#out of its published context

[princescar]

WHO ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???

I've combed through this conversation so many times and I still can't figure out who "someone" is

[fictionadventurer]

"If the structure of your world ever evaporates, I will still be here."

I think The Q might contain one of the greatest declarations of friendship/love ever.

[frobby]

i need to heal my inner child blue exorcist fan that read 1 million evil yukio fanfics by writing 1 million evil rin fanfics

[syrips]

'you wouldnt like villain blorbo if they were officially redeemed/romanced because the excitement is in the mystery and how canonically it wouldnt make sens-'

wrong.

ravenloft i10 (1e). DoD (2e). VRGtR (5e).

thank u

[grimm-the-tiger]

Making shitty out-of-context memes of my current original WIPs

Ashes to Ashes:

Frostbite:

Hybrid Wars:

Monotopia:

Empire's End:

Children of Ice:

[cardhamine]

in the spirit of talking about our interests without feeling guilty, I will drop one fun fact about Breached which is that I have written nearly 20k words of a college AU ... rant in notes

*said like a sinner in a confessional and anyone reading this is the unwitting priest*

[psychotrenny]

It's incredibly foolish to disregard the dialectical relationship that exists between any materially existing entity/process and its fictionalised depictions; this includes even the most difficult and sensitive of topics like sexual violence and abuse. To say that the fictional depictions, whether actual published media or various informal play scenarios, have nothing to do with the real thing is absurd. They are obviously drawn from the image and ideas around it, and in turn can have varying forms of influence on how people conceptualise and respond to such things in reality. But at the same time the real and fictional are ultimately still separate and so it's equally absurd to talk about them as though they are one in the same

Like you can't take for granted that a piece of media depicting something automatically endorses it, or even that any "endorsement" exists in a context where it's materially meaningful. You can't take for granted that someone engaging in a sort of roleplay reflects any interest repeating those actions or affirming those values in real life; half the time the sense of moral transgression and personal aversion is part of the appeal. If you think that a fictional representation of a problem in any way exacerbates that issue in reality then you need to put in the work to demonstrate an actual throughline, a specific relationship between the material and ideal.

It's also very important to be aware of the limits; a discrete piece of fiction may reflect and in some limited ways reinforce social values but it's never going to "normalise" these values any more than the material structures that created them in the first place. A larger aggregate of media can have a larger effect, but only within the limits of the prevailing material conditions. While a causative relationship can't always be ruled out entirely, it's usually more constructive to view fiction through the lens of reflecting widely extant values rather than as bringing them into existence. The role of the ideal shouldn't be ignored but it shouldn't be irrationally inflated either, no matter how socially rewarding or emotionally satisfying indulging in that irrationality may be.

[halbarryislife]

I just graduated college and took my capstone on propaganda. Not the just the history of it but also its evolution, how it works, and what makes the best propaganda.

With the ‘unbanning’ of tiktok and the inauguration being within a day of each other a lot of propaganda has been thrown at us. I want to share what is called “the ten rules of hate” from Matt Taibbi’s book “Hate: Inc: why today’s media makes us despise one another”, which was published in 2019.

To give some context for the ten rules, Taibbi says in this chapter (chapter two) regarding the news cycle, "after generations of doing the opposite, when unity and conformity were more profitable, now the primary product the news media sells is division."

But before I state the rules I just want to remind everyone PROPAGANDA OCCURS ON BOTH SIDES. Neither side is better than one another when it comes to propaganda, it is a necessity. I say this as a democrat who believes the next four years are going to be hell. Just today I saw propaganda from both sides, ironically fitting into these ten points.

THE TEN RULES OF HATE:

There are only two sides

The two sides are in permanent conflict

Hate people, not institutions

Everything is somebody else's fault

Nothing is everyone's faults

Root, don't think

No switching teams

The other side is literally Hitler

In the fight against Hitler, everything is permitted

Feel superior

What most people get wrong about propaganda is that its intention is not change your thought process immediately, no. The purpose of propaganda is to nudge you in a certain direction. Whether that be you seeing that trump unbanned tiktok and for a split moment you think 'maybe he isn't so bad' or seeing an instagram post from Path2Progress saying 'it's a dark day in America' and you get a tinge of fear.

I am making this post because I want you to be able to look at the media you are soaking up and be able to notice that people are trying to manipulate you. Of course, there are other points to propaganda that I did not get in here as I could write several papers on this subject, which I have.

And before anyone says in the comments, "but Trump is literally Hitler", I'm just going to point out that this cycle of calling people Hitler started long before Trump's presidency in 2016. Glenn Beck, who's a conservative commentator really began the "Your neighbor is literally Hitler" movement. In Taibbi's book he writes, "Beck was awesome at this. Al Gore was Hitler. Obama was constantly Hitler." I know must Democrats would not consider these men to be Hitler, but I use this example to demonstrate its use in years past on the other party.

I am going to leave you with a quote from one of the first books written about modern propaganda. It's called "Propaganda Techniques in the World War" and was written by Harold Laswell, then published in 1927.

“But by far the most potent role of propaganda is to mobilize the animosity of the community against the enemy, to maintain friendly relations with neutrals and allies, to arouse the neutrals against the enemy, and to break up the solid wall of the enemy.”

[lobautumny]

Y'know, okay, everyone talks about how alpha Minecraft had this extremely creepy vibe to a ton of players at the time and everyone acts like it's a mystery as to why and does a ton of super-deep analysis of how the alpha versions looked and what content the game had at that point, and this toy thinks that's stupid. Like, sure, the fog and whatever contributes, but "the game is foggy and there are cave noises" is not, in itself, why so many people found the game creepy. A lot of it comes down to three things:

Old Minecraft versions had abysmal dogshit sound design. Notch had no concept of "some sounds should be quieter than other sounds," so you got situations where sounds like footsteps or lava popping were just as loud as sounds like breaking blocks or a creeper exploding. Also, the old cow sounds, in particular, are just kind of disturbing.

