#but i don't use amazon enough to justify it

[kanerallels]

But like...I wanna buy two of the books anyways...and I only have to spend 3 more dollars to get free shipping...NO I MUSTN'T

Someone tell me to not spend $35 on books on Amazon to get free shipping and just order off my mom's account like an adult

[boringkate]

whats the secret of good self butt photography how do i capture there glory and not throw out my back

1) Get something to hold your phone. Dollarama (if you're canadian) has these like $4 goose neck phone clip things that you can clip onto a chair or whatever and are pretty great, but if you can spare a little more money (and you expect to use it enough to justify it) then get a proper tripod (I use a couple 60 inch amazon basics tripods, but it seems like they've gotten more expensive and other brands are probably no worse) and pair it with a screw on phone tripod mount (aliexpress has them for a couple dollars and you can even get rotating ones that'll let you film in portrait mode).

2) Use a free auto clicker app (I'm on android, but I assume ios has them too) to automatically tap the button to take a photo every 4 or 5 seconds. You're gonna end up with a lot of wasted photos where you're just getting into position, but that's fine (just delete em). I wildly prefer this over using a bluetooth remote because it keeps your hands free and something about not needing to choose to snap the photo makes it easier (the time passes faster and you'll end up with more usable pics which is dope even if you just want one good one because the way to take a good pic is to take a lot of bad ones untill you get lucky).

3) Set up a way for you to see what the camera sees. You could plug your phone into a monitor or tv using an hdmi adapter or use a free screen streaming app to watch your phone's screen on a laptop.

4) Use the camera on the back. It's always higher quality. The selfie camera is only for when you don't wanna deal with those first three steps.

5) Natural light is your BFF. Take your pics while the sun is out and your curtains are open.

6) Filter your pics. I use an app called MIX (specifically an old build of it bc they changed some stuff like their payment model for the batch image filtering feature) (which is definitely on both Android and iOS), but I imagine there are a ton of others that do all the same stuff. I loath smoothing for face pics, but it can be alright for butt pics. Noise can further obscure stubble. You're probably gonna wanna raise the temperature and maybe even the tint (people look unwell when their skin is more blue or green than it should be). Lowering the contrast can be nice too. Beyond that it can be fun to just experement and see what looks nice.

That's my process anyways. You do you. I know a lot of hotties are more into the pink blue lighting thing for example (you can get colored bulbs at the dollar store and stick em on a couple cheap thrift shop lamps) and I could especially see that being appealing if you aren't getting much natural light (pls don't just be taking nudes at night under the harsh light of your apartment's one shitty ceiling lamp lol).

Bonus protip: If you are using a lamp or lamps or softboxes and you want extra brightness then you can get E27 lamp bulb splitters online for a couple dollars that'll let you plug multiple bulbs into a single lamp.

Bonus bonus protip: Keep an eye out for selfie sticks with a screw on the base. I use a gimbal extension rod with a 1/4 inch screw paired with a hinge (and had previously been using a selfie stick with a screw on the bottom which was cheaper although it eventually broke) and screw it in between my tripod and my phone clip so that I can get my phone hovering over my bed (without the instability that comes from actually putting your tripod on your bed). It's very optional, but it does rule.

[mdhwrites]

What are your thoughts on fans who use armchair psychology on fictional characters to justify or excuse bad writing decisions regarding that character? This happens a lot with The Owl House, particularly with Luz.

As someone who has gone on record to say that "If Luz is depression representation, I will wait five more years to be represented," I think I have made my position clear. This topic in general honestly has a HUGE fucking issue with stereotyping. Like... Just strictly you are using what media tells about us, the dramatic persona of these people, to diagnose and then verbally abuse for the sake of arguments you cannot win through the text alone.

Why does Luz make bad decisions? Because she has ADHD, trauma and depression, at least by your counts. So... Does that mean you just think ADHD, depressed and traumatized people make bad decisions? Or immoral decisions? Or abandon people and their morality due to these things? Because I've heard all three of these be used like rhetorically and uh...

Yeah, you just supported every fucker who blames mental health, instead of lack of gun control, for school shootings. Go fuck yourself.

And what is your evidence? The character acts like a main character most of the time when it comes to ADHD, because a high energy kid cannot possibly be just a high energy kid. That they present what could be taken as suicidal thoughts for depression, implying every depressed person has really loud, dramatic, over the top thoughts of killing themselves and that's all depression is. They have trauma because one bad thing kind of happened to them even when it shows no signs of actually jack all of their behavior.

I'm sorry but that's not enough for a diagnosis to me. It's hell of a lot less than I would allow to justify why someone is excused from being a godawful human being for any of these reasons. These are stories and narrative tropes, fuck all else.

Unless something is willing to actually stake its the claim in the work, or shows most if not all aspects of the condition, like the really boring "I just don't feel like doing fuck all" days that come with depression, I'm not going to use it as a rhetorical device because why would I? I'm not about to stereotype an entire subset of people just to win an argument. See you next tale.

======+++++======

Sorry for the fury for this one. I just... I am so sick and tired of being demonized by people who think they're fighting for my advocacy but actually just want to get away with whatever the fuck their agenda is.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[perseidlion]

This is why streaming is dying.

I'm Canadian, and I used to watch Star Trek on Crave. Crave saved us for awhile from the fracturing of the streaming landscape because it stayed as an umbrella service for quite some time. I used to get Star Trek, HBO, WB shows, Starz, Sony stuff...basically Hulu + HBO + Paramount. That was actually worth it because for the same monthy fee I could get House of the Dragon, Star Trek and more.

But that wasn't going to last forever. When Paramount+ launched in Canada, Star Trek got taken off Crave. I'm a huge Star Trek fan but even I couldn't justify a FIFTH streaming service just for Trek.

