#Colonial Heights

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Photograph Collection

Colonial Heights Band Boosters Club presents BYE BYE BIRDIE, a Musical Comedy. Colonial Heights High School Auditorium, April 4,5,6, 1963. George Harold Edwards Scrapbook

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

I really don’t think we should be treating morality as a linear thing in ASOIAF because what often happens is that we start to stray from the actual conversations that we need to be having regarding the depths of making a moral choice and even the circumstances involved. To try and blankly paint any one character as the “most morally good” isn’t really taking us anywhere. And it certainly isn’t helpful when people in this fandom want to try and prove that characters are “grey” but not moral (what does that even mean??) because they did one “bad” thing. If ASOIAF stans were to have their way, then:

Jon is not a morally good person because he threatened Gilly

Dany cannot be considered to be compassionate because she sanctioned torture against the wine seller’s daughters

Arya cant be good because she has killed people

and so on, and so on….

But this is such a draining, and oft times frustrating, conversation to have because you see just how shallow the above listed examples are? Readers are listing only singular instances across a narrative that spans thousand and thousands of pages, and there’s absolutely no context involved. Why did Jon threaten Gilly? Why did Dany resort to torture and at one point did she do it? Who did Arya kill and why? And why do those singular instances negate everything else in their arcs?

What usually happens when we have the 12847647282th unnecessary conversation about who is the “most good” character in ASOIAF is that we start getting blanket statements with no elaboration. And the only people ever considered are Ned, Brienne, and Davos, and sometimes the children like Shireen or Tommen. Mind you, Ned and Davos are not perfect or without their own faults either; much has been said about Ned’s abilities as a father and it’s implied that Davos was not entirely faithful to his wife. And based on her current arc, Brienne will surely have to make morally tough choices regarding oaths and knightly honor. Plus theres the irony of including literal children when they have not been put in situations where they actually have to make morally difficult choices and live with the consequences.

ASOIAF shows us that people who are capable of incredible kindness and compassion are also capable of doing unpleasant things.

Jon threatened Gilly….because he was trying to save another child whom he believed to be at risk of human sacrifice(!!) and was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But why does that singular instance negate the fact that his arc has been about him standing up for the “lesser than”? Why does that negate the fact that he stood up for Sam against a superior when there was nothing to gain for him? Why does it negate the fact that he went out of his way to equip Arya in a way that society would have deemed inappropriate? Why does it negate the fact that he dedicated the entirety of his time as Lord Commander to fight an institution that had upheld racism/xenophobia for millennia? Why should we filter out all those moments of kindness, compassion, and deep empathy that Jon has even without him thinking?

Dany sanctioned torture….but she was trying to solve the murder of an innocent victim AND this brought her no joy. But why does that negate the fact that when she gained unimaginable power, she could’ve high tailed to Westeros to use it to her benefit and become queen, but instead chose to stay in Essos where she has no personal responsibility just so she could fight the institutional evil that is slavery? Why does it negate Dany who went to personally treat plague victims at great risk to herself?

Arya has killed some….but it’s in self defense or in defense of others who are disenfranchised. But why does this negate that she is one of the few people in the series how goes out of her way to show kindness and friendship to those who are not as economically or politically advantaged as she is (e.g., Mycah)? Why does it negate that she took fellow slaves under her protection when she herself had little power to fight for her own survival at Harrenhall? Why does it negate that when she saw those caged soldiers whom she was angry with for their actions, instead of leaving them to die instead offered them the only kindness she could at the moment: a drink of water?

Trying to have arguments about morality but stripping everything down to ‘x character did y bad thing (regardless of context) and that’s why they can’t be good’ is, to be blunt, ridiculous. And it isn’t a particularly interesting way to engage with the text. Character journeys, especially well written ones, are rarely ever in a straight line. There’s amazing highs and terrible lows. GRRM gives us so many characters like Jon, Dany, Arya, Sansa, Ned, etc. who even in their lows, have gleams of compassion and exceptional kindness. It doesn’t do anyone any good to filter those moments out to make the books more digestible; and I’m being a little generous here, because so many readers have a very shallow level of engagement with the series and it shows in conversation. And we also shouldn’t pit these characters unfairly against those who have never been in similarly difficult situations that required them to make hard choices. Because when we do, we start to completely miss the point all together.

