#probably full of typos

[camzkoa]

I am back, with more fengqing

[chesirecatsmile]

posted something new on ao3

[waterbottlegrey-blog]

The world has changed, again. It is strange. I sleep, I wake, I wander, then sleep again. My purpose is simple. Wander, see, hear. Breathe the sweet air, listen to the laughter and the tears, walk under the stars and the sun.

Suffering is not unknown. It hurts to be forgotten. It is a joy to be uncovered. The titles are... annoying.

"Let's get you inside, lad. You'll catch your death out here."

Her eyes do not meet mine. She is herding me rather than inviting me. It says The Lord Will Shelter above the doorway in crooked letters, obviously handwritten. A word floats into my mind. A nun. An order meant to... help? It always comes so slow at first.

I wonder whose death brought me here. Are they rounding up beggars? Am I meant to prevent these poor souls from being driven from the city?

No matter. It will be enough to wait awhile and my purpose will be clear.

They give me soup, and clothes and show me a place to sleep. I had never needed sleep. But lying still and waiting for the knowledge of this era to come to me is the same as standing or walking, and every other poor wretch in this place is trying to sleep.

I extend my power. A safe warm place, and a watcher to keep you safe. Sleep. Rest.

The familiar silence of sleeping nomads settles as the knowledge slams into me. Nomads, it was always nomads that called me. Those moving from one place to the other, fleeing or seeking or conquering. I was a god of those in flux, the travelling without home. Seeking a place to call home.

The homeless here... I remember beggars. These are not beggars.

I'm not sure how to help them yet. But the person who was the catalyst, the one that called me here they should have their prayer answered. Their friend was still waiting for them outside, and they were terrified of what might befall them.

I get up and leave. The nuns and volunteers do not notice. My power is as strong as ever.

I find the dog outside, waiting faithfully. He is a slim thing, with a carefully brushed coat and a lovingly crafted collar. I lead him inside and feed him a bowl from the communal pot, carefully dodging past people walking about.

I do not know his name. I set out.

There was a new homeless man on the corner. Steve was frowning at him as Pam headed over to give him a dollar and a doughnut.

"Same dog, different tramp." Mark sneered.

"Told you it's just a display. The regular is in a dumpster huffing paint, so Big Fat Buddy's covering his usual haunt with the same gimmick."

Pam was talking to the man, and looked increasingly distressed.

"He's not fat, Mark, just not skinny." Julia was being obnoxious again. "You shouldn't fat-shame, you know how guilty Pam felt about meat-lover's pizza."

"Well she should stick to her diets, then, you know how the speaker said you can't trust people that don't stick to- Hey Pam."

Pam joined them, and they headed for the station. Mark started describing a new diet he heard about, with Julia loudly proclaiming about the virtues of her new fitness coach. They started arguing before they were half-way there.

Julia would have usually intervened by now. Steve looked back at her. She was looking over to Pam in concern. He looked closer. Pam's usually rosy cheeks were pale, and she looked close to tears.

He fell back.

"Pam? What's wrong, was that guy a creep or something?"

Pam shook her head, downcast. He exchanged a look with Julia. Pam was a pushover, he'd never seen her so much as raise a voice, but she was also the happy-go-lucky type. Nothing ever seemed to bother her. She was a trust fund child, and it showed. She'd never amount to much in corporate, of course. To soft headed. She'd marry and have three kids and a rich husband and a white picked fence in a gated community.

Julia checked if he had this and sped up to catch up with the rest of the group.

"Pam?"

"He said he inherited the dog." Pam fully stopped. her voice was soft and lost. "He said it's previous owner died last night and he couldn't just leave it to die, too. And then the dog dragged him here and he figured he might as well."

Ah.

"Overdose?" he asked gently.

Pam looked up. She was. Glaring? Pam? Ms. happy-go-lucky-nothing is-ever-wrong, the world is good and filled with good people?

"Hypothermic shock. Apparently heating up someone with hypothermia too quickly can kill them. The bus was late so they walked and by the time they got to the shelter, they just collapsed at the door. The staff didn't check for hypothermia."

There were tears in her eyes, which was reassuring, but her fists were clenching, which was very much not.

"How did they not notice? He said he was begged, begged to save the dog that was waiting outside, so he just-"

"He's lying, Pam. He's probably just lying."

Pam wavered. Steve pressed on.

"He probably stole the dog and was giving you a sob story."

Pam's face was doing a weird thing. Bless her heart, was she trying to think?

"I'll be right back." She strode off, determined.

He stared after her for a moment, then shrugged. Happy Cinco de Drinko at the bar discount meant they could be left out to dry if they stood around waiting. She'd catch up.

I wait on the corner, Friend sitting beside me in a miserable heap. I told him His Big Tail-Less was dead. Dogs don't understand many things, but they understand death.

Ah, here she comes. My first little acolyte. Of a sort.

"I'm sorry, I just, could you tell me what shelter that was?"

She wavers as I stand up. Friend raises back on his haunches and politely offers his paw. She shakes it, smiling reflexively.

"I can take you there. It's a short walk. Over busy streets," I add, because some things are the same. I look fit for my function, and I am a guardian god. I stand near three feet taller than her.

Such a little tiny creature. Innocent. Willfully ignorant, but so determined. I know her. I know the many trophies in her parent's attic. I know she would have gotten into the university even without her father pulling strings. I know she didn't lose weight only because a boy she likes commented he liked them curvy and she'd already planned their wedding.

She weighs me with her eyes. Sharp already. I smile. I tell her the address and sit back down.

She stares at me awhile and then goes.

I sit smiling, travelling beside her. She finds out Friends's master's name. Their name was Pamela also. Half the work of making a sign is arranging things just so.

Friend's Pamela was born in poverty, grew amidst violence, but tried to reach out to the stars. She got a scholarship. She even finished college. But then she got evicted one day, and never managed to make her way out after all.

Poor Pam. Her task will be gargantuan and her struggles many. In the end she will die and become a martyr, quite willingly in fact. Her memory will drive her cause - my cause - further still. Sometimes my power is unkind

. But the homeless nomads need my help. I am a god. This is my purpose.

I listen for the next catalyst. I am on a corner of another city in a blink of an eye. Friend barks in bewilderment, but settles quickly.

I sit down on a corner. My next catalyst stumbles out of an alley next to me. I smile as I listen to his tipsy rant. Manipulation is a strange new tool my power provided. It is new, ruthless, but fun.

The nomads of this era do not need a warrior to slaughter the bandits. They don't need miracles to quiet the storms, to hold back avalanches. They need the world to change. A new task, I must say.

But I am a god. And this is my purpose.

God, demigod, guardian–Every time mankind finds you, during a different age, they give you a title representative of your otherworldly power. You aren’t getting weaker, yet your title gets diluted each time until finally, a group of humans think you’re just a homeless person who needs help.

[lost-in-fandoms]

was having thoughts about omega max baby trapping alpha daniel

cw: (fake) mpreg i guess

max who arrives at red bull as a sweet baby omega and sees daniel and goes my alpha. except daniel looks at max and sees baby.

daniel who refuses max's advances and max's clumsy courting and max's touches, because that's inappropriate. it's not that he doesn't like max, or that he doesn't feel any attraction, but it feels wrong to act on any of that.

and then max goes in an unexpected heat and he's so miserable, whining and begging for daniel so sweetly, curled up on his driver room couch, smelling so so good, and daniel gives in. just this time, just to help.

and then for max's next heat, because max is asking and he sounds so lonely. and the next because maybe there's nothing wrong with helping a friend out? and then the next because at this point might as well.

it becomes a thing. daniel will help max through his heats. they do become closer, sort of an unavoidable consequence, but daniel doesn't sleep with max, or kiss him or entertain any other more-than-friends behavior, outside of those times. and max is starting to go crazy, because that's his alpha and he needs more.

and then the opposite happens. there are accidents on track, max getting the preferential strategy, max becoming the focus on the team, and daniel starts pulling away. starts talking to other teams. starts treating max differently, he's snappy and colder, sending max away when he asks if he can have something that smells like daniel for his nest.

so max starts trying to find a way to make him stay. he can't (and doesn't want to) change the team dynamics, so for some reason he thinks about pretending to be pregnant. not for real, he doesn't want to risk his season or to not be able to race, but maybe if he can pretend for long enough he can show daniel how nice it would be to really be together.

he does the bare minimum research and then starts faking symptoms, just a little bit, just to plant a seed. daniel always uses a condom during his heats (which max hates) and never wants max around during his ruts (because he doesn't want to lose control) but accidents happen, right? condoms fail.

