#amazon latest jobs

[angela87899]

Available Amazon home jobs in USA

-Apply now

[todojoblist]

Amazon Online Jobs work from Home | Build Your Virtual Career Now

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[themoneybags]

5 things to try in order to make money this week.

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( 5 THINGS TO TRY IF YOU NEED MONEY THIS WEEK )

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Bitcoin price Lately

[probablyasocialecologist]

This is it. Generative AI, as a commercial tech phenomenon, has reached its apex. The hype is evaporating. The tech is too unreliable, too often. The vibes are terrible. The air is escaping from the bubble. To me, the question is more about whether the air will rush out all at once, sending the tech sector careening downward like a balloon that someone blew up, failed to tie off properly, and let go—or more slowly, shrinking down to size in gradual sputters, while emitting embarrassing fart sounds, like a balloon being deliberately pinched around the opening by a smirking teenager. But come on. The jig is up. The technology that was at this time last year being somberly touted as so powerful that it posed an existential threat to humanity is now worrying investors because it is apparently incapable of generating passable marketing emails reliably enough. We’ve had at least a year of companies shelling out for business-grade generative AI, and the results—painted as shinily as possible from a banking and investment sector that would love nothing more than a new technology that can automate office work and creative labor—are one big “meh.” As a Bloomberg story put it last week, “Big Tech Fails to Convince Wall Street That AI Is Paying Off.” From the piece: Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. had one job heading into this earnings season: show that the billions of dollars they’ve each sunk into the infrastructure propelling the artificial intelligence boom is translating into real sales. In the eyes of Wall Street, they disappointed. Shares in Google owner Alphabet have fallen 7.4% since it reported last week. Microsoft’s stock price has declined in the three days since the company’s own results. Shares of Amazon — the latest to drop its earnings on Thursday — plunged by the most since October 2022 on Friday. Silicon Valley hailed 2024 as the year that companies would begin to deploy generative AI, the type of technology that can create text, images and videos from simple prompts. This mass adoption is meant to finally bring about meaningful profits from the likes of Google’s Gemini and Microsoft’s Copilot. The fact that those returns have yet to meaningfully materialize is stoking broader concerns about how worthwhile AI will really prove to be. Meanwhile, Nvidia, the AI chipmaker that soared to an absurd $3 trillion valuation, is losing that value with every passing day—26% over the last month or so, and some analysts believe that’s just the beginning. These declines are the result of less-than-stellar early results from corporations who’ve embraced enterprise-tier generative AI, the distinct lack of killer commercial products 18 months into the AI boom, and scathing financial analyses from Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital, and Elliot Management, each of whom concluded that there was “too much spend, too little benefit” from generative AI, in the words of Goldman, and that it was “overhyped” and a “bubble” per Elliot. As CNN put it in its report on growing fears of an AI bubble, Some investors had even anticipated that this would be the quarter that tech giants would start to signal that they were backing off their AI infrastructure investments since “AI is not delivering the returns that they were expecting,” D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria told CNN. The opposite happened — Google, Microsoft and Meta all signaled that they plan to spend even more as they lay the groundwork for what they hope is an AI future. This can, perhaps, explain some of the investor revolt. The tech giants have responded to mounting concerns by doubling, even tripling down, and planning on spending tens of billions of dollars on researching, developing, and deploying generative AI for the foreseeable future. All this as high profile clients are canceling their contracts. As surveys show that overwhelming majorities of workers say generative AI makes them less productive. As MIT economist and automation scholar Daron Acemoglu warns, “Don’t believe the AI hype.”

6 August 2024

[spicykellybear]

Some of the backgrounds my husband did for the latest Futurama ep, "Attack of the Clothes"!

Wanted to call this one out specifically first, as he hid some One Piece stuff in it!

Going counterclockwise: Luffy's Amazon Lily vest, his original red vest, Karoo's hat and goggles, one of Franky's Hawaiin shirts, and (not OP) Jojo hat!!

Some more of his bgs are under the cut! Can't share em all in this post bc it goes over the image limit lol

In addition to bgs he also did several props and effect designs! Sadly, he isn't allowed to share the black and whites, only screen grabs from the episode. The color department always does an amazing job bringing all the backgrounds to life!

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

The latest bad take on Amazon’s Rings of Power is, “Rings of Power doesn’t contradict Tolkien’s canon, because there is no such thing as canon.”

I’ve seen more and more Rings of Power fans claiming that the show doesn’t go against canon because there are different versions of canon anyway, between The Silmarillion and the History of Middle-earth, and The Silmarillion wasn’t published by Tolkien, but by his son. They’re basically saying, “Canon? What canon?” And I just... No. The idea that “the show doesn’t go against canon because canon is so wishy-washy anyway” is SUCH a false argument to make.

Yes, Christopher Tolkien edited and published The Silmarillion after his father’s death. And yes, there are multiple conflicting versions of stories in The Silmarillion and HoMe. But that doesn’t mean there’s no such thing as being faithful to Tolkien’s stories. A lot of the choices Amazon has made in the show are completely wrong and would be wrong in any Tolkien adaptation.

