#my degree is literally medieval history

[aroacepotato]

I would be a Paleontologist (thank you David Attenborough)

@jeena-says-hi @all54321 @erdariel @technicallydangerousphantom @george-the-pumpkin

if we lived in a world where u had to do the career u were first interested in as a child what would u be doing, id be a firefighter

[drakyns]

I saw that youre writing hiccup+jack but you also claim you want to take a more """historical""" interpretation with your rps? so which one is it?? you have to pick one or the other :/

hello, happy new year! yes, you’re right; i ship and write one of our beloved 2010s dreamworks nostalgic ship hijack with my wonderful best friend and creative soul-mate, @frystsnow. i’ve been having such a fun time! and yes, you’re right again; i am taking a more historical approach and interpretation with my portrayal of hiccup. but no, you’re wrong; i don’t have to choose one or another. my hiccup (håkan) has a more historical take and is queer (demiromantic and bisexual). one does not interfere with another whatsoever.

first of all, thank you for your question! though i don’t know if it stems from genuine ignorance or a hint of homophobia or hypernationalism. either way, i want to extend the benefit of the doubt and commend you for taking the time and energy to send in your inquiry, even as an anon. as someone who specialises in medieval queerness in my current master’s degree and as a licensed history teacher, it’s incredibly heartwarming to see people questioning things (even when it comes to literal fictional ships). i shall not, therefore, take your question as an attempt at an insult. instead, i will respond to you as i would to one of my students and/or the public at a conference. please let me know if you’d like any clarifications, and i’d be more than happy to oblige. should you need such access, i’m excited to send you pdfs of the following scientific articles, too.

i am assuming, by the tone and content of your comment, that you take vikings to be these white-centric, heteronormative, misogynistic and savage-like people, correct? the good old supreme white and straight men propaganda. they were barbarians, blindly bloodthirsty, and god knows how virile they were! they wanted to conquer the world, behead their enemies, muscles and brawl everywhere, grrrrr grrrr! etc etc. the whole spiel of supreme predators/conquerors. this mythical belief has roots in the hyper-nationalism and romanticism ingrained in 18th century northern europe: to prove themselves as worthy, old societies, germany, sweden, denmark, england, scotland and many others utilised their ties with these old tribes and reshaped (rewrote) narratives to fit into their then-current ideals of power, masculinity and politics. an excellent book on historical representation and its rewritings across geographies and due to political influences was written by f. r. ankersmit and a 38-page preview can be found at this link.

it isn’t far off to claim, then, that the use of symbols, narratives and imagery from old norse cultures have been continuously used to represent politics of hate in various countries with the rise of patriotism and alt-right extremism. just look at how john toll’s braveheart (1995) is a hymn to white supremacists in the usa or how european incels love robert zemeckis’ beowulf (2007). i highly recommend reading verena höfig’s article about old norse myths being used as tools for radical nationalist groups and andrew b. r. elliott’s book on medievalism, politics and mass media. “viking men are straight, hyper-masculine and obey this white fantasy of pure dominance.” this way of thinking, shouted and supported by reactionaries, reinforces whiteness, androcentricity, and authoritarianism. medieval scandinavian societies were highly intelligent: being a viking was a profession, not an identity in itself. diplomacy was important for commerce and cultural trade. battle-crazed lunatics were frowned upon, if not straight up removed from tribal settings, as they represented danger to the whole society. a conscious and perfected balance of violence, peace-keeping, trade, conscious pillaging and sea-voyaging made vikings who they were. how else do you think that they kept in contact with asian and african societies? even indigenous ones in americas, too! they were not interested in expanding and conquering more than they could keep and they valued communal efforts. so when contemporary media (tv, books, comics, games) represent our oh-so-beloved macho vikings as being queer or even not all that violent or intolerant, people tend to frown upon such a notion, thinking they’re ludicrous. this, as i’ve continuously expressed up until now, is political propaganda—an old, outdated and incorrect one.

you might here be thinking: “okay balu, i get it, vikings weren’t all that masculine, nor that savage, nor anything, but were there really queer vikings?” and the answer to that is: YES! first of all, queer people didn’t suddenly sprout from the ground all of a sudden. we’ve always existed from the very beginning of times—queerness is humanity itself. have you ever wondered why loki, a literal mythological norse god, is genderfluid and pansexual? he’s also described as one of the oldest of the bunch, alongside odin himself. if a deity exists in mythology, it’s because they represent societal beliefs and practices. or do you think people made up whatever they thought was cool, and everyone just agreed on their ideas, canonising said things in their literal tribal history just because, hey, it sounds neat? it’s more logical to deduce that, since loki existed, people like him existed, too, no? and not only loki—jess nevins has a superb paper on how most of the old norse pantheon are queer gods and goddesses, from gender to sexuality (it’s the first one of the list, though the others are super interesting, too). contemporary religious practitioners of heathenism and ásatrú also heavily embrace and welcome these queer readings. this is further endorsed by critical analysis of old poems such as the poetic edda, lokasenna and others, which contain concepts such as hvatr and blauðr, which are used interchangeably between men and women and their partners, not to refer to their binary genders per se, but about their role as either more submissive or dominating in a relationship.

if you need more “concrete” evidence other than theological, linguistics and culture studies, do not fret—archaeologists and anthropologists also agree that the “viking” (read: medieval pre-christian scandinavian) societies were more queer than most people think. for example, marianne moen studied graves in norway and, with the little samples she had, she concluded something fascinating: the biological sex of individuals (read by the use of double x chromosomes detections or the absence thereof) did not always correlate with their masculine/feminine social roles, i.e by their clothes and materials they were buried! a woman could be dressed highly masculine, and a man completely feminine. unlike our modern societies (that claim to be o so progressive and freeing), they were not bound by fixed societal norms. they were fluid. moen’s study is also a further contribution to hedenstierna‐jonson’s research team findings: in 2017, they found the body of an elite viking-age warrior in sweden, which many historians and anthropologists hyped. at first, they thought the individual was sexed male due to the “maleness” of the objects found in the grave site. however, upon further investigation, they were biologically sexed female (two x chromosomes, bone structures, as well as ritualistic objects for young womanhood). a lot of people wanted to contest such a finding because the belief that women can be powerful rulers and warriors just like men are is something detested by traditionalists, as we all know. however, what was more interesting is that said warrior individual seemed to socially fluctuate between masculine and feminine roles throughout their life (being accepted and honoured by their tribe, by the way), and had a partner that also fluctuated between masculinity and femininity. they were, therefore, both queer in gender and sexuality. as well, ever since the start of the 2000s, studies have shown that queer expressions of sexuality and gender can be found being supported by religious practices and objects—a book called “queering norway”, edited by pal bjorby and anka ryall is fairly popular on that front. it has the contribution of many historians, anthropologists and more on old norse traditions.

lastly, in case you wonder if we can read dreamwork’s “how to train your dragon”’s characters as being queer, the answer is, of course, yes. i will not enter into art studies discussions or literature queerness appropriation theories because otherwise this post would be much longer than it already is, but i will say these points: hiccup is literally described, from the first movie alone, as not being like the other kids. this could be read as him being autistic, as him having adhd, as him being queer. as well, the presence of monsters (especially dragons) in media tends to represent queerness/clash with heteronormative ideals (i recommend checking out jeffrey cohen’s seven theses chapter). it’s a queer series by its very theoretical premises and execution.

