#we are not amazon and frankly amazon should not be amazon

[mayra-quijotescx]

Calling to complain about the length of time it takes to hear back when it's the first full week of January and it hasn't yet been 4 business days since you emailed about an order is fucking deranged. Calm down.

[genericpuff]

holy crap okay so

I'm two episodes into Kaos

normally I keep my expectations pretty minimal because, let's be real, the Internet - and especially Tumblr - has a tendency to severely overhype new series to be way better than they actually are and it often leaves me sitting there like "that's it? that's what people were freaking out over for weeks?? that was just a bunch of cheap ships and tropes that i've seen 123785902380 times before" LMAO

BUT thankfully compared to other series like Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus, I haven't been worn out on excessive fandom exposure prior to watching Kaos, so I didn't really know what to expect going in besides what folks have told me so far - it's a modern-day Greek epic, and it stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus (which is, unsurprisingly, peak casting).

That said, I'm very pleased to say that so far, the show is absolutely blowing me away. The set designs, characterizations, weaving of all the players into a central narrative led by a very coy narrator, all of it feels both refreshing and respectful to the source material at the same time.

so uh yeah that LO animated TV show... we have reason to believe now that it's gotten picked up by Amazon Prime, at least according to the showrunner's LinkedIn and posting history from February of this year that seems to imply LO may have been picked up by Amazon-

(but still, nothing's really been confirmed because they're being so tight-lipped about this you'd almost think it's because there isn't a show happening at all cough)

But even then, that means at best we still won't see anything of the LO TV show adaption for another 2-3 years, depending on how production goes.

Why am I talking about LO right now? Well it should be obvious - Kaos double-whammied LO by beating it to the punch at its own game.

I mean, just look at the creative choices alone in the design of the Underworld and its rulers, our beloved Hades and Persephone.

And yes, the entire Underworld is color-graded like this, something so simple and yet effective in communicating the nature of the Underworld and what it stands for - a place where the past lives on through the dead, paused in time, devoid of the vibrant color grading found in Olympus - or "Olympia" as its been named in this retelling - which is, by the way, a visual treat to take in every time it's featured.

(and yes, that is S-tier-companion Billie Piper on the left, but I will not tell you who she's playing, you actually really should go into this show as blind as possible for the thrill of figuring out these characters as they're introduced <3)

That's not even getting into the narrative structure of the plot itself or the phenomenal casting and acting, but again, I don't want to spoil too much as the show is quite new, and I want to actually finish watching the show myself before I get more into the details of its story and how it delivers it (I'm very much hoping I will still be singing this show's praises at the end of its 8 episodes, please for the love of god don't jump the shark, I don't think my heart can take that kind of pain again.)

All that's to say though, Kaos is, so far, exactly what us disappointed fans of LO deserve after all these years, and frankly, I feel like whatever is coming for the LO animated TV show is really gonna have to step up to the plate to both live up to the bar that Kaos has set as well as stand on its own without being affiliated as a cheap Amazon knockoff living in its shadow. Sounds a little familiar and a bit ironic, doesn't it?

[spacequokka]

Day 24 | Mistletoe

Pairing: Jisung x Reader Genre: f2l, fluff Rating: PG-13 Summary: Felix lays a trap for you two with a mistletoe. Word Count: 1.8k Warnings: Language, alcohol mentioned

Sometimes you have to be an emotional support human for your resident quokka. The same one sitting in your passenger seat biting his nails as he no doubt counted the cars surrounding Felix’s apartment building.

“Want some water?” You tapped his shoulder with a water bottle. “Bet it tastes better than your fingers.”

For the first time since you pulled up, he looked at you. “Doesn’t it seem like a whole lot more than ‘just a few?’” He turned back to the window. “What if it’s, like, standing room only? I haven’t been to a packed house party since uni and—”

You turned his face towards you and pinched his pretty lips shut. “It’s entirely possible Lixie’s neighbors threw a party too. And it’s a big building.” You let him go and turned the car off. “But if for some reason it’s packed in there, we can either hang out in his bedroom or I can take you home and we can watch a movie or something.” You patted his hand. “No worries, okay? He’ll understand.”

He grimaced. “But then you’ll miss the party!” He glanced at your outfit, a rendition of Santa’s little helper. “You were so proud of it.”

“Yeah, but it's just a Christmas costume.” You shrugged. “I mean, I got to wear it and it’ll be seen regardless. It’s not like I’m in a fashion show.” You shook you head. “Besides that, I won’t ditch you. You’re stuck with me tonight. Unless you finally get laid. Then you’re on your own, bud.”

That did the trick. Jisung’s head fell back against the headrest as he cackled, swiping at you playfully. “You’d abandon me when I needed you most?”

You made a face. “I do not need to guide you through dicking someone down. I know you have a general idea of what to do.” You opened your car door. “I saw that Amazon order of hentai.”

He choked on his spit and scrambled to get out. “You said you didn’t see what was inside!” He pointed. “You lied?”

“I see you’re not denying what it was.” It took everything in you not to cackle as his ears and cheeks flushed red. Together you made your way up two flights of stairs to Felix's door. As you entered the apartment, the sound of laughter and music filled the air, confirming Jisung's fears that it was indeed a packed house. Whoops. His hand wrapped around yours with a tight grip as he looked around for a familiar face. Just as you were about to say something, a loud voice called out your name.

"You made it!" Felix scurried over and pulled you both into a hug. "I was beginning to think you'd cancel on me."

"Oh, please." You pinched his side. "I said I was coming and I keep my word. However," you gave a pointed look around the room, "we didn't expect it to be this crowded."