The characterizations are totally off base. For heaven’s sake, hobbits wouldn’t abandon their own people on a journey. Elrond wouldn’t swear an oath like that. And the Númenoreans don’t hate Elves because Elves are stealing their jobs, they envy them for their immortality—it’s kind of the main theme of the Akallabêth. And, in the show, Galadriel—whose people were literally victims of the First Kinslaying—tries to steal a boat??? I mean, hello??????? Amazon hasn’t even tried to stay faithful Tolkien’s characterizations. Yes, adaptations usually take liberties with the source material, but holy shit.

And the very framing of fundamental issues is completely wrong. In the show, going to Valinor is portrayed as some sort of reward for valor in battle, which is not how it works in Tolkien’s books. The show also compressed the entire Second Age into a much shorter span of time, which is absurd and completely goes against what Tolkien wrote. The show glosses over the First Kinslaying, of course (I know it’s because they don’t have the rights, but it’s still their fault for mangling the story and themes), which makes it seem like the return of the Noldor to Middle-earth was some sort of righteous war, and it wasn’t. The list goes on and on.

And they can’t get basic details right, either. Obviously, the short-haired Elves are one example of this; so is the emblem that resembles a Fëanorian star on Galadriel’s armor. And it’s astounding how poorly the showrunners seem to understand the nuances of Tolkien’s names and constructed languages.

Tolkien was a linguist, and the languages he invented were extremely important to him and to his stories. So what did Amazon do? They completely ignored the internal logic of Tolkien’s secondary world. In The Silmarillion, Ar-Pharazôn banned Quenya in Númenor—but Amazon’s version of the character names his son a Quenya name. In the show, characters call Galadriel “Galadriel” even in Valinor, despite it being a Sindarin name given to her by her husband, Celeborn. It is anachronistic and inaccurate to refer to her by that name before Celeborn gives it to her, especially during the Years of the Trees when she didn’t even speak Sindarin. The show also gave one of the hobbits a Dwarven name, Nori, for no apparent reason. There are many more examples like this.

Amazon has also invented some things out of thin air that have no basis in Tolkien’s works at all. I understand that they had to invent original characters and storylines for this show. Inventing original characters could, in theory, work alongside canon instead of contradicting it, even though those characters aren’t found in Tolkien’s books. But mithril containing the light of a silmaril? What? And what’s with that weird bit where Amazon Elrond and Amazon Celebrimbor are talking about the silmarils and they say Morgoth cried when he looked at them and almost repented??? What the hell??? It makes no sense.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. The people who created this show have many many, many choices that completely fly in the face of Tolkien’s characterizations, worldbuilding, languages, and themes. (I haven’t watched Rings of Power and I don’t intend to, but this information is widely available if you read reviews and episode synopses.)

The show is also poorly written and ugly to look at, but that’s beside the point. The point of this post is just to say that no, just because there are multiple, conflicting versions of canon in The Silmarillion and HoMe doesn’t mean Amazon gets free reign to trample all over Tolkien’s stories. There is such a thing as making a faithful Tolkien adaptation, and this isn’t it.

[fandomnerd9602]

Uncharted Territory

Lara Croft x Drake!Reader

For @deafeningsharkslimeempath

Outside the pub windows was the blurring neon glow of London. Inside, the fire crackled merrily, casting flickering shadows on the worn wooden beams. You nursed a pint of ale, eyes following the curve of Lara's neck as she sipped her tea.

"Lost in the Amazon again, I see," she teased, her lips quirking in a smile. Her braid swung back and forth as she leaned closer, the firelight highlighting the emerald flecks in her eyes.

It wasn't every day you got to share a fire with Lara Croft, world-renowned adventurer and the love of your life. You chuckled, taking a swig of my ale. "Just trying to decipher a cryptic pirate journal Nate unearthed from his latest escapade. Apparently, there's a hidden fortune of Captain Kidd somewhere off the coast of Madagascar."

Lara scoffed, a playful glint in her eye. "Knowing Nate, it's probably buried under a pile of bad puns and empty rum bottles."

You couldn't help but agree. "Sounds about right. Though I wouldn't put it past him to actually stumble upon the loot by sheer dumb luck."

You both fell silent, a comfortable silence settling between the two of you. Dating Lara meant a life far removed from the quiet bookstore job. Her adventures brought danger and excitement. Yet, there was something undeniably thrilling about holding her hand as she recounted tales of dodging booby-trapped temples and outsmarting ruthless mercenaries.

"Are you coming, (Y/N)?" Her voice broke the stillness, her gaze softening. "To Madagascar, I mean."

You hesitated. The thought of Lara facing another treasure hunt alone gnawed at your soul. But you also knew she craved these challenges, that her curiosity and thirst for knowledge were as vital to her as air.

"Not this time, Lara," You give her hand a squeeze, not wanting to let it go. "That's Nate's turf. You know I wouldn't want to steal his thunder."

A flicker of disappointment crossed her face, but she quickly masked it. "Of course," she said, her voice light. "Besides, I don't think that island could handle two Drakes running amok."

"True enough. Though I might send Sully along to keep him out of too much trouble."

Lara laughed, her giggle was the only thing that made your existence feel like it was something. "Do that. And tell him to pack plenty of wisecracks and rum."

The rest of the evening unfolds in a warm haze of conversation and shared laughter. Reminiscing about past adventures, from misadventures exploring lost Mayan temples with Nate to Lara's encounter with a mythical serpent in the Peruvian jungle.

