#source: donkey skin

[alaynasansa]

“ I loved a maid as fair as summer with sunlight in her hair „

“ I loved a maid as red as autumn with sunset in her hair „

“ I loved a maid as white as winter with moonglow in her hair „

Sansa Month 2023 : day fifteen - seasons of my love

[historical-beauty-lily]

Peau d’âne / Donkey Skin (1970) dir. Jacques Demy

[smallmariofindings]

In 2005, Nintendo of Europe's official site for Donkey Konga 2 offered a skin based on the game for the Winamp music player to be downloaded. Above is a screenshot of the skin in action; note the customized interface whereby some of the player controls have been moved to Donkey Kong's bongos.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

This is a meta on Our Flag Means Death episode 5: The Best Revenge Is Dressing Well, Sir Godfrey Thornrose, The scene where he calls Ed a donkey, and so called "race science."

It has come to my attention that some of you apparently do not know what a phrenologist is.

*a note: I'm going to for the purposes of this assume that the guy played by Jeff Lorch is sir Godfrey Thornrose, I do not know this for certain but in my opinion even if he is not Thornrose the same principles still apply to him for reasons I will discuss in this meta.

So lets recap the scenes I want to touch on. At the beginning of episode 5 Stede is teaching Ed how to identify rich people cutlery like they're Barney Thompson and Vivian Ward in pretty woman. Stede bitches at Thornrose for not having enough spoons for Stede's liking. Thornrose responds "My apologies, I hadn't imagined we'd be hosting your kind."

Ed responds "My kind, what kind"

to which Godfrey responds "A rich donkey is still a donkey."

Ed then proceeds to scream at him and then orders Fang to skin him with a snail fork before throwing him overboard. To which Fang presumably responds by either skinning him with a normal skinning implement or forgoing the skinning step and just throwing him overboard, because who tf has time to skin a man with a snail fork.

I've seen some dogshit takes on this scene. I've seen it treated as evidence that Ed is exceptionally violent or abusive or has mood swings or anger issues or whatever bullshit. And I... Do Not Agree. You'll see why.

The next scene I want us to have in our back pocket is the first couple scenes with Gabriel and Antionette. When Gabriel and Antionette introduce themselves to Ed and Stede they reveal that Sir Godfrey Thornrose is a quote "Master Phrenologist." Stede is then expected to study Antionette's head. When he does he introduces his fake craft as "Phrenology, which is the study of the human head." He then takes a wild guess as to Antionette's heritage based on her skull lumps.

Content warning for like real old school racism ahead.

The reason Stede goes for the heritage is because Phrenology is a pseudoscience closely linked to other contemporary race science of the time. It was the idea that bumps on your head, thought to be caused by the pressure of the brain, could be used to identify your personality traits.

Phrenology gets really fucking racist, really fucking fast. Phrenology was used as proof that the white race was superior to other races, and as a justification for slavery and eugenics. Eugenics is the idea that you can improve society through breeding out "bad genes", which is almost universally popular among all types of racists, but the Nazis were big fans of it and there's a direct through line between the race scientists in the 1700s who were into phrenology and modern hate groups and neo nazis. I wanted to use an image here as an example of racist phrenology texts, but it's rough and I don't want to make a cut so I'm just going to link to the wordpress anthropology article I found the picture in, it's sourced and an alright place to start if you're into further reading.

With this information, I would like to use another example, that is relevant to the ethnicities in contention. A French physician who attracted huge crowds with his phrenology lectures, François-Joseph-Victor Broussais, once claimed that Maori people (as well as indigenous Australians) could never become civilized since he claimed they had no cerebral organ for producing great artists.

This is the context in which we need to understand the exchange between Ed and the French captain. I've seen some people claim it's about class and not about race, but Thornrose acknowledges Ed's wealth when he says a rich donkey is still a donkey. It doesn't matter to a man like Thornrose what Ed does or how rich he is or how well he can learn his fucking forks, he's still akin to an animal in this skull molesting freak's racist little mind. If a phrenologist, or even someone who's rubbing elbows with a phrenologist, calls a man of color a donkey they're clearly saying he's an uncivilized animal based on the shape of his face. That's how racists operate.

And Sir Godfrey Thornrose is not just any old racist, he's a racist spreading his ideology to other people, convincing them that people like Ed are inferior, that people like him should be subjugated by white people. He is clocking in for his shift at the racism factory creating more racists.

So basically what I'm saying is Ed should skin him, no quarter for genocidal maniacs. Basically I can tell you're either racist sympathetic or talking out of your ass if you think French captain was fucked up. It was antifascist direct action and I don't want to hear another word about it. I personally believe the only thing you can't come back from is death in terms of being a better person. I also believe that there are situations in which killing someone is more or less fine and you're never gonna catch me feeling bad for a fucking phrenologist when he compares an indigenous pirate to an animal and the pirate responds by doing what pirates do.

Killing Godfrey was based.

[dearieshima]

━the god fraud━☂☄

☄. *. ⋆ and so it was, in the soldier's death, he found a love, that took his breath. he passed away, with a smile serene, for he knew his love, would always be

☄. *. ⋆ mortal warrior!k.bakugou x goddess of death!reader, death/happy end, comfort, fluff, greek mythology au

THIS MAN IS A FRAUD.

A god fraud.

It was a source of laughter for your blessed companions,

"The number of lives he has taken exceeds yours, Y/N." Kaminari, the God of mischief laughed like he had done to the local when he turned his wife into a donkey. "Perhaps you should consider retiring."

Which you did not. Even though you were put on hold by a rage-fueled mortal wielding a generational sword, you still had the inviolable responsibility of guiding the soldiers' souls he'd released into Aizawa's lair.

Besides, all mortals must die regardless of the circumstances. His death is inevitable as the ones he lay on the ground.

