#west end rich my beloved

[ssymphoria]

HAPPY PRIDE <33

#west end rich my beloved #rich goranski #jeremy heere #bmc fanart #bmc london #bmc west end #be more chill #richjer #spicy bis #scribbles #sym scribbles

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The IRS will do your taxes for you (if that's what you prefer)

This Saturday (May 20), I’ll be at the GAITHERSBURG Book Festival with my novel Red Team Blues; then on May 22, I’m keynoting Public Knowledge’s Emerging Tech conference in DC.

On May 23, I’ll be in TORONTO for a book launch that’s part of WEPFest, a benefit for the West End Phoenix, onstage with Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Ron Diebert (Citizen Lab) and the whistleblower Dr Nancy Olivieri.

America is a world leader in allowing private companies to levy taxes on its citizens, including (stay with me here), a tax on paying your taxes.

In most of the world, the tax authorities prepare a return for each taxpayer, sending them a prepopulated form with all their tax details — collected from employers and other regulated entities, like pension funds and commodities brokers, who must report income to the tax office. If the form is correct, the taxpayer signs it and sends it back (in some countries, taxpayers don’t even have to do that — they just ignore the return unless they want to amend it).

No one has to use this system, of course. If you have complex finances, or cash income that doesn’t show up in mandatory reporting, or if you’d just prefer to prepare your own return or pay an accountant to do so for you, you can. But for the majority of people, those with income from a job or a pension, and predictable deductions, say, from caring for minor children, filing your annual tax return takes between zero and five minutes and costs absolutely nothing.

Not so in America. America is one of the very few rich countries (including Canada, though this is changing), where the government won’t just send you a form containing all the information it already has, ready to file. As is common in complex societies, America has a complex tax code (further complexified by deliberate obfuscation by billionaires and their lickspittle Congressjerks, who deliberately perforate the tax code with loopholes for the ultra-rich):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/11/the-canada-variant/#shitty-man-of-history-theory

That complexity means that most of us can’t figure out how to file our own taxes, at least not without committing scarce hours out of the only life we will ever have to poring over the ramified and obscure maze of tax-law.

Why doesn’t the IRS just send you a tax-return? Well, because the tax-prep industry — an oligopoly dominated by a handful of massive, ultra-profitable firms — bribes Congress (that is, “lobbies”) to prohibit this. They are aided in this endeavor by swivel-eyed lunatic anti-tax obsessives, like Grover Nordquist and Americans for Tax Reform, who argue that paying taxes should be as difficult and painful as possible in order to foment opposition to taxation itself.

The tax-prep industry is dominated by a single firm, Intuit, who took over tax-prep through its anticompetitive acquisition of TurboTax, itself a chimera of multiple companies gobbled up in a decades-long merger orgy. Inuit is a freaky company. For decades, its defining CEO Brad Smith ran the company as a cult of personality organized around his trite sayings, like “Do whatever makes your heart beat fastest,” stenciled on t-shirts worn by employees. Other employees donned Brad Smith masks for selfies with their Beloved Leader.

Smith’s cult also spent decades lobbying to keep the IRS from offering a free filing service. Instead, Intuit joined a cartel that offered a “Free File” service to some low- and medium-income Americans:

https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-turbotax-20-year-fight-to-stop-americans-from-filing-their-taxes-for-free

But the cartel sabotaged Free File from the start. They blocked search engines from indexing their Free File services, then bought Google ads for “free file” that directed searchers to soundalike programs (“Free Filing,” etc) that hit them for hundreds of dollars in tax-prep fees. They also funneled users to versions of Free File they were ineligible for, a fact that was only revealed after the user spent hours painstaking entering their financial information, whereupon they would be told that they could either start over or pay hundreds of dollars to finish filing with a commercial product.

Intuit also pioneered the use of binding arbitration waivers that stripped its victims of the right to sue the company after it defrauded them. This tactic blew up in Intuit’s face after its victims banded together to mass-file thousands of arbitration claims, sending the company to court to argue that binding arbitration wasn’t enforceable after all:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/24/uber-for-arbitration/#nibbled-to-death-by-ducks

But justice eventually caught up with Intuit. After a series of stinging exposes by Propublica journalists Justin Elliot, Paul Kiel and others, NY Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of AGs from all 50 states and DC that extracted a $141m settlement for 4.4 million Americans who had been tricked into paying for Turbotax services they were entitled to get for free:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/turbotax-to-begin-payouts-after-it-cheated-customers-new-york-ag-says/ar-AA1aNXfi

Fines are one thing, but the only way to comprehensively end the predatory tax-prep scam is to bring the USA kicking and screaming into the 20th century, when most of the rest of the world brought in free tax-prep for ordinary income earners. That’s just what’s happening: the IRS is trialing a free tax prep service for next year’s tax season:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/15/irs-free-file/

This, despite Intuit’s all-out blitz attack on Congress and the IRS to keep free tax-prep from ever reaching the American people:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/20/turbotaxed/#counter-intuit

That charm offensive didn’t stop the IRS from releasing a banger of a report that made it clear that free tax-prep was the most efficient, humane and cost-effective way to manage an advanced tax-system (something the rest of the world has known for decades):

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5788.pdf

Of course, Intuit is furious, as in spitting feathers. Rick Heineman, Intuit’s spokesprofiteer, told KQED that “A direct-to-IRS e-file system is wholly redundant and is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem. That solution will unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars and especially harm the most vulnerable Americans.”

https://www.kqed.org/news/11949746/the-irs-is-building-its-own-online-tax-filing-system-tax-prep-companies-arent-happy

Despite Upton Sinclair’s advice that “it is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it,” I will now attempt to try to explain to Heineman why he is unfuckingbelievably, eye-wateringly wrong.

“e-file…is wholly redundant”: Well, no, Rick, it’s not redundant, because there is no existing Free File system except for the one your corrupt employer made and hid “in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’”

“nothing more than a solution in search of a problem”: The problem this solves is that Americans have to pay Intuit billions to pay their taxes. It’s a tax on paying taxes. That is a problem.

“unnecessarily cost taxpayers billions of dollars”: No, it will save taxpayers the billions of dollars (they pay you).

“harm the most vulnerable Americans”: Here is an area where Heineman can speak with authority, because few companies have more experience harming vulnerable Americans.

Take the Child Tax Credit. This is the most successful social program in living memory, a single initiative that did more to lift American children out of poverty than any other since the days of the Great Society. It turns out that giving poor people money makes them less poor, which is weird, because neoliberal economists have spent decades assuring us that this is not the case:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset

But the Child Tax Credit has been systematically sabotaged, by Intuit lobbyists, who successfully added layer after layer of red tape — needless complexity that makes it nearly impossible to claim the credit without expert help — from the likes of Intuit:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/29/three-times-is-enemy-action/#ctc

It worked. As Ryan Cooper writes in The American Prospect: “between 13 and 22 percent of EITC benefits are gulped down by tax prep companies”:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-05-17-irs-takes-welcome-step-20th-century/

So yes, I will defer to Rick Heineman and his employer Intuit on the subject of “harming the most vulnerable Americans.” After all, they’re the experts. National champions, even.

Now I want to address the peply guys who are vibrating with excitement to tell me about their 1099 income, the cash money they get from their lemonade stand, the weird flow of krugerrands their relatives in South African FedEx to them twice a year, etc, that means that free file won’t work for them because the IRS doesn’t actually understand their finances.

That’s a hard problem, all right. Luckily, there is a very simple answer for this: use a tax-prep service.

Actually, it’s not a hard problem. Just use a tax-prep service. That’s it. No one is going to force you to use the IRS’s free e-file. All you need to do to avoid the socialist nightmare of (checks notes) living with less red-tape is: continue to do exactly what you’re already doing.

Same goes for those of you who have a beloved family accountant you’ve used since the Eisenhower administration. All you need to do to continue to enjoy the advice of that trusted advisor is…nothing. That’s it. Simply don’t change anything.

One final note, addressing the people who are worried that the IRS will cheat innocent taxpayers by not giving them all the benefits they’re entitled to. Allow me here to simply tap the sign that says “between 13 and 22 percent of EITC benefits are gulped down by tax prep companies.” In other words, when you fret about taxpayers being ripped off, you’re thinking of Intuit, not the IRS. Just calm down. Why not try using fluoridated toothpaste? You��ll feel better, and I promise I won’t tell your friends at the Gadsen Flag appreciation society.

Your secret is safe with me.

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/17/free-as-in-freefile/#tell-me-something-i-dont-know

[Image ID: A vintage drawing of Uncle Sam toasting with a glass of Champagne, superimposed over an IRS 1040 form that has been fuzzed into a distorted halftone pattern.]

#pluralistic #earned income tax credit #eitc #irs #grover nordquist #guillotine watch #turbotax #taxes #death and taxes #freefile #monopoly #intuit

[rialikesbts]

Oppressive

Businessman!Hoseok × reader

Masterlist

"To say that I am astonished, is an understatement! Lord heavens! I may be the luckiest businessman  to have such a successful young man wanting to do business with me!"

Your father says,not hiding his excitement. Had there been no one in the room, you were sure your father would have been dancing and jumping like a five year old. 

