#also thinking about how ... in this period where england is forming a new idea of itself as a Nation james / swann / beckett represent | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

children-of-epiales · 2 years

Note

11, 20, 32, 39, 58, 62, 78, 86

For Nemesis, Reaper, Soleil and Friča!

11) If they could make a mark on history, what would they like it to be?

☠️ In Nemesis' case, it would be getting humanity to change in general. As the personification of retribution, she wants the inhumane and selfish to be afraid to suffer the consequences of their actions, to look over their shoulders every time they enter their homes, to sleep with one eye open. This is a very big and idealistic desire, but Nemesis is a very stubborn woman.

☀️It didn’t take Soleil much time to realize he wanted to put the “human” back into humanity; he’s never quite been on the same moral plane as Nemesis, but he believes the world could be a better place. And he believes that starts with people treating each other better, even if it starts with just saying “please” and “thank you”. So he would to be responsible for starting an era where people work on their characters (if this makes any sense).

🎨 Frică’s goal is smaller (in a way). If she could, she would want to be introduce a new era of art or philosophy (nothing crazy) to the world be known as the founder.

👻 Reaper would want to make a change in the science field: discover a new element, so the periodic table would need to be rearranged, or invent some form of medicine or find a cure for an incurable disease.

20) Do they have any titles? How did they earn them?

☀️Soleil is French for “sun” (or the sun) and, of course, it’s Augustin’s callsign; however he was first called “Solèy“ by his family because of his radiant smile. He is one of the only members of Nightmare who can fake being happy or at least humored in situations that require it, but when he is genuinely happy it’s hard to ignore. This also applies to Augustin’s character, since he tries to offer positive advice when asked or at least just being present if that is what’s needed.

🎨Frică is Romanian for “fear”; she never considered herself to be a scary person, in fact that’s the last thing she wanted anyone to think about her. Sorina was the most positive about moving to England, mostly because she knew how truly afraid her father was about moving to another country (she could always see through his straight face). In due time, it became obvious why her father was upset, as Sorina herself experienced the prejudice people

🎨 Moving to England didn’t scare Frică, she knew she would miss Romania but she looked forward to the new opportunities her family would have and thought her late mother-if she was watching-would be relieved to see Frică happy. She got to experience this long-awaited happiness for only a short time. However, instead of just finding a way to cope,like her father insisted she do, Frică took it upon herself to defend her father’s restaurant whenever the neighborhood kids came to try and vandalize it, she took it upon herself to assert that she was-obviously-a human being with thoughts and feelings who didn’t plan on stealing anything from anyone.

🎨Her older brother thought her actions would only lead to more problems, and her father thought Frică had “changed”; perhaps she had changed, but her father treated this “behavior” as if it were some disaster. Frică doesn’t remember the exact words her father said, only the important ones. How could you do this?! What you did, Sorina- what you did was horrifying! You’re really starting to scare me! It broke her heart back then, but as long as her father’s restaurant still stood-in one piece-then she wouldn’t let the idea get to her. The things Frică needed to defend changed over time, so she took whatever it was that helped her invoke fear with her, because she definitely needed it in the long run.

👻When people hear her call sign, Reaper is used to hearing the same thing: “ Reaper? Like the Grim Reaper? Are you supposed to be Death?” Usually they mean this jokingly, maybe even mockingly. Yet there have been a few times where this was no joke. Despite the field she works in, and the fact that she works with Rainbow, Reaper doesn’t like to think about death; she’s not afraid of it, she’s afraid of thinking of herself as something that’s not human-the fact that she’s perfectly capable of taking someone’s life and has done it without issue. It’s not a question of morality either, whenever that concern comes back to haunt her-Reaper takes a moment alone to recollect her thoughts and goes about her day. The fear is that, when someone asks her who she is, she’s able to say “I am Rouen Blake” and the name still has meaning to her.

👻Some days, after she wakes up and goes into the bathroom, Reaper struggles to look at her reflection because she remembers who she was before she made the decision to leave her family in the states. Reaper understands that people change in different ways, it just feels odd (for lack of a better word) to her and she still struggles to shake off the feeling.

☠️Nemesis is the goddess and/or personification of retribution, specifically against those who commit acts of evil and go unpunished. Evangeline heard about the goddess while at the mercy of an undergraduate at the library, and surprisingly enough she remembered some of what the passionate student said and did some research. She’d been questioned enough by a couple of her friends, about bearing the weight of a name that would come to mean so much after she founded Nightmare. Could Evangeline handle being the personification of revenge? She didn’t care too much at the time.

☠️Hearing the call sign come out of Ash’s mouth, listening to Six say it out loud, and from Zero too...Everyone’s said Nemesis in a different tone. Evangeline has felt the funny looks being directed at her, she’s heard the whispers. But unlike Reaper, Evangeline found it easy to accept being Nemesis-no matter the monster people think she is.

32) What is their self esteem like? (OOF)

☠️ Nemesis is a hit-or-miss (if I’m using the phrase correctly), some days she’s the baddest beach on the earth and some days she wishes she were Alice and that she could slip down a rabbit hole to a place where she could be alone.

☀️Soleil is a confident man; this is mostly because of time and his experiences in life, any insecurities he feels is mostly due to bad memories resurfacing or times when he’s been alone with his thoughts for too long.

🎨Frică is a hit-or-miss as well. She knows who she is and what she’s capable of and doesn’t care about being the most badass operator, and sometimes she wishes she could be more and feels like if she weren’t a part of Nightmare, that her efforts in the SAS would have gone to waste somehow.

👻Reaper is down there. Who she might admit it to-that depends-but Reaper has a hard time being confident in herself as Rouen; it’s much easier when she’s Reaper, being able to hide behind her mask and do her thing without worrying every second about whether what she did was smart or effective or idiotic or not.

39. What does their happily ever after look like? (OH MAN)

☠️Before they got caught by Rainbow, Nightmare was Nemesis’ happily ever after. For a while she believed that her biological family would be better off without her-that her sister would get as much love and attention as she needed from their parents-and it hurt her heart to even think about it, but Nemesis accepted the idea. It was hearing about the others’ pasts, futures, and desires that made her think about her own, and Nemesis eventually realized she had no idea where she would be if she didn’t go down her current path. Meeting the older operators and watching and hearing from them encouraged Nemesis to think more about her life and where she wanted it to go as well.

☠️She eventually made a list of things she wanted to do and, for now, wants a small home with a dog or two-but has yet to figure out where (it’s not a bucket list, she hate those).

🎨 Frică’s happily ever after looked like her going back to Romania and spreading some sort of wisdom for the youth and improving at least one thing in her home country (preferably the schooling or gender equality); she still holds onto this because she would like to do something for Romania one day, but there are also things she would like to do for herself. Taking classes for pottery, painting, wood carving, etc. and listening to live music from the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and the Valencia Orchestera are a couple of goals she has.

☀️ Soleil has yet to decide what his happily ever after will be. Joining the GIGN had been part of it and he’s successfully done that, being with his ex was another part of it and that didn’t work out. At the moment, he’s stuck in the head space where he would like to love and be loved again, but he’s also not ready yet. The thought of becoming an instructor like Montagne has crossed his mind a couple times and Soleil actually likes to envision himself in that position, so it is on the table.

👻Reaper envisions her happily ever after-silly as it might sound in her opinion-as her, doing field work or busy in a work space like Mira, Twitch, or Lesion (a few examples). Doing anything that furthers and improves the science field. Besides that, she would like to learn to ride a motorcycle and (of course) buy one and-something she never talks about because she feels it’s embarrassing and awkward-finding a honey to live life with is definitely on the table for her.

58. What is their most noticeable physical attribute?

☠️In Nemesis’ case, it’s between her hair and her eyes. Her hair is a dark shade of black that had red in it, which is mostly noticeable under really good lightning or sunlight, and her eyes are a shade of brown (what some might call russet) so they’re very hard to ignore.

🎨 Frică has a red birth mark on the right side of her face.

☀️Soleil has dimples that everyone notices (since everyone’s seen him happy wink wink) and, when he’s not wearing a jacket-among the small scars on his arms and hands-he has a scar on his left arm that’s shaped, as Soleil himself would describe it, like a star with too many points.

👻Reaper has eyes like Lion, just a little (and I mean little) bit darker.

62. Have they ever been betrayed? How did it affect their ability to trust others?

☠️ Sometime after the White Masks attack, Nemesis tried to help her sister live her life again. This effort included: taking Teagan with her outside to do things, them cooking dinner together and reorganizing her sister’s room, making sure she always had her journal to write her thoughts down. Nemesis’ parents were wary of these actions, but they didn’t say anything until she tried encouraging Teagan to go back to college.

☠️ What started as a small disagreement and an attempt to get Nemesis to “ease up” on helping her sister, became an argument over knowing what was best for Teagan and how much time she needed before she felt “well enough” to go back to school, ended as a fight where Nemesis’ old feelings-how bitter she used to be towards and how envious she used to be of Teagan-were thrown back at her. Apparently her efforts to help her sister had some sort of hidden intention. How much Nemesis spoke to her family, how much she answered their calls or texts or bothered to listen to their voicemails, rarely happened until she basically stopped talking to them and became focused on herself. For most of college, people knew next to nothing about Nemesis, which she regrets.

🎨 Frică thought she could trust her brother, since he did so much for her to make it clear he would defend her if and when needed, and that she could tell him all the things her father treated as scandalous. She finally worked up the courage to tell Emilian that she wanted to join the SAS, only to be met with silence; this silence, Frică quickly discovered that the silence meant her brother would tell their father about her plans. Frică had to pack a bag and run away from home to be able to join the SAS.

78. Who do they consider to be their best friend?

(note: I’m including the circle of Nightmare, so this part might be a little vague b/c not all members of Nightmare are listed in the bios, and I’m including who each person would be closest to in Rainbow-but these relationships are different)

☠️ Nemesis: from Nightmare --> Reaper, etc.; from Rainbow --> Flores, Melusi, and Gridlock (eventually Mozzi but Nemesis needs a minute to be able to handle his energy)

👻 Reaper: from Nightmare --> Nemesis, Soleil, etc.; from Rainbow --> Caveira (think of Tom and Jerry), Alibi, Maestro, and Nokk (partners in crime)

🎨 Frică: from Nightmare --> Nemesis, etc.; from Rainbow --> Hibana, Thorn

☀️ Soleil: from Nightmare --> damn near everyone; from Rainbow --> Rook, Twitch (very chill), Iana, and Lesion

86. How do they celebrate holidays? How do they celebrate birthdays?

☀️ Soleil is the holiday man; he likes participating in others’ holidays for the joy of it. This does include birthdays, especially his own and he will encourage the others to celebrate his birthday with him

🎨 Frică is a wall flower, she’ll celebrate a holiday but usually is the own who stays in the background and has to be encouraged to join in on the fun. She’ll only celebrate her birthday with Nightmare because she knows she gets to decide what she wants to do and she can rely on her group not to spoil her birthday.

☠️ Nemesis isn’t into celebrating a holiday unless she knows someone whom the day means a lot to; if said person finds joy in celebrating Halloween, she’ll celebrate Halloween. Unfortunately she is one of the types of people who does not care for their birthdays, especially as she gets older.

👻 Reaper tries to hide her excitement, few really see it-if they pay enough attention-and realize that she actually enjoys being festive.She’s oddly conflicted when it comes to her birthday, she loves to celebrate but doesn’t want to go “overboard” and prefers to not be the “center of attention”.

#asks #im not super into mythology but thats that with nemnems #long post #i used their given names on the second question i hope that's not too confusing #sorry this took me 5000 years #sorry for the messy answer

3 notes · View notes

mskatesharma · 3 years

Note

Hey sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask if you could rec some good sources on learning more about Indian Culture/history/customs. Movies books anything really. I have looked online but well, I always take things on the internet with several grains of salt. And considering I know very little on it, I can't say how reliable the information is. I would like to incorporate elements of Kate being Indian when writing about Kate (and Kate and Anthony) going forward and I want to do it in as respectful and accurate a way as I can. For example, I had a thought of Anthony seeing Kate and her fam celebrate Holi and falling in love with how happy and carefree she is and brushing some paint off her cheek before she dunks some pigment onto him or something 1/2

But considering I've never celebrated Holi or seen it celebrated before I don't think I'd do a good job to write it... I know I get annoyed when people get the basic customs and traditions of my culture wrong. Anyway sorry for rambling TLDR: I would like to learn more about Indian culture and idk where to begin so I would be grateful for any direction you can point me at 2/2

so this has taken me a while to answer because i needed to find time to sit down, think about it and answer it properly. it might seem like a somewhat simple question, but to me, at least, it’s complicated? (i’m probably going to be going over stuff you probably already know, but i’m trying to answer in a complete way.)

i need to start off by saying that my family is from north india (gujarat specifically), and because of that, i have a certain level of privilege, including how north indians and north indian culture is portrayed in the media (obviously including bollywood). i mention this because simone ashley is south indian, specifically tamil, and there is so much prejudice against south indians in general, and this obviously extends to how they are depicted and how their culture is shown in various forms of media; colourism (which simone has spoken out about) is just the start of it. (also, as someone who is north indian, i’m not the best placed person to talk about the prejudice and discrimination faced by south indians.)

a big part of why desi fans are so excited about simone’s casting as kate is because she a dark-skinned woc, and typically, dark-skinned women aren’t cast as romantic leads, and they’re not cast in shows anyway, especially when compared to light-skinned woc. so the fact that she’s going to be a lead in one of the biggest shows on netflix is a big.fucking.deal. in addition, they changed her character’s surname from ‘sheffield’ to ‘sharma’, which on the surface seems like a great idea, but if you look a little deeper, there are so many problems to be found.

(this got long so continues below)

sharma is not a generic indian surname; it’s specifically a north indian hindu name, which throws up questions. is kate going to be a hindu on the show? does this mean her family is from north india? are they going to talk about caste on the show because sharma is a brahmin surname? how are they going to explain kate being in england, and being out in society with the upper crust of the british aristocracy? (because of the time that bridgerton is set, and with them specifically setting up kate as indian, i honestly don’t know how they’re going to explain kate’s presence) i honestly think that the show didn’t think too deeply about it and they chose the name sharma because it starts with ‘sh’ and ~sounds indian. however, it’s thrown up so many questions that they can’t ignore, especially because they tried to explain race in the first season.

i talk about all this because you ask about holi, and incorporating elements of kate being indian when writing. and i’m not trying to be mean, but i would maybe hold off altogether? i need to point out that holi is a hindu festival, and is not specifically tied to being indian. i know i mentioned that sharma is a hindu surname, but we don’t even know if kate is going to be hindu, she may be a christian, or another religion or an atheist. also, because simone is tamil, they may decide to have kate be south indian despite the north indian origins of sharma, if they chose to address it at all. and depending on where in india you are from, and your religion, you will celebrate different festivals. even indians of the same religion celebrate different festivals, and some celebrate occasions at different times (e.g. gujaratis celebrate hindu new year the day after diwali. this isn’t the case for most other hindus. if we take holi, i know that it tends to be celebrated more in north india, and the image you describe isn’t necessarily universal).

there has been a lot in the tags regarding clothing, and seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing, and while i get it, it makes me nervous. personally, i cannot wait to see kate in the same style of dresses that everyone else wore in season one. why? because seeing an indian woman in that period of dress is something i have been longing for. i don’t want to see an indian woman wearing a lengha or a sari or sabyasachi in that time period, i want to see her in a bonnet and empire waistline, because that is something we haven’t seen much of.

also, talking about seeing kate and her family wearing indian clothing has the potential to ‘other’ her, and tbh, can come across sometimes as fetishy, especially when you consider the time the story takes place in, and all the implications of colonialism. (there’s also the fact that unless the show has hired indian costume designers, it would be kinda gross for them to use any kind of indian clothing, and that includes adding elements to the era-typical dress that i’m hoping for.)

i’m going to be honest, i’ve seen pieces of fanart with kate wearing a sari and other indian clothing, while anthony has been in typical regency dress, and it makes me uncomfortable. it gives off coloniser vibes, and that’s a dynamic i have absolutely no interest in. there’s also the fact that i’ve seen art where simone as kate has been shown as light-skinned, to the point where she appears to be the same colour as anthony, and i mean, hello?!

full disclosure, i’ve made some posts regarding headcanons and music that i should have thought twice about. i’ve reblogged stuff that i should have thought more about before i did so. why? because they had overtones of north indian privilege, and/or orientalism. being indian (wherever in india that is) is part of someone’s identity, it’s not a gimmick to sprinkle onto things, and it’s not something to festishise, and i think, at least from what i’ve seen, that is the concern a lot of desi fans have, even if that’s not the intention of the original posters.

i realise i’ve gone on a seemingly massive tangent, but what i’m trying to say is, i don’t think there is a need to specifically reference kate being indian, especially when when writing canon-era fic, even more so when you consider we don’t know how the show is going to address it. now, i’m not saying i have faith in the show when it comes to kate and her ~indian surname, just that until we know how the show addresses it, i don’t see why it needs to be referred to? i understand why one might want to, but i just think there are waaay too many potential pitfalls, and the risk of coming across as orientalist/patronising/fetishy too high. some fans have fears when it comes to kate sharma and how she is presented, and for good reason.

sorry for not answering how you expected, and not giving you the resources you asked for (which, tbh, i’m not sure i would know where to start). i get what you were trying to ask, and i thank you for asking in the first place, but the question felt a little unfair tbh. but, i would encourage to read up on orientalism, also about the privilege that north indian hindus have, and honestly, the british colonisation of india.

ETA: i put this in the reblog but im going to add it here as well

also, something i forgot to add, even though i talk about north indians/north india and south indians/south india, it is obviously more complicated than that. there are many different states in india, and even then, different regions within those states will have different customs to each other. and then you have to factor in religion. likewise, there’s no one language that everyone in india speaks. basically, it’s not one universal culture that can be ‘boiled down to the essentials’.

#kate sharma #kate sheffield #kathony #bridgerton #anthony x kate #kate x anthony #simone ashley #kanthony #if i've got something wrong please PLEASE correct me #also if i've forgot to say something that needs to be said #idk anymore #i am once again wishing they hadn’t tried to explain race during season one #look at all the stuff it’s thrown up #ask

142 notes · View notes

artturifocus · 2 years

Text

Modern Medieval Media - The Arthurian Revival

As I sat thinking about what to write for this week’s blog post, I thought to myself, “Teodora, why don’t you write about some modern forms of media inspired by Arthurian legend and do a deep-dive into all of the references and allusions they contain?”. A stellar idea, if I do say so myself. However, a roadblock soon made itself known. I revisited my favorite animated films as a child (and, who am I kidding, even now) that could’ve worked for my idea, like The Black Cauldron, The Sword in the Stone, and Quest for Camelot only to discover…

They are based on modern works themselves?!

