The European Roma institute for arts and culture just released a 253 pages book on the romani resistance during World War II, written by a collective of European historians
House blessing embroidery is my favorite goddamn thing, I’ll have to make that nuclear waste warning one
megvasarolnam!!!
a nuclear waste kéne
Hijinks, Hubris, Heresy
HIKJINKS HUBRIS HERESY
I’m pretty sure the 3 things needed to be considered a living thing are that you need to consume nutrients, produce waste, and be able to reproduce, so my dad and i came up with
as the explanation for the second test explains, you should only click on a character if you know both the pronunciation and definition since it’s fairly easy to guess a character’s pronunciation. you can take both tests in simplified or traditional
according to these tests, i know somewhere between 2,800 and 2,900 characters! what about you?
(if you study japanese you can give these tests a try too just for fun!)
anyway i said i would do this after the whole thing was said and done… when i was looking for advice i found like “paint your nails and listen to happy music” buzzfeed bullshit so
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT PRO WRITING AID BEFORE?! THIS THING IS FUCKING GLORIOUS. HOLY SHIT. LOOK AT THIS.
IT GIVES YOU A WHOLE DAMN REPORT ON YOUR WRITING AND WALKS YOU THROUGH HOW TO MAKE IT BETTER AND WHY IT IS SUGGESTING CHANGES. THIS IS JUST A TINY CHUNK OF THE HUGE REPORT IT GAVE ME ON THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ONE OF MY PROJECTS. I AM IN LOVE.
AND IT WORKS WITH SCRIVENER. AND IT IS AFFORDABLE.
WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME?!
Seriously, a couple hours with this and my first chapter is so much better. It helped me see problems I KNEW I had (passive voice, showing vs. telling, adverbs) but was having a hard time sussing out. It has made editing so much more fun and easy because now I know what the hell I’m doing and what to look for instead of stumbling around blind shouting “adverbs? adverbs?” like a town crier. I can already tell I’m getting better at seeing things without the program having to show me too.
This idea come fully formed this morning and I had to write it all down.
Note: If you want to run with it and make it a fic/art/whatever please do because I doubt I will write it unless I can think of a good story beyond blending the two worlds.
Basic Plot:
During the height of the Jaeger programme, a rich benefactor called Stede Bonnet builds his own Jaeger called the Revenge and want to pilot it himself. Unfortunately, he’s not found anyone who is Drift-compatible amongst his crew. (He originally thought his wife would join him, but he knew deep down it wouldn’t work even if she wanted to).
He gets injured in a kaiju attack and finds himself taken care of by Edward Teach, one of the greatest Jaeger pilots in the programme’s history.
Edward asks Stede to try Drifting together and they work incredibly well, coming up with a plan to save a city under attack within a day of knowing one-another. They begin to pilot the Revenge together, whilst Izzy is furious they can Drift so easily. He hates Stede with a passion and tries to sabotage their every mission.
Edward is desperately trying not to give away that he likes Stede while Stede feels really strongly about Edward but he doesn’t really know that what he is feeling is love.
During a bad training session, they both end up chasing the RABIT and delving into their worst fears. Edward remembers how he killed his dad after years of domestic and child abuse. Stede remembers how he was bullied and how his dad hated him.
Together they fight kaijus and work through their problems and make out.
Main Characters:
Stede Bonnet: Rich benefactor stuck in an arranged marriage who wants to be a Jaeger pilot more than anything. Commissions his own Jaeger and runs away to the LA Shatterdome to start his career.
Edward Teach: The best Jaeger pilot in the entire programme, having had 12 kills with multiple co-pilots. Edward is currently piloting with Izzy Hands on the Jaeger called Blackbeard but they are not compatible (Edward is just good at blending in and adapting to his partners). Edward is bored with the rock star lifestyle and would love to give it all up, but Jaeger pilots pretty much don’t get to retire, only die in battle.
Izzy Hands: Current co-pilot with Edward on Blackbeard but brings out the worst in Edward. (When Edward and Izzy Drift together they become ruthless and less concerned about civilian casualties/collateral damage.) Wants to be immortalised amongst the greatest pilots but can only achieve that with Edward, and so he is dismayed when Edward finds the perfect co-pilot in Stede Bonnet of all people.
Stede’s crew:
Oluwade: LOCCENT Mission Control Technician. Voice of reason and brilliant leader.
Jim: They first work as a mechanic for the Revenge, keeping their head down until they are discovered and become Assault Specialist. They worked with their family in the Lima shatterdome until their family was killed by a kaiju attack (Jim knows they were put in the line of attack by a corrupt politician and seeks revenge).
Olu and Jim are Drift Compatible but haven’t been given the chance to test (yet).
Lucius: Journalist following Stede’s story. Stede acts like he’s his personal biographer, which Lucius goes along with so long as his expenses keep getting paid.
Black Pete: J-Tech Engineer. Claims he worked on Blackbeard, but nobody believes him.
Lucius and Black Pete get together and have the suspicion they might be Drift Compatible but they are in no way interested in piloting a Jaeger.
Frenchie: Neural Bridge Operator. Scams other Jaeger crews for laughs.
Wee John: Weapons Specialist. Has a crush on Frenchie but hasn’t acted on it yet.
Roach: J-Tech Engineer and team cook.
Swede: J-Tech Engineer and general disaster.
Buttons: Battle Programmer. Claims he can talk to the kaiju but nobody wants to take him up on proving it.
Other notable characters:
Mary Bonnet: Finds herself alone after Stede runs away to become a Jaeger pilot. Uses her wealth to help people on the Pacific coastlines and raise awareness of the corrupt Anti-Kaiju Wall programme.
