#also the last image is only censored bc i had to post the images on instagram and i was too lazy to remove the censorship

[skeletorg]

save a horse!!! please they are so tired!!!!

[zzencat]

Weird (regarding final spouse reading)

tl;dr: felt a literal force sweeping through me when I was doing the reading

Guys, I know it’s been well over an hour since I posted it but I just can’t shake this feeling off. I’ve already asked another tarot reader if she’d ever had a similar experience and I’m still awaiting her answer

Pile 3 in the final spouse one actually flipped me over and roasted me like a pig over fire. Nah not actually but that’s my poor attempt at trying to lift the mood- imma ask for some extra protection just in case UNLESS they wanna reach out in a dream tonight

I literally felt a force go thru me- like fly thru me as I wrote the last few things for the last pile. It literally made me straighten up in my seat and my eyes widened in shock like “oo was I not supposed to touch that nerve?” Kind of guilty face.

No gust of wind could’ve gotten in my room and no fan was on

Suddenly, I was in an interrogation room with a pitifully looking boy, like looking beat up and tired- and the room was even clear until after I “regained” myself. I don’t wanna admit it but I’m lowkey scared.

The thing that flew thru was like a legless AND faceless grim reaper looking thing, almost like it was guarding the boy. It floated around him like a white fog… I don’t remember exactly what I was writing but I know it was near the end and that I wrote too much

It was the 3 of us amigos: the boy, Ghost friend, and me. I was in the lawyer seat and both of them were seated on the other side

It was only after I deleted something abt their “growing up” (notice how I can’t be using “adolescence” to describe it either—maybe think of it as lacking vocabulary…)

Shit…or maybe lacking vocabulary bc of poor education- orphanage?

Yk the image of a dark grey orphanage keeps showing up. I keep thinking about other circumstances (without trying to mention f*m*ly bc they seem super sensitive when hearing it so I’ll censor it) like the could’ve been’s or possible combinations but only that shows up

So a lot of emotional suppression it seems. It also seems to be less frightening when I address (this situation) with indirect words, bc perhaps the kid-them can’t put it together. Their comprehension at that age can’t be as well developed

I think you guys kind of get the point of where the hurt might be coming from for a certain pile. I feel very reluctant to addressing them directly. If they have memory loss, I’d prefer to say the pile at the top and then indirectly address them as I am writing this

There’s no way I’m trying to play around w spirits n stuff 😭

Maybe they’ll come back with a less ambushy kind of feel and I’ll talk to them. Maybe it was me for violating their privacy- IM SORRY PILE 3 spouse, I didn’t mean ill intent in any way. Maybe you feel that way.

I don’t know if I was talking to a reflection of this person’s younger self or their inner child (since it’s more gender inclusive)

Whoever this kid was, he could only nod, blink, and shake his head. His facial expression looked a combination of pitiful, wary, and asking for help. I can’t tell.

Thanks for listening guys, this…this has been probably one of the freakiest experiences of my life 🫠

[ezzoh]

tagged by @sauvechouris~

fave colour: ORANGE

currently reading: Notes from the Burning Age, by Claire North. post-apo power struggles and reflexions on mankind’s relationship to the world/mankind’s image of itself, with a focus on nature and history repeating itself and ancient, harmful, censored technologies being brought back by prideful, power-hungry people, so, YOU KNOW, not-at-all-familiar, not-at-all-painful stuff. i wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy on the spy thriller, but in retrospect it’s extremely her and of course i should have expected it.  i’m enjoying it quite a bit so far :D also protag’s relationship to the antag he spied on and betrayed is. yes. yep.

last song: i’ve mostly been listening to web radios bc that’s what i put on at work. this afternoon i randomly remembered The Bus Is Late by Satellite High, let’s go with that :D

last series: .... i finished what was available of 9-1-1 in my region, so i’ve. gotten started on 9-1-1 Lone Star.

last movie: uhhhhh shit i honestly don’t remember. maybe something action-y with my dad?? wait i think maybe a Jojo Rabbit rewatch a few weeks back. idk. movies kind of blend together after a while, too short and only rarely impactful.

currently working on: oh i have many WIPs, be it fics or games or crafts. i’m not working on any of them :D

∴

share 10 different favorite characters from ten different pieces of media in no particular order, then tag 10 people 🎥🎬📺

1. Kalas (Baten Kaitos) - it’s, y’know, my boy “but ezzoh wasn’t he an asshole the whole time” and he was so good at it!! “didn’t he betray everyone” yes, isn’t he interesting?? “wait. didn’t he betray you too. like personally. as a player.” i support him doing it. had never felt such shock and rage at a fictional character before, 10/10 would get fucked over again. worst thing to ever happen to me in a video game. my boy.

2. Viktor (Arcane) - look you can’t give me a passionate man running out of time turning to a forbidden technology/magic in desperation and turning his body into a mechanic abomination, with themes of class struggles, power imbalance, disability, bodily autonomy, mechanization, sacrifice and violence against the self, without expecting me to pounce on that like a famished tiger.

3. Lambdadelta (Umineko no naku koro ni) - a gleeful, helpful troll! pink!! gay!! gore- and vore-enthusiastic romance with her nemesis!! likes sweets!! sometimes she’ll say things so raw and relatable i can’t look at her directly!!

4. Leenik (Campaign: Star Wars) - “sometimes they’ll say something so raw and relatable i can’t look at them directly” round two. he’s a dysfunctional mess of a psychopath, has killed and will kill again, will feel bad but mostly about feeling good about it, is not sure he’s still a person, broke me a thousand times with casually thrown out, innocuously devastating little statements, is still a fucking sweetie with the cutest most ill-advised crush and the most adorable passion for romance novels, is a dork and a mother to his dog, knows he’s broken and messy and dangerous, knows he’s going rotten inside, has a heart so dark he corrupted a lightsaber and gave an imperial inquisitor the dokis. i have complicated feelings. i have one all-obliterating feeling. i’m scraped hollow and oversaturated. what was i before i understood myself through the lens of leenik

5. Lau Kin Ming (Infernal Affairs trilogy) - *lies down on the floor for a hundred years*

6. Eunie (Xenoblade Chronicles 3) - she’s my RUDEST CHILD

7. Kabrew (Dungeon Meshi) - i have a thing for smiling manipulative sociopaths. i have even more of a thing for characters who aren’t manipulative for nefarious reasons but just because they’re nd and that’s how they’ve learned to interact with the world, for good reasons like self-preservation or to protect someone/something or to achieve a goal that is objectively good or neutral. it’s his best asset!!! of course he’s going to use it!!! a pragmatic boy!!! very polite and efficient!!! absolutely cannot deal with the kind of monster-obsessed adhd idiot-who-won’t-explain-himself-ever that the protag unfortunately (for kabrew) happens to be, is terribly shrewd and clever and analytic but keeps tragically misunderstanding protag’s idiocy in the most hilarious way, is very bad at fighting monsters (his job.) but suspiciously skilled at fighting people (not even remotely in his job description :) ), later aquires another one-track-mind nd idiot to take care off and mellows out so fucking much guys it’s like he melted into mithrun’s gently reluctant fussy little wife. i am obsessed

8. Olivier (Trails in the Sky) - ✨SPARKLES✨DAZZLES YOU WITH FINE WINE, FLORID POETRY AND ROMANTIC MUSIC✨FLIRTS WITH YOU✨FLIRTS WITH YOUR DAD✨FLIRTS WITH YOUR SISTER✨FLIRTS WITH HIS BOYFRIEND✨FLIRTS WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND✨BRINGS A FLEET OF TANKS TO THREATEN YOUR BORDER✨PLOTS TO OVERTHROW THE CHANCELLOR✨FLIRTS WITH THE CHANCELLOR✨

9. Anakin (Star Wars) - i debated over maybe adding Maul to this list instead but. Maul would seethe with rage at the idea of being overlooked in favor of Anakin and so obviously that’s the correct choice. the Force wills it. anyway, ANAKIN. he’s so good. beloved by the narrative, beloved by magic, beloved by the universe. he’s SO MUCH and he’s carrying so much; expectations, responsibilities, power, restraints, taboos, fate, trauma; that when he inevitably comes crashing down he shakes the galaxy to its core and shifts the entire balance of the Force. also he’s a bitch and has a lovely snarky dynamic with just about everybody, i’m especially fond of his characterization in The Clone Wars :D

10. Xue Yang (Mo Dao Zu Shi) - .............. look i didn’t know how to end this list and i can’t choose between all my Pokémon faves and it’s better than Kavinsky even though it’s technically xianxia!Kavinsky, a little bit, but also it’s better trust me i’m a Kavinsky girl. there’s so much about him that is pressing all my buttons. he’s so terrible and so full of regrets but absolutely unapologetic and he’s tragic and he never knew what he had until he broke it but also he never really had it because he came into it already broken and bloodied himself and he did so, so much wrong and he hated and he loved so, so hard and for a while he had something that was almost like happiness but was also built on his lies and crimes and he destroyed it like a child playing and he fought so hard and so desperately to get it back, but he never did, and what little lingered of his broken dream had never been his to save, and he met a miserable end and he was never understood, or loved, or known. i need a minute.

