#invoke the 14th

[electiontruthalliance]

Verify the vote. Invoke the 14th. Follow us on Bluesky.

[empresa-journal]

Can Consol Bonds and Stablecoins help America avoid the X-Date?

The X-Date, the day when the federal government runs out of money, is fast approaching. Strangely, consol bonds and stablecoins could help America survive the X-Date and a default. The X-Date is the day upon which the federal government cannot finance its operations. X-Date could be the beginning of an economic meltdown because the federal government will have no money. There will be no money…

[janedoeremi]

Tumblr Memes of 2023

January: Polls, Bug Race, Tumblr Sexyman Round 2, No Fly List Leak

February: Vanilla Extract, Tumblr Sexywoman Polls, Homestuck Fandom Commiting Voter Fraud, Miette decimating Todoroki in Blorbo Polls, Just so many polls

March: Dean Winchester and his Time Traveling Impala in The Winchesters, Celebrating Ides of March a week early, March 14th: The Day Krabs Fries, Ides of March, Autism Swag Poll, Ultimate Cat Girl (Gender Neutral) Poll, Putin having a warrent for his arrest, The Bots returned with a vengance

April: April Fools Day, Sonic the Hedgehog died, Trumps arrest, Barbie Arresting Trump, Everyone getting a Barbie description, Poll with Nina Tucker and Alexander needs them to tie to move on together, hyperspecific polls, Misha Collins assigned Bisexual by the WB, Elon Musk being the victim of Murphy's Law, It's gonna be May

May: Dracula Daily cast is stuck in a time loop, Trigun stan causes book: This Is How You Lose the Time War to become a bestseller, whatever the fuck happened with Eurovision, TOTK releases and gave us our feral Link back, Barbie and Ken arrested template.

June: Pride month, Across the Spiderverse... just all of it, trump getting arrested...again, The Great Reddit Migration & r/196, Horse Race, Meows Morales, The week long Titanic Oceangate Iron Lung Clusterfuck, Destial 'i love you' news meme trends at least 4 different times for different reasons, Papyrus says fuck day

July: Twitter post rationing causing Tumblr Migration 2: Electric Boogaloo, ao3 went down for 2 days, ao3 readers debating on going back to wattpad/ff.net, Barbieheimer double feature, Tree Law invoked, Elon renamed Twitter to X

August: Tiktok trying and failing to make their own Goncharov: Zepotha, Destiel confirmed canon again by not-so-rouge translator, Riverdale polycule finale, Trump mugshot, One Piece Live Action Pirate-Clown annoys Tumblr users

September: Mole Interest, Ice King became a Tumblr Sexyman again, 21st of September.

October: Spooky month, Merlin Twitter updates for first time in years to show streaming options confusing fans, The Amazing Digital Circus and Nerdy Prudes Must Die both trend for a week straight, trying to insert Markipler into the FNAF Movie

November: Nov. 5th 3rd year anniversary, Zach and Cody get their dinner reservation after 15 years. Goncharovs 1st 50th anniversary.

December: Gavle Goat being devoured by Jackdaws, Hbomberguy lives up to his name and nukes James Somerton's plagerism ridden channel, Its Dec 10th, We're gonna have to kill this guy template, almost Christmas, one more sleep til Christmas (screams internally), Halloween trends on Christmas Eve

[hollowed-theory-hall]

So, Wizarding Robes

I saw this post by @iamnmbr3 and @kittenjammer talking about wizarding fashion and I wanted to talk about this for a while, so I'm going to give my own two cents on it based on fashion history. I love history in general, but fashion history and historical architecture are two I’m incredibly passionate about. So, here we go (post with a lot of pictures ahead):

When I read the books and they mentioned unisex “robes” which function like dresses in a way (as you don’t have to be wearing trousers beneath them:

James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

(OotP, 647)

And described as being very colorful and billowing, often accompanied by a pointed wizard hat, it was clear to me JKR was trying to invoke the image of the classic fantasy wizard robe:

Especially when it comes to Dumbledore.

The thing is, this style is based on a real historical period and historical styles of the medieval period in Europe.

Medieval Europian Robes

When I'm thinking about the "classic fantasy wizard look" the first historical period that comes to my mind is the 15th century and I'll illustrate why.

