#I want 1851

[augustsails]

Cowboy picrew chain!!! Please show me your cowboy-selves. Everyone, I mean it.

Picrew here!

I’ll start by tagging @silverdragonoid @aptericia and @od-10kira but if you want to join in without being tagged, please do!! I’m serious I want to see as many cowboys/cowgirls/cowpokes as I can. For serotonin.

[talesofwhimsy]

I'm 100 pages into Moby Dick and they just got on the goddamn boat

This book actually kinda fucks hard it's great?

[bebethsas]

just wrote 1.851K of roughly 6.5K for my WIP! Not bad, not bad at all, especially when you consider that the majority of those 1.85K words don't need editing.

[brodieland]

.˚ 𓈒 ࣪.𝝑𝝔 Bad Idea? Maybe.´ˎ˗

Percy Jackson x Fem!Aphrodite!Reader Synopsis: An Aphrodite kid is more interested in fighting than lip gloss. What happens when a Poseidon boy starts a fight with her? Warning(s): cursing? Word Count: 1851

Aphrodite kids were most known for their looks. Whether it was them admiring themselves in any possible reflection or having a bunch of other little fans, Aphrodite kids are here to take pride in the gift their mother has granted them. They were never ones to be advanced in archery or sword fighting in the fear of messing up a nail or getting a scratch on their perfect skin.

Except you. Despite being an Aphrodite kid, tending to your looks wasn't your biggest priority, you always considered yourself pleasing to the eye and so did others. Once you got to camp and saw people sword fighting, you knew that's what you were meant to do, you were instantly gravitated toward it like a magnet.

Of course, when you first arrived, you weren't claimed, so like most others, were sent to the Hermes cabin where the head counselor Luke, showed you around. Before the both of you managed to step out of the cabin you immediately asked him to show you to the practice arena where people were sword fighting. When you both arrived, that's when you met a kid named Percy. Luke saw it as a relief since he had other duties to quickly attend to so he left you with him.

"Hey I'm Percy" he extended his hand.

"I'm Y/N, I just got here" you shook his hand.

"I can you show some basics of sword fighting if you want, but Lukes the real master at it. Best at camp" Percy boasted, he clearly admired him from what you gathered.

"Cool, I'm new at this so you could've really told me that anyone here was the best and I would've take your word for it" he let out a small laugh. You felt a little relieved when he did. At first you were nervous on arriving but you were slowly staring to feel better about it.

Percy went to grab a sword for you, but the second he handed it to you a light pink aura began to radiate from you. When you looked up you saw a dove, meaning you were claimed by Aphrodite. Before you had the chance to think about it, a bunch of your, now sisters, ran up to you to escort you to your new cabin for a makeover and gossip session. In the process you dropped your sword and was dragged from Percy.

While you were getting your makeup and nails down, you could listen in on the swords clanking together as people fought and harnessed their skills outside. You were feeling kinda jealous, you wanted to be out there, not here getting ready for nothing when you already thought of yourself as pretty. After an hour they were finally finished and were all simultaneously staring in their reflections whilst listening to Lana Del Rey. You took this chance to sneak out and run back to where people were training, you saw Percy was still there and ran up to him.

"Hey, your still here" you said to Percy, breathing a little heavier from your run.

"Oh hey, so I guess you slipped from your siblings clutches" Percy joked making you exhale loudly.

"You would not even believe" you shook the thought of having a girl redo the same nail eight times because she kept messing it up and getting slightly burned at the back of your neck with a straightener. "Anyways I was wondering if you'd still be up for giving me some lessons. You know, the basics" you asked.

"Wow an Aphrodite kid who wants to fight, you might be the first. Why even bother now" Percy joked making you roll your eyes.

"Hey, I think love and desire can play a bigger role in fighting then you realize" you informed while crossing your arms and quirking up your eyebrow.

"Interesting, how so" Percy questioned.

"Maybe we'll find out later, now pass me sword."

Percy began showing you the basics and continued to do so for the next few months. Over this time you began to get better and better at fighting. Percy would call you best in your cabin as a joke since none of your siblings ever feel like picking up weapons and actually practicing.

Naturally over these few months, you also began getting closer to Percy. Your sisters loved to pick and prod at the, as they call it, budding relationship you and Percy had. The two of you just saw each others as friends, at least that's what you told your sisters. The friendship the two of you really had was more flirty if anything, because at the end of the day you'd be lying to yourself and everyone around if you said you didn't think Percy was hot. He really was.

After a solid six months, at least when it came to girls you were one of the best sword fighters at camp. You were out almost every day having training sessions whether it was with Percy or alone. This day in particular was alone. No one else was out so you had all the dummies to your self, cutting them up and chopping their heads off like it was nothing.

"And how did I know I'd find you here" Percy announced from behind you making you slightly jump.

"Because your so obsessed with me and have my schedule memorized" you humored as you looked at him over your shoulder.

"Your hilarious, has any one of your ass-kissers told you that today" Percy bantered.

"Yeah actually he just did" you returned making him roll his eyes. You both chuckled as he went and picked up a sword.

