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wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart · 9 months

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Aren't you tired of forced romances with no chemistry that only take away from the actually interesting plot? Don't you just want media where romance isn't portrayed as being superior and more important than (queer)platonic relationships?

Well, my exhausted aro ass is too, so here are a few tricks and wisdoms I've gathered over my years of being a-spec (which is all of them) on how to avoid romance (in media) in a very allonormative society 💚🤍🩶🖤

(this is a rec list btw. no I am not shitting on the shows that I tagged, quite the opposite)

1. Middle Grade

I get if you aren't really into that, because it is kind of annoying to be pointed to literal children's literature when all you want is a story that isn't constantly being interrupted by describing the main guy's heated eyes for the twentieth time.

However.

It is true that in middle grade, friendship is always more important than romance. Because, let's face it. Making two eleven year old characters kiss is kinda weird. So even if there is a romance, it isn't very prominent and treated more like friendship and/or a puppy crush. Plus some stories get surprisingly dark?!?!

Examples

- Howl's Moving Castle (Diana Wynne Jones), technically a romance in the end, but mostly focused on found family, shenanigans, and finding your own value

- House of Many Ways (DWJ). Yes, again. I really like her books okay? They always have something so fantastical and whimsical about them. This is my other favorite book by her and it has literally no romance at all. Plus a hmc cameo that is so fun !!

- Coraline (Neil Gaiman). Maybe this is cheating because I never actually read it. However. a) the movie traumatized me. b) Wybie was added to the movie, he doesn't exist in the book, so if "power of friendship" isn't your thing this will be great. Probably vibes over plot.

Flyte (Angie Sage). Technically this is the second book, but I never read the first one and still understood everything. Once again, no romance at all. A fun read, which can get surprisingly dark at times.

2. Short Story Collections

Once again, I get it if it isn't your thing. Short stories are - as the name reveals - short. Which means: no worldbuilding, very limited narrator, open ending, no time to really get attached to characters, etc.

But.

The cool thing about collections, is that they always have a certain theme. And as long as the theme is not romance, romance will not be the focus. Even if there is a romantic relationship, it will be used to explore this theme since there simply isn't time for anything else.

Examples:

Life Ceremony (Sayaka Murata) This is the book that actually made me figure out: hey! I do actually like short stories !! The main theme is basically about being different and it plays a lot with body horror and the perception of your own body in contrast with how society sees it. There is even a story about two women who platonically live together and raised multiple children!

Canterbury Classics: Classic Tales of Horror (introduction by Ernest Hilbert). As the name suggests, this is a collection of horror short stories, featuring well-known authors such as Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe or Charlotte Perkins Gilman. As these are classic old tales, the language is a bit complicated at times and you can read them for free on Gutenberg. However, the book is very very pretty and the introduction is very interesting (Origins of the genre, specific tropes and monsters, etc.)

3. Podcasts

PODCASTS!!! If you follow me, you are probably already aware of those. However, in case you don't, let me introduce you to the wonderful world of Audiodramas.

The cool thing about Podcasts is that pretty much anyone can do it. All you need is an idea, a mic, a lot of motivation, and you're pretty much set to go. No producers or publishers you need to get approval from. So it is only natural that this medium is filled to the brim with queer creators. Basically every character is somewhat queer. It's awesome.

Examples:

- The Silt Verses. I adore TSV. I listened to the first season like, four times. (the second one is good too but OH MY GOD THE FIRST ONE). And one of the main characters is canonically and explicitly aro!! Sister Carpenter, I love you with my whole being. And the great thing is, it is very clear that the writers love her, too!! There is a lot (like a LOT) of body horror so it isn't for everybody. But if you think you can handle it I really recommend it. (Plus, not any romance plotlines at all !!)

- Wolf 359. This is one of the older ones and it is really good. It's a bunch of restless and very unwell people stuck in a spaceship under the unforgiving rule of capitalism. However bad you imagine it, I can assure you it is worse. But the really cool thing is that there literally isn't any romance at all. Like, there are great m/f friendships but they never even hint towards a romance. Some people are so unused to that that they literally ship the main dude with the fucking robot AI. (don't worry, not an actual romance plot).

