#Model C Roman

[norrisainz33]

Just a Crush || OP81

☆ summary: Swimmer, y/n, is headed to the olympics and little does she know she’s f1 driver oscar piastri’s celebrity crush

☆ pairing: oscar pisatri x olympian!reader

☆ f/c and warnings: none

☆ requested: this was suggested!! tysm for the wonderful idea for a swimmer reader 🫶🏻

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ⠀

ynuser made a post

liked by yourbff, thenzteam, vogue, yoursibling, oscarpiastri, iamrebeccad, and 87,457 others

ynuser: your girl is in her model era 🌿 thank you to vogue for having me! make sure to check out the july issue where i talk about what it means to me to be headed to the olympics to represent new zealand, my daily routines, and my life outside of swimming! see you all in paris 🤍

view all 147 comments

yourbff: you are so effortlessly gorgeous please 😫

thenzteam: we are lucky to have you y/n!

user1: my favorite kiwi

user2: omg not y/n revealing she’s a huge fan of f1!! wait till oscar hears about this

user3: oscar who?

user2: he’s a formula 1 driver who has a massive crush on y/n

user3: omg not a vroom vroom aussie for my girl 😭

user4: stop they would be perfect 😭 they give the same energy

user2: he’s hiding in the likes 👀

iamrebeccad: some of the best shots i’ve ever seen! congrats on being in vogue and going to the olympics ❤️

ynuser: i took notes from the pro 🫶🏻

user2: omg rebecca is here too

williamsracing has posted a video

user12: LOSCAR MY LOVES

user5: alex and logan are my fav duo im going to miss them so much

user6: james when i catch you!!! how dare you break up our family

user4: GUYS Y/N MENTIONED

user9: the way oscar blushes omg

user10: mans is down bad we have to get her to notice him

user11: alex best be texting lily rn to make that connection! our boy has like no game

user12: stoppp i’m sure he has some 😭

user11: idk he’s so quiet and reserved

user12: nahhh it’s always the quiet ones ok

user8: y/noscar is my roman empire

user13: let’s get my man to the paris

ynuser posted a story

view story replies

user10: hey babes, congrats on the olympics. im here to lyk abt a very cool, very polite young man named oscar piastri

yourbff: make us proud y/n

ynuser: i’ll do my best 😭

user2: you should visit monaco and oscar piastri next

lilymhe: yayyyy let’s goooooo y/n!!! i’ll be cheering for you!!

ynuser: omg lily!! it’s been too long since i’ve seen you! let’s do something once i’ve won the gold 😉

lilymhe: yes please 🫶🏻

lilymhe: also alex told me to tell you that you have got to come to a grand prix soon - zandvoort maybe?

oscarpiastri: good luck y/n!

ynuser has made a post

liked by alex_albon, thenzteam, oscarpiastri, vogue, ilonamaher, lilymhe, and 98,657 others

ynuser: you’re looking at the fastest woman in the 1500 freestyle! semifinals here we come 🇳🇿

view all 879 comments

yourbff: being able to be poolside cheering you on is my favorite thing

ynuser: i love you

alex_albon: congrats y/n! can’t wait to see you soon 😉

user16: ALEX WHAT ARE YOU EOING HERE

user18: SEE YOU SOON????

user22: alex is taking his job as matchmaker seriously

thenzteam: aotearoa is so proud you ❤️

ynuser: 🤍

oscarpiastri: congrats y/n!! you’re going to get the gold i just know it

ynuser: thank you oscar!! i’m certainly going to try

user2: oscar jumping up and down in his driver room rn

landonorris: user2 he is celebrating yes

user2: LANDODNJE

logansargeant: oscarpiastri thanks for saving my dog from that burning building the other day

alex_albon: thanks oscarpiastri for lending me your lambo last week

ynuser: wow! oscarpiastri can you lend me your lambo?

oscarpiastri: ynuser that can be arranged

thenzteam has made a post

liked by ynuser, nz_swimming, yourbff, iamrebeccad, alex_albon, oscarpiastri and 67,455 others

thenzteam: she’s done it!!! y/n has won gold in the 1500 freestyle! you have made new zealand, aotearoa so very proud 🌿🇳🇿

view all 203 comments

ynuser: beyond proud to be a kiwi! 🤍

yourbff: you are a star!!! i’m so proud of you

thenzteam: we love you 🫶🏻 now it’s time for you to get some rest!

user18: LETS GOOO Y/N!!!!

user20: i love watching women succeed

lilymhe: CONGRATS MS GIRL

alex_albon: yes!!! congrats ms y/n!!!!!

oscarpiastri: bwoah!! let’s go!

user22: oh oscar is this all you’ve got

landonorris: user22 nah he’s got more just give him a minute

oscarpiastri: lando please

ynuser has posted a story

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lilymhe: i missed you so much my olympic golden girl. i’m so glad you’re here 🫶🏻

ynuser: i missed you too my queen 🧡

user28: OMG YOURE IN ZANDVOORT OMG OMGOMGOGKGOGMGMGG

iamrebeccad: the way i jumped for joy when you told me you were coming!!! i can’t wait for dinner tonight

ynuser: neither can i!! i am really looking forward to meeting carlos too

user44: zandvoort!!! on race weekend!!!!! you’re giving our polite cat a chance!!!!

user45: girly we know exactly where you are 🤭

ynuser has made a post

liked by alex_albon, iamrebeccad, lilymhe, oscarpiastri, thenzteam, and 91,234 others

ynuser: some much needed downtime after paris but don’t worry i still got some laps in 🥹

tagged: lilymhe, iamrebeccad, mclarenf1

view all 867 comments

user56: not her tagging mclaren and not oscar LOL

user87: THOUGHT YOU COULD SNEAK IN THATBLAST PIC HUH

user45: that’s gotta be oscar

user87: it’s absolutely him ain’t no way

mclarenf1: was wonderful getting to have an olympic gold medalist in our garage this weekend!! thank you for visiting 🧡

ynuser: thank you for having me mclaren 🧡

oscarpiastri: hey that’s my car

ynuser: yeah and you didn’t let me borrow it like you said you would 😭

oscarpiastri: i’ll lend you one that’s a little less dangerous! you’re precious cargo after all 😉

landonorris: ok , leave me out of the pics… i thought we were friends??

ynuser: my bad dawg! didn’t realize we were chill like that

landonorris: well we’re not anymore!!

alex_albon: my work here is done! team torque for the win

logansargeant: mission accomplished

lilymhe: girls u know everyone can see your comments

user45: CONFIRMED! THANKS ALBONO AND LOGIE

user46: AHHHHHHHHHHHH

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ⠀

a/n: another olympic reader!!! i love sports player reader. next up - olympic!tennis!reader.

a/n: made some updates to my blog and made a masterlist wahoo!! ty for all the support

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ⠀

© norrisainz33: please do not rewrite, translate, or copy any of my works posted here on to any other platform

[nasa]

Caution: Universe Work Ahead 🚧

We only have one universe. That’s usually plenty – it’s pretty big after all! But there are some things scientists can’t do with our real universe that they can do if they build new ones using computers.

The universes they create aren’t real, but they’re important tools to help us understand the cosmos. Two teams of scientists recently created a couple of these simulations to help us learn how our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope sets out to unveil the universe’s distant past and give us a glimpse of possible futures.

Caution: you are now entering a cosmic construction zone (no hard hat required)!

This simulated Roman deep field image, containing hundreds of thousands of galaxies, represents just 1.3 percent of the synthetic survey, which is itself just one percent of Roman's planned survey. The full simulation is available here. The galaxies are color coded – redder ones are farther away, and whiter ones are nearer. The simulation showcases Roman’s power to conduct large, deep surveys and study the universe statistically in ways that aren’t possible with current telescopes.

One Roman simulation is helping scientists plan how to study cosmic evolution by teaming up with other telescopes, like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory. It’s based on galaxy and dark matter models combined with real data from other telescopes. It envisions a big patch of the sky Roman will survey when it launches by 2027. Scientists are exploring the simulation to make observation plans so Roman will help us learn as much as possible. It’s a sneak peek at what we could figure out about how and why our universe has changed dramatically across cosmic epochs.

This video begins by showing the most distant galaxies in the simulated deep field image in red. As it zooms out, layers of nearer (yellow and white) galaxies are added to the frame. By studying different cosmic epochs, Roman will be able to trace the universe's expansion history, study how galaxies developed over time, and much more.

As part of the real future survey, Roman will study the structure and evolution of the universe, map dark matter – an invisible substance detectable only by seeing its gravitational effects on visible matter – and discern between the leading theories that attempt to explain why the expansion of the universe is speeding up. It will do it by traveling back in time…well, sort of.

Seeing into the past

Looking way out into space is kind of like using a time machine. That’s because the light emitted by distant galaxies takes longer to reach us than light from ones that are nearby. When we look at farther galaxies, we see the universe as it was when their light was emitted. That can help us see billions of years into the past. Comparing what the universe was like at different ages will help astronomers piece together the way it has transformed over time.

