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amphibious-thing · 9 months

Note

I would absolutely love to see examples of historical terminology? I feel like I've only scraped the surface.

So I'm going to focus mostly on 18th century English because that's what I read the most (we will dip a little into French but mostly from an English perspective). Even narrowing the focus there's still kind of a lot. Like I'm probably going to forget something cause there is so much to talk about.

Sexuality

The first thing that's important to understand is sexuality labels were action based not attraction based. This doesn't mean people didn't understand sexual attraction, they very much did, it's just that terminology was based on action not attraction. Terminology was essentially separated into men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women. It also important to remember that these terms were not exclusive to men who only had sex with men and women who only had sex with women but also applied to people who had sex with both men and women.

Men Who Had Sex With Men

Sodomy/Buggery

The terms most commonly used in formal/legal contexts were sodomite and bugger. Bugger comes from buggery and sodomite from sodomy, both of which broadly speaking referred to anal intercourse or bestiality regardless of sex/gender but was most commonly associated with sex between men. The legal definition of sodomy in English common law was as follows:

Sodomy is a carnal Knowledge of the Body of Man or Beast, against the Order of Nature; It way be committed by Man with Man, (which is the most common Crime) or Man with Woman; or by Man or Woman with a Brute Beast. Some Kind of Penetration and Emission is to be proved, to make this Crime, which is Felony both by the Common and Statute Law, in the Agent and all that a present, aiding and abetting; also in the Patient consenting, not being within the Age of Discretion.

~ The Student’s Companion or, the Reason of the Laws of England by Giles Jacob, 1734, p239

However colloquially it was generally used to describe sex between men without the focus on Penetration and Emission.

Related to sodomy were the words sodomitical, sodomitically and sodomiting, these terms were used to describe a person, action or place that was related to sodomy (esp. sex between men) but did not necessarily constitute legal sodomy. (for examples see Trial of Martin Mackintosh, 11 July 1726, A Treatise of Laws by Giles Jacob, 1721, p165 and Trial of Thomas Gordon, 5 July 1732 respectively)

From buggery we get the presumably derogatory term buggeranto. (for an example see The London Spy, part III, published 1703)

Molly

The preferred term used by the community was molly. Rictor Norton explains in Mother Clap’s Molly House:

The early church fathers stigmatised homosexuals as molls or sissies, and secular society called effeminate men molly-coddles and homosexuals mollies; having no other self-referring terms except the even less appealing Sodomite or Bugger, gay men transformed Molly into a term of positive self-identification, in exactly the same way that the modern subculture has transformed Gay (which derived originally from ‘gay girl’, meaning a female prostitute) into a term of pride and self-liberation.

Molly (plural mollies) was a noun:

Sukey Haws, being one Day in a pleasant Humour, inform’d Dalton of a Wedding (as they call it) some Time since, between Moll Irons, and another Molly,

~ James Dalton’s Narrative (1728)

Molly/mollied/mollying could also be a verb:

I was going down Fleet-Street, I was just come out of Jail. This Man, the Prosecutor, is as great a Villain as ever appear'd in the World. I was coming down Fleet-Street, so Molly says he; I said, I never mollied you. My Lord, I never laid my Hand upon him, nor touch'd him; I never touch'd the Man in my Life.

~ Trial of Richard Manning, (17 January 1746)

And mollying could be used as an adjective:

But they look'd a skew upon Mark Partridge, and call'd him a treacherous, blowing-up Mollying Bitch, and threatned that they'd Massacre any body that betray'd them.

~ Trial of Thomas Wright, (20 April 1726)

A molly house was house or tavern that catered to mollies. Molly houses would typically serve alcohol and often had music and dancing. Usually there was a room where mollies could have sex known as the chapel. (see Trial of Gabriel Lawrence, 20 April 1726 for an example of the term molly house in use, Trial of George Whytle, 20 April 1726 and Trial of Margaret Clap, 11 July 1726 for details on the chapel, and Trial of William Griffin, 20 April 1726 for molly houses taking lodgers.)

Mollies also had their own slang which I have a separate post on if you want to learn more about that.

Euphemisms

Euphemisms for men who had sex with other men included Back Gammon Player and Usher, or Gentleman of the Back Door. To navigate the windward passage was a euphemism for anal sex. (see The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 1785.)

References to the classics were also sometimes used as euphemisms. A common example is Zeus's male lover Ganymede. (for an example see Public Advertiser, 4 Sept 1781)

Anal Sex Roles

The roles in anal sex were known as pathic (sometimes spelt Pathick) or patient (bottom) and agent (top). I have a longer post about the cultural perception of roles in anal sex if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Other Terms for Men Who Had Sex With Men

Pederast: In the 18th century the word pederasty was used synonymously with sodomy and did not denote age simply sex. An Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1726) defines “A pederast” as “a Buggerer” and “Pederasty” as “Buggery”.

Catamite: In particular catamite often, but not always, denoted the younger partner in a male-male sexual relationship. It was sometimes used to specifically describe boys but it was sometimes used it to describe men. Cocker's English Dictionary (1704) defines catamite as "a boy hired to be used contrary to nature, for Sodomy" but The New Royal and Universal English Dictionary (1763) defines catamite simply as "a sodomite." Catamite was also sometimes used as synonym for pathic.

Gomorrean: Like sodomite this one comes from the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah. However it wasn't nearly as commonly used. (for an example see The London Chronicle, 4 - 6 Jan 1757)

Madge Cull: This one came about towards the end of the century. It comes from a combination of Madge a slang term for “the female genitals” and Cull slang for “a man, a fellow, a chap.” (see Green’s Dictionary of Slang)

Women Who Had Sex With Women

Sodomy

While English common law did not consider sex between women sodomy this was not true across Europe. (see Louis Crompton, The Myth of Lesbian Impunity Capital Laws from 1270 to 1791) Most English colonies followed English common law however this aspect of the law was not unanimously agreed upon.

In 1636 Rev. John Cotton proposed to the General Court of Massachusetts a body of laws that would define sodomy as "a carnal fellowship of man with man, or woman with woman". (Crompton, p19)

In a 1779 bill submitted to the Virginia Assembly on crime and punishment Thomas Jefferson explicitly includes sex between women. He quotes Henry Finch's Law, or, a Discourse Thereof; in Four Books which defines sodomy as "carnal copulation against nature, to wit, of man or woman in the same sex, or of either of them with beasts." Jefferson disagrees with Finch on including bestiality because it "can never make any progress" and "cannot therefore be injurious to society in any great degree". However he doesn't dispute the inclusion of sex between women. He proposes that the punishment for sodomy be "if a man, by castration, if a woman, by cutting thro’ the cartilage of her nose a hole of one half inch diameter at the least." (see A Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments in Cases Heretofore Capital, 18 June 1779)

While there was some disagreement on the legal definition of sodomy, colloquially if someone was talking about sodomy they were probably talking about sex between men. A clarification would likely be added if they were talking about women e.g. female sodomite.

Tribade

Coming from French tribade was defined in The New Pocket Dictionary of the French and English Languages (1781) as a "female sodomite". Tribade was used in English at least as early as 1585. It originally comes from the ancient Greek word τρίβειν meaning "rub" and is a reference to tribadism. The word tribadism however did not come into use until the 19th century. (see OED)

Sappho was a famous Tribade; as appears by the Testimonies of all the old Poets, but particularly from that beautiful Ode (addressed to one of the Ladies, with whom she was in Love) which Longinus has preserved, and which has ever been so highly esteemed by all the Critics.