"Fight me." Hm?

"What?"

"I said," Percy raised his sword at you. "Fight me."

"Alright. You asked for it" you amused as you both took your places.

"What makes you think I'll lose"

"What makes you think I won't win" and with that you lunged forward and swung. Percy barely blocked as he jumped back. For the next few minutes the both of you were swinging and dodging with ease. That's the problem with trying to fight someone whom you've been training with for months, they know all your moves. The both of you had your blades pressed up against each other when Percy mustered up the strength to push you off and lashed at you.

"Shit, I'm sorry" you looked at him confused before he gestured downward, looking kind of nervous. When he slashed at you, he had created a giant rip in your shirt and absolute exposed your bra. Normally, you would've been embarrassed, but you had an idea to finally end and win the fight.

"Your acting like you don't like what your seeing right now" you boldly stated as you took whats left of the shirt off, now standing there in just your denim shorts and bra.

"No, no. Trust me I'm a fan" he eyed you up and down.

"Remember what I said to you when you first asked me why an Aphrodite kid would bother learning to fight?" You said as you watched him start getting redder.

"Um, yeah, I do" Percy was switching eye contact between you and your cleavage, trying not to make it obvious.

"I think your desire for me is clouding your judgement, clouding whether or not you still want to fight me."

"I think that might be.. kind of true right now" normally you would've been happy with an easy win, but you wanted to really earn your victory. You looked to your side and picked up your water bottle from the floor, opening it up, and dumping the fresh water on Percy.

"Too bad" you winked. "I want to really win." After that, you charged at Percy again, and if it wasn't for the water you dumped on him he probably wouldn't have blocked in time. You guys went back to swinging at each other but this time, you were the one who pushed him back. You took the chance while he was unbalanced to quickly get low to swing out your foot and kick the back of his ankles, leaving him flat on his ass. Before he had the time to react you quickly straddled him, pinning him down while pointing your sword at his neck.

"I win" you said in between breathes. Percy just smiled at you, clearly not upset at losing. The tension in the area was think. The combination of you both panting for air, you in your bra, and the position the both of you were in made the place suffocating.

Percy slid his hands upward on your thighs before saying "Congrats."

"So what? No victory kiss?" you said. And Percy didn't take another second before sitting up and engulfing you in a heated kiss. You both continued making out while Percy kept one hand in your hair while he leaned back and used his other arm to lean on. You began to move back and forth while your hands gripped on to Percy's Shirt, he shortly took the hint and slipped it off. After a few moments you heard someone shout your name, causing the both of you to shoot upward.

"Shit, I think that's one of my sisters" you said quickly.

"Here take this" Percy said while handing you his shirt. "I think this sight should be reserved for me" he winked at you, making you feel a little warm as you slipped on his shirt. It smelled like him. You stood up from your comfortable seat and extended your hand to Percy and helped him up. And at that moment one of your sisters, Silena, had finally found you.

"Hey Y/-" her eyes widen as she looked between you and Percy. "Oh my gods" she whispered as she ran off laughing. Oh no.

"Oh my gods" you said has you rubbed his temples. "She's such a little gossip, you know that?"

Percy just laughed at you. "Now I'm not gonna have to watch your fans try and be me, yet fail miserably" that made you laugh.

"You were my favorite one anyways. Literally my biggest, number one fan" you pointed the number one in his face. He swatted it away and held your hand in his for a second before letting go.

"I think it's time I head out and, you know, grab a shirt." Percy expressed.

"I mean I don't know" you eyed him up and down. "I'm kind of enjoying this sight right now."

"Am I being objectified right now" Percy gasped and placed his hand on his chest, fake shock flooding his features.

"Oh never. I'm just sharing an opinion" you quipped.

"Yeah yeah, anyways I've gotta go" Percy kissed your forehead before heading off. You smiled and made your way back to your cabin. When you made your way through the door, all your sisters were there. They all simultaneously turned to you with devilish smiles on their faces. One thing for sure is, just because they can't fight, doesn't mean Aphrodite kids aren't scary.

"That shirt doesn't really look like your size Y/N."

[uwmspeccoll]

Andrew Lang Fairy Stories

With this semester - and my internship - coming to a close, I wanted to hop back into my wheelhouse for the remainder of my time in Special Collections.

The Elf Maiden: And Other Stories is a collection of eleven tales edited by Scottish poet and novelist Andrew Lang (1844-1912) and illustrated by Henry J. Ford (1860-1941). The book was first published in London and New York by Longmans, Green, & Co. in 1906. The stories in this edition first appeared in three of Lang’s popular “Coloured" Fairy Books:  The Yellow Fairy Book (1894), The Pink Fairy Book (1897), and the The Brown Fairy Book (1904). Lang’s Fairy Books were a series of 24 children’s fairy tales, the most popular being the 12 Coloured" Fairy Books, that Lang’s wife, Leonora Blanche Alleyne (1851-1933) helped collaborate and translate.