That’s right! The three aforementioned titles are based off of Lloyd Alexander's The Chronicles of Prydain, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, and Vera Chapman’s The King’s Damosel, respectively. In order to perform the best deep-dive I possibly could, I decided that perhaps it would be to hold on doing reviews on those films until I first review the books they are inspired by. The marvelous new blog series titled Modern Medieval Media, otherwise known as MMM, will have to be on-pause until I get my hands on those books.

Or does it?

While I wept tears of joy for getting to read more cool MMM (oh yeah, that’s so going to be a thing), I asked myself, “Where did this renaissance of MMM come from in the first place?”. The Chronicles of Prydain is a book series that first began in 1964. The Sword in the Stone came out in 1938. Finally, The King’s Damosel was published in 1976. The second book in particular had much influence over how we view Arthurian legend which was only strengthened by the Disney film by the same name which later came out in 1963. Disney would later make a film using Alexander’s series of young adult books that came out a year afterwards in their 25th feature length animated film The Black Cauldron in 1985. Warner Bros. then made Quest for Camelot in 1998 based on Vera Chapman’s book. Dare I say, this smells like a medieval resurgence to me. At least when it comes to animated films and young adult books. Unfortunately, I cannot quite say that I am a connoisseur of live-action MMM. Not yet.

Well, to say the least, finding connections is hard. Lloyd Alexander, for example, was inspired to create his stories after doing military combat training in Wales and becoming inspired by the land and its legends, which cannot be a shared experience among all MMM creators. We can start by looking for something a little earlier than the 1900s however, at a period conveniently titled The Arthurian Revival.

The Arthurian Revival lasted for the majority of the 19th century in Victorian England which brought in a slew of paintings, translations, and reimaginings of the famous tales. Call this a sort of nostalgia or patriotism of the past, it was successful and the people could not get enough. One of the most popular texts of the era was Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King published in 1859 which was responsible for “covering the career of Arthur from birth to death” (Watson). Thomas Malory’s republication of Le Morte d’Arthur that came prior also held much responsibility in this revival. The Arthurian Revival also encouraged castle and local tourism to spots said to be important in the original tales. This discovery of touristic destinations did not stop in the 19th century and later made its appearance through the “discovery” of Camelot in Cadbury in the 1960s (which is suspiciously around the same time as some of the 20th century MMM mentioned in my introduction… fascinating).

One of the greatest effects of The Arthurian Revival was what was viewed as a priority in Arthurian legend. While the history of Arthurian legends remained, what proved to be more appealing to the public were the ideals that King Arthur held of righteousness, justice, and rising from small beginnings to the top. This made King Arthur into more than just a cultural figure, but a character that could be molded to fit an array of storylines and situations.

Finally, it can be said about The Arthurian Revival that “The Victorians regarded the Arthurian legend as the starting point of their history; the revival of interest in Arthur and his court regarded him as a national hero” (Watson). Can’t the same be said for almost any other culture? We look up to our national heroes to give ourselves a cultural identity and show the strength and depth of where we live. I believe it doesn’t just have to be where we live though that we find heroes. From Heracles to Mulan, we find cultural heroes all around us and perhaps it is because of how culturally ingrained and real these characters are that we feel more inspired by their tales.

This blog was so fascinating to write and only served to increase my reading list! I was not aware of The Arthurian Revival and now I am intrigued to learn even more. The paintings from the era are gorgeous. I definitely recommend giving them a look. Next time, on MMM, I hope to potentially get my hands on the first book of The Chronicles of Prydain. A Welsh-inspired fantasy novel? Sign me up!!

As I shall always say, I never consider myself to be an expert, nor do I plan on telling falsehoods. Please let me know if something I have said is utterly wrong, and I shall edit this blog or bring it up in future blogs. I appreciate your help!

Radulescu, Raluca. “How King Arthur Became One of the Most Pervasive Legends of All Time.” The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2019, https://theconversation.com/how-king-arthur-became-one-of-the-most-pervasive-legends-of-all-time-71126.

Watson, Edward. “The Arthurian Revival.” Clas Merdin: Tales from the Enchanted Island, 1 Jan. 1970, https://clasmerdin.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-arthurian-revival.html.

Wood, Michael. “History - Ancient History in Depth: King Arthur, 'Once and Future King'.” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/arthur_01.shtml#six.

#medieval to modern #medieval fantasy #european history #Arthurian legend #arthurian revival #web novel #modern medieval media #le morte d'arthur #camelot #the chronicles of prydain #the sword in the stone #the king's damosel #the black cauldron #quest for camelot #victorian england

14 notes · View notes

comrade-meow · 3 years

Link

The commodification of women and “enclosure” of sexuality through prostitution, widespread porn and the resulting fallout led to the next frontier: biology itself, womanhood itself. Transgenderism leverages the mind/body split that rape culture promotes by introducing a new form of biological enclosure. With transgenderism, the reality of sex is no longer something natural that we simply share in common, but a place for Big Pharma to set up shop in the name of “identity.”

I have a “big picture” brain. I’m unsatisfied with superficial explanations of current events and political trends, and only understand them once I’ve placed them in the context of deeper historic trajectories, social patterns and human drives. Without these explanations, I remain unsatisfied and questioning (and can’t be sold on false solutions either).

Transgenderism is one contemporary political trend that requires big picture thinking to comprehend—because there are no casual explanations for why, in less than a decade, people all over the world have started to accept a set of bizarre and contradictory ideas: that sex is a spectrum, that sex can be changed, and/or that sex is not real at all, only gender identity is—all to justify the political mantra, “transwomen are women.” This mantra is simply an assertion of male privilege, that men should be able to claim female identity if they want to, without needing sound justification. How did it spread so fast?

I have just finished writing a series of books called the Brief, Complete Herstory (2021) which offers a continuous narrative of history from the Big Bang to neoliberalism. It discusses pre-patriarchal cultures around the world, and the creation of patriarchy, church and state, capitalism, and neoliberalism. Only the last volume mentions transgenderism, but writing these books has helped me put the transgender trend, among others, in context.

One thing that is clear to me is that the idea that men can become women is not new—it began when patriarchal religions insisted that God, the creator of life, is male. Before this, if “god” had a sex, it was commonly female: she who birthed the world. The idea of god as male-produced all sorts of weird stories and myths to capture the imagination: like the one about Aphrodite being born out of Zeus’ head, and Jesus being born after an “immaculate conception” involving a male sky god and Mary, a sexless virgin (trans activists might call her an “incubator”).

Another thing that strikes me, taking this long view of history, is a succession of waves of “enclosure” or colonisation that cause enough social and economic fallout to prepare the ground for the next, more intimate, “enclosure.” The pattern begins earlier, but if we start with the enclosure movement of the 15th and 16th centuries, also called the “privatisation of the commons,” it is easy to place transgenderism in the context of a historic trajectory. I’ve discussed this before, in a talk on YouTube, but here I want to cast a wider net.

The 16th century saw the Protestant Reformation and the rise of modern capitalism while the Tudors reigned in England. The Tudors used the Reformation as a way of breaking from the Catholic church in order to act without, or against, the pope’s approval. After breaking from Rome, they seized church property, privatised the commons, and colonised Ireland. For centuries, peasants had used common lands to graze milk cows and gather water, edible and medicinal plants, and wood for construction and making fires.

The simultaneous confiscation of the commons and church property cast many people into poverty because the lands were a source of sustenance and, under feudalism, it was the church that had given aid and shelter to the poor. Women were especially affected by the double whammy of enclosure and lack of poverty alleviation. In her biography My Own Story, British suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst traces her feminist awakening to witnessing women in the homeless shelters and workhouses that queen Elizabeth I eventually established to address the crisis.

Looking back, we can see that the enclosure movement provided the preconditions for Britain’s industrialisation. When common lands were privatised, they largely became lands for grazing sheep used for wool in the textile industry, the biggest industry of the early industrial revolution; and it created a class of people desperate enough to work up to 18 hours a day for a pittance in dismal conditions, in the factories or “satanic mills,” as the poet William Blake called them. Most textile workers were women. Urbanisation also took place in tandem with the rise of prostitution, with many women forced to choose between that, factory work or domesticity.

In her book, Witches, Witch-Hunting and Women(2018), Silvia Federici connects the 16th- and 17th-century witch hunts in England with the rise of capitalism and the privatisation of the commons. She writes that “women were the most likely to be victimised” by enclosure, pauperisation, and the “disintegration of communal forms of agriculture that had prevailed in feudal Europe,” because they were “the most disempowered by these changes, especially older women, who often rebelled against their impoverishment and social exclusion.” She notes that some women participated in protests, pulling up fences enclosing the commons, and explains:

[W]omen were charged with witchcraft because the restructuring of rural Europe at the dawn of capitalism destroyed the means of livelihood and the basis of their social power, leaving them with no resort but dependence on the charity of the better off, at a time when communal bonds were disintegrating, a new morality was taking hold that criminalised begging and looked down upon charity.

The premise of Federici’s book is that this very same correlation between privatisation and “witch” hunting can be seen with neoliberal privatisation. She shows how witch hunts have escalated dramatically following the neoliberalisation (or “re-colonisation”) of the African continent and the privatisation of lands there, for instance in Tanzania, where more than 5,000 women per year are murdered as witches and in the Central African Republic, where “prisons are full of accused witches.” In Indian tribal lands, “where large scale processes of land privatisation are underway,” witch hunts are also increasing, as they are in Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Saudi Arabia. Describing the way witch-hunting frames the female sex, Federici argues that, “we have to think of the enclosures as a broader phenomenon than simply the fencing off of land. We must think of an enclosure of knowledge, of our bodies, and of our relationship to other people, and nature.”

Federici considers her analysis of the correlation between privatisation and witch-hunting to be ongoing, a work in progress—but I think her project is hamstrung. Her conclusions will remain sorely limited as long as she maintains the position that there is such a thing as a “sex worker” and a “transwoman,” because these ideas are central to the neoliberal “enclosure of knowledge, of our bodies, and of our relationship to other people, and nature” today. The term “sex worker” was coined by the global sex trade lobby on the back of women’s poverty and the normalisation of prostitution under neoliberalism.

In his book Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2010), human trafficking expert Siddharth Kara shows that neoliberalisation leaves indigenous women especially vulnerable. He unveils a pattern of neoliberal government reform followed by land confiscation, leading to domestic poverty, and then prostitution in Asia, Europe and the United States. His book covers the period of the 1980s and 90s when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank were handing out “structural adjustment packages” all over the world. These are financial loans conditional on land and infrastructure privatisation, cutbacks to health and welfare spending, and removal of legislation protecting workers and obstructing profit.

In The Shock Doctrine(2007), Naomi Klein argues that this neoliberalisation requires disaster to disorient people and render them sufficiently immobilised to have their rights stripped. Once implemented, just like enclosure and colonisation, neoliberalism creates its own fallout. As Klein explains, neoliberalism began to enter more intimate territory after September 11, 2001, when surveillance culture began to “enclose” our privacy in unprecedented ways. This led to an age where internet companies, which are best positioned to track and collect data, reign.

History shows us a continuous pattern that goes all the way back to the Tudors and before: disaster followed by enclosure creates more disaster that allows for further, more intimate, enclosure. This is precisely why Federici’s argument that we need to define enclosure more deeply and broadly, is so important: otherwise we cannot properly track the pattern and we will fail to notice when neoliberalisation starts claiming new frontiers.

Combine the internet age with prostitution and you have today’s growing porn industry—and porn creates its own fallout. As feminist author Gail Dines points out in Pornland(2010), the average age boys start watching pornography is at eleven years, and porn brainwashes them into objectifying women by linking the image of rape to orgasm. There is hardly a more efficient way to condition somebody than through orgasm. Social conditioning normally involves a system of punishment and reward by some external body—but when men learn to objectify women by watching porn, their own penises dispense the rewards. After that, nobody needs to offer them any other incentives to keep repeating the behaviour.

The fact that porn not only depicts rape but drives it is well established. We can see the link in high profile rape cases like those involving Brock Turner and Larry Nassar. Turner took photos during his assault, and shared them with friends; Nassar was found to be in possession of at least 37,000 child pornography videos and images. New Zealand women’s organisation the Backbone Collective’s report on child abuse "Seen and Not Heard" shows that for 54% of abusive fathers, pornography is a factor in the abuse of their children.

The fallout from rape is dissociation. The human stress response is designed to allow us to run from predators, or to overpower them if we judge ourselves as capable. It is not designed to deal with entrapment and cruelty, and when faced with these situations, women often freeze, our minds shutting off conscious awareness of what is happening, whilst the subconscious absorbs it for dealing with later. This mind/body split is at the root of patriarchy and patriarchal religion because patriarchy relies on it: it requires men to detach from their own humanity and cultivate the dissociation, body hatred and dysphoria that rape culture fosters.

Trans activists assist this commodification of sex by excitedly censoring, blacklisting, firing, harassing and abusing women as “TERFs” (“trans-exclusionary radical feminists”). “TERF” is a now well-known misnomer for feminists who have not forgotten what sex is, and, whilst trying to tear down the fences transgenderism erects around it, get in the way of the rollout of this new form of enclosure. With respect to her work, it is almost mind-boggling that Federici does not take into account this neoliberal “witch-hunting” that trans activists participate in.

If this terrifying trend exists as part of a broader trajectory—how far can it go?

The first volume in my Brief Complete Herstory argues that the most basic quality of life is sensitivity. Water has a miraculous capacity for storing information, for picking up the qualities of all it encounters. Even the smallest, single-celled organisms share with human beings the capacity to sense and respond to light, movement, and other environmental patterns and changes. Yet the more people are tethered to our phones and smart devices, our behaviour mined as “data” and sold to those who profit from predicting and manipulating our movements, the more numb and desensitised we become. I sometimes worry that as privatisation and dispossession advance in what Shoshana Zuboff calls the Age of Surveillance Capitalism(2019), this is the current frontier: our very sensitivity.

If we listen to spiritual teachers and visionaries throughout the ages, the seat of human sensitivity is the heart. Indigenous cultures have always recognised this, and herbalist Stephen Buhner taught me that this is not a metaphor: our bodies are surrounded by an electromagnetic field generated by the heart, and this field is five thousand times more powerful than that created by the brain. In The Secret Teachings of Plants(2004), Buhner writes that this means that the “[a]nalysis of information flow into the human body has shown that much of it impacts the heart first, flowing to the brain only after it has been perceived by the heart.”

If this is true, then in an era of desensitisation, the heart is the new frontier of enclosure. Can it be captured and domesticated? Or is there a freedom in the heart that simply cannot be enclosed?

One thing the long view of history shows us is that freedom does not exist in the hands of politicians who will deliver it after they tidy up the aftermath of the latest crisis, as they like to promise. I would also suggest it shows us that not only is the very idea of a patriarchal state incompatible with human freedom by definition—the tactic of negotiating with governments to have our “rights” and freedoms delivered has proven ineffective through centuries of trial and error. History shows us that governments are irredeemably deaf to the voices of women, and when they appear not to be, it is short-lived. Between the era of enclosure and the present day, women won the right to vote. Today, we may officially still have that right, but as womanhood is redefined beyond meaning, so has the relevance of the vote to our lives.

I am not saying that people should not lobby governments to promote the recognition of their rights, or that changes in the law have never benefited those who fought for them. I am also not suggesting that you can save the world by sitting under a tree and searching your heart. What I am saying is that in an era characterised by noise and desensitisation, there is no better time to tune out for long enough to discover whether you do carry within you a freedom immune to enclosure—because if you do, if this is part of our make up, surely there could be no better advisor in the decisions you, and we, need to make from here. There cannot be a better guide in the defence of freedom than freedom itself.

#Anglo.txt

22 notes · View notes

inklingofadream · 3 years

Note

Hey for some reason I am thinking once again of your scenario where the Eye loves Jon and is jealous of Martin and so it indoctrinates Jon's new polycult with Anti-Martin Propaganda to show them Martin must be kept away from the Jon at all costs. Do you feel up to sharing some Anti-Martin talking points courtesy of the Eye?

cw for discussions of domestic abuse: lies about it happening between Jon and Martin and the manipulative, controlling actuality of any of the Eye/Jon verses

so if i had any video/audio/whatever editing skills i'd spend way too much time making the evil anti-martin clip show, but a lot of it is the bits where martin's a bit mean to jon without the context or jon's response.

most of this period takes place with jon unconscious, having himself a little coma to recover from all the apocalypse whiplash and stabbing, so by the time jon himself can express any opinion about any of this, everyone's formed very solid ideas of what his Terrible Boyfriend Martin was like, and they're all really sure that it was a situation where jon was being abused and couldn't see it. obviously jon's going to be resistant to the idea at first- they have all kinds of statistics to "explain" why jon's still attached to the idea of Martin, instead of being glad he's dead because martin was The Worst and jon was trapped with him.* stuff like how most ppl have to make multiple attempts before successfully leaving an abusive partner. obviously when jon starts healing from his Martin Trauma he'll Understand

[*completely unrelated tangent, but yesterday i was looking on the wikipedia page for "Faked death," and their list of notable incidents includes this passage:

Timothy Dexter was an eccentric 18th-century New England businessman probably best known for his punctuationless book A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress. However, he is also known for having faked his own death to see how people would react. His wife did not shed any tears at the wake, and as a result he caned her for not being sufficiently saddened at his passing

like geez bud i wonder why she wasn't sad about you dying!]

anything that happens on tape is fair game, with special emphasis on the scenes of jon showing up in s4 like "martin my beloved 🥺" and martin giving him the brush off- jon asking to elope is NOT included, because it implies an agency for jon in the getting-away-from-the-eye thing that's detrimental to the narrative. martin luring jon away from his patron is a talking point, all the little things he expresses discomfort with during s5

a big one is the "plz don't look in my brain" thing, because while that's a p normal and reasonable request usually, why would any of you, beloved jon harem followers of the eye, want to keep your thoughts from jon? Inconceivable! Jail for Martin for one thousand years!

Also, since a decent segment of ppl who end up Eye-inclined are the kind who go into academia and the like, or who at least value that construct, lotta emphasis on how unworthy of jon martin is bc he's a dropout and has never accomplished anything with his life, framing him as like. the stereotypical basement dweller, almost. like he's coasting (jon is SO OFFENDED on martin's behalf about this in particular)

martin lured jon into the lonely and jon was lucky to make it out alive! you could have lost the archivist before he was ever even in your universe! gasp! (who arranged this affair you ask? who benefited? don't worry about it, not the eye, the eye was horrified, we promise)

And a special, starring role for the clip of Jon in Night Night, where Jon's going to keep going with the statement and Martin asks him to stop, but edited down to just "Thank you for not hitting me this time" and the heavy breathing after. It makes all the new Eyevatars absolutely berserk. You HIT the archivist??? you hit the archivist often enough he thinks he needs to THANK you for not??? etc

The version the new eyevatars are getting is basically like. you know those relationship advice reddit posts that go around, where sometimes you can and sometimes you can't tell that the op is twisting around everything to make themselves look as sympathetic as possible? Like, there was a recent one abt "what do i do about my wife trying to use magic on me" that notably left out the reason for the central issue (op not wanting the wife to be friends with a specific guy. like wtf happened. probably the reason is actually "I don't want you to talk/look at/think about men who arent me in any capacity" but he knew that wouldn't play well). It's like those, but ESPECIALLY (from an audience pov) like the ones where the person being talked about finds it and adds in some details and context that flip it completely around so op looks the Worst. The ones that are like "aita bc i technically stole my daughter in law's cherries (but family is supposed to share with each other!)?" with specific enough details for the daughter in law to turn up like "she didnt pick some w/out permission, she physically dug up our cherry tree and planted it at her house. also in the past she's dumped a bottle of ink all over my wedding dress and put a rattlesnake in my shoes". Except jon's the one with all that essential context, so the Eye's version gets taken as uncritical fact.