So I waited until Discovery was finished. And then I binged it and season 4 of Lower Decks. And then I cancelled. I won't get it again until S3 of Strange New Worlds and Season 4 of Lower Decks are finished, then I'll binge and cancel again.

There is literally nothing else on P+ I want to watch. I looked, because if there was something I'd cancel Netflix for a bit. But it's all movies I've seen and don't want to rewatch, shows I already have access to on other streamers, or things I have no interest in.

When the networks were working together to put lots of tasty treats under one streamer, it was absolutely worth it. I'd pay $20 a month for Crave if HBO kept making good shows (instead of cancelling them, RIP Our Flag Means Death) and if P+ had lots of Trek (and...didn't keep cancelling those shows like they did Lower Decks and Discovery.) Between that and Trek that would mean I always had a show releasing on the platform that I wanted to watch.

As long as there isn't a steady diet of things that appeal to me, I WILL keep subscribing, binging, and cancelling. Churn is the reason these networks aren't profitable. But there is literally no incentive for me to NOT do that when the things I want to watch are scattered across 5-6 different streamers, each charging $15+ a month.

In trying to get their slice of the pie, the networks have guaranteed there isn't enough food on their buffet to keep people coming back for more.

It creates a vicious cycle. This fracturing means there's not enough budget to support the flagship shows/franchises. Then, they get cancelled and/or budget reduced. So they take away or vastly reduce the thing I want to watch the most.

PLUS none of the networks are nurturing the cult hits/franchises of the future. Shows that have the potential to be the reason I subscribe are being cut off at the knees after virtually no promotion.

I watch every new show like Dead Boy Detectives knowing there is a very high likelihood that this will be the only season I'll get to watch. So much potential is left on the table. If there were four or more shows like Dead Boy Detectives and Kaos getting ongoing commitments from Netflix I wouldn't even consider cancelling my subscription. Instead, I know that any show that isn't an immediate cultural moment is probably getting the axe, or getting two seasons, max. Especially if it's SF&F. Especially if it's queer.

We live in the world where even the critically-acclaimed and franchise-based House of the Dragon is getting truncated episode runs and reduced support.

Regardless of how you feel about how Game of Thrones ended, that franchise is a cultural juggernaut. House of the Dragon is legitimately good and packed with talent. The rough patches of Season 2 can be easily traced back to reduced budgets/cut episode run at the last minute that forced the production team to scramble and adapt.

Honestly. Is there anyone actually committing to their series other than FX, AMC, and Amazon with Rings of Power? Although RoP can also be considered a sunk cost fallacy since Amazon invested a SHIT TON into the IP and the series, so they need it to work. They also have a wobbly track record supporting other shows. (I will never forgive them for cancelling A Leage of Their Own.)

FX and AMC are the only networks that feel like they're actually supporting their content. And what do you get for that? Shogun, one of the best shows in recent memory. The show absolutely swept awards season (and rightfully so) and is now setting itself up to be a tentpole show in the mold of such classics of the historical fiction genre like Deadwood, The Tudors, and Rome.

Interview With the Vampire, is an AMC show which has a very active and passionate fandom eager for more of it and Anne Rice's Immortal Universe. This is a rare example of a new franchise (albeit based on an existing, well-know IP) is really finding its feet and its audience. The audience for it is not of the size of something like House of the Dragon, but AMC is feeding the audience it does have unapologetically, with queer camp horror full of messy, toxic relationships.

Then there's What We Do in the Shadows, which seems to be ending on its own terms this year. FX is a Disney subsidary which somehow manages to commit to the series it creates, which proves it can still be done.

I do hope that FX and AMC continues to support their weird and wonderful shows, and I hope they keep getting rewarded for it with high ratings and awards so that the rest of the networks will smarten up.

If we hadn't just come out of a golden age of streaming where every network was producing excellent TV, all of this heavy cancellation and fragmentation wouldn't be quite so devastating.

Entertainment seems like it's constantly in a feast or famine churn. Right now, we're careening toward famine, which is full of one-season shows, overextended franchises, flagship shows being cut/restrained and a whole lot of cheap dreck.

It's the reality TV heyday all over again and I hate it.

[aragarna]

Zorro Vive

And vive bien!

So, I've finished Season 1 of the new Zorro show (available through Amazon in the US and most Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries), and I really enjoyed it!

Without spoilers, I'd say that its main qualities are that it's fun and earnest and more cosmopolite in its retailing of the old story. It doesn't take itself too seriously, there's plenty of little homages to previous adaptations. There's many interesting and well-developed characters - of all genders and ethnicities.

It's (literally) colorful, with a comic/pulp feel that suits it well. There's been a true care brought to the action scenes, and OMG the night scenes are damn well lit. It's rare enough nowadays so points for that. Generally, the show is quite beautiful.

More spoilery thoughts under the cut.

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from a new show. It's always hard to bring new canon to something so established and so iconic. And even though the Disney show is *not* the original canon, for a lot of people, it is.

But as a principle, same as for book adaptations or remakes, I'm not opposed to variations or changes. As long as they're good changes.

And I have to say, the vast majority of the changes in the new Zorro show, to me, were actually good changes, or necessary improvements for today's audience.

The most obvious is giving back a real voice to the Natives and not sugarcoating the colonization aspect. There's tension there. Natives are angry. But as years passed, people born there consider themselves "true Californians". Natives aren't just background characters or peons anymore. They're a driving plot force. They're shown in their own environment, with their own rites (I don't know enough about Natives of this area to know how accurate it is, but it felt a lot more authentic and respectful to me than other versions).