he complains often enough about headaches and nausea and feeling weird and emotional that daniel has to pick up on it and then baku happens.

baku happens and daniel is angry and refusing to talk to him and telling him to leave him alone and max decides to drop the bomb. and tell him to please, just listen, he has to tell him something! i'm pregnant, daniel!

i'm sure there are ways to fake pregnancy tests and he's been faking symptoms for weeks and why would he lie anyway? so daniel believes him and freaks out. he can't believe that despite being so careful he knocked up his much younger, innocent teammate. this is going to ruin both their careers and what do you mean max wants to keep it? what do you mean daniel, please, it's scary can we just cuddle???

he has a very complicated freak out, but then realises that this was mostly his mistake, being the older and the alpha, and that he needs to own up to it, and if max wants to keep it, then daniel will support him through it.

and max is glowing. daniel is suddenly sweet and caring, allowing max to nest in his room, bringing him food and water and extra warm clothes that smell like him, and max feels like he's finally being courted. he feels like daniel is finally, finally, acting like his alpha. he's not even talking about leaving anymore! and even if he leaves the team, for sure he won't leave max, he promised!

except max didn't think this through. the first thing daniel does is tell him to go to a doctor. max complains, then fakes it, tells daniel he wants to go alone and makes up results afterwards. daniel tells max he has to stop drinking red bull because it's not good for the baby, and now max really has headaches and nausea because of the lack of caffeine. daniel tells max to be careful all the time. daniel tells max he needs to tell the team, to prepare them for his absence from racing next season.

and it all starts to become a bit too much to keep up with. he is not used to lying, so he starts mixing up his lies. starts forgetting what he said his symptoms were, what the "doctor" said, how far along he is. and daniel starts to become suspicious that something is up.

except he doesn't think max is faking it, he thinks max is not taking this seriously, that maybe he doesn't really want the baby and is just keeping it for some sort of sense of duty or whatever. he starts hovering even closer to max, paying more attention, too much attention, and max suddenly doesn't love it anymore, because he knows daniel will figure out something is wrong. it's starting to become all too much, all too stressful.

and then daniel realises max doesn't smell like a pregnant omega. he smells like max, his scent a little too sour because he's upset and stressed so often, and again, instead of thinking max lied to him, he thinks something is wrong with the baby. he puts his foot down, no more procrastinating, and forces him to go to a doctor. forces him to let him come too.

and the doctor says there is no baby.

daniel is willing to give max the benefit of the doubt, maybe it was a fake pregnancy, his body betraying him, but then the doctor says there never was a baby. max never had any visits at all. max never was pregnant.

they're very quiet and very tense as they leave the doctor's room, as daniel drives max back to the hotel of whatever city they're in. and then when they're in max's room he asks for answers. he asks for the truth.

and max tells him. tells him he just wanted to feel close to daniel, for daniel to realise how well they worked together, how max was his omega.

and daniel takes one look at him and then leaves. leaves the room, starts fully ignoring him, leaves the team.

max is devastated. everything went wrong. everything happened exactly as it would have if he hadn't faked it, but worse because now daniel is fully out of his life. he doesn't even look at max anymore.

during winter break max is holed up in his place, surrounded by things that smell like daniel, things that daniel bought for him, things that remind him of daniel, and breaks down. has a stress heat and can't even call daniel because daniel blocked him as soon as the season was over.

while he's suffering, empty alone and in pain, he thinks about it all, and starts realising his mistakes. but it's still too late. he's an omega who's been rejected by his alpha, and he knows there's nothing he can do about it.

except to keep racing.

he throws himself fully into training, shuts himself on the simulator for hours and hours, and starts ignoring most of his omega instincts. he doesn't need them if he doesn't have his alpha. his nests become bare bones without daniel's clothes and his heats are spent alone.

when the season starts again he doesn't approach daniel.

and for some reason, daniel hates it. daniel misses him. some part of him decided at some point that max was indeed his omega, and now his omega is sad and obviously distressed and he can't do anything about it. he overcompensates, staying as far away from him as possible, sleeping with other omegas, coming into the paddock smelling like them, watching max get a whiff of it and his face crumble.

and then they learn how to live with it. max with his regret and shame and daniel with this void eating away at him. they grow around it. they start to get close again, just enough to look normal, slowly and tentatively. max doesn't push, he accepts whatever kind of relationship daniel wants to give him, even if it's just in front of the cameras.

he starts winning. he refuses the touch of any alphas, needs to change physio because of it. pumps himself full of suppressants.

and then, after his first championship, he goes and asks to apologize to daniel.

he doesn't ask for forgiveness, doesn't think he deserves it, but he still thinks daniel deserves a real apology. he explains his reasoning, explains that he had just been scared about losing daniel, that he had been young and stupid and manipulative. doesn't ask daniel to accept it, just leaves.

and then daniel has the winter break to think it over, and then his season goes as his season went, and he misses max so fiercely. he calls him, over and over, just to scream at him over the phone. max accepts it, always picks up. he scents max on passing, watching him go lax and pliant, just to pull away with a sneer. he gives him food and then takes it away. messes with his head.

max always lets him. he keeps winning with his car and losing with everything else.

until one day it all breaks, daniel calling him once again to tell him you ruined my life but asking him to come over instead. max goes.

max finding daniel curled up on his bed, thin and pale and miserable, and taking care of him for as long as daniel lets him and then leaving immediately when he asks him to, even if it breaks his heart. doing it again and again, every time daniel calls. building nests for him, making him eat and holding him close, and then leaving him alone.

and in some fucked up way it starts fixing them. daniel starts forgiving max, starts seeing him as max again instead of just as the person who did so many things wrong, starts seeing his own faults. starts realising how much max changed, how he's been letting daniel hurt him for so long.

how they genuinely work together. and at first he doesn't want to accept it, doesn't want to love max, but did he ever really stand a chance? and this max isn't that baby omega anymore, max isn't even asking for anything right now.

and finally they talk. they talk about then and about now, they explain and apologize and decide to maybe try and move on and move forward. try to be something. friends first and then, further down the line, maybe mates.

daniel goes back, max goes to visit him in australia, and they have to walk through a lot of trauma, especially regarding max's heats, have to regain a lot of trust, but they make it. and after all max was right and he is daniel's omega and daniel is his alpha.

and then they kiss kiss fall in love forever. bye.

[alxastrx]

When you're one of the most selfish mc who only saves people because it's part of a job you never wanted and did not get to chose or you would've died, who took your co-workers' morals and ideals because you didn't have any and desperately wanted to fit in somewhere, be it with the heroes or the villains, who's activelly haunted by one the most tragic past to have been created and suffer from a psychosis so bad (dare I say schizophrenia) that even your enemies acknowledged that you are mentally ill and objectively flawed in your judgement, never hesitated to try to kill anyone and has the most egoistic reason to be a good person but the fandom still thinks you're just a kind crybaby "I don't know what a gun is" homosexual twink.

[thatfrenchacademic]

OK so about this "34, unmarried and childless" article about Taylor Swift. Let me tell you about Scam Academia.

TL;DR: some mediocre dude had a half baked opinio nabout Taylor Swift that everyone hated, but like Mother Nature I let nothing go to waste.

Here is the take you have not heard yet, about this opinion: this guy is actually a good case study on how to develop your academic literacy, aka how to recognize a true academic from a scammer who presents themselves as an academic, but is just a crook. In a world of pseudoscience and pretend experts that have enough resources to organize their flat earth conference, let me walk you through the world of Scam Academic, where for a few thousand dollars, you too can claim to be a researcher with a doctorate! Follow me down a rabbit hole that I hate with my whole heart!

Preamble: I have zero skin in the TS game. I don't get the hype, the lore, the obsession with those 2000s bracelet or dissecting every single line or every single song.

But then. Some guy had to write an op-ed stating Taylor Swift was not a good role model for girls ("in the US and beyond"), and it is a terrible take on so many level, but here is the thing. Whiny conservative think-pieces about highly successful women who should get back to the kitchen and think of the children are nothing new. But this one is different.

This one is fucking terribly written. It's just an abysmally written blog post. Genuinely one of the worst thing I have ever read, and I read hundreds of undergrad essays every year for a living. It contradicts its own arguments in every paragraph. It over-explains concepts like it's a high school essay and he's trying to meet the word count. It says "this is a valid question worth asking" but does not actually explain why it is worth asking. It is so, so, so bad.