At least he had the grace to duck his head. "My bad. I sent the invite to Changbin and he invited everyone he could think of. But!" He brightened up again. "Me and Jin made sure to reserve a room for you to chill in. There's a cooler with drinks, wings and pizza, and the PS5 is all set up with charged controllers."

Jisung pulled Felix into another hug, peppering his cheek with kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Felix groaned, feigning disgust as he pulled away until something above your heads caught his attention. "Oh, well I guess it's okay since we're standing under the mistletoe." His expression turned devious as he looked at you. "You should get a kiss, too."

Jisung froze, stock still and unblinking. "Huh?"

You looked up. Yup, that was a mistletoe, alright. You had no doubt Felix was the one to put it there as Hyunjin wouldn't want people crowding the doorway. You looked at Felix, unamused. "You are so fucking corny."

"That is your personal opinion and quite frankly it's shit." He turned back to Jisung. "Come on, kiss her." He nudged Jisung closer. It wasn't until then that you caught the fear in his wide, brown eyes. He hadn't said a word and he had a death grip on your hand. But you couldn't figure out why. He'd just kissed Felix with no problem. Was it because of you? You knew your friendship wasn't on the same level as his with Felix or Hyunjin, but you thought it was at least somewhere near a playful kiss under a mistletoe.

Jisung shifted and avoided your gaze. You weren't going to make him kiss you if he didn't want to. You turned to tell Felix as much but the brat began chanting "kiss" triggering the party-goers to follow suit. “Lixie, you ass.”

It was too late. The chant grew louder and you noticed Jisung’s palm started to sweat. You knew the easiest way out would be leaving the party, but you didn’t want to do that. Part of you was a little jealous that Jisung would hesitate to kiss you. He’d kissed girls before, even fucked them. Before really thinking it through, you grabbed him by the chin and planted a three second kiss on his plush lips. The crowd erupted into cheers and went back to their conversations. Felix, the little bridge troll that he is, skillfully dodged your kick to his ass as he led you two to his room.

“You can be an asshole sometimes.” You mumbled once you were away from other ears.

Felix shrugged, eyes darting over to Jisung before a grin spread across his lips. “Just sometimes, huh?” He winked at Jisung prompting you to turn to him too. Jisung’s cheeks were flushed again and he pressed his fingertips to his lips. You’d watched enough anime with him to know that look and it confused you. Just a few minutes ago you were thinking he’d hate you for kissing him and now he—“Well, I’m gonna go check on the others. Don’t want anyone shitting in the dishwasher.”

And he was gone.

“Who the hell does that?” You asked yourself as you shrugged off your jacket and tossed it into a chair in the corner. You brushed off your skirt before kneeling on the floor and going through the cooler. “What do you want to drink, Sungie? He put both alcoholic and non-alcoholic in here.”

Silence. You bit your lip. If he wasn’t going to say anything about it, neither would you. It happened. Let it go.

“Fine. Here, take a Lime-a-Rita.” You held up the large can.

“Ew. You know I hate those.” He inched closer to look for himself. “Just gimme a Sprite.”

You mocked him under your breath and passed him a can. “So what are we playing first?” And just like that, things went back to normal. You went from game to game, plowing through the food and drinks. Nearly three hours later, he called for a break so you could use the bathroom and when you got back, you heard Felix’s voice through the door.

“Just ask her. She’s not gonna say no.”

“I don’t think she wanted to do it the first time. You put us on the spot.”

“Yeah because you were supposed to make your move.” Felix sighed. “How can things change if you don’t let her know how you feel? As much as you like to pretend, she actually can’t read your mind.”

There was a sigh and the door opened. Felix jumped back. “Oh! Can you not?” He put a hand over his chest. “Between the two of you, I’m gonna fucking die.”

You pushed him out the way. “It isn’t like you don’t deserve it.”

Felix snorted. “Oh, like I haven’t heard that before.” He disappeared down the hall.

You sat next to Jisung on the bed and took a chip from his bag. He licked his lips and swallowed. “So, how much did—”

“What is it you’re supposed to ask me?” You looked at him. “Is it about the kiss?”

His eyes widened for a second and he nodded, eyebrows scrunched together. “Did…did you want to kiss me or did you just do it to get it over with?”

You tilted your head and took another chip. “Both. I could tell you were uncomfortable. I’m sorry for kissing you without asking permission first, though. Thought it was weird you were okay with kissing Lixie but not me.”

He startled like you’d physically shocked him. “No it was different! I always kiss people on the cheek.” He touched his cheeks. “But usually mistletoe kisses are on the lips. And I’ve never—we’ve never, not like that.”

You sipped your soda. “So that’s why you froze up? Because it was something new?” You nodded. That made sense. If he wasn’t sure how you’d react and he’d never done it before, of course he’d overanalyze the situation. “I thought you just didn’t want to kiss me. I considered just leaving the party for a minute.”

He shook his head. “I’d never mind kissing you.” He lowered his voice and touched his lips again. “It was…nice.” His eyes darted over to you. “I—I keep thinking about it. It was kinda short.”

You nearly choked mid-sip. “What do you mean ‘short?’ I thought three seconds were long enough for a peck.”

“Everything happened so fast. Once second you were arguing with Lix then your lips were on mine then you were gone. I just, I really didn’t get to experience it since I was in my head.” He put the bag of chips to the side. “I want to remember the first time I kissed you like that, y’know?”

His words made your chest tingle as butterflies took flight. “I mean, I kissed you but I get what you’re saying.”

His gaze didn’t leave your face as you both sat there in silence. His hand found yours and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah, so…what I wanted to ask was if you’d let me try again? Lemme give you something to remember.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Unless you weren’t into it before, then we totally don’t have to—”

“Ugh, Ji. Come on!”

