#ankh greed

[sasasartblog]

cover / part 1 / part 11

This is Kamen Rider Ankh now

[asanjou]

we're now 8 episodes away from finishing ooo and the drama is more heated than ever

[scaredysap]

tfw there are four entire villains in front of you but you only have eyes for your boy

[rosasappho]

UVA!!!

[mefilas]

you people are NOT NORMAL

[offhandway]

all this talk about how even after greeds get restored, they will consume more human desire then ankh says he's feeling satisfied, in this essay i will-

[episodeoftv]

Round 2 of 8, Group 4 of 4

propaganda and summaries are under the cut (May include spoilers)

Kamen Rider OOO: 1.20 The Decoy, Quantification, and the Flaming Combo

tw Eiji gets dangled off a cliff and Ankh gives death threats pretty lightly, because he's a monster made from human desires

After being abandoned by Ankh desiring the return of one of his Core Medals from Kazari, Eiji is found by the cowardly hoodlum Yasu while he continues to ponder if his partner can really be trusted.

First appearance of TaJaDor (fire bird combination), which is the best one in the show. Eiji uses Ankh's power fully, for the first time. And everyone is watching him fight the lionfish (half lion half jellyfish) Yummy monster. The monsters are made from giving form to the desires of random people, but only Greeed (misspelling intentional), including Ankh, can do so. Ankh doesn't do this, because he's lazy and trying to conserve his strength due to only being an arm and possessing a police officer (Izumi Hina's older brother, Shingo). He made Eiji collect the Medals (coins) for him because Eiji wanted to save Shingo from eternal possession by birb. And Satonaka (gun lady), Date (tall buff dude), and Gotou (twink) work for the guy who orchestrated the reawakening of the Greeed. They gave Eiji the last red Core Medal in order to take advantage of him via capitalism. Yaaaaaaaay! In other words, this show is a metaphor for how capitalism is an extension of the deadly sin, greed. It deals with themes of desires, impulses, and self-restraint. This episode in particular shows that great power comes at many different prices: the cost of a deal with the devil (Kougami Foundation), at physical cost to Eiji (he faints after defeating the lionfish), at cost to Ankh (he gets hope for the rest of his Cores yet gets his hopes dashed yet again). There's so much going on in this episode, so much about unfairness. But the biggest unfairness is how pretty TaJaDor Combo is. Goddamn.

The Sopranos: 4.13 Whitecaps

Junior's trial comes to an end, but Tony's trials are just getting underway. Also, the Sopranos almost purchase a house on the beach.

Probably the greatest acting showcase to be put on tv. Won a ton of emmys

[gaiyuki]

ooo thoughts so far, ended up being really long so i put it under a readmore LOL

ankh all of ur talk of how humanity is irredeemable and deserves eradication is reminding me an awful lot of ryo asuka devilman..hes so evil mf almost choked hina out and the past few episodes hes like "I DON'T CARE IF HUMANS DIE I WANT THEIR MEDALS" while eiji is the complete opposite...hes super empathetic and wants to help everyone as much as he can.. it keeps flashing back to that scene w/the girl at the construction site and theres that scene in ep 3 where chiyoko looks at that photo and a man that looks like eiji is in the bg. i feel like. this is implying something like is eiji some kind of representation of forgiveness?? is that part of the reason hes so nomadic?? did he have some kind of past thats forgotten?? ankh is the opposite of that...hes literally a monster of greed that attempts to use eiji to gain as much as power as possible. also awfully interesting how all of the monsters are representations of the greedy kind of desire so far. hm. I feel like they r implying something ...or maybe i am Looking too deep into the funny ska kamen rider tokusatsu

[peonypaint]

doodles in between working on other stuff

[ ID: two digital sketch drawings of ankh and eiji from kamen rider ooo. the first drawing shows ankh and eiji in two poses, on the left ankh has jumped up to cling to eiji with his arms and legs wrapped around him while glaring off to the left as eiji holds him up with a smile and a heart above his head, above ankhs head is a speech bubble with a drawing of an angry bird. the second pose is of ankh sprawled on top of eijis lap with his arms wrapped around eijis shoulders as he looks off to the right with a neutral expression as eiji again holds him up while looking at him fondly. the second drawing shows a bust of eiji and a bust of ankhs greed form. eiji is smiling and wearing the same feather earring that ankh has. /END ID]

[thatbuggygirl]

So, @whoretaglia, I saw your tags! This is Ankh, from the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider OOO.

