#Dante Vicario

[gamekids-firewolf]

pgs 1 - 3

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I finally finished this GIANT project I made for my dad, so. Posting time! I started working on this before I published book 1, so. This comic has weirdness to it, but it is basically the first 9 chapters of book 1!

Anyway. Prologue!

[characteroulette]

You'd think that Petel would be the foil to Dante. They're, at first glance, opposites. Dante is afraid of everything, Petel is unable to feel fear. Dante is endlessly secretive, Petel is very open about their truths. Petel gives off the energy of a lone wolf but is very pack oriented, Dante is the actual lone wolf.

But they're actually too similar to be foils. Predator for predator. The desire to destroy and the desire to consume. This similarity is the whole reason they're able to understand one another and become partners.

So then, who is Dante's foil? Because he does have one. Is it Damon, who is his clearest opposition? (Popular vs bullied, comfortable in his skin vs wanting to tear his skin open.) Is it Aglaé? (Beast of bones and flesh vs beast of blood and flames, never hides his teeth vs always hiding his danger.) Neither of those really seem right, especially with how little focus they get in the story (I'm sorry I'm sorry aaaaaaa).

The true foil to Dante is, in fact, Vektor.

They still have similarities, of course. Artificially raised kids who aren't very good at interacting with the world or blending into society. Kids with status that doesn't actually matter. They have to be similar in some ways, being raised in very similarly sheltered manners.

But this similarity marks their starting points. Their foil nature towards one another develops as they take this start and run in completely different directions.

Dante is tired of being human. Petel encourages him to let down his walls, to accept friendship, and then to acknowledge that his innate danger is a part of him. Dante grabs his humanity and, after everything, RUNS in the farthest direction from it as possible. He is fire and flames and the root of everything wrong for his friends. He has power, he is Change, and he burns what he touches. It's just the nature of his being.

Vektor is drawn to being human. He's a learning program, so his actions and behaviours change over time the more he interacts with the core cast. His understanding of his own programming evolved the more he learns, the more he is loved by his friends. Their love is strange, as none of them can call themselves normal, but it is undeniably love. Being shown all this love, is it any wonder that he would grab onto their humanity and sprint towards what they represent instead of away from it? They call themselves humans mostly, and so of course he would want to join them in their humanity.

Dante's arc is one of descending into his monstrous nature. Vektor's, in perfect contrast, is one of crashing through his artificial nature. By the end, Dante is more free of the shackles humanity chained onto him and Vektor is less the program he was written to be. It's why the only way it could ever end was with Dante and Vektor switching places. It's why they both had to sacrifice themselves for these friends who have helped them become their true selves.

Anyway Vektoria is a parallel to Azula if she won and then found herself trapped in helping out the heroes thanks for coming to my ramble about my kids.

[characteroulette]

THAT'S MY FIRE BOY!!! :'D !!

I was gonna make this a less silly doodle but I do not have the energy atm + artblock however!!! happy birthday @characteroulette here’s your fire boy!

[lamilanomagazine]

Trieste: La rassegna “La rinascita dell’Europa” a cura di Massimiliano Finazzer Flory