~ William King, The Toast (1732)

Sapphic

Sapphic (sometimes spelt sapphick) originally meant "relating to, characteristic of, or reminiscent of Sappho or her writings". (OED) It became a term for sexual activity and sexual desire between women in reference of course to the accent Greek poet Sappho's love poems addressed to women. In fact in 18th century England Sappho was often cited as being the first woman who had ever had sex with another women.

Sappho, as she was one of the wittiest Women that ever the World bred, so she though with Reason, it would be expected she should make some Additions to a Science in which Womankind had been so successful: What dose she do then? Not content with our Sex, begins Amours with her own, and teaches the Female World a new Sort of Sin, call’d the Flats, that was follow’d not only in Lucian’s Time, but is practis’d frequently in Turkey, as well as at Twickenham at this day.

~ Satan’s Harvest Home (1749)

Sapphic is an adjective:

Look on that mountain of delight, Where grace and beauty doth unite, Where wreathed smiles must thrive; While Strawberry-hill at once doth prove, Taste, elegance, and Sapphick love, In gentle Kitty *****.

~ A Sapphick Epistle (1778)

Sapphism is a noun for the act or desire:

it has a Greek name now & is call’d Sapphism, but I never did hear of it in Italy where the Ladies are today exactly what Juvenal described them in his Time – neither better nor worse as I can find. Mrs Siddons has told me that her Sister was in personal Danger once from a female Fiend of this Sort; & I have no Reason to disbelieve the Assertion. Bath is a Cage of these unclean Birds I have a Notion, and London is a Sink for every Sin.

~ Hester Thrale Piozzi, Thraliana, 9 Dec 1795

Sapphist is a noun for the person:

Nature does get strangely out of Fashion sure enough: One hears of Things now, fit for the Pens of Petronius only, or Juvenal to record and satyrize: The Queen of France is at the Head of a Set of Monsters call’d by each other Sapphists, who boast her Example; and deserve to be thrown with the He Demons that haunt each other likewise, into Mount Vesuvius.

~ Hester Thrale Piozzi, Thraliana, 1 April 1789

Lesbian

Originally meaning "a native or inhabitant of the Greek island of Lesbos" (OED) this is another reference to Sappho who was from Lesbos.

However, this little Woman gave Myra more Pleasure than all the rest of her Lovers and Mistresses. She was therefore dignified with the Title of Chief of the Tribades or Lesbians.

~ William King, The Toast (1732)

Tommy

Tommy (plural tommies) is a fairly uniquely 18th century term as it doesn't seen to have been used earlier and is rarely used later. Speculatively it may be etymologically linked to tomboy which dates back to 1656. (OED)

Women and Men, in these unnat'ral Times, Are guilty equal of unnat'ral crimes: Woman with Woman act the Many Part, And kiss and press each other to the heart. Unnat'ral Crimes like these my Satire vex; I know a thousand Tommies 'mongst the Sex: And if they don't relinquish such a Crime, I'll give their Names to be the scoff of Time.

~ The Adulteress (1773)

Euphemisms

The game of flats, game at flats or simply flats was a euphemism for sex between women. Rictor Norton explains it was “a reference to games with playing cards, called ‘flats’, and an allusion to the rubbing together of two ‘flat’ female pudenda.” (Mother Clap’s Molly House, p233)

I am credibly informed, in order to render the Scheme of Iniquity still more extensive amongst us, a new and most abominable Vice has got footing among the W—n of Q—–y, by some call’d the Game at Flats;

~ Satan’s Harvest Home (1749)

In a diary entry Hester Thrale Piozzi repots "’tis a Joke in London now to say such a one visits Mrs. Darner". This was in reference to the rumours of sapphism that surrounded the sculptor Anne Damer. Piozzi goes on to recored a poem concerning Anne Damer's relationship with actress Elizabeth Farren that was being passed around her social circle:

Her little Stock of private Fame Will fall a Wreck to public Clamour, If Farren herds with her whose Name Approaches very near to Damn her.

~ Hester Thrale Piozzi, Thraliana, 9 Dec 1795 (see ‘Random Shafts of Malice?': The Outings of Anne Damer by Emma Donoghue for more on the rumours surrounding Anne Damer)

Absence of Sexual Attraction

With 18th century sexuality labels being action based rather than attraction based we have no exact equivalent for the word asexual. Just as we have no exact equivalent for the word homosexual. There was of course words for people who had never had sex (virgin, maiden) and words for people who planned on never having sex (celibate).

However this doesn't mean 18th century people had no way of talking about a lack of sexual attraction. The Chevalière d'Eon in a letter to the Comte de Broglie talks of "the natural lack of passion in my temperament, which has prevented my engaging in amorous intrigues”. Her lack of sexual interest became part of her self-styling as La Pucelle de Tonnerre (The Maiden of Tonnerre) after Joan of Arc who was known a La Pucelle d'Orléans (The Maiden of Orleans). (see D’Eon to the Comte de Broglie, 7 May 1771. Translated by Alfred Rieu, D'Eon de Beaumont, His Life and Times, p141; also for examples of the English press calling her La Pucelle d'Orléans see the Public Advertiser, 4 May & 11 June 1792)

The Third Sex/Gender

In the 18th century intersex people were predominantly referred to as hermaphrodites (while it is now considered offensive I will use it in this post as I think there is educational value in understanding it's historical use). In The Mysteries of Conjugal Love Reveal'd Written in French Nicholas de Venette explains that intersex people were permitted to "chuse either of the two Sexes". However if they strayed from the chosen role of man or woman they could be "punished like a Sodomite". (p465)

In the 18th century the words sex and gender were used somewhat synonymously. The word hermaphrodite along with third sex and third gender were used to describe not only intersex people but also gender nonconforming endosex people. Your clothes, interests, speech patterns and the way you move were all considered part of your sex.

Consider The Fribbleriad by David Garrick. Garrick was an actor known for playing fops. In the poem he portrays his critics as a group of effeminate men who were angry at him for they way he mocked them in his work:

In forty-eight— I well remember— Twelve years or more— the month November— May we no more such misery know! Since Garrick made OUR SEX a shew; And gave us up to such rude laughter, That few, ‘twas said, could hold their water: For He, that play'r, so mock’d our motions, Our dress, amusements, fancies, notions, So lisp’d our words and minc’d our steps, He made us pass for demi-reps. Tho’ wisely then we laugh’d it off, We’ll now return his wicked scoff.

"OUR SEX" is understood to be the sex of effeminate men. A sex distinct from that of acceptable manhood or womanhood which is defined by their "dress, amusements, fancies, notions" as well as the way they "lisp'd" their words and "minc’d" their steps.

John Bennett in his popular conduct book Letters to a Young Lady on a Variety of Useful and Interesting Subjects advises young women against wearing riding habits warning that they would "wholly unsex her". The Guardian reports that some people had "not injudiciously stiled" the riding Habit "Hermaphroditical". And The Spectator complains about riding Habits calling them an "Amphibious Dress" and describing women who wear them as "Hermaphrodites" and a "Mixture of two Sexes in one Person". (The Guardian, 1 September 1713, reprinted in The Guardian edited by John Calhoun Stephens, p 486; The Spectator 19 July, 1712)

The word amphibious is one that comes up a lot in the 18th century in regards to gender. A dictionary of the English language (1794) defines amphibious as "living in two elements". John Bennett describes effeminate men as "poor amphibious animals, that the best naturalists know not under what class to arrange."

