#no one cares about this but i'm mad at the modern church

[ajaxdishsoap]

Jesus did not say that every time we rebuke or abuse the poor and down-trodden we're rebuking and abusing Him for Christians to put conditions on their aid for people

[itsdefinitely]

Definitely, can you pretty please go into depth about the MC outfits because I would LOVE to hear that /gen

WOOHOO!! YIPPEE!! DANCING AROUND MY LITTLE CORNER FULL OF RED TAPE AND MADNESS!!

gonna start in no particular order

TINKY COSTUME my beloved and beloathed (the colors fucked me up). to be honest most of it is pretty obvious. the maze design on the sleeves and the box on the shirt is meant to represent the bastard's box, but i imagine that box glowing in the game. for important plot or something. i just want the box to glow. the pants are pretty much directly because i wanted to give the MC boots (i didn't draw shoes because hell if i was gonna design six good looking pairs of shoes) and they fit in with the pattern on the sleeves + the overall steampunk-ish vibe tinky has. the outfit itself wasn't really steampunky or yellow, but these outfits were made to compliment the lord, so rather than two engineers, it's like a mad scientist and his loyal lab rat. so something that would be easy to move around in

and now is a good a time as any to mention this. all of the outfits were made with the CoTSC designing them in mind, which is why they look all different, because i feel like the church has different views on how each lord wants to be treated. like they're pretty sure nibbly is good with things being more modern, but wiggly and pokey would be more "traditional" i guess. the church is just convinced some of them need to be held to the same standard they were given decades ago

anyway. blinky. the whole thing with the blindfold is that the CoTSC thinks you're not meant to look at blinky. blinky actually doesn't care whether you look at him or not, but there's this air of "you're not supposed to do this" when the MC tries to take the blindfold off. the eye button-thing was very fun for me to think about because i saw this button a while ago that was the pupil as the button, and i've been trying to incorporate it into something ever since. the pants are more of a stylistic choice than anything, so interpret it how you will

nibbly's costume was actually so fun for me to draw. i wanted it to look like something out of a fucked-up twisted willy wonka. the base for the top is really similar to tinky's but that's fine because they probably all steal something from the others. tinky's costume steals the specific yellow from blinky's costume, who steals the midsection part from pokey's costume, who steals the whole robe thing from wiggly's costume. also there's no cape or flowy thing for nibbly's costume because if the MC failed i don't think the CoTSC would want nibbly mad at them for having to chew extra fabric. also you need to be able to run without tripping over yourself if you try to escape him :]

pokey's costume was also really fun. obviously the grey, blue, and the cracks (it's also supoosed to be lightning!) are from his canon design, but the glasses are because i wanted something on the MC's face like the mask. it couldn't be another mask because pokey would get offended by that i think, and sunglasses are in the superstar/thespian ballpark. this costume also has the most stars on it (they go all the way around the hem of the robe) because of pokey's connection to space

finally, wiggly's costume. this is the one i think i have the most to talk about. first and foremost: there's a full black outfit under the robe. the fingerless gloves and pants are actually one jumpsuit, like president howard's suit in black friday. the collar thing is connected to the cape, which is split into six parts to be kind of like wiggly's tentacles. the fluffy collar is meant to be like the doll's fur. the whole thing is meant to keep the MC insulated, because i imagine the temperature drops whenever a lord is around, and especially when THE lord in black shows up. all of the sniggles (+ blinky) have fur, so they've probably had to adapt to the cold. now that i'm thinking about it, the CoTSC aren't that antagonistic in the costume design process. they cater to both the lords and the MC's needs, or whatever they think those needs are. like i said before, wiggly's costume is meant to be more "traditional", like the robes they wear. this costume is similar to what they'd put you in before sacrificing you

thanks for coming to my braindump

[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.

[purpleandstarlight]

Some time ago I said I would make a post about my opinion on various of the kuro characters' stance on the LGBTQA+ community so here It comes i guess. Gonna be a pretty long post I suppose.

Starting off with what may be a hot take: o!Ciel ain't homophobic or transphobic or anything. Yana may write him like that, but I feel like that's her problem and not his. It makes basically no sense with his character. He's just a dude trying to live his life and he canonically doesn't judge people for going against what society thinks should be the "norm" (His speech defending Snake in the Campania arc, to name one instance). He HIMSELF doesn't really follow the "norm" of a noble of that time period (Treats his human servants (so not Sebastian) like actual human beings and even family, doesn't seem to go to church or leave his house for fun much, hates socializing and going to parties). I personally even read him as aroace!

Plus he canonically read (or was at least knowledgeable about) Carmilla, wich I never read but from what I hear was gay Dracula before Dracula was invented.

That said, in modern era he WOULD make gay funtom merchandise for pride month only for the profit and not to stand by the gays. Not because he's homophobic, he just doesn't care about being so public in his support for the community if not for that sweet, sweet money. Tiny capitalist child. Awful little man.

Now, if you want to blame a Phantomhive for being homophobic...that's R!Ciel. An actually alive, not bizarre doll R!Ciel could be convinced of the LGBTQA+ community not being bad IF (and only if) his brother was a part of it and o!Ciel slowly educated him on what not to say or think. Like not even the knowledge that his father is the most bisexual person alive would convince him, he'd just live in denial. But we know that o!Ciel is sacred for him. "If brother says this, then it's the truth."

Bizarre doll R!Ciel is like those mums that go "I'm fine with gay people I just think that [insert extremely homophobic statement here]". He also says stuff like "The A in the LGBTQA+ community stands for Ally :)"

Lizzie is very nice and openly supportive, but WILL get sometimes flustered in front of two gay people being gay. She will also sometimes stumble and say something bad by mistake, but she immediately corrects her behavior as soon as she's explained that what she said wasn't right.

Tanaka? Complete Ally. No boomer behavior from the Grandpa ever.

Mei Rin? Ally. She is also a total lesbian who just hasn't come to terms with it yet, though. So for now she just says she's an Ally and moves on.

