#book tidbits

[citrineandrosmarin]

On the comparison of Athena and Ares

Book: Athena by Susan Deacy (Highy recommend)

"It has become a near-cliché to differentiate between Ares as the embodiment of war’s violent and chaotic aspects, and Athena as the goddess who orders and systemises it [...] It is possible to identify similarities between the two deities, however, that undermine these rather neat patterns, for in order to inspire menos, (‘strength’, ‘courage’ or ‘prowess’) Athena operates in ways that are resonant of Ares. She is a warmonger from the moment she is born shaking her armour and making her war cry [...] In the Iliad, Athena gets into the thick of battle [...] The extraordinary menos of Diomedes that dominates Book 5 is inspired by the goddess. At one point he displays such unbridled rage under Athena’s influence that no one, neither Greek nor Trojan, is able to discern who he is or even which side he is on as he ‘storm[s] up the plain like a winter torrent’."

"With Athena’s help, another of her favourites, Achilleus, also takes on an appearance that differs from the usual pattern of heroic conduct when she clothes him in the aegis, places a golden cloud around his head and makes fire blaze from him. He then utters a war cry and she adds her own to it and the results are extraordinary: ‘unutterable confusion’ ensues and the panic produces deaths through ‘friendly fire’: the only instance of this in the Iliad."

"Unlike Ares, Athena is able to distance herself from war and violence. In the Iliad, she arms herself for battle by removing the self-made dress that she had been wearing, and replacing it with weapons, most strikingly, the ‘terrible tasselled aegis’ which contains the personified abstractions Phobos (Fear), Eris (Strife), Alke (Strength), blood-chilling Ioke (Pursuit), and then, most of all ‘the head of the terrible monster the Gorgon, both fearful and awful to look on’. These abstractions become part of the spectacle she produces; but they are also detachable. Ares, meanwhile, has a more permanent kind of attachment with some of these figures: Phobos and Eris are even his relatives."

"The standard way of evaluating Athena’s interventions in war is too limiting. [...] The comparison brings out Athena’s particular manner of operation as a warrior, intervening to assist her favourites and able to inspire their displays of warrior power, while deriving her power from her weapons rather than some natural affinity with war of the kind exemplified by Ares."

[tyquu]

your art is so cute!! I want to hug all the characters. also I am totally vibing with your amputee Ezra and genderified Kanan headcannons

i see you have recently finished a new dawn as well—welcome to Kanera brain rot ville :)

Ahhhh thank you! I’m super glad the art has been a vibe! And whilst I don’t have any new Kanera to offer just yet, I do have some general “A New Dawn” doodles from the past week to offer instead ✌️

[souenkun]

Matoba is So Real actually. If I had to face the horrors of protecting 11 clans and the rest of the exorcist community as my 9-to-5 from the age of 22 or possibly younger, I deserve a little sweet treat after finishing a job. Make it three sweet treats while I'm at it

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I just finished going through Tales of Beedle the Bard and I have a few notes

First: There's a weird timeline discrepancy with the Tale of the Three Brothers as a whole and it bothers me

In Dumbledore's notes, he traces the first historical reference of the Elder Wand to Emeric the Evil:

The first well-documented mention of a wand made of elder that had particularly strong and dangerous powers was owned by Emeric, commonly called “the Evil”, a short-lived but exceptionally aggressive wizard who terrorised the South of England in the early Middle Ages

(Tales of Beedle the Bard, Dumbledore's notes on the Tale of the Three Brothers)

Now the period referred to as the "early Middle Ages" is between the 5th and 10th centuries. Way before Beedle wrote down the story (15th century).

We also know (thanks to irl history) that the name Peverell is one that arrived with the Normans to England, meaning the story of the three brothers could only have taken place after the Norman conquest in 1066, which usually isn't referred to as "early Middle Ages" and it's kind of odd to do so. So, someone has to be wrong here because Emeric couldn't have had the Elder Wand before it was made.

It's possible Dumbledore is referring to the 11th century as "early Middle Ages", which would make the timeline make more sense if we assume Emeric is the wizard mentioned to slit the oldest brother's throat to steal his wand in the story (possible, but doesn't sound like Dumbledore, so I consider this unlikely). It's also possible Emeric didn't have the Elder Wand at all, but a different powerful wand (also unlikely). Or that the Peverell brothers weren't the brothers in the story (even less likely). Or that the Peverell brothers arrived in South England before the conquest (possible, maybe, not super likely either).

I don't really have an answer for this discrepancy so I'd be happy if someone has an idea how this could make sense... (looking for a Watsonian explanation, not a Doylist one)

Second: Why are we all saying the Gaunts are descendants of Cadmus Peverell?

I mean, Marvolo says this:

but then realized that he was showing Ogden the ugly, black-stoned ring he was wearing on his middle finger, waving it before Ogden’s eyes. “See this? See this? Know what it is? Know where it came from? Centuries it’s been in our family, that’s how far back we go, and pure-blood all the way! Know how much I’ve been offered for this, with the Peverell coat of arms engraved on the stone?”