- Girl in space. I am sure you will be absolutely shook to know that this one also takes place in space. It is about a girl. In space. Shocking, I know. Except that she has been on her own for well over a year when suddenly a fleet of strange ships arrive and kidnap her. There is also a very asshole-y robot. And questions about what makes us human. And found family!! And a goat. And cheese. Just go listen to it okay. This is also one of the shortest ones of the list, so maybe a good start.

- Malevolent. I have to confess that I personally am not a huge fan of this one? Like the premise is really cool - a detective who wakes up blind and with a demon in his head who can see through the detectives eyes. What the fuck?, you may ask yourself. So does Arthur Lester. Mysteries and other dimensions and a whole lot of pain ensues. Harlan is undeniably an awesome VA and a great writer, but his stories just seem a bit too repetitive to me? Nonetheless I know of lots of people who enjoy it a lot. Trying to define the relationship between Arthur and John (his demon) is perhaps the biggest mystery of them all. (Jk. there are multiple murders and stuff. they've really got other priorities)

- Middle:Below. This is another short one and probably the least famous of this list? It's about this funky lil dude with a ghost roommate and a cat who can talk (.....or can it?). There is a m/f friendship but it never turns into a romance (wow it is possible!!). They all go on adventures on the dimension between life and death. Despite the description, this is literally just a comedy. A bit spooky at best. Reminds me a bit of scarier kids cartoons like gravity falls.

4. "Gay" movies/series in countries with homophobic censorship

Now you may think, "hey that seems like a bit of an asshole move!". And you would be 100% correct in thinking that.

However.

It does also mean that the main relationship of the story can never be explicitly romantic. They can allude to it, they can try to show it. But they can never confirm. So it is very easy to interpret them as having a QPR. (because tbh I don't think I've ever seen one on television.)

Examples:

The Untamed. Look. I am aware that the first episode is so fucking atrocious, all right? And no, the CGI does in fact never get better. And sometimes the translated subtitles are a bit awkward. But I swear that it is so good. Trust me on this one, okay? Just make it through the first ep. It's a wild ride. Lan Zhan I love you. (However the book it is based on (written by a woman) depicts them being in an explicitly romantic relationship, with lots of very inaccurate and badly researched smut, so the fandom pretty much sees them as exclusively romantic.)

- Word of Honor. Very much in the same vein as The Untamed. Except that the first episode is less horrible. And the one dude has a very fruity fan. And they also raise a kid together. And the costumes of the villains are really fun!! I actually never finished this one tbh. I know that the book it is based on has one very extremely terrible ableist plot point, but I don't know if that made it into the show since I never got that far

The Devil Judge. The last two were fantasy, this one is a dystopia. Very tense and interesting. There is a romantic subplot (typical childhood friend vs bad boy love triangle), but he rejects the childhood friend and they can't exactly show him and the "bad boy" (who is actually a judge. and also kinda his sugar daddy) as explicitly romantic for the reason above. They also live in the same house and cook together and take care of a child together. Can totally recommend.

Assassination Classroom. A bunch of students have to kill their teacher who is an alien. that's literally the plot. I cried so hard at the finale. Nagisa and Karma have MASSIVE vibes and you can't convince me otherwise. (There is a romantic subplot that does end in a kiss, but they agree to continue as friends since those were..... extenuating circumstances. The dude very clearly is not into her). Nagisa also very aro-spec coded imo.

5. "Straightbaiting" Anime

Sometimes Anime does this thing (which I personally find very hilarious) where a boy and a girl will have no other romantic involvements or love interests while growing closer and closer, but never get together. A bit like reverse queerbaiting.

