she really believes, but she did see the ghosts of Andrastes disciples and Shartan, used her ashes as healing salve, killed an old god, etc. So shes been in a weird place recently, crisis of faith/non faith pretty continual.

I5. Are they a good cook?

I mean…. She can cook basics. Shes been feeding herself and the alienage kids since she was old enough to walk so she knows how to get protein and make things edible. Does it taste good? Probably not. She didnt see her first spice till she was 17 years old, but she can skin a rabbit in seven seconds.

LA9, A13, C1, E8, and G6 for Valkya? 😏

A9. Does your OC make a lot of excuses? For themselves? Others?

She tries to excuse bad behavior of herself or others a lot, yeah fgdgdsfhdhs. Mostly she doesnt have to make excuses for herself because she can wholeheartedly be like “yeah i fucked up but whatever im sexy and large and awesome and everyone loves me 🙄whatever baby” and when other people fuck up shes pretty sympathetic even though they are not as large nor as sexy. Shes very used to forgiving and excusing herself its totally alien to her when she really fucks up and is suddenly like wait… valkya…. Did bad?? What is this feeling. Shame?? Guilt?? IMPOSSIBLE.

A13. Does your OC have any phobias? If so, where did they come from?

She hates those giant bugs in morrowind and valenwood a whole fucking lot but I wouldnt exactly place it as a phobia. Those huge mosquitoes and haorvers got no respect but she really hates the morrowind bugs ever since they knocked her over and jumped her while she was pants down peeing drunk as hell in the sand :/ never forgave. Never forgot.

C1. Does your OC have a moral code? If not, how do they base their actions? If so, where does it come from, and how seriously do they take it?

She was raised in a healthy household that tought the basics, prety much “harming others needlessly, stealing, torture, rape, dessecrating the dead, being selfish and not doing right by others, etc etc all basic bad things” are her morals. Her morality is basically treat others how you want to be treated. And if they treat you badly, then have fun beating the shit out of them to show everyone else not to fuck with you. Its a pretty nordic morality in that way. Her morality is also since she was ‘blessed’ with being so large and strong, that she has to also look out for the little guy who cant protect themselves. So If someone treats them how valkya wouldn't want to be treated, then beat the shit out of the person harming them to show them the little guys got backup. Her parents raised her to be a hero and thats p much how she sees herself, which has its benefits and its fuckin problems.

E8. What’s one of your OC’s biggest regrets?

Fucking up Dem and Dariens relationship for sure dude :/ valkya always gonna be sulking over that one. She doesnt regret becoming a vestige, even though it would have made her so much happier not to be because it ended up saving so many people and the world. She regrets not spending more time with Naryu, regrets always having other life saving business she had to run off to, regrets not cherishing the time they had together. Regrets not telling Lyris how she feels, either. Regrets not being able to save as many people as she should have, regrets she wasnt stronger in coldharbor and didnt break out herself. But she tries not to think about it <3

G6. Do they have any favorite childhood memories?

When she was seven she once spent two months training to hold her breath underwater, because her cousin always held it longer and won the gold bet. She trained for hours almost drowning in the river until she could comfortably hold it for up to three minutes. During the next holiday when they all got together again the competitions were on and they both went under- her cousin won, holding their breath for four more minutes before they decided to come up. This was the first lesson she learned that shocked her world view- you always need to know your opponents capabilities. (after she lost 26 gold in the bets, her mother later had to inform her that her cousin was an argonian.)

#thank u beloved this was good to go thru while in class when i should have been paying attention gfhsdhds #valkya #jilly #nirn #thurwen #the ladies and the gilf #presented without evidence; valkya be stupit kinda :/#HOW DO U DO URS SO FAST... SUPER POWERS

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alphaketoglutaricacid · 4 years

Text

@onehithero said: also we know theres at least some actual animals besides gadoll liek the scorpion n cows tht show up for a sec in ep 1 so tankers hav tht going for them re: food sources ..SORRY FOR RAMBLING SO MUCH deca dence essay got sleeper agent activated

onehithero said: i rly like what usaid abt kabu from natsumes pov too but i cannot form a half cohernet thought abt tht one

onehithero said: ALSO ALSO i think its interesting how the ep 8 conversation w minato is i think the only time kabu talks abt being jealous of humans being able to choose their own paths

onehithero said: also how minatos convinced hes like a good lil cog in the machine yet hes done 50 things tht wuld get him labeled as a bug but he just ignores all tht. the both of them can be so disconnected w reality

onehithero said: like minato didnt know abt 1)natsume 2) how the system has made kabu so severely depressed n he culdnt put up w it anymore.n minato continues pushing the just go along w the system shit he doesnt understand tht he was contributing to kabus misery.. n bc of tht kabu doesnt trust minato enough to tell him abt natsume for so long but then he goes n asks smth so big of him as go against the system

onehithero said: thinks abt how kabu n minato r obviously so important to each other but minato understands him less n less over time & kabu kinda already knew its risky to confide in minato like minato did know abt pipe which was a long time ago but he didnt know abt natsume til kabu was already sacrifing himself for her sake. n yet kabu then goes n tries to get him on his side anyway cuz he wants tht so badly..

onehithero said: OMG OMG CHEWS THESE WORDS SLOWLY N THROUGHLY SO DELICIOUS THANK U THANK U u get it u understand i love reading n writing essay lengh responses abt deca dence & again u just hit the nail on the head w this

Please let me know if this @ u 8 times and sorry if it did. I will reply under this readmore but i love this enthusiasm! I like discussing this stuff so if u want keep it coming. I wanna understand deca dence better and i think i will by sharing ideas w other ppl.

I think kabu and minatos relationship is as good as it is because theres clearly a lot of mutual love and respect between them even when they don’t understand each other and thats why minato still runs after him when he hears kabu going suicide mission lets go baby. I think its interesting that minato was like ready to lie down and accept getting mass scrapped until he hears kabu go im about to be hilarious and hes like actually living and staying alive sounds great actually forget what i said about it being over. you are so right about kabu and trust and natsume. I will always cherish episode 5 where kabu gives this big rousing speech about how natsume inspired him and saved his life and minatos there like ..who? ..what?? I think they may not be used to hiding things from each other. Also I think them drifting apart mirrors natsume and feis drifting apart tho I think while feis the instigator on that side kabus more on his side and minato like natsume is like wondering what in da world is going on. I think someone else wrote about this better than I can.

I do think minato does know kabus severely depressed because theres this line in ep 4 where he puts his hand on kabu and says like you’ve toiled enough at that awful job. and also in episode 11 when he and kabu talk and kabu says he was in a similar place as minato now in that he was waiting every day to be scrapped minato has no reaction until kabu says but that bug saved me. I think he knows kabus very depressed but he does not know how to address it cuz the system never gives either of them the tools or options for it. Though also I feel the system discourages meaningful relationships between the cyborgs so I think what minato and kabu have is likely pretty rare. Kabu donetello and turkey also fought together for a long time but turkey turns on donetello in a second even tho they fought together, he was his number two, and they were in prison together, and were pretty much all they got and donetello kills him in turn. I also think minato probably knew because he’s empathetic. Like I’m not sure about compassion but he’s very good at understanding where other ppl are and how to meet them in the middle so both parties get something they want. That’s how he got all the gamers to collect the old deca dence parts. Not by cashing in on ppl doing the right thing but by framing it as the final mission. He gets his lgbt community center coworkers for fight with him one last time by appealing to their sense of duty. He got the system to put kabu in jail instead of getting scrapped when Mikey got scrapped for a lesser offense. The list goes on. A tangent but I think the fact he acknowledges the living conditions of the humans are gonna get worse if nothing’s done even tho he’s apathetic at best towards them shows even when the system tries to mold the cyborgs into the roles it wants, sometimes the traits they have just keep on going despite themselves. I’m gonna stop myself before I go into jill and this theme but I’m gonna talk about it someday. So I think its more likely than not he knew but he didn’t know how to navigate around it also because it’s heavily implied he’s going thru the same thing and I think kabu might genuinely have no idea Bc kabu lacks empathy but his heart... is huge. When he hears minato express his feelings of not knowing what he wants he instantly tries to reach out and explain minatos not alone in what he feels. This is why they’re good foils. while kabu moves past where he was in the start where he states he does not intend to oppose the system and his compliance while also trying to do the bare minimum drives him to suicide, and finds the willpower and a reason to live and rebel against the system through his connection to other people (first natsume , he hangs out w kurenai sometimes too, and then with the jail robots). Meanwhile minato whos stuck in his literal ivory tower (it’s a Metaphor) never makes any of these connections. It’s the irony of kabu working at a armor repair job giving him some ability to connect w others vs minatos higher position isolating him from everyone else. I think kabu living amongst the ppl he harmed drove him to give up on life quicker, while minato being far apart shielded him from rlly having to see the effects of his actions I think he was headed a lil slower in the same direction. I think we’re led to believe minatos okay where he is but I think towards the end it’s clear minato has spent most of the series also in a bad place. I think he views things very similarly to kabu in that he wants to use what power he does have to protect the ppl he cares about similar to how initially kabu tried to just convince natsume to quit several times and he was like whatever at the rest of the humans who are natsumes comrades dying but he chooses to put it all on the line and try for some systemic change when he sees natsumes determination to fight. Also I think minato holds very little loyalty to the system cuz he doesn’t only like breaks 1000 rules for kabu (the hypocrisy) but he also looks the other way a lot. For example, when he overheard the top rankers talk about limiters he’s like I’ll pretend I don’t hear it also turn on private mode next time and he doesn’t berate them for considering cheating. Also donetello has been using an illegal avatar to climb to S rank again (isn’t it interesting that even after the ranked system is abolished something similar took its place). And his avatar looks the same as it did when minato worked with the guy. There’s probably like not that many ppl in s rank. And he calls himself donetello. Minato knows he’s supposed to be in jail but does he tell anyone? He’s like well.. that looks like someone else’s problem if they notice *goes and vapes* it’s so funny how little minato cares but it’s also not funny Bc some of minatos cruelest actions and things he’s complicit in are born not outta malice but apathy to everything. I think it shows (tangent number 4?) how the systems use of excessive force is counter productive cuz neither minato nor kabu are willing to report anything to disrupt the order Bc neither of them think the level of punishment is warranted. I also think that minato is probably the first person kabu really opens up to about why on a personal level he feels the system needs to be destroyed after Ep 7 is really interesting. It really speaks to how deep their [mutual and not platonic relationship I don’t know how to label ] is. I also think that he admits to minato that he envies human is rlly interesting and would like to hear what u have to think! I think it’s interesting that what really sets minato off is kabu saying he wants to choose for himself and also wants other cyborgs to have that freedom and I think it’s one of the few times we see minato get genuinely angry and have it not stem from worry. Tangent 5 I’m really extrapolating here but I think it’s very likely given how high up minato is that he likely knows of several cyborgs that rebelled against the system for similar reasons as kabu and knows how it ends and I think it probably feeds into his defeatist attitude. I think his role in the system must really kill whatever grasp of whatever minato has cuz he constantly has to act like it’s almost the end of the world and he’s strapped for resources all the time for like decades and decades of having to fake that type of desperation to entertain ur player base and cuz ur also on tv to entertain the general populace to distract them from their soul sucking jobs. I think that’s gotta mess with his perception of himself and also his ability to see that struggle as real and genuine. I think that’s also gotta be hard cuz he seems like out of his whole fuck we r under attack persona he seems like he’s a lil closed off but generally chill and somewhat upbeat to ppl who know him and he just wants to be isabella from animal crossing. I got really off track here. I think what really gets me is their relationship is built on knowing each other so well and so long , and how it’s managed to survive and persist through all this tragedy. They really mutually respect and love each other and that’s why kabu let’s minato walk away from his revolution even tho it compromises everything he works for. It’s why minato ultimently accepts kabus willingness to die for a tanker even tho he really doesn’t get it at all and it means it’s goodbye forever. But it’s still not enough to save either of them. Minato can’t save kabu from trying to passively starving himself to death and I’m not sure if kabu even knows where minato is at mentally. Sometimes no matter how close u are to someone there r things u miss and things u can’t help each other with. Even tho the two resolve to fight and then die together cuz this seems like the best choice Bc the system they were born into offers no alternatives, the deca dence doesn’t even activate without the help of other ppl. I think it shows one relationship cant support all that weight. In the end it is through their bonds with other ppl that gets them to an ending where they both survive when they decided alone their only option is death. Also u are so right about the other animals existing I totally forgot ty I cannot believe I forgot about the scorpion which calls to natsumes hairstyle which is a visual gag on how natsumes a bug and how like a scorpion, although unassuming, and fucking kill u, just like how her trying to get her boss to open up eventually leads to the whole thing toppling down. I also have a lot of thoughts about natsume but I’m still thinking of them and thinking hard Bc sometimes she becomes kabus inspiration Pinterest board and I don’t like that. When she shines she really shines but it starts getting sloppy towards the end so I have to think a lil longer about it. Okay I’m done. Also it’s kinda hard for me to look like I’m agreeing to ur points and nodding in this format but I really appreciate ur thoughts and will try to convey this. Maybe by formatting as a response to each of ur replies next time

