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Nero dubbed ‘the original neckbeard’ after image of realistic sculpture spreads

Eat your heart out Sargon of Akkad.

Photo of Ana Valens

Ana Valens

Nero Neckbeard

Twitter is burning, and it’s all Nero’s fault. The Roman emperor is going viral after users stumbled across an incredibly realistic sculpture of the Roman imperator, who looks more like he belongs on Reddit’s r/KotakuInAction than ruling Rome.

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Early Tuesday morning, The Enthusiast author Josh Fruhlinger shared three photos showing off a hyper-realistic artistic depiction of Nero, complete with excruciatingly detailed hair, skin blemishes, a Roman nose, and an arrogant smirk. Together, Nero looks a lot like an “internet neckbeard,” or a (usually cis, straight, and white) man who spends their time complaining about women on the internet.

Observe.

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It’s shockingly accurate.

“Someone made some a super lifelike nero head based on one of the most famous portrait busts of him and folks,” Fruhlinger tweeted, “i am horrified.”

The Daily Dot reached out to Fruhlinger for comment.

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https://twitter.com/jfruh/status/1100278823172530177

For the record, the sculpture is from Spanish artist Césares de Roma, who creates realistic busts of historical Roman figures. Case in point, his Nero piece might as well be a profile picture from a Comicsgate fan review-bombing Captain Marvel on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s so lifelike, it’s hard to see anything but a basement dweller in his face.

Twitter quickly took notice, dubbing Nero “the original neckbeard.”

https://twitter.com/ivygirl851/status/1100306801621434368

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https://twitter.com/melvillmatic/status/1100458313333047297

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Others shared their Nero horror stories.

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Oh, and for the record, r/KotakuInAction is having a normal one over this. One Redditor shared an A.V. Club article on Neckbeard Nero to r/KotakuInAction, warning the site “libels gamers and people who hated the Last Jedi.” Because clearly, that’s what libel is.

“What nonsense is this? Everyone knows that Nero is a cute fuckable waifu,” one gamer replied, linking to a Google Image search of Nero Cladius from Fate/Grand Order. “Duh…”

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Sometimes, the stories write themselves.

 
The Daily Dot