SPQR Blues et cetera

Now, quick, get that baby swaddled and its arms and legs tightly bound so they'll grow straight! Unless you're one of these new-agey newfangled types who think kids should be able to "move freely" and "stay clean."

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historicula.livejournal.com

Felix and his little girl = ♥. Plus the shading on his face in that panel is just amazing.

Also, what/who are you referencing for the custom of paternal acceptance?

Edited Date: 2009-10-09 03:20 pm (UTC)

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Thanks :) Inking the shading will be an interesting challenge for me, but I think I'm getting better at that!

I'm not referencing one specific source for the paternal ritual, but for books on midwivery, birth, and children in the ancient world, I'd start first with anything written or edited by Beryl Rawson.

Our friends are in a time of fluctuating customs, an area of confluence of cultures, and the midwives are from a different tradition than Felix, but they're muddling through.

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kaetepixie.livejournal.com

Yaaay! Congratulations! ^_^

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Baby booties, sacrifices, and other gifts can be dropped off at the door; celebratory party with free food to follow soon :)

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*presents goat* Would this be enough?
Also... a baby girl! Felix's "proud father" face! XD I can't wait to see how the inked version comes up.

Nemo

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Goat! Tasty! I have it on good authority that newborn baby girls love roast goat.

It's lunchtime, so I'm trying to ink quickly and not make too many errors :)

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shadefell.livejournal.com

AW LOOK AT HIS LITTLE SMILE.

I don't know what it is about this comic that inspires so many all-caps comments from me.

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I APPRECIATE THE ALL CAPS! :D

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tozocomic.livejournal.com

Lovely tender expression on Felix's face. Wonderful stuff!

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Thank you. It has changed a bit with the inking (ah well), but this happens :)

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http://users.livejournal.com/_w_o_o_d_/

Aww... congrats, Felix !

Now of course it's too late to free the mother before the birth. Unless maybe the witness can be bribed with a second jar of fish-pickle ?

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Why, I don't know what you are talking about, of course they freed the mother before the birth, I am sure there are many witnesses who will sign the appropriate documents. Have I mentioned that there's a whole kitchen full of gourmet fish-pickle sauce available?

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http://users.livejournal.com/_w_o_o_d_/

The other thing I wonder about is how much Elisa know of all this business. She's the one who wanted to marry Felix so much... Does she know he's bringing some... family into the family ?

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The men of the family seem to have known about at least one of the children when they made the arrangement. But now there are two. Oops.

Elisa did say she felt it was her duty as part of Felix's loving family to welcome him back home, baggage and all. Though she probably didn't expect the baggage to be actual human beings.

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nezumiko.livejournal.com

Oh man, that's awesome! Congratulations. I hope Spendusa recovers quickly, poor thing. I love Felix's smile. It's just s charming. I love that apology from the midwife, and the way Felix's smile completely obviates it. Maybe daughters aren't as valuable as sons, but he certainly seems to love his little one.

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Maybe he's already anticipating how much he's going to enjoy scaring off her potential suitors with his army-issue sword and some well-placed kicks to the bottom. Fun times ahead :)

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rosefox

MAZEL TOV!

And now they'd better hurry their asses up to get Spendusa retroactively freed and claim it happened before the baby was born. Maybe two jars of fish-pickle sauce for that guy.

Edited Date: 2009-10-09 05:57 pm (UTC)

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Two jars of fish-pickle sauce, and access to some indoor plumbing, and he'll probably sign anything :)

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palusbuteo.livejournal.com

YAY!!!

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And Felix thought the war was long and difficult... it has nothing on this (how long did I keep this poor woman in distress...? SInce September?).

Edited Date: 2009-10-09 09:23 pm (UTC)

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texascarl.livejournal.com

Proud papa. Good work.

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I'm elated at Felix accepting his daughter, but I remembered something that I read and now I'm dreading about poor Spendusa's fate.

I hope that I'm wrong. I remembered about the family group found in the boat shelters in Herculaneum which included a slave girl sheltering a baby in her arms.

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I am holding out some hope against that, as Spendi is NOT anymore a slave girl! - as clearly witnessed by fine upstanding ~~well-paid-off with fish-pickle sauce~~ citizens....

I am also sad for the poor chained-up dog..... ;_;

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At first the archaeologists though that the girl was the baby's mother because of the way she was holding the baby. Later they concluded that girl was a slave because her bones showed that she suffered from malnourishment and had done some hard work too.

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I'll say at least that something will be happening down at the boat shelters soon.

But I should say no more.

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Methinks you have already said too much. I have my speculations regarding the fate of a few characters and now you have semi-confirmed the fate of others. The fate of a few of them are in the air. I wonder if you will make use of the centurion/soldier found in the beach at Herculaneum.

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If I'm thinking of the same person, that's the one found with a belt kit, right? As I recall, he had strong teeth, though had lost one or two through accidents.

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I think so. At least he was found with his kit and that's how they identified him as a soldier.

The story of the Herculaneum victims is more poignant than the ones from Pompey. These were the survivors and they were waiting for the ships that would save them. AFAIK all of them died in their sleep so fast that none suffered.

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I wouldn't say "sleep," but... the latest forensics studies are chilling. I shouldn't say "chilling" either. I should just stop there, and keep drawing :P

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Well, crap.... :(

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Could you perhaps point me at a reference, please? (Web-based, preferably?)

I have read about the slave girl with a baby who was determined to have been too young to have born that baby:

"It was determined they were not mother and child because the girl's skeleton indicated she was not old enough to have had children. Small ornaments were found near the baby indicating that the baby was from a wealthy family. The girl had evidence of poor teeth indicating she had had a bad diet (ergo the idea arose that she was a slave and not the sister to the baby). She had had two teeth removed about 1 or 2 weeks prior to the eruptions.".

I have also read of the mother of a young child who (mother) was 7 months pregnant (hence a finding of fetal bones)....

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Here's more:

"...Twelve skeletons were found huddled together for protection under an ancient brick arch: three men, four women and five children. A house key lay beside a young boy. A slave girl about fourteen years old cradled a baby in her arms. Dr. Bisel reconstructed her face from the contours of her skull. She was pretty, but it was not her baby. With the little baby's skeleton lay a bronze cupid pin and tiny bells: only the rich could afford such jewelry. The pretty slave girl died trying to protect the baby. Her skeleton revealed what a hard life slaves lived. A week or two before she died, she'd had two teeth removed (there were no anesthetics). She must still have been in great pain. Although she was well-nourished, her bones showed evidence she'd either been starved or very sick when she was a baby. And her young bones displayed the wear and tear of hard work, lifting weights that were too heavy for her growing skeleton."

(From "Big Bangs" By Beverley MacDonald & Andrew Weldon)

....Not to say that this offers any clues as what may happen in this story to poor Spendi and her precious baby, just that it is not a completely precise model for her as we know her... :/

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