Trieste: La rassegna “La rinascita dell’Europa” a cura di Massimiliano Finazzer Flory. “La rinascita dell’Europa”, rassegna a cura di Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, promossa dal Comune di Trieste, Assessorato Politiche della Cultura e del Turismo, è stata presentata mercoledì 19 aprile nella Sala Giunta del Comune di Trieste dall'Assessore alle Politiche della Cultura e del Turismo, Giorgio Rossi alla presenza dell’attore e regista Massimiliano Finazzer Flory e da Monsignor Ettore Malnati, Vicario Episcopale per il Laicato e la Cultura. La rassegna è articolata in quattro appuntamenti che si svolgeranno dal 27 aprile al 23 novembre. Sono in programma una Lectio magistralis del filosofo Massimo Cacciari, un intervento di Marcello Veneziani, letture teatrali con accompagnamento musicale dell’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, proiezione di docufilm e letture tratte dai “Promessi sposi” di Alessandro Manzoni e “Scritti corsari” di Pier Paolo Pasolini. “Finazzer Flory per cui nutro una grandissima stima – ha esordito l’Assessore Rossi - ha pensato di proporci quattro momenti di riflessione che affrontano un tema di grande attualità come quello dell’Europa, che oggi sta attraversando un momento di crisi e non è certo quella che si aspettavano i suoi padri fondatori, che la pensavano come un’Europa dei popoli. Il titolo di questi quattro incontri, “La rinascita dell’Europa”, deriva dalla necessità di ripartire iniziando proprio dalla riscoperta delle radici fondanti della cultura europea, che sono quelle cristiane”. “Questi incontri che si collegano idealmente alle “Lezioni di Storia” promosse con grande successo dal Comune di Trieste e ideate da Editori Laterza – ha proseguito Rossi – rappresentano un’occasione per affiancare alla cultura dei momenti di riflessione. Avremo modo così, anche grazie alla presenza che ho fortemente voluto del filosofo Massimo Cacciari – ha proseguito Rossi - di proporre quella cultura con la “C” maiuscola che non dev’essere di nicchia, ma davvero alla portata di tutti”. “Per gratitudine nei confronti di Monsignor Malnati, che ha ospitato le letture su Alighieri “Dante nelle chiese”, il primo appuntamento – ha concluso Rossi - si terrà, giovedì 27 aprile alle ore 18.00, presso la Chiesa Cattolica Parrocchiale Nostra Signora di Sion”. Monsignor Malnati, ringraziando il Comune di Trieste per il sostegno al progetto, ha ricordato come l’idea, poi sposata dall’Amministrazione comunale, sia partita dall'associazione culturale Studium Fidei di Trieste con l’obiettivo di offrire una lettura della cultura delle radici europee, ma anche delle prospettive della cultura Occidentale. “Pertanto, iniziando da Dante, soggetto delle Letture nelle chiese, con questo progetto abbiamo voluto affrontare le radici di Platone e Socrate per poi arrivare a Manzoni e Pascal coinvolgendo il territorio e promuovendo un dialogo tra cultura e fede attraverso la lettura. E abbiamo cercato di fare in modo che il dialogo si fondasse su valori culturali e non solo spirituali. Finazzer Flory ha condiviso questa progettualità con lo Studium, mettendoci la sua passione e competenza. Partendo da Dante abbiamo inteso rivedere tutto il patrimonio valoriale e culturale dell’Europa affinché l’Occidente non sparisca di fronte a situazioni di conflittualità, ma anzi, alzi la testa e proponga al mondo quella civiltà che parte dai greci, passa dai romani e viene resa qualificante dal mondo cristiano, la cui cultura rappresenta – ha proseguito Monsignor Malnati – il fondamento di tutto ciò che l’Occidente è oggi”. “Con questo ciclo di appuntamenti – ha concluso Monsignor Malnati - avremo l’opportunità di riflettere, partendo dalle radici della nostra identità culturale, su chi siamo e cosa possiamo continuare a essere a favore di un’umanità capace di porre al centro la dignità della persona”. “Quando, nel 2017, ho ricevuto il Sigillo Trecentesco dal Sindaco Roberto Di- piazza – ha ricordato Finazzer Flory – mi sono sentito in debito con la città e impe- gnato a essere attivo a Trieste sul piano culturale; ho voluto ripagare Trieste di questo grande onore con una rassegna che vuol essere il primo passo di un percorso spero non breve”. “Qui a Trieste – ha proseguito Finazzer Flory - siamo greci, romani, ebrei, cri- stiani; siamo i portatori di una rivoluzione scientifica e poi tecnica, ma prima di tutto siamo europei. Questo progetto intende rispondere a una precisa domanda: se voglia- mo sapere come sarà l’Europa un domani per i nostri figli, dobbiamo chiederci come e in che termini l’Europa di oggi proviene dal passato. Oggi l’Europa è agonizzante, ma non muore, perché la sua radice greca e soprattutto cristiana fa sì che rinasca sem- pre. E questo progetto viene presentato qui perché Trieste rappresenta il luogo ideale, in quanto la rassegna parla di navigazione. Al pubblico proponiamo infatti tre forme di navigazione: quella sensoriale, quella basata sulla ragione e infine quella della fede”. “Qual è il presente del passato? La memoria. Qual è il presente del presente? La percezione. Qual è il presente del futuro? L’avvenire. Senza queste tre dimensioni non siamo padroni del tempo e del nostro tempo”. “La rassegna, a ingresso libero – ha proseguito Finazzer Flory - intende illu- strare una certa idea di Europa Continente culturale attraverso Platone, Pascal, Man- zoni, la Fallaci e Pasolini. Un’unione europea come riunione di culture. Da quella greca a quella letteraria, da quella cristiana a quella contemporanea”. “La nostra Europa è fatta di cultura e le forme scelte sono quindi il teatro, che faremo dialogare con la letteratura e la filosofia per poi spostarci al cinema, con il coinvolgimento quindi di tutte le forme d’arte”. “Una rassegna tra teatro, filosofia, letteratura e cinema per riconoscere e rap- presentare quindi un’identità “Plurale” che tuttavia ha un volto e una voce: quella dell’interpretazione italiana”. “Quattro eventi – ospitati nel Giardino del Museo Sartorio, nella Chiesa Cattolica Parrocchiale Nostra Signora di Sion e in Sala Luttazzi del Magazzino 26 di Porto Vecchio, ora Porto Vivo - per ricercare e rappresentare le nostre radici, la nostra storia, attraverso la filosofia greca, la tradizione cristiana, la nostra letteratura. Per celebrare anche due anniversari fondamentali dell’Europa culturale: i 400 anni dalla nascita di Pascal e i 150 anni dalla scomparsa di Manzoni”. “Quattro eventi – ha concluso Finazzer Flory - per una rassegna che vuole of- frire formazione culturale alla nostra identità civica, tra teatro e musica, conferenza- spettacolo e cinema, con un taglio multidisciplinare”. Il programma prevede nel dettaglio: Giovedì 27 aprile 2023 alle ore 18.00 Chiesa Cattolica Parrocchiale Nostra Signora di Sion in collaborazione con il Vicario Episcopale per il Laicato e la Cultura Mons. Ettore Malnati: “Morte di Socrate e l’amore di Platone”. Lettura teatrale di Massimiliano Finazzer Flory tratta dal Simposio di Platone e dall’Apologia di Socrate con accompagnamento musicale all’arpa e oboe, musicisti dell’Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano La sola cosa che Socrate sa è che non si deve vivere nell'ingiustizia, sia verso l'uomo che verso il dio: se fosse rilasciato a patto di non esercitare più la filosofia, egli non potrebbe accettare, in quanto starebbe contravvenendo agli ordini divini e non si sta- rebbe prendendo cura degli ateniesi che ama, lasciandoli in balia di sé stessi. Con queste sue ultime parole, Socrate ricorda ai giudici che ad un uomo per bene non è possibile che accadano dei mali, e li esorta ad interrogare i propri figli come avreb- be fatto lui, per avvicinarli alla virtù. “Ecco il motivo per cui la voce di Dio non mi ha interdetto e perché io, contro i miei accusatori, contro quelli che mi hanno condannato, non ho alcun rancore, sebbene essi mi abbiano accusato e condannato non con questa intenzione, ma per farmi del male: in questo sono da biasimare”. Lunedì 19 giugno 2023 alle ore 21.00 Giardino del Museo Sartorio per il programma Trieste Estate 2023 “Omaggio a Blaise Pascal in occasione del 400° anniversario dalla sua nascita (19 giugno 1623)” con letture teatrali dei Promessi Sposi interpretate da Massimiliano Fi- nazzer Flory con una filologica riduzione drammaturgica, dei capitoli I, VI, VIII, XII, XXI, XXXIV e XXXVIII: Lectio magistralis del filosofo Massimo Cacciari. Secondo Pascal matematico, fisico, filosofo e teologo francese le uniche domande ve- ramente importanti che l’uomo dovrebbe porsi sono gli interrogativi intorno a sé stes- so: spiegarsi, conoscersi, provare a cogliere il senso della propria esistenza. Dal 1654, il filosofo si dedica a Dio e alla fede. Lavora alla scrittura della Apologia del cristianesimo “contro tutti coloro che attacca- no la verità e la santità del Cristianesimo”, opera incompiuta che diventerà il suo più grande capolavoro. Giovedì 14 settembre 2023 alle ore 20.30 Magazzino 26 - Sala Luttazzi “Intervista impossibile ad Oriana Fallaci” in dialogo con Massimiliano Finazzer Flory, interviene Marcello Veneziani. L’omaggio ad Oriana Fallaci (29 giugno 1929 – 15 settembre 2006) “una donna in cerca della verità perché vi sono momenti, nella vita, in cui tacere diventa una colpa e parlare diventa un obbligo” con un’antologia dei suoi scritti sull’identità e proiezione di contributi video tratti dalle sue interviste. Oriana era considerata la giornalista ita- liana più influente e controversa del XX secolo. Ha condotto la sua vita, documentan- do ed esplorando il mondo con l'obiettivo di cercare la verità. Trasferitasi a New York per apprendere da vicino la società americana in trasformazione, nel 1967 diventa la prima corrispondente di guerra donna durante la guerra in Vietnam. Giovedì 23 novembre 2023 alle ore 18.30 Magazzino 26 - Sala Luttazzi Proiezione in anteprima per Trieste del docufilm “Altri Comizi d’Amore” regia Massimiliano Finazzer Flory in collaborazione con Rai Cinema e il patrocinio della FICE. Letture interpretate dal regista e attore Massimiliano Finazzer Flory tratte da “Scritti corsari” di Pier Paolo Pasolini. Il soggetto è Pasolini o meglio il suo metodo: dire la verità poeticamente con dichia- razioni sull’amore nel nostro tempo. «È uno sguardo da dentro gli occhiali da sole di Pier Paolo Pasolini, una visione in bianco e nero per un’estetica che livella senza dif- ferenze di ceto e di colore la gente su un tema: cos’è l’amore?” afferma Massimiliano Finazzer Flory. “Altri Comizi d’Amore” offre voce e volto a un Paese che crede nella diversità a par- tire dalla poesia. Un’umanità trasversale: compagni di classe di Pasolini e studenti di oggi, cantanti, scrittori, homeless, portatori di handicap, preti francescani ed ex tossi- codipendenti, travestiti e attrici hard, insieme a ragazzi e ragazze dei giorni nostri. Volti sconosciuti e volti che l’hanno conosciuto come Blasco Giurato, Ornella Vano- ni, Fulvio Abbate, Maria Rita Parsi». “Altri Comizi d’Amore” lungo un viaggio in bianco e nero per restituire un’epoca perduta, ma non perdente e tuttavia ancora possibile: quella dell’impegno dove trova- re il coraggio per guardare in faccia il male e far vincere una domanda sulla fede, sul- la speranza, sulla carità. Durata: 70 minuti, con 46 interviste sul tema dell’amore ispirate dai pensieri e dalle parole di Pasolini. Tutti gli eventi sono a ingresso libero.... #notizie #news #breakingnews #cronaca #politica #eventi #sport #moda Read the full article