Examples:

- Fairy Tail. The ultimate power is friendship anime. That is all you need to know. (I should also perhaps warn you that the end of the last arc (and the sequel series, but we don't talk about that) are huge letdowns. Like the buildup? So good. But....welp. If that doesn't bother you too much and the idea to have a group of people be the main character instead of one person only, this may be the series for you. Just do yourself a favor and skip all the filler arcs

Soul Eater. I really love the vibes of this one. Once again, most of the fandom likes depicting them as explicitly romantic, but they never canonically are. It also reminds me a bit of creepy children cartoons. It is also where the superior fictional school exists, Devon. Frankenstein teaches there (the dude, not the monster). People transform into badass weapons. Nobody can convince me that Make Albarn is not a trans woman. However the ending deviates a bit from the manga, and I personally think the anime one is a bit worse

Noragami. This one will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the first anime I really watched. This one also has people who transform into weapons, but the vibes are very different. It goes a bit more into Japanese folklore in case that interests you.

Bonus: Canonically Aro/Heavily Aro-Coded Characters

They were not anywhere above because the stories they are in didn't really fit any of the categories. But they exist!

Wolf (Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts). I adore Wolf. There is also barely any romance. Like, it will seem like it at first, but don't worry, it's only straightbaiting. There is a romance subplot but it's very brief and very much in the background. Overall very good aro show 👍

Isaac (Heartstopper) Very queer show, very high likelihood that you already know of it. The series per se is very romance focused, but as far as I've heard the a-spec rep in S2 is really good

Georgia (Loveless). Actually never read it. But, well. Title pretty self-explanatory dare I say. By the same author as Heartstopper (Alice Oseman)

Chance/Chris and Shadow/Ryan (woe.begone) Are explicitly in a QPR together !! they are also probably the healthiest couple in the podcast lol

Henry Clerval (Frankenstein). Henry is the "a couple of besties!!" to Victor's "we look like a couple <3"

Barbie (Barbie 2023) If you've seen it you know what I mean.

Jo Marsh (Little Women). I never read the book, but Jo in the 2019 movie??? very sus.

I would also recommend checking out Japanese books! I personally think they are much better at writing romance than the western people lol. It's more about knowing each other and sharing your views of the world, thus changing each other and leaving a mark forever, even if the relationship ends. (studio ghibli romance vibes). My favorite Japanese book doesn't have an English translation :(

aber an alle Deutsch-Sprecher*innen: Die Katzen von Shinjuku (Durian Sukegawa) -> og title: Shinjuku no Neko

Can't think of anything else right now, but please leave some of your own recommendations! Hope this helps ^^

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steelycunt · 3 months

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does anyone hear me when i say this.

#both versions because they are both beautiful. frankly #one of the songs ever #music #flyte #alvvays #Spotify

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were-all-gay-and-ugly · 10 months

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summer rain - humid air, cold wind in warm weather

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friedwizardwhispers · 8 months

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Book covers under the cut:

#septimus heap #they slaps so hard #i don't care those are still my favorite covers to this day and i'm an adult who read a lot of books since septimus heap #magyk #flyte #physic #queste #syren #darke #fyre #polls

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dig-jules · 1 year

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"Never Get to Heaven" by Flyte + The Triumvirate (Star Trek)

"I thought you said men like us don't have families."

"I was wrong."

#star trek #star trek: the motion picture #star trek ii: the wrath of khan #star trek iii: the search for spock #star trek iv: the voyage home #star trek v: the final frontier #star trek movies #jim kirk #spock #leonard mccoy #bones #the triumvirate #can we stop sacrificing ourselves for our best friends for TWO seconds...... guys...#this is me finally embracing that the final frontier is my favorite star trek movie #st vi never happened #edit #flyte #never get to heaven #*

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blueberry-beanie · 7 months

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Half Moon Run at Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin | 30th Sept. 2023 | photos by me

A little tale of a great concert with Half Moon Run and Flyte, and of spending a day in Berlin with Andrey the next day. I've divided the text into sections for you to skip to the best part.

Ich will nicht nach Berlin

Berlin has a special place reserved for me in its heart. However, it's not a place of love or appreciation, but a place of chaos and unforseen little catastrophes. This is why I barely wanted to get out of bed on Saturday morning to catch my train. For god's sake, I thought, as I stood sandwiched between other travellers in the second overcrowded train of the day, this city already hates me before I even get there. Of course, that had more to do with the prolonged weekend for German Day of Unity than with Berlin, but still.

