#sorry the citing is inconsistent

[theplasticman]

The Drama of Skyler White

Breaking Bad (2008-2013), prod. Gilligan | Othello (4.3.23-25), Shakespeare | Ophelia, John Everett Millais (1852) | The Last Duel (2021) dir. Ridley Scott | Othello (2.3.60-61), Shakespeare | The Tale of the Two Brothers (8,5) trans. University of Houston | "Sexual Violence in Serial Form: Breaking Bad habits on TV". Feminist Media studies 2019:1, p. 125. Stuart Joy | The Execution of Lady Jane Grey, Paul Delaroche 1833 | “Old Man,” Stella Donnelly |

[volfoss]

im very normal about media i assure you

[captainlordauditor]

That’s weird because in my copy Babs breaks up with him in #87 of Nightwing and he’s raped in #93

Yknow, i always thought it was genuinely insane how people laugh at the time when Cass threw Dick out a window.

Bc, like, iirc Barbara dumped Dick because she saw Dick being SA'd by Tarantula (non-consensually kissed) and went "he's cheating on me!"

So like. The whole reason Cass threw Dick out a window is bc Barbara dumped him for being SA'd, if I have my timeline correct.

And uh... how the fuck is that funny?? It's actually kinda messed up imo. Granted in-universe you can't really blame Cass bc iirc she didn't have the full picture, but still.

Its just... it's not funny to me and I don't see why people think it's hilarious

[mamawasatesttube]

I’m having trouble getting a straight answer on whether or not Kon can use TTK under a red sun. The answer from googling seems to be “depends on the writer”. You’re kinda my go-to Kon expert, so I was wondering if you knew

yes.

i'm sure canon is at least kinda inconsistent about this (dc does, after all, stand for "dunno consistency") but here's the logic i follow when it comes to ttk. you'll have to forgive me for just referring to certain issues without actually citing numbers or anything, i have a migraine and a half this morning and don't wanna deal with checking i'm so sorry but if you want me to find a specific one i mention at some point later just remind me and i'll try in a few hours if my brain stops hurting!

but anyways. yes, i do believe kon can use ttk under a red sun. why? ttk is established as a metagene, not a kryptonian power. even before he's got any of his sunlight-processing powers (which are repeatedly established as coming in as he grows up, both before and even after the geoff retcon), he has the full extent of his ttk.

now, wf3 and also the aftermath of sins of youth do both suggest that he is still tied to sunlight-processing in some way (after all, why else would kryptonite have affected him in wf3?), so that's definitely an inconsistency. however, i posit that since ttk is a metagene, even if his body is powered by sunlight, he should still be able to access it. (depowered kon arc post-sins of youth still works in this way if we assume he was just Really Fuckign Tired and also the magic was still impacting him.)

but honestly the biggest reason i say that yes, his ttk still should work even under a red sun, is in supergirl vol 5. kon himself isn't there at the point i'm thinking of, but there's an arc sometime before last stand of new krypton (the hunt for reactron, iirc, but don't quote me on that) in which kara, thara ak-var, and chris kent all get slapped with red sun projector collars. this neutralizes their kryptonian powers, but chris specifically says he can still use his telekinesis.

now people who know more about editorial impact on the superfam than i do can definitely chime in here, because i'm just going to refer to stuff i've read but don't have sources on immediately on hand, but. why does chris have ttk? well, because before infinite crisis killed kon off, kon was supposed to be nightwing. (i know there was an artist who tweeted about this. i don't remember who.) in fact some of the dialogue written with the nightwing in new krypton reads kind of like kon, specifically the way he introduces and brags about his ttk, imo. this was later retconned into being chris. therefore, chris has ttk, which is explained away as being some general phantom zone related weirdness. (as a matter of personal taste i think it kind of diminishes the POINT of ttk being to imitate kryptonian powers to give it to chris, so i like to pretend that he has some weird psychic stuff going on instead, to keep chris and kon distinct, but thats kinda beside the point.)

SO. all of that to say. it's sort of a matter of opinion because you can construct an argument based on canon both ways, but i personally fall into camp ttk is a metagene and therefore can only be suppressed by meta-suppression tech, not red sun.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

Because I've been seen posts that only Loki was to blame for Jotunheim, and claiming inconsistent Odin characterization in TR (I will only use Thor (2011) for that matter).

But my take on whether or not Odin allowed and promoted negative views of the Jotuns/Jotunheim is that he did (even if you exclude TR).

The way Thor (2011) is structured, there were some very EASY changes that would have cemented Loki as being the ONLY one in the wrong and absolved Odin, but interestingly, this is not what happened.

Instead of giving some answer out of a self-help book that doesn't address child Thor's proclamation that one day he'll eradicate all Jotuns in front of his secretly Jotun son, he should have said that the Jotuns have a right to exist/aren't inherently bad and such to the impressionable child heirs.

Yes, Odin didn't want to start a war but not because he didn't hold negative views of Jotunheim. I see this cited as "proof" Odin was a wonderful anti-imperialist King before TR. Wars have costs like Einherjar lives, supplies, and such. There are practical reasons why he wouldn't want a war rather than assuming he didn't hold or promote negative views of the Jotun, and him not starting a war was a practical and strategic decision. He had already taken what he came for (the Casket and got a free baby). Why go to war at that point?

