#unfortunately for me. pompey is funny

[attila-werther]

...sigh yeah okay I'll make pompey equal to caesar in the trikaranos comic. if I must.

[sforzesco]

cassius: bhe, you are so so lucky that your mom is sleeping with caesar. never gamble. you've used up all your luck here.

Brutus: The Noble Conspirator, Kathryn Tempest

anyway, the Vettius affair sure was something. also! Cassius here is echoing what Confucius has to say about revenge! unfortunately, neither of them got the memo on the other part of that

Zi-xia asked Confucius, saying, 'How should (a son) conduct himself with reference to the man who has killed his father or mother?' The Master said, 'He should sleep on straw, with his shield for a pillow; he should not take office; he must be determined not to live with the slayer under the same heaven. If he meet with him in the market-place or the court, he should not have to go back for his weapon, but (instantly) fight with him.'

Liji [Book of Rites], Tan Gong Part I, trans. James Legge

to be clear, this is a very unserious comic, I do not think that Brutus immediately throwing down with Pompey after making eye contact in the streets would have fixed anything, HOWEVER. it WOULD be extremely funny. to me.

bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost

[avocado-cat]

The Pokemon Conquest system as applied to the late Roman Republic / early Roman Empire!

Most of the associated Pokemon are chosen straight up just because I like them, but the types have meaning (mostly) I promise. Explanations are presented for each row, left to right, starting at the top. This will be somewhat long, so bear with me please, or scroll away if you so desire.

Julius Caesar + Dragon (Salamence): Ol�� JC resists Grass (Vercingetorix), but is weak to Ice (Cassius) and Fairy (Brutus). No interaction with Pompey’s Ghost, but you can’t have everything. Caesar is also the closest analogue to the OG Pokemon Conquest’s Nobunaga, who was also given Dragon. Nobunaga, just like Caesar, is the most famous figure of his time period, and was also famously betrayed and had his consolidation of power completed by a successor.

Pompey Magnus + Ghost (Golurk): Pompey’s Ghost and Crassus’s Normal can’t affect each other, symbolizing their rivalry being neutralized by the triumvirate and Caesar’s influence. Ghost’s other interactions with the other types don’t make a ton of sense unfortunately, although one could argue that Pompey’s mistakes and inability to defeat Caesar’s numerically weaker forces in their civil war is symbolized by Ghost being weak to itself.

Crassus + Normal (Ursaring): As above, Pompey and Crassus are mutually unable to defeat/affect each other. Also, Rock resists Normal, symbolizing Crassus’s humiliating defeat and death in the Parthian desert at Carrhae. Crassus being Normal can also represent him being the least interesting of the original Triumvirate between himself, Caesar and Pompey.

Cato the Younger + Flying (Corviknight): This is possibly the weakest connection. Broadly, flying can represent the Roman Eagle, symbolizing the associated Roman as being a true Roman, and perhaps the last true Roman. Cato is, I think, one of the best candidates for this ‘title’ on the list, although his type interactions don’t carry much meaning. I would’ve given him Braviary to make the connection clearer, but I wanted to use pokemon that weren’t already associated with the OG Pokemon Conquest Lords.

Cicero + Psychic (Meowstic): Psychic beats Fighting, symbolizing Cicero’s suppression of Catiline’s attempted insurrection/coup. Psychic is also weak to Bug and Dark, symbolizing his harassment(?) by Clodius and Fulvia respectively. 

Clodius Pulcher + Bug (Frosmoth): As stated before, Clodius’s Bug beats Cicero’s Psychic. This is the only real interaction, but it’s a key one. If Milo were included on the list then I’d make Clodius weak to him (given how Milo did literally murder Clodius on the side of the road), but, sadly, he ain’t. Also I think calling Clodius a bug is funny.

Catiline + Fighting (Toxicroak): Catiline gets his Fighting butt whooped by Cicero’s Psychic consulship. Furthermore, Catiline always seemed to me to be a man with a surplus of brawn and a deficit of brains, although to be fair this interpretation is likely tinged by Cicero’s surviving perspectives. The additional poison type of Toxicroak makes Catiline seem more sinister I think, poisoning the Republic from within. 