(HBP, Ch10)

From this we know two things:

The Deathly Hallows symbol was known as the Peverell Coat of Arms at one point in time, at least among UK purebloods. Which, makes sense with the same symbol being carved on Ignotus' grave.

The ring was in the Gaunt family for centuries, but that's hardly a clear timeline, neither does it indicate dependency, even though, it's what Marvolo is implying.

Now, why do I doubt the Gaunts are actually related to the Peverells? Well, I'm not. They might be distantly related since all purebloods are, but I think they might not be the descendants of the second brother. Why is that?

Simple, it's implied he died without children.

The tale of the three brothers literally says he asked for the stone to summon the girl he wished to marry who died before they married:

To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the girl he had once hoped to marry before her untimely death appeared at once before him.

(Tales of Beedle the Bard, the Tale of the Three Brothers)

Unless he fathered some child outside of marriage before (which I don't think is the case), then Cadmus died before he had any kids.

Now, the tale as we see it has some inaccuracies (such as Death being a character) for the sake of embellishment or due to time. After all, Beedle wrote the tale down in the 15th century and the story of the Peverells happened in the 1070s-ish or earlier. By the time Beedle wrote down the story it's been long enough that the story could've gotten corrupted. Also, Beedle seems to take some creative liberties in his stories even if there is likely some truth to all of them (like in Babbity Rabbity). But I feel like the creative liberties had more to do with Death giving them the items and less to do with the fate of each brother, considering he was correct about the cloak and how it passed from father to son and the violent transfer of the Elder Wand. Like, why would he be wrong just about the second brother?

I mean, all we know is that the Gaunts had the stone for a few centuries and were clearly unaware of its actual power and purpose and we have the implication from the tale that Cadmus had no children. So, why are we assuming Marvolo is correct about being a descendant of the Peverells from a millennia ago?

It's possible a Gaunt received the ring from Cadmus, or that they are descendants of an unnamed Peverell sister, but I don't think they really do descend from Cadmus himself. Like, the tale mentions him killing himself to be with the girl he wanted to marry, idk, to me, this implies he didn't have kids, so I feel this assumption (which was confirmed by JKR) is kinda weird.

Anyone else was bothered by this or is it just me overthinking things?

[bikananjarrus]

another fun fact from this sabine sketchbook: she has absolutely considered tattoos!!

look how cool these designs are!!!!!!

she says she’s too indecisive to have permanent ones (but she’s also 16, and i believe in my heart that if you give her a few more years, she’s absolutely getting permanent ones)

so this post i made is also kind of right lol:

[bogkeep]

'history of the hour' is honestly a great book and i'm so pleased i got myself a copy of it. it IS dense, but it's pretty readable even to me, who routinely struggles to absorb and comprehend academic texts. might be that it just hits a perfect spot for a very specific area of my interests (the evolution of how we read time)!

ANYWAY there is a section in the medieval hours chapter that i find very amusing called "some misconceptions". here gerhard dohrn-van rossum drags three other historians for claiming that benedictine monasteries were "the founders of modern capitalism" and playing up how machine-like and precisely ruled by the iron grip of Clocks monastery life was, when all evidence suggests that the monks were kinda chill about it and more about the Rhythms Of The Day rather than The Exact Hour.

"all three authors fail to distinguish between alarm devices, mechanical clocks, and striking clocks." scathing.

[duriens]

hear me out. Daniel publishes his book - vampires all over the country want to take both him and louis out - Armand (fresh from his divorce with Louis) sweeps in and starts sticking to Daniel like a leech with the excuse that Daniel is in danger and he feels partly responsible (also he lost the object of his obsession desire and he feels lost, purposeless, who is his God now? which God should Amadeo love now?) so he starts acting as sort of a bodyguard ('chase' part of the book); Daniel is annoyed and worried and ill but also can't really have a voice in the matter cause Armand decided for him (Armand takes care of him even when he doesn't or can't) so when rockstar lestat decides to publish a book he goes to the same man who's already published one about vampires and demands for his truth to be heard (yes it becomes a biography and not an autobiography) ((yes it is STILL an interview with a vampire)) (((yes Daniel has once again an important role in psycholanalyzing and humbling these vampires))) and Armand is ofc very much there cause no way he'd leave his fascinating, ill boy alone with Lestat, he needs to take care of him (and once again overseer lestat's version and make sure he doesn't humiliate him utterly, dear God)

also at some point Louis is there cause, it's a reunion, man. at some other point the vampire Sam shows up

[mollywog]

Anne was never attended by the crowd of willing victims who hovered around Philippa’s conquering march through her Freshman year; but there was a lanky, brainy Freshie, a jolly, little, round Sophomore, and a tall, learned Junior who all liked to call at Thirty-eight, St. John’s, and talk over ’ologies and ’isms, as well as lighter subjects, with Anne, in the becushioned parlor of that domicile. Gilbert did not love any of them, and he was exceedingly careful to give none of them the advantage over him by any untimely display of his real feelings Anne-ward. To her he had become again the boy-comrade of Avonlea days, and as such could hold his own against any smitten swain who had so far entered the lists against him. As a companion, Anne honestly acknowledged nobody could be so satisfactory as Gilbert; she was very glad, so she told herself, that he had evidently dropped all nonsensical ideas—though she spent considerable time secretly wondering why.

