#2023 greed list

[fairykukla]

Season's Greedings, 2023!

Every year I try to post my Greed List (What I want for Christmas" which includes the even more vital "Do Not Want" list.

Do Want:

1. A functional dishwasher.

We have one, we've had it serviced several times, and I don't think it's ever going to properly wash dishes again. It needs to go away, a new one needs to be installed, and I have terrible decision fatigue about figuring out which one I want. I want it to wash dishes. I don't even fully understand the choices I'm faced with.

You can contribute in one of the following ways: cash or electronic transfer donations to the dishwashing fund, solid recommendations for a specific make and model, or bad "features" I should avoid.

2. Laundry on-site: I own a washer and a dryer. The washer is down in the basement, but has nowhere legit to drain. The dryer is still at my neighbors' house, in the garage.

You can either be part of the team to bring the dryer home and set it up, or throw some cash at the plumbing problem, or offer assistance to solve the plumbing problem.

Those are the Big Things. Here's the little stuff:

A handcrafted card. I'm a sucker for those, and it will be kept, treasured, and probably displayed every year for a long time.

BJD shoes. All my dolls have lost shoes due to the vinyl or adhesives disintegrating. I need all kinds of shoes, particularly in 1/4 and 1/6 scale.

Shoes for me. I need a good solid supportive pair of shoes to wear to work.

Feed my dish collections: black octagonal glass pieces are always welcome. (They say "France" on the bottom.) Also Steubenville Woodfield pieces, particularly the dinner plates which seem hard to find. All colors welcome.

DVDs: we can't stream, so I need hard copies of anything I want to see. I'd particularly like Marvel stuff (especially recent movies, I'm way behind), Leverage Redemption, anime, or something unusual that you love and aren't sure if I've seen it yet. Ditto for CDs.

Funny collectables: I still love gnomes, mushrooms, fairy aesthetic items, the Nightmare Before Xmas, Tea Party items, etc.

Cat toys. My cats like them and I love to play with my cats.

I do like shiny jewelry, but I appreciate handcrafted items the most.

Hand crafted items. Support an artisan and it's like getting two gifts in one.

I still love to get Lush gift cards. One year I got several and it was The Best Xmas Ever.

Toilet Paper. I am always delighted to receive disposable paper products like TP, paper towels, paper plates, etc.

Food: teas are always welcome. Heck, just bring me a bubble tea and I'll be thrilled! Candy is super tricky; I'd rather get a card and warm wishes than candy. Baked goods are welcome early in the season, but I really don't want a bunch of sweets in the house the week before I give up sugar altogether. (Jan 1) There are very few places I can go to eat, but I'd love gift cards for Thai Nivas, any sushi place, Panera, Cafe Mochi, or Pearl.

Food that you canned yourself. Jam, jelly, apple butter, even regular pickles (because my partner likes them) or, if you want to see me happy-cry, pickles with no garlic or onion in the mix.

Experiences: indoor things are fraught. However, if you want to give me a gift card for The London Tea Room (or better yet, offer to take me for tea) I would love it. Outdoor concerts or performances might be ok, but talk to me about it first.

Do not want:

I have a lot of post Covid issues, as well as my pre Covid IBS problems. Add in my Big Sugar Fast from Jan 1st to late March, and suddenly certain holiday standards don't work for me.

No MSG. This means soup bases, seasoning packets, salad dressings, flavored snack chips, etc. It also means no Alfredo or tomato sauces, and no mushrooms.

No garlic, onion, chocolate, coffee, or peanut. None. Zero. I can't have it in the house. Cross-contamination is a problem. If one molecule gets in the food I can't eat it. These were all things I loved to eat before Covid; now they are completely and totally ruined for me.

Try not to make me part of your Christmas cookie baking. May I suggest instead that you bake some salt dough "cookie" ornaments, and paint one to give me for my tree? Cookies and sweets are cruel unless you give them to me very early in the season.

I hope this helps.

[civildisorderstream]

2023, The Year of Self-Sabotage

Has anyone noticed the trend businesses have been on in 2023? There's a LOT of self-sabotage going on in the business world. Throughout my life, and everyone else has their own observations too, once in a while you see a company make a boneheaded decision about their product or service. And once in a while you'll see a decision get made that is bad, but maybe it at least has some justification (even to an anti-capitalist goober like myself). But this year has been nonsensical moves of greed or product/service sabotage that make no sense for longevity or harm what's in the best interest of the consumer.

Activision-Blizzard: The Overwatch debacle, and Diablo Immortal's scummy practices.

Netflix: The account sharing debacle.

Twitter: Maximum divorced loser Elon Musk destroying its functionality and branding and we still call it Twitter.

Reddit: Inspired by Musk's stupidity, the API tools debacle. Shame on the Reddit communities for not knowing how to strike btw (you don't put a time limit on it).

Hollywood: Pulling shows and films from streaming services to declare them as failed products and somehow get a tax write-off for it.

Also Hollywood: Willing to take quarterly losses greater than the annual cost to meet the demands of two striking unions put together.

Unity: Announced in the past day that it will charge developers a fee for installations because greed.

Titan Submersible: "Safety is for losers" says billionaire who proceeds to use his shoddy tech to do a murder-suicide.

Starbucks: Breaking ALL of the labor laws to try and stop unionization. Admittedly a reach to be on this list but the situation (like all the others) is ongoing and can compound.

Embracer: A massive corporate company that bought a bunch of smaller companies. Thought a 2 billion dollar deal with the Saudi government was a sure thing, so they spent 2 billion dollars on stuff. Deal falls through, so they start closing companies they acquired.

That's just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. These aren't business decisions done for the sake of consumers. These are all decisions done to spite consumers or the workers who produce the products and services.

People try to remember years as being the "year of" something. And it's a thing I do too. For me, 2023 is the year of corporate self-sabotage.

[still-a-morosexual-help]

unnamed gender neutral MC x Mammon Fic:

The Vacancy

What they have always wanted was a place to belong. A place for themselves, full of love and purpose and family. Where people were happy to greet them each morning. Where their existence mattered. Isn't that what everyone wanted? Wouldn't you do anything, everything , to find that place?

Tags: •Alternate Universe •Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting •Horror •Psychological Horror •Body Horror •Fluff •Twisted & Fluffy Feelings •Mild Gore •Unhealthy Relationships •Happy Ending •Cults •Human Sacrifice

Rating: M

Let me know your thoughts! Comments kept me fed and reblogs are the only thing keeping tumblr alive

(This was originally a 11k one shot written and posted on Sept 10 2023. But I have since then added 1k more words to the original one shot, broken it down into 7 chapters and then expanded on this fic with many more completely new chapters

So if the first 7 chapters seem familiar it's because they were posted previously, just with slightly less content. A new chapter will be posted every Saturday/Sunday)

Tag List (if you want to be added like this -> post. If you want to be removed lemme know);

@ashplsstfu

@kadythethief

@aspiring--cryptid

@wanderwelle

@sansarawheelvictim

@nagitokomaeda-the69th

@knight-clover

@butterflywaffle

@believemeimeverywhere

@weareparanoidcynicalpeople

@jolynetodd

@lunaslemons

@silverinnia

@val-monny

@alexeizzo

@obervation-subject-753

@niacks

@naughtybodypillow

@baby-jeonginnie

@ask-angel0

@yourimaginaryfriiendd

@whatamidoing89

@mammonismyfirstman

@kuro-personal

@pandapantslovesyou

@mammoneythegreat

@kawaiiartsstuffowo

@novanight87

@oooowl

@pajamasatepb

@saccharineconcinnity

@yourboyhack

@itzblazekun

@medicinalkiwis

@heavenly-greed

@sidgethegamer

@timetomakeanewwish

@mozzarellatelevision

@stale-cheetos-and-fragile-egos

@obeymeharemowner

@hauntedcatnerd

@darkflowerav

@mxsunnybop @betta-phish @anxiously-sidequesting

@jabesa0

@reikabae17

@dweeb-central

[nickfowlerrr]

here is the masterlist for the seven writing event.

all submissions will be linked below.