Finny is also an Ally who just doesn't get he's part of the community yet. He's aroace and doesn't know it.

Bard says he's an Ally, but the fact is that the only gay person he doesn't support is himself. Had his bi awakening after working with Sebastian at the Manor but denies it to himself like o!Ciel denies himself love and happiness.

Speaking of Sebastian, he's a very homophobic gay being. Not with himself. He knows he ain't straight and isn't upset about it. But if another person drops hints that they are, he's mad about it and WONT support them. Unless it's Agni. If it's Agni, he's EXTREMELY happy about it...

Agni is either Bi or a complete Ally.

Soma is the token straight friend. He's a complete Ally tho. Doesn't even hesitate. "Oh you're into men? That's cool! I'm into curry :)"

William is aroace and okay with that but he's also homophobic and transphobic.

Ronald is either Bi or another "token straight, ally friend"

Bonus: more sexuality headcanons!

Undertaker gives me big homosexual vibes but I also believe in the theory that him and Claudia had a thing, so I'll say pan.

Sieglinde is a lesbian. Had her first girl crush on Lizzie.

Grelle is obviously and canonically a trans woman and proud but imo she STILL needs to understand that men aren't her thing. Women are. She's in denial.

Also headcanon that in a modern era she would fucking hate the trans flag colours bc there's no deep red in it wich means she doesn't know how to incorporate it with her aesthetic.

Othello is ace. Idk if he's aro too or at least into women, but he's ace.

Alois is only into guys but also ace. @weeb-cheese showed me the light when they said he looked aroace to them. I can't completely buy the aro part but i am 100% sold on him being ace.

[jojomaxine]

Modern Diopucci AU - fight ahre

Set in the Modern Diopucci AU

reminder: past divorced jonadio. I am here just being cringe. enjoy if you do, fuck off if it angers you.

Things had been tense for a while. The couple had never had as many arguments as they've been having lately.

—Dio —Pucci sighs, lowering Verdena to the ground. He looked like something had happened— You can't keep things like this anymore.

—"Keep" what? —Dio raised an eyebrow, a slight confused expression as he stopped looking at his phone.

—Your sons —Pucci explained, encouraging Verdena to go play with the toys and games left for her in the living room, before turning back and taking a seat in front of Dio on the kitchen table. Verdena obediently went her own way, a bit curious of the conversation that was about to delve but knowing that she always got bored with the dealing of topics she couldn't quite grasp yet. After the girl was out of sight, Pucci continued— You can't keep giving them money. It's not solving any of their problems. Donatello keeps getting fired because he can't behave properly at work. He knows he'll always get what he needs from you anyways. And Ungalo is not paying therapy. You know what he's spending that money on.

Dio seemed the slightlest irritated at that. Pucci was not one to hold back his complaints, and although it was something Dio deeply admired from him, it sometimes backfired and put him in bothersome situations as well. —What else do you expect me to do? They're adults. They're old enough to know what they're doing. I'm not gonna run behind them monitoring whether or not they keep up with their responsabilities.

Pucci's lips frowned more at that. He knew that Dio was fully aware of the way he was ignoring the logic.

—You're not taking care of them and I'm having to do it instead. You know it well, they always come to me. May I remind you who their father really is?

—Don't pull that on me, Enrico. I never asked you to do that for me. You're always like this, haven't you noticed? —Dio tsked, now fully setting down his phone on the table— You put weight you're not ready to carry on your back and you get mad with me when it doesn't turn out well.

Pucci breathed in. Dio was purposefully being obstuse. Pucci was not Jonathan. He wasn't going to fall into the way his partner twisted his actions to fit a story that was not true. Dio knew that, yet still tried to treat him as if he was as naive to fall into it as the Joestar was. He took a few moments to reply, just watching his husband in silent anger.

—You know that's not right, Dio. You asked me that one time. You asked me if I loved you with all of what you carried on your back. You asked if I was willing to share that weight with you, and I said I was. You may not ask me to do it directly, but it's an issue that will fall on someone sooner or later, and you only worry about your children or mention them when I am the one who gets so overstressed and stop worrying. And even then, you don't move a finger to make things better. —He was quick to accuse, delivering his words with a voice a lot more calm than what he was actually feeling inside— I congratulate you for being able to watch your kids destroy their lives in front of you and ignore it, but I can't do that too.

—Oh, for God's sake, Enrico. —Dio made a disgusted expression— Do not call them "children" as if they're not fucking grown ups. And of course I'm right. That's what you always do. —He insisted.

—Care explain what "always" is to you, Dio? —.

The older looked plainly angry now. He was being brought into an argument he didn't want to have right now, or ever. Being the impulsive asshole he often was, he couldn't shut his mouth before he said way too much.

—You didn't have to go "fix things up with Jonathan" for us, yet you did. You don't have to do that stupid, waste of time, Charitable Church thing. Heck, you didn't have to adopt your dead sister's baby when you knew your parents could have done it and saved us the trouble, yet you did. It's not on the rest of the world if you take care of things no one asked you for and get tired of them.

Pucci looked taken aback by that. He straightened back in his place, his expression pure disbelief and slight betrayal. He knew Dio was impulsive. Dio could spill venom when he truly wanted. But in those nasty moments he always was somehow being honest. Was that what he tought of Pucci's daughter? It took some time for the blond to notice he went overboard. When he changed from angry to regretful Pucci was already getting up.

—Wait- Enrico, dear —he had the decency of at least looking a little ashamed as he attempted to go after him. Pucci took a surprised but compliant Verdena in his arms again and made quick work of grabbing the keys the and satchel bag he always took outside, and only looked back to Dio with very cold eyes when he was at the door. —I don't want to see you right now. I'm gonna take some air and think. I advice you to do the same.

And it was that way that Pucci went to Donatello's shitty apartment to try and cool down, and Dio called Jonathan for advice again.