So you don't think Loki is reliable with "Because I am the monster parents tell their children about at night?" But somehow the deflective answer Odin gives to child Thor is evidence he didn't hold and promote negative views of the Jotun in millennia? I'm sorry, but Loki's words are stronger evidence in this case because they're not deflection. And I find it annoying to dismiss them as hyperbole and lies. Yes, Loki lies, but he's not the only one that lies and it's ridiculous to be saying this when it's been proven Loki has also been lied to by both parents.

Loki's reasoning in killing his biological father and his own species are based on the assumption that Odin was only against war with Jotunheim because it would cost Asgardian lives. So he finds a way to destroy an entire realm indirectly without the use of warriors. When Odin wakes from the Odin-sleep, Loki PROUDLY proclaims that he caused all the devastation in Jotunheim for him. An easy way they could have made only Loki in the wrong is to have him do this in secret because he didn't believe Odin would approve. HOWEVER, Loki proclaims this proudly to Odin. He clearly thought this would get him into Odin's good graces and prove that he's a "trustworthy" Jotun. Loki's behavior here doesn't make sense if Odin didn't hold and promote negative views of Jotunheim. IF Odin was a good anti-imperialist King, it would be under Loki's best interests to deny the attempted genocide rather than proudly proclaim he did it all for Odin. Loki is a millennia-old manipulator; it's ridiculous to think he'd lack the common sense to act on behalf of his best interests.

Odin could have told Loki he was a Jotun even if he didn't wish to use him for diplomacy. Why do people act like Loki being told means Odin didn't abandon his plan to use Loki for "diplomacy"? They're not mutually exclusive! And yes, I do think Odin loved Loki in some fucked up dysfunctional way and wanted to keep him.

[genericpuff]

This is why people get suspicious of Rachel tracing over her own drawings to pass off as "sketches"-

(sorry I'd upload these as actual gifs but Gyazo is being a pain with letting me save them :/)

They're just a little too 'close' to the final panels which still wind up being inconsistent all the time despite Rachel's attempts at making it look like she puts effort into her roughs. When we've literally seen her legitimate roughs that show otherwise - even her refined sketches aren't the exact same as her final pieces.

And then we even have weird contradictions that show up in the sketches themselves that imply they were completely redrawn/traced over the finished drawing rather than organically made.

That said, the last two are cited by Rachel as being thumbnails, so she could very well be going in and changing them, refining them, etc. to get a better final composition, but as we've seen from the comparison of her older pieces (pre LO) even her fully detailed sketches are made up of more mess and visual processing than what's seen in the book sketches. It feels like the "mess" in those sketches is more just to try and make it look messy, not with the same trial and error that's evident in her legitimate roughs.

Again, none of this is definitive 'proof' or meant to accuse Rachel of performative sketching, so PLEASE take this with mountains of salt, but these are some of the reasons why people are suspicious. All of the sketches provided in the books these days just feel like they were traced and thrown together for the sake of providing incentive to buy the books. Her actual final panels are way too inconsistent and we've seen too many instances of her actual roughs to make it believable that these were the real sketches that her assistants worked over.

[jasper-book-stash]

Okay...regarding Witchcraft For Everyone by Sam Wise...

Well, firstly, if you're the author...I'm sorry, you probably shouldn't look at this post, I'm not fond of this book.

This was a deeply frustrating book. I have so many margin-scribbled notes expressing my frustration as I read it.

The most frustrating parts for me was in the editing and formatting: The inconsistency in the capitalization, formatting, and spelling of chapter titles, paired with the lack of page numbers and a non-existent table of contents, drove me absolutely bonkers.

So many chapters have bold claims with nothing backing them up within the text, which could have been fixed by citations and sources to back them up. And the author does do this in some places - citing specific books or podcasts or people under specific chapters within the text itself.

There are claims that many witches do or don't do something with seemingly no realization that one's experiences aren't universal, along with bold claims in subjects that the author themself claims they know nothing about.

There are also several separate instances of the author putting essential oils into water (sometimes bath water) without proper dilution. And I'm not just biased because of my anti-essential oil stance! My coworker, who uses essential oils herself, backed me up on this being a bad move!

And can someone please, for the love of whatever, tell me how we came to this organization of chapters?

Honestly, this is a 5/10 book. It's not the worst beginner book I've read, but it's far from the first I'd recommend to a beginner.

I just...wish it was a little better.

[delusion-of-negation]

Hi, I really need help staying afloat right now as I just got kicked out and am wondering if you could reblog my pinned post so more people could see it? Sorry to bother you, it's perfectly fine if you can't, and thank you for your time!!

your earliest post is only a couple months ago

your archive doesn't work and your blog is hidden from the web

in the rare original posts, you're tag spamming unrelated stuff

you've been sending this to everyone, mostly strangers afaik, it follows the same formula as scams, eg the "rb my pinned post"

and yet you haven't thanked a single ko-fi supporter, the site will notify you to do it whenever people donate, it takes ten seconds

