#fantasy-roman

[eirene]

The Planet Venus, 1882 Luis Ricardo Falero

[jakubrozalski]

'Caledonian Forest'

" Written by Titus Ursus, Primus pilus of Legiō IX Hispana, in the third year of Hadrian's reign (* 120 AD). This will probably be the last entry in my diary. Our legion was ambushed in the wild realm called Caledonian Forest and was almost completely annihilated. Half of my first cohort is all that was left of the IX legiō. We were pushed into the marsh and we will probably die here, fighting bravely to the end in the name of Rome and the Emperor. We were attacked by a demonic pack of the barbaric Picts. They looked more like wild beasts than humans. Some of them were dressed in animal furs, painted with strange runic signs... others seemed to be two-legged wild beasts. They tore us apart as if we were made of paper! I saw our legatus and my brothers in arms being eaten alive, I will never forget their screams. The barbarians attacked us unnoticed, quickly and with wild fury, then disappeared in the fog. Mainly at night. Our shields, swords and armor were no use here. The enemy we face seems to be the ancient wrath of some dark gods we have awakened. We should never invade these lands. I hear demonic howls, they're coming! They're coming! "

Scrap of the papyrus written by Centurion Titus Ursus. Found in October 120AD in the Caledonian Forest. Taken to Rome, where it was presented to the emperor and then burned. Two years later, Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a wall on the border of the land called Caledonia, in north Britannia. Coincidence? I don't think so :)) work process: https://jrozalski.com/projects/Ke94zG

[dryya-doesnt]

Hi guys…. I’m being extremely cringe and rewatching Minecraft diaries…. Here are some doodles…mostly self indulgent color practice

Garroth!!! The helmet guy himself go white boy go… love him I rlly liked early s1 garroth he was so serious 💀💀💀 actually hilarious

Laurence was done so dirty with that fire engine red hair…also his howl pendragon arc was rlly cringe then and still now LOLLL

Zane 🙁🙁 (he’s having a tantrum) still hate him he’s insufferable

[superbeans89]

[wordsmithic]

unpopular opinion but with the new tide of Greek mythology stories and retellings, Greek Cultural Sensitivity Readings are absolutely necessary. We are in 2024, with thousands of fics and retellings out there!! How is this not a thing yet?? There's vast improvement one can achieve by working professionally on their text with a Greek. I've seen it so many times!!

Also, duh, I'm offering the service BUT I want you to know that the situation with the inaccuracies of SERIOUS works is so dire that initially I didn't even do it for money. As a writer I just wanted to... fix things, to set a new standard for writers and the industry that sells us the most heavily Americanized pop-culture material and passes it as "authentic vibes of Greek mythology". (And of course there were writers who wanted to do right by their story and they had reached out to me. So kudos to them as well!)

Okay, but why does Cultural Sensitivity Reading make a vast difference and it's not just smoke and mirrors?

As a Greek, I am tired of well-meaning writers and authors butchering very basic elements of my culture. It's not their fault exactly, since they were raised in another culture with a different perspective. And nobody clued them in on how different Greek culture is from theirs, so writers sometimes assume that their culture is the default and they project that into ancient Greece. (Even published professionals like Madeline Miller have written "UK or US in antiquity" (with a very colonialist flavor) instead of writing "Ancient Greece". (Looking at you, Circe!)

Even writers who researched a lot before coming to me still had a lot of misinformation or wrong information in their text, easily verifiable by the average Greek. Again, not their fault. They can only access certain information, which does not include Greek scholarly work and scientific articles that DO offer valuable context.

Translation, accuracy, and meaning: If you ever wondered what a word means or how to pronounce it, here's your chance! There are Greeks like me who are knowledgeable and have a keen interest in antiquity and they will be able to read and compare ancient texts, and dive deeper into the work of Greek scholars regarding those texts.

If you want to create new words, you can do that as well! (It doesn't always work, but we can try. Greek is a really rich language and has a word about everything) If you use existing words, I can help you separate reality from fantasy in the context of your story.