[zakubabbles]

Both sides of my family were converted to this "non-denominational very not Catholic but actually correct" Christian church before my parents were even born. So I grew up in a different culture than most Mexicans (being Mexican-USAmerican didn't help) because of it. I knew of Día de los Muertos growing up and one time we even unintentionally partook in it*, but for most of my childhood and adolescence I was told about how it was wrong and kind of pathetic how Catholics (a good majority of México) had this very wrong obsession with death and believing in spirits after life. Because our totally correct and irrefutable church said we should only celebrate life, and while we should not forget our loved ones after they departed, we should also not think about them dead much less honor their grave sites and pretend they're still around. How unhealthy!

And that's just so fucked up.

I understand what that church means, and yes, we should remember and celebrate their lives! But eliminating the whole process of death and decomposition is not the way. That's unhealthy. We've been dealing with death and human remains for fucking millennia. All over the world too. Every culture has had their own ideas and rituals (religious or not) revolving around death because death is part of life. Death is not bad. And caring and honoring our dead by visiting their graves, setting up ofrendas/ altars** to remember them, and meditating on life and death can be a very healthy and beautiful way to cope with loss for many people.

But nope. It's wrong, and we, members of this only correct church, don't do that.

I remember one year I made an ofrenda for my great-grandmother, who ironically was the one who converted my family XD, at school and my mom was not pleased. She didn't really say anything about it, but I know she was very uncomfortable and not happy about it.

So I never grew up with that tradition. And I'm actually mad about it. Yeah, Día de los Muertos isn't (or wasn't) as prominent in northern Mexico, but it still very much has existed since settlement. And I think I wouldn't have been so freaked out about death after my uncle died, and I wouldn't not been allowed to see him nor attend his services as a child if we had not all grown up with such a modern anti-death Christian mentality.

For years now I've been unlearning and relearning things. I still don't place ofrendas since I don't have my own living space and the people I live with, while not from the same only true and correct church, have very similar ideas. Also, my loved ones who have died held onto those beliefs so it would be disrespectful to put them on altars. But I have my own little practices and ways to remember them.

Also, this is a church that originated in the United States and we all know how friendly and tolerant these churches are towards indigenous religions, rituals, and practices. Which Día de los Muertos originates from. 🙃

------

* we all went to the cemetery to put a slab of concrete and an iron cage around my uncle's plot to discourage vandalism and maybe robbery which involved cleaning, spending time with the family, remembering, and eating. I thought it was interesting how many people were all at the cemetery that day.

** Altars should only be for God, but at the same time no altars! For God is omnipresent and how dare we try to tie him down to one measly human site!

[chloe-writes]

Need angsty fic ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Request:

Driving home, y/n & levi argues. Y/n gets mad then gets off the car & asks him to leave her be. Angry levi respects her decision & drives off. He doesnt know thats the last time he sees her!!!

Stars Shine Brighter

[Levi x Fem!Reader]

[Angst - Modern AU]

Summary: His actions—the eternity of it—had thrown Levi into such a different world. Her absence reminded him: what he’d done could never be undone. She was gone.

Content Warning: death, marriage at first sight (?)

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: Saddest ending I've written.

The light at the heart of his world has been extinguished. And from the scars it left him, it was devastating to think that he would have to wait another lifetime to see her again.

Levi took a moment to appreciate the scene before him. Church bells were ringing. Little girls in pink tutu dresses held baskets filled with rose petals. The piano produced a background music to this blessed morning. It wasn't everyday that you'd to witness two lovers tie the knot. Especially when it was your best friends who were getting married.

"How do I look?" Farlan was tense. This was supposed to be the best day of life, yet he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Tch, cut the crap. You'll be fine." The raven-haired man had always been blunt, but Farlan had long been used to his straightforwardness.

Adjusting the boutonniere on his suit, the taller of the men huffed a little chuckle out. This was a huge milestone, of course he would get the jitters.

"If you're afraid of messing up the vows, just speak from the heart. That's what Isabel would have wanted," Levi sighed, he was fully self-aware of how bad he'd always been with words of comfort.

Glancing to the wooden clock, the wedding procession should be starting soon. The entourage were to walk down the aisle in pairs. Being the Best Man, Levi was paired with the Maid of Honor.

He didn't know who the woman was, not that he particularly cared to know the person he'd be walking across with for 30 seconds. But as far as he knew, Isabel had no remaining family left, so she entrusted the position to her high school friend.

As the hired wedding organizer held his clipboard, he called out, "Maid of Honor and Best Man, please proceed here, you're the next ones to walk."

The short man was about to grumpily scold the wedding organizer to lower his voice, however he halted for a moment. His steel-grey eyes were met with an approaching pair of (e/c) ones. Levi could feel his cheeks glow with warmth. Was this love at first sight?

He never believed in such an idea, let alone even think it would happen to him. But there he was, his heart thumping heavily on his chest upon the sight of a young woman.

His turn to walk down the aisle with the mystery girl came. He knew it was his bestfriends' special day, yet he couldn't help but be selfish. He felt like he was the one getting married—his arms were entangled with hers, taking slows steps on the red carpet, where a trail of fresh roses rested. Many people struggle to find their love at first sight, but for Levi? It was like marriage at first sight.

After the ceremony, the raven-haired man nervously approached her. "I'm sure I haven't properly introduced myself yet. Levi Ackerman."

"Oh, hello. What a pleasure to meet you. It's (Y/N) (L/N)."

(Y/N) (L/N)

A woman of grace & benevolence

You are forever loved.

A gravestone. The gravestone of the woman who touched the face of his soul.

"Levi, are you okay?" Kuchel Ackerman was worried, her son had been plainly staring into the gravestone for a little over an hour.

"Huh?"

"Honey, you've been standing in the rain for some time now. The lightning is striking, I think we should head back to the car."

He was too wallowed in the flashbacks of his deceased lover that he failed to notice the harshness of the weather above him. The frail woman offered her son shelter under her dark blue umbrella as she awaited Levi's response.