As the fire dwindled to embers, Lara leaned her head against your shoulder. "You know," she whispers in your ear, "the flight to Madagascar doesn't leave until the morning"

"That's still a couple hours away" you gaze meets her.

"I think we can find one or two ways to make the time fly" she gives you a wink. "My flat's not far from here"

"Lead the way" you gather up your supplies and take her arm in yours.

And with that, you and her slip out into the night, your footsteps blend together into the London streets. One little night together, a bit of wine and a whole lot of mischief.

You are (Y/N) Drake, brother of Nathan Drake, and boyfriend to the bravest, most extraordinary woman in all the world.

[u2fangirlie-blog]

Good Omens Still Belongs to Terry Pratchett

Deadline announced on Sept., 9, 2024, "Good Omens Production Paused on Amazon Drama from Neil Gaiman."

Good Omens season 3 production is delayed. That's an obvious and natural consequence given the allegations of SA against Neil Gaiman.

(See Sept. 11, 2024 update below.)

Since the first week of July 2024, when the allegations came out in the news, Good Omens fans have been ripping each other to shreds over how to respond. Fans are being horrible to one another. They argue over what to think, how to feel, whether or not to boycott everything Gaiman ever wrote or produced or had his name on, or if fans should destroy their books and delete their Tumblr blogs and unpublish their fanfiction on AO3, or whether or not the artist can be separated from the art. In the court of social media, you can't still like a work of art or literature if the creator is an alleged sexual predator.

YES. ALLEGED. THAT'S CORRECT. Saying someone is guilty of a crime before they are found guilty in a court of law can lead to legal consequences for writers.

Other than denouncing SA perps and saying it's objectively terrible and wrong, I don't know how to respond to allegations of Gaiman committing SA for decades. Does anybody know?

But I will say my piece about Good Omens. Neil Gaiman didn't create it by himself. Terry Pratchett co-wrote it with him. Everyone is overlooking the most obvious reason that Good Omens season 3 might continue - Pratchett's estate is involved in production. Narrativia is the company started by Pratchett, and it continues with his daughter Rhianna Pratchett at the helm. Rob Wilkins, Terry's representative on Earth, also works with Narrativia.

So before everyone throws up hands and yells and throws out season 3 of Good Omens because it's got Neil's name in it, remember: One person didn't write Good Omens. Terry and Neil wrote it together. Decades before Terry died, he and Neil worked out the conclusion to Good Omens. They planned a sequel called 668: The Neighbor of the Beast. Terry's finale deserves to be told.

It's possible for Amazon and Narrativia to finish season 3. Look at the writing credits for seasons 2: John Finnemore, Cat Clarke, Jeremy Dyson, and Andy Nyman. It's possible to complete the series without Gaiman. Before July 2024, Gaiman said he wrote the final episode and had worked out the plot for everything. I don't recall how many episodes he finished before he vanished from the public. Michael Sheen and David Tennant both said they read the final episode script.

Remember that without the Good Omens series, Michael Sheen and David Tennant might never have met or worked together. The world could have been deprived of the greatest real life best friends forever relationship. Together with their wives, they might never have formed an ersatz polycule that everyone loves to see on social media.

We know how much David and Michael love Good Omens fans. That love is real! We know they would continue with the series to conclude the story for the fans.

In conclusion, before you take a dump all over fans because they still want to see season 3 of Good Omens, take all these facts into consideration. It's still Terry Pratchett's story. It deserves to be told.

UPDATE: Reported by Deadline on Sept. 11, 2024. Here is the inevitable news: "Gaiman has made an offer to Amazon and producers to take a back seat on the latest season so that it can continue amid crisis talks over the Terry Pratchett adaptation’s future."

Actually, this is good news for Good Omens fans and the future of season 3. As I previously posted, Good Omens was co-written with Terry Pratchett and his estate's production company is involved with the Good Omens series. It's what's right for the people who work on the series - including all the amazingly talented crew members who deserve to keep their jobs. And it's what's right for the fans. This is a smart move.

[overstuffd]

mmmm thinkling about being a hacker who sees a perfect target while tapping through unsecured webcams one day.

cute, curvy, a small belly peeking out from under her shirt. she doesn't know anyone's watching as she idly snacks on the open bag of chips on her desk. I decide to see how little prodding it takes for her to give in to indulging her every whim.

i start off by subtly influencing her social media feeds. delicious food and porn, side by side and one right after the other. she might notice something seems different, but the porn is welcome considering the selection of toys i had amazon 'misdeliver' to her house have been getting a lot of use.

once she's started associating her newly increased orgasm rate with food, it's time to start upping the portions. she gets her groceries delivered, so it's easy to make a few substitutions and editions. Extra-thick, honey sweetened yoghurt instead of her normal low fat brand. Her favourite diet soda was 'sold out' but luckily she's well stocked in the full sugar version.

she's sure she didn't add these bags of chips to the order, or this box of donuts, but the delivery guy shrugs and says they're free so it would be silly to throw them out.

i make sure the first thing she sees when she turns on her phone in the morning is something to turn her on and something to get her stomach rumbling. hot pancakes, oozing syrup. a plate stacked with greasy bacon and eggs with a mountain of fried potatoes. some upscale bakery showing off their latest cream stuffed pastries.