Other than that everything went smoothly. The weather was really nice. I was even on time and had a good meal at the Vapiano in the main station. The hostel was fine, although I lost my way a little bit when trying to find it. I put on a new necklace I had bought while waiting for a connecting train and made my way to the Festsaal Kreuzberg. Of course I could not find the location right away as Google Maps lead me into some weird inner yard with loads of graffiti. There were several venues and some outdoor club as well and it was all situated near the river.

Wagenburgen and queues

Since there was no queue I decided to take a stroll along the Mauerweg near the river. Many people had the same idea as me because it was a beautiful Saturday evening. There is some sort of hippie camp in this park called the Wagenburg and people were making music there and dancing. When I returned, there was still no queue. However N had a little heart attack for me, because a certain satirist decided to appear after five months of silence to promote a demonstration against right wing politics. While I was still happily grinning like an idiot, I noticed a photographer and three guys across the street near the venue. I think it must have been the band taking some photos but I did not try to approach them.

People only started arriving half an hour before doors. And right away a young woman called Marianne joined me. She is a big fan of Half Moon Run and had never been to their concert because the band had never visited her home country Mexico. So now she was excited to finally see her heroes as well as their opening act Flyte. She was soon joined by Laurits, who was equally nice. He is actually a big fan of Flyte, so the evening was just a perfect opportunity for them.

The venue itself is actually quite beautiful. It was bigger than I anticipated with an entrance hall that also hosted the merch stand and the cloakroom. The concert hall had a balcony and a podium with red sofas. The three of us secured great spots at the middle-right of the stage. The stage itself was not separated by a barrier so we would have the best possible view.

When I decided to avoid the overcrowded merch stand at the end of the concert, Berlin intervened again and decided that today is not the day for card payments. So I had to return to pay for the album with cash a few minutes later. That was another girl's luck because I gave her the missing money for a t-shirt and and thanked me around forty-two times and immediately paid it back via Paypal. Then it was time to sit on the floor for a while longer and wait until the concert would begin.

Flyte and Half Moon Run

Around eight o'clock Flyte came on to play an acoustic setlist for us. The duo from London consists of the songwriters Will Taylor and Nick Hill. Both of them seemed lovely and have wonderful voices. The songs were calm and dreamy, some a bit sad, others hopeful. They were accompanied by some little stories and funny jokes and overall the audience seemed to love them. I soon realised that the lighting engineer was enjoying themselves with many colourful and moving lights, so I decided to take quite a few photos of the band. I tried out three different prisms to achieve a wide range of effects and overall had a wonderful time.

Then the "living room concert" was over and roadies came onstage to arrange everything for Half Moon Run. We were on Conner's side with the keyboard right in front of us. Dylan's drum kit and keyboard were situated in the middle to the back of the stage and Devon would play on the left side with his drum already set up next to the mic stand.

The band started with You Can Let Go from their current album Salt. It was a perfect opening and I enjoyed it right away. It was followed by one of my favourites, Hotel in Memphis. I was very happy to hear another favourite, Narrow Margins, as well. I realised quickly that everything sounded amazing and that the band hadn't lost any of their power or stage presence, despite of now being a trio. The last time I saw them in Manchester in 2019, they still had Isaac Symmonds as their fourth member, who has since gone solo.

What has not improved, however, is their lighting. It is a rare case when the support act has better lighting than the main band. It was cool and it did fit the songs but it was really dark, unpredictable and a nightmare for taking photos. The other thing I didn't enjoy was the overpowering bass for the likes of Salt and Alco. I think it did not fit the songs and made them less fun to listen to.