Lang was considered to be one of the most versatile writers of his time. While he was a poet, historian, journalist, and critic, he was best known for his publications on folklore, mythology, and religion. Lang took an interest in folklore at a young age; he read John Ferguson McLennan before going to Oxford and was heavily influenced by Edward Burnett Tylor. 

Henry J. Ford was a prolific and successful English artist and illustrator. While he began exhibiting with historically-themed paintings and beautiful landscapes at the Royal Academy of Art in 1982, it was his contributions to illustrated books that raised him to fame. I was excited to find that he was most famous for the illustrations he provided for Lang’s popular Fairy Books, which captivated an entire generation of children in Britain; these books saw translations and republications during the 1880’s and 1890’s.

View more posts on books by Andrew Lang.

View more posts on fairy tales.

View more posts from our Historical Curriculum Collection.

-- Elizabeth V., Special Collections Undergraduate Writing Intern

[artnwill]

My art inspirations

William Heath Robinson- He was an English Cartoonist that lived though 1872-1944. Not only do I enjoy his drawings because of the fun elements that he would bring into them with machines, but I really like his use of line. His use of a single width for his line work and other artists have directly affected my own works. I also really enjoy the flat colors that he uses in his works.

John James Audubon- He was a American- French artist and ornithologist ( study of birds) who lived from 1785-1851. He recorded and painted many species of birds that are native here in America. I love his art. The composition, the colors, the accuracy of the birds is to die for. Huge inspiration when it comes to drawing birds. Recommend studying his art if your interested in bird drawing!

(Also the last bird picture is of a Carolina Parakeet, which was the only parakeet native to the southwest of North America)

(unfortunately it went extinct around the 1900's, which is a shame as it looks like it was such a pretty bird)

He also drew some mammals from America (tbh though some of them look a bit..... odd). This guy looks hella cursed lol

(both bird and racoon pics were from my collection of books based on his art)

Joe Weatherly- He is a California based artist that focuses on animal art. His artworks are very dynamic in nature and I love his use of color in his artworks. He also has done multiple books on drawing animals and of his own art (first picture is of his book Animal Essence). I highly recommend him to anyone interested in learning how to draw animals!

Here's a link his website for anyone interested https://www.joeweatherly.com/

(Images were taken from my own copy of his book Animal Essence)

Group of artworks from Pauline Cherrett's book "Chinese Brush Painting: A Beginner's Guide"

I have always been a fan of brushwork in artworks and have always been inspired by Chinese brush painting and Japanese woodblock art. I've always liked nature and landscapes and flowers which tend to be the main subjects of this type of art and honestly I just really enjoy them ( I mean look at the brushwork its amazing).

(all of these pictures come from my copy of the book)

So this was just a small list of some of the artworks and artist that inspire me and my art. Wanted to write this blog for myself as a sort of reference point and to show others different artists that they may not know of. I also have another blog like this one which I'll link if anyone is interested.

Honestly this was so much fun to write! I mainly write a ton for college and it can be a bit taxing but it's nice to write something for myself and on a topic I really enjoy!

[thecryptkeeper]

wanted to share some of the readings so far from my feminist theory course that i felt needed to be shared now since the sphere of starbucks feminism as one user called it has been giving my brain fever blisters.

bell hooks, "Understanding Patriarchy" (2004)

Sandra Harding, "Is There a Feminist Method?" (1982)

Charlotte Bunch, "Not by Degrees: Feminist Theory and Education" (1979)

bell hooks, "Theory as Liberatory Practice" (1994)

Linda Martín Alcoff, "The Problem of Speaking for Others" (1991)

Sojourner Truth, "Ain't I a Woman" (1851)

Gloria Anzaldua, "La Consciencia de la mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness" (1987)

Kimberlé Crenshaw, "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color" (1991)

Kimberlé Crenshaw, "Say Her Name: Resisting Police Brutality Against Black Women" (2015)

all can be accessed here and i will be adding more readings as the semester goes on, or you can view the syllabus since my professor was kind enough to imbed links for nearly all of them

[loving-n0t-heyting]

i think it has a lot to do with argentinians not wanting the british Right There, given the history of what happens when you let the british be right there and try to do anything left wing. i think the strategic concerns of the latam left as a whole override any right of falklanders to lick british boot

The Falklands have been continuously inhabited by the British since 1851, and the only military conflict of note involving them more than marginally was the swift british response to their invasion by a fascist military dictatorship eager to shore up support by appealing to the publics revanchist sympathies, a successor to a non-militarily defused attempted takeover by a small band of far right Argentinian nationalists. They have played no significant role in the many many western imperialist acts of political repression and interference targeting left wing movements and govts on the continent, despite being “Right There”

The “bootlicking” inhabitants of the islands themselves, meanwhile, are overwhelmingly descended from British settlers and currently loyal British citizens, a situation that has endured now for the better part of two centuries, constituting the entirety of the islands’ human habitation in all recorded history. An Argentine attempt to seize the islands by military force would be an unambiguous act of aggression

Now, it would not be a terribly important such act of aggression, and one can perhaps plausibly argue the British response to the invasion in 1982 was unnecessary or reckless. But the comfort and readiness with which many marxist Leninists embrace the idea of such a straightforward and pointless act of conquest in the language of brave revolutionary anti-fascist anti-imperialism is, shall we say, indicative of broader and commonly more grave failings of that political tradition

[tfdtreasurer]

sorry for not asking about eridan but, why the feferi hate?