Calico Jack: Edward’s old Jaeger partner before Jack was injured in battle. Comes back after Izzy contacts him to break up Edward and Stede. Tells Stede they used to be an item to throw him off on their next mission.
Nigel Badminton: Stede’s childhood bully and now in charge of the Anti-Kaiju Wall programme. Thinks Jaegers are a waste of money and resources.
(I’m uncertain if Stede kills him by accident or if he’s just a pain in the arse foil.)
Spanish Jackie: Kaiju Organ Harvester and mob leader.
Not sure who the Marshall/Officer of the LA Shatterdome would be, if it matters?
Wait what’s a buildings fire evacuation plan if you aren’t supposed to use the elevator to get down
You go down the stairwell/fire escape. Is that weird?
But what if you have a walker or a wheelchair??
in america at least, in this situation, there isnt one. either your loved ones or the firemen can get you out using the emergency fire escapes or stairs, or you die
That’s fucking horrific, thank you
“fun” little story:
last summer my friend who is an amazingly talented artist and i were in this super tall building, and she’s in a wheelchair and i’m pushing her around the room. it’s an art exhibit and some of her art was chosen to be showcased there and so it’s all fine and dandy until suddenly an alarm starts going off
a FIRE ALARM
everyone starts running for the stairs and my friend just looks at me with this forlorn look on her face
“i can’t go down the stairs”
but i’m a stubborn bitch “i’ll carry you”
“what about my chair? it’s too expensive for me to be able to get another one if i can’t get this one back”
“i’ll carry that too”
and i did. we went to the stairs (by then most people from our floor were gone) and i lifted her up in a fireman’s carry over my shoulder and then lifted her chair up and used the ridiculous amount of adrenaline that was coursing through my veins to make it down approximately 20 half-flights of stairs until we met some people exiting lower floors, one of which who kindly took the chair. I changed positions so i was holding my friend bridal-style which was, somehow, easier and the person who took her wheelchair (with her permission to handle it of course) accompanied me to the ground floor and then out the doors
basically there is no real protocol for people who can’t use the stairs in an emergency. it’s up to the people with them, if anyone, to help them or the person to somehow make it down the stairs alone, unassisted
thank fuck that it was just a faulty alarm system, because if i was unable to carry her down those stairs and the building was on fucking fire???? then i don’t know what would have happened to her, but i don’t think it would have been very good.
it’s fucking ridiculous and ableist to the absolute max.
I use a cane. When I did a day-long fire safety training at my northeast American university (UMass Amherst), I asked that exact same question: “what am I supposed to do if the fire alarm goes off and I’m in my lab on the twelfth floor?”
the fire marshal hemmed and hawed for a while and then said to take the elevator- you’re supposed to leave it free for the fire department to use and they want able-bodied people out fast not waiting for elevators. if the fire alarm has just gone off the building probably hasn’t suffered enough structural damage to make using the elevator dangerous, and modern elevator wells are heavily reinforced. many large and high-trafficked buildings on my campus have fire rated elevators that link in with the fire alarm system so they won’t let you off on a floor with a possible fire.
if the elevator isn’t working, wait in the stairwell and call the fire department to let them know where you are. modern stairwells are also heavily reinforced- it might not be pleasant but modern building code usually requires fire-resistant stairwell doors in office and big residential buildings, also to help firefighters get in and out safely. older buildings’ stairwells may or may not be retrofitted with fire-resistant doors but a stairwell is generally the safest place to wait if you can’t get out.
what happened to your friend was horrible, and i’m very glad you were there to help her out, but you can absolutely use the elevator to evacuate if it’s not shut down. those don’t-use-the-elevator rules are for abled people.
This is GOOD TO KNOW. why do they not tell people this??
Okay, firefighter here. If you are not physically able to use the stairs, and the elevator is NOT compromised, use the elevator. But you MUST be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that the elevator is NOT compromised before you get into it, because there is always the chance that once you get into it, you may not exit it. Power could go out. The elevator may actually BE compromised and you just couldn’t tell from where you were until you were in there, and it suddenly shuts down on you. Something else could happen.
Understand that once you enter the elevator, you could POTENTIALLY be taking your life into your hands there.
It is NOT LIKELY, to be perfectly honest. It’s only in a pretty catastrophic scenario - think the Twin Towers, USA, on September 11th - that the elevators will be compromised and out of service. But there is a NOT ZERO PERCENT CHANCE and you need to understand that and accept it.
As for leaving the elevators free for the firefighters, okay, here’s the deal. Unless your nearest fire station is literally right next door? Your first on scene fire truck is NOT likely to be there on scene and needing that elevator before you get to the ground. It takes us TIME to find the address, gear up, and drive to the building. Then we need to hoof it into where the elevators even ARE, so YOU HAVE TIME to use the elevator to get down to the ground floor… BUT ONLY IF THERE’S NOT A RUSH ON THE ELEVATOR! And THAT is WHY we don’t tell people this shit. That’s WHY we tell people to NEVER USE THE ELEVATOR… because every self-entitled asshole will use it because they don’t feel like walking, and then put YOU in danger by delaying the elevator’s arrival to you.