a huge thank you to everyone who has gotten or plans to get involved with this little event. i’m having a great time working on my own posts and even more, am looking forward to continuing reading and going through all of yours. so thank you, thank you, thank you! 🩵

if you’ve posted your work already and don’t see your submission(s) here, please message me.

to the lovely readers: if you enjoy any of the work listed below, please take the time to leave a comment on them and reblog the posts. it really helps with engagement and can be very motivating, and just so meaningful, to the authors and creators. we all appreciate you so much for diving into our little fantasy worlds with us and interacting with what we share in this community. thank you. 🖤

deadline for submitting: november 14, 2023

last updated: november 17, 2023

Fics

Envy

If I Can’t Have Everything, Then Let Me Just Have You - (andy barber x reader) - @writing-for-marvel

Don’t Blame Me - (bucky barnes x reader) - @buckets-and-trees

Greed

for the hope of it all - (lee bodecker x curvy!reader) - @nickfowlerrr

a bird in a cage - (dark!august walker x reader) - @witchywithwhiskey

Kindness

Weight of My Love - (wanda maximoff x reader) - @moonfaeriebunny

Lust

everything I want… - (bucky barnes x plus size!reader) - @thornsnvultures

All Good Girls Go To Heaven - (mafia!bucky barnes x OC) - @sebstan2020

idle hands are the devil’s playthings - (demon!steve kemp x reader) - @filthycagedsoul

Patience

Please Say, Please - (bucky barnes x reader) - @angelltheninth

Pride

Let All Light Go - (dark!alpha steve rogers x omega!reader and alpha!bucky barnes x omega!reader) - @buckets-and-trees

pride - (lee bodecker x wife!reader) - @thornsnvultures

Pride Goeth Before The Fall - (royal!au nick fowler x reader) - @tumblin-theworldaway

Wrath

Starring Role - (dark!natasha romanoff x reader) - @moonfaeriebunny

Welcome Home, Daddy - (winter soldier/bucky x pregnant!reader) - @winterarmyy

When You Fall on Me Like Night - (alpha!bucky x omega!reader and dark alpha!steve rogers x omega!reader) - @buckets-and-trees

Moodboards

Envy

bucky barnes moodboard - @nickfowlerrr

Greed

lee bodecker and max burnett - /nickfowlerrr

Pride

lloyd hansen moodboard - /nickfowlerrr

Wrath

andy barber and nick fowler - /nickfowlerrr

[ego-tempestas]

Aight so, June '23 is pride month, but what about the rest of the months? Starting from January to July, let's assign all the months of 2023 we've been through their own deadly sin! Once a month gets assigned a sin, it gets struck off the bucket list

[flameswallower]

Briar's Favorite First Time Reads of 2023!

I read sixty or so books (start to finish) for the first time this year, which is pretty average for me. I liked most of them pretty well, since if I dislike a book I usually won't finish it. But there were some stand outs, which I'm going to list here.

First up: NOVELS!

Pseudotooth, by Verity Holloway (2017) is the first portal fantasy coming of age novel I've read in a long, long time that I found genuinely charming. It has a very dark Gothic edge to it, with shades of Gormenghast and Edward Gorey making for a uniquely unsettling and bleak fantasy world. The novel also deals frankly and seriously with themes of ableism, eugenics, medical abuse, xenophobia, socio-economic class, rape/sexual abuse, and the psychic fallout of rape/sexual abuse. But it's got a lot of whimsical absurdist humor to it, too, and a deep humanist compassion for its characters. The three young adults at the center of the story are all quite likeable, and though they are involved in a kind of love triangle, I found the particulars of it refreshingly queer, strange, and not the primary focus of the story.

The Marigold, by Andrew F. Sullivan (2023) is a pitch-dark, stone cold bummer that is also frequently hilarious and emotionally moving in tender ways that took me by surprise. In this dystopian satire, a bunch of down-and-out relatable characters and one horrible rich guy struggle to survive as near-future Toronto is engulfed by "the Wet"-- a sapient mold-based hive mind accidentally created by the depravity and greed of big business. The residents of the titular condominium/apartment complex feature in short vignettes that demonstrate the despair and alienation people suffer under late stage capitalism, and the way the Wet calls to these people, lures them in, hunts them.

The Open Curtain, by Brian Evenson (2006) is a harrowing nightmare about madness, violence, possession, Mormonism, and the destabilization of one's known reality (well, see also "madness"). It's a type of story that could easily feel shlocky and exploitative of people with certain mental disorders, or just predictable (there are some plot twists you'll guess very quickly if you've ever like...read books or seen movies before...), but Evenson's unornamented yet masterful prose, his meticulous attention to detail, and his non-condescending empathy for both victims of violence and people struggling with delusions, violent impulses, etc. make it rise above those potential problems. At least in my opinion! This one's very disturbing, will definitely leave you feeling like shit.

Hummingbird Salamander, by Jeff VanderMeer (2021) is very emotionally moving and a suspenseful, well-plotted eco-noir page turner! Also a bummer, but leaves one feeling awe and hope and determination as well as mourning the devastating loss of life that climate change has wrought. The protagonist is great, a truly unusual and unlikely detective. I loved her voice-- like any good noir hero, she can throw off a legitimately funny sarcastic quip with the best of them, but she's also prone to astute social observations and flights of breathtaking lyricism.

How to Get Over the End Of the World, by Hal Schrieve (2023) is a TRAGICALLY under-promoted and underrated punk rock magical realist YA masterpiece about trans high schoolers, and their dysfunctional adult mentors, putting on a rock opera to save their community center. This one, unlike most of what I read, is NOT EVEN KIND OF A BUMMER. It's delightful and hilarious from start to finish, though it's definitely not saccharine-sweet or afraid of conflict. In fact, it deals quite bluntly and refreshingly with topics ranging from the relationship one character has with his violent, abusive father, to sexual relationships between teenagers, to the ever-looming awareness of climate change. Every major character is trans! Every single one!! This is kind of a spoiler, but, like, not really lol

Sudden Glory, by Hal Johnson (2023) just goes to show that guys named Hal can really write comic novels. This book has perhaps the highest joke-to-paragraph ratio of anything I’ve ever read, and also probably the most varied types of joke: a person whose sense of humor runs to preposterous situation comedy, slapstick, and lowbrow sexual humor will find a lot to like here, and so will someone whose sense of humor runs to moderately esoteric literary/historical references, social satire, five-layer wordplay, and Wildean bon mots. Since it’s set in the New York City of 2003, there’s even room for a few 9/11 jokes, which could not have appeared without controversy in a book actually published in 2003. This slightly "politically incorrect" edge comes off as good-natured and in keeping with Johnson's commitment to absurdism-- there's never a "laughing at" vibe, more one of "laughing with" human folly, futility, pretensions, etc. At base, this is a story about a person who feels he can't tell the truth or be himself for fear of social rejection, and all the trouble that gets him into.

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke (2020) is fucking gorgeous, probably one of my favorite books of all time now, this hole was made for me, etc. I can't reasonably expect that most others will have as intense a response to it as I did-- I felt it perfectly conveyed some very important and difficult to articulate things about, like, my personal experience of consciousness, and my experience as a person with certain types of neurological/cognitive/developmental disability navigating the world, through a kind of fabulist prism. But it got great reviews, so, you know, give it a shot! I think it's better not to know anything about it going in, but let me just say, if you're into weird, massive labyrinthine buildings, this hole might also have been made for you.

Devil House, by John Darnielle (2022) is exactly the novel you'd expect "the Mountain Goats guy" to write, in all the best possible ways. It's a story that elevates the inner lives of neurodivergent outsider teens to the mythic heights they deserve. It's a story that brutally critiques the true crime industry. It's a story about the problems of defining people exclusively by their victimhood, or exclusively by the worst thing they ever did. It's a story about the importance of having a little space to oneself, a shelter from the demands and threats of an often cruel world, and the lengths to which a person will go to defend such a shelter if it's broached. Also, there's a long, nauseating section about how it's actually really difficult and gross to chop up a human corpse for disposal.