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xianglingslesbian · 3 years

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oh I'll give u a character alright: Izuki, Kiyoshi, Riko and Aomine <333 technically that's four, but what goes around comes around (I'll keep this circle of love goin forever buddy)

VICCCC ily my man <33 thank u!!! aight putting this under a cut bc it got long

Izuki

Why I like them: izuki’s just overall so amazing! he inspires me to give my best in the stuff i do, and although it sounds a bit silly i try to be a person that he’d be proud of. his puns are hilarious and well-thought-out (as a person who loves words and word jokes, i’m naturally drawn to him lol). they’re also a way to take the heat off the team, he’s so hardworking and never views obstacles as obstacles, rather as hills he must climb to find newer skies. he’s also rather clever and employs his brains to great effect when his body fails him! izuki embodies the meaning of ‘eagle’ in the truest sense - waiting to strike when the time is right and not failing when it is.

Why I don’t: *sweats* can’t really think of a reason i don’t like izuki, at all??? i guess he can overwork himself a lot and tends to keep his true emotions hidden which could lead to misunderstandings between friends (although this is totally headcanon territory lol)... i also didn’t like the ableist comment he passed on hayama (“i’m just glad you weren’t smarter than me”). but i think he can (and will!) grow from that kind of stuff, he is that kind of person so yeah no particular reason for me to dislike him at all

Favorite episode (scene if movie): how dare you make me pick s3 e8 izuki vs kasamatsu, hands down. i know its like cliche or whatever but that moment just told me so much about izuki as a character? he’s willing to do what it takes to win, he’s adaptable and dependable and he doesn’t let shit get him down ever. it’s gorgeous

Favorite season/movie: s3, he got some fantastic moments in there!! although i will say i loved the spotlighting he got in s1 in the seihō match

Favorite line: “Fear isn't a bad thing. There are some things that can only be done by cowards.” this is first of all such a nice thing to say. ‘fear is not bad’ is just... so fucking wise? keep in mind that this boy is 17, i’ve met 30 year olds who are less mature. secondly it feels like izu’s speaking from experience?? like he has a lot to be scared of, i’m sure. particularly of falling behind and being a burden to his teammates. but it’s that ‘cowardice’ that drives him to practice so so hard. that visceral terror of weighing on seirin is what pushes izuki beyond his limits - which is why here he can empathise with furi’s fear, and knows how best to employ it.

Favorite outfit: look i hate last game w/ a passion but that lil tie/shirt/hoodie thing he had going? that was literally so cute. izuki in general has a p great fashion sense but his last game outfit takes the cake <3

OTP: hyuuizu oh my god i could talk for years about them but since this post is gonna be very long i’ll refrain. just. they are perfect they are fucking perfect

Brotp: kiyoizu!! kiyoshi is izuki’s biggest enabler and i love that for him <3

Head Canon: izuki can be very very passive aggressive when he’s angry at someone/sad and gets cold and withdrawn. it’s not fun to experience but tbh if you upset him you probably deserve it

Unpopular opinion: izuki should’ve been naturally better in canon. it’s not fair to shaft him and give the ‘trier’ thing off to himuro. that being said i am p happy with who he is as a person

A wish: i want to know how izuki felt after middle school! izuki’s and riko’s backstory focuses so much on hyuuga its dumb >:( he also would’ve been demoralised but he didn’t quit bball and i would like to know his thought process!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: i. uh. i guess izu quitting basketball. because i genuinely cannot see that happening. it brings him so much joy, he should never stop cold turkey. i can imagine old man izuki hobbling about a court giving little kids pointers and making them laugh T-T

5 words to best describe them: “big brain caffeine-powered clown baby”

My nickname for them: babyzuki/izu/shunshun

Kiyoshi

Why I like them: lots of reasons! kiyoshi is an admirable person. he’s strong, yet friendly and gentle, and he loves his team above all else, which i just find beautiful. i find his manipulative side also pretty cool, bc it shows off how multifaceted he is.

Why I don’t: this is more of a fandom reason but i really dislike how kiyoshi is always said to have had the greatest impact in hyuuga’s story. he badgered and manipulated hyuuga, and while some may argue hyuuga needed that push, it only worked bc hyuuga had had time to think about shit. he’d also been given space by riko and izuki (two integral parts of his life whom the fandom looooves to sideline for uwu kiyo//hyuu).

Favorite episode (scene if movie): yousen match (can’t pick the episodes)! i loved the backstory we got for kiyo vs mura and i loved how kiyoshi was willing to smile and play but also refused to lose. he truly stole the show despite kagami being the one to finally take down murasakibara, it was gorgeous <3

Favorite season/movie: s2 for sure. kiyoshi wasn’t allowed to shine much after yousen imo - all the focus was on hyuuga kagami and kuroko, and to a lesser extent izuki. not complaining, but yeah

Favorite line: “Let’s go have some fun.” i know it’s kinda cliche but i do love how kiyoshi’s always thinking about playing a good game and enjoying basketball. he wants to play because he loves it and as someone who loves a sport as much as kiyoshi loves b-ball, that love is so poignant and tender

Favorite outfit: practice clothes! kiyoshi looks great in pink <3

OTP: kiyohana. hateshipping amirite ;)

Brotp: kiyohyuu! i love them as friends so so much <3

Head Canon: kiyoshi is half-iranian on his mother’s side and is muslim. i won’t say too much because i am not muslim myself, i need to do more research into this but i’ve had this headcanon for quite a while now!

Unpopular opinion: he should be bullied more for the fact that his canon power is having yaoi hands

A wish: kiyo finds something he loves as much as b-ball. he can’t canonically play at this level again, so if he found another sport/competition/anything, it’d be amazing

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: he should never become demoralised. kiyoshi at heart is a dreamer, so let him dream, let him look towards tomorrow with a smile always

5 words to best describe them: “useless dreamy dumbass cheerleader clown”

My nickname for them: kiyoyo, bc my feelings about him have yo-yoed a lot lmao

Riko

Why I like them: im a lesbian, next. /j i love her because she’s so tenacious and driven. yet she’s also kind and gentle, and never loses her humanity. she cares, and she cares hard. she’s so fucking smart too like... coaching a hs basketball team at 17 against players of NBA calibre and making them win? i could never. seirin without riko is nothing.

Why I don’t: i dont like the constant slapstick of her beating up her boys. also, i dislike how the narrative forces her to act ‘feminine’ and then has the boys think of it as nothing. like first of all if someone like her offered me a kiss i would so take 100, and secondly... why is a girl’s worth so tied to her femininity? it’s awful

Favorite episode (scene if movie): her sending in furi vs kaijō, early in s3. it was an exceedingly smart move that could have only come from her knowing her players’ strengths and weaknesses intimately, and being a brilliant coach. just amazing <3

Favorite season/movie: all of them! riko has some amazing moments each season, so i can’t really pick

Favorite line: “Humans grow. Don't act like you understand when you don't even realize that!” here, riko knows and knows well that she is in her element. momoi might have the data, but riko understands adaptability and knows how to predict stuff. in that way, one can draw parallels between takao vs izuki and momoi vs riko: takao and momoi are recon experts, whereas riko and izuki are strategists. momoi uses raw data; riko manipulates the data to her advantage

Favorite outfit: idk if this is exactly an outfit but her glasses are so cute oh my gosh. (i’d kill to see her in a leather jacket tho)

OTP: rikomomo!!! i’m 100% sure that momoi’s fixation w/riko’s boobs is just... repressed lesbian sentiments. also sports girlfriends gimme

Brotp: hyuuizuriko. i hc that hyuuizu were tgt since elementary school and riko joined them in middle school so... childhood friends feels!