at this point i'll be tracking every like, every video she lingers on just a bit too long to know exactly what she'll be unable to resist. and it's such a coincidence that a coupon for that exact bakery appeared in her inbox just as she was looking at them. it's such a good deal, and it expires today, so it would be a shame not try all of the ones she's had her eye on.

doubling her order as it comes through is a simple, explainable glitch. still, most of these pastries won't be good tomorrow, so she might as well try all of them, it's not like she has to finish them all.

later that night, as she goes back to the fridge for the fourth time, she scoops the last blob of frosting up with a scrap of pastry and sighs. she's definitely getting a little softer around the middle, but she can't worry about that now - she's just found out she's lost her job by email. she's so lucky though, because later that day she gets offered a spot on a medical weed trial she can't even remember applying for. a few well placed changes on my part and she's getting paid to smoke up every day at home, fresh flower and vape carts carefully delivered every week.

the 'study' pays well, so why shouldn't she get most of her food delivered? she's too stoned to move most of the day anyway, and she has such good luck with ordering in lately, every restaurant seems to be throwing in free extra desserts and appetisers every time she orders.

that night, her large meat feast pizza (already more than she used to order) comes with garlic bread, wings, curly fries, soda and icecream and fist sized tubs of creamy sauces. you try and ask the delivery boy a question but he mumbles something about a promotion, and what, is she going to say no to free food?

as she sits down, she barely notices as i set the youtube on her tv to start a playlist of cute girls trying different fast food places, giggling as they took huge bites of rich, calorific foods.

the strain i picked out for her has already got her hungry and horny, so she flops down on the couch in her sweatpants and t-shirt. this shirt used to be loose on her, but it's definitely stretching tighter across her tits and slightly bulging stomach. she barely notices though, grabbing a slice of pizza and chugging soda straight from the bottle as her already hazy mind gets softer. she doesn't realise she's finishing what should be a meal for a family of four until most of it's gone.

her stomach feels uncomfortably tight, straining against the waistband of her now-tight sweatpants. she pulls the band down and her stomach springs out, angry red marks showing where it had bitten into her soft flesh.

my conditioning has been working, and she doesn't know why, but the feeling of her being so stuffed makes her pussy ache, and she slides a hand into her pants to find herself dripping wet. she starts playing with herself as she finishes the lst slice of pizza, forces a few more fries into her heavy gut. the more she eats, the better her fingers feel on her clit, her flabby brain well trained at this point to associate food with sex, being stuffed full with cumming what was left of her brains out.

she's on the edge now, but she's finished the food and even though her stomach is straining and sensitive she can't make herself finish without something to eat at the same time.

she's lucky she forgot to put the icecream in the freezer. she pulls the melted tub towards herself, too pinned under the weight of her bloated stomach to even lean over for it. the thick mix of cream, sugar, chocolate and caramel pour down her throat as she slowly begins to chug the mixture. her free hand is back between her legs, frantically fucking her needy pussy as her belly stretches beyond what she thought she handle. as the last of the icecream drips down her throat she cums, harder than she thinks she's ever come before.

she slumps back, too happy to care that she's surrounded by greasy pizza boxes and that there's melted icream smeared across her tits.

watching through her webcam, i'm already planning all the fun deliveries she's going to be getting in the next fes days.

[utilitycaster]

…so I decided to check out Polygon’s D20 coverage, and frankly I think you were entirely too kind to them. Good. GOD, some of that stuff read like they’ve never watched AP that *wasn’t* CR, D20 or the first season of TAZ. And have somehow made it thru the 2010s without encountering urban fantasy…

Anyway, to further nudge you towards your destiny of AP journalism (and with the understanding that you have a Real Job and a life outside TTRPGs and the internet); can you please expand on what you think D20 brings to the table?(pun unintended, but I stand by it) Because speaking as someone who has watched a handful of eps and enjoys the concepts, the praise PG were offering was damningly faint.

Hi! Thank you, and for what it's worth I don't think most of them have listened to the first season of TAZ either, given the way they talk about WBN as inventing the actual play longform podcast. I do want to note: I like writing longform stuff about actual play but I am adamantly not a journalist. I am not investigating or interviewing or reporting; I'm doing analysis and editorial. Amateur critic is the most I can claim to and that's a stretch (and even there I have a particular privilege in that I'm writing all this for free, anonymously, by choice, and don't need be be nice or maintain relationships with actual play performers within the space because I could burn every bridge and still make rent.)

Anyway. I think a major flaw of Polygon is that it's so focused on novelty and subversion that it forgets a well-worn concept, executed with skill, is actually great and for many people, preferable. Brennan, from everything I have heard him say and from how he actually runs games, has a deep respect for fantasy as a genre, and the stories he tells in D20 are ones he is clearly familiar with and loves. I also think to subvert things you must be a fan, and when D20 does successfully subvert or twist a genre, it's coming from a place of respect and understanding.