You and your father were having dinner with his potential business partner, Jung Hoseok, the heir to Jung Associates. Hoseok was from one of the most powerful and rich families in Korea. He had studied business from the West and as soon as he got control of his father's company, he expanded it across the whole world, making his family more powerful than ever. 

So when the young successful man said he was interested in having a partnership with your dad, who had a small yet successful business himself, your father was over the moon. 

"Oh, but Mr.L/N, I never said I wanted to do business with you, I am only interested in doing it if you would accept one condition. "

Your father's and your breath hitched at the statement. 

"Of course  ! Mr. Jung. Anything you want." Your father said nervously. 

"I want your daughter's hand in marriage". 

Your eyes bulged out of your sockets. Yes, you were living in a century where daughters were supposed to be married off early and were trained their whole lives about how to treat their husbands.

You were eighteen years old, the perfect age for marriage and your father had already started looking for potential suitors. 

You had known that your time  to get married would eventually come,but you never expected it to be this soon. 

"Young man," your father says, standing up. "You have made me the happiest father and man by asking me that question. You have my blessing for your marriage with my beloved daughter" .

Your father looked at you, his face telling you to stand up and accept Hoeseok's proposal. 

" Excuse me" you say as you stood  abruptly and left  the room. 

You enter the garden to get some fresh air. You were feeling stuffy inside the room and the green dress you wore made it harder to breathe as you were wearing a corset inside. 

 You stared at the moon for a while,regretting your misbehavior. 

Father would be so upset. 

Your mother had died giving birth to you and it was your father who clothed you, fed you and took care of you. He became your mother and your father. 

And the time comes for you to repay him, you become selfish and run away? 

Making up your mind, and pushing aside your selfish dream of 'marrying for love', you turn to go back into the dining room to apologize for causing a misunderstanding. 

However, you were greeted with a gruesome sight. 

Right on the ground in front of you was your cat, Mr. Whiskers, a huge scar on its stomach and traces of its dried blood on its body. 

You panic, crouching down,shaking your cat, yelling out Mr.Whiskers again and again, only to be greeted by silence. 

You start crying, holding Mr. Whiskers close to your chest. 

"Such a crybaby you are." 

A coat draped over your shoulders and you were met again with the handsome young man who was dining with you. 

"It was you who made me do this,Lady Y/N.Your cat would have been alive had you not shown your selfish act in front of me in that dining room and angered me." 

Your heart started beating crazily fast at the man's words. 

"Now, if you don't want your precious father to end up in the same state as that cat, I suggest you come with me and decide our wedding date with your father, hmm?"

He says, a psychotic smile on his face, yet looking angelic as ever. 

You nodded. You laid down Mr. Whiskers and covered it with a cloth. 

Hoeseok offered you his hand, which you  took to get up. 

" As ladylike as ever, indeed you will not disappoint me." He says. 

You mustered a smile and stood up to bow down to Hoseok.

" I will do my best to serve you."

You managed to stutter out.

"The colour green suits you. It's my favourite colour as well.Did you know that?" He asked. 

You shook your head negatively.

"But I will keep it in mind, sir" you say, gulping and looking down. 

He puts his hand under your chin and lifts your face up close to his. 

"I'll have dresses made for you in every shade of green,whatever you want, you will have it. You just have to love me. That wouldn't be so hard to do, would it , my darling?" 

"Of course not, sir! I already love you from the bottom of my heart and will try my best to please you as your wife." 

Hoeseok smiled at your response , knowing he had broken you. 

He offered you his arm, to which you immediately linked yours with, and led you to the dining room of your house, where your father awaited, to give him the news of his daughter's engagement.

#bts yandere #yandere oneshot #bts oneshots #idol singer #kpopidol #yandere bts oneshots #yanderecore #mediaval #yandere hoseok #yandere hobi #hobi x you #hoseok #yandere oneshots #vintage men #dark aesthetic #j hope bts #yandere #yandere jhope #jhope headers #jhope yandere #hobi hobi #idolcore #businessman au #possessive #bts × reader #bts fanfic #yandere bts #bts army #bts x reader #bts jhope

[tragedyofdevotion]

Enmity

Ayato x f! reader, implied Thoma x f! reader

Angst (Slight yandere if you squint)

The story about how Kamisato Ayato and his spouse keep missing each other.

You loathe your husband.

You can be certain that he detest you, too.

During the two years of your marriage, you two have never communicated with each other more than what is absolutely necessary.

That might be because you are keeping your distance from him during all of your daily routine.

You are aware that he prefers to perform the majority of his duties in the house, and entrust most social appearances to his sister. As oppose to his preference, you engage in outdoor duties as much as you can, be it helping Miss Ayaka with her work, or handling your family business.

It is only natural since the partnership between the two of you is purely merit-based.

You come from a renowned family of merchants in Inazuma. Although your family was buried in riches, it did not have a strong political background. So, they had to live under constant fear of being exploited by more authoritative clans.

On the other hand, Kamisato clan was in a difficult position at that time, and was in dire need more allies and financial support.

That was why, the engagement between you, the single daughter of the Retailers, and Kamisato Ayato, the eldest son of the Kamisato clan, was decided. You were only ten years old when your fate was determined with no consideration for your wish or happiness.

…

“Mother, why are you dressing me up? Today is not my birthday.”

“No, it isn’t. But today is just as important as your birthday. Because it is the day of your engagement to the young master of Kamisato clan.”

“Engagement? What is it? Why is more important than my birthday?”

“I will explain it when you grow older. For now, just know that you are the pride of our family.”

You wished you could remain oblivious like when you were young.

…

You did not despise him as much before. In fact, you even felt sorry for him, thinking that he was in the same situation as you, and was forced to marry someone whose face he could not even remember.

But he…

At the bridal night, he robbed you of your purity. You begged for him to at least wait a little until you were mentally prepared, but all of your pleas fell on deaf ear. And the worst part of it was that, you, as his legal wife, had no right to refuse.

Your first night was not one filled with sweet promises and whispers of love as you imagined. It, instead, was a night of your despair and his desire. And your innocence, which you wished to offer up to your beloved was so easily tainted.

Yes, your beloved… who was kind and warm, unlike the calculating nature of your husband.

You met him in Ritou, before one year to your marriage, while you went there to discuss about the future dealings between your family and the international trade association.

Ritou, unlike the Inazuma city, was away from the watchful eyes of your parents. While you were enjoying the meager of liberation, you fell head over heels for the charming foreigner who came from the City of Freedom, freedom which you could truly never attain.

The few months you spent in Ritou were the happiest of your life. You and him would always be together, be it discussing about the economy of the country or walking around the shops of Ritou. However, the proverb, ‘All good things must come to an end,’ is there for a reason.

…

“Hurry up! Over here!”

“______”

“Yes, I know. It’s pretty, isn’t it? We can see the port if we look at the west, and in the east, there is Mount Yougou. With the Statue of our Raiden Shogun, and the maple tree, this is a perfect place for picnic. I knew I have to show this place to you as soon as I saw it.”

“______”

“I am glad you liked it.”

“______”

“You have something you to say? Then say it, why are you being so ceremonious about.”

“______”

“You… like… me…? I…”

“______”

“What? No, I am not angry. But I am sorry. It was like I was leading you on. I should have told you this before but I-”

You were interrupted by a call to your name.

“Miss y/n, I am sorry to bother you when you are with friends. But your parents have ordered me to call you back to Inazuma city.”

“What? I have already told them in the letter that I am staying here until the Crux arrive. And it is so important that you cannot wait until I am back in my room.”

Your bodyguard was shocked by your unusual display of anger. But he continued to press on.

“Miss, your fiancé has sent the marriage offer to the house. The ceremony will be held in two months, and so your parents has demanded your urgent return.”

…

After that, you left Ritou.

Although you thought you would never meet him again, your reunion with your love happened earlier, much earlier than you would like to be.

And it was as unexpected as it was brutal, laced with your tears and regret.

Your wedding. That was where you met him again. He was a housekeeper of your fiancé.

You did not know he was a confident of the Kamisato clan, just like he did not realize you were the fiancé of his Lord. You two fell for each other without knowing what kind of future was waiting for you.

Although your love was within a hand’s length, you lacked the right to embrace him.

So, these days, it is painful for you to see him, more painful than seeing your insufferable husband.

Oh.... How much did you want to leave everything behind.

How much did you wish for him to just steal you away.

…

Ayato loves you.

However, he also know that you abhor him.

He cannot blame you though, for the fault lies only on himself.

That night, the night of your wedding, he defiled you forcefully.

He did not plan for it to happen. He realized you might have some reservation at consummation considering he was only a stranger to you.

However, he could not contain the jealousy, incinerating his heart and soul. He is sure no man would be able to if they were to see the tear stained face on his wife when she saw his servant at the wedding. Ayato, being who he is, he was able to guess the relationship between the two of you, oh so easily, which lead to the inflammation of his envy , and made a mistake he will regret forever.

…

“My Lord, please spare me. I beg of you.”

“I am only demanding you to perform your marital duties. Or would you prefer I call for separation in this instant.”

“No! I… I … just need a few months, no… only a few days to mentally prepare.”

“Our engagement was ten years ago. Wasn’t those ten years enough time for you?”

“I understand where you are coming from. But… my Lord, this is my first experience. Have mercy.”