On the other hand, the performance of Devil May Care was just lovely. Just as in Manchester, the band gathered around one microphone at the front and sang together. The last song before the encore was She Wants to Know and the crowd went absolutely crazy for this one. Overall, the older songs sounded a bit more rounded and thought-through in my opinion and it was wonderful to hear them live again. The encore started with Favourite Boy and I really got nostalgic because that was the first song I heard live when they played in London at Rough Trade East. I instantly fell in love with it back then and listened to it a lot during my time in London.

Their last two songs were Fire Escape and then of course Full Circle, the ultimate banger. However, we cheered so much that they had to come back one more time to play a final song for us, Need It, another one from their first album. And that was it - the final bow and the lights came up again. Marianne, absolutely overjoyed for the entire concert, caught one of Conner's picks. The setlist went to another girl, but that was alright too.

Happy endings at the merch stand

We went to the merch table because the woman working there had told me earlier that the band may come out. But first there were the two lovely guys from Flyte. Laurits had the time of his life with his heroes, they gave him a hug and took the cutest photo together with their heads resting on his shoulder. They looked like old friends! Overall such an extremely lovely band. If they had any of their albums there I would have bought one. But instead I only told them that I enjoyed their show and that their lights were beautiful. Apparently the lighting designer had been allowed full artistic freedom. I told them that I had a lot of nice photos and they encouraged me to share them later. (They actually did see and share the photos today, which is really lovely!) Then, when almost everyone had already gone, suddenly Devon and Dylan appeared out of nowhere. I actually wouldn't have noticed them right next to me behind a wooden counter if Marianne hadn't exclaimed that they were there. "Wow, where did you come from so fast?" I asked them in surprise. Devon was actually being cheeky and replied "Oh why, we're actually quite late." They first attended to Marianne who was absolutely overjoyed to talk to them. Then it was already my turn and I asked them to sign a CD for me and Devon inquired about my name. So now I have two personally signed Half Moon Run CDs already, yay! I told them it was great to see them again because the last time was in London and Manchester four years ago and Devon agreed that this felt like an eternity. Both of them were kind enough to pose for a photo and I thanked them again and stepped back to allow others to talk to them. Marianne actually ended up going back again to take a photo and the night was already more than perfect.

Nighttime fries

Marianne and Laurits decided to walk me to the nearest station at Treptower park. We talked about concerts and bribing band members with chocolate. Marianne made me laugh a lot when she complimented my "dancing" which is really just me vibing to my favourite songs. I can't dance at all. Because their friend didn't pick up the phone to arrange a meet up they asked me if I wanted to grab food with them. Actually I was very hungry and had nothing at the hostel, so I thanked them and agreed. We went back to Jannowitzbrücke and found a Döner that was still open. After some fries and cold drinks we parted with hugs and I walked back to the hostel to shower and fall into bed.

I have a special place in Berlin's heart - part two

Berlin truly loves me. After around four hours asleep I was wide awake at six in the morning although I only had to leave at ten to meet Andrey. Andrey is a friend of N - he is originally from Moscow but he came to Berlin to live and work in his dream city. He's been here only for a bit more than two months and already feels like a local, walking around in Treptower Park and picking up all cats in a five kilometer radius daily. So I thought, to avoid getting more of the wrath of Berlin, I should team up with someone who loves this city as much as it loves him.

As it turned out, that was a brilliant idea because even with Andrey by my side, we were not in luck that day. It already started with me somehow going to the wrong station, getting lost while explaining to a foreign tourist couple how they shouldn't get lost, and then discovering that my coat had some stains while trying to navigate to his house. Even at his house when I rang the doorbell I somehow managed to run up the wrong staircase, resulting in him being very confused where I disappeared to.

Andrey is a lovely and very outgoing person who is excellent at leading conversations and navigating through the city. An overall well-mannered and lovely guy who makes you feel very safe and relaxed. I am not sure whether he got that part or whether my jokes about how easy it would be to abduct me because I have no sense of orientation unsettled him. In any case we could not have breakfast at the coffee shop he wanted, so we walked to an alternative.