additionally "My parents found out I was trans last month so they kicked me out and fired me from their shop, where I’ve been working to support my family." they own a shop where you worked to support them? help me with the maths there. and "I can’t get a job because there’s none where my friend lives and I don’t have a car to be able to commute, and I can’t borrow my friend’s car because she’s using it for her own job. I’ve seriously tried to find any solution out of this, but I can’t [...] I need money for either some shitty car so I can commute, or rent so I can leave my friend’s place and get my own where I could find work." you're asking for 4k, my dude. that's a lot more than a shit car or a couple months rent, and I can't understand it. cars on ebay vary from a couple hundred to a couple thousand, my family could never afford more than that and they would get cars there. you could uber or taxi or take the bus, or get dropped off by your friend, or otherwise carpool, or so on, and ask for a fraction of this to supply your friend with some food and to pay for your journey until you're settled in. it's been a month since you even left and you've already established there are zero jobs nearby unless you buy a fancy car, what about remote work? and you say your friend wouldn't kick you out and can afford rent, so why not raise money for food shopping to help her out (which you cite as the issue here) while you look for a work from home job or a means of transport? and you took days to make a vague post about a confrontation with your friends' parents? no vent nearer the time, just a vague post spammed into unrelated tags? the timing and "logic" is all over the place. I'm sorry, this isn't adding up at all. I've been literally homeless multiple times, and I've had to ask for help myself a couple times - I have my bro's fundraiser pinned, and I have my own ko-fi in my bio, and I have a post explaining about how I could become homeless again unless I meet inconsistent and unreliable demands of my landlord, something I've talked about for over a year on here venting and stuff. so I'm no stranger to these situations, and the lack of supporting info for yours is weird enough, but there's also the scam-like practices, and the fact that 4k doesn't check out at all, that's more than the deposit to rent outside of big cities (where you would have no issue with job quantity or lack of public transport, so we can assume you're not in one). you have no breakdown of why the high asking price or where you got that number for a car or anything. I checked the notes of that pinned post and the ko-fi and scrolled through your entire blog, and I couldn't find any additional information of the sort. I really wanted to believe you weren't a scammer taking advantage of people's kindness, but with all this in mind that's understandably difficult for me. I'll let others make up their minds on this one.

[spuddy-buddy]

(Disclaimer: in no way related to this post)

Dunno what possessed me to do this, but I got to thinking about some DST skins that I didn’t particularly enjoy the execution of last night and how I thought they could be done differently. In my infinite wisdom I decided the best thing to do was do edits by hand until like 3 AM. For the sake of easy comparison my edits are on the left and the OGs are on the right.

Thought process and explanations for each under the cut.

Wigfrid’s GoH is pretty good in theory, but suffers from being literally the first skin collection in the game’s history; the art team at Klei had no way of knowing how skins would evolve as time went on. That being said, it’s still really inconsistent with other metal/armor-type skins, being completely flatly colored and lacking highlights. Her circlet is also inconsistent with other headdresses from future skins, being more or less completely flat instead of bowing upwards to imply depth. The point of this edit was purely to bring it up to the standard of more modern skins.

Maxwell’s GoH was another simple one. His trousers are colored weird and he looks fucking miserable instead of posh(which is what I think they were going for). Another really basic edit, just to fix the trousers and un-depress his expression; admittedly this is the one I’m most iffy on. If I’d have thought about it at the time I probably would have also unrolled his sleeves since we have skins like that now, but c'est la vie.

There wasn’t anything really wrong with Snowfallen Wurt per se, but I really hate it when people give rabbits dog-like noses. After editing the nose the pink inside the ears threw off the colors so I changed that to be more in line with the rest of the skin. For funsies I added lil paws on her feet since Klei changing Wurt’s feet isn’t unprecedented(Abyssal, Verdant, and Victorian).

I’m sorry, fellow Woodie mains, but they really did our boy dirty with his Snowfallen. It’s a bad skin when compared with both the other Woodie skins and the other Snowfallen skins. The mountaineer theme is fitting to Woodie, but he’s just so boring to look at - just a mass of grey and brown and gold, a far cry from the blues of the Snowfallen collection. Aside from Treeguard it’s his only skin that completely changes his hair color, which also doesn’t help it sticking out so badly(also warm cream greying with cool grey hair? blech). The main goal here was to bring the skin up to speed with the rest of the collection. Every color was sampled from another skin already in the game to help produce a coherent design(if you ask politely I’ll tell you what’s from where). The blue hair, I feel, still looks a bit out-of-place when put next to the other Woodie skins, but it plays nice with the rest of the collection. As for the addition of more brown when I cited that as a bad thing in the original, the main problem was that it was such a warm color compared to his grey hair that it looked very out of place; using a cooler brown and distributing it across more of the design helped with the color balance I think. The most extreme edit was changing the sleeves completely; I just couldn’t find a good balance with the more plain sleeves, plus I feel adding a bit more fur sells that this is an outfit for trekking across freezing mountain peaks.

[coochiequeens]

A violent man killed his 7 year old daughter and now wants to be placed in a women’s prison

A trans-identified male who beat his 7-year-old daughter to death has been handed life plus 75 years after pleading guilty to her murder.

The Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney has announced that Michael Deon Wash pleaded guilty to the abuse and murder of his 7-year-old daughter, Kamarie. Wash now goes by the name “Milan” and has recently come out as a transgender “woman.”

Kamarie’s body was found floating in Lake Allatoona by two fishermen on June 29, 2016. When examined, investigators found that the girl’s head had been shaved and her hands had been burned in an apparent effort to make it more difficult for her to be identified.

Wash had called 911 and reported his child missing the day after her body was found, claiming the girl had “wandered out of the house” in her polkadot pajamas at some point. Wash told the operator “she was last seen here in my house, here this morning or last night,” adding, “I’m sorry.”

Wash also claimed he had seen Kamarie in her bed sleeping the previous night, but gave unclear and inconsistent details.