[athousandbyeol]

discussion #4 (only friends): only friends cast as the seven deadly sins [part 1]

the wait is over. the official trailer of the most awaited series of 2023 was out a few hours ago, causing mayhem everywhere and anywhere (as it should).

the trailer started off strong with mew narrating the story and is covered in blue (i'm speculating this will be his and namchueam's colour judging from this post. and do notice that ray and boston are also in the same colour: white. but my theory is ray's colour will be green and boston will be red (we can see it in the official trailer. green wallpaper in ray's room. boston in the red room. i might extend this observation once the drama airs). but in this post, i won't go into details about the colour theory.

in this discussion, i'll highlight the possibility of the only friends characters as the seven deadly sins: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. the first part will cover mew, top, ray and san.

side note: this is just from my close observation of the official and mock trailers. also, since we don't get much of namchueam's story, there's bound to be an error in my judgement.

as always, please take this discussion with a grain of salt. :)

mew | sloth

sloth, in the context of the seven deadly sins, is commonly defined as laziness. however, the legitimacy of this being a sin isn't clarified and credited to an extreme extent. yet, it's still considered a sin. but in the hierarchy of deadly sins, sloth is ranked seven; the last. this somehow indicates sloth or laziness isn't as blasphemous as the other six.

in my perspective, mew is a sloth because:

exhibit #1: his solitude

in the mock trailer, mew is introduced as a studious student who has no time to date. he doesn't think it's necessary to get laid or be in a relationship while studying.

he's comfortable being single. mew isn't ready to commit because it isn't in his goals. he wants to study and earn that degree. craft a successful future afterwards. that's it. the fun in his dictionary is different from ray and boston.

i view this as laziness because mew is hesitant to change. he doesn't like/want to entertain the idea of meeting new people or hooking up with anyone (he's against one-night stands) probably because it challenges his morality. therefore, mew's reluctance in changing is a form of laziness— or reticence to differences.

exhibit #2: his (innocent) virtues

i like the parallel between mew in the mock trailer and the official trailer. he's still nerdy. he still takes his degree seriously (i hope?). and because of his meticulous/introverted personality, he has many visions.

it has to do with him being a top student in class for him to set goals and have a list of things he likes/wants in life/lover.

interestingly, in the official trailer, mew lays down three characteristics of a lover that he wants:

respectful

friendly/easy-going/adaptive

honest

as i've mentioned, mew sticks to his probity like glue. he's the kind of person who isn't fond of rule-breaking. and i've included in my previous discussion that mew (initially) isn't open to change.

why is this lazy? in persistence, there's also adamance. i believe mew's stubbornness to stick to his beliefs/virtues makes him 'lazy' to open up to new horizons. he sees only the four walls surrounding him but not the bigger picture, what's outside of this box.

he will after he discovers top's dishonesty, though.

exhibit #3: getting help from others

it's known by everyone that boston introduces top to mew. it's out of pity and disbelief because boston really can't accept that mew has never slept with anyone in four years? to boston, that's the craziest thing he has ever heard (well, boston, not everyone is like you so—)

receiving help from others can be seen as lazy because as someone who's at the receiving end, no effort is required. it's already served to them on a plate. and what should they do when someone gives? they take. and that's what mew did. he took top from boston without much thought.

side note: honestly, for a smart guy like mew, i can't believe he just let this happen to him. (are you ok, sweetie? did you think it was a good idea? coming from boston of all people?)

i see mew fitting 'sloth' the best because of his obliviousness, reluctance, kindness and innocence. his laziness in making a better judgement of his friends, his relationship with top and their hidden agenda is his deadliest sin. he perceives everything with rose-tinted glasses and innocence that aren't meant for this cruel world.

but contrary to the other six, mew's sin will change him for the better.

top | pride

when i look at top, i can't think of anything else but pride.

he's prideful. he knows he has control over boston. he thinks he has mew wrapped around his fingers (i'm sorry to break it to you, top, it's the opposite).

but why? what makes top so arrogant?

exhibit #1: boston's unwavering desire

boston: a sense of ownership

boston feeds most of top's pride. in my topmew colour theory, i've dived into top's personality (top being on the dark spectrum) and concluded he's a multi-layered persona that's only filled with insecurities and sadness. but he hides them well because he has a mask he can wear; it's boston.

top and boston share this parasitic relationship where they steal/render nutrients from each other (in this case, their perception of true love, healthy relationships, honesty and trust). it's not love per se— it's just them knowing they can always turn to each other to get what they think they can't get from their respective love interest/friend with benefit (mew and nick). their relationship is based on toxicity and ownership. and this ownership drives top to believe he'll always win. nothing can faze him. he won't crumble because of love (little did he know... poor top).

exhibit #2: the presence of mew

mew: a sense of true love

mew feeds top's pride differently. mew provides top with love, happiness and fear.

love: mew teaches top how to properly fall in love. not only for the sex. not only for the kisses and hugs. mew teaches top that love isn't who belongs to who— love is two people that belong to each other. no rankings whatsoever. mew teaches top that love is equal and one plus one makes two— two different people can come together and fall in love. as simple as that. despite the differences, they can work it out.

happiness: mew makes top happy by asking him out on dates, and doing the most boring, casual and mundane stuff together, like other couples do. something normal. something simple. nothing scandalous. just those dates from the cheesiest lakorns. but the simplest things always provide the most happiness. mew helps top appreciate the simplicity in life.

side note: do notice that most of topmew dates are mostly in the daylight while topboston's sex escapades are at night. it shows that mew brings light (happiness/positivity) into top's life. so when top discovers this light, he becomes obsessed. he genuinely falls for mew. it'll be difficult for top to let mew go.

fear: losing mew is top's biggest fear. he doesn't want mew to extract himself from his world. because he's so used to having mew by his side, that bright and sunny mew, top can't sink into the darkness again (his relationship with boston). he can't bring himself to accept the fact one day mew will know of his shenanigans and mew can't handle that because who will? who can ever be okay with your lover fucking your best friend behind your back?

boston enhances top's pride as he feels valid and needed. but mew diminishes top's pride as he loses self-control and independence.

so, who hurts top's pride the most? it's definitely mew.

ray | gluttony

in my opinion, ray and san are similar. i see ray as 'gluttony' and san as 'greed'. the connotation of these two sins is somewhat identical, but ray is gluttonous because of his indecisiveness. why?

exhibit #1: his one-sided love for mew

in both trailers, there are still hints of ray harbouring romantic feelings for mew. it's more apparent in the mock trailer. however, the raw jealousy and dissatisfaction are more evident in the official trailer (which affirms my assumption of ray as 'gluttony').

ray knows mew doesn't love him romantically. ray knows he can't be mew's special someone. and that hurts him really badly. it's the notion of knowing he doesn't stand a chance but there's always a slither of hope— ray is somewhat gullible in a sense. mew thinks of him as a good friend and nothing more. and ray can't accept that.

however, the problem ray faces is he can't quite forget about mew. perhaps it's the curiosity that irks him still, why can't mew love me? what does top have that i don't?

so he makes himself available for mew—

supports mew by confronting boston (in the mock trailer) and top (in the bts picture)—

—thinking he has a chance. but he doesn't.

he still wants to be someone important in mew's life. he still wants to be in mew's life. if he can't have mew as his lover, then he'll just be a friend to mew. that's enough to feed his 'hunger' to be valid in mew's world, to exist in mew's universe.

exhibit #2: confuses himself in wanting san for lust or stability

when mew can't love and satisfy ray's hunger for a stable relationship, he seeks companionship in san.

the mind-boggling thing about ray and san's dynamic is both of them know they want each other from the get-go. the spark is there and it's waiting to blaze. but ray doesn't know if he ever wants to let mew go. he thinks he can't. he's so used to wanting mew more than anything. the concept of getting something aside from mew messes his brain.

yet, the moment san came into his life, ready to fill the holes in ray's heart and love him with all his soul, ray is overwhelmed. he's afraid.

why? i believe gluttony has a close relationship with fear and pride. when we're hungry, we think you can eat more than we can chew. so we don't stop taking— because we believe we can finish them all. but when we're full and there are still so many on our plate, it's either we throw them away or leave them aside (i'm sorry if this metaphor doesn't make sense...)

he takes so much from san because he doesn't get anything from mew. but when san gives a portion of himself and takes a fragment of ray, it confuses him— it scares him.

san makes him full, but ray doesn't know if he can ever be satisfied without mew— like having an incomplete meal. veggies— yes. protein— check. rice— empty.