[xcrimsonlunaticx]

Art block has me on a chokehold these days so here's another doodle blurrp (now with added comments)

Recent redesign of gizmo in my zombie au ive been neglecting

(More in undercut )

Started a d&d au a few months ago but only had the capacity to do angel's design. (She's a paladin)

Imma sucker for "broke cali teen" slice of life and just started outer banks on netflix, and realized how much it just fits

[deathlonging]

so. vampire heathcliff

[especiallyhaytham]

6'5" Connor in Arno's (already skintight) outfit vs. 5'8" Arno in Connor's outfit

[dysmotility]

“israel is the only place jews can be safe” BITCH HAVE U EVER HEARD OF THE UPPER WEST SIDE

[news4dzhozhar]

[thelastlivingme]

One of my uni essays this semester was on The War of The Worlds so please have my Martians drawn hastily on the whiteboard in the study room in effort to get into the right mood

[pencopanko]

I've noticed that with the rise of awareness on Palestine, it comes with the death or at last the decline of stan culture as well. A lot of people in Hollywood have come out saying "Israel has the right to defend itself" when in reality it doesn't since it is a colonial power, and I have seen folks calling out for boycotts of present and future projects involving said people, especially now that the SAG-AFTRA won their deal. The backlash has been strong enough that I've seen even the most dedicated of fans denouncing their favorite celebrities.

Speaking of SAG-AFTRA... The timing is weirdly suspicious. I have seen folks claiming that this is supposedly a distraction. Personally I don't know, but if that really is the case... You know what to do.

Stay vigilant. Stay focused. Piracy is a thing. Your entertainment can wait. Humanity needs you more.

That is all for now, may your watermelons taste fresh and sweet.

🍉

Salam Semangka, Penco

[v-exian]

Another (third one????) Oardivian oc, Anemone, belongs to Oardiva made by -> @dimorphodon-x

I GOT THE NAME FROM MY BESTEST ONLINE FRIEND -> @pale-fairytales <3 thank youuuu

So yes, he is in Cutlass’s large gang thingy. I don't know what his role might be in it, maybe a messanger, transports things, interrogator or sells illegal weapons, whichever one, I'll figure it out later.

I'm thinking he came into this gang by how he was desperate for money and security, and he's been in Abysso since he was a lil guy so it's all he knows. He’d be definitely a ‘why’ person, “why do I have to do that?” “why are we doing this?” Etc etc, which gets him trouble a lot, and doesn’t really like his superiors. BUT he’d maybe look up (really really bad person to look up to..) to Cutlass. After all, powerful, ruthless, etc, everything he thinks is valuable in living in Abysso.

Honestly, his voice claim would be some of Ashnikko’s songs, and personality as well. The best ones that would describe him would be ‘You Make Me Sick!’ ‘STUPID’ ‘Tantrum’ and ‘Hi, It’s Me’

His lil floaty thing that’s in front of his optics is like a hologram projector, and it’s where he stores most of his information in. He can make it go away, but he prefers not to.

[tricornonthecob]

He's not drunk he's just from Milford.

Bonus:

He's not drunk he's just from Philadelphia

[libraryofva]

Recent Acquisition - Photograph Collection

Easter. George Harold Edwards Scrapbook

[real-life-cloud]

saw death cab for cutie & the postal service!!!! it was so good!!!!! super drunk lady ruined parts of it but she got lost and didn't come back for the last set at least lmao

[louderfade]

The Cucumber Tree Magnolia (Magnolia accuminata) in Colonial Heights, Virginia sits in front of the Violet Bank Museum overlooking the Appomattox River and Old Town Petersburg. When viewing the tree for the first time, it looks almost comical in size and stature next to the relatively small museum building with its white peeling paint. This particular Cucumber Tree Magnolia is also estimated to be the second largest of its species in the world, with a nearly 23-foot circumference, making it that much more spectacular.

The idea of a record-holding tree usually conjures images of extremely tall trees with enormous towering crowns, but that is not this tree. Instead it’s almost the inverse with a relatively stout height but an extreme girth and outstretched, over-extended limbs that are trees in their own right. The first main scaffold limbs on the tree are at least 24 inches in diameter. They gracefully extend until their massive weight pulls them to rest on the ground.

Viewed up close, a variety of failed arboricultural practices can be seen almost as a museum in itself. Large pilings have been placed in the ground to hold up several of the low limbs, which can be argued do as much if not more damage than the tree supporting itself on the ground.  Scattered throughout the canopy are decades worth of steel cables and supports that long-ago arborists installed to maintain the tree and with time many of them have broken or gone slack. It’s most interesting to see such failed support systems hanging from limbs that have once again provided their own support on the soil.

[flimsy-roost]

if you're a non-native NIMBY then you literally believe that you deserve to live in that place more than people who grew up there, bitch you're an invasive species

[pulquedeguayaba]

Volume 2 ❄️