#magnate official

[dontforgetukraine]

Illia Ponomarenko shows us one of the many gems Kyiv has to offer: The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (or the Kyiv Lavra of the Caves). It is considered the most significant and holiest of places in Eastern Slavic Orthodox Christianity. This is an example of what is at stake for Ukraine as Russia continues its efforts to eradicate Ukrainian history and identity.

So, about 1,000 years ago, Kyiv was living its golden age as the center of a large medieval kingdom of Rus under Prince Yaroslav the Wise—very possibly the greatest ruler of Kyiv ever. The official residence of the rulers of Kyiv Rus was located in the town of Berestove outside Kyiv (it's now where Kyiv's Park of Eternal Glory is). The Berestove priest Illarion sought comfort and solitude, so he dug a lonesome cave in the hills at the Dnipro riverside, where he could spend his time alone in prayers. That happened around 1051 A.D. That guy soon became the head of the Kyiv Church and left, but more hermits followed his suit and established their shelters in those caves. Over many years, they burrowed long mazes of catacombs and established churches and monastic cells. The monastery gradually became a grandiose Lavra, a magnificent center of religious and cultural life, the greatest in this corner of human civilization. As early as 1073 A.D., the Cathedral of the Dormition (or the 'Great Church') was established (and you can see the modern iteration of it, the magnificent white cathedral bearing images of the saints on its walls. Just like Kyiv, the Lavra was ruined and resurrected from ashes several times over its 1,000-year history. Mongolians seized and desolated Kyiv in 1240, and the Lavra was devastated so hard that it spent well over a century in empty ruins. Yet, it would always rise again in all of its glory. During WWII, the Great Church was blown up just as many other iconic locations of Kyiv, such as Kherschatyk Street (in my opinion, what happened was that the Soviets planted bombs at the Lavra upon their withdrawal from the city in 1941 and failed to detonate them on time; and Nazis took out the treasures of the Lavra and got rid of the Soviet bombs by blowing up the cathedral. Like many other significant treasures of Kyiv, the Great Church of the Lavra was resurrected by independent Ukraine by the 2000s. The Lavra is indeed a city within a city—I'm only showing you a tiny part of it that is popular with tourists. Unfortunately, the ancient monastery caves have been closed to visitors for over a year. Technically, the Lavra is a giant museum with many art exhibitions, collections of historical artifacts, and recreation zones for anyone. Right now, for instance, the Lavra Historical Museum exhibits ancient Scthyntian gold from Crimea that was recently returned to Ukraine. At the Lavra, you can easily find the resting places of many historical figures of the past, such as the one of Kostiantyn Ostrozky, the legendary ultra-rich magnate of the 15th and 16th centuries and the Lavra's lavish sponsor, or Petr Stolypin, the Russian imperial prime minister who was assassinated at the Kyiv Opera House in 1911. Of course, the Lavra is about the iconic Great Bell Tower, one of Kyiv's most legendary landmarks. The tower is 96 meters high and can be seen from around 30 kilometers away from the Lavra. It takes over 370 stairs to reach the tower's top -- but I'm telling you, it's 100% worth it as the Great Bell Tower shows you a truly stunning view of Kyiv, especially when the weather is fine. Fucking legend. For centuries, until recently, the Lavra was under complete control by the Russian Orthodox Church, which is fundamentally loyal to Russia. In 2023, amid the war against Russia, Kyiv authorities and the Zelensky administration tried (and failed) to terminate the Moscow clergy's legal presence at the Lavra in 2023. Currently, the Russian church and its monks remain in control of the so-called Lower Lavra. In the Upper Lavra, which has most of the iconic places and locations, the recently re-established Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the de-facto successor of the old original Christian church of the Kyiv Rus, now has its divine service again. Welcome to the beautiful ancient Kyiv.

[city-of-ladies]

"During the reign of her husband the primary function of an Augusta was the orchestration of ceremonial at the imperial court, a highly stylised and intricate affair given the ceremonial nature of imperial life, which was based primarily around the Great Palace, a huge complex extending from the hippodrome to the sea walls, with its own gardens, sporting grounds, barracks, audience halls and private apartments; the Great Palace was the official residence of the emperor until 1204, though under Alexios Komnenos the imperial family usually occupied the Blachernai Palace in the north-west of the city, while there were other residential palaces in and outside of the capital. Empresses’ public life remained largely separate from that of their husbands, especially prior to the eleventh century, and involved a parallel court revolving around ceremonies involving the wives of court officials. For this reason an empress at court was considered to be essential: Michael II was encouraged to marry by his magnates because an emperor needed a wife and their wives an empress. 

The patriarch Nicholas permitted the third marriage of Leo VI because of the need for an empress in the palace: ‘since there must be a Lady in the Palace to manage ceremonies affecting the wives of your nobles, there is condonation of the third marriage…’ While the empress primarily presided over her own ceremonial sphere, with her own duties and functions, she could be also present at court banquets, audiences and the reception of envoys, as well as taking part in processions and in services in St Sophia and elsewhere in the city; one of her main duties was the reception of the wives of foreign rulers and heads of state. Nor were empresses restricted to the capital: both Martina and Irene Doukaina accompanied their husbands on campaign.

The empress was also in charge of the gynaikonitis, the women’s quarters in the palace, where she had her own staff, primarily though not entirely composed of eunuchs, under the supervision of her own chamberlain; when empresses like Irene, Theodora wife of Theophilos, and Zoe Karbounopsina came to power they often relied on this staff of eunuchs as their chief ministers and even their generals. Theodora the Macedonian was unusual in not appointing a eunuch as her chief minister, perhaps because her age made such gender considerations unnecessary. The ladies of the court were the wives of patricians and other dignitaries: a few ladies, the zostai, were especially appointed and held rank in their own right. The zoste patrikia was at the head of these ladies (she was usually a relative of the empress),and dined with the imperial family."

Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204, Lynda Garland

[unholyhelbig]

I’ve always been curious about Kate bishops background and would love to hear a paraphrased version if ur okay with it

[Absolutely I can! Just a little disclaimer, I'm doing this mostly from memory, so I may get a few things wrong. But I promise the gist is there, and this has gotten way too long, so uh... part one? I guess? I didn't even get to the vampires. If people are into this. I'll keep going.]

Okay, let’s start with Kate’s backstory.

The Bishop family has issues. Eleanor, Kate’s mom, is distant but portrayed as a generally good person. She and her husband Derek have an estranged relationship. She travels a lot and is regarded as an activist throughout her life until her untimely death when Kate is still just a kid.

Kate develops admiration for her father. He’s a publishing magnate but it’s soon revealed that he has ties to the crime world. Kate, despite her young age, follows her father to a meeting with El Matador. While there, she gets captured by the crime lord to be held for ransom.

This is where she see’s Clint for the first time, who saves her with the rest of the avengers. She took an instant liking to him because he was the only human on the team without advantages. At this point, she does make Clint her role model and starts to distance herself from her family to focus on activism like Eleanor.

Kate didn’t’ truly start training in combat until she was attacked in Central Park. This kicked off her love of self-defense. She originally felt isolated and in some cannon media, this moment in the park still haunts her beyond belief. (Young Avengers Special #1 [2005]  is a great comic that’s stand alone & shows the mentorship between Jessica Jones and Kate. TW for SA.)

Que the Young Avengers.

(My personal favorite Kate Bishop Design)

Kate has an older sister that’s been completely written out of the MCU adaptation. Her name is Susan, and she doesn’t have the greatest relationship with Kate, they’re not openly hostile, but they don’t enjoy each other either. Still, Kate is in Susan’s wedding party.

During the wedding, the church comes under fire and the Young Avengers swoop in to save the day. But they awkwardly become hostages themselves and Kate uses one of Patriots throwing stars to get them out of the situation before the police show up.

Kate very ungracefully demands to become a part of the Young Avengers (The original team is: Cassie Lang, Eli Bradley, Tommy Shepard, Billy Kaplan, Nate Richards, and Teddy Altman). Kate originally doesn’t have a hero identity, so she raids the Avengers Mansion and dawns Mockingbirds staves and mask, swordsman’s sword and belt and Hawkeyes abandoned bow.

Captain America and Iron man were not happy about the team and demanded that they disband. But eventually gave in after the Young Avengers refused to back down. Kate was the only one to stand up to Steve and demand that they get better training. He agreed and put Jessica Jones in charge of the team. This is when Kate becomes Hawkeye. Steve gives her the title and the bow. She’s the unofficial leader of the Young Avengers.

What about Clint?

Dude is dead in the Young Avengers run. Clint makes his valiant return in the massive Civil War event that Marvel comics created. He was resurrected and is absolutely pissed when he finds out that Steve gave his name and his bow away.

Clint actually attacks Kate while she’s on a date with Eli Bradley in Central Park. He’s officially Ronin at this point and is impressed by Kate’s skills after she breaks into his place to steal her bow back. He unofficially (but also totally officially) allows her to take the mantle.

The Children’s Crusade

I’m skipping a lot of small side quests that Kate takes (even though they’re a lot of fun) because Children’s Crusade is possibly the most important part of her journey, and by the looks of it, is the basis for where the MCU is planning to go in the next few years.

Kate has a really strong friendship with Billy Kaplan, aka Billy Maximoff. He’s the strongest magic being to ever inhabit earth and when his powers become dangerous the Avengers decide to lock him up. That didn’t slide with Kate, and they ended up breaking him out of the tower and entering alternate timelines in search of Billy’s mom- Wanda Maximoff.

This was pure, time-warp chaos. Wanda had forgotten who she was and was about to marry Doctor Doom when the Young Avengers showed up and pulled her out of it. She regained her powers and her memories, coming to terms with Billy and Tommy being her sons.

Once in their original timeline, a massive fight breaks out between the Avengers and the x-men. It’s a whole thing that ends up killing Cassie Lang. Her death ends up disbanding the original Young Avengers who go their separate ways to come to terms with how dangerous being a hero really is.

Matt Fraction? Matt Fraction.

Listen, if you’re looking for the inspiration behind the general vibe of the show Hawkeye, this is the run for you. If you read anything from Kate’s comic journey, let it be this. You don’t need any prior knowledge to Kate or Clint to enjoy this one and the artwork heavily inspired the intro to the show.

In this series, Clint is the owner of an apartment building that’s since been taken over by the tracksuit mafia. Kate and Clint have an established friendship and the dynamic is very much like the show. But grittier. The series leans into Clint’s deafness and Kate’s trauma. It’s a basis for their relationship.

Los Angeles, baby

Kate goes to LA a lot. It’s her home away from New York and her arcs there are some of my favorite (it’s a guilty pleasure, honestly). During her run with Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, she has a particularly bad fight with Clint. She takes Lucky and jets off to the beach to find her niche.

Kate becomes a very cool, very chill private eye for her first solo run; Hawkeye Private Eye. While she does eventually go back to New York to help out Clint, she starts her own business in Los Angeles where she teams up with Jessica Jones and Laura x23. Very fun, very goofy series.

[This took...hours. Literal Hours. But I have access to all the digital archives for Kate so, I'm more than happy to keep going lol]

[visit-new-york]

Empire State Building Location: New York City, New York, United States 20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001

What was the Empire State Building built for? The Empire State Building was officially constructed to serve as a hub for corporate business offices. Unofficially, it was also designed with the intention of claiming the title of the world's tallest building. Constructed in 1931, it faced competition from other iconic New York City skyscrapers of the time, including the Bank of Manhattan Building and the Chrysler Building.

