I am a Pictish Province

[highlyeccentric]

Much to the bemusement of William, i have developed a model for understanding human interactions. He wonders why people are always at him to be more communicative and tell them stuff.

1. The hostage situation
This, i tell him, is because most people make friends via hostages. Just as one nobleman cemented his relationship with another by sending his son off to be fostered there, so people make friends. I tell you x amount of me-crap, you tell me x amount of you-crap, and lo! we are in a hostage situation. So that's why people find it really weird being friends with will- he does not give you hostages in return, but he keeps your hostages very nicely in his castle, he hasn't sent an army against you or told nasty tales about you at court.

2. The tribituary relationship
William: ah. I have all of your shit and you have none of mine.
me: exactly. You are Northumbria and I am a Pictish province. I am in a tribituary relationship with you.
William: *silence* right... i'm having that for an MSN name. 'Amy is tribituary to me. Do not know what to think of this.'


ed: actually, the interesting thing about that model is that the picts revolted and killed Ecgfrid of Northumbria. hmmm...

Comments

[lepsdavid.livejournal.com]

What about the common complaint against me... I give out information to everybody, everyone has hostages against but they are not very useful... As I have given them to most other people I know.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

*shrugs* i tell everything to almost everyone too. i didn't know it was a problem (except for me, when i realised i've told everyone something that i really didn't want everyone to know)

[lepsdavid.livejournal.com]

the question is of course... what did you tell everyone :P

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

That's... really well expressed.

Part of why I broke up with my last boyfriend was because of the hostage thing. Now I realise why I found it so frustrating.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

so... he didn't reciprocate hostages? or you didn't want to give them? or you don't like the hostage system at all?

it wasn't the reason william and i broke up, but it's one of the reasons i'm glad we did ;) i can deal with being tribituary to him as a friend, so long as he treats me nice. we all know that if he says jump i'm two foot in the air as i ask 'how high', so the concept is pretty accurate in the case of will and i.

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he didn't reciprocate hostages, and it was really annoying because I told him everything (sorry, that wasn't very clear in my other comment). It's not as much of a problem in a friendship but it's very frustrating in a coupley relationship!

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

:s ick ick. notfun.

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

Yup, my feelings exactly.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

ah, the joys of gmail ads... *rolls eyes*

'Ending a relationship: 10 mistakes you are probably making to scare away Mr Right! www.CatchHimAndKeepHim.com'

ew :S

[sea-of-tethys.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha! Google ads are hilarious. I once emailed my friend and used the word "fiction" in the message, and wrote "xxx" at the end of the message, and got ads for erotic writing lessons. Ew indeed.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

oh that takes the cake!

sometimes gmail seems to be reading your mind... and then making the nastiest and most inappropriate suggestions it can. and other times it's just plain random.

[niamh-sage.livejournal.com]

Nicely put! V. accurate too. My last partner didn't want to give me any hostages and didn't really want any of mine either. Not sure where you go with that! Obviously, we didn't go anywhere with it :P

[mrlachatte.livejournal.com]

I don't remember if I took any Wegener hostages to the New World with me.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

i very much doubt it. the list of people who get access to anything that goeth on in william's head is very very short.