#more interesting and relatable than caesar at least
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idk why excerpts of pliny the elder aren't in more intro/intermediate latin curriculums, i just saw him expound on the degeneracy of hot drinks because, and i quote, "it must be noted that no other animal seeks out hot drinks, and thus that they are not natural"
#i mean i guess i do use tea for morally suspect purposes#like. give this stuff to some fifteen year olds reading their first full sentences of authentic latin!#more interesting and relatable than caesar at least#mine
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Today on “overthinking this fictional pirate universe”:
The existence of things like the SMILE fruits, as well as the artificial devil fruit Vegapunk made based on Kaido’s devil fruit implies a few very interesting things about said devil fruits and their effects on people’s bodies.
The basic explanation we get on how devil fruits work is that they affect a person's “Lineage Factor,” which seems to be the in-universe equivalent of DNA, or at the very least is something that is related to or integral to a person's genetics. Vegapunk was able to reverse-engineer Kaido’s devil fruit by using a sample of his Lineage Factor, and while we know he deemed it a failure, Momo’s use of it so far implies that it’s otherwise a pretty damn effective copy. Caesar’s SAD formula seems to be an imperfect application of that, but still sure does a heck of a lot to the body of anyone who consumes the fruit it’s made with, whether or not they fail.
This suggests that there are identifiable markers that scientists can see in the genetics of people who have eaten a devil fruit, which also implies that every devil fruit user has a quantifiable biological alteration to their bodies as a result. And we know the Lineage Factor can be affected in other ways too; Vinsmoke Judge altered those of his kids directly through surgery. But most of our in-series examples do come from devil fruits or their knock-off counterparts.
This is most obviously seen in Zoan and Logia users—Zoan devil fruit eaters have the explicit ability to alter their bodies into different degrees of an animal. Logia devil fruit eaters do more or less the same, but instead of say, altering a base human to a base cat, or somewhere in between, it’s more altering the chemical composition of a base human into a different state of matter.
Predictably, it gets weird when we get to the Paramecia fruits, because Paramecia fruits are weird. A lot of them still fit the category of “weird, but plausible in a fantastic sort of way,” like all the fruits that let people generate a substance, and even the ones like Baby 5’s, where she becomes complex weaponry, are still edging on the side of that line.
But then you get the real outliers, like Sugar’s fruit. The eternal youth side effect is the easy part to explain—aging is a biological process—but how do you quantify the toy effect and the memory wiping? Especially the memory wiping, because it affects other people, not her target, and works on a mental, rather than a physical level. What about Belo Betty’s fruit, or Tsuru’s, both of which seem to have some level of brainwashing/alteration of a mental state effect on their targets? What can change about your body that allows you to affect the brain chemistry of other people?
Or hell, Law’s fruit. To the outside observer he’s essentially doing magic; a wave of his hands and things just happen. Sure, there’s a base logic to how it works, but it’s a base logic that is inherently fantastical. Did eating the fruit affect his brain? Is that why he can keep track of everything that exists in his Room—up to and including things like raindrops and snowflakes—without suffering a mental breakdown? Human brains aren’t meant to multitask like that. That’s even before we get to the fact that the Ope Ope no Mi is one of the few devil fruits that seems to confirm the soul as a quantifiable force, or the Perpetual Youth Surgery.
Specific concerns about confusing fruit aside, what can you do with these genetic effects aside from attempt to replicate them? If so desired, could a sufficiently skilled geneticist simply remove a devil fruit eater’s ability entirely? Is that a potential avenue for curing failed SMILE users? It’s concerning if so; of the people we’ve seen or heard messing with genetics in-universe, we’ve got Judge, Queen, Caesar and Vegapunk. Those first three are legit villains, even if Caesar is highly bullyable, and Vegapunk is a straight up mystery working for the marines. Chopper and Law are very good doctors, but I don’t know if this is quite their wheelhouse, even if Law did have access to all the notes he got to snoop into on Punk Hazard.
I dunno; I don’t think it’s a subject we’re likely to delve too deeply into in the series proper, unless for some reason it becomes incredibly story relevant. That said, it is certainly a fun brain worm to roll around, and fun fodder for fic ideas in the future.
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SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard review – a wonderfully lucid analysis
Issues of identity and belonging preoccupied the Romans, and insistently resonate with the concerns of the early 21st century
Thanks to the sophisticated work of archaeologists, we now know more than ever about the diets, health and housing of Roman-era communities from Syria to the German frontier zone. While the lives of the vast majority remain inaccessible to us, the epitaphs of an African ex-slave who ended his days in northern Britain, or a musician from Asia who met a premature death in Rome, give tantalising glimpses of human mobility in the multicultural world of Roman imperial rule.
Yet there are individual Romans who have long been familiar. Mary Beard’s masterful study of Roman history begins with a dazzling account of one such man, Cicero, in the year he held the consulship (Rome’s most prestigious office) and the state faced a terrible political crisis, as a conspiracy led by a renegade Roman aristocrat was uncovered. Cicero’s speeches against Catiline have been a staple of classical education and a reference point for political orators. Catiline has served as a byword for subversion, but he has also been rehabilitated as a champion of the dispossessed – or at least as the symptom of a broken system rather than an incarnation of evil. Was Cicero right in ordering that Catiline and his associates be executed without trial? Beard underlines the difficulties of working out what actually happened, but she also highlights what was at stake, both in Cicero’s own time and later.
The majority of surviving accounts of early Roman history date from Cicero’s time and later, several hundred years after the city’s alleged foundation, but Beard is a wonderfully lucid guide to its murky beginnings, shining a spotlight on dark corners of the Roman forum and the disturbing frequency with which stories of sexual violence (the rape of the Sabines, the rape of Lucretia, the almost-rape of Verginia, averted only by her death) punctuate Rome’s political history.
At what point did Rome make the transition from being a rather undistinguished settlement on the river Tiber, poorer and less well connected than many of its neighbours, to being a superpower in embryo? As Beard makes clear, the empire was generated partly through the exaction of military services (rather than tribute) from subordinate allied communities, yielding a huge reserve of armed force, and in part through the competitive ideology of the Roman elite – every senator dreamed of processing through Rome at the head of a victorious army. But expansion put great power in the hands of individual commanders. It was the empire itself, Beard persuasively argues, that ultimately produced the rule of the emperors.
Beard presents a plausible picture of gradual development from a community of warlords to an urban centre with complex political institutions, institutions which systematically favoured the interests of the upper classes yet allowed scope for the votes of the poor to carry weight. We may think of the Greeks as the great originators of western political theory, but Beard emphasises the sophistication of Roman legal thought, already grappling in the late second century BC with the complex ethical issues raised by the government of subject peoples.
Structures and institutions are the dominant concern in Beard’s compelling analysis but it is constantly enlivened by gripping episodes such as the assassination of Caesar and illuminating details like the significance of Augustus’ signet ring. Central chapters focus on two key individuals: Cicero, in many ways the symbol of the Roman republic, and his younger contemporary, the enigmatic Augustus, architect of the autocratic regime that succeeded the republic. Letters and other documents also allow us glimpses of family life, of what it might mean to be a slave-secretary, of the experiences of Roman upper-class women.
Relations between the sexes could be political dynamite. Mark Antony was in thrall to Cleopatra – or so Augustus alleged of his rival. What claims, we might wonder, did Antony make about Augustus? And if the emperor Nero often figures in the top 10 “most evil men in history”, this may be more to do with his successors’ need to justify his fall from power than his actual behaviour. For the majority of inhabitants of the Roman empire, as is emphasised, it made almost no difference who was emperor.
Beard is ever alert to linguistic nuance, sharing with her readers the point of Roman jokes and nicknames, teasing out the significance of a board game or an epitaph. Artworks and literary texts played a critical role in articulating identities, communal and individual, and in making sense of power in the Roman world. Modern scholars may struggle to interpret these texts now, and though Beard is primarily focused on Rome, she does not overlook the linguistic and cultural diversity of the vast swath of territory over which the city ruled.
The widespread practice of inscribing texts on stone or bronze has preserved the words of bakers, minor magistrates and slaves, as well as those of imperial authority (Beard argues against more pessimistic estimates of literacy levels). The preoccupations of Rome’s 99% can be gleaned from Egyptian papyri, or messages to the gods on lead tablets. Ex-slaves in particular made use of funeral monuments to showcase their citizenship. Issues of identity and belonging were all the more pressing in a world where the majority of Romans had never been to Rome.
Beard makes us reconsider what we think we know about the Romans. Her book is not a seamless narrative of the rise and flourishing of the Roman empire, but a subtle and engaging interrogation of the complex and contradictory textual and material traces of the Roman world.
The most devastating critique of the Roman empire comes in an imagined speech put in the mouth of a British tribal leader (“they make a desert and call it peace”) and was penned by one of Rome’s most distinguished senators, the historian Tacitus. An anxiety about what exactly it means to be Roman seems to drive many texts of the period. This anxiety insistently resonates with the concerns of the early 21st century. As Beard explains, it is not that we should take the Romans as our models. But reflecting on the ways they perceived and organised their world is a valuable reminder that concepts we take for granted – the nation state, for instance – are the product of particular historical circumstances. And that in a globalised world, different forms of identity, of community, of attachment may succeed them.
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New form~! ...or I guess, to be more accurate (in my opinion at least), the rest of the new form~!
(Fucking Tumblr deleted my post just as I was making it, smh)
Anyways, Spoilers, I guess~!
-Geatsing Time
-Oh no, I sure hope Ace doesn't die before the opening credits!
-Keiwa and Neon with the save!
-Run, boy!
-He's awake!
-"Whoa man, you look terrible. Do you get injuries in the future too?"
-Deathless behavior.
-I find it very interesting how they flipflop between "era" and "world" when talking about the differences between Ziin and Ace.
-Learning the fear of human loss, huh buddy?
-Oh fuck, Nobunaga. ...are we talking Core Medals, a little bitch, a Parka Ghost, or Akira Date?
-...I don't wanna imagine him in the DGP, that's an implication I don't wanna imagine.
-Iulius Caesar.
-I have to say, the actor they got to play "A" certainly looks the part of a young Mediterranean lad from that era.
-It's definitely a Lord of Dark Odio-type situation.
-Oh fuck, Kekera.
-And Keiwa too, he's here!
-Keeps getting that coin.
-...certainly a lot to take in.
-"I die. I come back. It happens."
-We know of five major incarnations of "A". The (presumed) original, Garfield, Yakumo, Li, and of course our boy Ukiyo.
-Certainly five lives aren't enough for two thousand years, so that leaves us with far more questions than we've had before. How many wars has he fought in that weren't DGP related? How many languages has he spoken, how many spouses or kids did he have? How many friends or favorite foods or books has he read? Did he ever cross paths with non-DGP Riders before the movie? Or hell, how many times has Ace lived as woman or even an animal?
-Certainly five lives aren't enough for two thousand years, so that leaves us with far more questions than we've had before. How many wars has he fought in that weren't DGP related? How many languages has he spoken, how many spouses or kids did he have? How many friends or favorite foods or books has he read? What kind of day jobs did he have? Hell, how many times has Ace lived as woman or even eschew gender altogether? Did he ever cross paths with non-DGP Riders before the movie?
-All we can do is speculate.
-Ohhhhh, Ziin...
-I'm gonna be honest, I'm really enjoying Suzuki-san's performance, it's quite compelling.
-They say "Never meet your heroes", but...
-Oh boy, here comes the bad guys.
-Hey, Niram. Y'know that Driver of yours lets you fight too, right? I mean, Beroba's far more competent than Chirami could ever dream of being, but she's a teenage girl and you're a grown-ass man and obviously far more experienced in fighting than she is. You could very easily put her in gay baby jail if you show a little initiative.
-Shaddup Neon, he's finally doing something!
-Oh man, this is great.
-I'm being spoiled with these untransformed fights.
-"He doesn't need protecting, does he?" THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING
-Going for the jackpot, huh Neon?
-"Come, Geats!"
-I have to wonder how much of Yakumo Eisu is in there.
-Oooooh, Gigant Time! Been a while.
-Hammer Time?
-Time to dance, Commander.
-Oh, speaking of gay baby jail.
-Boost Mark Two!
-Y'know, I'm starting to think Niram got sick of me complaining and is legally shutting me up.
-Anyways, WOOOO NEON, YOU GO GIRL
-Irritating man! That's Ace for ya!
-Save your oshi, Ziin-kun!
-Oooooh!
-He's awake now!
-Ooooooh, that's a nice standby loop.
-"Move over here, please."
-Dual On!
-Hyper Link!
-Oooooooooh, that's saucy!
-Laser Boost! Ready, Fight!
-Yeah, that's a good one.
-"You like my colors?"
-Jet Lagged!
-Saa... koko kara Highlight da! :)
-350 YEARS WHAT
-Oooooh, those're some spicy effects.
-Oh, okay, he's just
-Psychic now.
-Boost Time!
-Ooooooh, theme's playing, it's real now!
-Second half too~!
-Man, this is so chaotic, I love it.
-Finish Mode!
-Laser Boost Victory!
-She is down.
-See you later, Granny Gotham.
-I see Buffa doesn't appreciate his fans very much.
-"This Driver is mine now."
-All's Well That Ends Well?
-Ooooh!
-Awww, Ziin :)
-"You're my Number 1 Fan, lad."
-"Hmmmm... You lied to us, stole my power, and have the nerve to run your mouth off at me? How adorable."
-...he knows he needs the fingerprint authentication, right?
-"Bleeeeh. Hmph."
-I think Goddess Lady's a bit displeased with you, Michinaga.
-Right, next episode.
-NEON BIRTHDAY.
-Oh no, they're ruining her birthday. That's an unforgivable crime.
-"Surprise Bull-fighting Game", well it was nice knowing you Michinaga.
#the world's next round: trick shot of desire for the grand victory#geats#kr geats#geats spoilers#kamen rider geats
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2022 Reading Log, pt 29
My life has been tough lately, so I do what makes me happy. Read books about monsters.
141. The Old Snatchengrabber’s Big Book of Child Eating Monsters by Mike Rosen. This is not beloved British children’s author Mike Rosen, or asshole Republican pundit Mike Rosen. This is a different one. This book is a collection of folkloric bogeymen, illustrated in a cartoony style. Most of these are European, but some from around the world do appear. Some liberties have been taken with the monsters at hand, mostly in the art—the yara-ma-wa-yho, for example, is an amorphous blob instead of a hairless monkey-frog, and Krampus is both female and thicc. Brief, but pleasant.
142. The United States of Cryptids by J. W. Ocker. I’ve quite enjoyed Ocker’s Season of the Witch and Cursed Objects, and I quite enjoyed this book as well. The book is as much about crypto-tourism as it is about actual cryptozoology. As such, it takes a pretty broad view of what a cryptid is, including various UFOlogical entities, as well as folkloric entities like the wendigo or Navajo shapeshifters, if they have places to visit or sell merchandise for. It’s also pretty respectful, acknowledging that those aforementioned Navajo shapeshifters, for example, are taboo to a lot of Navajo people still. Ocker has clearly done his homework, and acknowledges that creatures like the Ozark Howler are modern hoaxes, as well as suggesting some very obscure monsters that are ripe for becoming tourist attractions (such as the Derry Fairy, the Prime Hook Swamp Creature and the Kodiak Dinosaur).