Alpha Minecraft was not the most popular game of all time, published by Microsoft, and distributed via major console storefronts yet at that point. It was a random game made by some guy on 4chan that you downloaded as an exe from that guy's personal website, and that guy often didn't bother writing patch notes for what the updates were adding. Back then, nobody playing Minecraft had a very deep understanding of the game's content except for Notch himself. The game was very mysterious to players, and that sense of mystery was deepened and made creepy by things like cave sounds and music discs 11 and 13.

Minecraft was going through its alpha updates right around the time that indie horror games and creepypastas were just about to pop the fuck off. Minecraft transitioned from alpha to beta at the very end of 2010, and the creepypasta/indie horror boom really kicked into gear starting in 2011. The alpha versions were coming out at a time where the internet, as a whole, was starting to really want to be scared.

Somehow, though, despite the dozens and dozens of video essays recorded about this subject, this toy has never heard anyone mention any of these facts except for, like, one person very briefly touching on the second one.

Like, yeah, obviously the indie game made by Some Guy On 4chan distributed through a random website that's adding god-knows-what in every update and has dense fog and extremely jarring/offputting sound design at a time where the internet was gearing up for a massive horror boom is going to feel creepy. Obviously rumors were going to circulate about creepy shit in the game that wasn't actually there. There's no secret to it, you just need to look at the greater context of where Minecraft was culturally at in 2010.

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 22-28

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon!

1. Four new cheetah cubs born in Saudi Arabia after 40 years of extinction

“[T]he discovery of mummified cheetahs in caves […] which ranged in age from 4,000 to as recent as 120 years, proved that the animals […] once called [Saudi Arabia] home. The realisation kick-started the country’s Cheetah Conservation Program to bring back the cats to their historic Arabian range. […] Dr Mohammed Qurban, CEO of the NCW, said: […] “This motivates us to continue our efforts to restore and reintroduce cheetahs, guided by an integrated strategy designed in accordance with best international practices.””

2. In sub-Saharan Africa, ‘forgotten’ foods could boost climate resilience, nutrition

“[A study published in PNAS] examined “forgotten” crops that may help make sub-Saharan food systems more resilient, and more nutritious, as climate change makes it harder to grow [current staple crops.] [… The study identified 138 indigenous] food crops that were “relatively underresearched, underutilized, or underpromoted in an African context,” but which have the nutrient content and growing stability to support healthy diets and local economies in the region. […] In Eswatini, van Zonneveld and the World Vegetable Center are working with schools to introduce hardy, underutilized vegetables to their gardens, which have typically only grown beans and maize.”

3. Here's how $4 billion in government money is being spent to reduce climate pollution

“[New Orleans was awarded] nearly $50 million to help pay for installing solar on low to middle income homes [… and] plans to green up underserved areas with trees and build out its lackluster bike lane system to provide an alternative to cars. […] In Utah, $75 million will fund several measures from expanding electric vehicles to reducing methane emissions from oil and gas production. [… A] coalition of states led by North Carolina will look to store carbon in lands used for agriculture as well as natural places like wetlands, with more than $400 million. [… This funding is] “providing investments in communities, new jobs, cost savings for everyday Americans, improved air quality, … better health outcomes.””

4. From doom scrolling to hope scrolling: this week’s big Democratic vibe shift

“[Democrats] have been on an emotional rollercoaster for the past few weeks: from grim determination as Biden fought to hang on to his push for a second term, to outright exuberance after he stepped aside and Harris launched her campaign. […] In less than a week, the Harris campaign raised record-breaking sums and signed up more than 100,000 new volunteers[….] This honeymoon phase will end, said Democratic strategist Guy Cecil, warning the election will be a close race, despite this newfound exuberance in his party. [… But v]oters are saying they are excited to vote for Harris and not just against Trump. That’s new.”

5. Biodegradable luminescent polymers show promise for reducing electronic waste

“[A team of scientists discovered that a certain] chemical enables the recycling of [luminescent polymers] while maintaining high light-emitting functions. […] At the end of life, this new polymer can be degraded under either mild acidic conditions (near the pH of stomach acid) or relatively low heat treatment (> 410 F). The resulting materials can be isolated and remade into new materials for future applications. […] The researchers predict this new polymer can be applied to existing technologies, such as displays and medical imaging, and enable new applications […] such as cell phones and computer screens with continued testing.”

6. World’s Biggest Dam Removal Project to Open 420 Miles of Salmon Habitat this Fall

“Reconnecting the river will help salmon and steelhead populations survive a warming climate and [natural disasters….] In the long term, dam removal will significantly improve water quality in the Klamath. “Algae problems in the reservoirs behind the dams were so bad that the water was dangerous for contact […] and not drinkable,” says Fluvial Geomorphologist Brian Cluer. [… The project] will begin to reverse decades of habitat degradation, allow threatened salmon species to be resilient in the face of climate change, and restore tribal connections to their traditional food source.”

7. Biden-Harris Administration Awards $45.1 Million to Expand Mental Health and Substance Use Services Across the Lifespan

““Be it fostering wellness in young people, caring for the unhoused, facilitating treatment and more, this funding directly supports the needs of our neighbors,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. [The funding also supports] recovery and reentry services to adults in the criminal justice system who have a substance use disorder[… and clinics which] serve anyone who asks for help for mental health or substance use, regardless of their ability to pay.”

8. The World’s Rarest Crow Will Soon Fly Free on Maui

“[��� In] the latest attempt to establish a wild crow population, biologists will investigate if this species can thrive on Maui, an island where it may have never lived before. Translocations outside of a species’ known historical range are rare in conservation work, but for a bird on the brink of extinction, it’s a necessary experiment: Scientists believe the crows will be safer from predators in a new locale—a main reason that past reintroduction attempts failed. […] As the release date approaches, the crows have already undergone extensive preparation for life in the wild. […] “We try to give them the respect that you would give if you were caring for someone’s elder.””