He startled but thankfully leaned close and brought his lips to yours. His hands rested on your shoulders, holding you in place as if he believed you’d pull away too soon. The kiss was slow and gentle, allowing you to savor every moment of it. Your heart raced as Jisung's lips met yours again and again, a soft and tender connection that sent sparks of warmth through your body. When he finally pulled away, both of you were breathless and wearing matching smiles.

“Better?”

His eyes lit up as he rubbed the tip of his nose against yours. “Impossible to forget. Merry Christmas.”

[hoshiko2000]

So with production for Good Omens Season 3 officially halted, it does look like cancellation may be on the horizon. Because yeah, I really don't think Amazon would 'pause' production on a show this lucrative if there wasn't serious discussions currently going on about 'if' and 'how' it should continue. A production shuffle-up - ie. Neil Gaiman getting booted and new staff being put in charge - is certainly a possibility. But it is important to remember that this will still be a show that is written by him and very intrinsically linked to his brand. And whether fans or studios will still have an appetite for it considering this fact is something that has to be seriously considered.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that as disappointing as it would be, cancelling Good Omens season 3 may be the hard but right decision. And, frankly, if season 2 is anything to go by, we may not be missing out on too much to be honest.

But on a serious note, I do want to use this news as an opportunity to share my own thoughts on the situation, which I will do under the cut (and as is probably obvious, there are trigger warnings for references to SA).

Despite Neil Gaiman's works being a massive part of my content here on this tumblr - and yes, that is something I am very aware of- I've not posted about the sexual assault allegations up until now for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I'm a working adult in my 30s; tumblr is very much a place I come to chill, I'm far too old (and frankly, tired) to get involved in discourse or heated fandom debates (not that those are the correct terms to use to refer to rape allegations but you catch my drift). But the other reason is that these revelations have honestly devasted me, in a way that I'm still processing and doesn't feel like an exaggeration to describe as grief, a feeling I'm sure is echoed by many other people.

Neil Gaiman's works have been a massive part of my adult life, and while I know it sounds like a cliche, they have gotten me through some incredibly difficult times. Coming to terms with the fact that such beautiful, thoughtful, empathetic novels and series have been written by a rapist has been incredibly difficult.

What has also been incredibly difficult to come to terms with is the fact that the incredible queer representation that has drawn so many of us to his television works in recent years was, in hindsight, indisputably a grooming tactic. And yes, grooming is the right word.

The grooming of communities is not something that is often discussed but is absolutely a thing. Predators groom victims to gain access to them, and they groom the people around both the victim and themselves to make it seem unbelievable when the victim later comes forward. And this can happen parasocially too. In the case of Neil Gaiman, he groomed his fanbase by constructing a calculated image as vocal a LGBT ally, drawing in queer fans and creating a smokescreen of apparent empathy and kindness to cast doubt on the future allegations he likely knew would inevitably catch up with him.

I really want to stress - particularly for younger fans - that no one is stupid or somehow culpable for having been fooled by Gaiman, for having supported his works previously, and for continuing to support his works now. I myself have no intention to leave the fandoms I am already a part of, and I genuinely do not believe anyone is under any sort of pressure or obligation to do so. The separation of the art from the artist is a very tricky subject and not something that can ever be done entirely. And if I'm honest I'm not really sure how to navigate this myself, or what this is going to mean for me in the future.

But to get back to the subject of my blog, yes I am planning to continue reposting content related to Good Omens and Dead Boy Detectives. However the latter differs drastically in that the series was not actually written by Neil Gaiman and is effectively an author-approved spin-off of one of his works. Good Omens on the other hand I have more complicated feelings towards, and at this point I am not sure how I feel about future series being made, with or without Gaiman's involvement.

I'm sorry if this post is a rambling mess, it has taken me a lot of time to build up to being able to share my thoughts, and while there is a lot more I could say I will stop here. But on a closing note, let's just be kind to each other. This situation is awful, lets not make it any worse. Give space for the victims, give space for the fans, and give space to people to continue to enjoy fandom spaces without making assumptions about where they stand on these allegations. It is a hard time, but things will get better, and these fandom spaces will continue to be a positive place for people to exist online. Lets keep it that way.

[fantastic-nonsense]

Thanks for the reply. I sort of understand some of the defenses for the classic suit but I think there's the elephant in the room of her wearing a costume that might as well have "US military propaganda" painted on it. And given the criticisms her run by Tom King has gotten, I'm not sure if a return to the classic suit will do her image any good.

I don't think Wonder Woman's costume (regardless of iteration) is inherently "US military propaganda" any more than Superman's is. They both have the same color scheme: red, gold, and blue. She—like Superman, like Captain America, like any other character whose Golden Age era looks and gimmicks were in part conceptualized as acts of US wartime propaganda—has grown to encompass many themes and purposes beyond that original purpose. I think there are aspects of the costume's design that have historically been and generally continue to be explained through a very American lens, but they don't inherently have to be that way.

While Diana's classic costumes have been explained in a variety of ways—including her creating her Wonder Woman suit out of an American flag in the Golden Age and as an Amazonian way of honoring Steve Trevor's mother (Diana Rockwell Trevor) in the post-Crisis universe—there have been plenty of other explanations for certain aspects of her look that aren't related to the American flag. For example, her stars (like Donna's suit, like Cassie's earrings, like Yara's tiara) have also canonically been explained as a symbol of the Amazons' connections to divinity and the overarching presence of Greek mythology in her lore.