Conservative writers are usually more the "high brow, drowning you in grandstanding" kind of writers. They are, usually, good technical writers - it's the one thing that helps make their talking point sound legit and palatable. So an abysmally bad conservative writer? Ok, I am intrigued.

The author is one John Mac Ghlionn. I look up the guy on Google and...

Oh.

Oh no, John.

Spewing conservative bullshit at women AND a researcher? You're in my turf now, John. You could have continued to cover UFC Pillow Fight Championships, or alien technology and other riveting subjects, but you had try to connect two brain cells to argue a thing, and slap "researcher" on top of it. Now I'm offended, as a researcher.

1. I am sorry, researcher WHERE?

Ok so if one is a "researcher", it means one conduct "research". and contrary to what backyard conspiracy theorists think, "researcher" is an actual job. It is an actual professional occupation. You get an actual contract, and you are paid actual money. By an actual employer: public (University), private (Think tank, private company), or a mix of both (at Unviersity, but on a privately funded project, for example).

So where does our John Mc Ghlionn work?

Well. Nowhere, as far as I can tell.

John does not list any affiliation. Usually, when they write, academics will state their exact position (Researcher, Doctoral Researcher, Associate Professor, Chief Engineer, Head of Department, Research Director...) and where they work. For example:

That's what it is supposed to look like.

But John? Nope, no affiliation anywhere, on anything he ever published. That's a pretty massive read flag. Research takes ressources: at the very least, time and access to database and documentation, even in social sciences in humanities. You may not need a lab, but you sure as hell need money and full access to JStore at least.

So I thought he was just one of these "I google therefore I research" kind of dude. But then, out of nowhere:

I am sorry. He has a WHAT.

2. I am sorry, a Doctorate from WHERE?

So. One thing to claim to be a researcher when you are just a professional yapper. Another to claim a DIPLOMA.

And not any diploma. A doctorate.

Let's pause. "Doctorate" is actually a really broad umbrella term of all doctoral-level degrees. The most famous (and most prestigious, for better and worse) is the PhD, but a PhD is technically just one of many Research Doctorate of, theoretically, the same level (cue this helpful reddit post). A second category of doctorates are the Applied Doctorates, and while there is Discourse on where they sit vis-a-vis PhD, the easiest is to consider that they are not research-oriented. They are hands-on, practice-oriented degrees. For example: you can practice medicine with an MD. You don't need a PhD. You can still call yourself a doctor, though.

Alright, so which of these does our friend Johnnie has? Or is currently enrolled in? And in which University?

You will notice that John does not go by "John Mac Ghlionn PhD" or even "Dr John Mac Ghlionn", when you just KNOW he is the sort of person that would but that shit everywhere. And no shade here, because I, for one, do put that shit everywhere. Maybe he is just currently enrolled in a program and has not graduated. Fair.

Since John does not list affiliation, I had to switch from academic to internet sleuth, and dig out this article:

But we learn that in 2021, John was a "PhD Scholar" in "Parkmore Institute". "PhD Scholar" is not a title I am sued to, but it's also not raising any red flag: ongoing PhD researchers can be "PhD students", "PhD fellows", "PhD researchers"... It varies from country to country and from institution to institution, so why not "PhD Scholar".

Let's check out the Parkmore Institute.

Ok, they are not a traditional university, but they appear to be more of a postgraduate institution: offering only higher level degrees, not undergrad courses. Once again, not necessarily a red flag. They are usually very heavily research focused, and embrace the "research" side of academia more than the "teaching" side. In Germany, the Max Planck Institutes are research-only institutions who deliver PhDs. They conduct cutting edge research, in part because their researchers rarely have to spend time teaching.

But that is NOT the Parkmore Institute. First of all, let's see what programs they offer:

None of them are legit.

And I mean, none of them are recognize as even Applied/Professional Doctorate by the National Science Foundation (US based). And while a PhD in Human sexuality would be perfectly valid, but I'm going to on a limb and say I have some serious doubts about "Bodymind Healing" as an academic field.

These are not legit academic degrees.

What they are, is an excellent money-making opportunity for anyone working at the Parkmore institute. Students will pay, at the very least:

And 60% of this goes to their " faculty mentor". The Parkmore institute provides no research fund, no desk or office space (they are entirely digital), no access to any resources or library, not even a Zoom account. There is also no mention of any timeline: how long a PhD take to complete? Who knows. 6 months ? A year ? 5 years? What are the requirements to graduate ? Who knows ! And I would need to pay $200 to get in touch with them, so I sure as fuck won't know any time soon!

But let's get back to our friend John. Remember that he stated, in that 2021 publication, he was a "PhD Scholar" at Parkmore ? Well that's a shame because Parkmore does not deliver PhDs. Ain't that a bitch.

ALSO. Parkmore helpfully has page with all their Doctoral Recipients! And guess who is NOT HERE ! That's right, our Johnnie !

How can this be ? Well, three possibilities:

John is still not done with a PhD. After 4 years ? In a crank university where I am pretty sure I can submit the first draft of a litt review and graduate ? Nah

John never completed the thing. Boo, that would mean that John is lying, when he says he has a doctorate. Bad, bad.

John did graduate, and obtained his doctorate in [scrolls back to check] psychosocial studies, and then was not put on the website or was withdrawn some time before today, as Parkmore institute ended their affiliation with him, as per this bit in their application form

A shame, really. If John had been affiliated with the Parkmore Institute, it would give a shred of legitimacy to anything he writes to anyone just skimming.

Now, I would love to get in touch with the Parkmore Institute and ask to see John's doctoral work, which they DO have, since the application for also has this very interesting section:

(definitely very legit, very normal).

But I am not sure how I would even phrase that request without transparently going

"hey, would love to see what bullshit research is being done over there, since one of your graduate decided to go all Handmaid's tale for the last 2 years".

If anyone feels like sending that email, I am begging you to keep me in the loop.

3. Back up, back up, what's up with that article?

Remember the article where he was listed as a "PhD Fellow"?

Well, about that... No. Welcome to the world of predatory publishing, one more cog in the Bullshit Academic ecosystem.

First: not at article. It's a "commentary". Could be worth something ia good journal, but still would not be a piece of research. But that is the least of its sins.

Its sins are being published in a journal called "Sociology and Criminology-Open Access", by a publisher called "Longdom". Longdom publishing has a bunch of journals on a lot o different fields, with the particularly of being predatory; they will publish absolutely anything you send them, as long as you pay their Article Processing Charges:

There are entire lists of Predatory journals on the web, you can find on here and another here , Longdom Publishing is in both.

This is how John can publish this last minute, Redbull-and-weed-induced essay in an actual journal, with an abstract that, I kid you not, finishes with "Please find the paper attached." He slapped together a shitty essay about people in India are poorer and therefore more likely to exhibit psychopathic traits and therefore engage in corruption, purely base on vibes. It does not even deserve be given any consideration, not even to be debunked. There is nothing to be debunked. This would be a failing grade for a 1st year intro class.

CONCLUSION

On the surface, John Mac Ghlionn is the poster boy of failed edgelords who really wish they were Jordan Peterson, but unfortunately are just Doug, the guy for 10th grade who failed the Literature class and decided it was because litterature was too woke today anyway.

Beneath the surface, John is a case study in Scam Academia, and the proof that no matter how bad actual academia is, Scam Academia can always get worse.

A quick checklist to go through whenever someone claims be a researcher, an academic, a fellow, a doctor, a PhD or anything of the sort:

What is their affiliation? Is this a legitimate organization?

Do they have a PhD? Another doctorate degree? From where?

Have they published ? Where is it published?

[thegrapeandthefig]

Calendar manipulation in Ancient Greece

This really isn’t a topic I’m thrilled to tackle, but since the Theogamia there has been so much talk about calendar discrepancies that it looks like the right time to bring this up. Don’t expect this to be eloquent, I’m writing this while absolutely knackered.

I’m not going to focus too much on the problem of modern calendar reconstructions, what I’ll be going into here is the historical evidence we have about how awfully inconsistent the ancient Athenian calendar could be, either by nature or by human intervention over time.

The problem of the new moon

In theory, the Athenian calendar and other Greek calendars are lunar and each month begins on the new moon. Sacha Stern, in Calendars in Antiquity, tells us that the writer Geminus (1st c. BCE), states that the Greek month began when the new moon crescent was first sighted but Geminus also states that the new moon can sometimes be sighted on the 1st of the month, but sometimes not until the 3rd. This statement is interesting, because it implies that, should the moon not be visible (clouds), there was a mathematical basis to the calculation of the months that still made the month begin regardless of what the sky looked like.

