A/n: Inspired by multiple posts I've seen and brainstorming with friends.
W: Platonic Relationships, Just super cute, Mega Fluff, Kinda Angsty
Astartes are not as socialized as regular children so they tend to come off as very blunt and very unfeeling.
This is why i feel that many of them seek comfort silently, mainly through physical platonic contact.
From being an aspirant and sleeping in close piles with other aspirants since they're home sick, to being neophytes who are now working towards the dream of becoming a battle brother and doing the same, these overgrown children seek companionship in their battle brothers
Not only do the aspirants, being so young, many of them orphans are denied gentle gestures by their overseers, they make their own comfort by confiding in each other.
Cuddling, hugging, sharing food is typical at this early age as their all trying to cope.
Once they become neophytes these rituals change. Many of them are now a step closer to being battle brothers, many of them being further ahead in their enhancement surgeries.
Many of the Neophytes seek comfort in their companies Chaplain or other veteran battle brothers.
Neophytes will create these cuddle piles where they all share a room or a space and just sleep next to each other or on top of each other, holding onto one another as they rest as they feel like this helps them regulate not only their body temperature but also makes sleeping easier.
Oddly smart since this also means that in case anyone sneaks up on them they can all respond quickly to that threat.
Full fledge battle brothers do the same but a little differently.
They have their own chambers, they have their own spaces, this doesn't mean sleep overs arent a thing.
Having had more in depth training and psychological indoctrination done on them, they no longer understand the aching feeling that sometimes presents themselves when they are put into very domestic situations.
Eating in the mess hall? They like being together in the community but they don't understand why.
Speaking while doing basic maintenance on their equipment? They enjoy the deep conversations they have with their battle brothers but they don't understand why they do.
Boasting about receiving praise from their Primarch or chapter master? They're overjoyed to have performed their duty well but they also don't know why they would like to hear such affirmations more often.
Its small things that should be insignificant to them that confuse them as they are told time and time again that they no longer have a need for such baseline wants or needs.
Deep down, i think they know that no matter how enhanced they become they desire such small gestures of community and comfort and that is why they develop friendships amongst each other.
Some seek company in the apothecary and others with their chaplains or veteran brothers.
So. Cats leave their young with trusted members of the colony. Have you considered that chaplains always end up watching the litters of their brothers. Aka. Being in the middle of something and suddenly having several infants dropped in their arms and not being able to argue so they just chill with the babies
ALWAYS
Like. Not just in the context of Astartes being able to have litters just. Chaplains being rather mother hen-esc with the aspirants and neophytes. You can trust them to keep an eye on your little initiates because of their position.
The Memorial Service for General Gordon, 4 September 1898
Artist: Richard Caton Woodville (English, 1856-1927)
Date: 1899
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Royal Collection Trust, London, United Kingdom
Description
General Charles Gordon (1833-1885) was a fĂŞted British military leader, owing to his ill-fated defense of Khartoum against the army of Muhammad Ahmad al-Mahdi, which took place in the city in March 1884. Gordon had been sent to Khartoum by the British government to organize the evacuation of the defending Egyptian forces. The Egyptian forces eventually broke into the city, killing Gordon on 26th January 1885. The British relief force arrived two days later. The British public reacted to Gordon's death by blaming the government for incompetence and acclaiming 'Gordon of Khartoum' a martyred warrior-saint.
The Mahdi's army was finally defeated by an Anglo-Egyptian army, led by Lord Kitchener, at the Battle of Omdurman on 2nd September 1898. Two days later (Sunday, 4 September 1898) a memorial service was held at 10am on the banks of the Nile in front of the ruined Government House, in which Gordon's body made his last stand. The windows had been bricked up to stop rebel fire. On two flagstaffs on the wall facing the river the British and Egyptian flags were hoisted while the British National Anthem was played. The service was conducted by four chaplains attached to the British infantry: Presbyterian, Church of England, Wesleyan and Roman Catholic. Kitchener stands with his staff while the prayers are being read. Behind him stand the Headquarters staff and generals of divisions: on his left are representative detachments of the Egyptian army (the Egyptian flag is visible); on his right stand detachments of General Gatacre's division and a small corps of officers from the Royal Engineers, Gordon's own regiment.
On 5 September 1898 Queen Victoria sent a telegram to Kitchener saying 'Have heard with deepest interest of the hoisting of the flags & the Memorial Service where poor Gordon met his cruel fate'. After long discussions with Kitchener, Woodville was later commissioned by the Queen to paint the occasion
Chaplain Karen Diefendorf with another priest during a visit to a civic action team doing construction on the Micronesian island of Kosrae. Photo courtesy Diefendorf
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill requiring every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments after bragging that he âcan
Mark Sumner at Daily Kos:
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill requiring every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments after bragging that he âcanât wait to be suedâ for this outrageous assault on the Constitution.
But the legislation package does a lot more than force Christianity on children. For example, it also removes requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations and limits other vaccinations.
Not only is the overall package a hodgepodge of religious right thirst traps, but the part about the Ten Commandments includes plenty of outright strange.
[...]
6. SCHOOLS AREÂ PROHIBITEDÂ FROM EVEN ASKING ABOUT STUDENTSâ VACCINATION STATUSÂ
While the first five items were all crammed into the single bill about the Ten Commandments, Landry actually signed off on a package of items, including a prohibition on COVID-19 vaccine mandates. But that doesnât really matter, since another bill in the package entirely eliminates school officialsâ authority to check vaccination status.Â
To put a double underline under this prohibition, teachers arenât allowed to ask about vaccination status, but if they somehow become aware, theyâre not allowed to seat students in a way that might prevent the spread of disease in their classrooms. They also canât prevent unvaccinated kids from participating in any in- or out-of-school activity.
Because that would be âdiscrimination.â And you know how much Southern Republicans hate discrimination.
7. TEACHERSÂ CAN BE SUEDÂ FOR USING A STUDENTâS PREFERRED NAME OR PRONOUNS
The legislation requires that students only be assigned pronouns according to what is called their "immutable sex" as found on their birth certificates. They can also only be addressed by the name found on their birth certificates or by nicknames âderived from that name.â
Is Betsy okay for Elizabeth? How about Bess? Lizzie? Can you use Jack for John? Is Rory really an acceptable nickname for Lorelei?
Teachers better be on top of these things because the bill makes them personally liable, allowing them to be sued if they donât keep those nicknames and pronouns straight.
8. A âDONâT SAY GAYâ BILL WORSE THAN FLORIDAâS WAS ADDED ALMOST WITHOUT NOTICE
The âLet Kids Be Kidsâ act protects delicate ears from any mention of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sexual orientation all the way through grade 12. No teacher, coach, or other school employee is allowed to engage in any discussion on these topics. Theyâre also not allowed to reveal their own gender identity or sexual orientation.
While Louisianaâs infamous 10 Commandments in schools law (HB71) has generated lots of rightful criticism for inserting religion into public school classrooms, the bill was passed as part of a package of education items, including enacting an anti-LGBTQ+ Donât Say Gay or Trans law deceitfully called the âLet Kids Be Kidsâ Act to apply to all K-12 school classes (HB122), prohibiting the inquiry of a studentâs vaccination status or ways to safely contain the spread of diseases (HB908), and a forced misgendering law that students can only be assigned pronouns based on the gender assigned at birth and can only use their birth name or derivatives of it. (HB121)