Where is the Empire State Building located? Situated in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, the Empire State Building stands proudly on Fifth Avenue at 34th Street. Prior to its construction, this location was occupied by the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Fifth Avenue.

How did the Empire State Building get its name? The Empire State Building earned its name from a colloquial term for the state of New York. Although the exact origin of the nickname "Empire State" is uncertain, one of its earliest documented references dates back to a letter written by George Washington in 1785. In the letter, he commends New York's resilience during the American Revolution and designates it as "the Seat of the Empire."

Why do the Empire State Building lights change? The Empire State Building's lighting system undergoes color changes to commemorate major holidays and celebrations throughout the year. This tradition, initiated in 1976 with the installation of the building's first lighting system, has continued with the introduction of a new LED lighting system in 2012. This technological upgrade allows the skyscraper to showcase a myriad of colors, enhancing its visual impact.

The Empire State Building, a towering 102-story steel-framed skyscraper, was completed in New York City in 1931, reigning as the world's tallest building until 1971. Situated in Midtown Manhattan on Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, it stands as an enduring symbol and exemplar of Modernist Art Deco design, holding a prominent place among the most iconic structures in the United States.

During its construction, an intense rivalry unfolded for the coveted title of the world's tallest building. The Chrysler Building briefly secured this distinction in 1929, only to be surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931, reaching a height of 1,250 feet (381 meters), accentuated by its distinctive spire initially intended as a mooring station for airships. In 1950, a 222-foot (68-meter) antenna was added, elevating the building's total height to 1,472 feet (449 meters). However, a subsequent replacement of the antenna in 1985 resulted in a reduction to 1,454 feet (443 meters). Meanwhile, One World Trade Center, inaugurated in 1972, had claimed the title of the world's tallest building.

The driving forces behind the Empire State Building's construction were John J. Raskob and Al Smith. Raskob, a self-made business magnate and former chairman of the General Motors Corporation finance committee, formed an unlikely partnership with Smith, a former Democratic governor of New York. Despite their contrasting backgrounds, their enduring friendship likely stemmed from shared experiences as children of struggling immigrant Roman Catholic families. Before embarking on the Empire State Building project in 1929, Smith enlisted Raskob as chairman for the Democratic National Committee and as campaign manager for his unsuccessful 1928 presidential bid against Herbert Hoover. This defeat underscored the public's reluctance to jeopardize the economic prosperity of the 1920s by electing a Democrat and signaled an unwillingness to choose a Roman Catholic candidate who might challenge prevailing Protestant values.

After losing the 1928 election and relinquishing his governorship to pursue the presidency, Smith found himself unemployed. Whether the initial idea to construct a skyscraper on the former site of the original Waldorf Astoria Hotel originated from Raskob or Smith remains uncertain. However, they mutually agreed that it would be a sensible and attention-grabbing joint venture at the midpoint of their lives. Raskob, a crucial financier responsible for securing other investors, and Smith, a personable public figure, assumed the role of heading the project. The Empire State Building Corporation was established, and Smith, as its president, unveiled plans for the groundbreaking building on August 29, 1929, designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon Associates to exceed 100 stories.

Construction commenced 200 days later on March 17, 1930, amid the backdrop of the stock market crash in October 1929, marking the onset of the Great Depression. Despite these challenges, construction persevered, providing essential employment opportunities in New York City. The formal opening of the Empire State Building took place on May 1, 1931, astonishingly concluding in just 410 days. Despite the building's extensive publicity, the concurrent Great Depression significantly impacted its inauguration; much of the office space remained unoccupied, leading to the nickname "The Empty State Building." It took nearly two decades for the structure to become financially viable.

Despite its gradual start and eventual loss of the world record it aimed to achieve, the Empire State Building has evolved into a lasting symbol of New York City for both its residents and the world. Observatories are situated on the 86th and 102nd floors, with a small viewing platform sometimes referred to as the 103rd floor. These observatories attract millions of visitors annually. Since 1994, a yearly contest has granted couples the chance to win an exclusive wedding ceremony on Valentine's Day at the 86th-floor observatory.

The Empire State Building, prominently featured in some of the most romantic films of the 20th century, may have been the catalyst for the inception of the contest. Notably showcased in Love Affair (1939) and its later remake An Affair to Remember (1957), these films immortalize star-crossed lovers making plans to reunite at the summit of the Empire State Building after a prolonged separation. Sleepless in Seattle (1993), a beloved romantic comedy, directly references An Affair to Remember, with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks's characters finally meeting on the observatory deck of the Empire State Building. Beyond its romantic associations, the iconic skyscraper has made notable appearances across various cultural mediums, notably in the 1933 film King Kong, shortly after its inauguration. An exhibit within the Empire State Building pays tribute to its widespread influence in popular culture, featuring a montage of its appearances in films, video games, comics, and more.

Additionally, the Empire State Building has earned acclaim for its commitment to green architecture initiatives. In 2020, the skyscraper completed a decade-long retrofitting project that significantly reduced its energy consumption, slashed emissions by approximately 40 percent, and enhanced overall efficiency.

[fatehbaz]

In the late 18th century, [...] Lahaina carried such an abundance of water that early explorers reportedly anointed it “Venice of the Pacific”. A glut of natural wetlands nourished breadfruit trees, extensive taro terraces and fishponds that sustained wildlife and generations of Native Hawaiian families.

But more than a century and a half of plantation agriculture, driven by American and European colonists, have depleted Lahaina’s streams and turned biodiverse food forests into tinderboxes. Today, Hawaii spends $3bn a year importing up to 90% of its food. This altered ecology, experts say, gave rise to the 8 August blaze that decimated the historic west Maui town and killed more than 111 people.