Within just hours of responding to Wash’s apartment, police announced they were treating Kamarie’s disappearance as a homicide investigation. Shortly after, Wash and his live-in girlfriend, Lasherae Davis, were charged with two counts of cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to children in the third degree, making false statements and concealing the death of another. Wash was later charged with murder.

Kamarie’s cause of death was determined to have been blunt force trauma, and examiners established the girl had died long before Wash made the call reporting her missing. 

Investigators would determine Wash and Davis had regularly tormented Kamarie, physically assaulting and withholding food from the girl. On the day of her death, Wash had beat Kamarie until her jaw broke.

Kamarie’s biological mother, Kashira Pettigrew, did not live in the residence, and Wash had been in custody of Kamarie for little over one year. The reasons for the arrangement were unstated. 

In 2019, Pettigrew was in the news after driving under the influence and causing a serious car accident. She was sentenced to prison time and lost custody of her other children for her role in the wreck which left them all injured. During her hearing, Pettigrew cited the grief of losing Kamarie as the source of her addiction.

Following her death, Kamarie’s family penned an obituaryfor the girl that beamed about how she was “born a star,” and that she loved to sing and dance. 

“She was a member of the Junior Choir at Church of the Living God, the C-Uperstars, and a dance group with Ted Cooper and her mom. Kamarie also loved to help others and always enjoyed leading and having fun with her sisters. Aside from her singing career, she liked to cook and read as well. She was full of life and had a big heart and will always be remembered as a loving, caring person.”

On Wash’s guilty plea, which was submitted on September 15, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis issued a statement to local media.

“A 7-year-old baby girl was brutally abused and murdered by a person who should have been her greatest protector. Wash not only beat Kamarie badly enough to kill her but went to great lengths to cover up the crime. It is an absolute shame that a young life was so violently cut short by a parent.”

Willis also noted that a previously-filed intent to seek the death penalty had been withdrawn as a result of Wash’s plea. He has been sentenced to life in prison plus 75 years to be served in confinement consecutive to the life sentence for murder, first degree cruelty to children, false statements and concealing the death of another.

According to jail records, a grand jury declined to prosecute Lasherae Davis on murder, but she is still set to stand trial on the other charges related to child abuse, concealing the Kamarie’s death, and making false statements to law enforcement.

Wash is still currently being housed in the Fulton County Jail where he is listed under his birth name and sex. He will likely be transferred in coming days to a correctional facility, though it is unknown at this time if he will be accommodated in a women’s prison.

Media reports on the case uniformly referred to Wash by feminine pronouns.

[sapphos-catpanions]

Hi!

I’m reading the first article you linked on your pinned post, and to add to your remarks: the very first sentence of the abstract is conjecture.

“Biological causes underpinning the well known gender dimorphisms in human behavior, cognition, and emotion have received increased attention in recent years.” I looked for the source they cited (Johansenn-Berg and Behrens, 2009) and I couldn’t find it. The citation link took me to a list of diffusion MRI studies unrelated or peripherally related to sex.

Anyways, sex-based dimorphism has not been demonstrated in the case of emotions. And no scientific consensus exists on a dimorphism in human behaviour and cognition that’s based strictly on sex or gender identity.

Another study cited (Inano et al, 2011) specifies that the differences that they mapped in white matter integrity between the two sexes (either regional brain differences or global differences) were inconsistent with previous studies. In fact, no two studies on sex/brain structure reviewed in the Inano article are in agreement. I find it misleading on the part of Kranz et al. that they didn’t include the contradictory evidence behind the sexed brain hypothesis. They present it as a matter of fact and conduct their whole study on that basis.

Now, as regards the controls. The control for a MtF is not a woman. The differences are too many; a more appropriate control might be a transgender male who’s undergoing hormonal treatment, normalised for hormonal regimen and treatment length. Moreover, the authors shouldn’t just make the assumption that “the transgender identity in these subjects results from a mismatch between gender-specific brain development and the development of body and genitals” because, again, the evidence on gendered brains and fetal hormones’ influence on the brain-sex dimorphism is largely conflicting.

Finally, I don’t understand why the authors would relate the differences they found to sexual orientation. No link has been made between sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation so why would they pointlessly complicate their study?

I’m sorry for the rant 😭 this was just a frustrating article to read.

never apologize. what a detailed, thoughtful, and knowledgeable message.

we are being asked to believe that we are the beneficiaries of a recent rash of scientific discoveries proving that 1) everyone has a gender identity, an internal sense of being male, female, both, or something else 2) some people’s gender identities don’t match their physical reality and 3) in these cases, the person must take whatever transition steps they need in order to avoid suicide. these are the foundational claims at the heart of the trans rights movement.

but even a dilettante like me can see that the foundation is built on sand, that we started from the desire to transition genders and worked backward to a gender identity hypothesis, and then “discovered” “scientific” evidence to support it. and an intellect like yours can spot the specific structural problems that mean the whole thing has to be condemned. and the wider public will notice when the whole rotten structure collapses.