[diamondconfessions]

the Italians are fucking wild

I guess that’s what happens when your boss is a couple fillings short of a whole cannoli.

( @dantexxvicario )

[jgmail]

La iconografía y los símbolos imperiales del poder

Por Giovanni Balducci

Traducción de Juan Gabriel Caro Rivera

 El filósofo alemán Ernst Cassirer decía que el hombre era un “animal symbolicum”, un "animal simbólico", y en su libro Antropología filosófica sostiene que: “La razón es un término verdaderamente inadecuado para abarcar las formas de la vida cultural humana en toda su riqueza y diversidad, pero todas estas formas son formas simbólicas. Por lo tanto, en lugar de definir al hombre como un animal racional lo definiremos como un animal simbólico. De este modo podemos designar su diferencia específica y podemos comprender el nuevo camino abierto al hombre: el camino de la civilización” (1).

 La política, al igual que otros fenómenos humanos, siempre ha estado, en el sentido más elevado del término, sometida al poder de la simbolización. Ciencias como la heráldica, o la iconografía del poder temporal y espiritual, que anteriormente estaban muy estrechamente relacionados con el ejercicio del mismo, son prueba de ello.

 Por ejemplo, en la iconografía occidental el Emperador siempre ha sido simbólicamente asociado al águila, porque se considera que su poder proviene de lo alto, ya que se le atribuye a las aves de rapiña la capacidad de ver más allá y, en cierto modo, poseer cualidades como la clarividencia o la iluminación. En el Bestiaire de Philippe de Thaon, escrito en 1126, se dice que “el águila es la reina de las aves, siendo un ejemplo muy hermoso de las mismas. En latín, se la llama la ‘clarividente’ porque mira al sol en el momento en que este es más brillante y, aunque lo mira fijamente, no aparta de él su vista” (2).

 El símbolo del águila era el signum de las legiones romanas. Por otro lado, se creía que el alma de los césares, una vez se liberaba de sus cuerpos, ascendía gracias a un águila hacia la inmortalidad solar. El águila era considerada el símbolo sagrado del dios del cielo y padre de los dioses: Júpiter. Julius Evola escribe que “entre los aztecas se creía que el águila era la criatura que indicaba el lugar donde se debía construir la capital de un nuevo imperio” y que “el ba de los jeroglíficos egipcios, representado muchas veces como un gavilán (equivalente al águila), era considerado como la parte del ser humano destinada a la existencia celestial eterna en tanto estado de gloria”. Además, “en el Rig-Veda es un águila quien el trae a Indra una bebida mística que lo convertiría en el señor de los dioses” (3).

 Cuando Constantino trasladó la sede imperial de Roma a Constantinopla, el águila bicéfala se convirtió en el símbolo por excelencia del Imperio Romano de Occidente y del Imperio Romano de Oriente, representando las dos capitales que tenía el Imperio. El águila bizantina fue posteriormente adoptada por Moscú después de la caída de Constantinopla. El águila bicéfala simbolizaba para los rusos la unión del poder temporal y espiritual en la persona del Zar. Pero luego el águila de dos cabezas pasó a simbolizar el hecho de que Rusia abarcaba dos continentes: Europa y Asia. Mientras tanto, el águila bicéfala negra sobre un fondo dorado se convirtió en el símbolo del Sacro Imperio entre los pueblos occidentales; el primero que usó este símbolo fue Luis de Baviera en 1345 y, más tarde, el emperador Segismundo una vez subió al trono imperial en 1410.