Alexander Pope famously called Lord Hervey an "Amphibious Thing!" that acts "either Part". Lady Mary Wortley Montagu said that "this world consisted of men, women, and Herveys". And William Pulteney describes him as "delicate Hermaphodite", "a pretty, little, Master-Miss" and "a Lady Himself; or at least such a nice Composition of the two Sexes, that it is difficult to distinguish which is most predominant." (Alexander Pope, Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot; The Letters and Works of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu edited by Lord Wharncliffe, v1, p95; William Pulteney, A Proper Reply To a late Scurrilous Libel)

Macaroni, amazon, virago, fop, petit-maitre, coxcomb, amphibious, unsex, dandy, namby-pamby, he-she things, lady-fellow, master-miss, fribble, dubious gender. These were all terms to describe gender nonconforming people. Many of these terms were used in a derogatory way but not all of them were intended as such and some GNC people identified with some of these terms. For example a young Charles James Fox described himself as a petit-maitre in his 18 Oct, 1763 letter to his father. While at Eton, which he found "more disagreeable than I imagined", he laments "you may see the petit maître de Paris is converted into an Oxford Pedant."

Many of the people who were labeled as third sex/gender would not necessarily have identified as such. With even the smallest deviation from the norm giving rise to the label. Including one 1737 article which claimed that "Ugly Women" may "more properly be call'd a Third Sex, than a Part of the Fair one". (Common Sense, or The Englishman's Journal, 28, Feb)

Gender Presentation Through Gendered Language

While there is no real equivalent for the word transgender in 18th century English this doesn't mean people had no way of expressing their gender though language. People referred to themselves as being men, women, both or neither. Gendered names, titles and pronouns were also used to express one's gender.

The Chevalière d'Eon

D'Eon asserted her gender identity though gendered names, pronouns and titles. When she started openly living as a women she changed her first name to Charlotte making her full name Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Auguste-André-Timothée d’Eon de Beaumont. However she preferred the name Geneviève and would often write her name simply Geneviève d'Eon.

[Admission-ticket for Geneviéve d'Eon, with red seal; c.1793; via The British Museum (C,2.3)]

D'Eon used she/her pronouns. Here is an example of her using she/her pronouns for herself when writing in third person:

[Invitation from the Chevalière d’Eon to Lord Besborough; c.1791; via The British Museum (D,1.268-272)]

As she was French d'Eon used French titles even in English. She would sometimes use the title Mademoiselle (a title for unmarried women) but other times she used Chevalière. In 1763 she was awarded the Cross of Saint-Louis and with that came the masculine title Chevalier. When she started openly living as a women she switched from the masculine Chevalier to the feminine Chevalière. Perhaps the most fun example of her using the feminine Chevalière is the sword she gifted to George Keate which was inscribed: "Donné par la Chevalïere d’Eon à son ancïen Amï Geo: Keate Esquïre. 1777"

[The Chevalière d’Eon’s Sword, hilt: c.1700s, blade: c.mid-1600s, inscription: c.1777, photos via the Royal Armouries Museum (IX.2034A)]

Public Universal Friend

The Public Universal Friend claimed to be a genderless spirit sent by god resurrected in the body of Jemima Wilkinson after she had succumbed to a fever in 1776. The Public Universal Friend gained a small but devoted group of followers that understood and respected the Friend as a genderless being. When one traveler asked for directions to "Jemima Wilkinson's house" a women replied that "she knew no such person; "the friend" lived a little piece below." (A Ride to Niagara in 1809 by Cooper Thomas, p37)

For the most part followers of the Public Universal Friend avoided using gendered pronouns for the Friend*. However they did not use gender neutral pronouns (such as they/them) but instead avoided third person pronouns completely. You can see an example of the sort of gender neutral language used for the friend in this letter from Sarah Richards to Ruth Pritchard:

Dear Ruth This is to be a Messenger of my Love to thee. Hold out faith and patience. Thy letter was very welcome to me. I want Thee should make ready to come where the Friend is in this Town. The Friend has got land enough here for all that will be faithful & true. Dear Ruth, I will inform thee that Benedict has given the Friend a Deed of some land in the second Seventh in the Boston perhemption, which Deed contains five lotts and the Friend has made use of my name to hold it in trust for the Friend, and now I hope the Friends will have a home, and like wise for the poor friends and such as have no helper, here no intruding feet cant enter. Farewell form thy Affectionate Friend, Sarah Richards

~ Sarah Richards to Ruth Pritchard, March 1793 (printed in The Unquiet World by Frances Dumas, p166)

* In contrast to followers that avoided gendered pronouns completely ex-follower Abner Brownell claimed that some followers called the Friend "him." (see A Mighty Baptism edited by Susan Juster & Lisa MacFarlane, p28)

It's impossible to seperate the Friend's genderlessness from the claim that the Friend was a messenger sent by god resurrected in the body of Jemima Wilkinson. The followers of the Public Universal Friend used genderless language as a way to indicate their religious devotion. In "Indescribable Being" Theological Performances of Genderlessness in the Society of the Publick Universal Friend, 1776-1819 Scott Larson explains:

The language one chose to describe the Friend indicated whether one was part of the community of the saved or part of the "wicked world." Conversely, community members and followers used the name "the Friend" quite deliberately, and that use became a marker of belonging. This sense of belonging could last longer than the community itself did. Huldah Davis, who was a child when the Friend left time in 1819, shared her memories of the Friend in 1895. In her recollections, Davis refers to Jemima Wilkinson but is careful to note that her parents, followers of the Friend, always referred to "the Friend," and Davis uses the community's language through most of her account. Language choices could also mark points of entering and exiting the community, as the apostate and denouncer Abner Brownell refers to "The Friend" in diary entries written during the time of his membership in the Friend's community but then calls "her" "Jemima Wilkinson" in his later published denunciation, Enthusiastical Errors, Described and Decried.

Mollies and Maiden Names

Gendered language could be used to express queer identity without necessarily expressing a transgender identity. Mollies took on feminine sobriquets known as maiden names. A maiden name was a typically made up of a combination of either a feminine title or name (molly and variations being the most popular) and often a reference to something notable about the individual. It could be a reference to their profession for example Orange Mary was an orange merchant, Dip-Candle Mary was a tallow chandler and Old Fish Hannah a fisherman. It could be a reference to where they were from for example Mrs. Girl of Redriff was presumably from Redriff. Some maiden names were somewhat suggestive like Miss Sweet Lips or Molly Soft-buttocks.

(Sources for maiden names: Orange Mary, Dip-Candle Mary, Old Fish Hannah, and Mrs. Girl of Redriff are mentioned in James Dalton's Narrative; Miss Sweet Lips is mentioned in The Phoenix of Sodom by Robert Holloway; Molly Soft-buttocks is mentioned in Account of the Life and Actions of Joseph Powis)

While mollies took on these feminine names, they more often than not still lived as men. Most mollies wore men's clothes, used he/him pronouns and referred to their partners as their husbands not their wives. (for the use of husband in the molly subculture see the trial of Martin Mackintosh, 11 July 1726 and the trial of George Whytle, 20 April 1726)

However some mollies did wear women's clothes and used (at least some of the time) feminine pronouns. Take for example Princess Seraphina who during the trial of Thomas Gordon (5 July 1732) is described by Mary Poplet as follows:

I have known her Highness a pretty while, she us’d to come to my House from Mr. Tull, to enquire after some Gentlemen of no very good Character; I have seen her several times in Women’s Cloaths, she commonly us’d to wear a white Gown, and a scarlet Cloak, with her Hair frizzled and curl’d all round her Forehead; and then she would so flutter her Fan, and make such fine Curties, that you would not have known her from a Woman: She takes great Delight in Balls and Masquerades, and always chuses to appear at them in a Female Dress, that she may have the Satisfaction of dancing with fine Gentlemen. Her Highness lives with Mr. Tull in Eagle-Court in the Strand, and calls him her Master, because she was Nurse to him and his Wife when they were both in a Salivation; but the Princess is rather Mr. Tull’s Friend, than his domestick Servant. I never heard that she had any other Name than the Princess Sraphina.