143. The Enemies of Rome by Stephen Kershaw. In some ways, this is the best whirlwind tour of Roman history I could imagine, covering events from the mythical foundation of Rome to the last of the Western emperors. It is most interested in what the Romans thought of the various people they fought and usually defeated, and how Romans built their own identity as separate from “barbarian”, even though they themselves were barbarians from the point of view of Greek culture, which they wholeheartedly appropriated. A lot of time is spent in the late Republic era, which I appreciated. Too often, books about Rome written for a popular audience skip straight from the Punic Wars to Julius Caesar. One thing I didn’t like, however, was its constant use of modern neologisms. “Fake news”, for example, shows up more than five times before I stopped counting. It was cute once, but rapidly became irritating.
144. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws by Adrienne Mayor. This is a collection of short articles written for various magazines and websites by Mayor, collected and occasionally updated. Most of them are on the subject of weird ephemera of the classical world, often times animal themed. Examples include several articles on tourism in Greece during Roman times, a history of Roman perfumes, the use of weasels as household mousers in the Classical world, and of course writings on Greek and Roman monsters. The book includes her original article proposing that the griffin is based on Protoceratops fossils, and the argument is pretty much just “I went looking for a real animal that looks like a griffin, because I couldn’t imagine that it was a symbolic hybrid, and this is what I found”. In the foreword, she refers to that essay as “embarrassing”, although whether because she has repudiated that (very poorly supported) hypothesis or merely because of its fannish tone addressed to Jack Horner, remains unsaid. I can’t say I recommend this book, but I didn’t consider reading it a complete waste of time.
145. Eaters of the Dead by Kevin J Wetmore Jr. If I could describe this book in one word, it would be “sloppy”. It is a survey of folklore and mythology related to cannibals and man-eating monsters. It seems, at least at first, to be arguing for a hypothesis that all cannibal monsters are embodiments of fears of survival cannibalism, but seems to give up on that thesis half way through. Possibly because the author realizes it’s a non-starter. For example, he claims that ghouls represent a fear of survival cannibalism in the Arabian Desert, before revealing that modern authors consider the corpse-eating and grave-robbing aspect of ghouls to be a Western appropriation in gothic literature, as opposed to an authentic folkloric belief. It also pairs some ideas in very odd ways and acts as if they make sense, like discussing both feeding the dead to vultures (as the Zoroastrians and Tibetans do) and Polyphemus in the Odyssey in the same chapter. It also seems weird to write a book about man-eating monsters, spend an entire chapter on ghouls, but dismiss zombies in two paragraphs. There’s some interesting ideas in here, and some good sources, but I think I would rather read those sources than this book (and in some cases, I have!).
#reading log#monster books#cannibalism#folklore#roman history#classical history#glassical greece#bogeymen#cryptid#cryptozoology
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Have You Seen The New Pokémon ScarVi Competitive Play Trailer? Have You SEEN It?
Bae caught me slippin'. I just woke up to a new Pokémon reveal from the Championships in London. Scope out the trailer while I make some coffee.
youtube
First thing I noticed, of course, was that opening animation with the swirling crystals. I'm guessing they represent the different Types, but I can't help but think of Chaos Emeralds. I could speculate that each crystal here also represents a treasure or something waiting to be collected in the game.
The video proper starts with a brief montage of what it'll be going over, including the new Pokémon, but that can wait. After the montage is a match-up screen with two players in a three-on-three battle. If this screen is any indication, the player characters' default/official names are Juliana (female) and Florian (male). From what I can find, the name Juliana ultimately derives from the Roman name Julius (as in Caesar), which may derive from the Roman god Jupiter, and Florian is derived from Florus (a short-lived, 3rd century Roman emperor) which itself is derived from the Latin word "Flos" (flower). It's not quite clear to me how Juliana relates to the color scarlet (the assassination of Julius Caesar notwithstanding), the Roman emperor connection between the two is kind of interesting.
The trainers send out their Pokémon, and now we get a proper look at the newbie, Cyclizar, facing off against a Cloyster. Just looking at it you can tell it's a genericized version of the box Legendaries Koraidon and Miraidon. The website confirms that Cyclizar is a common sight in Paldean homes and is frequently used as transportation. We'll likely see this Pokémon used by NPC's, and screenshots on the site show a couple NPC's on Cyclizars. Unlike the Legendaries, they NPC's use a saddle with bicycle handles. They are shown standing like Koraidon's Ride Build, and it's probably safe to assume they run on all fours instead of transforming into bikes like Miraidon. I also assume they can't glide, which probably isn't a necessary animation for NPC riders anyway.
I kinda like this guy, at least in concept. I certainly wouldn't ride one when I could ride Miraidon (or literally any other Pokémon), but I do like that there's a generic version of them out there that doesn't leave everyone else out in the cold. I imagine this solves a technical issue or made development easier, as Cyclizar can just use Koraidon's animations. I'm a little concerned, on that note, that this means that any racing will be against NPC's on generic Cyclizars instead of even a select few Pokémon. Still, I have to wonder if you can swap out your Ride Legendary for a Cyclizar. I don't see why you would want to, but it strikes me as a possible option.
Cyclizar's typing is revealed right away, too, as Dragon/Normal. I think it's safe to assume that this means the box Legendaries will also be part Dragon, as has already been speculated. Being part Normal Type is also interesting, when it could've just been straight Dragon. This makes it immune to Ghost attacks and weak to Fighting and, I think, Rock. I wonder if that was done for mechanical reasons or just to emphasize that Cyclizars are common as dirt.
Cyclizar also has a signature move called Shed Tail, which allows it to create a Substitute (with doll and HP sacrifice) and automatically switch out. I can imagine that it'll share this move with only Koraidon and Miraidon, if anybody, this generation and next generation every other lizard-based Pokémon will have access to it one way or another.
What do I think of Cyclizar visually? It's... alright, I guess. If I had seen this before Miraidon and Koraidon I'd probably think it was pretty cool, and I might even had considered putting one on my team. I'm certainly more impressed with its design than any other non-Legendary Pokémon introduced so far. But it's redundant, its existence only justified by Miraidon and Koraidon being Legendary Pokémon and thematically rare. Its for NPC's to use, not the player. I'd almost speculate that you couldn't even obtain a Cyclizar in-game if they hadn't introduced it in a multiplayer context. If you can't put Miraidon or Koraidon in your party right off, though, I might actually consider using Cyclizar as a stand-in. I may even use it in later generations if they're available. But as it stands, I think I'll stick to Miraidon.
The thought also occurs that Cyclizar is the "Present" form of Koraidon (being the "Past" form) and Miraidon (being the "Future" form) in context of the discussion about this game having a time travel mechanic of some kind. It makes sense, though I think it feels like kind of a stretch. On the other hand, Kubfu's lore has it be formerly common but rare enough to be Legendary now (at least in Galar), and such could be the case with Koraidon and Miraidon. But, as they say, time will tell.
I also still feel like time travel would be an unlikely gimmick despite all the evidence for it. It just seems to unnatural for this series to me. It will, if anything, likely be something shoe-horned into the plot near the end of the game for one sequence and never used again. But that's just my opinion.
Cetitan then shows off Mirror Herb, a single-use item that copies the opponent's stat changes. This strikes me as something with limited use, for when you know your opponent is going to buff themselves. Of course, I'm not a competitive player, so I don't know how useful that would be. I certainly wouldn't use it in single-player. I always felt status moves were waste of a turn.
Another item on display is Loaded Dice, which makes multi-hit moves more likely to hit multiple times. If I recall, the formula for that had to be changed at some point because they weren't hitting often enough. I can imagine this means they're turning the odds back down in general, with Loaded Dice making up the difference (and then some). In any case, this is a good item for multi-hit moves in general, and especially against enemies with a means of negating only one or some of the hits but not all of them (such as the ability Sturdy).
Tyranitar shows off the hat for the Ghost Tera Type. I kinda like it, especially compared to the hats we've seen so far. It's nice in and of itself, but also as a reference to the sprite that stands in for wild Ghost Pokémon in Gen 1 until you get the Sylph Scope that reveals their true form so you can actually battle them. Still pretty silly, but I still like it, if only from a "I see what you did there" perspective.
Tyranitar then shows off Tera Blast, a Normal-Type move that changes to the user's Tera Type when Terastallized. That's a neat trick. I think it makes sense to have this kind of move, and I suspect most Pokémon in the game will be able to learn it one way or another. It's a good alternative to just having a move that matches their Tera Type, especially if the Pokémon can't actually learn moves of that type (or is a Normal-Type Pokémon). There are probably also instances where a Normal-Type move is preferable moves of a certain type, like when the opponent can resist or is immune to your Tera Type. And if they're resistant or immune to Normal-Type moves, you can just Terastallize to get around it.
On the website, they've also added the Covert Cloak item. When worn, the Covert Cloak prevents additional effects of moves from occurring. Screenshots show a Hariyama hitting a Cloaked Cycilzar with Fake Out, which as a 100% Flinch chance, and the Cyclizar retaliating. This probably won't protect against moves that only do status effects, unless those moves inflict more than one.
The website also talks more about the online battling features, in a mode dubbed "Battle Stadium." So far, it's pretty basic. You got Casual Battles where all Pokémon in the game are allowed, Ranked Battles with multiple tiers, and Online Competitions where you can join Official Competitions or Friendly Competitions (or make your own). Rental Teams are also back, and you can make your own Rental Teams to lend to other people. That's a nice feature to have, since you can still have your own bespoke team even if you lack the time or inclination to build it yourself. Of course, you still need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to actually use Battle Stadium.
Interestingly, the website specifies that you won't be able to battle against Sword & Shield players, but doesn't say anything about the Let's Go games, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, or Legends Arceus. Granted, you probably still can't battle against those players (considering Legends Arceus' alterations to the system), but it's an amusing thought nonetheless.
There are still more reveals to come. We still don't know who the evil Team is (I'm guessing Team Star or Team Stellar), if there's racing or time travel, what the other two story lines are about, or what the Gigantamax to Terastallization's Dynamax is (if anything). I'll just have to see you again when there's more to be seen.
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Yo, I did some digging about Oberon and our lovely mothman is all over Europe, to the point his true origins is unkown. I might need to send more than one bug though, still I hope you find this interesting! In Arthurian legends, Oberon is mostly known as Morgan and Julius Caesar's son, but in other sources, he is the grandfather of freakin Merlin, or Morgan's brother. In other stories, he has a daughter named Gloriana, whom Arthur falls in love with and eventually, ends up being his ally.
interesting! i did know that in some legends Oberon and Merlin are related but i can't find a source of it, i do remember some people speculating that he's Merlin's dad back in LB6.1
its interesting to see how much connection he have with the Pendragons, im wondering if they're going to release or at least tease PHH Oberon in the future or not since he still have a lot of mystery like his relationship with Zepia Eltnam Oberon
well maybe not in fateverse but he could show up in another TM works
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PART ONE
Famous historical figures and what they'd look in real life. Some more questionable than others, but nonetheless seemed like good and accurate depictions (in my opinion at least). TAKE THIS INFORMATION WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. This is part one.
1. King Tutankhamen
Pharaoh of Egypt (~1550-1295 BCE)
A group of anthropologists took 3D CT scans of King Tut’s mummy. They came up with 1,700 images of his body, and in the end recreated his likeness.
It’s been theorized that King Tut had several physical deformities related to the royal bloodline’s inclination to inbreed. It was believed he had a club foot (for which he owned several canes), an overbite, buck teeth, and wide hips. He was also sickly small in size and had a flat head, a common trend of his period.
His reign was short-lived. The king died at a young age (18-19 years old).
2. Cleopatra
The last pharaoh of Egypt (~52-31 BC)
Katy Perry’s Dark Horse and its modern spin on the pharaoh had been a strong influence on how I pictured Cleopatra, as well as Elizabeth Taylor’s portrayal in the 1963 film Cleopatra.
It’s collectively believed that Cleopatra had beauty compared to that of many goddesses. Even Cleopatra referred herself as ISIS, an ancient Egyptian goddess. She also has been known to woo many men like Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Interesting fact: Cleopatra wasn’t even Egyptian, but Macedonian-Greek. She had traditional Greek features.
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Planeshift review
PLANESHIFT REVIEW FULL
PLANESHIFT REVIEW CODE
PLANESHIFT REVIEW PC
This is a lot like playing Effie Trinket, Caesar Flickerman, and so on up the hierarchy. Make sure everyone in the group knows what they’re getting into before you commit to this! Not everyone is going to be okay deferring to another PC, or taking orders. Their starting gear is even more straightforward, while their feature is about establishing their position in society – superior to the Initiates. The Vizier gains proficiency in History, Religion, one type of artisan’s tools, and one musical instrument. (Protip: if you’re DMing an Amonkhet campaign, be prepared for a ton of Hunger Games jokes.) Much as large portions of Hunger Games and Catching Fire take place in the training facilities, Initiates probably spend all of their time between adventures in the dormitories or whatever that are set aside for Initiates. The Initiate’s feature is interesting in that it establishes a lot of your default surroundings. Five of their six Ideals are the virtues of the setting’s five gods, so that’s on-message the sixth is about expiating the sin of doubt. Their starting equipment is fairly normal, though one doesn’t have to stretch too far to spark a lot of adventure off of “a simple puzzle box” that, one day, isn’t empty. Initiates receive proficiency in Athletics, Intimidation, one gaming set, and land vehicles (presumably so they can drive chariots in the greatest sword-and-sandal style). I assume that a lot of Dissenter PCs started as an Initiate or Vizier, only dissenting once they learned the awful truth.
PLANESHIFT REVIEW FULL
The Initiate and the Vizier backgrounds both offer a full slate of personality features, while the Dissenter does not – but it takes next to nothing to derive them, with negations of many of the Initiate or Vizier features.