“If you utter another word of denial, I will announce the Inazuma city that you are an unfaithful lady who played around with other man even though you had me as a fiancé. I am sure your parents will not be pleased to hear that, will they?”

…

Ever since that incident, you avoided him like one would to a street rat. Nothing he does now can make up for his actions on that night. No presents can please your mind.

However, he is not too worried. He believes there is no wound time cannot heal. Fortunately, he is a patient man. He had to wait for a decade for your body to finally become his. He can wait for a few more years for your mind to give in, too.

Y/n, she was his first love. Ten years ago, he found you who was crying alone in the Chinju Forest, on his way back from Narukami Shrine.

…

“Hey you, for what reason you are here?”

“Oh! Who are you? Are you the tanuki-sama?”

“No. I am-”

“Tanuki-sama, please don’t eat me.”

“What are you talking about? Why would I eat you?”

“Are you sure?🥺”

“Yes.”

“So, why are you here?”

“I am here chasing a violet butterfly. Before I knew it, it is gone and I am here in the middle of nowhere. Wahhhh… The ghosts will eat me!!!”

“Should I tell you the way out of this forest?”

“Will you?”

Your face brightened up in an instant.

“Thank you. You are so kind, aren’t you, Tanuki-sama?”

…

You forgot about him after a good night sleep, but without knowingly, you had stolen his heart, and changed his whole world.

After that, he studied and studied and studied until he understood how adult society works. He proposed the idea of you two’s engagement to both your parents and his. Even though he was a child about twelve years old, he successfully convinced both families that your union will only bring happiness. Perhaps, his manipulative nature was born at that time.

And even now, he is proud of his skills at judging others’ personality. So, he knew that no matter how much you hate him, you did not have the courage to leave everything behind, even if you wished u had.

You are too clever to be so dreamy.

You know what his influence can do both mentally and physically. You also know that a cherished lady like you cannot survive in the cruel world, against everyone’s criticism.

And even if you begged his servant to steal you away, he is sure that his servant won’t. His loyalty for Ayato and the clan ran is rooted in the deepest part of his heart. So, he doesn’t need to concern about infidelity happening between the two of you.

He knows of all those and has never worried about you leaving him.

However…

However….

He wished….

If he had the right to do so…

That you would look at his way.

Or, at least, realize how much he is suffering because of his love for you.

...

#genshin impact #genshin impact kamisato ayato #genshin impact ayato #genshin ayato #genshin impact thoma #genshin thoma #genshin impact angst #genshin angst #ayato angst #kamisato ayato angst #genshin impact ayato x reader #ayato x reader #genshin impact ayato x y/n #genshin impact ayato x you #ayato x y/n #ayato x you #thoma x reader #thoma x y/n #thoma x you #genshin impact thoma x reader #genshin ayato x reader #slight yandere ayato #yandere ayato x reader

[moonjunio]

The email I wrote to Robin Hobb after finishing Assassin's Fate

I was clearing out old drafts from my overflowing gmail and found some correspondence with Robin that included my reactions after finishing the series. I won't include her replies, but here's some excerpts of what I said to her.

"I'm trying to remember which movie this quote is from: "Are there any happy endings?" "No. Because nothing ends."

"Even if you never return to the Realm of the Elderlings (which somehow I doubt) there is plenty of fodder for our imaginations. The surviving characters are fascinating people with feet placed on the trailheads of the rest of their lives, doubtless with many more nexus moments to face - whether or not that ends up being documented."

"This morning I'm enjoying late breakfast with my daughters on their first day of summer vacation, finishing my first reread of Fool's Quest and Assassin's Fate. I've read so many different reactions on the unrestricted chat Facebook page, and I think those who didn't get what they wanted will find more richness, more solace when they come back knowing what to expect. I'm glad you stayed true to your vision." "I hope you are basking a bit. Ending a series is bound to arouse every reaction under the sun from your fanbase. For me, having Fitz/Beloved/Nighteyes become the Wolf of the West was just the perfect resolution. Their circle forever joined at last. They are still alive in my head every day. I also love how much agency Bee seized for herself. Amazing, powerful girl!"

#there are no happy endings #because nothing ends #robin hobb #peter s beagle #schmendrick #the last unicorn #realm of the elderlings #rote #all the feels #fitzloved #nighteyes #wolf of the west #ass quest #ass fate #heart circle #we are one #no limits

[redgoldsparks]

May Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon.

Boys Run The Riot vol 2 by Keito Gaku

I really wanted to like this series, but unfortunately, I don't. The pacing feels rushed, the characters aren't very realistic and burst out into outsized emotional reactions that don't feel earned, and at the end of this volume the trans character is outed against his will on a youtube channel with a million followers. I'm going to have to give up on this story. 

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

This book is short, accessible and very informative! Price is trans and autistic, and was only diagnosed later in life. He blends narrative of his own lived experience with many interviews and thorough research. This book encourages compassion, self-knowledge, community building, and unmasking- the process of shedding the habits many autistic people employ to hide or mask their autistic traits. As a queer person pondering my own potential place on the autism spectrum, this book was an excellent introduction and gave me a lot of food for thought!

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whelan Turner read by Steve West

These books continue to delight! This deep into the series, I don't want to summarize the plot, as one of the pleasures of this series is how each book has built on the previous ones. The volatile political machinations between the the three peninsula countries of Eddis, Attolia, Sounis and the Mede Empire grow increasingly complex. Eugenides continues to make moves that appear petty and childish, whose deeper purpose is only revealed much later. I continue to be amazed at the character arcs, both of new characters and returning favorites. Read these books! I can't recommend them highly enough!

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link

Another magical short story collection from Kelly Link! These stories are more directly inspired by existing fairy tales than Link's other work, but each one has been moved into the modern day, and generally changed so much as to be only loosely recognizable. A Game of Smash and Recovery, inspired by Hansel and Gretel, does feature a brother and sister; but they have been stranded on a foreign moon by their space-traveling parents, and live by scavenging supplies from vast warehouses left behind by previous inhabitants, while evading the vampires which flutter around the edges of their downed spacecraft. As the younger sister gets older, she comes closer and closer to a realization that neither she nor her brother nor their parents are who she thinks they are. The Lady and the Fox, based on Tamlin, does involve a young woman clutching her beloved to her chest through a series of painful magical transformations, but the woman is a charity case goddaughter of a rich actress who's family hosts ridiculously elaborate Christmas parties in their family mansion. Skinder's Veil, loosely Snow-White and Rose Red, does contain two nearly identical sisters, but the main character is a grad student struggling to finish his thesis who takes on a house-sitting job in a cabin in Vermont that might be visited by immortals. And so on and so on, Link weaves her threads. This one didn't unseat Get in Trouble as my favorite Link collection, but I enjoyed it very much. 

Return of The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner read by Steve West

Once again, Turner introduces a new POV character, and once again she knocks a complicated, emotional, satisfying tale of historical fantasy out of the park! I can't get over the fact that this six book series book the author over 20 years to write, and yet is so internally consistent, it feels as if she knew from the very beginning exactly how to she wanted everything to go. This series is technically YA, but the majority of the characters are adults; it was started in the era before YA existed as the genre we know it now. If you are a fan of any Tamora Pierce books, or Steven Brust's Jhereg series, or Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor, I think you'd like these too. 

Different for Boys by Patrick Ness illustrated by Tea Bendix

This illustrated book tells an impressively nuanced story in a very short space. The narrator, Ant, ponders the meaning of virginity as a high school boy questioning his own sexuality. Ant and his best friend from childhood, Charlie, regularly mess around with each other, performing sexual acts which are blacked out in the text. The characters themselves are aware of this textual censorship and comment on it, adding a level of meta to this already nonlinear and nontraditional narrative. Charlie is sweet in private but vocally homophobic in school, hurling insults at another mutual friend, Jack, who isn't publicly out but is read as queer by his peers. Ant struggles with how much, or when, to step in and defend Jack without outing his and Charlie's secret relationship. The story has an open but hopeful ending, and its questions and unresolved aspects feel deeply true. 

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

Told entirely in slack messages, this nontraditional novel unfolds the minor and major dramas of a public relations firm with a speculative twist. The main character, Gerald, has accidentally uploaded his consciousness into the slack app and is unsure what is happening to the body he left behind. The slackbot is becoming increasingly sentient as he sends it help query after help query. His co-workers think this is an elaborate ruse to take advantage of their company's lax work from home policies during a particularly snowy New York winter. Meanwhile, his coworker Lydia is being haunted by spectral howling, Tripp is regularly the only man in the on-site office and keeps leaving the heating on overnight, Deepu is feeling left out of office in jokes and Doug, their boss, is convinced that someone is sabotaging his office furniture. This story is snappy, queer, and never gets bogged down by what could have been a gimmicky premise. It took me one Saturday afternoon to read! 

The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner read by Steve West

After finishing this whole 6 book series I went back to re-read book one and it is DELICIOUS to catch all of the hints and foreshadowing once you know how the story ends. Here’s the review I wrote after my first read in 2018:

This book was DELIGHTFUL. Set in a fantasy Mediterranean Renaissance world, the prose is simple and the initial plot set up is uncomplicated. Gen is a master level thief who made a mistake and ended up in the King's prison in Sounis. After months of imprisonment he is summoned by the Magnus, the King's most trusted adviser, who threatens Gen into joining a covert mission. A small party (the magus, the thief, one soldier and two of the magus' students) will sneak into the neighboring country of Attolia, in search of a powerful and ancient artifact. But every member of the party is intentionally or unintentionally carrying secrets, and in the end few of them are who they appear to be. I already feel like I've said too much. Go and read this book to find out the rest!

Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying

I'm refraining from giving this book a star rating because I feel genuinely unqualified to rate its effectiveness. This story deals with two very heavy topics- a character struggling with an eating disorder and grief after the death of a parent- which I have no experience with. The book portrays the main character binging and purging, which could potentially be very triggering for some readers in ED recovery, but could also be extremely cathartic to those who haven't seen their experiences reflected before. That's really going to depend on the reader. What I can say is that the art is very beautiful, I enjoyed the limited color palette, and I hope this book finds the readers who need it.

Freestyle by Gale Galligan

Eighth grader Cory is part of a tight friend group of dancers who practice every weekend. It's their last year of middle school and they want to make the most of this year- and hopefully win the annual winter Bronx Dance Battle! Unfortunately, Cory's parents aren't thrilled with his grades, and they hire a tutor three afternoons a week after school, cutting into his free time with his friend crew. Worse yet, his tutor turns out to be the best student in his grade, a girl named Sunna who he immediately clashes with. But then Cory realizes that Sunna also as a secret talent: she can throw a yo-yo like no one he's ever seen. The art in this book is fantastic, colorful and energetic, with beautiful panels capturing the movement of dance, running, yo-yo tricks, and physical humor. I had to set aside a little bit of disbelief that any eighth graders might be this motivated and organized; I've also seen a couple minor critics of the way Sunna, a hijab wearing Muslim character, was portrayed as attending a school dance and spending time tutoring Cory in his bedroom with the door closed. However, the overall tone of this book is so joyful, positive, warmhearted, and well-intentioned that I'd still absolutely recommend it. 

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky

I am not a very active reader of poetry, but this collection contains one of the poems I think about possibly more than any other: "We Lived Happily during the War." I first read it in the New Yorker magazine sometime before 2017, though I don't remember exactly when. I saw the poem circulating the internet again when Russian began to invade Ukraine. Kaminsky was born in the former Soviet Union, and the majority of the poems in this collection unfold a story of an Eastern European town occupied by enemy soldiers. Reoccurring characters tell of the violence and tragedy of this occupation: a newly married couple expecting a child, the owner of a puppetry theater, a young deaf child killed by soldiers, neighbors who defend and betray each other. Read it almost like a poetic play in two acts, relevant to our times. 

#book reviews #comic book reviews #reading #audiobooks

[mademoiselle-red]

mapo tofu is a beef dish

my favorite Chinese dish is mapo tofu, which originated in Sichuan, where my family is from. In America, this beloved dish lives in a special kind of purgatory, under the shadow of the western association of tofu with “vegetarian options”. I almost never see mapo tofu served as a meat dish here in America and i understand why:

1) most non-chinese meat eaters won’t order a tofu dish because tofu is associated with vegetarianism and most non-vegetarians would not have had much exposure to it beforehand

2) vegetarian options are limited in Chinese cuisine (outside Chinese Buddhist cuisine, which has unfortunately not made it to the west yet) since one key culinary philosophy of Chinese cuisine is that vegetable dishes should be cooked with meat (and meat-based oil) and meat dishes should be cooked with vegetables. So to appeal to the vegetarian market, Chinese restaurants in recent years have taken meat out of beloved sichuanese vegetable dishes like mapo tofu and Yuxiang Eggplant (another one of my faves)

3) and so mapo tofu, which is so delicious because the tofu is braised in sauce made of beef-extracted-oil and ground beef, imbuing the rich silky soft tofu with the “fragrance of meat”, ends up being a still tasty but much inferior dish when it’s just tofu braised in chili sauce.

So whenever I take a friend to a Chinese restaurant and show them mapotofu for the first time, I always tell them that the original is made with meat. Maybe one day there will be enough tofu-loving meat-eaters here in the US that Chinese restaurants will put the non-vegetarian option back on the menu

#chinese cuisine #Chinese food

[absolutebl]

CEO Boyfriends BL

CEO Boyfriends is a pretty specific trope to Asia, and Cdramas love it best (irony). In the west, we have a similar trope more commonly called “billionaire boyfriend.” The difference is that the CEO version implies a strong office setting. While the billionaire trope implies a wealth barrier and display. Don’t get me wrong, they intersect and pretty much crossover (both implying a power differential), but there is a subtle difference in audience expectations. 

However, these aren’t common in BL. 

Partly because BL tends to skew towards younger characters. 

Partly because the funding requirements to properly execute this kind of character (and meet audience expectations) is prohibitively expensive for BL. 

And finally because Thailand dominates BL, and they don’t really care about this trope. (Nor, for that matter, does Korea, our up-and-comer.) 

I should add: CEO also often is ties to the “plucky/long suffering heroine” trope (AKA cinderella) and the “competency porn” trope (which is the idea that a person is attractive partly because they are very very good at something in a professional sphere). 

BL With a CEO Theme/Aspect 

Warning, a lot of these are not very good. 

CHINA 

Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet & Irresistible Love 2: Uncontrolled Love (2016) - Exists in 2 parts/movies, 2nd movie has two alternate endings: a kinda happy and a definitely NOT happy, usually found grey on YT. I not-so-secretly love this BL: Kidnapping, whipping boy, obsession, mutilation, very hard fought happy ending. Absolutely classic Chinese BL pre-censorship. It's a wild melodramatic ride. 

Mr. CEO is Falling in Love with Him (2017 censored) - I actually kinda like this but it is very much censored. It has themes of revenge, salvation, infiltration, and domesticity. Hard to find and the rip is terrible. It’s clear it was filmed as a gay romance and then severely cut - like Advance Bravely. 

Capture Lover (2020 censored) - the ending is a touch confusing but basically this is the rich kid seme with nothing better to do, put to work in an office, falls hard for the strict boss, moves himself in and aggressively seduces him. Like a grown up Addicted. (Features Han Jing Chen, China’s Singto.) 

TAIWAN

Dark Blue and Moonlight (2017)

HIStory 3: Trapped (2019) - it’s mafia, not CEO, but has a lot of the same tropes including flaunting his wealth, taking baby shopping, and NICE suits. 

Because of You (2020) - it’s not QUITE there because it’s sort of more a messy soap of 3 rich brothers, but it has some of the tropes. 

More? 

Some that don’t specifically quality as a CEO romance but are office set boss/subordinate or rivals, and might satisfy the itch around this power dynamic. 

Beloved Enemy (China 2017) 

Ossan's Love (Japan & Hong Kong) 

Docchi Mo Docchi AKA Same Difference (Japan 2014) 

My Day (Pinoy 2020) 

My Lascivious Boss AKA ÔNG CHỦ, ĐỪNG ĐẾN ĐÂY (Vietnam 2021) 

There was one other Pinoy BL that tried this trope but it was truly terrible and I DNF’d blocked it out of my mind. 

What Zabb Man (Thailand 2022) 

Cutie Pie (Thailand 2022) - this is more the billionaire BF trope 

Hope this helps. 

(source) 

#ceo boyfriend #ceo romance #billionaire boyfriend #billionaire romance #but make it gay #chinese bl #chinese bromance #taiwanese bl #thai bl #What Zabb Man #My Lascivious Boss #ÔNG CHỦ ĐỪNG ĐẾN ĐÂY #Pinoy BL #Vietnamese bl #My Day the series #Docchi Mo Docchi #Same Difference #Japanese BL #Ossan's Love #Beloved Enemy #Because of You #HIStory 3: Trapped #Dark Blue and Moonlight #Capture Lover #Mr. CEO is Falling in Love with Him #Irresistible Love #Irresistible Love: Secret of the Valet #secret of the valet #Irresistible Love 2 #Uncontrolled Love

[terrainofheartfelt]

Gossip Girl Playlists: Theatre Kid AU edition!—Dan’s

[Blair’s] [Nate’s] [Serena's]

I don’t even remember exactly how this started, but it’s @strideofpride’s fault. 

The concept began as: if they were in this world, what would be in the GG mains’ MT books? What would be their go-to song? Their 16 bar cut? And then, I got on spotify, and got wayyyy too carried away (typical me), and it sort of morphed into: what are the NJBC’s (plus Daniel’s) senior musical theatre recital programs? And now I have this: a quartet of playlists of repertoire handpicked by me for these fake people, and I am very proud of them. 

All selections based on my very particular taste, honed from a childhood in community theater, an adolescence in high school musicals, and a 4 year degree from a majority musical theatre school

And, as in the tradition of Glee and all plays within a play, the rep reflects something profoundly personal about the character, because you know I love a theme. 

Oh Danny boy, my darling. In MT land, he has…sort of the inverse of Nate’s conundrum. He is Leading Man Material, but he gets kind of shoehorned into character stuff because he’s just good at his job. But – come on, this guy? He’s a romantic, and he SHINES in the ~romance~ 

Like, we should always keep talking about he and blair playing opposite each other in all the shows in all the aus amen. 

Like, we should always keep talking about he and blair playing opposite each other in all the shows in all the aus amen. 