"You can go without me, I'll take a taxi home. I need more time to talk with (Y/N)… please?" The man's voice almost inaudible.

In as much as his mother wanted to argue, she complied, deciding to let her young boy find emotional catharsis in is time talking to the grave.

"Okay. Take all the time you need honey. Just don't stay out too late." With that, Kuchel takes her leave.

The ebony-haired man wasn't sure if it was rain or tears that were streaming down his face, or both.

Oh how he misses her. No matter how many times he apologized to her grave, it wouldn't  bring her back. He knows because he's tried. Nor would a million tears make a difference, he knows because he's cried.

It was ironic, he met the love of his life at a wedding, but he never got the chance to marry her and make her his.

The man looked at his fiancé's name engraved on the stone cross. Eyes filled with sorrow. "I know I don't deserve you, but please (Y/N), please. Come back"

His actions—the eternity of it—had thrown Levi into such a different world. Her absence reminded him: what he'd done could never be undone. She was gone.

Levi sighed while he was driving, he knew she would try to bring it up again. "We have this conversation 11 times a week, I don't want to talk about it again."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bore you out with a huge matter that will affect our lives." (Y/N)'s irritation was rising at a dangerous level.

"I fucking said I don't want to talk about it."

"God I cannot believe you sometimes."

"Tch, stop overreacting." The man's jaw was beginning to ache from how intensely he has been clenching it.

"You know what's the problem, Levi? You never listen to me."

"I don't listen? I always listen to you! You wanted to spend thanksgiving with your parents? That's what we did. You wanted this ugly car even if you don't drive? We bought it. You have shitty 3am cravings? I go to your place at a fucking unreasonable time."

"So now you want to single out everything about me that annoys you? That's it, stop the car."

"(Y/N) what are yo-"

"I said stop the fucking car." The man stepped on the brakes as he parked the vehicle by the side of the road.

Stepping out of her seat, the lady vehemently shouts, "If I'm such a bother to you, then maybe you should find someone who isn't." She slams the door, turns her back, and continues to walk on the sidewalk.

Driven by his hysteric emotions, Levi rolls the window down to reply, "You're right. Maybe I should. Sometimes I just wish we'd never met." With that, he drives off, leaving his fiancé alone on the streets.

3 days. No calls, no texts. Worry was the only thing that filled the raven-haired man's entire being at the moment. His fiancé was marked as missing after her workplace called in that she hadn't been showing up.

He was pacing back and forth through his apartment. Praying to whatever deity up above that the woman he loved would safely arrive home.

Five loud knocks ensued. Quickly dashing to the door hoping for a certain someone, however Levi was disappointed to meet two police officers by his doorstep.

"Are you Mr. Ackerman?"

"Yeah, I am. Now cut to the chase."

"Mr. Ackerman... your fiancé's body was found lifeless by the river. I'm sorry for your loss. The killer hasn't been found yet."

Dwelling on recent events, he felt nothing but guilt. He knew a lot of last words, but he will never know hers. Moreover, his last words to her were soul-crushing, "Sometimes I wish we'd never met."

The memories kept replaying on his mind, while he slowly fell on his knees and lied down on the soft grass by her gravestone. His steel-grey eyes grew heavy from relentless weeping as unconsciousness slowly took over.

Levi found himself in a field of parsley-green grass, somewhere he wasn't familiar with. It was like a far away land, something that of a dream. A strand of thin light from the pink salmon skies. Serrated mountains that loomed in the distance. A host of tulips and daisies scattered the meadow. And the love of his life, standing before him.

"(Y/N)… ?"

"Oh Levi, you're awake. Which flower do you think is the prettiest?"

"Huh? f-for what?" The man was clearly confused. Why was she standing in front of him? This was definitely a product of his imagination, it was too good to be true.

"Because I need flowers to take with me and plant in God's garden, silly."

God? It all registered in his head. This was it. This was her, telling her final goodbye. Imagination or reality, he just wanted to hold her in his arms. "N-no, stay with me... please. I need you- I'm so so so sorry. I love you and I- please come back."

"I wish I could Levi, but God is waiting for me in my new home.”

“But-”

"Don't worry, I'll welcome you with open arms in the afterlife, where we could love each other in everlasting peace."

"Then take me with you! I know you will disappear once I wake up!"

He didn't want to believe it, but he had to let her go. (Y/N) ran towards him, lovingly pressing her mouth over his. He pulled her in and claimed her lips so soft with nothing but pure love. The woman sneaked her hand on the back of his head, stroking his hair reassuringly. And suddenly, Levi wasn't so scared of death anymore.

"I'll wait for you. Live a good life for my sake."

The man awakens from his slumber, tears running down his cold cheeks, but his lips were warm. The kiss was real.

Levi had buried her by their favorite spot. Because stories claim that every time a wonderful person passes away, an angel of God comes down to Earth. The angel cradles the person in their arms, spreads their great white wings, and flies all over the places that the person loved on Earth, before proceeding to heaven.

The angel brought (Y/N) to her favorite spot, letting the woman bid her lover a last farewell through a dream.

Levi looked up to the silent night sky. (Y/N) had always loved the stars. It's funny how the stars seemed to shine brighter now that she had joined them.