I also don't think we should be prioritizing superhero looks based on who's writing them and potentially unfortunate messages that any given writer could send by writing a character who "looks like that." Diana existed 80 years before Tom King and she will last 80 years after him; her look should not be dependent on peoples' issues with a single writer who will likely be gone from the book within the next two years. Besides, any writer can screw up what a character stands for regardless of what costume they're wearing; just ask people who've read John Byrne's Superman and Wonder Woman runs.

Also frankly, her costume isn't going to have any real bearing on whether or not Tom King's run on the title comes off as American propaganda. He does a great job of that all on his own, and the costume isn't going to make any real difference on the scale there.

[chalkbrood]

OK but am the ONLY one who's not mad about the good omens spoiler thing?

Like, as in I think it was the correct and non-queer-baiting thing to do to just make it known. Queer baiting would be what they did in the first season, which is to make me sit and watch them churn through the entire show and then bitch out at the end.

Having a gay relationship in your show is not a "twist" that can be "leaked" or "spoiled", and the fact that Neil Gaiman thinks that it is is very telling. I think it's lovely and frankly it's the only thing that could have convinced me to watch this miserable cash-grab of a sequel.

Some of you are saying "oh I know it's bad but I'm glad I know". Why is it bad? Why should I be mad that I don't have to go into this steeled against the prospect of them backing out a second time? Are we just pretending we weren't going to burn the whole thing to the ground if they didn't kiss? Far be it from me to defend Amazon but I think they got it right on this one.

Roast me in the comments I guess. 🤘

[theartthatleavesthemark]

k so first of all i really loved s2. it felt like s1 but if only neil wrote it instead of neil and terry which...is pretty much what happened. can’t expect any better than that (and i think the spirit of terry posessed neil for some of those jokes which was lovely). regarding crowley and aziraphale...this is what i have been SAYING for a long time honestly queer romances absolutely SHOULD be angsty and slow burn and queer characters SHOULD be dumbasses. and i was genuinely concerned in our world of queer tokenism that the era of well written queer romance was going to be stuck in the land of queerbait from the 2010s. frankly? did i think neil was going to actually do it? no. but he did and it was so well written because he treated it like an actual relationship between two people instead of a token look at us we r so progressive uncomplicated gay romance that has frankly been inundating queer media recently and which is very much not my cup of tea. the thing i think you can always say about neil is that he genuinely believes that relationships should be treated like relationships in writing no matter what the type and that assigning labels (while certainly important in many situations) can cloud what is important in a story by reducing the relationship to it’s apparent definition. he didn’t do that here and it was so great and i am really really impressed and happy. go stream s2! lets convince amazon to pay everyone more to make s3!

[aeoki]

Candy House - Electric Utopia: Chapter 3

Characters: Sora, Natsume & Tsumugi Season: Spring

TL Note:

In ancient Greek stories, Gorgon refers to a vicious female monster; any one of three sisters with snakes on their heads instead of hair, who can turn anyone that looks at them into stone. 

The Amazons were a group of female warriors and hunters who were known for their physical agility, strength, archery, riding skills, and the arts of combat in Greek mythology.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ< Ten or so minutes later. Inside the ES building – NewDi office. >

Tsumugi: Welcome, Natsume-kun, Sora-kun.

I’m happy to see you’ve come all the way here, but I have some bad news for you two.

Natsume: I did have a feeling it wasn’t something goOD… Shouldn’t you be bringing up the bad news in a more subdued mannER? You make it sound like it’s just gossIP.

All with that smile on your faCE… You’re always like this, SenpAI.

Tsumugi: Well, all I can do in this situation is laugh, really.

I’ll cut to the chase: NewDi is going to be done for.

Sora: Wha? The agency was just established, though!

Tsumugi: Yes, you’re right, but...

Frankly, the agency’s management is in a rather miserable state and we’ll only end up in the red if we continue like this.

At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before NewDi is officially done for.

Sora: Even Sora knew that was coming, but… is it really that bad?

Tsumugi: It is… I did try my best to keep things afloat, but it wasn’t enough.

It’ll be like a post-war clean up, trying to put an end to things while leaving as little damage as possible.

Sora: It sounds like when a game app ends its service~...

Natsume: Not even god or Buddha exists, hUH. Oh, they’re so heartleSS.

Tsumugi: No, no. Actually, a ray of light shone on us this morning.

A miracle happened.

Natsume: Could you not say that in a tone that sounds like you’ve opened a cafe or somethiNG?

Sora: HaHa~♪ Senpai always speaks with the same “colour” no matter what the topic is, so it’s hard to tell whether it’s something good or bad~

Tsumugi: I can’t quite say whether it’s good or bad at this point. It really sounds like some sort of joke.

We received a partnership proposal from a major company this morning.

All of the agency’s problems won’t be solved if we agree to the partnership, but well, at the very least, we should be able to continue our operations normally.

The major company promised us a large amount of funding.

We can use it to pay off the loan we took out to establish the agency as well as for our business funds.

It would make it much easier to manage our funds. If we continue with the partnership, then maybe we can gain even more profits, relieving us of our financial issues.

That’s how the major company spoke. It sounded as if they wanted to help us with our problems.

Natsume: That sounds highly suspicioUS… It might make sense if it was an eccentric individual, but there’s no way a respectable commercial business company would be so charitabLE.

Maybe that company is dealing with some shady things or maybe they’re just scammeRS.

The people who come to help weakened people or organisations aren't messiahs overflowing with good intentions, but swindlers or evil spiriTS.

Tsumugi: Right. I was also suspicious of them… Although it’s not to the same degree as my mother, I also tend to be easily deceived by those sorts of swindlers.