This animation shows the type of science that astronomers will be able to do with future Roman deep field observations. The gravity of intervening galaxy clusters and dark matter can lens the light from farther objects, warping their appearance as shown in the animation. By studying the distorted light, astronomers can study elusive dark matter, which can only be measured indirectly through its gravitational effects on visible matter. As a bonus, this lensing also makes it easier to see the most distant galaxies whose light they magnify.

The simulation demonstrates how Roman will see even farther back in time thanks to natural magnifying glasses in space. Huge clusters of galaxies are so massive that they warp the fabric of space-time, kind of like how a bowling ball creates a well when placed on a trampoline. When light from more distant galaxies passes close to a galaxy cluster, it follows the curved space-time and bends around the cluster. That lenses the light, producing brighter, distorted images of the farther galaxies.

Roman will be sensitive enough to use this phenomenon to see how even small masses, like clumps of dark matter, warp the appearance of distant galaxies. That will help narrow down the candidates for what dark matter could be made of.

In this simulated view of the deep cosmos, each dot represents a galaxy. The three small squares show Hubble's field of view, and each reveals a different region of the synthetic universe. Roman will be able to quickly survey an area as large as the whole zoomed-out image, which will give us a glimpse of the universe’s largest structures.

Constructing the cosmos over billions of years

A separate simulation shows what Roman might expect to see across more than 10 billion years of cosmic history. It’s based on a galaxy formation model that represents our current understanding of how the universe works. That means that Roman can put that model to the test when it delivers real observations, since astronomers can compare what they expected to see with what’s really out there.

In this side view of the simulated universe, each dot represents a galaxy whose size and brightness corresponds to its mass. Slices from different epochs illustrate how Roman will be able to view the universe across cosmic history. Astronomers will use such observations to piece together how cosmic evolution led to the web-like structure we see today.

This simulation also shows how Roman will help us learn how extremely large structures in the cosmos were constructed over time. For hundreds of millions of years after the universe was born, it was filled with a sea of charged particles that was almost completely uniform. Today, billions of years later, there are galaxies and galaxy clusters glowing in clumps along invisible threads of dark matter that extend hundreds of millions of light-years. Vast “cosmic voids” are found in between all the shining strands.

Astronomers have connected some of the dots between the universe’s early days and today, but it’s been difficult to see the big picture. Roman’s broad view of space will help us quickly see the universe’s web-like structure for the first time. That’s something that would take Hubble or Webb decades to do! Scientists will also use Roman to view different slices of the universe and piece together all the snapshots in time. We’re looking forward to learning how the cosmos grew and developed to its present state and finding clues about its ultimate fate.

This image, containing millions of simulated galaxies strewn across space and time, shows the areas Hubble (white) and Roman (yellow) can capture in a single snapshot. It would take Hubble about 85 years to map the entire region shown in the image at the same depth, but Roman could do it in just 63 days. Roman’s larger view and fast survey speeds will unveil the evolving universe in ways that have never been possible before.

Roman will explore the cosmos as no telescope ever has before, combining a panoramic view of the universe with a vantage point in space. Each picture it sends back will let us see areas that are at least a hundred times larger than our Hubble or James Webb space telescopes can see at one time. Astronomers will study them to learn more about how galaxies were constructed, dark matter, and much more.

The simulations are much more than just pretty pictures – they’re important stepping stones that forecast what we can expect to see with Roman. We’ve never had a view like Roman’s before, so having a preview helps make sure we can make the most of this incredible mission when it launches.

Learn more about the exciting science this mission will investigate on Twitter and Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[just-a-ghost00]

Mini PAC - Details about your soulmate/TF using game cards and letters

Group 1 - Cassette

Banana card : they are fruity! If they’re a man, they have big D energy. They are joyful. They come from a warm climate country. Possibly an island.

Bunny card : this person is super cute and lovely. They look like a baby. They are very kind and soft with others. They have a high sex drive. Their teeth and ears could be parts of their body that you like about them. They feel very innocent and vulnerable.

Airplane card : this person likes to travel for fun and/or travels a lot for work. They live at a distance from you. They enjoy fast communication. They are active. They are curious and love to be challenged.

Letters : T H U N L I I O E Z E I C U Y I M A

Words or names I picked up on ( feel free to add more to the list in the comments) :

Liam, Theo, Noah, Noe, Zain, Zina, Zelie, Mona, Mina, Naim, Chloé, Chile, Lucy, Milan, Athene, Luna, China, mole, eye, cutie, cinema, zinc, camel, thyme, chain, lion, Leo, Helio, Nile, mint, maze, hazel, mountain, cunt, aconite, Lyna, Lina, Alice, menace, county, yen, Celine, TMI, TUE(sday), OCT(ober), autumn, Ciel, honey, Luca, Han, menu, hate, anime

Group 2 - Subway

Bicycle and train card : they live at a distance from you but it could be easily accessible. They enjoy traveling and/or they travel for work. They like biking.

Dress card : they are pretty feminine. They like to dress unconventionally. So if they’re a man, they like to wear skirts or high heels, to put on makeup. If they’re a woman, they’re a bit of a tomboy. They enjoy fashion in general. They could be a model.

Dolphin card : they are sociable. Their family matters a lot to them. They are very sensitive and in tune with their intuition. They have a kind and generous heart. They are playful, even flirty. They like water and/or leave near a body of water.

letters : W E E M S A U T T B A E E O R E N R

Words and names I picked up on (feel free to add more to the list in the comments) : tenor, Muse, water, Mona, Mason, Saturn, Beau, war, ram, Taurean, brat, bae, West, euro, won, MON(day), mount, sun, tarot, bus, runes, tan, beast, Roman, Roma, Meteora, Mars, ASMR, Ares, Arena, amore, nature, muerte, mentor, senor, Matteo, master, webmaster, woman, man, Erasme, Bruno, brunette, same, torn, tears, BTS, Naruto, Moana

Group 3 - Snacks

Letters X L N E J E E A O N A H N N L I R W L

Words and names I picked up on (feel free to add to the list in the comments) :

Hélène, Helena, Nia Jax, jail, Leo, Xena, hell, Joan, Joana, Jane, Jean, Jona, jean, Noel, Noe, Noa, lion, JAN(uary), Wall E, halo, hola, hello, Axel, Hoax, Jihane, Will, Jorah, horn, Jael, Jeanne, norn, helix, Halle, alien, Rollex, Rollin, Alienor, Jolie, Rio, Janeiro, Nelliel, Ronnie, Leon, Johann, Neil

Watermelon card : They support Palestine. They come from a warm climate country. They love summer. They love watermelon. They like your juice ;)

Tennis ball card : They are athletic. They enjoy tennis or any type of ball game. They got balls ;) They are swift and fast. They communicate quickly, they are witty and sarcastic.

Socks card : You'd feel very cozy with them. They have an odd but warm personality. They enjoy date nights snuggling by the fireplace or Netflix and chilling. They have cold feet.

[quiltofstars]

Mare Nectaris ("Sea of Nectar") on the Moon // Loxley

Read below the cut for some info about some of the craters in this image!

Mare Nectaris is a lunar sea, or maria, one of the darker on the near side of the Moon. It is about 210 miles across and filled with dried lava.

Above it is Sinus Asperitatis, Latin for "Bay of Roughness". This "bay" joins Mare Nectaris to Mare Tranquillitatis.

Three craters line Mare Nectaris to the west.

Theophilus crater is named after Theophilus I of Alexandria (bef. 384 - 412), the 23rd Pope of Alexandria. He wrote a Paschal table that tracks the Moon's phases to aid in determining the date of Easter.

Cyrillus crater is named after Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376 - 444), the 24th Pope of Alexandria. He also constructed a Paschal table to calculate the date of Easter.

Catharina crater is named for Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 287 - c. 305), a martyr and early adopter of Christianity in the Roman empire. However, there is little evidence to support her existence as a historical figure.

A few craters lie to the south of Mare Nectaris:

Beaumont crater is named for the French geologist Léonce Élie de Beaumont (1798-1874) who proposed a theory for the origin of mountain ranges. He proposed that all mountains parallel to each other were formed at the same time.

Fracastorius crater is named for the Italian scholar Girolamo Fracastoro (c. 1476 - 1553). He was an early adopter of the idea of "atoms" and was one of the first to study epidemiology. He worked extensively on the origins of rabies and syphilis.

Rosse crater is named after the English astronomer William Parson, 3rd Earl of Rosse (1800-1867). He built one of the world's largest telescopes, the "Leviathan of Parsonstown", a 72-inch telescope. Through it, he observed nebulae and galaxies, such as the Crab Nebula and Whirlpool Galaxy.

Finally, two craters lie to the northeast of Mare Nectaris:

Isidorus crater is named after Isidore of Seville (c. 560 - 636), the archbishop of Seville. He was a prominent figure in early Spanish Christianity, and wrote down his Etymologiae, an encyclopedia of knowledge at the time.