So you'll lend him the role of cessation for a while, like a father lending a sharpened sword to his son and instilling the belief that he is an indomitable warrior. You'll let him believe that he is unmatched and immortal forever.

But when that time comes, when that boy finally pokes his eye out with that sword, you'll be there to re-establish your role as death and steal Bakugou Katsuki's final breath.

KNOWN AS A MAN WHO accusingly took more lives than the goddess of death herself, Katsuki has both chased and retreated from the cold grip of death.

With every throat he slit, a chest he punctured, an arm he separated from its host, he delivers his promise to kill for the one that he loves and his people worship.

Which, for the unfortunate case of a mortal like himself, is you.

Death.

He's attracted death.

And death is attracted to him.

Everywhere he travels, there's death. He brings death for death to see death.

Because you are a vision of serene tranquility and peacefulness. You have a calming presence that eases the pain and suffering of those around you.

Your eyes are deep and dark, yet warm and compassionate. Your skin is smooth and flawless, as if untouched by the harsh realities of life.

You are dressed in a gown of black silk that shimmers in the moonlight, and your movements are graceful and fluid as if you were dancing to the silent melody of groaning men inching on the threshold of death.

And as you approach, goners can sense a gentle breeze, carrying the fragrance of roses and lilies.

But Katsuki smells the faint scent of those roses and lilies from a safe distance as he watches you beckon with a gentle hand to invite those who are ready to leave the world and join you in the afterlife.

Because just like any mortal who fears the unknown, Katsuki is afraid of dying.

Which is quite strange for a man who indulges in the death of others.

But it's human to wonder if he'll be treated the same (or even better) as the bodies that lay around him- if he'll be touched with hands as cold as the heart of a blizzard or hands warm like sand in the morning dew.

So for now, he'll patiently be impatient as he gets the sweet rift of roses and lilies from far away.

THERE COMES A DAY THAT everybody looks forward to.

It might be the delivery of new life.

It might be a day when you and a significant other celebrate accomplishments.

Or it might be a holiday.

And fortunately for Katsuki's rivals, that day has come.

The delivery of death.

His death.

A death that's taken rain check after rain check...

Until now.

Katsuki is laid on his back, the sword still punctuated in his loyal heart that works even on its deathbed to provide blood for the rest of his body, blood that'll never reach its desired place and instead dye the grass red below him.

He probably has thirty seconds left in him.

Anybody would've died the second the sword entered their chest, but because katsuki was strong and careful of what to eat, he lasted longer.

Painfully longer.

But Katsuki gratefully uses twenty-two seconds to reflect on his life.

He was a good man, Katsuki pulls himself to finally agree, wasting twelve seconds of the precious time he has left, he killed to protect.

Katsuki was at least glad he was left in a position where he could see the night sky. He had heard that the star, a star his people named Evënus, shined brighter than the others on the day of his birth.

And while he didn't get the chance to witness it, he sees it now, shining brighter than the others near the constellation Scorpius.

He spends two more seconds just staring at Evënus.

Will your hands be warm? He wonders for just a second.

He then feels his head being elevated and placed on a soft and comfortable surface.

Then, those eyes, deep and dark, yet warm and compassionate, that he had come to both love and fear, blocked his view from the sky.

He was now knocking on death's door.

Or, just laying on death's thighs, scented as if they were just running threw a rose and lily field.

Without thinking (his brain may be draining out of blood), he opens his mouth,

"Goddess, before I go, I want ta' confess something to you. I love you. I have came to accept death, 'cause I knew that in your embrace, I would find eternal peace and love."

26.

You reply, your fingers swimming in the blonde tufts of his hair, feeding onto his forever slumber,

"warrior, your words are kind, but you mistake the nature of my embrace. I do not offer love or peace to those who come to me. I offer only the end of life, the release from pain and suffering, and the return to the cycle of existence. Death is not something to be loved or feared, but simply accepted as a natural part of life."

27.

Katsuki nuzzles into your touch, his words becoming limited, "'m love you."

28.

You reply, a smile gracing you lips- gracing him,

"Your words are sweet, warrior, but they are also a distraction from the truth. Death is not a lover or a friend, but a force of nature, like the wind or the rain. It comes when it must, and it takes what it will. You cannot bargain with-"

29.

Katsuki repeats, cutting you off. You fill his head with so many words, but he comes out with three that share one syllable, "'m love you."

30.

"Your love is a gift, warrior, but it is also a burden. Do not cling to it too tightly, or it will become a weight that drags you down into darkness. Remember that death is not an end, but a transition."

You wait for a response, and after a few seconds and his eyes shut close, you think that he'd already kicked the bucket.

But his final breath brushes against your bare tights, "'m love you."

A few instances pass by and you determine Bakugou Katsuki, your imposer, and admirer has finally passed. All you had to do now is snap the strings that tether his soul to his body.

But first, you kiss his forehead, the niche of bare skin between his eyebrow.

Then, a foggy outline of Katsuki, dressed the same way he died, sits up from your tights as if he was just getting out of bed.

You revealed a hand to him as you got up.

"Don't be afraid. I'll help you cross the barrier."

You've helped Katsuki cross the barrier dozens of lifetimes. You don't think he's afraid anymore because while living Katsuki doesn't remember, his soul remembers you, and all the encounters you've made in his past life.

And though you tell him to give up, chase someone who he can grow old or die with him, he remains persistent.

He wraps his hand around yours, but not before he plants a kiss on top of it.

And you've grown to anticipate his next encounter.

You press a kiss into his cheek,

"we'll meet again Katsuki, I'll be waiting."

TWELVE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR YEARS LATER, Katsuki still can't get off the thrill of being close to death, which is why he became a perfect pro-hero.

Somehow, he feels more connected to being close to death than experiencing the lifts of being alive.