[blade-liger-4ever]

Review: Jade Torch: The Killing Thought, by Anne Marie Wells, otherwise known as @dragonanne!

First of all, let me just praise Miss Wells' artstyle. It's beautiful, and captures the reader's attention, instantly giving them a greater scope of the characters and their world.

As for the story, Jade Torch presents itself as a medieval fantasy world, and as a huge dragon nerd and admirer of the High Middle Ages, I can tell you that The Killing Thought does not disappoint in it's setting! You have dragons and their riders protecting their large kingdom, a neighboring monarchy with a tainted history, a bloodthirsty nation in the north, and unknown islands far away from the continent, all of which take place while the author plants the seeds for a deeper, magic-filled history that feels organic and richer than the Lonely Mountain of Erebor (Tolkien fans, I apologize for any misspells/offense.)

The plot is superbly written, with the unsavory medieval politics and conniving aristocrats presented within the world in such a way that it instantly feels like cracking open a door to look into the distant past of Western Europe. The characters have various personalities that don't overlap with each other, with the possible exception of two (and given that both these characters took on paternal roles to young future rulers, it's a given that they'd have similar approaches to life. Not to worry, they still retain their unique individuality!) They are also all written competently: the men are allowed to be manly defenders/protectors/rulers, and the women are allowed to kick butt without dragging down their male counterparts, something that greatly pleased me.

The heroes are heroes and the villains are villains, an old style of writing I have dearly missed in modern media. Furthermore, there is only one - ONE - character death on the heroes' side, and while it did break my heart, I instantly realized it was a necessary decision and felt that it was not out of place. And while said character's murderer was not killed, another, equally despicable villain was permanently dispatched, something that literally had me cheering in my seat as I read, so enraptured was I by the story unfolding in my hands. I tell you, that is an uncommon occurrence in my reading experience!

And the ending presents a perfect opening for a second installment, with it's ominous atmosphere and the fragile peace left in the plot's wake gripping the reader's attention with a degree of fear for the heroes. I must say, I simply itch to see what happens next, and the path that awaits the protagonists!

I would be remiss, however, if I did not voice one, albeit small, complaint. The naming conventions in the story, while enjoyable, were a bit odd when it came to a select few others. For example, you have the crown princess, whose name is Lunerata Bridth, and yet her father's given name is Kent. There is only one other "ordinary" name such as Kent in the novel, and while it did not take away my love of the story, it did strike me as odd quite a few times. Regardless, I still reveled in reading the book, and happily give it eleven out of ten stars.

Now enough of my rambling! I gave a simple, relatively spoiler free review of this novel. Now, I task all who read through this post: go out and buy a copy of Jade Torch: The Killing Thought. It's a fun read, and will captivate your mind and imagination for a long time!

Fly high, my fellow readers and dragon riders!

[margridarnauds]

What's your opinion on Mad Sweeney in American Gods TV series?

He seems like a good starting point to many things about Irish mythology and history and its perception and I'd love to know your opinion, if you're willing to share.

Oh, god, so this is going to be complicated (I'm having another rough evening, so I'm finally getting to the backlog.)

First off, let me be honest about this: My standards for medieval Irish lit adaptations are high. Potentially too high. I try to acknowledge what any adaptation is trying to do, whether the execution lives up to the intent, what I think they do that's innovative, and what they do that isn't, but the truth is that I have very, very high standards for this. Especially for Lugh and CMT, because even though Bres is my baby, Lugh is too. I make fun of him, but he's almost as much a part of me at this point as Bres is. I've had over a decade to form a close attachment to him and think about what I'd like to do with him. This is important because...I distinctly remember being a teenager on here, seeing a bunch of adult academics on here act like they were the supreme authorities and objectively right on how to adapt these things, and getting very intimidated about...doing anything with these things. (Also see: The reason why I stopped interacting with Arthuriana and Greek Mythology after I was, like, 20 -- it got very exhausting to make sure that all your headcanons followed other people's headcanons.) And I don't want to do that. I am going to try very hard to not repeat the sins of the past.

Let me be honest with a second thing: In my opinion, it is nigh impossible to adapt medieval Irish lit. Or, rather, to adapt it in a way that's both relatively accurate to the cultural nuances while also being satisfying. Any of the Mythological Cycle, Ulster Cycle, or Fenian Cycle, because there's a whole cultural context to these things that isn't always immediately obvious, and unless you have an intricate understanding of it, you're going to fail. And I'm not just saying it as an elitist academic: I'm saying it as someone who once SWORE I was going to create the Most Accurate Irish Mythology Adaptation...and then ended up getting three degrees and working on a fourth in order to achieve it, STILL not feeling like I can do the source material justice. Medieval Irish texts aren't long, but they are DENSE, and it's very easy to end up tangled in them if you aren't careful. Rick Riordan did an online MA in Celtic Civilisation at UCC and spent time in the Gaeltacht learning the Irish language, got accepted into a PhD program at Harvard before he had to pull out. Like...that's what this material demands. Not requests, demands. All this to say...I wouldn't say it's a value judgement, on a whole, if a given adaptation stumbles.

So, onto the actual question:

Here are the cons, as I'm rewatching his flashback scene. On the record: I don't like it.

Let's go into why I don't like it, so we can see whether this is me being Me or not. First of all: Sweeney/Lugh blames " Mother Church" for turning them into "fairies and saints and dead kings" -- this is a popular misconception, especially if you run around in pagan circles, and it enjoyed a level of popularity in the field itself up until the 1980s. That being said, current research in the field generally focuses on reminding people that literally *all the material we have about the Tuatha Dé from medieval Ireland was written by Christians*. Christians who CARED about reconciling their own traditions with the doctrine that they loved dearly. In other words...Mother Church saved Lugh's ass. Also, the idea that Leprechauns are descended from Lugh, which...no one seriously believes in the field and is kind of embarrassing in there considering how widely debunked it is.

As a side note, it's understandable why they use the modern Irish pronunciation for both "Lugh" and "Tuatha Dé Danann" (never a term I use, btw), but it throws me off.

Then, the voiceover from Thoth.

"You were the god of the sun, of luck, of craft, art, of everything valuable to civilization. 'The Shining One', they called you. You saved your people from their old enemy, the Fomorians. 'Lamfhada' they called you, 'long hand', for your skill with your spear...but the Tuatha Dé Danann were scientists and artists. The Fomorians were madmen. Monstrous beings that came from under the sea, under the ground, under the surface of things. Nightmares. The madness. It came from him. Your father's father. One eyed Balor of the Fomorians...He tried to kill you. He heard prophecy that his grandson would kill him so he rounded up all his grandchildren and drowned them all in the lake but, you survived, like you always do."