Capella crater is named for Martianus Capella (bef. 410 - 420), a Latin scholar who wrote De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii "On the Marriage of Philology and Mercury". In the eighth book of the series, he describes a modified geocentric model of the solar system, where all planets orbit the Earth, except for Mercury and Venus which orbit the Sun.

[transmutationisms]

I was reading your porn addiction post, and I just wondering what you consider addiction if not some sort of disease? I also think porn addiction and stuff in that vein is fake but I also can’t think that addiction is just people choosing to be that way even though they hate it. I say this as someone who was actually addicted to substances like I feel like there was something going on there that can’t be explained by the idea that addicts just choose to be like that. (I don’t think you think addicts just choose to be like that I just don’t really know any alternative schools of thought lol) I don’t mean this in an accusatory way I’m sorry if it comes off that way, I am genuinely curious what you think cause your posts are always so enlightening.

first of all you have to keep in mind that 'addiction' has no singular meaning. even if we confine ourselves to talking about psychoactive substances, 'addiction' can range from the 'classic' case of increasing, compulsive, self-destructive use, to cases where a person's usage may actually be stable in the long term but they're chemically dependent on the substance (think: the way doctors talk about chronic pain patients who are dependent on opioid painkillers; then compare to how they talk about psychiatric patients who are dependent on SSRIs. for example). you can get dx'd with a 'substance use disorder' purely on the basis of how much you take/consume, even if you don't feel it's causing impairment in your life, particularly if you let slip that someone else in your life has expressed concern or tried to stop you. race and class contribute to distinctions here as well, where certain people have leeway to be seen (even in a psychiatric setting!) as 'experimenting' with substances, or using them 'recreationally', where the same usage pattern in a person who's otherwise marginalised might be flagged as 'addictive' and in need of intervention. all of this gets even messier when psychiatrists and physicians try to justify applying discourses of 'addiction' to eating, gambling, sex, social media, and so forth. recall that 'addiction' in the roman republic and middle ages had contested legal and augural meanings that could be positive as well as negative, and that by the seventeenth century it was largely used as a reflexive verb with a predominantly positive meaning—as in, "we sincerely addict ourselves to almighty god" (thomas fuller, 1655) or, of plato, "he addicted himself to the discipline of pythagoras" (thomas hearne, 1698). it was not until the twentieth century that "addict" came to be widely used as a noun defining people who were passively suffering on a medical model.

i don't mean to be evasive here but to point out that asking "how do we define addiction besides a disease model?" presumes already that the disease model is the singular and inescapable way of understanding addiction in the first place—this is not true historically or presently. addiction is a muddled concept and has always involved moral discourses; attempts to present it as a 'pure' or 'objective' medico-scientific judgment are in fact recent and still unstable.

to the extent that it is useful to talk about addiction as a disease—that is, as a state of suffering that is imposed upon the sufferer, that is a disruption of a desired state of health and well-being—i think it is critical to keep in mind that such a disease is social as much as biological. you can start here by pointing out that substance use is often precipitated by the necessity of withstanding miserable life conditions (ranging from extreme poverty, domestic abuse, social marginalisation, &c, to the 'standard', inherently alienating and miserable conditions anyone endures in capitalist society). but there are other social factors that contribute to the presentation of substance use as compulsive, escalating, and self-endangering. eg, lack of a safe, steady supply is a huge factor here! when people are forced to rely on inconsistent, unregulated supplies to get high, this contributes greatly to drug 'binge' behaviours and endangers users. there is also the fact that drug users are often already marginalised (esp along lines of race, class, ability, &c) and are then further marginalised on the basis of being drug users. what would substance use look like in a society where using didn't relegate people to the social margins, or render them socially disposable? what if people had social supports, and weren't forced to toil away their entire lives at jobs that make them miserable for pay that's barely enough to live on? what sorts of patterns of substance use would we see then? so then, is it the drugs themselves that are the problem here, purely neurobiologically? or is there a larger story to tell about how people come to exist in such a state where substance use is increasingly hard for them to engage in with safeguards; where being a substance user causes them to lose whatever degree of social connection and support they may have had, which was often insufficient already; where they are often unable to integrate substance use into a full and connected life because they are told they must either give up enjoyment of a substance entirely, or be continually branded 'relapsing', 'non-compliant', 'dangerous', &c &c.....?

at the end of the day i don't think it's helpful or accurate to talk about addiction as a disease because it decontextualises drug use from all of these factors: why people do it, why it becomes harmful for some, why it's assumed we must simply 'stop' and 'resist' in order to 'get better'. disease explanations blame the substances themselves on a reductive bio-mechanical level (& again, this becomes especially untenable philosophically when we think at all about 'behavioural addictions'). the point here isn't to say that addicts are just blithely waltzing into addiction—or, indeed, to say that drug use is intrinsically a bad thing that should be avoided! it's a pretty typical feature of human existence that many of us enjoy consuming substances that alter our mental and physical states, and that's not inherently bad. when i push back against a disease model of addiction, i'm not invoking a model of personal responsibility or individual choice. i'm asking how we can understand drug use within a much broader social and historically contextualised frame, and how that can help people who are in many different states wrt drugs, from 'currently engaging in patterns of usage that feel compulsive and terrible' to 'never done a drug in their life'.

[hauntingsunshine14]

SPOILERS FOR ALIEN ROMULUS

no seriously like spoilers for the ending not just a bit in the middle

It's just a funny (hilarious) bit of foreshadowing but still spoilers

I'm driving home from watching this movie with my mother, and we're both just yapping about how we liked it, and I was suddenly reminded of what I noticed about Isabela Merced's character Kay!

Early on in the movie, we get a shot of her in bed after she tells Rain that she's pregnant, with a flat oval necklace clearly displayed.

This isn't the exact scene, but example:

you can kinda see the necklace once you zoom in

This medal is easily identifiable even from the distance/lack of detail thanks to Catholic guilt! yay! This is a Miraculous Medal (pictured below)

This is a necklace that centers Mary with a whole bunch of lore attached that details how St. Catherine Labouré saw Mary in a vision (twice technically) and the second time was instructed to

 “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be, in a special manner, under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.”

tldr: it's a very common and recognizable representation of Mary, they often have these medals at catholic churches as back when I worked at mine they were literally just sitting in the lobby.

What made me laugh so profusely in my car ride home is that Mary is considered literally THE mother in Christan lore and Kay does in fact give birth at the end of the movie... to what is essentially Weyland-Yutani Jesus.

Technically she took David's goo injection and produced the 'Offspring' (apparently what the horrifying human/xenomorph is called) (I prefer W-Y Jesus)

This is a wonderful bit of foreshadowing for the ending sequence, coupled with the engraving of Romulus and Remus and the Capitoline wolf, as well as the painting that was zoomed in on right before of a mother and child. And kinda as well to the whole thing about Weyland-Yutani trying to 'play God' with humanity's evolution.

But, on a larger more franchise-wide scale, this foreshadowing continues on with some of the themes from the previous two movies concerning origins and beginnings, as the whole Mary/Jesus thing is technically speaking, the 'origin/beginning' part of the New Testament. This is shown very plainly in the titles (Prometheus, Covenant, Romulus) which are all pulled from various origin stories - Greek, Abrahamic, and Roman. Prometheus stole fire, the covenants in the Torah/Pentateuch, and the founding of Rome. All different stories about the growth of humanity, ranging from how to live all the way up to founding empires. These ideas somewhat parallel the actual events of the movies.

B/c we watch David - and therefore Weyland-Yutani - discover the goo, experiment on it, learn how to interact with it, and then attempt to build a new empire with it.

It's a very messy analogy and kinda? does not fit with the Mary thing in Romulus, but in very broad strokes it ties in well enough, which for the whole confusing Prometheus/Covenant situation is par for the course.

Overall, Alien: Romulus is an amazing addition to the franchise and at the risk of sounding cheesy is literally a breath of fresh air. Right down to the pacing of the movie, it's classic Alien. I loved it, and even if you haven't seen any of the alien movies or even if you've only seen the first, and even if you have these spoilers, it's a fantastic experience!

(and for all the alien: isolation lovers there's such a cute nod to the game in the movie)

[labuenosairesfrancaise]

Burton Constable Hall

Hi guys!!

I'm sharing Burton Constable Hall. This is the 19th building for my English Collection.

I decorated most of the house ground floor, for reference.

History of the house: Burton Constable Hall is a large Elizabethan country house in England, with 18th- and 19th-century interiors.

Despite its apparent uniformity of style, Burton Constable has a long and complicated building history. The lower part of the north tower, built from limestone, is the oldest part of the house to survive and dates to the 12th century, when a medieval pele tower served to protect the village of Burton Constable from the time of the reign of King Stephen. In the late 15th century a new brick manor house was built at Burton Constable, eventually replacing Halsham as the family's principal seat. In the 1560s Sir John Constable embarked on the building of the Elizabethan prodigy house that stands today. This incorporated remains of the earlier manor house along with the addition of the new range containing a Great Hall, which rose the full height of the building and was top-lit by a lantern, along with a Parlour, Chambers and South Wing.