(bonus round: 11. Shigeru (Pokémon anime) - yeah i lied actually i know who to choose it’s this bitch. i love him and so should you thanks for coming to my TED talk)

∴

aannnnddd i don’t really know who i could tag, so?? just grab the meme and go wild, my children

[amethystcria]

AFTER 291 - Revisiting Twice: Was Dabi listening the whole time?

Lmao I’m so mad I didn’t post this before the leaks because wow...I was right. 

Had to re-edit some parts here but here are the evidences I believed Hori left to implied that Dabi was in fact using Twice. Whether his death was plan or not is still to be decided but... Twice was bait.

I am of the unpopular opinion that both Dabi and Hawks are responsible for Twice’s death.

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR 291

(FYI: This is rather long bc I haven’t done theories in awhile so I don’t know when to shut up and overdramatic as Dabi sometimes lol.)

It could be just a plot hole Horikoshi didn’t realize he left but it’s been simmering in my mind since all the foreshadowing of Dabi’s upcoming broadcast. And with Dabi admitting how he did think of killing Shoto, his brother, for his goals... This theory doesn’t seem so crazy now. 

Now that we know of the elaborate scheme Dabi has been planning for many years (and good for him!) coming to fruition at last! I have to wonder what role was Twice gonna have in his plan? Was Hawks apart of it too? Had they been playing their part this whole time? (Edit: With the leaks 291 the answer is yes.)

When the mansion got invaded it was so strange to me that while everyone was heading to battleground, Dabi, turned the other way. He was heading toward Twice. Why? How? We all knew that when the raid started Skeptic put the blame on Twice + Hawks and tried to find them. He couldn’t because Hawks had removed the mini cams by then. So how did Dabi know where Twice was located and that he was being targeted?

The only way Dabi would know is if he had been keeping tabs on Twice and Hawks. Becoming familiar enough with their habits and thinking to make the conclusion that Hawks would trap Twice in that specific room. We already know Dabi never trusted Hawks and yet he allowed him to get close to Twice. Why? Especially if he could guess that Twice had become Hawks intended target in his double agent agenda. Unless this is what he wanted...

Which is already pretty bad using an ally like this. If Dabi didn’t want Hawks to get Twice he would have mention it beforehand. He had to have wanted this. But hey let’s give Dabi the benefit of the doubt that maybe he allow this because he thought he had high possibility of avoiding the worst outcome: Twice’s death

But then that would mean Dabi was willing to risk Twice’s life in luring Hawks which is what I think he did. 

But did he really?

(I’ll be using the official viz’s translation for these lines quotes but the japanese raws to show there’s no differentiation between word usage in the images itself.)

Chapter 265 Dabi: Looks like sentiment tripped you up after all, hero! Hawks: I could never allow mere sentiment to trip me up.

We know that when Dabi finally reached Twice’s location that he did not immediately come to his rescue. He waited for an opening and him throwing Hawks’s words back at him then always seem like an indication of his arrival time.

However in the following chapter, 266: Happy Life, Dabi retorts one of Hawks’ line again. It’s easy to miss since it’s only one word this time and not a whole sentence. I didn’t catch it until several rereads later.

Dabi: He was just 'unlucky,' huh? Maybe by your screwed-up standards

Hawks: You've just been unlucky, but you can make a fresh start once you pay for your crimes.

We can see that Dabi is quoting a phrase in his thoughts. He is not saying this. And ordinarily this would be fine except when Hawks said this line to Twice, Dabi was nowhere near to hear this. We see at the end of chapter 264 that Dabi is still running up the stairs...

Unless Hawks was yelling this line which I doubt. Or the time passage between these two panels are different somehow, again: press doubt, Dabi should have not been able to hear this line but he did. How? Either this is an overlook on Horikoshi’s part or Dabi somehow had bugged the room. Pretty wild of a guess especially when Hawks would have taken out any cameras I think...but if Dabi had been overhearing their conversation this whole time then it make sense why he had certain trail of thought passed his mind in this panel.

Panel Above Dabi: Twice. This isn't your fault. As always... scummy heroes are to blame.

Twice was despairing in this chapter blaming himself for once again falling for a trap. I always thought it was very nakama-like that Dabi could SOMEHOW sense Twice’s plead and reply to his soul. “This isn’t your fault” is the closest to an apologize from Dabi, because really isn’t his fault. It’s Dabi’s. And god if he had been listening this whole damn time no wonder he thought this when he did. Of course he could’ve also just heard Twice’s agony scream (sfx seen on the top)...

I could go on longer about how Dabi faked shock on Hawks escaping his hold, how his little show of comradery with Twice in combating Hawks was an act in itself. And his reaction toward Twice’s death, the word choice usages, the tone of it all was quite theatrical. Good show, Dabi!! 

It had to have been if it was being recorded. Gotta play the good ally, right?

I always did wonder why there was such a focus on his hand on these panels in the infamous black speech bubble chapter. It’s not like the other panels where the focus is there because of his burns. He had something in his grasp to hide.

Chapter 291 Spoiler:

It was one of Skeptic’s cameras. 

That makes me wonder something though. Was this when he cut off the film? And if so, why? If he knew Skeptic was gonna see it and the world why end the recording there after torturing Hawks? Y’know aside from obviously saying he doesn’t care about the league, etc.

Are we really so sure that this bubble had his name? Or could there be something else? There’s a good chance this censor wasn't just a tease but indication of when the camera stop for a moment.

I gotta say if Dabi’s pre recording still going on then I fear for his next card drawn. What are the chances he recorded some students on the battlefield as well? Students who shouldn’t be there in the first place whose parents have no clue their child/ren are a participant of war. As far as they know they’re suppose to be on a field trip for their work study program. Oh man are hero society gonna have a field day if that’s reveal~

One thing for sure though. Twice was bait. Whether it went according to Dabi’s original plan can be up for debate(as in his death being the goal...since 291 SPOILER: Dabi’s pre-recording voice only mention Hawks killing Jeanist, not Twice) but Dabi was satisfied with the end result either way. R.I.P. TWICE You were such a swell guy but too easy to use. It happens. You had a good life.

[heartate-aa]

OK. LAST POST. I SWEAR TO GOD LMAO. i need to stop looking at this doc bc im gonna keep. talking. but. raphael mentioning the may incident with shit out of context and just completely fucking lying about it like. bro.

and then this para referencing the post i made on my lux blog which ??? for some reason?????? pissed them off enough to spam me with 40+ messages and i only capped the last bit of it bc i actually didnt read anything past what i had bc i was so anxious that i just blocked them and closed the chat lol

this set me off and led to me leaving her with a hardline message that we could never be friends. this is because she was playing victim on twitter, saying she needed me in my dms, and saying she was happy to be rid of me publicly, while we were still friends. not to mention, her private twitter was head to toe with her gushing about someone else. my problem was that there was no way to know the truth with her. was she sorry for how she treated me, was she my victim, was she happy to be rid of me, were we going forward on good terms? i felt that it’d be easy for her to manipulate me into forgiving her for the 40th time and staying with her. i also felt that there’s no answer she could’ve gave me that would’ve given me closure.

and this as well like. you’re literally a liar. i dont remember saying that i was happy to be rid of you like ??????????? what????? i literally spent weeks gushing over like, my outlook on life and my circumstances in life getting better and you literally told me that you blocked me because “i didn’t want to hear about how good your life was” and i have screenshots of this btw but i need to edit them to censor people’s names out but that’s it but i have shown people these images and they WILL be able to back me on saying that they are unchanged from before. you are literally. a liar. and the “someone else” i was??? gushing about??????? dude like HELLO im allowed to fucking be happy that i had a friend i really clicked with and was really happy to talk to. YOU LITERALLY. DID THE SAME EXACT THING TO MY FACE ON TWITTER AND IN MY DISCORD DMS. you literally ALWAYS assume that im romantically interested in people despite me telling you NO im not.

you literally got pissed off at me because i befriended instalok and you accused me of trying to date chris. when i got modded for karasmai, you accused me of trying to date him. after you doing that, i literally distanced myself from these people because it made you unhappy. you’re so fucked up lmao. you have always monitored who i spoke to and tried to control my relationships out of your own insecurity and i ALWAYS tried to reassure you and comfort you. i have literally never had feelings for anyone else nor did i entertain that thought. even now i still for some reason have love left for you and i’m not going to be ready to move on for a long long long time, nor will i be able to trust anyone or their intentions. i’m more aroace than anything anyways and i have always told you that you were always my one exception and that’s still true. i loved you so much. i never cared about dating until you and i dont care now. i am going to pull your stupid fucking doc to shreds raphael because it’s so full of shit.

EDIT: RAPHAEL SAYING THAT I THREATENED TO USE CAPS TO DRAG THEM BEFORE “IF THEY LEFT ME” IS A BLATANT FUCKING LIE LMFAO I SWEAR TO GOD IM GONNA DIG THIS SHIT OUT OF THE FESTERING CRACKS. THIS IS SUCH A LIE.