It's as if someone is waiting for him on the other side,

And he is too.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Analysis: Of Mice and Men (Cultural References)

Bindle: A bag, sack, or carrying device.

Bindle Stiff: Hobo; transient who carries his belongings in a sack.

Bunk House: A sleeping quarters intended for use by multiple people.

Talcum Powder: Very similar in texture to baby powder, talcum powder was used mainly after bathing or shaving.

Apple Box: A box used for storage or as a stepstool capable of holding a person's weight.

Scourges: A widespread affliction, an epidemic illness or the consequence of some natural disaster, like fire, flood, or a migration of locusts.

Pants Rabbits: A sexually transmitted disease, known as pubic lice.

Graybacks: The equivalent of ticks or lice.

Liniment: A topical cream for the skin that helps with pain or rashes.

Jerkline Skinner: Lead driver of a team of mules

Stable Buck: A derogatory name for an African-American man who works in the stables.

Stetson Hat: A famous brand of hats, especially cowboy hats.

‍Swamper: A general assistant; handyman.

Murray and Ready: An employment agency, specializing in farm work.

Work Slips: Proof that people had been hired to do a job.

Cultivator: A farming tool used to stir and soften the soil either before or after planting.

Cesspool: A well or pit filled with drainage or sewage.

Slough: A muddy or marshy area.

Tart: A woman who tempts men or who is sexually promiscuous.

Buck Barley: To throw large bags of barley on a truck.

Lynch: To illegally execute a person, generally applied to the hanging and/or burning of African-Americans in the south.

Slug of Whiskey: Equivalent to a hip flask of whiskey.

Gut Ache: A stomach ache.

Airedale: A type of dog, specifically Terrier.

Pulp Magazine: During the 1920s-1950s, inexpensive fiction magazines. From 1950 on, the term also came to represent mass market paperbacks.

Luger: The Luger pistol was an expensive, high maintenance weapon manufactured and used primarily in the German army.

Euchre: A card game played in England, Canada, and some parts of the U.S.

Two Bits: Twenty-Five cents.

Rag Rug: Rugs created from rags that were tied together by knots.

Kewpie Doll: A particular style of doll, one that was usually won at carnivals.

Phonograph: The first device for recording and playing sound, most specifically music.

Parlor House: Could be considered a restaurant, but more often parlor houses were brothels.

Hutches: A form of furniture, very similar to a wardrobe.

Welter: A boxer (refers to welterweight, a weight class in boxing).

Nail keg: A wooden barrel that could usually hold 100 pounds or more inside.

Russian Hill: Affluent residential neighborhood in San Francisco, California.

Travels with a Donkey: Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879), one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works.

Varro: Marcus Terentius Varro (116-29 B.C.E.), Roman scholar/author and horticulturist.

Velasquez's Cardinal: Seventeenth-century painting by Spanish painter Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez.

Zane Grey: American adventure novelist (1872-1939).

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References

[adarkrainbow]

I cannot encourage people enough to go read fairytale collections country by country. I know that the whole fad currently is to go look up at collections organized by fairytale types or specific characters or even general motif, no matter the actual source ; but trust me, reading specific collections of fairytales and folktales from specific countries and regions is a deeply fascinating experience. Because each culture has its own specificities with fairytales, its own unique things other countries have not - stuff that are not "universal".

For example, I have been reading Anna Angelopoulos' collection of Greek fairytales (she also worked on the specifically Greek version of the "fairytale-type catalogue" if you are ever interested, with Brouskou, "G.A. Mega Katalogos Ellinikon Paramythion"), and the beauty of these fairytales is how we can clearly see the continuity with the mythology of Ancient Greece. With other European fairytales it might be hard to spot, since for example in France the mythology of Gaul is virtually unknown, and with German fairytales Germanic mythology is also pieces of fragments and a lot of hesitant reconstruction - but with Greece, we have the full mythology. And as a result, when the Greeks tell their own versions of Cinderella, and Little Thumbling and Donkey Skin and Snow-White and Rapunzel... You see the mythology.

The hero is often asked to go fetch something out of the Cyclops cave. The fairies that come to bless babies at birth are explicitely called the "Moirai". The embodiment of death/the underworld is always called "Charon". There is a recurring sea-monster in fairytales that is called "The Gorgon" (little to do with the actual gorgons, though). There is a whole slab of fairytales about a child born out of his father's leg, due to a magical item making people pregnant touching the man instead of the woman.

And it is really beautiful because it makes you look back at all these other fairytales across Europe, and you can clearly see how they are just... leftovers, shadows and twisted reflections of the old mythologies.

@somecallmejohn

[jalicefanficblog]

can you write a Kim possible oneshot where Kim and Ron have to disguise themselves as circus clowns during a mission

Ladies and Gentelmen, let´s give our Guest Clowns a cheerful Welcome Greeting and we hope you enjoy our Circus Show!

Just like a Circus

“Why do we have to dress up as circus clowns again, Wade?”

Ron was sitting in his seat in the small private helicopter that was taking him and his best friend Kim Possible on another mission.

The teen heroine had called in a favor for this and Ron was tasked with carrying the heavy, cumbersome backpack that contained the undercover costumes for today's mission.

And of course Ron had already looked inside and given in to his curiosity. The contents of the backpack had neither caused him joy nor euphoria.

“It's for your cover, Ron. And you'll fit in perfectly at the destination,” Wade said from the small communication device that Kim was holding in her hand.

“You've always wanted to be in the spotlight, haven't you?” - joked Kim, who was trying to tidy up her red mane with a small comb and a few hairpins during the turbulence and prepare it, for what was to come.

The camouflage…not the turbulence that the pilot of the small helicopter has to contend with.

"Haha…if it weren't for the costumes…so embarrassing" - complained Ron.

"Embarrassing? The red nose definitely suits you", joked Wade.