IF, however, the elevator IS compromised, or you just can’t get it to come for you, or whatever, and you either don’t have anyone with you who has the adrenaline fueled BALLS to be able to toss you over their shoulder and hoof it down the stairs with you - because, let’s face it, that is RARE AS FUCK, then HERE IS WHAT YOU DO:
You call 911 and tell the call taker that you are in the building that has a fire alarm going off, and you are not able to evacuate because of a physical disability, and you tell them what floor you are on, and EXACTLY what stairwell you are waiting at. And the very FIRST thing that the firefighters are going to do once they arrive, if it is, indeed, a REAL emergency, and not a false alarm, is come get your ass and bring you down. Whether that means carrying you down the stairs, or whether that means locking out the elevators so that no one else can override them and coming to get you themselves, they WILL come get you FIRST THING if it is a real event. And if it is a false alarm? You will probably be the first person who is not involved with the building to know, because the call-taker is going to stay on the line with you until you are under someone’s care and out of danger, or until the scene has been sorted out as real or false, and you are out of danger that way.
These are pretty standard operations in the fire service throughout the United States. There may be some minor variations based on specific municipalities, but, for the most part, this is pretty typical: LIFE BEFORE PROPERTY. So, as long as SOMEONE knows where you are - hence why you call 911 - Firefighters will come get you. You are NOT alone, and you have NOT been abandoned. I PROMISE. It’s like, our whole reason for doing the shit we do: to save lives and to break shit. Sometimes, we get lucky enough to do both at the same time.
High rise fires suck ass, and I always hated them. But the very FIRST thing I asked anytime we got one was if we had “any entrapments” - which is what we call anyone who could not self-evacuate for ANY reason. We ain’t leaving you behind. And yes, your friend who doesn’t have the stamina to carry you down can stay with you, too. Because I would never ask that of someone, honestly.
Also, just a little FYI… MOST fire alarms are false alarms. Not to make anyone complacent or anything, but, yeah. Most of them are either system malfunctions, someone accidentally hit a pull station, or someone burned popcorn in a break room. So don’t let a fire alarm freak you out until you need it to - by smelling or seeing smoke or flames.
i have had multiple nightmares about this very thing because NOBODY BOTHERS TO ACTUALLY TELL WHEELCHAIR USERS THIS STUFF
what if i told you there was one user on the russian social network/ video sharing website odnoklassniki/oднокла́ссники that has uploaded nearly every movie ever from 1896 to the current day, mostly with subtitles. and including that has uploaded every criterion collection film in full hd with subtitles. for free. all hail ok.ru user fleurinna guta
they keep their films in unlisted folders so you cant just see them all on their profile unfortunately but ill provide links.
AGAIN I REPEAT AS IVE HAD PPL SEND ASKS BC THEYRE HAVING TROUBLE:youcant click on their profile to see all the playlists unless you make an account which requires a russian phone number). you HAVE to access their stuff through these unlisted links. its a bother, i know, but we’ll take what we can get!
also don’t ask me why this user separates their films in this way, i don’t know and frankly it confuses me too.
“MISC FILMS”(aka films from everywhere that isn’t the usa, europe, japan. sometimes films from the GDR are in here which is confusing again because communist germany was still part of europe)
KOREAN AND CHINESE FILMS (this has some really films that i was astonished to see subbed (finding korean films from the 30s-60s with english subs can be really difficult! i have no idea how fleurinna (can we be on a first name basis at this point?) got some of these unless they subbed them themselves, as they’re not criterion releases or official archival footage, so this is really a great find and a testament to how passionate this use is about film archiving)
“OTHER ASIAN FILMS”(AGAIN RESTATING I DIDNT NAME THESE PLAYLISTS) (aka films from southeast asia, south asia, sometimes the pacific islands? west asia, central asia, the balkan countries, and north asia (so stuff that i guess fleurinna doesn’t consider russian but is technically russian territory im not going to get into geopolitics here)
again fleurinna guta has some weird geopolitical opinions or maybe they just don’t put that much thought into their playlists but these are a godsend, especially for rare movies.
this is a much better alternative to stuff like 123movies or bflix because there are no hot singles in your area or games that you wont last 5 minutes playing. hope u enjoy and let us all praise and embrace user fleurinna guta
Women have more power and agency in Shakespeare’s comedies than in his tragedies, and usually there are more of them with more speaking time, so I’m pretty sure what Shakespeare’s saying is “men ruin everything” because everyone fucking dies when men are in charge but when women are in charge you get married and live happily ever after
I think you’re reading too far into things, kiddo. Take a break from your women’s studies major and get some fresh air.
Right. Well, I’m a historian, so allow me to elaborate.
One of the most important aspects of the Puritan/Protestant revolution (in the 1590’s in particular) was the foregrounding of marriage as the most appropriate way of life. It often comes as a surprise when people learn this, but Puritans took an absolutely positive view of sexuality within the context of marriage. Clergy were encouraged to lead by example and marry and have children, as opposed to Catholic clergy who prized virginity above all else.Through his comedies, Shakespeare was promoting this new way of life which had never been promoted before. The dogma, thanks to the church, had always been “durr hburr women are evil sex is bad celibacy is your ticket to salvation.” All that changed in Shakespeare’s time, and thanks to him we get a view of the world where marriage, women, and sexuality are in fact the key to salvation.
The difference between the structure of a comedy and a tragedy is that the former is cyclical, and the latter a downward curve. Comedies weren’t stupid fun about the lighter side of life. The definition of a comedy was not a funny play. They were plays that began in turmoil and ended in reconciliation and renewal. They showed the audience the path to salvation, with the comic ending of a happy marriage leaving the promise of societal regeneration intact. Meanwhile, in the tragedies, there is no such promise of regeneration or salvation. The characters destroy themselves. The world in which they live is not sustainable. It leads to a dead end, with no promise of new life.
And so, in comedies, the women are the movers and shakers. They get things done. They move the machinery of the plot along. In tragedies, though women have an important part to play, they are often morally bankrupt as compared to the women of comedies, or if they are morally sound, they are disenfranchised and ignored, and refused the chance to contribute to the society in which they live. Let’s look at some examples.