I do like the idea that the Zorro character comes from the Native culture, and that it's been passed on from one person to the next. Though it also brings my one big issue with the show: Diego becoming Zorro reads a lot like "a white dude steals a Native heritage." And yes, it's symbolic, and yes the fox spirit chose him, Diego didn't pick him, but still. Given that the audience is meant to support Diego (who really is a sweet guy!), that the narrative keeps showing us that Nah-Lin is wrong and should accept it, given the colonization context of that story, it's sitting a bit wrong with me.

This aside, I do like the exploration of revenge vs. justice, violence vs. a more measured response, in the face of adversity. When a few months back, the tagline "revenge is personal, justice is for all" appeared on the first poster, I wasn't sure what to think. I don't like revenge-driven characters. It's cliché and wrong. But the fact that the show precisely explored that, both with Diego and Nah-Lin, was actually quite interesting.

Diego, as I said, is a decent guy. A sweet boy really, vaguely immature originally but having to mature really fast, as the death of his father, the business of the rancho, the Zorro thing and Lolita's wedding are all dropping on him at once. Miguel Bernardeau is a clear departure from most of the previous Zorros, who were played by older actors, giving a more "adult" vibe to the character, but given he's supposed to be fresh out of college and out of his element, Bernardeau's more juvenile features fit the character well.

Nah-Lin is a lot angrier, and while in the context of the story, she's shown to be going at it the wrong way, all that anger *is* justified, and not something that can just be brushed off. Peace can't come easy when you anger people that way.

And you know who else I really liked? That damn Capitan Monasterio! Who would have thought LOL No, but seriously. Not sure why they named him that way. He was actually more of a Sergeant Garcia (or Mendoza from the 1990 show) than a Monastario. Obviously without the comic relief and cutely incompetent side of the character, but as the character who is a decent guy stuck between a rock and a hard place, serving a tyrannic boss and chasing a heroic outlaw that he may not hate that much.

I also really liked what they did with Lolita. An opinionated young lady that throws away all the corseting conventions of her time is always very relatable to me. Also, I just love her fashion sense. I wasn't sure what they were going to do with that impossible love triangle (I thought for a long time the wedding wouldn't actually happen). I wouldn't have thought they'd have Lolita figure it out, but I'm glad she did.

I'm glad they kept Bernardo, the mute confident. And I love Mei, too. The dynamic between the three of them (with Diego) is great!

Also, it's great to finally have a Spanish-speaking production, and have the characters speaking in Spanish, instead of having American actors put on fake accents.

I may have a couple of minor complains: namely that I didn't care about Samael nor Alejandro's first love. Not sure planting so early something that they're keeping for S2 is a right move. Feels like a waste of screentime. Also, I'm not particularly found of secret societies trying to rule the world, but it seems to be mandatory to any Zorro story... And the finale episode didn't actually wrap up that many plotlines - every major villain escaped! So that kinda made it look like Zorro didn't accomplish much, apart from breaking Lolita's heart, and his. But none of this prevented me from having a good time watching the show. I just really hope there'll be a S2 cause it'd be a shame to leave things there!

How about you guys? What did you think of it?

[thelattechronicles]

Going from Kindle to Kobo: My Thoughts and how I settled on the Clara BW

I've had my one and only e-reader: the 4th generation Kindle since 2011. That's quite literally over a decade old- 13 years, to be exact.

It's been deemed old enough to justify an upgrade. Not that I had even been needing one, or considering getting a new one; rather, the Kindle had just started glitching on me and freezing this past September. After 13 years, I'd say it's an accomplishment that it took this long for the tech to finally start breaking down on me. Believe me when I say that this Kindle had not been babied by any means whatsoever.

Now, it's been exactly 30 days since I've gone from my Kindle 4th gen 2011 model (thanks Mom and Dad) to the new Kobo Clara BETWEEN. Read on to see what my thoughts are on this upgrade!

I don't think I can go back to the Kindle UX and world, and I truly do see what people are saying about Kobo just being overall better.

For starters, here are the specs between both as a comparison:

(Side note: the 4th gen Kindle is SO old that I had to dig around for a review of it, and found one on The Ebook Reader dot com)

As you can tell from the glaring number of red X circles, the basic Kindle 4th gen does not have as much much going for it compared to my new Kobo Clara BW. But that's okay! Here are some things I LIKED about the Kindle:

The e-ink screen

The physical page turning buttons on the side - I still love the page turners and how I just need to press down on the side. The buttons are very streamlined and a part of the side plastic framing.

The wallpapers when the device is turned off

The battery life (once upon a time, one charge could last me a good 4 months I stg)

The size of the screen (was not willing to go smaller, but was open to go bigger)

Straightforward system and user interface (turn on, find book, read.)

Being able to email epubs and PDFs to the Kindle directly via the Whispernet

Here are some things I DISLIKE about my Kindle today:

Its current extremely short battery life (I don't think a charge can last me two weeks now)

Being locked into the Kindle Amazon storefront and ecosystem - yes, I purchased each and every book on Amazon that I have on my Kindle...

Not being able to make Libby work on the Kindle (as a Canadian reader)

Lack of backlighting options

Anything to do with any sort of typing (I had to physically press the arrow buttons and wait until it landed on the right letter to press enter, then move on to the next letter, rinse repeat. Needless to say, it gets exhausting real quick trying to type out a short word, let alone a title of a book you're trying to find in your Kindle library storage.)

Lack of ad-free options with today's Kindle models (I got lucky with my Kindle 4th gen, where the home screen goes directly to my storage, listing all the books and collection folders I created. I hear this is no longer a thing, and the home page is the Amazon Kindle storefront. Ew.)