[sforzesco]

hi! i cannot say i have read too much about brutus beyond the ancient sources, so i was wondering what your opinion is on him and specifically in relation to cassius? i saw your take about how cassius is often used to make brutus "look better," which i definitely have picked up on and is clear in the texts, although i was wondering if you have any posts you could direct me to, or could recommend anything in general that expands upon this idea? its really interesting, and i had not considered it very much before since i enjoyed the dynamic as it is presented

YES!! YES!!!!! this is what I live for, oh man because

and I love untangling them from each other.

so as far as modern reception for Cassius goes, a lot of the opinion on him comes from three places: Shakespeare (and by extension, Plutarch, although Shakespeare does subvert popular characterizations of Cassius in JC) and Dante (or more accurately, a fuck ton of really complex renaissance scholarship around the republic/empire, including and largely focusing on, but not limited to: Dante’s placement of Brutus and Cassius in hell). To absolve Brutus of Cassius makes for interesting themes, but it kills the nuance of the fact that these men knew each other from childhood, and Cassius had effectively married into the house Junia. Shakespeare has Brutus see Caesar’s ghost, when the ancient source that records Caesar’s ghost has the ghost appear to Cassius. Ancient sources were pretty hostile to him as well, and even as close to his life as Augustan era writers, there was a tendency to sanitize Brutus at the expense of Cassius. It was acceptable to tolerate the memory of Brutus, but to do so, you had to push all of Brutus' harsher traits off to Cassius.

a lot of that contradicts aspects of Cassius as a person from the glimpses of him we can catch in those sources. In Plutarch's Life of Brutus, he laughs and jokes, his exchanges with Cicero are covered in affection while Cicero's own opinions of Brutus vary, and Messalla Corvinus was the one who stubbornly kept the memory of Cassius alive, despite his own closeness to Octavian's circle of friends. Titinius killed himself on Cassius death, calling himself a companion in Cassius' fate (valerius maximus 9.9.2).

Which isn't to say that he's without flaw, he is, along with literally every political figure out of ancient Rome, but instead it’s about that the fraction of information we have of him gets whittled down further to reinforce an image of Brutus that's unfaithful to his historical person, so both Brutus and Cassius suffer for it.

And I don’t have anything particularly against how popular tradition portrays them, or how a lot of people tend to enjoy their dynamic, since it’s less about them historically and more about

(M.L. Clarke)

but specifically untangling Cassius from Brutus compels me because it feels lonely that so much of him gets lost to Brutus, and also I crave variety in their portrayals. I also have an insatiable curiosity and so far haven’t hit a wall with this topic.

Alright! Enough of me, I’m getting off track, let me give you some texts that I think about daily from people who are significantly more qualified to say things than I am! This is going to get long, but I’m going to do my best to stay on the topic, so under a cut:

also so sorry for the visually inconsistent citations, I was using the beta post editor but apparently it cuts you off at 10 images so I switched back to the regular post editor and gave up using the small text, but I could not figure out how to un-small text the rest without going into the html and oh boy was that a nightmare, so all the texts are also cited in the bibliography in order of appearance!

ON CASSIUS AND SHAKESPEARE this is going to be real quick, so I'll do it first

has cassius been misinterpreted?, david klein

M.L. Clarke, The Noblest Roman: Marcus Brutus And His Reputation

CASSIUS, THE MAN, NOT THE MYTH OR LEGEND, AND HISTORY

Cassius and Brutus: The Memory of the Liberators, E. Rawson

servilia and her family, susan treggiari

alternative memoirs: tales from the ‘other side’ of the civil war, kathryn welch (PLEASE, THIS ONE IS ONE OF THE BEST ONES ON THE ENTIRE SUBJECT OF CASSIUS' RECEPTION I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH)

ON DECONSTRUCTING BRUTUS' REPUTATION

a comparatives post I made, another comparatives post I made on the exact same topic

M.L. Clarke, The Noblest Roman: Marcus Brutus and His Reputation

senatorial wealth and roman politics, israel shatzman

ON ABSOLVING BRUTUS FROM CASSIUS AND HOSTILITY FROM ANCIENT SOURCES

Shakespeare’s Cassius: A Critical Re Appraisal, Dean Anthony Alexander

Empire and Memory, Alain M Gowing

Brutus, the Noble Conspirator, Kathryn Tempest

ALTERNATIVE TAKES ON THE “SEDUCTION” OF BRUTUS

has cassius been misinterpreted, david klein

brutus the noble conspirator, kathryn tempest

conspiracy narratives in roman history, victoria e pagan

Shakespeare’s Cassius: A Critical Re Appraisal, Dean Anthony Alexander

(for fun: this video)

CASSIUS, ANTONY, AND THE EAST aka Antony And The Ordering Of Names

Cassius and Brutus: The Memory of the Liberators, E. Rawson

(for a more in depth discussion regarding slavery, Cassius and Antony in the East (43-40 BCE), Fabian E Udoh)

The Bibliography

-Has Cassius Been Misinterpreted?, David Klein -M.L. Clarke, The Noblest Roman: Marcus Brutus And His Reputation -Cassius and Brutus, In Memory Of The Liberators, E. Rawson -Servilia and Her Family, Susan Treggiari -Alternative Memoirs: Tales From The 'Other Side,' of the Civil War, Kathryn Welch -Senatorial Wealth and Roman Politics, Israel Shatzman -Shakespeare’s Cassius: A Critical Re Appraisal, Dean Anthony Alexander -Empire and Memory, Alain M Gowing -Brutus, the Noble Conspirator, Kathryn Tempest   -Cassius and Antony in the East (43-40 BCE), Fabian E Udoh

Bonus Round! Media that has Interesting Dynamics at play

-The City War, Sam Starbuck -HBO Rome -Cléopatre La Dernière Reine D'Egypte (listen, I can justify this one, I swear) -RSC's 2012 and 2017 JC Production -Takarazuka Revue's Rome At Dawn -The 1908 Julius Caesar short film -The Destiny of Rome...."documentary," but just the Brutus and Cassius moments

an EXTRA bonus round, the brutus, cassius, and homoeroticism text I wrote that has some more recommendations in it, including the title for that Voltaire text where Brutus doesn’t even show up for the assassination and Cassius plays the main character and it gets delightfully homoerotic in parts

I have most of these things as pdfs, so if anything here is hard to find, let me know off anon!