InRomeo and Juliet, the play ends in tragedy because no-one listens to Juliet. Her father and Paris both insist they know what’s right for her, and they refuse to listen to her pleas for clemency. Juliet begs them – screams, cries, manipulates, tells them outright I cannot marry, just wait a week before you make me marry Paris, just a week, please and they ignore her, and force her into increasingly desperate straits, until at last the two young lovers kill themselves. The message? This violent, hate-filled patriarchal world is unsustainable. The promise of regeneration is cut down with the deaths of these children. Compare to Othello. This is the most horrifying and intimate tragedy of all, with the climax taking place in a bedroom as a husband smothers his young wife. The tragedy here could easily have been averted if Othello had listened to Desdemona and Emilia instead of Iago. The message? This society, built on racism and misogyny and martial, masculine honour, is unsustainable, and cannot regenerate itself. The very horror of it lies in the murder of two wives.
How about Hamlet? Ophelia is a disempowered character, but if Hamlet had listened to her, and not mistreated her, and if her father hadn’t controlled every aspect of her life, then perhaps she wouldn’t have committed suicide. The final scene of carnage is prompted by Laertes and Hamlet furiously grappling over her corpse. When Ophelia dies, any chance of reconciliation dies with her. The world collapses in on itself. This society is unsustainable. King Lear – we all know that this is prompted by Cordelia’s silence, her unwillingness to bend the knee and flatter in the face of tyranny. It is Lear’s disproportionate response to this that sets off the tragedy, and we get a play that is about entropy, aging and the destruction of the social order.
There are exceptions to the rule. I’m sure a lot of you are crying out “but Lady Macbeth!” and it’s a good point. However, in terms of raw power, neither Lady Macbeth nor the witches are as powerful as they appear. The only power they possess is the ability to influence Macbeth; but ultimately it is Macbeth’s own ambition that prompts him to murder Duncan, and it is he who escalates the situation while Lady Macbeth suffers a breakdown. In this case you have women who are allowed to influence the play, but do so for the worse; they fail to be the good moral compasses needed. Goneril, Regan and Gertrude are similarly comparable; they possess a measure of power, but do not use it for good, and again society cannot renew itself.
Now we come to the comedies, where women do have the most control over the plot. The most powerful example is Rosalind in As You Like It. She pulls the strings in every avenue of the plot, and it is thanks to her control that reconciliation is achieved at the end, and all end up happily married. Much Ado About Nothing pivots around a woman’s anger over the abuse of her innocent cousin. If the men were left in charge in this play, no-one would be married at the end, and it would certainly end in tragedy. But Beatrice stands up and rails against men for their cruel conduct towards women and says that famous, spine-tingling line - oh God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace. And Benedick, her suitor, listens to her. He realises that his misogynistic view of the world is wrong and he takes steps to change it. He challenges his male friends for their conduct, parts company with the prince, and by doing this he wins his lady’s hand. The entire happy ending is dependent on the men realising that they must trust, love and respect women. Now it is a society that it worthy of being perpetuated. Regeneration and salvation lies in equality between the sexes and the love husbands and wives cherish for each other. The Merry Wives of Windsor - here we have men learning to trust and respect their wives, Flastaff learning his lesson for trying to seduce married women, and a daughter tricking everyone so she can marry the man she truly loves. A Midsummer Night’s Dream? The turmoil begins because three men are trying to force Hermia to marry someone she does not love, and Helena has been cruelly mistreated. At the end, happiness and harmony comes when the women are allowed to marry the men of their choosing, and it is thesemarriages that are blessed by the fairies.
What of the romances? In The Tempest, Prospero holds the power, but it is Miranda who is the key to salvation and a happy ending. Without his daughter, it is likely Prospero would have turned into a murderous revenger. The Winter’s Tale sees Leontes destroy himself through his own jealousy. The king becomes a vicious tyrant because he is cruel to his own wife and children, and this breach of faith in suspecting his wife of adultery almost brings ruin to his entire kingdom. Only by obeying the sensible Emilia does Leontes have a chance of achieving redemption, and the pure trust and love that exists between Perdita and Florizel redeems the mistakes of the old generation and leads to a happy ending. Cymbeline? Imogen is wronged, and it is through her love and forgiveness that redemption is achieved at the end. In all of these plays, without the influence of the women there is no happy ending.
The message is clear. Without a woman’s consent and co-operation in living together and bringing up a family, there is turmoil. Equality between the sexes and trust between husbands and wives alone will bring happiness and harmony, not only to the family unit, but to society as a whole. The Taming of the Shrew rears its ugly head as a counter-example, for here a happy ending is dependent on a woman’s absolute subservience and obedience even in the face of abuse. But this is one of Shakespeare’s early plays (and a rip-off of an older comedy called The Taming of a Shrew) and it is interesting to look at how the reception of this play changed as values evolved in this society.
As early as 1611 The Shrew was adapted by the writer John Fletcher in a play called The Woman’s Prize, or The Tamer Tamed. It is both a sequel and an imitation, and it chronicles Petruchio’s search for a second wife after his disastrous marriage with Katherine (whose taming had been temporary) ended with her death. In Fletcher’s version, the men are outfoxed by the women and Petruchio is ‘tamed’ by his new wife. It ends with a rather uplifting epilogue that claims the play aimed:
To teach both sexes due equality
And as they stand bound, to love mutually.