“The rise of plantation capital spawned the drying of the west side of Maui,” said Kamana Beamer, a historian and a former member of the Hawaii commission on water resource management [...].

---

[S]ugar and pineapple white magnates began arriving on the islands in the early 1800s. For much of the next two centuries, Maui-based plantation owners like Alexander & Baldwin and Maui Land & Pineapple Company reaped enormous fortunes, uprooting native trees and extracting billions of gallons of water from streams to grow their thirsty crops. (Annual sugar cane production averaged 1m tons until the mid-1980s; a pound of sugar requires 2,000lb of freshwater to produce.)

Invasive plants that were introduced as livestock forage, like guinea grass, now cover a quarter of Hawaii’s surface area. The extensive use of pesticides on Maui’s pineapple fields poisoned nearby water wells. The dawn of large-scale agriculture dramatically changed land practices in Maui, where natural resources no longer served as a mode of food production or a habitat for birds but a means of generating fast cash, said Lucienne de Naie, an east Maui historian [...].

“The land was turned from this fertile plain – with these big healthy trees, wetland taros and dryland crops like banana and breadfruit – to a mass of monoculture: to rows and rows of sugar cane, and rows and rows of pineapple,” she said.

---

The Great Māhele of 1848, a ground-breaking law that legitimized private land ownership, laid the ground for big developers to hoard water for profit, said Jonathan Likeke Scheuer, a water policy consultant and co-author of the book Water and Power in West Maui. [...] [T]he creation of private property allowed agricultural corporations to wield “political and ultimately oligarchic power” over elected officials. In 1893, a group of sugar magnates and capitalists overthrew the Hawaiian Kingdom’s Queen Liliuokalani, paving the way for the US to annex Hawaii five years later. Sanford Ballard Dole, a cousin of Dole Plantation’s founder, served as the first governor of Hawaii.

When the last of the sugar companies closed in 2016 [...], Scheuer said, the farms were purchased by large investors for real estate speculation and left fallow, overrun with invasive grasses that became fuel for brush fires. Developers [...] took control of the plantations’ century-old irrigation ditches and diverted water to service its luxury subdivisions. In doing so, it left scraps for Indigenous families who lived downstream. [...] [O]n Maui, 16 of the top 20 water users are resorts, time-shares and short-term condominium rentals equipped with emerald golf courses and glittering pools [...].

---

Text by: Claire Wang. "How 19th-century pineapple plantations turned Maui into a tinderbox". The Guardian. 27 August 2023. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]

[odinsblog]

Clarence Thomas secretly accepted luxury trips from a major GOP donor

Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.

IN LATE JUNE 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.

If Thomas had chartered the plane and the 162-foot yacht himself, the total cost of the trip could have exceeded $500,000. Fortunately for him, that wasn’t necessary: He was on vacation with real estate magnate and Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, who owned the jet — and the yacht, too.

Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, front left, with Harlan Crow, back right, and others in Flores, Indonesia, in July 2019. Credit: via Instagram

For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show. A public servant who has a salary of $285,000, he has vacationed on Crow’s superyacht around the globe. He flies on Crow’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet. He has gone with Crow to the Bohemian Grove, the exclusive California all-male retreat, and to Crow’s sprawling ranch in East Texas. And Thomas typically spends about a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks.

The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.

These trips appeared nowhere on Thomas’ financial disclosures. His failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts, two ethics law experts said. He also should have disclosed his trips on the yacht, these experts said.

(continue reading)

[literary-illuminati]

Skimming over a couple thousand years of Mesopotamian social history is, if nothing else, a great source of data points to support the whole 'Classical Greece/Athens was actually weirdly patriarchal and misogynistic. Like, even for bronze age city states,' thing next time there's an argument about it.

The fact that noble families in Old Babylon dealt with unfavorable marriage prospect/not wanting to pay out large dowries for their daughters by, like, creating a whole institution where they'd symbolically marry the sun god and be given an extra-large dowry (equal to what their share of the inheritance would have been if they were a son) to live off the revenues of and ideally steward and grow some before it went back to the family when they died is just fascinating though.

Also fascinating - the fact that Ashur circa ~1800 BCE was something like a merchant republic, with the theocratic king sharing power with an official serving 1-year terms, apparently elected from/by the leading merchant magnates.

[blueiscoool]

Gustav Klimt Portrait Found After Vanishing Nearly 100 Years Ago

It is one of the last works the artist painted before his death in 1918.

One of the last paintings by the renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt has miraculously been found after vanishing nearly 100 years ago.

The painting, titled Portrait of Fräulein Lieser, was found in Vienna after last being seen by the public in 1925. Until now, the only known photograph of the painting had been held in the archives of the Austrian National Library. The picture was likely taken in 1925 in connection with the Klimt exhibition by Otto Kallir-Nirenstein in the Neue Galerie, Vienna.

Since then, its location had been a mystery.

"The rediscovery of this portrait, one of the most beautiful of Klimt's last creative period, is a sensation," said the im Kinsky auction house in a statement announcing the discovery. "As a key figure of Viennese Art Nouveau, Gustav Klimt epitomizes fin de siècle Austrian Modernism more than any other artist. His work, particularly his portraits of successful women from the upper middle class at the turn of the century, enjoy the highest recognition worldwide."

The work of art will go up for auction at the im Kinsky auction house in Vienna on April 24 and is expected to fetch millions on the market.

"Klimt's paintings rank in the top echelons of the international art market. His portraits of women are seldom offered at auctions. A painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades," im Kinsky auction house said. "This also applies to Austria, where no work of art of even approximate importance has been available."

