Temple Witch

ancientpeoples: Bronze Statuette of Cybele on a Cart Drawn by...

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:40:31 -0700

Bronze Statuette of Cybele on a Cart Drawn by Lions

ca. 150 - 200 AD

Roman

The cult of the Anatolian mother goddess Kybele was introduced into Rome during the Second Punic War in the late third century B.C. and remained popular until early Christian times. The goddess is shown with her usual attributes, a patera (libation bowl) in her right hand and a large tympanum (drum) in her left. But instead of flanking her throne as they normally do, here the two oversized lions pull a chariot. This elaborate group comes from a fountain, in which spouts projected from the open mouths of the lions. The original cart, harness, and throne no longer survive; the rear left wheel is a nineteenth-century restoration.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum

Vigours - Undertow I haven’t played bioshock…...

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:20:32 -0700

Vigours - Undertow

I haven’t played bioshock… though it’s on my theoretical list…

This just gives me so many many feelings… so many.

the-night-parade: Cave by ~Hel-gi

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:40:32 -0700

the-night-parade:

Cave by ~Hel-gi

"Desire doubled is love and love doubled is madness."

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:20:18 -0700

“Desire doubled is love and love doubled is madness.”

- Anne Carson, The Beauty of the Husband (via foxesinbreeches)

of-the-eucalypts: Art Deco bronze of Artemis and H....

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:40:19 -0700

of-the-eucalypts:

Art Deco bronze of Artemis and H. Thornycroft’s wax and plaster sketch of Diana. Both late 1800s.

therhumboogie: By Christian Hopkins, this very talented young...

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:20:34 -0700

therhumboogie:

By Christian Hopkins, this very talented young photographer uses his photography as a true artistic outlet to help with his depression. The whole set of images are just stunning and really draw you in, a perfect example of how art can help a person having a difficult time to express themselves.

This is one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in a while. Seriously inspiring.

Kevin Francis Gray - Ghost Girl

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:40:30 -0700

Kevin Francis Gray - Ghost Girl

primalheart: homosocks: Shout out to the people who never unfollow me for some reason even when I...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:28:49 -0700

primalheart:

homosocks:

Shout out to the people who never unfollow me for some reason even when I never post anything relevant to their interests

Seriously. Love ya’ll

Vigours - Murder of Crows

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:20:23 -0700

Vigours - Murder of Crows

achangingaltar: soloontherocks: videogamenostalgia: Homemade...

Mon, 20 May 2013 07:40:44 -0700

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

Homemade Frankenturret by Corroder666 / posted by ianbrooks.me

achangingaltar:

soloontherocks:

videogamenostalgia:

Homemade Frankenturret by Daniel / Corroder666

The thankfully short-lived Wheatley Laboratories produced many scientific abominations. The Frankenturret, a wretched mashed-together hybrid of the Aperture Science Sentry Turret and the Weighted Storage Cube, was only ever capable of pathetically hopping if placed upright and were quickly discontinued after their creator, Wheatley, was ported into space. DA user Corroder666 made one from scratch, however, complete with glow-y eyes and twitching legs. His goal was to have them walk on their own, but much like the real things, they proved totally inept at even the simplest science. You can read more info about the build (in german) at here, or check out the video below to see it in testing mode:

Artist: Deviantart

(via ianbrooks)

YOU PRECIOUS MUTANT DARLING

Honest to goodness, my exact words as I scrolled down (even before I saw your comment) were “YOU TWISTED MUTANT BASTARD!”

o.o

Yes!

I feel like it’s a good day when my fingers are stained with ink…

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:29:55 -0700

I feel like it’s a good day when my fingers are stained with ink…

primalheart: carry-on-my-wayward-butt: geeky-jez: grahamburgla...

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:57:01 -0700

primalheart:

carry-on-my-wayward-butt:

geeky-jez:

grahamburglar:

andwhentheskywasopened:

aldora89:

fozmeadows:

karnythia:

nickminichino:

karnythia:

nickminichino:

karnythia:

Reporter: So, why do you write these strong female characters?
Joss Whedon: Because you’re still asking me that question.