There comes also the problem of conjunction (aka when the moon in orbit passes between the sun and the earth, making the moon invisible). The traditional ancient assumption is that the day of conjunction is the last day of the month. However, the interval between the day of conjunction and of the new moon is usually around two days; so if the month began when the new moon was first sighted, conjunction should have been typically on the penultimate day of the previous month.

Those difficulties, along the fact that other authors, such as Aratus give conflicting information leads Stern to say this:

Modern scholars have generally accepted Geminus’ statements that the Greek month began at first visibility of the new moon. However, it is clear on Geminus’ own evidence, as well as on the evidence of the other passages just mentioned, that this rule was not strictly followed, and indeed, quite possibly, that it did not constitute a rule. Moreover, we do not know of any procedure that may have been used, and indeed that would have been necessary, for such a rule to be enforced. There is no evidence, for example, in the whole of Graeco-Roman literature of anyone sighting the new moon.

And this leads us to the rather uncomfortable idea that, in practice, a lot of the calendars simply might not have been as well aligned with astronomical moon phases in the way we conceptualize it today.

Francis M. Dunn, in an article titled Tampering with the Calendar, lists passages from ancient Greek sources that seem to corroborate this idea:

Thucydides 2.28 in a passing mention of a solar eclipse […] distinguishes the astronomical "new moon" or conjunction, at which eclipses must occur, from the conventional "new moon" or noumenia, which followed the first visible crescent. The historian, in other words, is aware that there is an astronomical "new moon" or conjunction which is different from the first day of the civic month.

Man-made adjustments

Because calendars impacted the religious, civic and political lives of each city-states, it wasn’t uncommon for city-states to make adjustments to them.

The type of modification we’re most used to is the addition of intercalary days or month that aim to realign the calendar with astronomical reality. But we have evidence that this isn’t the only motivation.

For example:

In the 430's (SEG XXXVI 12), 420's (SEG XL 12) or 410's (SEG XLII 17), in connection with offerings at Eleusis, the demos instructed the archon to add a second Hekatombaion.

In 228/7 a second Hekatombaion was added to the civic calendar.

Between 294 and 288, in connection with a tour by artists of Dionysus during Lenaion, four cities in Euboea made provision for the archons to add months as necessary.

At the end of the fourth century, probably in 307/6, two days were apparently added near the end of Gamelion.

In 271/0 four days were added in the first decade of Elaphebolion.

As we can see, additions and subtractions of one or several days, if not sometimes months, could happen. They were often added either at the beginning of a month or at the end of a month, which makes it easier to imagine that it could be done to readjust the calendar to the moon, but in the cases where it was linked to a festival, it was clearly done to schedule said festival:

”Of the three cases of intercalary months, two are explicitly related to religious festivals (the dedication of first fruits at Eleusis, IG I3 78; and dramatic festivals in Euboea, IG xii.9 207”

“The evidence therefore supports an assumption that most adjustments were part of the normal operation of the civic calendar - ensuring that the calendar was roughly in phase with sun and moon, and ensuring that festivals would take place at a necessary or convenient time.”

An insoluble debate

The problem of ancient Greek calendars as a whole has been a point of contention among scholars for so long, for the simple reason that it makes dating anything difficult. The most notable example is the one around the differences between the Athenian calendar and the Spartan one when it comes to dating something like the battle of Marathon. Plutarch tells us it was on the 6th of Boedromion, but Herodotus tells us it was during the full moon (and therefore later, if the calendars matched the lunar cycle). This is where the issue of inter-city calendar alignment emerges, since each city-state functioned in their own independent ways, they could resort to calendar adjustments at any time they wanted and further misaligning themselves with one another.

But scholars don’t necessarily agree! Some, like Pritchett believed that the calendars were irregular no matter what, while others like Meritt believed they were regular, and that the evidence of irregularity was due to exceptional circumstances. The problem at this point is that it is much harder to prove regularity than the opposite.

So where does it leave us?

The reconstructed calendars we use today as modern worshippers are all based on some form of regularity, but we need to remember that none of them are a direct continuation of the ancient calendars. For the most part, they are based on the metonic cycle and on the other luni-solar calendars in use today by various faiths and cultures around the world. In fact, a lot of the reconstructions of Athenian calendars are using the same mathematical model as the Hebrew calendar. And that, in a nutshell, explains why different reconstruction have different results when it comes to placing specific days and festivals. So it really comes down to personal choice. Choosing a calendar that is more “popular” might be more appealing to you for particular reasons, while others might choose their calendar based on entirely different criteria. I guess the point I’m trying to get to is that, there won’t be a “standard” calendar without some kind of wide decision to stick to a precise model, and as long as there is no religious authority, the calendars will remain ever so slightly different, because they never really were regular in the way that we understand our solar Gregorian calendar to be.

[marimarra]

I really truly dislike parental Sebastian or when people try to humanise him or his relationship with ciel

Like ciel very explicitly made a contract selling his soul, he hasn’t forgotten that? He knows damn well it’s all transactional, reliant on what they can get from each other. that much is obvious in the green witch arc

Like he’s fully said well into the manga how he trusts Sebastian ‘least of all’. Ciels a smart cookie he won’t fall for Sebastian’s perfect butler act when HE’S the one that ordered him to act like that in the first place

That’s not to say that ciel doesn’t find comfort in Sebastian which I feel like that’s where people misinterpret it. When ciel is helpless Sebastian is basically his tool, sword and shield all rolled into one which is SO important to consider, especially with his backstory. Ciel obviously relies on Sebastian bcs of his role as his servant, even one of the terms of the contract he made is to protect him and not betray him. WE KNOW ciel suffers from his past traumas ofc he’s going to cling to the thing that will never hurt him.

My point being ciel has never and will never view Sebastian as a person who will protect him- he made a contract with a demon to serve him and protect him, that contract is concrete and keeps him safe, THAT is his safety blanket, not Sebastian himself. That dynamic is not one where ciel can look up to Sebastian in a parental way.

onto Sebastian, I feel like people pick out parts of the story where he’s nice to someone or some shit & they say some bullshit about ‘found family’ and how’s he’s fond of the servants or whatever. Like he’s playing a role, he’s always been playing a role. When he tried to eat Ciels soul in the GW arc & he thought his contract would end, he so easily pushes finny off and ignores him- he thinks his reason the reason to play that role was over so he drops it. He does not give 2 shits, he’s only here for the contract!!

Like I don’t think he has no emotions or anything like that but I feel like he’s more amused rather than attached. He’s never been a stoic character, he shows his interest and entertainment but he’s not invested in anyone.

He’s a demon thousands of years old, it’s not his first time around humans, like he’s not a changed man, he’s not suddenly discovered the true nature of humans or found a spark that wasn’t there before

[briarberrythornedhart]

Reading You Right

18 plus, darlings or do not engage

CW: explicit language, smutty talk, dom/demeaning tone with established consent

Eddie - even from a very young age - (hyper) focused on people's body language. He saw micro-expressions and noted when they didn’t sync up with what people were saying out loud. And he used that information to understand, control and -to a certain degree- manipulate situations.

For Hellfire Club, that helped him with creating an experience his players enjoyed (yes. even when they bitched about him being stingy with XP, or throwing them into peril, he knew they liked his style overall. It shouldn’t be too easy or players wouldn’t appreciate their wins, right? Of course right.)

With you, it made him the sweetest boyfriend ever born. And very good (uncannily so) in bed.

Over time Eddie memorized every hitch of your breath, every bite of your lower lip, every flutter of your eyelashes, the way you lifted your chin to give him access to your neck and throat. He enjoyed learning All the ways he could make you happy.

Of course he’d much prefer you make as much noise as possible, but he didn’t need his ears to know what was going on in your dirty little mind. You didn’t have to make a sound and he still knew he was treating you right.

🎲 💀 🎲

Hellfire club had moved to the weekends and now met in Dustin’s basement. Eddie graduating meant he didn’t have the blackmail hold on Principle Higgins anymore so meeting on school grounds was out of the question. But it was easy to convince Ms Henderson to host ‘game club’ once she knew Dustin would be home and safe.