 Otro de los símbolos imperiales más conocidos (y que también es usado por el Papado) es el llamado globo terráqueo (globus cruciger), compuesto por una esfera que tiene una cruz en la parte superior de la misma. Este símbolo representa el dominio de Cristo (la cruz) sobre el cosmos (la esfera) y también se puede ver en la tiara papal, ya que el Papa es considerado como el “padre de los príncipes y reyes, rector del mundo, vicario de Cristo en la tierra”. La cruz es considerada como una doble conjunción donde se cruzan diametralmente dos opuestos, siendo el símbolo por excelencia de la unidad entre dos extremos como lo son el cielo y la tierra. Incluso antes de que apareciera el cristianismo, la cruz era concebida como la unión entre el tiempo y el espacio, por lo que siempre ha sido considerada como el símbolo universal de la mediación. La cruz se convirtió en el emblema del Emperador por su función de mediador entre Dios y los hombres en cuando que este asumía un poder temporal gracias a un mandato divino. El globo terrestre coronado por la Cruz es una insignia del poder imperial que, desde un punto de vista iniciático, significa el dominio ejercido sobre el Alma del Mundo, es decir, sobre el fluido vital universal que anima a los cuerpos siderales: una antigua tradición afirma que quien logre coagular y disolver los coágulos de este fluido a voluntad será el amo del Alma del Mundo y detentará un poder mágico supremo.

 Otros símbolos relacionados con el poder y la autoridad real e imperial son el cetro, considerado como el “eje del mundo” (en Oriente existe un equivalente en el símbolo del vajra o dorje de la tradición budista) y el trono, considerado como un “polo” y “centro inmóvil”. En Oriente existe la figura de chakravartin (gobernante universal) relacionado con el símbolo ancestral de la esvástica, que igualmente esta relacionada con un simbolismo “polar”.

 Otro simbolismo imperial muy utilizado es el Sol que (como estrella luminosa de la que surge la vida, la luz y el calor) es considerada como la epifanía suprema de lo divino. Dante escribió sobre el significado divino del simbolismo solar lo siguiente: “no existe cosa visible más digna en este mundo que el sol como símbolo de Dios, ya que primero se ilumina a sí mismo y luego a todos los demás cuerpos celestes y terrestres”. El Sol representa al Emperador que se encuentra investido por un principio de autoridad máxima y universal, pero que al mismo tiempo cuenta con la más noble de todas las almas. Mircea Eliade afirma que “es importante investigar la teología solar que siempre esta relacionada con las élites, ya sean estas soberanos, héroes, iniciados o filósofos”. El poder imperial está asociado en Japón con el simbolismo solar, encarnado en la diosa Amaterasu ōmikami, diosa del Sol y progenitora de la dinastía gobernante. El Sol es también el emblema del Rey del Mundo y la liturgia católica llama a Cristo Sol Justitiae: el Verbo es el “Sol espiritual”, es decir, el verdadero “Centro del Mundo”. La Biblia usa ampliamente el simbolismo solar para designar a Cristo y entre los primeros cristianos se representaba a Cristo no como un ser con rasgos humanos, sino como un sol resplandeciente: no es casualidad que el monograma IHS, coronado por una cruz y colocado dentro de un fondo resplandeciente. sea uno de los cristogramas más conocidos. Incluso hoy el simbolismo solar es muy utilizado a la hora de representar a Cristo, para ello basta ver como las custodias de las hostias casi siempre tienen la forma de un disco solar. Curiosamente, también se le atribuye un simbolismo solar a otra conocida figura: el príncipe Siddhārtha Gautama, el Buda histórico, que a menudo es representado en la iconografía tradicional con un disco solar en la cabeza.

 Otro símbolo que une a Cristo a este gran filósofo de la India es el león: la enseñanza suprema de Buda es llamada el “Rugido del León”, siendo el león el símbolo de la tribu de Judá en el Antiguo Testamento. Según la tradición, Jesucristo desciende de esta tribu. El león es considerado universalmente como un símbolo de realeza, poder y nobleza, además de ser considerado como el rey de la sabana por los pueblos del África subsahariana. En la tradición islámica, el imán Alí, nombrado designado directamente por el profeta Mahoma, era conocido por los epítetos de Ghadanfar, león, o Asadullah, león de Dios. El signo zodiacal de Leo es considerado el domicilio del Sol en la astrología. Los leones fueron venerados durante mucho tiempo en el Cercano y Lejano Oriente y fueron utilizados por los distintos gobernantes como símbolos del poder real, al igual que en Europa: el león, con su reputación de animal dotado de gran fuerza, valor y nobleza (elementos relacionados con el ideal de la caballería medieval) fue utilizado como figura ornamental de los reyes francos (merovingios y carolingios). La introducción del león como símbolo heráldico en Inglaterra puede ser atribuida a Enrique II, que utilizaba un escudo rojo con un león dorado rampante. Ricardo I de Inglaterra recibió el epíteto de “Corazón de León” por su valor y heroísmo. Muchos emperadores y papas llevaban ese nombre.

 Notas

 (1) Ernest Cassirer, Saggio sull’uomo, Mimesis, Milano, 2011. (2) Le Bestiaire, Éd. Emmanuel Walberg, Genève, Slatkine Reprints, 1970. (3) Julius Evola, Rivolta contro il mondo moderno, Edizioni Mediterranee, Roma, 1998.