The question should be “Why do you write seemingly strong women and then punish them for that strength?” I see a lot of characters in this set who got shit on by Joss not to mention at least one actress he fired for the crime of getting pregnant.

A friend of mine likes to challenge “Joss Whedon, Feminist” acolytes to name a female character on Buffy who doesn’t die or go crazy.

I feel like this game could be expanded to find lead female characters who don’t die, go crazy, or lose a loved one in a gruesome way as part of their suffering. Bonus points if they get to the end without anyone threatening to rape them or trying to rape them. There has to be at least one right?

If we include those, we may as well be playing bingo. Joss Whedon’s female characters’ punishments: collect them all!

Who gets mind wiped? Who gets beaten? Who watches everything she ever loved burn? It’s a game for all ages! Bonus points for the ones who die without ever having gotten to live!

I might have feelings about Kendra. A lot of them.

Goddamit, and now I feel compelled to do an actual tally of his original female characters, albeit offhand and from memory. So:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Buffy - two deaths, one rape threat, one attempted rape, two sexual assaults, one dead parent.

Willow - one rape threat, two breaks with sanity, one dead girlfriend.

Cordelia - damselled about a billion times, one attempted forced marriage.

Anya - one rape threat, dead.

Tara - dead.

Kendra - dead.

Faith - multiple breaks with sanity.

Ms Calender - dead.

Joyce - dead.

Dawn - one attempted forced marriage, one dead parent.

Darla - dead.

Drusilla - multiple breaks with sanity.

[I don’t know enough about angel, I cut this part]
Firefly

Kaylee - one rape threat.

River - multiple breaks with sanity.

Zoe - one dead husband.

Inara - one threat of sexual assault.
[I don’t know enough about doll house, I cut this part]

I should probably leave this hornet’s nest alone. But I’m pissed off right now, because today I learned people think Joss Whedon is sexist for putting his female characters through the wringer.

As if a fundamental part of the hero’s journey isn’t suffering, having loved ones die, or dying themselves. As if he doesn’t do that to EVERYONE he writes. Here are some of his male characters’ trials, in the same form as above (and this is just the stuff I remember off the top of my head):

Giles - one dead lover/dear friend, brutally tortured at least once

Xander - one threat of sexual assault, implied childhood abuse, at least one break with reality (that made him leave Anya at the altar), one dead lover, loses an eye

Spike - sexually assaulted by his mother, attempted forced marriage (the same spell that got Buffy), brutally tortured, at least one break with sanity, one death

Riley - turned into a meat puppet by ~~Frankensoldier~~ Adam

Angel - tortured in hell, at least one death, lots of other stuff I don’t remember because Angel bores me

Wash - brutally tortured, dead

Mal - brutally tortured

Book - dead

And what do I see when I look at the female characters listed above?

Buffy - survives the series with a hopeful heart, comes up with a plan to break an explicitly patriarchal tradition, saves the world a lot, allowed to be flawed and messy and still strong

Willow - survives the series, finds love again after the death of her soulmate, grows from an awkward high school girl to a junkie to the most powerful witch in history

Dawn - survives the series, grows from an annoying little sister to a competent young woman

Faith - survives the series, seemingly a “bad girl” stereotype who actually has depth and a compelling misled-by-evil-(and-love) —> redemption arc

Cordelia - seemingly a “shallow girl” stereotype who actually has depth and comes through when her friends need her despite being out of her element

Anya - a former monster who switches sides, finds and loses love but consciously steps away from deadly coping mechanisms, can run a store better than Giles, illuminates humanity in compelling ways

Tara - shy and unassuming, wise and compassionate and forgiving. She can’t beat up monsters, but that’s okay, she’s still part of the team.

For fuck’s sake. It’s supernatural genre television, not tiptoeing through fields of daisies. People will die. People will be threatened. Sometimes it will happen as a plot device. If you write a lot of female characters (I saw something earlier like the percentage of women in primetime shows is like 17%, which Whedon obviously blows out of the water), a lot of them are going to have horrible things happen to them.