Head Canon: riko knows how to shoot a gun. her father owns one so it makes sense

Unpopular opinion: riko does not need to have bigger boobs in fanart. please stop sexualising a 17 year old girl

A wish: white suit riko please

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: her ever leaving behind sports in any way shape or form. it’s her thing. in the same vein, she should never have to change herself or become more traditionally feminine to be ‘appealing’

5 words to best describe them: perfect perfect perfect perfect perfect

My nickname for them: ai/riri

Aomine

Why I like them: aomine is just a pure, hurting young man that deserves help. he’s passionate, and his fire died down out of no fault of his own. that fire’s reignition through kagami is one of my favorite scenes <3

Why I don’t: he’s perverted as hell and i dislike that. it plays into the ‘brutish dark-skinned pervert’ stereotype which is yikes. also i thought we were done with pervs in anime

Favorite episode (scene if movie): s2 seirin v touou when kagami enters the zone!! aomine’s finally happy and it’s so amazing to watch <3

Favorite season/movie: s2, he finally got happiness and peace of mind

Favorite line: “You’re the best!” there’s just so much of pure joy in this line. he’s so so beside himself that he finally has someone he won’t destroy. kagami sees aomine the person, and that person is so happy, it’s beautiful

Favorite outfit: the leather jacket from the finale lmaooo he looked so cute

OTP: AOKAGA BABY i could write an essay tbh

Brotp: aomomo!! theyre such good friends and bi/lesbian solidarity too!

Head Canon: aomine cannot dance. he has stepped on kagami’s feet multiple times. he has also attempted to twerk when drunk. kuroko recorded the whole thing and uses it as blackmail in case the puppy eyes and “but aomine-kun you didn’t fist bump me back” don’t work

Unpopular opinion: more a fandom thing, but you all need to stop making aomine the aggressive/possessive top/‘seme’. it’s racist as fuck

A wish: aomine goes pro. it’ll be amazing for him, a huge challenge and kagami will be there too so its a win-win ;)

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: he quits again/b-ball loses its allure. aomine at heart is someone who needs passion to drive him so i just want that passion to always burn bright within him

5 words to best describe them: “bastard baby needs a hug”

My nickname for them: dai-chan, momoi rubbed off on me

#izuki #kiyoshi #riko #aomine #vee #knb #ceru babbles #answered #omg i went OFF

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crowsent · 4 years

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i rewatched hxh (again) and let me just say. the only thing keeping me from freaking out over kurapika “i must avenge the death of my clan even if it means losing myself in the process, no home to return to, im afraid of what will happen if my anger fades away, dumbass motherfucker” kuruta is the fact that he will probably HAVE a happy ending

hxh at its core is a shounen. and if theres a genre big on happy endings and forgiveness and redemption, its shounen. if it was a seinen, id be worried, but its a shounen and kurapika has a p significant character motif.

legacy. he is the kuruta clan’s legacy, last of his kind. one thing standing between his clan being wiped away from existence. the only thing standing between oblivion and the memory of his people. that legacy is what drives him forward, drives his revenge, drives his desperate attempt to keep the kuruta legacy alive. to me, him searching desperately for the eyes is as much about preserving his culture as it is about revenge. if he dies, if the eyes get lost, then the world will forget his people and he cant have that. for the sake of kurapikas narrative of preserving what is left behind and persevering against all thats happened to him, he WILL survive

new beginnings. look me in the goddamn eyes and tell me that kurapika didnt have to start his life from scratch the MOMENT his clan was killed. as soon as kurapika realised what happened, his life ended, then and there, and he had to claw his way back up to something resembling life and purpose. hes so young to have started on his path to vengeance and along that way, a piece of himself died with his clan. the kurapika we know is not the kurapika who was part of the clan. hes someone different. he had no one and nothing and we didnt see his growth in the way we saw gons or killuas. but w the woble business, we can continue kurapikas story arc bc by letting kurapika live and protect woble, his theme of rebirth and beginning anew would reach the conclusion of nurturing life that isnt his own and for kurapika to do that he HAS to survive

healing. the villains in kurapikas life are the other side of his coin. the spiders. and one thing i think the narrative has done is to frame them as people who have kind of had their humanity stripped away from them. oh, theyre people but if someone called them monsters we wouldnt bat an eye bc theyre monsters too. and kurapika has to kind of toe that line of humanity bc what hes doing isnt exactly moral and its a tightrope balancing act where the appeal of his character is his heart trying desperately to pull him out of the hole he dug himself into, and his anger urging him to dig just a bit deeper. and for a character who weve seen struggle between that line, whose anger and pain and anguish and guilt weve seen, it wouldnt make much sense for him to die before addressing his trauma. for kurapikas narrative to make sense, to reach a satisfying conclusion to his arc, kurapika has to recover from his past and let everything go. and he cant do that if hes fucking dead so from a narrative standpoint, he has to live

i have to keep telling myself that bc if my son gets hurt any more im going to literally fucking flip

#hxh #kurapika #its 8 am i have not slept and instead wrote a mini analyses bc i am NOT okay #someone get my son a therapist #my hobby is writing essays

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corinthbayrpg · 4 years

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NAME. Leonidas Karatasos AGE & BIRTH DATE. Currently 33, reincarnated on August 11th, 1986 GENDER & PRONOUNS. Male & He/Him SPECIES. Kobalos OCCUPATION. Owner of Hypnos FACE CLAIM. Scott Eastwood

BIOGRAPHY

( tw: war, death, violence, drinking, assault, homophobia, fire, madness ) When Leonidas was born in a small village on the outskirts of Thebes in ancient Greece, he never would have imagined to still be alive an eternity later. He was a lively child, with a knack for games and jokes, a huge smile on his face and a devilish glint in his eyes. He was born into a family that had partaken in the village’s belief in Dionysus for years before he was born. They praised the god of madness and ecstasy day and night and constantly celebrated him. They were known to be just as ecstatic as their god was supposed to be, leading ritualistic dances and sing songs through nights and days. While they thought they believed in the only true religion, and praised the best god there was, outside of their little world many frowned upon them. They were belittled, as well as beaten and laughed at. Other people around Thebes watched them with both worry and disgust. And despite that, Leonidas never wavered in the strong belief that had been burnt into his mind from the moment he was born. It did not matter that the rest of the world thought he was one with a group of crazy people. He would still whisper about it into the ears of those who would listen once he was old enough, ready to spread the belief to anyone who had an open ear for him. He would still take a beating, and rise from it to celebrate another feast for Dionysus.

Though even within the group of the small village, Leonidas was often the one who didn’t like to be in the middle of it all. He liked being just outside of the light, dancing in shadows, and observing some of the more extreme rituals the others partook in. While he was a fan of a life with no boundaries, he sometimes felt bad for the fact that they would plug people from their own lives as if they were no longer needed. He would have gladly stolen a loaf of bread from them, but their entire life? It did not stop him from having fun, of indulging in those aspects of the belief that especially appealed to him. For Leonidas, there was no way he would ever leave them, and so he was still in the only space he thought he belonged when Dionysus finally listened to their prayers. Being granted powers by the god they had prayed to for so long now seemed almost like a surreal dream – but who would say no to the gift of immortality?

The villagers were gifted not only that but also the ability to trick whoever they wanted and conjure illusions by looking into another pair of eyes. The man who was in his mid-twenties at the time couldn’t quite believe his luck. Finally, he had an easy time paying back those that wronged him and those he held close to his heart. He reveled in getting to trick them, in driving them mad when he thought they deserved it. In the end, his first mortal life was still ended by another human who despised the villagers, and beat him until no life was left in his body. He was reincarnated into the village that had always been his home and would be his home once again. While living there, Leonidas loved to connect to the plants around him, learning about their healing abilities and how to use them, while still using his trickster abilities to their fullest. He was hardly seen without an amused sparkle in his eyes or a laugh on his lips. He was good at spreading joy, even better at masking his feelings when he didn’t feel it for once. Back in those days, he thought life could go on like this forever and ever. But of course, it did not. It was between 339 and 338 BC that his life was turned upside down by the war against Philip II of Macedon. Leonidas did not care much about the politics behind the war, though that changed once Thebes was overrun, his family of villagers ripped apart, and most of them sold into slavery. He had a burning hatred for what had happened to the perfect life he lived, and he swore he would never turn a blind eye to politics again. Rich men with great monologues should not rule over those less fortunate.

Leonidas was bought by a young man who was rich and striving to rise up in power to impress his father and his wife-to-be. Little did he know who he had let into his home, for Leonidas hardly wasted any time in using his powers to get himself out of slavery. He used mostly his glamour, but also his silk tongue to whisper promises and stories into his owner’s ears until he no longer believed him to be a slave, but an equal. It was by his side that he managed to get a foot in the door of the regime of Alexander The Great. However, the Kobaloi didn’t make it very far in his quest to undermine the regime, as he found his fate once more by a blade cutting his neck when the man who originally bought him was attacked.

Being reincarnated into the life of a man who became a soldier before he remembered his wish to drive anyone mad who let others fight for them, he once again found himself in the middle of a war. Despite using whatever trick he had up his sleeve, Leonidas didn’t make it far while Alexander The Great was fighting his wars. He fought and fell, just another soldier who died. By the time Alexander died, Leonidas had been reincarnated once more, already irritated with the sensation. He found himself still sticking in Greece, though no longer near his home that Thebes had once been. Now he found himself as part of the Aetolian League, residing in Athens. But the young Kobaloi never actually felt an alliance with anyone. Over time, he slipped from the Aetolian League to the Achaean league, changing his home and supposed alliance to be able to drive the conquering groups mad. He managed to make his way towards those leading wars and fights, giving suggestions on their strategies, while doing the same to the other side not long after. Leonidas, who had originally intended to help out those who were less fortunate, got lost in the pleasure of fueling chaos and madness. He would whisper his way into beds of important people, create illusions to get them to do what he wanted. He enjoyed it, and every death he died throughout the years was worth it. Soldier, advisor, lover, trickster.