[totomiumiu]

Amadeo... Andrei longing to see Kiev by the light of the sun.

Amadeo... Arun longing to see Dehli by the light of the sun.

[marlynnofmany]

There's a pitch party happening on BlueSky today. I wasn't planning on pitching anything to any agents for the foreseeable future, but the theme of this event is too much fun to pass up.

Who am I to pass up some unhinged book-posting?

[wikiangela]

tease tidbit tuesday

tagged by @daffi-990 @dangerpronebuddie @sunshinediaz @honestlydarkprincess @underwater-ninja-13 @exhuastedpigeon💖

don't have a lot of new stuff for the fics i've been sharing lately, so today smth different - coffee shop au is back! progress is constantly being made (slowly, but still lol) - so here's a lil buckley siblings moment (I haven't shared a buck and eddie moment in a minute lmao need to fix that soon haha)

prev snippet

___

“What?” he rolls his eyes.

“You’re crushing so hard.” she teases, and he feels his cheeks heat up.

“Shut up.” Buck grumbles, as he grabs a cloth to wipe down the counter just to have something to do. “Not like it matters anyway, he has someone.”

“Really?” Maddie frowns, tilts her head. “Did he tell you that?”

“Not in so many words.” 

“So how do you know?” she prods.

“He ordered for two people.” he says, and only when Maddie laughs, he realizes how stupid and presumptive that is. It could be for anyone, even for himself. Hell, Buck would often order something for himself and for Maddie. Didn’t Eddie say he had an abuela and a tia here? “Shut up, I know.” he groans and covers his face with his hands – and the dirty cloth that’s still in his hand.

“Ew, gross.” Maddie chuckles and pries the cloth out of his hand, dumping it on the counter. “You can be so dense sometimes.” she shakes her head. “When Eddie saw you today, his face literally lit up. He’s been waiting for you to get him his coffee, even though I could’ve done it. If you ask me, he’s crushing, too.”

“Good thing no one asked you.” Buck mutters, and Maddie playfully swats at his arm. “Ow!”

“Just ask him out, Buck, what’s the worst that could happen?” Maddie asks, before turning away just as the door opens and a customer walks in.

___

no pressure tags: @elvensorceress @gaydiaz @thebravebitch @silentxxsoul @shortsighted-owl @eddiebabygirldiaz @transbuck @911onabc @housewifebuck @watchyourbuck @eowon @loserdiaz @evanbegins @ladydorian05 @wildlife4life @diazpatcher @lover-of-mine @monsterrae1 @thewolvesof1998 @puppyboybuckley @weewootruck @loveyouanyway @spagheddiediaz @rainbow-nerdss @epicbuddieficrecs @pirrusstuff @spotsandsocks @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @hoodie-buck @nmcggg @jesuisici33 @rogerzsteven @hippolotamus @fortheloveofbuddie @steadfastsaturnsrings @disasterbuckdiaz @tizniz @theotherbuckley @diazsdimples @giddyupbuck

[hickeygender]

so we all know the explicit sakai deer imagery, right? despite stags being associated with kazumasa, deer are still an appropriate symbol for jin as well (fast, silent, peaceful rather than predatory by nature but still capable of killing). since jin = deer, what would ryuzo best be represented by? maybe there's some textual hint, or hidden dialogue that we could go off of? maybe it's not explicit, but-

yeah, no. the game literally awards you this trophy right after you recruit him. the only way i think they could get more explicit with the shady wolf analogy is by calling the trophy "the big bad wolf", or "wolf in sheep's clothing".

ryuzo - passionate, unpredictable, violent ryuzo - being compared to a wolf is fitting, even more so when you consider the trophy refers to multiple wolves, meaning the straw hats. he was taken in by them, an unruly, masterless group, and he became their leader. despite betraying jin, he doesn't lack loyalty entirely; he only remains loyal to those he views as family after they took him in following the tournament.

his primary motivations in the narrative are staying fed, and providing for his family. he doesn't care about playing nice, or fighting clean, or lessening collateral damage. if his belly is full and his family is fed, none of that matters, and i can't think of a more apt description of that mentality than wolfish.

[cassandra41924]

Y'ALL I JUST FOUND OUT AHAHAHAHAHAHA SIX OF CROWS SORT OF NOVELLA WHOOOOOOOO **dying noises**

[mxnster-soul]

Heya guys/gals/and fellow nonbiney pals!

[temtamtom]

Big Papa is back in the house

Still exploring my design for Gaul- he’s been on my mind lately ❤️ He’s supposed to have a bunch of tattoos, so I’ll try to update the drawing when I have the time :)

Please click to view the image in better quality!

[sugarsweetvirgo]

Kyojin ( 巨人 )

(n) giant; great man