So, the Kobo Clara BW does a lot of what I liked about my Kindle - and more! It has quite a lot going for it: a long battery life, multiple backlighting options (reg vs warm lighting), bluetooth (if I wanted to do audiobooks, but I do that on my phone anyway so it's just a bonus for me). The Kobo Clara BW has crisp displays (I've read some manga and comics on it), and the zooming in and text font/size adjustments are super easy to navigate.

I know, I know. No physical page-turning buttons. I still lament the loss of my buttons. I know there are some Kobo models such as the Libra that have the buttons, but I strongly believe that the Kindle 4th gen buttons are superior. I liked that they were a part of the side, rather than a blocky-looking extension, like the buttons on the Libra are. The touch screen was a bit of an interesting thing to navigate in the beginning, but as we use touch-screen phones, it was very easy and quick to get used to it.

Why not the colour option?

Granted, the Kobo Clara colour as well as some other colour alternatives did come out. Why did I not choose the colour option? Yes, colour e-ink and e-readers are pretty to look at, but for someone who uses e-readers purely to read novels and text-heavy documents, it seemed unnecessary for my purposes. In store, I did a side-by-side comparison of the Clara Colour and BW and actually found the lighting to be drastically different at max brightness and warmth. Here's a picture I found online that gives you an idea of what I mean:

As you can see, the Clara BW version (right) has a crisper and whiter background, and the Clara Colour (left) looked a bit orange-red-toned overall.

ABOVE ALL: the Kobo ecosystem has been fantastic for me.

As someone who has been pitifully buying every single e-book on Amazon thus far or loading janky PDFs with too-small-text, the Kobo Clara BW is a breath of fresh air. It was very easy to connect my Libby account in the Settings. I now have an automatic delivery of all my ebook loans to my Kobo (!!!!) (A dream come true for Canadian e-readers!). I also have Calibre downloaded on my laptop and with it, can customize my Kobo to no end. You can see that I've gone ahead and gave my Kobo some wallpapers, which include my favourite The New Yorker covers. I'm happy with how much I can do with my Kobo. The Pocket app feature also came as a pleasant surprise! It's nice being able to read articles during work lunches and save any interesting articles on my computer, and those articles get automatically downloaded to my Kobo.

In true The Latte Chronicles fashion, if I were to give my Kobo Clara BW a rating:

★★★★★

If you're like me as a reader and your needs are similar to mine (and maybe your old Kindle is dying on you) I encourage you to make the jump to Kobo! I haven't regretted my Kobo Clara BW purchase at all. In fact, I've already finished 13 books since I booted up my Clara.

J

[mademoisellesarcasme]

I finally understand the reliance on Amazon and other delivery services by many a person. If I need one or two smallish specialty items from a place I don't frequent, I'm incredibly unlikely to Make a Special Trip There unless I've got a long enough list. So I spend months to years without a smallish thing that would make something easier. But if I could order it with a bunch of other random crap and have it show up, I'm so much more likely to use that option. Not to mention there are things I can no longer get in physical stores and if I'm going to have to order from somewhere again I want to have enough to either justify shipping or to get free shipping ... etc.

Anyway. I don't like it.

[askaniritual]

okay so some interesting differences between the original hazbin hotel pilot and the amazon series

i actually really love that the amazon version of the show declined to give us quite so much backstory about alistor's whole deal lol like i don't think they need to have this long exchange where he justifies why he's helping her, and i think having him return from a leave of absence adds some much-needed mystery

i actually think in general the amazon show does a good job of giving just enough lore to be interesting (obligatory long infodump at the beginning excluded) without feeling like it has to cram in every detail of the world. like i feel like ive learned like 5x as much lore in watching the 30 minute pilot as i did during the 8 episode series but that is entirely to its detriment

i am getting the impression that angel was like. originally a bit more """"problematic"""" and it seems like the amazon show toned that way down in service of poor little meow meowism. im neutral on this but i think its probably the move like. logistically

ditching the happy hotel/hazbin hotel bit also was good. i think charlie comes across as maybe like a bit more delusional in the pilot in a way that she doesn't so much in the actual show

i think the animation in the pilot looks good for what was clearly very little budget and i also think they really capitalized on having an actual budget in the amazon series

[thehistorianrants]

Context: This ask was sent to me on my original account (crisalidaseason) back in May/June. It was related to a fanfic I wrote inspired by a myth of my homeland. On this post I will go into more detail about this being. Beware the warnings!!

Content warnings: Sexism, neglect, mentions of SA (not detailed, but if it triggers you please don't read this), impregnation, pregnancy.

What is the Rose-colored porpoise?

Category: History

First things first, this is a rose-colored porpoise:

It's a type of river dolphin that inhabits the Amazon and Solimões rivers. It's known for being the largest river dolphin, they can reach almost 2,5 meters (this is about 8,4 feet for the people who still use the arcaic imperial system).

The legend says: It is said that this animal turns into a beautiful and charming man at night and seduces any woman he wants. He gets them pregnant and disappears into the river by morning.

This is the popular image associated with the man. He has copper skin and uses a hat and button up shirt.

This is a picture of "Manaus", from the TV show Insvisible City (Cidade Invisível in portuguese), It is not the best picture to represent this man (since this show was not written by actual people from the region therefore he lacks the copper skin) but it's good enough.

The real story: Nobody knows for sure the time this legend surfaced, but the tale is at least 300 years old (maybe even more). This story was passed through oral tradition in the Amazonian communities, the purpose was to justify a scandalous pregnancy. It was mostly to keep the men without punishment for impregnating young women and also give the poor girl some "dignity" (not really).