PLANESHIFT REVIEW PC
Even one Dissenter PC in a group mostly made up of Initiates and Viziers is going to create a hugely different experience. Completing the Trials of the Five Gods (which inevitably end in your demise) is one of the suggested campaign frames, especially for shorter campaigns. More so than most D&D games, the Backgrounds of party members shape the story and conflicts of the game. You can even start as one of the first two and become a Dissenter in the course of play. You might be an Initiate, working toward being a glorious human sacrifice to the God-Pharaoh a Vizier, one of the priesthood and the facilitators for Initiates on that path or a Dissenter, a rebel against that social structure. Anyway, the document is crammed with usable content, so let’s dive in.įirst up, we have three new Backgrounds, relating to the results of your character’s Ceremony of Measurement. Nicol Bolas’s secret control of the whole plane is advertised throughout the document, and players would have a hard time missing it. Amonkhet is also built upon a dark secret – well, secret from the characters at least. Amonkhet is an Egyptian-inspired dark fantasy setting, which James describes in the Introduction as “outside the core D&D experience,” but I’m not completely sure why – other than being a pastiche of a place that isn’t Europe or Asia, even the elevator pitch is dense with D&D-friendly adventure hooks. Moving the GetInventoryItem up to the client class doesn't makes sense in my point of view since the client has nothing to do with the character.Ĭreating wrappers in the client class for all the xx methods the character class seems overkill.James Wyatt recently released the fourth conversion of a Magic: the Gathering setting to D&D 5e. What can be done about it? or is this one of the places where LOD doesn't apply ? However, even if it was changed to client->GetCharacterData()->GetInventoryItem(PSCHARACTER_SLOT_RIGHTHAND), it would still violate the law of demeter (as far as I know). The first line to get the item clearly violates the law of demeter. Item = client->GetCharacterData()->Inventory().GetInventoryItem(PSCHARACTER_SLOT_LEFTHAND) If(!item || !item->GetItemCommand().Length()) PsItem* item = client->GetCharacterData()->Inventory().GetInventoryItem(PSCHARACTER_SLOT_RIGHTHAND) Void ActionManager::HandleQueryMessage(csString xml, Client* client) In it, I found something like: // This ActionManager is basically a controller like in the MVC pattern.
PLANESHIFT REVIEW CODE
The source code of this game is open source, so I decided to check it out.
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⭐ Double Zero — Restaurant Review
I suggest the restaurant, though I've never been, and I'm surprised to find it does not conjure the upscale atmosphere of what I had imagined the sister to a Michelen-rated Italian-American restaurant would. Perhaps I'm just not familiar enough with Italian culture, but the long tables and corresponding lack of individual tables surprises me. The layout is atmosphere is pleasant though, and modern, with a view of the kitchen.
I'm out with other vegans, and one person is raving about the salad —a plain Caesar at that. I blaspheme myself, as usual, revealing that I am a vegan who does not like salad.
So perhaps I am not the most suitable judge of a salad, but it seemed average at best, with its primary fault being its price. The croutons seemed disproportionately large —satisfying (and surprisingly herbless) flavor, but uncombineable with anything else.
The pasta — "cacio e pepe" — is pretty good, but I perceive it to be a fairly straightforward white sauce with some acidity to conjure up the taste of cheese. At first I was surprised that someone ordered two. Upon seeing the portions, I was still somewhat surprised, but not by their actions. There was probably about 1/4 lb dry weight of pasta per dish.
But, in fairness, Double Zero is a pizza place, and the pizzas are indeed good. I found the truffle pizza is better than the bianca. I was impressed by the cheese denoted by "cashew cream", though maybe only as a result of it mixing with the lemon vinaigrette — the blend of acidity and salt and umami seems perfectly balanced, and I can't imagine much better for taste. To my mild surprise, I also enjoy the kale, which is charred and fits with the overall dish.
I am less impressed by the bianca, maybe because the acidity of the pepperoncini overpowers the cheeses and the rapini is, of course, just bitter. I'm happy eating it, but I have the sense that I'm eating some nut butters with pickles on pizza. I have no idea what the "plant yolk" imparts besides a yellow color.
Upon making an effort to sample the cheeses individually, I find that the macadamia ricotta is good. I just wish it was highlighted more — I would happily take it in a cannoli. There's an appropriate amount of grit and separation, likely owing to the macadamia nuts over the usual cashew, that I appreciate. The cashew mozzarella, by contrast, seems unexciting and run of the mill, with the sweetness and inherent flavor to cashew being the only thing on my mind. The parmesan, while also run of the mill, at least has appreciable flavor and a satisfying texture. The rice mozzarella is somewhat lost in the pizza, and since it seems more sauce-like, it's hard to separate it from the stronger flavors to sample alone.
For dessert, we have tiramisu is served in a bowl, which is interesting, and it proves somewhat difficult to break off and eat with a spoon — definitely a harder sharing experience than anticipated, and I don't have a strong sense of mascarpone or coffee — just a vague sense of mild flavored shortbread floating in cream with a hint of coconut.
I'm charmed by the water being local, informative, and on the table. The menu is less informative, though perhaps I have just lost any familiarity I had with Italian cuisine post-veganism. Service is satisfactory. While the Double Zero scores high for uniqueness and taste, the overall relation to price and value don't encourage a second visit, especially since restaurants are plentiful in the area, including other all-vegan and vegetarian ones.
from the menu
SUNFLOWER CAESAR. ROMAINE. WOOD-FIRED CROUTONS. ALMOND PARMESAN.
CACIO E PEPE. PARMESAN. BLACK PEPPER CASHEW CREAM.
TRUFFLE. CASHEW CREAM. WILD MUSHROOMS. TUSCAN KALE. LEMON VINAIGRETTE.
BIANCA. MACADAMIA RICOTTA. CASHEW MOZZARELLA. PARMESAN. RICE MOZZARELLA. PEPPERONCINI. RAPINI. PLANT YOLK.
TIRAMISU.
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Sorry again for that.
Can I please requests headcanons with Jonathan, Joseph, Dio Brando, and Lisa Lisa(all from jojo) with an S/O who can stop time, but mostly uses it to pull pranks?
S/O Being Able to Stop Time but for Pranks
FANDOM: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Character(s): Dio Brando, Jonathan Joestar, Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa
Type of Request: Headcanons
Word Count: 662
Note(s): No worries! But yeah I'm happy with doing this for you!!
Dio
He doesn’t quite believe it at first but thinks that vampires can exist, it’d be foolish to think other abilities can’t. So if you show him then he’ll definitely be intrigued.
You immediately lose him when you only use it for pranks. You can stop time and you decide to use this ability to pull some childish jokes?
Dio hates to threaten you (no he doesn’t) but he will because he has plans and your time stopping would be perfect for them, the thing is he needs you to quit with the jokes and do something better for him.
Of course he does find amusement with you pulling pranks on some of the stupid vampire spawn he creates, but would prefer you to save your ability for when he tells you to use it.
Do NOT pull any pranks on him with it. He views it as you using your ability against him and he will 100% hurt you as a way to tell you not to do it again.
Jonathan
Doesn’t believe you whatsoever when you mention being able to stop time. When you show him, he is stunned.
He might ask you if you are related to any of the Salem Witches from two hundred years ago. He is an archeologist so the idea would be fascinating but also a tad scary.
Him learning that you only use your time stop for pranks will cause him to feel so much relief. You could be doing so much worse but the fact that you don’t makes him feel happy.
He would only want you to use your pranks on bad people though. He doesn’t want innocent people caught in the crossfire. And as much as he doesn’t like Dio, he doesn’t want you pranking him either because Jonathan doesn’t want Dio hurting you.
If you pull a prank on Jonathan then he’ll be a bit frustrated. He’s gone through enough crap in life thanks to Dio ruining everything so a small prank from you would cause him to question the relationship. Just remind him that you love him and he’ll apologize.
Joseph
The idea that you can stop time is insane and he definitely doesn’t believe it until you give a demonstration. After that, he is all for this.
Like he loves it if you use it to trip up some jerk or draw on someone’s face with marker.
If he finds out that you pranked him with you ability then you can expect him wanting revenge as he’d start chasing you, exclaiming that he’ll “tickle you to death”
Please use it on Caesar. Joseph will beg you to use it on Caesar multiple times. The guy is a cocky prick (like Joseph is one to talk) and needs to be knocked down a peg.
Joseph would absolutely fake heartbreak and let out an “OH NO!” if he finds out that you pranked him because Caesar asked you to. Just gives him a reason to annoy the blonde as well as get you back.
Lisa Lisa
She wonders if this isn’t actually time stopping and it’s some sort of Hamon ability that lets you to move extremely faster than anyone else.
Lisa Lisa does ask you many questions about your ability because it is so interesting and she wants to explore it more.
The idea of you using your ability just to pull pranks causes her to chuckle at the innocence considering you could hurt people but instead decide to joke around.
She would love for you to use your ability when she’s training Jojo and Caesar as a way to “punish” them when they’re falling behind in training or irritate her (it’s honestly mostly Joseph that gets the pranks).
If you pull a prank on her then she’ll shake her head with a smile before retaliating. Not immediately. She’ll make you think you got away with the joke but when you least expect it, that’s when she’ll get you.
#jjba#jjba x reader#jojos bizarre adventure#jojos bizzare adventure x reader#dio brando x reader#jonathan joestar x reader#joseph joestar x reader#lisa lisa x reader#lisa lisa#jonathan joestar#joseph joestar#dio brando
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Analyzing Kars' Character
Hello everyone! FYI I am not ignoring your requests. I have tried for a week to get them finished and I keep losing motivation. Then I had the brilliant idea of writing something else about an interesting topic and then I’ll be able to finish a few requests! Today’s post is another character analysis. This is still a multi-fandom blog; you will see content related to other shows besides Voltron. Today’s character analysis is on Kars, the 10,000-year-old vampire. That’s funny. He, Allura, and Coran are the same age!
Overview
I watched JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures about a month ago when I became frustrated that there were only 4 seasons of Hunter x Hunter on Netflix. Remember the scene in the election arc when the citizens were casting their votes for chairperson and Hisoka walked up with his arms forming an “S”? Many people were posing the question of it being a “JoJo’s” reference and for the life of me, I never understood what they were talking about. Finally, I watched the show for the first time and by season 2 I could understand what they were saying.
I have to admit that by the second episode I was bored because the nature of season one took place in the 1800s England and nothing exciting happened. Though I worked my way through a few more episodes. I noticed a creepy stone mask on the way and how it never fell unless blood was splattered on it. I concluded the mask was going to play the role of an antagonist or help the antagonist succeed. Although this post is about Kars, I would like to take a moment and say that Jonathan’s death was very heart wrenching and it made me angry. Jonathan was unnecessarily nice to Dio and living in a privileged bubble lead to his demise. Jonathan was stronger than Dio and he should have kicked his ass once and for all. Have you noticed that after Joseph’s father, all JoJo’s (at least until season 5) could beat the antagonist in the show?
Anyway, the mask is a key tool in the bizarre adventures that each protagonist experiences.
Kars is a 10,000-year-old vampire that designed the Stone Mask and is essentially responsible for the horrific events that have happened throughout history. Dio being turned into a merciless vampire and his minions resulted from the Stone Mask. After discovering that he and his people could not be out in the sun, he concluded he needed the Red Stone of Aja to complete his transformation. Lisa-Lisa, a 50-year-old human woman, has possession of the stone given by her foster father Straizo. Kars, along with the 3 remaining Pilar Men (Wamuu, Esidsi, and Santana, can only survive in the sun if they two wear the mask with the Red Stone of Aja. After awakening, it is quite clear that Kars is on a mission to retrieve the stone and will destroy anything in his way. He was the only one wanting to live a life outside of the darkness. This was the driving force of creating so many Stone Masks and later discovering the need for the Red Stone of Aja. Kars understood the mask would only work on him partially because of his larger skull size, aka body manipulation. This created an increase in hunger. The Pillar Men did not like this at all and sought to eliminate him so he could not ruin the flow of nature. Kars retaliated; he murdered 99% of his people only leaving his friend Esidsi, and two children known as Santana and Wamuu.
Kars’ character is very interesting. A dog was about to have its life ended because of drunk drivers. I don’t know if this struck a nerve in his soul, but Kars nearly cut off the driver’s head, causing them to crash their car and the puppy was saved. After being defeated by Joseph the first time, he landed at the end of a snowy cliff, making sure he did not land on a few daisies. Given these unique interactions with nature and secondary species, Kars has some vendetta against humans. What did they do to him or his people for him to care only about flowers and animals but want to wipe out Harmon users? He insists that Lisa-Lisa drink poison instead of fighting her. Fighting women is something he and Wamuu don’t take pleasure in doing. When I heard this for the first time, I didn’t know if that was something to be proud of or if he was being misogynistic (you know the stereotypical view society has about women). Even if he genuinely did not want to lay a finger on Lisa-Lisa or any woman, his intentions are very questionable. He mimics politeness. If Kars offered to pay for dinner or a drink, run. Just run because if you don’t, you’ll probably be turned into a vampire or be eaten alive.
This is off topic but I wanted to pose this scenario. After watching Battle Tendency for the 10th time, I always like to bring out the “soft” side in villains. Being a sucker for Fluff isn’t helpful. I know that’s defeating the purpose of villains and antagonists, but I can’t help and wonder how it would show in Kars. As I’ve previously stated, Kars seems to care for animals and plants more than humans...so there’s a soft spot somewhere in there. I had a rather amusing and odd thought involving Kars and Lisa-Lisa. Since Lisa-Lisa is the leader over Caesar and Joseph and Kars is the leader over the remain few Pillar Men, I can’t help but wonder how they’d react to each other. When Lisa-Lisa is ordered by Kars to stay at their hideout while Joseph retrieved the Stone, I know she didn’t stand there like a statue for nearly 12 hours. I imagine Kars offering a drink, water, or juice just to get her talking. I mean, she has to warm up to him or it’s going to be a horrible 12 hours. Then he’ll try to engage in conversation and will only try to flirt with her to see how she responds. He may make a comment about how clear her skin is, how perfect her makeup stays intact, or how her legs look better than his (well, duh, you’re 9,950 years older than her!). This way, he can exploit anything he deems as a weakness, but she is a smart woman. She would reveal nothing about her that could be used against her. As OOC as this seems, it could be something he’d do. Remember, he mimics politeness; he has a trick up his sleeve. Although that may be true, at the back of his mind, he really admires how young and enchanting she looks.
Although Esidsi, Wamuu, and Santana are Pillar Men, they are ancient humanoid superhuman beings who lived on the American continent. They have supernatural abilities that leave them invincible while the sun is down. They look similar to humans, but they are much bigger and muscular. Among the 3 remaining Pillar Men, I seem to gravitate to Kars than the others. Before you judge me, I’ll explain. Kars, like many male characters in this anime and others, has a unique character design. Contrary to popular belief, I like Kars better in his head wrap or while he is wearing his hat and cape. That outfit reminds me of a ghost/monster from the remastered Scooby-Doo series in the 70s. The one thing in particular that stood out to me was his eye shadow and mascara. The earrings didn’t surprise me as every time I draw my male characters, they automatically get a pair of earrings. While being physically fit, he can make ANYTHING look excellent!
Just like any villain, Kars and Joseph are equally arrogant and can exploit their opponent’s weaknesses against them. Making jokes about Lisa-Lisa while she is unconscious nearly sets him over the edge and while Kars thinks he has defeated Joseph, he is launched into space.