Natsume-kun is clever while Sora-kun has the ability to see the truth no matter what the circumstances are, so I’d like you two to find what’s going on behind this “very convenient offer”.

Sora: So that’s why you called us here? But Sora isn’t very good at handling situations where money is involved~

Tsumugi: Sora-kun, you’re very good at making money in games, aren’t you? I noticed you were earning as much as the national budget in that game where you travel the world on a railroad.

Natsume: Ohh, that’s the game we played during the New Year parTY.

Senpai fell for Sora’s fake tears and said something like “I feel bad for Sora-kun, so I shall become the god of poverty!” before falling to ruIN.

Tsumugi: I–It wasn’t my fault I was tricked! I didn’t think he would go that far for a game! I thought Sora-kun was actually sad…!

Sora: HiHi~♪ It’s your fault for getting tricked! Games aren’t just something you play for fun, you know?

Tsumugi: Aren’t games supposed to be played for fun…?

Natsume: It all depends on how you see iT. In any case, I can’t say anything until I hear the full details of this partnershIP.

Make sure you explain everything from beginning to eND. Knowing you, I bet you’ve already made the unnecessary documents or something, rigHT?

Tsumugi: Ah, yes. I’ll send them to you on “Hallhands”. And sent ♪

Natsume: You’ve gotten used to the app ES forced us to uSE.

Tsumugi: It is convenient. It has all the features an ES idol would need and it’s also free – which is the best thing.

They do say nothing is better than something that’s free, but we need to cut down on as many things as we can right now.

Natsume: I suppoSE. Ugh, idols should be talking about hopes and dreams, but we’ve just been talking about money this whole tiME.

Sora: HuHu~ Master~ don’t you like those sorts of topics?

Natsume: My master says this occasionally, but despite gods being dead and magicians and witches having perished, the concept of money is a type of magic that has still continued to exist to this dAY.

Since we call ourselves modern-day magicians, that’s something we can’t ignoRE.

Tsumugi: I don’t particularly care about that, but have you two downloaded the documents~?

Natsume: Don’t rush mE – I’m reading it right nOW.

Sora: HeHe~ The “colour” of digital info doesn’t change that much, so it’s easy to understand~♪

Natsume: HmM… The major company that offered us the partnership is called “Gorgon CorporatiON”...

Tsumugi: I had difficulty reading it, but is it pronounced “goal-gone”? It sounds like the name of a hitman or some kind of pasta.

Sora: Gorgon[1] is the name of a person that appears in Greek mythology, right?

Natsume: They’re treated more like a monster rather than a persON. Like a witch of sorTS?

Tsumugi: Oh, I’ve heard of that before! Medusa, right? The one that turns you into stone if you look at her!

Sora: Yes ♪ She pops up a lot in video games~

Tsumugi: I see that name in novels too. Her hair is made up of snakes – it sounds rather terrifying.

Natsume: It’s your evolved version, Moppy Four-EyES.

Tsumugi: Hm? I had them confused for the same thing, but aren’t they the same person? Do different countries have different names for them or something?

Natsume: Simply put, I think “Gorgon” is the name of her species while “Medusa” is her own naME.

Sora: It’s like how you’re “human” while your name is “Tsumugi Aoba”, Senpai~♪

Tsumugi: That’s easy to understand! I see~ I thought Medusa was a human with snakes for hair, but she was actually not human, huh.

Natsume: That part is pretty ambiguous, thouGH. It’s a myth from ancient timES. She’s treated like someone who wasn’t human, like the AmazoNS[2].

Sora: That was back when laws and ethics weren’t a concept~

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[luciferfemme]

unrelated to most things but it's so disheartening how often I see things on like Pinterest and the like that are like 50 lazy book ideas to make you big money on Amazon. 103 ways you can do almost nothing to make money selling journals and coloring books. And like-- it's not that I think people should have to WORK for anything frankly we should all just be paid to exist but there's something disheartening about everyone all so desperate to make a quick buck that everyone scrambles to find the easiest way thus flooding the market with bland crap in the hopes of just being able to pay the bills. And it's like-- idk that's just so disheartening that that's the world we live in. And with AI that's only getting worse. I see so many videos on Youtube too that's like how to use AI to make a business so you can make 100k in 3 months and it's like-- as with so many other things in the end you're selling the fantasy (because that's more lucrative than trying to do shit yourself let's be real) and people are SO desperate to not have to suffer another 9 to 5 that they're like I'll try anything. And I have to imagine the vast majority will give up and quit within a few months because at best they might make a few hundred dollars if they're lucky but most probably won't. And it's just like--what if we didn't make the labor market so god awful? There are plenty of people that are happy to work but jesus christ it's so unbearable.

My mother is a gen Xer who was raised to work her ass off. She's worked two jobs since I was a small child and has always loved working-- it's gotten to the point where even she's burnt out from the way she's treated at her work. When even your most loyal workers who will put up with a lot of bullshit they shouldn't can see the writing on the wall and are fed up you know it's time to make a change. I just can't help but feel like something's gotta give. This isn't tenable. And I'm not even talking about a whole total revolution eat the rich whatever --just like in a PRACTICAL sense something has to change.

[pollywiltse]

John André, cut by himself while totally wasted. (Or I guess maybe cut by someone else who was even more of an amateur than he was?) There are other silhouettes of him floating around where he has more upper lip and less double chin - this one, from the Library Company of Philadelphia, for example, or the one on p 172 of the Ronald bio (which he credits to the New York Public Library). (Note that the labels on all those portraits must have been written after the fact because he was Captain André in 1778.)