Anyway, just covering a few Intrepid Heroes seasons: I think Fantasy High (and I haven't gotten to the latest episode of Junior Year) is actually increasingly a brilliant deconstruction of D&D as a game by making the world aware that it's in a D&D game. What does it mean to be in a D&D party and be an adventurer and have that be a significant part of who you are? What does it mean to be a commoner in this world? What do you do when you're sort of a broke teen in generic suburbia but also you need the loot that an adventurer would theoretically get from dragon hoards? Why do you have to know what your life's calling will be when you're 14? One of my personal favorite things, as a lover of mechanics and TTRPGs as a system of storytelling and more generally as someone who believes that your medium of choice should be informing the story you tell, is when people engage with character roles and classes instead of treating them as just a set of cool things you can do, and Fantasy High very much pushes the players to do this. I also mentioned elsewhere that the downtime stress mechanics are a brilliant addition to one of the genuine gaps in D&D, namely, while downtime is a time for open RP, there's not a good way to handle things like stress or crafting or prioritizing well.

The Unsleeping City is one I like, honestly, just because I lived in New York for a few years and Brennan lived there far longer (as did much of the cast, though not all) and his love for it is apparent. I don't think it's groundbreaking; I just think it's really good. The characters are excellent and the story is fun. It's true that, for example, it allows you the satisfaction of making Amazon's and its attempted move into Long Island City the BBEG and smiting its ass instead of having to harangue your senators and councilpeople (as I did, and I wasn't even living in Queens) but really it's just a good story. It doesn't need to be more than that. It did not invent urban fantasy or the idea of a secret magical version of a real city or "most myths are real"; it's just a good story!

I think A Crown of Candy is also just a fun setting and, by making everyone food, emphasizes how petty and arbitrary the alliances in a Game of Thrones-esque milieu can be. It casts a scathing eye on religious interpretation as a tool for conquest without clumsily proclaiming the mere concept of religion is the problem. It has one of the best explorations of character death I've seen and Brennan's acting as Caramelinda remains a tour de force for him. Bringing the entire story of succession and war down to a final choice between two half-sisters remains a brilliant decision, the setting is supported by the mechanical limits Brennan imposed upon character creation, and it's overall beautifully done.

Even Neverafter, which I think have openly said didn't live up to its initial promise, had that promise with the fantastic handling of the TPK; I have a love for metanarrative and honestly my issue is that it was the wrong place to do metanarrative, but it was a bold choice to do in the unpredictable medium of actual play.

That's really only covering a fraction - I think some other standouts are Mentopolis, A Court of Fey and Flowers, Coffin Run, and Escape from the Bloodkeep, and while Shriek Week is just not a genre I'm personally super drawn to, I think the Mythic system is a great system for the story being told and Hicks does a great job running it.

Really what it comes down to is that D20 falls in between what a lot of shows are. It doesn't have the freedom but also the burden of a very long-running campaign (indeed, WBN exists because its performers, all of whom have featured in D20, wanted to be able to do longform actual play), nor is it quite as rushed as an all-miniseries or one-shot show. It has space to explore one or two things really well without having to carry a thousand different threads (and believe me, Brennan tries to put in as many as he can in that space - I actually wonder if the reason Fantasy High Junior Year feels a little more streamlined to me is that WBN was by that time in full swing). But it's not the first edited actual play, it mostly uses very widespread systems, the production values are high but not unheard of elsewhere (and I think that production values in AP beyond the basic 'can you hear and, if relevant, see things clearly and does the set look nice' are overrated though that's a personal preference), the cast is strong but not the first group of professionals or even comedians, and they didn't invent the concept of filming remotely or scrims or having an anticapitalist message.

My issue with the journalists, to reiterate that, is that they're not really doing much journalism, actually; and that their bias is horribly apparent. There's little analysis - just shallow reviews that show little understanding of actual play as a medium, fantasy as a genre, or TTRPGs as a system. And while being entirely free of bias is unavoidable - we are people, and we will bring our own interpretations and experiences in, and there are people who will love D20 and dislike Critical Role without doing so in bad faith - the fact that several of the journalists have openly crowed and preened about their special access to the D20 cast really makes it apparent that they like D20 because Dropout gives them early access and says nice things about them. And it's a feedback loop; Critical Role is going to keep saying "well, you constantly shit on us, so no, you don't get early access" and they'll keep writing bad reviews because they don't get early access.

But to return to the point, D20 is legitimately great and yeah the bias in my mind is only hurting them because, speaking only for myself, if there's two things I like and people heap fawning and inaccurate praise on one and nitpick the other? I'm going to start looking into that praise and find more flaws, and I'm going to start defending the nitpicked one. I really love Fantasy High Junior Year but the Polygon article is so bad I have to remind myself that it's just because the person who wrote it is an idiot. I probably would have gone into Kollok much more neutrally if people didn't act like it was the fucking invention of television. Do give D20 a try if you can! Don't read the articles.

[jtargaryen18]

Hounds of Hell MC 4: Ryder ~ Coming October 24th

A/N: Just a quick note to let you know that the latest in my Hounds of Hell MC series at Changeling Press is coming October 24th! It will be available at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple and the rest a week later on HALLOWEEN! It's not a Halloween story, but if you're reading the series, I hope you enjoy it!

Here's a preview...Ryder is Axel's twin brother in the MC. Margot has been Ryder's friend forever (though she's always had a thing for him) and she's Mercy's newest deputy sheriff. In Axel, Ryder was shot and was lucky to survive.

With the efficiency of a SWAT team, Margot ordered lunch, paid for it, and had them tucked away at a small table in the corner, enjoying burgers and fries.

“What’s that?” Ryder pointed at her tall, covered cup.