I must confess I have never had breakfast with someone at any bakery or anything. Closest would be some sort of brunch I had in Vienna last year, but that was more like lunch already. Here we had a bagel for me and some eggs for him as well as chai latte and orange juice. The breakfast was tasty, but two wasps agreed that Andrey was much tastier than the breakfast altogether. The poor guy had to battle with them until one fell into my orange juice and flew off after a rescue with the straw.

We talked about a wide variety of topics the whole day as he is a very chatty person who always comes up with something new to inquire about. After the breakfast we took a train to the Museumsinsel where the Pergamon is situated alongside other museums. If Berlin hates me, the Pergamon hates me just a little bit more because this has been at least the fourth attempt to visit it - and it did not turn out again. In fact we could not visit any of the museums because the entry was (almost) free that day. That means that everything was completely booked out.

Berlin zoo and miso soup

I suggested to go to the zoo instead and Andrey agreed. I hadn't been to a zoo since childhood and Andrey had not seen all of it during his last visit. On top of that the weather was absolutely perfect. We took a bus to the zoo and could skip the queue because I had already bought the tickets online. The zoo was well-attended, but not overcrowded at most places. We saw many cool animals, including monkeys, owls and an elephant up close. The elephant was eating acorns and it was amazing to see such a huge animal up close. Meanwhile Andrey insisted that it would be better to have the lions closer and that petting the jaguar would in fact not be dangerous for him. I shocked him a bit with dark humour about bitten off hands or broken bones but I think he was still alright because it was compensated by some compliments about his beard.

We didn't get to see a lot of the pandas and no snakes at all because they were in the aquarium for no reason, but instead we walked for quite a bit to get to some Japanese restaurant that served miso soup. We had to eat in a hurry and our plan of calling N while waiting for food did not work out. We instead called her on the way back to his apartment, where we had left my backpack. It was too short and too chaotic but better than no call at all. Thankfully we made it to the main station in time. Here we were greeted by another special kind of luck only I bring to this city: There were huge queues outside the grocery stores and we had to buy insanely pricey drinks at subway. We parted with a hug and I felt a bit sad and empty to be alone so suddenly after a whole day with such engaging company.

Maybe the drunk guy at the platform thought the same, so he immediately began to follow me around and harrass me literally two minutes after Andrey had gone. This city really loves me... Thankfully I got into another train compartment than him and had a calm journey. There were no significant delays or anything on my way back - on the contrary: My acquaintance and evening show co-mod from the radio was in the same train back home and we travelled the last part together.

Dear Berlin, I had such a wonderful weekend in your city - I just wish you would show me more love. Maybe we should do couple therapy together? I would surely love to come back to see another concert and maybe say hi to Andrey once again. See you soon!

#half moon run #flyte #half moon run berlin #my concerts #my photo

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the-dose-makes-the-poison · 2 months

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youtube

#flyte #tough love #florence pugh #good music #youtube #songpoetry #mine #live music

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meganelixabethh · 2 years

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I love how Angie shows how much *effort* it takes to hate someone you just… love. Simon slips so easily into acting like Jenna’s big brother because at his heart he is and at his heart he loves his littlest sibling. She’s done such a good job of managing to make Simon both the villain of Flyte and a fully redeemable character at the same time.

#magyk #septimus heap #simon heap #flyte #rereading Magyk: Flyte edition

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blufishjames · 2 years

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#digital art #drawing #septimus heap #magyk #flyte #physik #queste #syren #darke #fyre #septimus heap magyk #septimus heap flyte #septimus heap physik #septimus heap queste #septimus heap syren #septimus heap darke #septimus heap fyre #books #fanart

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elyinthe12thcentury · 2 years

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Septimus Heap is set in my home town and if we ignore the authors intentions I can prove it

Some brief disclaimers, I know that technically the books are set in the far future, and with water levels rising could not possibly be set in my area, but death of the author and all that, there’s enough evidence that I have thought of Septimus Heap as local to me since I was maybe 13. Also its been years since I read these books so I may have forgotten some pieces of evidence or have some plot details wrong, but this has been on my mind for years at this point. What else, ah yes, not doing this on my main account because I don’t fancy giving out specific information on where I live, because yikes. Finally, while it may not be my home town specifically, I do certainly feel it is my local area ie the Fens in East Anglia (UK)

Septimus Heap is set in Ely in the 12th century. I have two main pieces of evidence for this, the geography and history of the area (shocking I know). I’ll try not to go into unnecessary levels of detail, but no promises.

