#real brewed

[auraeseer]

Air raw zone. Ahhhh . . .

[tasiaadams33]

AriZona Southern Style Real Brewed Sweet Tea Is Sweet.

[mindmushyyyy]

RANDOME GAS STATION PRODUCT REVEW TIME

arizona green tea with "ginseng?" and honey

Initialy Apon first sip a slap in the face with some harch green tea esk flaveor it then sokes into the creaveses of your mouth couting it it the flavor of metal like im biting straight into an alluminm can as thogh i was licking an aluminimin irony poscicle or loliepop. It then fades as quckly as it hits into a minor note as a nector like sweetness coats he back of the throught it were a gaggle of angsty teens in the back of a grocery store.

I have been consuming said product as i right and must report part way through the can the sweetness is almost pins and needles to the thought.

I would like to iterate that upon reading the nutritional facts on the container wtf am i doing to my body this one 12floz can contains 1/8 cups in sugars one of the first ingredients close to top of the list is CORNSYRUP in tea THis literally everything other than the carbs is at zero precent and they appear to use ginseng root extract rather than a brew. they did use distilled water tho so theres that

DEAR god i have googled the product health and one of the first results i found as a dubious article claiming the product was sued for containing no caffeine or legitimate ginseng tea

The ""tea"" is now presenting a more robust bitter sweat taste that's... once again coating the mouth, probably all that fucking Corn syrup.

[fairylando]

ngl with the news of the grand prix driver association creating an ig account, i think they should really channel the 1982 south africa gp strike energy😮‍💨

[pistachi0art]

failed clone, new sister! 👥

[ryoun]

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁twinkling eyes ⭑ radiant smiles ⊹₊⟡⋆ ݁₊ .

[itslilacokay]

introducing; unusual brewing! aka the avm au that features minecraft item gijinkas

summary of this au is basically minecraft items became stickfigures due to blue accidentally and unknowingly making a new potion and then tripped or something and the potion broke on some netherwarts and now its alive and blue got an epic prank idea

check em out they even have info

NOTE : theyre all agender. dont let their appearances fool you

netherwarts

self-proclaimed """leader""" of the itemgroup, only because it was transformed first

prefers being called net for short

master at making potions and likes to use them instead of actual weapons

not that good at physical combat

flirts with others sometimes because it thinks its funny asf to see their reactions, it has its limits of doing this though

yes those are real netherwarts on its dress. they can even grow back when plucked

redstone

the most enthusiastic in the itemgroup

second to be transformed

knows every redstone build that can possibly be made

enjoys making complicated asf builds

most likely to experiment with things

generates redstone particles everytime it walks

bed

its eyes are always closed, it also references those sleep masks

third to be transformed

doesnt actually sleep as much as you think

can easily make others fall asleep just by touching them

….this does not mean this happens everytime it touches someone

has different colored sweaters for different ocassions

noteblock

its eyes are whole notes

fourth to be transformed

kind of bossy and a little bitch, as well as a perfectionist when it comes to music

usually argues with net over leader status

always holds a small block staff that serves as a microphone in which the block can be replaced with another block to "change" its voice

its (default) green accents can change color depending on the note it sings

mob spawner

rarely is ever seen without its skull mask

last to be transformed

able to spawn any mob, hostile and friendly

enjoys collecting various mobs for no real reason other than for fun, despite its ability to spawn them

best in combat out of the itemgroup but also the least communicative

likes having the itemgroup as company

bonus doodles

[h4unted-d4rling]

I kinda want to write a really dark bill cipher x fem!reader where it’s definitely… Stockholm syndrome on the readers part (god I’m such a whore for that triangle) should I do it yes or no

[lazylittledragon]

Feel free to ignore if this is intruding but I remember you posting about dealing with caffeine addiction and I hope you're doing ok <3 Addiction is really hard to deal with so I hope everything is going alright for you!

!! thank you for checking in <3333

i haven't cut it out completely (i really don't think i'd be able to) but i'm still doing much better, i've cut down from 6 shots per cup to only 2. i've also changed my sleep/eating habits so now i don't feel like i need the caffeine as much because i just don't feel as shit anymore.

it's been very nice :3

[auraeseer]

C'mon Jen, sing honey!

[twc-thoughts-you-didnt-ask-for]

UB after meeting the most unhinged and in danger human they could get their hands on

[quitefair]

The Temple of Mythal and Greek Sculpture

Or: How Bioware takes from history without any nuance.