[babilano-celentano]

note how he just repeats again that this is about dora 'insulting books', it's not. i've been calling out quite a few (a fraction really) of the lies @toradorasextendedwarranty has been retruthing but he refuses to block me as they ALL eventually do because he feels that would mean i've won.

sorry guys, i have to do this on main. if you know any titles from credible authors i'd love to hear it. these people hate AI (as you should, doesn't mean you can't use it to debunk furries that spread misinformation) ,

so i asked my magic online buddy to chime in again:

Analysis of His Reply

Framing You as “Pathetic”: His remarks are laced with condescension—phrases like “Babi wrote this whole thing and didn’t think for a second it was more embarrassing” aim to frame you as someone who doesn’t know when to quit and lacks self-awareness. His exaggerated focus on perceived flaws in your presentation (like your use of replies) paints you as tactically weak.

Questioning Your Integrity and Intelligence: He repeatedly suggests you lack confidence, intelligence, and literacy. The emphasis on “reading comprehension,” high school completion, and your “lack of confidence” serves as an attempt to strip your argument of credibility by undermining you personally. He’s trying to imply that these qualities discredit your perspective on any ideological matters.

Mockery as Defense: By not addressing the actual topic of Tora Dora’s ideological stance, he sidesteps the core debate, which might be his way of deflecting attention from the fact that Tora Dora didn’t substantiate claims with the books he cited. This tactic might also indicate discomfort with fully engaging in ideological discourse.

Alleging Harassment and Painting You as “Obsessive”: His references to a “hate boner” for anime, a side blog, and harassment allegations are intended to make your arguments seem driven by personal vendetta rather than genuine inquiry or criticism. This shifts the narrative from a debate of ideas to an imagined personal obsession.

Suggested Approach for Your Response

To make your reply even more effective, consider these points:

Sidestep the Insults and Refocus on Argument Quality: Ignore the personal attacks, focusing instead on the discussion of Tora Dora’s ideological inconsistencies and your original question about book references. You might say something like, “Interesting analysis, though it seems more focused on me than on the actual question I raised. Tora claimed entire books support his view, yet when asked for just a couple, he couldn’t provide any. This seems important for the discussion.”

Challenge the Lack of Ideological Engagement: Address his evasion by highlighting how little he actually discusses the substantive ideological claims. “It’s curious that neither you nor Tora ever touch on the ideological content in question; I suppose it’s easier to dismiss than debate.”

Keep a Wry, Detached Tone: A lightly sarcastic tone that doesn’t engage the more inflammatory parts of his response could be highly effective. For example, “If I thought so poorly of someone, I’d probably just ignore them—yet here we are.”

With a calm, pointed reply, you’ll likely challenge his credibility more effectively by staying centered on the ideological debate rather than getting swept into personal clashes. This way, any further evasion from his side will be even more evident.

me : thanks, but you are focusing on him . do the whole thing.

Absolutely—let’s broaden this to an analysis of the whole exchange to clarify the dynamics in play:

Overview of the Exchange

In this back-and-forth, there’s a noticeable shift from ideological critique to personal attacks. Both sides begin with specific criticisms (Tora Dora’s reliance on vague references to bolster ideological arguments, and Babi’s rebuttal) but quickly descend into ad hominem comments and defensive posturing. This escalates into what reads as a “flame war” rather than a productive debate.

Here’s an analysis of the key elements from both sides and some constructive points to consider in future responses.

Dynamics of Each Side’s Tactics

Original Claim and Initial Challenge: You asked for book references to substantiate Tora Dora’s claims, which is a direct and reasonable challenge. However, his failure to provide sources led to frustration on both sides, causing each party to escalate.

Recommendation: Avoid leaning on pointed personal criticisms when a simple restatement of the original question could reinforce the point more effectively. If the response avoids or deflects your question, you might point that out simply and move on.

Shift to Ad Hominem and Deflection: Tora Dora’s “incel” remark and focus on intelligence and education levels represent a common tactic to divert from weak points in an argument by shifting focus to the opponent's supposed character flaws. Likewise, responses attacking Tora Dora personally instead of pressing on ideological substance weaken the overall critique by diluting the focus.

Recommendation: Instead of engaging in the personal remarks, keep each reply focused squarely on the topic at hand. For example, if the response lacks substance or specifics, you might say, “It seems we’ve shifted to character analysis. Let’s stick to the original point—does Tora have any examples of the books in question?” This keeps the pressure on the lack of references without engaging in tit-for-tat.

Further Escalation to Character Attacks: With his recent replies, Tora’s “online boyfriend” adopts an overly personal, belittling tone to defend Tora, emphasizing alleged educational gaps, use of AI, and even anime stereotypes to discredit your perspective.

