#which were GLORIOUS

[choixsimple]

Would love to go for stupid daily walks for my stupid mental health but unfortunately it's been over 100 degrees where I live for A MONTH NOW and I don't have a fucking death wish

[egophiliac]

now that I can think semi-coherently again...whooooo's ready for Friday WEEHOO

[r-aindr0p]

That last chapter of Glorious masquerade was crazy.

[midnightmah07]

Glorious Masquerade redesign

[vagun1ka]

im into reverse now...

[in-death-we-fall]

<3

[wolfgirlfloof]

Something I appreciate about Hortus de Escapismo is how it portrays the Laterans and non-Laterans, especially in contrast to each other. Guide Ahead already gave us the angel ethnostate vs multi-racial heretics, which made for a pretty effective if blatant commentary on Laterano. And while it might seem Hortus is kind of repeating the same formula, I think it's got something subtler going on with interesting implications.

On one side we have the abbey's inhabitants: sankta, sarkaz and all other races--hell, even a seaborn for a moment. Are there cracks here and there? Of course, that's a whole plot point. But it can't be denied there is genuine camaraderie and self-sacrifice going on between these people who are simply trying to survive together (which is what makes those cracks all the more volatile).

Contrast this with the Laterans, who are dysfunctional as hell. Lemuen, Oren, Richele, and Spuria; I can't say I fully parsed everything happening between them on a moment-to-moment basis, but it was overall apparent that none of these people trust each other. Even though they're friends and classmates and colleagues, even though they're working for the good of the same state, even though they're sankta who can literally read each other's minds. There's just this constant mess of cahoots and conspiracy and treachery and bitter friction, and it takes the threat of an Innsmouth-Jonestown crossover event to get them to finally work together.

I thought it was a nice way to show more of Laterano's flaws. It's one of their core themes that they aren't as great as they say they are, but you'd think they would, at the least, have blessed harmony thanks to their literal hivemind. But evidently that isn't true either. And again, these are agents at the highest levels of the government. If they're this dysfunctional, what does that say for Laterano as a whole?

Which leads me into thinking about what the future of Laterano might have in store. I've seen some folks point out how these events have these greatly compelling premises that don't actually resolve any of the issues they bring up. Laterano only remains Laterano. And this is true! But I think it's intentional, setting up a slow burn of a regional conflict. The Lateran state is holding together, the status quo remains unchanged, the Law is content. But for how much longer? Guiding Ahead introduced us to the divide in Laterano on a broad level, the state vs heretics. Hortus de Escapismo shows the cracks within the state, narrowing in on individuals who nominally should be on the same side but aren't. The next logical narrative step would be seeing the state finally cracking apart from whatever looming danger the Law sainted Federico to deal with.

Some sort of schism, perhaps; that seems like the sort of existential threat that would directly threaten the Law's directive of preserving the Sankta. Law's awareness of it would also imply it's an internal threat, something festering in the hearts and minds of Sankta and thus one It's able to sense (at least that's what makes sense to me. We don't actually know how the Law works, so it could very well just have random magic prophetic abilities). And especially with the constant background pressure of trying to legitimize their Summit of Nations, what better way to drive that issue to the forefront by throwing Laterano into utter political chaos?

[spotinthespiral]

So apparently I never posted him, but here's my Pitty npc because I think my pirate would be far more attached to her Bear Family in Grizzleheim than her birth parents :) (His name is Dain Ironside)

[bookdragonquotes]

[immortalbutterflycos]

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS OF ALL TIME HAS ACTIVELY BEEN READING MARAUDERS FANFICTION FOR A WHILE AND I'M SO EXCITED TO START WRITING THINGS FOR THEM AND THEM ALONE.

[answermywearyquery]

vegas (kinnporsche) wishes he had the kind of relationship with his cousin as korn (4 minutes) has.

[meirimerens]

got the tldr of the vid that I'm Not Watching All That & somewhat amusing how the straw breaking the camel's back for people over James Somerton is his blatant and unashamed plagiarism (as it should be genuinely i don't think you can nor should recover from this) like he hasn't regurgitated for years vile, unempathetic, ahistorical and Purely Just Wrong information about gay history including about the fight for legal same-sex marriage in the US and the AIDS crisis. like an alarming amount of people truly heard his ass say "all the good fun funky artistic and radical gays died of aids and all those who were left were unfun stuck-up prudes and conservatives also the fight for legal same-sex marriage was an assimilationist ploy by the latter who just wanted big gay weddings" as if the gay men who survived the epidemic didn't literally lose lovers and friends and entire communities and long-term partners who they shared a life with and who were denied any crumb of this previous life at their death because there was no legal recognition for same-sex cohabitation and unions and their homophobic family could tear everything from the surviving partner thanks to this lack of recognition and let it slide.

some people out there were truly so eager to shit on the boring assimilationist prude gays who survived aids by being stuck-up prudes and who just wanted "big gay weddings" they made up in their minds to get mad at that they turned their brains off and let it slide. they could've used their smoothed-out brains for ONE minute & found out that surviving took 1) plain boring luck and 2) radical, loud, proud gay activists campaigning for safe/safer sex and the information campaigns they led, as well as the protests and demonstrations they undertook to make the government fucking care for once. and that legally-recognized unions [be they civil or religious] were a matter of survival for the partner left behind. some people out there truly let a business major with a turtleneck (possibly the definition of boring) passing himself off as cool and radical and an intellectual tell them homophobic bullshit. and did not blink. like OF COURSE this guy's gonna be a plagiarist. he needs to get his information from SOMEWHERE. because when he tries to formulate his own stuff it's complete fabrications or the frankensteining of multiple sources that he manages to misunderstand/misrepresent threefold over. trying to fit a knit sock over the foot with the inside out and wonder why that itches.