Overall...I don't love it. It's a very generic look at Lugh and a very generic look at the Fomoiri, which really focuses on the idea of the Fomoiri as an Evil Race, while the Tuatha Dé are the Ideal Logical Aryans, with the Fomoiri being the one to "infect" the Tuatha Dé with their evil, evil genes which cause everything wrong. It ignores the nuances that actually exist in CMT (Tethra isn't Indech isn't Balor isn't Bres). The reference to Balor killing his grandchildren is in the later folk tradition, not from the medieval text. Most importantly, the notion of Lugh as a "sun god" is something that's not GENERALLY believed, or at least not something that's taken for granted as true anymore. In general, if I was to assign Lugh to a FUNCTION, and this is something that I feel like is a CRUCIAL thing to miss, is that Lugh Is Social Order. He is the barometer that you can use to judge how a given writer views Irish society. He is a savior, he's pragmatic, he's ruthless. He's striking, like a cut diamond that, every single time you look at him, you see a new facet of him, catching the light just so.

All that aside, the flashback is really unfortunately racially coded in a way I really don't like.

The Fomoiri being depicted as dark to the Tuatha Dé being fair skinned is one of my LEAST favorite adaptation decisions, and it's one I see unfortunately frequently. (The one detailed description we get of a Fomorian, in CMT? IS BLOND. AND HOT.) While Lugh is depicted as a stereotypical Celtic warrior, with the red hair (which...there is no depiction of the TDD that is WRONG, but redhaired Lugh bores me), torque and the woad body paint (which is NOT something that we have any record of the Irish doing.) There are some later descriptions of the Fomoiri coming from Africa, but...if we DO make that decision? WHY IS LUGH WHITE? (Also it annoys me that Balor is described as "Lugh's father's father" -- like, it's a petty complaint, but it's erasing Lugh's mother and his heritage from her, especially when the battlefield is all men in the flashback. It's a very macho version of CMT that I don't like and, again, misses that Lugh isn't (just) a Macho Warrior -- he's also society. That includes the part of society that includes women.) (Lugh is not a misogynist...even though he has a bad history with his wives cheating on him...he IS a classist. He hates all poor people equally.)

Anyway:

Here are the pros:

So, I've just said that this depiction was simplistic, racist, and not particularly accurate to the spirit of Lugh from the medieval texts, even if it technically gets the overall details (Lugh Defends TDD From Grandfather) right. What DO I like about it?

...I do like that it actually sheds a spotlight on Lugh. I like seeing my funny little guy around. And, really...as picky as I am...I HAVE to be grateful for what we get, because that IS the state the field's in, even as I resent that we can't ASK for more. Lugh has never become RIDICULOUSLY popular in Ireland, or anywhere else in the world, with the Nationalist movement skipping over him almost entirely, in contrast to figures like Cú Chulainn and Fionn who are recognizable. I think it's good to get people interested in this sort of thing, though I think the issue is that it doesn't really encourage people to do more, since it's...the same old misconceptions as always, the same things I was reading fifteen years ago, the same simplistic binaries, in an era where we have a lot more material that IS publicly available and, frankly, they had the budget to consult an actual Celticist. It feels like, for a series that, overall, was praised for going beyond the stereotypes of these mythical figures, it's kind of a letdown. I think they could have definitely done better tbh.

[specialagentartemis]

love your addition to that post about misinformation earlier this month, genuinely, but your summary of the situation re: the medicinal ingestion of human corpse matter in europe is kind of misleading. among other things, i don't know anyone who would call the 17th century "medieval." paracelsus didn't even die until the 1540s. periodization is complicated and mostly bullshit when people look for hard lines between "eras" of human history, but using terms that conjure an idea of a time literal centuries removed from the things we're talking about obfuscates the proximity and connections between things like corpse medicine, anatomical theaters, criminalization/execution, and the development of the modern western medical system. sorry for the long rant in your ask box, i just have a master's degree in Literally This.

to be clear, i am not at all arguing that the mummy being used medicinally was always or even often made of Egyptian mummies. i just wanted to be annoying about time periods. though by the early 1600s physicians like oswald croll were outwardly recommending fresh (executed) european bodies as the source of mummy, so i do kind of take issue with the assertion that people always thought they were buying something different. anyway, as a parting gift thanking you for making it this far in my longwinded asks, did you know moss grown on a human skull was also a source of medicine? called muscus ex cranio humano or usnea humana.)

Ohh huh. Thank you for messaging me; this is a lot more context than I had when I made my post.

I’m an American archaeologist (that is, I work in the Americas), so my areas of specialty are the US Southwest/Mexican Northwest ca. 800-1400 CE, and New England (or okay mostly Massachusetts and some New Hampshire) 1700s-1800s. I also have a solid grounding in the Bronze Age Aegean. But what that means is that early modern Europe is not my forte at all, and I did what I caution about doing and relied primarily on Wikipedia and a tumblr user I find reliable for that information. There were some quick to find sources that supported an 11th-12th century origin for the eating of ancient Egyptian mummies as medicine, which is what I meant by Medieval. I also kind of thoughtlessly took “mummy” to mean “ancient Egyptian mummified human remains” when of course ancient Egypt did not hold a monopoly on corpses or even mummies. I wasn’t intending to speak about the ingestion of human corpse matter as a whole, just Egyptian mummies. But both of these made the result end up misleading and not fully true, and I’m sorry about that.

There’s a specific cultural image of Victorian Britons opening sarcophagi and eating mummies that they looted from thousand-year-old Egyptian tombs, and it becomes a thrilling/disgusting synecdoche for British imperialism in Africa. That’s the part that’s a myth (though 19th century Egyptomania was real and the mummy unwrappings and some mummy-paint were also real.)

However, I was not well informed about the scope of European corpse medicine throughout history, and was honestly shocked to learn just how widespread and recent it was! And for sure you’re right, the 1500s-1600s when European corpse medicine was at its peak is hardly medieval. They mostly weren’t eating ancient Egyptians by that point (though they seem to have been at least a little, because in the late 1500s bodies were still being smuggled as contraband out of Egypt and into Europe), but yeah Europeans sure as hell were eating corpses as medicine. (Those links are not a fact check @ you, it’s @ anyone who reads this and wants to read more.) That seems like it ought to count for “they didn’t teach me this in school!”

It’s good to hear from the people who have researched this stuff; it sounds fascinating. Thank you for sharing, and I’m sorry I was misleading.

And re: Usnea skull moss: that’s WILD. I would not want to stick that up my nose.

[mamaangiwine]

May I genuinely ask you about the history of western occultism? It's far from my comfort zone, and what I'm trying to discern is, from what I can see, grimoiric magic is heavily appropriative of Judaism, there seems to be no way around that. But I've heard the claim that it was originally born from genuine cultural diffusion, and that's why folks justify using it. Is there truth to that? I would love to dig into it if I can do so appropriately & respectfully. Any advice on where I should dig? Again I mean only respect in asking this, and thank you for considering my question.

Oh, anon. You do not know what you have unleashed.

This is gonna be a long one.

First off, 'Western Occultism' covers a large swath of practices and disciplines that range from the Medieval Era, to the Renaissance, as well as the Early Modern Period...so over a thousand years. It's vast umbrella includes astrology, alchemy, hermeticism, angel magic, and over a dozen notable grimiores as well as multiple other lesser ones- and it is not for the faint of heart.

I don't mean that in an elitist way either. I mean that some of this shit gets uncomfy real quick. Multiple grimoires are not shy about animal harm and endangerment. They do not flinch at the ethics of love or sex spells, and they certainly are not strangers to misogyny, racism or ableism. If interacting with any of that sounds distasteful to you, I would gently and lovingly suggest you steer clear.