Don't worry anon I fully expected this question to be one of the first. Besides, Eridan and Feferi are foils to each other and thus any look at one is being done in the context of the other. Narratively, they're inseparable. My actual nuanced opinion on Feferi is that she's a bad person, a fascinating character, and yet one that I feel is so tragically misunderstood by everybody that it leads me to not liking how she's liked. If that makes any sense.

The short answer is she's one of the most casteist trolls out there. And not in the way Equius is, or Gamzee becomes, or Eridan claims to be. Her's is just a little too real and it kinda gives me icky vibes.

The long answer is... Well there's a reason a whole essay was in the works. If Eridan alludes to Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick of 1851, Feferi alludes to Rudyard Kipling's poem "The White Man's Burden" of 1899 (which in a semi timely way, was published to the context of the Philippine–American War). In her first pesterlog with Kanaya, "burdens" is the word used to refer to her responsibilities. Not really enough on it's own, but then you keep reading Feferi pages. Eridan being the best that alternia breeds, seemingly exiled from living in the sea to serve her captives' needs. The captivity of animals that she's associated with bolstering that. How she espouses a desire to unite the races, but mentions having plans for the throne, implicitly retaining imperial power. Her weapon being named after the triple entente, an alliance of colonialist powers. How she remarks royalty is so civilized, alluding to the colonialist projects of that era being referred to the West's civilizing mission. The way she talks to Jade and is quick to use the r-word, like she'd have to make her speech a hundred times plain. Just the way that she often has other people doing things for her that seems to emulate the delegatory voice of the poem. Eridan being the orphaner for her. In the Make her Pay flash (which is the best flash don't @ me), she has Sollux fight for her as she seems to sit back. Even her creation of the dream bubbles is something she asks of the gods to do for her. And if you think I'm searching for patterns in the clouds here with my ancient-ass 1800s literature: just take a look at the regime of Beforus Feferi. How casteism wasn't abolished, it just became patronizing the lesser and pretending that considering them lesser but in need wasn't the inequality is was.

Eridan is interesting in combination with her because they're designed to contrast each other. Eridan is so deeply associated with hipster inauthenticity, pretention, over exaggerated theater, and explicitly mentions that villainy is practically a performance for her. She calls comin off as a diabolical sort "showwmanship." But pay attention to the way that each frame dropping their quirk. Eridan drops her to become more genuine for a moment. Feferi has to be asked to drop hers and gets mad that she's had to peasantify herself. And the tragic part is that although Eridan is in the position of the audience in that poem, in essence the soldier sent to brutally occupy the Philippines, Feferi also sees her as one of the ones needing to be civilized. Eridan is to her half devil and half child, fluttering and wild, needing to be restrained by a moirallegience she seems to have never wanted from her.

I don't mean to let Eridan totally off the hook. I see her character as being under a dramatic form of siege mentality, perceiving herself to be the target of everyone's hostility. As she's the orphaner, I feel vaguely inclined to give it to her a bit. Like yeah, I can't imagine that job title comes with the perk of making friends. But her siege mentality xenophobia primarily makes her think that everybody that isn't Feferi must hate her, to the point where she only trusts people when her relationship with them is adversarial. The subversion central to Eridan's character is that while she may be genuinely xenophobic, she isn't a supremacist, nor genocidal in intent. The weapons she claims to be amassing to conquer the surface aren't military, it's just whaling equipment she uses to prevent everyone dying. The Brand Whaling Gun and Bomb Lance. Some derivative of the Greener swivel harpoon gun (that I have yet to 100% identify but I do have the original picture used for the Photoshop). Broken killing lance heads (as can be seen in my pfp being held by captain Ahab).

So why do I hate Feferi? Because she does think herself superior to others, in a way that is supremacist. She's a paternalistic casteist of the highest order and it is gross.

But here's the twist: if people believed in the Feferi I just outlined, I'd love the character. Because I still do fundamentally believe in redemption and rehabilitation of people with really shitty beliefs. Feferi could've been a character who narratively served to demonstrate how her beliefs may appear good intentioned, but actually warns the audience of the trap of real life paternalistic racism that justifies colonialism with a friendly face. A narrative where she had character development and evolved alongside Eridan. Symbolically, the orphaner killing the idea of paternalism would've been goddamned beautiful. But instead, what I got, what we got, was the fandom never picking up on the nuances, the comic itself electing to skirt around the problematic elements, all leading up to this strange quirk of Homestuck where once you're aware of all this, you really can't look at cutesy Feferi fanart the same way ever again because it never gets addressed. And I think that's sad. But, until the people that like Feferi are in the same boat as me in wanting a redemption arc for her, I'm gonna stay her #1 hater.