i know many people in his audience are likely very young and also likely american and as such did most of their growing up in a world where their country (1 out of 195. give or take.) had legalized gay marriage but i cannot even begin to describe 1) how Young legalized gay wedding is, even in ""the west"" and 2) how many. other countries there are. my country legalized same-sex marriage before the US did. i am not even 25 and i still remember the hordes of catholics marching down the streets chanting homophobic slogans, implying the only reason two mommies or two daddies would want to raise a child together is for nefarious, vile purposes. i still remember families having to drag their asses into court to argue that, yes, a woman who raised a child for its whole life with another woman she's in a long-term committed cohabitated relationship with should have the right to be considered a direct guardian even if she's not biologically related to the child, and spending thousands of bucks having to argue their case in court. this might be shocking to some, but there are countries where homosexuality is punishable by death. in others, not by death, but by imprisonment. in others, not by imprisonment, but by ""medical intervention"". in others, not by ""medical intervention" but by fines. and in some others still, you can be gay (yay!) but you still cannot get married or civil-unioned, and the very same shit that was discussed in the 80s is still discussed now. the right to stay a guardian of your partner's child if your partner dies or is ill, so the kid does not go into foster care. the right to inherit your partner's property according to married rights instead of having through long annoying time- and money-consuming legal processes. the right to arrange your partner's funeral or have a say in their medical choices if they're incapacitated instead of their (potentially homophobic) families.

like We Are Not There Yet. we are not in a world where any homosexual can truly, fully, wholeheartedly assimilate, whether you consider it a good thing or not. fun gay artists and boring uninteresting gay office workers die the same death that we all do. the one you don't wake from. and guess what. all types of homosexuals, regardless of which ones you pick and choose to be mad at, are affected by homophobic legislation. not just the ones you think should be spared because they're oh so fun. and oh so radical.

donate to the rainbow railroad org if you can. they help LGBT+ people escape state-sponsored violence. a singular nail on one of their members' hand does more activism and real-life good than any mfer making video essays could do in his entire life.

[kindahoping4forever]

Ok

[rolandkaros]

favorite matches of the year and why?

limiting myself to 5 per tour otherwise this would get wayyy too long

wta:

madrid final. obvious choice but might genuinely be one of the best quality matches i've ever watched live. crazy good. i wish i could experience it for the first time again.

karo vs. naomi usopen. match that made me believe karo was well and truly back.

can't choose between either of the wimby semis so i'll say both. jasmine vs donna kinda sucked bc donna was struggling physically and elena vs krej kinda sucked because i was rooting for elena but generally an enjoyable level of stressed + good tennis. and actually while we're here throw in the final too. did not go the way i wanted but it was a good fucking match.

aryna vs. iga cincinnati. maybe not the best match we've seen from them but lowkey funny. and aryna in cincinnati was just fun. i didn't even mind that iga lost which says a lot i think.

karo vs. aryna beijing. good match. nearly killed me. again, felt like confirmation that she was back.

atp:

taylor vs. tsitsipas ao. first time i remember really watching taylor and i was fighting for my life. but it really wanted tsitsipas to lose so i was literally praying to taylor like he was some kind of god. and it worked! & got me on the taylor train (later to be fortified)

meddy vs. jannik wimby. sorry my lovely sinneristas but this was the only reprieve and it was glorious. tricked me into believe daniil could still have a good year.

olympic final. i know for a fact i watched at least part of this match (and i could have sworn i watched the whole thing??) but for some reason i have no real memory of the match itself. but i remember enjoying it. maybe it was a replay that i watched. maybe im delusional. maybe i just have terrible memory.

frances vs. ben usopen. idk i feel like losing to ben last year just shot frances's confidence. so seeing him win (in 5!!!!!!) this year made me really happy. also just a good match. all-american and all-in. fucking fun. which i love. also i was watching this with my mom (who loves frances) which was very wholesome.

beijing final. fulfilled me. felt harmony and peace in the universe for maybe two seconds and it was wonderful.

[pynkhues]

Hello,

Why do yuu think 2D animation is a dying art? I love Pixar animation and thinks it’s gorgeous but there’s something really special about hand drawn animation and think it’s expressive In a way that 3D isn’t. I just saw the frozen concept art and was blown away. Do you agree and what is ur thoughts on 2D OR animation in general?

Hey, and oh! I don't think it's dying as an artform at all - in fact, I lowkey think its heading into a bit of a renaissance given the calibre of work that's come out in the last 18 months - I just don't think major studios are investing in it anymore.

Like, anon! In the last 18 months alone, we've had:

That is thrilling to me as someone who once wanted to be an animator, and I think shows a huge range of styles and, with the exception of The Boy and the Heron of course, shows a real investment in terms of indie animation and treating 2D animation as the unique and varied artform that it is.

I actually don't necessarily agree that 2D animation is more expressive, but I do think it often feels more creatively unique because it is. There's something about 2D animation that creates an intimacy between artist and audience that I think can be there in 3D, but often isn't? And regardless of the story, it can build in this sense of immediacy and connection and the feeling that you're truly experiencing art as opposed to, well, watching content, which I do think sometimes 3D animation can feel like when it clearly lifting from a factory template.

But yeah, that new Frozen concept art is pretty amazing.

[crash-likes-cookies]

Physically bought single player games, that can no longer be played.

Live-Service games, forced always-online games, everything that is Steam...

The recent crackdown on ROM sites hosting software that has not been sold in DECADES...

Also, the subscription model for software, all that is fraud.

Nothing else.