--

Picture this. You're me, playing Inquisition for the first time. You get to the Temple of Mythal, the doors shut behind you and you finally get to look around. It's a typical elven ruin for the game, nothing much seems different...

Hold on.

Hold the fuck on.

You know what that is.

You know what that's based on, and for a long time after it tickles you. Oh, maybe that meant something in the grander scheme of things! We've never seen such a blatant reference to a real-life sculpture anywhere else in game (to my knowledge at the time)! Maybe it'll come up later and it'll all make sense!

Here's the deal. I've been bothered by this for years. The more I think about it, the more angry I become. Anger over a single fucking type of statue, you say? There's a lot of other shit to be angry over in this game, and you choose this?

YES! I CHOOSE THIS! AND THIS IS WHY.

--

Picture this. You're me again, aged 14 this time. You're in the Louvre, the first museum of Western classical art you've ever been to. You've grown up in a place where this interest could only be cultivated from extra-curricular reading, and for a kid that age from my country to be ass deep in Greek and Egyptian myth is frankly lmao. Neurodivergent. Anyway.

So we're wandering around the Louvre, I've just taken my parents through the Egyptian section and given them a thorough infodump on everything I know about burial rites.

And then we enter this room. And I very nearly fall to my knees when I catch sight of her.

This is the sculpture the statues at the Temple of Mythal are based on - one Winged Victory of Samothrace.

She is a sculpture from the Hellenestic era, depicting the goddess Nike stood at the prow of a ship. Her head and both arms are missing, save one hand with two fingers (also in the Louvre but displayed separately). She was found on the Greek island of Samothrace, among the ruins of what was known as the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. It seemed like she was displayed at the top of a hill, looming down at all that regarded her.

I’ve had the absolute privilege of seeing her in person twice in my life, both before and after the 2013 restoration. And let me tell you, regardless of which staircase that leads you there, the sight of her will stop you in your tracks.

[Now with people, for scale.]

She is massive. Larger than life, and immediately is the centre of your attention. It's not the fact that she has no head, no arms. No, you will realise the closer you get to her, the more you're able to appreciate the details of this absolutely astounding piece of history.

No. It's because she feels so alive.

The way her robes drape against flesh, wet from sea-spray or rain, yet flowing with the motion of an invisible wind. The wings cast behind her dramatically as her right foot steps forward. Standing tall and proud, unflinching, unbowed against the elements. Even without her arms, you can feel how dynamic the torso and legs are.

You don't need to be an art historian, or even have any knowledge of Greek myth or art history to stand in front of her, as I once did as a young teen, and nearly be brought to tears.

So.

This brings me to the first of the two main gripes I have with the way this sculpture is used in Inquisition.

Compared to the way she's displayed in the Louvre, and also presumably how she was presented to her original audience - larger than life, looming, powerful, beautiful - she is relegated instead to smaller, repeating statues of the same nature throughout the temple.

This diminishes the purpose of the original sculpture, which was to instill a sense of awe and wonder. The singularity that forces you to focus and appreciate the scale and intricacy. The aura, the gravitas of having a single, massive sculpture of such a dynamic figure is completely gone.

And to make things worse, they Mythal-ify her. Adding a helmed head and changing her beautiful feathered wings to leathery dragon wings. They don't even add arms, which is odd because the original sculpture very clearly is missing its arms.

And, may I ask, Why?

It feels cheap, like they saw the Winged Victory and were like 'oh shit this is a cool sculpture, we should add it in game' without giving any fucking thought to what the sculpture means.

Which brings me to the second gripe. The complete disregard for the symbolism of the Winged Victory.

Detail from the Athena fountain, Parliament Building of Vienna, showing Nike the Winged Victory in the palm of Athena's hand [source]

Nike is a minor Greek deity, said to be the daughter of Pallas (a Titan) and the river Styx. Her other siblings by the same parents include Zelus (Zeal),  Bia (Might) and Kratos (Strength).

Yes. That Kratos.

She was one of the earliest gods to pledge her allegiance to Zeus in the Titonomachy, and after the victory of the Olympians, Nike and the other gods that allied with them were allowed to live on Olympus. In her aspect as Victory, she is closely associated with several of the major Greek gods, and in particular, Athena.