#asks #writing #tma #the magnus archives #jonathan sims #beholding/jonathan sims #tma beholding #jon/beholding somewhere else #ink post #the reddit post abt cherries is one i made up but they're all along those lines #that one didnt happen but its an amalgamation of stuff that has in various threads

24 notes · View notes

dex-xe · 3 years

Note

Ghosts watch the Euros?

Am I about to write 1000 words of cringe about dead fictional characters watching a football tournament?? yes I am and I'm thrilled!! XD

This primarily focusses on Pat btw but most of the ghosts feature a bit too.

So basically Alison didn’t really care that much about the Euros before they started, Mike however was decently optimistic regarding Engliand’s chances but isn’t the world’s biggest sport fan. But one evening they’re all watching TV and stuff and then there’s one of those animated ads that play before any major sports competition starts and Pat sees it and gets incredibly excited.

He hasn’t been able to watch a major football tournatment (live) since he was alive because Heather never had sport on at all. He begs Alison that he gets control of the TV during England matches and after using the whole “pleasseeeee I’m no trouble, I don’t usually ask for much!” Alison agrees to adjust the TV rota, much to the others ghosts disgust (the Captain is peeved about his afternoon day time TV History Channel documentaries being overwritten, and Fanny’s evening period dramas often get pushed aside but Alison eventually manages to use the Sky Box to rearrange everything for them).

For most of the group stages it’s just Pat watching, Mike will occassionally sit in but is genrally on his phone. Julian will also offer the occassional comment which Pat just rolls his eyes at and tells him to go back to his computer games. Also Pat is amazed just quite how young the team is but I digress.

So once it becomes apparent that England are doing surprisingly well (and Mike’s mates stop talking about anything else at the pub) Mike starts paying attention and by extension Alison sits in bringing multiple ghosts in her wake.

Kitty doesn’t like the idea of competition much and just wants people to have fun, she gets upset when people get kicked out but congratulats them for doing their very best. Thomas however, stands behind the sofa muttering about how it’s a barbaric sport and the lowest form of entertainment (“Polo!! Now that takes real skill!!)

The Captain wasn’t much of a football fan in life (cricket was much more his bag) but he’ll gladly sit and enjoy some friendly competition, anything he can get these days to be proud of his country. Robin doesn’t understand organised competition much but he quite like the idea of playing a game like that, he kinda misses running around and burning of energy, physical performance was super important for hunting when he was alive.

Anyway, once England makes it into the quarters (and Mike claims to have been totally invested from the beginning) Mike and Alison both start to get more and more involved, they decide to buy England flags and bunting to put across the front of the house - much to the Captain’s pleasure cause it reminds him a bit of VE Day.

Alison does actually manage to convince everyone to gather round for the final - even Fanny who literally couldn’t care less is overwhelmed with patriotism and hovers in a nearby armchair. Pat parks himself on the floor right in front of the TV so he can hear the commentary even when the others are rambling on about their analysis of the game (their analysis is incredibly poor given they’ve been dead for centuries - Kitty announces that the strikers should “use thier hips more” and no one is quite sure what that means but Thomas does suggest sending correspondence to Southgate to give him that advice.)

Anyway (I keep going off on tangents) the final obviously begins with England scoring mad quick which erupts the TV room into cheers. Mike jumps up to celebrate and puts his foot into where Pat is also sat cheering - Alison has to catch him around the waist to pull him back towards the sofa to stop Pat from gagging.

Pat then starts going on about how, with a start like that, there’s no way England can lose now. Julian rains on his parade very quickly and tells him worse things have happened and Alison jokes about what a show off Julian will be if he’s right and England lose… (Julian is obviously incredibly patriotic and wants England to win but he wants to be right much more).

Thomas quickly begins to think of himself as an expert at this “pauper’s sport” and starts to shout the generic “I know nothing about football but don’t want people to question me” phrases (“they had better begin playing it forward more, they shan’t achieve anything with cowardice like this!!)

They remain kinda optimistic going into the second half apart from Pat who is potentially the only one who recognises England slolwy losing control - but, much like with his scouts, his puts on his usual optimistic front to stop the team from becoming deflated (the team can’t hear him becuase a) he’s not at Wembley and b) he’s been dead four decades but it’s just his natural reaction).

As soon as Italy score, that’s when the deflation starts to set in. They all become slightly quieter until England start mounting an attack and then the shouting begins again.

Pat tries to explain the concept of extra time to the others but few understand and begin suggesting their own tie break ideas. Kitty suggests a draw would be better, everybody wins. Fanny suggests someone should concede (she doesn;t specifiy who but it’s very much implied). Robin’s idea is to continue with extra time then release a bear onto the pitch at a random point “for the drama” (I would watch that though).

But no, Pat and Mike are both very quiet throughout extra time. Thomas is thrilled because he believes Southgate has listened to his ongoing generic advice to “bring on Grealish” - realistically he’s peeved Love Island isn’t on, he likes to make fun of it and announce repeatedly how “the modern world has no concept of love!!”

Once it gets to penalties Kitty is off. She can’t stand the tension and covers her eyes to avoid having to watch somebody lose in this way. Mary sits beside her on the sofa petting her hair like “ooh cry not, ’tis but a game child” which really doesn’t help the mood. After every single shot, there’s just a little burst of gasps and strangled noises from everyone except Pat who is just waiting and praying that his first tournament in 40 years is going to be a dramatic win.

When England (spoilers from over a month ago) lose, silence falls across the room before Julian finally breaks it: “I don’t mean to say I told you so but…” he is interrupted VERY quickly by shouting from everyone else. Eyes quickly fall on Pat who hasn’t said anything since the penalties began, he hadn;t even turned to look at anyone else yet. He slowly stood up and said with a very fake smile “well it was a deserved win… if you’ll excuse me” and then he fazes through the wall behind him never to be seen again.

“Julian, that really was uncalled for,” Alison tells him. Pat seems normal for the next few days but most people can tell he’s very disappointed, especially as Mike has to get the ladder out again to do the really sad “flag taking down ceremony” everyone did the day after.

Pat’s finally brought out of his slump by Kitty who asks him what he would do if his scouts failed at something - he says he’d tell them they did really well for trying their best and give them some tips to improve. “Exactly,” Kitty says. “You’d still be proud of what they achieved, right?” All the ghosts are pretty excited by the prospect of a world cup next year.

So there we go,, cheers for the ask!! I apologise for this being cringe as fuck and I really hope it gets to the right people XD I’m having a day of trying to finish as many projects as I can over the next few days before series 3 so I can essentially start afresh after the new episodes are out - I know I’m going to have a lot of ideas and inspiration.

#bbc ghosts #max's ghost post

14 notes · View notes

dwellordream · 3 years

Text

“…The common work of American pioneer children has become an essential story of frontier life. Less well known or acknowledged is that gender boundaries were often disregarded in the course of this experience. Daniel worked not only at tasks with his father but also at those normally seen as women’s work. To help his mother, he dyed cloth, carried water from the spring, helped to nurse the younger children, and cooked. His work was indeed diverse as he did what was needed with little complaint—or so he remembered years later when writing his memoir. Then at fifteen, he was separated from all of it—from his physical labor and from his pious parents (his mother’s favorite word was “wicked”). She was hardly indulgent of him, either in the work he was required to do or in the virtues he was expected to display while doing them.

Many boys did female work. Henry Clarke Wright, who became an outspoken educator and a radical abolitionist, spent his childhood helping his stepmother by babysitting, and much more. “He cleaned, he cooked, he washed.” In upstate New York, where his family lived in the early nineteenth century, he also did more masculine work “riding the horses, yoking and driving the oxen, bringing in the cows, harnessing and all the rest of the hard labor of the frontier farmer.” After his farming experience, Wright was left to become an apprentice in April 1814. Lonely, “home-sick” and with a “feeling of wretched- ness,” Wright learned to grow up fast. He also learned his own mind and how later to defend his extremely independent and unpopular views.

The American boys of the early republic grew early into independence. They were neither indulged nor coddled. They were given some say in the objects of their labor and, when possible, free time to play. But the children were also seen as “little citizens”—persons with capacity as well as potential. Some visitors were shocked by the results, but others were impressed. One Englishwoman observed, “You will see a little being that has not seen the sun make one circle of seasons, lay hold on a toy, not to cram it in his mouth and look stupidly at it, but to turn it curiously over, open it if he can, and peep in with a look as wise as that of a raven peeping into a marrow bone. One mark of early observation and comprehension never failed to excite my wonder. Little creatures feed themselves very early, and are trusted with cups of glass and china, which they grasp firmly, and carry about the rooms carefully, and deposit unbroken.”

There is, perhaps, a degree of exaggeration in such observations, finding the precocious engineer within the child not yet a year old. But in light of current findings by cognitive psychologists about the “scientist in the crib,” perhaps it is less a matter of exaggeration than a willingness to see even young children as more fully capable of independent thought and action than most Americans are accustomed to today. Americans at this time assumed that children needed less supervision and direction. This was true for girls as well as boys. By the time she was six years of age, Caroline Stickney (later Creevey), who grew up to be a nature writer, was expected to go to the doctor alone after she had fallen and severely injured her arm. It turned out to be broken.

“Mother was too busy to accompany me and there was nobody else. Besides children were taught to stand upon their own feet in these days.” Caroline’s regular tasks included bringing the cow to pasture in the morning and retrieving her at night, and, like Ulysses Grant, she was able from an early age to roam freely in the woodland that this future botanical enthusiast loved to explore and whose trees she climbed regardless of risk. At ten, she was allowed to ride the family horse; when she asked her father for directions to find a certain path, he made clear to her that she could find her own way.

Anna Howard Shaw had a more extreme experience, as her father sent his young family from Lawrence, Massachusetts, to which the family had migrated from England after Thomas Shaw’s bankruptcy, to the north woods of Michigan. There the children and their mother were left alone to establish her father’s claim to the 360 acres he had acquired, while he remained East to settle his affairs. Shaw’s mother, overwhelmed by grief and disbelief at the raw and trying circumstances, collapsed emotionally and was “practically an invalid.” This left the enterprise entirely to the five children. Barely twenty years old, Shaw’s oldest brother, James, was in charge. Anna was recruited to lay floorboards on the earth and frame windows and doors.

When even James left because he needed an operation that took him back to Massachusetts, the young children were left to fend for themselves, through a variety of “nerve-wracking” conditions and winters that “offered few diversions and many hardships.” Anna eventually took advantage of opportunities for schooling that led to her unflinching grasp at independence as a professional woman. In later life, Shaw was a crusader for women’s suffrage, and managed to become both a medical doctor and a minister. This kind of brutal induction into resourcefulness and independence, while not representative, was also not uncommon.

Girls and boys matured early, and Tocqueville, for one, believed that American children did not have or need an adolescence. The very young child, given the right to handle glassware or crockery, is a child invested with the capacity to act responsibly. Dr. Spock would note more than a century later that such confidence acknowledged that a child is eager to do “grown up things,” like feeding herself in the same way as the adults around her. And early work laid the basis for later habits. Anna Shaw noted that work had “always been my favorite form of recreation.”

The English commentator who saw precocious infant explorers poking around their toys was observing a different model of child development, one that was becoming as alien to middle- and upper-class Europeans of the nineteenth century as it is to us today. While European children of the middle classes were being treated as precious objects of solicitude, needing careful protection, American children who later became presidents, doctors, writers, and reformers were exposed to adult work and responsibility. And they were far less supervised. It was not only that class was more fluid in the United States in this period but that the specific expectations about children remained more fluid than in Europe.

Later in the nineteenth century, middle-class Americans, too, would begin to separate children from adult activities and treat them, as we usually do today, as fragile beings who needed special toys and risk-proof furnishings. But during this initial period when American society was being formed and the culture was laying down historical tracks, children were much more integrated into adult activities and given both more responsibility and more freedom. Most Americans in the first half of the nineteenth century viewed their children’s early maturity as natural, an expression of both the helping qualities they required in the young and beliefs about children’s abilities to be useful from an early age. It was a widespread phe- nomenon in many parts of the new country and remained an active part of the culture up to the end of the century, while elsewhere in the Western world, children were sentimentalized.

It was true for girls as well as for boys, observed in the eastern United States as well as the West, common among rural folk especially but in cities as well. Rachel Buttz’s father, Tunis Quick, was raised in the Shenandoah Valley in the early nineteenth century. His father was a well-meaning “generous, kindhearted man,” but his decision to back a neighbor’s loan impoverished the family, and soon after his mother’s death young Tunis was “hired to a neighbor who required him to do almost as much work as a full-grown man.” Just past ten years of age, Tunis quickly became responsible in other ways as well. Tunis objected to the slavery that was a feature of the area in which they lived, so at fifteen he urged his father to move the family to the North.

They stopped first in Ohio “where [he] was variously employed in farming, hauling goods and keeping a ferry on the Scioto River.” Having worked hard and impressed his employer, young Tunis obtained the means to buy a home in Indiana where the family finally settled. Tunis Quick learned early to assist his family as they struggled, and his sense of responsibility also gave him the ability to think independently and to have his views heard and respected. By what we would consider his mid-adolescence, he had not only directed his family’s migration north, but he was buying property for them. Tunis’s desire to leave a section dominated by slavery is also noteworthy, since it was the South, where slave ownership defined the society, that was the major exception to the developing democracy within families.

To some extent, the independence given to children grew from the ideals and values expressed in the Revolution since Americans believed that future generations had to acquire the characteristics that would maintain the principles enunciated in that event. But more than ideology was involved. No simple commitment to an idea can completely explain the behaviors so widely observed and the general willingness to heed children’s independent judgment. Ideology will not necessarily loosen a father’s grip over his sons when he had always expected to be obeyed and to have his commands met, even when he is committed to republican ideals. In the Southern United States, of course, this loosening of paternal power never happened, since slavery reinforced its grip.

And even in other parts of the United States, some observed the loosening of parental reins with concern and attempted to inhibit the young through new institutions of supervision, such as schools, as they recognized how much mischief could be loosed in a world guided by revolutionary principles. Not all Americans took kindly to the idea of children acting on their own. But a widespread independence among the young continued nevertheless. American life in the first half of the nineteenth century was defined by conditions that made such views about children necessary while the restless temperament of Americans made them ready for change and improvement. Together, these conditions provided children with the leeway to become more independent as they became more useful. Utility as well as ideology needs to be taken into account if we are to understand the families that produced a Grant, Drake, Quick, Shaw, or Wright.

The changing circumstances of the early republic resulted from both material conditions and political institutions. Together, these were widely understood as fundamental to the difference between Americans and Europeans. A shrewd, early observer of the difference, the Reverend Enos Hitchcock, sought to sustain the new revolutionary ideology through appropriate childrearing and education. “The systems of education written in Europe, are too local to be transferred to America; they are generally designed for a style of life, different from that, which is necessary for the inhabitants of the United States to adopt: they do not reach our circumstances, and are not suited to the genius of our government.”

To understand the American regime of domestic relations, we need to grasp just how unsettled, raw, and unpredictable the American land and the developing economy were during the important first half of the nineteenth century, since the experiences of American children and their parents were an expression of that reality. This dynamic new economy revised expectations about youth and what it could achieve. So did the laws governing inheritance and generational relations. The changes in American domestic life also transformed power relations between men and women, husbands and wives, and this, too, affected generational relationships in important ways.”

- Paula S. Fass, “Childhood and Parenting in the New Republic Sowing the Seeds of Independence, 1800–1860.” in The End of American Childhood: A History of Parenting from Life on the Frontier to the Managed Child

#american #the end of american childhood #paula s. fass #history

8 notes · View notes

bulletballet-arch · 3 years

Text

REALLY LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck ! TAGGED. I took this from Minnie’s archived Bioshock blog. I’ve been looking for this meme all this month. TAGGING. @hammurabicomplex. @bluuxriising. @ Me - for Sal on @bulletsoverbensonhurst. @immaterialed (charlie) @soypeor (bella) @svmmercmance. @mrflayed. and you!

BASICS. FULL NAME : Eve Delores Littlejohn NICKNAME : Evie, Little Evie (by her maternal side of the family), Delores, Didi NAME MEANING / S Eve is from the ancient Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". Delores is a variant of Dolores, meaning "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary María de los Dolores, meaning "Mary of Sorrows." Littlejohn is a surname that has historically been found in England and Scotland. With potential origins being either ‘to distinguish a beloved child that was not the eldest.’ Or, ‘a contradictory nickname for a large man.’ HISTORICAL CONNECTION? : She’s named after her grandmother, Evelyn Hollins.

AGE : 42 BIRTHDAY : June 2 ETHNIC GROUP : Black-American. Meaning she’s mixed with a lot (Some of her relatives are respectively Creole and Italian) but uses Black as a catch-all term. NATIONALITY : American LANGUAGE / S : English, Italian, Spanish, Latin, some French SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Bisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Biromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS : Verse dependent, usually married -or connected- to Salvatore Scozzari in some way. CLASS : Upper-Class HOME TOWN / AREA : Brooklyn. Spent time between Bedford-Stuyvesant - with her paternal grandfather and Park Slope - with her maternal grandparents. CURRENT HOME : In her childhood home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. PROFESSION : Ballet Instructor. Former Professional Ballerina. ( Other verses see her as a professional thief. )

PHYSICAL. HAIR : Black. In terms of her natural hair, Eve has springy, 3C hair she seldom shows off because she was raised in a family where straightened hair was deemed presentable and professional. EYES : Thin almond eyes. Dark brown. NOSE : Straight and small. FACE : She has a prominent, high forehead, that’s accented with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. LIPS : Full. COMPLEXION : She has a light brown (tawny) complexion. SCARS : None major. TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 5′4″ BUILD : Eve has a slender build. One of those people who have been small and petite since childhood. Despite this, she also stays skinny because she is obsessively conscious of the food she consumes. The older she gets the more she weighs, however. USUAL HAIR STYLE : Her hair is cut short. Reaching her shoulders in a neat, even bob. She either curls it in a retro fashion or curls the tips. For work she wears it in a traditional, pinned bun. USUAL FACE LOOK : In public, she appears stoic for the most part. Any emotion shown (such as the length of a smile) is carefully calculated. She has to seem perfect. USUAL CLOTHING : Form fitting dresses. Incredibly chic and fashionable for the time. Shoes include heels - never open-toed, unless she has on stockings. Extravagant earrings. Jewelry that can include either necklaces, crosses, pearls, or dainty rings. Prone to wearing black sunglasses in public.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : Thunderstorms, airplanes, creatures like weasels, snakes and ferrets, break-ins, men she doesn’t know, harm coming to her children ASPIRATION / S : Formerly wanted to become a major [black] ballerina in the elite world of ballet, now she just wants to expose more [inner city children] to dance through her job. Personally, she wants her children to change the world in some form or fashion, too. Eve also has good ideas on improving the community, but at the moment has no idea how to go about these ideas. POSITIVE TRAITS : Generous, compassionate, patient, protective NEGATIVE TRAITS : Strict, sullen, hard to read, represses her emotions, secretive MBTI : Advocate - INFJ-T ZODIAC : Cancer TEMPERAMENT : Melancholic ANIMALS : Lioness VICE / S : Pride & Lust FAITH : Christian. Grew up Baptist, but Catholic influences have been around her since childhood. Attended a Catholic High School in Park Slope, her grandmother Evelyn was also a practicing Catholic. GHOSTS ? : Yes and no. She feels that objects formerly owned by the deceased posses the essence of their previous owners and that they essentially live on through these pieces of property. AFTERLIFE ? : Yes. REINCARNATION ? : No, but it’s a romantic concept. ALIENS ? : No. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : Democratic ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : She likes being where she’s at now. But honestly, being upper class is all she’s ever known. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : Bourgeoisie, basically. The Littlejohn’s represent The Historical Black Elite. EDUCATION LEVEL : College level. FAMILY.