Last but not least, I noticed how the first two protagonists form an unusual bond with their enemies. As many of you have seen, Dio calls Jonathan JoJo but does not acknowledge Joseph or Jotaro in the same way. He does twice towards Jotaro but not after that. Kars refers to Joseph as JoJo and I have to believe that even if he knew his real name, he’d still refer to him as JoJo. Wamuu stated that fighting Jospeh was worth his time as he did not waste it and fight fairly. Throughout their battles, they somehow remind me of childish games with the name-calling and all. I wish Kars was not a “onetime” villain. I wish he could roll over to the next season. This is a preference, as I hate seasonal villains, like Chrollo Lucilfer or anyone similar.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!
#jjba#jojo's bizzare adventure golden wind#jojo's bizzare adventure x reader#jojo's bizzare adventure battle tendency#jojo fanart#jojo's bizzare adventure diamond is unbreakable#jojo's bizarre adventure#stone ocean#kars#jojo kars#pillar men#esidisi#wamuu#battle tendency#jjba part 2#caesar anthonio zeppeli#lisa lisa#jojo part 2#jojo spoilers#jjba kars#shiro phantom vox writes#jjba vampires#stone mask#dio brando#jjba headcanons#jjba kars headcanons#anime#manga#jojo headcanons#jotaro x reader
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𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬.
𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 𝟏𝟎.𝟏𝐤
𝐍𝐁: 𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐡𝐨𝐥, 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭
Monday, 25 September 2017
It was strange to Y/N that she was enjoying herself as much as she was just then in an educational setting. In school, she had never really liked any of the subjects besides English, and here at uni, she got to sit and listen to professors who were truly experts on English literature ramble on about Othello and specific analysis on act 3 scene 3. She loved every single second of it, and was sure she could sit there for hours on end just listening to her professors. At one point she was sure this would all get tiring and she’d hate University, but in that moment, hearing her professor, Richard, talk about things that truly interested her, was such a breath of fresh air compared to what she had experienced previously.
The door to the lecture hall opened, and since the doors were right by the blackboard where Richard stood talking about Othello and the ‘temptation’ scene, all eyes landed on the blonde girl in pink shorts and a white jumper. She smiled at Richard, mouthing a “sorry” before taking the first free seat she could find, which was conveniently right beside Y/N. The two girls shared a small smile themselves before Y/N went back to focusing on the lecture happening in front of her. Y/N was hunched over her notebook, writing something off from the PowerPoint slide displayed on the wall in front of her. She did not know how much time went by, she was listening too intently to care about that, but suddenly, the blonde beside her rested her back against the seat and leaned a little closer to Y/N.
“This is quite boring, innit?”
Y/N looked to her left, and to her surprise, realised that the girl who had walked in late was Chloe. The same Chloe who she had met when she registered a week and some ago. She must have been too caught up in the lecture to pay proper attention to her surroundings.
Chloe let out a small chuckle, nodding in the direction of the PowerPoint before she continued to whisper. “The lecture. I knew we’d be discussing Shakespeare in Introduction to English Studies, but Othello’s just fucking boring, innit?”
“I…” Y/N looked at the PowerPoint for a few seconds, then back at Chloe. “Sure.”
They were quiet for a few seconds, Chloe just studying Y/N, eyes searching her face. “You like Othello.”
Y/N felt a sudden urge to relate to Chloe. Since they had met earlier and since she hadn’t made tons of friends on her course yet, she wanted Chloe to be her mate. If they got off on the wrong foot today, they might never sit next to each other again.
“It’s not as good as Twelfth Night, not as bad as Julius Caesar.”
Chloe continued to just look at Y/N, but suddenly, a smile came creeping over her lips. “Take it you like Shakespeare.”
“I like analysing his work, yeah.”
“More of a Modernism, and sometimes Postmodernism, girl myself.”
“I’m not big on either of those.”
Chloe let out a small chuckle again. “You won’t be taking Postmodernism next year then?”
“Not if I can help it.”
Chloe only crossed her arms and stared ahead, still smiling. For a second Y/N was afraid she might have said something to make Chloe detest her, but the next, she reminded herself that she had to live her truth regardless of what anyone said about it. “Guess we’ll just have to enjoy each other’s company in the core modules then.”
Y/N felt a few butterflies in her stomach at that and could not help smiling back at Chloe when their eyes met again.
“How come I haven’t seen you at any Freshers parties yet?” Chloe asked.
“Been busy applying to jobs and such,” Y/N explained. “Gotta get one as fast as possible ‘cause I need money to live.”
“Ahh, fair.” Chloe nodded. “One of my course mates, Hayden – think they’re up there somewhere –“ Chloe pointed with her thumb over her shoulder, indicating further up the lecture hall. “Has decided they’re going to start an Uno society.”
“Uno?” Y/N frowned. “As in the card game?”
“Yeah,” Chloe laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be nice and all, but they’re very passionate about it. Have yet to come out with me, Thian, and Annalise. Those are my other course mates, by the way.”
Y/N nodded. Was she just incompetent at making friends or was Chloe just very good at it? How had she made so many friends, made a small group by the sounds of it, and Y/N had barely talked to anyone on her course yet?
“Hayden promised to come out this Friday, though,” Chloe smiled. “You should come, too.”
For some reason, both nerves and excitement rushed through Y/N at that. She smiled back. “I’d love that.”
“Wicked. It’s at my Dinwiddy flat.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Uni accommodation at Helmond is a huge piss take, I tell you. I feel like there’s mould everywhere.”
“That’s just UK houses in general. We’ll all die from it one day.”
“It’s literally disgusting,” Chloe said. “Also, one of my flatmates never does his dishes. It’s minging. And it’s started smelling, too.”
“Oh, my days.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad I just immediately moved in with my best mate instead of going through the whole uni accommodation thing. At least I can be assured that they do their dishes and no food’s left on the kitchen counter for too long.”
“Oh, that sounds lush.”
The people around Y/N and Chloe were all starting to pack their things and get out of their seats. Seeing as the two of them were sat by the edge of the row, they had to get up rather fast and let people through. So, that’s what they did. Y/N put her notebook and pencil case in her rucksack and slung it onto her back before she and Chloe made their way out of the lecture hall and out into the hallway beyond.
“There they are,” Chloe grinned, waving as she saw a small group of three standing by the wall a bit further down. “Come say hi.” Though Chloe wasn’t looking at her, Y/N assumed she was talking to her, so she followed her over to the rest. “Gang, this is Y/N, the one I met while we were both registering.”
“Ah, you’ll be Y/N, then,” a man with protruding cheekbones, a strong jawline, and deep set, brown eyes said. The Viet man’s smile lit up the room they were standing in, and it made Y/N’s overthinking ebb. “I’m Thian, pleasure to meet you. Chloe told us she met you, but never saw you since.”
“Proper rude of the universe to keep us away from each other for so long,” Chloe said.
“I’m Hayden,” a smaller person said with the greenest eyes and long brown hair. They too had a smile like Thian’s, but this one displayed crooked teeth, which made Y/N more at ease with her own bottom teeth that were the same.
“And I’m Annalise,” the last one said, her hair dyed an unnatural dark red colour that Y/N absolutely loved. “I think I saw you in a Critical Reading seminar.”
“Oh, yeah, I think we might be.”
“We’ll have to sit next to each other next time!”
Y/N could detect a slight accent, but she could not tell where Annalise was originally from. She suspected Germany, there were tons of international students here after all, but Y/N did not want to assume.
“Guys, we have to plan the first Uno society meeting,” Hayden said, looking at the time on their phone. “It was so nice to meet you, Y/N, but we’re in a bit of a hurry.”
She just smiled. “No, totes get that. I need to get back to my flat, anyway.”
“See you around, then,” Chloe smiled, waving as the four of them walked off.
Y/N walked home to Orsman Road. Though she knew there would be less walking if they took the tube, it would also mean that she had to walk on and off boiling hot tube trains and stations, and she was not about to do that. She was sweating enough in the late September sun as it was, she did not need the tube to contribute to her sweat moustache as well. Instead, she plugged her earbuds in and listened to her most recent playlist on Spotify, humming along to her favourite tunes as she walked.
She stopped by Gregg’s by Dalston Kingsland station, buying herself a sausage roll and an iced latte before walking the rest of the stretch home. Hackney bustled around her, with tons of cars, double deckers, and mopeds driving by, as well as all types of people milling to and from work. The early autumn sun was still a little too hot, but it seemed like most Londoners were soaking up the sun while they could. They were walking by in shorts, tee shirts, and summer dresses, while the only reason why Y/N was dressed in her tee shirt and trousers, was so she would not quite literally go up in flames on the way home.
Y/N arrived at Orsman Road not long after her trip to Gregg’s, and walked up to the flat. She locked the door once she was indoors, checking the kitchen and the living room to see if anyone was there. To no one’s surprise, none of her three other student flatmates were home in the middle of the day on a Monday. She walked up the stairs and to her room, letting her door be open so she could air out a bit more. Her windows had been open all day, so her room smelled fresher than normal as she entered. That just reminded her that she had to buy some scented candles or air fresheners to liven up her room.
Putting her rucksack down by her door, Y/N started looking through the two bags that she had yet to pack out from. In one was most of the stuff she’d put on her desk when she finally bought that, and in the other were loads of decorations that she had yet to bring forth. She started pulling out fairylights that she wanted to hang across her room or over her wall, when she heard footsteps. Out of the door directly to the right once you came up the stairs, came a man with short dark hair and a strong build, thin lips and pale skin. He must have heard movements outside his door, because his eyes landed on Y/N almost right away. However, he smiled at her and Y/N immediately knew who this was.
“You’re Y/N, then,” Mason said, walking over to stand in the doorway of her room. “Mason, your third flatmate.”
“Thought I’d never run into you,” Y/N smiled, making his smile grow.
“Yeah, got here like two days ago, and have been all over the place since. Helped some of my mates move into their flats, been at work, and at rugby practice.”
She nodded. “Busy man.”
“Very busy.”
“Lucky I caught you now, then.”
Mason nodded his head. “Would have eventually. Knowing Nath, he’ll probably end up forcing us all to bond as a flat at one point.”
“Sounds horrific.”
“It was. It will be,” Mason laughed, leaning against the doorframe and pushing his hands into his grey joggers.
Y/N furrowed her brows. “It was? He’s done it before?”
“Yeah, our first year. He made everyone in our flat bond, he especially talked about flat yoga sessions and shopping trips when he was drunk or high as a kite.”
She dropped the fairylights and turned her full attention on Mason. “You lived together your first year?”
Mason just looked at Y/N, blinking a few times. “Yeah.”
“All three of you?”
“All three of us. Me, Nathan, Harry, and like five girls.”
Y/N felt like screaming, but lucky for her dignity and Mason’s ears, the front door opened and closed. Nathan’s singing could be heard all the way upstairs. Instead of screaming, Y/N called Nathan’s name, not caring that Mason saw just how annoyed she was now. Poor bloke had no idea what he’d just said. Nathan strolled up the stairs and looked in Y/N’s room’s direction, his face lit up at the sight of Mason and Y/N together.
“What a view!” he grinned. “What’re you two bonding over?”
“Right now we’re bonding over being your friend,” Y/N said.
“Which I’m sure you’re both honoured to be, yes.”
“And I just heard you’ve lived with Mason and Harry for the last year, but have not told me,” Y/N said, ignoring Nathan’s previous comment.
Nathan looked to Mason, and then back at Y/N. “No, Harry moved in later. He lived in another flat first, hated it, and since him and Mason were good mates, he got to move into our place since one of our flatmates dropped out our first week.”
Not caring that she would smudge her makeup, Y/N ran her hands over her face. “How long did he live there, Nate?”
Silence for a second or two. “Start of second semester till we moved out.”
Y/N let go of a heavy sigh. “Nathan, why didn’t you just tell me?-“
“-I know, I know, I know,” Nathan started, walking into Y/N’s room and sitting down on the floor beside her. “I’m a shite friend.”
“You really fucking are,” Y/N said, swatting Nathan’s hand away when he tried to take hers. “Harry was both of our friend when he lived in Notts those months, and I literally had sex with him.”
Mason took a small step back in pure shock, blinking rapidly as if an eyelash fell onto his eye.
“Don’t I have a right to know you’re living with him?” Y/N asked.
“You do. Of course, you do. I just… I thought I told you at one point, and when I got home and I found out I hadn’t told you… I didn’t know how to break the news.”
“How about just telling me?” Y/N shrugged her shoulders. “Instead of hiding it from me like that.”
“Technically, I didn’t hide anything ‘cause I thought I-“
“-Nathan, I’ll literally skin you alive-“
“-Fine, I should have told you,” he groaned, taking her hand this time and holding it tight in his. “How can I make it up to you?”
Y/N thought for a moment, but came up with the perfect solution. “By coming with me when I go out with my course mates on Friday?”
Nathan just looked at her, blinking once. “My punishment is to… go out with you and your mates?”
“Yes. I barely know them, I need moral support. No matter how bad the person giving me said support actually is.”
Nathan looked down at their hands, patting hers slightly. “I’ll come.”
“Thanks.”
He continued to look down at their hands as Mason’s quiet footsteps back to his room sounded throughout the first floor. “I do have a lecture that finishes at 7pm-“
“-You’ll skip that lecture if you so have to.-”
“-Yes, ma’am,” Nathan answered without hesitation, kissing her hand and getting up from the floor. He gave her a small smile. “And I’m sorry. I know I should’ve told you.”
Y/N nodded. “Is there… Is there more you haven’t told me? In regards to Harry?”
Nathan pretended to think for a few seconds, eyes getting big as if he remembered something.
“Nath?”
He chuckled. “No, nothing.”
Y/N hit him on his calf before he walked away. “You’re bloody buying the first round of drinks on Friday.”
“As I should,” was all Nathan said before he danced off to his room. Y/N picked up her fairylights again, trying to get them out of the messy tangle they were currently in so she could finally make this room look like her and her new home.
Friday, 29 September 2017
Y/N was nervous. She was usually nervous before going someplace she had never been before, or to meet people she had never met, but it was never like this. Her nerves were almost always drowned by her natural eagerness to be around people, to be surrounded by friends and strangers. However, this, her first pre-drinks at uni with other people, had her feeling a little too nervous for her own tastes.
She loved parties. Fuck, if she could party every single day, she would. She did not care about the hangover that came the following day, as long as she had a good time the night before. At home in Nottingham, she would have loved to party as much as she had in London, but for some reason, meeting as many new people as she had, made her nervous for some reason. It was weird to Y/N because she loved making friends, but it was different here. She had yet to figure out what about University that triggered this reaction out of her.
A knock sounded at her door and she grunted, which Nathan took as a good enough sign for him to be allowed entrance. He grinned, sitting down on Y/N’s fluffy dark blue duvet cover and looked his best friend up and down.
“Lush,” he said.