Augustus/Octavian + Steel (Hisuian Goodra): This one’s a biggie. Steel, while resisting most types, also beats Fairy (Brutus) and Ice (Cassius), symbolizing his vengeance on Caesar’s murderers. Steel also beats Dark, as Octavian suppressed Fulvia’s rebellion. Furthermore, although Steel isn’t super effective on Poison (Mark Antony), Poison can’t affect Steel, as Mark Antony and Cleopatra (whose Rock type is actually weak to Steel) lost to Octavian and Agrippa at Actium. Octavian’s Steel is weak to his closest friend Agrippa’s Ground and his wife Livia’s Fire, although these carry less clear meanings. Agrippa never betrayed Octavian, and although Livia was true to Octavian for the entirety of their relationship, it has been claimed that she poisoned him on his death bed, so her typing is at least more relevant than Agrippa’s. The additional Dragon type of Hisuian Goodra further symbolizes his continuation of Caesar’s Dragon legacy. And, as with Caesar’s connection to Nobunaga, both Octavian and Ieyasu (who was the Steel lord in the original Pokemon Conquest) were the ones to (more or less) fulfil their Dragon-leader’s wishes and end their respective civil wars to usher in new ages. 

Brutus + Fairy (Alolan Ninetales): Brutus’s Fairy beats Caesar’s Dragon, as Brutus was famously one of Caesar’s many assassins. Dragon cannot even affect Fairy, symbolizing that Brutus’s betrayal was among the most shocking to Caesar. Fairy is, however, weak to both Poison and Steel, the types of Antony and Octavian respectively, as Brutus (and also Cassius, but we’ll get to that) lost to them both at Philippi. 

Cassius + Ice (Aurorus): Cassius’s Ice beats Caesar’s Dragon, as Cassius was also one of Caesar’s assassins, but Dragon can at least affect Ice, symbolizing that Cassius’s betrayal was less unexpected than Brutus’s. Ice happens to be weak to many types, in particular Octavian’s Steel, as Cassius (w/ Brutus) lost to Octavian (w/ Antony) at Philippi. Feel free to ignore the implication that Cassius’s Ice beats Agrippa’s Ground. Giving him Aurorus, a sauropod pokemon, could be interpreted that Cassius himself is a dinosaur and behind the times, as he was unable to see that the Republic was a goner well before he committed to killing Caesar in 44 BCE.

Lepidus + Electric (Ampharos): Electric beats Sextus Pompey’s Water, but is trumped in turn by Agrippa’s Ground. Thus, Lepidus was key in suppressing Sextus Pompey’s rebellion, but was beaten by the Octavian/Agrippa combo. Please also ignore the fact that Lepidus’s Electric resists Octavian’s Steel, despite the fact that Lepidus was utterly removed from power after the suppression of Sextus. It ain’t a perfect system.

Mark Antony + Poison (Nidoking): Poison beats Brutus’s Fairy, yet is beaten in turn by Ground and Psychic, and is unable to affect Steel. Thus, Antony’s Poison was instrumental in defeating Brutus’s Fairy (et Cassius) at Philippi, but lost to Octavian’s Steel and Agrippa’s Ground at Actium. Furthermore, Antony’s Poison was successfully outmaneuvered after Caesar’s death (initially at least) from assuming full imperial power by Cicero’s Psychic. Antony’s wife Fulvia died of a mysterious illness at an opportune time allowing him to marry Octavian’s sister Octavia, so it’s possible that Antony actually poisoned his own wife, which would be startlingly apt for his Poison designation. Also, Nidoking could represent Antony’s supposed goal to crown himself king in the Eastern style, as claimed by Octavian. 

Cleopatra + Rock (Tyranitar): Firstly, Rock can roughly represent the sand and deserts synonymous with Egypt. Secondly, Rock is weak to both Steel and Ground, as Cleo lost to Octavian and Agrippa at Actium, and was then coerced/supported into suicide by Octavian afterwards. 