Oh hey, Winterthur has a ton of silhouettes attributed to him (which frankly look pretty amateur - the LCP and Ronald silhouettes don't so much). (I mean, to people who actually know from silhouettes, I'm sure those also look totally amateur, but at least they're passable. In general his artwork is very clearly that of a talented amateur so there's some stuff where you're like, "that's really surprisingly good, actually" and then other stuff that's "....oof".

We don't talk about his poetry. 18th century poetry makes me start bleeding from various orifices so I am unqualified to talk about his poetry. (Ok, with the short poems my eyes just get a little bloodshot, but I don't go near "The Cow-Chase" because it would look like a murder scene.)

Also he seems to have had general satirical tendencies, not limited to making fun of the Americans. The Hatch bio has a page where he was sketching other British officers and it's all snub noses and stockings sagging around skinny calves - not really a catalog of male beauty here. (Somewhere, John André: "Look, not to be a prick, but if I wanted male beauty, I'd just get a mirror." Fair enough, Major. Fair enough.) There's also the sketch of what Flexner - who refers to it as Hogarthian, though I think Hogarth's satire tended toward morals and André was probably just amused - says is either a church or a court and Hatch says is a church (and which is in the Hatch bio) and the Quebec tavern scene, which I don't like. I think it's badly composed, though that might be because it's in pencil and I can never see what's going on in his pencil drawings because of the way everything has faded.)

Amusingly, it looks like Sue McKechnie may have included him in British Silhouette Artists and Their Work which is I think supposed to be the bible for silhouette artists. (And is nearly $200 on Amazon, but I should check Biblio because The Accomplished Lady was nearly $100 on Amazon but less than half that on Biblio, even including the exorbitant costs of shipping from the UK to the US and even including that I had to do expedited shipping because standard said it would take 21 to 84 days to arrive, presumably because they were taking the book on a leisurely walking tour of the Lake District before they sent it to the US and after all that it wasn't even that much cheaper than expedited.) Also sort of full circle because the reason I even know about the McKechnie book is because I was so taken by the silhouette in the Ronald bio and got interested in silhouettes in general.

[denimbex1986]

'What kind of world would we be living in had Andrew Scott not been cast as Fleabag’s “Hot Priest”? I don’t think any of us can imagine it, and yet, that world genuinely almost existed.

As revealed by Radio Times, “there were calls to remove Scott just days before filming” of Fleabag season 2 was meant to start. Former BBC Director of Comedy Shane Allen, who originally commissioned the series, told Radio Times that, when Amazon co-financed the second season of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s groundbreaking traumatic sitcom, the company’s executives just couldn’t keep their terrible opinions to themselves.

According to Allen, a whole host of Amazon’s American execs showed up at season 2’s readthrough, demanding that Andrew Scott be recast with just four days left to go before filming was due to commence. Apparently, that wasn’t enough, as Allen also mentioned that the suits “[tore] the show apart” in its entirety, too. Interestingly, Allen made a point of mentioning that all the execs were male, making their criticism of Waller-Bridge’s creative choices—including Scott’s casting—all the more egregious given the show was an intimate and personal exploration of a young woman’s grief and relentless self-destructive tendencies.

How could these U.S. execs possibly know what was right for this story? Why couldn’t they just trust the process? There must have been a reason for Amazon to invest in the show in the first place. They must have seen the potential. Executives are not creatives for a reason.

Clearly, not casting Andrew Scott would have been a colossal mistake, and Shane credits Waller-Bridge with standing up for her show and Scott’s casting. “Anyone less effervescently charming and smart than Phoebe would have buckled,” he told the magazine.

Why mess with perfection?

Let’s be honest, Waller-Bridge and the casting directors absolutely knew what they were doing. To this day, Scott’s portrayal of the unnamed Hot Priest remains a firm fan favorite, so much so that Scott himself jokingly pointed out earlier this year during a red carpet interview with Entertainment Weekly that fans still watching and “crying” over Fleabag should go outside and “get some fresh air.” There’s no denying the impact his portrayal had on the series, though. His chemistry with Waller-Bridge and his innate charm and charisma made Fleabag’s Hot Priest hotter than he had any right to be.

Who could the Americans have possibly wanted to replace him with? (I shudder to think). This strange insistence that someone else needed to portray Scott’s character feels like a perfect example of the differences between American and British television, too. As Allen mentioned, when the BBC first commissioned Fleabag, it was funded in such a way that the show was given a lot of creative freedom. As soon as the Americans got involved financially, they tried to strip that creative freedom away and impose their frankly unwarranted opinions on a show that was fundamentally British in nature and execution. Different countries and cultures approach storytelling differently! And that’s okay!

With how in-demand Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been since Fleabag’s roaring success, it’s hard to imagine this ever happening to one of her projects again. Thankfully, she stood up for her story, and the TV landscape was all the better for it.'

[unravelingthepages]

If We Were Villians- a review (read: an explanation for my adoration for this book)

If We Were Villians by M. L Rio is a dark academia book that I will probably always remember fondly. I loved the writing, the characters, and their respective personalities so so much. I definitely found it a 5 star read. Read below to find out more about why I would recommend it to you too :))

(I do have a word of warning- please do not try to compare it to The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I went in with this impression that it's similar and though it has surface level similarities, it is very different. While that impression did not affect my love for this book, it did give me expectations that were not fair to this book and the author's writing. Yes, both are within the realm of dark academia but If We Were Villians is much faster paced and should not be compared to The Secret History which for me atleast was a book to slowly digest and not binge read like I did the former. That being said, I loved and highly recommend reading both!! You can read my review of The Secret History by Donna Tartt here in case you're interested- https://unravelingthepages.wordpress.com/2023/02/18/the-secret-history-reasons-i-loved-it/)

Book blurb

Oliver Marks has just served ten years in jail - for a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he's released, he's greeted by the man who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened a decade ago.