[ Masterlist ]

[lavernius]

Hello! Could I please request some good "Epsilon being compared to Alpha" feelings or angst? Unrelated but it's very sad to me that at this point Epsilon has been in more seasons than the Church we started with. He's fine and all, but he's not quite the same.

i am not the biggest fan of angst so i'm just gonna give my thoughts on the whole alpha v. epsilon debacle!

to start: i'm not one of those people who gets uppity about the difference between alpha and epsilon. they're both church, they're both parts of church, they're very alike to me, i like them both a lot

to get quick headcanons out of the way: in my modern au, epsilon is the system's (i tend to call it the church system bc i don't think anyone in their system cares enough to name it) memory holder/caretaker, and doesn't front much/at all until alpha (former host) and beta (introject of tex) integrate. epsilon kinda considers himself parts of both alpha and beta.

further on above point: epsilon does think himself more identical to alpha than beta, but far more confident, possibly because of beta.

now i list these two points to remind everyone that church has DID. i do not have such, but i try to do my research (ofc this does not make me 100% credible) and i make this known so i can explain my headcanons properly. keep church's DID in mind, here.

a majority of the same logic applies in canon, but in a different order. alpha reunites with the system, actualizes what he is, and "integrates" in an metaphorical sense of the word (getting EMPed with the rest of the ais, i guess), epsilon emerges, gets beta to integrate, is at peace with himself, finally, finally after all these years.

epsilon and alpha are essentially the same, if not just very very similar. the difference between alpha and epsilon is church's spike in confidence. epsilon is a little conceited, definitely moreso than alpha was. everyone seems to see this as epsilon being annoying? i think he's healing.

alpha wasn't as conceited because he was still suffering the side effects of the trauma he endured, c-ptsd that resulted in him believing he didn't have much purpose aside from work (which shows in his unnecessary dedication to leading the blues in blood gulch)

he was manipulated into believing that everything that went wrong (including the death of loved ones) was HIS fault, so he's not really full of himself because even without his memories (epsilon) he feels like somewhere deep down inside he's always the reason shit goes wrong.

epsilon is... past that, and new to a world where things don't have to be his fault just because of his involvement. he's excited about it, he takes pride in his small victories.

people (the aliens) like him, and he can actually accept that now instead of thinking they'll ditch him or hurt him? holy shit, that's new, he wants to celebrate that.

carolina comes and he realizes he can help someone get revenge on the guy who traumatized him? what the fuck, of course he's gonna go and help her, the director hurt carolina and him directly and tucker can be mad all he wants, epsilon thinks he deserves this.

carolina intercepts a potentially dangerous transmission and wants to help people? fuck yeah! epsilon isn't afraid of this anymore, he wants to try to help without fearing failure! beta's gone now, he doesn't feel doomed to fail anymore, he wants to ride this high.

epsilon still dissociates, and he does it far more than alpha ever did. he's obviously not perfect, and scenes like him failing to help carolina in the sharkface fight prove he knows he isn't, and still gets torn over it. he's getting better, but healing is a process, and for church it might be an especially long one.

i'll cut it short here because i could go on, but basically i have so many thoughts about epsilon, and how he's just a somewhat healthier, more ascertained splinter of alpha. i get the conceit can be annoying, but in my eyes it's the sign of someone recovering slowly from their trauma and owning it. all in all, i think the treatment epsilon gets compared to alpha is unfair; understandable but unfair. i love both of them, i'm proud of church, i want them both to be happy.

[msbluebell]

Hello, I'm the same anon talking about the Captured AU. Sorry about that, I'm not accusing you of making Edelgard a Yandere when I sent the ask, I may come off as oversimplifying Edelgard's character with that but the Captured AU where Edelgard amplified her controlling tendencies just... gave off that impression to me, so, again, I apologize. And part of me can't see Edelgard doing that, as much as I'm aware that it's an AU, since even if her methods are questionable, she still gave (1/2)

the rest of the Eagles a choice to whether or not they will fight with her or not. And even in non-Black eagles routes, she gave Petra a choice to whether or not she will help her if you recruit Petra. So even with all her controlling tendencies, I was on the belief that Edelgard still gave people a choice, no matter how little they might be. Edelgard's methods are NOT okay, but I just can't see her having her controlling tendencies amplified like the AU did. (2/2)Listen, I’m not mad at you. You’re allowed to not like something, and you’e allowed to criticize something, and you’re allowed to even think actively bad things about something.

You and I? We don’t agree on Edelgard’s character and that’s the bare bones of it.

I’m really, really, tired of trying to defend my view on Edelgard, or this stupid AU I made that got me so much hate from different anons (not you, I assume). I don’t even like her character, so it’s exhausting to keep repeating my views of her over and over. So, right here, right now, I’m using your argument less to argue about my AU, and more to put my final foot down on my feelings on Edelgard, what I think she’d do, and how I feel about her. So sorry about that.

I completely, totally, undeniably believe Edelgard absolutely would lock up Byleth in a tower for five years if given the option. That’s not even something I questioned when writing this AU. I think she’s ruthless enough to do it, I think she’s got the sense of compassion to want to do it, and I think she has the moral self-superiority to think she’s right for doing so.

This is the girl that was staged a bandit attack in order to assassinate her two fellow House Leaders, both of whom are underage like her. This is the girl that blackmailed Lorenz into siding with the Empire, this is the girl that is invading all of Fodlan in order to tear down the system and rebuild it the way she thinks is right, this is the girl that used Bernadetta as bait in a trap on Gronder Field in every route not Black Eagles. This is the girl that is possibly blackmailing Ferdinand. Her willingness to commit atrocities in the name of her ambition is what gets the other three factions of the game to paint her as evil. And, eespite loathing the methods of TWSITD, she is shown to actively aid them with their experiments by collecting Crest Stones for them to use to turn innocents into Demonic Beasts with her assault on the Holy Tomb. She also explicitly gave them the Death Knight, who then helps them kidnap Flayn for more experiments. She obsessed with control to the point that it’s listed in her bio, and the only time she lets up on any of these qualities is when Byleth is actively playing her morality pet in the Crimson Flower Route.

And that’s not even going into the fact that she justifies all these actions by the “I Did What I Had To Do” logic.

So, yes, with all the criticism you may think I hate her.

No.

I dislike her, but I understand and appreciate that she’s also a kind, compassionate, woman that is actively trying to make her homeland a better play the only way she knows how. She’s working on only half the actual facts, much like Dimitri, and like him she’s attacking the wrong people because she came to a wrong conclusion based on only half given facts. She legitimately does believe that playing the tyrant now is going to save a lot of people in the future, and it’s a genuine character flaw of hers that she overlooks the now in the name of the future. She is completely right about the corruption of the crest system and the need to reform, as well as the issues with the Church. 