The Taming of the ShrewandThe Tamer Tamed were staged back to back in 1633, and it was recorded that although Shakespeare’s Shrew was “liked”, Fletcher’s Tamer Tamed was “very well liked.” You heard it here folks; as early as 1633 audiences found Shakespeare’s message of total female submission uncomfortable, and they preferred John Fletcher’s interpretation and his message of equality between the sexes.
So yes. The message we can take away from Shakespeare is that a world in which women are powerless and cannot or do not contribute positively to society and family is unsustainable. Men, given the power and left to their own devices, will destroy themselves. But if men and women can work together and live in harmony, then the whole community has a chance at salvation, renewal and happiness.
~poor/abnormal posture ~trouble with left, right, and other directions ~disinterest in sports/physical activity ~rituals with no outcome ~large or unique vocabulary ~lack of organization ~intense compassion/empathy ~intense anger or no anger at all ~connections with animals ~difficulty understanding pop culture, styles, trends, etc
I’m reading Coriolanus and, like, what’s Shakespeare’s beef with guys named Brutus? He’s got two dudes named Brutus who overthrow “ambitious” Romans. This is not about historical accuracy. Shakespeare regularly did not give a shit about historical accuracy. Julius Caesar had a goddamn clock. Some Italian boy named Brutus pissed him off and he was like, “you know what’s good name for the guy who’s gonna start a coup? Brutus.”
Uh if this isn’t fully a joke I will argue in defense of the historicity of Julius Caesar, since the play actually follows the events really well.
Don’t worry, I know about Julius Caesar, but there’s academic debate about whether or not Coriolanus’ story was based on a real historical event. The joke was that Shakespeare decided they should both be Brutus. One Brutus is accuracy, two Brutuses is suspicious.
(My specialty is Julius Caesar so I get excited when it looks like there’s even a small question about it) As far as I understand, it seems Coriolanus takes place near the beginning of the Republic, where there was indeed a tribune named Brutus, who was supposedly an ancestor of the Brutus in Julius Caesar. (Also IIRC the earlier Brutus also appears in the poem the Rape of Lucrece, since he was one of the men who deposed the Tarquin, hence the line “My ancestors did from the streets of Rome the Tarquin drive when he was called a king.”) So if Coriolanus takes place around the time of the founding of the Republic, that Brutus could very well be Lucius Junius Brutus, who actually did exist. @strengthsbystrengths any commentary on the Coriolanus side?
Historical links with the two tribunes is one of my favourite underrated things about Coriolanus so thank you for the tag @percyhotspurand@the-full-shakespearience you’ve just given me the opportunity I’ve been waiting for to ramble about my favourite topic
Because it all ties in that Martius being proud isn’t just a petty jab, but paranoia that he’s going to be like their last king, Tarquin the Proud.
While it compresses seven years together, rearranges some events and is much more critical across the board in terms of characters (the original is much more anti-plebeian, and the play is much more critical of Martius despite him getting arguably a more sympathetic portrayal here) Coriolanus is actually pretty good in terms of historical accuracy, with some of the speeches taken almost directly from Plutarch. While there’s still questions over whether the entire thing is mythological, I think at the time of writing the plays there wasn’t that doubt. There was actually a second tribune called Brutus, but he only appears in some of the versions of the Coriolanus myth and doesn’t have a full name, while Sicinius appears across the board. He could be inspired by Lucius Junius Brutus, the famous member mentioned in Julius Caesar, and parts of his speeches against Coriolanus could be inspired by his oath to “suffer no man to rule Rome” and causing the people “desirous of a new liberty, not to be swayed by the entreaties or bribes of kings.” He was one of the major players in overthrowing Tarquin after pretending to be loyal and obvious and was against the family prior to the events of the Rape of Lucretia.
But he died leading what looks like the first battle Martius fought at 16 at Silva Arsia (making Coriolanus in his 30s through the compressed timeline of the play), and with the way he’s treated by other characters, particularly in being mocked by Menenius, I doubt he’s supposed to be Lucius. His two sons, Tiberius and Titus, also shared the name Junius Brutus, but they’re also dead by the start of the play: brutally tortured and executed as their father watched after they tried to reinstall the monarchy.
‘Junius Brutus’ is just the family name and title without the first name (like Martius Coriolanus without the Caius; Julius Caesar’s Brutus, Marcus, shares it too), so it feels like he’s been characterised as a mixture of its early members: the sneaky duo trying to gain their own power, and the man willing to sacrifice anything to ensure another tyrant doesn’t become king.
With the republic being little over a decade old at the start of the play, regardless of the specifics of who he is, just being a part of the family ties him straight to the reputations of Lucius, Tiberius and Titus. I’d love to see a production with more distinct tribunes, because they’re histories are so different: at the very least Brutus was a part of one of the most prominent, beloved and honoured patricians families, and Sicinius was a plebeian. Potentially one of the first to come to power, and he personally planned and lead the protests from the beginning of the play (which were actually peaceful successions to a nearby hill). There seems to be more bitterness between him and Coriolanus than Coriolanus and Brutus (he’s the one who wants to throw him off the rock), so a lot of Coriolanus’ hatred towards plebeians can come off as very personal insults. It also makes how carelessly the tribunes use the people in the play so sad, particularly with how much they adore them in later scenes: Brutus is from a family who swore to protect them, and Sicinius is one of them whose finally managed to give them a voice, perhaps the first to do so.