9. An optimist’s guide to the EV battery mining challenge

““Battery minerals have a tremendous benefit over oil, and that’s that you can reuse them.” [… T]he report’s authors found there’s evidence to suggest that [improvements in technology] and recycling have already helped limit demand for battery minerals in spite of this rapid growth — and that further improvements can reduce it even more. [… They] envision a scenario in which new mining for battery materials can basically stop by 2050, as battery recycling meets demand. In this fully realized circular battery economy, the world must extract a total of 125 million tons of battery minerals — a sum that, while hefty, is actually 17 times smaller than the oil currently harvested every year to fuel road transport.”

10. Peekaboo! A baby tree kangaroo debuts at the Bronx Zoo

“The tiny Matschie’s tree kangaroo […] was the third of its kind born at the Bronx Zoo since 2008. [… A] Bronx Zoo spokesperson said that the kangaroo's birth was significant for the network of zoos that aims to preserve genetic diversity among endangered animals. "It's a small population and because of that births are not very common," said Jessica Moody, curator of primates and small mammals at the Bronx Zoo[, …] adding that baby tree kangaroos are “possibly one of the cutest animals to have ever lived. They look like stuffed animals, it's amazing.””

July 15-21 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[writing-reference-redux]

Yet another fanfic writer ask game!

Compliment your writing!

How do you react to positive comments?

How do you react to negative comments?

Post a screenshot of one of your favorite comments

Quote one of your fics out of context

Vaguely spoil one of your fics without telling us which one it is

Share the first line of your five most recently published fics

Share the last line that you wrote

Tell us your favorite thing to drink when you write

Tell us your favorite thing to snack on when you write

What fandom do you write for most often?

What fandom do you want to write for more often?

Do you ever write crossovers?

What two fandoms would you write a crossover for?

What fic of yours would you most like to rewrite?

What is one of your favorite words or phrases to use in writing?

What trope is your favorite to write?

What trope have you not written yet, but want to?

What headcanon do you always include in your stories?

What was the last thing you researched for a story?

What do you do when you get writer's block?

When do you usually write? (day of the week or time of day)

Where do you usually write?

Which fic do you think is your funniest?

Which fic do you think is your saddest?

Which fic do you think is your scariest?

Which fic do you think is your most adventurous?

Which fic is closest to your heart?

Which fic would you most like to have fan art done for?

Which fic would you most like to have its own fanfic written for?

Which fic would you most like to see made into a movie?

Which fic would you most like to write a sequel to?

Which of your fic titles is your favorite?

What title do you want to use, but can't figure out a story to fit?

Have you ever written a fic because you were inspired by a title?

Have you ever written a fic because you were inspired by a song?

Pick one of your fics and share three songs to go with it

Pick three of your fics and share a song to go with each

Pick one of your fics and share an image to go with it. (Unsplash is a good source)

Pick one of your fics and share a quote to go with it (not a quote from the fic, but an outside quote that fits)

[controld3vil]

sand walking?

pairing(s): dune 2 cast x actor!reader (platonic!!)

synopsis: requested by this ask!

⤷ alt: how to seduce someone walking on sand.

notes: there hasn't been confirmed for dune 3 yet but denise villeneuve has said he's writing for it to happen. ill patiently wait for the day it's confirmed :) ALSO there are fictional/made-up mentions of the novel for the sake of the reader. they're made to be gender-neutral!! and this includes platonic flirting between cast members. i MAY have gotten carried lmaoo

“I mean- what do you think of the character? Do you think they deserved more screen time?” The clip starts off with you comfortably conversing with the interviewer. To say you weren’t deflecting their curiosity. In actuality, you were eager to learn what others thought about your performance and take on the character. The only other interpretation had on-screen was from the classic 1984 film by David Lynch.

The clip that has been widely retweeted back is of a cute moment you had from the first film of Dune (2021). Before release, little was known about your character’s potential. Apart from the enthusiastic book lovers, film viewers were clueless about what role your character would play after the first movie.

Denise Villeneuve didn’t reveal much to you in person. He wanted to keep ideas confidential until he was 100% on board making the project come to life. Still, rumors sparked through speculation and interviews with the cast members of Dune. Including an infamous short, that you forgot about, of yourself boasting about your hopes and wishes for your character.

“Yes! How could we not!” On the opposite side, the interviewer exclaimed as they leaned forward from their chair, closing into your proximity. Their hands clenched, tightening their grip on the flash card, full of questions. “The movie left us on such a cliffhanger. I think everyone would want to know what happened to Nerre,”

“That’s for Denise to decide,” Nodding you gave a relaxed smile while lifting one leg over the other. Your shoulders relaxed, feeling content and ecstatic about their response. “I can’t confirm anything until he gives me the green light to say anything,”

“I’ve also talked to Timothée this morning,” A shift in gears as the journalist flipped over another flashcard. You two had just fussed about the finale and its dramatic cliffhanger. “And all he had to say were the sweetest things about you,” At the mention of your costar compliments, you felt your skin heat up. Your eyes soften, expressing only fondness for the lovely message. A soft awh escaped your breath. “He’s very sweet. Timothee's always been fun to be around.” A fervent chuckle from the interviewer sends them into a feverish excitement. “And- he said- you had great flirting skills!” It was then your face morphed into complete shock and giddiness . “Really?!” The camera pans up on your initial reaction, eyes popping out in surprise and a bubbling laugh slowly erupting. “I’m glad someone appreciates my talents!”

Without context, the short clip seemed harmless. Your sheer reaction to Timothee's comment emphasized the fun chemistry the two of you had on set. Mirroring much of Paul and Nerre's friendship, you both complimented each other well in the first film, being the youngest surrounded by well-renowned actors. But the reason for the recent spike of interest was partially from Dune: Part Two and their interviews.

Fast forward to the debut of Dune: Part Two, it made success at the box office. Even surpassing the first film altogether. The entire cast of Dune was proud of the work they've made. The introduction of new characters played by wonderful actors and actresses all around.

Weeks after the early IMAX screenings, press interviews were being published amongst of the young cast members. A particular interview by IGV Presents brings together Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and yourself.

This would be considered to be one of your first interviews with the Dune cast after the box office release. You felt nervous yet overjoyed at the same time to be meeting your co-actors again after the conclusion of filming had taken place.