The painting will now travel worldwide on short exhibitions until it is auctioned and is set to be presented at various locations internationally, including stops in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and Hong Kong.

The model for the painting is labeled as Fräulein Lieser, also known as Margarethe Constance Lieser (1899-1965), daughter of the Austrian industrial magnate Adolf Lieser. But new research by the im Kinsky auction house into the history and provenance of the masterpiece has opened up the possibility that Klimt's model could have been another member of the Lieser family -- either Helene Lieser (1898-1962), the first-born of Henriette Amalie Lieser-Landau and Justus Lieser, or their younger daughter, Annie Lieser (1901-1972), according to officials.

"In April and May 1917, the sitter visited Klimt's studio in Hietzing nine times to pose for him," im Kinsky said. "Klimt probably began the painting in May 1917. The painter chose a three-quarter portrait for his depiction and shows the young woman in a strictly frontal pose, close to the foreground, against a red, undefined background. A cape richly decorated with flowers is draped around her shoulders."

The portrait is thought to be one of Klimt's last paintings and was done shortly before he died of a stroke on Feb. 6, 1918. The painting was left, with several small portions of it unfinished, in his studio and it is thought that the painting was given to the family who had commissioned it after his death.

The painting, however, would soon vanish and the exact fate of the painting after 1925 is unclear.

"What is known is that it was acquired by a legal predecessor of the consignor in the 1960s and went to the current owner through three successive inheritances," im Kinsky auction house said.

ByJon Haworth.

[kotlc-rp-official]

Welcome to the KOTLC RP<3

Hello there! You may have heard of us from time to time, but we're a tumblr KOTLC roleplay that just kinda vibes from time to time.

This blog is the MAIN KOTLC RP blog. If you have questions, wanna join the rp etc. you can just drop an ask or tag us in a post. All roleplayers have access to this account so we'll be able to answer your questions at any time of the day

I am writing this as if theres some random entity who is in charge of the account, but we're all in charge of the account.

(The person writing this is Red, owner of the forkle and leto accounts)

⬇️ scroll down to meet the roleplayers ⬇️

MEET THE ROLEPLAYERS side note: i added the names of the actual roleplayers because timeo asked

=Children=

Sophie - @therealsophieelizabethfoster

Fitz - @fitz-avery-vacker

Keefe - @keefe--sencen

Tam - @tam-shade-song

Dex- @dex-the-smart-one (Everett)

Biana- @sparkles-make-anything-better

Linh - @linh--song (Kory)

Maruca - @the-only-maruca-chebota

Wylie - @flasher-boi-endal

Amy - @amy-rose-foster

Stina - @im-just-cooler (Stella)

Marella - @shut-up-i-will-burn-you (Kay<333)

Jensi - @jensi-babbles-lots

Rex - (i do not know the @ but i know kale runs the account)

Adults:

Alden - @alden-dendrick-vacker

Quinlin - @quinlin-sonden

Grady - @not-a-fan-of-that-boy

Edaline - @edaline--ruwen

Elwin - @elwin-at-your-service (Elle!!! hi mom! /hj)

Magnate Leto - @magnatetheleto (Red aka me)

Cassius - @thebestsencen

Juline Dizznee - @julinekdizznee-off (brooke)

-Black Swan Members-

Squall - @the-prettiest-ice-cube (Brooke)

Blur - @blurrieidentities Mr Forkle - @norwegian-trickster-god (Also Red)

Tiergan/Granite - @prentices-husband

Livvy - @candies-and-sparkles (Eve)

Jolie - @jolie-lucine-ruewen (venus)

-Councillors-

Terik - @terik-the-councillor

Bronte - @bronte-the-inflictor

Oralie - @oralie-pretty-in-pink

Emery - @emery-is-a-king

~Neverseen/Ex-neverseen~

Fintan - @fintan-pyren

Lady Gisela - @lady-gisela (kale i think)

Vespera: @vespera-neci-folend

Ruy: @chronically-ill-psionipath and or @ruy-tonio-ignis

Alvar - @alvar-not-vacker (also kale, I think)

Glimmer (Rayni) - @little-miss-neverseen

Trix - @trix-up-my-sleeve

Brant - @brant--redacted Umber - @umberthebettershade

other people (animals???)

Sandor - @igowhereyougo

Silveny - @therarestprattlespin (AEYLIS)

Ro - @hunkyhairs-backup

Iggy - @iggy-the-imp (THERE ARE YOU HAPPY TIMEO?)

Organisations

Black Swan official acc (onyx runs it) @black-swan-official (Asta)

Nerverseen - @neverseen-official

Foxfire - @foxfire-official (I actually do not know)

Exillium - @exillium

Matchmakers - @thematchmakingoffice and @the-official-matchmaking-office (Denny and Timeo)

The Council Intern - @thecouncil-official

Eternalia's Library - @eternalialibrary-official

UPDATED BY RED 11TH JUNE

The official tags for the main rp blog are: asktherp, kotlcrpofficial

[seoul-bros]

What lies ahead

Magnate posted photos of Jimin's basic training graduation on Instagram in which Jimin received the Division Commander Commendation. He and Jungkook worked hard and made a positive impression on their trainers and fellow trainees in the last five weeks.

"Hello, I'm ZM-illennial (メグナット) Did everyone bring an umbrella? Like it's going to rain soon It's cloudy, so for those who have been waiting for news of rain, we hope you have a moist day with our condolences to those who are worried.

If it's long, it's long, and if it's short, it's short. It's over, thanks to your support and constant interest and love, 1 year and 5 months is a long time, but it can also be a short time. ARMY was a great help Thank you from the bottom of my heart"

It's an inflection point in their military life and now the hard slog of soldier's duties begins. They will reportedly be assigned to one of the units of the artillery brigade.

