#Celebrating independence day with comic posting | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bakuhatsufallinlove · 2 months

Text

Time for a lighthearted review!

By now a number of people have heard of ボクの神隠し(boku no kamikakushi), aka “My Spiriting Away” or “My Mysterious Disappearance,” aka the BL manga that Okamoto Nobuhito, voice actor of Bakugou Katsuki, was involved in. It is available to read for free in Japanese here with a total of three chapters. This post contains spoilers for the ending.

Here’s a Q&A peppered with my thoughts on it.

The Premise

Crybaby Uzuki idolizes his childhood friend Haruto who always protected him, but since they started high school, their relationship has soured, leaving Uzuki utterly alone. One day, the pair are kidnapped by a strange man and forced to participate in a mysterious game of life-or-death.

How is Okamoto involved?

Okamoto is credited for the 原案 (gen’an). A corollary industry term in English would be “original idea” or possibly “scenario.” In my experience with comics, this suggests he created the characters and premise, then wrote the concept out and submitted it to a second party to be fleshed out for full production.

The script is credited to Production Beijyu (プロダクションベイジュ), a company who offers a variety of production and promotion services with a focus on editing and proofreading books, magazines, manga, and anime.

The manga—so the artwork and all of its production—is credited to 戸真伊まい, a name I can only guess is read as Tomai Mai, which sure sounds like a pen name and doesn’t appear to be linked to any other published work. This could be for a lot of reasons; the artist might be totally new or they might have worked in other genres and chose a unique pen-name for BL, but the only thing I found attached to this name online was their Twitter account.

How’d it get made, anyway?

As far as I can tell, Okamoto must have personally reached out to Beijyu and applied for their services to help make his idea a real thing. Beijyu gear themselves towards small, independent artists and authors, especially those who haven’t debuted with a magazine or printed publication yet.

For those unaware, manga is a massive industry in Japan, and it can be extremely difficult to get your foot in the door. Many creators talk about having their concepts rejected repeatedly by magazine after magazine, or getting a single one-shot published and then struggling to keep the momentum. There’s a reason all of the huge Shounen Jump creators talk about the intense pressure to keep their work popular and to avoid getting dropped from publication by any means necessary.

Boku no Kamikakushi is available for free and I haven’t heard of any plans for a physical release. To be honest, this suggests to me that Okamoto genuinely wanted to get his story made regardless of profitability—he isn’t just a celebrity attaching his name to a series for attention. There wasn’t some industry demand or opportunity that he took advantage of for professional gain, he must have been the one to initiate this endeavor, and honestly, good for him.

Is it really bkdk?

Nah. I will grant you that the tropes at play certainly reveal Okamoto’s tastes, and we sure could extrapolate about his feelings on bkdk from those tastes. But beyond the similarities in backstory, base themes, and design aesthetic that people have pointed out, the couple have very little in common with bkdk, and in fact, the way they diverge is kind of hilariously shocking??

Okay, fine. What’s their deal, then?

Uzuki is a yandere rich boy who likes to get choked. Haruto is honestly a hapless, horny victim in all this.

What!?

Yeah. The “mastermind” behind the kidnapping is Uzuki himself, who staged the whole thing with his butler. Basically, their high school classmates tease Haruto for being associated with Uzuki, the son of the richest noble in town; Haruto resents it so he distances himself from Uzuki and rejects him. Uzuki ends up lonely with no friends and missing Haruto, so he stages his own kidnapping and puts them both in the “death game” as a way to force Haruto to remember his childhood promise to protect Uzuki as his hero.

That’s insane???

YES. IT IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

It’s especially funny because the parameters of the death game don’t technically require them to have sex or get intimate, Uzuki is just a fucking freak and Haruto is confused by his own horniness and goes along with it. The first trial involves a selection of drinks, one of which contains poison, and they have to keep choosing one to drink from until someone dies. Haruto ends up poisoned, and Uzuki uses his prize (“one wish”) as the winner to get the antidote and save him, of course passing it to Haruto via full-on mouth kiss.

Haruto has a gay crisis about it.

The second game: whoever raises the other person’s heart rate to 130 beats per minute first wins, and the person with the elevated heart rate dies. Haruto’s heart rate spikes from aftereffects of the poison, and Uzuki’s solution is… for Haruto to choke him… on the bed they woke up on… so his heart rate increases as well. And then he asks Haruto to kiss him, too, and they just start making out until Uzuki’s heart rate hits 130. Haruto gets upset because he lost his head and ended up dooming Uzuki, but then somehow they arrange for this death to also be nullified, and they end up continuing to play the game for three days.

Three whole days!?!

THREE DAYS! This kid traps Haruto in a dungeon so he can make him participate in weird, sadistic, horny shenanigans for three days!

And then when they finally escape and everything is revealed, Haruto is just blankly confused and has this absent look on his face, repeating that he’ll protect Uzuki. The butler says that Uzuki performed excellent mind control, but then Uzuki imprisons the butler so it can be “just the two of them.”

What the fuck, Okamoto???

Right? And you know what, it isn’t my jam at all, but can we just take a moment to recognize that a professional voice actor who is popular and prominent in the public eye wanted his weird horny BL idea to come to fruition, so he went forth into the world and made it so? And he didn’t even hide behind a pen name or anything, he wants people to associate him with it, he’s promoting it! He loves the hell out of it!

Like, I’m pretty astounded by that, and honestly I respect it. More people should just make things that cater to their own tastes without any self-consciousness about it. Wave your freak flag high, Okamoto.

#boku no kamikakushi #bakuhatsu silly reviews #this is THOROUGHLY unrelated to mha #but I thought it'd be fun so here we are #also there are some typographical choices unique to small press and online comics that I find super interesting #for example how Uzuki uses the pronoun boku EXCLUSIVELY in katakana #while Haruto uses the standard kanji for his pronoun ore #and the characters' names are only in katakana not kanji or hiragana #and you even see little internet slang like ww for laughing #I'm just here dissecting minute choices in how Japanese is written #don't mind me #anyway proud of okamoto for revealing himself to be a total weirdo #just like the rest of us #hope this post was elucidating for everybody lmaooo #now back to your regularly scheduled programming

26 notes · View notes

laufire · 2 months

Text

I'm not replying to those posts because contrary to popular belief I'm not THAT much of a killjoy, I get that there's some degree of tongue-in-cheek, blah blah blah, but. just my two cents.