Livia + Fire (Typhlosion): This one is one of the weaker ones, I’ll admit. Nevertheless, the key interaction here is Fire’s supremacy over Steel, symbolizing the enormous influence Livia had over her husband Augustus, particularly in his reign as Emperor and by (possibly) eliminating all other heirs to allow her son Tiberius to succeed his step-father. Livia has also been accused of murdering Augustus at the end of his life to further smooth over the transition between rulers, and whether or not it’s true it goes to show her perceived power over her husband. Fire is also weak to Ground, and although Agrippa never truly harmed Livia either militarily or personally (to my knowledge), he was able to largely maintain his position despite her distrust of him.

Sextus Pompey + Water (Golisipod): Sextus’s (initial) mastery of the seas and powerbase on Sicily makes him well suited for Water, especially considering how little most Romans respected the navy and seafaring beyond its ability to allow for transport between points A and B. Sextus was ultimately defeated by Lepidus and Augustus, symbolized by his weakness to Lepidus’s Electric. Water does resist Steel though, which could symbolize how critical the alliance between Lepidus and Augustus was, that Augustus may not have been able to winkle him out of Sicily on his own (heck, even Agrippa’s Ground is weak to Water, although this interaction isn’t historically accurate, given Agrippa’s eventual victory over Sextus’s navy at Naulochus. You can’t have everything though).

Agrippa + Ground (Flygon): At this point, these explanations should be feeling a bit repetitive. Agrippa’s Ground beats Cleopatra’s Rock and Antony’s Poison, because Agrippa’s Agrippa beat those two goons at Actium, and Ground also beats Lepidus’s Electric. A notable interaction is that Ground beats Steel, despite the fact that Agrippa never betrayed Octavian, so we’ll ignore this. Ground also beats Fire, which could be symbolized by Livia’s inability to remove Agrippa from Augustus’s inner circle in the post-Actium years. Flygon’s additional Dragon type could symbolize Agrippa marrying into the Julio-Claudian Family Tree, with Dragon being used as a potential symbol of Imperium.

Fulvia + Dark (Weavile): Another weak one unfortunately. Fulvia’s Dark does beat Cicero’s Psychic, as she got the last word on poor Cicero (after stabbing his severed tongue and hands), and married two of his enemies, being Clodius and Antony. Dark has no good interactions with Augustus’s Steel or Antony’s Poison though, despite her rebellion being suppressed by Augustus, and her life being suppressed (probably) by her husband Antony.

Vercingetorix + Grass (Appletun/Flapple): Vercingetorix is the wild card here of course, being the only Gaul in a sea of Romans, so consider him the barbarian seasoning to supplement the otherwise bland Roman casserole. Vercingetorix’s Grass is resisted by Caesar’s Dragon, as Vercingetorix was defeated by Caesar at Alesia. However, Appletun/Flapple’s additional Dragon type allows both Vercingetorix and Caesar to be effective against each other, symbolizing Vercingetorix as being a worthy opponent, and that the battle could have gone either way ultimately (Although Caesar’s Salamence’s Flying type swings the balance back in Caesar’s favour, as Flying beats Grass). Vercingetorix did not in fact marry into the Julio-Claudian Family tree (funny, that), so the Dragon-as-Imperium theme I set up two paragraphs ago immediately falls flat here, but that’s life. Appletun/Flapple could possibly represent the agrarian society of Gaul/France as well, in addition to being very funny to give Vercingetorix an apple dragon.

And that’s the lot! I’d like to come up with a list of secondary lords as well, but for now this list stands on its own I think. Please let me know if you disagree with any of my choices for historical figure, for associated type, for associated pokemon, or if you have your own thoughts about applying this system to another period of time! And thanks for reading!

[dykedteach]

Sell Rome to me. I saw you posting about it and now I’m really interested in watching but like...who are the best characters? Seasons? Ships?

Hi anon!