san | greed

as i've discussed, san is ray's reflection. they mirror each other's positives and negatives.

san portrays greed by wanting something stable— something certain— a label— with ray. i have an inkling that ray has set things straight the first time they met— he only wants company. this isn't something romantic or forever. this is just a one-night thing. no hard feelings, yes?

and san honestly has no right to be angry if ray can't give him that because san said himself—

so, why is he so worked up with ray? why is he so upset when he realises ray is using him for many purposes— the main reason being to feed his loneliness?

exhibit #1: friends should stay friends (san's insecurity)

i don't know if san deludes himself that ray is only his friend to avoid being heartbroken, but it's just puzzling to me at this point.

this speculation arises when top says this to san—

i wonder if top and san shared a history together. it might be them dating the same person (for example: san's past boyfriend broke up with him. and then top dated san's ex). or top and san were boyfriends in the past but things didn't work out (probably due to san's insecurity and top's dishonesty). [thanks to this user for pointing this out. i just added my own input in their discourse hehe.]

insecurity. i think this word speaks so much of san's personality. that's why he built those walls. he doesn't want to be at the broken end again. his greed, however, leads to temptation, and ray is one hell of an attractive guy, so san can't say no. he can't really ignore ray because of that— ray is just so tempting. he thinks ray can give him everything he wants— aren't they the same?

exhibit #2: san's dire need for stability and certainty

san resonates with ray. he might see the old him in ray. therefore, he wants to help ray out of that loophole. he doesn't want ray to self-destruct just because of a one-sided love when san knows ray deserves better— he deserves someone like san in his life.

as their relationship progresses, san notices the potential to shift this casual companionship into something sturdier. but sadly, ray doesn't think the same. and this hurts san the most because he believes ray feels it too— the kisses they shared, the time they spent together, the sex and everything— how can ray not feel it?

ray keeps pushing san away and it tears san into pieces. why can't ray succumb to temptation the way san falls for ray? why can't ray accept san for who he is and stop chasing after someone else? aren't both of them hungry for something similar— love?

next part: boston as envy, nick as lust and namchueam as wrath (?)

in the next part, i'll talk about boston, nick and a little bit of namchueam. i'll also conclude this discussion by rounding all seven characters as the seven deadly sins in the next post.

[side note: i just realised i can only put 30 photos per post. that's why I have to split this into two. hehe]

[1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (i) | 4 (ii) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12]

[rpgsandbox]

So this appeared on twitter the other day, a challenge for 2023.

A blog post fleshed out the idea a bit more:

#Dungeon23

A dungeon room a day for all of 2023.

The other day I posted on twitter about a cool little project I’m working on for 2023. Essentially, I’m doing a dungeon room a day, every day, and keeping track of it in a little weekly calendar.

Why?

Well, I love dungeons and megadungeon play, but writing a megadungeon is difficult! It takes a lot of energy and it’s hard to know when to work on it and for how long. This simplifies things.

A dungeon room a day, every day, for 2023. That’s 365 rooms. I’ll do a level a month, so 12 levels. Every week is a little area of 7 rooms, so I can keep my focus small.

I’m using the amazing Hobonichi Weeks which if you don’t know is a great little notebook designed by the writer of the Earthbound/Mother game series. It’s got great paper, and the Weeks version is the smaller more portable notebook. Essentially on a single spread you’ve got seven days on the left and then an open piece of graph paper on the right. That’s perfect for a key of seven rooms and a map. Here’s another one that ship’s from the US. Got a worldbuilder’s notebook you’ve been dying to use? Now’s the time.

You don’t have to use this notebook, don’t get hung up on the details here. Any old notebook will do. I just happen to have an addiction to Japanese stationery and no real need to journal, so this is what I’m doing, dungeon as journal.

There’s some great things you can do here too: instead of room numbers, you can number them with the date. This makes rooms pretty easy to find and reference within your notebook. Don’t need a megadungeon? Try twelve small dungeons! The point is to do a little bit of writing a day. Some tips:

Don’t overthink it. Don’t make a grand plan, just sit down each day and focus on writing a good dungeon room.

Generators are your friend. The point isn’t to get stuck writing the perfect room, the point is to write a room. Randomize the monster, treasure, whatever items you need. Use “Tricks, Traps, and Empty Rooms,” by Courtney Campbell. There’s a billion d100 lists on Elfmaids & Octopi. Take rooms from dungeons you love. Just get the rooms down on paper.

If you can’t think of what to write that day just write “Empty Room,” see how easy that is?

365 rooms written like “3 orcs, 25 gold pieces.” is better than 5 rooms written like “In this beautiful hand carved obsidian room sit 3 orcs arguing over a dice game. 25gp sit on the table, each of them…” See what I’m getting at? The goal is the finish line. Just get to the finish line. Trust me.

If you want to keep up with my progress on Twitter, mastodon, or cohost, use the hashtag #dungeon23. Post your results too! Post a room a day on twitter so other people can steal it and put it in their journals! Become a collector of rooms, you don’t have to be the well.

The greatest creative advice I ever got was “have something to show for your time.” I’ve found a lot of success on always shipping projects every year. This is one of those projects, once you realize you can create a dungeon of this magnitude, your whole world opens up with what you can do. And it’s insanely fun too!

#dungeon23, I’ll see you on the other side.

P.S.

Need a weekly prompt to carry you through? Here’s 52 prompts to keep you motivated:

Ancient

Death

Sunken

Love

Empire

Heavy

Rural

Darkness

Bloom

Rust

Noise

Childhood

Time

Excess

Decay

City

Factory

Flood

Sleep

Cold

Ash

Touch

Meat

Solitude

Growth

Greed

Luck

Fall

Pit

Chaos

Laughter

Smoke

Forgotten

Library

Ocean

Song

Roots

Bones

Hangman

Blood

Prophet

Idol

Door

Light

Stars

Bridge

Mask

Cut

Sacrifice

Incense

Rise

Gold

[tbcanary]

2023 reading list: Blackest Night (2009)

There is life after death.

Bonus: Tiny lanterns!

(ID below the cut.)

ID: Six animated panels and one still image from Green Lantern: Blackest Night.

1: A supernova of green lantern light in the middle of a black expanse. The explosion expands into a rainbow of light, with a penumbra of multiple colors around it.

2: Bruce Wayne in his Batman costume and Hal Jordan in his Green Lantern uniform stand in front of large glass windows, showing a view of Earth and the Sun from space. Speech bubbles pop up: Hal: You saw them die in front of you? / Bruce: Yes. / Hal: I didn't know. When I was a kid-- / Bruce: You watched a plane crash take your father's life. / Hal: No wonder we're both screwed up. / Bruce: Speak for yourself.

3: A display of every dead superhero, including Batman and the Martian Manhunter. Speech bubbles pop up that say, "How, Hal? Why?" A thought panel from Hal pops up and says: I don't even know where to start.

4: A Black Lantern slowly lights up and casts its sigil over the sky. Two thought panels appear: Welcome, all of you. Welcome back to the darkness.

5: The same sigil of the Black Lantern inside the expanded eye socket of a skull. Five different Lantern Corps lanterns -- green, yellow, red, purple, blue and indigo -- are suspended in front of it, held in place by the hands of different officers. Each lantern lights up its respective color in turn.

6: Six panels of the different deputized superheroes and villains receiving their temporary rings in front of a rainbow background. Barry Allen receives a blue ring of hope, Lex Luthor receives an orange ring of greed, Jonathan Crane receives a yellow ring of fear, Ray Palmer receives an indigo ring of compassion, Queen Mera receives a red ring of anger, and Diana of Themyscira receives a purple ring of love. Each one flickers from their regular costumes (or, in Diana's case, the outfit of a Black Lantern) to the costumes of their new corps.

7: A tiny transparent collection of the Green Lanterns: John Stewart, Hal Jordan, and Guy Gardner all wave to a crowd, and Kyle Rayner throws his hands up in celebration.

/End ID.