I'm seeing a lot of attention to jason & alfred's dynamic lately that's all "oh alfred HATES jason, thinks he's the worst, jason's the one that considers alfred family but alfred's classist ass hates him" and listen, by all means, insult alfred, I don't want this to come across as me looking like I give a fuck about how you talk about his character lol. he is not just classist but straight up praises feudal England as the "better days" ajskkdkd. but alfred was perfectly nice in his interactions during jason's time at the manor, telling bruce unprompted that he likes having the kid around, helping him with & praising him about school assignments... and there's "the delusions of alfred pennyworth" in gotham knights #34 aka that adorable, bittersweet story where alfred sees jason's ghost playfully mess around the house.

my point is that alfred is not a consistent character in the comics. you could say that about many people in detective comics comics but imo alfred is a particularly malleable character that functions more like a prop than an independent entity. I think you can unite all of those things into a compelling picture, if you cared to. that compelling picture is not gonna be "lol alfred hated jason and wanted that street urchin gone from minute one 🤮" like that's just... flat and banal. similar to the "lol tim hated robin!jason for replacing his Idol, Dick the True Robin, he hated jason and celebrated his death!!". it's just taken a fanon trend you don't like (alfred behaving grandfatherly with jason or being a Jason Understander, jason being "tim's robin" and all the titan's tower tropes that come with it. I get it, I find those boring as hell too), and going so far in the other direction in the name of "canon compliance" that you actually just land into a particularly baffling, irksome caricature that ignores canon just as much (not that I think it's going to take off, fic wise, just like I don't think "tim hates jason" has. because again, there's nothing there to pull from in a creative way, while the uwu fanon, like it or not, at least enables some level of inventiveness).

meanwhile, look. I don't incorporate whatever prime earth!jason does into my belief system as a general rule (unless it's good and I like it. that happens rarely), and either way at the current point I'm at there's very little to say about jason's view of alfred (which I'm sure will change when alfred is killed and gets canonised). there's that scene where he and tim shit talk his cooking only behind his back (waffles, iirc??), or one scene where alfred scolds jason for not seeing how much he was mourned or something, and then geoff johns tries to convince me it was alfred who put up jason's memorial case in the cave, as if there's a universe where that makes any goddamn sense. and to my knowledge, there's not even an equivalent to alfred's shitty inner monologue about kid!jason in UTRH, so those things don't even exist together (UTRH would have to exists in the first place lol).

regardless, focusing on new earth!jason, post-resurrection... I don't think he mentions alfred once. the very few times we get a peek into his mind (lost days) there's zero attention paid to alfred. he seeks out ways to connect with dick or tim (incredibly unhinged ways but, hey). and obviously bruce is the most important person in his world. but he never seeks out alfred, and jason was someone who reached out to people he wanted to connect with (again, in fucked up ways, we're not discussing that at the moment xDD).

I don't want to turn this into the reverse myself ("lol jason couldn't care less about alfred, it's alfred who has the messy feelings here"), which would be equally flat and banal. there's, again, a wide array of options to be taken with this information to put together a compelling dynamic. it's just that "jason holds alfred in the highest regard, over everyone else in the bat clan, and alfred thinks of him as nothing but a pest he's glad to be rid of from the get go" is not something that I see compatible with what I, personally, know and believe of canon.

#talking to the void #my thoughts #fandom nonsense #dc #dc comics #i need to sort through my dc tags and put things in order smh #dc thoughts #jason todd #alfred pennyworth

18 notes · View notes

phoeebsbuffay · 2 years

Text

Imagine you are friends with Ewan McGregor. But this friendship some day is catapulted into something else…

Warnings: none; all fluffy.

***

You are coming out of your late 20’s, but your circle of friends have the double of your age. It’s inevitable mostly due to where you work—when you are part of the cinema’s industry, which demands most of your time, your colleagues turn into your friends.

You are independent too. These friends usually joke about your old soul: you are there to earn money, not a fan of socializing too much and then going back home. It’s been like that for a few years. It’s stressing working with the production of a movie even if you are not entirely the official part of it—you are mostly behind other kind of agencies, working as a consultant because you are graduated in cultural studies; but sometimes you meddled into other fields such as the post production. You are not even good with technology, but there you are. The more work, the more money.

You live by yourself and you are content with that. When it gets lonely, you go out on a date—only to be remembered that guys of your age were such a waste of time. You never thought about trying to date older men because you came to realize that problem with men is…they are men. A dumb generalization that might be, but after three terrible experiences in relationships, could you be blamed?

So your work friends are mostly the ones you spend your free time with. It’s Friday night when Sheryl invited you for a small party that’s happening in her place and she’s begging you to go because she’s beginning to think you don’t like anyone else by staying too much at home.

You don’t know how Ewan McGregor, that celebrity everyone has been having a crush on him these days because of his most recent role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, ended up joining the choir of friends who want to see you there.

“You’ve been working too hard, Y/N.” He told you on the day before, Thursday. He’s been working with the company you’ve been hired to, and so suddenly you’ve become friends. “I barely see you out here. Did you just move to the studio Y/C? Do you even have a home to call your own?”

You laughed at his teasing. You appreciated his good mood, it’s a quality you esteem on him. In these last twelve months since you’d been acquainted to his person, as a good observer you’ve become, you could tell his qualities and flaws—one of which making justice to him being “aries” person. You have your secret fondness for astrological things and it never ceases to amuse you seeing him every inch an Aries male. He is open, nice, kind but also competitive, grumpy at times and not very patient. You could also tell how much he likes to tease you.

“You’d be surprised if I told you I am not a homeless individual.” You raised an eyebrow at him, watching him laugh again. It’s a very loud laughter by the way, which only makes him more comical. “Is it difficult to believe I actually enjoy what I do for living?”

He patted your shoulder.

“You’d be shocked to know you are not the only one workaholic here.” He chuckled when you slapped his arm playfully. “Come on. I’ve never ever seen you with a boyfriend or…”

“No boyfriends. Zero. I have little patience to men.” You giggled. “Since when are you interested in my love life? I thought you hated gossip readings, Ewan. Are you the new frontman of “E! News”?”

“Aren’t you funny, Y/nickname? Come on. Am I going to see you Friday or what? I assure you, its something you need.”

You sighed dramatically.

“Since you insist…”

“I actually do.” Ewan smiled at you. “So are you coming, right?”

“Yes. I will be there.”

“Awesome. You need to live a little bit, Y/N. You won’t regret it.”