His type: the wide-ranging baritenor. He can go low, and there’s an understated richness to his voice that lends itself to that, but I see Dan having the vocal control to do less “singy” roles as well. I think he ends up leaning more into tenor than Nate, like in classical crossover he’d sit just that much higher, but his voice is bigger, which is how I’m justifying the Street Scene song below. Also, in listening to Badgley sing other stuff, he can do that hook into his falsetto and come back belting and it’s hella tender and hella sexy.  And, by nature of his background plus the training a degree would give him, Dan can navigate a wide range of styles, which is hwy of the playlists, this one is…the most all over the place, but I have a reason for all of it, I swear, which is: I do what I want. 

Also: musician!Dan my beloved. He would play piano and guitar and mayhaps…another instrument?

References: Aaron Tveit (lol I know. Cousin Tripp. That guy); Jeremy Jordan; Steven Pasquale; Zachary Levi; Mandy Patinkin; and another guy I know from college, he came into my voice studio for a masters in opera but when he left he could do anything from a gorgeous lyric tenor to Che in Evita and Angel in Rent (he could sing the shit out of them, but those roles shan’t appear in this playlist, because this guy is latino and Dan is not. You know what I mean)

the tracklist:

Tonight at Eight — She Loves Me

Another instance of “S is always right” seriously go read her theatre kid au. 

After months of exchanging letters with his penpal (unbeknownst to him, his workplace nemesis), Georg anxiously awaits meeting her. Tonight. At eight. 

Something’s Coming — West Side Story

Dan is Leading Man Agenda. 

Tony’s best friend Riff convinces him to come to the Dance at the Gym tonight, and Tony, to quote the prophet billy shakes “dream’d a dream” about it

I Could Be in Love with Someone Like You — The Last Five Years

JRB songs are too long when you’re sitting in studio class, but damn. they fuck. 

And for how cynical I got over this musical in college (because every bitch sings Still Hurting), it is a fantastic and clever piece. It’s the story of a couple, from falling in love to marrying to falling apart, told chronologically from Jamie’s perspective, and reverse-chronologically from Cathy’s perspective. 

It’s also semi-autobiographical. A semi-autobiographical work about a star crossed couple and their breakup GEE SOUND FAMILIAR?!

Anyways, this song was replaced after the workshop with “Shiska Goddess”—which was the correct choice, but I like the character study in this song. 

At the beginning of their relationship, Jamie is starting to fall for Cathy, and her Irish heritage may or may not have something to do with it. 

Wondering — The Bridges of Madison County

Again, I love this musical so much. I am a stan, I will accept no criticism. 

After an “almost kiss” kind of moment with the kind woman he meant in the countryside, Robert ponders the moment and the chemistry he felt. With one of the most unhinged (compliment) bridges (pun not intended) in MT. daircore

Leave — Once

It’s guitar!dan time! You think theatre kid dan wouldn’t be all about Once?

(also it’s one of my favorite musicals and OCRs so it gets a whole set. My house.)

Guy’s first big solo, written and performed coming off being dumped. 

Say It to Me Now — Once

Guy plays an audition for a banker of all people, to get a loan so he can take his demo from Dublin to NYC

Falling Slowly (duet w/ Blair) — Once

Guy’s sworn off music, but when a Girl finds sheet music in his jacket, she cajoles him into playing it with her. 

Up on the Roof — Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

I’ve got a lot of opinions on jukebox musicals, mostly that we have enough of them. If Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson can write originals then no one else has any excuse. But this one is good. Because it’s Carol. 

This is the James Taylor number of the show. So of course Dan has to sing it. 

One Song Glory — Rent

As an Opera Person, I will always harbor a soft spot for 90s rock La Boheme. And it really fits Dan’s son-of-a-90s-rocker schtick doesn’t it?

And like, I think it’s easy to get corny about it, like, we all sang seasons of love at high school graduation, but it really is a masterwork. Andrew Garfield Jonathan Larson was a genius. And, like Boheme, people get swept in the ~romance~ and have to be reminded of how fucking raw it is. 

Like I didn’t really understand this song until I saw the show in undergrad, and sung by a guy who was just — born for it. He and Aaron Tveit. They get what it means. 

Roger is a musician living with HIV and depression (and his documentarian roommate and bff Mark), and is convinced that he won’t be alive very much longer, and all he wants is to write just one song that he can be remembered for. 

Lonely House — Street Scene

Street Scene is a show that plays jump rope with the line between opera and musical theatre, and it really just depends on the singer. Dan would, have big enough classical chops to sing this, but give it a more mt bent, which I wouldn’t hate. 

As someone who leans more on the side of classical in my preferences, sometimes I think operatic tenors overdo it on this song. Honestly if companies didn’t make up the stupid ass rule that every voice type has to have a contemporary aria in their package, operatic tenors wouldn’t sing this as much as they do. But that’s a rant for another time. 

And I remember a colleague singing this to close out a recital program, and we were in this church that had one (1) door, and after he sung, during the outro, he walked right out the door. And it ROCKED. So I think it’s a good act closer. 

Sam lives in an apartment block packed with people, but doesn’t really have anyone.

She Loves Me — She Loves Me

Recital act two opener let’s goooooo

Georg finds out who his penpal is. And he has Feelings about it. 

So in Love — Kiss Me, Kate

Another enemies to lovers plot! or well, lovers to enemies to lovers again. 

This is the reprisal to the song Lilli sings at the beginning of the show, now sung by her ex husband, Fred. His italicized oh moment. 

And the music & lyrics are….sexc

Hero and Leander — Myths and Hymns

Another Adam Guettel offering! Do I have an agenda? Only to be an evil dictator of taste.

Speaking of, this song cycle/revue is such a rare gem that a decent recording of a decent singer is so hard to find, that I had to settle for the mashup Tveit did in his 54 below show. So, when you get to this track, if you want to skip the first…minute and 30 seconds, then you’ll get straight to this song. 

(the first one is from Next to Normal, and is beautifully sung of course, it’s just irrelevant in terms of this playlist

— bc while Tveit could sing Gabe in his 20s, I don’t think Dan Humphrey could.) 

It’s got that falsetto hook that I just know Dan would be good at. 

This show doesn’t have a plot, it’s a revue, so each song is like its own contained story. This one is about the myth of Hero and Leander. 

Leander would swim across the sea every night to meet with his lover Hero, until the gods sent a storm, and on one of his nightly swims, he drowns. Those greek myths amirite. 

When We Dance (trio w/ Blair & Nate) — The Last Ship

Another selection from Sting’s opus that deserves more love!

I think if you’re looking at this meta-wise, Dan’s character is more in line with the other male lead—steady, supportive, romantic, the “right” choice, but hey, they’re Acting, and musically, the main guy’s part is better. And this trio is just sooooo pretty. 

And it can be ot3-esque if you want it to be (I know I do).

After running away from his tiny shipbuilding hometown, Gideon returns fifteen years later to make his move on the girl he left behind, Meg. she’s having none of it, she has a new man (Arthur), and a kid that’s fifteen years old give or take nine months. Her new man also pleads his case. 

One Second and a Million Miles (duet w/ Blair)  — The Bridges of Madison County

Thee big duet of the show. Facing the end of their time alone together, Robert proposes that Francesca come with him when he leaves town. It’s just—promise me you’ll listen to it. There’s nothing like it. “If I Loved You” MAYBE. But nothing else like it. 

Later — A Little Night Music

My guy would absolutely have a sondheim set in his recital I just know it in my heart.

(I’ve seen guys sing this song and play the cello part live themselves, so, why not Dan?)

It’s a complicated domestic drama about a privileged family and all their internal troubles (sound familiar?)

Henrik, a lawyer’s son & lutheran seminary student, is an over-serious over-thinker, and now he’s got to fucking deal with his dad marrying a woman who’s younger than him—and yikes I just realized how close this hits god fucking help me. 

ANYWAYS this is staged with Henrik either actually playing the cello or just miming it, and I find that. very attractive.

Losing My Mind — Follies

Originally written for Dorothy Collins for a women's role, Jeremy Jordan gave a cabaret performance that still blows me away every time I listen. 

And it is BIG Daniel Humphrey Professional Yearner energy

Sally, a former star of the Ziegfield Follies, sings this ballad about Ben, the one that got away. (dairfair vibes, if you will?)

Move On (duet w/ Serena) — Sunday in the Park with George

Probably one of thee best songs in the MT zeitgeist.

It gets me every.single.time

George Seurat (french pointillist) and his lover Dot have a great grandson also named George, who is also an artist struggling to just fucking make something. 

Dot appears to him in a vision, speaks to him like he’s her George (I mean they’re both Mandy Patinkin, so), and they exchange the most poignant lyrics about art and creativity that have ever been written. Oh, Stephen <3

Being Alive — Company

You might say that this one is overdone, but when it’s done well, it always Hits.

and you KNOW Dan would do it right. 

The always single Bobby, in the midst of his paired off friends, rails at the futility of romantic relationships until he finally admits what he really wants: that. 