But what Whedon does that’s so different from most is he writes female characters as people. He doesn’t portray stereotypical femininity and strength as mutually exclusive. He shows that physical strength isn’t the only “real” strength they can have. He gives them diverse personalities and shows how they’re all powerful and weak in their own way. He lets them grow and evolve organically. He lets them be compelling villains. He lets them be sympathetic victims. He lets them be fearless warriors for good. Sometimes all three. He lets them make horrible mistakes and successfully atone for them. He shows them suffering for plot-related reasons, doesn’t shy away from the after-effects (versus, say, Deanna Troi in TNG - so much of the stuff that happened to her was gratuitous) and shows them getting back up.

Also, don’t you dare pretend Joyce’s death can be reduced to part of some anti-feminist pattern (for three separate characters, no less. And the fact that Buffy even had a parent in the first place is unusual for the hero archetype). That kind of thing actually happens in the real world, it was handled with incredible sensitivity and realism, and watching Buffy and Dawn go through the grieving process is something many people relate to intensely. It’s fantastic writing. It’s good conflict. It’s good television.

If anyone is writing off Joss’ female characters, it’s you. It’s the people who act like these characters are little more than a list of tragic and biased casualties, and fuck everything else they accomplish.

^*slow claps it out*

Oh my God.

Thank you. I have been told a million times that Joss is anti-feminist and every time I’ve tried to argue against that but I haven’t been able to do it this magnificently.

Thank you. I have heard the argument that he is anti-feminist because his female characters go through hell….

They do know this is a Joss Whedon project we’re talking about, right? 90% of the time, EVERYONE is going through absolute emotional hell, no matter what their gender.

And that includes the audience.

A great way to show that your characters are strong is by testing that strength through trials. In stories that are surrounded by death and suffering, why would the main characters be immune?

THIS POST MAKES ME HAPPY IN EVERY SINGLE WAY

I have to say I saw the orginal post that posited Joss being anti-feminist in his treatment of his female characters. My response was a disgusted snort and “He tortures all his characters.” followed by some intense feels about how the ups and downs of these women were what made them great. It is what made them human and not just “female”.

Needless to say other people have put my feels far more eloquently and thus i can only stand back and nod approvingly.

This.

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:20:34 -0700

"Find someone who will tremble for your touch, someone whose fingers are a poem."

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:40:42 -0700

““Find someone who will tremble for your touch, someone whose fingers are a poem.””

- Janet Fitch. (via valse-sentimentale)

"… it only takes two facing mirrors to construct a labyrinth."

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:20:29 -0700

“… it only takes two facing mirrors to construct a labyrinth.”

- Jorge Luis Borges, “Nightmares” (via flesh-of-burning-love)

Vigours - Possession

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:41:46 -0700

Vigours - Possession

stellivia replied to your post: I sort of feel like pouring some of this blood… Do it. Maybe....

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:34:32 -0700

stellivia replied to your post: I sort of feel like pouring some of this blood…

Do it.

Maybe. lol

I guess this is one of those things where lack of skill doesn’t matter.

Blood trumps skill. Because blood.

I sort of feel like pouring some of this blood into a cup and painting something…

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:58:34 -0700

I sort of feel like pouring some of this blood into a cup and painting something…

This Is Not a Game

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:38:20 -0700

This Is Not a Game:

I have this chess board…

In actuality it is a board that I purchased as a gift for the Giant many winters back. To my knowledge, I’m the only one who’s touched every piece and inch of it…

This new Tumblr-posting-blog-link-auto-quote-format thing is weird…

primalheart: It’s been awhile since I broke out the sketch pad...

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:20:27 -0700

primalheart:

It’s been awhile since I broke out the sketch pad for actual sketching. Must be something in the air.

This little sketch excites me… The set of her jaw, the horns, the promise of action… I don’t know what.

Beautiful as always!