"It's easy for you to say Wade, you sit in front of your screen and can watch us being made a laughing stock as circus clowns", - groaned Ron, and he didn't seem to be able to get used to the idea at all.

"I also made popcorn and my mum brought a six-pack of lemonade from the shop…I'm ready to enjoy the show" - replied Wade sarcastically.

"Cheer up, Ron, Rufus is absolutely thrilled with the idea!" - laughed Kim now and Ron looked confusedly down at the pocket of his still normal pants, in which Naked Mole Rat usually slept or helped Ron on missions.

Rufus had already put on a mini clone nose and wig and was all fired up for the mission. He expressed this with euphoric noises.

“You're totally stabbing me in the back right now, buddy!” - said Ron, but his voice became a little softer and his aversion to this disguise had diminished somewhat.

He couldn't and didn't want to stay mad at his animal best friend for long, and he could hardly say no to his best friend KP either.

“Besides, it's for our disguise. Dr. Drakken certainly won't recognize us as circus clowns and it will definitely be fun”, said Kim as she pulled a wig cap out of her bag.

“Why does Dr. Drakken actually want to take control of a circus?” - Ron wondered as he felt Rufus, who had meanwhile run to the backpack with the props and the two clown costumes, give him a red nose.

“Do you remember when Dr. Drakken wanted to bring his mind control shampoo onto the market? Now he's trying to sponsor the circus that's based in Boston, Massachusetts… allegedly through the circus animals' feed and wants to get them under his control… my sources have indicated , that a considerable amount of toxic substances that were found in the shampoo were found in a load of feed for the horses and donkeys… if the animals ate it, your clown disguise is perfect for investigating… I also hacked Drakken's social media account and he got tickets for the evening performance… it seems likely that he wants to use the animals as his henchmen with mind control", - Wade summarized.

"Is it possible that Drakken's ideas are getting crazier and crazier?" - Kim wondered, having pulled the wig cap over her tied-up red hair.

"Looks a bit like a swimming cap? What is that for?” wondered Ron, who also got one of the skin-colored caps drawn by Rufus and pulled it over his head.

“The wig cap ensures that the wig doesn’t slip off the head during the show”, - explained Wade and then gave the duo the details and how they could best blend in with the artists and showmen of the circus when they arrived in Boston.

Then he wished them much success and looked forward to the show.

“Why are you getting the costume with the stripes and I’m getting the one with the dots? That makes my butt so big?”, - Ron repeatedly tugged at the legs of the outfit he was wearing. Because unlike Kim, the blond was wearing a clown costume with big red dots stretched over the yellow fabric.

The green clown wig he was wearing was the color contrast to the bright colors of the clothes and the bright red shoes were probably intentionally a bit too big.

Ron imagined himself stumbling in the ring several times.

“Stripes suit me , more than you Ron. Now close your eyes, I have to put on the make-up and the white makeup”, said Kim and concentrated on applying the makeup while Ron started to laugh because the brush tickled so much.

“Haha…that tickles KP! Don’t tell me you girls put yourselves through such torture every day”, giggled Ron and Kim had to stop what she was doing , because otherwise it would have smeared or Ron’s clown mouth would have become a weird crooked line.

“Well, with some girls at our school, you can really believe they are wearing clown makeup…..Bonnie, for example, just because she wanted to impress one of the football players, she put on this mega expensive eye shadow in midnight blue! It doesn't really match her eyes, but she was really boasting about it", Kim said annoyed and demonstrated her work after Ron had recovered from his fit of laughter and finished the relatively good-looking makeup mask for Ronald the Clown.

"Shall I paint your mask now?", asked Ron and Kim shook her head, laughing.

"Painting and applying a mask are fundamentally different things…but thanks Ron", said Kim, opened her small makeup mirror and set about making her well-cared-for skin disappear , under a layer of white clown makeup. It was a sight that the teen heroine had to get used to.

But Wade was right…for the success of the mission it would be crucial to go into the ring as circus clowns. On the one hand to make it seem believable and on the other to stop Dr. Drakken from carrying out his diablo-like plan.

So let's go. Close your eyes and go through the middle!

“I think my right shin is itching and I can't breathe through my nose, KP!”, - Ron made an unhappy expression and wanted to put his right hand to his nose to scratch it, but Kim stopped him by grabbing his hand and looking threateningly into his eyes.

“Not now, Ron, follow the clowns into the arena and then from there we'll try to get to the animal enclosures somehow , to check the food… maybe Drakken is there?”, - said Kim and gave Ron a gentle nudge in the right direction and soon the hero duo followed a small group of other clowns.

It didn't seem to really register that the two students weren't actually part of the circus and part of the upcoming show.

And so a few minutes later, Kim and Ron found themselves in the middle of the illuminated circus tent, joining the line of clowns and simply cooperating with their behavior. They joked around, teased each other and performed a dance that ended with some clowns deliberately tripping over their own feet.

It was a little chaotic and Ron seemed to be having fun despite his initial reservations and fit in wonderfully with the clown group. Kim grinned under her white makeup. Somehow Ron had often been the typical class clown and so, as the center of the crowd, they could keep an eye on everything.

When two clowns first threw a ball to each other and then it passed to Kim, the Possible spotted Shego's bright green headed towards the exit of the tent.

"Ron! There's a snake in the circus! You hold your position and I'll follow it!"

"Yuck, a snake? It's even worse than monkeys!"

"Ron, thats… Shego"

"Ah, about the green, clever KP! All right, throw me the ball”

Kim threw the ball to Ron and tried to disappear inconspicuously towards the exit, but then Shego seemed to notice her and fired a few plasma beams at her… and Kim, in her clown outfit, did a few backflips and used one of the props as a springboard to extend her grappling hook and chase Shego.

Ron clapped once, creating the illusion that it was all part of the show… which was met with applause from the audience.