And if you do choose to move forward? Well then I suggest, especially in the case of grimoires, that you are ready to study your ass off. Once again, I don't say this to be an elitist. I don't say this to show off my starry robe and my pointy wizard hat and my "learned" degree from wizard school. I say this because, otherwise, you will not have context for either the spiritual ideas that are trying to be conveyed in these books or the trap doors that are hidden in their pages.

Some grimoires were not meant for mass consumption or regard. Some books, The Picatrix being one, have recipes for philtres and salves that promise numerous benefits but are actually, literally, poison. Why? Because as a student of the occult you should know that pure bitter almond oil is poisonous, of course. Sometimes whole rituals will be detailed with one deviation that may, from the purview of the writer, cause the whole thing to come crashing down. Why? Because you should know that if Venus and Saturn, two planets whose natures are already at odds, are in contention it will sour the whole production. These writings do not give up their secrets easily. It demands a constant engagement supplemented with a hard won knowledge.

Now, in answer to your question: Did Westen Magic appropriate Judaism, or was it shared cultural proximity?

The answer is- yes. To both.

The history is longer than what I can write in a tumblr post but basically Medieval Christian Magic, Jewish Mysticism, and Islamic Mysticism were all in conversation with one another and were borrowing from eachother during this period of magical and spiritual advancement. Christian Magic did influence Jewish Mysticism, though not as much as Jewish Mysticism influenced Christian Magic; and neither as much as Islamic Mystcism influenced both. This blending of spiritual thinking was actually one of the things that made Spain the once great capital of magical thought and reasoning in the 12th century; due to its diverse Jewish, Muslim and Christian population.

This, along with the fact that there are many symbols, names, and spiritual ideas that Christianity brought into their religion post separation from the larger Jewish tradition, makes it difficult to identify whether certain aspects bled into Western Magic via direct cultural proximity and whether others were outright stolen...well, I mean the Hebrew was. The Hebrew was stolen.

However according to some academic theories, this theft may have even been the catalyst for some of the spiritual concepts later used in Kabbalah; Christian Ritual Magic influenced by Hebrew, in turn influencing Jewish Mysticism.

It must be said however that despite many Christians devotion to Hebrew, it was Jewish people who got stuck with the short end of the stick. Over time Jewish people would see themselves labeled as "demon worshippers" and "evil sorcerers" as their language became synonmus with magic.

This definitely presents a conundrum to modern practicioners. What then do we do with these grimoires? What to do with these traditions? If some of it is appropriative, do we throw it out? If some of it was influenced in moments of genuine human interaction and curiosity, do we label it 'permissible' despite the terrible anti-jewish sentiment on the rise in our modern era?

Both are valid questions, but no I personally don't condone their compelete disavowment; like many other traditons, Western Magic should be considered as a whole and with its complex history in mind. I think one should consider that these grimoires were far reaching and culturally influential, and in ways we cannot even begin to understand, or even untangle. A grimoire could be found in Ireland just as easily as in Spain, and not just in the libraries of white bearded men- which only makes sense. Some of what is in the grimoires came from the common people, and to the common people pieces of these books returned.

In terms of Western Magic, I think the magic community would have an easier time creating room for discussion, education and further collaboration. Such an approach would further these traditons in ways that we haven't seen for hundreds of years, and in ways not possible from the beginning. In fact, such groups already exist that contain both Jewish, Christian and Non-Christian practicioners.

With (all) of that being said-

There are ways to get around the parts you feel unsure about, or are approiative. For instance, in the case of most Hebrew, one could swap it out for Enochian since both are "heavenly" and "spiritual" languages. Such substitutions require knowledge of what you're working with and a willingness to experiment but they are possible. In fact, substitutions are necessary as it's not like you can just go buy the musk of a civet cat when you need it.

Personally, I feel the best books to start with are Agrripa's Occult Philosophy, Books 1-3 and 4. It is said that to read all four is akin to achieving a college level degree in Renaissance Magic. Any of the Grimoires in which Stephen Skinner is listed as an editor and collaborater are also great as they are usually more digestable.

As for history-

Dr. Justin Sledge's YouTube channel Esoterica is a great resource for all things Ancient and Medieval Magic Related.

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books by Owen Davis.

Ancient Jewish Magic: A History by Gideon Bohak.

And @woodland-goes, a practcioner of Western Magic and Grimoire Work also suggested I share this link. He has a podcast coming out very soon that will also be discussing what we've covered today and I wholly suggest you go and hit up his inbox if you have any more questions on the topic. He is far more knowledgeable than I.

Hope this helped anon.

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

tag game~

tagged by the amazing @coquelicoq to list 5 topics i can talk on for an hour without preparing any material! thanksss <3 <3

this is honestly a really difficult one for me cos as much as i love to ramble, the prospect of having to do a talk for an hour about anything would a) make me INCREDIBLY anxious and 2) i would promptly forget everything i know about said subject literally the second i have to do the talk pfft.... wait... the prompt doesnt say i have to do the talk in front of people so hmm... maybe i'd be ok lol

anyway topics time lol (these aren't really in any order btw just writing them as i think of them)!

art history ofc... i could equally talk as much about art i love as much as art i HATE lol (duchamp's goddamn toilet fountain you're going fucking DOWN bitch)... can't promise my hour speech won't just be a list of fun art-y facts lol (like uh in medieval paintings that used gold leaf, artists would put down this red gesso/glue like mixture (called something like boll?) because the red gave the gold a warmer glow than just sticking it onto the plain wooden panel lol) or that it won't be me massively misremembering parts of my degree pfft...

history of the british monarchy lol! ok so i may not currently like the monarchy, but i am a MASSIVE fan of the history of the royals lol... especially the tudor era! a lot of my talk would be me trying to remember the order of the monarchs from william the conqueror until now (which would mean me singing the horrible histories monarchy song lol sorry not sorry)... i would also spend the time being like 'yeh so this one had allegations of being gay, as did this one, and THIS one had several male favourites who he was definitely in relationships with' lol

kpop lol... not really sure what i would talk about? maybe specific groups (exo would be in contention for sure, they have a very interesting history tbh), or just the wider cultural phenomenon and history of kpop? or just like talk about niche kpop groups that basically no one remembers pfft (like that group that jackie chan made lol! already mentioned it on my kpop haveyouheard blog but people in the notes were like 'wait jackie chan did WHAT???' lol...) like i definitely don't know a lot of stuff, but i know more than the average joe so like... it might be fun idk??

queer films lol... i'd also say films in general, but i definitely feel like i have more niche and interesting knowledge specifically of queer films so.... i DEFINITELY could talk for well over an hour about that lol! this would also definitely include me complaining about films like call me by your name and blue is the warmest colour lol... (i actually was speaking to myself the other day about both films and how perceptions of both have changed SO much over the years since they came out lol...) but i'd mainly want to talk about the amazing queer films i've watched over the years!!... i'd also throw in some talk of asian queer media here since i've been watching it for literally 6 or so years at this point lol...

back to history, this time ancient egypt! returning to my childhood roots with this one lol i know a lot of random things about ancient egypt that i could potentially string into an hour long talk? actually recently went to an exhibition at the place where they film downton abbey (it's not called that btw lol) where it had a whole thing about the discovery of tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 which had a lot of interesting info tbh! dont come to this talk if u dont want to hear me talk about all the incest that went on in ancient egyptian royalty pfft... (like...historians believe that tut's mother was also his aunt, and his sister was also his wife, which kinda explain why none of their children survived... royals of all eras really were like 'we have to intermarry to keep the bloodline pure' and it's like (breaking bad bald guy meme) jesse NO that's what's KILLING you!!!!!!!!!!)

for most of these i'd basically say something and then immediately be like 'don't fact check me on that though' because chances are i remembered the thing wrong pfft...

tagging (no pressure to do it ofc!): @abnerkrill @asoftspotforangels @sylvasa @dollopheadsandclotpoles @zelvuska @micamicster & whoever else wants to do it!!