The spokesperson of IGV, Simon Harkness starts off the interview strong with a pleasant greeting. "Congratulations on an incredible movie. Uhm it is the definition of a sci-fi blockbuster and is absolutely phenomenal, so huge congratulations to you all!"

"Thank you!" The five of you all politely cherish his kind words.

"It's so lovely to talk to you. Um- Timothee, Zendaya, I'm going to start with you. This is probably the hardest question I've ever asked in an interview so you've been warned." An endearing giggle can be seen from Zendaya before allowing him to continue. "Sand walking, who does it better?"

Timothee immediately lifts up his microphone. "I'm going to give it to Zendaya here." Without glancing at her, you could tell Zendaya was happily smiling at his compliments. How quick he was to answer made it seem how well connected the cast was even given the amount of time spent together. The main lead continues very swiftly, diving more into how cinematic the shot was from an outside perspective, "I think it's the most- one of the most cinematic shots in the movie and she really has it very precisely down but it's the nature of the movie too that she's supposed to be better than Paul,"

"Is that what it is?" In return, Zendaya who sat next to him gave him a teasing look.

Quietly from afar where you sat, next to Austin Butler, you whispered. "He acted like he couldn't do it but," Soft snickering can be heard across the room.

"In fairness to me, I was going 65%- 65 to 70 too hard," Chalamet reasons justly as he glances in your direction before looking back to the interviewer.

"You dumbed it down," Harkness nods in a high-spirited manner. Right after, Timothee reluctantly agrees, keeping the mood light-hearted.

"I had to!"

"Just how committed you are!" Austin steps in, joining in on the joke.

"Zendaya, you can take that crown. I love that," The brown-haired man reassures as she recuperates with appreciative laughter. In truth, it was a beautiful scene between Paul and Chani you were lucky enough to witness behind the camera. And contrary to their light banter, you thought both actors did well at accomplishing what it was meant sand walk. Truthfully you had no scenes beyond walking through the desert but understanding the mechanics and traditions of the Fremen was as fascinating as it was watching it up close.

Suddenly it was Florence's turn to speak, "Zendaya taught me the other day and I had to just stop to stare at her feet."

"The swoopy swoop?" You asked in a cutesy tone, with furrowed eyebrows. You couldn't help but remember the few instances you witnessed your costars practice the sand walk to be one of the more adorable rehearsals you've seen on the sand.

"Yeah, her feet were so pretty! She was doing the swoopy swoops," The blonde acknowledges, waving her hands in a zig-zag pattern. As the replication of water and how her feet moved.

The interviewer's eyes light up, "Honestly I tried to swoopy swoop at home- um because we have a carpet in the bedroom."

"How did it go?" The mixed actress puts forward.

"Awful!" An assembly of bewilderment is seen between Zendaya and Florence as they quickly question why. However, they reassure him in the end that they would practice together in hopes of him archiving the sand walk.

Talks with simple questions went down the row. Florence discusses her experience from her beginnings, starring in Little Women, comparing those scenes in terms of royalty to Dune. In both films, she's worked with well-known actors and now Christopher Walken as the emperor and her father. She raves about how it was a dream come true. A dream she had when she was little. From this experience, Florence emphasizes the concept of learning and observing her fellow actors.

Another intriguing topic follows Austin for his experience between learning choreography fighting and Elvis's iconic rubber legs. In a sense, as you leaned forward on one of your seats, you became fascinated by the Elvis actor's comparison of it all. While Elvis's moves were televised and had to be precise for the camera, being a Harkonnens gave him more leverage in the freedom to move. It was a captivating question that you couldn't help but want to listen to more.

Comparisons aside, you didn't have much to note for your upcoming question. Which is exactly why you felt unprepared for what he was going to ask.

Harkness brings up your name for the finale. "You have done stunt work before. For the first and now second film, I've heard you compared it to rather- dancing. Is that what you think your relationship with the choreography has been?"

You gave a content hum, "You see it with the Fremen or Harkonnens right? Everyone moves so differently and for the course for me, I've had to adjust my choreo little by little. And I think that analogy you mentioned really does relate back to dancing. I don't know if it's because I was once a dancer or that I'm a visual learner," You shrug your shoulders, "But I see the choreography as a dance routine. You're moving alongside people, doing hits and jabs. Both are very hands-on so I would like to approach it as something I can always work on." Satisfied with your answer, you clapped your hands together.

"Kind of like sand walking no?" It was then that Zendaya swerved counterclockwise to face you.

Bringing back the conversation they had in the beginning about sand walking, your eyes instantly brighten. "Exactly like that!"

"I feel like you would be great at sand walking," Florence puffs, mindlessly shaking her microphone back and forth. "You- You already got the moves." Even Timothee came into agreement, humming and commenting you worked well with the choreography.

Austin Butler raises his microphone. "I think you gotta learn with me because I don't think I could,"

"Nonsense!" You give him a silly glare. "If you can do a killer rubber leg, I think you can sand walk." Florence and Zendaya both mumble their support and your male costar leans to have his arm around the back of your chair, warmly.

"Is that an open invitation I see?" The spokesperson, Harkness giggly pokes at than the rest of the cast turns to look at you. Your scowl morphs into an innocent one.

"Hm?" As you squint your eyes in hesitation.

"I feel like you could have the potential to sand walk but just with the right partner," Timothee chimes in, spreading his arms over his chair as well. Your brows furrowed accusingly, as if wanting to clarify what he meant by his comment.

And the French actor gives you a look, one you became so sure of. "Mm right!" A slight eruption of laughs before you straightened your back with proper posture. "With just the right partner,"

There were also hints mentioned in your interview with Timothee surprisingly not. This was one of the more recent ones to be published, as you finally were able to pair up with your favorite co-star (besides Brolin) from the first film. The two of you had strong chemistry despite having less screen time together in the second film.

The beginning of the video cuts to a clip of you answering an innocent question. "What I think about every day, is Timothee going to send to me a meme today? Uh, I hope so!" You give a sarcastic look to your seat partner as he latently laughs in front of you. "Or when is he going to text me you know?"