Spesificly, the 14th and 15th centuries houppelande. It was a long over garment that looked kinda like a dress with wide, flaring sleeves available for both men and women in various shapes, cuts, and even patterns. Here are examples of some houppelandes:

(As you can also see, early 15th-century fashion comes built-in with silly hats! Just like wizards)

In the 15th century you also have a wide array of cuts of cloaks (and even more silly hats!):

Along with surcoats, that contrary to their name, weren't just for knights to signify on their armor the house they serve:

These 15th-century garments are exactly like wizard fashion is described in the books: billowing robes, colorful and eye-catching, and accompanied by silly hats.

The thing is, all these garments are from the high medieval period and as wizards broke away from muggles only when the Statute of Secrecy was enacted, I'd expect their fashion to follow the muggle trend up to that point and then start diverging. Even the most pure-blooded wizarding families of the modern day, like the Malfoys, integrated with muggle circles up until the Statue of Secrecy, something that would've forced them to dress like the muggles at the time to blend in better.

As the Status of Secrecy was first enacted in 1692, it's time to talk about:

Late 17th Century Fashion

Now, while the high middle ages in Europe had everyone wearing essentially wizard robes and silly hats on the regular, the Statue of Secrecy was enacted much later. Fashion in the 17th century was drastically different from the earlier one mentioned above.

In the late 17th century, this is the kind of dress I'd expect from women in England:

And this is what I'd expect from men:

Which is very different from what is described but would've been the historical basis the wizards would work from.

So what do I think wizarding fashion is actually like?

Well, since the books are in the 1990s and wizards don't really live in a vacuum we know some later influences in fashion did make it in. So, I think wizarding fashion is an odd mix of 15th-century and late 17th-century fashions updated to the time period the wizard grew up in, hence distinct fashion changes between generations like we see in the muggle world.

We see these distinct generational fashion changes with characters like Agusta Longbottom who wears a Vulture hat. These sorts of hats with real birds on them were a thing historically. They were quite fashionable in the late Victorian era, which is when Agusta would've been a child if she's around Dumbledore's age:

Fudge is described as wearing a Bowler Hat, a kind of hat that started catching on in the late 19th century but was still a staple in menswear into the early 20th century, hence indicating Fudge's age.

Ron's yule ball dress robes are described as old-fashioned, again indicating fashions in the wizarding world change at a similar rate to the muggle one. Note that since the 17th century, fashion has been changing quite rapidly and by the 18th century fast fashion where you need to buy new garments each "season" has already started becoming a thing. With all that, I think wizard fashion indeed changes just as rapidly as the muggle one.

Now, that's great, and all, but, what would that odd mish-mash fashion even look like?

Well, I made a few very quick sketches as concept examples for what casual wizarding fashion in the UK might look like if we're working off historical references:

(not my best pieces, it's just to get the concept across)

Note that Wizengamot robes and other formal professional wear would probably be older in style and closer to 17th-century fashions.

[lionofchaeronea]

Sardonyx cameo by an unknown Byzantine artist of the 14th century, depicting St. Theodore Stratelates ("Army Commander"). Theodore (281-319) was a Roman soldier, said to have been martyred during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Licinius. Here, Theodore is shown in full military dress, a spear in his right hand and a round shield on his left shoulder. The accompanying inscription invokes him and his namesake, Theodore "the Recruit," as protectors; the cameo would likely have been suspended from a chain and wore around the neck as a protective amulet.

Now in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Photo credit: Walters Art Museum.

[utilitycaster]

#where is the line how do you determine who is a “little power” and who is basically a god#who is the standard#bc the average person the average town has nothing against the average 14th level adventurer lol via @veththeebrave I wanted to make this post because just to demonstrate, Keyleth is obviously not as limitless as the gods, but when you stack her up against a commoner it's...remarkably not dissimilar:

A commoner has stats of 10 across the board, 1d8 HP (4 or 5 on average), and an AC of 10. (source)

Keyleth has 147 HP (well over 10x theirs). Her DC is 21 and her spell attack bonus is +12, and she has the cantrip Thorn Whip which deals 4d6 damage, or on average, 14 damage. Unless she rolls a natural 1 she hits, and on average she would perma-kill a commoner. This is not counting her 22 spell slots of various levels, all of which could kill the average commoner. She could cast Storm of Vengeance, wildshape indefinitely while maintaining concentration, and quite reasonably level an entire town and kill every commoner within it while still having almost all of her daily power intact. She is also going to live to be 1800 years old, and is a political leader.