FATHER : William ‘Bill’ Littlejohn MOTHER : Linda Littlejohn ( nee Hollins ) SIBLINGS : None EXTENDED FAMILY : Amos Littlejohn (paternal grandfather) Liza Littlejohn (paternal grandmother) Evelyn Hollins (maternal grandmother) Giuseppe D’Aietti (maternal grandfather) and a wide host of cousins, aunts and uncles.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : Night Song by Beverly Jenkins. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Some sort of old, French erotic novel that was published before she was born. MOVIE : Eve watches films along the lines of...Waiting to Exhale, Beaches, The First Wives Club and Fatal Attraction. She loves Made-For-TV movies from the time period. In regards to plays, her favorite one is Sunday In The Park With George. 5 SONGS : Meet Me On The Moon / Essence of Sapphire / No One In The World / People / The First Time I Saw Your Face DEITY : Persephone HOLIDAY : New Years Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving. Major holidays during the colder season. MONTH : October SEASON : Autumn PLACE : The dance studio she works at. WEATHER : Sunny, but cool. SOUND : The voices of Anita Baker and Sarah Vaughn. A skilled hand running over piano keys. Soft trumpets. Running water. Cats making chipper little meows. SCENT / S : Perfume, floral scented lotions, her partner’s cologne TASTE / S : Caramel, the tang of dark chocolate, strawberries coated with either chocolate, or sprinkles of white sugar. Light Vinegar. FEEL / S : Performing in front of an audience. Hot water engulfing your skin after a long day. Satin - whether it be the fabric of her clothes or sheets, your fingers tightly intertwined with another’s, feeling your significant other’s chest raise and lower against your skin with each breath they take. ANIMAL / S : Cocker Spaniels, Afghan Hounds, Cats, Birds - she loves all ( well, a majority ) of animals. NUMBER : Doesn’t have one. COLOR : White, Pink, Gold.

EXTRA. TALENTS : Dance, Eve is trained in ballet when it comes to her main verse. She has attended ballet classes since the age of eight and ever since then she placed all of her focus into it. Similarly, Eve has always had the makings of a good artist - as a child she enjoyed drawing and had informal art lessons with a man who lived in the basement of her grandfather’s brownstone, but she never invested into that half of her. BAD AT : Singing, Being interviewed, Public Speaking (as in Speech Giving), Decision Making TURN ONS : Charisma, Leadership Skills, Temperature Play, Phone Sex, Heavy Kissing, Light Roleplay TURN OFFS : Public Sex, Tearing [ Her ] Clothes, Threesomes, Cruelty, Senseless Violence HOBBIES : viewing plays & some musicals, reading romance novels, shopping, working out (she was into the whole celebrity VHS tape exercise trend), playing tennis, decorating AESTHETIC : Vintage Black Glamour, Black Ballerinas, Champagne and Wine Glasses, Paintings by Melinda Byers and Edward 'Clay' Wright QUOTES : "I'm bad with words, I hope you're good in reading eyes." / "There are truths I haven't even told God. And not even myself. I am a secret under the lock of seven keys."

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : Lynn Whitfield ( A Thin Line Between Love & Hate ) ALT FC / S : Kylie Bunbury ( Twisted ) OLDER FC / S : Lynn Whitfield ( Greenleaf ) YOUNGER FC / S : N/A VOICE CLAIM / S : Lynn Whitfield

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : Recently I decided that if/when I try to write anything serious about Eve again, it’ll center on her being a jewel thief because it presents me more fun, and emotionally diverse, opportunities. That and I have a very specific cover image in my mind. Ideally, her adventures would be a series of books. I have no title in mind, no idea about how ‘it would be filmed’ ( although a style replicating 90s films would be excellent, film grain and all. ) but, I do have a bunch of plots in mind that I really don’t feel like typing out here.

Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : Her score would have a vintage sound (or a jazzy Spike Lee sound, if you will) with instrumentals by Dorothy Ashby (a Jazz Harpist) the Ahmad Jamal Trio, Pharaoh Sanders, Yusef Lateef and Tarika Blue. For music with lyrics, the soundtrack would include the likes of Julie London, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dionne Warwick.

Q3 : why did you start writing this character ? + Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A3 : Whenever I make NPCs for my character’s lives I actually can’t just let them just be NPCs. I start thinking about them too much. Developing them too much. And then I’m like, ‘wow! I really like this character!’ Eve was a different character when I began writing her, and likely wouldn’t be considered the same character as she was previously, if I told someone in real life who knows about my writing (like my grandma) about all the changes she has undergone. Originally Delores was a university professor, because I thought it could lead to interesting interactions with college-age muses. And her previous history with the mafia was also something interesting to tap in. But then I started thinking about what was realistic, what wasn’t realistic, what did I feel comfortable/interested writing? What didn’t I feel comfortable/interested in writing? So as time went on, things would alter about this character. And the new things I came up with attracted me more.

Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : I have a love/hate relationship with Eve’s quiet demeanor. On one hand, I think quieter characters need love and the ability to be fully dimensional but on the other hand, writing louder characters has always been more fun for me. But really, Eve’s guarded behavior makes writing her stressful in some cases with others because sometimes...if I’m going to be honest...people don’t know how to carry a thread and interact with someone of her demeanor effectively.

Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : We’re both black, we’re both into art (although our exact interests and aesthetics with art differ)

Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : Realistically she would think I need to take better care of myself.

Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : We skippin’ this question.

Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : Films such as, “Waiting to Exhale,” “The Kitchen” and “Widows.” Books by Alice Walker, like “The Third Life of Grange Copeland” as well as her short story, “Roselily.” The historical mob figure Stephanie St. Clair.

Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : A few hours.

#long post #dash games.#headcanons.

8 notes · View notes

lordeasriel · 3 years

Text

The Sun never sets on the Magisterium

The reach of the Holy Church in Lyra’s world is the first and most prominent worldbuilding aspect we learn from Northern Lights. It is the most important introduction one has to this world, so vastly different than ours yet so similar still, and it is the one trait that remains constant throughout both trilogies and novellas included.

This is an analysis of the Church in Lyra’s world, so spoilers for all the books and novellas, most likely. I’ll try and make a single post about this but I’m gonna reserve the right of maybe doing two separate parts because it’s a big subject. Under the cut because you know the drill, it’s long lol

The Magisterium was founded after John Calvin’s death, who had been Pope, and had the seat of the Church moved to Geneva. Although it is never clear, the Magisterium’s religious aspects come mostly from the Roman Catholic Church, and Pullman himself said in an interview, that some of its dogma is based on the original puritans. In this world, Calvin didn’t seem to have moved forward with his reform, not needing to break ties with the Catholic Church since he had become the Catholic Church.

Despite becoming a vast collective of “courts, colleges, and councils,” the Magisterium remains rather similar to most Christian branches from our world, at least in the medieval times. They had ties with kingdoms, they had influence over colonization, as well as economic and political influence, not to mention military too.

In Lyra’s world, the Magisterium seems intimately tied to Geneva’s politics, at the very least; it gives the impression that the city is somehow independent from the rest of Switzerland, not unlike the Vatican is independent from Italy. It is however, mentioned that the Swiss War was an armed conflict between England and the Magisterium, which means that they must have a full fledged control over the entire country and not just Geneva, although like most things in these books, this is not a sure claim.

With the Swiss War happening some time around 1933 and 1935, it gives this wild and quite odd picture, of a Church actively trying to invade a country. Although not that foreign a concept, since the Catholic Church was highly involved with the colonization process of our world, they never quite invaded the countries themselves (at least during the 1500s colonizations, as the Crusades were sort of Catholics invading countries lmao), instead joining later as the Monarchs of Europe established outposts and colonies and had already subdued natives in the area.

We do not have an exact date for the Magisterium’s creation, the implication being that it was set somewhere 600 years prior to Marcel Delamare’s acceptance of Leader of the High Council in TSC, it is fair to assume that colonization was already happening in Lyra’s world’s 15th century-ish and that the Magisterium was involved with that much in the same way it was in our world: by converting people, be it by force or by persuasion.

However, in Lyra’s world, the Magisterium stopped being a fully religious entity at some point, and became a full fledge state-like organization, spread all across the globe in different shapes and names, all answering to the bigger and more powerful groups, usually stationed in Geneva: the College of Bishops during its initial centuries, then eventually the Consistorial Court of Discipline, who by NL had become an immensely powerful group, in a power conflict with the less threatening Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit. The CCD being the harshest and most powerful group in the Magisterium, at least during the events of HDM, seemed to have had a lot of power in Geneva and in nearby areas, such as France (as we learn in LBS, the alethiometrists of Paris were sympathetic to the Church, not a surprise given France’s very Catholic Background) and Germany.

With information known from LBS and HDM, the Magisterium seems to hold under its power both the Swiss Army (implied, at least, given the Swiss War being a conflict created by the Magisterium itself) and the Imperial Guard of Muscovy, which seemed to have been under the control of the CCD in particular. It is not explained exactly why the Muscovite Army serves the Church and personally, my knowledge of anything Eastern Europe is very slim, so I’m not gonna attempt to assume much, but given that in TSK it is said they were “sworn to uphold the power of the Magisterium”, it’s possible — and very likely — that the Muscovite government had some sort of deep rooted connection with the Church. Again, not a surprise for Europe, as most countries had monarchies connected to the Church very intimately.

I’m not diving deep into every single one of the Magisterium groups, especially because we know very little about most of them. During the Magisterium congress in TSC, it is mentioned that 53 delegates attended, each representing a group at least (we know both Pierre Binaud AND the President of the CCD attended and they both are part of the same group), so that alone should prove why I couldn’t possibly talk about every single one of them lmao Some of those aren’t even mentioned by name. So, before I tackle on the most important groups and what they represent, I wanted to discuss how the Magisterium’s influence in the world seems to work in a geographical way.

We know for a fact that Geneva — and Switzerland, at least implied so — is absolutely under the control of the Church. Whether they share power with a political group or they are the political branch themselves, I could not say, but at any rate, we know the Magisterium waged war on England under the Swiss banner at one point in time and it’s fairly unlikely that it changed much in less than a century; that alone proves that State and Church don’t seem separate here.

So, how I perceive the Church in Lyra’s world — not just based on preference, but also on what we see of the world, however little it is — is that the further the country and cities are from Geneva, the looser the Magisterium’s grasp is and the more different its approach to power becomes. I use the word ‘looser’ here very lightly, as I don’t think the Americas weren’t oppressed, but I think the Magisterium had a much different type of hold and influence there, and I do think the huge oceans separating Europe from Oceania and the Americas helped change the pull of the Church.

That is different from how it happened in our world, but there is also the difference in how the Magisterium operates; each of its groups work under different philosophies and dogmas and politics. They embody the same religion - Christianism - but they do not act the same way, a good example being how the faithful in Constantinople act towards the Patriarch, while England has very little respect for the CCD, instead just fearing it. In our world, the Church operated sort as an unified front, but in Lyra’s world these many groups are always and constantly fighting each other for power and influence, creating alliances and making enemies between themselves. In England alone, we see that many groups have “outposts” there, the CCD and the Oblation Board, as well as all the Priories and chapels and all that.

There is also the fact that Lyra’s world still seems to have a very independent Africa, as we see the presence of King Ogunwe, meaning that some of the areas in Africa still had independent Kingdoms. This doesn’t mean that the African colonies that did exist weren’t converted or oppressed, but it does mean that these independent Kingdoms resisted the Church’s influence and depending on what group was harassing them, they could succeed in breaking the Church’s ever growing presence. This seems a similar situation for the Americas, given how odd the borders are in Lyra’s world — South America having way less countries than it does in our worlds and the US never being formed, instead separated into at least two regions, three depending if New France means Canada or yet another part of a possible US.

This is a very ugly map I coloured to show my point lmao The Red Areas cover most of Western Europe and some of Eastern Europe, as well as a part of Russia. All these areas are connected by roads or trains, meaning that the Magisterium’s pull could have started long before airplanes were even created; these means the influence and presence would have existed for a long period of time in most of Europe, meaning More Magisterium Strength. It also covers areas I assumed would be heavily populated areas in the colonies, most of the coastal areas in Brasil, most of the United States because they have two different countries in them — Texas and New Denmark — and most of Coastal Australia, although by HDM it’s fair to assume all these regions are no longer colonies, but independent states.

I didn’t go into full detail, there are countries I didn colour with red but that should be red. The Green Areas are contested Areas, places where the Magisterium would have a presence but that would create conflicts for different reasons, being other religions, an uncooperative governement or simply because the group in charge of the area is not competent or too violent to properly establish a presence. This would be the areas in the continents, especially in Africa, where in our world they were heavily colonised but in Lyra’s world they are still independent kingdoms, with military forces and political freedom. Some parts of Russia are green because in Lyra’s world there is the implication Russia is divided into at least three different territories — Muscovy, Tartary and Siberia — and the tartars are considered heretics by the Church; is the territory I painted in green correspondent to actual Tartar regions? I have no idea, but I’m hoping you can forgive my geographic inaccuracy in favour of all this mega meta thing I just spurred. LMAO

And finally the Purple Areas are mostly in places where the weather would be too harsh or where population would be too small to attract the eye of the Magisterium. Ultimately, the Church in Lyra’s world does not only seek to convert everyone and rid the world of heretics, but they also want political influence, economical and military as well, and a small village in Greenland offers absolutely none of that. Some of these areas would also be found in Asia, I believe, especially the very distant and small villages where Islam would have been able to survive. I’ve written a bit about other religions in Lyra’s world if you want to read before going on.

With all that in mind — and out of the way! — let’s take a closer look at the Magisterium most notable groups. Starting of course, with the CCD, it’s important to keep in mind that the CCD was the first group created in the Magisterium. It wasn’t always, however, the most powerful one; in Northern Lights, it’s said they only gained notoriety in “recent years”, and we see in La Belle Sauvage that they were already active, including in England, so my assumption is that not only Pullman did a slight retcon here, but also that recent years can mean somewhere in the range of 70 to 100 years. This doesn’t change the fact the CCD became powerful and feared in the Magisterium, nor that their power in England grew considerably between LBS and TAS and then TSC. They are mostly an enforcer type of group (this is how I refer to them, not canon: enforcer or militia for groups that can arrest, or do any type of Police/militia/army related type of work; dogmatic is how I refer to the groups that usually deal with conversion, reeducation, philosophical works - this isn’t relevant, I’m just. Trying to Make Sense lmao) and as an enforcer, the CCD is violent and ruthless and often lawless in its work outside Geneva.

Despite the fact they are known as a Church Authority, they cannot murder freely and without consequence. In England they act in the shadows during LBS, disguising Robert Luckhurt’s murder as a drowning, and not much is known about their work during HDM, but in TSC they start to openly arrest people for heresy, no doubt a change from the government after Marcel’s rise to power. The CCD seems to act all across Europe and even Central Asia, as we see some of its forces in Constantinople, although it isn’t clear if they were there simply because the Patriarch died or if they are also stationed in the city; the Sublime Porte had its own guards as well, given its status as a government base.

Not much is known of the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit, except that they seemed less harsh than the CCD and during their quest to find Lyra, they were far more interested in not killing her. Lord Asriel mentions in TAS about his surprise in learning that Lord Roke managed to infiltrate the group, as they were considered impregnable; given Lady Salmakia’s method, and the whole attitude of the group towards the prophecy — it was assumed they weren’t going to do anything about it — I’d safely assume they were more inclined towards being dogmatic.

Perhaps even older than the CCD, the College of Bishops was perhaps inherited from the Catholic Church before the Magisterium was born. It was known to be the most remarkable and powerful of the groups for centuries after the creation of the Magisterium. Not much is said about them, but given their counterpart in our world, I’d assume they were more inclined towards dogma than enforcer. They are, in our world, a collection of bishops who work closely with the Pope; in Lyra’s world, by the time the Magisterium existed, the Pope no longer existed, so the assumption is that the College replaced the Pope figure altogether, being led by all the bishops in the collection, probably working like a council.

Everything we know about La Maison Juste is confusing and unclear, as most things worldbuilding-wise are in these books. Their official name is League for the Instauration of the Holy Purpose, which coincides with Olivier Bonneville’s description of their work, about “accomodating the life of the world to the life of the spirit”. In other words, it means making sure that daily life can be fitted into the dogma of the Church; it’s vital for the Magisterium to adapt as progress comes. Unlike the CCD, that suppress anything that borders heresy, La Maison Juste seems more inclined towards adapting the dogma so the world can still be within the Magisterium’s expectations.

However, there is mention of La Maison Juste being a place meant to study and examine heresy; there is also a mention in TSC, by Olivier, about how the group changed under Marcel’s leadership, “being a force for good” in the ranks of the Magisterium. What that means exactly, I can’t say; it could be Marcel changed the heresy examination to something more productive and less harsh, or it could just mean he became more strict towards heresy, but that would conflict with Olivier’s description about the accomodation thing. At any rate, I do classify them as dogmatic, and we see Marcel using the CCD to go after Olivier when he flees Geneva; it’s curious because there seems to be implied the CCD outranks his group, but he still uses their forces to do anything remotely violent. There is however, a passage where Lyra lies to a guard from the Office of Right Duty about being part of La Maison Juste, and the guard gets spooked. This is curious because La Maison Juste barely seems remarkable up until the congress happens, but the mention scares the man off.