So it’s two seasons long, and it covers the period of Roman history between the start of the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey Magnus, to the end of the war between Gaius Octavius (Augustus) and Antony and Cleopatra, so between 49BC and 30BC. The first season is brilliant and well paced, but there are some issues with the second season feeling a bit rushed (they had outlined the stretch of history to cover five seasons, but because they filmed in Italy it was so ridiculously expensive that they couldn’t continue and had to squeeze four series worth of outlined plots into just season two. There’s a lot of time jumps, some more jarring than others, but it’s still good.)

It’s pretty typical HBO fare in terms of sex and violence, and in terms of some of the more problematic subject matter it’s fairly similar to Game of Thrones - I wouldn’t say it’s as bad though? I think if you managed to watch Thrones (or tbh even Black Sails) despite the scenes focusing on rape, incest, and torture, then I think you’d be able to handle how Rome deals with those things.

Back to the plot! One of the things I most love about it is how it balances the two worlds of Ancient Rome. Half the plot is focused on the real historical events and the nobles that took part in them, yes, but then the rest looks at the lives of ordinary soldiers and families, and it’s really interesting to see how these two very separate worlds have an effect on each other. There’s also a lot of stunning comparison scenes, things like funeral scenes blended together so you see the difference between how a self proclaimed god might be mourned by crowds, and how a common roman might be mourned by their family. Visually, it’s a stunning series as well. The locations they shoot on are gorgeous, and the cinematography is amazing too (a lot of the crew I’ve looked up seem to have been posted on the first few seasons of GoT after - for example, the man who directed Baelor where Ned Stark gets beheaded also did an episode here featuring a Triumph celebration, and it feels very very similar although entirely different moods).

Depending on how much you know about that period of Roman history, you’ll likely know a lot of the main characters. If you’re a fan of The Terror, Ciaran Hinds and Tobias Menzies play Caesar and Brutus, and they have some absolutely incredible scenes together (and apart). You have other prominent historical figures like Cleopatra, Mark Antony, and Augustus (as a teenager, Octavian), but they do also expand a lot upon the role that the female relatives of these figures had. Two main characters who don’t feature so much in the history but are given prominent time here are Atia, Octavian’s mother (and the lover of Antony, so I think she’s supposed to also be Fulvia) and the niece of Caesar, and Servilia, the mother of Brutus and lover of Caesar. They really are shown as the heads of their houses, and you get to see how they tweak things behind the scenes, whisper ideas into the ears of the men who change the world. I’ve seen people compare Atia in particular to Cersei Lannister, and I can definitely see the parallels.

In terms of the relationships, there’s a lot of intense romances throughout the show generally between men and women, if that’s your thing. Even though it has its issues, I ended up loving how they showed the passionate affair between Cleopatra and Antony, for example. There isn’t much canonical gay representation - one fleeting f/f relationship, and a handful of jokes about Antony. The two main soldiers that the show focuses on, Vorenus and Pullo, definitely have an intense relationship, very much ride or die, and very familial, but I think if you wanted to read it in a certain way there’s definitely a reading there. In the past few months, I’ve somehow gone in for Brutus/Antony, after seeing some incredible content for it which has made me think about their parallels and so on. There’s also a very non-deep element about it where I’ve chosen the two men in the series I’m most attracted to, but anyway.

I don’t know how well I’ve sold this to you, but it’s definitely worth a try! If you enjoy historical dramas, or HBO shows, it’s worth it. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s entertaining for sure. There’s a lot of very funny scenes, the dialogue feels very...real? but then also you get these huge iconic lines and speeches and it’s just perfect. I really didn’t expect it to be as funny as it was.

If you’re not too opposed to spoilers, I have a fair bit tagged on my blog under Rome (I will warn you, there’s a lot of repeat reblogs - it’s still a small fandom with a small output of content, but I’ve only been here since the start of the year and even I’ve seen it grow!). If you’re in the UK, it unfortunately doesn’t seem to be on any streaming services, but it’s on HBO if you’re in the US. (or, you know, search Rome HBO free stream online or whatever).

EDIT: look I fully intended to be impartial but I would also hate for someone to start watching Rome with no concept of how much of a gem of a character Cicero is, he very much snuck up on me as a favourite during my first watch, and only now during my second do I feel I fully appreciate this sly dramatic king