[corallorosso]

4 MAGGIO 1515 - INIZIA LA CENSURA SUI LIBRI DA PARTE DEI PAPI CHE NON HANNO MAI AMATO LA STAMPA E LA CULTURA LIBERA Inter Sollicitudines è una bolla pontificia di papa Leone X pubblicata il 4 maggio 1515, per promulgare il decreto della X sessione del Concilio Lateranense V relativo alla censura preventiva della stampa. Nella bolla il papa elogia l’invenzione della stampa, visto come un dono di Dio, che permette il diffondersi della cultura, la formazione degli eruditi, ed in campo cristiano la diffusione della fede e della dottrina cristiana; ma insieme denuncia anche i mali che ne possono derivare al cristianesimo e alla Chiesa per il diffondersi di errori, di pronunciamenti contrari alla fede cristiana, di attacchi contro uomini di Chiesa e per i mali che tali letture possono provocare nell’animo dei semplici fedeli. Perciò il papa, temendo che uno strumento “inventato per la gloria di Dio, la crescita della fede e la propagazione delle scienze utili” possa diventare “un ostacolo alla salvezza dei fedeli in Cristo”, decide che nessuno può stampare un libro senza l’autorizzazione del vescovo locale (o del Vicario del Papa, se si tratta di libri da stampare nello Stato della Chiesa), sotto pena di scomunica. Nasceva così l’imprimatur, ossia il visto ecclesiastico per la stampa dei libri. Purtroppo per i papi il divieto non funzionò abbastanza da prevenire la protesta, che avvenne soltanto due anni dopo (1517), di Martin Lutero, che di fatto diede inizio alla Riforma Protestante, per il cui successo fu fondamentale la diffusione delle opere "eretiche" grazie all'invenzione della stampa. Per cercare di rimediare al danno e prevenire ulteriori pericoli la Chiesa decise di inasprire il controllo sulla stampa, considerata sempre più pericolosa. Per questo nel 1558 fu istituito l'Indice dei libri proibiti (in latino Index librorum prohibitorum), che fu organizzato dalla Congregazione della sacra romana e universale Inquisizione (o Sant'Uffizio). La cultura italiana, che nei due secoli precedenti era la più avanzata dell'Occidente, essendo stata il cardine dell'Umanesimo e del Rinascimento, iniziò a declinare. Scienziati e filosofi come Giordano Bruno, Bruno Campanella e Galileo Galilei furono giustiziati, imprigionati o messi sotto silenzio. Autori come Dante, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Erasmo di Rotterdam vennero proibiti. L'Italia calò in una cappa di grigiore culturale che durò almeno un paio di secoli, fino a che non fu spazzata dall'Illuminismo. Da notare che l'indice dei libri proibiti fu soppresso soltanto il 4 febbraio del 1966 con la fine dell'inquisizione romana. (I Maestri del Socialismo)

[aceofdrabbles]

FAQ

Q: what the hell is wrong with you?

A: yeah

[dantexxvicario]

&&. word has it ( dante “the ripper” vicario ) was just spotted around the city. ( he ) is a ( 35 ) year old affiliated with ( the italian mafia ). it’s been said that ( he ) resembles ( michael trevino ). ( he ) has been said to be ( charismatic & strategic ) but also quite ( psychotic & easily angered ). ( he ) is currently serving as ( don of the italian mafia ). // ace

( dante vicario ) would describe ( himself ) as a ( winter ) person and would identify as a ( chaotic evil ). ( his ) birthday is ( october 25th ), making ( his/her/their ) star sign ( scorpio ) and ( his ) animal sign the ( ...the butterfly? ). ( his ) biggest pet peeve is ( leaving thinhs unclean ), and ( his ) theme song is ( sucker for pain by lil wayne ). finally, ( his ) primary goal is to ( control new york city ).

In the late 19th century, roughly 13,000 Italians immigrated to Mexico. As the years went by, nearly half of these immigrants returned back to Italy, or continued onto the United States. Once such family was the Vicario family, who formally hailed from Sicily. While many of those families have since assimilated into Mexican culture, the Vicario family stayed rooted in their ways, despite that their bloodlines had changed with several marriages and births. They continued to have strong contact with their distant relatives who still remained in Italy. As times changed, they eventually immigrated to New York City in the 1920s, where the Italian Mafia was just beginning. It would be another thirty years before the Vicario family took power of the Italian Mafia from it’s founders, and another thirty before a very specific chain of power was broken. 

Since its founding, the title of Don of the Italian Mafia has been passed down seamlessly from first born son to first born son. This was how it had always been, used as a show of power and a means of keeping the Family within the family. But, in the 1980s, the heir of the mafia — Orlando Vicario — had an affair just six months after his wedding to Nadia Hernandez, resulting in the birth of his bastard son, Nicollo. Known as an abusive, easily tempered man, Nadia did nothing to stop her new husband from taking in his illigentamant son in. It came as no surprise that the young woman kept her mouth shut on the matter, despite the ache it caused her. 

Two years later, Nadia would give birth to Orlando’s only technical legitimate son. This son would eventually become more fearsome than his father, but the monster was once a child. 

In his early years, it quickly became evident that Orlando favored his older half brother, and it was he who he would pass on command, despite the fact that Nicollo was born out of wedlock. Dante was treated horribly by his father, and in turn, Nicollo — both abused him physically and mentally at every opportunity they could, while his mother Nadia remained passive and did nothing but make excuses for Orlando.

Having inherited his father’s temper, it was as if it had been destined that Orlando was murdered by the son who he so poorly treated. But that? It would come later. As the boy became a man, Dante was treated as a grunt more than the son of a Don, forced to do his father’s dirty work in ways most men didn’t. Dante killed his first man by the time he was seventeen. Soon, the number grew. The more he was exposed to the violence of the mafia and the abuse of his father and brother, the more a dark cloud began to take hold of him. Slowly but surely, this darkness would consume him completely, and a voice began whispering in his head that he could end it all — become heir to the Mafia, because it was he who was Orlando’s son, not Nicollo. He had killed before — he sometimes forgot how many --  and he could surely do it again. All it takes is a bullet, it would whisper, wounding its way tighter and tighter around him. But, while the darkness had fully taken root by the time he was twenty, one of the few people he trusted introducted him to the woman who would eventually become the love of his life. Cassandra introduced her as Carina Delgarrd, a business major at the Melbourne Institute who had gotten in on a scholarship rather than money or fame. 

While Cassandra was known to be able to keep Dante’s demon at bay, it was Carina who could almost make it vanish completely. She pushed Dante to be a better man, to show his father he deserved the Mafia more than his worm of a half brother. But even as Dante outshown Nicollo, Orlando continued is abuse and beatings, ignoring any and all progress and benefits Dante brought to the table. 

