#research post

[the-banks-of-lethe]

˚ʚ♡ Hypnos & the Erotes ♡ɞ˚

I'm sure you're all familar with Hypnos and the Erotes, respectively. But it's not as common to hear about them working together. Although, it is quite logical when you put some thought to it;  "Sleep and Love, after all, are activities that both have the bed in common." - Sleep and Death

Unfortunately, most of what we know about Hypnos' association with love and the Erotes comes from Nonnus.

"Nonnus (flourished 5th century ad, b. Panopolis, Egypt) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Roman period. His chief work is the Dionysiaca, a hexameter poem in 48 books" - Britannica

Here are a few quotes from 'Nonnus, Dionysiaca' [theoi.com]

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31. 103 ff : ". . . Then Hypnos as one obeying a mother started up, and swore to charm the eyes of unresting Zeus even until the third dawn should come; but Iris begged him to fasten Kronion (Cronion) with slumber for the course of one day only. There Hypnos remained, awaiting the happy season of marriage. Then goddess Iris returned flying at speed and hastened to deliver her welcome message to her queen."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 32. 95 ff : ". . . [and after their lovemaking] Hypnos (Sleep) the servant of the Erotes (Loves) had charmed the eyes of Zeus . . . Zeus slept delicately charmed among the flowers, holding his wife in his arms on that bed unseen."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42. 336 ff : "He [Dionysos in love] sorrowfully prayed to Hypnos (Sleep) and Eros (Love) and Aphrodite of the Evening [the star Venus], all at once, to let him see the same vision [of his love] once more, longing for the deceptive phantom of an embrace."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 47. 345 ff : "[Ariadne laments her fate after being abandoned in her sleep by Theseus on Naxos :] ‘Give me again, Hypnos (Sleep), your empty boon, so pleasant; send me another delectable dream like that, so that I may know the sweet bed of love in a deceptive dream! Only linger upon my eyes, that I may know the unreal passion of married love in a dream!’"

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 264 ff : "The maiden [the virgin Aura] awoke . . . [and] bold Hypnos (Sleep) she reproached more than all and threatening the Oneiros (Dream) [i.e. for sending her a prophetic dream in which she loses her virginity to Dionysos]."

! CW : rape ! Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48. 621 ff : "Iobakkhos (Iobacchus) [Dionysos] seeing her [Aura asleep] on the bare earth, plucking the Lethaean (Forgetful) feather of bridal Hypnos (Sleep), he crept up noiseless, unshod, on tiptoe, and approached Aura where she lay without voice or hearing. With gentle hand he put away the girl's neat quiver and hid the bow in a hole in the rock, that she might not shake off Hypnos' (Sleep's) wing and shoot him . . . On the ground that hapless girl heavy with wine, unmoving, was wedded to Dionysos; Hypnos (Sleep) embraced the body of Aura with overshadowing wings, and he was marshal of the wedding for Bakkhos (Bacchus), for he also had experience of love, he is yokefellow of Selene (the Moon), he is companion of the Erotes (Loves) in nightly caresses."

And some non-Nonnus ones

Greek Lyric V Anonymous, Fragment 929g (Rainer papyrus) (trans. Campbell) : "Soft-eyed Hypnos (Sleep) came, embracing all his limbs, as a mother on seeing her dear son after a long absence folds him with her wings to her loving breast."

Licymnius, Fragment 771 (from Athenaeus, Scholars at Dinner) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric V) (Greek lyric C4th B.C.) : "[Endymion was a handsome youth loved by the moon-goddess Selene. He was granted immortality in a state of eternal slumber :] Likymnios of Khios (Licymnius of Chios) says the Hypnos (Sleep) loves Endymion and does not close they eyes of his beloved boy even while he is asleep, but lulls him to rest with eyes wide open so that he may without interruption enjoy the pleasure of gazing at them. His words are ‘And Hypnos (Sleep), rejoicing in the rays of his eyes, would lull the boy to rest with eyes wide open.’"

^^ I understand that this one can simply be interpreted as one of his 'love stories' as most of the Theoi have them. However I thought it nice that it was said that He loved Endymion so much that He (Sleep) stayed with him forever; being forever in slumber.