After a particularly tricky Hellfire session - puzzles, traps, the near-death of Will’s wizard, your Paladin losing her ancestral sword when you rolled a one - everyone was heading out and Eddie asked you to help him carry his D&D gear to his van. Not that there was too much to carry on his own. This just felt like an excuse to make out a bit. To get each other more and more turned on until you both wished you could move in together already and not have to sleep apart so often. But rent is expensive, and you had work early tomorrow morning, and Hellfire always runs late.

Anyway, you were always more than enthusiastic about helping Eddie clean up after the game. Making the night last just a little longer. Getting his sweetness all to yourself for as long as you could.

Out in the dark, with only a waning moon and some holiday lights on neighboring houses to light his handsome face, he backed you up into his drivers side door with a smirk. You couldn’t wait to feel his body pressed against yours and you were on fire with wanting his lips. But he stayed a few too many cruel inches from you.

“You like it when I’m mean to you in game.” He accused.

You may have gasped. “What!? No, I just appreciate that you don’t treat me different than the others. You know, just cause we are together… you don’t pander to me or go easy on me. I like that.” You rallied. You slid a hand under his jacket to rub his back.

“No, sweetheart, you get excited when I goad you or mock you or…laugh at you. Like… really excited.”

“Oh, Eddie, c’mon, I get excited by you all the time. Just heavy eye contact from you makes my heart race. Please.” You laughed nervously and twisted your hands in your skirt. Looking down at the ground.

Eddie leaned on one arm against the door and used his other hand to lift your chin and get your eyes back on his. He pushed a lock of your hair gently behind your ear. “I mean, I’ve seen girls go crazy over total assholes before but I thought you liked that I’m your very Nice boyfriend. Not a dick to you. Just Your. Devoted. Servant. I didn’t know you’d like it if I was mean.” His tone was playful.

“I like every side of your multi-faceted personality. I adore when you are thoughtful and kind.” You took a deep shaky breath. “But it does I guess sorta do something to me when you mock me or are a little extra… I dunno… mean but in a joking way? It’s probably b-because I trust that later you’ll be so… so good to me and…” why were you nervous? This was total cinnamon roll Eddie, your dreamboat boyfriend.

“Okay, okay… At ease, soldier.” Eddie huffed a laugh and leaned in close enough that you offered your lips for a kiss that he didn’t give you, yet. “If I’ve got you this worked up from just making fun of how bad your die rolls went… do you want to hear how I can see every time you squeeze your thighs together and lick your lips at me during the game. Brazenly, In front of aaaalll our friends, showing me you can’t wait for me. That — when I walked behind your chair tonight I saw you shudder and arch your back as if you wanted me to feel you up — right then. You were so needy and honestly a little pathetic for me, princess. I had to be more theatrical and clown around like a jester to keep the other players eyes off you- you were so ::chuckle:: obvious about how bad you want me.”

It wasn’t so dark out that you couldn’t see the challenge in his eyes, he was watching you so intently he could probably see your heated blush. You swallowed and it sounded loud in the silence.

“Well? Am I right or wrong?” He asked but he knew. He totally knew.

“You are…. Right. I’m sorry I made you work harder tonight.”

Then he smiled again, sexy and demonic.

“You say you are sorry, sweet thing, but I don’t think you really are. Anyway, you can’t help it, can you?” He taunted you. He’d never done this before and you were not even sure how to react. This was a brand new game. “Look at you, legs spreading, leaning into me hips first. All turned on over some light trash-talk from your mean ol’ DM. Does that mean, if I reached up under your skirt right now I’d find you wet for me?” He dropped his voice to a dark whisper “Are those panties fuckin’ soaked right now? I think they must be. And since you clearly don’t mind getting all worked up in public, I wonder if you’d let me finger you right here. Out in the open where some neighbor might come out for a smoke and see you writhing on my hand extra excited because I’m talking down and dirty at you. You know what they’d think, look at that scary metal-head taking advantage of that sweet girl. So innocent. Not the kinda girl who would instigate something naughty ever. Oh no. Not the kinda girl who would Beg for me.”

“Please Eddie.” You were begging. You’d never even had to ask for anything from Eddie before . he always knew what you wanted sometimes before you even knew it. And he was always so kind and generous and super silly a lot of the time. He could make you laugh one minute and then melt you with hot kisses the next. But usually you were in control. Not now.

Yes, you were begging, and you didn’t want to stop! what was he doing to you??

“Please..?What?” He licked a canine and his slow knowing smile made you ache deep inside.

“Please let me make it up to you. In your van. Right now.” You managed to stutter out.

He hummed in approval. He opened the back door. “After you, princess.”

[arizonaconservativegal]

Hi, I'm Anon from the earlier ask- you can call me Matt, if that somehow makes me seem more authentic. (Not linking my Tumblr b/c the last time I used it was almost a decade ago and it's embarassing af.)

I'm just going to ask you to say what's going to stop the people who align with the right from getting their way at this point? Surely, you don't think this is going to be a normal presidency (and if you do, please explain!). With all three wings under the control of a pretty far right wing government, we don't really know what's going to happen. I know everyone is tired of hearing about it, but the overturning of Roe doesn't exactly portend well for Obergefell. And I don't think either of those decisions have/had been opposed without the overwhelming drive and support of the Christians you say don't matter.

I do know what GOP stands for and what that means. I don't understand how you're okay with some of the horrible people under that tent. And your side does attract more horrible people than ours. For every dumbass tankie, there's at least five people with reprehensible (and whether you accept it or not, racist/homophobic/bigoted) professed beliefs on your side. I don't understand you in this sense, and I don't think I'm going to be able to tonight. I appreciate you answering my earlier ask even though I was rude.

Okay Matt-the-Atheist

I'm just going to start by saying I think your idea that there are more bad people on the right than on the left is absurd. That's just patently ridiculous. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and chalk that up to naivety rather than say you you think the horrible people on your side of the aisle are acceptable. Shitty people exist in roughly equal number across the board, with some minor variation for how we personally define 'shitty' people.

Okay that said.

I'm not that worried about our 'horrible' people because they're a pretty small group (as they are on the left) without much power because no one really likes them (not as much the case on the left - y'all seem to be afraid of yours for some reason). And I'm not worried about our Christians because there's nothing wrong with them by and large. I think you have conflated the two groups into one and deemed all conservative Christians 'problems' because you don't understand them.

I do think this will be a pretty normal presidency. The reason for that is that we just had four years of Trump so I feel pretty confident in my estimation of what the next four years will look like. I don't know why some people are acting like this has never happened before when it literally just happened.

Anyway.

There is really is not widespread support within the party for going after Obergefell. That is a media boogeyman, nothing more. Even if we did want to go after it, there wouldn't be much point since there is also an actual law on the books to protect same sex and interracial marriage (another thing no one is trying to overturn but the media likes to harp on anyway) which passed with more than enough Republicans voting for it that I can guarantee you will not see it overturned either. On top of that, you really mean to tell me that Trump, who hosted a gay wedding at his house, is gonna sign a bill to ban gay marriage? Really?

Which brings me to my final point.

Trump is many things but a traditional conservative Christian is not one of them. You don't have to like the guy but he's probably the last person I'd expect to try to usher in a theocracy.

I think we'll be fine.

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

TTD - First Meeting 2/4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 and end

Part 2, sequel of this. This Hero and Villain have now their own tag and masterlist.

*

Hero woke up and they didn’t like that very much.

The ground was hard under their head, and they winced. Their fingers unwillingly clenched and grasped some gravel.

Wait a minute. That meant they weren’t in a room. Not theirs, anyways. Come to think of it, where were they and what happened ? Their head hurt. They touched their forehead gently. There was no blood, and it looked like it was in its usual shape. Still, it hurt.

Maybe the next step was standing up, come to think of it. So they did. Stretching up, they clasped their tongue, trying to focus. It had been a while since they had felt this sluggish. They were in a little street. Okay. That was an important piece of information. So, they were going back from their last job (stopping a robbery, nothing serious) when – when – they forgot.

How could have they forgotten ?

They stayed still. Apart from them, there was no one in the street. Everything was quiet. And, possibly, very wrong. Something was missing. Hero was quite sure that it wasn’t a street before, but a dead end. What was blocking the way before was a two-storeyed building, full of people. Now it was... gone. It hadn’t been demolished or anything. There weren’t ruins or even rubble around. There just wasn’t a trace of it, as if it never existed. It was the right street though, and if they struggled very hard to remember, they were inside just before. There were just fragments of memories. A thief sulking in a corner, their hands tied up behind their back. A smile from an old lady. A warm cup of tea into their hands and the odor of the mint.