[saint-patrice]

“Tbh I would like to have the 34 *other* Bergy pics on your shortlist, complete with commentary lolol. And then (if you’re still waiting that is) any other Marchy pics with commentary? xD xD” 

here are some more of my favourite marchy pics, complete with my bizarre personal commentary, for anon! the 34 bergy pics can be found here also!

Note: a few people have said they like these posts, so i’m up for taking people’s requests if there’s a particular player they’d like to see! inbox is always open (and anon is on) so just drop me your request and i’ll get working on it :)

okay so this is some absolutely premium cute marchy!! the smile that manages to be completely self-confident yet in no way cocky? the polite little wave as he surveys his audience who, if i recall correctly, were booing him heavily?? oh i do love you mr rat. marchy is fantastic and i have so much respect for the way he deals with his reputation across the league and the excessive amount of shit he gets.he knows what people think of him yet doesn’t seem to let it get to him. i have so much love for him.

KATRINA IS LEGENDARY. before moving on to the part of the image that gave me whiplash when i first saw it, we’re back to talking about brad’s smile. i think i said it in my last post but he really is one of those people who smiles with their whole face - even if you just saw his eyes in this photo you can immediately tell that he’s got that little grin on his face and that’s adorable tbh. now onto the d*lf mug (censored bc i fear the dodgy underground porn blogs these days)… i don’t even know where to start. i feel like he very proudly bought it for himself. and it’s like the only mug he ever wants to drink out of. just my take. i also think the longer hair really suits marchy ngl

ahhh the boys and their dirtbag christmas suits 💛 highlights of this image are the suit jacket that is definitely just one size too small for this absolute man rocket, and the pants with “FRAGILE” plastered all over them - very relatable if not at all festive.

gay rights are stored in the rat!!! i’m glad marchy has been pretty open about his support of LGBT stuff, particularly within hockey. also i feel like some of the stuff he’s said in interviews or social media (esp re: lickgate) manages, even if not intentionally, to be quite diminutive towards implicit homophobia or ‘toxic masculinity’ within hockey. okay maybe that that was poorly expressed but basically he just doesn’t give a shit and appears very open and accepting and i think that’s super nice. this picture also makes for a good reaction image when someone says something dumb

short kings love.jpeg !! a wonderful example of the love that brad shows his teammates on a regular basis, despite his constant chirping. i have no real opinions on torey krug (no h8, i just don’t think i’ve seen that much of him off ice so idk) but him and marchy are quite the duo tbh, i live for their back and forths on twitter - more on that later - and they seem to love each other an awful lot, it’s v cute :^)

that’s my pest™. honestly i think lickgate is one of the best scandals in recent hockey history. when looking for a good image of this is saw an article where some dipshit reporter was outraged about it and was like “how would you feel if someone just came up and liked you?” i mean what if someone just came up and started punching you or hip-checked you into the wall????? hockey is a nasty game a lot of the time, and instead of giving people concussions or broken bones (not that he hasn’t in the past ik…) marchy managed to make opposing teams just as angry, if not moreso, just by licking players. i think it’s fucking hilarious. and most of them took it well in hindsight anyway - i think it was komarov who said he kinda liked it lmaoooooo. peak bradley kevin antics if you  ask me

every pic from the china trip has such a special place in my heart. this is just an all-round adorable photo and brad is looking gorgeous in the sunlight and his backwards cap

brad waving the towel in surrender is just about the funniest thing i’ve ever seen someone do in the penalty box… i can’t believe they gave him a 10 minute misconduct for it, something i think they’d wouldn’t have done if it had have been someone else. at least someone in this league has a goddamn sense of humour. the penalty minutes stat in the corner just makes this even better

brad, once again, showing us how we should deal with people talking shit about us - just get on board with it. i love how much he’s just embraced his massive nose and his height and his general reputation. idk if it’s really deliberate but i think it’s such a good message to send, and it makes for some pretty funny stuff too.

brad single-handedly keeps nhl refs in a job. in my bruins drinking game™ you have to take a shot every time the ref has to physically restrain marchy (2 if it’s because he was going to get revenge or fend for bergy) and you could get fucked off that alone during some games. it was nice to see him not actually get suspended this year, but i will always love that he’s such a physical player and quite the pest on the ice :))

me: *slaps helmet of brad marchand* this bad boy can fit so much personality.

really though, can you believe he’s managed to squeeze more charisma into only 5 feet and 9 inches than 85% of the league combined… very cute picture, and always lovely to see him by bergy’s side on the ice where he belongs

oh my goddddddd how fucking cute is this though!!!! the hat! the dad energy those jeans and the boots give off!!! his face!! his little daughter!!!!! i can’t take it, my heart is going to burst.

(gif via @kureally) this is also just so cute, i need a minute. brad has some very powerful eyebrows and this gif displays them wonderfully. this section of behind the b was also pretty sweet all round, and i agree with pasta that the hair is looking pretty first class

(gif via @murlin09) i am not like into marchy (no tea no shade if u are though), but this gif… whew. i’ll let you come to your own conclusions on this one, gang

i was not lying when i said more on the brad-torey social media antics earlier. there are some truly iconic chirps (the zamboni one is lethal), but this self-roast just kills me every time. i never once thought i’d read a tweet from the official brad marchand twitter account that opened with “hey shorty” but here we are. “my nose wouldn’t fit” i astral projected the first time i read that. and if you’re wondering what torey said to prompt this, it was simply “hey marchy”. it doesn’t take much for brad to light on you, huh? we better watch our backs

definitely a favourite marcheron pic right here - the pucks and paddles (i still think that’s a questionable name but maybe that’s a me issue) content is always top notch. if you can find the video, it’s even better, but this picture captures the general energy of the video perfectly. the only thing missing is that brad’s feet aren’t actually on the floor because the height difference is so pronounced that bergy has to lift him. beautiful

return of the cute brad smile!! a cute yet mischievous little grin, i can only assume he’s restraining himself from laughing at m*tthews fivehead (although who is he to talk with that schnozz. at least he rocks it tbf 👃🏻). not sure blue is really his colour but he’s going for it anyway. that’s my all star!

it’s been days since this photo first surfaced and i haven’t stopped palpitating. the cutest photo ever, they all look so happy and i love that!!! also how are their wives so beautiful….!? oh my every pixel of this image is just stunning

i know i included this in my last bergy list but if they can name new york twice i think i can put this on 2 lists, because lord knows it’s even more iconic. i feel like this is a good metaphor for brad marchand: getting up to no good, although still relatively harmless, all the while supported by the considerably more sensible, yet still entertaining, patrice bergeron. additionally, another excellent display of the oft-overlooked fact that this man is built like a motherfucking tank. holy shit

i wish i could see these boys in suits without my brain immediately trying to think of some sort of au. anyway, i really like this look on brad (unpopular opinion - i love his loud checkered suits as a concept but i don’t think they look good). although he has dark hair, strong eyebrows, and dark facial hai, the all black actually looks really good on him. coffee in hand really adding to the look too - well done, brad “fashionista” marchand.

ahhhhh i love nothing more than family man marchy 💛 his daughter is adorable - those tiny jerseys kill me - and i love that his son is wearing the all-star jersey omg how cute (he is definitely going to end up taller than brad lmao)

sometimes i forget that brad is short and then i see photos like this (brandon is 6′5 for reference)…amazing. i relate to the lady on the left on a spiritual level. brad’s face is a mood and a half. his feet are half a foot of the ice at least. i adore this photo.

(gif via @brandoncarlo) absolutely one of my fav things about watching bruins games is how brad and patrice will always find each other during a celly - nothing beats the 100 hug. this is also just a very satisfying skating gif that i love.

last but very very very far from least is this. there is literally no need for me to make any comment on this so i’m just going to leave it and go. bradley kevin marchand you are iconic and ily

ayyy this was super fun to do, thank you for requesting it anon, i hope you like!! again, i’m absolutely up for taking requests for more of these lists so hmu if you have ideas :) 

[une-nuit-pour-se-souvenir]

ICONOGRAPHY OF DEMANDING TANGERINE (1)

Hello.

This post is somewhat of a response to this conversation discussing Danielle Terroris and Hitler imagery through Nuremberg / Triumph des Willens at the Mereen pyramid. While I’m not an expert in any of the subjects mentioned (architecture, film making, history), I was exposed to WW2 while growing up (my father was a part-time historian) as well as through a parallel interest (aviation).

I want to make this very clear, my objective isn’t to offend anyone. However, since this post will discuss Hitler (and his cohorts) as well as Nazi Germany, it will upset people in general as that’s the nature of tackling such a beast. I tried to censor the imagery posted, so more sensible people can actually finish this without a meltdown, but there’s so much it can be done.

I tried to be neutral and succinct, but I have a tendency to rant and tangent, as well as to soapbox, so this got lengthy. I also warn everyone that english isn’t my first language and I’m often misunderstood for using words that have negative connotations unintentionally (the last time it happened was with “abortion”). Again, I don’t intend offend anyone. If you feel offended, I’m sorry.