[marzipanandminutiae]

I figure you might know this: is there any connection between historic poisonous makeup / skin cream, and the tendency of modern skin whitening creams to have high heavy metal levels? Like, one paper suggested that the high mercury levels of black US women are explicable by (illegally imported) creams and not e.g. pollution. Does mercury/ lead / arsenic actually improve skin somehow, or is it a contaminant, or what?!

Yikes! I always feel awful for people who are subject to those pressures- for light-skinned women, we're told to set ourselves up for cancer by tanning, and dark-skinned women are pressed to use poisonous bleaching creams. It's not the SAME pressure, since one has the weight of systemic racism behind it, of course. I just find it interesting (in a sad way) that no matter what skin tone you have, someone wants you to harm yourself to change it.

That said, I don't know much about skin-bleaching agents in the past (besides lemon juice for getting rid of freckles, which is a great way to badly sunburn yourself). Venetian ceruse and other white lead "foundations" were basically just a translucent white paint, not a skin product. The lead was only to get the white color. They were also not as commonly used- at least in the 16th century and later -as people often think today. The dangers were pretty well-known, if not fully understood, to the point where the 1760 death of unpopular socialite Maria Gunning was blamed on white lead makeup. A story which is still widely believed, even though I found no solid evidence for it being anything but slander.

The arsenic thing came from an 1851 scientific paper by Johann Jakob von Tschudi, in which he described Alpine peasants slowly acclimating themselves to larger and larger doses of arsenic over years. He speculated that the lovely complexions of women and girls in these villages might be due to arsenic-eating, though by what mechanism is unclear- long-term arsenic exposure actually darkens the skin, something Europeans at the time would not have held in high regard. Still, the beauty industry picked this up and unscrupulous companies began selling arsenic "complexion wafers," which made pretty much every skincare claim under the sun: they were good for acne, freckles, redness, roughness, oily skin, wrinkles...you name it. Of course, the fact that these companies were so unscrupulous probably saved women who believed the claims of "safe dosage" on the packaging- an 1893 study of one popular brand, in the Boston Journal of Health, found that the wafers contained nearly undetectable amounts of arsenic or none at all. That's just one brand, but it's not hard to imagine others doing likewise.

I know less about mercury in skincare/beauty products because you don't hear about it as much, but I did find evidence that it's been used in bleaching creams as far back as the early 20th century (again, targeting mostly women of color). Also that the use of cinnabar in some rouge preparations, in ancient Rome and Iberia, may have caused some mercury poisoning.

So yeah. Less related to the lead and arsenic history, but it seems mercury bleaching creams have at least a 100-year legacy. Horrifying.

[labuenosairesfrancaise]

Osborne House

Hace un instante

Hi guys!!

I'm sharing Osborne House . This is the 11th building for my English Collection.

This was also a request from one of my patreons, so I hope it does not desapoint.

History of the house: In 1843 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were looking for a seaside retreat for their growing family to escape the pressures of London and Windsor. The Osborne estate, then owned by Lady Isabella Blachford, was recommended to them by the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850).

The estate was initially leased, then bought in May 1845 for £28,000. As the existing house was too small, an extension was required. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert did not want to be restricted by the Department of Woods and Forests, which was then in charge of all government building, so Prince Albert bypassed the department’s architects. Instead he commissioned Thomas Cubitt (1788–1855), the master builder and developer of much of the Duke of Westminster’s Belgravia estate in London, to advise him.

Cubitt recommended that rather than alter the old house it would be best to build a new one, and proceeded to design it in collaboration with Prince Albert.

OSBORNE TAKES SHAPE

The first phase of building was completed in 1846 with the Pavilion, housing the private rooms of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and the royal nurseries. The household wing, containing accommodation for members of the royal household who accompanied Queen Victoria to Osborne, was completed in 1848.

After the old house was demolished in 1848, the main wing, completed in 1851, was built on its site, and was linked by a long corridor to the household wing. The main wing was used initially by the royal children. The terraces on the north-east side of the Pavilion and main wing were designed to complement the house and are filled with the signature features of classical Italian gardens.

Neighbouring Barton Manor was thoroughly ‘restored’ by Cubitt and its outbuildings were organised as a model farm. Other building projects included estate cottages and lodges, a dormitory for male servants, and a landing house for the coastguard, with a sea wall along the coastal edge of the estate.

For more info: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/osborne/history-and-stories/history/#:~:text=Queen%20Victoria%20and%20Prince%20Albert,after%20Albert's%20death%20in%201861.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This house fits a 64x64 lot and was downsized to fit, so it lost some of its glamour.

It is not furnished except for the state rooms and some private bedrooms (for pictures and reference), as it was requested for that purpose.

Hope you like it.

You will need the usual CC I use:

all Felixandre cc

all The Jim,

SYB

Anachrosims

Regal Sims

King Falcon railing

The Golden Sanctuary

Cliffou

Dndr recolors

Harrie cc

Tuds

Lili's palace cc

Complete list of CC: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ybrxiDhssT3B_4My4KMjm0xNyMDkJ1kNafobQIEJLzQ/edit?usp=sharing

Please enjoy, comment if you like it and share pictures with me if you use my creations!