[ingek73]

I thought I knew royal greed – but King Charles profiting from the assets of the dead is a disgusting new low

For decades, parliament has been far too lenient about the royal family’s finances. This avaricious practice needs to end

Norman Baker Fri 24 Nov 2023 13.08 CET

Over the centuries, the royals have continually bleated poverty and demanded more money from the taxpayer.’ Photograph: Reuters

As a royal author, I have come across plentiful examples of royal greed. It is standard practice for the royals to seek to minimise their personal expenditure while maximising their income from other sources, normally the public purse.

But the revelation that King Charles III’s personal slush fund, the Duchy of Lancaster, is having its already bulging coffers augmented by the estates of people who die in parts of England with historical links to the royal estate plumbs new depths of disgusting avarice.

Like many so-called traditions, the feudal hangover that is bona vacantia should have been consigned to the dustbin of history centuries ago, but it has been all too tempting for successive royals to preserve this royal fruit machine that pays out again and again. Over the past 10 years, it has collected more than £60m in the funds.

Under this system, the Duchy of Cornwall, owned by Prince William, can claim the assets of people who die in Cornwall intestate – without a will – if no relatives can be found. Charles’s Duchy of Lancaster does the same when their last known residence is within what was historically known as Lancashire county palatine.

Edward VIII found cash from those who died intestate in the boundaries of the duchy was sitting in an account in case claims arose against it. He simply stole a million pounds from it, leaving almost nothing in that kitty.

George VI did very well out of the loyal servicemen who died serving their country in the second world war, who originated from within the confines of the duchy and had no will. “For king and country” took on a whole new meaning.

As disquiet about the practice of bona vacantia grew after the war, the royals announced that moneys collected would henceforth be given to charity – after processing costs had been deducted, of course. In the case of the Duchy of Lancaster, this came to about 4% compared to 15% for the Duchy of Cornwall.

Yet a Guardian investigation now reveals that matters are even worse than we have been led to believe. Put bluntly, we have been lied to. Monies we all thought were going to charity have instead been used to improve properties owned by the duchy, increasing the income stream that flows from them into Charles’s pockets.

We have the most expensive monarchy in Europe by far in terms of state support, and one that benefits from unique tax treatment available to nobody else. No inheritance tax is paid. The so-called private estates of the duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster are not private enough to pay corporation tax or capital gains tax. Even income tax is only paid voluntarily – if it all – no receipts have ever been made public.

The civil list, which in 2011 gave the royals £7.9m a year, was replaced, after palace lobbying, with the sovereign grant, which 12 years later is up to £86m a year. Over the centuries, the royals have continually bleated poverty and demanded more money from the taxpayer, while at the same time refusing point blank to reveal the extent of their accumulated wealth.

They even refused to provide this information to the last government that seriously tried to dig into this – the Labour government of the mid-1970s, with the then home secretary Roy Jenkins pursuing the matter.

Back in Queen Victoria’s reign, the government was told she was desperately short of cash to undertake her duties so a big uplift was provided. She was not short of cash, and the money provided by the then government was instead used to buy Sandringham and Balmoral. I recognise that behaviour from my time in parliament. It’s called fiddling your expenses.

My calculations suggest that the king is worth as much as £2bn and probably more. The bulk of this has come from excessive generosity on behalf of the taxpayer, either through direct handouts or indirectly through unique tax exemptions. But antiquated and indefensible arrangements such as bona vacantia have played their part too.

Parliament, which over the decades has been far too deferential, far too trusting, far too easy going, needs to get a grip. The disgusting existence of royal windfalls from dead people should be ended forthwith. The duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster should be transferred immediately to the publicly owned crown estate; they only escaped from being transferred along with other royal lands in 1760 because they were then deemed worthless. Plainly, this is no longer the case. The public accounts committee should begin a thorough investigation into the funding and wealth of the royals.

Monarchists should worry. Opening the doors on royal finances and practices will reveal a terrible stench.

in regards to:

[tomorrowusa]

Corporations pay their CEOs extravagantly while trying to cheat on taxes.

It would be one thing if, alongside the exorbitant executive pay, the quality of American CEO-ing was going up. But these executives are making off with bigger bags of boodle despite their persistent incompetence: Media executives keep running their businesses into the ground, tech firms are laying people off because of vibes, the planes keep nearly crashing, and examples of insane eye-popping greed—like Rite-Aid’s decision to claw back severance paid out to laid-off workers on the same day they handed their CEO a $20 million bonus—keep on coming. So it may come as no surprise that there’s a robust connection between the overindulged CEOs and the firms that are most flagrantly dodging their fair share of taxes. For a report released Wednesday, the Institute for Policy Studies teamed up with Americans for Tax Fairness to spelunk into the balance sheets at some of America’s best-known tax scofflaws between 2018 and 2022. What they found was pretty consistent: The firms took home high profits and lavished their top executives with exorbitant pay, all while stiffing Uncle Sam. The excess is stunning. “For over half (35) of these corporations,” the study reports, “their payouts to top corporate brass over that entire span exceeded their net tax payments.” An additional 29 firms managed this feat for “at least two of the five years in the study period.” Eighteen firms paid a grand total of zero dollars during that five-year span, 17 of which were given tax refunds. All in all, the 64 companies in the report “posted cumulative pre-tax domestic profits of $657 billion” during the study period, but “paid an average effective federal tax rate of just 2.8 percent (the statutory rate is 21 percent) while paying their executives over $15 billion.” Which firms are the worst of the worst? You can probably guess the company that tops the list because it’s the one run by The New Republic’s 2023 Scoundrel of the Year. During the five years of the study, Tesla took home $4.4 billion in profits as CEO Elon Musk carted off $2.28 billion in stock options, which, since his 2018 payday, have ballooned to nearly $56 billion—a compensation plan so outlandish that the Delaware Court of Chancery canceled it. Tesla has, during that same period of time, paid an effective tax rate of zero percent through a combination of carrying forward losses from unprofitable years and good old-fashioned offshore tax dodging.

Elon Musk is either the world's richest or second richest person. But he still wants more. Give him credit for pathological greed.

In all fairness, Musk is not alone when it comes to enriching himself while screwing workers.

What sort of innovations have these CEOs wrought from this well-remunerated period? T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert presided over the Sprint merger that led to $23.6 million in stock buybacks and 5,000 layoffs. Netflix’s Reed Hastings poured $15 billion in profit into jacking up subscription rates. Nextera Energy has devoted $10 million in dark money in a “ghost candidate scheme” to thwart climate change candidates. Darden Restaurants has been fighting efforts to raise the minimum wage. Metlife has been diverting government money meant to fund low-cost housing into other, unrelated buckraking ventures. And some First Energy executives from the study period are embroiled in a corruption scandal that’s so massive that even Musk might find it to be beyond the pale.

These oligarchs are going to spend lavishly to elect Republicans who would give them even bigger tax breaks.

Fortunately, they can't literally buy votes. If we return to old school grassroots precinct work then we can thwart the MAGA Republican puppets of billionaire oligarchs.

One to one contact is a more important factor than TV or online ads in convincing people to vote your way. It takes more effort, but democracy was not built by slacktivism in the first place.

[animebw]

Seasonal Reflection: Summer 2023 Anime

I've noticed over my years of seasonal anime watching that summer tends to be the weakest season of the year. For whatever reason, everyone saves their good shows for winter, spring or fall, leaving the middle of the year to limp along with few real standouts. But god almighty, even by those standards, this was a dismal fucking season of anime. Forget just not having many good shows, there were so few shows that even had the potential to be good. Trying to find anything with a fighting chance of turning out even halfway decent felt like trawling for nuggets of half-digested corn in an overflowing septic tank of obviously bad isekai, obviously bad light novel junk, and obviously bad wish-fulfillment rom-coms. And then, just to add insult to injury, basically all the shows that did start out strong ended up tripping over themselves in some way. So not only were there so few anime even worth keeping up with this season, none of them managed to score anything higher than "pretty good." This is, unquestionably, the worst anime season I've sat through since I started watching seasonally. So let's take stock of the few shows I kept up with and pray for better things once the much-more-promising fall season gets under way.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead: Unfinished/10

Well, isn't this unfortunately ironic. The increasingly exploitative conditions that anime is made under have resulted in so many high-profile shows suffering production delays as their animators crash up against the cruelty of overwork and corporate greed. But there's something particularly disquieting when that fate befalls a show that's all about breaking free from your shitty exploitative job. Zom 100 sets out to extol the joys of living a free life unchained by capitalism's cruel clutches even in the midst of the end of the world, but ends up so ravaged by those very chains that it was unable to finish its run before it ran out of timeslots. And now its last three episodes are left in limbo, the entire production team waiting for a chance to recover and find some way to bring their work to a close. It's a pretty bleak situation that almost makes you believe a zombie apocalypse would actually be preferrable to our current state of affairs. Especially when, uh, this is not a show you want to give the audience extra time to think about. Cause the more you think about it, the more all its aggravating flaws- painfully simplistic moralizing, a sexist streak that refuses to just fucking die- start to sour your good feelings for the rollicking ride it's taking you on. I can only hope the final episodes, whenever they arrive, close it out on a strong enough note to make the ride feel worth it.