Don’t Stop — Fleetwood Mac

Because he has to sing an encore with Jenny. Come on, him at the piano, Jen sitting next to him, I can see it :)

#dan humphrey #gossip girl #playlist #*ggmt #source: senamarais #(I knew a guy who opened his recital with tonight at 8. he tried to rig an alarm clock to go off #and he would come out when it rang....the bit didn't work. total sweetheart tho) #listen. everyone should listen to bridges #there's two other big solos for the leads #that i didn't put in dan and blair's playlists bc i didn't think they fit the Theme. but DAMN #they're so good #and there's another duet that's fabulous #musician!dan my beloved #daniel humphrey professional yearner

[ltcolonelcarter]

Heyo, it’s me !!!

I’m literally DYING to learn your top soundtrack list, the conversations we’ve had have given me nothing but absolute satisfaction and I’m looking forward to having more material to yell about 👀<333 please go WILD it can get ad long as you want I’ll read it and listen to it ALL

STRIKE UP THE BAND (PART ONE OF FOUR)

let me preface this by saying I have so damn many favourites that I will inevitably forget MANY of them. I'm coasting purely on ✨vibes✨ here. this will be chaos.

elias -- person of interest / ramin djawadi i tried not to put this one first. i truly did. it is INEVITABLE. now I've linked other tracks by djawadi before bc I am physically incapable of not loving his work, but THIS ONE MAKES ME WANNA BREAK BRICKS OVER MY HEAD. the scene was glorious, and the music perfectly captures it. the scene is a massive spoiler for s1 so if that's not your jam then go careful. the harsher strings at 1:20, and the build to the 2min mark?? I'm BREAKING STUFF. i'm not sure if my attachment started with the music or the scene or a combination but I don't care to detangle them, to be quite frank, i'm happy going absolutely insane forever over it a kind word and a friendly face -- the sandman / david buckley i'm cackling a lil at myself bc of COURSE there had to be something from sandman here. i'm nothing if not predictable. and of course I had to pick death's theme. we're going to pointedly ignore the fact i'm in love with her and focus INSTEAD on how beautifully soft her theme is, how gentle and warm, how serene. I always know a piece of music is special when I have to pause what i'm watching to process what I've heard, and this was that. the scene let the music take centre stage too, which I find is remarkably rare, and i appreciate it so much. its sentiment is crying, but not as mourning, as the deepest, most heartfelt love. it's bittersweet grief. a sad parting with someone beloved. i'm not crying you're crying last man standing -- the order: 1886 / jason graves OHOHOHOH THIS ONE. okay so IF you do end up playing this game, I need to know. this is from the final scene and let me tell you when I say it HURTS i mean it HURTS. the start is lovely, matches the rest of the score with some tremulous notes to show the conflict--a little of galahad's theme in there too, but then the low stuff starts, and internally i am SCREAMING bc i know that's coming. this game annoyed so many people for being short but it was an incredible, short window into a rich and dark world full of tension and war, and at the two minute mark you feel it come back down to the people. it narrows its cope back down to the emotional core of the piece and i will never forgive them for making me watch this scene and hear this music and feel inevitability the way they made me feel it.

beyond the horizon -- a plague tale: innocence / olivier derivière time for that ORGAN MUSIC NOW I could link half of this score, to be honest, and several of its tracks (+related ones) are in my honourable mentions list, so I don't overload this one. this slow progression in this one absolutely floors me every time. the heartbeat type percussion at two minutes is strong enough to rip my heart from my chest. the vocals that join a minute later sound as I leave my body. this track is a slow and weary march towards a terrifying, eclipsed future, bright sun blocked by the obstacles between the present and safety. it's putting one foot in front of the other anyway, and holding out a shaking hand for the people that walk with you. if i never hear this performed live at dusk in the bleak autumn, candlelight teasing and chasing the shadows...sigh i'm going to stop waxing poetic whatever comes -- horizon: forbidden west / oleska lozowchuk i have a weirdly hard time picking a favourite track from horizon, both forbidden west and zero dawn, because they all blend together--not in a bland kind of way, in a way that makes it feel like a place, not a sound. this one is a track I keep coming back to because it's so so lovely. aloy's theme interwoven with the main game theme...the machine theme....I'm back there right now........

#req 🎻 #asks #audio tag #FOUR POSTS WORTH OF MUSIC. FOUR POSTS #WHY DID I DO THIS. #the editing is a nightmare. the html hates me. i have picked FIFTEEN separate fights with the tumblr text editor. #i've told it to meet me out back in the alley so i can kick its ass PROPERLY. #set to incredible fight music obviously #SIDE NOTE i love you for this. i've never listed all of my favourites before. this endeavour has had listening to the BEST STUFF

[hollowwhisperings]

from the first time i saw film!Galadriel's sleeves, to my reading LOTR in its entirety, to my attempting and failing to watch the PJ films in full... Tolkien Elves really do just be Xianxia Immortals, don't they?

like. the sleeves. the elegance. the secluded realm of immortality. the sad youthful elderly people being sad. the long hair.

i once again Shake My Fist in the general direction of PJ for reinforcing the myth of whiteness - the older i get, the more frustrated i become by all these white dudes having used the dressings of asian cultures for their big films without casting so much as a single asian in a named, speaking role.

(George Lucas, I am talking about YOU)

I was genuinely surprised that, even with Crazy Rich Asians being successful as both a film & a Cultural Moment of "oh, shift, we really do just Not Cast Asians Ever don't we?" in the West... TROP didn't just go for making the elves asian. Like, chinese elves obviously but south asian elves and middle eastern ones too: that's where the costume designers all get their inspiration from, when not just doing the "Ambiguously European, Ambiguously Medieval" thing.

(obvs the elves are not *actually* chinese/indian/persian but the ACTORS would be)

then again, white people lost their marbles at the sight of one (1) black dwarf so idk the pandemic has zigzagged public opinion all over how western immigrants feel about other western immigrants/the ancestrally displaced.

how did my meme post about tolkien elves just being xianxia immortals end up being a bitter reminescence on racism & its direct effects on beloved & deeply flawed fantasy films.

#i consider star wars to be both fantasy and scifi #orientalism #tolkien elves #xianxia #the peter jackson adaptions #star wars #trop

[gwydionmisha]

Personal:  Gothmas Season is Back, Baby!

Sunday, we went shopping.  By we I mean Head Millennial, Techie Millennial , Techie's New Roommate, and me.  It was insanely hot and muggy, which we had no way of guessing when planning the Ex-pod-ition the night before when it was a perfectly reasonable temperature for mid-September in this micro-climate.  Yes, I know it's October.  *shakes fist at the Koch brothers and every other rich person who bought climate denial during my life time to boost their profit margins*

But it had been early September sane temperatures for a week.  We'd already ripped out the living room air-conditioning the previous weekend so we could start Gothmas Phase I.  (All I've managed is most of the ornaments on one tree.)  We were not expecting Surprise late July in Alabama.  This means not only was the trip to the Good Grocery (Excellent Prices, Solid selection, Employee run) sticky hot, exhausting, and full of human obstacles, but the apartment common area was oven hot when we got home.  It is supposed to be cool, windy, and sporadically rainy.  Fucking Climate change.

Now it is Gothmas Phase II, of which I've managed the easy stuff not involving string lights and ladders, but it's enough to start lighting of an evening outside.  head Millennial helped me get the gear out of the storage closet, then focused on hand making us lasagna to eat while watching our beloved resident Alien  and sipping nice cold floats.

I have already spent two thirds of my food budget for the month and I have my birthday party to get food for mid October.  Sigh.  I did score eight dollars of fruit from the Market Garden before they closed for the season in the morning of their very last day right after open.  I really miss the other fruit and veg stand as they generally stayed open through Halloween, but I really don't blame two people in their '70's for deciding that organizing produce from a bunch of small farms was too damned much.  

For the record, the market garden is produce from one farm, super fresh, as it's harvested right there and placed on display throughout the day, but the selection is smaller than the one that was like a farmer's Market only every day and with one check out.  Seriously, the Market garden is magical and really close to where I live now and they have a good selection given the size of their growing space.  I just wish there were two options instead of one.  It's not like there is any shortage of fresh fruit and produce in this place as we are a part off the country that supplies other areas with the same, so we are spoiled by good, reasonably cheap, fresh food.  Also, the major artery for the west coast means more southerly fruit makes it up here quickly at reasonable prices.  

I never forget we are incredibly lucky to be living were food is.  I grew up in an area where the only biking distance food stores were a tiny corner store and a WaWa (convenience store).  A real grocery store was an hour round trip not counting the actual shopping, and my Gran was living in a Germantown food desert because she wasn't willing to leave the neighborhood where she was born in 1889 and she had a bad arm, so my Mother and Grandmother took it in turn to take her grocery shopping once a week.  I still measure food availabity in things like travel time and spoons and how much a person on foot could reasonably carry for how many miles, because those were the calculation of more than half my life and they still are for my Millennials.

Still, the tiny end of season selection and the last day sign made me sad.

Anyway, we have food.  I've two meals worth of eggplant lasagna in my fridge and one in my stomach, and it's starting to look a bit Gothmasy around the Cat Asylum.