“Strawberry shake. They’ve always had the best shakes here. You want one?”

 “Nah,” Ryder said. “Just a little concerned, is all. You’re starting with milkshakes. Milkshakes lead to donuts. Next thing you know, you lose your girlish figure and you’re be stuck running radar out by the interstate.”

Margot laughed, a high, lovely sound. “Don’t worry about my girlish figure.”

“I like your girlish figure,” Ryder said, grinning.

“Since when?” A little of the humor faded from her expression at that. “I’m probably the only woman you haven’t slept with in a hundred-mile radius.”

“More like a 50-mile radius,” Ryder said.

But he hadn’t been lying when he said he liked her figure. Margot was just about perfect. Nice rack. Great ass. A killer smile made all the more adorable for her dark eyes and the freckles across the bridge of her nose.

Margot had a good head on her shoulders, too. He enjoyed talking to her, their playful banter. He couldn’t imagine a world where he couldn’t have these light-hearted conversations with Mercy’s newest deputy sheriff.

“It doesn’t bother you to be having lunch with a biker?” He couldn’t resist asking.

“It doesn’t bother you that you’re having lunch with a cop?” Margo eyed him. “How did you get to town?”

“Rode my bike,” Ryder said. “Might not have been my best idea. I mean, I was okay getting here. Not sure how getting back is going to go.”

“How long are you going to stay?” Margot’s dark-eyed gaze stayed on him.

Shrugging a shoulder, Ryder finished off a French fry. “I’d like to finish the day out,” he admitted. “But now that I’m sitting here, I’m feeling pretty fucking tired.”

It was the truth and he’d never been good at keeping that from her. His friend’s gaze was knowing. 

“Why don’t we get you home after lunch? I’d be glad to drive you back.”

Ryder knew she would. But he would disappoint himself if he left after lunch to go home and climb back into bed in that lonely, quiet house. Shaking his head, he ate another fry, thought it over. 

“I’m tired. Just not sure I’m tired enough to go back to the house and hang out by myself.”

More concern bled into her expression. “At least take a nap in the lounge or something. No one’s going to give you shit for it. You almost died.”

He had. Axel and Hero both cut him worried looks the entire time he’d been there, working on that engine. Margot had a point. 

“Well, with me getting back on my feet, let me know if you need help with anything at the house.” He meant it. “Clyde was as bad as you about never wanting to bother anyone. If you need help with anything, I’m right here.”

Margot nodded, eating her burger. After a moment, her gaze met his. Her dark eyes were glossy.

“I still can’t believe Dad’s gone, Ryder,” she said quietly. “No warning. Just gone.”

Reaching across the table, he covered her hand with his. Some emotion flashed in her eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. 

“He loved you more than anything,” he said. “Clyde was so proud of you.”

A tear spilled down her cheek at the words. “I know he was. It’s just… I worked so hard to find a job back over here in Mercy so I could be with him, help him as he got older. And now he’s gone. Shot by some Mafia asshole like he was nothing.”

Swiping at her tears with her free hand, Margot tried to regain her composure.

“Clyde didn’t deserve that. And I wish my brother had been able to take that asshole out. Slow. But Sawyer was there and now the bastard’s in jail.”

That stopped her cold. Carefully, she moved her hand out from under his, shaking her head. “Don’t say that. He’ll pay for what he did in the system. Spend a long time in jail. He’ll think about what he did.”

“Will he?” Ryder asked. “He’s part of a criminal organization, Margot. They have a lot of resources. Maybe he’ll go to jail, but he won’t think a second about your father. He won’t be sitting up in some jail cell regretting his crimes either.”

He didn’t like the way her confidence waned, but he had to say it. “He’ll be trying to find a way out of there. And when he does, he’ll be looking for some payback and he’ll have his entire crime family at his back.”

Margot’s spine straightened where she sat, meeting his gaze squarely. “I have faith in the system. That man will pay for what he’s done.”

Ryder wasn’t so sure about that. He didn’t give a shit about the system. “He will pay,” Ryder said, hoping that he’d be the one to mete out that retribution. What he wouldn’t give to have a shot at the sons-of-bitches who killed Clyde Donner and Morgan Davis. Who tried to kill him. 

He had faith in Margot. She’d been through the training, worked in the next county over. Margot knew what she was doing. But she was new enough that she still thought the criminal justice system infallible. Had she ever had dealings with big crime families? Did she understand what she was getting into?

Worse, he worried that the loss of her father would cause her to make a decision that would put her in harm’s way.

“Okay,” she said, her dark-eyed gaze on him. “If you won’t let me drive you back home and you insist on trying to stay at the garage, I’ll make you an offer. If you’re too tired to ride back to the country, you can crash at the house. I don’t have a spare key on me. But I have one. I’ll leave it under that old stone squirrel my dad loved.”

Always looking after him. What would he have done all those long weeks after he’d gotten out of the hospital without her? Axel had been the one to help him change his bandages, got him in the shower. Margot took care of most everything else from changing his bedding and keeping up the house, to bringing him groceries and leaving him meals he could warm up and eat. She’d taken care of him, her daily visits something he looked forward to.

What he’d done to deserve her, he didn’t know. Maybe she needed to stay busy to deal with her own loss. 