Ankh is a Greeed, an 800 year old monster born of desire. Specifically, he's the bird Greed, and his powers are related to that of hawks, peacocks, and condors. He lost most of his core medals, which make up the essence of what a Greeed is, and is sometimes reduced to existing as simply an arm. He spends most of the series possessing a human (hence the attractive twink with the funky arm) and trying to regain his core medals so he can have his entire body back.

He also works with the show's titular hero, Kamen Rider OOO, to stop the world from being destroyed.

And, most importantly(?), he loves popsicles.

It's a very good show with a fun cast and great music!

[thepmmmwitchproject]

Manga Witches... 2!!

Here comes the second post!! This one will focus on unnamed witches introduced in Oriko Magica, while the main spinoff's witches were all named (ex. Rosasharn, Cecil, etc.) the ones featured in Oriko Magica's side stories were not. Like last times, all of these witches were done together with @honestlyboringperson!

We're starting off with Ankh, the tomb witch. Her nature is greed. A witch who desires nothing more than to be adorned with jewels and gold from head to toe. She can freely melt herself down into molten gold and reshape herself with new trinkets she absorbs. To defeat her easily catch her by surprise via attacking her while she is molten. She can easily be distracted with something shiny.

Charlie, the Ouija witch with a maniacal nature, the witch is composed of only a twisted Oujia board body with long spindly legs. It has a planchette familiar reading out a message, if this message is completed, horrifying ghosts appear, nearly invincible to defeat. One must strike down this witch quick so such a thing won't happen. It loves to torment those who live alone, causing to breakdown and become insane. Soon becoming one more spirit that resides in the witch. Her weak spot is the “goodbye” portion on her body and simply moving the planchette over the goodbye will defeat this witch immediately, though it's a deed easier said than done.

Daisy Belle, the witch of imprinting. It's nature is companionship. A shockingly small witch, she clings to other witches for protection and is either endeared by the witch or seen as a nuisance, it really depends on which witch it runs to. It may even cling to a meguca, though this a sign that the meguca is not what she seems, and is probably riddled with despair. It shows its emotions with the facial marking on its chest. This witch has very pinchable cheeks.

Baneberry, the parfait witch. With an autophagic nature. It endlessly devour itself, hoping to find their true self within, but never finds in the end, leaving her unsatisfied. Her familiars fill her up with new things to try, this includes humans, debris, or even concepts. Simply tipping her over can defeat this large witch. The next post will be the third post, which will focus on unnamed witches that appeared in Suzune Magica!

[pikabelle]

One of Eiji's most notable character traits is his lack of desire, with his one exception being his protectiveness of tomorrow's underwear. He also shows a fondness for high quality underwear with bright and unique patterns, being that this is the only indulgence he allows himself.

Ankh, as we all know, is Eiji's narrative foil, who is the opposite of him in many ways as a being driven by greed and desire. He is all about indulgence, indulgence that shows up very noticibly in his manner of dress, which contrasts Eiji's mismatched thrifted clothing as Ankh dresses in stylish designer clothes that he very carefully coordinates.

Their appearances and personalities are contrasting opposites, so therefore if Eiji enjoys wearing underwear, it can safely be assumed that Ankh wears no underwear at all.

[pleuvoire]

eiji/shingo and yandere graphite 👁️

HEHEHE JUMPING UP AND DOWN AND CLAPPING MY HANDS. those are two of my oldest still-extant toku wips (the third one being the "kitagoro get married" one) and i remember them fondly

eiji/shingo is a post-canon character study wherein eiji and shingo start having a casual sexual relationship as a way of mutually coping (in not the healthiest way) with ankh's absence. eiji because shingo reminds him of ankh and he can sort of pretend, and shingo because he has all these identity issues in the aftermath of being possessed and atp retreating into "being ankh" is familiar. excerpt:

“You didn’t get sick of it?” hums Eiji, tracing his mouth and nose along Shingo’s jawline. “I tried to get him to eat less of that stuff.” “He didn’t get sick of it,” says Shingo. “So I didn’t.” “Mm,” says Eiji, and kisses him again. When they pull apart he says, dreamily, “I like it when you taste that way.” Yeah, no shit. Shingo opens his mouth and lets Eiji kiss the ghost inside of him; lets the ghost kiss back, in the flavors of its favorite food. This must be, in large part, why he doesn’t feel too slighted or taken advantage of by this whole thing. Eiji isn’t just macking on a convenient substitute; there is something inside of Shingo that responds. The residue, still living inside his bones, of someone who wanted this with all the greed in the world. Shingo doesn’t mind obliging that someone.

i feel sometimes that this scenario might be kind of ooc for eiji but the idea of playing with it is too interesting to pass up. sorry eiji for very mildly distorting your character. i started writing this fic in july of 2021 when i'd just finished ooo and i go back to add a few hundred words roughly every 6 months. one of these days i should properly finish it

yandere graphite au is a fun one!!!! i'm always thinking it would be fun if graphite had more of saki's memories and this resulted in some kind of attraction to hiiro. (i need to go back and find the stage talk where graphite's actor says he probably has memories of going on dates with hiiro to wild cheers from the audience... anyway.) yandere graphite au is a concept wherein graphite is the personification of saki's increasingly desperate desire for hiiro to notice her and erm... basically behaves that way. excerpt:

How monstrous, Saki had once thought, for her to want things. How grotesque and ugly for her to demand more than she was given, even just to demand it in the secret heart of her, let alone out loud. How dare she upset the balance of things with her hunger, with the crime of resentment. It is that hunger and resentment that now smash through the wall of CR with a swing of Graphite’s tail, the humans inside scattering with yells. Monstrous are his wings flaring to fill the space, grotesque and ugly is the click of his claws as he advances upon a frantically crawling backwards Hiiro; the abominable immensity of Saki’s wanting and needing and doubting and resenting, freed from the confines of her fear. He is, finally, taking what she never could.

i haven't worked on this one in ages and i fear it may be forever doomed to incompletion but... i'd like to come back to it someday.... crawls on the ground

[cina-full-moon-xanadium]

i love the contrast of most Greed being monotone, and the medals being different shades, meanwhile Ankh is rainbow while Tajador is pure Red and Black

oh true...

[mediaevalmusereads]

Going Postal. By Terry Pratchett.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: fantasy

Series: Discworld #33/Moist von Lipwig #1/Industrial Revilution #4

Summary: Moist von Lipwig was a con artist and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet.

It was a tough decision.

But he has to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Workers' Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.

Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.

Maybe it'll take a criminal to succeed where honest men have failed, or maybe it's a death sentence either way.

Or perhaps there's a shot at redemption in the mad world of the mail, waiting for a man who's prepared to push the envelope...

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: arson, violence

OVERVIEW: This book was my book club's pick for February 2024. I've read one Discworld book before, but for some reason, I never got around to reading more, so I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so. Overall, I was quite charmed by this book. I smiled at Pratchett's sense of humor, and I deeply appreciated the satire and commentary that Pratchett was enfolding in his narrative. The reason for my 4 star rating is simply personal taste; I have a deep respect for Pratchett, but I must say that I personally thought some of the storytelling was buried by the whimsy. But I'm a crotchety reader with very specific wants and needs, and I'd absolutely recommend Pratchett's work to people looking for light-hearted yet sincere fantasy.

WRITING: Pratchett's prose is saturated with characteristic humor and whimsy, often imitated but never quite surpassed. I loved the little worldbuilding details that made me chuckle (such as the goddess of stuck drawers) as well as turns of phrases that drew attention to the prose as a written work (like characters 'hearing' the capital letters in speech).

My main criticisms are twofold: for one, I thought Pratchett had a tendency to rely overmuch on dialogue; and for two, I thought he buried a lot of the narrative action in speech and whimsical scenes that didn't necessary carry the story forward. As a result, I felt like some scenes stretched out overmuch or were a bit chaotic, and I had some trouble feeling invested when the main action of the plot or the protagonist's arc was overshadowed by humor.