But I’m getting off topic.

I believe, based on both her ruthlessness and her compassion, that she would lock someone up in order to save them from the war.But BBell, you say, locking someone up like that isn’t compassionate at all, it’s torture.

Yes, person who just said that, I agree with you. By basic human decency standards. But you clearly have no idea how we treat prisoners of war. Even in modern day. And, yes, Byleth is a war prisoner first, as I have tried and failed to remind everyone over the course of this AU.

And, my lovelies, being a POW sucks hard, but I bet it sucked harder in an age before crossbows.

Edelgard, in this AU in particular, thinks she is saving Byleth’s life by keeping her a POW. And, on top of that, she’s keeping Byleth fed, in a nice room, with comfortable beds, nice clothes, entertainment. Compared to a wet, cramp, dirty cell with rats that eat you, no toilet, no bed, and no light I bet this prison seems like one of those fancy rich people prisons that are nicer than my apartment. Not only that, Byleth is getting company every day. (I do admit I decided that the room needs a window, just one that’s kinda like a skylight where it’s way too high up to reach). In Edelgard’s mind, she’s saving Byleth’s life and keeping them comfortable until the war is over. That’s downright compassionate right there. Horrifying to us though.

The thing about this AU that everyone seems to forget is that Byleth loving Edelgard was not the end goal for the woman. Yes, she does want Byleth on her side and thinks she can convince them one day, but actively controlling them and making them love her isn’t the point. The point is to keep this person she’s canonically obsessed with from dying in the war. 

I didn’t say this clearly the first time around because I wanted people to come up with their own reasons and endings for this AU, but in my head once this war is over and Edelgard rules everything, Byleth is free to go so long as she isn’t planning a riot or rebellion or assassination. Granted, I personally wouldn’t want someone that could incite a rebellion running around free, so house arrest in a manor or something is more likely, but the tower won’t be necessary after the war.

That’s how I saw it, anyway.

I don’t care if other people want it to be different. I don’t care if they make Edelgard a Yandere. I don’t care if they make Byleth a twenty foot dragon. I don’t care if they don’t keep it as canonically aligned as possible like I tried to do at first before more and more ask bombed my doorstep and this whole thing swelled way beyond my original prompt and got lost somewhere. I don’t care if this is a good horror story for people, or a story they hate, or a good yandere bait story. I don’t care if people have Edelgard obsessed to the point where she never lets Byleth out, because, you know what? I’m sure they have their own logical reasoning for why she would do that. I can’t personally see it. I know Anon personally can’t see it because that’s where this whole mess of me trying to defend my thoughts on a stupid AU I wrote that got me a lot of grief from much meaner Anons came from.

It’s just a dumb AU, guys, do want you want with it. Block it, hate it, love it, write it. Write a billion spin-offs. Make Rhea the one locking people in towers. Make Claude do it. I don’t care if you somehow make Jeralt a zombie and have him capture Edelgard in a tower at this point.You wanna know something? I’d write how I most logically think that very Zombie Jeralt prompt would happen if someone sent it. And I think that’s the problem. Maybe I’m trying to hard to logic out all this stuff I don’t think will happen. Because I don’t back down from the asks, even when I think there’s no way it could happen I tackle it. Maybe that’s why everything is swelling so much beyond my control, and I got three Anons (not counting you, Anon from this ask) that have harassed me about this.I’m going to turn off Anon Asks if I get one more hate comment btw. Check mate to that particular Anon if they’re reading this. Call me a cunt to my face so I can block you, coward. 

Anyway, I got off point again. You disagree with me, Respectful Anon that disagrees with my AU, and I disagree with you. I’m not mad about the yandere comment, I was just defensive. Here’s my feelings on everything. You probably disagree with them. That’s great! I don’t wanna live in a world where people blindly agree with me! I’m sure you even have a great counter argument that I’ll read, and then can’t do anything about because this AU is bigger than me and also I might still disagree.And that’s it, that’s my whole defense of myself in this AU. Have a nice day. 

[fayegracexo]

What “Witch” Means to Me, and a Call to Action.

“Witch” is an interesting word, with many meanings to many different peoples and cultures; some meanings good, and some bad.

Some people imagine the Wizard of Oz type of witches, green with a ridiculous nose and wart, or pink and fluffy like a fairy princess. Some imagine witches as costumes, around for Halloween with the pointy hats and cackling laugh, and some more modern folk just think witches are Harry Potter wannabes, or freaks in their Moms’ basement chanting and sacrificing lambs on Sundays when we should be in church.

Obviously, none of these stereotypes are correct, and they’re just that, stereotypes. Witches don’t “look” any certain way for one thing. Sure some of us (like myself) are decked out in crystal necklaces and moon tattoos, but the guy or gal in the business suit you know could just as easily be a witch too. Never assume, were not all as out there as the rest, and that’s totally okay.

But what does “witch” even mean?

When I say ‘witch’, and call myself one, I am referring to the folk (both men and women, witch is also a male term) that have heard ‘the calling’ and answered it. However for the sake of this post, I’ll be referring mostly to female witches, as I find a calling back to the divine feminine a large part of my craft. I just wanted to be clear here that anyone of any gender or lack thereof can be a witch, and witch is not a gendered term, it’s used for everyone. Also anyone can hear the calling of the witch, or the calling of the divine feminine, no matter your birth, gender, or identity. Just a disclaimer before I begin ;)

A witch to me, is an empowered woman, confident, strong, and faithful in her own power. She is awake and aware; of the cultural and physical problems the earth and the people on the earth face. She is connected to the elements, and whatever form of energy or God/Goddess she believes in. A witch trusts her own authority, and communicates with deities freely, without a middle man. She is imbued with feminine wisdom, intuition and trusts in herself and her strength. She is confident in her sexuality, and uses the power place between her legs in her craft and to her advantage. A witch remembers who we were as women, as a whole, before we were ‘dis-membered’ and frightened into forgetting our own power and who we were. Before we were ashamed of ourselves, our bodies and our blood. Before we were made to feel less than and inferior. Before our gifts were called ‘taboo’ or sinful. A witch is not afraid to fully express herself, and all her power. She is a paradox, both light and dark like the moon, both love and anger, peace and war, a whirlwind of emotion all at the same time, but still in control, and she accepts this, owns it. A witch knows there is more than what meets the eye in this world, and they are not afraid to see what's out there, and work with it. A witch ‘re-members’ herself, and puts the pieces back together, becoming whole again. A witch remembers that before we were domesticated, and made numb by food, drugs, shopping and social media, we were healers, seers, oracles, shamans, leaders, wise women. She remembers we were powerful for thousands of years, until we were made to forget. She also, questions everything.