By the 18th century, the Great Hall must have seemed old fashioned, and a surviving design of c. 1730 suggests that Cuthbert Constable intended to completely remodel the interior. However, it appears that remodelling was not undertaken until the 1760s when his son William Constable commissioned a number of architects for designs. These included John Carr, Timothy Lightoler and Capability Brown. The decorative plasterwork was executed by James Henderson of York. At this time, Constable also acquired the plaster figures of Demosthenes and Hercules with Cerberus, and plaster busts of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and the Greek poet Sappho, from the sculptor John Cheere. Above the fireplace is a carving of oak boughs and garlands of laurel leaves, crowned by the Garter Star, surrounding the armorial shield of the Constable family in scagliola by Domenico Bartoli.

The dining room was substantially remodelled by William Constable in the 1760s, who commissioned designs from Robert Adam, Thomas Atkinson, and Timothy Lightoler (who won the commission). The ceiling draws on contemporary interest in the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, with plasterwork by Giuseppe Cortese. The overmantel plaque of Bacchus and Ariadne riding on a panther was modelled on famous antique cameos illustrated in Pierres Antiques Gravées, published 1724 by Philip, Baron von Stosch and Bernard Picart. This room was again redecorated in the 19th century.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_Constable_Hall

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This house fits a 50x50  lot.

I only decorated some of the important rooms. All the rest of the house is up to your taste to decor.

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

Please enjoy, comment if you like the house and share pictures of your game!

Follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sims4palaces/

@sims4palaces

Download: https://www.patreon.com/posts/112319879

Public: 21/10/2024

[whencyclopedia]

Zenobia's Rebellion in the Historia Augusta

The Historia Augusta (Great History) is a Latin work of the 4th century CE that chronicles the lives of Roman emperors from 117-285 CE. Among the many stories related is the history of Zenobia of Palmyra and her challenge to Roman authority which was crushed by the emperor Aurelian in 273 CE.

Zenobia (b. 240 CE, death date unknown) was the wife of the Syrian governor and founder of the Palmyrene Kingdom, Odaenathus (r. 263-267 CE) who was killed (or intentionally assassinated) on a hunting trip in 267 CE, leaving his young son Vaballathus (b. 259 CE, d. c. 273 CE) as successor. As Vaballathus was too young to reign at the time, Zenobia became regent for their son and expanded the kingdom of Palmyra into an empire.

Her rise to power took place during the chaotic period known as the Crisis of the Third Century (235- 284 CE, also known as the Imperial Crisis) when the central government was weak and various Barracks Emperors succeeded each other rapidly in rule. In this climate, no one noticed - or had the power to deal with - Zenobia's steady expansion of power until Aurelian (r. 270 - 275 CE) came to power and ended her ambitions, drawing the Palmyrene Empire back under the control of Rome. The story of Zenobia's rise and fall is given in a number of ancient works and, among them, is the Historia Augusta.

Historicity of Historia Augusta

While today the Historia Augusta is recognized as largely fictional (some scholars even giving it the label of "historical fiction"), it was considered reliable history in its time and for many centuries afterwards. The famous historian Edward Gibbon (l. 1737-1794 CE) accepted it as an authentic record of the ancient Roman history and relied on it extensively in his six-volume work The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which, like the Historia Augusta, is largely viewed as inaccurate in the modern day. Both of these works, however, had significant impact on the audiences who read them or heard them read.

Rather than regard Historia Augusta as largely fictional, it would perhaps be better to consider it in the same light as one would the genre of ancient Mesopotamian naru literature. Naru literature began appearing around the second millennium BCE in Mesopotamia and is characterized by stories featuring a well-known figure from the past (usually a king) as the main character in a quasi-historical tale, which either extolled the king's military prowess, told the tale of his life and reign, or, more often, used the king to exemplify the proper relationship between human beings and the gods. The main character (king) was always an actual historical figure, but the story was either fictional or slanted in a particular way in order to achieve a desired impression.

While the Historia Augusta is not as concerned with the gods as it is with the Roman emperors, the same paradigm applies in that the tales of the Roman rulers are given as "teaching moments" through which one learns what it means to be a good monarch or a poor one, a great man or a failure. The work is certainly biased in its presentation but is understood to have drawn on reliable historical sources for its narratives. The focus of these narratives, however, is always on how effective - or paltry - a given emperor's reign was understood to have been. This model applies not only to the Roman emperors, however, but also to their adversaries and, most notably, to the Queen Zenobia of Palmyra.

Continue reading...

[michael-svetbird]

DANCING MAENADS: 2 Large Marble Frieze Reliefs H89 X W165 cm each, Roman "The female figures are faithful copies of the models created at the end of the 5th c. BC by the Greek sculptor Callimachus. Some, such as the maenad holding a basket full of fruit and the one screaming disheveledly brandishing two torches and with her arms wrapped in snakes, are however not typical of the Dionysian thiasos but refer to the iconography of an offering bearer or a Hora [season] and that of an Erinyes [personification of revenge especially towards those who attack one's family], themes that adapt to a funerary context." [txt ©MRT] White Marble Mid- 1st AD

LEFT [no faces preserved]

RIGHT [featured in this post].

Musei Reali Torino, Turin | MRT [Museum of Antiquities | Museo di Antichità, -1 Floor] • Web: https://museireali.beniculturali.it/en/archaeological-museum • FB: https://www.facebook.com/museirealitorino • IG: @ museirealitorino • X: @ MuseiRealiTo

MRT | Michael Svetbird phs©msp 18|02|24 6300X4200 600 [I.] The photographed objects are collection items of MRT, photos are copyrighted [non commercial use | sorry for the watermarks]

📸 Part of the "Reliefs-Friezes-Slabs-Sculpture" MSP Online Photo-gallery:

👉 D-ART: https://www.deviantart.com/svetbird1234/gallery/72510770/reliefs-friezes-slabs-sculpture

.

[tinywitchdraws]

Modern AU head-canons for these Dune characters:

Feyd Rautha

Glossu Rabban

Piter de Vries.

ohh okay this is interesting. I am not really that used to headcannons/ AUs, as I'm honestly new to engaging with fanfic in general so my apologies in advance if it doesn't totally fit, but here are my headcannons and ideas for how I'd do a modern AU with these characters.

Feyd Rautha:

Feyd Rautha is the heir apparent to a large spice mining company- in this case, you could substitute an oil or mining company for modern AU. The company culture is highly toxic, but Feyd likes that. He's known to churn through interns and keeps a non-existent sleep schedule.

His overall dynamic is finance bro meets basically any character from succession (think a slightly more financially literate Roman Roy). He buys luxury items just to fit in, however he has just enough taste so that it actually works. He considers most of these purchases a waste of money, but also his right and/or part of the job as heir.

As part of the Baron's inner circle, he has knowledge of most of the company's inner workings and takes great personal pride in digging up as much information as possible on the people he doesn't already control. He will often go to conferences and events just to get a read on competition. He secretly longs for someone to take that kind of an interest in him, but no one has just yet- many still think that he's too young and unpredictable to inherit.

After all- there is that rumor that he tried to kill the Baron.

Glossu Rabban

If Feyd is the more of a Roman Roy, Rabban is Conor. He had ambitions at the company which ended in failure, and has been reassigned to lobbying. Rabban is attempting to trade off of his industry connections to get into politics, if he can. He's aware his current position is tenuous at best and that he might need to make his own career. As the family industry is regulated, everyone basically hates this pipe dream of a career ambition. His moves are too obvious and clumsy, and he often tries to influence someone only to find that Feyd has already discussed the business with them. He's not a total failure, but his family just doesn't appreciate any success outside of financial success.

Piter de Vries

Piter is a math genius that works in data modeling and analytics. The Barron and Feyd love that he makes them money, however he's abrasive personality wise. He's known to use a myriad of drugs recreationally and at work, just because solving the same problems sober is too boring for him. The company has tried to hire assistants that can help him or at least explain his reports palatably, but he insists on doing the work himself and his own data models for fun in C. Not C++, C. The entire department rests on his shoulders and the Baron is weighing if Piter is worth putting up with. He gets the work of a department done on one salary, but also insists on making MILF jokes about lady Jessica basically any time she's within his zip code.

Would love to know your thoughts <3 Thanks for this ask!

[greenleopard49]

Orange Side's motives

Orange is on the war path against those who have wronged him. The song "Hell To Your Doorstep"-Thomas Borchert exemplifies what we have in store in the upcoming Sander Sides season finale. In the song, it describes the character Dante, overcome with rage, vows a terrible revenge on all his conspirators who wrongfully imprisoned him, including Mercédès, for she has betrayed him by stepping into a marriage with another man and having a child together. I believe Orange side will also take this route of revenge on those who are against him.

Who is Orange going to enact his vengeance on?

Janus

Nico

Patton

Roman/Remus

Janus

Let's start with Janus. Why would Orange want to enact revenge on him? Well who would want to be friends with their warden? You might be wondering, "You mean Janus is imprisoning Orange? Where are you getting this from?" Well PickYourPoison on their YouTube channel made a great theory video linking Janus's connection to the Orange side through his Christmas sweater.