But there was one thing that truly messed up his plans and his will to only live for the chaos he could create: finding his soulmate. It was the last thing he had expected to ever happen to him, someone who had very much enjoyed sexual freedom up until that moment, but it took only one look at the man’s face and his heart was captured in an instant – and would never let go of this feeling for the rest of his lives. While Leonidas was gifted an immortal life and reincarnation, the one he chose to fall for lived a very different timeline. The time they got to spend together was never enough before his beloved was called into a veil Leonidas could not quite fathom with his thoughts, forced to stay away from him. Sometimes they got to spend more years together, sometimes barely any time at all. It always seemed to take an excruciatingly long time before they got to reunite, and it drove Leonidas mad. They were apart more than they were together it seemed, and that was unfair in the eyes of the furious Kobaloi. Every time they got separated over the years, he would unleash his emotions in the form of more madness. He made his way through Europe but always made his way back to Greece as if feeling its call. He slipped from court to court, from regime to regime, often masking himself as a charming young man who only had everyone else’s best interest at heart. The reality was, he thrived on making everyone else suffer when his own heart was burning. He loved ruining lives because his own seemed so very broken. When he didn’t find himself among those more fortunate, he was often reincarnated into the life of a man who was fighting yet another war, the pain in his heart overshadowed by that of the violence real life had to offer.

That was his routine for too many centuries. Die painful deaths at war, see excruciating pain, find himself in slavery – or celebrate debaucherous feasts full of ecstasy and madness while driving the rich and influential against one another, and in between that, meet the love of his life only to lose him over and over again. From extreme high to extreme lows, it shouldn’t have been surprising that he suffered. Leonidas mind sometimes didn’t differ so much from those he had driven mad with his own powers. He was angry at the world and angry at the god who had given him these powers – apparently to do nothing more but suffer and see others suffer.

The Kobaloi was the reason for quite a few monarchs going mad over the centuries. Those who loved to torture and throw great feasts often found Leonidas in their court. None of them would have said phrases like “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche” or refer to choices that were sure to make people hate them. He was one of the people King Charles VI of France listened to when enough alcohol was coursing through his system, plenty of his more bizarre moments stemming from conversations with Leonidas. He left the court of King Charles VI in 1393 after a celebration later on known as “ball of the burning men”. Leonidas had fueled the idea of the king to show up to a wedding with some of his men dressed as wildlings, covered in pitch. Four of them ended up burning to death. Leonidas couldn’t have cared less.

Two centuries later, Leonidas was also the reason why Emperor Rudolf II developed a severe case of paranoia. The Kobaloi found it delighting to tell the man that everyone wanted to overthrow and kill him – while his words partly held truth, they were also partly an illusion to make the emperor insecure. And it worked. Leonidas watched from the sidelines as Rudolf II was called unstable and unpredictable. He helped the emperor find people to fuel his love for the occult, watching with glee how he threw himself into false information about the supernatural world, while the real problem was sitting right next to him. Leonidas left the man shortly before he was overthrown by his brother, having lost interest in the man once more. His next life he spent at the court of Queen Christina of Sweden, finding joy in a woman who so clearly held no interest in what was expected of her as a Queen. He helped her dress up in men’s clothing and covered for her when she led women into her bedrooms. It was her who brought him back to Greece eventually, where he settled in Rome until he was hunted and his life ended because some of his neighbors suspected him to be a witch.

With every death, with every monarch driven mad, with every war fought, and with every separation from the love of his life, his sanity seemed to wear thinner. Not many of his deaths were caused by his lack of carelessness when it came to his sexual desires, his celebrations, or his madness. While death had lost all meaning to him over the centuries, dying still didn’t become any easier. Leonidas absolutely hated it, and once again wondered why a god would have given him this sort of gift only to suffer.

Despite his despair, he mostly stuck to Greece since the late 19th century, noticing the call of the veil in Corinth Bay. He lived in the town for some years, before moving elsewhere, feeling unsettled and bored quickly. But he had seen so much of the world already, he didn’t know what else would be able to impress him. From time to time his old love for tricking people around him would burn up with a newfound, undying passion, and it was in those moments that Leonidas would often say he could never get tired of playing games.

But during this time period, he eventually completely lost that spark. Nowadays, he would say that a soul simply is not made to survive forever, and be reborn over and over again. He had seen too much sorrow, and no matter how much he held onto the side of him that was careless and fun-loving, seeing plenty of people he liked die didn’t help either. One could say he suffered through quite a few mid-life crises, those highs, and lows of his never easy to watch. When he lost his lover to death once more, cursed to spend another 100 years without him in the early 20th century, he was simply tired of it all. With no real meaning in life anymore, it sometimes felt like a nuisance to have to go on. Days seemed grey, and any joy of tricking people was lost on him all over again. Leonidas still did it, but it seemed to be as much of a nuisance as everything else. He had lost his fire and passion for life, and a part of him wished that he could just get rid of his reincarnation.

The last time Leonidas died, it was one of his more heroic deaths. He had saved a young woman from a group of men assaulting her, and was stabbed to death on his way home when they recognized him as someone who had kissed a man in the same bar as them not too long ago. Leonidas died, and his gloomy mind stayed with him when he was reincarnated in August 1986. While an older version of himself would have been ecstatic to see the way the world changed, became more open-minded, celebrated festivals and parties, he now attended without seeing any real meaning to it. Where was the point when he had done all of it over and over again? He was missing a part of himself and missing a life that wasmeaningful.

He did not think that Dionysus would ever come into play again. He had given up on his god forever ago, when he stayed silent through too much suffering and too many prayers. Therefore, being called to Corinth Bay where he had lived several times in the past with the promise of a war between Gods, he didn’t know what to expect. He wanted to be mad at Dionysus, mad at these gods fighting each other at the hands of others. While it’s not his first time in the city, he can’t remember ever seeing it crowded by so many supernatural creatures, or with so much brewing underneath the surface. He took over a place he had owned in the past, now a cocktail bar named Hypnos. It was no big trick for him to get the lease signed over to him once more, using the place to judge people, trick them, and figure out which side he really wanted to be on. He is ready to fight – whether he has done more than enough of that in his lifetime or not.

PERSONALITY

+ playful, open-minded, loyal - vengeful, irresponsible, cynical

PLAYED BY LISA. GMT+1. She/Her.

#lisa

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argentconflagration · 5 years

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Aziraphale and (Sexual) Innocence

(Thanks to @ineffable-endearments for some key insights and a lot of encouragement!)

[Read on AO3]

As we all know, one of the biggest things that changed from the book to the show is that in the show, the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is written as a love story. Now, of course, that doesn't necessarily imply anything sexual (and I think there's a lot of interesting things to be written about a reading of their relationship as specifically a nonsexual love story!).

On the other hand, the interpretation of them as having either literally or metaphorically a sexual relationship is (I would say intentionally) presented to the viewer as a potential lens for viewing the story. In your average romance arc, the characters are understood to be sexually attracted to each other, and if it's at all targeted toward adults, the viewer is generally intended to assume that the characters sleep with each other at the end of the story (whether it's shown onscreen or not). In Good Omens, there are a few obviously sexually-charged elements during the course of the love story (the statue in Crowley's flat, Crowley slamming Aziraphale against a wall, etc.). At the end, Aziraphale goes back to Crowley's flat, and by morning they've entered each other's bodies. Literally sexual? Not necessarily. Metaphorically sexual? Yeah kinda.

So let's talk about knowing, in the Biblical sense and otherwise.

(Just as a quick note: this analysis is show-based— assume I'm referring to the show except where I specifically mention the book.)

Crowley is the serpent of Eden, who tempts others to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and thereby introduces sin into the world. I'm hardly the first one to point out that Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship involves Crowley persistently (but not insistently!) tempting Aziraphale into the knowledge of good and evil. He fell for asking questions, continues to question the Almighty's decisions throughout the show, and in general represents a force of knowledge and free will, for humanity, for himself, and for Aziraphale.

To quote the linked post:

"Why was the apple forbidden food? It gave the knowledge of good and evil. It enabled them to choose for themselves instead of blindly obeying orders. Why is Crowley forbidden company? He does the same."

Crowley is the serpent, the tempter, but he is also the apple, the forbidden fruit of which Aziraphale is not allowed to partake. He offers free will to Aziraphale, starting from the very beginning when he (unintentionally) reassures Aziraphale that he can't do the wrong thing, up until the very end when Aziraphale tells him that he has accomplished his temptation.

By the way, why is the apple an apple, anyway? Many people know, and I’m sure Pratchett and Gaiman knew, that Genesis doesn’t specify a kind of fruit. Rather, the image of a shiny red apple is a product of millennia of religious interpretation. It largely comes to us through Paradise Lost, and has now long since been cemented in pop culture. Using the apple as a recurring motif in Good Omens tells us that we’re not meant to understand this as a commentary on the most literal translation of the Bible, but on Christian culture as a whole, including the parts that wildly diverge from the source text.

And you can't talk about cultural Christianity for long without talking about purity culture. There's a lot that can be written about purity culture, but I'm going to focus on the idea that the opposite of sinful knowledge and agency is ignorant innocence and inaction. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, says purity culture. It's okay if other people suffer, so long as your own hands are clean, says purity culture.

Perhaps the most obvious instance of Crowley trying to shake Aziraphale out of this mentality is all the way back in 3004 BC, at the Flood. Crowley tries to make Aziraphale aware of good and evil— God is going to kill the kids, and that's wrong (and right and wrong can be known outside of simply adhering unquestioningly to what God says). Aziraphale defends his innocence by appealing to ignorance: the Almighty's plans are ineffable, so Aziraphale can't question them, and he's not going to do anything about it. He's trying to stay in the pre-Fall state, without knowledge, free will, or sin.