Speaking of the people and early founders, it also adds a lot to some other characters. I think Valeria is criminally underused, not only due to her fantastic speech convincing Volumnia to go stop her son, but also due to her family: her brother was another one of the founding members and Martius shows respect to her due to it (calling her the “noble sister of Publicola, the moon of Rome”), but his very title means “friend to the people” and a lot of his career was dedicated to aiding the people and stopping the monarchy: including all rights being forfeited of anyone suspected of restarting the monarchy, as they seem to fear Coriolanus does. He’s in some ways the anti-Coriolanus, publically mourned for a year and having his funeral was payed for by the people (shortly after passing consulship to Menenius Martius is literally the only one of his friends without a consulship Volumnia must be so disappointed). And his reputation for public support precedes him: for Hamilton fans, the Federalist Papers written by Hamilton, Madison and Jay used his name as a pseudonym. Historical Coriolanus is even more blatantly classist, but in the play he actually shares more in common with the plebeians than his fellow patricians, and a lot of their lines mirror each other; it seems ironic he turns down money and customs when they’re the main things separating him from them.
And the paranoia of Coriolanus’ consulship turning into another monarchy could be tied to Cominius as well, who was one of several consuls burned alive on order of the tribunes (different ones) a few years after Coriolanus attacks Rome due to plotting to make a consul king. A lot of the lines from him and the tribunes are very interesting through that lens, either through genuinely plotting to make Coriolanus a puppet king - the tribunes do wonder if his “insolence” can endure to be commanded under Cominius and that a lot of his honours are due to Martius - or whether the tribunes exploit the suspicion for their own gain.
Aufidius’ depiction also could tie into the “King Martius the Proud” undertones. While Shakespeare does use the historical names he’s given and they come from a different root, Tullus does sound a lot like Tullia, the name of both of King Tarquin’s wives. The first and oldest was milder and gentler, while the younger was fierce and ambitious, and after being in-laws the pair murdered Tullia’s husband and sister to marry each other. She also encouraged him to take the throne himself, ordering the assassination of the former king: her own father, who she then ran over in a chariot. While Aufidius does take Martius into his house and give him his army in all versions, the blatant sexual and romantic note to their relationship, and the attention its given in the play, is purely Shakespeares. So its plausible that a lot of Aufidius’ characterisation could have been taken from Tarquin’s life, making him almost a Lady Macbeth type figure and I have another entire Aufidius rant with the fragments of Volscian history/mythology and ties to Homer
But speaking of reoccurring Italian names, it sounds like Shakey might have had a fling with a a sailor called Antonio or five
A tall ship tutorial for those who made logical career decisions in their late teens / early twenties in the hopes that it makes writing fanfiction about your favorite goobers a little easier.
Continuing from my previous post on the aro community’s obsession with creating labels instead of addressing root issues. This time, I’ll be talking about sexuality, and/or lack thereof.
Those of you who have been active in the aro community within the past six months or so are no doubt familiar with the way asexuality is seen as the default for aros, leading those of us whoaren’tasexual (such as myself) to start advocating for ourselves more, and being firm about who we are. We’re allo aros, we’re here, and we’re going to make a place for ourselves. That’s all fine and good, but that leaves those who don’t quite fit into either box sort of left behind.
The fact is, as mentioned, asexuality is seen as the default for aromantics. You can’t just say you’re aro and have that be that, because people can, and will, assume that you’re ace. If you’re not ace, that’s so unusual that you’d better have a way to describe it! Are you straight? Gay? Bisexual? What do you mean, you’re “just” aro? Oh, so you’re a non-SAM aro, then?
In reality, everyone’s sexuality is their own business, and they shouldn’t have to disclose it to anyone, or have any specific labels if they don’t want to. For some people, they may not know exactly what their sexuality is, or they may not want to say what it is, or they may not care what it is. They should be able to say they’re aro, without any assumptions being made. Aros should be able to have, and talk about, whatever sexual attraction they do or don’t experience, without being pressured to lay out an exact description of what specifically they “are” to everyone else. Aro, as an identity, should come with no assumptions about sexuality.
Allo aros, in many ways, aren’t describing ourselves as such because we love the term allosexual. We’re describing ourselves as such because we’re tired of being assumed to be asexual. Any little bit of not fitting in with the ace community, imo, is enough to be welcome with us. But the way things are happening makes it come across as if you have to be either strictly allo or strictly ace, which leaves aros who don’t quite fit in those boxes feeling excluded*. Thus terms like non-SAM or neuaro are coined, and sure, those can be helpful to some… But they’re still clunky and overly specific terms that not everyone wants to use, yet they still feel forced to, because if they don’t, guess what’ll happen? Yup, you got it. They’ll be assumed to be ace.
“Aro” should be enough. Aro shouldn’t come with any assumptions about sexuality. But it does, and instead of coming together to change things so that asexuality is no longer assumed to be the default, the aro community is more focused on coming up with terms to describe aros who aren’t Aroace™, and then subsequently bickering about said terms. We need to address why these terms are necessary, rather than arguing about them and piling on more and more fancy bandaids that ultimately change nothing.
*Aces, don’t you dare try to use this as an excuse to criticize the allo aro community and our self-avocation. Don’t you dare try to silence us again, I’m not having it. If you have a problem with the ace/allo binary, then you need to start dismantling the whole system that led to its existence, not paint over one end and call it a day.
The only reason why vigilance over yourself would fail is that passion does not always approach in its obvious form, but often appears to be so comely that you think it is something good, not guessing it is a passion. When anger erupts, for example, it is evident to everyone that this is a passion. However, anger is not always in its obvious form; it often appears as righteous indignation. Every passion has a similar habit of dressing itself up and posing as something comely. You are virtuous and may fall for this bait quite easily. Watch out! One must renounce all that is passionate in its most insignificant forms and subtlest features. Observe, accordingly, and do not allow anything inside.