[guardevoir]

Pinned post because I never made one before!

I'm Guardy! late 20's, they/them (it/its if you're brave lmao). I wrote my undergrad thesis about Varney The Vampire, Dracula and Otherness in vampire fiction, so I'm quite literally a certified vampire nerd! And then I somehow pivoted into a History graduate degree and mostly do medieval handwriting now. It's... a long story.

I write a lot - sometimes about vampires, always something that's some flavor of queer - and I also draw a bunch. And I do like ten different flavors of fiber art and occasionally some music 'n shit.

I've never been very good at keeping up with sideblogs, so the only thing that's kept separate is most of the vintage homoerotic firefighter fandom shit (over at @johnnys-green-pen); otherwise, I'm an unapologetic nuisance on main about anything that catches my interest, oops.

Like 90% of this blog goes into one of these tags:

#guardy's art

#guardy writes

#guardy's fiber arts tag

My fandom tags are usually "#guardy [plays/watches/etc] [thing]"

The dorks I write about have many tags and I really need to redo my writing project overview page, but the ones that come up the most are Gus (asexual purple disaster vampire who likes doing taxes and crosswords), Jaime (the Millennial™ he hangs out with), Absalom (different project: world's most saddest mailman/airship captain) and Severin (tries to be a White Haired Mysterious Anime Boy, really just an incorrigible gay mess).

[ierosylia]

the person

tansy, he, 20s

follows from @cry4judas

storygraph

i write questionable non-modern adult fiction with ambiguous endings. bad at genres

the blog

mainly posts and memes about writing, or posts relating to my wips/ocs

some original posts, but also mainly relating to my wips

might occasionally post original writing but rare

the wips

vulture by the river

playlist | board

tagged #vbtr

horror

history and tradition vs capitalism; parenthood; cannibalism; legacy and sacrifice; weird kids; death and murder; nonhuman humans; found family, I guess, if you want to be really literal with how you define it; worldbuilding of if russia and greece had a lovechild

oldest wip :]

blood of a rabbit

anatole's father is dead - at least according to the letter unceremoniously delivered to his capital apartment over a week after it happened. with a degree that got him nowhere and a wallet growing steadily more wanting, it's an acceptable defeat to pack a bag and take the only train back to the tiny village his childhood self called home. a shop waits there just for him, and being a butcher is not that different than being a doctor, he supposes; the robes are similar enough, and blood is the same color no matter who it pours out from.

but a lot can change in eight years. anatole is a stranger in familiar land, and the animal that killed his father still roams the woods, wild and identified. when he comes across two children dirty and alone among the trees, there is no question about taking them home to safety. but who are they, and where did they come from? no one in the village recognizes them. why can they not speak? and why do they seem to get thinner and thinner, no matter how anatole tries to nurse them into health?

playlist | board

tagged #boar

horror(?)

alienation and societal expectations; pressure to conform; loss of identity; community as a smokescreen for harm; autistic mc; monstrosity as a metaphor for outside perception; inaction as action; social pariahism; the whole thing is just a a disability metaphor; fake old time rural germany inspired setting

current main wip !

x

tithe

board

fantasy(?)

gods and religion; loss of identity; sacrificial grooming; deities weaned on blood; worship and complacency; trauma and abuse as dehumanization; kid mc; ambiguous mc

fun facts: the only project I have Ever worked on to be in first person. also probably a novella

x

five

playlist | board

tagged #5

medieval dark fantasy

potentially literally any trigger warning you could think of; gender roles as violence; parenthood and identity; duty and legacy; everyone hates each other in there; feudalism and monarchy as metaphorical incest; also magic and dragons, but low magic world; multi pov

fun facts: started as a worldbuilding project. has several centuries of history and its own wiki

x

[an-abyss-of-stars]

More Rhaemond babies content!!

The Many Faces Of:

Daemion Targaryen & Aelyx Targaryen

Daemion and Aelyx are the second and third born children of Rhaena and Aemond (these babies will probably join us around chapters 12 or 13, maybe sooner or later). Twin boys who were born 4 minutes apart from one another...Aelyx was a tad bit unexpected. Daemion's eyes are a bit more of a "classic Targaryen" violet, in my canon he literally inherited his namesake, grandpappy Daemon's violet eyes. While Aelyx inherited his mama's pale violet eyes. They were both born with golden blonde hair that would pale over time, but would still remain golden. Facially they are very identical, but they do have their slight differences (I'm thinking they both look more like a perfect mix of both Rhaena and Aemond, like neither favour either parent more or less than the other.)

Daemion (named after his grandpa Daemon, how Rhaena convinced Aemond to let her name one of their kids after her father is a plot line that WILL be shown 😂) was always the more chaotic of the two. He was louder, bolder and far more sociable (slight parallel to how Baela is compared to Rhaena!). As much as he loved pulling pranks on the staff at Dragonstone he also liked befriending the staff as well. He was a little charmer, and unlike Vaella he knew how to genuinely charm people to get what he wanted.

He had a very active imagination and always had energy to burn, though unlike his father or his elder sister, he didn't have the patience to sit and focus on things. He loved hearing about his family's history, he just couldn't be asked to sit and study it. He liked fooling around with swords and weapons, but he couldn't be asked to truly pay attention and train properly (I imagine he's got medieval ADHD to a certain degree)

Daemion loves his twin brother a lot and he's always done his best to make sure Aelyx felt included in his adventures. But Daemion also really loves and looks up to his older sister, she seemed invincible to him and he wanted to be just like her. Whether she was pulling off an incredible prank, flying his dragon for the first time, learning something he wasn't supposed to be taught just yet...he always wanted to do what she was doing.

Aelyx on the other hand was the complete opposite. He was a lot quieter, a bit more awkward and soft spoken, and was not really fond of social situations. When he was a toddler, he would run crying to his mama for every little thing, she was his favourite person and she always made him feel safe. During a time when she wasn't available (NOT SPOILING THIS PLOTLINE), Aelyx had found himself needing his papa instead, and Aemond easily decided to clear his day to bond with his quiet son.

Aelyx liked reading on his own or being read to by his parents, he could often be found in the library with his nose tucked in a book. He liked snuggling with his mama, and he liked listening to Vaella's dramatic tales and storytelling. He liked conversing with his papa in Valyrian and properly training with him in the mornings with Vaella, he especially liked sitting on his grandpappy's lap and listening to his old battle stories (he and Daemion usually did that together!).