Over and over, Aziraphale can be seen engaging in basically useless, performative behavior for the sake of not being directly implicated in evil deeds. When he resists the Arrangement, it's not because it will have any meaningful impact on the world for good or evil. But it causes Aziraphale to be directly involved in evil, and it's against the rules. Similarly, he tries to persuade Crowley (and later Shadwell) to kill the Antichrist, and Crowley to vanish the airbase guard, rather than doing it himself— not because the outcome will be different, but because he wants to preserve his image of himself as pure and holy. (Worth mentioning is that this characterization is way more pronounced in the show than in the book— in the book he gives only half a line of lukewarm resistance to the idea of vanishing the soldier himself before he does it.)

But back to sex, like I promised.

There's no two ways about it— Christian purity culture is largely about sex. So we might expect Good Omens to make some sort of commentary on the most pronounced aspect of Christian purity culture— the measuring of people's goodness based on their lack of experience (i.e. knowledge) of sexual things specifically. And what we see is that here, too, Aziraphale tries to preserve an image of himself as pure, while Crowley tries to shake him out of that mindset.

In presenting himself as human, Aziraphale presents himself as a gay man. In general, stereotypes of gay men are hypersexualized, but the specific tropes that Aziraphale draws upon are sexless, neutered, and nonthreatening. This is epitomized by Anathema's narration (in the book) as she parts ways with Aziraphale and Crowley after the bike crash. She's very wary of getting in a car with two strange men at night, and treats the two with suspicion and hostility throughout the encounter, but concludes that "She had been perfectly safe after all" when she reads them as a gay couple.

(It's not only because of Heaven's expectations that Aziraphale presents himself this way, of course (perhaps not even mostly). He doesn't want to hurt people. He'd rather avoid a war than win it, give away his sword than use it to drive away humans, go to lunch with the Adversary than thwart him— he is, in a word, soft. And after all, on a textual level, a sexual relationship with Crowley wouldn't be forbidden because it's sex, but because it's Crowley— it's specifically his choice of lover that Heaven would have an issue with, presenting an obvious analogy to gay identity that Aziraphale could hardly avoid picking up on. Like most aspects of Aziraphale's self-presentation, his presentation as a gay man reflects both his idea of what a Good Angel should be and who he really is.)

But in addition to presenting himself to humans in a desexualized way, Aziraphale also sets himself up as the sexual gatekeeper in his and Crowley's relationship (assuming a sexual reading of the relationship arc, that is). Christian purity culture expects women to be gatekeepers against men's sexuality, protecting both men and women from the sinfulness that is sexuality (outside of very narrow parameters). While gender is more fluid than that in Good Omens, the angel/demon binary is strong, and Aziraphale and Crowley constantly wrestle with it. Aziraphale takes it upon himself – as an angel – to protect the both of them against Crowley’s interest in furthering the relationship.

I should mention here that Heaven's initial purpose in placing Aziraphale on earth was literally to guard a gate, and that Aziraphale immediately wanted nothing to do with that role.

And, just as he does in other matters, Crowley offers Aziraphale a way out. He doesn't pressure or force Aziraphale— he wants him to make his own decisions. Aziraphale says, "You go too fast for me." Aziraphale says, "Don't go unscrewing the cap"— i.e. "I'm ready for this, but I'm not ready for everything."

When, finally, Aziraphale and Crowley spend the night together, when they inhabit each other's bodies, when they defy Heaven and Hell together, it's the culmination of a lot of things. For Aziraphale, it's the acceptance of the knowledge that Crowley has been trying to impart to him the whole time. Know me, Crowley says. And know yourself. The fear of falling (from Heaven, from Eden, in love) has been overcome— there never was an apple that wasn't worth the trouble you got into for eating it.

In conclusion, Crowley said fuck the expectations of purity culture, sexual and otherwise. Now, go forth and write thematically resonant smut. It's what Michael Sheen would want.

#good omens #good omens meta #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #my writing #my meta #go meta #aziraphale meta #crowley meta #aziraphale and crowley relationship meta #lex writes #mine

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sworntoprotect · 4 years

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent (the mere existence of a post-canon verse is diverging from canon) / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. He started off as a tertiary character in the mage origin/Broken Circle quest in DAO, then ended up becoming something of a staple tertiary/secondary character in DA2 and DAI.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. I’m not entirely sure how people feel about DAO Cullen’s appearance but DA2 and onwards he got himself a glow-up and an unwitting thirst trap reputation. What made ramen boy appealing in DAO for some is that if you played a female mage Warden, he’s “the one who got away”... because he literally booked it down the corridor if you got too flirty.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. Perhaps? If you take a stroll through his tag, despite being a Templar, he’s not often portrayed as someone who’s fighting (*winkwonk*).

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK. Some in the fandom might even call him overrated, depending on who you ask.

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO. In DAO he begs for you to kill all the remaining mages in the Circle Tower, and you can accept or decline to do so. In DA2 he solicits a few quests and eventually sides with you to defeat Meredith. In DAI he’s the Commander of the Inquisition and a vital part of the war council. Overall, he’s there to provide a pro-Templar outlook for the character.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. He’s met every game protagonist thus far and had some level of personal/professional relationship with them.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. In DAO he was a newly minted Templar. DA2 he was elevated to Knight-Captain very quickly which got his name floating around Kirkwall, and of course by DAI he’s the head of the Inquisition’s forces so he’s even more well-known throughout (at the least) Ferelden and Orlais.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. Both. The common people and fellow Templars would look up to him, whereas mages and pro-mage sympathisers would absolutely have an issue with the role he’s played over the years.

How strictly do you follow canon? — As closely as I can, without lingering too deeply into the “problematic views” part of his character. I don’t seek to erase them or ignore them, and I don’t have too much issue writing them for the sake of being genuine, but I also don’t want to write him as if he’s some mustache-twirling villain because he is not.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — Since he was 18 years old, Cullen has suffered and struggled through adversity after adversity (torture, sexual assault, brainwashing, night terrors, drug abuse, and a healthy spoonful of “all my friends are dead”), and yet maintained a soft heart underneath the steel wall of being a warrior. His goal since childhood has been to serve and to protect, and his self-awareness, loyalty, intelligence, and drive to make himself a better and more caring man is what sets him apart from others of his ilk who in his shoes would’ve broken a long, long time ago.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — He’s a man who’s allowed atrocities to occur by not standing up to speak against them, has perpetuated the cycle of mage abuse by the hands of others, can be callous, closed-minded, and aggressive, and has a strong prejudice against mages that wasn’t properly resolved in his “redemption” arc – nor was his lyrium addiction/withdrawal.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — He’s the type of muse I gravitate towards: bookish, devoted, protective, a softy under all the stone, endearingly awkward. More than that, though, his story intrigues me. Cullen has gone through a lot (he’s either the luckiest or unluckiest person) and watching his trajectory throughout the series has been really interesting. I’d like to provide him proper growth and development that he wasn’t entirely given in the games, or that wasn’t explicitly shown.

What keeps your inspiration going? — My amazing roleplay partners with all the good work they put into their characters and the love they have shown me and my character so far. I love you guys <3 (<-- keeping that answer bc agreed)

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? i have my doubts sometimes, but i think i do ok. Still, I would love to have more feedback to see how i can improve even more. (<-- keeping bc agreed)

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO / SORT OF I write quite a few of them that never see the light of day, and I constantly and randomly sling little thoughts at my rp partners as they come to me. As for this blog itself, I’d prefer to have my headcanons evident in my writing, so I don’t post things about Cullen’s favourite colour or what he likes to eat for supper every night (and that’s absolutely no shade to people who do post headcanons that way; I honestly wish I operated the same way lol)

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO. There’s a few on the blog already, hidden in plain sight.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. Even when I don’t want to think about him, I end up thinking about him. But I like thinking about him, so...

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF? I’m still fairly new to the fandom and I’ve been learning a lot about Cullen, what people think about Cullen, what Cullen thinks about himself and others, etc. etc. Plus there are other, more well-established blogs for him out there. I’m honestly surprised I got more than 20 followers tbh.

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. I'm my own worst enemy with this one. Like, I know I’m alright but I’m not good enough for myself.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO / SORTA. Some things do bother me a lot more than others, but any annoyance I feel is pretty quickly done after I vent about it. Then I typically forget after a while.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — I’m always open to constructive criticism that both highlights what I’m doing well and considerately points out what I could improve upon.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — Of course! I enjoy delving into his character and wondering the “what ifs” of various situations that may or may not occur. And if we can write it together in a thread? Even better!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — No one owes me an explanation as to why they have an opinion, but yes I would like to know why. Maybe I misinterpreted something, or overlooked something. Maybe I made a mistake. I’m human. It happens.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — same as the above.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — It only bothers me if it’s directed at me. I fully acknowledge that Cullen is controversial and has a very contentious past (or present) that rubs a good amount of people the wrong way. You don’t have to like him, but I do take some issue with people purposely twisting facts to make him out to be worse than what he actually is. I’ve considered writing a post about it truthfully but I don’t want that unbridled hatred to come to my doorstep if/when someone who’s not a fan of him reads it. It’s not worth it. Might do it anyway though. I don’t know.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Please do. Politely. English is my native language but I’m still out here making mistakes. smh @ myself

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — I’d like to think so, yes. I have a very high tolerance level for a lot of things, don’t get easily triggered, and I’m always willing to chat about character stuff or irl stuff or... anything, basically.

tagged by: @orsino-the-enchanter tagging: did you read this? then it’s you

#a quiet inquiry (memes)#// long post #// still hiatus but this looked fun

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autodidact-adventures · 5 years

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English History (Part 6): Roman Britain

While the Romans didn't like the sea, they were greatly attracted to England for its wealth and surplus of corn. Caesar's invasion of 55 BC was more of a scouting mission; he said that he wanted to acquaint himself with “the lie of the land”. Britain was already a trading partner of Rome, and was rumoured to be rich in metal and wheat. Some of the British tribes were already allied with the northern Gauls, whom Caesar was fighting.

Several of the tribal leaders sent emissaries to him, as they were informed in advance of his preparations. Caesar sent an envoy in return, who urged the tribal leaders to collaborate with him.