A witch knows we carry the stories and power of the women before us and those that were silenced in our DNA. She knows she’s a creatrix, oracle, sorceress, and force of nature not to be reckoned with. A witch knows that she, along with others, are waking up, remembering, and taking back the power we gave away in fear of shame and judgement. She remembers we are taking back the word ‘witch’, and becoming whole again, and this she knows, frightens people.

As anyone knows, whole people can be a huge threat to the broken; and an empowered, outspoken woman, makes a weak man fear. But as in the old days, does wanting to kill us (or in this day and age, silence us, though witches are still killed in some parts of the world.) not prove our magick and power? Wanting to persecute a witch, only shows you admit that magick is real. No one would kill or silence what they didn’t believe would work anyway right? The fact is, we’re found to be threatening, by people who want to keep power. It’s why it was taken from us in the first place. Some of us, are even scared of ourselves. How intimidating it is to realize we are a paradox, of light and dark and everything in between, and scarier still, that we can wield that power? We must learn to take it back for ourselves, and break free of the silence and invisibility we’ve endured. We must make it safe to feel powerful again, for ourselves, and other women and witches.

We must break free of the fear of being ‘too much’ or ‘too little’. We need to break free of caring what others think of us, especially men, and stop listening to the patriarchy that’s telling us how we need to be fixed, with more makeup, and less body hair. We need to take back our sexuality, get rid of the stigma of ‘sluts’ and ‘whores’ and let women own their sex again, as we allow men to do. People forget, that ‘virgin’ before Christianity had a different meaning. Ishtar and Diana for example, were called ‘virgin’ Goddesses, but the meaning didn’t mean ‘chaste’ as in the Virgin Mary, but instead, ‘sexually independent’. Virgins were free women not yet owned by marriage, who were one in themselves. It was Christianity, that came and perverted the term to mean something degrading and shameful. 

“Witch” and “Hag” have been used as insults since our power was taken and burned away from us. I take the word back, and use it as my own, as a reminder of the women like myself, over 13 million, who’ve been burned, hung, tortured and persecuted for their knowledge. I remember who I was, and who the women before me were, before the patriarchy was a thing and we all learned to hate ourselves and be at war with our other sisters. Before we were consumed with eating disorders, and vulnerable to makeup and clothing ads making money off of our insecurities we were taught to have; before plastic surgery was the fastest growing medical procedure.

Misogyny and sexism make money, the shaming of women and harsh male-oriented pornography, make money, but it wasn’t always this way.

Before religion (Christianity if we’re being clear) came in and made women sexless, obedient, and submissive; before our periods became sinful and dirty,before our mistrust of other women and self-hatred, and our physical obsessions, we were relied upon by the townspeople, village people, yes, men included. We were cunning women, healers. We communed with nature, the moon, the stars, the seasons, and our cycles, to help provide for those we loved. We birthed the babies of our communities as midwives, we made potions and tinctures with our knowledge of herbs and plants to heal and aid our sick and frail. We were looked up to, respected. We knew medicine, we knew magick, we were witches.

But as Christianity came around and men wanted to dominate the fields of astrology, medicine and more, intelligent women became demonized. We were taught to not trust and instead betray our other sisters. The accusations became ridiculous, but they worked in trying to erase us. Women who had cats, knew about plants and herbs, spoke to animals, had a birthmark, knew astrology, science, had a neighbor that didn’t like them, or knew how to birth babies, all met untimely ends for their knowledge, all because they were in the way of the power and control others wanted. Outspoken women became ‘loud’, ‘crazy/mad’, and my favorites ‘hormonal’ or ‘hysteric’.

So when I call myself a witch, I am using it in the old sense. I am saying I remember who I am, my power, and the women before me. I am saying I do not fear, and instead will be loud about who I am, and not try to fit myself into a small, quiet box any longer. I was not made to be submissive and silent. I remember my sisters and brothers are just that, sisters and brothers, and we should not be fighting against one another. I remember I am dark and light, wise and strong. I am saying I listen to my intuition and live my life accordingly. I am saying I use the tools at my disposable, to change the world around me. Astrology, tarot, crystals, oracle decks, meditation can all help me create the impact I want not only in my life, but the lives of others, and the world. I'm saying I remember what we were, and who we were, and what we did.

I remember...

“We are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn.”

(For more on this topic, the call, and the waking of the witch, I highly suggest reading “Witch” by Lisa Lister! I’ll be posting about it on Instagram shortly, and remember this blog connects with my Instagram account ;) @selfcarewitchxo )

[qqueenofhades]

Friend! Out of curiosity, as Resident Historian, do you have any thoughts on historical ableism and acceptance/non-acceptance of disability? (Ideally especially during the Golden Age of Piracy but I'm also generally fascinated)

Hehe. Of course I have Thoughts. When do I not have Thoughts.