Please go and give them a like and subscribe.

In summary, each side's Christmas sweater corresponds with a Christmas movie or Christmas theme. Patton's sweater is modeled after a gingerbread cookie, Logan's sweater is modeled after the movie "The Polar Express", Virgil's sweater is modeled after the story of "Rudolf the Red nosed Reindeer" and Roman and Remus's sweaters are modeled after the play "The Nutcracker". However, Janus's sweater is modeled after the 9 circles in Hell based on the book "Dante's Inferno". Where the sweater connects to both Janus and Orange is in the center of the sweater where a stripe contains a yellow eye. According to the video the stripe represents the 5th circle of Hell known as Wrath and Janus is keeping a watchful eye on it to make sure whatever is in there stays at bay. This is further supported by the frosted chains on the sweaters sleeves.

Janus's function is to not disclose things to c!Thomas that he doesn't want to know. However, since throughout the series c!Thomas made it his goal to learn more about himself. At first from Janus's perspective, he didn't take c! Thomas seriously about learning more about himself. Then Virgil got accepted by c!Thomas and light sides and that got Janus scrambling to get things in order so that he and the other sides will be prepared for Orange when he is eventually freed.

Nico

Now what could be the catalyst into freeing Orange side from their prison? Nico, more specifically how c!Thomas perceives his relationship with Nico. As, stated before the goal of the Sanders Sides series is for c!Thomas to learn more about himself. However, what sparks him towards this journey of introspection? His breakup with his previous boyfriend. We don't know much about what caused the breakup but from what we got from the episode "Moving On, Part 2/2 " that c! Thomas's boyfriend was not happy in their relationship and c! Thomas loved him so much that he wouldn't want to put his ex back into a situation like that again.

Sanders_Sides_Breakup_Scene

Before meeting Nico c!Thomas was getting over a breakup, trying to process whether or not he is a good person, questioning his sexuality(the Valerie thing during the Valentine's Day episode... that was an odd one ngl), navigating adulting,confronting the darker sides of himself, worrying whether or not he is on the right career path pursuing YouTube full-time, losing a callback that could have been his huge break just to go to a friend's wedding and is worrying about the prospect that he might be alone for the rest of his life. Now c!Thomas is rushing into another relationship without understanding why the previous relationship didn't work. And what's worse, I don't even think that c!Thomas even likes Nico as a person but as something to hold him over while he tries to gain some control over his own life.

Since the introduction of Nico we only know cursory things about him. Mainly what we have seen from his stickers and pins, that he is a music writer and that he likes art shows. Heck, what is the icon that c!Thomas associates Nico with in his contacts and wrapping for Nico's gift?A carrot.

Yes, it is a cute nod to how they first met but also Thomas hates carrots. This isn't even speculation, we constantly get mixed signals from Patton about Nico on not knowing him and c!Thomas getting a trendy gift for Nico after not getting him anything for Christmas is suspicious. Whatever happened to break the relationship between c!Thomas and his ex may befall his relationship with Nico as well.

Patton's_mixed_feelings_on_Nico

Patton's_gift_to_Remus

Nico's_forgotten_Christmas_Gift

Patton

Speaking of Patton,why would Orange side want to enact revenge against him? Well I believe Patton maybe one of two sides responsible for Orange Sides imprisonment in the first place. Patton encompasses c!Thomas's morals that he was taught by his parents and encompasses most of c! Thomas feelings. Throughout the series Patton has been increasingly seen as being too controlling over c!Thomas's morality, leading to the reveal of Remus and making c!Thomas feel like he is a bad person for not sacrificing his free time to help others in need. This has caused a rift in Patton's relationship with Virgil. Patton tried to change by softening his approach on how he discusses moral issues but as we've seen in Putting Others First Redux that only disguised his intentions. After this episode's events where Janus gets accepted by c!Thomas and Patton, Roman who used to view Patton as a moral authority on issues no longer respects him. Now, Patton seems to afraid to voice his opinions anymore or else he'll be picked on by the other sides. He seems now to hangout more with Janus according to the music video episode "in Into The Unknown". However, Janus rarely tells him anything.

Patton_visits_Janus

Did Patton sentence Orange to be imprisoned or was his overbearing morals the reason why Orange had stayed imprisoned for so long? Either way, I would be enraged at a justice system that would lock me up and throw away the key.If Patton is the judge that sentenced Orange to prison, Janus is the warden keeping Orange prisoner, and Nico/c! Thomas's ex are the victims, then who was the cop that arrested him?

Roman and Remus

I suspect the culprit or should I say culprits are Roman and Remus. More specifically the being who was Creativity before Roman and Remus split. Why do I say this? Well let's look at the evidence.Roman is c!Thomas's creativity that revolves around his passions. Roman usually tries to portray himself as a hero guiding c!Thomas to achieve his hopes and dreams at the cost of c!Thomas's health.

Roman_wanting_Thomas_to_focus_on_desires

Roman's_dream_of_leaving_a_legacy

Roman is also the only side who is depicted fighting monsters. Such as the Dragon Witch and the manticore-chimera.

Roman's fear is being rejected and suffers from self-esteem issues.Virgil's Anxiety is the reason that gets c!Thomas out of bed in the morning and not seeking his hopes and dreams.

Anxiety_pressures_Thomas_to_get_out_of_bed

Roman fears his work being harshly criticized by Logan for not being good enough, professional enough, serious enough.

Roman_fear_being_criticized_by_Logan

Roman feels guilty that it's his fault that c!Thomas's desires are more important than doing good for others.

Roman's_guilt_that_his_desires_are_getting_in_the_way

c!Thomas assures Roman that he needs him but he doesn't know what feeling could motivate him into doing good.

If Roman is going through all of these existential issues, what issues did the Original Creativity have? Now for Remus, he is the side that represents Instrusive Thoughts. While he may provide random negative thoughts, it is up to c!Thomas on whether he will act on them or not.

Remus also seems to amplify c!Thomas's negative thoughts. For example, jumping to conclusions about being rejected by Nico.

Notice in this scene, that this is the only time Remus acted through fake Nico. Therefore, there is a high likelihood that Remus was told this before. I speculate that it was probably Roman who told him that after the feral cat incident.

So where am I going with this? Original Creativity carries both Roman's insecurities and Remus's amplification of negative thinking. There was a conflict between him and Orange side due to differing ideals. During the quarrel he thought of a terrible idea to win the fight and severely injured Orange side and caused Orange's imprisonment. Orange's views didn't sit well with Original Creativity. These conflicting viewpoints caused him to split into Roman and Remus.

Orange Side's Crime and What he Represents

We went through who wronged Orange side, now we need to know what crime did Orange commit and if he committed a crime at all? I suspect that Orange was trying to "unify" the sides under him instead c!Thomas. Orange represents hatred, more specifically retributive hatred which refers to hatred in response to wrongdoing, driven by a moral notion of desert.  His reasoning is there is a principle of nature known as the Survival of the Fittest. The animal that wins has got to fight for it or else the animal will be taken advantage of by someone else. c!Thomas is that animal who is trying to survive, he is struggling and fighting to keep himself afloat. So Orange believes that he must become the side that c!Thomas must rely on the most for him to survive in this world. He values c!Thomas's self-worth but believes c!Thomas's indecisiveness makes him too weak too be behind the wheel of decision making. With Orange behind the wheel, he would ruthlessly crush anyone who gets in his way of achieving his goal of trying have c!Thomas achieve success in life. This idea is coming from the lyrics from the cut song "Biggering".

Orange Side's Influence on c!Thomas and his Personality

The influence of Orange has been prevalent throughout the series especially in the episode "Are There Healthy Distractions". In the episode c!Thomas is contemplating his friendship with Rico due to Rico informing him that he used to not support gay rights. That caused c!Thomas to angrily interrogate Rico and then returned to his apartment to roomenat on what happened.

Then Virgil brings up this:

"You only see things from your perspective and your perspective is your eyeballs looking out, away from you. And that makes it a lot harder to see your own flaws or where you went wrong."

Virgil later elaborates c!Thomas's behavior at the party:

"When Ricko brought up that he used to not support gay rights, maybe you shouldn’t have immediately started angrily interrogating him. Because he used the past-tense and he trusted you enough to share a history that he was not proud of with you.

And sure, he wouldn’t have gotten around to some of the stuff you wanted to know about on his own, but things might have gone smoother if you just calmly asked later. And, even though you had a right to feel angry, maybe you shouldn’t have taken your anger out on him because he’s right, he is a different person now.

And attacking a person for opinions that they don’t have doesn’t really do anybody any good. And even though he was kinda snobby when he told you that “your behavior is unacceptable”, you still shouldn’t have fired back, “oh yeah, like me kissing a man is unacceptable?” because again, he doesn’t feel that way anymore.