This is the first of a series of posts about such a subject, as this isn’t the first time nor is it the last time that ASOIAF / GoT stuff which is related to Danielle / House Terroris was lifted almost in its entirety from Hitler / Nazi stuff. This isn’t about the Mereen pyramid, because I lost that post (unfortunately the lights went out and I have to redo it), which is just as bad as this one (or worse, IDK - I’m not very good at gauging that kind of thing).

ETA: 04/01/2019: I’ve rewritten this, hoping to be clearer.

S06E06 - Blood of my Blood

This is the episode where Bran has his second prophetic vision, divided into three sections. The first seems like a “summary” of some sort. The second is mostly a “detailed” flashback to Robert’s Rebellion endgame (FIRE) regarding Aerys (pyromancers decanting wildfire, Aerys screaming “burn them all”, Jaime killing Aerys and the pyromancers (and sitting on the throne), Ned at the Tower of Joy asking for Lyanna and then his bloody hands while being with her proper. The third is mostly about the Night King / Others - White Walkers / Wights (ICE).

In the very first section, there is a segment of two images which is repeated four times: a dragon flying through the sky and a dragon flying over King’s Landing (hereby called B). It’s worth noting that the second segment, of a dragon flying over King’s Landing, had already been repeated in Bran’s first vision and that D&D have commented that this is one of the most important images of the whole show.

These (B) segments are always followed by someone from House Terroris (affiliated with dragons), either Aerys screaming “burn them all” (hereby called C1) or Danielle with Drogon on her shoulder (hereby called C2). By presenting (B+C) together, this “three dragon segments” visually associates Aerys and Danielle as “more of the same”, but they also share similar themes: “threat by fire power” + “loyalty / obedience subjugation. (C1) Aerys is demanding his pyromancers to burn everyone with wildfire, while (C2) is Danielle birthing the dragons (deadly and violent fire affiliated animals) while her khalasar kneel in the background.

Moreover, ( C) is always followed by a specific Night King segment, (C1) Aerys is followed by Night King giving a “shrug” upwards and an Other - White Walker / Wight (hereby called D1), while (C2) Danielle is followed by Night King converting Craster’s son into an Other - White Walker (hereby called D2). Once again, by presenting (BC+D) together, this visually associates them as “more of the same” as well as portray those affiliated with fire and ice as “more of the same”, but they also share similar themes as above: “threat by [fire / ice] power” + “loyalty / obedience subjugation”. (C1) the pyromancers follow Aerys and (C2) Dothraki / Dragons follow Danielle, while (D1-D2) Others - White Walkers / Wights all follow the Night King). This invokes the name of the (book) series as well as the destructive elemental forces of ice and fire: The Song of Ice and Fire (a poem about the end of the world being delivered by either).

A similar argument can be made for the segment that preceds (B), as (BC1D1) Aerys is preceded by (A1) the pyromancers and the wildfire and (BC2D2) Danielle is preceded by (A2) Cat at the Red Wedding (screaming after losing her child Robb). Once again, the very nature of presenting (A+BC+D) together, visually associates them as “more of the same”, but they also share similar imagery and themes as above: (A) “madness” of (BC) leading to (D) “death / blood sacrifice”, because “only death can pay for life”. (A1) Aerys was obsessed with wildfire and the pinnacle of his madness was his wish to burn King’s Landing; (D1) is the (ice) embodiment of “death” + “blood sacrifice” - that being the natural (fire counterpart) conclusion if the wildfire had gone off > King’s Landing as a wasteland. (A2) Danielle was obsessed with the dragon eggs and the pinnacle of her “madness” is when she loses her son and the wish to hatch the eggs in Drogo’s funeral pyre (in the words, the word madness is specifically used for this moment); (D2) is the (ice) embodiment of death as well as blood sacrifice (conversion of Craster’s son into Other / White Walker) - that being the (fire counterpart) conclusion of Danielle birthing the dragons (death of Rhaego / Drogo / Mirri Maz Duur to pay for the life of each dragon).

Below is a decomposition frame by frame of this first section from a good quality video on youtube (there is at least one frame missing, but that’s youtube encoding’s fault, and I’m sure the point comes across obvious, regardless). I’ve added tags and rewrote the section above, in what I wish is a more comprehensible way (probably not).

The (BC2D2) Danielle segment is also repeated in the second section twice, though (A2) Red Wedding does not preced it and as such, it doesn’t follow the A2BC2D2 pattern. The Red Wedding does show up twice, but the scene is different since it’s Robb proper dying instead (the Red Wedding is important in these trippy visions about the struggle between Ice and Fire, because in the books Danielle sees it in her House of Undying visions, even though that has nothing to do with her whatsoever). Again, this is a subject for another post, so let’s ignore that and the rest of the “unrelated” stuff. However, (BC2D2) Danielle segment is further associated with both Aerys and "fire threat” (specifically with wildfire).

The first (BC2D2) Danielle segment is preceded first by “passage of time” and followed by a long “flashback” Robert’s Rebellion endgame, most of it about the Aerys and Jaime, as well as the thwarted Wildfire Plot. It begins with pyromancers decanting wildfire, mad king Aerys screaming “burn them all”, wildfire catching (which never happened in the past), the pyromancers putting the wildfire in the shelves, Jaime drawing his sword, Ned at the Tower of Joy, Jaime killing Aerys, Robb at the Red Wedding, Jaime killing Aerys some more (how I understand him). There’s a succession of “unrelated” segments, then we have Jaime sitting on the Iron Throne, wildfire catching once again (further than before), followed by the second (BC2D2) Danielle segment, Jaime killing the pyromancers, two more “unrelated” segments, Jaime drawing his sword against Aerys again, and wildfire catching again (even further than before).

This may seem like I’m rambling, but it’s not. In (very long) summary, these are the main things to keep in mind: the imagery of a dragon flying through the air and casting it’s shadow over King’s Landing (B - i enclose a shitty gif of it), Aerys / Danielle having “threat by fire power” + “loyalty / obedience subjugation” (C1 // C2), the “madness” of Aerys / Danielle leading to “death / blood sacrifice” (A+BC+D). There are a few secondary things to keep in mind for (C2) Danielle birthing the dragons in specific: Danielle with the black dragon over her shoulder as well as the colour composition of the scene (white / red / black), the name of this episode which is “Blood of my Blood” and Danielle with a powerful symbol over her shoulder juxtaposed with Dothraki’s submission towards her (both because of the power of this symbol as well as because she’s seen as a special one due to having birthed the dragons).

This is also the same episode where Danielle gives a speech to the Dothraki to rally them up to invade Westeros. This episode (as well as the former) was directed by Jack Bender, a reputed director who has done several heavy symbolical shows such as the Sopranos, Alias, Lost (he has... *ehem*... background in this type of stuff). He also commented on this scene in specific, likening Danielle to Hitler at Nuremberg. "At the end of the scene, you should be somewhat roused by her and a little horrified. She's not Hitler at Nuremberg, but she's got the power." The video of this scene can be seen here.

Danielle is riding with Daario and her newly acquired khalasar of 100,000, discussing the logistics of hauling their arses to Westeros. At the end of the conversation, Daario asks what they’ll do after arriving in Westeros and Danielle says that she takes what is hers, but Daario is sceptical and tells her that she wasn’t born to sit on the iron chair but to be a conqueror. Danielle ponders this, rides off in her silver and then rides on Drogon, to rally her khalasar to invade Westeros. She models her speech to match a “conqueror” more than a “leader”, as she presents her plans in a way that is fitting with the Dothraki style of life: pillaging and plundering, as well as destruction and violence. She’s met with the Dothraki’s approval.

I’ve attached the imagery used on this first portion below, as well as some observations, and made a gif about the dragon’s shadow (which I link instead of display here because of how big it is). The soundtrack for this segment, is the theme of House Terroris (or a variation of it, I can’t tell because I don’t hear that wretched thing), a theme which is both aggressive and powerful.

Danielle riding a dragon and then making her speech on top of it, is both a powerful firepower symbol, since the dragons are the “nuclear deterrent” capable of unfathomable destruction (this is the power that Bender refers to), as well as a representation of her being a messianic figure, since she (and others) believe that she is a special one due to hatching the dragons (notice that these are the same themes as (C2) Danielle with a dragon over her shoulder - it has come full circle, it’s now Danielle over the dragon’s shoulder). The contents of Danielle’s speech are rather disturbing as well and come in tandem with the themes before. She’s appealing to destruction and violence while on top of a powerful firepower symbol, based on the divine birth-right of being the pretender to the Iron Throne as the last member of House Terroris as well as the Stallion that Mounts the World from Dothraki prophecy (which she indirectly panders to when she mentions Drogo’s promise, she switches Rhaego with herself as she believes she’s the Stallion that Mounts the World). Her speech is framed by all sorts of crazy faces and screaming, which while “normal” in war rally speeches to instil aggression and raise morale, it’s also evocative of her father’s madness (notice that these are the same themes of (C1) Aerys in his madness demanding the pyromancers to burn everyone).