On a final note I would also recommend looking up many of these terms in the Oxford English Dictionary (you might be able to access this for free through your library) and Green's Dictionary of Slang both of which include multiple examples in use.

#sorry this took so long I couldn't resist making it far too long #if you want me to talk your ear off just ask me about 18th century queer language its my favourite topic #queer history

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electronickingdomfox · 5 months

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"Devil World" review

Novel from 1979, by Gordon Eklund (same author of previous TOS novel "The Starless World"). It's a very short novel, and could have been an episode of the series. Well-written, and the central mystery is interesting enough, but the story isn't anything special as a whole. In fact, at core is a very similar story to that of the previous novel. Kirk's characterization is also off, specially at the end.

But at least Chekov tells a funny bullshit story about why there are no Russian bears in Russian zoos. In the other novel from Eklund, it was McCoy who told a story to Spock, so it seems to be a thing with this author.

Spoilers under the cut:

Kirk, Spock and McCoy are watching a magician's show while in shore-leave. Spock is like "this is crap". And I don't know why Kirk and McCoy (who regularly get disintegrated in a transporter) are so excited about that old trick where a woman is apparently sawed in half, but they are (maybe they drank too much). Then, the magician starts conjuring some devil creatures that seem all too real. And the beautiful, beautiful woman who was sitting in the table next to them, starts screaming suddenly, accusing the devils of taking her father away. Then she faints.

It turns out, the woman is the famous artist Gilla Dupree, whose father (Jacob Kell) is missing. As Kell is a suspected traitor to the Federation, and presumably hiding in a quarantined planet named Heartland, (and as Gilla is so pretty), Kirk is authorized to use the Enterprise as a taxi for Gilla to reunite with her father. Gilla is a Jain, though I don't know enough about that religion to judge whether her depiction is accurate or not. She can only eat a few vegetables, since all life is sacred for her, and blames malnourishment for her frequent faints. An insipid romance develops then between Kirk and her, and it takes too many pages of an already short book. I mean, there's nothing essentially bad about Gilla as a character; she's just so... boring? The romance is also a clear indication that Gilla's doomed by the narrative.

Once in Heartland, the crew plus Gilla meet a hermit man who's been living alone for forty years. He's the last of the human colonists, who was left behind when they evacuated and quarantined the planet years ago. The other colonists had all gone mad, but not this one. He doesn't want to get any close to the native aliens of Heartland, the Danons, but says that Kell lives among them. The Danon village has a compelling eerie atmosphere, and there's something Lovecraftian about the great stone tower in the middle of the central square. Kirk and the others find themselves suddenly surrounded by all the Danons of the village, and Kell is among them. The Danons look exactly like naked Christian devils, so the crew is really xenophobic towards them (haven't they seen stranger creatures in the galaxy? oh well). Kell is very unfriendly, and orders them to leave Heartland at once. Nonetheless, the Danons allow the crew to spend the night in their village. And one of them even plays poker with the redshirts (Spock doesn't want to play poker since he's too good at it, because Vulcans have the perfect "poker face", yeah). But the next morning, the redshirt who got too close to the Danon during poker is missing. They find him naked and completely mad, his mind as if it was wiped clean. They leave McCoy with crazy, naked dude, but he can't do anything for him.

Then Kirk and Gilla run to Kell, to demand answers from him, and at last he explains what's happening. It turns out the Danons are all part of a single mental entity, which can claim people as part of the whole. But only the strongest ones can become assimilated; those that aren't ready, simply lose their minds. Kell was a deeply broken man ever since he spent a month alone in space, drifting with just his spacesuit after an accident. He couldn't live with people anymore, nor did he find help among the Klingons (the reason why he was branded as a traitor by the Federation). Only in Heartland, after uniting with the mental presence, he found some relief. And I don't know why, at this point, they can't just leave this poor old man alone. But Kirk still insists on taking Kell to the Enterprise. Only that now, they discover that the entity just won't let them leave the planet. Spock does his Spock thing, and tries to mind-meld with the mental presence. And then we get crazy Spock (but he's no redshirt, so McCoy says he'll recover in time).

In the end, the hermit reveals the whole truth. The entity is actually a super-computer that fills the whole core of the planet, and the entrance is located under the mysterious tower of the village. The Danons built the machine as a planetary defense long ago. But their species is dying now, so the computer wants to assimilate humans to have some company, once the Danons disappear. The hermit convinced the other colonists to try and fuse with the machine, but he was too cowardly to follow them. Gilla disappears, and soon Kirk suspects what she's doing. She has exchanged herself for her father, and Kirk finds her, too late, connected to the computer.

Back in the ship, Kirk is totally depressed and neglects his duties after losing Gilla. And this is quite out-of-character for him, since duty always comes before love for Kirk (save in the case of Spock in the third movie). McCoy comforts him, revealing that Gilla was actually dying from a tumor, so she had nothing to lose anyway (and maybe, McCoy, you should have told this to Kirk before, since he was so emotionally involved and all...). I was left wondering what was the deal with that magician at the beginning and his devils, and why Gilla knew about them. But that's never addressed (an abandoned plot line?).

Spirk Meter: 1/10*. It's almost nothing, but at one point Kirk reflects about how comfortable he is in Spock's presence. So comfortable than they can both be in silence without it being awkward.

Also, this author seems to have something for Kirk/Scotty, as it happened in the other novel. Kirk compares him to an angel, says that he's looking forward to see Scotty's smiling face again... And Scotty gets super-protective of Kirk when he wants to beam up the last, even though there's no immediate danger in the planet. ????

Apart from this, Kirk gets crushed by a horde of naked (mostly male) devils, that tear his clothes as usual.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek novels #novel review #spirk #k/s

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ramshackledtrickster · 1 year

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Played some more syndicate here are some thoughts

1. Wow I did NOT expect Roth to sound like that

2. Jacob’s has some issues to work thru I think

3. How the hell did I manage to shove a conductor into the tiniest crack between the step and the train and have him keel over and die in there

4. I really love the bird in the cage as foreshadowing (black bird no less— maybe a rook?)

5. I know what’s coming so whatever but boooo Roth is rancid boo boo tomato tomato uhgghh I’m not excited and I hope this becomes smth Jacob and Evie actually. Talk abt and process through since he basically went awol and wound up in a huge trap basically

6. Maxwell Roth is a literal theater gay,, my god

7. I killed a hoard of cops again that’s fun

8. I wish we could see some more development for evie in gameplay and cutscenes outside of her and Henry’s relationship (I love them tho!!) that and I’m having fun with her diary entries. I’m hoping she gets a solo narrative section like Jacob is rn with Roth. Actually call me dumb but I just want the two twins to actually. Be on screen together for a mission. Or more cutscenes that aren’t just hashing out missions. They have a really great conflict set up and idk if I’m just missing it or forgetting things or not . These two talk a lot of shit about each other in their respective missions, but I really want them to actually confront each other more?