The next minutes were used to frantically search for the people who lived there, anyone. After a lot of swearing and some tears, they had to renounce. They sat on the ground, vaguely entertaining the idea of curling up and never getting up ever, when their phone rang.

“Are you okay ?” asked Other Hero. “There was an attack from Supervillain in your area.”

“Yes. Just where I was, in fact.”

“Oh shit ! How did you survive ?”

“I think my powers protected me. But a whole building is gone and I – I don’t understand what happened.”

“ It’s your first time with this guy, uh ? You’d better sit down, buddy, I’m gonna break it to you.”

Other Hero had that tone she always had when they passed their regular tests, just before obtaining the highest grades. Hero listened.

“His power is very simple, actually,” she declared. As you saw – or rather as you didn’t see - he can make things disappear. He only has to look at the zone, and everything is gone.”

“A whole building ? What about the people ?”

“I’m sorry, have I stuttered ? Gone.”

A drop of sweat slowly trickled down Hero’s forehead.

“I don’t see how I could fight that”, they finally said. Is there a way ? Has he got a weakness ?”

“Oh, you can’t. With your powers, that is. It’s best if you don’t try. At least you’re protected, but you haven’t got what it takes to bring him down.”

“You do.”

“Of course, but I’ve got my area to protect, you know. Tell you what though, I’ll call the agency and ask them if they can send you backup.”

“Thanks, but -”

They didn’t have the time to finish their sentence. Other Hero had hung up. Having backup was good, but with this kind of threat it couldn’t hurt to have a plan B.

The warehouse they had visited a couple of weeks ago was not far, and still standing. With a bit of luck, it was still Villain’s lair. Hero hadn’t come back since. It wasn’t as if this villain seemed like a serious threat anyway. Even the place itself wasn’t that threatening, past the first impression. So they opened the door without much thought, and because they were still dizzy, they walked on a button without noticing. They only had time to gasp and protect their head with their arms when a huge cage just fell right on them.

There was a series of clicks, and when they opened their eyes again, they were surrounded by heavy metal bars. Spotlights illuminated their trap one by one while a booming laugh resonated in the room:

“You’re mine now ! Miiiiine !”

A dark shape appeared at the end of the corridor. The spotlights were strong, but they couldn’t lighten it up. Light seemed to avoid the black silhouette.

“I knew you’ve come back to taunt me, nemesis, but that was your downfall ! See what I could do in your absence ! Tell me, prisoner, am I harmless now ?”

Hero didn’t answer. They were still staring at the darkness. Villain had to clear their throat to get their attention.

“I said ! Am ! I ! Harmless ?”

“Uh ? Oh, uh, yes. I mean, no – I mean – what was the question again ?”

A grunt of frustration came out of the silhouette:

“You are into my claws ! How can you not pay attention to every one of my words ? I am the master of your life – nay, the master of your very fate ! Be awed !”

“I kinda am.”

The shape stopped its walk:

“You – you are ?”

“Yes. Do you control shadows ?”

“Only mine, but as it is the best, I do not care what others could offer me.”

“ And yet you could darken this whole warehouse”, whispered Hero. “And all the buildings you go to. I suppose you can make it as big as you wish. That’s impressive.”

“Extremely. I’m glad you’ve finally come to your senses. Imprisonment quickly taught you some manners.”

“Actually, I didn’t come to fight you. I came for two things. A warning, first.”

“Ah, it is to laugh ! They’re nothing but a pitiful prisoner, a mere prey at my mercy, but still they try to rebel ! Such audacity.”

“Supervillain is here.”

“You have to be more precise.”

“The one who can make everything disappear.”

“...shit. I mean, curses !”

“And he’s here to stay if I don’t do anything to stop him.”

“So you want to beg for your freedom ? What if all of that was an outrageous lie to deceive me as a way to mock me once more? ”

“That’s the thing, Villain. Even if I were free, I couldn’t defeat him. I’m not powerful enough. That’s the second thing I wanted to tell you. I need your help.”

“ Excuse me ?”

“Supervillain needs to see to use his power. But if the whole area is in your shadow, he’ll be helpless.”

“A poor plan, if I might say so. I only need to cover his eyes to blind him.”

“If you succeed to find him first, that is.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem. If memory serves, he had an awfully tacky magenta suit, even flashier than your orange jacket. But wait ! Why should I listen to you ? Why should I expose myself to the cruel outside and the crueler sun ?”

“Your warehouse might be on his way. And that’s the kind of act that can grant you a pardon from the agency.”

The silhouette recoiled:

“I neither need nor want a pardon. I am a devious malevolent being of pure darkness and I intend to stay that way.”

Hero wiped his forehead. They were getting tired.

“Okay, fine. We’re running out of time. What do you want ?”

“For starters, I want you to kneel.”

Hero tilted their head, confused:

“Why ?”

“You know. To acknowledge my superiority and your defeat, all of that good stuff.”

“Oh. Okay, if you want.”

Hero politely obeyed while the laugh resonated once more:

“Yes...yes ! Muahaha I am the unflinching and unbowed victor of our perilous fight !”

“Uh-uh, sure. If there something else ? I think that we’re running out of time here.”

“Pledge your allegiance to me.”

“What ? But I’m a hero. I can’t.”

“Then I won’t help.”

Hero actually felt a twinge of remorse. That was a promise they were going to break, but then again, it was going to be made under duress.

“What would you make me do ?”

A moment of silence ensued.

“I don’t actually know”, admitted Villain. “It would be my first time someone would submit to me, I don’t go outside much. The very thought of another soul touching my tools and my creations makes even my dark soul shudder.”

“I could go shopping for you. This way you won’t have to scare citizens.”

“Using your own money to trade for the goods I decide you to get to sustain my mortal body ?” asked the voice which was suddenly a lot more cheerful.

“You really don’t like to go outside, uh ?”

“Hush, prisoner. It is decided, then. I shall fight this obnoxious magenta menace who…!”

Despite the heavy doors, a piercing scream from outside made them both start. Hero jumped on their feet.

“...And the sooner, the better.”

*

Sequel here

Back to These Two Dorks masterlist.

Or back to Hero x Villain Masterlist.

[thychesters]

i feel like there is something to be said about zoro and sanji’s approach to food upon their first introductions. granted, i’m probably just overthinking it, but the first time we meet zoro he’s been tied up in a courtyard with the intention of forgoing food for an entire month as part of a deal, and sanji who was stranded in the middle of the ocean with a bag of food he had to make last for he-didn’t-know-how-long. i can’t imagine him willingly sharing that story, but i can see zoro’s being an offhand remark—luffy says something about sugary onigiri while sanji’s trying to plan meals, and zoro says when you’re starving you have to make do (and it was the intention behind them). you have sanji who’s making food for everyone and anyone because that’s what he does and no one should know hunger pains, and two of his crew mates are talking about not eating like it’s nothing. a minor inconvenience at the time. zoro makes it out like it had to be done, like it was a choice—a smart one, at that.

you have one man who forwent food as a victim of circumstance and one who did so willingly. i feel like sanji would understand honor and pride, but at the same time he’d have to think, just for a second, how stupid is that. (which isn’t the first time he’s thought zoro’s stupid, but at this point he’s lost count. i digress. he’s the one who yelled for zoro to give up his dream if it meant he lived while fighting mihawk.) why would he do that? zoro got himself tied up for weeks with no food and chose to do it? meanwhile sanji spent weeks carefully portioning out stale food with a man who cut off his own leg so he could live. does he watch zoro’s portions a little more carefully now? make sure he has a higher caloric intake for a little while, just in case? does he say anything? maybe he makes onigiri and tells zoro he made them with salt not sugar, and luffy gives him a quizzical look. the others don’t get it because isn’t that what you’re supposed to do, and zoro only nods.

[cent-scratchnsniff]

More sketchy employee profile images. Mostly made to be able to replace the picrew I had in the template I made since I can draw. I did end up just putting it as back and white though but the color is just nice to have. I'm STILL trying to tweak the template since it is very finicky and there is an example of what it looks down below if you're interested. It is a lot. It will happen. I am just not the quickest

There are typos and inconsistencies I missed but in general it should be fine...

[sky-kenobye]

Making of Monday

More of a fun fact than a making of, but I struggle a lot to not edit as I go, which slow me down so much, and a while ago I read a writing tip that said that setting the font to something you can't read helps with that (since you can't read it you can't edit and you keep writing). I finally tried it and honestly it's working pretty well so far I think?