As one of seven young actors studying Shakespeare at an elite arts college, Oliver and his friends play the same roles onstage and off: hero, villain, tyrant, temptress, ingenue, extra. But when the casting changes, and the secondary characters usurp the stars, the plays spill dangerously over into life, and one of them is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.

Why you should read it

-I think I had a rather limited understanding of how Shakespeare's plays were meant to be acted until now. But after this book- the way Shakespeare is almost an active character in this book… chef's kiss

“Do you blame Shakespeare for any of it?” The question is so unlikely, so nonsensical coming from such a sensible man, that I can’t suppress a smile. “I blame him for all of it.”

The characters were frankly amazing. I loved how each character was, their personalities were so dynamic and just so real. A large part of it was how Oliver (the narrator and protagonist) describes them and how we get to see them through his lenses.

��For us, everything was a performance.” A small, private smile catches me off guard and I glance down, hoping he won’t see it. “Everything poetic.”

“When did we become such terrible people?” “Maybe we’ve always been terrible.”

The conversations between the characters. They were full of dry humor, pain, hidden meanings and literary references- sometimes all at once! They lived deep in the world of theatre and the author's writing transports you right into the world where pretty words masked tragedies alongside the characters.

“When we first walked through those doors, we did so without knowing that we were now part of some strange fanatic religion where anything could be excused so long as it was offered at the altar of the Muses. Ritual madness, ecstasy, human sacrifice.”

All-in-all, while I do think you need to read this book to understand exactly what I'm talking about, this should give you a brief delve into the world and help you decide whether this is something you would pick up. If it IS something you would pick up, I hope you love it as much as I did!! It's the kind of read that sticks with you as a fond memory of a read you loved and one can get engrossed in during your fifth re-read, just as easily as you had the first time.

If you’re planning on purchasing this read, please consider using the following amazon affiliate link to purchase it. It would be at no extra cost to you and would really help me out, thank you!

purchase this read: https://amzn.to/4a8BhkR

“..I need language to live, like food—lexemes and morphemes and morsels of meaning nourish me with the knowledge that, yes, there is a word for this. Someone else has felt it before.” M.L. Rio, If We Were Villians

[missbaphomet]

My friends and I read the sample given of that systemless book or whatever and I have thoughts

Needs Beta Readers. Badly.

The fake southern accent is doing "life point" damage to me (a real life bona fide southerner)

None of the "stats" are explained. What's LP? Idk. Just enjoy your tropes and shut up

The protagonist doesn't know what angels, multiverses, or robots are.

We unanimously decided "The Goddess" is Robot Dolly Parton (even if she doesn't deserve the honor of comparison)

The afterlife has google image search

Robot Dolly Parton is incompetent and almost kills the protagonist by pressing the wrong button. Oopsie daisy ig

"????" Is actual dialogue, as in it is shown to be said by the protagonist. How? Idk. Fuck you.

Protagonist with pink hair is confused by hair dye

The Author forgot how homestuck characters look and described a troll cosplayer as having "aquamarine hair"

The homestuck cosplayer gets mad at the protagonist for being a "roleplayer". Lmfao

Somehow this is the most believable part because as someone who has never been to the West Coast, I'm fairly sure that's just how it is over there

Someone shouts "Wombo Combo"

This:

(Context is he saw a guy with pink hair and thought he was from his same world)

The "system" it refers to seems to be a cross between TCGs, MMOs, and Gatcha. There's a direct Yu-Gi-Oh reference. (Note: I don't get TCGs and ive never seen cartoon adaptations of them)

People keep turning him away for being a roleplayer

He did finally explain what LP is (Life Points) which was my guess but since everything uses LP the entire thing runs on what is basically blood magic. But you can gain 1000 blood magic at the cost of 0 blood magic. I guess we found that advertised "abusable system" angle. As far as I saw there's not any kind of cooldown or AP system (granted I'm relying on screenshots provided by @nalver as I'm currently sitting in a hospital while my dad has a procedure done so I can't directly access the text. You can get the sample text yourself on Amazon but I frankly wouldnt recommend it)

He vows to slay "many, many cosplays" because he spawned in generic brand Comic Con I guess

I'm actually gonna just leave this here because my dad should have been done with his procedure a while ago and time got away from me. Hoping nothing's wrong but now my mom is anxious

[wickedlace]

April 20, 2023. 3:33 Am

I've been meaning to write about where I am in my life. I haven't in a long time, and I know it's better when I do keep up with it. I don't know why, but I know it's true.

On paper, my life is as perfect as its ever been. I have a loving husband, a new and really cool family. We just adopted our sweet rescue dog Sam, Sadie and Gus are acclimating to him fairly well, too. We're talking about having a baby by some time next year. I have a remote job. I live in my own house. I own this house. I have dnd every other week at my house, where my husband is the dungeon master. These are all so amazing and I'd always hoped I'd get to this place in my life. I'm so grateful.

However, my health absolutely sucks. I've been getting like 5 migraines a month, meaning I have to call out way too much. I don't have any energy, I can barely stay awake the whole day without needing to nap. I get flair ups. I can't post content because I just don't have the capacity. I'm getting a migraine right now, and it feels so shitty. I only started getting them in 2020. I have a doctors appointment on Monday, where I plan on bringing this up. But honestly I'm pretty disenchanted with the American health care system. Frankly, I'm at a point where I feel I should qualify for disability, but somehow I don't. Fatigue. Nausea. Migraines. Stress. That's all it's been for months now, worse as it's ever been. People come over to visit my husband and I, but I can't stay awake.