But now it’s 7:30 pm and you hesitate before the door of an apartment that is clearly loud. Oh my God, what am I going into? I’ve clearly lost my social abilities to party somewhere in my life…

You are dressed nicely: a long white sleeve blouse with a dark skirt and some pair of black boots. Your y/c hair falls in curls down to your shoulders and there’s some make up in your face along earrings in your ears. You are looking more fancy than in your work days where you’d use a bunny, any blouse appropriated to work and jeans.

Okay, I can do it.

So you ring it. You can hear your friend Sheryl shouting over the sound of music to someone attend the door because she’s busy with the kitchen. You giggle at it.

Why are you surprised to see Ewan opening it for you?

“And you actually came!” He laughs heartily. For some reason, you blush. Is it because of his warmth welcome or the way he looked at you? Oh please, shush yourself, Y/N. You clearly think you are seeing things where there’s nothing to see. “You lookin’ gorgeous, dear Y/N. I thought honestly I’d ever live to see you dressing like the woman you are.”

You are pretty sure your face is burning. But since he’s a good friend, you don’t see malice in his words. You laugh at him instead.

“Aren’t you kind, Mr McGregor? If you had ever seen me to a party, you’d not be seeing these things.”

“Do you even party?” He seems particularly inspired to pick on you today.

“I once did”, you laugh. “Silly man.”

After you walk in and he closes the door, you give him a hug. It is meant to only last one second or two. But damn his scent is so good. And your hand seems to linger over his shoulder. Is he that strong?

You blush upon such unwelcoming and uninvited thoughts. It doesn’t really help that he seems to reluctantly let go of your grip.

What did it just happen?

Ewan is about to say something—and you can tell your body is reacting oddly by the looks he’s giving you; you, however, suppress whatever this is, claiming to yourself that it’s just the heat—when Sheryl interrupts him by giving you a warm hug and saying how happy she is to see you.

You don’t look back as she drags you inside her home, so you don’t see Ewan’s eyes following your moves, trying not to lose you out of his sight.

When did this begin?

As he serves himself a cup of beer, he is reminded of your first day at work. The director, who happens be his friend, was looking for a consultant in regards to a certain period of European history, was showing the scenario to you when he popped up. For some reason, Ewan liked you from the first day, specially because of your sense of humor and your quick wit. It was only with time that he began to notice your beauty—nah, in fact seeing how beautiful you were was what made him acquaint himself to you. He was meant to ask you out, but you’ve never been clear about your thoughts in regard him—you seemed content to the friendship he offered you, so why’d he cross that line?

Now he seems oddly impatient, watching your moves, noticing your laughters, the kindness you display affectionately to the friends you have in common, completely unaware of his gaze. However, he takes his time. Ewan distracts himself greeting others too, engaging himself in small talks. Why would he be daunted by a strange urge to have your attention? It surely isn’t sexual. If it was the case, he’d not mind feeding the friendship for a year.

I mean, yeah friendship worked well for me. But now there’s just something about it that is not enough… I must know if she returns my feelings.

He clearly got stuck into his overthinking a little too much to miss your presence by his side.

“Hey, what’s going on in your world?” You poke his side. “It’s a nice gathering, don’t you think? It does make it worthy leaving home.”

Ewan glances at you. A small smirk pops on the corner of his lips.

“Who knew I’d hear it from you? I thought you were about to say goodbye and get back home.” He laughs and you too, because isn’t he funny?! “Seriously, though, I’m glad you came.”

Something about his glance makes you blush. For a day that is cold, you are surprisingly hot—no pun intended.

“Thank you, your gentleness is always appreciated.” You smile at him. “How’s the beer?”

“All good. A party is often better with a great deal with alcohol.” He tells you. “But nothing is compared to a company like you.”

You laugh nervously. You’d never expect to his forwardness towards you.

“You are succeeding to make me blush, Ewan. How bold of you.” You take a long sip of your beer. “I thought you were dating that actress…?”

Ewan raises an eyebrow at you, amusement is twinkling in his eyes. Oh this is going good, he thought.

“Nope. I’ve been single about a year and half. But I don’t remembering you telling me about your relationships, though.”

You tilt your head.

“My love life is not as interesting as yours.” You smirk in turn.

“Come on, now. That’s not a fair statement. I’ve been married a while ago, but that’s it. And I’m a decent father too. Details you’ve been familiar with. You, on the other hand…”

“It’s true. I don’t mean to make any secrecies. I just thought it was obvious that…”

You are interrupted by Sheryl, who says:

“Excuse me, but we are about to karaoke and you are the only one who can sing Dua Lipa.”

You burst into laughters.

“What? Who said that?”

“Ewan, you can talk to her later!”

And before you know, you are dragged into karaoke by good friend Sheryl. This time, though, you look back and your eyes meet Ewan’s. As he takes his beer to his lips, you see a prominent smirk as he watches you, which you respond with another of your own.

***

You know there’s alcohol in you when you are singing:

“If you wanna run away with me I know a galaxy and I can take you for a ride!” And you shoot a glance at him.

Because of references.

You giggle because he seems the only one to understand. You flush because he’s smiling all the way at you.

Oh shit. What have you done to yourself?

“You want me baby, I want you baby…”

Somebody stop me right now. But you can’t seem to look away, can you?

No one seems to notice, thankfully. But the old soul in you has clearly abandoned you when you entertain your friends by singing a general favorite singer.

“Come dance with me. I’m levitating!”

Or your favorite singer. Everyone is laughing not at you, but because it’s funny: you usually told them that you preferred old rock and roll bands until one day your Spotify playlist was open and… “HAHAHA Y/N is a huge Dua Lipa fan!”

Ugh. Your “introspective rocker old soul” reputation is long dead and gone.

“Another one! You sing beautifully!” Sheryl is the leader of the choir of friends who share the opinion that, my God, Y/N has such a beautiful voice!

You doubt there was a day you’ve been redder than today.

“I have to agree with them.” Ewan joins them. You think you might explode, already exposed to ridiculousness. “Your voice is very nice to hear, my dear Y/N. Where had you been hiding?”

“Oh please! No, no. I’ve had enough and I’m pretty sure you guys too.”

But because there is a great insistence led by Ewan, could you really refuse them? You sigh, but choose—ironically?—“Love Again” to sing.

As you do so, your eyes are almost drawn to him. Why, you ask yourself. But he seems to capture the nearly unconscious message one simple look gives away.