It then transitions to an interviewer from Heart commercial radio as he shouts out your names. "How are you both?"

"I'm doing good!"

"Going great!"

The radio show was more relaxed than you would've expected as the spokesperson was very down to the earth with his conversation starters and contagious warmth. Timothee was able to catch up with him from his last interview when he premiered his Wonka film. Eventually, the interview became more casual discussing working together, cooking, and trendy topics.

Timothee and you both went back and forth on favorite memories you had of the first film. And talking about the new cast members and new elements it had brought to the table for the film itself.

"Cool new characters this time," As you played around with the fuzzy microphone the camera crew gave to you.

"Yup lots of new people to meet," Timothee adds on, nodding.

The interviewer proceeds with the question, "And also you have seen- there's a clip about of you running around actually." He signals to you, "Of your reaction to something Timothee said about your performance in the first film,"

"Oh! I've seen it," Almost instinctively, your co-star raises his hand. "I was supposed to send it to you but I forgot." As he turns, to finds you looking lost at the topic at hand.

"Really what was it?" You almost looked concerned, seeing how you didn't understand what they meant.

Luckily for you, the Heart radio spokesperson managed to get a hold of the video from his phone, "It was a little callback of Timothee raving about your flirting skills."

As it plays, the camera zooms in on you and your co-actors reaction. The French actor couldn't help but look slightly embarrassed but smitten when the timing of your reaction came on screen. While you held an intrigued stance, arms crossed and a content grin.

"I am pretty good at flirting,"

"You really are, huh." At the same time, you both turn to make eye contact.

"I also heard Tim- that you thought that they would be your love interest initially?" At the radio speaker's inquiry, you couldn't help but in mid-sentence, finally, swerve your head suddenly.

"Yeah well, fun fact actually," The male actor tries to reason, sitting up. "In the novels, Paul and Nerre almost did become a couple!"

It was a well-known fact of that in the first novel, there had been slight changes to the story. Initially, it was said that the author, Frank Herbert had planned for Paul and Nerre, the character you played to have a romantic connection after the fall of House Atreides. Nevertheless, it was later scrapped for another plot, that of instead having Chani as the love interest. But even decades later after the novel’s release, it was something fans still fuss about.

"Oh, I heard about that!" Almost in awe, you nodded, your attention fully on Chalamet, wondering how far he was willing to go beyond spoilers.

"Do you think Nerre would ever meet someone then?" The afro man questions, adjusting his microphone. "Since- Paul has Chani, I feel like if we ever get a potential third film, that could open some doors!"

"If a third film could happen," You start, fiddling with the lining of the mic cover, "I hope so! I mean I got the moves, I got the skills!"

"Keep practicing your sand walk and we'll see," Timothee cutely chimes as you proceed to blow a raspberry at him. Only for him to lightly swat you away.

Despite your failures to have scenes of sand walking, your cast of a crew were more than happy to show you. Javier Bardem and Jessica Ferguson were quite supportive in your interest for something you did not have any part-time. A few behind the scene videos show the actor demonstrating from afar the slower version of the walk.

Though your back was facing the camera, viewers would pick up and recognize it to be you. Jessica as well was off to the side, in her luminescent costume of a million robes, clapping from side to side.

Another later pans to you taking long strides across the sand in the background. In front of the camera are Josh Brolin and Javier having their turn in the video, to discuss their relationship and the previous they have worked on together. However, viewers couldn't help but pinpoint your figure alongside the frame trying to master the patterns of what Javier taught you from the previous clip.

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

The Good Omens Musical Masterpost🎵❤

How it started :)

Some time before 2013: Vicki Larnach, the australian composer and lyricist, read the Good Omens book, imagined figures dancing on stage with brilliant music and thought, ‘Ah, I’m gonna ask Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman if I can turn it into a musical.’ and sent an email to the publishers. The next day she got an email saying, ‘We don’t want a musical but Terry’s coming to Australia, so come and say hello and tell us what you got.’

Rob Wilkins came down to meet Vicki and Jim Hare - Vicki's husband and writer - and took them to meet Terry. They spent an hour and a half with them where Terry asked ‘piercing questions’, had tea with them and they showed Terry a song that Vicki wrote (about the Chattering Nuns). Terry said to Rob, ‘Rob, write and email to Neil, “Dear Neil, this is Terry. I’m sitting in front of two hippies from Sydney and they want to make a musical out of Good Omens and I’m tempted to let them do it.”’ which was the best email they ever heard and then Terry said, ‘Okay, you have me curious.’ - it was because of the Nuns song which sounded like the book. ‘I’m gonna give you six months, come back with a first draft libretto and five songs.’

They then sent it to Terry who sent it to Gaiman. Terry said, ‘I really like it, you’re moving story, you’re doing all the right things, but where’s showstopper, where’s the toe-tapper, you know I need people to go to intermission just snapping their fingers with the song they just can’t get out of their head, and I haven’t heard that.’ - and they realized that they were so busy serving the story they forgot to do the wow-factor, but found it very encouraging from Terry that he wanted to make it better.

They went through the whole book again to find a centrepiece - and they found it  when Warlock is growing up and Aziraphale and Crowley are with him, and spent months working just on that one thing and called ‘All Living Things’ [the song at the start of this post :)] which is a line from the book.*’ Terry gave that song to a person he knew and asked him to play it to his wife with no context and when the next day the person said that his wife woke up still singing the song Terry said to Vicki and Jim: ‘Well, that’s what I asked you to do.’ 

* [“This here’s Brother Slug,” the gardener would tell him, “and this tiny little critter is Sister Potato Weevil. Remember, Warlock, as you walk your way through the highways and byways of life’s rich and fulsome path, to have love and reverence for all living things.” “Nanny says that wivving fings is fit onwy to be gwound under my heels, Mr. Fwancis,” said little Warlock, stroking Brother Slug, and then wiping his hand conscientiously on his Kermit the Frog overall.]

Vicki and Jim got the permission to being adapting it as a musical in 2013.