Do we kill Keyleth? Hell, do we kill Ashton, who has nearly as much HP as Keyleth and will surpass her within 2 levels max, 1 if Taliesin rolls well, can resist unconsciousness, can invoke the power of a titan for a minute, and also with a +11 with their hammer hits any commoner unless they roll a nat 1 and at minimum knocks them unconscious (+2 from the hammer, +4 from strength, minimum 2 damage as it's a 2d6 weapon) with even the lightest deliberate attack?

What is your power threshold that is inherently unfair, and at what level is killing everyone of this threshold the solution?

[portraitsofsaints]

The Fourteen Holy Helpers

Feast Day: August 8

The Fourteen Holy Helpers are fourteen saints that are collectively invoked against various ailments and dangers. Devotion to the Fourteen Holy Helpers began in 14th-century Germany, which was suffering from the bubonic plague.

Pictured from top left to right: St. Blase, St. Eustachius (Eustace), St. Achatius, St. Barbara, St. Dionysius (Denis), St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Aegidius (Giles), St. Margaret of Antioch, St. Pantaleon, St. Christopher, St. Cyriacus, St. George, St. Vitus (Guy), St. Erasmus (Elmo).

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[gayleviticus]

afaik sutekh in pyramids of Mars is a sufficiently advanced alien, not a god- which raises interesting questions around like. is this just differences between how the 4th doctor era interprets super-normal phenomena vs the 14th doctor era? is it rtd deliberately fudging the lore a bit to reinvent sutekh in a more novel way? did invoking superstition and magicalising the universe even rewrite entities that previously were not necessarily magical?

[aflamboyanceofflamingos]