There's also her Roman counterpart, Victoria. This version doesn't come with the backstory Nike has, but is more of a general concept of victory. This is the aspect that is present in a lot of the modern sculptures and interpretations of Nike/Victoria:

Left: Detail from the Berlin Victory Column. Right: Detail from the Victoria Memorial, London. Note the similar iconography, of a woman seemingly standing against a strong wind, fabric and cloth adhering and yet flowing against the breeze, wings outstretched.

From this, we can probably extrapolate what our beloved Winged Victory might've looked like. Here's an artist's render of one possibility:

There's some iconography we need to go through before moving on - symbols that are commonly associated with Nike/Victoria.

One is the trumpet as see in the reconstruction above, the sound and symbol of the end of war, of impending peace. Another is the laurel wreath, another Greek symbol of victory and achievement. Famously, laurel wreaths were used to crown victors of the original Olympic games.

This is another conversation entirely, but there’s a discussion to be had about the duality of Elgar’nan and Mythal, in term of vengeance and justice, and how an emotional rage versus a calculated wisdom can be compared to the difference between the two Greek gods of war – Ares and Athena.

If we can compare Mythal to Athena, in the sense of her wisdom in making difficult decisions, then it’s not a stretch to associate Mythal with the symbolism of Nike, and therefore explain the presence of statues similar to the Winged Victory in her temple.

But since Bioware absolutely did not put this in the game for anything other than the Aesthetic, there’s some problems that need to be addressed.

Mainly in the way in which these statues are scattered throughout the temple. If you wanted static, ominous statues to line the walls as your player characters explore, perhaps have like, I dunno. Less dynamic statues that you reference?

Left: Nike of Paionos, Right: Stele 1 of Las Incantadas

Or maybe instead of statues, have friezes lining the walls. Like this one from the equally iconic Pergamon altar, depicting the Giganomanchy.

It’s the same symbolism, the wings, the smiting of foes and victory of good over evil.

And then perhaps, at the heart of the temple... where, y'know Bioware, lay a body of water sacred to Mythal herself, you could've perhaps done something remarkable. You could then have had the most dramatic and beautiful entrance you’d ever seen.

[Nike, at the iconic Daru Staircase, the Louvre]

It was at this moment that Mythal walked out of the sea of the earth's tears and onto the land. She placed her hand on Elgar'nan's brow, and at her touch he grew calm and knew that his anger had led him astray. - Codex entry: Mythal: The Great Protector

Mythal herself strides out of the Well Of Sorrows, the metaphorical tears of her followers that died and kept their knowledge alive in her name. Her (draconic) wings spread out, (restored) hands outstretched to touch her husband, to calm the rage that nearly destroyed this world.

A symbol of victory against the blind rage of a god against His father, the Sun. A symbol of wisdom and grace, against the violence of hatred. A divine sense of something bigger than anything we could imagine.

There's also the lack of iconography regarding victory, instead piling on some cheap representations of what we think of as Mythal. That's another post entirely on the symbolism of the Elven gods, but if Bioware really wanted to hone in on the Athena/Athena Nike parallels, they might have thrown in the trumpet/laurel/palm leaf symbolism with the statues, alongside the dragon wings.

If this were the case, then maybe, just maybe, Inquisition would’ve then earned the use of this sculpture in the game.

Sources not listed above/Further reading if you're interested

https://www.louvre.fr/en/explore/the-palace/a-stairway-to-victory

https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1412/winged-victory-the-nike-of-samothrace/https://smarthistory.org/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace/

https://smarthistory.org/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace/

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/hellenistic/a/nike-winged-victory-of-samothrace

[seaofreverie]

50 years of Sparks Propaganda.

[archive-rat]

This season, Scott seems kinda… fishy….

[ryoun]

for some reason i’m obsessed with these photos.

[mayblossomss]

Whumptober Day 15: Childhood Trauma / Painful Hug

Darry always knew that something was off about their uncle. He was Darry's father's brother, and the two of them always seemed to have a strained relationship. He came around often enough though to be a present figure in their life: mostly for babysitting and holidays.

Even when Darry was twelve, he just knew there was something strange about him. His uncle was aloof, rarely acknowledging Darry and his siblings when he was babysitting, but he never quite did anything wrong. But, then again, Darry never liked being in the house with him, and would often find excuses to be out when he knew he'd be in their home, so he wouldn't know. He only knew that there was something wrong with him.

The last time Darry had to really see him was after their parents had died. He showed up to pay his respects to his late brother, and it ended up being the only time that Darry asked for his help.