Vicki and Jim on it a couple of years ‘fumbling about’, took it as far as they could and decided to bring another person into it: Jay-James Moody

In 2015, Jay James-Moody joined the collaboration initially as a dramaturge and directorial eye, eventually evolving into co-book writer. Vicki, James and Jay have continued to evolve through countless more revisions and a number of private development readings with the support, time and talent of numerous wonderful Australian performers testing the material.

In November 2017, the musical was presented in its then-current form and entirety for the first time before an audience of over 500 eager attendees. The cast included Luke Joslin, Lachlan O’Brien, Nancye Hayes, Barry Quin, Brett O’Neill, Lauren McKenna, Nicholas Craddock, Paul Capsis, Rob Johnson, Amy Lehpamer, Debora Krizak, Blake Erickson, Nat Jobe, Ana Maria Belo, Jordan Hare, Bella Thomas, Anthony Abrakmanov and Samson Hyland.

Following a rapturous response to this reading it continued to be refined and developed.

In 2019, ten days before the show came out they did their last presentation, since then they’ve been to London and shown a videotape of that workshop to Gaiman and Rob Wilkins which was ‘a pretty heartstopping experience’.

Differences between the musical and the book

The ending of the musical is a bit different.

It opens with the burning of Agnes Nutter and Aziraphale and Crowley are introduced there. 

Act One ends with them ‘essentially breaking up’ because of a huge argument and they dissolve their friendship, Act Two starts with the first time they meet.

The Future?

What is the future for the musical: in 2021 they said that they need to work on some things and then they hope to do another run, initially in Australia.

There will be a CD of the soundtrack available when the show is produced in it’s full version.

In 2024 on insta they said that it is in "complicated process of rights to stage Good Omens" and "We appreciate your support and patience of the progress or seeming lack therof, of Good Omens the musical but we assure you, we will bring you the show in the next few years."

Videos

Vicki, Jim and Jay talking 46min about the musical (this video was shown at the Ineffable Con 3 in 2021 :))

Sizzle Reel 6min

Anathema singing The Perfect Place

Crowley calling Dagon to check on the hellhound

Shadwell and Newt

Aziraphale vanishing Hastur 👀

Links

Webpage

Instagram - a lot of more bts videos and pics :)

How to support?

Subsribe to the instagram page and like and comment that you want the musical on posts :)❤. If you want to be a sponsor or donor, there is contact on their webpage.

[starberry-cupcake]

I want to tell you a story today.

Let me tell you about how I was finally able to finish a collection of incredibly specific 20+ year old elusive esoteric booklets, after years of looking for them.

No, no, wait, don't scroll past yet. Hear me out.

Is this the most interesting thing ever? It depends. Will it do numbers on tumblr? Not at all. Does this story sound like the statement from someone in The Magnus Archives? Absolutely.

"Statement begins", and all that.

Circa 2001-2002, I was a young girl and asked my dad for a little booklet on witchcraft. As young girls do.

It was part of a collection which was released in newspaper stands and, in my memory, it was something that you had to pay a bit extra to get alongside a specific newspaper, one that is rather informal. My mom also asked for one of the booklets, about past lives. My dad got them both when they released.

I was very interested in my little witchcraft booklet, I found the stuff both fascinating and recognizable. Any Latine can probably tell you about the very particular blend we have, especially in the outskirts of big cities, of brujería, curandería, santería and original people's cultural influences. The book reflected this in a way that sounded familiar and also gave new insights.

One day, though, my booklet disappeared.

I never had evidence of what happened but I had, at the time, a friend from school who was from a very religious family. She kept warning me about the book and how what I was doing was wrong and dangerous and how I would eventually "find Jesus". She just stopped mentioning it once the book mysteriously vanished. So, I don't have hard evidence that my book was taken, but I don't have much doubt.

I grew up and my interest for these types of things evolved to encompass different forms of folkloric and cultural insights, especially on how they represent different social contexts. I have a very particular and maybe conflicting view on spirituality but, in any case, these things interest me.

I also became an editor and I love peculiar publications. The history of publication of something, especially rare, can say a lot about its context.

I ended up reading and buying other books with esoteric themes, but that little booklet resonated still, because I could never find again something that spoke so directly to what I had grown up with.

There are a lot of publications about European and North American practices, very often the most popular folklore calendars are strictly set in the Northern Hemisphere. Some Latine authors tend to blend different things from abroad in their books, rather than talk about just us.

This little booklet was a one of a kind, I realized. In its humble and unapologetic simplicity, it contained the voice of who we were.

So, I set to find it again.

My mom had kept her booklet, the one about past lives. It had the name of the collection in it (Revelaciones), the name of the publisher (Agedit) and a list of all the books in the collection at the end. They were 12 in total. There was not a single author name in sight.

The list includes: Numerology, Runes, Past Lives, Modern Witchcraft (the one I had), Chiromancy, Tarot, Dream Interpretation, Crystals, Tasseography, Graphology, Chinese Zodiac and Astrology.

For a long while, my search only resulted in sold out listings of one or two copies. I also came across additional findings that made my search difficult (this is where I get nerdy in a publishing way):

These books had been out of print for almost 20 years, when I started searching.

These weren't really "books" per se, they were published as such (they had an ISBN) but were sold as if they were magazines.

They were never distributed to bookstores and didn't have any new editions or reprints: they had, most likely, only one print run for each booklet.

The ISBN of the book I had didn't show results online.

I found out the reason for these two points through an archived government official bulletin: the publisher went bankrupt in august of 2003.

Given that there were 12 books, they would have taken between 4 months and a year to complete the collection, depending on how often they came out, so the collection ended shortly before the publisher closed down.

Because of the way in which they were distributed (through newspaper stands) they were given by consignment, meaning the booklets that weren't sold were given back to the publisher when the next issue came out.

Due to the fact that the publisher went bankrupt shortly after, it's highly unlikely that remaining copies were sold as such, it's much more likely that they were sold as paper for re-purpose.

Especially since 2001-2003 was a Bad Time for the economy of Argentina. A Really Bad Time.