Two groups — that we know of — were responsibility of Mrs. Coulter. The League of St. Alexander seemed to have been created around the same time LBS happens (roughly 1986 if the timeline makes any sense, which probably doesn’t). Hannah Relf learns at some point that Marisa was behind it, but it’s never clear what was her role in it exactly. It doesn’t look like the League was a private initiative, but actually tied to the Church and it was as good a Scam as any. Marisa being behind it didn’t necessarily mean she was the active leader of the group, as they mention a man under the codename Bishop seemed to be in charge, but then again, I cannot say with certainty. They were definitely a dogmatic group, with brainwashing added to the mix, but they seemed to have mutated over time and it isn’t clear whether they only existed in England or not.

The General Oblation Board was Mrs. Coulter’s actual, proper group. It was a private initiative, under the CCD’s rule, but the nature of their work seemed to threaten the CCD’s leadership in the Magisterium. MacPhail made an extra effort to try and dismantle them, especially because he believed that Dust should be destroyed and not examined. I don’t think the fate of the group was ever disclosed, despite their losses, but by TAS MacPhail mentions them as if they are still functioning. Whether they survived up to TSC is not clear, but it’s also hard to imagine what could they have become without Marisa. It’s also interesting to think what would have happened to the Magisterium, had Marisa succeeded in taking the place of the CCD; a private initiative group as the most powerful group in the Magisterium would have caused drastic changes, and probably opened the doors to the big corporations much sooner than Marcel’s work in TSC. The GOB could be classified as dogmatic, given their interest in Dust, but they were far more into scientific research than La Maison Juste seems to be, for example. They also had their own private guards, so no need for the CCD’s enforcers.

I think these groups showcase well how the Magisterium operates. The further we see Lyra go into the East, we realise how the grip of the Church seems lighter and far more military inclined. Is the Magisterium everywhere? Frankly, I don’t think so. I think they have a substantial presence in every country with any amount of political influence or power; any country that might offer opposition. We know they tried to conquer England through an actual war, which is quite odd for a religion, but this is where the Theocracy takes it place in Lyra’s world: they become a single unified front with their country — Switzerland, in this case — and the countries where they have more power, they can also control. The places they can’t take by force, they take with dogma and faith, and slowly overthrow these governments by turning their people against themselves.

They are so vastly fragmented that even places with small groups are affected by their presence, no matter small and odd that can be. It’s both curious and terrifying to see a world so deeply overwhelmed by a single opponent, but then again, it’s not that far off our reality. The Magisterium doesn’t represent just faith and religion, but also the big oligarchies, and how governments bend to the will of big companies, and how these aligned forces can become oppressive over time. The Church’s hold across Europe, Africa and Asia was not fast and unpredictable; it was obvious and slow. It started with small conversions and with time, the Church become a force of sustainability for different regions; they become an important part of the enviroment, of the economy, of the security of the country. They become something to be relied on and thus removing them become difficult over time as well, as the micro societies — the neighborhoods, the small villages — they become reliant on the Church’s helpful groups to survive, meaning that their fear of the enforcers are overwhelmed by the help of the Chapels, and the priories.

It’s the creation of a co-dependent ecosystem that is very difficult to dissolve without harming innocent people.

#hdm meta: worldbuilding #hdm meta: the magisterium #hdm meta: religion #hdm meta: politics #hdm meta #lmao it's a lot of meta this blog is very organised #the magisterium #his dark materials #the book of dust #meta by effie

49 notes · View notes

livlepretre · 3 years

Note

So this is a weird thing to bring up, but I was thinking about the weirdness regarding the accents of all the Originals and remembered the scene in ATFBBTF where Elena tells Klaus that she knows he is faking the accent. In canon, we know Mikael has a British accent (despite being a viking in a settlement located in current day Virginia) and all of them speak the way they do in the present throughout all their flashbacks. I love all of your charactizations throughout your fics and wanted to know: What are your personal headcanons regarding all the accent stuff and how all the cultures the Originals have lived through have affected the way they speak, think, behave, etc.?

Not a weird thing to bring up at all, because as it turns out, I am hyper-fixated on this franchise and would love to talk about any element of it!

This is kind of long so I put my answer under the cut:

Personal headcanons: I like to think that all of their accents are subtly WEIRD not only because they have moved all over the place but because pronunciation of languages like English have shifted so much over time. Like, I remember an early interview with Daniel Gillies where he said that he tried to make his accent sound like it was from everywhere and nowhere, because the Originals had traveled so extensively over such a long period of time. The other thing is that their syntax tends to lag inevitably behind-- yes, they incorporate new phrasings, like Elijah using “OMG” with such relish in 2x19, but I try to think about the way English was shaped in modernist novels when I’m writing Rebekah-- her idioms are all about a century out of date-- or slip in little anachronisms that aren’t quite off but are no longer common in daily speech like “shan’t” or even older slang like “belle chose.”

The scene in FE where Elena asks Rebekah how many languages she speaks sums it up pretty well-- they’ve been speaking a lot of these languages as they evolved from middle languages to early modern languages to modern and then contemporary language. The slippage amongst them must be pretty extraordinary-- I like the idea that even though the Originals “mostly” sound contemporary that there would be a lot of random archaic forms peppered in.

Another idea I had is that their names are probably different than the ones they originally had, but since they’ve all traveled and evolved linguistically/culturally together, they have changed how they think of each other, and maybe even their original names are getting fuzzy in their mind (Rebekah alludes to this in that same conversation in FE). This is partially born out of my general distaste for the Viking!origins that make no bloody sense to me and the fact that even if they’re all Vikings, why is Klaus’s name Niklaus (the German form of a Greek origin name), and then Elijah, Esther, Mikael, and Rebekah have Hebrew origin names and then mysteriously Finn, Kol, and Freya have Viking names? It makes no sense which is why I came up with the idea that they’ve changed their names over time, adapting and adopting what suited them.

The idea that they grew up in Virginia a thousand years ago is so cringe that I mostly try to block it out (I was writing ATFBBTF while season 3 was airing, which is why I reference it explicitly; that was before I was comfortable just papering over things I don’t like so much)-- like, Elijah, there weren’t wild horses in the Americas a thousand years ago! You’re confused!

I’ve talked about this at detailed length with @icebluecyanide (whose thoughts on this are AMAZING) but I’m really fond of irrevocably attached to the idea that the Originals are actually Russian or some other Slavic country in origin. Playing on the whole “my father was a wealthy landowner in Eastern Europe,” and also in a meta-sense playing with Eastern European vampire folklore. (Also I would love anything that gets rid of that awful Mikaelson “surname”! That name keeps me up at night. Also, why does Rebekah have it. She’s not a son.)

I do think that they all tend to be really, really stuck in the middle ages in terms of their thinking about their place in the world, the roles of men vs. women, fathers vs mothers vs sisters vs brothers, and who has filial duty to whom. Maayyybbbeeee some Humanist ideas sunk in, but honestly, there’s a reason that Rebekah still cleaves to Klaus and it’s because he’s her brother and she very much conceives of herself as lower in the family chain, even though she also rebels against it (but never quite seriously). Klaus is patronizing and domineering because he very much so sees that as his divine right-- he’s the special one, the hybrid, the king of kings. And also, he’s not even aware of his sexism when in SWBS he tells Elena things like “don’t you want to be a nurse or a teacher or a mother” (not that those aren’t critical, difficult, amazing careers!)-- it’s just that his idea of career options for women hasn’t changed in like at least a hundred years so he falls back on to him the obvious standards.

Hmm what else... they’re all definitely cultural chameleons, though, obviously, some places left bigger impacts on them than others. I think of Italy, and England, and New Orleans when I think of their “home” cultures, but that might be because that’s where we see them in flashbacks the most often. It’s easier to blend in for the three who are awake for most of everything, of course, because changes are incremental and fluid from their perspective, happening little by little and organically as they travel.

Oh! And I think my last thing is that I am really fond of the idea that Kol and Finn were both just caught in a supernatural sleep for all that time they were daggered... so Kol is constantly having to reinvent himself and his facility with language since I get the impression he gets daggered pretty often, though also undaggered whenever his siblings decide they miss him, which is often enough to keep him spry and make him really really good at learning language and adapting, but poor Finn has to learn contemporary English from scratch when he’s undaggered and he’s lost and bewildered in the modern world and it’s really only the fact that he already thinks of his whole existence as a bewildering haze of hell on earth that he (eventually) learns enough English and modern customs to cope (so long as no one pays close attention; he blanks a lot on which word he should use.).

I think that’s it???

#anonymous #tvd meta #tvd #the originals

47 notes · View notes

joezworld · 3 years

Text

Memories

A continuation of this

January 29, 2020

“Well, despite my extensive protestations, I cannot find any reason whatsoever to keep you here.” Anton, the head of the Crovan’s Gate diesel shop, said as he shut his toolbox with a petulant clang.

55 010 and Wendell looked at each other with no small amount of relief. Since the events of Christmas, the works had been beside themselves in trying to find a cause of 010′s existence as well as fixing the damage to Wendell’s chassis from when he fell off the jack stands on Christmas day.

A naturally superstitious man, Anton had refused to clear 010 for traffic until he went over her with a fine-toothed comb. This was a process that had taken over a month, and had insulted Wendell more than it had 010, as the Class 47 had believed that Anton was looking for a way to keep 010 out of traffic (he was), while the Deltic - who hadn’t been properly serviced since the late 1970′s - found the whole process very therapeutic.

All that being said, the pair were anxious to get out of the sheds and onto the main line once again - Wendell wanted to stretch his wheels properly, while 010 was deeply excited to see the bright future of the year 2020.

Anton left, shutting off the lights behind him. The two engines would have kept talking, but they’d honestly exhausted their conversational reserves after being together for over a month, so instead they fell asleep, dreaming of the world outside the sheds...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 26, 1981

Doncaster Station, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

55 010 sleepily opened one eye to the sounds of an argument. Some men were clustered around the Class 47 that was on the siding. They sounded like they were trying to figure out what to do with her.

One group was saying that she should be shoved onto the out of use lines, while the others were saying that doing that would take too long. The 47 seemed to be stuck in the middle, unsure of which side to take. At one point, he opened his mouth to agree with the shunting plan, before he stopped. A flurry of emotions passed across his face in an instant, before he shut his mouth, glared at the men he’d been about to agree with, and put his wheel down.

“I’m not going to miss my path and spend all day in passing loops just to put her away - look at all the switches you’d have to hand throw! It’d take ages!”

With that the other men now held a majority, so without much more discussion the 47 was coupled up to her, and the train set off for parts unknown.

“Where are we going?” She’d sleepily asked the 47 - who’d introduced himself as number 556 - as they rattled across the Pennines.

“Dunno,” He’d said quietly - they were coupled face-to-face, and she felt vaguely bad that he was driving backwards on her behalf. “Some coach depot I’ve never heard of - Titfield or Tidmouse or something like that.”

December 27, 1981

Tidmouth Station, Tidmouth, Tidmouth and South Haltraughshire, Sodor

47 556 and 55 010 eventually made it across the bridge and onto the Island very early on the morning of the 27th. It was a quiet little Island railway out here in the west country, and they met few trains on their way by.

A class 86 shouted hello from an electrified branch.

A old Hymek, somehow still in service, honked amiably as he passed with a goods train.

Even an old blue steam engine clattered by on a rail tour. This one looked at them funny, but the expected malice wasn’t there, merely confusion at the unusual double-header.

Eventually arriving at the big station at the end of the line, the two engines were met by a older gentleman in a top hat.

He introduced himself as the Controller for the region, and asked what they were doing here.

As 556 explained why he was also carrying a broken-down Deltic on his train, 010′s attention wandered to the rest of the station.

It was a beautiful design, like King's Cross, or Euston before they ruined it, but the roof of the trainshed was simply covered in soot - it was almost like they hadn’t cleaned it since before the end of steam.

Then there was a whistle from outside the platforms.

Both diesels goggled as a tender engine, painted an almost gaudy shade of bright blue with red lining, rolled into the station with a train of teak coaches.

At almost the same time, two more whistles were heard, and a train of GWR autocoaches complete with a Pannier Tank in the middle rattled in alongside a green saddle tank engine of indeterminate origin towing a pair of ancient compartment coaches.

“What is that?” 010 asked, shocked to see clean and well-maintained steam this far into the 1980s.

“Those are Gordon, Duck, and Percy.” Said the controller kindly.

“Are they all on rail tours?” Asked 556, causing the controller to laugh.

“No! They’re my engines! They work every day because they’re still useful.”

Neither diesel said anything. 556 was shocked that BR was allowing this to happen, but 010 suddenly felt a surge of hope. If they were still running steam here, maybe she could convince 556 to leave her here on his way home...

Something must have shown in her face - or maybe even 556′s, because the next thing the controller said was: “If I may, my railroad is currently experiencing a locomotive shortage. We have to keep relying on the other railway for temporary engines, but they aren’t the most reliable. Would either of you happen to know where I could find some strong, hardworking locomotives?”

They stabled 556 and 010 in the sheds with the steam engines over the New Year’s holiday. It was an almost out-of-body experience for 010, who was used to the cold and unfriendly atmosphere of Finsbury Park TMD, and had no idea how to deal with engines who, when told to treat her nicely, immediately made sure to include her in their singing of Auld Lang Syne.

A few weeks later, both engines had been successfully outshopped at the massive works complex in the west of the island. 556 had required little repairs, but had rolled out with a new coat of paint and a new name, Wendell, chosen after a friendly dog that hung around the works.

It took longer for 010. She had many, many worn out parts that required removal and repair, and her engines needed a full overhaul. During this time period, some of the female welding staff had spoken to her about needing to choose a name before one was chosen for her - apparently the Hymek she’d seen was named Bear, and she didn’t want that did she?

After a few days with books on baby names, a set of brass nameplates were bolted to her sides - they read “DAPHNE” in big letters.

While she was there, the workmen asked her what she wanted to be painted. When her request for a new coat of Rail Blue was met with groans, the men explained that they were bored of normal paint schemes and would paint anything she wanted.

Two weeks later she rolled out of the works feeling like a new engine. Her motors fired on all cylinders, her grease and oil was fresh, and her new paint sparkled in the sun. She’d always liked how Deltic - The Deltic, DP1 - had looked, and the men had grinned at each other when she told them about how the irritable prototype had spent most of his free time whining about not having stripes that went the whole way down his body.

Daphne found out why when she rolled into Tidmouth Shed that night. There was another express diesel on this island - a big Class 46 - and the similarities were striking. Both had similar designs, and had non-standard paint - the 46 was red, she was blue - with gold stripes down their sides. The 46 was named Delta - a very similar sounding name, and when she opened her eyes and took in Daphne and her nameplates, it took her all of two seconds to begin smiling broadly.

“You look like you could be my big sister!” She said.

Daphne, expecting some sort of hostility, wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well, all of my sisters are dead, so it would be nice to have one again.”

She began to backpedal when the 46 stopped smiling, but the look she gave was thoughtful instead of hurt. “Come to think of it, all of mine are probably dead too. Shall we make our own family then?”

And so it was.

A few weeks later, Daphne and Wendell finally met all but one of the other diesels on the region - a Class 28 named BoCo, Bear the Hymek, and Daisy, a deeply customized Class 101. According to Daisy, there was also a Class 01 named Mavis who worked on a private quarry at the end of her branch line.

“You know,” Daisy said after Delta finished introducing everyone. “Aside from having one of each power rating, I think all of us but Wendell would have been scrapped by now if we were on the mainland. I think we should do something to celebrate the fact that we aren’t dead.”

The other diesels agreed - word had already spread about Delta and Daphne’s nontraditional sisterhood - and they agreed to form a club: the Non-Standard Survivors Society.

“But, I’m not non-standard?” Wendell asked as they dispersed. “Am I?”

“No, but you are really cute,” Delta joked. “So we’ll give you a pass.”

Daisy chuckled as she headed for the platform. “I’ll have to remember that when I tell Mavis about this club she’s in now.”

Daphne was confused. “Cute? What do you mean cute?”

Wendell was similarly puzzled.

Bear and Delta looked at each other meaningfully. “You two have so much to learn...” The type 3 said as he backed into the station.

That didn’t make Daphne or Wendell feel any better!

1983

“You know,” Said Delta one morning in the newly-refurbished diesel shed. “We should have nicknames for the society.”

“My name is Bear,” Said Bear. “yours is a Greek letter. How much more nickname-y can we get?”

“The rest of us should get nicknames then. And I feel like I could get a great nickname, like Tiger Stripes!”

Daphne giggled as Bear growled under his breath. “And why, pray tell, are you Tiger Stripes?”

“Because I’m fierce like a tiger! And I have stripes like a tiger does! It also matches the animal theme we’re going with.” Either Delta could think at a mile a minute, or she had been considering these nicknames for a lot longer than she let on.

“A tiger does not have stripes like you do.”

“How do you know?”

“My name is Bear. I know about animals. I have to.”

“I figured it was so that we could be ‘Lions, Tigers, and Bears, oh my!’” Quipped Daphne. “I guess that makes me Lion Stripes then.”

Delta’s sputtering and spluttering made it very clear that she hadn’t thought of that, and Bear and Daphne roared with laughter.

Later that year

The Thin Clergyman’s son made another trip to Sodor to research for his next books.

Daphne, as an express engine, had been rather removed from the strife among the rank-and-file engines caused by the Thin Clergyman’s books, and had no idea why Delta wanted to hide from him.

After a “short” explanation that took almost an hour, Daphne was now furious.

While she did help Delta by hiding her deep inside an old carriage shed, she did not stay there herself; She was an engine of action, and would deal with the problem directly.

Two days later, the Clergyman’s Son approached her to ask her some questions.

“If my sister shows up in one of your books you won’t survive to write another.” She said darkly to the author, who retreated immediately!

The Clergyman’s Son’s next book focused about Diesels and James. Much to everyone’s amusement, Delta was nowhere to be found in it, despite her being being the biggest reason why James was more accepting of diesels.

Unsurprisingly, Daphne did not appear either, and everyone wondered if the story of the rude diesel who crashed through a wall was based on her in some way. Delta, on the other wheel, stayed uncharacteristically silent!

Wendell was most offended that they hadn’t even bothered to include his name in the book, and refused to speak to the Clergyman’s Son again!

1985

Bear and Wendell had both gotten very scruffy looking after several years without a repaint, and went into the works with the intent of coming out looking the same as they had before.

They had reckoned without Delta and Daphne, who had very kindly asked the paint shop workers to be imaginative on their friends.

Bear had rolled out first, looking furious about the deception, but rather pleased with his paint. The men had been inspired by some American locomotives, and he rolled out of the shop in a dark shade of green with metallic gold stripes down his sides. Any lingering discontent he had felt lasted until Henry saw him for the first time and dragged him away behind a shed without a word. Daphne tried to ask what was going on, but Delta, laughing too hard to even speak, had pulled her away to the station.

Wendell came out a few days later. Whatever the men had originally tried hadn’t been to his liking, he explained, and he’d asked them to try a different design from the same book that they’d pulled Bear’s paint scheme from. When he came into the sheds painted a glossy black with grey and white stripes, Daphne felt both of her crankshafts do a flip-flop.

Delta took one look at the slack jawed expression on her adopted sister’s face and sighed deeply. How had Jamie seen this coming before she did?