Eventually, Dante snapped. In a meeting that involved most of the Family — his father’s closest friends, his uncles, his brother — and included Dante, his mother, and Carina, everything went red when Orlando named Nicollo the heir despite the work Dante had done. With a fresh blackeye still branding his face, the voice came back in full force, seeming to scream and whisper at the same time for him to do it. Dante’s gun loosed six bullets before he even processed what had happened. In September of 2009 — just six months after proposing to Carina — Dante Vicario murdered his father, mother, three of his uncles, and Carina. Carina, the only one who kept him calm, and who had unknowingly been carrying their child. 

After Carina’s death, Dante became a new person entirely. Done with fighting off the demon, his rageful outbursts were even worse than his father’s before him, and Dante was never afraid to end a life. Nicollo somehow survived the shooting, for reasons unknown. Dante allowed him to live, so long as he give him the mafia and do as he was bid. A true coward in the end, Nicollo agreed — begging to be spared — and would eventually become a chip in securing the loyalty of the Ivanov family... though karma would eventually come back to haunt him in the form of a shoot out that resulted in his death without Dante having to lift a finger. 

Now, his underlings stay loyal to him out of fear, and his inner circle are the only people alive who he trusts. Dante kills mercilessly, and has even gone to trial for three murders, but has managed to get off not guilty all three times despite having shot the gun himself. These murders include his father, his last living uncle who attempted a coup a year into his rule, and the don of the Russian Mafia several years later. The deaths — including those three — on his hands seem to many to count, and Dante only feels guilty for two. His wife, and his unborn child, but the voice in his dead tells him to ignore it, and to focus on his life's purpose. Control of New York City where his father couldn’t.

[celinedahl]

&&. word has it ( celine dahl ) was just spotted around the city. ( she ) is a ( 32 ) year old affiliated with ( the russian mafia ). it’s been said that ( she ) resembles ( natalie dormer ). ( she ) has been said to be ( confident & charismatic ) but also quite ( bloodthirsty & sarcastic ). ( she ) is currently serving as ( an assassin ).

( celine ) would describe ( herself ) as a ( winter ) person and would identify as a ( chaotic evil ). ( her ) birthday is ( october 30th ), making ( her ) star sign ( scorpio ) and ( her ) animal sign the ( wolf ). ( her ) biggest pet peeve is ( incompetence ), and ( her ) theme song is ( bde by qveen herby ). finally, ( her ) primary goal is to ( make money and cut a few throats along the way ).

Biography

Behind every powerful don is a vicious undertaker; a loyal dog willing to do what needs to be done in order to protect their master. One word and they’ll gladly pay a nightly visit to those who haven’t paid their dues. A nod of the head means a bullet to the skull. However, Celine Dahl is no one’s lap dog, and the Russian mafia- Viktor Valentina in particular- is painfully aware of it.

Celine’s story began from nothing. She was the offspring of two people too plagued by their own personal demons to take care of her, carted away by the authorities when they were arrested for drug-trafficking charges. Whoever had been in charge of her file had surely hoped the infant would be placed with a family with more fortunate circumstances, but their good intentions did not manifest. Like many within her line of work, she was a throwaway child; the product of constant shuffling within the system before it spat her out onto the streets to survive on her own. Her hazy childhood memories consisted of faded houses, raised voices, hands on places that they should not have been, smiles that elicited a sense of fight or flight and deep-rooted feelings of disgust. While she refuses to elaborate on those earlier years, there was one thing that the young Celine learned quickly from those times: the only one that she could count on was herself, and no one else.

With only the most basic education and no desire to return to those who called themselves her guardians, Celine had to fight for the scraps that she called a living. She acted as an escort, luring wealthy older men into her bed before she bled them dry. She sold drugs, stole from those who could afford to be stolen from and ran a lucrative side hustle blackmailing her past clients. But the wealthier the target, the higher the risks. Hired lackeys would often come after her to avenge her spurned lovers and while her initial encounters with men of these type had been harsh lessons, Celine was a quick learner. She gradually gained the skills to fight off her pursuers, and through years of practice and plenty of free time she was able to overwhelm even professional fighters without breaking a sweat. With her fighting prowess, she found work that furthered her talents, most notably through assassinations for different criminal organizations.

While being a nobody among professional assassins was generally considered a good trait, Celine lacked the type of backing necessary to secure good-paying jobs. She hadn’t have past military experience to impress potential clients and her habit of biting the hands that fed her had come back to haunt her. However, there was one individual who was willing to give the young woman a chance - Viktor Valentina. Though he had a rather naive countenance, he held no qualms in contracting her from the onset and compensated her generously for her time. One contract soon became another, and soon Celine found herself spending an unusual amount of time killing a number of targets for a single client. It was through Viktor that she made her associations with other mafias, and while she would rarely turn a job down, the Russians remained her most steadfast customers. Somewhere along the way, she struck an odd friendship with the future don that extended beyond the scope of her work. Having heard what little of her story she decided to share with him, the unusually empathetic Russian heir was quick to arrange living arrangements for her within his section of the city and ensured that she would never go without work again.

One evening, Celine was approached by a wealthy individual who had a high-valued target as his intended hit: Nikolai Valentina, Viktor’s father and the don of the Russian mafia. Recognizing that her benefactor was in danger, Celine accepted the assignment and immediately sought out the Valentina family to warn them of the impending threat. However, her cautions came far too late, for the Russian estate was already in an uproar by the time she had gotten to them. Nikolai Valentina had been murdered in cold blood, and his son had been witness to it all. The gentle, kind-hearted Viktor was the new don, which meant that the Russians would soon be gearing up for war.

Whether it was out of pity, a sense of debt towards all he had done for her, or a mere whim, Celine decided to pledge her allegiance to Viktor that night. It had taken some level of convincing and several months of tedious thug work, but she managed to join the Russian mafia on a number of special conditions. During this time, she became a key component in a number of key Russian operations, including the rescue of one Tatiana Valentina from the Irish mob. Her notoriety as a literal cutthroat with a foul temperament preceded her, and the graphic leftovers of her work became Celine’s signature among those in her field. When she was not acting on Viktor’s orders, she became a common sight at mafia meetings, providing advice and protection where needed.