Mushoku Tensei Season 2 (1st Cours): 1/10

I have stewed long and hard over how to phrase my thoughts on the second season of Mushoku Tensei. I've agonized for hours on how to express how viscerally, repulsively infuriating this show has become. But ultimately, there's only one thing I can say: Fuck this show and fuck everyone who likes it. Fuck every free ride this show gives Rudeus so he never had to face consequences for his actions. Fuck the hypocritical stabs at "redemption" that only serve to excuse and justify every female character slobbering over an unrepentant pedophile. Fuck the single worst use of slavery I've ever seen in an isekai (Cannot fucking believe I have to give Shield Hero credit for anything). Fuck this lifeless waste of a cast that steadfastly refuses to have a single interesting member. Fuck the misogyny. Fuck the masturbatory woe-is-me manpain. And most of all, fuck every last braindead, media-illiterate mouth-breather who decided to turn this irredeemable garbage into a modern anime classic. The success of Mushoku Tensei is the death of everything I love about this medium, and I will never forgive any of you for bringing us to this point. Go. Fuck. Yourselves.

My Happy Marriage: 4/10

God, I really wanted to like this one more than I did. Isn't it great to see high-profile shoujo anime with impressive productions making a comeback after years of drought? And this is a story about trauma and healing and discovering your self worth and all that good stuff! This should've been right up my alley. And yet, My Happy Marriage just left me frustrated and somewhat offended. There's such a powerful story buried in here somewhere, but thanks to a combination of painfully overwrought melodrama that robs its heroine of far too much agency, a poorly handled supernatural twist on the Cinderella formula that only grows increasingly awkward the more it tries to force the two together, and a condescending undercurrent that seems to think the only cure for years of abuse is embracing a hyper-traditionalist form of wifely duties, that nugget of potential never has the chance to blossom. What an utter disappointment.

Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence: 5/10

Rejoice, folks; we've finally found the mathematical average of the slice-of-life moe romance. Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence is the platonic ideal of the fluffy, disposable rom-com made flesh, pleasant and harmless while watching but leaving no lasting impression once it's done. It's a collection of cute character moments, amusing gags, and occasional stabs at emotion that sometimes tug at your heartstrings a bit, all arranged in their proper places with a likable cast and bouncy animation and just enough energy to stay moderately interesting all the way through. And aside from the somewhat unique setting of a Medieval church as home base for our two awkward lovebirds, none of it lingers in your mind once the episode ends and you find yourself forgetting all the jokes you were just chuckling to. Which may seem like a backhanded complement, but honestly? This is what I would consider the baseline for anime rom-coms. If you're gonna just be fluffy and disposable, this is the absolute minimum you should be aiming for to make me appreciate spending twenty-four minutes every week with you. I can't really recommend it to anyone but the most ravenous rom-com fans, but at least now I have a standard to judge any similar shows that fall short of the mark.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale Season 2: 5.5/10

What strikes me most about Sugar Apple Fairy Tale now that it's over is just what an ambitious show it turned out to be. It's one thing to write a hackneyed fantasy racism metaphor about fairy slavery into your swoony shoujo romance, it's quite another to actually try and engage honesty with the implications of that idea as the core driving force of your narrative. And whatever else you might say about it, SAFT is really, truly making an effort to explore discrimination and systemic bigotry, tackling it from so many angles over the course of its 24 episodes without shying away from its thorny complexity. How many other stories like this would dedicate an entire subplot to showing how victims of one kind of discrimination can still perpetuate harm on groups even lower on the social totem pole like SAFT does with Brigit? Or explore how toxic systems of control don't magically get better just because a minority is at the helm like Lafalle? It's that kind of ambition that makes it easier to take this show's stumbles in stride, numerous though they might be at times. I'll always appreciate an earnest, messy attempt at making a statement over a safe, line-toeing space filler without the conviction to even try.

Horimiya Piece: 6/10

So this is a weird situation where the first season of Horimiya ended up rushing through the source material in order to adapt the whole story, and now this side-quel is going back and adapting all the content the first season skipped over. Essentially, it's a Horimiya DLC, scattered skits with no real cohesion or progression that just exist to give you more good times with the cast you love. But hey, Horimiya was never really heavy on plot to begin with; it's always been more a collection of moments across the lives of these friends than anything else. So I don't see anything wrong with doing a full season of just slice-of-life shenanigans, since that's basically what the first season became once Hori and Miyamura got together. And if nothing else, I certainly appreciated all the extra time with these lovable goofballs; this show does a better job than most of capturing the sheer, absolute chaos that teenage friend groups can cause amongst each other. Unfortunately, there are two episodes in the back half that truly, utterly suck- episode 9 is completely focused on the creepy pedophile teacher the show thinks is just the most hilarious joke ever, and episode 12 faceplants into romanticizing abusive relationships in a really gross way. So if you're gonna check Horimiya Piece out, do yourself a favor and skip those episodes entirely. Your experience will be better off for it.

Undead Murder Farce: 6.5/10

Pulp is a hard style to define, isn't it? You'd think it would be easy with how influential and popular it's been over the years. Ultimately, though, you just gotta know it when you see it. And Undead Murder Farce is pulpier than a thousand trees being turned into paper at an orange juice factory. It's a Victorian-era serial mystery extravaganza that turns the entirety of 19th-century supernatural adventure literary canon into the backdrop for a rakugo-performing half-oni and a severed immortal head to traipse through solving mysteries as they pursue a larger goal. Over the course of their adventures, they match wits and butt heads with vampires, werewolves, Sherlock Holmes, Phileas Fogg from Around the World in 80 Days, The Phantom of the Opera, Arsene Lupin, Frankenstein's Monster, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. And thanks to the director of Kaguya-sama at the helm, the visual presentation is exactly as gonzo and freewheeling as this brazen OC fanfiction deserves. I enjoyed every second of this goofy-ass show, and I hope we get a second season to see which classic characters our wisecracking immortal detectives rub elbows with next. It's what we deserve.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 (1st Part): 7/10

It's increasingly difficult to pin down my feelings on Jujutsu Kaisen. On the one hand, it regularly delivers some of the coolest, most lavishly animated punch-ups in modern anime. On the other hand, is that enough to cover for the story's incredible lack of focus and constant zig-zagging between different ideas at the drop of a hat? Like, I might need more than ten fingers to count how many times this show just drops in the middle of building up a status quo to shift gears into something entirely different without giving proper closure to what's come before. On the other other hand, though, season 2's backstory arc finally gave us an actual driving force for the story and a strong emotional framework to understand the stakes at play, except then it almost immediately reverses on that idea by revealing one of the critical characters has been dead the whole time and his story's suddenly over just when it was really getting under way, and... eh. Look, I like Jujutsu Kaisen, and its spectacular action and hilarious character interactions are usually enough to help me forgive its overly convoluted plotting (especially this season with its massive upgrade in directorial flourish and experimental animation). But at some point I'm really gonna start wondering if any of this nonsense will ever amount to more than a slapped-together framework to justify the fights.