Uh-oh.

Ewan smiles to himself. The flirtations that night clearly show him he has little reason to hesitate any further. Even so he knows how to wait despite his impatience.

He watches you sing, but his merry state to know you are reciprocating his sentiments gives place to concern. As the party comes to an end, Ewan knows there’s just too much alcohol in you.

“I’m driving you home”, he tells you after cake is served.

You think you are not giving away the drunkenness. Or you pray that it is not evident.

“I can have an Uber”, you say.

“No way. I won’t let a stranger take you on this occasion.” Ewan insists. “I’m worried, to be honest. You don’t usually drink, do you?”

It’s when you pale.

“Oh God. Am I embarrassing you?”

Why would you ask that?! The moment you know it’s too late. Ewan laughs.

“Of course not, dear Y/Nickname. It’s nice living a little bit, but I am just worried, is all.”

You exchange glances. And you smile because you can’t simply deny how you feel anymore.

***

He calls you the next day. To remember all the embarrassment makes you hesitate. But it is too late to deny you’ve been, eh, harboring a different affection than that of a friend would for the other for a long time.

“Hi, Ewan. What’s good?” You answer at long last.

He chuckles. Ewan can tell about your awkwardness just by the tone of your voice.

“I’m checking on you. Are you well? Has hangover attacked you yet?” Ewan asks lightly, but you can tell his genuine preoccupation by his voice too.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thank you for calling. I’ve been under blankets mostly.” You giggle softly. “I’m looking after myself. It’s been a long while since I’ve done this bullshit.”

“It’s okay. It happens, you shouldn’t be overly worried about it. Sometimes I exaggerate in alcohol. Don’t forget to drink some water, yes?”

You just realize that hearing his Scottish accent is a huge turn on. Oh boy.

“Thank you, E. And by the way, thank you for dropping me home yesterday. That is very nice of you.”

“It’s no problem. I’m glad you are home safely.”

You do enjoy listening to his voice, so you start another topic.

“How’s your weekend going?”

“It’s all good. I came to check on my daughters. They are nice kids.”

Your smile grows in your lips as he talks about his family. It is a topic that you’d once run from, but with him it’s natural. It’s nothing forced. You enjoy hearing his habits with his family. You are not hit with the doubt of involving yourself with someone whose priority is and will always be family. You are good with that.

If anything it makes him a responsible and mature man. But when you turn your phone off eventually because you both have things to do—it’s not like you didn’t just spend three hours on the phone—your insecurities take hold of your mind.

What can I offer him as a potential match? As a woman, am I good enough for him?

And then came the trauma of former relationships.

Can you trust his feelings for you are not entirely moved by carnal needs? Can you trust your heart to a man so experienced as him? You’ve dated a much older guy once and you ended up hurt because you both had different expectations.

You begin to pace anxiously in your apartment. You question your qualities, your flaws. You question yourself.

It takes some time before you decide to resolve all of this not by calling your therapist, but by simply ignoring as you decide to overindulge in chocolate and watch some random movie on tv.

“Oh great. It’s “Jane Eyre” again.”

***

You don’t cross path with Ewan until Wednesday. Before then you remember you’ve been so nervous that you could not concentrate at work entirely and when someone asked you, you’d say your hormones were making it difficult for you.

When he comes at you, you are distracted in the computer reviewing the script again because the screenwriter decided to make it look fancy a kidnapping in medieval days when the reality was so much worse.

“Are the screenwriters giving you headache again?” He asks you, leaning close enough to you that you smell his perfume.

You blush instantaneously.

“Hey, Ewan. Long time no see.” You tease him. “But yeah, they decide to romanticize something brutal for the media purpose.”

You sigh.

“But it’s part of the job, so strange would be if I didn’t stress myself out.”

His eyes linger at you again. He’s admiring you and when the blush paints your pink cheeks, Ewan decides that there’s no better view he’d like to admire.

“I understand. It’s going to pass. One thing I know is that this comes with anything that demands our good will to make things work.”

He smirks at you.

“So hey I wanted to make a crazy proposition.” He rests his chin over his hand.

“Yeah?” You raise an eyebrow. You are not expecting that. Should you fear what invitation is coming?

Ewan laughs at your reaction.

“I was wondering… I’ve been planning to take a road trip on Europe by motorcycle. Not by the usual means, I know. And it’s…”

You don’t know where your reasonable and antissocial went when you interrupt him:

“Yes.”

Ewan glances at you, surprised. He somehow expected to find resistance in you.

“Really? I thought you would say no. I mean you don’t strike me as some adventurous lady.”

You fold your arms and turn your chair to him. You frown at him.

“And I was expecting you’d ask me out normally like most guys do.”

Ewan throws his head back and laughs.

“Fine. Fair enough. I’m glad to hear that. I’m going tomorrow back to Scotland.”

“I’ll see you at the airport.”

He smiles at you, seemingly more excited than he’d show. You smile too.

But when you turn to finish your work, you come to your senses.

Oh my God. What did I just agree to?

***

It all starts in Edinburgh. Ewan finds adorable how you are composed when you prepare to mount on the motorcycle, clearly unused not only to motorcycles but to this kind of adventure. He knows he’s showing you more to life than you’ve ever seen. An idea that excites him too.

“Are you ready?” He asks. “There’s still time to give up.”

You roll your eyes at his teasings. Always picking on you, uh?

“Never.” You tell him.

You accommodate right behind him, wrapping your arms around him right after you put the helmet. You bite your bottom lip when he turns it on and begins the ride.

You know it’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done in life. For someone who was workaholic and whose friends were your co-workers, hardly having time to live, you come to realize that you have never lived at all. You’ve been just stuck in what? Shielding yourself to avoid misery?

“How are you doing back there?” You hear Ewan inquire after your well being. His voice has to be louder than the crazy wind that blows against you two.

“Awesome!” You say. “Adrenaline is already running in my veins!”

Ewan chuckles, pleased.

“Good! Next stop is going to be York! We are making distant travels, but if you want to stop by please let me know!”

“I will.” You assure him.

Though it turns out to be a silent road trip, you don’t mind it all. You smile all the way, enjoying to hold him so close as your eyes capture the wild landscape with far more attention than you might’ve notice had you been in a car.

You do every now and then look up at the skies to check the weather. Not only it is cold, but you swear you heard clouds tumbling into another, and God knows you hate thunder and lightnings. However, to your relief, you don’t need to worry anymore once he crosses the limits of Scotland to finally enter England.