And he’s always been supportive and comfortable around you and your boyfriends and now maybe we ruined a good friendship ‘cuz we couldn’t see past his past and we put the final nail in the coffin by skipping out on the party!"

From this alone we have a good read on Orange side's personality. Orange can be vengeful. A vengeful personality is characterized by a desire to seek revenge or an unwillingness to forgive. He has an inability to manage negative emotions, especially anger. Orange seems to be unable to see his own wrongdoings even though his feelings of anger may be justified. Orange seems motivated by power, this is shown when c!Thomas started angrily interrogating Rico and attacking him for opinions that he doesn't have. Orange is willing to incur greater personal costs to get his revenge. This is shown with c!Thomas in a moment of anger was willing to risk losing his friendship with Rico just so that he could attack Rico for opinions he no longer holds. Even with Orange imprisoned, his presence is strong.

Orange Side and Logan

Finally, if Logan's logic is suppose to oppose Orange side's hatred, what relationship will Orange have with Logan? I suspect that Logan used to be apart of Orange. Not in an identical twin sense like Roman and Remus, but more like an Orange fruit missing a segment of itself. Logan used to be apart of Orange, his scene of reason, planning and foresight. To put in biological terms Logan was Orange's prefrontal cortex. When Orange was whole, he represented c!Thomas's sense of Truth about himself and the world and he worked along side Original Creativity who represented c!Thomas's Ideals for himself and the world. As c!Thomas grew Whole Orange noticed more and more that c!Thomas will need to acquire as much knowledge as possible so that c!Thomas can be successful and not be taken advantage of. However, his thirst for knowledge led him to be arrogant and controlling to a point where he tried to convince the other sides to work under him so that they can make c!Thomas a more productive and punctual version of himself.

However, it went poorly, much like how it went when Logan suggested that c!Thomas should get a real job and that he should be taken seriously. After Logan wanted to change c!Thomas's life around, Virgil says that "What you just suggested would be a massive change in Thomas's life. So, I kinda hate you right now and shut your dirty mouth."

So Whole Orange tried to take over control of c!Thomas by force.During the fight Whole Orange gets serverly injured to a point that a piece of him was severed from him. Then Orange was casted in c!Thomas's subconscious below. The piece that was severed from Orange was given new form and became the side we know today as Logan. Stricken with conflicting ideas Original Creativity soon split into two sides Roman and Remus. Roman upheld the morality that led to Orange's imprisonment while Remus abjectly rejects it to the point that he embodies an aspect of creativity that cannot be imprisoned or tamed. Intrusive Thoughts.

So, what will happen when Logan meets Orange side? I believe that Orange will try to convince Logan to become Whole with him again. Their combined power will allow Logan's wishes to be heeded and to be taken as a serious threat.

This has been foreshadowed in the episode "Working THROUGH Intrusive Thoughts" through the cover song "We Could Fly" - Sam Sparro, in the lyrics "Stop trying to rule the world" .

As for Orange, he will be able to grow in power, regain control over his negative emotions by using Logan's logic,work towards his goals of gaining control of c!Thomas and exacting revenge on those who have wronged him.

Logan, I am your Father

Yes, I know I pulled a "Luke, I am your Father" trope but the dialog just works so well here.

Orange- Logan, you have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training. With our combined strength we can end this convoluted loop of self-destruction and bring order to c!Thomas.

Logan-In what scenario would I ever join you?

Orange-If you only know how powerful the motivation of vengence is. Nobody ever told you when your birthday was?

Logan- The closest approximation of my birthday is c!Thomas's birthday. It's impossible to determine when c!Thomas developed the qualities that came together to form me.

Orange-No Logan, your qualities originated from me. For you were once apart of me. I am your Father!

Logan-That's not true, that's impossible.

Orange-Search your feelings. The times you displayed your wrath towards others. You know it to be true!

Logan-No!

Orange- Logan, we can overthrow c!Thomas. I have foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me Logan and together we can control c!Thomas's future as Father and Son!

I think I'm going to end it here. Sorry for the long essay. This has been on my mind for a while and I wanted to get this off my chest.

[fromthedust]

sand dunes - aerial view

Filthy Luker - aka Luke Egan (British) - Art Attack - street art

Elodie Antoine (Belgian, working in Brussels) - Chemisier aux yeux boutonnés (Blouse with Eye-buttons) - cotton blouse, print on textile - 2014

'Lovers Eyes' jewelry - originated in the 18th century - collection of David and Nan Skier

Damien Cadio (French, b.1975) - Cyclone eye - oil on canvas - 25x31 cm - 2017

glass eye from coffin - Egypt, Late Period (724-333 BCE)

Emilio Villalba (American, b.1984) - Red Eye

Gérard DuBois (French, b.1968) - Moby Dick

Nefertiti right eye (two views) - sculptor's portrait model - limestone, painted stucco, quartz, wax - the iris and pupil of the right eye made of beeswax dyed black, covered with a thin piece of polished rock crystal as a cornea - Egypt, Tell el-Amarna, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c.1351–1334 BCE

Louise Bourgeois (French/American, 1911-2010) - Nature Study (Velvet Eyes) - 1984

Michael Hussar (American, b.1964) - Lovers Eyes

painted eye an Amazon - marble - Herculaneum - Roman, before 79 CF

cosmic eye (all-seeing eye, mystic eye) - poster

right eye from a Greek statue - marble, obsidian, glass, copper - 500–100 BCE

Rainer Kalwitz (German, working in Recklinghausen) - The Eye in the Abyss

Bro. William Preston (Scottish,1742–1818) - The Eye Of Providence

[cellarspider]

Qunlat 4/12: Phonology

⭅ Previous =⦾ Index ⦾= Next ⭆

Qunlat pronunciation has varied widely between voice actors, and it seems likely to continue to do so. I’m of the “follow your heart” style regarding this--if you like a certain pronunciation, go for it.

…But if your heart tells you “follow someone else!”, then I’ll try and help out here. You’ll just have to sit through a bit of linguistics history first, while I explain how Bioware has made this complicated.

So. The spelling of European languages started to fossilize with the arrival of the printing press, at about the same time Europeans started inflicting themselves on more people who didn’t use alphabets. How do you tell people how to pronounce “開顛窗”? If you’re writing the first Chinese dictionary published in Europe (c.1670), you spell it “Çai tiēn h'oâm”, based off of how Portuguese was spoken when an Italian jesuit tried to write down Chinese  in the mid-1500s, then you define it in French as “ouvrir une feneſtre du toi🙲 ou une lucarne.”: “open a roof window or skylight”. For the French, you use a ligature variant on "&" so old that some default fonts on modern computers don't include it anymore (hello mac users! You might be staring at a little square that says "01F672" right now, I swear it's supposed to be a C with a fancy hat).

Also you don’t write down “開顛窗” at all, because obviously that wouldn’t help anyone.

These days, if you run into Chinese written in an alphabet, it’ll be using the Pinyin standard. How does it spell “Çai tiēn h'oâm”?

“Kāi diān chuán”. Would you get that from “Çai tiēn h'oâm”? Hell, if you don’t know Pinyin, do you know how to pronounce “kāi diān chuán”?

Pinyin and our ad-hoc 1600s-French-1500s-Italian-Portuguese model of spelling Chinese encounters the problem of attempting a phonetic transcription of a language, trying to write down what they hear so that others can speak it. They also have the challenge of romanization, using the Latin alphabet to write out a language that doesn’t normally use it.

So. Qunlat, arising completely separately from English The Common Tongue, doesn’t use the Latin alphabet, doesn’t use–uh. The Common Tongue’s writing system, I don't think we actually have a canon name for that.⁽¹⁾ So all Qunlat we’ve seen written down is using a romanization. But is this romanization actually phonetic? Romanization doesn’t have to be. If I show you “Meraad astarit, meraad itwasit, aban aqun”, do you know how to pronounce that?

As discussed previously, the voice actors for qunari have all given it their best shot, but come up with different results. We don’t know what the scripts they’ve read from have actually looked like, but we have one potential answer.

And now we have to go back to World of Thedas, volume 2, and meet with my nemesis again.

“MARE-awed a-STAR-eat, MARE-awed it-WAH-seat, ab-AWN AH-kyoon.”

Hooboy. 

This is possibly useful. It’s attributed in the fiction to Philliam, a Bard!, so it’s not reliable, but the fact that it’s been written out implies that the IRL writer behind them was attempting to give people a real pronunciation guide regardless.

This is what we call a pronunciation respelling, where words with ambiguous pronunciation are rewritten to act as a guide to the reader.

…But here’s the problem: How do you pronounce “a-STAR-eat”? It depends entirely on your native language, dialect, and accent, and unless we know who wrote this, we can’t tell what they meant. If you, dear reader, don’t have the same accent, you might come up with something completely different. Just for English alone, wikipedia lists twenty-five different systems, with not a single sound having consistent spelling between all of them.

How do we get around this? How do we write down not just words, but unambiguous sounds?

Welcome to the wonderful world of the International Phonetic Alphabet!