Fate/Strange Fake Episode 0: 8/10

It's probably not a good sign that the only anime to really inspire me this season was basically just a prologue for a show that's still being made as we speak. But with how barren this season has been, I'll take my victories where I can. And sweet buttery Jesus, am I glad that Strange Fake is getting a full adaptation. After years of having no interest in Fate beyond the core story, one of these endless spinoffs finally manages to grab me hook line and sinker. And all it took was the author of Baccano and Durarara filtering the concept of the Holy Grail War through his particular penchant for sprawling, chaotic ensemble stories full of truly deranged characters slamming the full weight of their personalities against each other for the sheer fun of it. Add a mesmerizing new visual style from a longtime key animator making his directorial debut, and the result is an epic hour-long masterclass introduction that leaves you breathless for more. This is what Fate/Zero's first episode should have been. And sure, it could still go horribly off the rails at some point, but for now, I choose to remain hopeful. May this promise of better things to come prove a welcome omen as we leave this miserable anime season behind.

Shows I Dropped:

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses: Dropped at 2 episodes for extreme GoHands over-animation, and just being a painfully cringey male fantasy rom-com.

Atelier Ryza: Dropped at 1 episode for being boring and generic as fuck. Only worth it for the hilariously crowbarred-in fanservice shots and I can just look those up on their own.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades: Dropped at 2 episodes for some of the most cringe-worthy DeviantArt-tier writing I've ever seen.

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today: Dropped at 2 episodes for just being boring, even though it's way better than GoHands' other monstrosity this season.

Bang Dream It's MyGo: Dropped at 1 episode for just not vibing with it, idk.

[goldenspirits]

Saltburn (2023), Parasite (2019), and the Rich.

'When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich.' — Rousseau

I'm writing this post becuase I feel most people misinterpret these movies, and how I don't consider either of them to be an 'Eat the rich' movie.

I'm starting with this quote because I often feel like people remove it from its original context, and I feel like putting it back there may make it regain some of its meaning.

Spoiler warning for: Saltburn (2023), Parasite (2019), Glass Onion (2022), The People Under The Stairs (1991).

The rich may get metaphorically or literally eaten in both Saltburn and Parasite, as someone from a 'lower' class gets rid of them and takes their place in the hierarchy, but I feel like when people celebrate these movies they are essentially forgetting that the systems that made these people 'lower class' or 'middle class' do begin with are still in place. [re: Coco's Feel-Good Oppression]

I believe 'The Rich' are inherently something bad, because the Rich can only exist with exploitation, I don't believe every single rich person realizes this is what's happening, and it's almost impossible to become Rich with just honest work, that's why I believe meritocracy is a lie.

In both of these movies, people go up the social ladder. And now what? They have become the rich. (Although in Parasite the protagonists go back down the social ladder. Put a pin on that*) Essentially nothing has changed, the rich just have new names and new faces now. These aren't stories to celebrate. Such as, for example, Glass Onion was, in a way.

In Glass Onion you feel like justice is being served and that an actual change in the system might happen, although capitalism still exists in-universe, Helen Brand finally got compensated financially for the work of her sister, Andi, who got massively screwed over. While in Parasite and Saltburn you just see average people become the oppressors, in a grotesque way. This doesn't necessarily make them Bad Movies and it's really interesting to see how the rich aren't necessarily intrinsically bad people with bad intentions, anyone could be the Rich, they are people, privileged people, people in a position of power, but people, and anyone could become like them under specific circumstances.

Pin*: In Parasite I think it's also very interesting how the protagonists go back down the social ladder way easily than they went up. But I'm not sure how to expand on that. But, I feel like Middle Class people often think of themselves as between rich and poor when they are actually much closer to Poor and Homelessness than they realize.

I feel like in both Parasite and Saltburn we see people commiting acts of violence to become rich but in a way they are also being class traitors, seen in Saltburn as Oliver backstabs Farleigh and in Parasite when the Kim Family literally tries to murder a maid. As for a contrast in Glass Onion we do not see Helen screw over any fellow middle-class people. I feel like part of the horror both in Parasite and Saltburn come from said greed from the protagonists, they don't just want to go up in life, they are slowly becoming perpetrators of the violence that was enacted on them.

In a way, that is to say, in both Parasite and Saltburn the people have nothing to eat, so the rich have not been effectively eaten.

That begs the question of "What would characterize an Eat The Rich movie?"

The People Under the Stairs is a 1991 movie, directed by Wes Craven, the same director as Nightmare on Elm Street, and it's a movie that's not as popular as the other three on the list but bear with me here.

In the movie we follow a black protagonist, nicknamed Fool, his family is being evicted, he lives in the ghetto, so he and a man named Leroy plan to commit crimes to be able to afford cancer treatment for Fool's mother.

In that, they discover in one of the houses, a bunch of people in a basement. (This was actually based on a true story.) The owners of the house being very obviously rich, so the movie continues with Fool befriending the owners' daughter, Alice, although being born in a rich family, she is heavily abused by them and is a kind-hearted person.

At the end of the movie, when our antagonists, Mommy and Daddy, are defeated, we actually see their wealth be redistributed to the community. Oh, did I mention Mommy and Daddy were also the landlords that were evicting Fool's family?

At the end of the movie, the entire community of the Ghetto is together to get the justice they deserve for being mistreated by the landlords for so many years, and I think ultimately that's what makes an 'Eat The Rich' movie for me, the poor people of this Ghetto were getting this justice, not an individual family or just some guy named Oliver Quick, but everyone who was mistreated by the landlords, in this particular instance.

I wish I could compare this in a meaningful way to Glass Onion in which one individual, once again, is getting all the justice, but still feels more 'Eat The Rich' than Saltburn or Parasite, and I think it's because ultimately we don't see Helen as a person corrupted by greed.

That's not to say Saltburn or Parasite are bad movies, once again, but they are not feel-good movies, hell, both of them are horror, and I love both of them and how they explore class dynamics, but I think they fall short in being an 'Eat The Rich' movie.

This is, of course, just some of my ramblings that got way longer than I expected. So I don't have much of a neat conclusion aside from "People often misinterpret media" or "People often try to market ideologies in a way that waters them down" but hopefully you already know that. And thank you for reading :]

[fangsforiris]

Ultimate Fic Master List ༊*·˚

Diabolik Lovers~

Started: 12/03/2024

Last Updated: 13/04/2024

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

ʚ‎‏ ̩͙ ୨Series୧ ̩͙ ‏ɞ

Completed~

Subaru's 2023 Birthday Small Series

why'd i put my heart on every cursive letter?

Kanato Sakamaki HC's (cross-posted on ao3, original post on tumblr)

Kanato Sakamaki Head Canons

Not Completed~

Shū's 2023 Birthday Small Series

pluto transform me (turn off my lonely)

— 6/7 ch. (7th ch. being written rn.)

** FIRST PRIORITY

Aged Up Yui, Karlheinz as Adam Candidate, Smoker!Yui

me and the devil

— 4/5 ch. (5th ch. on hold, being written soon.)

** SECOND PRIORITY

Fem!Kanato, Arranged Marriage, Heiress AU, White Lady AU

Heavy is the crown (but never for a queen) Heavy is the crown (but never for a queen) - Character Files (AU)

— 6/? ch. (on hold, will be reworked.)

Slaughterhouse AU, Inspired by 'Blood Bag Brothers' written by - LeftoverParadox

the hunter becomes the hunted

— 3/? ch. (on hold, might be rewritten.)

Masquerade AU, ETNS2 Themes

Midnight will strike (the blood moon is upon us)

— 1/? ch. (on hold, might be rewritten.)

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

ʚ‎‏ ̩͙ ୨One-Shots୧ ̩͙ ‏ɞ

Shū & Reiji Centric~

Reiji's 2023 Birthday One-Shot

Upon submersion (will you be the one to save me?)

Cashier!Shū, Younger!Shū, Shū/Original Male Character

ring me up at register 7

Shū Character Study, Identity Issues, Repressed Memories

what is my name? (help me remember)

Reiji is the Moon, Shū is the Sun, Piano Playing, Thunderstorms

All I ask of you (the sun would beg the moon, only for no answer)

Subaru Centric~

First Meet AU, Bird in a Cage, Ballroom Banter - Ft. Ayato, Laito, & Kanato

off probation? you’ll wish otherwise.

Fluff and Humour, Karlheinz is Rich, Subaru likes Desserts & Money

upon temptation of greed

White Lady AU, Carbaru Child, HeadOverHeels!Carla, Distraught!Subaru, Ft. All Diaboys

that's not my kid!