For those not used to the lingo, the Gothmas season starts September 1 and runs to Jan. 7.  Phase one is interior Gothmas decorations like trees and Halloween Town.  Phase 2 is exterior Halloween decorations, Phase 3: we leave everything up inside and pull the Halloween specific stuff from outside while leaving lights, gourds, etc..  Phase 4: yet more interior decorations and more lights everywhere.  It is a disability friendly way to do things and is cheerful for the dark of the year.  I got in the habit for my late longtime partner Skye as even though he was a happy atheist, the social bits of the winter holidays really mattered to him and he missed his family.  It is all very, very Goth to look at since he only specifically theistic things were gifts from assorted relatives and these are black and purple Halloween trees decorated with things like science fiction and Halloween ornaments and Halloween Town stays up throughout.  Phase 5: everything sorted and back in boxes, stowed away for next September.

We call it the Cat Asylum, because back just before the turn of the century, Skye and I took in two rescue cats with serious psychological and resulting behavioral problems.  It is asylum both in the original sense of a safe place, a refuge; and in the sense that it could get pretty wild for the first few years.  For the record, they both lived to their late teens despite health issues related to their abuse and abandonment.  Mache recovered and was the best Queen I ever met and a wonderful, wonderful cat by every measure after the extremely rough first 2-3 years.  hector suffered from nightmares, anxiety, panic attacks his whole life, but he got so much better and was loved his whole life after that first terrible year.  his bad spells went from every day to only once in a while, and he had a really, really good life.  It is still the cat asylum because the the current cats also have issues and this is a safe and supportive environment for them.

#Personal #Gothmas #My Cats

[giriduck]

Gotta say that it’s taken a bit, but I’ve learned to love watching shows and movies that extend canon. Years ago, I used to hate it because it typically took things in a different direction than expected or desired. But now, I’m framing them as works of fanfiction: They’re pulling from the same base and rearranging or leaning into pieces to tell a new story. I’m less annoyed by the details of things that may not align with my own headcanons, but instead appreciating the craft of taking a world and its characters and adding to it in a way that feels believable. Or—in some of the best cases—spins it in a fresh, new way (prime example: the new She-Ra).

For example—these are likely going to show my age here—anime sequel series and movies taken up by different studios. Escaflowne had a wild movie retelling of the series, Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz was a strange sequel. Heck, even Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was also a bit of a head scratcher, because the ambiguous ending to FFVII was (in my opinion) absolute perfection. Each of these were beautifully rendered, and—where applicable—recruited the same voice cast. They were potentially unnecessary, but are all nevertheless interesting side or AU stories.

Then there are more recent examples. I really liked 95% of the Netflix live-action Cowboy Bebop. It was perhaps a cursed problem to try to attempt to recreate / mildly extend such a beloved anime, and there are parts and characters I didn’t care much for (the whole Vicious subplot was meh on my opinion—I liked him better when we saw less of him because he had the shadowy menace thing going on), but the main cast was delightfully internally consistent and the world-building was phenomenal. It was excellent fanfic.

I’m watching Better Call Saul now, and as more characters from Breaking Bad appear, and I can’t but wonder how much of the sequel show was being sketched out as the first show was under development. BCS came out two years after BB ended, so perhaps there wasn’t any overlap at all. And yet, they created a six-season backstory series about a minor character that is arguably better than the original show, all while creating and interweaving backstory for all these other characters in the world. It’s kind of amazing.

As Disney continues to mine into the rich Marvel and Star Wars veins, it’s becoming more important (and easier) to shrug and accept that all of these are genuine works of fanfiction. We’re at the point where directors and writers who grew up on geeky content they love are publishing their stories for future fans (ex: Jon Favreau and The Mandalorian).

I remember when Wicked came out: a backstory fanfic about the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of OZ (the first book in the original OZ series was published in 1900 and all were well into the public domain by the time Wicked was published). It seemed pretty niche, but was later famously adopted into a Broadway musical.

There is no shame in fanfiction. It’s most of our mainstream content these days.

#not zelda

[chronicparagon]

🔙 + 💦 + 😏

🔙 // push my muse against a wall .

💦 // cover my muse’s mouth .

😏 // give my muse a hickey .

It was only moments ago when they were walking down the sidewalk on this quiet, Autumn night. The trees lining the sidewalk began to change their colors from shades of green to rich hues of reds, yellows, oranges. A gentle breeze dance around them with the warm glow of the streetlamps brought to life as the sun slips into the west much sooner than just a few weeks ago.

She gently teased him every now and then. It was nothing overt. Just light brushes over his arm occasionally. A complaint of how she feels chilled despite her attire, wanting to warm up but not end the walk just yet. Her subtle hints worked, but it worked a little too well.

Harmony squeaks when her back meets the brick and mortar wall. Warmth intensifies beneath her skin when Envy moves in after pulling her into the alleyway. The hair on the back of her neck stood on its end when he got to work with her. Buttons adorning the front of her jacket come undone and peeled away from her shoulders. Her long hair brushed over her right shoulder with her beloved's gentle movements.

"Envy...please be careful, love. Someone may hear." There is no verbal answer, choosing to resolve it with actions instead.

His free hand covers her mouth to stifle the sounds Harmony will make. His head lowers and the hand over her mouth muffles a sharp gasp. She feels his soft breath fanning over her neck. She squeaks when his mouth closes in. Every graze of his fangs drives her heart to race. Her body trembles against his own and her fingers curl against the bricks at her side. The thrill of hiding just inches from the world's view. Envy ravaging her neck ignites sparks of pleasure that set her blood boiling. A flurry of thoughts collide and the world around them darkens in her vision until Envy is the only one she thinks about.

Envy and Envy alone.

He's on her mind, and always in her heart.

The air is thicker and it's harder to breathe from the moans and gasps. It's harder to breathe when her mind centers around the man trapping her to the wall. Shivers run down her spine while the Little Killer's work creates a darkening mark on her neck.

The new mark on her delicate skin is a sign and a warning: A sign that Harmony belongs to Envy and if anyone dares to come between her and the Little Killer, they will surely face his wrath and suffer a grim fate. The marks from the rough kisses and small bites is akin to the chains entrapping Harmony. These chains wrap tighter and tighter around her heart and slowly pulls her deeper into darkness. However, as she’s lost in the pleasure mixed with slight pain, she doesn’t fret over being caught or the dangers of her Envy.

Right now, she can only think of him.

@s-talking

#s-talking #s talking #answered #thank you!! #left in the dark #because it's suggestive

[linnet92holder]

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#hermes crocodile kelly #himalayan kelly #hermes himalayan kelly #crocodile hermes bags #himalayan kelly bag #himalaya kelly #crocodile kelly #himalayan crocodile #replica hermes crocodile kelly

[janecrockeyre]

scum villain is a greek tragedy disguised as a regular tragedy disguised as a comedy disguised as a danmei

this is going to be long, and this is only PART ONE.

a.k.a, Analysing the plot of Scum Villain’s Self Saving System through Aristotle’s Poetics, because I Have Mental Issues

Part One: Introduction and the Tragic Hero

Scum Villain’s Self Saving System is a tragedy disguised as a comedy, unless you’re Shen Yuan, in which case it’s a mixture of a romance and a survival horror. It's a fever dream. It's a horrible, terrible book that made me feel new undiscovered emotions when I finished reading it. 

The thing is... SVSSS shares characteristics with some of the most famous tragedies in the West, such as Oedipus Rex, Medea, Antigone, the Oresteia... if you haven’t read these, I’ll explain everything. But the gist of my argument is this: SVSSS is the perfect tragedy. In triplicate. 

Tragedy as a genre is old as balls and so it has meant slightly different things to different people over the last few thousand years. I'll be focusing on ancient Greek tragedy, which was performed at the yearly Festival of Dionysus in Athens during the 500-350s BC (give or take a hundred years). Aristotle, when writing about this very specific subset of tragedy, had no idea that one day Scum Villain would be written, and then that I would be using his work as a way to look at Shen Qingqiu’s Funky Transmigration Mistake. Anyway!

Greek tragedy greatly influenced European dramatic tradition. I have a lot of opinions about white academics idolising and upholding the classics as the "paragon of culture" but I'll withhold them for now. I have no idea if MXTX has read Greek tragedy or not, so don't take this as me saying they are writing it. 

In my opinion, tragedy is a universal human constant. We are surrounded by pain and hurt and none of it makes any sense, so we seek to process that pain through drama, art, literature, etc. We want to understand why pain happens, and how it happens, and try to make sense of the senseless. The universe is cold and cruel and random. Tragedy eases some of that pain. 

On that note: Just because I am analysing Scum Villain through a Greek lens doesn't mean that it was written that way. I'm pasting an interpretation onto the book when there's probably a very rich and deep history of Chinese tragedy that I just don't know about. If you ever want to talk about that, please, god, hit me up, I would love to learn about it!! 

Anyway, tragedy. MXTX is excellent at it! Mo Dao Zu Shi? Painful dynastic family tragedy. Heaven Official's Blessing? Mostly romance, but she managed to get that pure pain in there, huh? 

But in my opinion, Scum Villain holds the crown for the most tragic of her stories. MDZS was more of a mystery. TGCF was more of a romance. Neither of them shy away from their tragic elements. 

Scum Villain would fit right in between the work of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. How? Let me show you. Join me on my mystery tour into the world of "Aristotle Analyses Danmei..."

Part One: The Tragic Hero

What is a tragic hero? Generally, Greek tragic heroes are united by the same key characteristics. He must be imperfect, having a "fatal flaw" of some kind. He must have something to lose. And he must go from fortune to misfortune thanks to that fatal flaw. 