It makes me nervous knowing that they and their fellow graduates are serving in the military at such a dangerous moment. It was chilling to read this news posted on the BBC website yesterday.

In a report published last week for 38 North, a US-based organisation with a focus on North Korea, former State Department official Robert Carlin and nuclear scientist Siegfried S Hecker said they saw the situation on the Korean Peninsula as "more dangerous than it has ever been" since the start of the Korean War in 1950.

"That may sound overly dramatic, but we believe that, like his grandfather in 1950, Kim Jong Un has made a strategic decision to go to war," it said.

"We do not know when or how Kim plans to pull the trigger, but the danger is already far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyang's 'provocations'."

No one will benefit from a fresh outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula and BTS members are now on the front line of any aggression. Although it is difficult to see at the moment, I hope there is a way back from the brinkmanship that currently characterizes North-South relations.

Post Date: 18/01/2024

[thebestsencen]

Hello There.

It has been formally requested that a Tumblr account is made and run by myself, the amazing Lord Cassius Sencen, author of 'The Heart of The Matter'.

He/him pronouns are to be used for me and I expect the utmost respect from everybody out there, for I am a member of the Nobility.

Slightly Annoying Children:

Miss Foster- @therealsophieelizabethfoster

Mr Vacker- @fitz-avery-vacker

Tam Song (whoever that emo kid is)- @tam-shade-song

Linh Song- @linh--song

The Dizznee child- @dex-the-smart-one

Miss Vacker- @sparkles-make-anything-better

Maruca Chebota- @the-only-maruca-chebota

The unicorn girl- @im-just-cooler

Wylie Endal- @flasher-boi-endal

Amy Foster (A human!?)- @amy-rose-foster

The pyrokinetic- @shut-up-i-will-burn-you

Jensi Babblos (Who's this?)- @jensi-babbles-lots

Disappointments:

I don't know him- @keefe--sencen

Responsible Adults:

Alden- @alden-dedrick-vacker

Quinlin- @quinlin-sonden

Grady (a horrible work partner)- @not-a-fan-of-that-boy

Edaline- @edaline--ruwen

Magnate Leto- @magnatetheleto

Elwin- @elwin-at-your-service

Black Swan:

Squall- @the-prettiest-ice-cube

Blur- @blurrieidentities

Mr 'Forkle'- @norwegian-trickster-god

Granite- @prentices-husband

Livvy- @candies-and-sparkles

Neverseen/Ex-Neverseen:

Fintan- @fintan-pyren

NOT MY WIFE- @lady-gisela

Vespera- @vespera-neci-folend

Ruy- @ruy-tonio-ignis

Glimmer- @little-miss-neverseen

Alvar- @alvar-not-vacker

Trix- @trix-up-my-sleeve

Brant- @brant--redacted

Umber- @umberthebettershade

Organisations:

Black Swan- @black-swan-official

Neverseen- @neverseen-official

Foxfire- @foxfire-official

Matchmakers- @thematchmakingoffice and @the-official-matchmaking-office

The Council (or their intern at least)- @thecouncil-official

Eternalia's Library- @eternalialibrary-official

Exilium- @exillium

The Sanctuary- @sanctuary-official

Council Members/Ex-Council Members

Kenric- @councillor-kenric-fathdon

Oralie- @oralie-pretty-in-pink

Bronte- @bronte-the-inflictor

Terik- @terik-the-councillor

Others (animals and bodyguards)

Sandor- @igowhereyougo

The worst influence on my son- @hunkyhairs-backup

Silveny- @therarestprattlespin

That's just about everyone I know (it pains me to do so)

tag me in the comments if i forgot you/someone

main account may or may not be @siennamakeschaos

[newjerseydumpster]

They don't have an official surname, so here's an alternative pitch for the submas twins: Vanderbilt!

Alright, hear me out: It's in reference to the 19th-century railway magnate, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and that would make their initials IV and EV respectively.

In the Pokemon games, Individual Values (IVs) and Effort Values (EVs) are number values that impact the stats of a Pokemon. In competitive battling, those factors are pretty important, and if Gear Station's whole schtick suggests anything, it's that they happen to have quite the affinity for that sort of thing.

[emery-is-a-king]

Introductory post!

Councillor Emery here! 👑👑

Hello there! The rest of the council (plus Team Prodig Valient) voted to me to get Tumblr as I am spokesperson! If you need to ask any questions about the Council, just do it! I'm still working this weird app out, so tips would be helpful... Anyway...

Here are the people you should know about!⬇️⬇️

Organisations:

The Council- @thecouncil-official

Councillor Terik- @terik-the-councillor

Councillor Oralie- @oralie-pretty-in-pink

Councillor Bronte- @bronte-the-inflictor

Black Swan- @black-swan-official

Neverseen- @neverseen-official

Children:

Miss Foster- @therealsophieelizabethfoster

Mr Sencen- @keefe--sencen

Mr Vacker- @fitz-avery-vacker

Miss Vacker- @sparkles-make-anything-better

Mr Dizznee- @dex-the-smart-one

Mr Song- @tam-song-the-shade

Miss Song- @linh--song

Miss Redek- @shut-up-i-will-burn-you

Mr Endal- @flasher-boi-endal

Miss Heks- @im-just-cooler

Miss Chebota- @the-only-maruca-chebota

Mr Babblos (who?)- @jensi-babbles-lots

Adults:

Alden- @alden-dedrick-vacker

Grady- @not-a-fan-of-that-boy

Edaline- @edaline--ruwen

Elwin- @elwin-at-your-service

Magnate Leto- @magnatetheleto

Lord Cassius- @thebestsencen

Juline Dizznee- @julinekdizznee-off

Mr Forkle- @norwegian-trickster-god

Granite- @prentices-husband

Squall- @the-prettiest-ice-cube

Blur- @blurrieidentities

Livvy- @candies-and-sparkles

Jolie- @jolie-lucine-ruewen

Neverseen:

Gisela- @lady-gisela

Fintan- @fintan-pyren

Vespera- @vespera-neci-foland

Brant- @brant--redacted

Ruy- @ruy-tonio-ignis

Alvar- @alvar-not-vacker

Glimmer (Rayni)- @littlemissneverseen

Umber- @umberthebettershade

Trix- @trix-up-my-sleeve

Bonus:

Sandor- @igowhereyougo

Romhilda- @hunkyhairs-backup

Silveny- @therarestprattlespin

Iggy- @iggy-the-imp

Foxfire- @foxfire-official

Exillum- @exillium

Matchmaking- @thematchmakingoffice @the-official-matchmaking-office

Eternalia Library- @eternalialibrary-official

Amy Foster (human?) @amy-rose-foster

Phew! That's a lot! For further contact please message me, or any other willing councillors, I bid you farewell.

From,

Councillor Emery

Councillor Emery

[jolie-lucine-ruewen]

(official intro!)

hi im jolie she/her, member of the black swan, @brant--redacted’s (ex?) fiancée (i mean he did kill me so…)

(ooc intro)

im venus they/them, main blog - @cosmxc-ars3hol3

other rp accounts - under the cut!

Sophie & Co:

Sophie - @therealsophieelizabethfoster

Fitz - @fitz-avery-vacker

Keefe - @keefe--sencen

Tam - @tam-shade-song

Dex- @dex-the-smart-one 

Biana- @sparkles-make-anything-better

Linh - @linh--song 

Maruca - @the-only-maruca-chebota 

Wylie - @flasher-boi-endal

Amy - @amy-rose-foster

Stina - @im-just-cooler 

Marella - @shut-up-i-will-burn-you 

Jensi - @jensi-babbles-lots

Adults:

Alden - @alden-dendrick-vacker

Quinlin - @quinlin-sonden

Grady - @not-a-fan-of-that-boy

Edaline - @edaline--ruwen

Elwin - @elwin-at-your-service

Magnate Leto - @magnatetheleto

Cassius - @thebestsencen

Juline - @julinekdizznee-off

Black Swan:

Black Swan official acc @black-swan-official

Squall - @the-prettiest-ice-cube

Blur - @blurrieidentities

Mr Forkle - @norwegian-trickster-god

Tiergan/Granite - @prentices-husband

Livvy -  @candies-and-sparkles 

Councillors:

Terik - @terik-the-councillor

Bronte - @bronte-the-inflictor

Oralie - @oralie-pretty-in-pink 

The Council Intern - @thecouncil-official

Neverseen/Ex-neverseen:

Nerverseen - @neverseen-official

Fintan - @fintan-pyren

Lady Gisela - @lady-gisela

Vespera: @vespera-neci-folend 

Ruy: @ruy-tonio-ignis & @chronically-ill-psionipath

Alvar - @alvar-not-vacker 

Glimmer (Rayni) - @little-miss-neverseen

Trix - @trix-up-my-sleeve

Brant - @brant--redacted

Umber - @umberthebettershade

Organisations:

Foxfire - @foxfire-official

Exillium - @exillium

Matchmakers - @thematchmakingoffice and @the-official-matchmaking-office

Eternalia's Library - @eternalialibrary-official

[sekritjay]

Bit of buzz from the Warhammer corner of the internet. I'm not a fan myself - in fact I find the whole fandom's lunatic brigade exceptionally repellent and their abject refusal to accept critique both internal and external makes even being on the periphery a chore

However everytime I hear the Warhammer fandom get excited about something I immediately think of that Raycevick video entitled "I'm Jealous of Warhammer", particularly the part in the beginning where he immediately admits that it's actually a Mass Effect video

Long story short he's envious of Warhammer's constant churning out of canon media, and the degree to which the Warhammer fandom has access to any and all manner of things they might come to enjoy in different genres and perspectives, from studios who benefit from generous licensing and a permissive IP owner

In the meantime, like the rest of the Mass Effect fandom, he's starved for any kind of content for a world he is enamoured with from a company whose sole strategy is an all-or-nothing, once in a generation, multimliion dollar crapshoot one bad day away from completely killing its creators and indeed almost did. And we're essentially dreading that the next will be that killing blow

Sure Warhammer has the advantage of being Warhammer with its four decade long business model making the IP a low risk option of video game developers but otherwise I agree that it pains me to be gasping for content. It's why I'm in the fandom in the first place, hell it's why I'm on tumblr. I wouldn't come on tumblr just for the asylum vibes* alone

I was nostalgia-tripping on one of my people's most famous gaming exports, the Wipeout series of anti-gravity racing. Yeah, I thought, that would be so cool to transplant a similar concept into the Mass Effect universe. It'd be easy to justify in lore - aristocratic scions, playboy dilletantes and nouveau-riche magnates compete in eezo-powered, gravity-defying, piloting on vertigo-inducing racetracks of staggering size and cost, with all the egotism and risk-taking that that implies. How cool would having a racing game set in the Mass Effect universe with that universe's world-building

Indeed we could even have one that would appeal to their investors. How about Mass Effect: Battlefield? Applying the lessons learnt from ME3MP and put them in a mainline Battlefield game with the scale and spectacle. Imagine this - the post-war galaxy gives rise to mercenaries and adventurers, tyrants and freedom fighters, battling to hoard power for themselves, or profit off the chaos to line their own pockets

And those are just high-level concepts. The Mass Effect series was deliberately designed to be a world, not just a video game, and it was always the intention to tell numerous stories within it. It's a testament to its worldbuilding that fanfiction writers of all shapes and sizes still continue to write in that universe despite how long it's been since our last outing there

Yet here we are. Still starved for more official media. Because the Powers That Be want a gigahit, when it was never intended to be all or nothing. Meanwhile the Inquisitor Cryptofash'es of the Warhammer fandom can freely gorge themselves on the thing they love. Makes my blood boil

*No, I STAY here for that

[sugarpopss]

Twelve Years and Counting

So. I watched Wonka. And it awoke something within me. Like we all knew Keegan-Michael Key is hot but somehow. Seeing him in a pretty good fat suit made me insane. I want to be his wife.