Cult images depicting Him with the Mousai (Muses) and Aphrodite

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 31. 3 : "Not far from the Mousai's (Muses') hall [at Troizenos (Troezen) in Argolis] is an old altar, which also, according to report, was dedicated by Ardalos. Upon it they sacrifice to the Mousai and to Hypnos (Sleep), saying that Hypnos is the god that is dearest to the Mousai."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 31. 5 : "[At Troizenos (Troezen) in Argolis there is] an ancient altar . . . they sacrifice on it to Hypnos (Sleep) and the Mousai (Muses); who they say are particular friends."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 3. 18. 1 : "[Beside the temple of Athena of the Bronze House in Sparta :] Near the statues of Pausanias is an image of Aphrodite Ambologera (Postponer of Old Age), which was set up in accordance with an oracle; there are also images of Hypnos (Sleep) and of Thanatos (Death). They think them brothers, in accordance with the verses in the Iliad."

Little other bits!

Hypnos is married to Pasithea, one of the Charites, which slightly solidifies his association with 'love-like', good feelings; as the Charites presided over "grace, beauty, adornment, joy, mirth, festivity, dance and song."

His role in the myth of Endymion in which, depending on the version, was in love with Endymion himself or acted as a 'wing-man' for Selene in a way. <- linked a previous post of mine about the variations of the myth!

And yes, at the end there I did include his (more well-known) affiliation with the Mousai; I did this because, although not romantic (with exception for Erato), the Mousai can represent to some extent the love we feel for ourselves, for friends, the passion of a new hobby, the love of happiness, and really just a love for life. Since the Greeks didn't view love as a catch-all-term and had specific names for each type of love, I though it was fitting to also include his beloved friends, the Mousai.

Although we have little information on Hypnos' depiction as an Erote / companion to the Erotes. We can make the connection that the role of sleep and the role of love have much in common.

The bedroom, a holy place for sleep and love. Where intimacy and dreams mingle together. Dreaming about your lover, or of a friend (philia). Waking up next to someone, their arms around you as you remember the previous night (doesn't have to be sex, you could have just embraced each other in your sleep). Winding down after a long day by laying down and reading in bed, your partner joining you, just laying in silence. The giggles of a sleepover. The comfort of your pet snuggling up next to you. The solace you feel when your head hits the pillow, loving yourself and treating you to an early sleep. Anything!

Do I personally regard Hypnos as a love god? Yes and no. My perspective lies within the wording of it; and since this is purely my opinion, I will label this next part as !UPG! Okay, so. I think it would be wrong to say that Hypnos is a 'love god' or a 'god of love', because he is not, he's the god and daimon of sleep; with dreams, altered consciousness, and relaxation / wellbeings being under this domain as well - notice, love is not listed. However, would I ever reach out to Lord Hypnos concerning love? Personally, yes. I don't believe love to ultimately fall under his domains, but he can assist. I sometimes call him an 'assistant to Aphrodite' [or an 'assistant to love'], because that is how I personally view his role regarding love, assisting. To put it into a lil metaphor; Think of Aphrodite as a full-time, dedicated, expert-in-the-field person for Love - and Hypnos as a Casual-worker, called in when needed, knows how to work in the department but doesn't specialise there. Does that make sense? It does to me. Either way, this paragraph was just my personal view on it, if yours doesn't match mine that is totally fine. This aspect of Hypnos is nuanced and gives a huge allowance for UPG.

Anyway, let me know if I missed anything or you'd like to share your own interpretation of Hypnos' love aspect! I'd love to hear them! [heh]

May Hypnos bless you, and sweet dreams ♡

-> heart divider made by @/strangergraphics -> sleep [zzzz] divider made by @/sisterlucifergraphics

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

The Man From Y.I.L.I.N.G.

Chapter 2 - RESEARCH FOOTNOTES

The nuclear experiment that Jin Guangyao refers to in his internal monologue during the conversation in the cafe was a project codenamed 596, which was in reference to June 1959 when Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev denied the Chinese government a prototye of the Soviet atomic bomb. After years of top-secret work, the first successful detonation of a Chinese-made H-bomb in the summer of 1967 (the same year this fic is set in) was widely celebrated.

Source: Red Color News Soldier by Li Zhensheng (borrowable for 1 hour at a time on Archive.org)

[k00278301]

Research Post

A lot of the aesthetic choices in my work comes from pop culture and media that deal with similar themes of technology and its relationship with humans. Most of these works deal with science fiction technology and imaginings of the near future. These ideas can be classed as dystopian or cyberpunk.