The popularity of this legend, though, is unmatched! Every June, the northen parts of Brazil have the Junine festivals, in which we celebrate the harvest and also is associated with some saints from the catholic religion (colonization doing its shit). When these festivals happen, we have lots of dances and presentations, it's a big cultural event. One of those events they tell the story of the rose-colored porpoise/man. Here is an example: (2) Dança e Inclusão - Primeira Apresentação no Festival Parafolclórico Inclusivo: "Olho de Boto". - YouTube

Some interesting facts are:

People say that if you see a man in a hat and button up shirt at a party - and you have doubts about his "humanity' - you have to take of his hat. If it's the actual creature, he will run away from the party right back to the river.

It is also said he sometimes does not transform completely into a man and you can identify this by touching his back (you might feel his dorsal fin).

[frostythefrostedfox]

What's your opinion on the recent Frontiers teaser?

Right between "Nothing", "Fucking boring" and "Is this game still a thing?"

Nah I am joking, my serious opinion is that this shit fucking sucks, its ass and I am sad it aint dying faster.

Let's start with the basic problematic stuff of this trailer

Eggman, why in the name of chao is Eggman tired, oh, let me guess, someone had the brilliant idea of "Lets make him lazy hahahaha", but guess what, WRONG, Eggman has been shown to be a fairly strong person, and have quite the physical prowess, where in fuck did this concept of "He uses machines bc he lazy" came from, really, because He has been shown doing physical activity before without breaking much of a sweat.

Second, these motherfuckers are so cheap they couldn't even get a few voicelines on the thing? Because I gotta be honest, this entire thing is very devoid of any emotion, it doesn't makes me feel anything, there is music sure, and there are things happening on the screen, but none is making an impact or being meaningful, they just stand there, clench their fists as if any of them was gonna do shit (because in case anyone forgot, the 3 stooges on the left don't have a physical form, Baldy McNosehair on the right aint certainly gonna fight this robot and Alexa 2 in the middle has no control over the robot so she is as useful as the first Alexa by Amazon.)

The fuck is this, really, the fucking flying fuck is this, this has to be the ugliest motherfucker I've seen all day, and I don't mean that as a compliment, is this supposed to be The End's new form? Because it looks like an amalgamation of all the other Titans into one, trying to look menacing and creepy but all it does is look like the failed fusion of Mistral and MG Rex from Metal Gear Rising, it even has Mistral's colour palette lol.

Wasn't The End supposed to signify your deepest fears (assuming for a second that was always a thing and not something someone in sega made up at the last instant to simply justify that awful touhou minigame at the end of the game) so why would this be in any form the physical manifestation of fear?

Again, the design is utter garbage, it only has two arms to the side, the rest are on top of that carapace thing on its back, which renders all arms automatically useless because they are barely able to reach for anything at the ends of it, he can't grab anything with those, they are just there to look menacing and "oh look, he's eeeevil" but they serve no function, besides, what is he gonna grab with it? Because there is only one titan with stuff to grab, and that's Knight, and that is only a sword and a shield, what you gonna use the rest of your arms for? Oh wait, for nothing! Just like I expected you to!

I assume this is the part that you and (literally nobody) everyone wanted me to talk about

This utter waste of screen time and hype-bait.

Why do I call it that? Because that's what it is, is literally what we had before but now the eyes are blue because blue is now the new orange or something like that, that is all that changed.

His transformation into this wasn't anything spectacular, just another burst of energy and ta-da, done. I'm sure 99% of the kiddies that are dying to play this shit aren't even old enough to watch the original dragon ball z, but when Goku turned into Super Saiyan 2 for the first time, not only there was a physical change on his appereance, it truly was something magnificent, you just had to be there; now, why would I compare this to SS2? Because in case anyone forgot, Sonic is just Furry Goku, and if you don't believe me, ask any actual sonic fan, not the newer ones that unironically think this game is well written, the ones that are old enough to consume alcohol, legally, in all jurisdictions of Planet Earth.

Anyways, i am getting sidetracked; this is supposed to be a "Teaser", why in heaven's name would you reveal your biggest card in a teaser? Is like the "Would you kindly" thing from Bioshock 1 was shown in the first trailer, y'all get what I'm saying right? Please don't ever play poker in your life, because you're gonna start jumping up and down when you get a pair of aces. Why the fuck would you show the "wowzers" moment of the update in a teaser, not even a trailer, a teaser.

Second, what purpose does this form serves? Super Sonic is already strong enough to easily conquer the other titans, he was never struggling in any point of the game as super sonic to kill them, he always had this "Imma kill you" expression mixed with "Pathetic" on his face, he killed all four titans without even sweating, why a new one would be a problem? This overhyped tech demo has zero idea of how to escalate a context because it aint escalating, is the same thing we had before, but then again, his new form also is the same one we had before but now featuring big blue evil demon eyes (or some bullshit like that some fans are gonna start calling it in a few days, or maybe they are already because oh my god we've never played a real game in our lives before.)

This form really serves zero purpose, it is just there to pretend like SEGA is trying to get sonic somewhere other than the bank to cash in all of their millions that the "highest selling game in the franchise" gave them while at the same time spending as little money as they can so they can maximize their profit margins; this form is just there to make you look the other way and be all hyped for "look super sonic with blue yes" so you can ignore the blatant problems of this game that are still not fixed and the updates actually added more or made them worse; this form exists so you can look up to big boy sonic team and thank them for the crumbs while at the same time chanting your mantra of "At least it aint forces" and/or "At least it aint 06" while you eat up whatever that is remotely serviceable and praise it to heaven and back not because is good, but because it doesn't sucks like 90% of the content we've gotten for the past 15 years.