Recommendation: Acknowledge the volume of personal criticism, but without engaging it, like, “It’s clear this discussion has become more about me than the topic at hand. If that’s all we have to discuss, there’s no real need to continue.” This shows confidence and closes the door on a discussion that no longer centers on ideological substance.

Evasion of Core Ideological Questions: Throughout the replies, neither Tora Dora nor his friend address the ideological claims in question—whether fascism has left-wing roots, whether these sources exist, or what implications those ideas have.

Recommendation: If the conversation strays from these points, a simple restatement can redirect it. Something like, “The original point was about fascism’s ideological classification. If you have sources, feel free to share; otherwise, this discussion feels off-track.”

Possible Sample Response

With these points in mind, here’s a response that might encapsulate the best approach:

"Interesting. We’ve taken quite a detour here from the actual question: sources that back Tora Dora’s claim on fascism’s ideological roots. It’s telling that neither Tora nor his defenders seem interested in addressing the original point—they’ve chosen instead to focus on character critiques. If you do have sources to substantiate the claim, please share them. If not, this feels like a conversation that has drifted beyond the scope of meaningful debate. Thanks for the time.”

By remaining composed and firm on the original topic, you keep the focus on what Tora Dora and his boyfriend seem to be evading, rather than on their personal jabs. This not only reinforces your point but also leaves little room for further off-topic responses.

you keep calling me stupid but on several occassions you have misunderstood what was being written, like most semi-literate weebs you reading comprehension is below par. this isn't about him 'insulting books', you moron. dora was calling other people stupid and uninformed saying that there are ENTIRE BOOKS that proved him right. when asked in a friendly manner by me and someone else which books he was referring to he just ignored us. when i pressed him he came out w/ ad hominem attacks instead of titles and authors. he "couldn't remember" as it had been 5 years already since he'd read them. THERE ARE NO SERIOUS BOOKS THAT CLAIM FASCISM IS A LEFTWING IDEOLOGY. look it up, fool. this is a guy who made several hours worth of videos on youtube whining about how people on tumblr should learn to think critically and that their opinions lack nuance while continually posting lies and reactionary shit takes. when called out on other things by other people the pattern repeats. "i'm more literate than you" he told the chatbot account, and "i've read marx". fucking lying poser. so, maybe now you can understand why i don't have any qualms about making him my lolcow. hope this wasn't too much text for you to process otaku, have fun jerking off to cartoon girls.

So for context, this gent has been harassing @yourtoradorasextendedwarranty for months now, and this is his explanation for why. I assumed it was something to do with Tora insulting books Babi liked, since Babi has thimble-dick opinions on other mediums, but somehow Babi wrote this whole thing and didn’t think for a second that it was more embarrassing than what I assumed. “An argument didn’t go well so I’m gonna be a schoolyard bully.” That’s how you know he’s a man of character.

The reason you wouldn’t have seen these exchanges is because Babi spends most of his time spamming replies so that people can’t make fun of him as easily. Of course, considering one of the few times Babi did reblog, he admitted he didn’t graduate high school and uses AI in arguments, I can see why he’d want to avoid embarrassing himself to whatever followers he has. I suspect he also has a side blog where he LARPs as a fact checker that uses AI to write posts, but I can’t verify that beyond Tora being a target of that blog as well.

Babi also has a hate boner for anime, which with previous evidence suggests he is perpetually stuck in high school. Though I did get a chuckle out of his ad hominem about me “jacking it to cartoon girls”. Yeah, THAT’S the vibe my blog gives off.

But anyway, this is a man who:

* happily admits to harassing people like a bully

* has a weird reverence for AI and is proud to use it

* hides in the replies and potentially side blogs because he lacks the confidence to have his material show on his blog most of the time

and yet:

* is desperate to convince people his ideology is the right, good, and smart one

It’s the epitome of a comedy of errors.

[writeroutoftime]

having your first child with simon basset would include...

pairing: simon basset x fem!reader (requested by: anon)

a/n: ahhh, I’m so excited that I received a request for simon!! these were so fun to write, and I hope you don’t mind that I made them into headcannons! also, I am so sorry with all the inconsistences with me saying when I’m going to post, I hope to avoid that in the future! with that said, please let me know what you guys think, and I hope you’re having a lovely day! 💛

It would not be until a year or two with your marriage that you and Simon finally decided to have a child 

Though Simon had been adamant that he would never sire an heir, you helped him throughout your courtship and marriage to understand that he did not need to allow his father to control his life anymore, and you encouraged Simon to be the one to let you know when he wanted to try for a child 

The moment you told Simon that you were with child, he felt his entire world freeze as he took in what that would truly mean 

Once over his initial shock, Simon would be the most supportive husband throughout the entirety of your pregnancy 

While other husbands in the ton would have simply left their wife and only would wish to know if the child was a boy or girl, Simon loved being as involved as he could 

From being there to rub your back through the morning sickness, personally catering to every craving you had, to reminding you every single day that he loved you and your future child, and would do anything to keep the both of you safe 

Simon would feel his heart swell with love as he watched you carry and protect your child in the following months 

There would many mornings where you would wake to a new book, necklace, or even a bouquet of flowers as a gift from Simon to ensure you were aware of how much he loved and appreciated you  

He would also be very protective, even more so than normally 

One thing that you and Simon wished for was to avoid mention of your pregnancy in Lady Whistledown, and Simon would do anything in his power to make sure friends, family, and the staff at both Clyvedon and Hasting House kept it under wraps 