Early access (public release Sept-30)

Download: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105201540

[no-tengo-ojos]

Victorian Radicals exhibition at the Museum of Birmingham (2024)

Haha so posting this here aswell because that’s what this blog was originally for but I guess I got sidetracked slightly by Malevolent and other things. But these pre-raphaelite pieces are absolutely gorgeous and I’ve been waiting years to see them in person and I just want to share them with everyone xoxo

First image : The Blind Girl - John Everett Millais (1856)

Second image : Valentine Rescuing Sylvia from Proteus - William Holman Hunt (1851)

Third image : Dante - William Holman Hunt (1882-1883)

Fourth image : Prosperine - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1874)

Fifth image : Medea - Frederick Sandys (1868)

Sixth image : The Lady of Pity - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1881)

Seventh image : Morgan le Fay - Frederick Sandys (1864)

Eighth image : Beata Beatrix - Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1877)

Ninth image : The Keepsake - Kate Elizabeth Bunce (1899)

More posts of the same to follow

[firestorm09890]

just some rambling about lcb’s canto v part 3 things vs the source book

It felt like they combined the personalities of Starbuck and Stubb, and then they replaced Stubb’s personality entirely with Flask’s (the third mate), who was always the one described as irritable while Stubb was the jovial one.

Book Stubb was also pretty uncool, despite being so casual. Pip had to be the replacement oarsman in both cases, but the reason Pip’s sanity snapped in the book was because he jumped overboard out of fear once, Stubb told him they’d just leave him behind if he did it again, and then when it happened again, Stubb did leave Pip behind, and those few hours out at sea before the Pequod rescued him were what broke him; here, Stubb saved Pip from a fate worse than death, and then what happened to Stubb after is what broke Pip.

Speaking of Pip, weird choice to make them want to be a landlord. That’sss all I’ll say about that

Also, RIP Tashtego. Constantly got the short end of the harpoon in Moby Dick (basically first to slay a whale on the voyage but Stubb got all the credit, fell into a whale and almost died, saw the White Whale at the same time as Ahab and should’ve been awarded the gold doubloon for it but Ahab insisted he was first) and the trend continues here by giving his incredibly homoerotic moment of being saved from drowning in the whale by Queequeg to Ishmael instead, with him just not showing up at all… actually maybe Tashtego won in this case lol

The flashback with Ishmael going into Ahab’s cabin made me think that they would give her the dilemma of “should I kill her right now in her sleep”, similar to what Starbuck had in the book, but nope.

There’s a huge difference in the way Starbuck butted heads with Ahab in the book vs in Limbus. Book Starbuck definitely had a lot less faith that the captain was steering them right- forget “after we kill the Pallid Whale it’ll all be okay” that Limbus Starbuck thought, no, book Starbuck repeatedly told Ahab to please, turn around, please stop trying to go kill the White Whale, your revenge quest is meaningless because it’s basically just a force of nature and you can’t get revenge on nature, we can just go home, we've had bad omen after bad omen, don’t you see you��re leading us to doom- and he did this from the very beginning all the way til the very end, when they literally saw the beast. However, despite his pleas and disagreements, he did still follow the authority of the captain (can’t have a mutiny when it’s just you who disagrees; can’t shoot a man while he’s sleeping when you have too much of a conscience and a fear of going to hell to justify becoming a murderer) and inevitably helped Ahab get what he wanted. That’s something both Starbucks share.

Overall… it’s probably because they had a different story to tell. They had to make Ahab worse™️ than in the book so everyone surrounding her had to be changed to facilitate the fact that she had such a hold over all of them

The thing with Ahab promising gold coins to the crew (with it being clear to the audience that they’d never get them) was the progression of the book’s singular gold doubloon, which was promised to whomever saw the White Whale first. In the book, it was merely a symbol, with a bunch of different characters attempting to analyze its symbolic meaning in-universe (mostly in an astrological sense) and not really wanting it for monetary reasons (Flask even says that it’s just worth $16 and could buy 960 cigars. of course, that was in 1851, and inflation is one hell of a problem…) Here, that promised money is worth a lot more, both monetarily and as something to keep the crew going.

And then! The cult-like aspects. Kromer had her inquisitors with artificial brainwashing and it’s very stereotypically cult-like, but Ahab’s crew was a lot more accurate to how real-modern-day cults work. The recruitment of Ishmael made that clear. Here, she was at a low point in life, with no idea where she should go, and then boom, Ahab steering her. In Moby Dick Ishmael already wanted to go on a boat, as did every other sailor there. None of them even knew who their captain was until after they’d been out at sea for weeks because Ahab is weird like that. He got all his sailors into a disturbingly powerful fervor one night about the White Whale but for the most part they seemed to be mostly in it for the whales they encountered along the way. Book Ahab even recognized that in order to keep his crew from mutinying, they had to pick up some other whales- and unlike the gold coins keeping the crew motivated in Pequod Town in Limbus, this was an actual, tangible thing. More of a compromise to keep the crew happy than a lie.