Furthermore, Danielle begins by declaring that all the Dothraki as her blood riders, which is a specific dothraki that has pledged their life in the service of their khal. The episode title, “Blood of my Blood” is the dothraki saying that illustrates this, as the blood rider’s blood is considered to be the khal’s own blood. She proceeds by telling the Dothraki that she won’t ask of them more than any other khal has asked their blood riders before (making the distinction between leader and subordinates clear), then explains that she wants to reclaim Westeros and asks if they will support her on this. In other words, Danielle is asking for the Dothraki to swear to her their unquestionable loyalty and total obedience from that point forward. In summary, this is Danielle appealing for unity, loyalty and obedience under her rule through their conjoined blood, FOREVER. When she’s finished, the khalasar roar their approval and raise their hands in salute towards her.

I’ve attached the imagery used on this second portion below, as well as some observations. The shooting angles that are used for this scene are meant to highlight the dothraki as an endless united yet faceless group (none of them are named characters - this is true for the Dothraki in general, especially as the plot advances) and Danielle as their undisputable leader (she’s focused alone or bigger / higher than them).

Triumph of the Will

Triumph of the Will is a nazi propaganda film directed by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the 1934 nazi party congress that took place in Nuremberg and lasted for four days. It was neither the first political propaganda film, as those had been rolling since the previous century (an infamous example), nor was it particularly ground-breaking, as the filmmaking techniques used for it were not new either. However, Riefenstahl had talent in evocative imagery and the budget for this movie was HUGE (as it was sponsored by the government), which meant that everything was “cranked up to eleven”.

Such Riefenstahl could use her talent for symbolism as well as all the cinematic tricks of the time, all to push the Nazi political agenda and portray it exactly the way they wanted to. She did so in such an effective way, that it gained several movie awards (even in the United States). it’s considered the most effective propaganda piece ever made, not only because it has influenced many (mostly fictional) works afterwards but also because everyone today still thinks that this movie portrays Hitler / Nazi Germany accurately (think about it, a propaganda movie made by the Nazi, with the objective of passing off their ideal image of who they are, is accepted to accurately portray who they were... to this day).

As one original poster said, every single filmmaker in existence as well as every historian has seen this movie and has studied it, so they know everything that goes onto it, techniques used and themes explored. There’s actually much more than the things I’ll talk about (and I don’t even know them all), but they are useless for a framing in this context (for example, it contains stuff of identification, religion proper, prosperity, etc). If you’d like to watch this movie, there’s a link on wikipedia (just checked).

Triumph of the Will opens with a prologue, the only commentary of the film (besides a few name cards at some point), as the rest is framed through real footage alone (albeit artistically done) and sometimes some music (used in a revolutionary way in this movie, especially to draw and pander to nationalism). It then begins with flying through the clouds, until it finally reveals the bucolic city of Nuremberg. The cruciform shadow of Hitler's plane is visible as it passes over the buildings and those below. Upon arriving at the Nuremberg airport, Hitler and other Nazi leaders emerge from his plane to thunderous applause and a cheering crowd.

The objective of this airplane segment is to portray Hitler as a messiah sent by the gods, descending on the German people to grace them with salvation. Moreover, the focus on aircraft technology (propeller spinning and flight instruments, etc) as well as endless military parades, have the objective of framing the regime with powerful firepower symbolism. As a side-note, the nazi party hymn plays through this airplane segment. This hymn was composed with the intention of instilling aggression as well as raising morale and it’s about a man who was killed during the bad times (they were really bad times) before the nazi came to power, such it was meant as a musical representation of some sort of religious sacrificial myth.

I’ve attached the imagery used on this second portion below, as well as some observations. I believe the similarities of these will speak for themselves, in comparison to it’s equivalent above.

SIDE NOTE: I also enclose a gif with the airplane + shadow part because of how bizarre the similarity is (remember this and this, I wish I knew how to put them side by side) as well as the theatrical posters for this movie and it’s spiritual ancestor, Victory of Faith (also filmed by Riefenstahl, directed practically the same way but without as much detail and with more technical errors). To contextualise why I’m putting these three theatrical posters (remember this).

The colour triad red / white / black were the official colours of Nazi Germany, which they used for their propaganda posters and general imagery (they also added gold in the earlier days, for the sake of inclusion and unification for the whole population). The black eagle is the coat-of-arms of Germany (for centuries) and was portrayed in Nazi iconography as well as propaganda as an allegory for the country proper, representing their ideals and their powe and it usually showed up on top of an image to symbolise authority. Just for this movie alone (since we’re talking about it), the black eagle shows up in all of them and it two of them, it shows up over the shoulder.

The third day starts with a Hitler Youth rally, where Hitler makes a speech, describing unity in militaristic terms how the youth must become one people and that everything they do represents one nation, appealing for their unquestionable loyalty and total obedience. He proceeds to say they must harden themselves and prepare for sacrifice, because when the time comes, they will all march together for the sake of their country. I spare most of the details (he does make an appeal to a classless society as well, which will be important for another part), but at some point he says: “I know that it cannot be any other way as we bind ourselves together, for you are flesh of our flesh and blood from our blood."

The fourth day has a World War I memorial ceremony, some more military parades with the SA / SS which showcase the powerful firepower of the nazi party (the paramilitary branch of the party, not even the country’s army proper), and then Hitler makes a speech about the political purge that happened some months before. Afterwards, there’s a (religious-like) consecration ceremony where new flags touch an old bloody flag (the same cloth flag that was said to have been stained by blood of comrades that had sacrificed themselves for the cause, similar to opening song in it’s religious-like symbolism, though not the same event).

Either way, both speeches are intermingled with segments of the people acknowledging and approving of Hitler’s message, some more solemn while others very happy (the kids on the first are especially smiley), cheering him on at the end with their... special salute (obviously). Both speeches (and what comes before or after, the endless military parades and the semi-religious ceremonies) are also examples of the major themes of this movie in general: “religion / messiah” (in quotation marks, so I don’t have to discuss it properly as it’s not straight-forward), power (there are 700,000 people at this rally, with 150,000 people for the SA / SS alone) and unity (drilled over-and-over again > they had just come from a major backstabbing after all).

These speeches are visually shot with unquestionable “leader” and “faceless follower” framings. This is so delibarate that the first one is done with much less pandering to authority (the “leader” is shown with close-ups of his face), since the intent with the youth is for them to identify with the leader / party / country, so the less separation shown between them (while keeping the hierarchy clear), the better for the indocrination process. However, the SA / SS speech is the standard for any Hitler speech (and some of his cronies) in any visual media (any visual media, even in photos), which is why I used it for the illustration for the next section (it’s the only other speech done in daylight, the others are made during the night or indoors, and will illustrate other posts I’ll make).

I’ve attached the imagery used on this second portion below, as well as some observations. I will spare us all screenshots of Hitler doing his crazy faces as well as samples of his screaming voice (and I found a perfectly censored salute screenshot). as most have an idea of that is like anyway. I believe the similarities of these will speak for themselves as well, in comparison to it’s equivalent above.

As you can tell, GoT directors inspired themselves in Triumph of the Will for this scene where Danielle rallies up the Dothraki (and most likely, Bran’s vision as well, which makes that one just as sinister as this speech). The dragon entrance segment is mirrored by the airplane segment (to the point even small details were transposed, like the shadow’s trajectory or the flying rolling), while the speech itself is thematically similar to the Hitler Youth speech and visually framed like the SA / SS speech (or any other nazi media piece as they all use the same tricks). They also emulate the same major themes: “religion // messiah”, power and unity.

Even Danielle’s crazy face and screaming voice is as much of a parallel to her crazy father, as is to the unbeloved Leader public façade that nobody likes being compared to (but that Jack Bender did so, explicitly). Obviously, “Danielle is no Hitler at Nuremberg”, then again nobody in fiction is. The scale of Hitler / Nazi is still unmatched (and I believe that will remain so, fortunately) as the scope of that was immense, but that was true even for Lord of the Rings or Star Wars when they did their own... tribute.

[clodiuspulcher]

I’m new to roman history, and I barley know the name Clodius; could you tell me more about him?