(Do not assume we Greeks are ignorant of our heritage, or that we don't know how to research! Our archaeology sector is huge and archaeological museums are closer to most of us than your local Target is to you)

I guarantee there are things you never thought about Greece and the Mediterranean - from the ancient to the modern era. Sprinkling elements like phrases, types of interactions, customs, songs, instruments, dances, etc , into your text will make your text absolutely rich in culture.

Names matter!!! The genders of the names matter, diminutives matter (If I see one more "Perse" for Persephone I will claw my eyes out along with a few thousand Greeks), naming traditions matter!!! In many cases you should not even use a diminutive!!

You will be able to write about a foreign culture easily! Because of the continuity of Greek culture, you can even write a few more recent Greek elements to fill in the gaps. I can make sure they are not mismatched, and they will complement your ancient setting. I have observed a few things I didn't know we had since antiquity, but they make sense because our land has certain characteristics.

Non-Greek writers often miss the whole context of Greek culture! Do you know how Greek respect towards deities and parents looks like? What tones we use when we talk to our elders? When to use honorific plural - if your setting is more modernized?

Oh, and please let's avoid caricatures when describing Greeks?? (even fantasy Greeks) There can be heavy exotisation and odd descriptions of Greeks, as if we are another species. Even in published works. For many western writers it's difficult to catch, unfortunately.

The whole process is actually way easier than you think. You send me a text, I make notes and then we have some discussion on your vision.

It's always okay to seek guidance from the locals! You are not "guilty" when you admit you don't know! How can you know if you don't ask?? You can't imagine what relief and "πάλι καλά!!!" I read/see from other Greeks when I tell them another foreigner is using me for cultural sensitivity? Greeks want you to seek help and will NOT shame you for it!

(On the contrary, you have no idea how many eye-rolls Greeks do when they see a blatantly wrong thing in a story... Which has happened pretty often for many years now. Can we do better as an industry?? Please???)

You can send me a personal message to share your story, or ask what this whole cultural sensitivity thing is all about, or ask about what I have done so far and how I can help. But for the love of all that's good, don't let your story be another "generic greek myth retelling"! And don't let others sell you their generic greek myth retellings!!

[daughter-horror]

BILL SKARSGÅRD

34th Birthday!

[madcat-world]

Random Training Concepts #2 (2 of 6) - Roman Kupriianov

[elucubrare]

got a book about a 1940s detective getting portal fantasied, which is objectively better than a normal guy (gender neutral) from the writer's period getting portal fantasied

[neighborhood-yogurt]

Sorry to tell you this baby. but if your little fantasy story uses the word July, you done gone and canonized the Roman empire. Sorry bout it, but that's just how it shakes out sometimes, big boy.

[maddoxfanx]

commission of my oc nia

[bodhrancomedy]

Just a list of children’s books that did impact my life way more than Harry Potter.

[imaginal-ai]

"Hercules at Sunset"

[paperglader]

watching ep 104, listening to laudna talk about Whitestone festivals and crops, and watching Imogen just look at her so smitten… I can’t help but feel like it’s funny that they got roped into this whole god eater thing, cause they really are the most build-for-domestic-life motherfuckers I’ve ever seen in my entire life.

Like tell me that you cannot see it in Imogen’s eyes how badly she just wants to elope with this woman on a little farm where they can raise horses and garden and have small little quiet lives in a place that doesn’t suck like gelvaan and where they can get their peace but also get to enjoy the little things in life??? And she looks this way anytime laudna like breathes.

Meanwhile they have to go off and try to kill a god and maybe die in the process or whatever

[sforzesco]

BALAK, PANGAGAD

uhhh conspiracy. can be a courtship dance. ritual. so to speak. & hosting one in your house is an act of service

[mrs-gauche]

You know what I would love to see in Veilguard when we're visiting Minrathous?

Remember those magical hologram theaters??

Massive old libraries filled with juicy Tevinter lore??

And gorgeous public baths???

*heart eyes*

[wyrmsfornerves]

Hi! I don't usually talk much on here, but I wanted to share this! For the past three or four years I've been working on these graphic novels called The Roman Stars with writer Ivan Brandon!

What is The Roman Stars? It's a grand space opera about the life of Julius Caesar! And we are currently LIVE on Kickstarter

So if you like graphic novels, space epics, and/or Roman History, I would greatly appreciate it if you all would check our book out!