The Romans set sail with two legions (each with about 5000 men) in 80 ships. They landed near Deal (Kent), where the English were watching them. There was a skirmish on the beach, which the Romans won, and the tribal leaders sued for peace.

But a storm arose, made worse by a high tide at the full moon. The Romans weren't aware of this phenomenon, and all their ships were damaged.

The English took the opportunity to attack, breaking the peace agreement. A number of skirmishes took place in the immediate vicinity of Deal. Caesar was hard-pressed, and knew that he had to retreat back across the water. He managed to get the ships repaired, and sought material aid from Gaul. He left, with many hostages from the English, vowing to return.

He returned the next year, this time with 800 ships, 25,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. This was a proper invasion, and the English tribes, instead of warring among each other, were now united in the face of this threat. They chose Cassivellaunus, who was king of territory north of the Thames, as their war leader.

The English fought the Romans as they usually fought each other. There were warriors in chariots, on horseback and on foot, with each attacking & withdrawing at appropriate moments. Cassivellaunus had an army of 4000 chariots, and they had a specific strategy – the chariot-driver would drive to the front line, let the warrior jump out, and then retire and wait for him to return. According to Caesar, by steady practice the English “attain such proficiency that even on a steep incline they are able to control the horses at full gallop, and to check and turn them in a moment.”

But the discipline of the Roman army was enough to withstand all this. There were a number of battles, and then the English were forced to retreat into the woods. Caesar followed them, and destroyed Cassivellaunus' stronghold. The chieftains sought peace, and Cassivellaunus capitulated in the end. Caesar took hostages and tribute, and returned to Rome.

There wasn't another invasion for 90yrs, but the Romans had left their mark. Southern Britain was gradually Romanized, with tribal leaders beginning to import wine and luxury goods from Rome. The elites' dwellings began to change shape from round to rectilinear – strong evidence of cultural transition. The southern tribal leaders would have wanted to imitate the victors.

Some of them changed their allegiance and became the client kings of Rome. Strabo states that they sent embassies and paid court to Augustus (first Emperor of the Roman Empire), in order to gain his friendship. They exported grain, iron and slaves; and they imported glass vessels, amberware and other goods. Of course, they had to pay duty to the Roman state on these goods – an excellent way of binding them to Rome.

In the early 40s AD, the Atrebates (a Belgic tribe) were conquered, and their king Verica fled to Rome, appealing for help. Emperor Claudius was new to his position, and was yet to prove himself in the field. He now had the excuse he needed for the proper invasion of Britain, which came in 43 AD.

Four legions of about 20,000 men, under the leadership of Aulus Plautius, landed at two separate locations so as to confuse any English counterattack. The tribes dispersed, but rallied for a major battle by the River Medway, in south-east England. There the fighting lasted for two days, with the English (under the leadership of Caratacus) were being defeated. The exact location of the battle is not known.

Plautius sent for Claudius, who arrived two months later with 28 elephants. He stormed the native capital of Camulodunum, and Caratacus fled westwards. Eleven kings surrendered to Claudius, and he was celebrated for it when he returned to Rome. The Roman conquest of Britain had begun, but it would take nearly 40yrs for it to finish.

Camulodunum became the first Roman capital of Colchester. They built a great fort on the site of the native earthworks, as a token of dominion. The army then spread outwards in three directions – north, west and north-west.

Vespasian, leader of the western army, drove towards Wales and England's south-west peninsula, fighting 33 battles along the way. On the banks of Maiden Castle (a hill fort in Dorset), the body of a man with a Roman crossbow bolt in his spine has been found. By 49 AD, Roman soldiers were supervising mining operations in Somerset.

The other two armies proceeded slowly along already-existing roads such as Ermine Street. They built forts in areas they conquered, so that each tribal zone was dominated by at least one military settlement. By 51 AD, Cartimandua (queen of the Brigantes in the north) had become a client queen. She was receiving Roman wine in Roman vessels, and also building tiles.

Although Roman historians describe a smooth process of colonization, it is unlikely that it was as simple as that. They did advance steadily, but they were beset by tribal rebellions, and occasionally army mutinies. Ambushes, raids and battles were common. South of the Fosse Way (running from Exeter to Lincoln), all the land was under Roman control, but in the north it was more treacherous. Some tribes had divided allegiances, and some fought against each other.

The Fosse Way.

The Iceni, a tribe living deep within East Anglia (a pacified zone) revolted in 47 AD over the right to bear arms. It was put down easily.

King Prasutagus of the Iceni died in 60 AD, and the agents of the Roman provincial government tried to appropriate Iceni wealth. Boudicca, Prasutagus' widow, was flogged and her two daughters were raped. Boudicca rose up and led a rebellion against the Romans.

She gathered other English tribes into a confederacy and led her army southwards, burning and pillaging any evidence of Romanization, or the beginnings of it. They destroyed villas and killed inhabitants by the sword. The object of their advance was the capital of Colchester, which harboured hundreds of military veterans who had taken control of adjacent land. The English set the city on fire and destroyed it, and looted the shops.

The veterans sheltered in the central temple, but two days later they were overwhelmed and hacked to pieces. The English beheaded a great statue of Claudius and threw it into the river, and destroyed the temple itself.

They then moved further southwards, towards London. On the way, they sacked Chelmsford and St. Albans, and killed an entire legion.

Suetonius Paulinus was the Roman military governor at that time, and he had been campaigning in Wales. Well aware of the threat to his regime, he marched quickly back, but he didn't save London when he arrived there. He needed to focus on saving the whole imperial province, and to do that he had to pick the time & place for the battle.

Many London inhabitants hastily left the city, going further south to safety with pro-Roman tribes. Those who remained were killed – Tacitus states that 70,000 peoplle were killed in the attack. London was razed by fire, leaving a red level of oxidized iron that is still beneath the streets of modern London. 48 human skulls have been found embedded in the track of the Walbrook river.

Boudicca now went after Suetonius Paulinus, but the site of the battle is not known for certain. There were 10,000 Roman troops, and 100,000 English. The Roman legionnaires had a forest behind them, and a plain in front of them. The English ran across the plain towards them, but many were killed by javelins. Then the Romans began to move forward with shields and shortswords. It was their discipline that held them together, and slowly the tide began to turn against the English. 80,000 of them died during the battle, but only about 400 Romans. It was one of the worst massacres on English soil.

It is not know what happened to Boudicca after that. Some say she poisoned herself so the Romans wouldn't capture her; some say that she fell sick and died. There is a monument to her on Westminster Bridge.

The monument Boudicca and Her Daughters on the Westminster Bridge.

Now the Romans had to deal with the Druids, who had retreated steadily westwards, harried and pursued all the while. Their last stand was on the island of Anglesey (off the north-west coast of Wales). According to Tacitus, the troops crossed from the mainland, and were confronted by a “dense line of armed warriors along the foreshore, while women were rushing about between the ranks garbed in black like the Furies, holding up lighted torches.” The Druids stood close to the women, offering sacrifices, holding their arms in the air and screeching terrible curses. But they were killed, and their sanctuaries were burned down.

Once the east and south of England were pacified, Julius Agricola (the next Roman governor of England) focused on the north and west. He conquered Wales in 78 AD. In 79 AD he sent legions to the north-east (through Corbridge) and north-west (through Carlisle). He divided the enemy, and had a network of forts built so that he could supervise the tribes that had surrendered. These northern tribes were more hostile than the southern ones, and according to Tacitus, there were “many battles, some not unbloody”. The goal of the Romans was to create & control a northern frontier. To do this, troops were sent northwards to deal with modern-day southern Scotland.

York and Chester had permanent fortresses, with a legion each. Manchester and Newcastle were built around the site of Roman forts. Manchester's original name was Mamucio (after the Latin word for a hill shaped like a breast), and this was misread as Mancunio, and eventually became Manchester.

A series of nearly-straight roads were built to link the forts together. The Romans built garrison towns at Lincoln and Gloucester, in which retired legionnaires lived. A network of forts, encampments, defensive walls and defensive walls emphasized the Roman colonial presence. Posting stations (or staging posts) were set up on the main roads, and they eventually became villages.

According to Tacitus, one tribal chief complained that “our goods and money are consumed by taxation; our land is stripped of its harvest to fill their granaries; our hands and limbs are crippled by building roads through forests and swamps under the lash of our oppressors.”

The military zone (which included Wales and northern England) required a standing force of 125,000 men, But the legionnaires were not only Roman – during the first 100yrs of occupation, 40,000 soldiers were recruited from Gaul, Spain and Germany; and English soldiers also joined. The troops mixed with the native population, and within 2-3 generations, it had become a native army.

After the Emperor Hadrian's visit to Britain in 122 AD, Hadrian's Wall was built on his orders. It separated Roman England from the tribes of Scotland. Then in 142, the Antonine Wall was built north of Hadrian's Wall, separating south and north Scotland.

The Antonine Wall is in modern-day northern England.

The Romans had no intentions of advancing into the Scottish highlands. They had also dropped any plans for the invasion of Ireland. Now they focused on protecting their borders so they could enjoy peace. The land south of the wall was intensely cultivated, and a great agricultural regime was established on the Cumbrian Plain. England was once again as rich and productive as it had been during the Iron Age.

Romanization was gradual and local. In the countryside, people mostly stuck to the old ways, and Iron Age conditions prevailed. The towns was where things were different.

The administrative elite of English leaders worked in the towns. These men had welcomed (or exploited) the Romanization of the country, and the rising of Roman officials within it. With the advice of the Roman officials, they began to build temples, public buildings and public squares; they learned the Latin language; they began wearing togas. The children of leading English families were educated in the “civilized arts”, and some were even sent to Rome.

Bathing establishments and assembly rooms were built, and according to Tacitus, the English began to attend “smart dinner parties”. There were many more plates, dishes, bowls and drinking vessels than during the Iron Age. The English imported amphorae (storage vessels), which contained wine, olive oil, olives and fish sauce. Tacitus wrote that “they called it civilization when in fact it was part of their servitude”.

Fragment of an amphora found underneath a Roman road in Devon.