The books were edited before the book law changed to make mandatory the use of a bibliographical index, so the books themselves don't have the information now required to register a book printed inside them.

There is not a single author name anywhere.

I found out that the publisher had a very wide variety of magazines of different subjects, including a kids' magazine of the channel I started watching anime in as a kid. Between Captain Tsubasa and cartomancy there's just one step.

So, the only avenues left were patience and book sellers who dealt with used copies of both books and magazines.

After some years of searching, in 2022, the book appeared in two different online sellers: one sold it alone and the other in a set with other 8 books from the collection, including the one my mom had. The book sold alone seemed in worse condition and the set had a lower price per unit.

So, I bought the set of 9.

They were in pretty good condition, all things considered. These books were not meant to last. The paper weight vs cover weight ratio is bonkers (the cover is magazine thin), the binding is poor and the books are almost all slightly different sizes. They also have different fonts for the titles. From an editing point of view, they're atrocious.

That only made them so much more interesting to me.

Only one of the books I got in that set had an explicit author: Chinese Zodiac. I assume that one was commissioned to the person whose name appears in it. I did google the man and he doesn't seem to be much of a writer of the subject anymore, he specializes in Tai Chi and Kung Fu, apparently. Seems that his expertise only extended to that one book in particular.

The rest, though. The rest are a mystery.

I don't know if they were written by the publishing team or one person, but they feel like there was one person behind them, for the way they're worded and how they talk to the reader. Or, at least, a different person for different books. They're not detached enough to feel like the work of a team investigation project.

They are also more involved than a newspaper stand collection has any right to be. Talking about Saint Germaine and Cornelio Agrippa and geological specifics of crystal structure. At age 12-13 I wouldn't have paid attention to that but now, knowing what it takes as an editor to put this out and knowing they were a sinking publisher, I've got to respect the craft.

However, the ISBN situation is a NIGHTMARE. The collection changed the ISBN format for these books once every four books.

I could have stopped there. I had my original book, it was just as I remembered, and I got 8 extra books, some with subjects I was very interested in.

However, the tarot book was not included in the set. And that was one I really wanted to get. So, the search continued.

In 2023, my sister gifted me the tarot book. It was from a seller who only had that one and it was in worse shape than the rest. It feels like it was used more than the others. Something was definitely spilled on it. Someone might have learned with it for a long time.

It was very in-character with what I knew from the collection that it focuses solely on Tarot de Marseilles, which is the one most commonly used here (the cover of the book has an RWS deck, so whoever made the cover did not consult with the mysterious author, who used Marseilles iconography inside).

But, again, unnamed author. And the ISBN situation wasn't getting any better. The format of the ISBN in the tarot book matched the one in the crystals book, which gave me an idea of the order list being more or less accurate. Emphasis on "more or less", you'll see.

At this point, I was deep into this. I had 10/12 books, I thought I might as well try to complete the collection, right? How hard could it be?

Well, the two books left were the most elusive of the bunch: chiromancy and dream interpretation.

During my years researching these books, the chiromancy book showed up in pictures just once. I knew what it looked like, but I hadn't seen it for sale. Ever.

That is, until it popped up in early 2024.

I made a post about it at the time. This one was the most expensive of the bunch (not crazy expensive, not even the price of a brand new novel, but expensive in comparison with the others) but it was the first of its kind I had seen in all my years looking, so I got it as soon as I could.

By this time, some repeats had shown up here and there of the books I already had, including a Tarot book in better shape, but I had to draw the line somewhere. There are some that seem to be easier to find than others. Maybe because they were more popular back then, so they didn't get returned to the publisher to turn into pulp.

The dream book though? I still had never seen it.

Not a photo, not an old listing, nothing. I had no frame of reference for what that one looked like, only the title listed in the other books (Interpretación de sueños).

I started losing hope on that one. I started wondering if maybe it had never been released in the first place. Or that maybe it was the most popular one, so people kept it more often than selling it. After all, dream interpretation can be more mainstream a subject than palmistry or tasseography.

The one thing making me doubt that it was unreleased, the one thing keeping me going, was that the last two books on the list (astrology and Chinese zodiac) were listed in an incorrect order until the 11th book. Remember I said the list was "more or less" accurate? Things can't be that simple with this collection.

The list at the end of almost all of the booklets makes me think that astrology was meant to be the last one, but it ended up coming out as the 11th, and they changed the list order upon its release. Maybe the only known author who was commissioned, for the Chinese zodiac book, needed more time to turn in the manuscript.

I thought that, if they had taken the time to change the end list by the 11th book, even if there were only two left, they would have probably removed the dream one had it not come out as planned.

So, it had to exist.

Last week, I was thinking about the books again, as I have done for years, with my hopes of finding the last one almost non existent.

I decided to check in MercadoLibre and wasn't finding it. I went on google and wasn't finding it. I went to google images and nothing. I changed some of the words in the google images search here and there and...

IT SHOWED UP

It had been listed for sale 6 days prior to my search. By a bookstore called "Gluck". My German is beginner-level but I'm pretty sure that means "luck" (at least "glück" does). What are the odds?

The price was pretty cheap but the shipping was a bit steep, so I looked if they had a used copy of Lestat I was looking for, to make up for the shipping cost. I wanted an old Lestat to go with my well-loved 90s edition of IWTV. Turns out, they had an old copy of Lestat, for cheap, because it had what looks like a bite in a corner of the cover. A dog bite, I mean, or cat, not sure which. Perfect. Glück indeed.

So, last week, it finally arrived. The last piece of the puzzle. The dream book.

Turns out, the title was wrong all along.

The list had it as Interpretación de sueños and it was actually called El significado de los sueños. No author, but a promising table of contents. It wasn't the subject I was most interested in but the variety of topics covered is a lot more interesting than I expected.

Still, the most important thing here is that I FINALLY HAVE THE WHOLE SET.