Y/N glanced at the mirror in front of her again, running her hands down her sides. Her black ruched detail ribbed crop top fit her perfectly, making her tits look exceptionally good, and the gold necklace and earrings topped it all off. The crop jeans in light wash blue were tightened at the waist by a black belt with silver eyelets, the black lace up boots made her almost as tall as Nathan. Though Y/N had been out on town in Nottingham with this very same outfit, she was unsure about it now. There was a familiar fear in the back of her head; one that had not visited in a while, one that would lay low until it saw fit to paralyse her. Y/N was experiencing only the tip of the iceberg now. The rest would reveal itself later, it would all melt and drown her in nervous ticks and anxious tendencies.
God, she hated how nervous she was. This was not like her at all. Nathan knew this, which was why he picked up on how unusually quiet his best friend was. He got up from where he was seated on the bed, walking over to Y/N and placing his hands on her shoulders.
“What’s up?”
She took a deep breath, looking at him in the mirror. “You remember the party at Jack Lloyd’s?”
“When we were 17?”
“Yeah, and I was nervous to wear that tight-fitting dress? ‘Cause of my stomach?”
“Yes, even though you had no reason to be nervous.”
She sighed. “Well, I’m feeling like that now,” she admitted. “Not as intensely, but it’s there and… I haven’t felt this nervous about being seen in a long time.”
“What do you mean ‘being seen’?”
“When… When you’ve had and still have a hard time accepting yourself, it’s hard to let others look at your body ‘cause you don’t want to exist outside your own head, if that makes sense? Being seen means people will have an opinion, it means they’ll piece together this image of you before even getting to know you. It means them judging you on your looks alone before they get to actually know you.” Y/N shrugged her shoulders a little, Nathan squeezing them ever so slightly. “My confidence is much better now, but I still have those moments every so often when that 17-year-old girl I used to be will come back and whisper something discouraging into my ear.”
Nathan nodded, wrapping his arms around her neck and bringing her to him. She melted into her best friend, taking a grip of his forearms. “I know it’s much easier said than done, but focus on now. You’ve come so far, and though that 17-year-old is part of the reason why you are who you are today, she’s got nothing to do here. 19-year-old Y/N has come so far, she has no time revisiting the past ‘cause she’s going to a party tonight, and it’ll be fucking fantastic, yeah?”
Y/N chuckled, closing her eyes as Nathan planted an encouraging kiss to her cheek. “Guess you’re right.”
“Of course I fucking am.”
She laughed.
“Now, get your vodka, tequila, sourz, or whatever the fuck you’re drinking, and let’s go.” Nathan let go of her and walked to the door, opening it. “You got Chloe’s address?”
“Yeah, it’s Dinwiddy, flat 10.”
“Uni accommodation?”
Y/N huffed, reaching for her purse and putting it over her shoulder. “Did you expect my first-year mates to live anywhere else?”
“Not really. Dunno why I’m shocked.”
Y/N searched through her purse, checking she had everything she needed before reaching for her plastic bag where her drinks were.
“Still remember when I lived in Coopers Court with Harry and Mason. Oh, how time flies.”
Y/N stopped short, narrowing her eyes. “I still cannot believe you didn’t tell me anything about you living in the same flat as Harry your first year at uni.”
Nathan sighed.
“Cannot believe you didn’t tell me he went to Helmond. Cannot believe you wanted us to live together without at least informing me-“
“-Mate, are we done with this?”
“Don’t think I’ll ever be done. You tricked me into this.”
“I did not.”
“What did you think was gonna happen when I found out?”
“We’ve been over this,” Nathan said. “I didn’t think it’d be that big of a deal. Harry did not react like this when I told him I promised to live with you my second year, your first year.”
Y/N rolled her eyes, having already heard this.
“In fact, he did not mind one bit living with you.”
“I mind living with him.”
“Clearly, or else we wouldn’t still be having this conversation.”
Y/N tutted, walking past Nathan and down the stairs. “I’ll let this argument be for the time being, but expect me to pick it back up again tomorrow when my mind’s not all over the place. I want to be able to fucking destroy you.”
“Great. Can’t wait.”
Y/N and Nathan started walking in the direction of Dinwiddy, the biggest uni accommodation at Helmond, where most students ended up staying. Parmiter Street was a mere 30-minute walk away, and though they could have easily taken the tube, they both knew that it would be best for them to get some fresh air before drinking. Y/N also wanted to walk off some of her anxiety, though she was fairly certain that would not happen. On one hand she was looking forward to meeting Chloe and the rest of her English Lit gang, on the other, she was nervous. Her nerves came more from fear of experiencing the same blinding anxiety she had when she was younger, for that same feeling of helplessness and bottomlessness that it had brought her. What if it appeared when she was drinking? What if it got worse as she got drunk?
She hated how moving away to London and to University had brought her so much doubt. It was like she had to figure out who she was all over again. Here, it was only Nathan who knew her. Well… him and Harry, but the latter did not count. If Y/N so wanted, she could become a new version of herself. She knew that was something uni offered; finding a new you and shaping it into a person you want to be. There were several things Y/N wished she could change about herself. She had a horrible temper, was a little too loud at times, took many things far too personal, and more. She was unsure how much independence and a new environment could help make her a better version of herself, but she hoped Helmond and London could help her to some degree.
Once they arrived at Parmiter Street, Nathan walked straight onto Dinwiddy campus grounds and showed them the way to flat 10. The brown brick buildings rose five storeys high around them, shaping a small T formation with some benches along the stone path where people could sit on the few occasions when the weather would allow it. Nathan had been there the year before, loads of his friends from his Criminology course had lived at Dinwiddy accommodation and therefore hosted pre-drinks there. Nathan knew his way around, and, sure enough, he showed them right to flat 10. On the right hand-side, the first building, Nathan strolled over to the entrance.
He met Y/N’s eyes, trying to get a picture of just how nervous she was. After all, these were her friends, and had they been home in Nottingham, she would not have been this nervous at all. Nathan was not anxious at all, and he had never talked to – never met – Chloe or any of Y/N’s course mates.
“Listen,” Nathan said, giving Y/N a small smile. “If it gets too much, we’ll just go home, yeah? I won’t leave your side.”
Y/N smiled back, nodding her head. “Yeah. I’ll send Chloe a text saying we’re here.”
“We could just ring the doorbell.”
She looked at him. “Nath.”
“Y/N.”
“What were phones invented for if we’re just gonna ring people’s doorbells? I’m sending her a text.”
Nathan reached forward and rang the doorbell, making Y/N raise her eyebrows at him and take a deep breath as not to throw him against the brick building.
“Yes?” came from the speakers beside the doorbells. It was Chloe.
Nathan nudged Y/N, nodding in the direction of the speakers. She glared at him. “It’s Y/N.”
“Ahh, brill!” Chloe unlocked the door for them and Nathan opened it, letting Y/N enter first. They walked over to the stairs, looking at a sign there that showed them flat 10 at the topmost storey.
“They don’t even have a bloody lift, do they?” Y/N asked Nathan as she looked around.
“Gotta walk, mate.”
“Fuck me,” Y/N groaned as they began their ascent.
“I’d rather not.”
Despite herself, Y/N laughed a bit. They made it to the fourth floor, and Y/N knocked on the door as Nathan breathed heavily beside her.
“Hi,” Chloe smiled as she opened the door, stepping aside to let Y/N and Nathan in.
“Hiya,” Y/N smiled back, feeling her heart beat hard inside her chest. Something about Chloe’s smile, the reminder that she had invited Y/N over, that she wanted her there, settled atop Y/N’s shoulders, making them sag to a comfortable level. “Brought my housemate, hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all!” Chloe said, turning to Nathan.
“Nathan,” he smiled. “Thanks for letting me come here.”
“Don’t mention it,” Chloe said, closing the door and showing them the way down a corridor towards the shared living space where a heavy bass was throbbing. The fluorescent lights overhead in the hallway resembled those at a petrol station, making Y/N squint as she entered the living room. There sat everyone she had the pleasure of meeting earlier that week. Hayden, Annalise, and Thian were all around the table with a glass each to drink. Y/N smiled at them, waving her hand as they all grinned back at her. She still felt like she was intruding.
“Y/N, Nathan, do you like sambuca?” Chloe asked, walking over to the kitchen bench to fetch plastic shot glasses.
“Never say no to sambuca, ey?” Nathan grinned, nodding for Y/N to go sit down so he could follow her lead. “We’ll have a shot each of you’re handing out.”
“I am, indeed,” Chloe said, getting two shot glasses and walking over to the table, placing the glasses in front of Nathan who looked absolutely ecstatic.
“Thanks, babe,” Y/N said.
“You lot playing a drinking game?” Nathan asked, getting his drinks out to mix them all together into his paper cup.
“Yeah, we’re playing Never Have I Ever,” Hayden answered. “However, if no one drinks, everyone’s got to take a sip except for the person asking, but the person asking’s gotta take two if no one drinks.”
“Ahh, alright,” Nathan said. “Creative. Love it.”
“This is Y/N’s friend, Nathan, by the way, guys,” Chloe said as she came back over with shots for everyone.
“Oh, yeah, this is Nathan. He’s a second-year, we live in a flat together in Haggerston.” Y/N suddenly felt stupid for not introducing him right away so that Chloe had to. She felt her cheeks heat up, but she refused to look like she felt headless. Instead, she got her vodka and cranberry juice out, mixing it as Nathan spoke beside her.
“We’ve known each other forever, so she moved in with me and my flatmates this year instead of moving into uni accommodation,” he elaborated.
“You knew each other in Nottingham?” Chloe asked, and, for some reason, the fact that Chloe remembered that made Y/N feel all kinds of warm.
“Yeah, been best friends for years.”
“How nice that you got to live together here,” Chloe smiled in Nathan’s direction, then at Y/N.
“It is, isn’t it?” Nathan said, looking at Y/N and giving her a small wink before going back to his drink.
“Right, we need to take advantage of being first-years and get drunk as often as possible,” Thian said. “So, tonight needs to be good.”
“It’ll be good regardless,” Annalise retorted, taking one of the shots from the tray Chloe had brought to the table.
“Where are we going, anyway?” Hayden asked.
Thian nodded. “Pub or club?”
“Don’t really feel like clubbing tonight, you know what I mean?” Chloe asked, the other three coming with exclamations of agreement or nodding slightly. “Pub then?”
“We have a pub right by us,” Nathan said. “Only 30 minutes away and it’s the best one in Haggerston, in my opinion anyway.”
Y/N wrinkled her nose some. “The Stag’s Head?”
“Yeah, it’s always full and they sometimes got live music and everything.”
“We could go there, yeah,” Chloe said. “If everyone’s in.”
“Could we take a bus there?” Hayden asked.
“30 minutes isn’t a long walk, though,” Chloe chuckled. “As long as Nathan and Y/N show the way, we won’t get lost.”
“Don’t count on my navigational skills when I’m under the influence, babes,” Nathan said, making the others laugh.
“We’re better off using Google Maps, he might just show the way to the Gregg’s by Dalston Kingsland where he thinks the entire staff’s got a crush on him,” Y/N said before taking a sip of her drink, laughter erupting again. It felt good, like a pat on the shoulder, and Y/N instantly eased. Maybe she had not lost her old self at all, maybe she could still feel at ease, even around new people.
“They all flirt with me, and who can blame them?” Nathan shrugged his shoulders, whipping his head to the side so his lush, curly red hair dangled at the top of his head, grinning his wide smile and making the lip piercing shine in the fluorescent lights overhead.
The rest of the night went on, and it was easier to talk to everyone as time progressed. Not only because Y/N got more and more intoxicated, but she also just felt better after getting to know them all. Hayden always laughed the loudest, and their laughter was also very infectious, making it hard not to chuckle along with them. Annalise, though she sometimes stuttered over a few English words, was incredibly considerate and would urge Y/N to continue on with her story when others did not hear her. Thian offered Y/N tons of shots and complimented her on her outfit, making it easier for Y/N to feel good and seen, as she had been terrified of back at the flat. Chloe was easily the boss, and did most of the talking, though no one seemed to mind. After all, Chloe had introduced everyone to everyone, so people knew her the best out of everyone.
As time went on, Y/N just felt better. It was easier to talk to everyone and, at one point, she thought she was back at home in Nottingham, introducing herself to strangers at a party. They all made it easy to forget just how nervous she had been. It made her look forward to seeing them in her other lectures and seminars the coming week and all those weeks after that. Maybe these were the people she would spend her time at University with, and that excited her.
Bottles emptied and the volume inside the uni flat had increased massively. It was close to 9 when Chloe suggested they leave, and assured Y/N that she could leave the little she had left of her vodka at her place to pick up another day. Y/N took her up on the offer, insides warm from both alcohol and Chloe’s hospitality.
Nathan showed the way towards Haggerston and The Stag’s Head, arm entwined with Y/N’s for most of the way there. At one point however, Y/N let go of him and ended up walking beside Annalise and Thian, talking about one of the texts they had to read by Tuesday. It was such a mundane conversation, complaining about course work and talking about coming deadlines, that it felt like they had been mates for ages. The chat flowed so easily, the laughter rolled off their tongues, and it just made sense for all of them to be together, walking along the dark London streets in their tipsy states, making their way towards what would hopefully be the first of many trips to a pub.
They arrived at Orsman Road and they could hear The Stag’s Head before they saw it. Y/N had never paid it much attention. She knew she would end up popping by once or twice during her time at uni, but she had not envisioned her checking it out that first week. Nathan held the door open for everyone, resting a hand at Y/N’s back as he followed her indoors last.
The pub was small, but Y/N was sure that it was bigger than it appeared late on a Friday evening. Straight ahead, in a V formation, stood the bar, a wall filled with bottles of all alcohol imaginable behind it, lit up by red light which fit the dark red of the counter surrounding it. Far down to the left, it seemed the rest of the pub disappeared from view, but judging by the stairs Y/N could see, she supposed there was a loo somewhere in that direction, and it also looked to be where one could go to reach the smoking area. People were both sat and stood by the bar as well as booths along the walls. What appeared to be the stage further down to the right was unoccupied by any performers, though a few lads stood there with a pint each. There were no free tables, and this put a damper on the mood quite quickly.
Nathan, however, pulled them all towards the smoking area and they were all pleasantly surprised to see a free table and two benches untouched. Fairylights hung over the outdoor space, from the house and over to the fence on the other side. It lit up just enough, made it possible to see, but not too bright for people to squint when walking out into the night. A few empty pints and a smoky ash tray stood in the middle of the table, but Nathan put the glasses on the brick fence before everyone sat down.
“Alright, I’ll pay for your drink,” Nathan said, smiling at Y/N. “Anyone wanna come to the bar? Y/N’ll watch the table.”
“Ah, yes.” Chloe got up, the rest of the gang following along and walking towards one of the two entrances to the pub. Y/N got her phone out, looking to see if she had any notifications she had to check out, but there were none. She was about to resolve to scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, when she heard a slightly familiar voice.
“Hi there.” Mason sat down on the edge of the opposite bench, a cigarette in hand and a small smile on his lips. “Didn’t know you and Nath would come here tonight.”
“Oh, hiya,” Y/N smiled. “No, we didn’t know where we’d go after pre-drinks. He suggested this place, so we brought some of my course mates with us here.”