The matrix (1999)

Directed by the Wachowski sisters this film showcases the worlds discomfort with technology at the turn of the century. It also gives us the concept of a "glitch in the matrix" which is when reality is not what it seems because everything is a simulation.

This film was inspired by many earlier works of media, especially Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson. Gibson was the first to use the term "cyberspace" in the 80s.

Ghost In The Shell (1989-1991)

A Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The world is set in 2029 where most people have cybernetic implants and upgrades. I enjoyed reading this and the art. Although I sometimes found the black and white illustrations difficult to make out. This franchise expanded into many books, films and games.

Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

An open world RPG developed by CD PROJEKT RED that let you explore a cyberpunk world. Ironically this game had a disastrous release due to technology. The game was riddled with bugs and technical problems. Most deemed the game unfinished and found it to be unplayable. Due to this and its high price point I am yet to experience the game myself but I still thoroughly enjoy the art direction.

Honorable mentions

some other aesthetic influences include The Terminator, Star Wars, Star Trek and doctor who.

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

average United States contains 1000s of pet tigers in backyards" factoid actualy [sic] just statistical error. average person has 0 tigers on property. Activist Georg, who lives the U.S. Capitol & makes up over 10,000 each day, has purposefully been spreading disinformation adn [sic] should not have been counted

I have a big mad today, folks. It's a really frustrating one, because years worth of work has been validated... but the reason for that fucking sucks.

For almost a decade, I've been trying to fact-check the claim that there "are 10,000 to 20,000 pet tigers/big cats in backyards in the United States." I talked to zoo, sanctuary, and private cat people; I looked at legislation, regulation, attack/death/escape incident rates; I read everything I could get my hands on. None of it made sense. None of it lined up. I couldn't find data supporting anything like the population of pet cats being alleged to exist. Some of you might remember the series I published on those findings from 2018 or so under the hashtag #CrouchingTigerHiddenData. I've continued to work on it in the six years since, including publishing a peer reviewed study that counted all the non-pet big cats in the US (because even though they're regulated, apparently nobody bothered to keep track of those either).

I spent years of my life obsessing over that statistic because it was being used to push for new federal legislation that, while well intentioned, contained language that would, and has, created real problems for ethical facilities that have big cats. I wrote a comprehensive - 35 page! - analysis of the issues with the then-current version of the Big Cat Public Safety Act in 2020. When the bill was first introduced to Congress in 2013, a lot of groups promoted it by fear mongering: there's so many pet tigers! they could be hidden around every corner! they could escape and attack you! they could come out of nowhere and eat your children!! Tiger King exposed the masses to the idea of "thousands of abused backyard big cats": as a result the messaging around the bill shifted to being welfare-focused, and the law passed in 2022.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act created a registry, and anyone who owned a private cat and wanted to keep it had to join. If they did, they could keep the animal until it passed, as long as they followed certain strictures (no getting more, no public contact, etc). Don’t register and get caught? Cat is seized and major punishment for you. Registering is therefore highly incentivized. That registry closed in June of 2023, and you can now get that registration data via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Guess how many pet big cats were registered in the whole country?

97.

Not tens of thousands. Not thousands. Not even triple digits. 97.

And that isn't even the right number! Ten USDA licensed facilities registered erroneously. That accounts for 55 of 97 animals. Which leaves us with 42 pet big cats, of all species, in the entire country.

Now, I know that not everyone may have registered. There's probably someone living deep in the woods somewhere with their illegal pet cougar, and there's been at least one random person in Texas arrested for trying to sell a cub since the law passed. But - and here's the big thing - even if there are ten times as many hidden cats than people who registered them - that's nowhere near ten thousand animals. Obviously, I had some questions.

Guess what? Turns out, this is because it was never real. That huge number never had data behind it, wasn't likely to be accurate, and the advocacy groups using that statistic to fearmonger and drive their agenda knew it... and didn't see a problem with that.

Allow me to introduce you to an article published last week.

This article is good. (Full disclose, I'm quoted in it). It's comprehensive and fairly written, and they did their due diligence reporting and fact-checking the piece. They talked to a lot of people on all sides of the story.

But thing that really gets me?