Medieval disability studies have started to become a considerable trend in just the past 10 years or so, and that link above provides a brief overview and several selections for further reading. The medieval era is obviously the one I know most about, and there was – if no form of institutionalized or regularized medical care for the disabled and ill – not total ignorance of it either. Almshouses (essentially charity homes for the sick and disabled) and leper hospitals were increasingly common in Europe from the eleventh century on. Leprosy was associated with the crusades, and the founding of hospitals for them was viewed as both a social necessity, to segregate those with a highly visible, contagious, and debilitating disease from others, and as a charitable duty for the care of holy people (crusaders) who had achieved some virtue by their actions. There was considerable influence in ideas about the holiness of suffering, and that those who did so were closer to God. In fact, medieval care of the disabled was strongly influenced by classical Christian ideas of piety: care for the sick, feed the hungry, etc, and there were orders of monks and nuns dedicated to it. 

As ever, your class was the strongest determining factor of the care you received: if you were wealthy, you could pay for servants to tend your needs, and live fairly comfortably in your own home. Disability and illness was not a disqualifying factor from attaining high office (as you might expect in a world without modern medical care – everyone would be subject to the same things), and there are many representations of disability in medieval manuscripts. But if you were poor, you were reliant on whatever care your family could or wanted to provide for you, or had to hope you could get a place at an almshouse or similar institution. There were superstitions around disability, and if you had to work for your living in any way (aka everyone below the nobility), this seriously disadvantaged you. But the disabled lived fairly freely in their communities, including in positions of power, weren’t an uncommon or unexpected sight by any means, and had some basic (if doubtless not particularly comfortable) system set up for their care, based on religious charity and individual piety.

As leprosy, a visibly disfiguring physical disease, mostly disappeared from Western Europe around 1500, a new focus on mental disability appeared instead, centered especially on the imagery of the “Ship of Fools.” Michel Foucault talks about this in Madness and Civilization, but it was a particular theme in literature and art, based around the 1494 epic poem “Das Narrenschiff” by the humanist Sebastian Brant. It was, once again, a moral commentary on both humanity and, particularly, the corrupt Catholic Church. The “fools” were placed on a ship and ostracized (symbolically) from the body politic; madness was a concerning and troubling political feature among several monarchs (such as with Joanna “the Mad” of Castile and Charles VI of France, as well as Henry VI of England) and it began to be viewed more negatively than it necessarily had been in the medieval era. Aka: as ever, physical disability was easier to understand and to care for, but mental disabilities got the shaft.

In regard to the Golden Age of Piracy (1650-1726, or thereabouts) pirates were, as ever, radical in their social organization and mores. We already know that they were hella queer, had their own form of gay marriage (often shared in a threesome with a woman) and in general were socially liberal, egalitarian, and democratic (honestly, Black Sails is incredibly accurate in capturing the spirit of the historical pirates’ republic and lifestyle, and it was conceived specifically in response to the brutality and oppression of the Navy, which many of them had fled). This extended to their treatment of disability, though medical care and disability had obviously been common to seamen long before pirates. However, while a debilitating injury often meant that a merchant or Navy sailor was turned out with not much option for future employment, pirates established basic workman’s comp and social insurance for everyone aboard a ship. Pirate articles often included specific provisions for disability and loss of limb; Henry Morgan’s in 1671 spell out various sums for the loss of a leg, arm, or eye. Furthermore, disability payments could sometimes continue indefinitely. So a pirate with a peg leg or a hook for a hand or an eyepatch (or all the other pirate trappings, many of which were popularized by Stevenson in Treasure Island) would actually be uncommon. If they got severely or traumatically injured in the line of duty, they could retire with enough money to support themselves, and not need to hazard the dangerous and difficult life of an amputee aboard a traditional sailing ship. (Incidentally, the popular image of a pirate is often how disability began to be represented in the media.)

The excavation and recovery of the Queen Anne’s Revenge has yielded nearly a full kit of medical supplies, and Blackbeard reportedly forced the three surgeons to stay aboard the ship when he captured it. There is some debate about how the image of the “disabled pirate” – Stevenson’s Long John Silver and Blind Pew, Barrie’s Captain Hook, etc – began to be common, and the answer is probably tied to the attitudes of the late 18th and overall 19th centuries, which were absolutely disastrous for disabled people. The rise of the asylums began around now, including the notorious Bethlem Royal Hospital (from where we get the word “bedlam.”) Workhouses were built en masse, where the destitute poor and the actually disabled alike were shoved in indiscriminately and treated abominably, and “asylum tourism,” aka go to the madhouse to admire the architecture (and gape at the patients) was a real and horrifying thing. Thus, disability became tied to immorality, weakness, deficiency, and the need to be publically segregated from society (until then, the disabled had been cared for at home – there were a small number of patients in a few private charity hospitals in 1800, and by 1900, there were almost 100,000 in countless workhouses/asylums/general pits of misery). You have Capitalism! (take a shot) and the Industrial Revolution to thank for that. If you couldn’t work in a factory, and you couldn’t earn a wage, and you were a burden on your family who now would be expected to work for an income to support themselves, yep, it was the madhouse for you. And of course, plenty of totally non-mad people got shipped off as well. As I said. Disastrous.

In fact, we have Nellie Bly (aka Elizabeth Jane Cochran, a reporter at the New York World, who I wrote about in my first Timeless historical companion piece) to thank for starting a conversation around asylum reform. In 1887, in a groundbreaking piece of undercover journalism, she got herself committed to Blackwell’s Island asylum in New York and then wrote Ten Days in a Mad-House, revealing both the nightmarish conditions and how every doctor who examined her instantly declared her insane with no hope for recovery. It caused such an uproar that there finally started to be some attempt at oversight and reform for mental hospitals (although there is obviously still a long way to go, yeah – the nineteenth century was The Worst for this.)

So yes. As ever, that was probably more than anyone wanted to know, but the Golden Age of Piracy was particularly focused on social and financial care for members of its community who became disabled, paid pensions, and actually would not have needed to have too many walking wounded seamen/sailors, because there was no incentive to have to keep earning a wage by physical labor when you would be supported from the communal treasure chest. Aka yes, the pirates’ republic of the 17th and 18th centuries was light years more politically and culturally progressive than 21st century America (/stares at the latest Trumpcare bill/Obamacare repeal up in the Senate) and it ain’t close.