The old hierarchies still existed, now with Roman trappings. The landowners had coloni (tenants who were tied to the land). The trival leaders who owned extensive land and property were at the top; the large community of slaves at the bottom. The word servus (“slave”) eventually became the word “serf”. The social patterns of the Bronze & Iron Ages were still entrenched, now strengthened and deepened by the rule of a strong central power.

The Romans turned the old tribal regions into civitates (government districts). Each district had a central town, often the old tribal capital or oppidum, re-dressed in stone instead of wood. The centre of the town was represented by a forum complex of civic buildings.

Roman architectural forms were imposed, with monumental arches, sculptures, bath-houses and altars (for example). Many of these public buildings were constructed as part of a state initiative that continued well into the 100s AD. There would be a forum, temple, basilica and amphitheatre rising above the smaller buildings – closely-packed houses, workshops and shops, still mostly built out of wood and clay, and with earthen floors. Many of the houses were single-room lodgings; other buildings consisted of a shop at the front, a workshop behind it, and a room for living in at the back. Many wells & hearths have been found in the areas of settlement. Beyond the streets were the kilns, quarries, livestock enclosures and cemeteries.

A curia (council) of the larger landowners controlled the town's government, and they had many clerks and other officials. Kinship and tribal ties slowly transformed into group relations on an economic basis.

The larger towns were independent and self-governing. Magistrates & councillors dealt with things such as drainage, sanitation, and road re-paving. The most common Roman artifact found in England is the writing tablet.

The native elites began to build Roman-style villas in the countryside. The earliest of them (such as the one at Fishbourne, Sussex) were of very high status, probably for Romanized tribal leaders or great officials of the empire. They spread to other native leaders, with more modest villas being built in south-eastern England – appropriate for a wealthy landowner, or the most important family of an agricultural community.

Dolphin mosaic from the Fishbourne villa.

The villas had stone walls and expensive mosaics; there was also underfloor heating and window glass. Their roofs may have been made of ceramic tiles instead of thatch and wattle. Some (most?) of the smaller houses were plastered and decorated with wall paintings (plaster was used as external protection from the elements).

However, hill forts were still important, especially for England's leading families who had stayed closer to their social & cultural traditions.

At the beginning of the 100s AD, in Keston (Kent), an Iron Age farm was still being used. By the middle of the 100s a new wooden farmhouse was built, with painted walls. At the beginning of the 200s a stone house was built, with a Roman-style bath-house. There were wooden barns in the farmhouse, one of which was later rebuilt in stone. Ovens were used for malting or corn-drying, and the owner/s of the villa probably employed potters, blacksmiths and bronze-workers. There was an early Roman cremation cemetery, and a circular mausoleum from a later date. Romanization was gradual.

Bronze & Iron Age practices were kept on in the farming of the soil itself. In some regions (such as the south-west) old practices continued without any change. There is only evidence of change in the south-east, and only among the leaders. The Romans brought in cherries, figs and mulberries (all previously unknown); peas, cabbages and turnips first appeared during the Roman era. Even in the Romanized regions, the natives still preferred beef to pork.

Overall, most people were still living in the Iron Age, and would continue to do so for several centuries.

By imperial decree, the fens of East Anglia were drained, and reclaimed soil was made productive. Hundreds of villages and farms were established in a pre-ordained manner. The region became an imperial estate, with taxes for the central government. The prosperous Salisbury Plain also became an imperial estate.

Taxation included land tax and a poll tax, and it was the key of Roman exploitation. With the northern invaders, the cost of maintaining the army increased, so taxation increased as a result. The old tribal economy was changing to a monetary economy, and the Romans hastened this process. Imperial coinage replaced the old tribal coinage.

The Romans levied taxes on goods that were traded. Industrial centres (e.g. the potteries at the village of Castor in Cambridgeshire) altered parts of the landscape. Ironworks were established in all areas of England, and lead mines were in continuous use during the Roman era. Coal was used for working iron, heating the bath-houses, and the sacred fire at Minerva's temple in Bath.

There were two native woollen products in demand by the English people – the birrus Britannicus (a type of waterproof cloak & hood), and the tapete Britannicum (a woollen rug). The men wore cattle-hide jackets and leather breeches.

Also traded were bears and bulldogs for the Roman arena. It was said that Caesar had invaded England so he could get some exxcellent oysters.

In the early 200s AD, England was divided into two provinces. Brittania Superior's capital was London, and Brittania Inferior had York as its centre. (These were geographical terms, not implying that the former was better than the latter). These two provinces were later subdivided into four provinces, and then into five. The country was being closely administered and exploited.

Provinces in the 200s and 300s AD.

England's role changed as it became a settled part of the empire. The armies of occupation became armies of defence; they became naturalized, and had specific local/regional identities. Over 1/10 of the Roman imperial army was stationed in England, meaning that its forces had a lot of power over events in Rome. Mutinies and uprisings weren't uncommon.

In 268, Carausius (the governor of England) proclaimed himself Emperor, and took his forces to the continent. While he was away, the towns and cities of England took measures to defend themselves against potential reprises from Rome.

A century later, another Roman commander seized the province of England and declared it to be independent. A battle somewhere in central England dealt with this.

England had a lot of significance in imperial calculations, and it was worth a fight. Its taxes, ports and metals helped to sustain Roman commerce. Its agriculture, however, was what made England so wealthy and productive.

In 359 AD, the Emperor Julian organized a fleet of 600 ships to transport English corn to the warzones of the Rhine. England was now one of the “bread baskets” of Europe, and by the 300s AD it had never been so prosperous. The villas became larger and more luxurious, but social stratification increased as well. The Roman English controlled the Iron Age English.

The Scots and Picts were always pressing against the northern borders, but England's other frontiers also developed problems. The Saxon Shore is an alignment of forts in southern England whose purpose is not entirely certain. They may have defended the coast against Saxon invaders from north-west Europe; or they may have harboured Saxon fighters and traders – i.e. designed to protect the seaways between England and Europe.

The Saxon Shore (it had fortifications & military commands on both sides of the Channel).

Christianity was introduced to England in the 100s AD, but it was still a minority religion. The Roman English were now used to the Roman gods, and the Iron Age English probably still worshipped their old gods. Christian vessels & plaques from the 200s have been found in Huntingdonshire, near the River Nene, and are evidence of a local shrine (and the earliest examples of such vessels in Roman Britain). A Christian cemetery, around the same date, was found at Poundbury (Dorset). By the 300s AD, Christianity had spread as far north as Carlisle (in north-west England).

Constantine converted in 312 AD. He had been appointed Emperor at York in 306, and later seems to have considered England to be one of the spiritual centres of his rule. York was refashioned in honour of his elevation, and he visited England three more times. He styled himself on Britannicus Maximus (“The great victor in England”), and London was possibly renamed Augusta in his honour for a while.

Christianity was a monotheistic faith, and the emperor aspired to single rule. It had a uniform set of values & beliefs. It helped to support the legislative & bureaucratic forces of the central power, and the religion's followers were drawn from the governing class. The Romanized English were quick to embrace Christianity, and so Christianity became associated with the culture of the villas. It was also the religion of the administrative elite in the towns and cities, where there would be a bishop to care for the town-dwelling Christians.

In 314, three English bishops, a priest, and a deacon attended an ecclesiastical council in Arles (southern France). The bishops were from York, London and Lincoln, and the priest & deacon were from Cirencester.

At Tower Hill (London), remains of what may have been a Christian cathedral have been found. The building had marble and painted walls, and a holy well in the centre of the nave. This may have been the diocesan centre for Bishop Restitutus of London.

Evidence for a church has been found as Silchester as well, but there is little evidene for other churches during the 200s and 330s. The earliest churches lie beneath more recent ones.

Rome's frontiers were being threatened, and in many places they were overwhelmed. The Franks had entered northern Gaul, and the Visigoths were to settle in Aquitania. The pressure of the Scots & Picts was growing, and they had tribal allies among the Franks and Saxons. In 367, a northern force overcame Hadrian's Wall and moved southwards in dispersed bands to ravage the country. The commander of the Saxon Shore forts was murdered, and the provincial leader known as Dux Britanniarum was captured. Roman intervention and rebuilding helped, including the re-fortification of key posts. But it was a notable defeat for the English, and then the northern tribes came back 40yrs later.

At the beginning of the 400s, England was effectively stripped of its military forces, as they had gone off in search of glory – various pretenders were making bids for imperial power in Rome, weakening Roman rule. Rome's administrative machinery was beginning to break apart.

In England, the northern tribes attacked again in 408, and the Roman English had to defend themselves without the Romans. Zosimus, a contemporary historian, records that they “took up arms and, braving danger for their own independence, freed their cities from the barbarians threatening them.”

Not only that, but according to Zosimus, the English expelled their Roman governors and established their own administration.

Some Roman English would have wanted to retain the Roman administration, as it benefitted them greatly. Others would have wanted to get rid of it, because of taxation and coercion from the central government. In 410, one section of the English asked the Roman Emperor for arms and soldiers (it's unknown whether it was for fighting an external Saxon army, or another group of English). Honorius replied that the English must now fend for themselves – this was the end of Roman England.

Procopius of Caesarea (another historian) records that after the Roman officials disappeared, the cities and regions were taken over by “tyrants” or “usurpers”. They were probably the familiar English leaders, descended from tribal chiefs or large landowning families (but would have seemed like usurpers to Rome).

The English tribes and polities reacted to the end of Roman England in several ways. The Romanized English (in the towns and cities, with dependent estates all around them) probably formed themselves into self-governing administrative units, with the leaders of these small states still known as “magistrates”.

In the east and south-east of England (the civil zone), small kingdoms developed, defended by mercenaries. Those in eastern England had to use Germanic soldiers, which would cause problems for them later on.

In the more distant regions of England, where Romanization had never properly taken hold, the people returned to pre-Roman forms of social organization. The detachments that remained of the northern armies were grouped under a commander who became their chieftain. One of the first Roman leaders of the north was Coelius or Coel Hen, who became “Old King Cole” of the nursery rhyme.