PLOT: The plot of this book follows Moist von Lipwig, a con artist who is spared from death and given the task of reviving the Post Office within the city of Ankh-Morpork. Moist quickly learns that getting the Post Office in working order is no east feat: not only have the last few postmasters died under mysterious circumstances, but its main competition is a company run by greedy businessmen who will stop at nothing to ensure they have a monopoly on messenger service.

I very much appreciated that this book was not 'just' silly and whimsical, but contained some rather pointed commentary. Pratchett hides an exploration of things such as governmental/public service versus privatization, hope, redemption, and more in Moist's story, and I came away feeling like he utterly condemns corporate corruption and greed.

That being said, I'm pretty sure I would have appreciated this book if I had read more Discworld. While it wasn't impossible to follow and, being the first book in Moist's arc, was a relatively easy entry point into Pratchett's universe, I did get the sense that there were characters, places, etc. that would have felt more significant if I were better versed in the series.

CHARACTERS: Moist, our protagonist, is fairly fun to follow. Being a con artist, he has exceptional charisma and wit, yet he also stands in for the reader a bit by being taken aback by the workings of the dilapidated Post Office. I really liked how Moist's arc was one of a former criminal 'playing' a game only to end up being sincere and invested in the outcome by the end. Moist starts the book not really enthused by his new job, but ends up taking pride in his work and seeing it as important. I also appreciated his various musings on things such as the nature of hope, the effect that his criminal activity has on people, and how he uses assumptions/appearances to his advantage. It was a nice look into the psyche of a morally grey character who ultimately redeems himself by the end.

Supporting characters were charming and varied, though all somewhat bound by Pratchett's characteristic humor. Groat, the assistant postman (or whichever of his half dozen titles) was equal parts irritating and enthusiastic, which ended up working well in the context of the story. Stanley, the master of pins and stamps, was interesting in that his 'silly' obsession with pins turns into a helpful obsession with stamps. Adora Belle Dearheart was a nice check on Moist and was most interesting when challenging him to do the right thing or when seeing through his facade, though I do wish she and Moist had better chemistry. I very much enjoyed the golems, particularly Mr. Pump, who surprised me at the end with his heartfelt speech for Moist.

Our antagonist, Reacher Gilt, was sufficiently devious and greedy, and he acted in a way that seemed fairly typical of your money-hungry bad businessman. I liked that he was not only trying to screw Moist over, but was manipulating other people (such as the bank and the board), thus showing how his crimes are not solely focused on a rival. I also appreciated Pratchett's little nods to worker safety and dignity in his crafting of Gilt and his crimes, and I think everything was handled in a way that made me want to see Gilt fall but wasn't so overtly grim that I felt like this book shifted in tone whenever bad guys did bad guy stuff.

TL;DR: Going Postal is a whimsical fantasy novel that explores public versus private services, using a cast of memorable characters and distinctive humor to tell the heartwarming story of a con man who learns to be authentic.

[apilgrimpassingby]

Mummy Aesthetic

Written, like all but one of these posts, with @the-hour-of-our-deaths)

Egyptian sarcophagi.

Hieroglyphs on the walls.

Ominously-illustrated papyri.

A softly howling desert wind.

The pyramid, looming immense and ragged in the distance and with vultures circling around it and crying.

Long, dusty Arab robes.

Night-black chambers, enclosing you on all sides, with small glints of gold.

A groan in the dark every now and then.

Stone tunnels you have to crawl through on your stomach.

Eyes of Horus and ankhs.

Bandages in the tunnels.

Scorpions; you can hear their scuttling at the edge of your auditory range.

An occasional turquoise scarab or gold amulet, luring you deeper into the antique heart of darkness by your curiosity and greed.

Flickering torch flames alone in the utter black bowels.

Beautifully smooth black jackal statues.

Pushing away a few bricks to reveal the tunnel into the pyramid and the darkness it holds.

Scarab beetles.

Worn, exhausted old sandals.

Spiders.

Cobwebs.

Stray human bones in shafts and side passages.

Rubies, sapphires and emeralds.

Incense.

Shattered statues in and the occasional parched hand reaching out of the sand.

The heart chamber at last, lit up as bright as the sky outside, making you blink, but not enough to make you miss the immensely heaped riches ... and something slowly pushing away the lid of the sarcophagus.