But deep down I know all the answers to my questions

This shit was planned from the start, this is the same shit EA does with 90% of their games but everyone hates because is cool to hate EA, this is the same game that many other companies have played before, the whole "thank you for your imput" and then they wait until what people says alligns with what they were gonna do since the beginning so they can either say "look guys, we listened to you" if it comes out good, or "this is what you asked for" if it bombs; this is the same shenanigans we've seen countless times before, but since is SEGA, we must bow to them like they are reinventing videogames, but I guess I expected too much of the average internet user.

Don't think I'll ever forget when I predicted all of this shit almost a year ago and y'all called me "overthinker" and "paranoid".

[colorisbyshe]

You said you're busy, so feel free not to reply now (or ever lol), but what's the difference between supporting that wizard transmisogynistic antisemite and supporting something like, say, Disney? Genuine question. Aren't both bad because it's been proven their profits go straight to anti-LGBT laws? Or is it different? I hate both either way lol. Thanks!

I think the main difference is JKR is singularly making her entire platform about hating trans women, vocally encouraging others to do the same, and has boiled down her career to that one thing. Passively, she is doing OTHER egregious hateful things (mostly antisemitism but also homophobia and racism and more).

Disney is different because... Disney is buying every single thing. Lots of works that exist and were created outside of the Disney "mindset" (whatever that is) have been purchased by Disney. There are things streaming on Disney+ by people who would probably roll around in their graves if they knew who owned their work now.

Disney is harder to avoid in that way but it's also not one singular issue. It is a multiple of projects, some of which are affirming, some of which... are hateful and awful.

I personally do not consume much Disney branded content.

And I think people who worship at the altar of Disney often CAN end up identical (in behaviour and in harm) to HP-defenders.

But... idk... when it becomes less about actual creators and more about the people who end up owning their shit, it's harder. Like... most chain stores are donating to Republicans. I'm sure most streaming services are too. This does get closer to the "no ethical consumption under capitalism" thing where like... you can do the best you can to shop "well" but... corporations are all donating to whoever will protect their profit margins the most and will fund any law possible to get that going.

Corporations have such overwhelming nets they've thrown over hteir industries that it's hard to find anything that has escaped their grasp untainted. It's like... if someone selling their book lets it be distributed through amazon, do we immediately accuse them of supporting amazon exploiting and even killing employees?

It's more nebulous and I'm more willing to handwave (especially the more and more outside of the "Disney" brand Disney owned things get) but JKR isn't so nebulous. She is the creator of HP--the DIRECT creative mind of the entire IP. She is a bigot. The bigotry exists inside the work. The bigotry exists OUTSIDE the work. She specifically uses her platform to spread hate. Uses HP as part of her platform to do that, directly trying to indoctrinate fans into her mindset.

There is no sort of absolving quality to HP left. It isn't detached enough from her hatred to attempt any mental hoops to justify it.

It's not quite comparable to Disney which is a conglomeration of a lot of people who just have the same financier essentially.

If we're talking about specific Disney works that have hateful/prejudiced content in it, yeah it's a more similar comparison.

But also, even with that, I do recommend people do try to consume less Disney branded and even just Disney owned shit. There's more room for lenience in there--I don't think a parent letting their kid watch Moana is doing the same harm as the parent who reads their kid HP every night--but at the end of the dya aI will always say... look for more media on the margins.

Media produced by more independent workers strugglign to make ends meet. Media produced by people who have shit to say. Media with less direct connections to megacorporations who are all donating to the worst peopel on the fucking planet just so they can get more blood from the stones of society's creative soul

[danniswrites]

Advice to someone wanting to publish poetry

I wrote this advice out, but couldn't post it on Reddit r/selfpublish because it was too long. So I made a blog post LOL.

I would use LibreOffice to format your poetry. It's free and works like Word.

For Kindle Direct Publishing, there is a lot of help about what all the choices mean.

You will need a bank account to get paid and that info handy. You will also need an EIN if you are in the USA but if you don't use your Social Security Number for tax purposes, you can use it.

Do read through all the help info before starting your book. You can save it as a draft and solve all the problems before actually publishing, so if you want to just do it, that won't hurt anything. It just makes it faster once you make certain decisions, but you can do it later.

Don't hit publish until you're absolutely sure everything's correct because you wait 2 or 3 days for Amazon to review your work [by this I mean, your cover's okay, you don't have blatant spelling or formatting errors, etc. They don't review it as to literary merit, just to see it meets their minimum standards, no feedback]. It's really not hard, just a LOT of choices, like 3 pages of choices.

Do think about keywords. What kind of poetry is it? You get 7 keywords. Those keywords need to be the ones that best describe your poetry. Do use them all! Think of words your possible reader will put into that search box. Make sure they truly represent what you've written. Read some articles on Amazon keywords so you know what to put and give it some thought. Your keywords will make all the difference in your possible reader finding your book.

In KDP you have the choice to also create print versions of your book. I strongly suggest you do this. There is no disadvantage! Putting your poetry book up on Amazon costs nothing. Royalties are 35% or 70% depending on if you choose to do Kindle Unlimited, where people can get your book free if you agree not to publish it anyplace but there. I used to put all my books on KU. Now I publish on other platforms and like the freedom. I do let Amazon publish to all its countries. But there are other platforms such as Draft2Digital, and if you let Amazon do international, you can't do Draft2Digital or other platforms unless you undo it. I'm still researching. For print, formatting is more complex. However, Kindle Create makes this pretty easy. If you just want a standard format, it will work nicely. Things get a little more complicated if you want a picture for each poem, but it's still not too hard from the looks of it. That said, I've never published a book with graphics. There are a few more steps involved and the help pages on KDP are detailed enough to be very useful for you.