Anyway,

I'm writing a star wars fic in aurebesh:

(Sorry for the bad quality, I took a photo of my laptop like an old person lol)

[thatfrenchacademic]

Justice as spectacle in Fontaine, or a too long word vomit from a tired PhD in Law gushing over Genshin 4.0

Alternative title: “Justice must be seen to be done”, a visual playbook by Genshin 4.0

Intro: This is a valid use of a PhD in law, actually.

I made the mistake of playing the 4.0 update of Genshin while I was finalizing my PhD in law and politics, and the result was my brain refuse to think about anything else than judicial performativity and the use judicial spectacle in Fontaine. So time to make good use of 9 years of University by dissecting why I absolutely love how Fontaine’s justice system is presented. It was initially much longer and covering why justice as a spectacle is not necessarily an issue or sign of a disfunctionning legal system,  then what exactly about the Fontainian justice system is actually fucked up, but it got too long so I’m keeping that for the indeterminate future. So the pitch of this thing is: Mihoyo is basically providing us with an animated First Person POV game version of legal ethnographic works on justice and the courthouse, and it is really cool.

And since I am a nerd with both too much time to read and to play, we are making this a proper academic, with literature and all, because listen to me, LEGAL ACADEMICA IS COOL, ACTUALLY, and law and literature at large is a genuine field of study that we, as a society, need to talk about more.

[also there is non-zero chance that I edit this brainrot and submit it for publication at some point]

Warning: I am basing this on 4.0, up to and including Act IV Chapter II (hence no discussion of the prison system) and if Mihoyo thwarts the whole thing with 4.1  [oops I am late so now 4.2, since 4.1 did not thwart it] then let’s do what we do when new results contradict existing theories in academia and just collectively agree to ignore it.

TL;DR: Someone at Mihoyo read Simonett’s 1966 essay on The Trial as One of the Performing Arts [Here, just read it, it is fascinating] and decided to make it everyone’s problem

Part 0: if this was not Tumblr.com I would make a recap explaining broadly what Genshin and Fontaine are but since you are reading this I’m going to assume you already know the context.

Part 1: Ok so how does the Fontanian Justice system work, exactly?

Alright, so each area of Teyvat has 1) one core theme/value and 2)a threat to that core theme/value.

Mondstadt has Freedom and people living in fear of a dragon.

Liyue has Contracts/order and the pandemonium of having Rex Lapis killed.

Inazuma has Eternity and being virtually frozen in time.

Sumeru has Knowledge and being entirely manipulated by the Akademia.

Fontaine has Justice and… Justice being parodied into a spectacle?

WRONG.

Because the spectacle of justice, especially the way it is done in Fontaine, is not antithetic to Justice itself. Spectacle is part and parcel of Justice and of any courthouse. Sure, all the dials are turned to 11 and y’know, it is legit called an Opera, but that is more the writers being a bit on the nose and adding drama for the player. The spectacle of Justice, itself, is not that far off from reality. And, hot take but bear with me: it is not (necessarily) a problem.

Ok, let’s dive into what we know of the justice system in Fontaine.

Broadly speaking, we have seen the criminal justice system, and it is an accusatorial, or adversarial model. It’s the US-style criminal procedure: you have a defendant trying to prove that they didn’t do it your honor, and a prosecutor proving that they totally did it your honor. To avoid this becoming a fistfight, you have a strict procedure to follow outside but especially inside the Court, and in the end, a neutral third party decides on the outcome or the trial.

Ok, now let’s zoom on a few things, and why the theatrics of them are actually very common.

Furina, our cringefail darling, is the prosecutor. And they get a lot of stuff right regarding the role of the prosecutor! She decides whether or not to prosecute, based on the information that she has, and whether she likes her odds or not. Fittingly since she is the Archon, the prosecutor in a trial represents the State, the interest of the State (the judge ! does ! not!). It makes sense that Furina, the ruler (theoretically) would be prosecutor and not judge. Moreover, and as we see plenty of times during the trials, Prosecutor Furina is not concerned with the victim, and not even necessarily with the truth; the prosecutor wants to know how likely they are to obtain a conviction in the end. Her job is to be convincing enough to establish a legal truth.

Neuvillette, for his part, sometimes look terribly powerless… but friends, that is what a Judge sitting during a criminal case often is. The first part of his job is to find sufficient information for the prosecution to decide whether or not to prosecute; he is supposed to be entirely neutral at this stage. He kickstarted the investigation straight after the death of Cowell, and was also the one starting investigation on Vaughn right after Lyney is proved innocent. He gathers enough evidence, hands them over to Furina and asks “So? Are you game or do you want to leave that alone?”

And once the prosecutor has decided to move forward with prosecuting, his job is to make the procedure move along, take some decisions based on new information, ensure all respect the rules (hence Childe’s immediate smackdown when he starts to act out a bit too much at the end. My man is here to make sure the rules are enforced and that also applies to Snezhnayan gremlins). In the liminal space of the courthouse, he is the supreme authority… over the procedure. He can tell anyone, including Furina, to stfu k thx. He starts and stops the trial. He allows witnesses to be heard or not.

And the last party involved at this point is the defense, usually the Traveler and any adorable twink we befriended that day [good for you, Traveler, good for you]. They present evidence, they have to be convincing, it’s basically Ace Attorney, we know that part.

Part 2: Mihoyo makes it clear that we are all actors in the Courtroom

Ok, first moment of pause.

Even though these are the most basic parts of a criminal trial, they are ALREADY steeped in drama and theatrics, both IRL and in Fontaine.

First off, Furina plays a prosecutor, Neuvillette plays a judge and the Traveller plays the lawyer.

No but really: they play their role in the Courthouse.

The game painstakingly presents Furina for the first time not as a prosecutor in a courthouse but as a cringefail princess. When we see her initially welcoming the Traveller, going “Fight Me” at them in the streets of Fontaine, she is not a prosecutor, she is just Furina the cringefail princess.  We meet Furina as Furina, and later on only, we see her with her Prosecutor face. Furina is not a prosecutor, outside of the Courthouse.

I don’t even have to explain how much Traveler plays lawyer. We are, and I cannot stress it enough, NOT lawyers (yes, even you who developed an unhealthy obsession with Ace Attorney before Genshin). The developers even took the time to develop an entire new gameplay to really, really highlight that is a behavior that the Traveler can only have in the Courthouse. Traveler is not a lawyer outside of the courthouse.

Neuvillette is a bit of a special case. We do meet him for the first time in the Courthouse, as a Judge. But once again, the moment we meet him outside of the courthouse, he is much more approachable, definitely not the same persona as when he bitchslapped my problematic Harbinger into the Meropides prison [we are so going to write something about the Meropides prison once I have played enough 4.1 my friends – update post 4.1: ok Mihoyo that was weak commentary on the privatization of prison and prison labour but I’ll take it]. Neuvillette is probably the one that is the most associated with his courthouse persona, but there is still this gap between Neuvillette-Judge and Neuvillette-reflecting-in-the-end-of-Chapter-II.

So everyone is just themselves in their daily life, but there is something about a Courthouse that turns people into their judicial role. That’s what we call the liminality of the courthouse (Hadar, 1999). And it exists IRL, in a way shockingly close to what we see in the Opera Epiclese.

Magistrates, whether prosecutors or judges, do not act in their own names, they have a role to play. Someone woke up that morning, had breakfast, swore at the neighbour who did not park properly again, spilled some coffee on their documents again ffs, stumbled a bit on the little steps leading to the courthouse, and then, they put on their costume and started to play the role of the judge. As someone who has been in what can only be referred to as “backstage”  of a court , and entered the courthouse with the magistrates, I cannot stress enough how drastic the shift in person is the moment a magistrate steps into the space of the trial room.  

From there on, they are a Role. Furina, like any prosecutor, is not a prosecutor, until they are The Prosecutor, and then they are not themselves anymore, in the enclosed space of the courthouse. Have you ever seen a lawyer talk in their daily life the way to talk in a courthouse? No. Someone is just some person, until their put on the robe and their Lawyer Face and start their Lawyer Movement and Lawyer Tone. Traveler cannot go all OBJECTION when they have a disagreement with a random shopkeeper in Teyvat. The game doesn’t even give you the option – because you are not lawyer, unless you are in the court. None actually plays a lawyer, unless they are in the courthouse.