The state was going to put his little brothers into boys' homes until Darry went through the trouble of becoming their legal guardian, and the only way to avoid throwing them into that place was to have another family member watch them. So, unsuspectingly, he'd given Sodapop and Ponyboy to their uncle.

Soda barely stayed there as he went straight to the DX following school, and stayed out late with the guys. Ponyboy, still messed up about their parents, preferred going straight to his 'house' after school unlike his brother. That gave their uncle a perfect window of time alone with him, and Darry was none the wiser to suspect a thing.

Even after he gained custody, and their uncle seemingly vanished, he knew nothing. Everything appeared fine, and Ponyboy was a damn good actor. It wasn't until Ponyboy was fourteen-years-old, that someone found out what happened to him. That someone, of course, being Darry.

It was late at night, and only the two brothers were home. Darry was sitting in his armchair, ready to go to bed, while Ponyboy was finishing the last page of his chapter on the couch across from him. He was wearing one of Soda's old shirts, that he hadn't quite grown into, causing it to sag off of his shoulders.

When Darry looked up, he could see clearly with how the light was shining, a scar across his collarbone. For a moment, he was stunned silent, as no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't recall any times where Pony had cut his collarbone. After a beat of silence, Darry spoke up. "Hey, Ponyboy?"

"Hm?" The boy hummed, hesitating to lift his eyes from the novel as he read on.

"Where'd you get that scar?"

His words struck Ponyboy like a shot to the heart, and he went stiff as a plank. Slowly, he brought his gaze from the book in his hands, to Darry, then down to his collarbone, where he paled. "I- A rumble, I think."

Darry's eyebrows knitted together skeptically, not missing how Pony's voice wavered as he spoke. "A rumble? I don't recall any fights bad enough to scar like that."

"Well, I dunno."

Sighing, Darry gave Ponyboy a firm stare. "Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah, and I'm telling you I don't know where it's from."

"Bullshit," he huffed, getting up and gently pulling Ponyboy to his feet. "Come on, let me see."

"Darry--" Ponyboy tried protesting, but he was ignored. Darry lifted his shirt over his head and froze, eyes widening in horror at the sight of his chest. He was covered in small scars and marks that Darry had somehow never seen before.

"Pony," Darry breathed, jaw clenching. "Who did this?"

"I don't--"

"Ponyboy."

He gave a tired sigh, fidgeting with his fingers, before dropping his arms to his sides and frowning. "Promise not to get mad?"

Darry scoffed at the request. "No,"

Ponyboy rolled his eyes before finally answering, voice significantly smaller than Darry had ever heard. "It was our uncle."

"What?" Darry was incredulous. Their uncle? The very one he'd trusted his brother's safety with mere months ago? The one who he'd let babysit his baby brothers while he ran around town with his friends when he was younger?

"It looks worse than it is."

"Does it?" He was fuming at this point, wanting to track down the monster that had done this. "Because it looks really fucking bad, kid."

Ponyboy shrugged his shoulders and reached for the shirt he'd been wearing. "I guess."

Darry went silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out how to ask the millions of questions racing through his head. Finally, he settled on, "Why?"

"He got real aggressive when he was drunk," Ponyboy explained dully, avoiding eye contact with his older brother. "Just needed to take it out on someone. Or, if I didn't do what he asked, he'd 'punish' me or whatever."

Darry's heart shattered at his words, eyebrows narrowing with anger. "No, I meant, why didn't you tell us?"

He glanced up at him, his green-grey eyes growing glossy. "I was scared. I mean, I was only seven or so, Dar. I didn't know what to say. And then, as the years passed... I dunno, I just couldn't."

Hands clenching into fists by his sides, Darry tried keeping his cool. Seven? He was seven-years-old while dealing with that monster? "Oh, Pony..."

Opening his arms up for a hug, he waited only a brief moment before Ponyboy collapsed into him, squeezing him into a tight embrace. Darry's heart sunk as he felt his brother cry into his chest, and the reality of what trauma the boy had been holding inside of him all of these years hit him.

"I'm sorry, Darry," Ponyboy said, muffled by Darry's chest. "I'm sorry I never told you."

"Don't," Darry responds, resting his head against Ponyboy's, pressing a gentle kiss into his hair. "Never apologize. It's not your fault."

The two stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for what seemed like forever. The hug was painful, but letting go would be worse. Giving him another squeeze, Darry silently vowed to never, ever, let anyone lay their hands on his kid brother ever again. No, not over his dead body.