So I've been dealing with a really bad fever for the last few days, and apparently i had written something i have no recollection of writing so here it is:

~~~~~~~

Tim had dug himself into a hole.

To anyone that knew him, that fact wouldn't be too surprising. Tim had always been a very capable individual, but every now and then he became too in love with how capable he was and he would trip over his own ego. Usually the boy could get out of the messes he created, the sudden humbling giving him a clear head, but this time, he didn't think he could climb his way out on his own. 

The first shovel of dirt of this metaphorical hole came over 4 years ago, lining up with the first shovel of dirt of a literal hole. 

Jason Todd had died. Robin had died. 

Batman was in shambles. 

And 13 year old Tim Drake thought that because of the knowledge he had, it was his responsibility to fix him. 

Batman needed a Robin, and despite what Nightwing had implied, Tim was nowhere near cool enough to be Robin. 

So what would make Batman get his own sidekick? If his enemies had one! Batman would be forced to find someone else to deal with the sidekick while he dealt with the actual Rouge. 

The Joker was obviously out. Beyond the fact that the Joker was horrible, Tim may be joining up with a villain but that didn’t mean he wanted Batman to hate him. 

That meant he needed to find someone Batman didn’t enact a lot of violence on. That got rid of the Scarecrow and the various crime bosses (Black Mask, the Penguin, etc.). Bruce had been close to Harvey Dent, but a 50% chance of death was a percentage that was just a little too high for Tim (oh how that would change). Most of the lower tier Rouges (Kite Man, Mad Hatter, etc.) had gone under after the got wind of Batman's fury, not to mention that Tim really didn't want to spend his days smelling like ketchup. Poison Ivy and Killer Croc were cool, but their skills weren't exactly ones Tim could replicate. 

That left Mr. Freeze, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and the Riddler. 

The Mr. Freeze was more gentle with kids, their “villiainly” being based on the actions of adults, and the latter three were in it for their own interests rather than the purpose of killing or invoking fear, Catowman wanted shiny things, Harley wanted chaos and fun, and while the Riddler didn't share the same soft spot for kids, he respected intelligence. 

Tim chose Catwoman; the least lethal, and the closest with Batman. The skills she could teach him would also be more helpful in other situations.

It took about a week from the day he knocked on Selina Kyle's door to convince her to train him, but soon enough, a couple days before his 14th birthday and a few more calls to 911 about petty thieves left in the wake of Batman’s grief then Tim would have liked, “Stray” entered the scene. 

And his plan was working! 

The first time Batman had seen the second pair of cat ears he had paused mid ass-kicking of a carjacker and followed the duo, leaving the guy with more teeth then the others.

Slowly but surely, as time went on, the punishments the Batman inflicted started to fit the crime. By the time Tim was 15, he even thought he had seen a small upturn at the corner of Bruce’s mouth as he witnessed a bit of friendly banter between the two cats!

This was when the young villain had started to become a tad bit overconfident. In his defense, he had managed to keep his identity hidden from even Oracle! Lifts in his shoes, a voice modulator, make-up to disguise his facial features, along with a set of the same goggles Catwoman had kept and physical information from being revealed, and Tim Drake never interacted with Selina Kyle so there was no reason that anyone should have suspected him.

That overconfidence is what led him to replicate his plan. If one Rouge sidekick had benefits, then two Rouge sidekicks would mean double the benefits!

Solving riddles wasn’t too hard for the young boy, being able to see double meaning and red herrings was a skill taught to him by Janet Drake, and he took to the escape-room-esque plans for his heists quite easily. The thing he couldn’t figure out was creating riddles of his own. Mother had taught him that knowledge was power, you only reveal it if there was something to be gained, so purposely revealing information about his intention, helping his opponent was not something Tim was accustomed to, not bound to the compulsion to always tell the truth.

If the boy truly wanted to replicate the Riddler, then he would have to learn from the man himself.

Convincing the enigmatic man to teach Tim was easier than it had been with Catowman, the impressive display of bypassing the puzzles that hid the location of the game-playing criminal certainly helping.

Now, 15 years old with an unexplained skill boost in his AP Lang class (the lessons on wordplay were a definite help), The Riddler’s protege, ‘The Puzzler’ became the newest addition to the Gotham Rogues. He resented that name by the way. It was supposed to be Sibyl or Sphinx, they were on theme because they spoke in riddles and though he would deny it, the use of greek figures were his own little way of mocking Oracle, who still couldn’t figure out his identity. But apparently Poison Ivy and the Riddler had brunch once a month (something about being the green Rouges?) and she had heard the Riddler refer to him as “the little puzzle piece” when he was talking about his apprentice and the puzzle theme stuck despite how uncreative the name was.

This is when things became a bit hectic. Not only did Tim have to hide his nightlife from Batman and his parents, now he had to keep his two mentors from realizing that their mentees were the same person. 

He managed to convince Selina that the reason he was so busy lately was the AP classes that came with sophomore year, and while it wasn’t a lie, it certainly wasn’t the full story.

Nygma was easier to deceive. Tim had refrained from sharing his actual identity with the man (just because he would tell the truth in his puzzles for the sake of theme didn’t mean that he would be sharing personal information if it wasn’t needed. The only reason he hadn't hid it from Selina was to gain her trust, something that wasn’t needed with the Riddler) so just saying that he was busy was enough.

All the effort was worth it though. Things kept getting better.

Nightwing was seen in Gotham more often, and Spoiler (someone who Tim initially thought was trying to steal his thing by being a sidekick of the Cluemaster, only to realize she was working against him) had been seen fighting alongside the Batman one or twice. 

On an unrelated note, Stephiane Brown suddenly had her tuition for Gotham Academy paid for in full by the newly created Jason Todd Foundation.

Since things were going so well, he decided to push his luck a little further.

Unfortunately for Tim, he would soon realize the reason he was known for his bad luck in the future.

It started off like other times. Tim convinced Harley Quinn to take him under her wing, and “Ace” made their debut along with Tim’s 5 in AP Psych (Thank you Dr. Quinzel).

Steph and Tim happened to share a few classes together, and went from study buddies (Tim helping her in Chem, and Steph helping him in American History) to close friends.

Spoiler officially joined the Bats, and there were rumors of another bat joining the clan as well. Well there were no actual rumors, but the newest Wayne kid, Cassandra, had started joining him and Steph at their lunch table so her becoming a new bat wouldn’t be too surprising.

Soon enough though, things went to shit.

To start off, the first time Spoiler met Ace, she threw a brick at his head.

Second, His parents had caught him sneaking out and had grounded him, meaning that he now had to wait until they did their last check on his room at 12:00 to sneak out. 

The lack of sleep was starting to catch up to the highschooler. Handling 3 separate nightlife identities was hard enough, but doing so while exhausted was even harder.

After pulling an all nighter to study for a test the night before, he had gone to Selina’s apartment dressed as Ace, and had both costumes not been mostly black he would have been undoubtedly caught before he managed to fix his mistake.

Puzzler once spent a whole night sounding like Stray, and he didn’t think that his “sore throat” lie was all that believable.

Tim accidentally made a cat pun instead of a bat one when engaging in vaguely flirty banter with Spoiler as Ace and Harley had set him down to have the talk, stating that she would love him no matter who he liked and she would be happy to serve as a wingman for him and Catwoman’s protege. It would be funny if it wasn’t so embarrassing.

Third, Cassandra Wayne definitely knew something.

Tim’s “rumors” were right. 2 weeks after Cass had first joined their table Black Bat made herself known. By pinning Puzzler to the ground.

The next day Cass spent the entire lunch period staring at Tim. When he attempted to throw her off by invoking a mix of Stray and Ace’s mannerisms she stopped staring, instead choosing to freak Tim out more by smiling knowingly. At his wide eyes she mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key only throwing Tim off further. Cass was too smart to not have known, but there was no reason she wouldn’t tell if she did know, right?

Last, but not least, and the worst of all:

Jason Todd was alive.