And an adversarial model encourages this. You have character, but for it to be a play, or an opera, you need a narrative (murder, ok, that will kickstart a narrative) and you need dramatic tension. Drama is created by the opposition of two characters having opposite goals, confronting each other. Simonett, a former Minessotta Supreme Court Judge, has a fascinating article called “The Trial as One of the Performing Art”, which really ecapsulates how an adversarial system is built on this drama:

‘The trial has a protagonist, and antagnonist, a proscenium and an audience, a story to be told and a problem to be resolved, all usually in three acts”.

More than an inquisitory model (hello, fellow continental Europeans), parties are encouraged to bounce off each other, take initiative, undermine and interact with each other. US courthouse TV shows loooove that, and Genshin absolutely leaned into that. The potential for drama was so strong and intrinsic to the story that For the first time, we got to play a character that was not even with the traveler: Traveler was off investigating, and we played Navia in the courthouse, because the sheer drama of being in the courthouse is too good for the game to pass.

Do you see it yet? Here is more. A judicial role is a role. IRL, a lot of it is emphasized by the robes -the - sometimes complete with wigs and accessories- that judges and magistrates must wear before entering the space of the courthouse. You put them on like you put on a costume -defendant, prosecution, judge and even audience alike (Cabatingan, 2018), there is a ritual of preparing for the performance of a trial the way you prepare for a play. Genshin characters cannot change their clothes [give us a proper fancy-af-judge-robe for Neuvilette Mihoyo you COWARDS], so the game does all it can to realllllyy show you a separation between the judicial role and the actor playing I in the courthouse.

Part 3: Game designers said yes this an Opera and a Courthouse because these are the same thing and they are right

[The urge to include Foucault in this section, but I do not have Discipline and Punish with me rn, rip]

Ok, ok, why not. But what about the stuff that is not in your random courthouse, like a damn AUDIENCE and the fact that it takes place in an actual OPERA ?

Aight, we gotta dive a bit deeper into two things: the role of audience in the judicial spectacular, and studies on legal architecture/judicial space. I told you legal research was cool.

Let’s start with the most obvious one: architecture.

The architecture of Courthouse is actually really important for the delivery of justice. The building embodies the task itself, and targets evert single person that interacts with the building in any way? It matters specifically because we take it for granted, that this this is just a building, that there cannot be more to it. Or: “Law in its everydayness, banks on the usage of visual means of representation, for they seem to lack artifice, and thus enjoy high persuasiveness” (Kumar, 2017, also this is a study on the architecture of the Indian Supreme court and it is so good). But thi is, of course, on purpose.

My friends, your local courthouse looks like an opera. Recently, I went to a play which was entirely a trial, and they barely had to do anything to set-up the scene because… the opera looks like a courthouse, and vice versa. Fontaine’s Opera Epiclese is this on steroid, and also actually used for entertainment like the magic shows, but its architecture and structure are so close to a proper courthouse that once you see it you cannot unsee it. Not matter how different they might look from each other, all, ALL courtroom have the same setup:

Judges on an elevated position compared to all other parties : Neuvillette absolutely kills it here [my man is placed so high up I was close to writing something about the religiosity of justice.]

Prosecution and accused on two opposite sides, virtually separated by the judge, even putting the defendant in their own little liminal space in the liminal space (Zoettl, 2016, Mulcahy, 2007)

Audience space and trial space clearly separated, with interdiction for the audience to enter the trial space

Audience space allowing to clearly see all angles of the trial space

The architecture of courthouse is strikingly similar to that of an opera’s, both in its spatial organization and its grandiose. The entire building is an opera, not just the ground of the stage. You even have a lobby, the space right in the Opera but not the courtroom, which is very similar to the space where people mingle during the interlude at the Opera – the social settings were many legal negotiations happen (Hansen, 2008)

[Fun fact: I am pretty sure the design of the audience space of the Opera Epiclese was inspired by two Parisian Opera houses: the Théâtre de la Comédie Française et the Théâtre du Châtelet. The stage itself is almost more church-like ; I am curious if anyone knows what the inspiration for the “outside building” actually was, for the Opera Epiclese?]

Eltringham (2012) has some really cool writings about the architecture, and people interact with the structure of courts (in his case, the International Criminal for Rwanda) and how all these features contribute to making the courthouse this liminal space where people can play their role, whether they realise it or not.

But, Almost-doctor, I hear you say, what about the spectacle ?! The audience enjoying the show ?!

Ah, yes. The audience. Just as with an Opera, the audience and the actors enter through differentiated means (the “segregation of circulatory systems”), all with their own point of access to the stage or the seats, and never the two shall meet. It is so important to a court system that you will find this feature highlighted by the architects that renovated the Bordeaux Courthouse and the US courthouse design and planning guide [These are just fun and striking illustration I stumbled on while writing this, you can find dozens of others from any given country]. These differentiated access path help reinforce the liminality of the courthouse not just for the actors, but for us, the audience as well.

You could even agree, with Garapon, that the audience itself is “playing” the audience, in the Courthouse (go read Garapon’s 2004 book, if you read French, it’s so good I swear and like it fueled 90% of whatever this word vomit is)). You are not really yourself, you have new, liminal role of spectator. A trial has a “need for a public”, even a silent one. “'Performance always intends an audience”, for Kapferere. and we can indeed talk about a Performance of Justice, when talking about how justice unfolds in the courthouse, especially in a criminal trial (Sausdal and Lohne, 2021).

The audience is an inherent part of the spectacle of justice – because is there a spectacle if there I no audience? If comedians perform a play with no audience, did it really happen? In the words of our own European Court of Human Rights (I am quoting the ECtHR on Tumblr.com, what is life): “Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done” (Delcourt v Belgium, 1970). For Garfinkel “Legal rituals ... depend on the outside witness to confer on them not only recognition but validity” (Garfinkel, 1956);

Or, to put it more eloquently: “The need for the presence of a validating public at trials is enshrined in many constitutions and built into the very fabric of court complexes throughout the world. (…) Tthe court as a whole requires its reflection in the bodies of validating witnesses in order that this created place will bring sufficient gravity to itself.” (Eltringham 2012).

If a courthouse was just about the truth, or the parties involved reaching an agreement on what the truth is, there would be no need for the theatrics. We could handle a trial in a meeting group like problem-solving session in any run-of-the-mill company. Put everyone around the table, have a moderator, have a decider. That actually exist, it’s called arbitration, and you may have never heard of it despite the absolutely enormous amount of money that are involved (we are talking literal Billions of dollars every year, here), because the whole point is that it is discrete and confidential. But that is not how trials are, anywhere. It does exist though. It is called private arbitration, a form of private justice that focuses on problem-solving, expediency and secrecy, often because my friends, it involves big names and big money.

But justice? My friend, it needs to be a spectacle. It needs an Opera. Because this is how it gains sociological legitimacy, and it needs sociological legitimacy to function. By having an audience, it gains transparency and accountability.

Conclusion: teaser on why the spectacle of justice is not necessarily always totally bad, but also I am too tired to fully argue that.

Now, you might that it’s a bad idea. That what Genshin is doing is denouncing this inherently spectacular aspect of Justice, that there is something inherently wrong in justice being public and publicized for the gain of legitimacy, and sure, spectacular justice can become a parody of justice or a manipulation of justice and this has happened many times in history. And yes, you could go for that (although show trials have typically been at the service of an authoritarian regime in a transition phase, rising or declining, and target political opponents, which we do not see in Fontaine) but… I have another take for you.

Justice being a spectacle is not…  inherently bad. 

Hear me out. Making justice into a spectacle does not have to affect its outcome. The presence of a public does not change the course of a play.

Spectacular justice brings elements of entertainment such as narrative fulfillment and catharsis. That is clearly what Fontainians want: a satisfying end to the story, the truth exposed. Justice as a spectacle help people make sense of their reality, comfort them in knowing that justice does prevail. That the guilty do not go scott-free, that the good guys win, that justice is transparent, that prosecutor need to be able to build a good story to prosecute, and there is no good story is there is not someone who caused harm, and a victim that deserves justice. And, from the information we have so far, this does not seem to lead to miscarriages of justices, or a generally biased justice system. But frankly this is too long already and I just wanted to show that the depiction of the Spectacular in everyday justice is actually present everywhere IRL, and Genshin is just providing a really handy illustration, at this point of the story.

The Fontanian system is fucked, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not about the spectacular on its own. Long story short since it be worth its own word-vomit-style essay, it’s because the jury has been replaced by ChatGPT and there is no civil court, only a criminal court, k bye.

[wondrouswendy]

@rangerzath said Zachariah Trench is a yaoi enjoyer without directly saying it