Multiple representatives from major advocacy organizations who worked on the Big Cat Publix Safety Act told the reporter that they knew the statistics they were quoting weren't real. And that they don't care. The end justifies the means, the good guys won over the bad guys, that's just how lobbying works after all. They're so blase about it, it makes my stomach hurt. Let me pull some excerpts from the quotes.

"Whatever the true number, nearly everyone in the debate acknowledges a disparity between the actual census and the figures cited by lawmakers. “The 20,000 number is not real,” said Bill Nimmo, founder of Tigers in America. (...) For his part, Nimmo at Tigers in America sees the exaggerated figure as part of the political process. Prior to the passage of the bill, he said, businesses that exhibited and bred big cats juiced the numbers, too. (...) “I’m not justifying the hyperbolic 20,000,” Nimmo said. “In the world of comparing hyperbole, the good guys won this one.”

"Michelle Sinnott, director and counsel for captive animal law enforcement at the PETA Foundation, emphasized that the law accomplished what it was set out to do. (...) Specific numbers are not what really matter, she said: “Whether there’s one big cat in a private home or whether there’s 10,000 big cats in a private home, the underlying problem of industry is still there.”"

I have no problem with a law ending the private ownership of big cats, and with ending cub petting practices. What I do have a problem with is that these organizations purposefully spread disinformation for years in order to push for it. By their own admission, they repeatedly and intentionally promoted false statistics within Congress. For a decade.

No wonder it never made sense. No wonder no matter where I looked, I couldn't figure out how any of these groups got those numbers, why there was never any data to back any of the claims up, why everything I learned seemed to actively contradict it. It was never real. These people decided the truth didn't matter. They knew they had no proof, couldn't verify their shocking numbers... and they decided that was fine, if it achieved the end they wanted.

So members of the public - probably like you, reading this - and legislators who care about big cats and want to see legislation exist to protect them? They got played, got fed false information through a TV show designed to tug at heartstrings, and it got a law through Congress that's causing real problems for ethical captive big cat management. The 20,000 pet cat number was too sexy - too much of a crisis - for anyone to want to look past it and check that the language of the law wouldn't mess things up up for good zoos and sanctuaries. Whoops! At least the "bad guys" lost, right? (The problems are covered somewhat in the article linked, and I'll go into more details in a future post. You can also read my analysis from 2020, linked up top.)

Now, I know. Something something something facts don't matter this much in our post-truth era, stop caring so much, that's just how politics work, etc. I’m sorry, but no. Absolutely not.

Laws that will impact the welfare of living animals must be crafted carefully, thoughtfully, and precisely in order to ensure they achieve their goals without accidental negative impacts. We have a duty of care to ensure that. And in this case, the law also impacts reservoir populations for critically endangered species! We can't get those back if we mess them up. So maybe, just maybe, if legislators hadn't been so focused on all those alleged pet cats, the bill could have been written narrowly and precisely.

But the minutiae of regulatory impacts aren't sexy, and tiger abuse and TV shows about terrible people are. We all got misled, and now we're here, and the animals in good facilities are already paying for it.

I don't have a conclusion. I'm just mad. The public deserves to know the truth about animal legislation they're voting for, and I hope we all call on our legislators in the future to be far more critical of the data they get fed.

[bloobydabloob]

I literally could not know less about welding I just wanted to draw him doing that

[heph]

Gravity falls comics compilation Volume 1 download here!

[fanficmemes]

Love when writers do an insane amount of unnecessary research for their fics. I follow an author that did like 8 months of intense research into 14th century Scotland so they could write smut about it, and guess what. It was some fucking incredible porn AND I learned about old Scottish politics

[humming-fly]

Every now and then I'm reminded Real People with Actual Jobs use tumblr and I've always been legitimately curious what all you weird adults are up to when you're not on this site and with tumblr's New Poll Feature I can finally get an answer! (or the closest approximation of an answer possible with only 10 available options h a)

[fanaticalthings]

the muskification of twitter except it's lex luthor instead of elon lol

<- Prev Masterlist Next ->

[chocobje]

This took way too long for a comic that's supposed to be self-indulgent and quick,, Apologies if the chat bubbles are confusing on who's talkin..