That first day of your journey ends up well. You are still moved by adrenaline when you reach the hotel where Ewan paid in advance for the reservations.

“So, your thoughts?” Ewan asks you as you go upstairs. You’d still have to eat, but you don’t seem to mind that. “I want to hear you. The bad thing about traveling by motorcycle is that we can’t talk very much as we’d do by car.”

“Oh it’s okay! No need to apologize. I’m still speechless”, you tell him excitedly. “I’ve never done this kind of travel before. My God, Ewan! Thank you.”

You are impetuous when you give him a kiss on his cheek. What are you thinking? But somehow when Ewan gives you a fond look, you know it’s worthy it moving some feet far from your comfortable zone.

***

So the road trip continues. Each country, each city, the two of you deepens the bond by enjoying yourself getting to know historical spots, visiting places few tourists would go and eating different restaurants.

However, it’s not until you two reach Paris that you’d have the talk about the nature of your relationship. Because, however hard you were trying to conceal, you were anxious about why he didn’t even make moves at all. He knows that even if you are enjoying yourself—Ewan sees you do—you are asking yourself whether there is a romantic purpose in sharing an intimate journey without proper intimacy.

So there you are. The two of you are leaving a nice restaurant in Paris and he’s taking you to the famous bridge in the city known for its romantic attributes.

“I know there’s been some doubts going in this head of yours.” He begins, locking hands with you as he stops right there.

Your hair is loose and tonight you are wearing a red gown that salients your curves—a temptation to Ewan to resist, truth be told; the whole purpose why you chose that dress in first place. A smirk twitches in the corner of your lips when noticing his eyes running up and down your body.

“Well?” You clear your throat to get his attention. He blushes, a sight you find adorable to behold.

“I wanted to wait…”

You wouldn’t miss the chance to tease him like he used to tease before asking you out—better yet to this long European journey.

“Of course not, an impatient man as you. Sorry, I’ll let you speak.”

He chuckles.

“Thank you.” Ewan remarks sarcastically before carrying on. “I haven’t been in a relationship since my divorce. Although it happened many years ago, I never felt inclined to… well, fall in love. I was often, eh, involved in more casual things every now and then when the needs of the flesh became difficult to bear. But I assure you I am not the kind of imbecile you might think from what i said…”

“You don’t have to justify yourself, darling. You were single. You were doing what single people usually do.” You smile at him.

“So comprehensive.” He gives you a crooked grin. “All right. So… I won’t deny I’ve been attracted to you for a long while. But I wanted to see where this would go. Despite what you say about my impatience, I learned how to wait. I suppose it’s why I’ve taken so long to say what I am comfortable to tell you. I love you, Y/N. And I would like us to be… well, more than friends.”

Perhaps it’s because you’ve grown so close to each other that an influence is impossible to run from. Or perhaps it’s part of who you are, of who you’ve always been, but your fears blinded you to your true self.

Whatever the case, you lean towards him, your hands around his neck as you say:

“I thought you’d never ask, Ewan. I shall tend your heart. I love you. I may have since day one.”

As if to show your point, you lean to kiss his lips, a more than welcoming gesture as he kisses you back. And there the two of you stay together, the first day of a new relationship to both of you, but also the spark of something strong that might lead you to a better future than you could expect.

#star wars #Star Wars imagine #Ewan McGregor #Ewan McGregor x you #Ewan McGregor x y/n #Ewan McGregor x reader #obi wan kenobi

85 notes · View notes

potteresque-ire · 2 years

Text

In light of @rainbowsky 's recent response to an ask, I thought this information may be useful for i-fans:

(Under the cut: On the Chinese paparazzi — why Chinese netizens think they're abysmal at their jobs, and why their words should be taken with little more than a grain of salt.)

Whether it's the paparazzi 劉大錘 who recently made news in our fandom , or other paparazzis sharing similar nicknames such as 江小宴 and 張小寒, they've been ... a bit of a laughing stock among c-ent melon watchers. The "explosive news" these paps promise, which are often hinted several days before the reveal to generate hype, usually involve stars who aren't particularly famous, or are long-suspected, stale pieces of "melon". The evidence presented is often flimsy, such as one or two blurry pictures.

Once, the "evidence" was ... an illustrated comic.

The teasing of Chinese paparazzi's ineptness reached a high point back in June, when it took a Taiwanese paparazzi, 葛斯齊 Ge Siqi, to expose the alleged infidelity of a mainland Chinese rich-businessman-celebrity, 汪小菲 Wang Xiaofei. Why did the Taiwanese care? Because Wang's wife at the time of the alleged affair was a famous Taiwanese star, Barbie Hsu 徐熙媛.

Along with teasing, clinging to every word of the live broadcast by Ge, the Taiwanese pap, Chinese netizens, desperate to know the latest and the freshest gossip, scaled the Firewall to the Taiwanese news sites best known for such content.

TVBS. Apple Daily. The latter being the cousin of Hong Kong's famous Apple Daily, the evil, horrible "pro-Hong Kong independence" newspaper that has been shut down by the government.

The Chinese netizens screenshot the gossip and posted it on Weibo, blurring out the Apple logo, and logos of other "politically incorrect" news outlets. They had experience doing that; they had done that during 王力宏 Leehom Wang's messy divorce as well.

The Taiwanese, they sighed, know how to make entertainment entertaining.

The whole Wang ordeal was such a blow to the ... "dignity" of the Chinese paparazzi that a legendary figure — to the melon-watchers of c-ent, at least — vowed his return. Zhuowei 卓偉 had a title bestowed upon him by the Chinese media, which the Chinese netizens actually agreed on: 中國內地第一狗仔 The Number One Paparazzi of Mainland China.

Oh, you may ask, so China has skilled paparazzi, after all? Where had Zhuowei been then? Why had he allowed his colleagues to be humiliated in the first place? He vowed a return ... where had he gone to?

Since I'm writing this, some of you may have already guessed. Zhuowei, along with other capable paparazzi of his time, have all been censored since 2017.

In June of that year, the Cyberspace Administration of China (網信辦 CAC) ordered the online social media platforms to shut down the pap's accounts.