Publius Clodius Pulcher is a freak, a demon, a Pretty Boy, a man of Contradictions, a wild tribune of the plebs who sincerely believed the Laws did not Apply To Him, and my favorite Roman Politician bar none who epitomizes Roman Politics to the extent that I’d think he was a parody of a Roman senator, a fake person, the Discworld version, except he was REAL. Born to the Esteemed Patrician Claudius Pulcher Family, in 92-91 BC, Clodius Pulcher was the youngest of 3 sons (and had some older sisters too, most notably the notorious Clodia Metelli who aided and abetted his political career w/ considerable financial/other support) and deviated Wildly from the staunch conservatism of his oldest brother Appius Claudius Pulcher (PS: he’s a freak too and I need to do a whole post on ACP cos. 54 because WOW). They served in the third Mithridatic war under Lucullus together when Clodius was in his early 20s but Clodius didn’t get as high a position as his older brother and started a mutiny. Lucullus naturally removed him, Clodius then commanded a naval fleet and was almost immediately captured by pirates. They tried to ransom him to king Ptolemy because Clodius kept talking up how ~important he was (a Claudius Pulcher! A nobelman! A patrician from one of Rome’s richest and most famous families!) but Ptolemy didn’t care and Clodius had to wait until the threat of Pompey coerced the pirates to let him go. These early military incidents basically set the tone for Clodius’s entire life and political career, and I think they really Tell you what kind of person Clodius was. This is what we’re working with here.Clodius is best known for two things: radical populism and gang wars, and the bona dea scandal.  The latter is what his arch Enemy Cicero tends to harp on because it’s absolutely insane: basically Clodius snuck into a women’s-only religious festival dressed as a woman, and was discovered because his voice was deep, and they kicked him out and had to re-do everything and he was tried for sacrilege etc. Plutarch/Cicero/Etc. claim this is because he wanted to sleep w/ Caesar’s wife but I Doubt that (and so does the author of the Clodius Bio: honestly I think this is ‘no one had ever told him no and he genuinely did not think the Law applied to him because status/wealth/etc). And Actually this is connected to the populism because when he was tried for sacrilege he positioned himself/his friends as ‘fighting against the senate’s overweening power / returning power to the hands of the people’ because the bill the senate promulgated to try him for sacrilege had the senate select the jury and that was the hill Clodius and his followers chose to die on. Then he dragged Cicero into it and Cicero had to defend himself and destroyed his alibi and Clodius only got off by bribing the jury and it was a mess and Clodius hated Cicero from then on even though he started it. wild. My Latin Professor described Clodius as a ‘dyed in the wool populist’ which is Not Untrue, since to be fair he’d had a Populist Streak since his army days (he was called ‘the soldiers’ friend’ because of the Lucullus mutiny debacle). it was PROBABLY a selfishly motivated populism, though, (and again: from the beginning Clodius’s populism was motivated by personal gain , he started the mutiny because he was mad at his own ‘slighted’ status) although I have to wonder if Clodius was Sincere to any degree…. but that’s my Thoughts. Continuing on the Shocking and Radical road, Clodius tried several different arcane laws to become a plebeian but eventually teamed up with the first triumvirate to be adopted by a plebeian family ~59. He didn’t change his name though, aside from the “Claudius->Clodius” thing that some people debate is even a significant difference (Cicero makes a distinction though when speaking of Clodius vs. his brother so). As tribune in 58, Clodius did some legitimate good: he passed laws restoring forbidden collegia and creating those that hadn’t ever existed, allowing the poorest some measure of involvement and status, and of course he passed a grain dole law which distributed free grain to the same class. He also helped the function of the senate actually- he passed a law wherein anyone who was removed from the senatorial lists by the censors had a chance to defend themselves, and formalized the process by which political actions could be hindered by bad omens (no more of Bibulus trying to stop politics from happening because of Auguries). However Clodius also used his political power and stalwart supporters to literally attack personal enemies (namely Cicero) whom he managed to get exiled based, again, on that purely personal vendetta stemming from the Bona Dea scandal. He passed a law that was like “Anyone (named Cicero) who executed Roman citizens without trial (during the Catilinarian conspiracy and is named Cicero) is exiled… bye.” Clodius’s Legitimate gangs of adherents helped with this and he intimidated politicians like Pompey as well when he needed to. This devolved into ah. gang wars between supporters of Clodius and T. Annius Milo’s (a political rival) gladiators/slaves whom he bought/trained to combat them, and in the midst of the chaos Cicero was recalled from exile when popular favor swung his way. Eventually Clodius was murdered in 52 BC by Milo’s slaves along the Appian way, the street his ancestor Appius Claudius built… Yet he remained a Stalwart (though selfish!) Populist to the end- Indeed, during his last campaign (for the praetorship) he vocally promoted supporting/improving the status of freedmen! Clodius! The loyalty his supporters felt for him speaks to the efficacy and importance of his tribuneship and political image to the dispossessed, disenchanted class of urban poor and his ability to recognize and respond to this crisis is impressive considering how many senators absolutely refused to do the former much less the latter. Any good that might have come out of his policies though is of course obscured in the historical record by the absolute wild and Violent shit Clodius got up to, and also by the fact that our main source, and our only contemporary source on Clodius is…. Cicero.This post is already getting Long and I haven’t touched on a lot of things like the Pro Caelio debacle, the importance of Clodia, the exact and detailed drama between Clodius/Caesar/Pompey/Cicero/Cato etc etc etc, the extent to which Clodius Bent Or Ignored laws and customs of adoption / other plebeian transfer methods, the importance of the tribuneship and Clodius’s relationship to the legacy of tribunes like Tiberius Gracchus or Saturninus BUT! I do want to say a few more things. First, Clodius also married ~62, when he came back from the East, Fulvia, whom is my favorite historical figure perhaps ever to live on earth. She was instrumental in rebuilding his image after the bona dea scandal, she was by his side so often than in the trial for his aforementioned violent murder, Cicero claimed that Clodius must have been planning something because Fulvia wasn’t there when he was killed, and she was ALWAYS with him otherwise. Fulvia dragged Clodius’s body through the streets of Rome and likely helped incite the riot of Clodian supporters that ended in the burning down of the senate-house. Thus she established herself as the heir of Clodius’s legacy, the inheritor of Clodian politics and political support, which she provided for her future marriage connections. She made sure Clodius didn’t die in vain by compelling her next two husbands, Gaius Scribonius Curio and one Mark Antony, who were associates of Clodius, to take more populist stances w/ their legislature and was especially heavily involved in Antony’s career. AND she got revenge on Cicero in the End according to Cassius Dio (She was also a much more effective military commander than Clodius ever was and I bet he was proud)To cut this off now, check out my Clodius Tag where I lose my whole mind about Clodius and his politics every week or so. I have a lot of Classics Opinions but my Clodius Opinions are the most well-formed and I’d hope the most informed as well. However please don’t ask me Super specific questions until the 28th because I’ve been in an Etruscan Art void for my archaeology class and I left my Clodius BIography at home and won’t be back til then. Also I Run @clodiussuggestion so you can ask Clodius Him Self. 

[theconservativebrief]

Tumblr announced Monday that it would be banning many categories of adult content across its platform, including “photos, videos, or GIFs” displaying explicit material, as well as “illustrations that [depict] sex acts.”

The controversial change will take effect on December 17; existing posts flagged by Tumblr’s censors as violating the new policy will be automatically set to private, meaning that no one will be able to see them other than the blog’s creator.

Debate is raging about what Tumblr’s userbase will even look like at that point, given how much of the community involves erotica and the use of explicit imagery. Discussion of the ban consumed social media throughout Monday evening, and Tumblr users responded with a mixture of outrage, worry, and hilarious memes.

On the one hand, it’s easy to see why Tumblr, now in its 11th year as a social media platform known for “reblogs” and image-heavy content, made this move: it seems very likely that its hand was probably forced by Apple. In November, Apple banned Tumblr’s official app from the IOS store because of reported child pornography on the platform. This led to a sitewide crackdown on pornography that left many users complaining that their NSFW blogs had been unfairly purged in the sweep.

Yet despite last month’s initial purge, the app has still not been restored to the IOS store, in what seems to be a clear ‘fix this or else’ ultimatum from Apple that has almost certainly prompted the current crisis. As Motherboard wrote on Monday in its breakdown of the Tumblr situation, “Apple has repeatedly leveraged its unprecedented power over millions of smartphones to sanitize the apps that are available on iPhones.”

In an email response, a Tumblr spokesperson directed Vox back to the staff announcement, including the staff’s acknowledgment that “filtering this type of content versus say, a political protest with nudity or the statue of David, is not simple at scale. We’re relying on automated tools to identify adult content and humans to help train and keep our systems in check. We know there will be mistakes, but we’ve done our best to create and enforce a policy that acknowledges the breadth of expression we see in the community.”

But on the other hand, many users are outraged over what they see as an attempt to disrupt the entire culture of Tumblr and its community, where erotica and NSFW artwork and storytelling have thrived and flourished — and where marginalized communities who have built safe spaces may now be newly vulnerable.

“According to marginalized and vulnerable people, this change in policy will directly hurt them,” wrote geek icon and power user Wil Wheaton, in a reblog of an inappropriately flagged post which featured nothing more offensive than shirtless men kissing. “And that’s indefensible.”

What’s at issue is not only the question of whether Tumblr can survive its own purge — it’s the question of who Tumblr’s core users are, and what will motivate them to continue building their communities on a platform that seems to be devaluing them and their vital contributions to building Tumblr culture.

Though Tumblr was born alongside most other modern social networks, it’s long been associated with a certain countercultural deviance. Founder David Karp launched it in 2007 when he was just 20, and his much-vaunted hoodie-wearing ethos helped give the site a permanently youthful attitude — even an air of “millennial narcissism.”

Tumblr’s younger, digital-savvy denizens made Tumblr into a center of internet culture, churning out memes and cultivating subcultures from fandoms to study bloggers to digital art collectives. But despite all this, the site has long been plagued by an unfairly dismissive cultural reputation that reduces the entire vibrant platform to a vast repository of porn, and not much else.

The association of Tumblr with porn is part of a longstanding media narrative that has perpetually dismissed the site and its userbase for its relative youth, its progressive politics, its fandom leanings, and its predominantly queer and feminist userbase.