Anyway another comic for my AU! I'm not sorry for the lack of background cause I really wanted to just focus on the dialogue lawl

Extra doodles I did while making the comic if ya'll want some of it:

[inkskinned]

idaho is already moving to repeal same-sex marriage. they say it's an overreach of the governmental power, and that the law should be determined by "state's rights".

trump is expected to sign an executive order banning trans women in women's sports. in the article i've linked there, he notes that the "biggest hand" (most applause) he gets is when he attacks trans women. isn't that interesting.

i know my own father voted for him. my own father, radicalized by podcasts and bad youtube, voted for this; felt smug about it. he genuinely believes the dems want to "put christians in camps." as if the dems could ever get off their silken asscheeks and actually do anything. i wish they had strong enough messaging to be misattributed like this.

my girlfriend and i worked the polls on election day, counting ballots. my father was eating noisily beside us. "see? you're freaked out about nothing." after all, i live in massachusetts: beautiful, expensive, no-working-transportation MA. the only state to go all-blue.

"if it's state's rights, you'll be fine," he said. i'd been sworn at a few days before this. a year ago almost to the day, i got hit in the head with an empty beer bottle. he said i was being dramatic. after all, first-adopter "the gay state" Massachusetts would rather explode than get rid of same-sex marriage. so what should i care, after all.

this man is a deacon. i guess he expects me not to get out of the car in any red state. i guess he thinks my relationship dissolves across certain borders. he doesn't see why it's concerning that i can't leave, because why would i want to. who wants to go to idaho? who cares about the real, living, breathing people in idaho.

(but then again: who cares about the real, living, breathing humans on deportation planes. they're not us. after all, my father came here legally. i am an american citizen because of birthright citizenship. i am even debating this because he immigrated.)

i texted my mom about it. i feel sick. no matter how much activism and research and outreach i do: it's always shocking to see a room full of people who hate you so much that they take legal action against you. on my small ex-work-laptop, i watch the shaking hands of people in idaho begging their representatives to reconsider. the fear in their voice is palpable. no person should have their relationship threatened this way. the motion still passes, 46-24.

it's all just happening so fast. i feel i am pushing my hands through glass pieces, watching the cuts before i feel them.

people often reference "first they came for..." when stuff like this happens, and while that's fair - there's a very quiet part of me that always says they're already at your door, you complete idiot. the same force that governs trans women's bodies will also be used against cis women. the censorship about supposed "DEI terms" will also be used to stifle science in general.

it won't just be idaho.

[yeoldenews]

A selection of strange and cryptic personal ads from The New York Herald, 1860s to 1890s. 14/?

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

The Man From Y.I.L.I.N.G.

Chapter 10 - RESEARCH FOOTNOTES

--//--

The Shengyang J-6 is the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19, also named the 'Farmer' fighter. It was produced between 1958 and 1981 for use in the PLA and was the first mass-produced supersonic aircraft.

2. We're going to pretend like Nie Mingjue would actually physically fit in this cockpit without hitting every button and switch.

3. Arresting gear is a system of hooks, wires, and hydraulics used on naval aircraft carriers or in other aircraft landing areas where there isn't enough distance to create a long runway to slow landing aircraft gradually. It's essentially an emergency stop system designed to disperse forward momentum as quickly as possible without injuring the pilot(s).

4. The Type 64 (Silenced) semi-automatic pistol differs from its unsilenced counterpart by containing an internal sound suppression system. It can also toggle between semi-automatic and manual use depending on the user's handling. It has been in use in the People's Liberation Army since 1964, originally by officers and high ranking officials before being dispersed later for more general use.

[k00278301]

Research Post

Mad Dog Jones (Michah Dowbak)

Jones is a multidisciplinary artist that shows scenes of a futuristic, dystopian world. He uses neon tones of technology to make his worlds vibrant.

I want to use more of these colours and experiment with lighting that gives these effects in my own work.

[savagegood]

ice hockey nicknames be like:

also, assigned babygirl/angel/wifey by wikipedia:

update: new sidney crosby nicknames dropped over the weekend

[cuteasamuntin]

EMERGENCY PSA TO FELLOW USAMERICANS WITH STUDENT LOANS

Go to studentaid.gov and MOHELA (if that’s your loan servicer) and download ALL your loan information immediately

StudentAid is scheduled for takedown this week, and MOHELA is likely to be targeted as well

This warning was passed along to me in private from someone who works in Washington, D.C. and has not been verified by outside sources