Subaru Character Study, Repressed Trauma, Trigger Words, PTSD

gentle

Laito Centric~

Angst with a Bittersweet Ending, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Smut with Feelings

molded for her

Yui Komori Centric~

Slight Yui Character Study, Religious Guilt, POV: First Person, Resentment

I'll be fine (I have to be)

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

ʚ‎‏ ̩͙ ୨Coming Soon୧ ̩͙ ‏ɞ

Shū & Reiji centric fic (very soon!)

Kanato Sakamaki & Cordelia centric fic

Yui Komori & Cordelia centric fic

Triplets (Laito, Kanato, & Ayato) centric fic

ʚ‎‏ ͜ ̩͙ ︵ ̩͙ ୨ ♡ ୧ ̩͙ ‏︵ ̩͙ ͜ ɞ

[gartenofbanny]

Helluva Boss Season 2 Episode 3 Review

Trigger Warning ⚠️ Blood

Today I'm going to review Season 2 Episode 3 "EXES and OOHS" released on March 11th, 2023. Just know that I am posting this on the day when I can so for those reading this post will contain spoilers for the episode. I suggest you all watch it to form your own opinions before reading this blog.

I'm going to create sections of what I do like about this episode and what I don't like about this episode starting off with what I do like.

Animation

The animation in this episode like all of the episodes in Helluva Boss is very well animated, smooth, and has a well drawn environment. This episode mainly centers around the Greed Ring with the entire color of setting being different shades of Green. The characters move really smoothly, I didn't even notice any choppy animation in the episode, and many things in the episode just looked really stunning. In my opinion the animation in this episode is the best of Season 2 thus far.

The fight scene where Millie goes up against Crimson's goons is the best fight because the DHORKS Battle has so many problems that I don't feel like listing right now. The Striker vs Moxxie & Blitzo fight could've ended in so many ways if all of the characters just fought and didn't talk.

I do have a nitpick it's that when the Imp was stabbing and shooting a dead body, yet no stab marks and or bullet wounds were there. Just splatters of blood, but I'll ignore that.

Overall this episode has pretty great animation and the best fight in Helluva Boss thus far. So let's move onto what I did not like about this episode.

It's another Moxxie episode

This episode is just another God damn Moxxie Episode. Now what do I mean when I say it's another Moxxie Episode? Well the entire episode centers around developing Moxxie so he can come out to be a stronger individual by the end of it. That is basically what Moxxie episodes are, a notable example of this is the Harvest Moon Festival.

Like two other episodes in Helluva Boss, Moxxie is portrayed as a weak individual to the antagonists, he either saves himself or gets saved by someone else (mainly Millie). Learns to stand up for himself and Millie comforts him near the end of the episode.

Harvest Moon Festival follows that formula & Murder Family follows that formula (mostly). With the difference being that it's different antagonists.

Now as to why I didn't like this aspect is because in the two episodes that centered around Moxxie led him to become more brave overtime against those who are more powerful than him. Though in this episode his character is just restarted again and goes through the same development.

Chaz & Crimson

I didn't like neither Chaz or Crimson in this episode, but to keep it short they're both bland and cliche as hell.

Chaz doesn't have a character aside from the fact that he's horny and greedy. There's literally nothing else to his character aside from that. I can't tell of the writers killing him off in his debut episode is good or bad because he could've been a potentially interesting antagonist.

Crimson is literally just Stella, but even worse than her somehow. He's a greedy ass sociopath who's literally a spoiled baby. The man literally kills those who disrespects or stands up to him hell he even killed his wife without any damn regret and plans to kill his own son. Design wise, he's literally just Moxxie but taller, a darker red skin color, white scars around his eyes, and a golden tooth. There's definitely gonna be someone who mistook Crimson as Moxxie's brother or something.

Since Chaz is dead, this leaves Crimson who will either die by Moxxie or Millie's hands or be spared by Moxxie due to his morals. Either way I don't like either of them because they're really bland and boring compared to some of the other more interesting antagonists we've gotten in Helluva Boss.

Sudden Tone Changes

The tone of this episode like a few others in Helluva Boss cannot decide what to stick to. The tone in this episode goes from suspenseful to comedic, sad to comedic, or depressing to comedic. Notice I said "comedic" three times. Because the episode has so much bad humor it overshadows the somewhat decent parts of the episode.

I can't take the episode seriously if it keeps wanting me to switch emotions like a person with split personality disorder.

Humor

90% of the humor in this episode is sex jokes and it has gotten old really quickly throughout the episode. The entire episode gives off "Oh we're an adult show, that means we can make dirty jokes and curse most of the runtime."

There were a couple jokes that made me chuckle like when the priest just straight up left after witnessing Millie killing Crimson's goons, but the majority of the time, I just looked at the episode with a straight face.

Millie

The writers in this episode really should've done something with Millie because there were about two things that they should've done with her in this episode.

First off, it isn't explained how she met Chaz it's just shown how Moxxie met Chaz. And yet we don't know why Millie was pissed off at Chaz in the beginning of the episode and why she wants to hurt him so badly. Millie wasn't aware that Chaz and Moxxie were dating until later on in the episode, while that did pretty much enhance her hatred for Chaz, we still don't know the fucking root behind it. Like how the fuck did the writers even forget about that?

Second off, there still isn't any character development of Millie. Her entire character is, she's Moxxie's wife who's violent as fuck and this episode pretty much cements that. Throughout the whole episode aside from being pissed off at Chaz, she's either worried about Moxxie, pissed off that Moxxie is hurt, or is just thinking about Moxxie. At least provide an explanation as to why she's so obsessed with Moxxie. This episode could have been the perfect place for that to be established. Millie could've explained why she despises Chaz and why she loves Moxxie so dearly. That would've been something, but nope we don't fucking get it.

At this point, I don't believe Millie will get any character development in the future because the writers don't seem to even be trying with her when the opportunities are clear as day.

Story

The story of this episode is meh, many things from the story of this episode is really cliche. From Crimson forcing Moxxie to marry Chaz to become richer and more powerful, to Chaz being overly horny because yes, to Millie becoming rageful because her hubby is in danger, to Blitzo being overly horny, and Crimson becoming an abusive father that's rich and powerful and extremely violent.

The episodes in Helluva Boss overuse too many cliches at this point leading me to not being interested in the story of this episode all that much.

Conclusion

I only watched the episode twice as of making this blog and found a couple things I consider problems in the episode. While the episode is well animated, has a pretty good fight scene, and interesting concepts, it fumbles in its writing and direction. I was gonna hold off on releasing this, but I'm a bit impatient.

People are gonna most likely disagree with me because I'm already noticing that people love this episode, but that's not gonna change how I feel about this episode overall and it shouldn't change how the readers view it. If it does then it's completely unintentional. Anyway thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a great day! ❤️

Also this is one of my first blogs on Tumblr, I don't know how to do the fancy font things other blogs do.

Edit: Just learned how to add photos.

[dyke-a-saur]

Housekeeping 2023-24!

Name: Dan/Danny (Jugbe only if you're also West African)

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Under 16 Queerphobic, Xenophobic, Islamophobic, Antisemitic Misogyn(oir)istic, Whorephobic, Racist, Ableist, Fatphobic, Zionist Lolisho/Pedo/Incest enjoyers Supports, participates, tolerates, or justifies any of the above.

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Art Blog: @dgtor-official Writing Blog: @dyke-a-saur-writes Culture/Language Blog: @between-the-kola-and-the-sea NSFW Blog: @dannyafterdark

Links and Resources To Support Palestine, Congo, Sudan, and West Papua:

Free Palestine Donate to Gaza Appeal Books By Palestinian Authors or About Palestine Doctors Without Borders MAUSA Palestine Emergency Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions List DRC is Bleeding (And The West Is Twisting The Knife) HEAL Africa King Leopold's Ghost, A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild PANZI Foundation Keep Eyes on Sudan Medicines sans Frontiers Refugees need water Darfur Women Action Group Thread by Sudanese Author Yasmin Abdel-Magied on Sudan Sudan Next Gen Free West Papua Free West Papua 101 Further References and Resources Voice of Papua Tapol (Bahasa Indonesia)