“When I first heard it, from a dog trainer who knew her behavioral science, it was a stunning moment. I remember where I was standing, what block of Brooklyn’s streets. It was like holding a piece of polished obsidian in the hand, feeling its weight and irreducibility. And its fathomless blackness. Punishment is reinforcing to the punisher. Of course. It fit the science, and it also fit the hidden memories stored in a deeply buried, rusty lockbox inside me. The people who walked down the street arbitrarily compressing their dogs’ tracheas, to which the poor beasts could only submit in uncomprehending misery; the parents who slapped their crying toddlers for the crime of being tired or hungry: These were not aberrantly malevolent villains. They were not doing what they did because they thought it was right, or even because it worked very well. They were simply caught in the same feedback loop in which all behavior is made. Their spasms of delivering small torments relieved their frustration and gave the impression of momentum toward a solution. Most potently, it immediately stopped the behavior. No matter that the effect probably won’t last: the reinforcer—the silence or the cessation of the annoyance—was exquisitely timed. Now. Boy does that feel good.”
— Melissa Holbrook Pierson, The Secret History of Kindness (2015)
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ANTONY cry 'havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war
earlier in my script (which is not Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar), Antony refers to Dolabella as one of his ‘dogs of war’ when talking to Cassius (which IS a reference to Shakespeare’s JC), and it comes back around after Cicero writes to Cassius and informs him of Trebonius’ fate
While these things were taking place at Rome, Cassius and Brutus were collecting troops and money, and Trebonius, governor of the province of Asia, was fortifying his towns for them. [...] Trebonius, who was captured in bed, told his captors to lead the way to Dolabella, saying that he was willing to follow them. One of the centurions answered him facetiously, "Go where you please, but you must leave your head behind here, for we are ordered to bring your head, not yourself." With these words the centurion immediately cut off his head, and early in the morning Dolabella ordered it to be displayed on the praetor's chair where Trebonius was accustomed to transact public business. Since Trebonius had participated in the murder of Caesar by detaining Antony in conversation at the door of the Senate-house while the others killed him, the soldiers and camp-followers fell upon the rest of his body with fury and treated it with every kind of indignity. They rolled his head from one to another in sport along the city pavements like a ball till it was completely crushed. This was the first of the murderers who received the meed of his crime, and thus vengeance overtook him.
App. Civil Wars III. 26
For Dolabella is in Syria, and, as you have foreseen in your prophetic soul and have foretold, Cassius will crush him while they are on their way. For Dolabella has had the gates of Antioch shut in his face and got a good beating in trying to storm it. Not trusting in any other city, he has betaken himself to Laodicea, on the sea-coast of Syria. There I hope he will speedily pay the penalty of his crime: for he has no place of refuge, nor will he much longer be able there to stand out against an army as large as that of Cassius. I even hope that Dolabella has by this time been overpowered and crushed.
Cic. Fam. 12.14
Place then before your eyes, O conscript fathers, that spectacle, miserable indeed, and tearful, but still indispensable to rouse your minds properly: the nocturnal attack upon the most beautiful city in Asia; the irruption of armed men into Trebonius’s house, when that unhappy man saw the swords of the robbers before he heard what was the matter; the entrance of Dolabella, raging,—his ill-omened voice, and infamous countenance,—the chains, the scourges, the rack, the armourer who was both torturer and executioner; all which they say that the unhappy Trebonius endured with great fortitude. A great praise, and in my opinion indeed the greatest of all, for it is the part of a wise man to resolve beforehand that whatever can happen to a brave man is to be endured with patience if it should happen.
Cicero, Philippic 11
Philippi and Perusia, Ronald Syme
ko-fi⭐ bsky ⭐ pixiv ⭐ pillowfort ⭐ cohost ⭐ cara.app
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the tension in that scene was breathtaking. The music in the background. The memories being projected not only on the background but also on Dazai himself. Dazai’s speech being interrupted by the sound of their abilities working together for the first time ever to transition back to the control room. The pause and Dazai’s expression while Chuuya is fighting for his life. Beautiful.
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✨hbowar fandom positivity ask game✨
just wanted to put something together to spread positivity and spread the wonderful community we have! reblog, tag your mutuals, and ask away!
(fanwork = graphics, edits, moodboards, fics, playlists, memes, anything anyone creates!)
1 - what is your fav part about being in the fandom?
2 - who are some your fav creators/mutuals?
3 - what are some fics that you go back and read again and again?
4 - whats a moodboard that you just want to live inside of?
5 - fav fanwork from an episode?
6 - whats a headcanon that you will die on that hill?
7 - what hbowar blogs have your favorite aesthetic?
8 - your fav hbowar content you've ever made?
9 - a ship that you can't get enough of?
10 - an oc that you can't get enough of?
11 - songs that you associate with a certain character?
12 - songs that you associate with certain mutuals?
13 - what inspires you to create in the fandom?
14 - your fav underrated character?
15 - a character you started liking thanks to someone else?
16 - what do you love about fanworks in the fandom?
17 - your fav fanwork about an underrated character?
18 - your fav fandom meme?
19 - what's your fav universally-accepted/fanon headcanon about a character?
20 - what character/character moment would you assign to your mutuals?
21 - what quote from the show you find yourself quoting in real life all the time?
22 - what quotes from the show you would assign to your mutuals?
23 - what's your fav wip of yours?
24 - what wip from another creator are you most excited about?
25 - what colors do your mutuals most remind you of?
26 - what meme do you associate with each of your mutuals?
27 - what's your fav moment during your time in the fandom?
28 - what's something that lives in your brain rent free and you want everyone to know about the show/the fandom/your works?
💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫✨💫
tagging some friends to get started! @xxluckystrike @malarkgirlypop @sweetxvanixlla @georgieluz @footprintsinthesxnd @panzershrike-pretz @samwinchesterslostshoe @next-autopsy @holdingforgeneralhugs @blood-mocha-latte @onlyyouexisthere @ronsparky @land-sh and so many more, go forth and tag and spread the love!
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im all for making fun of and criticizing the way booktok (and booktube) aestheticize reading to an insane degree, making it more about being percieved as a reader more than like. actually reading. but some people on here lump the most normal things ever into the booktok consumerism pile?
like yes, booktok/tube places a lot of emphasis on the visuals of "reading", but then someone on here just went and said that simply "not wanting to damage your books" is a stupid booktok thing??? what? it's not vain or pretentious to care about your posessions, especially if they mean a lot to you. simply wanting your books to remain in good condition is not the same as having 100 unread books, or five editions of the same book, or books you hated, purely because they look nice.
and someone else said that having a yearly reading goal was also a stupid booktok/tube thing? since when? i've met people who set themselves yearly reading goals before youtube even existed. it's literally just a new years resolution, but tailored to a specific hobby?
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