The clowns continued their act and were soon replaced by the artists. Ron went with the group to the back of the ring and was even given a donut as a thank you for this performance and was asked which circus he came from.

To bridge this question, Rufus came to the rescue and performed a few tricks on a small ball that was intended for the circus dog to balance on and received applause from the clowns.

The little naked mole rat seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight just as much as Ron.

“Have you switched to clown school, Kimmy?” - Shego laughed maliciously and teasingly as she tampered with one of the food buckets and passed on information to Drakken through a walkie-talkie.

“How did you recognize me? My makeup is perfect and maybe I’ll join the circus? What brings you here? A poisonous green snake doesn’t fit in a circus, Shego", - Kim countered, using one of her gadgets to take the bucket before Shego could tamper with it.

“”Carry out a plan by Drakken…:”

“Shego! I am the leader and reveal my diabolical plan to Kim Possible!” - Dr Drakken came into the small area of ​​the animal feed supplies with a remote control in his hand and sulked when Shego wanted to reveal his ingenious plan.

“You want to control the animals with the thought of shampoo residue that you transferred via the feed into the supplies of the circus animals?” , Kim stated dryly and Drakken sulked a little more, stamped his foot defiantly and glared angrily at Kim.

“You look ridiculous in the clown costume Possible and my plan will work!” - Drakken snorted and pressed the remote control…..but his plan had a catch…because the batteries of the device were empty and nothing happened.

“Damn! SHEGO new batteries?!”

“Seriously Drakken, you don’t have any…”

“Don’t argue with the clown-possible in front of me!”

Kim used one of her attack techniques to first take the remote control from Drakken and then she whistled loudly, the signal for Ron to rush to her aid.

And Ron stumbled forward very elegantly with the big clown shoes, knocking over one of the big empty barrels with non-existent dry food for the ponies and this barrel landed on Drakken and Shego, locking the two villains in and Kim dialed the police number.

“Good job Ron! These snakes aren’t causing any more damage! We’d best tell the director about the food and that they should order more, we don’t want to take the risk that any of the shampoo will still be found,” said Kim and gave Ron a high five.

The police arrived at the right time and Shego and Drakken were taken to the nearest prison…with the barrel still over their heads and the director was informed of the incident and the animals that had already eaten the food with the shampoo were temporarily suspended from the shows…in return, the audience wanted an encore from the guest clowns.

"Maybe my future really does lead to the circus, huh?" - asked Ron as he bowed and his wig slipped off his head.

"We have a math test tomorrow and I don't think you'll be able to convince your parents of your plans to be a professional clown so quickly," - replied Kim, who also bowed and received a rose from the clown group - made from those colorful moldable balloons, of course.

"A thank you for your help," - said the circus director with a broad grin and Kim thanked him with a smile.

“Thank you… but I think I will remember this circus adventure for a long time,” grinned Possible, and when the last act of the evening was about to begin, it was time for Kim and Ron to catch their ride home.

They left the circus tent and would certainly not forget this undercover mission so quickly.

Not even because Kim and Ron would find out at home , how damn difficult and stubborn it was to wash off clown makeup.

Not to mention the headaches from the wig cap, which they had to wear for hours together with the colorful wigs.

And these would also be part of the memories.

Along with the balloon rose.

THE END

[resplendentoutfit]

Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619) (attributed to school of) • Elizabeth I (1533–1603) • Jesus College, University of Oxford

Deathly Pale

The beauty ideals for women in Elizabethan times was alabaster skin, ruby red lips, thin eyebrows, and a high forehead. Very little, if any, color was applied to the cheeks. Pale skin signified a woman of nobility, perpetually sheltered from the sun, with an abundance of servants to perform all the necessary functions of daily life. Tanned skin was for peasants laboring in the fields.

In the Elizabethan era, mercury was a common ingredient in makeup. At that time, it was used to clear the skin of spots and wrinkles, much like today's acne treatment is designed to do. However, the mercury was not treating acne; it was in fact removing the skin and corroding the flesh! If someone found that method didn't work, they might have mixed birch sap, elder leaves, and sulfur, applied it to their skin at night and removed it in the morning. Other forms of skin cleansers were made from urine, rain water, donkey's milk or red wine. If all this failed, bring on the leeches!

To achieve her signature, porcelain look, Elizabeth's favorite cosmetic was 'Venetian ceruse', a mixture of white lead and vinegar. The queen powdered her face and neck with the substance, transforming her skin into a porcelain canvas, slowly poisoning herself in the process.

To keep that tiny waist and show off one's best stomacher, women would swallow tapeworms that would digest most of the food they'd eaten.

Sources:

Elizabethan Costuming Page, stylecraze.com, The Flower Letters, fragrantx.com

[indizombie]

Solomon Onyango, who works for the Donkey Sanctuary and is based in Nairobi, says: "Between 2016 and 2019, we estimate that about half of Kenya's donkeys were slaughtered [to supply the skin trade]." These are the same animals that carry people, goods, water and food - the backbone of poor, rural communities. So the scale and rapid growth of the skin trade has alarmed campaigners and experts, and has moved many people in Kenya to take part in anti-skin trade demonstrations. Ejiao producers used to use skins from donkeys sourced in China. But, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs there, donkey numbers in the country plummeted from 11 million in 1990 to just under two million in 2021. At the same time, Ejiao went from being a niche luxury to become a popular, widely available product. Chinese companies sought their skin supplies overseas. Donkey slaughterhouses were established in parts of Africa, South America and Asia.