It took all of a week for Bear and Wendell to have nicknames foisted on them by the express sisters - Ursus and Cobra stripes, respectively. Delta explained that she liked the predatory animal theme that went with Lion and Tiger, while Daphne innocently pointed out that it had absolutely nothing to do with how much it annoyed Bear.

The nicknames did eventually stick though, in no small part because Henry had taken one look at how irritated Bear was and started calling him Ursus!

It took a month after that for Tiger Stripes to take pity on her sister and the piteous faces she made when she thought Wendell wasn’t looking, pulled a Flying Scotsman, and told her and Cobra Stripes exactly what those feelings meant. She was very unsurprised when Wendell revealed that he was also growing attracted to Daphne.

Henry and James both joked that one day, Bear or Delta would put one of them through a wall, but three weeks later, Daphne managed to put herself and Wendell into the parking lot behind Barrow Sheds.

1990

After realizing that Mavis and Daisy both technically had stripes painted on them (making them Wasp and Cougar stripes), the other diesels began to seriously peer pressure BoCo into getting repainted with stripes so they could complete the set.

He’d held out for many years, but after Daphne took a special train to the clay pits, there was suddenly pressure from within the Brendam Branch as well, and he folded like a house of cards in less than a week.

When he came back from the works, he was now green, gold, and white, but also red, if you counted the angry blush on his face.

“I asked them for Southern Railway Green with a gold stripe.” He seethed. “But clearly there was a misunderstanding.”

The howling from his compatriots was earthshakingly unsympathetic, but nobody could deny that he looked striking, and he was quickly dubbed Jaguar Stripes, even though - as he and Bear were quick to note - he did not look like a Jaguar at all.

1995

James asked Delta to marry him. The other engines were overjoyed, even if they BoCo and Daisy needed some catching up on how exactly that was possible.

Daisy groaned. “Mavis and I are going to have to have a talk, aren’t we?”

The other diesels - which by this point included James and Henry in an honorary capacity - hadn’t quite processed that when BoCo announced that if he was being honest, he and Edward were “so emotionally codependent that we’ve probably been married for twenty years without realizing it.”

Henry couldn’t take it any more and screeched with laughter at the conversational disparities - he’d just left the steam sheds, where the engines were still unaware that London had multiple termini, and were therefore having a rousing argument as to whether the impending fall of British Rail meant that London’s terminus station would magically return to being King’s Cross or Paddington instead of the current Euston.

1996

James and Delta were wed in a quiet ceremony behind the diesel shed - Siobhan, her fiancé Declan, and all the members of the “Non Standard Society” - including Mavis, who traveled down specially for the event - were present, with Daphne and Henry acting as bridesmaid and best man.

By design, the engines had arrived in pairs, with only BoCo “going stag”, as he hadn’t yet told Edward how he felt. The officiant - a kind looking man from the Arlesburgh judiciary - had taken one look at the rest of them and asked if he should be preparing for any other weddings in the near future. Daphne and Wendell were the only ones to say yes instinctively. (Much to each other’s surprise!) When Daphne looked over at Bear and Henry, they said with no small amount of irritation that it wasn’t legal yet for them to be wed. Similar grumblings then erupted from Mavis and Daisy, which briefly made the quiet ceremony very loud, as none of the other engines had been aware that either diesel was dating!

2000

Dull yellow smoke billowed out of Percy’s funnel as the men did a pressure test. Before Daphne or Wendell could do anything, they were enveloped by the choking cloud.

Daphne shut her eyes to avoid getting any of the strange metallic soot in her eyes, and when she opened them again, the works looked... different somehow.

A few of the new inspection pits were gone, while the diesel shop building had one less door than it should.

Daphne opened her mouth to ask Wendell what was going on, and then stopped dead in her tracks when a workman ran right through her.

Looking down at herself, she appeared to be fully transparent, floating above the rails like a ghost of Deltics past.

“Who are you?!” Wendell squeaked.

Daphne looked at him for a moment. His paint was a different colour than it had been a minute ago - Rail Blue instead of Black and Gray - and he seemed like he didn’t remember her at all.

“Cobra,” She said, not even thinking that this was not the time for nicknames. “It’s me, Lion. You know me.”

“I know exactly who you are.” He said frantically. “You’re the ghost of the engine I killed! It’s not Christmas! Begone with you!”

“What?!” Daphne was horrified. “Wendell, what on Earth are you talking about!? Nobody’s dead! How can you say that?!”

“Don’t you overreact here Lion!” Wendell snapped. “I should be the one screaming! Ignoring whatever it is you are, there are dinosaurs eating the ballast! That water tower has a face!”

Daphne suddenly understood that there was something in the yellow smoke that was making both of them see things that weren’t there. With that in mind, she spent most of the next few hours keeping Wendell calm until the hallucinations stopped, and he turned back into the black and gray diesel she’d fallen in love with.

A few weeks later, and Daphne asked Wendell about what he saw in the yellow smoke.

“I saw a bunch of brightly coloured horses singing about friendship. Why?”

“Just curious...” Daphne said as she realized that maybe her hallucinations had been much stronger than she thought!

Later That Same Year

A new high speed trainset arrived on Sodor. Their names were Pip and Emma.

They had been on the island once before in the early 80′s, but somehow none of the diesels had met them in anything other than passing.

After three nights on Sodor, Delta declared that she liked them and was “keeping them”, giving them no choice in the matter on the subject of express engine sisterhood. Daphne explained that Delta was less of an engine and more of a force of nature, to which Emma responded that she and Pip were ‘the Dragon Sisters’ and could take care of themselves.

Both Dragons realized that they had even less of a choice when Daphne's face lit up like a Christmas tree upon hearing that!

Learning that the duo already had animal-themed nicknames for themselves made it much easier for Lion and Tiger Stripes to press-gang their new sisters into the “Non-Standard Survivors Society”, and even easier to get them painted into the old Intercity “Swallow” paint scheme.

Even for express locomotives, the speed at which the two went from Pip and Emma to Dragon Stripes was remarkable.

Even later that same year

Donald screamed all the way to the Little Western, unable to shake the image of a unified force of Red Eyed, Soul Stealing, Mind Controlling, Memory Altering, Diesel Electric Monsters!

2001

Pip and Emma taught the other diesels how to breathe fire.

Being the sort of sisters that they were, Daphne, Emma, Pip, and Delta soon began hosting competitions to see who could shoot fire the furthest. This did not help Oliver’s mental state at all.

2004

The United Kingdom allowed same-sex couples to enter into a “civil union” on the 14th of March. The engines knew it wasn’t actual marriage, but it was more than they’d been allowed before, and Daisy and Mavis, and Henry and Bear were wed by The Magistrate that night, with Delta and James acting as best man and bride/groomsmaid in all the ceremonies.

Immediately afterwards, Daphne and Wendell - who had agreed not to be wed until their friends could - tied the knot as well.

The rest of the Society (BoCo, Pip, Emma) and Siobhan and her husband Declan cheered until they were hoarse.

The next morning, Stephen and Richard Hatt, as well as most of the steam engines, could not understand how every James, Henry, and every diesel on the island were somehow exhausted and happy at the same time.

Later that same year

Flying Scotsman showed up on what would turn out to be his last railtour before his overhaul. Not realizing what he’d started way back in 1979, he jokingly asked if Henry and Bear had ever done anything in regards to their relationship.

When they and seemingly every other diesel on the Island regaled him with wedding stories he almost burst a boiler tube!

2007

Pip managed to convince the paint shop staff to paint huge fire breathing dragons on herself and Emma for Christmas.

Within two weeks all the other diesels had their own respective animals painted somewhere on their bodies.

After a while, they all started to notice that the animals seemed to be in different places on different days... Daphne's Lion and Wendell's Cobra would even swap locomotives sometimes - not that they'd ever admit it!

After an even longer while they noticed that an identical Bear and Tiger had ended up on Henry and James - despite neither of them having gone near the paint shop in months!

Richard Hatt has asked why this happened, but nobody has yet said anything close to the truth. It may be because they don’t know themselves...

2017

A certain Class 5 diesel convinced her driver to hang some mistletoe over the turntable.

Everything was going well until Donald chuffed in unexpectedly and saw Henry and Bear under it.

A lot of explaining was required.

2020

Wendell loved Christmas, and had spent every year since the early 90′s covered in lights and pulling the N.W.R.’s holiday train. In more recent years Daphne also joined him, and they usually spent a few days in the first or second week of January getting the lights removed and their paint touched up.

This year, heavy traffic in early January meant that they couldn’t make it to the works until late on the 28th, and spent all of the next day getting de-lighted and touched up. They went to sleep eager to go to work the next morning...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

January 30, 2020

Wendell woke up with a start. What a dream that was! It felt so realistic, and...

55 010 was staring at him, eyes wide to the point of bulging out of her face.

“What?” He asked, trying to shake off the feeling of strangeness - in his dream, they were married, but engines can’t get married - can they?

“Wendell,” She said quietly, her voice shaking. “I just had the most amazing dream.”

“Really?” Maybe they could compare notes, Wendell wondered. Maybe in her dream they were all brightly coloured crime fighting action heroes.

“We were married.” She said after a moment.

Wendell felt the world go fuzzy around him. The last thirty-nine years of his life flashed before his eyes in some sort of visual stereo - one side sad and depressed, the other side...

“Daphne?!” He gasped as he returned to reality.

That was all the confirmation the big Deltic needed. “It wasn’t a dream!” She cried joyously.

“It was,” Wendell said, his brows furrowing under a sudden and massive headache. “But it wasn’t. How can it be both?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Daphne/55 010 said, her voice laced with quiet joy. “I have sisters. I have a family. I have you.”

Wendell could feel his mind short circuiting. On one wheel, he was in his shed in the works. It was his home. He’d lived here since the 80′s!

On the other... He lived at the diesel shed in Tidmouth. He’d asked The Fat Controller in 1982 if he could stay there so he could be with his friends - with Daphne. His home was the road between Daphne and Bear in Tidmouth.

Bear. His eyes widened as he thought of the Hymek.

He didn’t know the diesel that well, but - he did. Did he? Was this all a shared dream between him and 010, or was Bear really Henry’s husband? Were Delta and James married? What about Daisy and Mavis? Was 010 actually Daphne? He didn’t know what was real or not anymore.

He looked back at Daphne/010. As much as he wanted to believe it was true - that he really did have thirty years of family and love - but as he looked over at the Deltic and down at his own buffers, he didn’t see the blue-and-gold or black-and-gray of Lion and Cobra Stripes, just the basic Rail Blue of two anonymous British Diesels.

Then...

As he looked at 010/Daphne, her dark blue paint started to muddy and shift before his eyes. Starting at her buffers and moving backwards, a ripple of colour began to work its way across her body. The rail blue and yellow warning panels faded away, leaving a trail of sky blue paint and metallic gold stripes. A roaring lion, standing atop a crushed double arrow, appeared below her cab window.

He would have watched the transformation in more detail, but a sudden and intense itching caused his him to look down at his own body. Where there had previously been blue and yellow was now a dark gloss black with grey stripes. The very hint of a snake's tail could be seen stretching around the corner of his bodywork.

It was over almost as quickly as it begun, and when the two diesels looked back up at each other, they didn’t see Wendell and 55 010, they saw:

“Lion?”

“Cobra?”

---

The drivers who went to take Wendell and 010 back to the works had no idea why the diesels were crying like babies, but assumed it was due to the outrageous paint schemes the works had elected to cover them in. They were in no mood for shenanigans, and coupled up the engines and left before the works staff could notice and ask questions.

In a remarkable parallel to the 1981 of their dreams, Wendell hauled an unpowered Daphne and a rake of coaches from the works down to Tidmouth in the predawn light of winter. They passed Abbey, who shouted hello from the electric branch, and passed Edward, who stared at their paint in utter bafflement.

The train arrived in Tidmouth, but there was no Fat Controller to meet them that day, so they left the coaches at the platform for The Limited and departed for the diesel shed.

Wendell felt another headache come on as he rolled up to the concrete-and-steel structure. With only Bear and Delta permanently in Tidmouth, The Fat Controller hadn’t built the shed until Pip and Emma arrived in 2000, knocking down an old brick warehouse to do so.

But, with Daphne and Wendell, that old brick building had been spruced up and expanded in the 80′s. Looking at the building, Wendell felt woozy as his mind layered an image of the cozy warehouse overtop of the sleek shed.

“There’s supposed to be windows there.” Daphne whispered as she looked at the blank wall of the shed.

Wendell grimaced as he looked up. That blank concrete wall was in no way special, but at the same time, the light that streamed in through bank of windows set into the brick had been the source of many arguments - nobody wanted to be the one in that road because the morning sun was at just the right angle to shine into the eyes of whoever was parked under them.

But that wall was blank specifically because the architects had realized that - in 1999.

But it was an old shed - from the 1920's, right?

Wendell grimaced and hoped that his mind would pick something and stick to it.

Arriving in the shed to the sound of Genesis drifting through the doors - dream or no dream, Henry had apparently still infected them with his prog rock obsession - the men first shunted Daphne onto one road before putting Wendell next to her, powering off off his motor and scarpering to the staff canteen and its coffee maker, leaving the two diesels outside.

Their presence was noticed after Bear’s voice drifted out of the shed with a command to turn off the voice activated speaker. In the silence, the quiet pinging of Wendell’s cooling engine was heard, drawing eyes to the outside.

“What the hell are you painted like that for?” Called BoCo from inside the sheds. “And who are you?” He asked Daphne.

“Hi Jaguar, it’s so good to see you.” Daphne evidently did not care that BoCo had no idea who she was.

“Good morning!” Said Wendell, trying to figure out how on earth he was going to explain this. “We had a doozy of a dream last night!”

The other diesels poked out of the doors to gawp at the oddly-painted engines.

Delta in particular looked like she wanted to say something, looking down at her own stripes before looking at Daphne’s.

“You look like you could be my big... sister...” She didn’t make it all the way through her sentence before her jaw dropped and her eyes glazed over. Wendell imagined that this is what he looked like earlier that morning.

“You...” Delta was on the verge of tears. “You were at my wedding. You all were!”

“Your what? You know this engine?” BoCo was more confused than ever.

“Yes! And so do you! We all do!”

“Delta, I have never... met...” BoCo stared in shock after his eyes glazed over for a long moment. “Oh soot and oil... Daphne?!”

And so it went through the other engines, who all suddenly remembered.

“How?!” Bear eventually managed. “How did this - what?”

He was cut off as his paint rippled and changed, an effect that quickly rolled across the other engines. From within the shed, Emma and Pip swore loudly as their NWExpress livery roiled and shifted from blue and yellow to black, white and red. BoCo grimaced as his BR green suddenly became a lot more American. Bear grinned unconsciously, suddenly remembering how well Henry had taken his stripes last time.

Within a few minutes, the disparate group of diesels were gone, replaced with the members of the Non-Standard Survivors Society.

Daphne, who watching this happen with no small amount of glee, squealed with happiness.

In the station, Henry and Daisy were congratulating Richard Hatt on his recent promotion to assistant controller of the railway. As they spoke, both engines kept one eye on the diesel shed in the distance - two new diesels in some absolutely ludicrous paint schemes were parked in front of the diesel shed, and a commotion was quietly audible, much to their consternation.

Richard eventually took notice of the new engines as well, and took a long moment to try and figure out why the original Deltic prototype was on his railway. A gasp drew him back to the engines on the platform, both of whom now looked like they’d seen a ghost.

“Are you all right?” he asked with concern.

Daisy, who was wide eyed and shaking on her suspension, was the first to react. “I’m married!” She shrieked before setting off for the junction almost before her signal dropped. Richard wasn’t sure, but as Daisy left, frantically blowing her horn to the diesels in the yard as she did so, she seemed to shimmer in the sun for a moment.

“What?” Richard asked. He thought he’d heard what Daisy had said, but was really hoping that he’d misheard her. He looked back at Henry, suddenly forced to remember that he had to give the engine a day off every March.

“I don’t think I could explain that to you if I had all day.” Henry said quietly.

Richard wanted to investigate the sudden faraway look in the engine’s eyes, but remembered what usually happened to him when he asked the engines personal questions.

As he left the platform, he noted with some amount of confusion the elegantly-painted bear that was on Henry’s cab side. It definitely hadn’t been there when he walked up.

He turned around to ask Henry about it, when James raced into the station, a wild look in his eyes.

“Henry!” He demanded. “What just happened to me?!” The pouncing Tiger painted on the side of his tender gave some idea as to the “what” he was talking about.

Richard turned and fled for his office. The pub didn’t open until noon, and he was not about to deal with any new earthshattering revelations sober.

31 notes · View notes

tipsycad147 · 3 years

Text

Using Magical Poppets and Dolls

You're the only one who can decide what's ethically acceptable for you. Michelle Constantini/Getty Images

By Patti Wigington

Updated January 05, 2019

The magical poppet is one of the most commonly used implements in sympathetic magic, which follows along on the theory that “like creates like.” Although TV shows and movies typically show poppets as the stereotypical "voodoo doll," poppets have been around for a long time, and used in a number of different cultures and religious belief systems. There are many ways to create a poppet, and they can be used to harm or to heal; if you create a poppet of a person, anything done to the poppet will affect the person it represents. Bear in mind that some magical traditions discourage the use of poppets. If you're not sure whether or not it's okay for you to use poppet magic, you may want to check with someone in your tradition.

A poppet is usually made from cloth or fabric, but you can also make one from clay, wax, wood, or just about any other material. You can fill your poppet with herbs, stones, bits of wood, paper, or anything else that suits your needs. In addition to magical items, it's a good idea to include some cotton or polyfill as stuffing material.

Once the poppet is created, you'll need to connect it to the person it represents, which is typically done by using a magical link of some sort. Remember, the poppet is a useful magical tool, and can be used in a variety of workings. Use it for healing, to banish harmful people from your life, to bring abundance your way — the choices are practically limitless.

Poppet History

Fetish dolls on sale at a market in Togo. Danita Delimont/Getty Images

When most people think of a poppet, they automatically think of the Voodoo doll, thanks to this item's negative portrayal in movies and on television. However, the use of dolls in sympathetic magic goes back several millennia. Back in the days of ancient Egypt, the enemies of Ramses III (who were numerous, and included some of his harem women and at least one high-ranking official) used wax images of the Pharaoh, to bring about his death. Let's look at some of the historical uses of poppets in spellwork.

Greek Kolossi

It wasn't uncommon for the Greeks to use sympathetic magic in workings related to love or war. Christopher Faraone, Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures at the University of Chicago, is one of the foremost authorities on Greek magic today, and says that Greek poppets called Kolossoi were sometimes used to restrain a ghost or even a dangerous deity, or to bind two lovers together. In Idyll 2, The Witch (Pharmakeutria), written about 200 b.c.e., the tragedian Theocritus refers to melting and burning wax dolls. He relates the tale of Simaetha, rejected by Delphis, attempts to get her lover back with magic.