~~~~~~~

I have no clue where i was going with that last line, but i see a vision, so I'm hoping it will come back to me, but if not, any suggestions or constructive criticism (or a better puzzle themed name for tim) would be helpful

[brokehorrorfan]

Seasonal Screams: A History of Holiday Horror will be published in paperback and e-book on October 31 by author Adrian Roe (First Scream to the Last: The Definitive Guide to '80s Horror). Graham Humphreys designed the cover art.

It features exclusive interviews with Neil Marshall (The Descent), Melissa Anderson (Happy Birthday to Me), Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism), Barney Cohen (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Ellie Cornell (Halloween 4 & 5), Linnea Quigley (Silent Night, Deadly Night), Jeff Lieberman (Satan’s Little Helper), and Michael Gilio (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves).

Whether it’s the dry autumnal leaves that shatter under your feet with every step during Halloween, or the cold crisp snow turning the world white over Christmas, there has always been a special relationship with film and the changing seasons. Or more specifically, with the public holidays that are celebrated during these traditional and familiar dates marked by default on our calendars. To some, these moments represent something far more profound, an annual reminder of where we were, who we were with, as the memories of yesteryear are invoked during holidays that we have become accustomed to since childhood. For varying reasons there has also been a creative bond between film and these annual events for almost as long as the medium has existed. We can trace holiday themed movies back to 1898, with the release of George Albert Smith’s Santa Claus, which is believed to be the first ever “Christmas Movie”. Smith would also direct the short The Old Maid’s Valentine in 1900, which would use February the 14th to deliver a surprise. Victor Sjöström’s silent movie, The Phantom Carriage (1921), would use New Year’s Eve as the backdrop for its haunting premise, while holidays such as Halloween and Easter have been channeled through film on countless occasions. Although no genre is immune to the adaptability and pulling power of the holiday themed concept, no other has used this narrative quite as effectively as the horror genre. Maybe it’s the irony of chaos, bloodshed, and fear during what is traditionally perceived as a happy and joyous occasion, regardless of the celebration in question. Perhaps the alluring promise of a villain so deranged that they are willing to use the happiest of days for such pain and carnage takes that fear factor to another level. There is another clear benefit of this creative allegiance, which is possibly the strongest explanation of them all - the repeat offender. Creating a horror movie that happens to coincide with a familiar annual event not only opens the door for sequels but gives us a horror villain who will become synonymous with our favorite holiday– a filmmaker’s dream, if you will. A guaranteed audience hungry to revisit their favorite holiday villain, whatever the occasion. The horror fan is a loyal breed, and I can’t think of an annual holiday where moviegoers aren’t searching for that perfect holiday horror movie to mark the occasion. Whatever the reason, film would not be what it is without the “Holiday Horror” subgenre, which has managed to influence and evolve due to this most unlikely convergence.