Warnings: it's porn and I love corrupt police (kidding)

Not tagging ANYONE bc who tf wants this. Hiiiii Wonka fandom how are ya'll. How ya'll doing. Actually no i gave @bucknastysbabe a play by play of this movie so. Also Hugh Grant killed a cleric I think??

You can’t be married to a man for twelve years without figuring out what he’ll do for some decent chocolate. 

And by god, you knew what your husband would do for chocolate. 

To be entirely fair, a lot of people would do a lot of things for chocolate; it practically ran the city. A truffle was far more powerful than a silver sovereign. 

Chocolate was exchanged and hidden and fought over in the halls of power all over the city, and the precinct was no exception. You’d known that for years. 

You also knew that the chief of police had been taking minor bribes from the chocolate magnates for years. The fine truffles and bon-bons didn’t just appear in the cupboards by magic. You’d never really had a problem with your husbands mild corruption, either. He sometimes saved the bon-bons filled with cherry or peach compote for you, and he wasn’t really hurting anyone. The chocolate magnates had the entire city in their pocket-what was one more official looking the other way? 

That was before, though. You were sure they had upped your husbands ‘payment’ or enlisted him in some new scheme, because the amount of chocolate boxes crowding your cupboards and counter had exploded. You knew they were in his car, too, because you’d seen the little paper wrappers littering the seats. 

The amount of payment wasn’t the only thing that had exploded recently, either. 

You loved your husband, truly and honestly-you would’ve married a politician or a restauranteur if you didn’t. But you couldn’t deny that his chocolate habit was finally beginning to have an effect. 

Well…’beginning’ was a bit of a misnomer. The effect was very clear-your beloved police chief had absolutely blown up. He had gone up two whole sizes-which you knew because you were the one who took his clothes to the laundry-and your poor bed frame creaked like an old dog toy when he laid down. You could hear the stairs creaking, too, ensuring that you’d never again sleep through your husband coming home late. 

You weren’t complaining. Oh, far from it, actually. You had no interest in knowing the details of this ‘blood chocolate’ he seemed to be receiving, and your husband was less than forthcoming with information. You like your plausible deniability very much, thank you. But you also rather liked the way the bribes showed up on him. 

The belly had come first, of course, straining the belt of his uniform and giving him a proper ‘policemans paunch’. You had thought it was cute and paid plenty of loving attention to your husbands little potbelly. The weight had absolutely not stopped there, though. From a little pudgy to properly fat in a startlingly short amount of time, and all because whatever scheme he was involved in evidently paid very well. Soon you were settling into bed next to a man double-maybe triple by now-his former weight, all soft flesh and radiating warmth. 

It wasn’t terrible at all. Your husband cleaned the chocolate stains off his hands before touching you, although he didn’t seem to notice his wedding ring digging into his thick finger. He remained intimate with you, so you weren’t at all concerned that he was unfaithful. If he was unfaithful as well as corrupt, he did an excellent job at hiding it. You finally understood why your friends had raved about sleeping with men so large-it was amazing. Watching your husband heave himself on top of you, feeling his weight and warmth nearly crushing the air out of your lungs. The sheer effort of fucking into you, his arms shaking from holding his weight up, sweat beading on his skin after a few thrusts, his soft lower belly completely covering your view of where the two of you were joined. You’d nearly climaxed on the spot just from watching him have to lift his belly to get his cock positioned. 

It was the very best sex you’d had in twelve years of marriage. You’d tried to wrap your legs around his waist, but any vestige of your husbands ‘waist’ was now long gone. The best you could do was press your knees into the thick rolls of fat on his sides, but it brought you a little closer nonetheless. What made him moan, though, was when you gently palmed his heavy chest, grown so fat you couldn’t even feel the bone of his sternum. You groped his breasts like he’d done to you so many times before, taking your cues from his blissful expression strained gasps. 

And it was almost as good after the climax, when your husband first collapsed on top of you, crushing the breath right out of you. He was sweaty and overheated and so heavy, and he seemed to realize your lungs were struggling with him on top of you fairly quickly. When he’d rolled off and settled into his significant dent in the mattress, caught his breath and popped a chocolate from the bedside drawer into his mouth, it was your turn to snuggle up. You pressed close to his side, though not quite as close as lovestick teens trying to crawl into each others skin may have. It was soothing in a way, the rhythm of your husbands breathing and the crinkle of chocolate wrappers. 

You knew that when you shimmied away to your side of the bed to sleep-a necessary thing to do, because of both the heat your husband radiated and the disturbance of him getting up in the middle of the night for his 3am bon-bons-he’d quickly fall asleep with both hands resting on the crest of his swollen belly, and snore like an engine to top it off. You’d learned to tune it out, along with the creaking of the mattress springs and bed frame when he shifted or got up. 

There were much worse habits for a man to be caught in-but chocolate seemed to be the most popular. You knew much more women whose husbands hid sweets in their offices or closets than who gambled or smoked. And the effects were certainly not unappreciated, at least not by you. 

A big, powerful man, and all yours. Surely nothing would ever spoil this.