Whispers of Viktor Valentina’s shadow invoked fear into the hearts of her enemies and Celine was rewarded with generous paychecks for her contributions to the family. Yet while she had attained the comfortable lifestyle that she had strived for, the assassin was far from satisfied. Two men had eluded her grasp for a frustratingly long amount of time. Alexander Barrett and Dante Vicario, the true enemies of her boss, both remained at large. While she did not agree with Viktor on many things, Celine could not sit idly by while her leader’s revenge remained unfulfilled.

While her motives remain murky, even questionable to her closest allies, one thing is for certain: Celine will do whatever it takes to achieve her goals, and she has no trouble dropping a few bodies along the way to get there

[matteomazzanti-blog1]

✧ @dantexxvicario ✧

      Holy shit. That was Dante Vicario. Matteo’s eyes were on the Don, unable to look away. Holy shit, holy fuck. There’s no way he knows who you are. But you still have to thank him. But you shouldn’t make a fool out of yourself. But. But. But. Downing the rest of his glass of whiskey, he set it down on the counter before forcing his way through the crowd and to the man.

     Don’t fuck this up, Mazzanti. “Hi.” Great start. You already look like a fool. Don’t stutter. Keep talking. “You probably don’t know who I am. That’s - that’s fine. No big deal.” Idiot. “I’m - fuck,” he swears under his breath, trying to recompose himself. “Matteo Mazzanti. I’m Luca - D’Amore, Luca D’Amore’s assistance. Assistant.” Fuck!

      “I... don’t want to take up too much of your time, I know you’ve probably got better things to do than entertain me, so -- I just... wanted to thank you... for giving me the opportunity to be at this party, and... and for not killin’ me when Luca prolly should’ve, and... for makin’ me... not... as broke as I was before. I dunno if you have anything to do with my paycheck, but, uh - if you do - thanks.” How was he supposed to recover from this? “I’m not normally... like this.”

[gamekids-firewolf]

pgs 162 - 174!!

(first) (prev)

That's it!! The end!! To find out the rest you'll have to read my books haha

[characteroulette]

Putting Dante in the timeloop would fix him, actually. In that he could finally become the full manipulator villain he was always leaning towards being. And that would fix him by utterly breaking him.

[marcussblackman]

&&. word has it ( marcus blackman ) was just spotted around the city. ( he ) is a ( 33) year old affiliated with ( the italian mafia ). it’s been said that ( he ) resembles ( can yaman ). ( he ) has been said to be ( patient & calculating ) but also quite ( apathetic & cynical ). ( he ) is currently serving as ( underboss of the italian mafia / trafficker ).

( marcus ) would describe ( himself ) as a ( summer ) person and would identify as a ( neutral evil ). ( his ) birthday is ( august 13th ), making ( his ) star sign ( leo ) and ( his ) animal sign the ( salmon ). ( his ) biggest pet peeve is ( being tricked ), and ( his ) theme song is ( dangerous by big data and joywave ). finally, ( his ) primary goal is to ( see the Italians take over New York City ).

Biography

Marcus grew up a nobody; a bastard born and thrown into the system before his crack whore of a mother could so much as utter his name out loud. As a child, he learned early on that might made right; the one who ruled the household was the one with the stronger set of fists. But as a small, scrawny runt of a boy, he was never once in a position, in those early years, where he could fight back against his ham-fisted foster parents and siblings. But what he lacked in physical strength, he made up for with a brilliant mind for observation. He learned how to bide his time, and how to say the right words to get a reaction out of his abusers. He learned out to garner pity from passerbys to earn his meals for the day, and spent countless weeks memorizing the comings and goings of his siblings, shadowing them through the unforgiving streets of Little Italy until he knew every sordid details of their miserable lives.

As he grew older, Marcus began putting these skills to proper use, turning his more physically-powerful siblings against his foster parents with a series of suggestions and insinuations. He used every tool in his repetoire just to survive each night, selecting when he would pick a fight with his abusers and blackmailing the right people into protecting him from others. He lied, cheated and swindled strangers through rigged games of cards, storing away the money for a greater plan. Marcus threatened the younger foster siblings who followed, using them as fodder and errand runners throughout Little Italy while he worked on other projects. In school, he made sure to keep his scores at just below average, straying away from extracurriculars and socializing in order and as far away from the spotlight as he could. And in the night, he roamed the streets, looking for fights or easy marks.

By the time he was sixteen, Marcus had enough funds to leave his home behind. In the early morning, while his foster parents were deep in a drunken slumber, he pilfered the gun from their night drawer and slit their throats, disappearing with all of his hard-won cash to start his life over. A strong, clever man with the world at his fingertips, he could have gone anywhere and thrived. Yet the streets of Little Italy were all he knew, and Costa Nostra, the Italian Mafia, were the only ones with the resources to help him bury his past for good. And so Marcus threw in his lot with them, renting a ramshackle apartment in the outskirts of their territory and actively seeking out a recruiter to make his way up the ranks of the lucrative organization.

As it turned out, the not-so-little Marcus was a perfect fit for the life of a mafia man. He knew the right connections and investors to ship products across New York. He knew all the ways to smuggle drugs, weapons and women in and out of the city without so much as a sniff from the cops. A few betrayals along the way and he found himself as one of the senior officers within the Italian mafia, with significant wealth pouring in from all of his trafficking ventures. It was more than he could have ever dreamed of as a kid, and he basked in his newfound wealth like the king of New York City.

After a few years in his current role, Marcus was called upon by the don himself, Dante Vicario. The underboss that had served him previously had made a grievious error, and had thus been disposed of. Given his reputation as a man who got things done, he had been tagged as their replacement. Marcus gladly accepted the new role and the prestige it came along with it. His calculating personality made his an efficient second, and his complete disregard for Dante’s love of violence made the pair of them a complementary match.

Now, at 33 years of age and a millionaire in his own right, Marcus has Dante to thank for all of his success. Given the recent influx of diamonds in New York, the infamous underboss is already concocting a plan to put the Italians at the top of the upcoming war. After all, if might makes right, then surely it's his faction that deserves to rule the city.

[diamondconfessions]

I don't trust dante's charm

I don’t trust Dante period.