I get flair ups, where I get a very lupis-looking butterfly rash on my face. I've told my doctor to check it out, and she says she has, but that it's not what I have. I do, however, have a high count of monocytes and still a very low count of neutrophils. This tends to be indicative of an auto-immune disorder. But will they ever find a name for what I have and give me any validity to what I experience? Honestly, I doubt it. According to my oncologist, one minute I'm about to die, and the next, I'm meant to believe I'm totally fine.

I want to be able to embrace where I am now, fully, but all I feel is that my body is holding me back from it. The doctors I see aren't helping at all. The only time I feel ok is when I'm on a THC gummy, but obviously, I can't fully function at that point, either. I've fallen into the habit of getting myself "little treats" on Amazon, which I'm trying to get better about not doing. I will "little treat" myself way too much if I'm not careful.

Idk y'all. It's hard. I feel so guilty for feeling so bad all the time, but idk how to control it. I just want to thrive. I want to experience what that's like.

[beasiannow]

Invited to the wedding of work colleague Sonali Patel at a large Hindu Church in Bellingham, Washington, Christina Hogan decided to take her daughter Madison as her plus one.

It was Madison who pointed out that as this would be taking place at the most prominent Hindu Church in five states and the invitation said it would be a traditional ceremony, it would be only polite if they dressed appropriately.

“Of course, we’ll wear our best.” said her mother, “no, I mean appropriately in that we should wear Hindu wedding attire.” “Like, what do they call them, sorry dresses?” asked Christina, “Sarees, mother, they are called sarees, and yes, I guess so,” said Madison rolling her eyes.

“Okay then, and just where do you think we are going to find something like that this fast and figure out how to put it all together correctly?” “don’t worry”, said Madison, bluffing, “I know just where to go.”

To be sure, the place where Madison went was Google, which was no help at all, showing only ways to buy sarees via Amazon and the like with no ideas at all about helping them; Bing and Yahoo proved to be just as useless.

Next, Madison gave the Dark Web a try; there, she found a new search site called Furfur that claimed to be powered by “Ancient Artificial Intelligence that knows more than everything.” “And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” wondered Madison starting to use it anyway.

What she didn’t know was that the site was named after a demon who always lied unless forced to tell the truth while trapped in a magic circle, at which point it told the truth, but in such a way to mess with you as much as it could. This, in fact, was the case. Furfur had been trapped in just such a circle by a group of nerds who placed him in it with a computer and an internet connection in a try to rival the big boys.

Furfur sent the Hogan women to a small clothing shop called Nīṅkaḷ aṇivatu nīṅkaḷtāṉ (You Are What You Wear); who were trying to do their best to grow a clientele for India-style dress but were finding it hard in a city like Bellingham, Washington. Fortunately or unfortunately, as opinion varies, the shop also made use of Furfur, which was seen to it that they got a shipment (stolen, but they didn’t know that) of what should have been hidden experimental “gene altering” cloth from a lab in Mumbai called by them Karmāviṉ iḻaikaḷ or Threads of Karma.

And so, Christina and Madison went to You Are What You Wear, where they were both attired and instructed on proper etiquette for a Hindu wedding.

Frankly, the pair did rather stand out.

However, by the end of the as usual long Hindu wedding ceremony, they were no longer so noticeable since at some point, the sarees made from Karmāviṉ iḻaikaḷ cloth had turned them into Chandirka and Madhuri Hogan, two women from Delhi.

“Oh my goodness me!” said the former Christina on returning to their home and finding herself and her daughter so transformed. “what is your father going to say when he returns from his business trip?”

“I know,” said Madhuri, “how will he react to this change!”

“Oh no, not that,” replied Chandirka. “I mean, what will he say when he finds out that from now on, we are eating 100% vegan, and he can forget about his Tuesday night poker games, we are going to Temple those nights to pray to Durga and Lord Ganesha.”

Meanwhile, Far away in some suburban mom's basement.

"CRAP!" said Furfur, "I lost those two ex-Yanks to those do-gooders in the East!"

[such-a-fellow]

Making a pinned of my various links, because I'm kinda shifting where I hang out these days. Between the changes in site structure and culture, the endless moderation issues, and the vocally pro-israel CEO I just don't really have the motivation to be here as often, or feel that I'm getting what I want to out of this site the way I used to. I don’t feel i can really enjoy using a site i’m honestly on just to blog about my hobbies and shit when this is the situation here and when so many other people who are just trying to hang out, make art, or share resources are being harassed or kicked. I'll be around here still and post some art and whatnot til I get my neocities blog up and running, but I think I’m phasing out, lads.

However, some of you aren't half bad, so I'd love to keep up if anyone's so inclined! Feel free to add me anywhere whether we're mutuals or not! I use the same username pretty much everywhere for consistency.

Personal Neocities website : under slow construction, since I'm learning html from the ground up, but I plan to blog, post art and various projects, etc.! I think this is where I'll be the most, so please feel free to hang out or watch me fumble through building the thing in the meantime. Frankly I think we should just all make neocities sites.

Cohost: I'll probably be here more than any other socials! art, unfiltered stupid thoughts, etc., (so pretty much like here lol)

Ao3, if you want to be jumpscared when I post fic once every 2 years

My discord @ is such_a_fellow5832

SpaceHey: an absolutely delightful classic MySpace clone. I'm not on there too often but I highly recommend it.

StoryGraph: if you're the type who likes to follow peoples' Goodreads, I guess. This doubles as a plug for StoryGraph, which is miles better than Goodreads and isn't run by Amazon.

anyway free palestine, fuck capitalist internet, etc.