This is why I get meal kits. Do I need them? No. Can I easily make them myself? For way cheaper? Yes. WILL I??? No.
Other tips: if you are going to buy things that aren’t pre-taxed, you need to make a habit of always doing the prep AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME. it will NEVER HAPPEN if you don’t.
Get the bulk pack of steaks! But you are never gonna eat them before they go bad. If you freeze them in individual ziplocks as soon as you unpack you probably will?
Get the celery, but you need to cut it ALL UP and store it in the fridge in water or it will rot.
And don’t do all tgese at once, get like, one or two prep things a trip. You aren’t gonna get it started if it’s a huge task.
ALRIGHT EVERYONE I FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO FUCKIN INVOICES SO HERE YOU GO HERE’S THE TUTORIAL
invoices are an easier / safer way to request money from commissioners. all the commissioner has to do is accept to pay the money, so you don’t have to worry about them clicking or typing anything that will get you in trouble with paypal.
STEP 1
underInvoice Information you can choose what date your invoice needs to be paid by. if you don’t have a specified date for your commissioner then make sure to select No Due Date so they don’t get into any trouble for not paying by the default date.
STEP 2
go through your Business Information to make sure it’s only showing what you want it to show. your default template may show your address, phone number, name, etc, but everything is optional and can be turned off. personally i only keep my e-mail visible so commissioners know where the invoice is coming from.
STEP 3
your commissioner’s e-mail goes here
STEP 4
fill out what your commissioner is paying for and how much it costs. double check the Total towards the bottom to make sure you’ve filled out everything correctly. keep item names vague like “commission” or “image” since paypal may freeze your account if they catch any buzzwords they don’t like.
STEP 5
here you can fill out any terms and conditions your commissioner should know about, ie when you accept payment, if you give refunds, etc.
STEP 6
in the Memo box you can write a note for yourself to see when you look at the invoice. you can write down who commissioned you and anything else you’ll need to remind yourself of later
TEMPLATE
remember that you can replace the default template so you can save your business info, terms and conditions, etc for the next time you fill out an invoice.
IF PAYPAL IS ASKING YOU TO “SHIP” YOUR DIGITAL COMMISSION
look under Selling Tools on your home page and click Seller Preferences
clickUpdate next to Shipping Preferences
go to Display Ship Button at the bottom and make sure Goods is un-checked
reblogging this again because i’ve been seeing that post about paypal charging thousands of dollars over policy violations floating around
idk what policy violations those apply to, but just in case, i want to direct everyone to invoices, which is a much less risky method of requesting money than relying on the customer to pay themselves!!
I started using invoices a couple of years ago and they’ve saved my ass so many times. It’s a great way of keeping track of your commission info which you can cross-reference with Trello or Google Drive or whatever you use for queuing, that way you know for certain who has paid and who hasn’t.
Welcome to my commission sheets! Thank you to everyone who encouraged me along my journey this last year–I’m overjoyed to be able to share my art with you. Please pay attention to my pinned post for when commissions are open/closed, and feel free to send me a DM or email to discuss your ideas!
Dream SMP Quotes as if it were the 1800s (or maybe Shakspeare. I can’t tell which anymore)
“Behold! I wear a garment of chalk! Why dost thou imagine me a keeper of answers?” - Fundy (“I’m wearing a crayon suit. What the f do you want from me?”)
“I have just slain a woman. All is well.” - TommyInnit (“Just killed a woman. Feeling good.”)
“Master Tomathy, are we knaves? Are we the villains of this grand tale?” - Wilbur (“Tommy, are we the bad guys?”)
“Thou wish'st to be remembered as a hero? Then perish as one!” - Technoblade (“You wanna be a hero, Tommy? Then die like one!”)
“If I cannot be blamed of laughter, then upon my honor, I shall be blamed of tears.” - Fundy (“If I can’t make people laugh, then I’ll make them cry.”)
“Doomed! Doomed from the moment of inception!” - Eret (“It was never meant to be”)
“If the path of blood be the only choice, then I walk it with bold stride.” - Technoblade (“There’s no other way. I choose blood.”)
“Behold the pickax in my hand! It shall rearrange thy mouth!” - Technoblade (“I have a pickax and I’ll put it through your teeth!”)
*Quick aside: Techno is just SO quotable, it’s incredible. It’s what he gets for being an english major :)*
“Art thine eyes blinded? Dost thou not behold history circling back upon itself as before?” - Technoblade (“Don’t you see what’s happening? Don’t you see history repeating itself?”)
“When next the sun rises, it will rise on a world unfamiliar to its ancient eyes.” - JSchlatt (“This place is gonna look a lot different tomorrow.”)
“Give us liberty or give us death.” - Wilbur (“We would rather die than give in to you and join your SMP.”)
“Hades opens his arms to me and I am drawn into his warm embrace.” - Ranboo (“There I go. Down to hell.)
And finally, my favorite one:
"For all their stark differences, the people of the world share a common tongue, though they realize it not. It is the language of the beasts in the wood, the language of fists and blades, of strength and domination. We speak this language, too.” - Technoblade (“The only universal language is violence, and we’ve spoken that language.”)