9. Big bastard ale

Also Mrs. Disraeli is my favorite side npc so far besides Henry she’s funny

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trillgutterbug · 3 months

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being back on my hbo war bullshit rn (jk im never not on my hbo war bullshit) seems like a good time to mention the very cool jacob vouza, a native of guadalcanal. from 1916 onwards he was part of the island's constable force, aka the system of policemen and law enforcers run by the colonial government, which was a scattering of primarily british and australian military and bureaucratic personnel, such as coastwatcher martin clemens (who wrote a great book about his experiences spying on the japanese).

the pacific (the hbo show, i mean) has a good number of narrative faults, but one of its most egregious content faults imo is its complete lack of acknowledgement of the native solomon islanders who were not just instrumental to the american victory, but utterly indispensible. without their knowledge of the terrain, their protection, guidance, and supplying of the coastwatchers who provided pivotal intel on japanese troop/air/naval movement ("forty bombers heading yours"), and their constant rescuing of stranded american troops (particularly air and navy men, including 26yo jfk) and white civilians, it is genuinely questionable how much longer or worse the war might have ended up being.

jacob vouza (whom martin clemens described as incredibly loyal, cheerful, brave, a fierce individualist, and tremendously skilled in bushcraft) had retired from the constabulary pre-war, but rejoined a year later when the japanese landed on guadalcanal. he helped clemens escape into the jungle, then eventually helped him reach the american lines safely. afterwards, he oversaw a network of native scouts and participated in regular spying missions, gathering information on japanese troop movements. on one of these missions, he was apprehended by the japanese, who found a tiny american flag in his possession. they tied him up and interrogated him. he refused to give them any information on the americans, despite being tortured for hours with beatings, stabbings, hanging, and being forced to lie on a red ant hill with open wounds. eventually, having bayoneted him in the limbs, face, throat, and stomach, the japanese left him for dead. he chewed through his bindings and escaped into the jungle, where he made his way for three miles through an active battlefield to the american lines. upon reaching the marines, he refused medical treatment until he could personally deliver a message to clemens and the commander of the 2nd battalion 1st marines. despite being unable to stand and barely able to speak through the wound in his throat, he informed them that the japanese were massing for a huge, imminent assault on the critical american-held henderson airfield. he described the japanese numbers, positions, and weaponry. he also dictated a final message to his wife and children, which clemens wrote down with one hand, while holding vouza's hand with the other. his warning came only about ten minutes ahead of the japanese attack, but that was just enough time for the marines to assemble a successful defense in the correct place.

vouza was quickly rushed to field surgery and received a massive transfusion (tangentially, this was in the time of a segregated american military, in which it was illegal for black and white soldiers to provide one another blood transfusions; although vouza was not considered black per se by the american military, it's nonetheless a notable element of the cultural landscape at the time), which saved his life. later, he was awarded a number of medals from both the american and british governments, including the silver star. in 1979, clemens successfully campaigned to have him knighted. following vouza's death in 1984, clemens also organised the installation of a commemorative memorial in his hometown.

it's remarkable (derogatory) to me that the pacific (the show), despite its amazing dedication in general to accuracy and exhaustive detail, didn't say a peep about jacob vouza (or any native person whatsoever), despite spending most of episode 2 re-enacting this specific battle. his actions weren't just a footnote, but genuinely the crux of the american victory. he was a very incredible person, one of the many examples of contributions native solomon islanders made to the war effort, and we should remember him accordingly!

#most of this info comes directly from martin clemens' book 'alone on guadalcanal'#it really is a great book! racist in its own way of course (see: the title) but for the time and circumstances honestly pretty equitable #eg clemens does explicitly note that the title is disingenuous considering the many native people he depended on for his survival #lonely vigil by walter lord is also a fantastic read about the coastwatchers in general #guadalcanal #the pacific #hbo war #jacob vouza

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dangerously-human · 4 months

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for the fic writer game: 3, 4 for take his hand, 8, 20 for merry metamorphosis (am I trying to make you write pregnancy fic... maybe), 27 for ch2 of here's a safe place, 37, 49

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

I write a lot of family life for traumatized characters, stuff that requires a lot of intentional growth but also leaves space for tenderness. Love me some literal sleeping together, too. I mostly write post-canon, and a lot of introspection. And I think I'm always working off of an assumption of redeeming the narrative, in a sense - not that things will always go well, but they will always have meaning. It's the Christian worldview, I suppose.

4. What detail in [Take His Hand] are you really proud of?

Honestlyyyy, I could wax rhapsodic talking about this fic and how it came to be. Lucy's chapter may be killing me a little bit, but there were parts of Lockwood's that truly feel like they came from outside of me (we've talked before about the Holy Spirit influence on this one). I know I already mentioned this in my reply to your comment, but the fact that Lockwood was praying with his old rosary beads from when he was a kid when the call from Penelope Fittes comes in says a lot. It's a nod to (part of) what Lockwood chose to pray about, after all those years of distance - the right opportunity to invite Lucy to come home - and it also ties the success of the company to a lasting legacy for the Lockwood family, which is such a key aspect of understanding Lockwood himself and just what he's trying to include Lucy in. It also says that he unpacked the literal box of memories, however painful, even if he's not 100% ready to unpack the metaphorical one - except he has started to, he's praying and acknowledging the God he feels let him down (or maybe the other way around, depending on the day), and he's doing this thing that reminds him so strongly of Jessica and their shared grief. It's not "solved," Lockwood still has a long way to go and a lot of Jacob-like wrestling with the Lord to do, but at least he's stopped running in the opposite direction and actually let himself feel something - which is what the Black Winter is all about, in his arc. I could go on about this for ages, truly.

8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?

Captives Come Home by Run Kid Run is just BEGGING for Other Side fic, - please, the number of times the lyrics repeat stuff about creeping shadows and the other side! - and maybe I'll write it eventually but I'd be equally happy to read it if someone else did. Would love to see it start with Lockwood and Lucy's first crossing ("There's hope inside that box you close/That only opens when your life explodes/On the other side, come home"), then tackle when the whole crew is there ("Don't you know you gotta get up/Get up and find a way back home?/So hold on tight, let's go/Leave behind false sense of hope/Where creeping shadows call your name") and then focus on post-canon efforts to clear the fences so the captive spirits can finally reach their final destinations ("As I'm waiting for the world to end/I'm clinging on to oxygen/I'm pulling captives by the hand/Come home, come home"). I have not shut up since my first read through TCS about the Harrowing of Hell imagery and, yeah, I just think I deserve this one, as a treat.

20. If you wrote a prequel to [A Merry Metamorphosis], what would it involve?

I know I already said this to you the other day, but bestie, do I have good news for you! Next (new) project on the list is literally this. 😆 To be fair, it doesn't exactly take a lot to encourage me to write pregnancy/kidfic, lol. But yeah, been thinking a lot about protectiveness and what that would look like for Lucy and Lockwood as they prepare for a baby, and how that would interact with their work (logistically and emotionally), considering they're still pretty young when they have Ivy.