But he also loved his twin brother Daemion over all else, he wasn't the biggest fan of pranks or shenanigans, but he enjoyed tagging along with his two older siblings. Whether they were pranking the maids or servants, sneaking around cooks to steal sweets, or attempting to sneak past the dragon-keepers or trying to get closer to the dragon mount. Aelyx may never have initiated any these endeavours but he'd happily let Daemion drag him along for them.

Daemion's dragon egg would hatch in his crib, the egg itself had been from a clutch of Syrax and Caraxes (his favourite dragon was his grandpappy's Caraxes). He'd name his dragon Meraxes both after the Goddess of the sky, but also because in their culture she'd been Caraxes' twin and he was very fond of that. Aemond would later jest and try to sway his son to maybe appreciate the history of how Meraxes was also the great Queen Rhaenys' former mount, and while Daemion did like that, he was very fond of Rhaenys from the histories, Rhaena knew having a dragon who was the hatchling of his grandfather's is what meant the most to their son.

Meraxes takes after her mother, in that she's a glorious horned dragoness, a deep burgundy toned red that shimmers iridescent in the sunlight and moonlight. with golden horns.

When Daemion is 8yrs of age and Meraxes had grown to a ride-able size he sneaked off with Vaella to ride their respective dragons (I think Vaella will claim Grey Ghost, I think I've decided! Let's say she claimed him when she was around 7 or 8 herself.) Rhaena was more worried than upset, but she's reminded by Aemond how Vaella had done the same just a few years ago. But seeing how he can't simply let the kids off completely, they both earn two sessions of early morning training as their punishment (a punishment that's really only upsetting to Daemion because Vaella loves training...she doesn't like waking up early though, so maybe that's the punishment part.)

Aelyx's dragon egg on the other hand, while it had hatched in his crib like his brother's...the poor hatchling had not lived long enough to bond with baby Aelyx. He'd receive another egg when he's 2 or 3, from a clutch from Silverwing and Vermithor, but the egg would never hatch. Even though he'd be assured by his ENTIRE family, his parents, his grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins, and even his old sister, that he'd be able to claim a dragon when the time was right...he still felt excluded and upset about it.

In all his years he'd go on countless rides with his father and siblings (and others family members!), but finally at the age of 16, he'd sneak out alone. He felt a call to him, deep in the volcanic mounts of Dragonstone, and there he found Sheepstealer, and a bond would be made.

The moment he claimed his dragon, he flew to King's Landing first, beaming with excitement he wanted his grandfather to be the first to know. And of course, Daemon was very proud. (He also figured he'd earn a lecture and a punishment from his parents for sneaking into the very dangerous volcanic mounts of Dragonstone by himself at night...so grandpa Daemon seemed the best bet at the time!)

Daemion would grow to be a very blatant charming flirt. Vaella, Aelyx, and their three younger siblings would always make fun of him for it. Because he was truly a charmer, he'd never force any girl, he had impeccable manners, but he'd end up with loads of young maids hoping and thinking that he felt more them, than he actually did. It only got worse when courting seasons began, and young women began falling for him left and right! Between the ages of 17 - 22, Daemion was a menace leaving a trail of broken hearts behind him in his wake.

That is until a certain cousin/fellow Targaryen caught his eye (I'm thinking possibly one of Baela's and Jace's daughters, OR Luke and Daenaera's OR maybe even Jaehaera...ouuu older woman kink. Either way, Daemion seems VERY Targ cultured to me, like accidentally so very. He's his father's son, in that he's going for a Valyrian bride at the end of the day! 😂)

By the time he's grown into a young man, he is a relatively skilled sword fighter, though he's far better with a morningstar or an axe than a sword. He and Meraxes are an inseparable bond and he's a great dragon rider. Daemon loves annoying Aemond by that praising his namesake grandson only grew up so well because of his name (grown men Aemond and Daemon still 100% act like children with eachother and I think that's part of their father-in-law/son-in-law charm!)

Aelyx had also grown to become a handsome young man (he doesn't know it or get it, but the noble girls of the Kingdom are very attracted to him...even some of the noblemen, the sexually fluid noblemen of Westeros are very attracted to both twins honestly), but he'd always remain a far more silent brooding type (much like his father). As he'd gotten older, he'd actually gravitate towards his father a lot, spending countless hours flying and training with him, as well speaking of histories and conversing in Valyrian. As he got older he'd spar with Vaella (and another sibling!) a lot, the two being the best sword fighters of all the children (debatable as there are some other kids coming who are quite good too! But I still think Vaella and Aelyx are the technical best).

Aelyx would also grow to be his younger siblings favourite tutor, when they weren't taking lessons with their maesters, they always wanted Aelyx to read to them because he always had the most patience compared to Vaella or Daemion.

When courting seasons begin, he's not as fond of it as Daemion (and another sibling!) is. He keeps to the edge of the dance floor with Vaella (he hates the social outings themselves, while Vaella could just care less for dances or court etiquette, she's well versed in both...she just doesn't care for them. He's also well versed in both, he just has anxiety and hates the attention/feeling crowded) but they're both always constantly asked to dance by noblemen and noblewomen.

I think Aelyx marries a tad bit outside the family, maybe still Valyrian -esque features wise but maybe like a Celtigar girl or someone from Lys or Volantis. Maybe a Velaryon cousin! Or maybe truly outside the family, like a Stark or Lannister, Tully or Grejoy, Baratheon...who knows! Aelyx is a bit of a wild card to me ✨

❃ ❃ ❃

Just like with Vaella's, this was just a fun little addition I wanted to share! I have created the art for ALL 6 children, every once in awhile I'll drop their little life bios as fun little bonus content! I'm also going to start linking them together at the bottom of these posts for convenience and or anyone who later on wants to check the full set!

Sidenote: if I ever do make that Part 3 to this series, then don't mind me if some of these details change when I do get to writing it. These are just my main initial thoughts for these characters now. But if I ever go into more depth with them, things might alter just a tad!

-

Rhaemond kids in order:

Vaella Targaryen (135 AC), Daemion Targaryen & Aelyx Targaryen (137 AC), Valaena Targaryen (138 AC), Naerys Targaryen (139 AC), baby #6 & #7 (142 AC), baby #8 & #9 (153 AC)

[septembermorningbells]

ok I’m 90% sure this is my third Utena rewatch with my first one being when I was sixteen and the second when I was 18 during lockdown… sometime around then I decided it was my favorite media of all time and I have said as such since then.

Anyways some things that have happened to me since the last time I watched it are:

- became a lesbian

- took so many lit analysis classes in college that im basically halfway to an English degree lol along with one that talked about the history of shoujo as a genre which was FASCINATING bc u definitely understand Utena better when you know the genre it’s parodying (annoying sentence). Anyways. I’ve read and written a lot since then. Will be trying to figure out how I can tie this into medieval literature somehow (and Orlando furioso but now I am literally just talking to myself now)

anyways I have needed to rewatch this show for a long time let’s do this

[nerd-for-nerdsake]

Man like, yeah the world is bigger than Europe. But the renaissance is an agreed upon period of time - in Europe where Europeans re-learned European classical arts a long with some other stuff. Just because it was a European thing doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. That’s sort of like saying the Menji restoration didn’t happen because it only happened in Japan.