The CAC instructions were as follows (Source):

... 責令網站切實履行主體責任，加強用戶賬號管理，積極傳播社會主義核心價值觀，營造健康向上主流輿論環境，採取有效措施遏制渲染演藝明星緋聞隱私、炒作明星炫富享樂、低俗媚俗之風等問題。

... To order websites to earnestly perform their main responsibilities, strengthen user account management, actively disseminate core socialist values, create a healthy and upward mainstream public opinion environment, and take effective measures to curb issues such as exaggerating the scandals and private matters of celebrities, hyping the wealth and leisure pursuit of celebrities, and promoting vulgar kitsch.

Weibo made a similarly-worded official statement about the censorship. Since then, Zhuowei and the paps' "crime" have been summarized by four words: 低俗追星 Vulgar Star-Chasing.

* Nods *, in China, even the paparazzi are expected to "disseminate core socialist values". But this expectation is in direct conflict with the pap's job, isn't it? Papping is a "dirty-laundry airing" profession. While their work's superficial purpose is to provide gossip to melon-eaters, it also necessarily reveals the not-so-nice things about society, particularly among the rich and famous. The powerful people.

Zhuowei never returned. His new social media account was shut down a few days later.

In July, Ge, The Taiwanese Pap, hosted an author's event for his new book. To the Taiwanese media, he revealed another reason why Chinese paparazzi have had their hands tied at their work, in addition to having to spread "core socialist values". While speaking about his early working experience in the mainland (he had actually collaborated with Zhuowei before), he mentioned what had happened when he had tried to follow a Chinese singer (Source):

這個歌手在中國都是直接結交官二代，我在對岸工作時，曾想要拍他，但是被當地狗仔警告別拍，因為拍了會被抄家，曾有人拍了立刻被警察到家裡搜索，真的是抄家無誤。

This singer in China always made friends with the children of government officials. When I worked in the mainland, I wanted to follow him, but I was told by the paps there to not do it, because I would have my everything taken away if I did. There was another paparazzi who followed (the singer) and immediately, their home was searched by the police — it was really like having everything taken.

In short: the reason was corruption. Chinese celebrities making, using their ties with the government to get away with things. The government, helping the celebrities cover things up. The paps, with neither money nor status nor fame nor power, paying a dear price for doing their job.

Papping in China can be a high-risk profession.

How do the 2022 Chinese paparazzi make a living then? Their findings do raise some interest among the Chinese melon-eaters, but the interest tends to be short-lived, and there's competition amongst themselves. Even if they do make a jaw-dropping, explosive discovery one day, chances are, it will involve dirty laundry non-compliant with core socialist values, and they'll have difficulties finding outlets or platforms willing to buy the photos or other evidence — because these outlets and platforms are, too, bound by core socialist values and may never get their investments returned, should the published articles get censored right away.

What do the paps do then? What have they done to get the best financial return from their livelihood?

I'm not a Chinese paparazzi (seriously!) and have no personal connections with them. However, if the many mentions in the Chinese melon blogs are to be believed, then, most likely, the paps will first try to sell the evidence to the celebrities involved — especially if the celebrities involved are sufficiently famous, and have the financial resources to make a (very) generous offer: both for the evidence and for the paps to not say a word about it to anyone. It's very, very commonly mentioned in melon blogs that the management of some (unnamed) celebrity has bought back an incriminating photo of them, for example, staying the night in a hotel with a member of the opposite sex ...

This means: the Chinese paps of 2022 are often half-paps, half-blackmailers.

This also means: their words cannot be taken with more than a grain of salt.

Paps also have a set of professional ethics they're supposed to follow, as crazy as it may sound. I shall let Zhuowei describe it for you, as he did in the preface of Ge's new book (Source). The quote also provided indirect evidence that Chinese stars had a habit of paying the paps:

我記得很多年前我們曝光某對超一線明星情侶的戀情，當時他們對拍攝到畫面的攝影師說「多少錢，我們買」，攝影師平淡地回答說「我們的新聞不是這樣運作的」，所幸就我認識的同行來說，堅守底線，不改初心，苦中作樂者為大多數，為了新聞真相「雖千萬人吾往矣」，我想這是記者和狗仔隊這個職業傳遞給社會的最大的正能量。

I remember, many years ago, we exposed the romance of a super-star couple. At that time, they said to the photographer who took the picture, "How much is it? We'll buy it." and the photographer replied flatly, "Our news does not work like this." Fortunately, as far as my colleagues are concerned, most of them stick to the bottom line, keep to their original intentions, and make lemonade out of lemons. For the truth in the news, "I'll charge even when thousands of people have." I think, this is what the professions of reporters and paparazzi have passed on, as the greatest positive energy to the society.

Was it self-aggrandizing, equating the work of paparazzis with that of news reporters? Many would think so. At the same time, though, there is some truth in what Zhuowei said. The words of anyone tasked to report facts cannot be taken seriously, if money can buy their silence; if whatever they wish to expose must be filtered through ... core socialist values.

The eroded professionalism of Chinese paparazzis may not be their fault; it may be more the consequence of their sociopolitical environment. However, in all cases, their trustworthiness as a source of truth has been compromised, and c-ent melon-eaters are aware of it as well, aware that there may be a reason why "explosive" news from the paps now involves mostly smaller stars, who are less able to pay; why evidence to these news is often shaky, if existent at all.

And so, to those of you who're reading this, who may have been recently told that a Chinese pap's word is The Final Word: now you know that in the opinion of their regular audience, the current crop of Chinese paparazzi isn't exactly the star performers of their profession. You may have also gained some understanding why, too. Hopefully, this information can help update your decision on how to interpret That Final Word.

And I'll wrap this once-again-too-long-thing with: if someone tells you Final Words like these again, please be aware that these tellers may know all along that the Final Words are by people who aren't particularly qualified to give them, and "forget" to communicate the fact. The language, the information barrier between c- and i-fandoms make it easy for such prevarication to happen. The ineptness of c-paps is actually rather well-known among c-ent watchers, fans included.

That night, when the Pap's Word got on the hot search, most c-turtles were playing peacefully in their corner, happy and unperturbed. Adding to their ease was: what had happened — what @rainbowsky explained, about the auto-reply — had been known among c-turtles for a day or two already.

The Word didn't faze them. After all, when it comes to seeing love, millions of human eyes are far, far better than a hidden camera lens. ❤️.💚

#pie metas

57 notes · View notes

princessrainevillanueva · 1 year

Text

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea - Bonus Freebies

Are you excited for Dav Pilkey's upcoming book, Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea releasing this Tuesday? If you're an avid Dog Man fan like myself and you want a freebie to add on your collection, I have listed where to get them, depending on the bookstore that you're going to buy.