Limbus Ahab’s boat was completely Ahab, with desires completely Ahab, completely enrapturing her crew. Book Ahab’s boat was The Pequod, a whaling ship that just so happened to have a monomaniac at the helm. Limbus’s Pequod crew had faith in Ahab until they died by her hands; book Pequod crew eventually recognized how completely fucked up Ahab was and how screwed they were, but to quote the book itself, “their fear of Ahab was greater than their fear of Fate.”

that’s about all the braincells I have for this

[bibyshitsuji24k]

Creative process

References:

Ophelia (1851) - John Everett Millais

Previous work:

Analysis:

Ophelia is a work from 1851 by John Everett Millais, depicting the transition of Ophelia's death from Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. I wanted to take this concept and transform it into the limbo, a concept addressed in the final chapter of the anime, and combine it with what we know from the manga. Ciel is depicted as wet, representing his death by drowning like Ophelia, but he came back to life from the depths to try to drag his brother with him. His right hand is placed in Smile's abdomen, recreating when Smile took the ring out of his stomach. Elizabeth is shown sitting, in a "higher" position than the twins, as she has just had a glimpse of the truth and gradually immerses herself in the water to save the one she truly loves, symbolizing her journey into danger. The rings are also a part of the anime and a concept I referenced in my first artwork. I hope you liked it! I edited the colors and fixed some mistakes (the water plant looked awful XD).

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Out of interest for his wife, we invited [Desmoulins] to stop writing [Le Vieux Cordelier], telling him that he was running the greatest dangers, and that, not being able to dip my pen in blood, I was going to stop writing my journal, Révolutions de Paris. He answered me: “What are you going to do? Maybe you will write our crimes.” Which, indeed, I did. His wife arrived; he told her the subject of my approach against him. She said: “My husband would be a coward to stop his Vieux Cordelier at a time when tyranny has no limits!” “Well, I am sorry, madame,” I said to her, to predict that you yourself will be one of the victims; those who govern respect neither beauty nor kindness.” Leaving her house, I ran to her mother to tell her my fears for her daughter and son-in-law. This lady admitted to me that she could not see without pain the stubbornness of her daughter, and the influence she had over her husband, who had much less character than her.

Biographie universelle et historique des femmes célèbres mortes ou vivantes (1830) by Louis-Marie Prudhomme, volume 2, page 273-274. Prudhomme gets in a huge load of errors throughout the rest of the article (Lucile’s first name, date of birth, marriage and death, the circumstances regarding her arrest as well as Saint-Just attending Louis-le-Grand with Desmoulins and being one of their wedding witnesses) but seeing as he claims it is from he himself this anecdote originates I’m willing to give it a bit more credibility. It also fits nicely with this other anecdote, reported by both Marcellin Matton (in 1834) and Nicolas Villiaume (in 1851) who in their turn had acquired it from Lucile’s mother:

[Guillaume] Brune, afraid of the danger that Camille, his former college friend [sic], was running, came to find him and begged him, for the interest that true republicans had in him, for the love of his parents, for the tenderness of his wife, not to not further irritate the enemies that his satirical and biting wit had made him, to show more moderation in the picture he painted of the misfortunes of the times, and even to cease the publication of his Vieux Cordelier. Camille, who had initially only responded with jokes, began to justify his behavior, as beautiful as it was angry, with reasons to which it was not easy to answer.

”I admit it to you,” Brune said to him, ”I cannot help but admire you; However, be certain that with more moderation you will do real good, while by continuing you give yourself up, you immolate yourself, you lose yourself and you save nothing.”

”Do you believe,” he then replied, ”that they will dare to attack me, declare me a traitor, me and my Vieux Cordelier, and that for having requested a committee of clemency and justice; for wanting to complete and consolidate the work of our revolution? I have all of France om my side. Desenne (that was the name of his bookseller) cannot suffice for the sale of my issues. I am read, heard everywhere.”

”You are also read by Barère who recognizes himself; by Saint-Just, who promised to make you carry your head like Saint Denis.” 

”That’s true,” he replied, ”I remember it: it was a very bad joke, and my answer was much better. Have you seen my letter to Dillon? In the approach and posture of Saint-Just, we see that he regards his head as the cornerstone of the republic, and that he carries it on his shoulders with respect like a holy sacrament. Was I wrong, and do you think that for such a good joke he would want to kill me? I only ask him for one favor, and that is to wait until he has given a valid response.”

Madame Desmoulins had invited Brune to family dinner, it was served and they sat down at the table. Camille, gradually warming up, explained to him the bright future he was preparing for his homeland.

”Believe me,” he said to him, ”I am the man of the revolution. When it was necessary, I risked my life for her at the Palais-Royal. At that time they also wanted to make me worry, like you are doing today; but the nation walked with me, and I was at peace. I am still sure, with my Vieux Cordelier, to lead her in my footsteps, to respond to her wishes, to her needs; public opinion will still be my strength.”

”And if it gives your enemies time to strike you?”

”I have ready friends. Have you not heard the eloquent voice of Philippeaux? Danton sleeps: it is the lion's sleep; but he will wake up to defend my cause.”