27. How long did it take to write [Here's a Safe Place to Lay Your Heart Down ch. 2]? Describe the process.

FKlejgklaegl well. According to the date I created that Scrivener file, parts of that chapter were written in early September, and I just published it to AO3 last weekend, so you can do the math. Here's the thing about Lay Your Heart Down: while the core themes/message remained the same throughout, it went through several iterations in how I conceptualized it, and that made the writing process AGONIZING, because it was a constant repetition of knit/purl steps and untangling and reworking. (I don't knit, so take my metaphor with a grain of salt.) Honestly, this mostly came about because I kept asking myself if The Necklace counted as an engagement ring in Lockwood's mind, which obviously I kind of answered in Woke Up in a Safe House Singing, and that pivoted to a very vivid idea of how Lockwood would think about picking out a ring for Lucy and what it would look like and why. So. That could have been a drabble, but I also have a lot of feelings about the Touch/possession scene in the second episode, and that had to go somewhere!! And overlapped a lot, thematically. So a lot of the Lockwood having a self-isolating freakout stuff from ch. 2 was written first, plus the bit immediately after THB with the broken headphones and remembering watching Lucy dancing. All that used to be together in one chapter, which was going to be sandwiched between Lockwood picking out the ring and a sweet future scene that featured the ring somehow - the narrative started out even less linear than it ended up. (That final scene is now its own WIP.) Then I ended up with all the canon-era relationship development in the first chapter and the second could focus on that core conflict, Lockwood panicking about those lines from the show - "he gave me the ring, he wouldn't hurt me" - but in the context of all the various ways he could get Lucy hurt, because old conflicts (internal and interpersonal) tend to reemerge at transition points like the engagement period. A couple things that got me unstuck with this chapter were actually writing out more of what happened on the job that went wrong, letting Lucy be more upset (while still understanding), working out that Lockwood's fear this time was less about Lucy getting hurt and more about being the reason for that happening, and drawing direct parallels to Fairfax and Annabel (which in turn let me work in that good stuff about devotion and mutual belonging).

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?

I'm not shocked Onward, Ontologically has gotten very few eyes on it - if nothing else, Continuum is a tiny fandom, even less active now than when I was originally writing for it, plus Kiera and Alec are a complicated ship (I'm often curious if they would still be a rarepair if the fandom were larger, though - I could see it going either way). It worked for my Yuletide recipient, though, and that's all that really matters. I really like the quiet domesticity of it, and that it leaves space for the S3 conflict between Alec and Kiera to remain somewhat unresolved - I like complicated, and I don't think an easy resolution would have been realistic after everything these two went through and did to each other, and the tangled doppelganger web.

Within this fandom, one I wish got a little more love was Smoke & Shield. Gen is usually a bit, idk the right word, quieter? So I wasn't expecting as much excitement as with my Locklyle works, but I do think it's a really good character study of Jessica and her relationship with her little brother. I got some truly lovely comments on it that tell me it still found an audience to resonate with, though!

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Well, since you attacked us all with baby fever, here's a snippet from the "Lucy learns she's pregnant with #4 via George's powers of observation" fic. (I don't think I've posted this bit before? Idk, this is the problem with lingering WIPs!) I've been WIP-hopping a lot, but this is one that's gotten a bit more focus lately:

With arms outstretched to take one twin off my husband’s hands, I explained, “I’m not even sure yet myself. It honestly hadn’t occurred to me until George said something, but…” My voice got smaller as I finished, “I think he might be right.” Transfer completed, Lockwood let his hand linger, then drop to hover just over my belly. At the open wonder on his face, I blushed. It wasn’t as though we hadn’t done this part before - twice, in fact - yet it seemed even at the mere possibility, he couldn’t help looking at me like I was made of something magic. To be fair, that wasn’t all that far off from Lockwood’s normal.

#personal #writer probs: fanfic edition #lockwood & co

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kiatheinsomniac · 2 years

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could you make a how would the assassins (of your choice :D) react to catching the reader… master baiting. iykwim. 😁😁😁😁😁

notes: I've decided to throw gn! Eivor in with my usual headcanons bunch. It would be great to know if you all would like to see them be added to the typical headcanon group and if there's anyone else you'd like to see (preferably playable characters because they're easier to write and I get a lot of headcanon requests for AC)

characters: gn! Eivor, Altaïr, Ezio, Edward, Connor, Arno, Jacob

warnings: NSFW content, smut, masturbation, mutual/ guided masturbation

☾ ⋆ﾟ MASTERLIST / RULES / TAGLIST FORM

e i v o r :

A smug mf

Will stand there watching you in silence until either you realise or they speak up

Will tell you to carry on and will sit where they have a perfect view to watch you, starting to rub themselves over their clothing

Will tell you to narrative whatever you were fantasising about when they found you

a l t a ï r :

I think he’ll lightly degrade you for it (in a sexy way)

“All by yourself when you could have come to me?”

Will boast about how much better he can make you feel

And he’ll prove it by guiding you in what to do

e z i o :

He has a face like a cat who got the cream when he finds you

Likely won’t be able to resist making his presence known for long

He’ll be all charming, slinking over to you, no matter your reaction – whether you’re an embarrassed and stammering mess or confident and inviting

Will offer to take over for you

e d w a r d :

His initial reaction is to whistle at you, liking everything that he can see and hear

Kenway’s got a way with words that just charms people, gets them wrapped around his little finger when he wants (truly a useful trait for a Captain)

So it will be near impossible to refuse putting on a little show for him

He’ll end up joining you in some mutual masturbation that will likely result in sex

c o n n o r :

He’s utterly shocked when he finds you but can’t seem to tear his eyes away

He’ll offer to leave even if it’s the last thing that he truly wants to do in that moment

Should you allow him to stay, he’ll be utterly enraptured watching you

Will want to join you/ have you touch him too but will be to shy to ask for it so you’ll have to offer it

a r n o :

Like Ezio, he’ll feel beyond lucky to have walked in on you like this

He’ll likely start guiding you in what to do while he teases himself some

And he’ll end up taking over for you too, replacing your hands with his own

I can see him as the type to try and get you to overstimulate yourself while he watches

j a c o b :

He can’t help but make some smug remark either about you doing this alone or about how much of a mess you look

But, in that moment, you’re his favourite mess

Will likely sit down somewhere to watch you, maybe move your clothes/sheets around some to get a better view

And he’ll join you, touching himself as you touch yourself

☾ ⋆ﾟ Buy me a coffee?

🏷️@writing-noah @havatnah

#eivor varinsdóttir x reader #eivor varinsson x reader #altaïr x reader #ezio auditore x reader #edward kenway x reader #connor kenway x reader #ratonhnhaké:ton x reader #arno dorian x reader #jacob frye x reader #assassins creed #assassins creed x reader #assassins creed fanfic #assassins creed fanfiction #assassins creed headcanons

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after-nine-at-the-oasis · 3 months

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Okay!! So that was Abbott Elementary Season 3 Episodes 1 and 2!! Honestly a great premiere :D

This is just gonna be a little review and summary, not too long but with plenty of me freaking out :).

First of all: AAAAHHHHHHHH GREGORY AND JANINE YOU IDIOTSSS-

As someone who also has trouble trusting the district I feel for Barbara, and I'm kind of hesitant about Janine's switch/internship xd. I would not be surprised if they offer her a full time job and she has to choose (though obviously she'd choose teaching. She better anyway xD). But I am really glad she's making a difference :)! Honestly, everything changes when you have admin or district on your side. Also, she's definitely gonna struggle to adjust and get everything when she gets back xd, and even some before then, but I think she'll start getting close with people again :).

WHOOO MELISSA AND GARY ARE BROKEN UP!! I will say that even if I want someone who's more aligned with what she wants, I do feel bad because I just want her to be happy x'd. He really should've gotten that it was a never thing though - like, dude, she told you lol. I'm glad she was firm about it though - it was totally in character and even though it's not a surprise for her it's surprising to see on TV, and I'm really proud of her :') <3. I hope they both find someone for them, because he's sweet :').

Also the cameos were ICONIC as always lol xD. Idk who they are but you can just Feel a cameo's importance lol. Also I'm loving the addition of the school district people's they have a cool vibe against the teachers and such (Ava, Mr. Johnson, yk). Not antagonistic, just kind of contrasting. Also I love that they didn't question the camera people at all lol. I know they know it's happening, but they questioned nothing, and we love that xD.

Also we didn't see much of Jacob but I love him <3. Jsyk.

Mr. Johnson was ICONIC as always, we love to see it xD. Him telling about his life is always amazing lol, and we (they, we only got some) got the whole story this time xD. Slay.