Originally created in the late 1800s, the IPA (no relation to the beer) is a system that assigns letters to sounds based off of how and where sounds are formed. It allows linguists to accurately record the sound of a language, as long as they have a good ear. And from that, other linguists can reproduce the sound of a language, as long as they know how to read IPA. It helps capture accents too: "Car" might seem like a simple word, but in IPA, it's spelled /kɑː/ if you're using RP British English, /kɑɹ/ for General American, [kʰäɾ] for the Scots, and [kʰaː] for Bostonians.

It’s not 100% perfect, but it’s a reliable way to transfer sounds through text. Hell, there’s now ways to plug in IPA to a website and have a little robot voice read it out for you, though they have limitations.⁽²⁾

I, personally, have a hell of a time remembering parts of the IPA. I’m always opening up the IPA Consonant Chart on Wikipedia, because that includes little sound samples of every consonant. The vowel chart is even more helpful, because I can never remember the poxy little bastards.

For a bonus: the vowel chart is mostly pronounced by a single wiki contributor, who speaks loudly and clearly. …But then there’s ɞ and ø̞, which appear to have been recorded by people who were far more shy about it, and ɤ̞ is provided by someone who pronounces it three times, and seems to die a little bit as they finish up. These are the things you entertain yourself with when you’re learning the IPA.

Anyway! If we want to make this pronunciation of Qunlat equally accessible to everyone,⁽³⁾ we should try to translate this guide into IPA.

We’re just going to assume that the writers, when constructing their pronunciation guide, were aiming for a General American or the similar Standard Canadian accent. Those are the regions Bioware is mostly based out of, and they’re the easiest to find phonetic pronunciation. So, for example, “a-STAR-eat” would be transcribed as /əˈstɑɹ.it/, or possibly /æˈstɑɹ.it/ depending on what they mean by “a-”. Already, you can see we have some uncertainty here because of our starting point, but we can take these IPA transcriptions and throw it in a speech synthesizer to get pretty unambiguous pronunciations!

You'll notice that most of the letters line up with how they're spelled in English, though some of the sounds don't line up with how you'd first think to pronounce them. That's especially true around vowels, so always be aware of that when reading IPA.

Now, one might ask, if it was relatively easy to convert this from a generally readable pronunciation guide into the unfamiliar and technical IPA, why bother? Well because I did in fact start with the easiest word to convert. The rest of these were a lot harder. 

How do you pronounce the Qunlat word “ir-vah”? Because according to Philliam, a Bard!, it's “ihr-vawh”. Does that actually make you feel confident you can say it right? “Aw” has a known pronunciation in English, but what's “awh”? What's the distinction? Is there a distinction?

I'm going to have to make assumptions here, informed by my own background with this stuff. It will, by definition, be an opinion rather than an authoritative source. I’ll go with what I think is the most uncomplicated solution, and we can see whether it sounds like what we expect.

So, to start with, I’ve made a breakdown of the sounds found in this text, and what IPA pronunciations they match up with. When the respelling has included english words as pronunciation guides (ex. “a-STAR-eat”), I’ve directly referred to the General American IPA transcription. When the respelling uses nonce words (ex. “AH-kyoon”), I’ve referred to the Oxford English Dictionary respelling system, as it was one of only two that contained the majority of the nonce word respellings. This allowed me to be consistent, though sometimes the text itself was not. Check out the “Phonetics - WoT2” sheet in the workbook linked below:

Note that some words have multiple pronunciations listed. This can sometimes be contextual (ex. “The” can be pronounced at least two different ways in English), but in some cases the context was identical, but the pronunciation was different. If we want an in-setting explanation for this, we can say the transcription was taken from people with different accents. Even different energy levels or moods can affect pronunciation. But honestly, I do not know if this was intentional. There are phonetic spellings that also work their way into the Qunari romanization as well in multiple places, even with words that were previously established under other spellings.

To hear the sentences spoken, plug one into an IPA synthesizer, though be warned: it’ll be a little janky, and a little jarringly American. I don’t actually think this is what the writer had in mind, but this is what they gave us, so I’d like to make it clear why we prefer using the IPA.

I’ve also created an inventory of the sounds in these excerpts, formatted as we would for phonemic and phonological inventories: a chart of the IPA used, and a list of what letters make which sounds. When the list includes something like /x~y~z/, means that the letter can be pronounced as x, y, or z in the wild. When there's a letter with no pronunciation, it means that it's in some sort of Qunlat somewhere, but it wasn't in these examples.

And I have to reiterate: I've reproduced the implied pronunciations from WoT vol.2 as faithfully as I can, but these pronunciations do not accurately reflect the actual way the words have been spoken in the games! You can compare performances to phrases or words in here, and note the difference in pronunciation and stress patterns. 

So, as before, I say to you: if you prefer a different pronunciation, use it. If you want to systematize that pronunciation, organize it and save it for reference, then use the IPA to help you. I can speak from experience, it will save you a lot of trouble if you note down your language work in IPA, rather than assuming you’ll remember your own pronunciation later. Go forth, and have fun with it.

Next time! Finally, the meat of a language: grammar.

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Footnotes

(1) Okay. I don't have enough material to make a full post on Qunlat scripts, so I'm going to just throw it in here, with a further digression about Common as a bonus. In brief: We have no consistent script for Qunlat. There's one in Those Who Speak which... it's okay? Reminds me a bit of Lontara or an Ulu script, but it doesn't have aesthetic cohesion. Inquisition uses another possible script on decorative horn coverings, which... It exists. I'll tell you right now, I'm working on creating a written script for Qunlat for personal use, and I'm not using either of these.

With regards to Common: the games usually seem to indicate that the Common Tongue is written in a runic script, which is not meant to be read by the players.

In Inquisition we have a weird split, courtesy of Varric's romance novels: Tales of the Champion, which the wiki says is "written in Orlesian", is just in English, and... backwards English on the facing page. It's in tiny squint-o-vision, but it is actually about Kirkwall's history and Hightown, and doesn't seem to be a copy-and-paste from anywhere else in the games. Cool!

But there's another book in the series with Aveline on the cover, which is very different. There's a new runic script there, which is mostly composed of rotations on actual runes, but they don't actually line up with any historical runic script. but there's not enough text available to see if it translates into anything. There's a bit that looks like it's supposed to be Varric's name that might give us the letters "V Te(th)ras", but none of those letters are in the title, so we have nothing else to compare to. The script is okay, but there's some letters I'd alter for visual consistency--runes were generally written using different combinations of just three line angles that remained as consistent as possible throughout a text. There's a letter in here that's just a triangle, and it doesn't fit the angles of the other letters at all. That triangle haunts me.

Here's the thing, though. There's also a couple books from Inquisition that I can tell were just straight-up written in an Anglo-Saxon rune font, then flipped upside down, which reminds me quite a bit of a certain web series I could mention. It's a short, non-canon English text repeated in different paragraph format, with some gibberish thrown in. I wasn't going to bother reading any of it once I realized it wasn't anything canon, but then I noticed there's a rogue "c" that appears to have survived the font change. Most runic scripts have no equivalent of "c", but Anglo-Saxon does, so I realized that had to be a capital C. And that's when I read:

"...that this is *not* the Cirth (Certhas) but the..."

Cirth is the writing system Tolkien made for Sindarin, Khuzdul, and Westron.

I think what we're looking at is part of the setting documentation, basically saying, like, 'we want the Common Tongue to look like Cirth, but not actually be Cirth because the legal department told us not to'.

(2) Many of these IPA-to-text things are language-specific. They’re only loaded with the sounds that are used in the language they were created for–so for this one, stick to english text-to-speech IPA synthesizers. Also, you will definitely note accent differences between different synthesizers, even when given the same input! Some of that is due to dialect-specific restrictions on what sounds they pronounce, but there's also smaller distinctions that the IPA is capable of reflecting, but in practice we don't transcribe things with 100% precision.

(3) Of course there’s the caveat that the IPA is based off of the Latin alphabet to begin with, so it makes the most sense to people who already use some form of it. One of the problems is that alphabets are actually uniquely suited to the task of phonetic writing, for reasons I’ll eventually get into. But I’m not actually aware of any equivalents that have been constructed for use with other alphabets or scripts, beyond a number of neography hobbyists (for Kannada, Arabic, etc.), including that one tumblr user who scared off an insufferable dude in a coffee shop by talking about the IPA equivalent they were making that was somewhat based off of the Georgian alphabet. That person is incredible.

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[enlitment]

Top five history books?

Thank you for the ask! ✨

Some of my favourites may be well known at this point after the book ask, but I'll try not to repeat myself too much!

1. Ghosts in the Middle Ages: The Living and the Dead in Medieval Society by Jean-Claude Schmitt

A fascinating book on a rather niche topic which explores the changes in people's belief about ghosts/souls of the dead coming back to life. Schmitt does not only focus on obscure anecdotes however; he analyses what role the so called 'revenants' came to play in medieval society (spoiler alert: the Catholic church used stories about them to their advantage to pressure people into paying indulgences and/or spread Catholic doctrine).