Pre-order Seasonal Screams by author Adrian Roe.

[sordidamok]

Originalists have always been selective in their reading of the Constitution. The Court should be expanded. Justices should be elected and should serve limited terms.

[sag-dab-sar]

🌹 Theogamia Shrine 🌹

February 14th, 2024 (modern date I chose)

Happy Theogamia 💐

Today I'm celebrating the sacred marriage, hieros gamos, of King Zeus & Queen Hera. May their anniversary bring blessings to all of us.

Invoked as: Zeus Teleios & Zeus Herkeios and Hera Teleia & Hera Oikos.

The libation was water. The offering in the center is a bouquet of heart and flower shaped gummies my mother gave me. I didn't have the energy to offer the incense, but even just the stick smells nice.

[mugiwara-lucy]

President Biden has officially pardoned his son Hunter and the MAGAts are mad 😂

Like….before I say what I have to, all I have to say is Trump has pardoned over 100 people while President Biden pardoned 26 so….they should shut up with their complaining.

Not to mention given Hunter Biden WAS POLITICALLY PROSECUTED and Trump promised to go on a “Revenge Tour” with Hunter Biden being one of his targets, it’s good President Biden took initiative to protect him because that’s his SON.

Also you MAGAts know if Don Jr’s coked out ass or Eric’s thieving ass or even Barron got in trouble, Trump would do the same so SPARE all of us the fake more hypocritical outrage bullshit.

You know what President Biden should do? He already gave Ukraine the “okay” to do whatever they please against Russia and now this…he should invoke the 14th Amendment which says those that try an uprising against the government. That would REALLY get to MAGAs.

And he really should because we’ve played nice with MAGA for FAR LONGER than they deserve. Like I’ve said….instead of “Integrity Politics” use FUCK YOU political instead!

[darkeagleruins]

Representative Raskin reveals that Democrats have a contingency plan in the event of a Trump victory in November - they will invoke Sec. 3 of the 14th Amendment to prevent Trump from taking office. He predicts it will result in a civil war.

[contemplatingoutlander]

A simple explanation of why the Fourteenth Amendment can (and perhaps should) be invoked if the GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling

Defaulting on the national debt is not an option. If Congress fails to act responsibly, the president must. There is no mention of a “debt ceiling” in our original Constitution or in any of its amendments; it is a creature of statute. Under the debt ceiling/limit law, the Treasury is restrained from paying for financial obligations and expenditures —already approved and appropriated — once the statutory debt limit is reached. This conflicts with Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides, in pertinent part, “The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law … shall not be questioned.” [emphasis added] If the public debt cannot be questioned it cannot be challenged and, therefore, must be paid. As Senate pro tempore Benjamin Wade, one of the drafters of Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, explained, “[E]very man who has property in the public funds will feel safer when he sees that the national debt is withdrawn from the power of a Congress to repudiate it and placed under the guardianship of the Constitution than he would feel it if it were left at loose ends and subject to the varying majorities which may arise in Congress.” [emphasis added] Clearly, a failure to raise the debt limit would violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s mandate that our public indebtedness be paid. If this situation were to arise, Biden would be obligated to raise the debt limit himself, via Executive Order. The President of the United States has a sworn duty to uphold the laws of the United States, including the laws authorizing our country’s indebtedness and dependent on that authorization for them to remain in full force and effect. The president also has the sworn duty to uphold the Constitution, including, of course, Section 4 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits Congress from repudiating the indebtedness authorized by those laws.

--If you care to listen, comment on an article in The Washington Post

This was the first time I saw the quote by Senate pro tempore Benjamin Wade. It is clear from that quote that the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to protect the country from the very thing that the Republicans are threatening. 

Given that, it seems to me that Biden should invoke the Fourteenth Amendment if the GOP refuses to accept a reasonable compromise in the debt limit negotiations.

_____________ illustration source