Barnes and Noble - They have their own Exclusive Edition for this book that includes a pull-out colorable poster. I don't know if they have a free iron-on patch as usual, plus you can buy it for a discounted price, but I'll update it here if it's true. By the way, you can pre-order their exclusive edition here (and you'll automatically get an entry for a chance to win a prize pack full of Dog Man Books, Merchandise and a B&N Gift Card in their giveaway) :

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twenty-thousand-fleas-under-the-sea-dav-pilkey/1141938121

Target - Once again, the Target Exclusive Edition has trading cards - perfect to add on your collection! Pre-order now at this link below or get it at your nearest Target branch starting March 28.

https://www.target.com/p/dog-man-11-twenty-thousand-fleas-under-the-sea-a-graphic-novel-target-exclusive-edition-by-dav-pilkey-hardcover/-/A-87403998

More details about these exclusive editions: https://princessrainevillanueva.tumblr.com/post/712405163513610240/dog-man-twenty-thousand-fleas-under-the-sea

Independent Bookstores - Wally's World is an extended story from Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea that tells from Petey's Point of View. Find out where to get the bonus comic in this link below.

https://princessrainevillanueva.tumblr.com/post/707437866015440896/dog-man-twenty-thousand-fleas-under-the-sea

Dog Man Day 2023 - On the week of March 28, 2023, some bookstores will have freebies such as tattoos and posters. In my next post I will talk about this event for Dog Man fans to celebrate the release. Visit this link below to find the nearest event.

https://www.scholastic.com/site/pilkey/dav-pilkey-at-home/celebrate-dog-man.html

Good luck to everyone who are getting the book this week!

Follow Me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/princessrainevillanueva

#dog man #dogman #captain underpants #dav pilkey #scholastic #children's books #dog man 11

2 notes · View notes

joe-the-english-otter · 1 year

Text

Cerebus The Aardvark: Issues #1-#100. My thoughts so far (Repost)

I'm gonna be reposting my thoughts on Cerebus The Aardvark onto Tumblr, mainly so it's easier to read and is much more accessible this way. This will be a three part saga, the next two parts will be posted over the next few days. I will also be putting caution warnings for specific things at some points in these posts, so if you see one that warns of content that might upset you, please do turn away.

(Originally posted to FA on January 9th 2023)

So, in late December, I discovered a now relatively obscure graphic novel series called; Cerebus The Aardvark. In a general sense, the series is about the life and times of an aardvark barbarian as he slowly climbs the ladder of power while everything collapses around him, sometimes very literally.

The series started in 1977 as a Conan The Barbarian parody and was an independently made and published series, made by a grand total of two-to-three people throughout it's near 26 year run, with the series ending on it's 300th issue. So you'd think a really long running and at times, very critically acclaimed, independent comic series would be talked more or at least be mildly well known, well I'll get to why it isn't later. First I'll give my thoughts on each major chapter/story arc of the series thus far:

Issues #1-#25: Fairly decent stuff, remains a parody of Conan for a good chunk of the first couple issues, along with parodies of other comic or fantasy characters of the time, such as; Elrod of Melvinbone, who is a light parody of Elric of Melnibone. Artemis Roach, A.K.A The Roach, who is used as a parody of whichever male DC/Marvel superhero is popular at the time.

Also introduced is Lord Julius, who is 100% written and drawn as Groucho Marx, though the character is portrayed as a comedic character, with a mind like a steeltrap and a skilled political master mind, which comes into play in the second story arc and throughout the rest of the story. This also introduces the trend of having parodies of various celebrities occasionally showing up and playing minor roles within the story as a whole. There are other characters that're introduced throughout the first arc, but most of them aren't hugely important to the story just yet, so I'll get to them when need be.

But yeah, it continues on it's parody path for quite a while as Cerebus goes from one-shot adventure to the next and we start to get an understanding of his character. He's not just your basic barbarian character-type, he is a full blown "Glorious-Bastard" type character (A Glorious Bastard, is basically a main character who has no redeeming qualities, at all, but you end up supporting them, because of them being surrounded by idiots, being stuck in a situation they can't escape from or you're awaiting to see their downfall. E.G. Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder) and as the series goes on, you slowly see how he gets corrupted almost completely by the want and need for gold.

Eventually the one-shot stories are phased out for an actual story that lays the ground work for the rest of the series, lots of world building and the start of character development.

Issues #26-#55: Honestly, some of the best stuff I've read. The writing and art style improve dramatically. This is where it turns from a straight forward parody, into a well crafted political drama and satire. It still has plenty of parody in it, but it definitely makes a shift towards the serious and it pays off, it's hear where we see the more "human" side of Cerebus, showing that he has complex emotions and is shown off when he finally find his love interest Jaka (Who was introduced towards the middle of the first arc) and the many people who're trying to take advantage of him as he becomes Prime Minister and trys to hold onto it when everything goes tits up.

This is where minor characters who were introduced early in the series get more fleshed out and given proper character arcs. Namely; Bran Mac Mufin, who was a throw away, off-screen warlord character, who turns out to be a civilized person and becomes a mysterious ally of Cerebus, talking about things to come in the most vague ways possible.

Another character that plays an important role in this arc, is Astoria, who basically tries to use Cerebus as a political puppet, but is unable to control him as she tries to use him for her own ends and to get back at Lord Julius (Who happenes to be her ex-husband). It should also be worth mentioning that Elrod and Roach occasionally show up throughout the series as comic relief, though they do both each play a somewhat important role in this arc as well.

Lots of tense moments, character drama and angry aardvark moments, highly recommended.

Issues #56-#100: This is where things take a darker tone for the series. The art style is still really fantastic and it continues to just get better. The writing can be very up and down in parts, it mainly starts to go down the closer it reaches issue #100. The character drama is still there, though it moves more into the religious area as Cerebus becomes Pope and abuses that power to it's most extreme lengths.

This is also where the character Adam Weisshaupt (who was introduced way early on and becomes Cerebus's political rival) becomes the series antagonist for the next couple issues, as he tries to control Cerebus as Prime Minister, but fails as Cerebus is made pope suddenly scrapping his plans and basically making Cerebus the most politically powerful person.

Obviously, this sudden rise in power makes Cerebus even more corrupt and his character is on the tight line between Glorious-Bastard and straight up villain throughout this arc and one particular moment really pushes it, though I'll mention that point shortly.