‘Millions of donkeys killed each year to make medicine’, BBC

[alaynasansa]

SnowStone Week 2023 : day three — Fairy Tale

[darkfalcon-z]

“I heard it from Brother Ying. Once upon a time a man died and went down to the infernal regions. The King of Hades put an ass’s skin upon his body and told him that in his next life he must be a donkey. But the record keeper looked in his books and found that the man still had thirty years to live. They sent him back to earth. His wife perceived that, except for his weapon, his body was as it had been before, but he had still the donkey’s weapon. ‘I will go back to Hell and change it,’ he said to his wife. ‘No, my dear,’ said the wife. ‘They might not let you come back again. I will put up with it somehow.’”

translation is a bit funky, by which I mean needlessly westernised (I'm actually reading different translation in different language and probably source from a different version of the book - I found the printed copies in the library)

should I or should I not add "non-human genitalia" to the list of kinks in the book (The Plum in the Golden Vase/Golden Lotus/Jin Ping Mei)

[words-after-midnight]

Find the Word (x3)

Thank you @ceph-the-ghost-writer for my third Find the Word tag in two days. :3

Tagging: @nanashi23, @klywrites, @pertinax--loculos, @daisywords, @late-to-the-fandom, @ls-daydreams and anyone else who wants to join in!

My words were: layer, orange, miracle, guest, rear

Your words: accept, apologize/apology, smell, touch, prize

Two snippets each from The Dotted Line and Life in Black and White for this one.

Layer

N/A

Orange

From The Dotted Line, XI – “Green Light”:

Before we know it the leaves change, drifting lifeless into the yard beneath our windows. Two days ago, I watched them curiously, thrown about mercilessly, as they were, by a ravenous gust of wind. I thought to myself how funny it is, the way the smallest things will amuse minds so deprived of any real source of life or entertainment; how ironic it is that we are the dead fall leaves of this place, only we exist not in reds, oranges and yellows, but rather in the black, white and grey monochrome of an extremely, painfully boring 1950s C-list movie. All day we walk, as though invisible, among hundreds of men whose former iterations, whose zest for life vacated the premises long ago and forgot to leave the porch lights on. Pathetic wastes of skin. Men greyed and hardened, either by age or by misfortunes each more dire than the next. Usually, when I look into their eyes, I see next to nothing. I’m thankful for it. It means I have to make next to no effort to blend in.

Miracle

From Life in Black and White, Act II (previous version):

I handed him his bowl, setting mine on the bed before heading over to the window. Pointing to my bowl, I said half-seriously, “You touch this and I’m flushing Shrek for real.”

He laughed. Took a long drag. “Whatever you say.”

He made it all the way to the part where Shrek is showing Donkey constellations at the makeshift campsite before falling asleep next to me, which was honestly a miracle considering he’d been on a combination of narcotic painkillers, beer, and three quarters of a joint for the past half-hour. He’d already been lying down again for a bit by this point (the popcorn didn’t last long, as you probably figured), but hadn’t bothered with the covers this time. I pulled them up a bit so that they were like he had them before. Even sleeping, he looked exhausted, which was probably a combination of pain, healing, and the drugs. I could still see the remnants of black eyes in the corners, near the bridge of his nose.

Guest

From The Dotted Line, XII – “Scarface”:

Do you know what I see when I look in the mirror?

Victory. Wrath. Beauty.

Certainly not an empty shell of aimless implosion, or a harbinger of gratuitous destruction. Certainly not a mere guest in my own skin. Never a shred of what I’d have you believe when it’s convenient. 

Rear

From Life in Black and White, Act II (previous version):

Heart beating quickly now, as though to catch up, I casually pull up to an empty spot in a string of meters up ahead, pull my hood up, slide a pair of sunglasses on, and stare into the rear-view mirror. The figure approaches, walking just as casually along the sidewalk, oblivious to anyone watching.

[nitrateglow]

Top Five movies from the 1940s, Top Five Movie Musicals, Top Five Christmas Movies, Top Five supporting/side characters!

Top 5 1940s movies:

Pinocchio, Disney's finest horror movie

La Belle et la Bete, my favorite version of the classic fairy tale

The Red Shoes, because its lush visuals and passionate characters inspire me

The Heiress, because I love how layered all the characters are

Cat People, because it's a stunning horror fairy tale

Top 5 movie musicals:

Donkey Skin, a surreal, colorful version of a fairy tale Disney will never ever adapt

Singin in the Rain, because who could seriously hate this movie?

The Wizard of Oz, because it's so iconic

Beauty and the Beast (the Disney version), because it's the best Disney Renaissance film

Funny Face, because Audrey Hepburn and 1950s fashions

Top 5 Christmas movies:

Scrooge (1951), because it's not only the best version of the Dickens' book, but I actually like it better than the source material due to what it adds

Christmas Vacation, because it's a movie from my childhood and probably the single movie I have rewatched the most due to how often my parents had it on at our house

Blast of Silence, because yes, I'm counting this nihilistic noir movie

It's a Wonderful Life, because this movie gets more relatable the older I get

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, because I love hippie outlaw Santa and his ragtag bunch of misfit friends

Top 5 supporting characters:

If we're just talking movies, here are some in no particular order off the top of my head:

Mrs. Dilber from Scrooge (1951)

Kyoami from Ran (1985)

Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio

Charles Bonnet from How to Steal a Million

Kurotawa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

[marysittingathisfeet]

Anointing Oil

Moses was instructed to anoint Aaron and his sons with a special sacred anointing oil. If this oil was used on anyone else but the priest, the person doing the anointing was to be driven from amongst the people.

"Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil." Exodus 30- 22-25

Why were these specific spices chosen?

Myrrh- In Jesus' day Myrrh was more valuable than gold. Besides being the main ingredient in the sacred anointing oil above. Myrrh is the resinous exudate from the Commiphora trees of Arabia and East Africa. It has been used for centuries in medicine, perfumery, and incense. 

it was a perfumes -"Before a young woman's turn came to go in to King Xerxes, she had to complete twelve months of beauty treatments prescribed for the women, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics. : Esther 2:12

It was used as a pain killer- Jesus was offered myrrh mixed with wine when he was on the cross.

"Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it."_ Mark 15:23

Myrrh symbolized death. It is bitter - myrrh means bitter- thus when Naomi cries out -call me Mara for I am bitter, this is her source of reference. She was letting her neighbors know she was dead. The myrrh given by the Wiseman to baby Jesus, foretold of Jesus death.

it was an embalming spice-Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus' body with myrrh.

"Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with the Jewish burial customs." John 19: 39, 40.

Like Myrrh Cinnamon comes from a tree. (Note: Jesus died on a tree in essence.)- Cinnamon comes from the bark of the trees in the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal. That is why it is spicy. Ever chew cinnamon gum? Cinnamon also helps an ageing brain. It also helps lower blood sugars.

In the bible Cinnamon is a perfume. (Proverbs 7:17- 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon). It is a precious spice (Solomon 4:14- nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.)

Calamus is a semi-evergreen, perennial, hairless herb that grows in damp swampy areas. It looks like an Iris. It has a sweet odor and is also known as the sweet cane.

"You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,  or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices." Isaiah 43:24

Here God is equating calamus with the fat of the sacrifices. The fat was considered the best part of the animal. Today we don't think so, but back then it was the most flavorful part (think bacon) and filling. The fat was given to warriors to sustain them in battle. It was strengthening. In an older blog I talked about the raisin and fig cakes that Abigail gave to David and his men. They mad out of raisins, sugar, and a fat like lard pressed together. They were a high energy bar.

"Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs[of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. " 1 Samuel 25;18

Cassia is a cinnamon-like spice. It is made from the inner bark of an evergreen tree. Cassia is most likely what you have in your cabinet labelled cinnamon. The name Cassia comes from the Greek word kasia, which means cinnamon. The Hebrew word for cassia was qadad which means to contract or to bend the body or neck in deference. n the Bible. God blesses us when we humble ourselves before him.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” 1 Peter 5:6

Lastly olive oil which as previously discussed represents the Holy Spirit. "But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil" Psalm 92:10. It is understood that the anointing comes from the Holy Spirit. In 1 Samuel 16 when Samuel anointed David the Holy Spirit came upon David. Likewise- "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power." Acts 10:38

So the oil that God instructed Moses to make purely for the priests symbolized God's healing, strengthening, and divine connection through His Holy Spirit.

[adarkrainbow]

Behind Peau d’Âne (1970) - C

# The music of the movie was created by Michel Legrand, who worked on several previous project of Demy (Lola, The Young Girls of Rochefort, the Umbrellas of Cherbourg). It was however the first time Legrand ever had to work on music for a fantasy film. He decided to mix different genres, the baroque, the jazz, the pop music, to give an “temporal in-between” to the music. He also used modern instruments and rythmic fugues to contrast with other French fantasy movies which rather used more medieval music (such as “Les visiteurs du soir” by Marcel Carné, The Devil’s Envoys).

# “Peau d’Âne” and the following movie, “Le Joueur de Flûte” will be Demy’s only two fairytale works. He had planned a modernized adaptation of Cinderella with roller skates with Francis Ford Coppola and the actress Nastassja Kinski in the titular role. But the project was never made.

# Disney actually noticed the success of Demy’s movie - to the point that in the 1990s and 2000s, Disney contacted several times Demy’s family about making an animated adaptation of his movie! (Because Demy died in 1990) Again, however, it was never made - notably because they ended up realizing that the themes of incest and bestiality of the story might not be well-met by the American audience. 

# The songs of the movie became so popular in French culture that you can still find them today. They are present in several movie: 2007, “Le quatrième morceau de la femme coupée en trois” (The fourth piece of the woman cut in three) ; 2014, “L’année prochaine” (Next year) by Vania Leturc..; The 2015 movie “Marguerite et Julien” by Valérie Donzelli also takes a lot of inspiration from the movie, being a story about incest filled with anachronisms and with a lyrical tone. In 2018 Peau d’Âne was even adapted as a musical at the Théâtre Marigny!

# Demy’s movie is actually based on the second version of the original tale, the prose Peau d’Âne by an anonymous writer ; it is not based on Perrault’s own Peau d’Âne written in verse (though he might have written the prose version too). Demy also decided to add in his movie other elements taken from Perrault’s tale to give a sense of a wider fairytale world. The scene of the Princess arriving at the farm with everyone frozen evokes the sleeping castle scene from Sleeping Beauty ; the old woman who hires the Princess spits toads like in “Diamonds and Toads”, and when she speaks to the Prince there are references to “Little Red Riding Hood”. When Donkey Skin is mocked by the villagers they call her “Cucendron”, the original insulting nickname from Cinderella, and the “Ball of Cats and Birds” has a guest of honor the Marquis de Carabas, from Puss in Boots.  Even beyond the fairytales of Perrault, Demy also slid nods and references to other fairytales: the deceased Blue Queen is in a glass casket, like Snow White ; the magic mirror of the Princess to watch her father is a nod to the mirror of “Beauty and the Beast”. 

# There is also a work on the seasonal cycles in the movie, which is both a nod to the fairytale genre and to the “pathetic fallacy”: the disease of the Blue Queen is revealed during a thunderstorm and corresponds to autumn. She dies in winter as her funeral takes place in the snow. It is in a young and fresh forest, spring, that the Prince and the Princess fall in love. 