Them getting Ava back was the funniest thing xD. I feel bad Gregory had to, I guess flaunt himself, but I think it'll still be less from Ava in the future. Also the song getting Ava back was absolutely iconic xD. On a more serious and narrative note, I like how it was already setting up Janine's rift with this storyline. She knew the answer the whole time even, but she wasn't there a part of it really at all. She wasn't even there for the victorious final moment :'/ xd. Which works, and it makes sense, but it still sucks lol xd. Anyway, it's gonna hurt as a storyline overall, but they're doing a really great job with it! Especially the fact that they don't dislike her for her decision, they're just distant. They rarely see each other (expect maybe Jacob and Janine - which by the way I needed more bestieism for them but I'm glad we got some xD), just like with her kids. Also her kids just sitting there kinda down and not caring/noticing that she's there is heartbreaking 😭. I know the feeling of losing your teacher at the beginning of the year and having them gone for half of it, if in a different way, and it really just sucks. Even though I was older than in second grade for that lol.

Also relating to Gregory and Janine: I am glad he respected her space, and continued to, but I think it's also kind of because he's avoiding the situation. It's awkward and it sucks and when that's how it is maybe you don't wanna reach out anyway, even if you miss them. I don't know. But they are idiots, and I do love them 😭 xD ❤️🥰. My idiots <3. I'm sure everything will work out in the end :).

Also Barbara with the makeup - you know what, good for her :D. Slay girlie, I'm happy you're happy :))! I'm also happy she's happy with her daily self though lol. Also the cosmetologist was really chill and I'm glad she wasn't mean :D.

I think it was a really good decision to make this an hour long episode. To catch up with what we've missed due to the delayed start and the in universe delay. Which, by the way, the reason in universe for the delay being that the camera crew got robbed is ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS to me xDD. Iconic lol. Poor them though xdd. Anyway, having a bit of a preview of it all, shaking it up, and then showing us what actually happened instead of just dropping us in the middle of nowhere was really nice. I think it would be cool to see some more flashbacks throughout the season (not whole or half episodes again, just bits and pieces - maybe just cutaways), but who knows if we will lol. Anyway, having plenty of time to be in the past, get things sorted but still have their own storylines, and then jump back into the present without a week long break was really nice :D. Gave us some familiarity, some different stuff, and was a large amount of content for a big draw for getting people back into the show after a long break :). Really good! I think they made the best decision they good with the layout like this and I'm so excited to see the rest of the season :D 🥰🥰!!

Turns out I did have plenty to say, lol xD. As I kind of suspected. But yeah!! I really liked the premiere and I think that everybody got some good focus, even if others got the main amount. Abbott's really good about that :). The show, I mean, lol. Anyway!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I LOVE THIS SHOW SO FREAKING MUCH AND I'M SO GLAD IT'S BACK!!!

It's just so nice to see this amazing show that's mostly positive and uplifting but still funny and just relax for a while :'D. Also I love all my babeys (the characters) so much and I'm so glad to have them back :')) ❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰😭❤️🥰.

I absolutely LOVED the premiere. I'm so excited for the next episode and the rest of the season :DD!!!

Bye guys, love you all 🥰🥰!

#abbott elementary #ae #oasis's ae chatter #abbot elementary spoilers #abbott elementary season 3 #abbott elementary season 3 premiere #abbott elementary s3 #absolutely adored this episode :D #so good to have them and it (the show itself) back :))#my lovelies 🥰🥰 :p #I meant to post this sooner after the episode but I was doing some other stuff and collecting my thoughts/preparing for all these words lol #and it's still only like an hour after so whatever :D #abbott elementary 3x01 #abbott elementary 3x02 #see y'all next week!!!#and for my posting freaking out in between now and then lol #love you all <333 :))!!#byeeee :DD <333 ❤️🥰🥰🥰!!!

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 6 months

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Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

John’s Birth Announced to Zacharias

5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

8 So it was, that while he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

18 And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.”

19 And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the temple. 22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless.

23 So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.”

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

The Song of Mary

46 And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. 50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.

Circumcision of John the Baptist

59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”

61 But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.

63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. 65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy

67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

#Gospel of Luke #Luke 1 #New Testament #NKJV #New King James Version Bible #Thomas Nelson Inc.#Dedication to Theophilus #John the Baptist's birth announced #Zacharias #Christ's birth announced #Mary #Gabriel #Mary visits Elizabeth #Mary's song #birth of John The Baptist #Circumcision of John the Baptist #Zacharias’ Prophecy

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grayintogreen · 8 months

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Now that I’m rewatching Season Five at the apex of Desmond being The Island’s Perfect Victim, I’m having a fit because dear god was there ever a character more fit to end tragically that just DIDNT.

Like you have a guy who sabotaged every single attempt he made at being happy because he always panicked at the last minute and we’re led to believe it’s because he’s NEVER been allowed to have his own happiness. He was “almost a doctor” once but had to leave university to look after his brothers, which I am positive led into why he bailed on Ruth and their wedding- because he suspected something would come along and take it. He washed out of being a monk because Ruth read him for filth and he went into another panic spiral. He washed out of his relationship with Penny because Widmore told him he wasn’t good enough for her. He washed out of the army for cowardice and honestly given the way his sergeant acted, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was told one too many times he was a fuck-up and he bolted.

Because that’s what Desmond does! The minute someone tells him to do something, he’s on it, even as he’s bitching about it. If they tell him something about himself, he believes it. I mean there’s a goddamn reason he’s the Odysseus of the narrative. The poor man cannot escape Situations.

But here’s the kicker- Desmond’s attempts to fight against what’s been told to him are always met with disaster! He wanted to prove he wasn’t a coward and to show up Widmore so he could get Penny back? He ended up on an island for two years. Kelvin kept telling him to stay put and when he finally ignored him, he ended up crashing Oceanic 815 because he didn’t push the button. He tried to save Charlie and all he did was put it off until the most significant time, which was great but, like, Charlie is still dead. And then he gets off the island! He gets Penny! He gets his happy ending!

And he’s told he ABSOLUTELY needs to go back to the island.

And he finally, FINALLY says no.

And then he ends up there anyway in a situation he isn’t supposed to survive, because this isn’t your story. You’re supposed to be a tragedy. You’re an impossible thing and impossible things are tools who don’t get happy endings.

And maybe that’s how things worked on the island when Jacob ran it, but Hurley’s first act as Replacement Jacob is going “no he’s going home.” So Desmond gets the happy ending he wasn’t supposed to have. Someone finally said “no you’ve done enough you’re amazing you saved us all- now go home” instead of either telling him he’s worthless or telling him he’s the most important person ever but only in what he can do.