Huh??? I never said the Renaissance didn't happen because it was a European thing, that would be a bewildering claim

My issue with the Renaissance is that it places itself as the period where the Classical era was reclaimed by Europe, as someone whose degree was half based on the Middle Ages, and the other half based in classics, this never sat well with me

Because first of all we maybe moving away from seeing the Middle Ages as a dark Age and you may be arguing that the Renaissance reclaimed classical art and that's what made it significant but the fact of the matter is that the Middle Ages was built on the Classical era

The Middle Ages was a continuation of the classical era (there are currently debates going on about when Ancient History becomes Medieval History with many courses in classics overlapping in both time and place with Medieval History), the biggest difference between the Medieval and Classical periods was that new states were emerging which took their classical inheritance and shaped it differently, these new states used the systems left behind by the Romans and adapted them to suit their needs, so in a very literal sense they continued on from the classical era

Not only that but a lot of the scholarship from the Medieval era is based in classical scholarship to the point that people tear down Medieval sources because they think they don't exist because they see these medieval sources as mere translations of the classical ones, ignoring how the process of translating, transcribing, and adapting these sources made them uniquely Medieval (which actually poses problems rarely addressed for ancient historians because so many of their sources are filtered through the Medieval world, we have few "original" and untouched ancient sources but we frequently fail to account for this when studying them)

The classical era was very much present in the Medieval one so to claim that the Renaissance is special for harkening back to that ancient past ignores how it never really went away and that's my issue with how people treat the Renaissance and by extension the Medieval era

[midnights-call]

Hi Declan! Happy WBW!

What kind(s) of medicine is used in your world?  (Manufactured drugs, plants and herbs, magic, etc.)

Are there any illnesses / injuries / conditions that are unique to the world of your WIP?  What are they?  What causes them?  How can they be treated, if at all?

Who does most of the healing?  (Trained physicians, magic users, whoever is around, religious figures, etc.)

How are healers taught?  Are there medical colleges or classes?  Do they have to have a license to practice medicine?

~Morri🗡️ (@memento-morri-writes)

Hi Morri!!!!

For this one, I'm going to try and give answers for all of them, going in order of least detailed to most detailed.

Starcrossed: This takes place in generally the modern IRL world (with some minor advancements, but nothing more than you'd see in a typical spy thriller), so everything IRL applies here! I do have a few obligatory homoerotic injury tending scenes in this one though ;)

More under the cut because this is a super long post!

Fated: Very standard low magic fantasy, for the most part. Haven't put a lot of thought here but I imagine it's akin to medieval age medicinal practices with some influences from around the world. The three major map areas I'm taking cultural influences from are Germany, Korea, and Saudi Arabia (which are all extremely different, trust me I know) so I'm using ideas from each of those histories, as well as adding touches of varying fantasy things like plants that don't exists or practies tied to the religion that's at the heart of the story. But the "healer" in the party, Soheil, is really just enough of a healer to qualify as one by military standards. With the war going on, they just sorta take anyone and call it a day lol, great way to run things. As for unique injuries, well... spoilers ;)

Darkest Depths: DD should have some stuff purely because of how much body modding goes on in this world, and the amount of time for sure developing multiple melanomas from intense sun worship, but it doesn't. This is mostly due to me making worldbuilding up as I go for this one, but also because I'm trying to give it a more fantastical feel and make it like, very detached from how reality functions. I do want some surrealism and some mystery surrounding the how and why of certain aspects, and medicine might end up being one of those things. I'm not sure yet. But whatever it would be, it'd be highly religious in it's practice and likely performed by Sol's Priestesses, who already perform all of the major functions in society anyway. But most healing would be for injuries/illnesses as a result of too much sun exposure (sun burn, sun poisoning, heat stroke, skin cancer, etc) or body modification related things, since those are all very much part of daily life.

Arcanist's Gambit: General high fantasy fare applies here, with magic and herbs oh my! There is also alchemy and potion brewing too, both of which are pretty advanced fields, but usually healers would use whatever is considered medicine as well as healing Arcanum. Generally, injuries are standard even with the kinds of wild and magical plants and animals in the world. There are probably some funky diseases, but I haven't spent much time on that because it's not super important to anything. However, one neat side effect of my magic system is that since you can craft a spell to be quite literally anything you want, the magial-related ailments can get so nasty. If you're creative enough to come up with it and skilled enough to execute, you can do anything with Arcanum, and I mean anything. The best healers are always Bloodless, since healing magic typically requires a degree of manipulation of the blood in a person's body, and non-Bloodless may run into issues of manipulating their own blood in the process. So, many Bloodless who want to learn a reputable, profitable trade go into medicine and healing since they have the natural advantage of simply not having blood. However, this also means that Bloodless are harder to heal, and the typical fashion of helping them heal includes a massive increase in the amount of blood they consume, with a heavy focus on traditional medicine over magical. Bloodless are basically the O- blood type of this world, in that they can easily help everyone else, but it's really really hard to help them.

Sign of the Times: This wip is funny because it's a fantasy and a sci-fi at the same time while also being the lite version of both of those. There's fairly advanced medicine along with very good medical schools (that definitely cost a fortune) where drs get their license and go on to work in hospitals or clinics, but there is room for some holistic medical practices along with old traditional techniques blended into it. Most people opt for the modern manufactured drugs, but there are some options too if those don't work for you. However, the pharma companies in this world are generally bad news, so they don't love when people swap to the alternatives, which means they innovate that much harder to keep a customer base (and also make illegal and highly addictive drugs to distribute to various criminal organizations to sell on their behalf so they can get those extra dollars).

Magical healing through the powers of Blessed is also possible, but Blessed are obviously not well liked here so that's rare for most citizens. Fuad, however, does have healing powers that let him heal injuries for as long as he makes skin to skin contact with the person, at the cost of enduring whatever pain they're feeling. And there are plenty of Blessed with abilities that can cause severe and unique injuries based on which God they received their Blessing from. Rowan was injured uniquely by a blessed, resulting in scarring that'll never go away along with bones and muscle tissue that were left unable to heal properly, leaving them in pain and with limited mobility.

Bloodied Hands, Tainted Hearts: My medical wip!! The mc Val is literally a scientist working on researching a cure for Whither (and Blood Delirium, more on that later) with a specialized team after a plague sweeps the nation. To work in medicine, you have to have proper training and credits, but it's not super hard to fake any kind of credentials, and if you do actually know what you're doing, no one is going to question you very much. The medicine in this piece I think is somewhere in the Edwardian era, but it might be a little broader in time than that, I'm not exactly sure. But apply ideas about medicine from that general time period to this wip and you've basically got the gist of what medicine is here.

The first disease in this wip is obviously Canis Lamia, which is the disease/genetic mutation that resulted in the Krovolk. Krovolk are vampire/werewolf hybrids and are every bit as terrifying in their True Form as that combination would imply. They need to drink blood and eat a lot of meat for sustenance though they can eat and drink other things no problem. Any blood and meat will do, but humans will always be the most satisfying/allow for the most time between feedings. However, most Krovolk don't use humans as a food source, instead raising large amounts of livestock and doing a lot of hunting within their communities, making sure there's enough to go around for everyone. You can be infected by Krovolk, but it's pretty rare to see it happen nowadays. It also has to be a bite that has intent to infect, because a specific gland will active and inject the bitten person with Canis Lamia. You can also get it through birth, with the chances of a human/Krovolk pair having a Krovolk kid being about 80%.