“You going out later?”
“No, think we’re just gonna stay here.”
“Yeah, this is a chill place,” Mason said, puffing out some smoke.
“This is my first time here.”
Mason raised his eyebrows. “Is it?”
Y/N smiled. “You think I should’ve come here earlier?”
“More to do with the fact that our flat just loves this place, thought Nathan would’ve at least taken you here already.”
“He did now.”
“It’s my favourite pub around here, and Harry-“
“-Mase!” Nathan exclaimed, grinning as he came over with two gin and tonics. “You’re here as well!”
“Yeah, it’s a Friday night, innit?”
“Hi,” Chloe said, sitting down beside Mason with a wide grin on her face. It seemed like she wanted to introduce herself or to be introduced, but before Y/N could say anything, the conversation resumed.
“Hey,” Mason answered, looking back to Nathan who seemed to be ecstatic to see one of his flatmates. “Hear you haven’t taken Y/N here till now.”
Nathan sighed. “Not like I didn’t want to, just haven’t gotten the opportunity.”
“What’s so good about this place?” Y/N asked, looking from Nathan to Mason.
“Just close, innit? Also, it’s crowded, but it’s not as crowded as most pubs down by Kingsland Road,” Nathan elaborated.
“You lot have a good night, yeah? Need to get back to my mates.” Mason leaned past Chloe, stumping the rest of his cigarette into the ashtray before he got up, walking over to a big group of lads. Chloe stared after him as the rest of the conversation around the table started back up again, Y/N pretended to not see how she was checking him out. It felt like she was intruding on a moment that was not meant for anyone but Mason to see.
“You’re living with him?” Chloe asked.
“Yeah.”
“He’s well fit.”
“Guess.”
Chloe giggled. “You’re taking the rule to not shag one of your flatmates seriously, then?”
“Shouldn’t everyone?” Thian asked, furrowing his brows. “It only complicates everything.”
“How? It’s only a shag. It’s not like you’re gonna fall in love with them,” Chloe said.
“Can’t really control your emotions, though.” Nathan shrugged. “Two of my flatmates last year shagged. He had feelings for her, she just wanted a one night stand. Didn’t end well.”
Y/N put her drink back down on the table after a long sip. “Well, if you’re clear beforehand and make it clear that it’s only for this night and there’s no emotions behind it other than temporary bliss, then that’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Nah,” Hayden said, shaking their head. “It’s an unwritten rule. Don’t shag your flatmates.”
“Is it a serious rule?” Annelise asked, furrowing her brows.
“It’s got serious consequences,” Hayden answered.
“But if you’re both aware it’s only a one time thing, then is it serious?” Y/N asked.
“Babe, sex is complicated. You’re always just gonna be connected in a way, you know?” Nathan said.
“I can promise you I’m not connected to Ollie Lee in any way, shape, or form,” Y/N huffed, sipping her drink again as Nathan laughed, the other joining in because of Y/N’s obvious distaste in this Ollie Lee.
“Was he awful in bed?” Chloe asked, smiling as she looked between Nathan and Y/N.
“No, I was just desperate one night last year.” Y/N rolled her eyes at herself. “Let’s just say that mid-shag he asked me if I had to go to the toilet, and when I said no, he told me that whenever I felt like I had to, just pee on him instead.”
Gasps erupted around the table, and a second later, everyone started howling with laughter. Nathan kept on hitting his thigh, leaning into Y/N and laughing. Though it was a fairly embarrassing story on Y/N’s part, her definite lowest of low, she could not help feeling good about making everyone laugh like this. Looking around at everyone, she suddenly felt very good about herself, despite this being her worst sex story ever.
It was not like Y/N had fucked her way through Nottingham and had tons of stories to tell. In fact, she hadn’t shagged that many. She had had sex with eight people, three of them being women, one non-binary, and the other four men. She had been very vocal about the fact that the best sexual encounters she had had, were with women. They had all been so nice, and though it had never escalated to anything romantic beyond that one night together, they had made Y/N feel the best she’d ever felt. She suspected women just knew what to do, that they cared how she felt and did not solely care about their own release.
The group ended up just sitting around and talking for a while. It was nice to go somewhere outside of the uni setting and get to know some people, this was what uni was all about, or so Nathan had told her countless times. These people were as anxious about making friends and being liked as she was, but there they all were, making friends and going outside their own comfort zone.
At one point, Y/N had finished her drink and went to get another round for her and Nathan. The pub seemed to be even more packed now that it was closer to midnight. Everyone wanted to drink the week away, to forget about their lives for a little while and just spend time in good company. Y/N strolled over to the bar, looking up and down the counter to see if any of the bartenders were free to help her. The second her eyes landed on a familiar figure, she halted.
Harry’s eyes were already on hers as he stood almost right opposite her mixing a drink. He let go of a sigh, looking down at whatever he was mixing.
“You…” she started, raising her eyebrows. “You’ve got to be fucking everywhere.”
“Only ‘cause you’re every single place I usually am,” he said, continuing to make whatever drink he was making.
“Do you work here then?”
He looked over at her, raising one of his eyebrows. “I’m not a hallucination now?”
Y/N rolled her eyes.
“Can’t believe you thought I was a bloody hallucination.”
“Believe it. It’s all Nathan’s fault anyway. I’ll never forgive him for forcing me to live with you for a year.”
Harry let out a dry laugh. “To answer your question: no, thought I’d help out behind the bar to get me adrenaline going.”
“Well funny,” Y/N said. “You got me cracking up, can you tell?”
“Last time I checked, I got you laughing pretty hard, yeah.”
“That’s literally two years ago now.”
Harry finished the drink, putting it in a glass and placing it in front of the person standing just beside Y/N. Her eyes first landed on the watch on his wrist, the nice brown leather, and then her gaze travelled upward. She looked up at the man who was already staring at her, giving him a smile when she smiled at him. Their eye contact was put to an abrupt end when Harry poked the man’s hand holding the drink with the card machine. Y/N looked back at Harry, and then at another man with strong build and big, curly hair who stepped into view beside Harry.
“I’ll take care of her, Kai,” Harry said.
This Kai looked at Harry, blinking once before he met Y/N’s eyes again.
“She’s my flatmate,” Harry elaborated, making Kai study Y/N a bit more closely before he nodded once. He was very good looking, with a broad nose, almond-shaped eyes, and full lips, his brown skin glowed in the dim lights of the pub.
“That new one,” Kai said.
“Yeah.”
Kai smiled then, nodding in Y/N’s direction. “Nice of you to come check on Hazza. It’s always hectic on Fridays.”
“Oh, our other flatmate took me here, I didn’t come by choice.”
Kai’s eyebrows rose on his face and he looked at Harry who barked out a laugh, shrugging his shoulders at Kai as they exchanged a look. Harry walked over to stand right in front of her, signalling to Kai that he could take care of this one. Kai walked off, taking someone else’s order.
“Even feistier than I remember, you are,” Harry said.
She cocked her head to the side as Harry gathered a glass for her drink, already assuming that was what she was going to get. “You didn’t seem to have a problem with it before.”
It left her lips before she even registered she was thinking it. Harry only took a deep breath before meeting Y/N’s eyes again, clearly choosing to ignore her statement. “What can I get you, Y/N?”
“Sex on the Beach, please,” she said. “Two of them.”
“Alright.” Harry started making them right away, signalling to someone that he’d be right with them after this. Y/N looked around her, meeting the gaze of the man who had just stood by her at the bar. He raised his glass in her direction and she smiled back. She definitely had to go talk to him after this. He seemed to be a bit older, maybe five years older than her, but just for tonight, she did not care.
Y/N glanced back at Harry and watched him, fascinated by how fast he managed to make the drinks. “How long have you worked here, then?”
“A year abouts,” Harry said. “Worked in a hotel when we moved to Brum. Tended to work at the bar when the bartender was out.”
Y/N nodded, eyes on his hands as he poured ice, shots, and all types of alcohol and liquids into her drink. “You lived there till you moved to London?”
“Yeah.” They were quiet for a moment, both of them remembering all of the things that were left unsaid between them. All of those words, moments, and memories they had created during those months the two of them had crossed paths in Nottingham.
He cleared his throat as he put the drinks down in front of her. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t much like Brum.”
Y/N took a grip of the glasses. “And why’s that?”
“Dunno. Just didn’t find my footing proper.”
“In the two years you lived there?”
He shrugged. “Guess not.”
Y/N clicked her tongue. “Was it that bad?”
“Nah, I met tons of ace people and Birmingham’s a decent place, but…” He shrugged again. “Dunno.”
“Hmm,” she said, trying to decipher his words and if he was being truthful or not.
“Anyway,” Harry said, nodding to the drinks. “Take that other drink to Nathan – as I’m sure it’s for him – and when you bring that middle-aged man home later: please, be quiet. I have rugby at 11 tomorrow morning.”
Y/N’s mouth fell open. “How dare-“
“-Y/N, what’s taking so fucking long?” Nathan shouted as he came up next to her. His eyes fell on Harry behind the bar. “Oh… forgot to tell you Harry works here.”
“Nath, shut the fuck up,” Y/N said, looking from Nathan and back at Harry.
Harry nodded towards the door, silently telling them to fuck off, and they did. They walked back to the rest who were still sitting by the same table outside. Nathan took his drink from Y/N and sat down, but just as Y/N was about to sit down, she heard someone clear their throat behind her. She looked over her shoulder rather fast, blinking a few too many times when she locked eyes with the same man who had been standing beside her by the bar.
“Hi,” he said, giving her a broad smile.
Y/N almost felt herself blush. “Hey.”
“I’m George.”
She smiled. “Y/N.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Y/N,” he said, he gestured at the bench where she had just been about to sit down. “Mind if I sit down with you?”
Her smile widened. “Not at all.”
Y/N felt fucking terrible. Her room was too hot, too humid. Body sticky with sweat, limbs aching, throat burning with yesterday’s alcohol, and head throbbing, she opened her eyes slowly before shutting them again, groaning into her pillow. She hated herself for not drinking as much water before bed as she usually did when coming home from a night out. Sitting up, she looked down at the man beside her, racking her brain to remember what his name was. She ran her hands over her face, reaching for her glasses so she could see something, but quickly realising she left her contact lenses in the night before. Her eyes were so dry it hurt to blink and she suddenly realised why her head was hurting more than normal. Cursing herself, Y/N got out of bed with her glasses perched at the top of her head, picking up a tee shirt and some tights, pulling on her fluffy dressing gown before she made her way out of her room as soundlessly as possible.
She stumbled her way to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. First thing she did was take her contacts out, struggling to do so as the contacts were so dry, her eyes having dried out with them. She splashed water in her face next, then drank the equivalent to the Atlantic Ocean before splashing even more water on her face. She then put her glasses on, realising that she had to let her eyes relax some after what she had just put them through. It took her awhile to gather up the courage to go to the toilet, where she made herself throw up the nausea she was feeling before having a very long peeing session.
Moments of the night before came rushing back to her, and as she sat there on the toilet, she remembered more and more. The name George came to her like out of a fog, and then the details started falling into place. She remembered how he’d bought her more drinks, how the two of them had sat talking all night about nothing in particular. She remembered his hand on her thigh and him leaning into her to whisper in her ear. Then they were in her room, her front against the mattress and his weight on her back. It was all hazy after that, most of it just a mess of limbs and chasing a release that she had never caught up with. Though Y/N usually made it clear that she hadn’t come, she was too worn out to tell George. She remembered falling asleep almost the second they were done. To say she had been underwhelmed was an understatement.
When she was done, she walked down the stairs for the kitchen. Once again, she was left stopping right in her tracks as she walked in. Harry stood by the stove, eyes on the pan in front of him where he was making eggs, a few asparagus and peppers cooking beside the two frying eggs. For a moment, she debated walking back upstairs and leaving Harry to it, but then he glanced over at the door to his right, meeting her eyes right away. He gave her a tight-lipped smile before turning back to his breakfast. God… Y/N wanted to set herself on fire. It’d be better than staying inside a room with Harry alone after years apart.
He wore rugby shorts that reached mid-thigh, a white tee shirt to go with it, and a hairband to keep his hair out of his face. Y/N realised just then that he was getting ready to leave for rugby as he had told her yesterday he would. She could remember him doing rugby when they knew each other three years ago as well, but she didn’t think he’d still be doing it.
The small conversation they had in The Stag’s Head the night before lingered in the air between and around them. That was reason enough to turn and walk upstairs again. But as Y/N remembered who was waiting for her in her room, she stepped into the kitchen. She got two slices of bread and put them in the toaster, getting some butter and milk out of the fridge as she waited. She watched Harry’s back as she filled the kettle with enough water, quickly looking away when he moved to put his eggs on the two slices of bread on his plate. Biting her lip, Y/N got a mug and a teabag, looking back over at Harry as he stood holding his breakfast plate. Y/N took a deep breath, knowing exactly what she had to do.
“Okay,” she said only a second before Harry turned around to face her, mouth open as if to say something. He must have noticed the tension as well. “We need to talk this through. We can’t live together for the next year if it’s gonna be like this. Just gonna put that out there right away.”
“Yeah,” Harry sighed. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.”
Y/N leaned her hip against the counter, feeling relieved that she was not the only one out of the two that had thought about how incredibly awkward this was. “You’ve thought about it too?”
“Of course. I’ve been fuming ‘cause Nathan didn’t tell you sooner, and I’ve also found it annoying how I’m the bad guy in your eyes when this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Nate.”
Y/N rolled her eyes. “I haven’t thought of you as the bad guy-“
“-Y/N,” Harry said, putting his plate down on the counter again. “You’ve been angry at me this whole time. I can tell.”
“My frustration with you has got nothing to do with this situation, but all to do with how you just left without even saying goodbye before you moved away.” Y/N crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m trying to not blame you for this as well, but you’re right, Nathan’s the one that made this happen, we should be angry with him.”
“So you have been mad at me.”
“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” Y/N narrowed her eyes. “Isn’t it just easier, no matter how stupid the reason, to just find more things to make you angry at a person? To make you hate them even more? Isn’t it just satisfying to find other ways to be frustrated with them?”
“No.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I am.”
“Anyway,” Y/N continued, getting her bread slices out of the toaster to put butter on them. “Why didn’t we say anything? If we’ve both thought it’s been awkward, I mean.”
“You’ve been busy shagging men 10 years older than you, I didn’t get the chance.”
“Look at you not being frustrated or annoyed with me.”
“I told you to be quiet last night,” Harry said, getting a fork and putting some asparagus and paprika in his mouth. “You weren’t.”
Y/N got the kettle as it finished, pouring some hot water into her mug. “So, what you’re saying is that you’ve been angry with me.”
“Not angry, just…” Harry sighed. “Fine. A little angry last night, yes.”
Y/N smiled. “And he wasn’t 10 years older than me, he’s five years older.” She paused. “I think.”
