#the-little-fox-in-the-box

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Do you think there ever was a Roman soldier who after a battle came back to an empty tent? All his comrades... dead? Their tent, usually full of chatter and laughs now dead silent? No one to eat their meals with? No one to write their "hellos" on the margin of his letter to the family? Do you think that ever happened? Do you think he felt bad that there was no one to scold him for shedding a tear?

There probably were. It's likely that a 19-year-old Scipio Africanus experienced something like that after Cannae, a battle in which 75-90% of his comrades were either killed or captured.

Colleen McCullough dramatizes the Battle of Arausio this way in The First Man in Rome, when the two Roman commanders' inability to work together causes their army to be destroyed by the Cimbri tribe. It's brutal, but I love how she used it to characterize Marcus Livius Drusus and Quintus Poppaedius Silo. I didn't think I could like Drusus after [spoilers!], but she puts him through hell and gives him one heck of a redemption arc. I also really like how Silo's trauma informs his and other Italians' distrust of the Roman government, and why they try to break free with the Social War in the following book. The two men's shared friendship after the battle is really touching, too.

#just roman asks #the-little-fox-in-the-box #military history #scipio africanus #battle of cannae #battle of arausio #quintus poppaedius silo #marcus livius drusus #colleen mccullough #the first man in rome

[theromaboo]

I don't know how about you, but I'm EXTREMELY pleased with how they portrayed Cocktavian in HBO Rome, both in younger and older version. I'm talking about looks, not personality (we REALLY didn't need that sadist sex scene). I mean... Blonde guy with blue eyes and "Roman" features.

Young Cocktavian: Almost perfect. Some time ago, I tried to watch HBO Rome (quit in like the first few episodes. No reason. I just have a terrible attention span). I remember that I quite liked his appearance.

Older Cocktavian: No. I don't like it. If only he looked like that one illustration but blond...

#hbo rome #cocktavian #emperor augustus #octavian #ancient rome #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[abtl]

Roman history, basically.

Yeah. Yeah that's accurate.

#ask #asks #mutual ask #mutual asks #the-little-fox-in-the-box #beetle answers #thanks for the ask! #ancient rome #augustus #emperor augustus #octavian #the principate #yeah after all that unspeakable drama between old Julius getting stabbed #and this guy taking charge #he finished what the poor knife magnet started #and to that I ask Augustus #WHAT IN THE FRESH GARVM FLAVOURED FUCK #NO #BAD OCTAVIAN

[ancient-rome-au]

If Ancient Romans had trains and trams Mars would be speaking Latin by now...

Obviously there are a lot technological "what if?"'s embedded in that AU, but the social, economic, and military ramifications are also quite profound.

Something I "worry" about is that there is a theory that a highly politically fractured Europe was necessary precondition for the Industrial Revolution. ("Worry" in quotes because obviously this is all hypothetical and fortunately the Industrial Revolution has already happened.) There are lots of technologies where I see the argument (e.g. innovations in ship design and metallurgy), but rail transport, pumping water out of mines, and textile manufacturing all seem like technologies that don't rely on Great Power competition to motivate their development.

#ancient rome au #the-little-fox-in-the-box #ask #delayed reply = #sorry i forgot what this was in reply to #probably some anti-car thing i posted lol

[cassowariess]

Do you still draw? I have not seen your art being posted in a while and I grew worried. It's kinda disturbing, like a zoo animal with not enough enrichment in their enclosure.

See here and here. I have drawn a bit of stuff this year but no where near as much as last year due to being stressed, losing my dad, not having enough time to myself and other factors.

So yeah I guess "not enough enrichment in my enclosure" is correct lol

#personal #ask #the-little-fox-in-the-box #art

[headcanonsandmore]

I know we don't always talk, but I just want to say that I just got my testosterone prescription and I'm starting T tomorrow. I'm in a train on my way home all by myself and had no one to share it with. Hope you're proud of me, my own dad isn't.

Oh my gosh, that's fantastic; I'm so proud of you! Congratulations, son! 😊😊 And thank you for sharing that with me; it's an honour!

#the-little-fox-in-the-box #message #it's not the quantity of the talking it's the quality that counts #your dad sounds like a git and you deserve better

[keikoyume]

Does your Enoch paint his fingernails black or are they just like that? If they're being painted (very beautiful btw) does he do it himself or does someone else paint them for him?

I think his fingernails are just like that- it's a fancy detail that I love to put on characters I appreciate!

If it was meant to be painted nails, Enoch would definitely be helped by Elsens in order to have a neat result💅✨

#ask #the-little-fox-in-the-box #off game

[illusioncanthurtme--art]

Made me think of you.

#ask #answered #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[goldenvicious]

You seem wet and pathetic. I like that about you.

I've been thinking about how to respond to this and

I just

I just don't know how. I'm stumped. Thank you?

#wet and pathetic #that's a first #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[zorrocafe]

Woe! Realistic Caracalla be upon ye!

Whoa!

Ecce est pater!

#asks #i forgot how to turn pater from 'father' into 'daddy' in latin #hello there! #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Who do you think of when you read a post saying "old man"?

...and why is it Cicero?

But there are so many Old Men in the Roman republic! Cicero is the dramatic and harried but well-meaning old man. Sulla is the odd and NOT well-meaning old man! Lucullus is the old man who throws the best parties. Hortensius is the old man with the fanciest fish. And we can't forget all the cool old women like Servilia, Clodia Metelli, Caerelia, Terentia, Sempronia the conspirator...