“Every time I make the mistake of opening Tumblr at work I end up seeing a stray boob,” Akila Hughes joked in Splinter News.

This reputation further reduces the community that gave us “Tumblr activism” — the disruptive but progressive political force that grew into a loud generation of real-world activists — down to that of a bunch of women who are only there for porn.

And even the porn itself gets mischaracterized. The fact is that the erotic and NSFW imagery on Tumblr includes everything from fanart to sex education, and is a vibrant and much-valued part of the community. And while data analysts have uncovered that, yes, there is a lot of porn on Tumblr, it’s coming from only a tiny fraction — about a tenth of one percent — of the site’s creators.

And the producers of this pornography are not active members of the Tumblr community. Most of the producers of pornography on Tumblr are pornbots, automated accounts set up to specifically generate NSFW content, much of it designed to lure users to third-party paid content sites.

Still, because pornbots don’t always stay in their lane, it’s easy for users reading random “normal” tags to be exposed to them. The site has tried multiple times to deal with porn in its midst. Users have even tried to help, organizing spontaneous organic pornbot-banning campaigns. But the site’s efforts haven’t been enough to keep it from running into trouble with third parties — most notably, Apple, which, in its ban of anything “overtly sexual,” is not attuned to the blurry lines between porn, erotica, and other types of racy content.

Tumblr has long sagged under the weight of doubt regarding its longterm sustainability. The site plateaued its growth in 2016 at just 23 million users, less than half that of Twitter at the time and a third that of Instagram, which has since ballooned exponentially.

Since the exit last year of its longtime chief David Karp, and the sale of the site to Verizon, rumblings that Tumblr is finally finished have abounded. Meanwhile, Tumblr users have been increasingly at odds with Tumblr’s corporate side, as the business tries to balance potential money-making opportunities with its unruly yet thriving corner of internet culture. Unfortunately, the short-term solution seems to be a pivot away from that grassroots culture towards more rigidly controlled content — which opens the door to a whole new set of problems.

One of the biggest questions on the minds of Tumblr users is whether Tumblr can effectively carry out this policy without nuking everything in its path. The consensus so far, based on both past experience with Tumblr as well as other algorithmic censorship attempts, as well as the abundant reports of posts that are already being inappropriately flagged under the new change: not a chance.

Welp, my Tumblr blog is marked NSFW, bc I curse like a sailor and occasionally I reblog fanart, fine art, and protest art that contains nudity. (Yes, including FEMALE-PRESENTING NIPPLES.) So I guess my Tumblr blog will be on the chopping block too.

So where we goin’ next, y’all?

— N. K. Jemisin (@nkjemisin) December 3, 2018

It’s important to note that Tumblr is attempting to explicitly draw a dividing line between its users’ creative content and the more hardcore stuff. Tumblr’s new policy defines “adult content” as “primarily includ[ing] photos, videos, or GIFs that show real-life human genitals or female-presenting nipples, and any content—including photos, videos, GIFs and illustrations—that depicts sex acts.” That doesn’t necessarily include many types of erotica, which may be sexual and evocative without explicitly depicting sex. And Tumblr is only banning “photos, videos, or GIFs,” not text-based erotica or artwork — except when that artwork portrays sexual acts.

The platform is also trying to differentiate between explicit porn and non-sexual nudity — a tricky bit of semantics that led the site to go with language banning “female-presenting nipples” while protecting “exposed female-presenting nipples in connection with breastfeeding,” among other things. The new policy also specifies that nudity for the purposes of sexual education and other contexts is okay. That should be comforting to the thriving community around sex work on Tumblr, as well as to those who are concerned about its increasingly important role as a de facto sex education site for millions of its users.

But all of these attempts to separate the wheat from the porny chaff raise the question of whether Tumblr will be able to accurately police along these dividing lines without committing overreach and becoming censorship-happy, thus silencing many vital blogs and users.

In the wake of the passage of FOSTA, the anti-sex trafficking bill that has raised internet-wide concerns about censorship, many Tumblr users have spoken out about their anxiety that Tumblr will become a platform of broad and ill-defined censorship which will silence some of the most important parts of Tumblr. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time; in 2013, Tumblr attempted to ban NSFW tags and wound up censoring queer content before backtracking.

And how does anyone, let alone Tumblr’s automatic censors, draw the line between illustrations that depict sex acts and illustrations that simply “feature” nudity?

These questions have alarmed many Tumblr users. Many fanartists and original artists create explicit art alongside non-explicit art as a matter of course; some, like the well-known artist Siij, whose NSFW blog was banned in the November purge, have already been targets of Tumblr censors.

In addition, some users have reported that entire tags are currently being scrubbed of content and hidden from Tumblr’s search; for example, searching for the NSFW tag no longer generates any content. And users who’ve already started receiving emails about their flagged content under the new policy are reporting that their content is being flagged incorrectly.

One Twitter thread compiling reports of incorrectly flagged Tumblr posts collected everything from benign art and fanart to cave photos, safe-for-work vintage photos of black women, and even a reblog of Tumblr’s own announcement:

On a superficial level, this is all hilarious — and, to many of us, hilariously familiar. (More on that in a moment.) But on a deeper level, the giant outcry over this decision reflects a larger anxiety from users — a fear that Tumblr is cracking down, not just on porn, but on the very essence of Tumblr culture: unruly, unsanctioned, and in many ways, united by the very spirit of deviance that Tumblr is trying to kill.

“The reality is that for a lot of the LGTBQ+ community, particularly younger members still discovering themselves and members in extremely homophobic environments where most media sites were banned (but Tumblr wasn’t even considered important enough to be), this was a bastion of information and self-expression,” wrote one Tumblr user in a widely reblogged post. “For a lot of artists too, this was a great place to come and post NSFW work and get traction that became Patreon pages that became honest jobs.”

What’s frequently lost in the reductive equating of Tumblr with porn is that, as on LiveJournal before it, much of the platform’s erotica is community oriented — and essential to the vibrancy of that community.

For instance, entire fanart traditions have sprung up around cheeky erotic illustrations and the frequently NSFW artists who produce them. Tumblr also birthed the phenomenon of popular fandom blogs featuring porn stars who look like various fictional characters, peddling erotic content specifically through the lens of shipping. Modern-day Tumblr artists have entirely revived the long-dormant tradition of professional-quality fanzines, many featuring subversive queer content and explicit content.

Then there are the many, many queer and genderqueer and marginalized users who found in Tumblr a positive, identity-affirming community space that simply doesn’t exist on most other social media platforms. As Tumblr users grappled with the news, many spoke out about the degree to which the banning of explicit content could impact untold numbers of individuals who lack the ability to safely explore their identities and their sexualities, on other websites or in real life.

“This is a mistake,” wrote Tumblr user caitercates in a widely-distributed response to the Tumblr staff post. “You say you’re all about “sex positivity” while banning all adult content of any kind? … You are actively deleting a majority of your account base. … your solution is to bleach your site until it’s unrecognizable.”

Not to mention the countless artists and writers who are about to lose their viewer/readership. I understand erotica will still be allowed – but what about the relationships that are fostered between artists and writers? There are so many of us who make fanart of our favorite fics, and a lot of the time that involves smut. This ISN’T A PROBLEM. This is creativity at work, and sex positivity, like you claim to support.

Change this.

EDIT your site. Make positive changes that we as the community have asked for – don’t blanket-ban the content that, tbh, most of us are here for at least in part.

It’s extremely significant that Tumblr users are fighting for Tumblr to walk back this change, because Tumblr has traditionally had a primarily harmonious relationship to its userbase, despite its users increasing distrust of its motives and interests. With the exception of Reddit, which is mainly community-run, Tumblr has given its users more freedom than any other platform in shaping and making the site into what it is.

This is partly due to the fact that Tumblr was never intended to be a grassroots haven for the misfits of the rest of the internet. But that characteristic is part of what has made Tumblr uniquely quirky and offbeat among social media spaces — and it may be the trait that saves it.

There’s a legitimate argument to be made — and one that I, as a longtime Tumblr user, would admittedly like to be true — that people who think banning porn on Tumblr will kill Tumblr really don’t know that much about Tumblr’s core users. Despite the mainstream media narrative, Tumblr has never, ever, been about porn.

Tumblr was built around community, around fandom, around viral absurdist meme blogs and street fashion bloggers. What other social media platform annually sends amateur bloggers to Fashion Week? It was grown from arty hipster landscape photos whose wistful aesthetics were deposited straight onto the collected works of the Chainsmokers. Tumblr has given us feminist art galleries and digital art collectives pushing online art movements like vaporwave, seapunk, and glitch art while showing off, bar none, the best GIF artistry on the planet.

Tumblr’s deliberately hyperbolic language fueled everything from “all the feels” to the rise of One Direction. It’s been called the progenitor of Neo-Dadaism, the wellspring of a vast amount of absurdist millennial humor that’s pushed out of its niche Tumblr basement to hit the mainstream corridors of the internet. Mic shamelessly built its brand by exploiting Tumblr’s politics while Buzzfeed shamelessly built its brand by piggy-backing off Tumblr’s content. It’s the place where angry feminist clapbacks and “your fave is problematic” exist alongside hungover owls and “Mmm Whatcha Say?” — that is, it’s as marvelous, and marvelously frustrating, and deeply surprising, as the internet itself.