The Princess Who Played with Dolls

Wax dolls certainly weren't limited to the ancient classical world. The one-time Princess of Wales, Caroline of Brunswick, was married to the man who later became King George IV, and evidently couldn't stand him. She spent many hours forming wax dolls of her husband and jabbing them with pins. Although there's no concrete evidence as to what this may have done to George, when Caroline ran off to Italy with her young lover, George didn't object. The royal couple remained married but lived separately until Caroline’s death in 1821, according to Witchcraft and Evidence in Early Modern England by Malcolm Gaskill.

West African Fetish Magic

West African slaves brought with them a doll called a fetish when they were forced to leave their homes and come to the American colonies. In this case, the doll is not so much representative of an individual, but is in fact possessed by spirits connected to the doll’s owner. A fetish contains significant power and is typically worn or carried by its owner as a talisman. During America's Colonial period, slave owners were allowed to kill any slave found with a fetish in his possession.

American Hoodoo and Folk Magic

In American Hoodoo and folk magic, the use of poppets as a magical tool became popular following the Civil War. There is some dispute as to whether the dolls are used at all in Haiti, which is the home of Vodoun religion, and a few sources disagree on whether the use of poppets is truly a Vodoun practice or not. However, the Voodoo Museum of New Orleans does stock a variety of dolls in their gift shop.

Regardless of how you make your poppet — out of cloth, a chunk of meat, or a glob of wax, remember that poppets have a long tradition behind them, and that tradition is influenced by the magical practices of a wide range of cultures. Treat your poppets well, and they will do the same for you!

Make Your Own Poppet

Photomorgana/Getty Images

A poppet can be as simple or as elaborate as you like — it all depends on how much time and effort you want to put into it. You can construct one out of just about any material — cloth, clay, wood, wax. Use your imagination! In some magical traditions, it's believed that the more work you put into it, and the more complex it is, the stronger your link will be to your goal. Because a poppet is a device for sympathetic magic, all of its components will be symbols of what it is you hope to achieve.

You can do your poppet-making as part of the working itself, or it can be made ahead of time so you can use the poppet later on. Which method you choose is really up to you.

Remember, your poppet represents a person, so figure out before you begin who it symbolizes. Is it you? A friend who's asked you for help? An un-named lover you want to bring into your life? A gossip you want to shut up? The possibilities are endless, but just like in any spell working, you'll need to set a goal before you begin. It keeps you from having to deal with "do-overs" later. These instructions are for a basic poppet construction, using fabric. Feel free to modify your design as you need to.

Selecting Your Fabric

There are no real rules when it comes to choosing your material, but it's not a bad idea to select fabric based on your goal. If you're doing a money spell, use a piece of green or gold cloth. If you're looking at healing, perhaps something in a soft blue or silver would be best. Check out fabric stores around the holidays, and you can find all kinds of neat patterns.

Valentine's Day designs are perfect for matters of the heart, and there are plenty of prints with dollar signs, coins, stars and moons, and other fun designs.

Another option is to use fabric that links the poppet to the person it represents. Doing a healing spell for a friend? Ask the person for an old t-shirt. If you're trying to draw love into your life, consider using a scrap from that sexy lingerie you wore last night. If you just can't find the right material, use a plain muslin or white felt. Here are a few ideas for designs and colors for poppet magic.

Animals: Brown or green fabrics, patterns with cats or dogs, anything pet-related

Banishing: Black fabric, designs such as swords or wands, dragons or fire

Creativity: Orange or yellow fabric, prints of suns or other fire symbols

Healing: Silver, white or blue, with designs of clouds or other air symbols

Love: Pink or red material, designs like hearts, roses or other flowers, Cupids

Money: Silver, gold or green fabric, or designs of dollar bills or coins, cups or earthy symbols

Protection: Red or white material, with patterns of shields, keys or locks, fences, mistletoe

When it comes to types of fabric, use what's easiest for you to work with. Cotton prints are easy to sew, but if you've never used a needle and thread before, you might want to try something stiffer like felt — it comes in every color you can imagine, and will hold its shape as you sew. If you're an experienced sewer, use anything you like.

A poppet represents a person, so ideally it should look (sort of) like a person. Give it a head, two arms, two legs, a torso. You can make your own outline or you can use the ultimate poppet pattern — a gingerbread man. If you're doing a spell for an animal — such as a healing spell for a sick pet — make the poppet shape accordingly. Your poppet doesn't have to be huge, but it should be big enough that you can stuff it with your ingredients later.

Take two pieces of your fabric, and place them right side together on a flat surface. Place the pattern on top, pin it in place, and cut it out. Leave a little room around the edges for a seam allowance — usually a 3/8" margin is good. Remove the pattern, and there are your two poppet shapes. Time to start sewing!

If you've never sewn anything by hand before, don't panic. It's not hard, but it does require some patience. You could always use a sewing machine if you're pressed for time, but most experienced poppet-makers agree that it's worth the effort to do it by hand. Pin the two pieces of material with the right sides together, and stitch around the edges. Leave an opening somewhere, wide enough to stick a couple of fingers in. Turn the poppet inside out, and begin stuffing.

Personalize Your Poppet

Fill your poppet with something soft, like polyfill or cotton balls. Old pantyhose work nicely too. Work the stuffing all the way into the nooks and crannies of the arms and legs, and then fill the torso and head.

This is where you'll place your spell components — herbs, stones, whatever. In some magical traditions, something from the person represented goes inside the poppet. This is alternately referred to as a taglock or a magical link — it can be bits of hair, nail clippings, body fluids, a business card, or even a photograph. Once everything is inside, sew the poppet completely shut.

The more you can customize your poppet, the better. Even if you've placed a magical link, or taglock, inside, you'll want to decorate the outside too. Draw or paint or sew a face onto your doll. Add yard or string for hair. Dress your poppet in something that looks like the person's clothing. Copy any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing features onto the poppet as well. Add magical or astrological symbols if you like. While you're doing this, tell the poppet who it represents. You can say something along the lines of, "I have made you, and you are Jane Jones."

Your poppet can be used for any number of things—love, money, protection, healing, to get a job. Anything you can imagine, you can make a poppet to bring it about. Simply figure out your goal and the means to achieve it. The only limits on poppet construction are your own creativity and imagination.

6 Easy Poppet Projects

Make protective poppets for each member of your family with modeling clay. amanaimagesRF/Getty Images

Not sure what sort of poppets to create, or how you can use them in a practical application? Try one of these six easy ideas for making and using your own poppets.

1. To Get a Job You've Applied For

Material: satin, green or gold or silver

Herbs: clover, chamomile, ginger, cinnamon

Gemstones: snowflake obsidian or sodalite

Create a poppet to represent yourself. As you make it, focus on the positive attributes that you possess which will make you appealing to a potential employer. Another option is to create the poppet in the image of the employer (include business cards or letterhead inside, if you can get them) and tell the employer poppet why you're the best person for the job.

2. To Protect Your Family

Material: Modeling clay

Herbs: Basil, patchouli, coffee

Gemstones: Hematite, amethyst, black onyx.

Create poppets that represent each member of the family, blending herbs and stones into the clay. Put them in a safe place in your home, such as near your hearth, and utilize magical shielding or cast a circle of protection around them. This is actually a fun project you can get your kids involved in as well — let them each make their own poppet person!

3. To Heal a Sick Person

Material: White cotton or unbleached muslin

Herbs: Lemon balm, feverfew, ivy, and pine.

Gemstones: Bloodstone, turquoise

When you make this poppet, be sure to indicate what you are trying to heal, whether it's a case of tennis elbow, a chronic infection, or even a broken heart. Focus all of your energy on the ailment in question.

4. To Bring Love Into Your Life

Material: Red or pink silk or cotton

Herbs: Rose petals, parsley, and peppermint

Gemstones: Barite, jade, rose quartz

Make a poppet to represent the object of your affection — remember that in some magical traditions it is frowned upon to make a specific person the target of your working. If you are simply trying to attract love to yourself, but you don’t have a specific person in mind, focus on all the desirable qualities you want to see in a potential lover.

5. Silencing a Gossip

Material: Ground beef or other squishy meat

Herbs: Horseradish, pepper, rue, yarrow, valerian

Shape the meat and herbs into a person, and create a "meat puppet" in the same way you'd make a fabric one. As you make the doll, tell it that it's time to be silent, and tell no more gossipy stories. Remind it that people who can't say nice things shouldn't say anything at all. Dispose of the doll by either burning it on your grill and burying it someplace far away, feeding it to your dog, or leaving it out in the sun to rot.

6. Emergency Poppet on the Fly

Material: Aluminum foil

Perhaps something has come up in a hurry, and you feel it needs immediate magical attention. Use a piece of aluminum foil to whip together a quickie poppet — shape it into the figure of a person. Fill with any magical components that might be handy — bits of wood, dirt, grass, even a name scribbled on a piece of paper — and personalize the poppet.

Need additional poppetry ideas? Try making a magical gingerbread poppet, or put together a portable poppets kit to keep in your magical arsenal!

https://www.learnreligions.com/what-are-magical-poppets-4072783

10 notes · View notes

metanoiyed-archive · 4 years

Text

The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History

*cracking knuckles* If you saw this post about this post, you know what this is about. If not, read them and come back. Without further ado: The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History.

“The important backdrop for this group is the time period that modern witches and pagans refer to as The Burning Times.”

So the first thing you’ll notice about posts or books that mentioned the ‘burning times’ is that they use very purposeful wording and diction. Notice how the OP says ‘that modern witches and pagans refer to as’ and not, “what historians refer to as”? That’s because historian’s don’t refer to it as the burning times, they refer to it as the ‘Witch Craze’ or ‘Witch Hysteria’, where many people in medieval Europe and America [14th-17th century, but 16th and 17th were the most popular years] were often falsely accused of witchcraft and hung - not burned - for the crime. During the Salem Witch Trials, especially, people like to say ‘we are the granddaughters of witches you couldn’t burn’ -- but no witches were even burned at the stake in Salem (1). Accusing someone of witchcraft was very, very often a political tool used by the Roman Catholic Church or others who operated under it to execute whomever they wished, but we’ll get to that in a second.

“Europe and America were thrust into a moral panic and hysteria over alleged satanic witches. Most of those accused were midwives, healers, poor women, women suffering from mental health issues, and women who were practicing preChristian traditions.” So... Yes to: hysteria, healers and women suffering from mental health issues and practicing pre-Christian traditions. No to pretty much everything else. Men who were healers or suffering mental health issues were also accused, but that’s because anyone could call witchcraft like a boy crying wolf and it was believed. In my ‘A Deed Without A Name’ notes, I go over how in some cases it appears that a certain aspect of people who are in some way different can indicate they’re touched, but often in the past I’m inclined to think in most cases it was simply used to execute people. Also, they killed people practicing pre-Christian traditions because they were racist Europeans and colonialists, and most of the time those pre-Christian traditions were by POC. 14th Century-17th Century is by no means pre-Christian, by that point a lot of folk belief in Europe had been touched by Christian belief, not so much that it entirely changed it, but enough. ‘Alleged’ Satanic witches? Are we just purposefully looking away from Isobel Gowdie’s confession before she was executed? Confessions of people [of those who confessed and were actually witches] who made deals with the Devil/Man in Black/Witchfather in some form are overwhelmingly common. (2).

“Many witches fear a return to the Burning Times, when any old woman was burned at the stake for merely existing below the poverty level.” I really have nothing groundbreaking to say about this one, just that I hate the OP for making me look at it and I hope they stub their toe. ‘fear a return to the burning times’ my ass.

“The total number of those murdered under the guise of witch accusations varies widely by source. Many historians have argued that the number is anywhere between 40,000 and 60,000. Other sources, however, have claimed the number is closer to 100,000 with potentially hundreds of thousands more unaccounted for. It has even been suggested that there were 392,000 in Great Britain alone. The highest number, and number that has become part of popular legend, is approximately 9 million (with the fullness of the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition included). It will never be certain how many women, men, and children were killed, and truthfully the numbers game is irrelevant in the face of trauma. Any genocide, no matter how big or small, is a moral stain on our history.”

Other sources? What sources. You don’t name any of yours, I noticed. ‘Any genocide ... a moral stain on our history’ yet I am sure you turn a blind eye to the plight of those right in front of you, while my people suffer a real continued genocide, you make a fantasy crime. Statista did a chart on how many people were tried and executed between 1300 and 1850, and the number is even lower than you think. (3).

“The Burning Times were a systematic rooting out of female power and autonomy, and non-christian practices. The midwives and healers posed a threat to the structures and systems of politics and medicine... both groups challenging the patriarchy.” This sounds... so fishy. Doesn’t this sound like a weird radical-feminist argument? I’m not implying anything about OP, but the way this whole paragraph reads while trying to include ‘men, women and children’ and then focusing on how this was a whole attack on the women against the patriarchy just... grosses me out, a lot. Because it was never about that, has never been about that, and will never be about that. I also just don’t trust people who refer to women as ‘females’ but that’s just me.

“Most of the following women were (wrongfully) believed to have had sexual intercourse with Satan, signing their names into his black book with their blood.” Again, are we just ignoring Isobel Gowdie’s straight up confession? Or any of the other confessions from Scotland, England, and surrounding areas? This stupid purity culture of wanting to be seen as better to outsiders is so annoying. “I’m not like that trope of witches you’ve seen, we don’t actually have sex with the Devil or sign his black book with blood!” Just because some of us aren’t worried to get our hands dirty and you are doesn’t mean that other witches don’t do that. “wrongfully” where the fuck are you getting your information? Many confessions that they did get included detailed accounts of joining the Man in Black for sabbats, having sex with him, and signing his black book. Not everyone continues the practice today, but some definitely do, they definitely did, and it definitely wasn’t “wrongfully believed”. They were powerful women in their own right. If anything OP, by trying to separate themselves from the legacy of these women, has disgraced them in that way. It takes courage and strength to work with infernal forces from the otherside like that, and here this asshole is just shittin’ on their name pretending they never risked their lives doing it. A source on this from Isobel Gowdie, “As I was going betuix the townes of Drumdewin and the Headis, I met with the Devil, and ther covenanted, in a maner, with him.” and from ‘A Deed Without A Name’ by Lee Morgan, “As we can see when we look over the testimonies of witches from earlier times not everyone is initially approached by an animal spirit. Isobel Gowdie seems to have initially been approached by ‘the Devil’, Bessie Dunlop by a faerie man who claims to have once lived as a human man, others were taken by faeries or by the spirit of another living human practitioner.” (4)

And obviously there are various other sources, these are not the only ones. I’m just too tired to go through my library, cite them all, attach them all - y’all gotta do your own work for once. Read actual history, please. Learn discernment. I don’t even have the energy to go through the list of people the OP put as ‘in memoriam’ because I have no idea if those are historical reasons, either, but honestly I don’t even wanna know. Anyway, it’s bullshit and ahistorical, thanks for coming to my tedtalk. If you push this narrative you owe Black, Native, Jewish people and anyone else otherwise affected by the witch-craze repatriations immediately, I don’t make the rules except I do and those are the rules.

Citations:

Andrews, Evan. “Were Witches Burned at the Stake during the Salem Witch Trials?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Aug. 2014, www.history.com/news/were-witches-burned-at-the-stake-during-the-salem-witch-trials.

Wilby, E. (2013). The visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, witchcraft and dark shamanism in seventeenth-century Scotland. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.

McCarthy, Niall, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: The Death Toll Of Europe's Witch Trials.” Statista Infographics, 29 Oct. 2019, www.statista.com/chart/19801/people-tried-and-executed-in-witch-trials-in-europe/

Morgan, Lee. A Deed without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft. Moon Books, 2013.

#witchcraft #witchblr #isobel gowdie #bessie dunlop #a deed without a name #lee morgan #emma wilby #burning times #ahistorical narrative #ahistorical #history lesson #history #witch craze #witch hysteria #long post #history of witchcraft

58 notes · View notes

weirdestbooks · 3 years

Text

Secret States Chapter 7

An Uncomfortable Conversation

Panama POV

Spanish Empire is an asshole. If that's surprise to anyone, they obviously don't know any history from a country colonized by the Spanish Empire. And he colonized a lot of countries. Spanish Empire, my asshole of a father, having other children wasn't a surprise. I don't see how it would be.

And unfortunately, hearing about Florida being abused by Spanish Empire wasn't surprising. Spanish Empire hurt a lot of his children. He loved power, and the gold our lands had, and along with his hatred for our native people, it was a perfect recipe for his colonies to be hurt by him.

"Hola todos." (Hello everyone) Florida said as he walked over to us, his snake, Algodón, wrapped around his arm.

"Hola. ¿Porqué tienes un serpiente?" (Hello. Why do you have a snake?) I asked Florida. This seemed like something Australia would do, not an American state.

"¿Y es venenoso?" (And is it venomous?) Honduras added on, looking at the snake with slight fear in his eyes.

"Sí!" (Yes) Florida responded.

"¿Que? ¿Porqué trajiste un serpiente venenoso a una junta? ¿No tienes miedo que lastimé alguien?" (What? Why would you bring a venomous snake to the meeting? Aren't you afraid of hurting someone?) Nicaragua asked.

"No. El esta bien. Lo tuve por muchos años y no ha lastimado nadie." (No, he's fine. I've had him for years and he hasn't hurt anyone.) Florida said, before giving us a confused look, "¿No que tienen junglas en sus países? ¿Porqué les dan miedo un serpiente?" (Don't most of you have jungles in your countries? Why are you afraid of a snake?)

"Bueno, sí, pero no buscamos criaturas venenosas." (I mean, we do, but we don't actively seek out venomous creatures.) Peru said.

"Guau, eres aburriendo." (Wow. You're boring then.) Florida said. I began laughing at Florida's blunt statement toward Peru, who looked offended.

"¡Florida! Compórtate bien!" (Florida! Be nice!) Louisiana said, smacking Florida on the backs of the head.

"Ay. No me tenías qué pegar." (Ow. You didn't have to hit me.) Florida muttered back. Rico rolled his eyes.

"Este es una familia tan violenta." (This is such a violent family.) He muttered, smiling.

"We make up America Rico. Did you expect us not to be?" Guam said walking up next to him.

"Esperaba que lo estuvieras. Eres un activó militar importante o lo qué sea." (I expected you to be. You're a major military asset or whatever.) Rico said.

"Yeah. Don't really know what you said, but I know it had something to do with the military. But Sam does a lot of stuff for the military to, so it's not just me, you son ba bi tsi." Guam told him. Mariana smacked her twins head.

"Guåhan! Be nice!" She said. I guess Mariana was the nicer twin out of the two of them. Guam rubbed her head.

"Rico, you're right. People in this family are violent." Guam said. Rico began laughing as Mariana rolled her eyes.

"Hu guaiya hao lokkue'." Mariana muttered with a smile. I didn't know what language Mariana and Guam were speaking, but they seemed to prefer it to Spanish, and seemed to not understand Spanish. Did they forget it? Or did they just not learn it to annoy Spanish Empire?

"So, what are we bonding over? The general fact that our shared dad is a troud chi?" Louisiana said.