I also publish on Wattpad and my poetry book is getting a lot more reads than my science fiction, which shocked me! I'm not popular by any means, but I feel good to see the views and comments on my stuff. Right now I'm doing the free stuff, but I usually check the boxes for willingness if Wattpad Publishing might be interested. Hey, I can dream, right?

I've never used a paid service, and I'm not making but a few dollars on Amazon anyway, so I can't justify paying for it when I can't cover it from profits.

I do my own book covers and use Canva, among other software. The one exception is my poetry book on Wattpad, and I did use AI to produce it because I didn't like the one I came up with. But, you can't copyright your cover if you use AI, so I strongly suggest you create your own.

For book covers, a good free site for public domain photographs is Pexels.com. Don't use photographs unless you are sure they are public domain, because the last thing you need is legal troubles. Read up on copyright.gov and avoid problems. Everything on Pexels.com, Pixabay.com and a few others are a pretty good bet. Photographers that upload are releasing their work into the public domain on these two sites, and they have an info page that states this. Beware of photo sites that have no site into on whether it's public domain or not, that's a red flag. I have little trouble finding what I need on Pexels.com and it includes Pixabay and some smaller sites and individual photographers, so I usually go there.

I also use a free software called DAZ Studio, from daz3d.com for character models and it also has buildings, props, clothing for their models, etc and weekly freebies on Wed. It's easy to use, of all 3D software, and tons of tutorials to get up to speed fast. I use this for a lot of characters, especially if I can't find the picture I want on Pexels. I'll use their AI for blog posts but not for book covers, I make those myself. Using DAZ, you can do a realistic scene with characters first, then transform those into line drawing or painting styles with a click. There are comic artists who use DAZ for their graphics. This is not considered AI generated because you set up your scene first, then use a style, so it's still your composition and placement. Human models are included in the free software, with clothing, props, hair, and a few settings, with the option to buy more. There are also websites with free and paid models like Renderosity.com that has good quality models in DAZ format. For realistic models, Genesis 9 is the most recent, but Genesis 8 is mostly what I use. The older models are often free but not as detailed or realistic. However, they take less RAM on your computer so if you're not going for realism [watercolor painting or abstract modes] they are still very useful.

Last, but not least, I have an old version of VUE [2016] from before they went to the subscription model, that I use for landscapes and have experimented with animation. You can also do animation in DAZ. I mainly use my old VUE 2016 for alien landscapes, but it was expensive to buy. Many movie studios use VUE, but the commercial version.

Once I have my artwork or photographs ready, then I go to Canva.com to make a book cover or blog graphic. I don't bring it to Canva until it is ready. If I need any photo special effects like blurring or color correction, or need to put several photos together, I do that in GIMP, a free software that's like Photoshop but free. Some people who use GIMP and Photoshop say some functions are actually better in GIMP. Canva is easy to use and has a great selection of fonts. I wouldn't use it for publishing, but it's great for book covers. There are templates with nice designs or you can start with a blank slate. Templates may be created by artists who have studied color pallets, which fonts for which genre, etc so I usually use them. But I might make different choices for fonts. There are a lot of tutorials out there if you want to do something fancy, but generally, I have what I need with a good template. Personally, I think if you start with good artwork, Canva is a good way to go.

You can also use Amazon's built in Art Painter to do your cover. There is a limited selection of photographs there, but I usually go to Pexels rather than hope one of those photos in Art Painter will do. Canva also has photos available, but a better selection. Most of their photo editing options require a subscription. I use the free version and if I have my graphics ready beforehand, I'm usually pleased with the result. This post is too long, but I hope it helps you. Good luck! Pair your poetry book with frequent, regular posts on all your social media. If no one knows your book is there, you won't get sales.

[motheffigy]

So I've decided to watch Fallout. The TV show. I'm not a massive Fallout fan but I've played a fair few of the games in small amounts and am familiar enough with the lore that I have an interest in the show.

It's a good show. Not that you need to hear that from me. Besides that's not the point of the post. The point of the post is that I watched it legally.

I feel guilty about this fact. The fact that I couldn't be bothered to figure out how to watch the show in a way that goes along with my personal values feels as though I have betrayed those values, to some extent. I don't support Amazon, nor do I support Bethesda for that matter. But yet, here I am, having just booted up my PS5 to the Amazon Prime Video app to the first episode of Fallout.

Now, in my defense, I do not personally pay for Prime. I am still on my parents account. If I wasn't on my parent's account, I would not get a Prime account to watch it. In that circumstance, I would just pirate it. But in this case, I watched it legally. Just because it's easier. I'm not THAT invested in watching the show. I wasn't looking forward to it before the positive posts and discussions I've seen and heard both online and in person. I was not prepared to sit down and get a way to pirate this show in a way that fits with my preferred way to watch a TV show, that being sitting down and watching it at a TV.

Since I rejoined this website in 2023, my dash has been frequented fairly often with anti-capitalist posts, exposing how the corporations I once took for granted are actively harming the world and going against me and the values I hold dear. I have adjusted my lifestyle as much as I feasibly can to keep these facts in mind. I'm not going to sit here and try to justify me watching Fallout legally by listing out all the cool epic based stuff I now do because of my time on Tumblr. That's just some weak shit I'll be honest.

I guess I've lost the thread of this post. I just have a lot of thoughts about how a website like Tumblr makes you feel about when you DO do something that goes against your theoretical values. When every post you see is asking you to boycott and pirate media and do that, when you decide not to do that, it can feel like you are personally going against your own beliefs, if you agree with the thesis of these posts, which I often do. Look through the reblogs of this blog and you'll probably find a couple that reblog posts decrying corporations for their support of Israel for an example.