( @dantexxvicario )

[natashaivanov]

&&. word has it ( natasha ivanov ) was just spotted around the city. ( she ) is a ( 26 ) year old affiliated with ( the russian mafia ). it’s been said that ( she ) resembles ( rosie huntington-whiteley ). ( she ) has been said to be ( dutiful & well-mannered ) but also quite ( prudish & strict ). ( she ) is currently serving as ( a campaign manager ). // ace

( natasha ivanov ) would describe ( herself ) as a ( fall ) person and would identify as a ( lawful good ). ( her  ) birthday is ( december 23rd ), making ( her ) star sign ( capricorn ) and ( her ) animal sign the ( hawk ). ( his/her/their ) biggest pet peeve is ( disorganization ), and (her ) theme song is ( style by taylor swift ). finally, ( her ) primary goal is to ( prove that her father’s mistakes are not her own ).

The political history of the Ivanov family is a complicated one. So complicated that Natasha Ivanov has become notorious for sighing through her nose, squaring her shoulders, and repeating the phrase pay attention, it’s a lot to explain to her close friends and co workers.

It all began with her great grandfather. There wasn’t much to tell about her grandfather Mikhail, other than the distinct  fact that it was he who brought that Ivanovs to New York City, and it was he who her grandfather, father, and older brother were named after. But, it was also he who they all gave credit to. If he hadn’t ever moved to the Big Apple, there might not have been the biggest scandal the city had seen in a decade, spurred on by his yet to be born grandson. Though he would die before he ever met the third Mikhail of the Ivanov family, he would live long enough to establish himself with the Russian Mafia, marry a woman who also happened to be a first generation Russian immigrant, have a son, and then promptly stumble drunk in front of a bus and die on impact before that son reached the age of five. His newly established connection to the Russian Mafia died with him.

That five year old eventually became a man. Her grandfather’s luck in New York was significantly better than his father’s. Mikhail the second did not marry a Russian woman, much to his mother’s disgust. Instead, Mikhail the second married a first generation Irish immigrant who had moved to New York with her parents and younger sister. Like Mikhail the first, Mikhail the second’s wife — a red head named Aileen, Nastasha’s grandmother — had established herself with the Irish Mob. Unlike her husband, her ties and loyalties ran much deeper, as she and her parents simply paid the Mob to protect their small grocery store. This relationship would lead to that the Irish backing his bid for the mayor of New York City.

Now, Mikhail the second managed to win the race, despite the fact that his parents were immigrants. His attachment to the Irish Mafia managed to stay completely underwraps, and he kept the title for two consecutive terms. The Irish Mafia was able to get away with a little more crime than most, kept out of the public eye as much as Mikhail the second could manage without raising suspicion. Within those two terms, Mikhail the third was born, and his political future was laid out before him.

It’s here that Natasha begins to leave out her family’s involvement with the Irish crime ring, glossing over the gory details. The picture perfect version is that her father — Mikhail the third — was caught laundering money and committing fraud in order to win his campaign. But, the true story of the scandal that would knock Mikhail Ivanov III out of his own race for mayor, losing to the current mayor of New York, Lana Shapiro, was that he betrayed the Irish Mafia to work with the Italians, after gambling most of his money — i.e, Irish money — away in their casino, promising information and names in exchange for forgetting his debt and protecting him from Flanagan’s wrath.

This aspect of the political history of the Ivanov family was what most involved Natasha. With her grandfather the former mayor of New York, and her father vying for the title, Natasha was a socialite without wanting to be one. Constantly in the eye of the press, it wasn’t long before her father hired Roan Ó Faoláin to keep an eye on her prior to betraying the Irish. It was her grandmother Aileen’s idea, and the events that followed involving the Belfast native complicated things even farther.

From the time she was eighteen, the brutishly tall man was a constant presence in her life, a sort of back bone in an otherwise crazy existence. Between paparazzi and trying to get her public administrations degree at the Melbourne Institute, having someone to talk to outside her picture perfect life was a blessing. Falling in love with him was slow, and then all at once — the two of them tried to keep their relationship strictly professional, but it seemed as if fate had another plan entirely. Natasha might even have married him, if her father hadn’t been such an idiot. For two years, the two shared an intimate and secret relationship, because Nastaha Ivanov was supposed to be picture perfect perfection, not sleeping with the help.

But then, Roan disappeared, right when she needed him most. Natasha and her brother were shocked to hear of their father’s dealings with the Italians, nearly as blind sided as the Irish has been. Several days later, Mikhail the third was out of his race for mayor, his face plastered across newspapers, magazines, and broadcasts — the Irish had released his part in illegal activities, sullying his reputation just weeks before the final vote. He’d stay in prison for the ten months.

The Italians, particularly Dante Vicario, didn’t wait very long to secure proof of the Ivanov’s loyalty. Mikhail III quickly and quietly arranged the engagement of Natasha to Dante’s elder half brother, Nicollo, before his arrest. Heartbroken and plagued with the responsibility of trying to fix the Ivanov name, Natasha agreed. Protecting themselves with the guard of the Italians was the right choice, even if it felt so awfully wrong.

The two were engaged for the better part of a year and a half, waiting for wedding planning until her father was out of prison. Little did she know, Nicollo Vicario was monster in his own way. But, that didn’t matter — Nicollo was shot and killed before they could even properly set the date. It didn’t take Natasha long to figure out who had fired the bullet. There were only so many people with his physical description, especially those who had shown up randomly in Boston at the time of Roan’s disappearance. While Dante Vicario didn’t seem too beat up about his half brother’s death — and neither was Natasha, despite what people think, and the fact that Roan had not only broken her heart but possibly ruined her chance at happened— it meant there was no real alliance between the Italian Mafia and the Ivanov family, even if they were on good terms.

This was that promoted her brother, older than her by five years, to announce his intentions to run for Senator — in addition to the fact that he had discovered his name sake, Mikhail the first’s, association with the Russian Mafia. Her brother pledged himself to the Valentina family as their great grandfather had done in order to once more protect his family, and disowned their father. Natasha, tired of having men dictating her path in life, did the same of her own free will. Finally using the degree she’d worked her ass off to get, she became her brother’s campaign manager, and is now currently doing her best to show the political scene that the younger Ivanov generation isn’t here to be pushed around.