I grew up (and currently live) in Littleport, a small town/large village just outside Ely in Cambridgeshire. The main geographical feature of the Ely area are the fens. I dont know how common a term fen is so you’ll forgive me if I explain, a fen is a great big wetland, or marsh, if you will. Now the fens were drained sometime in the 1600s, and before that most of the area was underwater. This is why, even though we’re around an hours drive from the sea, all the place names sound like they’re from a waterfront, LittlePORT, ISLE of Ely, WATERBEACH, and also why I don’t think its set in Ely specifically, but instead, close by, but I’ve got to have a catchy title you know. Growing up I always pictured the Marram Marshes as one of the surviving fens, namely Wicken Fen or the Welney Wetland Centre (neither of which can I find good pictures of right now, why are people taking pictures of the walkable paths and not the views of the fens themselves) which we used to visit often when I was younger. Now I’ll admit that this isnt very strong evidence on its own, swamps aren’t an uncommon thing, and even the surviving fens are nowhere near as flooded as they used to be , so its easy to dismiss that they could be the marram marshes, and if it wasn’t for some of the local history I’d be inclined to agree with you that this is a bit of a reach.

Before jumping into the history I do just briefly want to say that the rest of the local geography also lines up, but where in the UK wouldn’t it. Lots of nearby farmland, and if you travel a little bit plenty of forests (there aren’t really any here specifically because as a consequence of being a fen we have very high quality soil for farming, so it is mostly fields until you get out of the fens specifically, but I don’t think that’s a big deal for my theory.

Now, Angie Sage doesn’t seem to pull from the areas history in general, but there are two characters who’s names either are, or are very close to, prominent figures in Ely’s early history, and its not like they’re common names either. Additionally the lifetimes of these two historical figures seem to line up with their book counterparts well enough for me to give the specific time period of the 12th century. I’ll go through and give a couple of details on each of them in the order in which they appear in the books (which is also reverse historical order, and if I remember correctly, the reverse of how significant they are as characters).

Up first we have everybody’s favourite ghost, Sir Hereward, and his real life counterpart, Hereward the Wake who died around 1072 according to Wikipedia, so important is Hereward to Ely that they even have a pub named after him (but don’t go thinking we’re cool, there is also a small museum dedicated to Oliver Cromwell). For those who didn’t take the Anglo-Saxon/Norman invasion unit of GCSE history, Hereward the Wake was an Anglo-Saxon who led a rebellion against William the Conqueror, the most successful one of them all in fact. The rebels took shelter in a monastery in Ely, or more accurately on Ely which was, at that point an island that only locals could navigate the fens to get to. Many a Norman died trying to cross the waters, until the monks eventually led them across safely. This rebellion is also where every web-toed fen dwellers favourite story comes from, that of William the Conqueror getting a witch to cast a spell on the rebels, which involved her sticking her butt in the air, but I digress.

And then there’s Etheldredda, counterpart to Saint Æthelthryth or as I always heard her called, Etheldreda. I have no idea what she did in her life, but she was a resident of Ely and gained sainthood because she kept her vow of virginity even through marriage. She’s important enough to the history of Ely that my secondary school, Ely College, named a house after her, it may have been the shittest house house, but it was a house none the less. Anyway, she died around the year 679, again, according to Wikipedia, and 500 years later its the 12th century, and my understanding is Queen Etheldredda was born around 500 years before the book she appears in.

Anyway, thats my evidence, like I said, there might be more but its been a while since I read these books. I know the character’s histories and the histories of the real life people don’t really line up, but does anything else? Feel free to let me know what you think, am I insane or is there merit to this belief I’ve held since since I was 13?

#septimus heap #angie sage #magyk #flyte #physik #queste #syren #darke #fyre

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