I'm not going to end this post on some sweeping statement of morality. If you think I'm a bad person for using my parents' Amazon Prime account to watch the new Fallout show, that's fine. I might argue you have your priorities out of wack. But you do have a point. But, is it really that big of a deal if you slightly compromise your values to watch a silly little TV show? I would argue, no. Values don't really need litmus tests. Especially if the circumstance is like this. If I were actively trying to stop you from pirating, then that'd be different.

Anyways, just watch the Fallout show. However you'd like to. I won't judge.

[mdhwrites]

Epic: The Musical: The Differences Between "Just Men"

No one in Epic is ever fully in the right. It is a tale of mistakes, of going too far, of lines being crossed and what must be done for the sake of that which we hold dear. Of human emotions crashing against the harshness of reality. But in it, Odysseus is still the hero, still the one we follow and his 'brother' Eurylochus demonstrates clearly why for when they both wail a single line.

"I'm just a man!"

When Odysseus does this in the song who's namesake is this, it is a plea for forgiveness. To hear that he is in grief about what he must do, even as he does it. That is because he is currently having to step up. To be more than a man and make choices that determine more lives than any human being is ever supposed to be beholden to. It is why he is the captain. He is not infallible but the fact that he is willing to take this burden, to take on this suffering for the sake of others, is why he stands tall on the wall, even as his soul is dragged down. It is this same exhaustion, this same desire to be just a man, that makes him try to use wit to make situations he can get out of that don't require him to be more than a man. He makes mistakes but in the moment, he doesn't know, but such is why Athena calls him out for this too. Because to err is to be human, but that is never an excuse Ody makes. Otherwise, he might have had something to say after Scylla. He isn't perfect, you do not want to BE Odysseus, but he is forgivable in how he fucks up.

MEANWHILE

Eurylochus is only desiring it as an excuse. That even as he knows the cruelty he inflicts, even as he has what he is about to do be highlighted as one massive mistake, he doesn't care. He simply wishes to do what he wants, that which keeps him safe while not making him look bad. It's how he would justify his hypocrisy if ever pushed on it. He feels guilty about the windbag but just before then? During "Luck Runs Out" he claims his worries are just because he doesn't want another brother to die, just like Odysseus but if that were true... Why would treasure tempt you?

In every time that Odysseus fucks up, a choice HAS to be made. Kill an infant in unjust combat or let all of Greece die? Let your brothers die with only your silent thoughts to keep them alive or make sure that their story may spread with honor? Admit fault and bring shame and guilt upon you all or use the humanity of your people to reach an understanding, even if that's not what was asked of you? They are mistakes, they play into his tragic flaw of hubris, but something had to be done. Because as Eurylochus even says: You want all the power, you take all the blame. For that is the burden of leadership.

Eurylochus though never has to act. In fact, much of the time he does nothing. And when he does nothing, nothing goes wrong because he is willing to listen to those who know better. Those who are thinking bigger than themselves. He runs from anything that might harm him and then pretends that each triumph is his own to take. His cowardice does him right ONCE during "Puppeteer" but even then, it goes too far in wanting to let men die. Because he will ALWAYS let men die if it guarantees his own safety.

This is why Odysseus, even in a musical who is so critical of him, is still the hero, albeit a classic greek hero still. After all, if your wisdom only ever advocates for yourself, why should anyone listen to it? That makes you a monster, not 'just a man'. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I do have my brother to thank for getting me into the musical. Specifically, he made sure I listened to Ruthlessness properly once and when I heard, "Die," it could not leave. Helps that not only is the writing in the whole thing incredible, the songs are just BOPS! Seriously, cannot recommend checking it out for yourself enough if you haven't.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[judasdreams]

Once again: it's all about the money. (No, I haven't gotten ripped off.)

My country used to get free amazon deliveries when you bought with 39 euros. Then the limit went up to 99 euros. Now it seems to be (in practice, I only hope its a system malfunction on their part) up to 125-130 euros.

No matter how much I try, I can't find enough reasonably priced items that I would use to justify spending 130 euros (because if delivery is already 15-16 euros, I might as well...) and I keep turning to stuff i don't NEED.

I would love to have them, but I don't need them.

Right now my list is in three parts: things I need (has 2 items), things I want (6 items), and the rest is basically food and books. That would nearly drain my bank account.

But the best of all is what a difficult time I have in trying to decide what I would and would not buy. I have no concept of time and heightened sense of fear and anxiety, so... yay.

Fuck being poor, honestly.

[popculturebuffet]

Good news. After being on the backburner for so long thanks to Zaslav, Merry Little Batman and Urkel Saves Santa are finally getting releases with the former on Amazon Prime and the latter on a Warner Bros digital release. Thoughts that they're finally getting released, and how do they look so far based on their trailers?

I'd seen the trailer for the former, the latter i'm glad to know about. On finally getting released: I'm SO happy and i'm hoping this spreads to other projects he's written off... and i'd love for someone to pick up close enough. Amazon please buy close enough I would watch it more than enough to justify your metrics. As for how the films look Merry Little Batman looks INCREDIBLE. WHile I was iffy on the premise, it looks like a fun, wholesome and entirely unique take on Bruce and Damien, with batman being far more jolly and far more present as a dad, and Damien acting more like a kid. The design work is also really fun.

As for Urkel Saves Santa I had pretty low expectations, but it looks decent. The concept isnt bad. My only real complaint is not getting Reginald Vel Johnson back. I mean Urkel can work in a vaccum but he and the big guy were a duo. You don't even have to have it in the same continuity of family matters, as this film dosen't seem to be. Just have carl be the town cop or something. I miss my boy. Invincible just does not use him enough, which is fair he's mostly there to make the principal winslow gag even better, but I still want more Reginald Vel Johnson. Otherwise it looks way better than I would've expected.