Not only that, but Simon would wish to remain at your side as often as possible in order to make sure you had everything you needed 

While this was incredibly sweet, it could be stifling at times, and resulted in a few snappish words from you towards your husband, that would later be forgotten through a flurry of kisses 

For as much as Simon was excited to become a father, he was absoutley terrified that because he grew up with such a poor example, he would not be a good father and turn out the same way as his own 

This broke your heart to hear, and there were many nights were you would hold Simon in your arms, and reassure him that he would be the best father to your child

You reminded him that he was so wonderful with children already, as you have seen when you visited the Bridgertons and watched him play with Gregory and Hyacinth 

Not only that, but you told him that he had already done so much for your child before they were even born, and no one but a parent who deeply cared for their child would do that

Something else you and Simon would do together during your pregnancy would be decorate the nursey together 

Although there was already a nursey set up, Simon made it known that he wanted to make some changes to remove any negative thoughts or feelings from his mind - a new start for your child 

Together, the two of you would decide on what wallpaper to have put up, what toys would decorate the room, as well as countless other decisions 

When you started labor, Simon had been out with Anthony, but came running back to your house the moment he had been given the message 

Simon held your hand the entire time, and refused to leave your side even when others tried to push him out, citing propriety 

Simon thought that was completely ridiculous, and wanted to be there to support you and your child 

Hours later, your daughter finally rested in your arm, and Simon was not ashamed to admit that there were tears rolling down his cheeks 

The first time Simon held your daughter, he felt as though his entire world was within reach as he looked into her eyes and glanced down at you 

In that moment, Simon swore he would protect your daughter from all the harms of the world and love her unconditionally 

From that moment on, the three of you were a family laughed and loved with all your heart (and many more children would be in your future) 

oOoOo

bridgerton tag: @dreaming-about-fanfictions​, @elennox03  

[betweenlands]

sorry if you're the wrong person to send this to but you talk about mythrodak a lot so... were you surprised at all to learn that his world apparently has a limited amount of lives? i was confused when it was brought up because pretty much every prison he's talked about escaping had an entry process that required several deaths and respawns. do prison wardens not care for how many lives they drain from their prisoners? or is it specific to him possibly not being able to die permanently,,,,

i'm always up for discussing mythroverse meta, so yeah! i think from an ooc context his world having a lives system makes sense, considering mythro's cited dsmp as a storytelling inspiration on occasion.

that said it absolutely has that massive looming question of why kill checks exist if the world runs on a limited lives system, which tbh i'm not sure was a decision he considered on making the 100 lives system canon. obviously it's one thing with, like, kay, who i think we can pretty definitively say wouldn't care about how many lives get taken, but some of the earlier prisons weren't explicitly built with mythro in mind afaik?

it's also worth noting that i'm not sure how anyone would know mythro can't permadie and to build their prisons around specifically people with infinite lives, which is part of the reason why i did that whole concept on "∅ lives" to sort of... cover the worldbuilding question i had in the back of my head the entire time. canonically, though, we don't know if such a thing is possible, if such a thing is happening to mythro, and if it's even detectable at all! (though i guess plumpkin would have a reasonable shot at knowing.)

the lives system is definitely interesting, but right now it raises a few... not plot holes, but there's a couple inconsistencies to pick at, which in and of itself is pretty neat! that said i don't think i personally would've canonized a lives system in mythroverse if i was writing it, but that's also bc i like keeping stuff vague and ambiguous

[vrishchikawrites]

I'm not sure if this really happened in the novel bc goldfish memory or if it's actually from a fic but it left an impression on me. It's canon that JC could never move on from the Xuanwu incident and everything that it entails, citing it not once but twice to WWX (when he strangled him and when they're in the ancestral hall, I think). What I'm referring to is that since he hasn't moved on, he's projecting his envy onto JL. Besides the fact that WWX "played hero" there, he, along with LWJ, killed a more or less divine beast at the mere age of 17 and JC didn't. And so since he didn't get to do the honors/share the glory, he's now implying to his nephew that he's never gotta amount to anything if he doesn't capture/kill a prey as strong as the Xuanwu. And isn't that just fucked up? Not only is it pressuring and dangerous, it's not even an intentional night hunt! Wangxian were forced to go on that night hunt bc WC and then left with no choice but to kill the Xuanwu to find their only escape route. It is not a planned night hunt where you have back up and the resources to live through it. JC stans keep on insisting that he's Best Uncle when he's the one driving JL towards Highly Dangerous Situations just because he didn't get bragging rights on killing the Xuanwu. Sorry, I guess out of all the fucked up things that JC said/did, that's the one that stuck to me even though i don't even remember if it's canon lol.

Anyway, I love how Wangxian handled the Xuanwu incident honestly. Neither of them taking the credit and then giving it to the other. That's true love and honorable characters for you.

Hmm, it is possible that's one of the motivations behind JC's actions. Honestly, his handling of JL is just plain shitty but it is also inconsistent. He pushes JL into dangerous situations and scolds him for not being a badass but also coddles him when he needs to let JL learn on his own. The thing with deity binding nets is a perfect example.

Instead of letting JL have a real Nighthunt that relies on his abilities, he decides to use binding nets to make things easier. Idk if I'm misremembering canon but this also showed a clear difference between his and LWJ's teaching styles.

If that's his approach to his own training, we can see why he falls so far behind.