There are two (technically three) tragic protagonists in SVSSS and all of them are tragic in different but formulaic ways. Each protagonist has their own version of “hamartia” or a “fatal flaw”. 

Actually, hamartia isn’t necessarily a flaw - rather, it is a thing which makes the audience pity and fear for them, a careful imperfection, a point of weakness in the character’s morality or reasoning that allows for bad things to happen to them. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the king Oedipus has a “fatal flaw” of always wanting to find the truth, but this isn’t exactly a flaw, right? Note: this flaw can be completely unwitting, as we see with Shen Yuan. It can also be something that the protagonist is born with, some kind of trait from birth or very young. 

Shen Yuan

Shen Yuan’s “hamartia” is his rigid adherence to fate and his inability to read a situation as anything but how he thinks it ought to be. He believes that Bingmei will grow into Bingge, and it takes several years, two deaths, and some truly traumatising sex to convince him otherwise. 

Shen Jiu

Shen Jiu’s fatal flaw is his cruelty. It is his own sadistic treatment and abuse of Binghe which directly leads to his eventual dismemberment. This is kind of a no-brainer. Of course, it isn't all that simple, and as an audience we pity him for his cruelty as much as we fear it because we know it comes from his own abuse as a child. This just makes him even more tragic. Delicious. 

Luo Binghe

Luo Binghe’s fatal flaw is a complicated mix of things. It is his position as the “protagonist” which compels him to act in certain ways and be forced to suffer. It is his half-demonic heritage, something entirely out of his control, which sets in motion his tragic reversal of fortune when he gets yeeted into the Abyss. He also, much like Shen Yuan, has the propensity to jump to conclusions and somehow make 2 + 2 = 5. 

As well as having their respective “flaws”, all three protagonists match the rough outline of a good tragic hero in another way: they are in a position of great wealth and power. Even when you split the different characters into different “versions”, this still holds true. Yes, Luo Binghe is raised a commoner by a washerwoman foster mother, but his dad is an emperor and he also ends up becoming an emperor himself. 

Yes, Shen Jiu is an ex-slave and a victim of abuse himself, but Shen Qingqiu is a powerful peak lord with an entire mountain’s worth of resources at his back. 

Shen Yuan is a second generation new money rich kid. 

Bingge is a stereotypical protagonist with a golden finger. Bingmei is a treasured and loved disciple with a good reputation and a privileged seat by his shizun’s side. 

In a tragedy, having this kind of good fortune at the beginning of your story is dangerous. Chaucer says that tragedy is (badly translated into modern english) “a certain story / of him that stood in great prosperity / and falls out of high degree / into misery, and ends up wretchedly”. If we follow this line of thinking, a good tragedy is about someone who has a lot to lose, losing everything because of one fatal point of weakness that they fail to address or understand. 

If we look at Shakespeare, this is what makes King Lear such a fantastic tragic protagonist. He is a king in control of most of England, who from his own lack of wisdom and excess of pride, decides to split his kingdom apart to give to his daughters, favouring his murderous, double crossing progeny, and condemning his only actually filial daughter to death. He loses his kingdom, his mind, and his beloved daughter, all because of his own stupidity.

This brings us to:

Part Two: Peripeteia

This reversal of fortunes is called peripeteia. It is the moment where the entire plot shifts, and the hero’s fortunes go from good to bad. Think of it like one of those magic eye puzzles, where you stare at the image until a 3D shark appears, except you realise the shark was always there, you just couldn't ever see it, waiting for you, hungry, deadly, always lurking just behind that delightful pattern of random blue squiggles. 

Each tragic hero has their own moment of peripeteia in SVSSS, sometimes several:

Shen Qingqiu

In the original PIDW, SQQ’s peripeteia presumably occurs when he finds out that Bingge didn’t perish in the Abyss but has actually been training hard to come and pay him back. There’s really not much I’m interested in saying here - as a villain, OG!SQQ is cut and dry, and the audience doesn’t really feel any pity or fear for him. As Shen Yuan often mentions, what the audience feels when they see OG!SQQ is bloodlust and sick satisfaction. There is also the trial at Huan Hua Palace, which I will talk about in Shen Yuan’s section. 

Shen Yuan (SQQ 2.0)

One of SY’s most poggers moment of peripeteia is the glorious, terrifying section between hearing Binghe for the first time after the Abyss moment, and getting shoved into the Water Prison. 

“Behind him, a low and soft voice came: “Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu’s neck felt stiff as he slowly turned his head. Luo Binghe’s face was the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

The scariest thing about it was that the expression on his face was not cold at all. His smile wasn’t sharp like a knife. Rather, it showed a kind of bone-deep gentleness and amiability.”

This is the moment of true horror for Shen Yuan, because he knows what happens next: the plot unfurls before him, inevitable and painful, and he knows that death awaits him at Luo Binghe's hands (lol). Compare it with the bone deep certainty with which he faces his own downfall during the sham of a trial later in the chapter (I’ve bolded the important part):

“In the original work, Qiu Haitang’s appearance signified only one thing: Shen Qingqiu’s complete fall from grace. [...] Shen Qingqiu’s heart streamed with tears. Great Master… I know you’re doing this for my own good, but I’ll actually suffer if she speaks her words clearly. This truly is the saying “not frightened of doing a shameful deed, just afraid the ghost (consequences) will come knocking”!”

After the peripeteia is usually the denouement where the plot wraps up and the threads are all tied together leaving no loose ends, but because this tragedy isn’t Shen Yuan’s but the former Shen Jiu’s, it’s impossible to finish. 

Shen Yuan cannot provide the meaningful answers that the narrative demands because 1) he doesn’t have any memory of doing anything, and 2) he wasn’t the person who did them. Narratively, he cannot follow the same path as the former SQQ because he lacks the same fatal flaw: cruelty. 

This is why Binghe doesn’t kill him - because he loves him, rather than despises him. And this is why Shen Yuan has to sacrifice himself and die for Luo Binghe in order to save him from Xin Mo: because the narrative demands that denouement follows peripeteia, and SQQ’s fate is in the hands of the narrative. 

(Side note: I believe that this literal death also represents the death of OG!SQQ's tragic arc. The body that committed all those crimes must die to satisfy the narrative. SQQ must die, like burning down a forest, so that new growth can sprout from the ashes. After this, Shen Yuan's story has more room to develop instead.)

It must happen to show Bingmei that SQQ loves him too. And this brings us to Bingmei.

Bingmei

Bingmei has two succinct moments of utter downfall. The first is a literal fall - his flaw, his demonic heritage, leads his beloved shizun to throw him down into the Abyss. From his point of view, SQQ is punishing him simply for the status of his birth. He rapidly goes from being loved and cherished unconditionally, to being the victim of an assassination attempt. 

He realises that he is totally unlovable: that for the crimes of his species that he never had a hand in, he must pay the price as well: that his shizun is so righteous that no matter what love there was between them, if SQQ sees a demon, he will kill it. Even if that demon is Bingmei. 

The second moment is when SQQ dies for him. Again, from his point of view, he was chasing after a man who was struggling to see him as a human being. Shen Qingqiu’s death makes Bingmei realise that he has been completely misunderstanding his shizun: that SQQ would literally die for him, the ultimate act of self sacrifice from love: that SQQ loved him despite his demon heritage. 

Much like King Lear holding the corpse of his daughter and wailing in sheer grief and pain because he did this, he caused this, Bingmei gets to hold his shizun's cold body and cry his eyes out and know that it was his fault. (Kind of.)

(Yes, I’m bringing Shakespeare into this, no I am not justifying myself)

Maybe I'm a bit sadistic, but that scene slaps. Let me show you a comparison of scenes so you get the picture. 

Re-enter KING LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his arms; EDGAR, Captain, and others following

KING LEAR

Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so

That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives;

She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;

If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,

Why, then she lives.

[...]

 KING LEAR

And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,

Never, never, never, never, never!

Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.

Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,

Look there, look there!

Dies

Versus this scene in SVSSS: 

Luo Binghe turned a deaf ear to everything else, greatly agitated and at a loss of what to do. He was still holding Shen Qingqiu’s body, which was rapidly cooling down. It seemed like he wanted to call for him loudly and forcefully shake him awake, yet he didn’t dare to, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He said slowly, “Shizun?”

[...]

Luo Binghe involuntarily held Shen Qingqiu closer.

He said in a small voice, “I was wrong, Shizun, I really… know that I was wrong.

“I… I didn’t want to kill you…”

PAIN. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL PAIN. Yes, I know Shakespeare isn’t Athenian, but he was inspired by the good old stuff and he also knew how to write a perfect tragedy on his own terms. Anyway. I’ll find more Greek examples later.

This post was a bit all over the place, but I hope it has been fun to read. Part Two will be coming At Some Point, Who Knows When. This is a bit messy and unedited, but hey, I’m not getting paid or graded, so you can eat any typos or errors. Unless you’re here to talk to me about Chinese tragedy, in which case, please pull up a seat, let me get you a drink, make yourself at home.

ps: if you want to retweet this, here is the promo tweet!

#svsss #scum villain #luo binghe #shen qingqiu #shen jiu #greek tragedy #hello followers this account has been silent for a long time but today i bring you whatever this is #long post #i am gonna cross post more art here from my twitter i think #you guys really like my shitposts on here