"Sí, obviamente. Yo solo llegue para maldecir al Imperio Español y enseñar el mundo el verdadero poder del Florida Man." (Yes, obviously. I came here to cuss out Spanish Empire and unleash the true power of Florida Man on the world) Florida said, smiling.

"Esto es mi consejo. No lo hagas." (Here's my advice. Don't.) Puerto Rico responded.

"Rico! You're harshing my mellow man!" Florida said. Rico raised an eyebrow as he gave Florida a weird look.

"Why the fuck would you say that." He said.

"You sound like Cali when they were in their surfer phase." Mariana said.

"What do you mean were?" Guam asked. Mariana snorted and looked over to California.

"Good point."

"Como quiera, quieres ayudarme hacerle una broma a Cuba. Estamos en el medio de un 'Guerra de Bromas' en este momento." (Anyway, want to help me prank Cuba. We're in the middle a prank war right now.) Puerto Rico said, turning back to us.

"Siempre lo eres." (You always are.) Florida muttered again, pulling out a jar of spaghetti sauce.

"Yo no empezará una 'Guerra de Bromas' con Cuba." (I would rather not start a prank war with Cuba.) El Salvador said.

"¡Voy hacer lo!" (I will!) Dominican Republic said, smiling.

"Por supuesto que tú lo vas a hacer. Yo recuerdo cuando todos éramos colonias. Ustedes islas les encantaban haciendo bromas entre ustedes." (Of course you will. I remember when we were all still colonies. You islands loved pranking each other.) Chile remarked.

"Era mas una competencia para ver quien era le mejor isla. En el Caribe al menos. Habría sido todos los territorios insulares españoles, pero tengo mucho miedo a Guam." (It was more of a competition to see who the best island was. In the Caribbean at least. It would be all of the Spanish island territories, but I'm very afraid of Guam.) Rico said.

"Thanks Rico. Can we switch back to English though. My Spanish isn't that good." Guam said.

"Why not?" Costa Rica asked. Guam smirked and Mariana sighed.

"Guåhan didn't bother remembering how to speak Spanish after she became an American territory. It's her way of getting back at Spanish Empire." Mariana explained.

"Yet somehow she remembers the curse words." Louisiana muttered. Florida laughed as he covered his snake with spaghetti sauce. I wanted to ask what he was going, but I was afraid of the answer.

"That's Guam for you!" He said smiling.

"Florida what the fuck are you doing?" Argentina asked.

"Relax. No one will get hurt. I just have to get back at Cuba for pranking me." Florida said.

"How are you not concerned by your, our brother covering a snake in spaghetti sauce?" Guatemala asked. The American state shrugged.

"We've learned it best not to question him and just get him some form of supervision. Or Ohio." Mariana said. Florida laughed. I heard a commotion coming from where Mexico and her children were sitting and looked over in that direction. Wait.

"Mexico had children. Does that mean we're, like, aunts and uncle?" I asked the states.

"Oh shit. I hadn't though of that." Venezuela muttered. Guam shrugged, while Rico furrowed his eyebrows.

"I think they said they weren't going to consider anyone who is technically a child of Spanish Empire as being related to them, mainly just because that means we," Mariana said, gesturing to the other American state, "Would be their aunts/uncles, and they though that was weird because we're also their siblings."

"I'm doing the same thing with France. After than pitin sold me, I wanted nothing to do with her as her sœr. That kind of relationship is over. And I don't really want to form any kind of relationship with her until she shows me she is truly sorry for what she did to me." Louisiana explained.

"You like disowning people." Columbia remarked. Florida laughed again.

"Our dad, America, that is, literally disowned his entire family during his revolution. It's a family trait." Florida told us smiling.

"You're not going to disown us, or refuse to accept us as family, are you?" Ecuador asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Åhe'." Guam said. Ecuador blinked.

"Umm, is that a yes or a no?" Bolivia asked.

"It's a no." Mariana explained. There was suddenly yelling, and I looked over to see California and Texas arguing.

"Ugh. Ignore those two. They like picking fights Popá and Del will take care of it." Louisiana said, pinching the bridge of her nose. I watched as America and Delaware calmed down the two fighting states before turning back to the group.

"Any other questions?" Rico asked. Paraguay raised her arm.

"Is America good to you? I mean I know he punched Spanish Empire-"

"And earned my respect." Argentina cut her off. Argentina did hate Spanish Empire, but honestly, most of us did.

"Shut up Argentina. Anyway, you guys don't get hurt by him, right?" She finished.

"Don't worry. Padre doesn't hurt us. He's not like Spanish Empire." Florida said.

"Well that's good. It's be very bad if you went from one bad situation to another." Uruguay said. Mariana rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, America rushed out of the room.

"Oh fuck. What's happening now?" Guam muttered.

———————————————————————— America POV

I turned and looked at my family after my kids went to reunite with their biological families. And whatever you would consider Netherlands and Sweden to be to Delaware and New York. My family had to have a lot of questions.

This wasn't a conversation I ever wanted to have. How could I explain everything, all the hurt and pain they and others caused to my children, the secrets, me hiding my real personality, my insomnia, and everything else I kept secret. Those were all problems I have to deal with on my own. They shouldn't have to worry about me. They'll just baby me. I have to take care of my children and myself. They shouldn't have to.

And what if I messed it up? What if they hated me because I kept it all a secret? What if they hated my real personality, the smart, anxious, self-doubting, and self-hating person I was? I acted like I was stupid, and had an incredibly large ego because that's what everyone expected of me. And when I act like how they expect me to, they don't look any further into me.

I wanted to tell my family, but many of my children made it clear they didn't like that idea. And I couldn't just tell the countries about the children that wanted other countries to know they were alive because they would figure out I had more children.

I had to keep them secret. It's what they wanted. But what if my family didn't see it that way?

My children mentioned a crisis in the 1860s to the countries. I didn't want to bring up my civil war. That was a horrible period of time that I hated mentioning. I knew Uncle England would keep my civil war a secret as well. He knows how horrible they are.

"E hōʻoki i ka noʻonoʻo ʻana i nā mea e Pāpā. Inā mālama nui lākou iā ʻoe, e ʻae lākou iā ʻoe inā he aha. Nānā ʻole i ka hoʻopunipuni o ke kanaka āu i hōʻike ai iā lākou. E noho i lalo, e kamaʻilio me kou ʻohana, a hōʻike iā lākou i ka United States maoli o ʻAmelika. " (Stop overthinking things Dad. If they truly care about you, they'll accept you no matter what. Regardless of how fake the personality you presented to them was. Now sit down, talk to your family, and show them the real United States of America.) Hawaii said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Maopopo iaʻu ʻo Hawaiʻi. ʻO ia wale nō ... " (I know Hawaii. It's just...) I started, trailing off and taking a slightly shaky breath. I looked over at my family, who were looking confused and curious. Probably about me and Hawaii's conversation. But the staring just made me more anxious.

"E hoʻolaki wau iā ia! E inaina mai lākou iaʻu a i ʻole ... a i ʻole ... a i ʻole ... kekahi mea. Ua hūnā wau iā lākou. ʻAʻole wale ʻoe a me kou mau kaikaina, akā ʻo koʻu ʻano, koʻu ʻeha, a me nā mea hou aku. Manaʻo lākou ua ʻike lākou iaʻu, ʻaʻole naʻe. He aha inā e inaina lākou i ka ʻoiaʻiʻo iaʻu? " (I'm going to screw it up! They're going to hate me or...or...or...something. I kept so much secret from them. Not just you and your siblings, but my personality, my pain, and so much more. They think they know me, but they don't. What if they hate the real me?) I spewed out to Hawaii, who smiled.

"A laila ʻaʻole pono ʻoe e mālama iā lākou ma ke ʻano he ʻohana. Inā hōʻeha ka pili ʻana iā lākou, ʻaʻole pono ʻoe e mālama iā lākou a puni. Hana i ka mea maikaʻi loa nāu e Pāpā. ʻO wau pū kekahi me ʻoe i nā ala a pau. " (Then you don't have to keep them as your family. If being related to them hurts you, you don't have to keep them around. Do what's best for you Dad. I'll be with you all the way.) Hawaii said.

"Mahelo e Hawaii." (Thank you Hawaii.) I responded. I mentally prepared myself for the questioning before looking over to my family. I raised an eyebrow.

"You can ask questions you know." I said. Australia immediately stood up.

"Why didn't your states want us to know about them?" He asked. I sighed. That was a complicated question. All the states were different, and it was hard to put them all in one category. I ended up shrugging.

"I don't know. My kids all have their own, widely different, reasons. I do know that a main part that convinced my kids to keep themselves secret was them." I said, pointing towards Uncle England, Canada, and Dad.

"I...I...I'm sorry." Canada said. I wish Canada would stop blaming himself for the War of 1812. The only people at fault were me and Dad. We just dragged Canada into it.

"1812 wasn't your fault. Besides, I burnt down your capital first." I told him. Canada got himself mixed up into my messes way too much. He didn't need to blame himself for the messes.

"That still didn't stop me from helping burn down your capital. Or stop me from stabbing you." Canada muttered.

"You stabbed Ame?" Maman and Australia asked. Australia sat back down in his chair and put his head in his hands.

I winced, thinking back to that memory, of the White House burning, D being stuck in the building, and the flames burning my skin. I pushed those memories aside. It's not something I wanted to think about, especially after what happened earlier this year.

"I'm fine now. We were both really upset with each other. Besides, I tried to kill both Dad and Uncle England during my Revolution, so it's not like it's the first time this family's tried to kill each other." I told them, think back to Breed's Hill when I broke Uncle England's jaw with a musket.

Uncle England flinched and held his jaw, so he was probably thinking back to the same memory. Dad's eyes held a lot of pain in them. While I may have un disowned my family, none of us have tried to talk about any of the pain caused by my Revolution. We haven't worked out anything on forgiving each other for specific things we did to each other. We agreed to put the Revolution aside, but we never tried to fix their pain caused by it.

We probably should. As soon as I brought up the Revolution, the air became awkward. Maman, New Zealand, Uncle North, and Australia all looked uncomfortable, as they weren't a part of the family during my Revolution.

My family and I needed to forgive each other for my Revolution. For everything we did to each other. For everything that caused it. For all the pain caused by it. I wanted to forgive them. But there was just so much that happened between us.

Dad is my oldest enemy for a reason. And I didn't see how we could fix that kind of damage to our relationship. We ignored it. I should've know that was going to come back and bite me in the ass. I made the same mistake before, and had a civil war because of it.

Kicking the can down the road doesn't help anyone. Especially when said can is full of explosives.

"How about we move on to anther topic. Does anyone else have any questions?" Hawaii asked, trying to diffuse any tensions. Thank god for Hawaii. She, along with all of my other children who help me take care of their siblings are amazing.

"You know over 300 languages." Uncle England said.

"It's not as great as it sounds. I mean its cool and all, but it also making talking out loud incredibly annoying." I said. Aussie groaned, while the rest of my family looked increasingly confused.

"I know, right? Ugh, if there's ever a reason for me to get an official language, it would be just to make talking out loud less of a chore." Australia complained.

"Wait, why is talking out loud hard for you? You know a lot of languages wouldn't it be easy?" New Zealand asked.

"Because talking out loud is multitasking for us. We have to think about what we want to say while simultaneously having to focus on speaking whatever language we want to speak." I explained. Our family looked at me and Australia in shock.

"Seriously?" Uncle North asked. Australia nodded.

"Yeah. If we don't focus on speaking English, well, there's no guarantee that we'll speak English. We don't have a default language, so in order to speak one language constantly, we have to focus on speaking it." Australia continued to explain.

"But how does that work?" Maman asked.

"Well, if I stop focusing on making sure I speak English. ऐसा ही होता है। En die taal verander met elke sin. A vorbi este mult mai ușor pentru mine în acest fel. あなたは本当に混乱しているように見えます。To'hta." (This is what happens. And the language changes with every sentence. Talking is so much easier for me this way. You look really confused. Hold on.) I said, before focusing back on speaking English.

"Ame?" Uncle Wales asked after a couple of seconds. I was slightly annoyed, but understood that this was the first time they saw this, and they were most likely confused.

"Calm down it just takes a minute." Hawaii said.

"It's doesn't take that long. It's just the mentally preparing myself to multitask speaking. Which is very hard. Have you ever tried to give a presentation while focusing on something else? It's hard, and that's what talking out loud is like for me and Aussie." I said, "Anything else?"

Please don't bring up the 1860s. Please don't bring up the 1860s. Please don't bring up the 1860s. Please don't-

"Why don't you get a lot of sleep?" Maman asked. I furrowed my brows.

"Have you ever met an American?" I blurted out, before covering my mouth. Hawaii began laughing.

"Pāpā! ʻAʻole hiki iā ʻoe ke ʻōlelo wale. ʻIke wau ʻaʻole e hiamoe nā ʻAmelika, akā ʻaʻole ia he manaʻo he kolohe ʻoe. " (Dad! You can't just say that. I know Americans never sleep, but that doesn't mean you should be rude.) Hawaii said to me between laughs.

"Pehea ʻoe e ʻaʻa ai e ʻōlelo aku i kou makuakāne pēlā. Maopopo iaʻu maopopo ka mea aʻu e hana nei. " (How dare you speak to your father that way. I obviously know what I'm doing.) I joked back with her. Hawaii did enjoy chewing people out as a joke, or seriously, when her siblings were being agents of chaos.

"E inoa i hoʻokahi manawa." (Name one time.) Hawaii said back with a smile.

"Um, we don't speak that language, and I still want an answer to the question. And what do you mean by have you ever met an American?" Uncle Ireland asked.

"E kala mai iaʻu." (I'm sorry) Hawaii began. "It's Hawaiian. It's my first language, so I prefer it to English. Not that there's anything wrong with English-"

"I can give you a list of things wrong with English." I commented, smiling at Hawaii. I'm glad she decide to stay with me. It makes me more comfortable and this conversation less awkward for me. Hawaii rolled her eyes at me.

"Fair enough." She said. I then turned to Uncle Ireland to answer his question.

"It's a joke that Americans don't sleep because most Americans have horrible sleep schedules, since, you know, sleep is an option, but work is not." I explained.

"Sleep is not an option!" Maman said.

"Yes it is. You don't need sleep." I said back. I never slept a lot and I was perfectly fine. Sure I sometimes passed out from exhaustion and had memory and attention problems because of it, but it wasn't that bad.

"Yes you do!" Uncle England protested.

"I'm fine without it. Besides, I got an hour of sleep, like, three days ago, so I'm fine." I told them. I don't know why they were overreacting. This has been my sleep schedule since World War Two. I sleep for an hour or two every four days or so. It was fine. They didn't need to baby me. I was fine.

"That's not healthy Ame. You need more sleep than that." New Zealand said. No I didn't. I was fine. Sleep is optional. I didn't need anyone's help. I didn't need to be babied. I was fine. I was fine. I was fine.

"I've had this sleep schedule for a while now. I'm fine." I insisted. I didn't need anyone to baby me. I was fine. "Any other questions?"

"Stop being stubborn and give her a chance!" I heard Texas say from where he was over by Mexico. I looked over to where he was. I saw Texas had his hands on Cali's shoulders and was looking them in the eyes. I hope he and Cali weren't arguing again.

"Ame?" Canada asked, tapping me on the shoulder.

"Sorry. Just hoping Cali and Texas don't start another fight. Anyway, are there any other questions? Ones that preferably don't revolve around my sleep schedule." I asked.

"Ame getting that much sleep isn't healthy! There are a lot of negative things that come out of sleep deprivation!" Uncle England insisted. Why couldn't they just drop this topic. I was fine. I was fine. I was fine.

I didn't need anyone's help. I was fine on my own. I could handle myself. Just because I acted a little immature, or didn't seem like a good father figure doesn't mean I couldn't handle myself. I was fine. I didn't need to be babied.

My family didn't need to worry about me. I was fine. I was fine. I was fine. They were just going to hate me if they found out about my sleep schedule or the Civil War or the Trail of Tears. I couldn't accept their help. I made it this far on my own. I was fine. I was fine. I was fine.

"TEX YOU SON OF A BITCH!" I heard Cali yell. Oh thank god those two started a fight when they did. Now I can avoid this conversation about my sleep schedule. Well, they're probably going to bring it up again. Maybe Ohio and Michigan can start a fight. Then I'll have to leave.

"WE HAVE THE SAME MOM! SHE'S RIGHT THERE!" Texas yelled back. Cali began speaking to Mexico, which I couldn't hear very well.

"You need to stop cussing out Tex. You guys are reaching 'Hio v Michi or York v Mass levels of arguments." Delaware said, obviously having overheard the beginnings of an argument between Texas and Cali. But Cali can yell very loudly, so I'd be surprised if he didn't.

I nodded in agreement with his statement. Those two had been reaching Ohio v Michigan levels of conflict, which I thought was impossible.

"Del's right. You two need to stop fighting over any small thing you can disagree over." I spoke up, feeling my family's eyes on me. It made me nervous. What if they thought I was horrible parent and tried to take my children away?

"Oh come on Pa. We ain't that bad. You've seen 'Hio and Michi. How can we be that bad?" Texas protested. I don't know that either, but you been getting close to it, so obviously something must be happening.

"I dealt with the Toledo War firsthand. I know how bad 'Hio and Michi can be. Michi wasn't even alive when the Toledo War happened." I told him.

"Yeah, so how are we that bad?" Cali asked.

"Four fights in less than an hour. That's more than 'Hio and Michi on a bad day. They can keep it under two." I told them. Ohio and Michigan may not like each other, but at least they know when it isn't the time or place to fight.

"That's because we have a group of states-"

"The Midwest"

"Yes the Midwest. Anyway they're in charge of keepin' those two apart." Texas finished after the being interrupted by New York. Fair enough, but they can still not fight on their own when they realize it isn't the time or place.

"Fair enough, but if you guys don't stop turning every conversation into an argument, we'll have to do the same for you." I told them. Texas rolled his eyes.

"Alright Pa we get it." He said before turning back to Mexico. I sighed.

"Alright if you don't want to talk about your sleep schedule, then tell us this. What happened in the 1860s that none of your kids want to talk about?" Uncle North asked. My breath hitched. I began to feel my panic growing as I thought back to that horrible, horrible war.

Shiloh. Antietam. Gettysburg. Fredericksburg. Vicksburg. The Wilderness. Secession. The Confederate States of America.

My Civil War.

"I have to go!" I said before running out of the meeting room. I ran to the bathroom and locked myself into a stall and my breathing quickened. I couldn't talk about the Civil War. The would judge the south. They would hate me.

So many horrible things happened. I just wanted to forget all of the pain Confederacy wrecked across my land, against my people. I began crying as I thought back to all the pain caused by the Civil War.

I couldn't tell them. I couldn't tell my family. The Civil War was a burden carried by the states and I. No one else.

I couldn't accept help from my family. I was fine on my own.

I was fine.

#secret states by weird #weird’s wattpad stories #countryhumans #statehumans #writing

8 notes · View notes