I also must give a special award to Cato the Younger who, despite his name, is the only person I know who was born a Cranky Old Man.

#just roman asks #the-little-fox-in-the-box #cato the younger #old men #this is a fun ask to put in that tag...

[theromaboo]

I went through my old books about Nero again and I remember the passage about Britannicus being childhood best friends with Vespasian's son, Titus and possibly his brother Domitian, since his father Claudius and Vespasian liked each other.

So there was at some point in history a moment where Claudius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian and possibly even Nero where in the same room at the same time. 5 different Roman emperors. In one room. I think that's pretty fucking neat if you ask me...

Oh my gosh I totally forgot about Domitian! Wow, future Roman emperors all over the place! It is really neat.

It kind of reminds me of this story in Suetonius Titus (Suetonius Life of Titus 2.1). Basically, some dude had to examine Britannicus and was like "Yep, he's not going to emperor. Too bad so sad," and then he looked at Titus and said "Oh, this one will!" And Titus did.

Which also reminds me of this story in Suetonius Caligula (Suetonius Life of Caligula 19.3) when some astrologer said "This guy Gaius [Caligula] is not going to become emperor. Nuh uh no way," except he actually did become emperor!

It also reminds me of a story in Suetonius Augustus (Suetonius Life of Augustus 94.12) when Octavian and Agrippa visited this one astrologer. This was when they were still at Apollonia so like before Julius Caesar died and stuff.

The astrologer said to Agrippa "Omg bro you're going to have such a good career you're going to be incredible."

Then Octavian was worried that the astrologer was going to say to him something like "Oh, you're going to die at the ripe old age of 24 after doing nothing with your life. Sorry." Well to be specific, Octavian was worried that his fortune would be worse than Agrippa's, which is kind of mean.

But Octavian let the dude look at his birthday and stuff and the dude threw himself at Octavian's feet because omg! He's going to be emperor! His fate is so incredible! This homie is so cool, his zodiac sign is Capricorn even though he was born in September!

I could make a venn diagram of these three stories. They mirror each other a lot and I'm starting to have feelings about it. Suetonius is the source of all three stories so I wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

#thank you for the ask #britannicus #titus #emperor titus #octavian #emperor augustus #emperor caligula #marcus agrippa #roman history #ancient rome #history #history asks #asks #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[abtl]

So you don't know that Cicero made several speeches saying that as a young man Mark Anthony would wear his hair long, dress up in feminine clothing and whore himself out like a prostitute (Fun fact, Nero grew his hair out long to resemble him, because he was his grandfather). Even as he grew up he wore extremely short tunics to show off his perfectly shaved, muscular legs, which Cicero probably envied, because Cicero had varicose veins and would undergo cosmetic surgeries to have them removed. Those insults are probably why Mark Anthony had Cicero killed.

...The thing about Mark Anthony being a drunk are 100% true tho, he literally came into the Senate drunk multiple times, once even with puke all over his white toga.

You cannot make this shit up. Holy shit. Roman history is just absolutely insane.

#asks #ask #mutual ask #mutual asks #the-little-fox-in-the-box #thanks for the ask! #ancient rome #mark antony #marcus tullius cicero #cicero #my gods Ancient Roman history is just SO full of these quips and INSANE shit happening all the time #NO movie game or tv show could possibly replicate this #reality truly is madder than fiction #now I can't stop thinking about a drunk Mark Antony #walking into the Senate with his puke-stained toga #slurring the ENTIRE Lorem Ipsum copypasta

[owlask]

"I don’t think I have special talents" says the bitch with a gorgeous drawing talent and vast knowledge on an ancient dynasty. You ARE talented, you're just too much of a silly goose to notice it.

You're too kind! I personally wouldn't classify drawing as a special talent. It's more of a skill I've been working on for years for it to be at the stage it is now. Also, a lot of other people pursue art and drawing so it's nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe the style is "special", but it's more a reflection of me.

As for vast knowledge of an ancient dynasty - I would have my MA Thesis ready by now if it were so Hahahaha. But I try to improve every day, as it is in academics. It's a never-ending journey, which is part of the fun!

Thank you for your kind words and lovely ask! I'll remember it on my difficult days 🤗😊

#Ask the Ask #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[cassowariess]

I love your new profile pic. It perfectly represents what people often admit anonymously in the asks and tags.

That's exactly why I changed it lmao

#you know me too well #ask #the-little-fox-in-the-box

[headcanonsandmore]

Is Yasmin Khan related in any way to Genghis Khan or is that just an odd coincidence?

Coincidence, mainly. In the context of the UK, it's a fairly common surname (over 100,000 people in the UK have the surname) especially amongst the British-Asian community. It's actually the 12th most common surname in the UK overall.

Although Genghis Khan did apparently father a lot of children (so much so that his descendants nowadays number at least a million), it's still not likely. Going just by names, Genghis Khan means something akin to 'Great Khan' or 'Emperor' so it's more akin to a title than a name (his birthname being Tumujin). Khan, as a surname, does originally descend from the historic title which referred to military chief or ruler. The surname is popular in South Asia; Yaz's family left that part of the world and settled in Britain during the mid twentieth century.

So, yeah. Yaz is likely not directly descended from Genghis Khan.

She's super awesome regardless. 😊 Thanks for the ask!

#the-little-fox-in-the-box #ask #yasmin khan #doctor who #history #did i mention i'm a historian?