There were general changes overall as well. Rome's taxation system was dismantled, and the countryside was now controlled by an aristocracy of landowners. The circulation of coinage decreased quickly because of the lack of imperial taxation. By 410, the large centres of pottery manufacturing had gone out of business, as the demand no longer existed. Brick-making disappeared, and wouldn't return to England until the 1400s. Villas were neglected or abandoned, and later settlers would use them.

The cities didn't decline, though – they merely changed their function. They were still administrative centres for the immediate area, and the local leader & bishop lived there. However, they didn't need the imperial façades of the 200s. The Silchester basilica was converted into a metal-working centre. There is evidence of rebuilding at York & Gloucester during the 400s. In the second half of the 400s, a new water supply with wooden pipes was introduced to Verulamium. So a civic organization was still in operation.

The Roman city of Wroxeter has been excavated in the fields of Shropshire, and it wasn't abandoned after the Romans left. The basilica was destroyed, and a large wooden hall built in its place – this hall became the centre for a complex of wooden buildings based on Roman models. Well into a medieval period, a prosperous and busy life continued on.

In the archaeologial strata of the 400s is a deposit, called “dark earth”, spread over many towns and cities. This is the residue of wattle-and-daub dwelling. The towns & cities during this century may have still been heavily populated, continuing on a commercial life.

Barter and local trading allowed for self-sufficiency. There was hand-made pottery, and quantities of clay have been found that may have been used for building walls. The farmers' and labourers' lives weren't changed at all by the change in leadership.

St. Patrick was taken by Saxon slavers at the end of the 300s AD, and his Confession of Saint Patrick shows that the affluent lives of villa-owners continued into the early decades of the 400s. He returned to England 6yrs later, and his father urged him to enter public service – for example, local rhetoricians were employed to guide the populace. There was some kind of a working polity based upon a Roman original.

Bishop Germanus of Gaul visited England in 429, and he was greeted by the leading men of Verulamium in a gesture of civic unity. These men were probably members of the diocesan or provincial council who had taken over the city's administration. According to Germanus, they were “conspicuous for their wealth, fashionable in their dress, and surrounded by an adoring multitude of people.”

One of the reasons for Germanus' visit was to help the English in their fight against the Picts and Saxons. However, many Saxons were already living in England, and had been doing so since the 200s AD. The urban & tribal elites needed Saxon warriors to defend their property, and many of these warriors married native women and settled down with their families. The Roman army in the north still had Germanic soldiers in it. There were Saxon traders in the towns and cities; and Saxon workers cultivated the land in Kent in exchange for occasional military service.

From the Iron Age onwards, the native English have been called “Britons”. However, that term is really only correct for the Atlantic English of the western coasts – these are the Britons who would migrate to Gaul and establish the province of Brittany; they spoke Celtic and Gaelic. There were also many Britons in the north, as a remainder of old tribal groupings.

Native English also lived in central, south and east England. However, they lived in the areas that the Saxon settlers would eventually dominate (sometimes peacefully, and sometimes by violent means). The name of England would come from one of these groups of settlers, the Angles. “Engla land” was the Viking description.

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hermannsthumb · 5 years

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Hi! it's me again, the person who named their cat after Newton. Just wanted to share a thing that happened today I let him out and like 20 min later an older gentleman calls me to say that my dumbass of a kitten had followed him home. I had to drive over there to get him (he was fine btw, the man was really nice and even gave him some food). But like, newmann au where Hermanns cat runs away and attractive stranger Newt takes care of the kitten until Hermann comes to get him.

Anonymous said: i hc that 1 of many reasons hermann loves cats is bc they're like tiny lil mathematicians!! calculating angles n trajectory before they jump, evaluating the way things move etc. no-kaiju au hermann has 2 clever cats n finds out that newt loves cats too, so they kind of hook on to that as a small talk prompt so they don't kill each other. but one day herms has to drop smth off @ newts n finds out his cat is The Most Stupid Orange Boy Ever bc like what did he expect. ofc he loves them both anyway.

i loved both of these messages so much and i love newt and hermann and cats so im....making a little ficlet combining the two (with some stretching of the anon message)...this is SO hallmark channel original its atrocious

Hermann’s never been the type for pets, not even when he was a child. Nor has he ever been the type for caring for really any living thing. He’s not the nurturing type. He had a small terrarium with a turtle as a child (a birthday gift from a relative who’s long dead at this point) and kept a houseplant for a month (a housewarming gift from an overenthusiastic neighbor in the flat next door), but his sister claimed ownership of the turtle when he went off for university and he hasn’t seen it since, and the plant quickly withered and died from lack of natural sunlight.

But the winter months always hit Hermann the hardest (seasonal depression compounded on top of regular depression compounded on top of Hermann’s semi-self-inflicted aching loneliness), and moving across an ocean and even further away from everything he knows is hardly helping, which is why his new therapist suggested he get a pet. An emotional support pet, he thinks they’re called. Something for Hermann to look after and have as his companion so he doesn’t spend every moment he’s not lecturing at the nearby university staring out his bedroom window at the ice and the frost and the snow and contemplating his own existence and the aforementioned aching loneliness.

So Hermann got a cat. It was either that, or try to make friends, and he’s never been good at making friends either.

It’s a nice little cat, a small grey-and-white tabby, and Hermann took a shine to it immediately at the local humane society when it peered through the cage at him with big brown eyes and mewed. If Hermann were another man, he might say he took a shine to it because it was cute.

It’s a clever cat, and fairly easy to co-habitat with, too. Hermann feeds it twice a day (morning, before lecturing, and evening, after lecturing) and buys it a scratching post and toys so it doesn’t ruin his furniture. In return, the little cat sometimes curls up on his lap as he grades assignments and on the great empty space in Hermann’s bed every night when Hermann lays down to sleep. Often it will lick Hermann’s hand, as if it’s trying to groom him, or present its plush mouse toys to Hermann as gifts in return for a head scratch. Hermann’s rather fond of it, to his immense surprise. He thinks it’s fond of him.

It’s why he’s near frantic now. He had his front door propped open for a single moment--just long enough to balance his cane with his grocery bags--and his cat took the chance and bolted past him down the hallway. By the time Hermann gathered his bearings and tore after it, it was completely gone. No way of telling where it may be, whether it ran up or down the staircase, whether it ducked into the elevator with another renter, whether it’s even still in the complex.

Hermann didn’t even name the bloody thing yet. How is he supposed to call for it?

He heats up a miserable dinner of leftover pasta and considers what to do next. His cat hasn’t a name, but it does have a collar with Hermann’s cellular number and name on it (suggested by the humane society, and Hermann, ever paranoid, was all too happy to go along with it). If someone finds his cat, they’ll surely call him. He hopes.

There are no phone calls through dinner. Hermann is too worried to grade the stack of assignments cluttering up his kitchen table and spends the evening staring out the window at the ice, and the frost, and the snow...

His cell phone rings; Hermann answers it immediately. “Hello?” he says.

“Uh, Hermann Gottlieb?” someone says.

“Yes,” Hermann says. “Yes, that’s me. Hello.”

“I think I found your cat.”

Newton, as the man on the other end of the phone introduces himself, lives a mere two floors below Hermann (Hermann is out the door and in the elevator before he’s even hung up) and found Hermann’s cat wandering the ground floor when he came home from work. Also at Hermann’s university, to Hermann’s surprise, but biology. (Newton is very talkative; he learns a lot aout him very, very quickly.) He hadn’t even meant to take it home, he explains, it just sort of...followed him.

“Maybe he smelled my cat on me,” he laughs, once he’s shown a still-frantic Hermann into his flat. It’s messy and a little cramped, with coffee mugs and open textbooks and half-finished crochet projects strewn about, movie posters and anatomical diagrams and sketches of plants plastered up all over the (lime green) walls. Messy and cramped, and somehow immensely, and strangely, appealing.

Newton himself is strangely appealing, too. He’s about Hermann’s age, short and scruffy, with tattoos and pierced ears and thick glasses, but he smiles brilliantly at Hermann, touches his shoulder and back companionably as he steers him into his sitting room, has a loud laugh that makes Hermann feel warm and pleasant.

(Newton, Hermann admits to himself, is also cute.)

“This your little guy?” Newton says, picking up Hermann’s cat from his dingy couch. He scratches behind its ears, and it starts purring and nuzzling Newton’s chest immediately.

It is, indeed, Hermann’s grey and white tabby cat. “That’s him,” Hermann sighs. “I really am sorry about this.”

Newton smiles. “It’s fine, dude. He and my cat were chilling.” He nods back to the couch, where a fat orange and white cat is chewing on one of the tassels of Newton’s pillows. Hermann almost hadn’t seen it. “He’s such a dumbass,” Newton says, looking at the fat cat fondly, and then turns his smile on Hermann again. “Anyway, wanna stay for a bit?”

Hermann blinks in mild bewilderment. “Stay?” he says.

Newton has not stopped scratching Hermann’s cat behind the ears. “I just made a pot of coffee,” he says. “I have beer, too. Or,” he starts talking faster, clearly embarrassed, “you can just go if you want, obviously, sorry, you don’t have to--”

“I’d like coffee,” Hermann says. “If you wouldn’t mind.”

“Ha! Cool!” Newton says. “Lemme--” He thrusts Hermann’s cat back at him. “Get comfortable. I’ll be right back. Half and half? Sugar? Coffee, I mean, how do you want it?”

“Black,” Hermann says, holding his purring cat with one hand. “No sugar.”

Newton shoots him two thumbs up and scurries off into his kitchen, and Hermann eases himself down onto the sofa next to the fat orange cat. “What an odd little man,” he says to it. It blinks at him, then continues chewing on the pillow happily.

Hermann can’t seem to stop smiling. He catches sight of the window (nearly obscured by gaudy curtains and window gel clings that are five holidays out of season), and--for the first time in weeks--can’t seem to bring himself to care about the dreary grey winter, either.

Hermann leaves Newton’s flat two hours later, warm, happy, his cat tucked under his arm and Newton’s cell phone number (signed with a long string of x’s and o’s) tucked into his shirt pocket, a dinner date looming on his horizon.

(He moves in with Newton a year later.)

#newmann #maria's fanfiction tag #brought to u by my winter depression and my fat orange cat sitting next to me as i type #intellectualpencil

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