Core Planet Companions - The Firefly Companion's Guild2024-03-29T01:34:15Zhttp://fireflycompanions.ning.com/forum/topics/core-planet-companions?commentId=4588580%3AComment%3A42241&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noGood! *grins* It hasnt been e…tag:fireflycompanions.ning.com,2017-01-17:4588580:Comment:422342017-01-17T11:53:18.856ZVarahi Luschhttp://fireflycompanions.ning.com/profile/VarahiLusch
<p><br/>Good! *grins* It hasnt been easy establishing a Core World Guild as of course those who are fans of Firefly are often fans of people who only have the sky to their name. Laying a fertile platform for long term love and support is not really 'canon' per the scenes we see in the show but it IS the strength that Inara draws from when she is out in the Black on crazy adventures!</p>
<p><br/>Good! *grins* It hasnt been easy establishing a Core World Guild as of course those who are fans of Firefly are often fans of people who only have the sky to their name. Laying a fertile platform for long term love and support is not really 'canon' per the scenes we see in the show but it IS the strength that Inara draws from when she is out in the Black on crazy adventures!</p> I like to think that it would…tag:fireflycompanions.ning.com,2017-01-16:4588580:Comment:421302017-01-16T19:39:38.294ZJoseph Max Firecasterhttp://fireflycompanions.ning.com/profile/JosephMax
<p>I like to think that it would be much like what we've created in SL - our Guild is what a "Core World Guild" would be like.</p>
<p>In our RP with Araxes, I've tried to foster an image of the Guild as being more than just sex workers, even more than just "escorts" of any kind, non-sexual or otherwise. I took inspiration from, of all places, the Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome.</p>
<p>-------</p>
<p>From Wikipedia:</p>
<p>In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins (Latin: Vestālēs, singular…</p>
<p>I like to think that it would be much like what we've created in SL - our Guild is what a "Core World Guild" would be like.</p>
<p>In our RP with Araxes, I've tried to foster an image of the Guild as being more than just sex workers, even more than just "escorts" of any kind, non-sexual or otherwise. I took inspiration from, of all places, the Vestal Virgins of ancient Rome.</p>
<p>-------</p>
<p>From Wikipedia:</p>
<p>In ancient Rome, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins (Latin: Vestālēs, singular Vestālis [wɛsˈtaː.lɪs]) were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome. They cultivated the sacred fire that was not allowed to go out. The Vestals were freed of the usual social obligations to marry and bear children, and took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to the male colleges of priests.</p>
<p>The Vestals became a powerful and influential force in the Roman state. When Sulla included the young Julius Caesar in his proscriptions, the Vestals interceded on Caesar's behalf and gained him pardon. Augustus included the Vestals in all major dedications and ceremonies. They were held in awe, and even attributed certain magical powers.</p>
<p>Their tasks included the maintenance of the fire sacred to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth and home, collecting water from a sacred spring, preparation of food used in rituals and caring for sacred objects in the temple's sanctuary.[21] By maintaining Vesta's sacred fire, from which anyone could receive fire for household use, they functioned as "surrogate housekeepers", in a religious sense, for all of Rome. Their sacred fire was treated, in Imperial times, as the emperor's household fire.</p>
<p>The Vestals were put in charge of keeping safe the wills and testaments of various people such as Caesar and Mark Antony. In addition, the Vestals also guarded some sacred objects, including the Palladium, and made a special kind of flour called mola salsa which was sprinkled on all public offerings to a god.</p>
<p>The dignities accorded to the Vestals were significant.</p>
<p>- in an era when religion was rich in pageantry, the presence of the College of Vestal Virgins was required in numerous public ceremonies and wherever they went, they were transported in a carpentum, a covered two-wheeled carriage, preceded by a lictor, and had the right-of-way;<br/>- at public games and performances they had a reserved place of honour;<br/>- unlike most Roman women, they were not subject to the patria potestas and so were free to own property, make a will, and vote;<br/>- they gave evidence without the customary oath, their word being trusted without question;<br/>- they were, on account of their incorruptible character, entrusted with important wills and state documents, like public treaties;<br/>- their person was sacrosanct: death was the penalty for injuring their person and they had escorts to protect them from assault;<br/>- they could free condemned prisoners and slaves by touching them – if a person who was sentenced to death saw a Vestal on his way to the execution, he was automatically pardoned.<br/>- they participated in throwing the ritual straw figures called Argei into the Tiber on May 15.<br/>----------</p>
<p>So, take their inviolate public persona, their aura of almost magical glamor, the trust in their complete discretion and reliability, their place as important members of high society, their position as negotiators who are respected by all, and the keepers of their own "sacred flames" (something WE do in our Guild) - just substitute open and unashamed sexuality for the chastity of the Vestals, and substitute the Mother Ritual and our own customs for the ritual observances of ancient Rome, and you are not far off what I think the Guild would have been like in Core society.</p>