“Right,” Harry said, eating more of his breakfast. “Listen…” He swallowed. “I think we should just… We should just address it.”
“Yeah.”
They were both quiet, looking at the other and waiting for them to say what they were both thinking. Though it looked like he was about to reach for his bread to take a bite, Harry stopped himself. Instead, he took a deep breath, and said, “It was fucking terrible. That first time…” He trailed off, narrowing his eyes before he ran a hand over his face, remembering it all over again. “I didn’t even last a minute. It was mortifying.”
“It wasn’t half as mortifying as you trying to go down on me afterwards.”
Harry let out a small laugh. “Yeah, that wasn’t really…” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
“No, we were both part of it. You don’t have to apologise for that.”
“You hear all these stories about how losing your virginity is supposed to be so beautiful, but it’s not. It’s really fucking not. Especially if you lose it to someone else who hasn’t had sex before, it just makes it double as awkward.”
Y/N nodded. “It was shit. Both of us were shit.”
“Exactly.”
“But I hope you know the reason I’m frustrated with you isn’t because of that.”
Harry looked away, biting at his bottom lip before he said, “Yeah, I know why.”
“Good, just wanted that to be clear.”
Harry nodded, taking his bread slice in his hand, making sure the egg wouldn’t fall off before he brought it to his mouth. “Well, now that we’ve addressed that, let’s just move on.”
“Let’s.”
She gave him a small smile before taking her teabag out of her mug and throwing it in the bin. There was still some tension in the room, but not enough for Y/N to want to set herself on fire like she had wanted to before. Just as she was about to take a grip of her plate and cuppa, the sounds of footsteps made her look up. George, who had been asleep last time Y/N checked, walked by the kitchen, halting as he saw Y/N and Harry standing there in the kitchen. He gave them both a smile Y/N could tell was forced, and then walked straight for the door without a single word or a second glance. Y/N and Harry looked at one another, sharing a look before they both chuckled ever so slightly.
“Cracking bloke,” Harry mumbled.
“Innit,” Y/N huffed, picking up her breakfast. “Have fun at rugby practice.”
“Cheers.”
She walked by him, hoping that her room did not smell of George or anything resembling alcohol or sweat. If it did, she would hit her head against the wall. But, lucky for her, George had left the door open, which had given the room a little bit of time to get the smell of last night out. After putting on her fluffy duvet cover, she opened the windows to let some fresh air in, and left her door open as she sat down in bed with her laptop, tea, and breakfast.
Just as she was about to put her plate down on the nightstand, she noticed something already laying there on top of her books. Adjusting her glasses, Y/N squinted at the object. She put her plate down on her duvet cover and reached for the wristwatch George had left. It was the nice leather one she had seen last night by the bar, the one that had caught her attention first. The digital clock seemed to have stopped working, displaying a random time that Y/N in her hangover state could not tell anyone what was. She was too fucked to even try and understand the numbers in front of her.
She put the clock back on her desk, hoping that she’d run into George soon so she could give it back to him. Or maybe Nathan could stalk Facebook and find him so she could message him there to tell him. She was glad she hadn’t exchanged phone numbers with George as she did not want to meet him again, but right now, she wanted to give him his watch back.
Y/N heard the front door open and then close, indicating that Harry had just left for rugby, and, as far as she could tell, she was the only one currently awake in her flat. The morning was quiet, she felt oddly at peace as she put on Fleabag and sipped her cuppa, and little did she know, this would be one of those rare moments over the last three years that this emotion inhabited her body.
NEXT UPDATE: Sunday, 7th March, 9PM GMT!
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Hunger Games Name Analysis
I remember when I was in middle school I was obsessed with the Hunger Games. I only ever had the first book, but I read it over and over again until it's pages were completely warned out. I didn't care about the romance, but I was hooked by everything else. The games were what drew me in, but the world building is what got me hooked. I could tell very easily how different all the districts were and how the capitol kept them under control. I could see how cruel the country was, but everyone lived with it because they had no other choice. It was fascinating to me.
The Hunger Games is actually what started my love for names in the first place, and there is a very good reason for it. Suzanne Collins was very clever with how she used names in her world building and it shows. It helps fleshes out her world and her districts in a very fascinating and unique way.
It took me a while to put my finger on how exactly she does this, but once I did I found it even more fascinating. The key is she didn't look at her world as a monolith. This sounds obvious, but when it comes to the small things like names it's easy to overlook. Collins did not make this mistake, and in turn each district has their own rules for naming their children.
(If you want to read this on AO3 then the link is here https://archiveofourown.org/works/32092420)
District 12: This is one of the districts we see the most of, as it's the home of the main character, Katniss. Some of the names used are Katniss, Primrose, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Lucy Grey, Leevy, Posy, and Thom. These are some of the more down to earth names in the universe, and most of them seem familiar, if not a little altered. Peeta seems to be a variant of Peter, Haymitch a variant of Hamish. Leevy could either be decended from Levi or Livy. The names evolved from modern names, which makes sense considering how long in the future it is. In District 12 you either name your children already known names, or names based on nature. (Katniss, Gale, Primrose, Posy, ect) and even some of the natural names change through time. One example is Thom instead of Thorn, or it could be a variation of Thomas.
The thing that is interesting about district twelve is people aren't getting 'creative' with spellings or variants, at least not on purpose. They're naming their children off of things they already know, which is what happened before people had access to things like internet or other cultures to mingle with. District 12 is very isolated, so they use names they already know, names that are familiar even to us. People are also struggling to get by, so they don’t spend much time getting creative.
Capital: The next location we go to is the Capital, and we spend quite a long time there. Some of the names we run into are Coriolanus, Effie, Cinna, Diana, Tigris, Arachne, Seneca, Caesar, Messalla, Octavia, Venia, Urban, and Portia. Most English speakers have somewhat of a familiarity with these names, though more from stories than from people in real life. There seem to be three different categories of names. Names that are descended from Greek names like Effie, Arachne, Portia, Caesar, and Cinna are good examples. There are Roman names like Coriolanus, Diana, Seneca, and Octavia are good examples.
Finally there are the noun names, or noun variant names. They’re not nearly as common it seems, but Tigris and Urban are good examples. They break the rule of exclusively Roman and Greek names which is a good way not to make the Capitol seem like a monolith.
District One: District One names are extremely distinted, and it’s hard not to notice how odd they seem from the beginning, when Katniss mentioned that the district one female was named Glimmer. Other names include Velvereen, Facet, Augustus, Glimmer, Marvel, Cashmere, and Gloss. We don’t have a wide variety of names but the ones we do have are very telling.
There are fabric names like Cashmere, Facet and velvereen, a variant of velveteen. Adjective names are pretty common too. These seem odd to us, but I find them akin to virtue names.
There is an oddball name there, Augustus. It is a Roman name that seems to fit in with the capitol. This could be reminiscent of name trends changing quickly in such an affluent district as he was the victor in the 67th hunger games, or it could just show the closeness between Distinct One and the Capital, to the point that even the baby names are influenced.
District Two: District two names are also distinct, but it’s harder to place exactly why. Some of them are Cato, Clove, Brutus, Enobaria, Lyme, Cray, Romulus, Pugnax, Sejanus, Marcus and Sabyn. As we can clearly see, most of these are Roman. Cato, Brutus, Enobaria, Romulus, Pugnax, Sejanus, and Marcus. Unlike the capital there don’t seem to be any Greek names.
However there are some odd names in the mix. Clove, Lyme, Cray, and Sabyn. They are quite hard to place. Some are real names, but their meanings don’t fit with the district, so I believe Suzanne Collins took the same route as she did in District three (More information below) where she took career related words and altered them enough just to be unrecognizable. After all District two’s official purpose is masonry.��
Clove is the present tense of the term Cleave. Lyme is most likely a variant on the word Lye, as the only other thing I could find was the disease, which seems unlikely. Cray could either be the English name that already exists, or a variant of clay.
Sabyn is a bit harder to place, but it seems to be a variant of Sabine, which was a term for people who lived in Rome. It’s not of Roman origin, but it still fits.
District Three: There are only four names to draw from in district three. Beetee, Wiress, Circ, and Teslee. The pattern here is very easy to decipher. They seem to be district career related names, but changed somewhat. Unlike district one names that name their children directly after verbs and nouns very purposefully, district three names are slightly more subtle.
Beetee seems to be based off of the brand name BT. Wiress is clearly based off of Wireless. Circ is a shortened version of Circuit, and Teslee seems to be a variant on Tesla. It’s unlikely that the brands Tesla and BT are still around. They probably just morphed into the language, with the citizens of district three not knowing where they came from, similar to how most people don’t know where names like ‘Mary’ or ‘Zoe’ came from. I’m unsure if Circ and Wiress follow this same pattern, as circuits and wireless seem like they should still exist in the world, but it doesn’t seem purposeful.
District four: District four has much more interesting naming conventions with the names of Mags, Finnick, Annie, Coral, and Mizzen. They seem a little odd, but downright normal.
Coral and Mizzen seem to be the only names that are fishing or water related. Mizzen is the mast in front of a ship's main mast, and Coral is coral. Even then Coral is a perfectly common name in English, so these conventions don’t seem too related to the career of district four.
However Mags is a variant of Margaret, which means pearl. Finnick means marshland, which is a type of wetlands.
Annie does not have a water related name, simply meaning grace. However the existence of both the names Annie and Mags seems to show that it’s common for district four to use nicknames as full names. That itself is not uncommon with how much time had passed, but it is interesting to point out.
District five: While Foxface is from this district ‘Foxface’ is not her real name, so she doesn’t count. There are theories about her real name, but nothing canonical, so I’m not including her. This is a shame because we only have three names to work with. Hy, Sol, and Porter.
The names are very short compared to the other districts. However they also directly relate to the district’s industry of power. While I find this debatable myself Hy seems to be related to Hydraulic power. A little more obvious is Sol being related to Solar power. Porter seems slightly different, named after a porter cable instead of a direct power source.
There isn’t a lot known about this district, so it’s hard to analyze much further.
District Six: Everything about district six is vague. Even it’s industry, which is transportation, isn’t very specific, and there isn’t much to analyze. The names we have are Otto, Ginnee, and Titus.
Names seem to be unrelated to the industry, similar to twelve. Furthermore, similar to twelve the names seem to be alterations on well known names. Otto is just Otto, but Ginnee is a variant on Ginny.
Titus is a bit more complicated. It is a Roman name, like the capitol and the second district. This could mean a lot of things. I find it rather likely that do to their purpose as transportation they have the ability to leave, even if only occasionally, and unlike other districts can absorb certain facets of culture like baby names from outside their district. Of course with such a small sample size this is just a theory.
District Seven: District seven is the lumber district, and the names appear to be very reflective of that, though not in the obvious way. If someone were to think of lumber inspired names they’d probably come up with things like Willow, Oak, Leaf, and Ash, or something obvious. Instead we have Treech, Lamina, Johanna, and Blight.
You really have to look into the meanings, but once you do the implications become clear. Treech is a variant on the word tree. Lamina is the blade of a leaf. Blight is a disease that commonly affects trees and plants, which I find it odd to name your kid after, but it still fits.
Johanna isn’t related to trees in any way, instead it is a common English name. It makes sense for English names to still exist, considering that it takes place in what used to be America. Plus it isn’t the only example of this, as Annie from district four’s name also works like this.
District Eight: We actually have a good sample size from district eight, the district in charge of textiles, despite it being a rather minor district in the story. Bonnie, Bobbin, Cecelia, Woof, Twill, Paylor, and Wovey.
As we see with Bonnie, Cecelia, and Paylor the default names seem to be of European origin rather than Roman origin the further the districts are from the capitol. While I don’t believe this is purposeful I don’t believe it’s entirely accidental. With how far they are from the capitol it makes sense that there wouldn’t be much influence, but on the other hand it also makes sense that the little influence there is wouldn’t be purposefully emulated due to the hatred of the capitol.
The other names seem to be industry related as well. Bobbin is a small tool used in a sewing machine. Woof are the crosswise threads in woven fabric. Twill is a type of fabric weave, and Wovey is from the word wove, the past tense of weave.
Bonnie could either be a normal English name, or a variant of the name Bobbin. Variant names are extremely common, and it’s quite natural that they could develop.
District Nine: District nine is the district of grain, and along with ten we know the least about these two districts. We only have two names to draw from, Panlo and Sheaf, but they are both related to grain.
Sheaf is related directly, as sheaf is the term for when grain is tied together. Panlo is indirectly related, as it is based on the latin word for bread, panis.
District Ten: District ten is the livestock district, but their names don’t seem as related to their industry as the others are. Though we only have three data points to draw from. Brandy, Dalton, and Tanner.
Tanner seems to be the only one directly related to livestock, as Tanner is a career of tanning animal hides.
Brandy is a type of alcoholic drink, and it’s also already a name. Same as Dalton, which means settlement in the valley.
Unlike the other districts all three of these names are actual names used in modern day life. And unlike other districts with common English names these have a distinctly more modern feel to them.
District Eleven: District eleven names are a personal favorite of mine, though I may be slightly biased because of Rue, my favorite character. We have a decent pool to draw from. Rue, Thresh, Chaff, Seeder, Reaper, Martin, and Dill.
I like the symbolism of Rue. The word Rue in english means regret, however it is also a type of flowering plant. Thresh is either named after the method for separating grain from a plant, or the thrush bird. Chaff is the word for a corn husk separated from the corn. A seeder is a type of tool for seeding the ground. Reaper doesn’t mean grim reaper, instead it’s the term for someone who uses a scythe to reap grain. Dill is also a type of herb.
Martin doesn’t relate to the other names, and seems to fall into the ‘leftover English names’ category that seems to exist in all districts.
District Thirteen: District thirteen is an interesting one. They don’t have an industry, not anymore at least, nor do they have any ties to other districts that could influence their names. We have Alma, Boggs, Homes, Mitchell, Jackson, and York.
The interesting thing about these names is that they’re all surnames. Some can be first names like Jackson and Mitchell, but even those ones originate from surnames.
There has been a trend in recent years of parents using surnames as first names. A few examples of this are Sawyer, Taylor, Sutton, Carter, and Madison.
I’m not entirely sure why this trend developed, but I do have a few theories. District thirteen is very strict and militaristic. In such an environment it’s pretty common to refer to people by their surnames, so it makes sense that surnames would start to leak into first names.
Another theory is that referring to someone by their surname was a sign of respect in district 13, similar to how it is in the real world. It’s possible that either consciously or subconsciously parents started using surnames as first names to bring their children prestige. This happens in real life two. One of the most prevalent examples is parents giving their daughters either masculine or male names in hopes that it would help them in the workforce. Of course in district 13 it seems far more widespread than in real life, but unlike real life district 13 has a noticeable lack of outside influences that could provide a more diverse culture.