2. Historiography in the Twentieth Century: From Scientific Objectivity to the Postmodern Challenge by Georg G. Iggers

Not sure if this is cheating or not, since I had to read it for uni? The title sounds quite bland, but I actually enjoyed reading it quite a bit! It gives you a framework for how to think about other history books in terms of reliability and potential biases. The author also explores the question where is the line between history and fiction (and whether it is as clear-cut as we would like to think). (It also defends the Age of Enlightenment legacy from postmodern criticism which I appreciate, though I'm not sure this would be of much interest to people who don't study/aren't into philosophy.) Still, it's quite a short, comprehensive read and a great place to start when one wants to learn more about historiography imo.

3. The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History by Robert Darnton

Probably my favourite book on this list, since it hits so many of my areas of interest (French history, the 1700s, cultural and especially book history). It includes six essays which analyse different aspects of French culture across different social classes, ranging from villagers' fairy tales to analysing the texts of the Encyclopédistes. It's also very engaging and fun to read, though be warned, if you like cats, maybe skip the titular chapter, the name is quite literal I'm afraid!

4. Jean Paul Marat: Tribune of the French Revolution by Clifford Conner

Okay, I'll confess, I'm only about half-way through, but I'm really liking it so far! It reads more like an apology/ a text that tries to correct some of the problems with previous biographies on Marat, but I actually quite like it. It makes for an interesting read.

The author definitely has biases on his own, since it is clear that he shares much of Marat's political views, but a) he's upfront about the fact b) I don't think that the goal of all historical books should be to be as objective as possible - there's a room for subjectivity in my opinion, as long as it is reflected c) he cites his sources much more meticulously than - let's say - Scurr d) his biases are also my biases

Plus, Marat is such an interesting figure to read about! That said, this Goodreads commenter puts it much better than I ever could:

5. From Olympus to Pantheon: The Religion and Ethics in Ancient Times by Ladislav Vidman

A super interesting and accessible overview of the religious practices of ancient Greece and Rome! The author explains that many books focus on mythology, but his aim is to explore the lesser known aspects of the Greek and Roman religiosity, such as the ritual sacrifices, the oracles, the mysteries etc. It was a fascinating read, though the chapter on the sacrifices was very, very vivid in its descriptions.

(The author also seems to low-key have a crush on Vergil, explaining how he was a great role model and essentially beautiful inside and out. Not a deciding factor, but definitely a bonus!)

I unfortunately don't think the book was ever translated from Czech though, which is a shame. It would be certainly worth it!

[blueiscoool]

Roman Marble Portrait Head of the Emperor Nero C. AD 59-64.

Depicted with a full, fleshy face, his wavy hair brushed forward and pushed up at the forehead into a crest with parallel locks breaking right across his forehead and left above his eye, with long curving sideburns, the wide unarticulated eyes beneath modelled brows, his lips pressed together, the protruded chin rounded. H. 29.2 cm.

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. He was adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30.

[jeannereames]

In some of your posts, you've said we can't believe the speeches in the original sources like Plutarch and Arrian. And I get it, that they wouldn't have ways to record exactly what people said, but wouldn't they try to get it at least close? Didn't orators publish their speeches, so they'd know what they said? Demosthenes published speeches about Philip, I know. And wouldn't readers back then get angry if they realized the writers were just making things up?

When it comes to ancient texts, particularly ancient historical texts, speeches, dialogue, and letters are especially problematic. Why? Authenticity.

As the asker indicated, a lack of recordings automatically problematizes this. But their memories were generally better. The real issue centers on ancient ideas of WHAT HISTORY WAS FOR.

Ancient historians were writing to entertain, as well as to educate, and promote their notions of how the past should be understood, often to school people in their present. “Cautionary tales,” if you will. Or models to emulate. When they do say where they got their information (frustratingly rarely), it’s as much to show off their education/how well-read they are, rather than to assure their readers they know what they’re talking about.

It’s critical to understand that ancient history was akin to modern creative nonfiction. I don’t say that to diss creative nonfiction (says the historian who also writes historical fiction). But it’s crucial to recognize it was nothing like modern academic history with footnotes, peer reviews, and fact-checks.*

In terms of preserved speeches (or orations), we have two types. The first (often forensic) were published after the fact by the orator himself.** Those are indeed their words, but their edited words. Unlike now, ancient speeches were typically composed aloud, not in writing. But at least speeches published by the orator are authentically their ideas, if not, perhaps, what was actually said (in court, the assembly, etc.). Nobody is putting words in their mouth.

By contrast, the orations and dialogue in our histories are the creations of the authors of those histories. Why goes back to the first (Greek) historians: Herodotos and Thucydides (and Xenophon). They set a pattern that later generations deliberately followed. All put speeches into the mouths of their major players. This is called oratio recta (direct speech), or what we’d call a quotation. Another form is oratio obliqua (indirect speech), or what we’d call a summary or a paraphrase. In general, the use of the former characterizes the Greek historians, while Roman historians preferred the latter. (There are any number of exceptions, however.)

Incidentally, these writers didn’t lie about it. Their readers/listeners realized it highly unlikely Herodotos knew what Darius or Xerxes said back in Susa or in the Persian camp, but they were there for the drama. Thucydides even admits (1.22.1) he has no clue what was said in the speeches he records from the Peloponnesian War, but he wrote what he thinks would have been proper for the situation.

Why make it up?

Orations were entertainment.

Just as modern fiction authors craft a story to forward themes and motifs, so also with ancient authors. When an author writes out a speech, PAY ATTENTION. It usually contains key points.

In our modern world with lowered attention spans, we can forget that people might listen to orations (especially longer ones) for fun.

Yet this is extraordinarily recent. For as long as we’ve been human, we’ve gathered to hear good storytellers and be inspired by good speakers. Sometimes the art of rhetoric is equated with intentional lying. That’s cynically silly. The art of rhetoric just means getting across your point clearly, and powerfully. A goodly chunk of Barack Obama’s appeal was his fine rhetoric. Ironically (and like it or not), the same can be said of Trump; the Maga crowd adores his word-salad “oration” style. Similarly, in some religious traditions, “good preachin’” is considered essential to good pastoring. And monologues, whether comedic, newsy, or folksy can develop cult followings, as The Rachel Maddow Show proves, or Stephen Colbert, or the much earlier “News from Lake Wobegon” from Prairie Home Companion (Garrison Keillor). You can probably name another half-dozen without breaking a sweat.

Because the oration was a form of entertainment in antiquity, many ancient authors sought to prove their own creative brilliance by writing speeches. That’s why you should never, ever, ever assume a verbatim speech in ANY Classical Greek or Roman text is what the speaker actually said. If you’re lucky, it may at least represent the gist. But it also might not. Dialogue is similar. They make it up.

With letters, one might think at least they could copy it—no need to remember. Like orations, letters were sometimes published by one of the authors, for posterity. (The letters of Cicero, or the Younger Pliny are good examples.) Yet the same principle applies. Letters were a way for an historian to display creative chops so “tweaked” letters were not uncommon, even if based on an original. And sometimes letters were invented whole-cloth, at need.

Yet there’s another issue with letters that moderns aren’t aware of: accidental forgeries.

How can a forgery be accidental?

It’s a rhetorical-school lesson that “escaped.”

A popular assignment for students was to write a letter (or oration) “in the style of ___ famous person,” or “as if from the point-of-view of ___ famous person.” Lessons weren’t just to learn how to turn a phrase, but also to instill proper morals. So, for instance, some ancient schoolboy’s essay prompt might be: “Illustrate pistos/fides (loyalty) in a letter from Alexander to his mother, Olympias.” To get a good grade, he had to show he knew something about Alexander, about proper pistos/fides, as well as how to write like a king.⸸

Some of these letters got confused later with the real thing. Remember, record-keeping was rather haphazard.

So…recorded speeches, dialogue, and letters in our ancient histories should be regarded much the same as you’d regard such in modern creative non-fiction: dramatization to increase reader interest.

——————————————-

* This isn’t to say ancient historians never critiqued each other; they most certainly did. Sometimes quite brutally—and from the beginning. Thucydides is our the second surviving Greek historian and he begins his history by, in his very first chapter, including an oblique criticism of Herodotos, who invented the discipline!

** Male gender used on purpose. Greek women weren’t allowed to make public speeches, and Hortensia was considered a weirdo who pissed off the Second Triumvirate. She certainly gave a speech, but Appian put words in her mouth—like most ancient writers.

⸸ Ironically, I do something very similar in my own classes on Alexander. We put him on trial for war crimes, and students write either as Alexander in his own defense, or as the prosecutor, whoever that might be (Demosthenes, the King of Tyre, a Persian noble, etc.). They must write their speech demonstrating the morals of the ancient world, not the modern, using the primary sources. To get a feel for it, they must read a couple Greek forensic speeches too, in order to understand how to properly frame their arguments. This allows them “to get into the heads” of the ancients themselves. It’s not only more fun, but more effective as a learning tool, imo.