#Desmond is why I love characters the narrative is obsessed with (bad thing)#lost #desmond Hume

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jupitermelichios · 9 months

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rejected riverdale fic ideas

sam and dean winchester hear about the gargoyle king and assume he must be supernatural and spend three weeks chasing a sentient teleporting pile of sticks around the woods before figuring out it's not actually teleporting there's just like 6 different people all concurrently wearing the costume and murdering people

the teen wolf gang take a vacation in riverdale and get trapped in the town's temporal vortex (personally I like to think of it as the timehole but many disagree) and have to figure out how to escape

chose your own adventure fic where you have to stop archie from becoming aware that he's in a fictional narrative and going on a murder spree (again)

jughead jones makes a deal with bill cipher and unleashes weirdmageddon and the gang have to defeat him

the gang discover FP made a deal with bill cipher and unleashed weirdmageddon years ago and that's why riverdale is Like That. no one defeats him, they figure out the mystery and then just go on with their lives because they're all used to it

betty cooper and hannibal lecter team up to fight the trashbag killer

instead of going to hell when he dies, dean winchester accidentally takes a wrong turn and ends up in the great big diner in the sky, riverdale's canonical afterlife, and cas has to figure out how to get him back before someone notices that he lost the michael sword

the same except it happens instead of going to purgatory rather than hell, and benny is the new line cook at pops. he's still a vampire. this is never explained.

instead of whitby, dracula lands in riverdale and the gang have to stop him lucy westernra-ing cheryl

betty the vampire slayer

a tokyo ghoul fusion where it's revealed that half the cast are man-eating monsters disguised as humans. surprisingly little changes except that they resolve the farm plotline by eating edgar evernever.

cheryl's parents are revealled to be hydra agents and they try to use the winter soldier to assassinate hiram lodge but the power of friendship and milkshakes restores bucky's memories

mystery inc investigate the gargoyle king and reveal him to be clifford blossom after a series of light-hearted slapstick chase scenes. the riverdale gang are fully aware that mystery inc are opperating on cartoon logic, and are deeply disturbed by this

instead of washington, warlock's parents move to riverdale, and aziraphale and crowly have to live there while they co-parent the antichrist. (they both notice that tabith is an angel but assume she is aware of this and are much too polite to mention it to her)

cheryl blossom joins the x-men

cheryl blossom joins the brotherhood of evil mutants

toni topaz is given the outsider's mark after empress cheryl is murdered and must rescue britta from the loyalist conspiracy

betty is recruited to the beareau of control

the doctor visits riverdale and reveals that it's actually one of the time war battlefields, hence the timehole, and the gang are all daleks, except reggie, who is a timelord

Cheryl's russian spy parents open a gateway to the upsidedown in the palladium mines under riverdale and unleash a demogorgon on the town

archie is superman and veronica is lex luthor and riverdale is smallville

the entire show is revealed to be evelyn evernever's dream, and also evelyn is confirmed to exst in the tommy westphall universe

what if riverdale but a harem anime

archie is bella swan and veronica and betty are edward and jacob.(jughead is alice. obviously).

stranger things except instead of the upsidedown the dimensional gateways open onto rivervale

just the show loki except instead of the junkyard people the tva pruned go to riverdale. richard e grant loki becomes the new principle at the high school

after archie becomes aware that he's in a fictional narrative, he gains the ability to enter the white space between comics pannels and joins the x-statix

jughead is revealed to be entirely in archie's head, ala fight club

inception fusion where archie and the gang have to go inside hiram's mind to convince him not to bulldoze riverdale to make way for more paladium mines

dilton doily moves to nightvale to work with carlos the scientist and finds to surprisingly peaceful

regency au where alice cooper has to find respectable husbands for betty polly and ethel before anyone finds out about her husband being a serial killer and they become socially ruined

#riverdale #not gonna lie i'm legitimately tempted to write the betty the vampire slayer one #i'm not tempted to write the 'stranger things but the gates open on rivervale' one but i would absolutely read it if someone else did

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itsclydebitches · 1 year

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Oh, when I talked about flop era for Ted I meant for him as a person. I think he should have been a great coach and more involved with the team, I just also think that “my ex wife is dating OUR marriage counselor” is a big, giant bomb that cannot be resolved with positivity. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want a “Ted finally snapped” plot line, but Michelle dating their therapist is such a huge betrayal that dropping it like they did is just… uhhh. It’s rushed and it doesn’t change Ted at all. But it would change most people.

And Michelle dating the counselor is not just a betrayal of Ted, it’s a dangerous situation that can get the counselor not just fired, but he can (and should) loose his license. It’s a big deal. If he wasn’t their counselor but say, Ted’s good friend or Michelle’s childhood best friend or something and they started dating behind Ted’s back? The resolve would be appropriate. Because it hurts but it is also none of Ted’s business. But the counselor…… it’s a very dramatic plot line and Ted did not react to it properly. And that’s just one of the examples of Ted having a hard time. I’d argue that he also needs to accept that he is in fact a good dad, even if he left, and that Henry is not suffering without him.

OH my mistake, anon. Yes, full agree on that. 95% of the time I think Ted Lasso does an excellent job of navigating hard-hitting issues, but there are two choices that made me do a shocked double-take: Rebecca dating Sam and Michelle dating their therapist. To be honest I'm not a huge fan of the writing choices themselves - I think it would have worked just as well/better to end the Rebecca and Sam situation at the restaurant reveal, highlighting the pitfalls of these anonymous dating apps, and Ted could have struggled with Michelle moving on with anyone appropriate - but if we HAD to have these conflicts... at least engage with those issues fully? As you say, this is a huge deal and the story really doesn't acknowledge that. It actually makes me a little mad that the takeaway message is, "Ted needs to let his ex-wife go" and not "Ted is rightly pissed that a professional he trusted and his ex-wife betrayed him like that and that anger is hindering his growth but damn, can you blame him?" Yes, Ted does need to let Michelle move on (and move on himself) but the ability to do that is highly influenced by the fact that she's DATING THEIR THERAPIST. The same way I wanted characters like Keeley to go, "Uh... Rebecca, age difference aside, should you really be dating one of your players?" instead of this blanket support that doesn't engage with the problems in that relationship, I wanted characters to support Ted with a, "Holy shit, that's massively fucked up and he's definitely in the wrong. Here's how you can move past this while still acknowledging the difficulties of that situation." Instead we jump straight to, "Jeez, Ted, stop making assumptions about Paris."

So yeah, I wanted more from that in pretty much every respect. More of a reaction from Ted, yes, but considering that we did kinda get an extreme reaction (wanting to hire a private detective) at least more of a reaction from the cast/the narrative and an acknowledgement of what Ted is reacting to: not just Michelle moving on, but moving on with him. Even if it doesn't lead to any punishment-like resolution (such as the removal of his license) I think everyone should acknowledge how fucked up that is. How does Michelle defend that choice? How does Jacob? Why is Beard only getting annoyed at Ted instead of showing that insane defensive streak we've seen from him? Everyone's up in arms over the assumption that Henry was bullied (horrible, but pretty standard for most kids at one point or another), but no one cares that Ted is going through that frankly insane situation? Why are they all acting like this is a totally normal case of an ex moving on??

WHY IS NO ONE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT TED WORKED SO HARD TO OVERCOME HIS BIAS AGAINST THERAPY AND NOW JACOB HAS GONE AND (from Ted's perspective) PROVEN HIM RIGHT? I personally would have liked an arc where Ted backslides in that regard. Shannon is less available now and her assistance is a distant memory in the face of this new conflict, Jacob has "proven" that therapists are useless and untrustworthy, and Ted is failing to move on specifically because he wonders if he and Michelle might have rebuilt their marriage without his involvement. I mean, how hard was he really trying while falling for his client? Did he actively sabotage them? After all, why would he have tried his hardest to help them through their problems when he wanted Michelle for himself? And now this man--both accurately and inaccurately built up as a villain in Ted's head--is encroaching on Henry, trying to "steal" the role of dad while Ted is over in London and can't do anything about it. (Because yeah, full agree about Ted being a great dad, but I think he'd need a reminder of that under these circumstances, especially after his own father's suicide).

Ugh yeah, I obviously have a lot of thoughts about that choice. Ted deserved to work through his divorce and Michelle moving on... but with a hell of a lot more nuance if you're going to introduce her new lover as their marriage counselor. The arc we got works fine for any other new boyfriend, but not that.

#Ted Lasso #mymetas

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