Some insane things about the collection, now that I can look at all of it for myself:

Almost all are mismatched in size

Some have printing mistakes (for example, Astrology has cut marks and extra blank space that wasn't removed)

The last one is wider

The first one doesn't have the list of books

The one about past lives has a different title in the spine than in the book

The one about dreams has a different title in the list than in the book

The one about crystals has a different title in the list than in the book and spine

The one about tasseography has also a different title in the list than in the book and the spine

Most of the cover photos seem to be from different sources, I always believed the one my original book had was taken by the people making the book, because the little owl on it is a Kinder toy I had as a kid

I can now tell you how the ISBN works, so you can look at the madness with me.

The first 4 books have a different ISBN for each, with a change in the part of the ISBN that signifies particular book.

It goes from 8 to 11 and the book with the number 9 is listed as 3rd and not 2nd in the interior list (in my memory, it was 3rd, because that was my mom's book and mine came after, but who knows). All of these have a side bar code with the number 00001.

The next batch of 4 continues having a different ISBN for each book, from books 12 to 15, but the side bar code number also changes, going from 5 to 8, signifying the number of the book in the specific collection.

The last batch of 4 all have the same ISBN, as if they were the same book, with the number 22 (what happened to 16-21? who knows), but they do continue with the side bar code numbers from 9 to 12.

It's wild. I wouldn't have been able to predict anything from this.

Still, here they finally are. I have collected them all. And here's the one that started the interest for this quest.

Put together, they constitute a pretty vast amount of pages. The booklets by themselves look rather short but, together, it's a pretty impressive amount of stuff, and quite detailed for each topic.

I still don't know who wrote them, if it was one person or several, or if they even remember working on them, since it's been about 22-24 years since they came out and it seems to have been the dying breath of a now defunct publisher that didn't specialize in the subject.

But I hope that, wherever they may be, they know some people appreciated their work. Because these little messy books have a lot of personality and represent where I come from better than other more polished publications have ever been able to.

[tainbocuailnge]

I think there is a difference between the comic as a sequence of images with text and the comic as a comic. it's a subtle difference that an untrained eye might not see but the more one as artist draws comics the clearer this difference becomes, because one who first aspires to draw comics will soon find they are merely drawing sequences of images with text.

when people say an artist is clearly inspired by anime they often use "anime" to refer to japanese pop culture in general, but if you look more closely you can often tell it really is specifically anime rather than manga that inspired them, because the paneling and camera angles in their comics will read like a series of anime screenshots rather than a manga page. similarly, when I was a teenager really popular manga that had anime adaptions would sometimes get "animanga" reprints where they replaced the panels with the equivalent anime screenshots of the scene, and they often looked like dogshit because the very premise showed blatant disregard for why the original comic worked in the first place. these two examples are both about anime because i am a weeb but it applies outside that context too. a cartoon storyboard can be read as if it were a comic, but what it really is is a sequence of images with text that has yet to be refined into its actual intended format.

there are many artists who only employ the medium of comic because what they actually want to draw is a video, or a video game cutscene, but the only tool actually at their disposal is the ability to draw a series of images and add text to them so that is what they use. there is no shame or mistake in doing this, you have to make your art with the tools that you have available, and if the sequence of images with text is enough to convey the idea then it was the right tool for the job. but these are different mediums with different visual languages, languages which have a lot of overlap and can occasionally be used in each other's stead to achieve similar results (especially when drawing a fanart comic of a video game for example), but which are still ultimately different. the comic and the video and the cutscene are all different forms that a sequence of images with text can take but they are far from completely interchangeable.

there is a key difference in approach to the comic as a series of images roughly interchangeable with other forms of series of images like the video and the cutscene, and the comic as specifically the comic. this difference in approach is not always necessary to achieve results, an artist who wants to convey a scenario they came up with needs only the sequence of images with text to achieve this. but the difference between a comic with good writing and art, and a comic that is a good comic, is in whether it was treated as a comic rather than a sequence of images with text. I say this as an artist whose nearly every comic has been simply a sequence of images, because I just don't have the patience to refine it into a comic when I merely want to convey my idea rather than draw a comic. it takes a particular skill and insight that have to be developed and practised separately from the ability to draw well and the ability to write well in order to become good at making "the comic" as synthesis of the two.

it's hard to specifically point out the essence of this difference between the sequence of images and the comic because it's kind of a vibes thing honestly, and it depends on where and how the comic was meant to be published too. comics meant to have paper print editions have different constraints and requirements and frameworks to work with than webtoons meant to be read on slim mobile screens in a continuous scrolling format. a good traditional comic will consider not just how each individual panel looks but also the way each page as a whole looks, and how the pages look next to each other in a spread, and how it feels to turn the page towards the next spread. a good webtoon will consider the movement of scrolling down and how this affects the transition from one moment to another in its composition. time is time in videos and cutscenes but space is time in comics, and the space your have available determines how you can divide time across it. when you make a webcomic on your own website you have no constraints but the ones you set for yourself, and sometimes this leads to things like homestuck, which would not work in any other format than the one it created for itself.

the best comics are good because they tell their story and present their images specifically in the form of a comic, in a way that would not be possible if it were not specifically a comic. I think this is true for basically every medium, I'm just thinking about comics specifically lately, because even though I don't really consider myself a comic artist - because I usually draw sequences of images rather than comics - the thing my clients want to pay for is often still "a comic", and they don't know or care to tell the difference. it's a difference that, as established, is often fairly moot anyway, because as long as it successfully conveys your idea it's good enough. but it's precisely because the sequence of images is often good enough that the specific skill of the comic artist is often overlooked.

[theonion]

“While Mr. Kohler has described himself as ‘more of a natural guy,’ he has always had tremendous respect for people who opt for toilets. He certainly did not intend to shame anyone for using them. Our CEO’s remarks that he prefers to wade into the creek in his backyard to defecate were clearly taken out of context, as was his statement that it just feels easier and more convenient to relieve himself in a plastic bag or garbage can. But consumers should not lose faith in the Kohler brand because of those declarations or the fact that he says he knows a lot of other plumbing-supply CEOs who don’t use toilets either.” At press time, the company had published an apology video of it CEO smiling and praising the quality of Kohler products while using one of its toilets.

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