His friend was far from convinced and repeated the same prayers to him; but Lucille, who at first had shown herself to be very sensitive to Brune's worries and fears, now shares all of Camille's enthusiasm; she notices that this interview has made him hot, she immediately puts a handkerchief on his forehead; gives him a kiss on the cheek and cries: “Let him do it, Brune, let him do it, he must save his country; let him fulfill his mission.” Then she pours her husband and Brune an exquisite chocolate with enchanting grace. When the chocolate had been served, Camille said: edamus et bibamus cras enim muriemur (let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die); while pronouncing these words of death, he affected an air of gaiety and took his child, his little Horace, on his knees. Camille had only supported his thesis because of his wife, whom he did not want to sadden for anything in the world.

[ipomoea-batatas]

I absolutely want to hear about the extremely cursed lighthouse 👀

YEAH BABEYYYYY CURSED LIGHTHOUSE HERE WE GOOO

Ok so this lighthouse is called Minot's Ledge Light. Here it is today.

You may notice that unlike most other lighthouses, it's in the MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.

It's about a mile or so out from the shore, southeast of Boston Harbor (off the coast of what’s called the South Shore) and it's built into a rock ledge that's just under the water (Minot’s Ledge, after which it’s named. “Minot” was a merchant who lost a very valuable shipment there. Seems kinda fuckin rude to name the ledge after him but whatever).

This ledge, and other rocky ledges nearby, made the area SUPER dangerous before the lighthouse was built. FORTY ships were lost there in less than a decade in the 19th century.

Oh, and folks of an ~age~ might recognize this lighthouse from this famous photo from the blizzard of '78:

Just to give you an idea of what the weather conditions can be like in the area. (Is this foreshadowing? PROBABLY)

Anyway, building a lighthouse here was obviously high priority. There was a bit of an exposé on the negligence of the Lighthouse Establishment (the gov. dept that was in charge of lighthouses at the time), and the construction of Minot’s Ledge was part of a push to show that the department was taking things more seriously.

As the lighthouse needed to be built ON the ledge, some cutting-edge, never-before-seen lighthouse design was in order. (More foreshadowing?? MAYBE???)

Isn’t it cute??

(If you notice that it looks nothing like the modern-day lighthouse above...no you don’t. Don’t ruin the story for the rest of the class)

The problem is, Minot’s Ledge itself is only exposed for a few hours at low tide, which obviously presented some problems. No one died building it, but all the equipment was washed away once, and people ALMOST died when they were swept away by currents.

It took years to finish because of the tricky conditions. It was finally finished and lighted on New Year’s in 1850.

It was obvious right away that this design was...not it. The lighthouse would sway violently in rough conditions. (One of the keepers told Henry David Thoreau that bad winds would literally rock their plates off the table.)

The first keeper wrote to the government reporting unsafe conditions, but was ignored. He resigned in October of that year.

The new keeper and his two assistants also reported dangerous conditions. Storms kept weakening the braces, and the structure had to be repaired often. However, every time the authorities came out to inspect the lighthouse it was ALWAYS a calm day, and they were like “idk seems fine?” And continued to ignore safety concerns.

In April of 1851, a storm had kicked up. The keeper had gone to the mainland to restock, but he didn’t make it back before the storm started in earnest. The two assistant lighthouse keepers were left at the light.

This was a BAD storm—nearly a hurricane—that went on for a week. By the fifth day, it looked bleak enough that the assistant keepers released a message in a bottle with their last words.

On day six, the legs of the structure began to fail one at a time. When there were only three legs left, the keepers began to ring the alarm bell continuously for as long as the lighthouse still stood.

By morning, it was completely lost to the ocean.

The two lighthouse keepers’ bodies were later recovered—one had washed ashore nearby, and the other was found on a nearby island a few hundred feet from the mainland. The latter keeper HADN’T died of drowning—he survived and managed to swim to the island, thinking he’d made it to the mainland, only to die of exhaustion and exposure.

Their message in a bottle was found two days later on the North Shore of Boston Harbor. It read: “The beacon cannot last any longer. She is shaking a good three feet each way as I write. God bless you all.”

Here are the ghosty bits:

1) People still say you can hear the bell ringing during bad storms. Once the lighthouse was rebuilt (properly, out of stone this time, which took YEARS—they had to start over at least once when a ship crashed into the structure and took the whole thing out), apparently they had a hard time getting keepers to stay on. They reported hearing the fog bell ringing at odd times, and ghostly figures in the lantern room. Most didn’t make it a year.

2) The lighthouse was automated pretty much as soon as the technology was available, removing the need for lighthouse keepers to live there. But passing ships still reported seeing a man hanging off the side, calling out.

Most people reported that the figure couldn’t be understood, but one Portuguese sailor said that the man was yelling for help in Portuguese. Sure enough, one of the two assistant keepers who perished in the tragedy was Portuguese.

So that’s the story of the cute little “I Love You” lighthouse and the horrible shit that happened there. Sources: This article

This one too

And obviously, Wikipedia. What am I, the pope