Although at the end district 13 was taking in refugees from other districts due to their lack of fertility. Their seemed to be people from multiple districts. There was 10% of the population from 12, at least one boy mentioned from 10 and most likely more, quite a few people from the capital, and while it’s only mentioned that two people tried to get there from 8 and failed it wouldn’t be unlikely to assume that there were a few that succeeded in coming to 13. In the future of the universe it would be interesting to see how this would effect naming culture and the development of new names.
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james farrow analysis (+ oliver and richard as they relate to him)
so last night i stayed up until 2 am messaging with my friend about iwwv, and what is tumblr for if not posting your 2 am ramblings. (i’ve streamlined and expanded on them a bit.)
massive spoilers for the whole book under the cut.
(edit: i realize now that the cut doesn’t show up on mobile, sorry 😬)
part i - james farrow + heroism
james’s casting archetype is the hero/lover/prince, but he actually subverts tropes of traditional heroism/heroic characters.
he doesn’t really have classic heroic traits. he’s not really brave, he’s slight of build, he’s intelligent yet manipulative.
he doesn’t really fall in love with the ingenue, wren. he sleeps with her, but more than anything, he does it to make oliver jealous. and i didn’t read his protectiveness of her as something that comes from a place of romantic love. you’re welcome to disagree, of course, because that’s a bit ambiguous, but most of the squad is protective of wren. james isn’t unique there. we see oliver and even richard, in his own way, feeling protective towards her. it’s not really an indicator that he loved her.
he falls into the trope of the hero killing the tyrant (richard), but it’s not a heroic action when he does it. it’s not a noble slaying. it’s the desperate act of a cornered animal.
he has what you might call a “hero complex”, a need to save and protect everyone. but this backfires hugely. his need to protect wren leads to him going into the woods to find richard, which, as we know, ends up with richard dead in the lake. his need to save oliver (and his own guilt over not having been able to save him) leads to the deterioration of his mental state, even to the point where he feels the need to disappear.
part ii - james farrow + villainy [buckle up, this is a long one]
here’s where it gets interesting. there are a lot of moving parts here:
he says he wants more variety on his resume, to not play heroes and lovers and princes all the time.
in gwedolyn’s class, he says he immerses himself in every character he plays, but can’t always find himself again afterwards.
he gets cast as macbeth.
he gets cast as edmund, the villain in king lear.
over the course of acts iv and v, he goes slightly insane.
james’s casting in the role of macbeth is arguably the inciting incident. it’s the root cause of richard going off the rails. it’s also the first time he plays a villainous character (macbeth is the tragic hero, sure, but when i say “villain” i mean it in the moral sense), and it virtually intoxicates him.
being cast in the role of edmund is not, of course, the only thing wearing on his sanity throughout acts iv and v. but it doesn’t help either. he says, “i want to hurt the whole world.” ultimately, this stems from his trauma from killing richard, but it’s no coincidence that he got himself cast as edmund while in this state. he wants to hurt the whole world, as james, and by immersing himself in edmund, he finds rhyme and reason for it.
not only that, but it’s through edmund and lear in general, through the vessel of villainy and tragedy, that he’s the most honest before his confession. in act v, scene ii, he gets drunk and desperately tries to talk to oliver through lear. there’s a lot to unpack in this scene, but here are some of the highlights:
“they’ll have me whipp’d for speaking true; thou’lt have me whipped for lying, and sometimes i am whipp’d for holding my peace.”
i’ve never read lear, so i can’t contextualize this in the play, but it’s very relevant to james. he’ll be punished (sent to prison) for confessing, but oliver can’t take any more lies.
“‘where is the villain, edmund?’ i asked. he smiled crazily and echoed, ‘“where is the villain, edmund?” a pause for punctuation, yes? but not the playwright’s - commas belong to the compositors. “where is the villain edmund? here, sir, but trouble him not - his wits are gone.”’
james isn’t really talking about edmund here, of course. he’s talking about himself, calling himself a “villain” and admitting he’s gone more than a little crazy with guilt and fear (“his wits are gone.”) he thinks he can’t be saved. but his hero complex and archetype are still important here. he’s been deemed the hero for years, and now all of a sudden he’s committed murder. his complex, his need to save everyone that in part stems from the role he’s been given for his whole career, is at war with his new belief that he himself cannot be saved.
“‘no less than all - and more, much more. the time will bring it out!’ he wrenched his arm away and smoothed the front of his shirt, as if he were trying to wipe his hands clean. ‘some blood drawn on me would beget opinion / of my more fierce endeavor.’”
clearly, this is a reference to richard’s death. james knows he’s running out of time, and soon enough his secret will be revealed one way or another. it also shows his guilt: he’s trying to “wipe his hands clean”, presumably of figurative blood, and he thinks he deserves to be hurt for his “more fierce endeavor” e.g. killing richard.
part iii - james + richard + oliver + royalty
princes fall into james’s archetype along with heroes and lovers.
kings fall into richard’s archetype along with tyrants and conquerors.
in the woods, richard repeatedly calls james “little prince”, placing james “below” richard in both literal and figurative stature.
after james’s confession, oliver says “worthy prince, i know’t” to him onstage even though he’s supposed to say that line to camilo.
he’s reclaiming the word from richard, in a sense, and telling james that no matter what he’s done, he’s still a “worthy prince”. he means everything to oliver despite the fact that he’s a murderer, and despite the fact that he himself doesn’t believe he’s noble anymore (though he desperately wants to be). it’s quite literally a love language for oliver, and perhaps the closest he comes to a declaration of love.
part iv - james + richard + oliver + the water [this is also a long one]
richard wants to see james drowned, and oliver is the only one preventing this.
the first appearance of this motif is on halloween, when richard tries to drown james in the lake.
this foreshadows james’s eventual fate. whether or not he truly drowned in the end is, of course, a point of contention. for the purposes of this analysis, i won’t take a position on whether or not james is alive, and i will address it with the same ambiguity that canon gives it. however, regardless of whether or not james is alive by the end, it’s undeniable that he went under the water, and in a sense, it was richard that dragged him under. filippa says, “it was the guilt, oliver.” and once oliver isn’t there to comfort him, enable the two of them to forget richard for a little while, it’s only a matter of time before his guilt weighs him down so much that he feels the need to disappear from his own life. even if he’s not dead, he’s certainly not james farrow anymore, wherever he might be.
james reveals that richard kept pushing him towards the dock. it’s unclear if he really intended to drown james or even push him in the water, but it’s not unlikely that this was his intention.
in the dock scene (act iii, scene i), james tries to dive into the water to save richard’s life, and oliver stops him. but oliver goes into the water himself in that scene (to make sure richard’s dead before they call the police). this parallels how in the end, oliver will turn himself in and falsely confess to save james.
finally, there’s the epilogue. when filippa tells oliver “james is gone”, oliver sees richard’s ghost again. “there he sits, in lounging, leonine arrogance. he watches me with a razor-thin smile and i realize that this is it - the denouement, the counterstroke, the end-all he was waiting for. he lingers only long enough for me to see the gleam of triumph in his half-lidded eyes; then he, too, is gone.”
this is the confirmation: from oliver’s perspective, at least, richard has always, always wanted to drown james. it was certainly his intention at halloween. while to us, it’s unclear whether or not that was his intention at the dock, oliver believes it was. so he sees richard’s ghost again and gets a final confirmation of what he’s always believed. richard, as oliver sees him, is finally satisfied.
but we’re not done. how could i be, without addressing the pericles in the room?
disclaimer: i’ve never read pericles, so as with lear, i’m not going to contextualize the monologue contained in james’s “suicide note” in the play as a whole. that’s a separate analysis, albeit an interesting one i’m sure, for someone with more shakespeare knowledge than me. (although i have read caesar, so i might analyze iwwv and caesar some time in the future.)
“alas, the sea hath cast me on the rock / wash’d me from shore to shore, and left me breath / nothing to think on but ensuing death.”
right from the outset, we see that james might be alive. he’s been “wash’d [...] from shore to shore, and left [...] breath”. the water has transformed him (to use a christian metaphor, almost like a kind of baptism. i think. i’m Extremely jewish so i might be using that wrong.) but not necessarily killed him.
death consumes james’s thoughts, and it likely has since he killed richard seven years earlier.
“what i have been i have forgot to know; / but what i am, want teaches me to think on: / a man throng’d up with cold: my veins are chill, / and have no more of life than may suffice / to give my tongue that heat to ask your help; which if you shall refuse, when i am dead, / for that i am a man, pray see me buried.”
all the life has slowly been sucked out of him since he killed richard to the point where he’s little more than a shell of a man by 2004, so he decides to disappear into the water. again, whether or not he’s dead, he’s clearly not living the life of james farrow anymore, wherever he may be. so he’s disappeared. he may not be dead, but james farrow, the identity if not the man, did drown in that freezing water.
and yet, he has just enough of a will to live, just enough of a desire to be known (and perhaps loved) that he writes this note and puts oliver’s name on the envelope. he’s not ready to drown just yet. maybe the water didn’t care and drowned him anyway. but maybe, just maybe, it saved him.
part v - conclusion/author’s notes
if you stuck around all the way here, to the end, wow. thanks for suffering through my ramblings. seriously, thank you. and congratulations i guess.
i tried to write a tl;dr, i’m sorry, i failed. i know my strengths, and conciseness isn’t one of them.
i do wanna say this, though: james farrow is not a good person. neither is he a bad person. iwwv does not deal in moral absolutes, or really any absolutes at all. and i do feel like we as a reader base and fanbase don’t always do the best job at acknowledging james’s moral complexity. (or oliver’s, or meredith’s, but that’s another post for another time.) this is not a direct callout to anyone in particular, nor is it an attack. it’s really just meant to be food for thought.
#iwwv#if we were villains#iwwv spoilers#james farrow#oliver marks#richard stirling#analysis#tw suicide#tw drowning#tw death#tw murder#tw water
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Tony Tony Chopper is the mascot of the Strawhats. Or, that's how the rest of the world views him anyways. In reality, he's a reindeer who ate the hito hiro fruit, which also him to transform into a human and a reindeer human hybrid. Subsequently, this has also gifted him with both a human level intellect and the ability to speak, even when he is transforms back to a normal reindeer.
Chopper grew up on drum island, under the care of two separate doctors. His first caretaker, Hiriluk, something of a quack doctor, met his untimely demise due to Chopper's mistake in finding a cure-all. He instead fed the doctor a toxic mushroom which drove him to his death shortly afterwards. Choooer was then taken in by Doctorine, who trains him properly as a doctor until he leaves to join the Strawhat crew.
Though Chopper officially is the doctor of the crew, he does his fair share of fighting. And despite being put together with Nami and Ussop as one of the "Coward trio" he's one of the stronger members due to his devil fruit.
Getting to the point, I think Chopper is a...
Sylph of Rage
One who advances [Rage]/Heals with [Rage]
While I think it might be easy to classify Chopper as a Life player just because he's a healer, he doesn't really fit the bill otherwise. Part of the weird thing about Chopper is that he has so much stuff going on compared to the other One Piece characters so I can't just condense his personality down to "Pervert white knight" like I could with Sanji.
The first part I want to look at is why he became a doctor. He was a reindeer turned human with nowhere to go and the quack doctor Hiriluk took him in. Chopper was naive and assumed the best in his caretaker and admired his work. He thought that continuing his work as a doctor despite everyone having no faith in him was something admirable. Hiriluk, despite being terrible at his job and crazy, did have the best interests for his patients. Upon meeting Chopper, who was heavily injured at the time, he healed him and even showed great patience and care when Chopper related with violence. They spent most of their time trying to cure unwilling patients, messing up, and then having to run for their lives away from the angry mobs that would form. Hiriluk suffered from a deadly disease and upon finding out Chopper went to find a medicine that would cure it. He found a mushroom he thought to be a cure-all but was actually very deadly. Right after eating it Hiriluk fell into a trap set by the king of their country and found himself face to face with a firing squad. As he was about to die from the mushroom anyways he drank volatile chemicals which caused him to violently explode, so that Chopper wouldn't technically be responsible for killing him. Afterwards, Doctorine revealed to Chopper the truth of the situation and took him in as an apprentice in the place of Hiriluk.
As a quick refresher, the [Rage] aspect deals with anger, destruction, truth, and change.
Chopper acts in ignorance which is the spark of change for many things. The eventual downfall for king Wapol, the death of Hiriluk in a violent explosion, Doctorine revealing the truth of the situation and promising to tutor him as a proper doctor, and gives Chopper a lot of anger along with a proper place for it to fester for years.
How Chopper advances the [Rage] aspect is pretty clear but the healing part is slightly less. Or at least, not how I might expect a Slyph to heal with Rage. It's not like he's punching diseases or destroying the source of a plague or anything. It's more about the [Rage] aspect bring the reason why he studies medicine in the first place.
Moving on, the hito hito (Human transformation) fruit is a special devil fruit on a few different levels. The animal keeps aspects of their transformed state even outside of transformations. The "Human" form, is also very strange because Chopper is frequently referred to as a monster in this state. He's around 6 foot 5 (Luffy is 5 foot 7 for the reference picture below), super hairy, and extremely muscle bound. But, as you might notice from the picture below, Chopper also has more than just the normal 2 devils fruit transformation forms. For whatever reason, a special drug Chopper invented gives him access to several more forms, all with strange proportions.
He also has a hidden transformation beyond these, which only happens when he takes too much of his transformation medicine. This one is known as "Monster point" and is reminiscent of the abominable snowman. Until the time skip, Chopper is fully incapable of controlling himself during this time and goes on a rampage until his medicine wears off.
At first this is just a tool Chopper uses to keep himself relevant in battle. But as the story progresses and he realizes how much the Straw Hat crew means to him, he embraces it. He leans to do all of these transformations without the rumble ball and using the rumble ball let's him control his monster form. It all fits very nicely into the classpect.
Really there's not much more to say. In general you might think Chopper doesn't fit the Rage aspect just because he's cute and fluffy, which is fair I suppose. But looking at both of our canon Rage players, Gamzee and Kurloz, it's not hard to argue in favor of it. Both of who have classes which dictate a lack or destruction of their aspect, and they both end up mellow with sudden bouts of being very true to their aspect. This is most obvious in the anger and destruction department, but with Chopper, it manifests through the truth and enabling the rest of his crew to continue causing destruction by healing them despite knowing the consequences.
During their Sburb session, Chopper is likely to meet up with some crew members quickly, where he can best utilize his skills. For his quest I imagine someone like Caesar Clown popping up on his planet and pushing him to alchemize new drugs to push his body further. Maybe he actually works together with Ussop or Franky to make some super alchemy invention or he makes new rumble balls that work for other people.
Sorry for my prolonged absence but my life had been nothing if not stupidly busy. Hopefully I'll see you folks again sooner rather than later next time!
#Homestuck#homestuck classpect#homestuck analysis#character analysis#analysis#homestuck aspect#aspect#class#homestuck class#classpect#classpect analysis#chopper#one piece#one piece chopper#slyph of rage#homestuck sylph#rage homestuck#rage aspect#rage#sylph#sylph homestuck#anime
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