Comment or message me with quotes you’d like to see done, or repost and add your own :)
i saw a post abt the mcelroys and their fandom and since i didnt agree entirely w/ the op and my brain went off on a related tangent im making my own post:
i think the level of scrutiny/boundary crossing/pedestal placing that goes on with people who get overly involved in the lives of minor internet celebrities (who dont have the money to protect themselves from the audience) is really uncomfortable and weird at best and grotesque invasions of privacy at worst. the way people use the same attitudes to talk about/discuss real people as they do fictional characters is unsettling and i think there needs to be a mass call for some empathy in fandoms that involve real people. at the very least the fandom needs to coach themselves on maintaining a respectable distance from the people who work hard to provide them with entertainment, instead of feeling entitled to every single aspect of their being.
yeah, yeah I know I already reblogged “autobiography” earlier today which is basically about a thousand times more exactly what I want to say than any essay could possibly be BUT then I went and actually read what people are arguing here and you know what
SOOOOOOOO
There are two things that are being collapsed in this argument that we really, really cannot afford to collapse. That is:
For AO3 to be a sustainable project long-term, there needs to be a comprehensive policy in place designed to prevent its users from harassment and abuse; and
Some content that people would like to host on AO3 is, to some people, vile or offensive.
Both of these things are true. However, it does not follow from (1) that we need to regulate or restrict the content of the works hosted on the Archive to ensure the content referred to in (2) doesn’t make it onto the Archive. People seem to be taking it for granted that (1) means banning all that stuff in (2), and that’s wrong.
(cw for high-level references to the existence of rape, underage sex, and anti-Semitism; as well as one marginally more specific reference to kinky sex)
“[H]arassment and abuse occurs when a person—a user of a given platform—is subjected to content, by means of that platform, that they find vile or offensive, without their consent and without the ability to avoid it.” Awesome way to lay out the issue!!!
so as we all know, my dumpster fire of a family, the pittsburgh penguins, have done some fuckups lately! i’ve gotten a couple of asks about it and i thought i’d just make a post.
Q: DO YOU THINK THE PITTSBURGH PENGUINS DID A FUCK UP? A: buddy, i sure do!!!!!!
Q: ARE YOU SPITTING MAD ABOUT IT? A: buddy, i sure am!!!!!! youcantellbecausei haveyelleda lot. i plan to yell some more, all season, until they’re like, “why won’t this girl leave us alone?” and then i’ll be like, “YOU KNOW WHY PITTSBURGH!!!! YOU KNOW WHY.”
Q: DOES THIS MEAN YOU’RE GOING TO STOP SUPPORTING THE PENGUINS? A: listen…………no. sorry. it doesn’t. i feel weird and conflicted about it, but they’re still my favorite team and i still want them to threepeat unless they lose in game 7 to the marc-andre fleury golden knights. that would also be fine.
Q: BUT YOU JUST SAID THEY WERE BAD? HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT SOMETHING BAD? A: i am a complex person capable of loving something and being disappointed in and angered by it at the same time.
Q: DON’T YOU THINK YOU SHOULD JUST SUPPORT A DIFFERENT TEAM? A: i’m really sorry but it doesn’t work like that, and even if it did work like that, literally the only team in the NHL that is not guilty of something is the las vegas golden knights and that’s because they are 3 days old. i’m not saying it doesn’t matter just because everyone is doing it! of course it matters. arguably it matters more, because it is a symptom of the toxic and greedy shit the NHL does, constantly. of course it is fair and right to be angry, specifically, at the pittsburgh penguins, and even specifically sidney crosby, who had the platform and the opportunity to do a good or even just morally neutral thing and instead chose to do a gross thing. i support 100% your and my right to be angry at them/him.
it isn’t that i think it’s not a big deal. i think it’s a very big deal. i’m so, so angry at them. i’m angry with them while i’m watching them play and i’m angry with them while i’m ignoring their interviews out of spite. remember that scene in sex in the city where charlotte is like, “mommy loves you but she can’t look at you right now” to her dog?
that’s how i feel about the pittsburgh penguins.
but i still want them to threepeat. if you feel like you have/want to give up being a fan of the pittsburgh penguins, or even make them your hockey nemeses, i support you doing that. do what you gotta do, bub. we all have our limits about what we can tolerate in the things we love, and if this is your limit, then please! abandon them. i don’t blame you.
Q: BUT– A: i know, buddy. i know.
Q: IF YOU STAY A PENGUINS FAN YOU MUST CARE MORE ABOUT SPORTS THAN DOING WHAT’S RIGHT. A: okay, well. we’re all works in progress.
Q: I CAN’T FOLLOW YOU IF YOU’RE GOING TO KEEP REBLOGGING THE PENGUINS. A: i get it!!!! be free, little bird.
sometimes I just want to talk about media theory and its relation to media criticism. stuff like “criticism of media should be proportional to its source, reach, and context in order to be effective” where:
Source: is the media putting itself forward as an expert, educational, or reliable source? Is the creator seen as knowledgeable? Historical accuracy is very important in documentaries, far less so in doctor who episodes. Documentaries should face harsher criticism than doctor who for historical innacuracy.
Reach: how many people can be expected to see this? How accessible will it be? What are the barriers to entry? highly promoted movies should face harsher criticism than unlisted YouTube videos. Obscene content with no warning should face harsher criticism than obscene content with a warning.
Context: where was this published? How does it compare to other similar works on the same platform and in the same time period? How reputable is the platform and the media shown alongside it? Works published in an online journal should face harsher criticism than tumblr posts. 20 year old editorials should face less harsh criticism for not using modern vocabulary.
Effective: how likely is this criticism to stimulate a productive discussion and potentially effect change? Would a change by the creator and/or audience have an impact that’s worth your time? Spending 48 hours to get someone to take down a post with less than 200 views just isn’t worth it, especially if you increase its reach in the process. Sometimes languishing in obscurity is a more effective criticism than anything you could say.
Sometimes languishing in obscurity is a more effective criticism than anything you could say.
This is something I feel like everyone needs to understand a lot better.