It’s tempting to argue that while core Tumblr users will grumble about the site-wide crackdown on porn, they’ll recognize that while they can get the porn from other sites, it will be impossible to replace everything else that makes Tumblr what it is.

That said, the very quirky nonconformity of Tumblr’s users may, in fact, push them to leave. Some users see the site’s push to ban adult content as echoing the downward spiral of LiveJournal, the once-popular early blogging platform which was highly admired for its open-source ethos, its laidback moderation style, and its positive sense of community.

In an infamous pair of 2007 incidents that became known as “Strikethrough” and “Boldthrough,” LiveJournal famously destroyed the trust of its userbase overnight when its own attempt to ban certain types of explicit content resulted in a ban on fanart and other innocent and creative types of content.

The relationship between the site and a userbase that had, until then, been ride-or-die, never fully recovered. In the wake of LiveJournal’s steady overtaking by Russia, many of those users migrated to Tumblr, where they joined the much-larger stream of millennial and Gen Y and Z users who have relied on the site’s user-friendliness and openness to many types of erotica as they built their communities.

A side effect of the ban involved a renewed appreciation for the Archive of Our Own, (AO3), a nonprofit, censorship-free website run by fans which is explicitly set up to archive fanworks in the event of major content crackdowns like this one. Among the other more serious responses to the ban has been a litany of fandom history and advice posts being shared for the benefit of younger Tumblr users and others for whom the overnight implosion of their digital home was a new experience. Especially prominent have been recommendations for alternative sites to Tumblr.

Many users, desperate to recapture the deep sense of community that once existed on LiveJournal, have been advocating for a retreat to a new social platform called Pillowfort, a site which very overtly attempts to combine the best characteristics of LiveJournal and Tumblr with a more laidback old-school approach to fandom and content moderation. That platform, which is currently in beta, is currently down for planned security upgrades. On its Tumblr in response to the news about the Tumblr ban, Pillowfort stated that it plans to “allow NSFW content with very few restrictions.”

Still others looked to Dreamwidth, a blogging platform built on LiveJournal’s open-source code that was originally built in 2008 in response to LiveJournal’s demise. Its owners, too, were ready to welcome the Tumblr diaspora with open arms, just as it welcomed the LJ diaspora a decade ago. Other sites like MeWe also responded to the news by welcoming potential Tumblr refugees.

For many Tumblr users and onlookers, however, the simplest solution seems to be a return to the spirit that built Tumblr culture: when all else fails, make memes.

It was inevitable, for example, that there’d be at least one reference to DashCon, the notorious 2014 Tumblr fan convention that turned into a viral disaster, typified by this famous forlorn image of the “DashCon ball pit:”

At the top of the list of agenda items was the phrase “female presenting nipples,” which received the lion’s share of hilarity from Tumblr users.

free the female presenting nipples. robbieross/Tumblr

Of course, all of this won’t really help answer the larger question of what’s next for Tumblr. But ironically, in response to the news, Tumblr’s userbase has reminded us all exactly what a valuable and irreplaceable role Tumblr has played in the evolution of modern internet culture.

All of the wry humor, the trenchant memes, the progressive social commentary mixed with genuine care for Tumblr’s marginalized communities that Tumblr users have deployed in response to the adult content ban — all of that is a unique combination that’s grown out of Tumblr culture. When it’s gone, there’s no guarantee it will return on another website in the same form. And it definitely won’t be accompanied by the same fabulous GIFs and fanart.

Still, there’s no guarantee that Tumblr’s profit-driven side will prioritize keeping that culture sustainable, even if it does somehow manage to ban adult content and retain its core membership. If that’s the case, then it’s a loss not just for Tumblr users, but for the entire internet. Like Vine before it, another irreplaceable cornerstone of our online world that should have been better appreciated all along, Tumblr might be fated to be loved best only after it’s gone.

Original Source -> Why Tumblr’s adult content ban is about so much more than porn

via The Conservative Brief

[bitcoinegoldrush]

This 16-Year Old Crypto-App Developer Fights Back Against Reddit Hate

Interview

Last month a 16-year old girl from India created a digital currency price ticker that tracks the price of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin cash, ethereum, and many others. However, when Harshita Arora introduced the iOS application to members of the bitcoin community who patronize the Reddit forum /r/bitcoin, she was accused of plagiarizing the app. Unfortunately, even though the accusations were false, Arora was further discriminated for being a woman, while commenters also speculated that an individual at her age couldn’t possibly create an iOS platform.

Also read: The 65 Percent Price Dip Has Made ‘Bitcoin Whales’ A lot More BTC

This week news.Bitcoin.com spoke with, Harshita Arora, a 16-year old girl who developed the Crypto Price Tracker application for iPhones. Arora explains she lives in a small town just outside of New Delhi in India and she’s a big fan of technology. Arora has been studying computer science, and was accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a summer internship. Arora decided to make a cryptocurrency price tracking app for iOS and announced the launch of the project on January 28.

However, when she announced the app herself on the forum /r/bitcoin, she was greeted by a mob of people who didn’t believe she created the app. One critic wrote a blog post detailing that the app was plagiarized although the story was later revealed as false. Most of the criticism came from the fact Arora hired help to do some of the backend coding on the Crypto Price Tracker. But following the accusations /r/bitcoin patrons started harassing Arora for being young and a wrote hateful and sexist comments to her. News.Bitcoin.com chatted with Arora to hear how she got into coding and cryptocurrencies but more importantly how she dealt with the issues she faced launching the platform.

Harshita Apps: How This Young Woman Overcame False Accusations and Attacks from Redditors

News.Bitcoin.com (BC): Can you tell our readers how you got into coding applications?

I got into technology at first because of my CS teacher at school. He’d assign really interesting projects to play with design software, Google Scratch, and the MIT App Inventor so we could learn programming concepts and start building fun programs and software. He planted the seed that eventually made me more interested. I then invested my time in programming and building things. I learned iOS app development in Swift around 2017 after I came back from MIT summer program. After working on an iOS app, at the university with a team, and learning from my friends.

BC: What got you into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies?

The first time I heard about cryptocurrencies was in 2016, in a tech magazine I used to read every month (Digit). I learned about Bitcoin mining and understood some basic underlying technology and cryptography.

And then in 2017, cryptos and bitcoin was all over my Facebook feed and Quora. So I started getting more curious and read up more online.

BC: What made you decide to develop the Crypto Price Tracker?

I’ve written a bit here in this article. In short, it was because of frustration from using horribly-designed apps that made it extremely hard for me to keep up to date with prices. And being a designer and maker at heart, I couldn’t stop myself from designing a new app with a better UI and UX.

BC: When you introduced the application to the Reddit (bitcoin) community there were a lot of negative people saying mean things. Why do you think that happened?

Well, when I first introduced the app on the launch day (28th Jan), it got a lot of positive reaction. This was the thread. I got a lot of positive feedback on the app and how I could improve it further. I saw a lot of my traffic (in iTunes Connect App Analytics) came from Reddit. And I read four 5 star reviews mentioning that they came from Reddit. One of them even said, “I came here from Reddit, and I was not disappointed.”

But a woman decrypted my app on a jailbroken iPhone and wrote an angry blog post accusing me of plagiarizing the app based on inconclusive evidence. She posted it on Reddit, and that’s where it went viral and invited a lot of abuse and hatred.

BC: Do you think your age had anything to do with the criticism?

Likely, but I’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about it based on the patterns in the comments. There were quite a lot of sexist, racist, and ageist remarks by some abusers. Not sure if any of that was the sole reason people criticised me and my app. But it could be a strong reason because *some* people have a hard time believing that there are teen entrepreneurs and developers out there.

BC: Do you think this type of behavior may be only particular to the Reddit bitcoin crowd? — as in — Do you have confidence the bitcoin community overall is far friendlier?

After the article on The Daily Beast was published, I got an overwhelming amount of positive emails and messages from supporters in the bitcoin and crypto community.

People emphasized to me and understood what I had to go through. It might be just r/bitcoin that was nasty to me – but again, I’m not too sure.

BC: Are you a bitcoin holder or own any other cryptocurrencies?

No, I don’t invest in bitcoin or other cryptos. I’m much more interested in the technology more so than the economics. I think people have been treating cryptos wrongly as an asset to invest in and to make quick money with.

BC: Where you live do any of your peers or classmates know much about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies? Maybe classmates or friends?     

I live in a small town in North India. All of my friends use the Internet regularly. My closest friends know about bitcoin and are actually building applications for bitcoin and cryptos. I tend to spend most of my friend time with other nerds. As for classmates, I do not go to school. I left formal schooling in 2016.

What do you think about the Crypto Price Tracker app? What do you think about the issues Harshita Arora dealt with? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. 

Images via Shutterstock, The Crypto Price Tracker, Harshita Arora, and Twitter.  

Express yourself freely at Bitcoin.com’s user forums. We don’t censor on political grounds. Check forum.Bitcoin.com.

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