# What truly makes Demy’s movie unique compared to other fairy tales adaptation is how he decided to fill his scenario with anachronisms, truly making the movie “atemporal”. Quite a bold move, that again seems to be part of Demy’s desire to fuse the “merveilleux” and the “réalisme” (fantastical and realistic). The Lilac Fairy is the main source of those anachronisms: she offers the Blue King books and poems “from the future”, written by modern French authors. The Blue King reads verses from Jean Cocteau in his “Ode à Picasso”, in which the Muses of Antiquity are described using modern tools such as zinc, phones or gas. He also reads “L’amour”, a poem by Guillaume Apollinaire. But the Princess is greatly confused by those poems she doesn’t understand, and in front of her father’s love declarations she thinks that it is this weird poetry that clouds his mind. The rest of the Lilac Fairy anachronisms comes from her mentions of “phone” and “batteries” (that highly confuse the Princess), and how her outfit clashes with the rest of the movie - as she wears high heels and a 1930s Hollywood hairdo. And finally, during the final wedding, the Blue King and the Lilac fairy arrive at the Red Castle in an helicopter. 

# Another element of the movie that might elude people is that, during the “fitting of the ring” scene, all the people whose name are announced are references to historical French figures, who either lived alongside Perrault’s time, or who were simply part of the century of rule of Louis XIV. The “Princess Pioche de la Vergne”: it was the baptism name of Madame de La Fayette. The “Princess de Monthion”, a nod to Jean-Baptiste de Montyon. The Duchess Girard de Saint-Amand, a nod to Marc-Antoine Girard de Saint Amant. The Duchess Antoinette du Ligier de la Garde - the baptism name of Antoinette Des Houlières. The Countess Le Métal de Boisrobert, a nod to François Le Métel de Boisrobert. The Countess of Escarbagnas : she was the main character of Molière’ “comedy-ballet”, “The Countess of Escarbagnas”. The Marquise Marie de Rabutin-Chantal: the baptism name of the Marquise de Sévigné. The Countess Le Bovier de Fontenelle: a nod to Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle. The Baroness Mary Wortley Montagu: a nod Mary Wortley Montagu. The Baroness Vauqelin de la Fresnaye: a reference to Jean Vauquelin de La Fresnaye. Earlier in the movie Godefroy, the friend of the Prince, talks about “La Ségur” and “La Clèves” : the first one is a nod to the Comtess de Ségur, and the other is a nod to “La Princesse de Clèves”, the most famous work of Madame de Lafayette.

# As I said previously, the “atemporality” of the movie is also present through the music of Michel Legrand, which mixes Renaissance music, jazz sounds and the Disney movies soundtracks. The costumes too mix fashions: the Princess and Blue Queen are dressed at the Louis XV fashion, the prince has a Henri II fashion, the valets are dressed in more generic Middle-Ages, and the peasants are taken out of the paintings of Le Nain. 

# While the Princess is clearly depicted as a “victim character”, and in her first scenes is surrounded by doves to highlight her innocence and purity, she is actually much active and stronger than it seems. She opposes her Fairy Godmother’s plans at first, and she is the one who makes “seducing” moves towards the prince by blinding him with her mirror or putting her ring in the cake. In a meta-reference, her fleeing of the castle is described as her being tired of waiting for a “prince charming” to save her, and in her own words - if he won’t come to her, she’ll find one on her own. In fact, it is only by escaping the castle that she gains a name, “Peau d’Âne”, as before she was entirely nameless. And finally, instead of the Prince waking up the princess with a kiss, here it is the Princess who appears to a Prince in his bed and takes him away through the power of love. 

# The Lilac Fairy was built in opposition to the traditional idea of a fairy godmother: instead of being the “moral power” and moral authority of the story, the Lilac Fairy is a scheming character who acts quite selfishly as she ultimates wants to be the one to marry the Blue King ; and it is implied that the entire story was one slow and cruel vengeance of the fairy towards the king, of which the death of donkey was the climax. On top of subverting morals, she also subverts time itself as the main source of anachronism, from wearing a Jean Harlow haircut to riding on an helicopter. A woman lost between the past and the future, or living outside of time, she unites the traditional fairy godmother and the mythical seer as the King descrbes her as knowing the secrets of the future. The vanity of the fairy is actually an element that Demy took back from the vaudeville adaptations of Donkey Skin  in 1860-70, in which the Fairy Godmother scolds the Princess for disturbing her before she could finish preparing herself, and says that the Princess shouldn’t cry out of fear it would ruin her beauty. 

# Unlike the more cynical and harsher king of the original tale, who is said to mourn his wife in a very fast way “as if he wanted to be done with it”, Demy’s King is a passionate lover sincerely devastated by the death of his spouse, and who at first refuses to see his daughter anymore because it hurts him to see anything reminding him of his wife. The King is also the only character who expresses a carnal form of desire and love (unlike the Prince-Princess who live a chaste love) - and at the end of the movie, the last glance the King gives his daughter can be interpreted as him not having fully erased his lust for her. 

# The Prince’s character is in a “quest for true love”, but it looks a lot like a childish whim. In fact, his character has been noted as very infantile - he has extravagant love-dreams of a girl he barely met in the woods, he pretends to be sick to stay in bed daydreaming, he plays on his parents’ kindness and worry to obtain what he wants, and his capricious nature is also shown when he demands a cake done SPECIFICALLY by Donkey Skin, and later asks for the ring to be tried on by all the girls of the kingdom, despite him already knowing that it belongs to Donkey Skin. But in a true paradox, the “trial of the ring”, which seems like an extravagant caprice and profondly annoys/bores his parents, is also the only way the Prince can officially declare and recognize his love for Donkey Skin, and avoid all accusations of him trying to marry a girl “on a whim”.  Similarly, the “love dreams” of the Prince and the Princess have a very childish nature: far away from any kind of parental authority, free from all the responsibilities due to their rank, all they want is to do childish games and partake on puerile entertainments, rolling in the grass or eating lots of pastries. In fact, in the original draft of the love song between the Prince and the Princess there were lines that Demy later cut, because he thought they were too suggestive and would give an erotic reading to the song: “Nous feront ce qui est interdit / Jusqu’à la fatigue, jusqu’à l’ennui”. “We will do what is forbidden / Until we are tired, until we are bored.”