“Sounds good,” Ryder said after a moment. “In case I haven’t told you, thank you. For everything. I’m not sure why you took it upon yourself to take care of my dumb ass but I’m grateful.”

Soft pink darkened her face. “You’re welcome.”

Something occurred to him. “Wait. You’re working the day shift,” he pointed out. “Where are you going to be later that you need to leave me a key?”

“Tonight’s my first class,” Margot reminded him.

“That’s right,” he said. “Your self-defense class.” She’d been so excited about it, telling him about what she had planned over the last few weeks. “I think Sadie signed up for it.”

“She did,” Margot said, smiling. “I think it will be good for her after everything she’d been through. And I was surprised. The day we got you back into the hospital, she came with Axel. We had a minute in the hall, and she was just… apologizing to me for my dad. She was blaming herself because it was her ex that killed him. But it wasn’t her fault.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Ryder said. “I think your class will help her.”

Something about the smile she cut him had his heart skipping a beat. Margot was a pretty woman. He’d always thought so. Unlike most of the girls he went around with, Margot didn’t do a lot to emphasize her natural beauty. Her nails were unpainted and short, and she wore only a hint of makeup most days. Her hair was put up in a precise bun, glossy and neat. Her uniform always pressed.

Yeah, sure. He’d seen Margot many times in her street clothes. She always favored jeans and simple tops. Her hair was usually pulled back into a ponytail and those days she didn’t wear any makeup. Not that she needed it. She was clearly comfortable in her own skin without all the paint and other enhancements women used to boost their femininity. 

And her confidence was sexy as hell. Funny, considering Margot didn’t see herself that way. She didn’t realize she had the cutest ass, and her confident stride showed it off. What would Margot look like in a bikini, stretched out on a towel on the beach? Or in his bed, that auburn hair decorating his pillow...

Shaking his head to clear it, he grinned. “Thanks for the offer of a place to stay,” he said. “Might take you up on it.”

Margot smiled. “Please do.” 

The flirty little way she said that had him thinking thoughts he had no business thinking about his best friend.

www.JamieTargaet.com

[kaija-rayne-author]

So, it should be pretty obvious by now that I'm firmly against fans boycotting Bioware and Dreadwolf due to the layoffs. I'll put it in business terms. I've worked for Fortune 500 companies, and I speak from that perspective.

The people who made it are hoping, and have said, that they hope people will love Dreadwolf as much as they do. Even when they were laid off.

It would punish the creatives who made the game far more than it would punish Bioware. They likely can't even talk about it due to NDAs unless/until it's released. Can you imagine not being able to talk about a thing you loved and poured years of your life, creativity, and passion into? I can. It would be heartbreaking.

I don't want to be responsible for harming people who love dragon age enough to make it for us. If I boycott, that's exactly what I'd be partially responsible for. I'm usually very pro-boycott, but in this case, I'm not.

So here's the question... we unequivocally live in a late stage capitalist nightmare world. Do you know how many other companies have laid off employees this year?

This type of behavior has been pro forma for corporate for at least 20 years, probably longer.

So, why would people boycott Dreadwolf and Bioware when they're by far not even the most egregious example of mass layoffs?

In 2022-2023, we've had these mass layoffs.

Meat giant Tyson Foods is laying off about 15% of senior leadership roles and 10% of corporate roles, according to an internal memo shared with CNN.

Y'all gonna boycott meat? I didn't think so.

3M announced significant layoffs as part of another major restructuring plan. The brand behind Post-It Notes and Scotch Tape said in a statement it would lay off 6,000 staff around the world.

Gonna boycott tape? Ear plugs? Sticky notes?

Lyft (LYFT)’s move in November to cut 13% of its workforce, citing fears of a looming recession.

Buzzfeed announced a 15% reduction in its workforce, or about 180 employees.

David's Bridal is eliminating 9,236 positions across the United States but did not specify how many stores would be affected.

Walmart is laying off more than 3,000 workers.

And I know many people can't afford to boycott Walmart.

Meta announced an additional 10,000 layoffs across several months on top of mass layoffs in 2022.

You still use Facebook? I personally loathe it and only keep an account for marketing reasons. I can barely even make it work anymore.

Three rounds of layoffs hit Disney (DIS), announced through a March 27 internal memo to employees. Around 7,000 people will be affected by the move over the next several months.

Amazon (AMZN) said in March it would cut 9,000 jobs, bringing the total number of Amazon (AMZN) staffers eliminated this year to around 27,000.

Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March.

Satellite radio giant SiriusXM laid off 475 people, or about 8% of its workforce, as part of a broad restructuring.

Zoom (ZM) said it will lay off about 1,300 employees, or approximately 15% of its staff, in a memo to employees in Feburary.

Dell (DELL) laid off roughly 5% of its workforce, the company said in a regulatory filing in February. Dell had about 133,000 employees, the company told CNN. At that level, the 5% cut represents more than 6,500 employees.

Gonna refuse to use your computer?

Microsoft said in January it would be laying off 10,000 employees, according to a securities filing.

This was only up to around March of this year. There's loads more.

Point being it's ridiculous to boycott a company and hurt the people who made a thing they love just because they got laid off.

This is what corporations do. There is 0 loyalty to the employee at a corporation. It's all about the bottom line.

Maybe all y'all haven't worked in corporate, maybe people are hopping on the 'I'll boycott too' bandwagon. IDEK.