The second disease is first introduced as Whither to readers, but early on it becomes clear and is discovered to be the same disease as Blood Delirium. Whither is the strain that affects humans only, doing as the name sort of implies. It causes people to slowly die in this very painful, wasting type way. You start off with a cold and suddenly every one of your body functions is shutting down after being unable to digest any sort of food and soon, drink water on your own. Muscles and bones deteriorate along with mental function, and you're basically just rotting while alive. It's a very gruesome way to go, and the disease is 100% fatal if you catch it, which is why everyone is so determined to stop it. Blood Delirium is the Krovolk strain, which came first and has wiped out huge portions of the Krovolk population. However, because they don't have access to medicine in the way humans do due to being forced out of human society, and humans not caring what happens to them, they've been allowed to just. Die. Blood Delirium has a similar effect on Krovolk, where it slowly eats away at the body while preventing it from being able to take in new nutrients, but there is a slight problem with that. Krovolks can turn into True Form whenever they like by essentially letting go of their discipline, but they still have a semblance of control over themselves in True Form. Starvation normally causes a rage as the Krovolk grows desperate for blood and meat, going out of control until it's satisfied and can come back. In combination with the disease eating away at brain tissue, Blood Delirium's starvation effect causes Krovolk to go completely out of control, essentially turning into zombie werewolf/vampire hybrids, which is also as bad as it sounds. So most Krovolk, when faced with a sufferer of Blood Delirium in their community, are forced to kill them before they reach that phase in the disease to protect the community at large from destruction.

As you can see, I've spent a TON of time with the medicine in this one, and I'm really happy about it. I think the diseases are interesting and the stakes feel super high as a result of how serious they are. 100% mortality is no joke, especially not when the death itself is this awful. At least they have the Edwardian idea of "just do a bunch of opioids directly into the bloodstream about it" going for them, that probably makes it feel less bad.

[isychiaa]

Hope I'm not derailing but. . .

No one is shaming anyone for liking YA fiction. I like YA fiction. But I also have a degree in Medieval English Literature, and I like Mishima, and Mariana Enriquez, and Jane Austen, and and and.

You can like what you like, that's fine. But purposefully restricting yourself to one very small genre seems restrictive, especially when there could be wonderful lessons learned through a multitude of genres you have yet to tap in to.

Case in point: I didn't set out to do a Medieval English Lit degree, just general English Studies. And then I discovered Gawain and the Green Knight and Medieval werewolf literature and the rest is history. I took a chance on an intro to medieval literature module, and it greatly benefitted my life! I read something new, and it expanded my horizons, what I thought was possible in literature and I learned a lot about how our current society is impacted by the socio-cultural touchpoints of the past. Which in turn changed my perspective on day-to-day life.

And also everything said above; you will learn more about critical thinking, analysis, independent thought, shades of grey, through engaging with a wide range of fiction. If you try something and dislike it, stop reading it. But you might just find something you love.

There's literally no reason to put yourself in a box, when you can just. . . not do that.

No babe it’s so cool and hot that you always insist that fantasy books written to meet a 4th graders’ comprehension skills have more complex themes and a greater sense of praxis than anything written for adults

[montie-edblog]

I developed a keen interest in language and history when I was in high school. I can safely state that this is a consequence of an earlier interest in fantasy literature, video games, and science fiction that I was introduced to at an early age by peers and parents. I was curious where the real-world inspiration for a lot of the symbols, architecture, and character-archetypes lay, and I was fortunate enough to have access to ample reading resources as a kid. I've been a lifelong history learner for this reason and have my undergraduate degree in it, and frankly find it vastly more engaging and interesting than any other subject.

History should be engaging and interesting. Students should see history as a reflection of the things they're interested in, and use it to understand how there are patterns that repeat themselves through time. History should be told as an imaginative and interesting story, even if it doesn't always 'make sense' in the same way as literature. My question is: how can I teach history in an ESL classroom, as well as making it interesting and engaging to a broad group of kids whose origins are highly varied? I wondered this because my students at Alexander Hamilton complained about the lack of a regular history teacher, with multiple subs just telling them to watch movies and do worksheets, which is…painfully boring, in an institution that is already painfully boring to be stuck in. Worse, even with regular history instruction students still find it monotonous. The reasons for this, that I have seen across numerous blogs and essays on the topic, include: - The forced memorization of dates, names, and facts - The monotony is reading thick, dry texts - Lack of relevance to the modern experience That's not what I think about when I think of history. I can recite a few dates and I do remember the names of people, but those are far less important than having an understanding of social trends, causes of conflict, and the many colorful kinds of personalities that influenced why things are the way they are today.

History class should be exceedingly fun. When I think about my history classes, in the far off, fantastic reaches of my imagination I picture taking my students to one of my favorite historical-theatrical experiences - Medieval Times! Is it historically accurate? That's not the point; the point is to breathe in the atmosphere, enjoy the pageantry, marvel at the sheer skill and time required to learn horsemanship and other requisite skills of the time. In a country where we can literally afford to have a larger military budget than China, India, the UK, Germany, France, South Korea, Italy, and Saudi Arabia, where we subsidize profitable industries at $20 billion a year, is it absurd for me to declare: "Yes, we can in fact afford to spend the negligible taxpayer funds to take my kids to the museum"?

History is boring because we don't think big. We think small in our schools, and history isn't small. Not only do I want to come up with big, interesting things for my students to do in history class, I want to learn how to properly confront administrative and cost barriers that I know are there by choice, bureaucratic decay and malaise. Before I commit to this plan, I want to know: what is stopping me from having resource-plentiful history education for my kids? Is anything stopping me? If it is, how can I get around it?

[whentherewerebicycles]

From Publicly Engaged Scholars: Next Generation Engagement and the Future of Higher Education: 

“The individuals and institutions that shaped the civic engagement movement were working within a larger history and sought to redefine colleges and universities as social, political, economic, and moral institutions. Cold War science and the infusion of federal funding that fueled the military, industrial, and university complex fundamentally shaped higher education in the United States. Vannevar Bush’s (1945) Science, the Endless Frontier framed [a case for] both the primacy of pure science as the standard for research and for basic research to reside at the top of a hierarchy of knowledge production and dissemination, with applied research and knowledge then flowing from the university outward to the society (Stokes, 1997). Science, the Endless Frontier laid the groundwork for creation of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and postwar appropriations for the NSF began to reshape research universities -- a trend propelled by Sputnik and a deepening national crisis defined by the Cold War and fought with scientific advances.

In short, the civic engagement movement inherited what Schon (1995) referred to as an institutional epistemology of ‘technical rationality’ that privileged basic research and an epistemological architecture that fragmented knowledge into increasingly narrow specializations. This fragmentation was mirrored institutionally in siloed departments, a splintering that began at the turn of the twentieth century with the rise of academic disciplines. Increased fragmentation and academic work that privileged interests of disciplinary knowledge over knowledge to serve the public good gave rise to a growing chorus of critiques about the university as out of touch, unable to address pressing social issues whose complexity required transdisciplinary approaches.”