I honestly don't care if I change anyone's mind about it all, but it’s silly. Just outright ridiculous to expect a corporation to do anything but what corporations do.

It's not right. It's awful. I hate that Bioware basically backstabbed the creatives who made them what they are. But it's not new or even remotely rare. Bioware has laid off roughly 125 employees in the past handful of months.

Every company I named laid off far, far more. And if you think I'll believe you're going to boycott Microsoft, you must have a bridge you want to sell me, too.

Here's the source, if you want it.

[iww-gnv]

The latest job cuts come after Snap laid off 20% of its workforce, nearly 1,300 employees, in August 2022 and announced the shutdown of several initiatives, including ending Snapchat original series. In November 2023, in a much smaller round of layoffs, Snap said it let go about 20 product managers. For Snap, the layoffs are part of efforts to curb costs and return to profitability. In early 2024, job cuts have swept across multiple industries as companies look to reduce expenses, including among tech players like Google (including YouTube) and Amazon (including Prime Video, Twitch and Audible). Microsoft, meanwhile, last month axed 1,900 jobs in its gaming division, almost 9% of its employee base, after closing its massive deal to acquire Activision Blizzard.

[hotwaterandmilk]

Magilumiere update combo post!

Volume 8 out next week (Japan)

The 8th paperback volume of Kabushiki Gaisha Magilumiere hits Japanese shelves next Friday, August 4th. The cover (above , featuring Kana) was recently made available via Jump.

2nd manga arc begins next week

After 3 weeks of 4-koma tiding us over, the new arc of Magilumiere will begin serialisation via Mangaplus next week (August 2nd in Japan).

1st English paperback volume blurb available

The first English language print volume details for Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. have surfaced via Amazon. The series' English title has been altered slightly for physical releases (per VIZ Media's print announcement last month). The first volume is scheduled for publication for $14.99USD on March 19th 2024 (very much subject to change).

Its description is as follows

There’s never a dull day at the office when you’re a magical girl! Are you looking for something new? Something challenging? Something very highly paid? Exterminating monsters is an exciting, fast-paced field that will get you out from behind a desk and into the action. With over 500 magical girl companies now in operation, you’re sure to find a position—and a uniform—that fits. Start your career as a magical girl today! Kana Sakuragi is an excellent candidate for the job. Any job! She’s motivated and organized, and has a fantastic memory. So why has she interviewed at over 15 companies without a single offer? She’s trying to keep a positive attitude, but it seems like her bad luck is only getting worse when a monster crashes her latest interview. As havoc ensues, she finds herself helping the magical girl who comes to their rescue and ends up with more than just her life in return. Meet the newest magical girl at Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.!

If you're a fan of the series, please support official releases in your location/language when possible.

[sarenhale]

The latest lino prints!! Very happy with how these came out, it feels like I'm getting the hang of this. Trying different papers and intensity of ink too, to see what I prefer.

And for funsies, last pic shows my tools for the job: a wooden spatula, an iron meat tenderizer and a wooden rolling pin LMAO. You know how much a printing press costs on amazon? 40 fucking euros. You know what's free and you probably have in your kitchen and does the same exact job without spending 40 euros? These three exact objects.

[crumb]

Damon has been cast in an upcoming Blumhouse/Amazon Prime Horror Action series and as a series regular!!! I'm fucking screaming! His character is “the owner of a successful country music club" named Lucky. 😭 I'm so excited for this! Full Article from BloodyDisgusting:

Four new cast members join Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Nettles on Blumhouse TV’s “The Bondsman,” an action horror series for Amazon’s Prime Video. That includes actor Damon Herriman (Run Rabbit Run, The Nightingale, “Mindhunter”). Variety reports that Herriman, Beth Grant (No Country For Old Men, Donnie Darko), Maxwell Jenkins (“Arcadian,” “Lost In Space”) and Jolene Purdy (“The White Lotus,” “Orange Is The New Black”) have all joined the show in series regular roles. The action horror series “centers on Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon), a backwoods bounty hunter who comes back from the dead with an unexpected second chance at life, love, and a nearly-forgotten musical career — only to find that his old job now has a demonic new twist.” “The Bondsman” was created by Grainger David (The Chair), who will also executive produce. Erik Oleson will serve as showrunner and executive producer via CrimeThink. Jennifer Nettles will play Hub Halloran’s ex-wife, Maryanne. Beth Grant will play Kitty, the mother of Hub Halloran. Herriman will appear as Lucky, who is described as “the owner of a successful country music club, who is in a relationship with Maryanne.” Jenkins will play Cade, Hub and Maryanne’s son. Jolene Purdy will play Midge, who is described as “weary with the understated gravitas of someone who’s learned the hard way how to hold her ground in a male-dominated world. Midge may look unassuming but she’s actually a secret emissary.” Amazon ordered eight half-hour episodes of “The Bondsman.” Jason Blum, Chris McCumber, Jeremy Gold, and Chris Dickie for Blumhouse TV also executive produce, as does Paul Shapiro from CrimeThink. Bacon will also executive produce in addition to leading the series. “The Bondsman” also marks the latest collaboration between Blumhouse and Amazon. Blumhouse is also behind Prime Video’s horror dramedy “The Horror of Dolores Roach,” which debuted last summer on the streaming platform.