There's still a few more issues in this specific arc, so I haven't finished it just yet, but my thoughts thus far are; It's alright, there's some good moments, some bad moments and one really uncomfortable moment.

(Caution Warning: Character Sexual Assult Mention)

Right, now I'm going to talk about the thing most people will skip straight to; The controversy about the comics creator, Dave Sim. He is without question, an extreme sexist. For context (For what little I can give): The series started of as a Conan parody, so there was going to be the smallest amount of sexism in it, however the sexism really starts to ramp up as the series goes on and it really rears it's ugly head towards issue #100, when Cerebus basically rapes Astoria, after she threw her panties at him, implying that she was asking for it (Fucking ew).

Not only that, but the general treatment of female characters starts to get worse and worse, like, Astoria was initially written as a complex political chess master, whose trying to lead a political movemnt but over the course of a few issues, she becomes a generic feminist strawman, written from the perspective of someone who holds feminists in low regard.

Any other female characters who had any ounce of interesting developement, are watered down or are sidelined. The only female character that has some level of depth is Jaka and she's rarely seen throughout the series thus far.

Some of you are probably thinking at this point. Well that's bad sure, but that doesn't mean he's sexist. I'd like to refer you to two well written articles on Dave Sim: https://comicsalliance.com/tribute-dave-sim/

https://literatemachine.com/2020/08/28/cerebus-misogyny-and-madness/ There are spoilers in those articles for those that are still interested in reading Cerebus. I was warned beforehand about his sexism and how the last 100 or so issues of the complete 300 issue series, basically devolves into Dave Sim ranting about feminism and anything else that he doesn't agree with, framing it in the context of Cerebus The Aardvark.

I will continue reading the series as I'm already in too deep and I need to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. I will post the next update when I've finished issue #200.

Thank you for reading. If I'm factually wrong or have said something you disagree with, do let me know via a comment or DM me on either here or Twitter. Cheers.

#cerebus the aardvark #dave sim #comics #80s comics #cerebus #aardvark #opinion #critique #comic review #review

5 notes · View notes

daphnesvieira · 1 year

Text

I posted 94 times in 2022

23 posts created (24%)

71 posts reblogged (76%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@bugheadfanfictionawards

@daphnesvieira

@cheryllclayton

@ayunax

@lurker-no-more

I tagged 94 of my posts in 2022

#bughead fanfiction - 29 posts

#bughead fanart - 28 posts

#bughead fan art - 28 posts

#bughead fanfic - 25 posts

#bughead fic - 24 posts

#my fic - 18 posts

#my writing - 13 posts

#friends not followers - 12 posts

#bughead art - 11 posts

#comics bughead - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 68 characters

#thank you to @bettycooper for brighting my day and doing what you do

My Top Posts in 2022:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Daphne S-Vieira (@daphnesvieira)

instagram

World Book Day 2022

43 notes - Posted March 3, 2022

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. All kinds of moms exist, I celebrate all of you.

And if today is hard for you, I see you and my heart is with you. ❤️

52 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

I wrote another Bughead fanfic! It’s a follow-up to the events that take place in the comic’s story 'Bughead in: The Best Things in Life are Free' by @thomaspitilli that’s part of the @archiecomics “Love and Heartbreak Special” that came out today (Feb. 9, 2022).

Although I think my story can be read independently, I do recommend you read the comic first (if nothing else because it’s hella cute). Anyway, without further ado, here’s the link to 'Bughead in: A Fair to Remember' I hope you’ll enjoy (and if you do, please let me know)!

Oh and as a treat, my dear friend @alpacalypseartb also gifted me this gorgeous variant of her latest piece of art:

See the full post

71 notes - Posted February 9, 2022

Happy Pi Day!!!

This adorable drawing by @alpacalypseartb inspired me to write a new Bughead fic. Apparently, I write now 🤷🏼‍♀️

You can read 'Pi(e) Day' here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/37727458

93 notes - Posted March 14, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

My heart goes out to anyone with a uterus living in the USA right now. What a sad day when guns have more rights than you.

1,576 notes - Posted June 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #Instagram

2 notes · View notes

avenuedrita · 2 years

Text

Last stop cd shop sioux falls

Last stop cd shop sioux falls series#

***Lighting Director needed for Theatrical Lighting Package. $15 hour, $100 dayĭirector of Photography …. Studio Audio/Mic/Monitor Package (Music) …. Studio (Theatrical/Rock & Roll Light Package)*** …. Comprehensive Live Music Recording Capabilities Last Stop SF (laststopcdshop) Instagram photos and videos laststopcdshop 1,497 posts 2,583 followers 1,738 following Last Stop SF Local Independent Music Store.Comprehensive Theatrical Light Rig with Intelligent Lights.605 is a source for what is going on in South Dakota through multi mediums (print and digital magazine, app, podcast, videos, social media, and more). 6 Canon C100 Cinema Cameras via Switcher Last Stop CD Shop on 10 th Street is holding an all-day Celebration of Local Artists to mark this years Record Store Day.3310 S Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls SD 57105.

Last stop cd shop sioux falls series#

These full-frame beauties when shot and streamed with Canon L Series glass are sure to deliver an amazing and cinematic look to your production. Rainbow Comics, Cards and Collectibles in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Lincoln, Nebraska. These tools keep you and your brand accessible, relevant, and top-of-mind.ĭesigned with art and entertainment production in mind, our studio utilizes 6 Canon C100 Digital Cinema cameras. Our live stream capabilities allow you to connect directly to your social media audience with our state-of-the-art video and audio equipment. The possibilities are unlimited: photography sessions, live music and entertainment events, business meetings, seminars, parties, table top discussions, podcasts, book signings and meet and greets. It’s the perfect venue for entertainment video and audio production. Over 50 years of broadcasting experience is behind the design of this multi-use facility. 50 In Shop Coupon Redeemable Towards Deductibles Or Additional Repairs Made at Pierres Body Shop in Sioux Falls, SD Pierres Body Shop. Last Stop CD Shop is adding a lower level studio that will be the new home of 'The White Wall Sessions. 000 CDs, DVDs, Vinyls, LPs, Games & Technikartikel seit 1991 bei Grooves. Our state-of-the-art audio and video production studio and experienced crew can truly make your video, social media project, meeting, or event a unforgetable success. Last Stop CD Shop 3509 W 41st St Sioux Falls, SD 57106 Map Phone: (605) 361-4416. Congratulations to Jen from Sioux Falls Jen won 3225 with The Kickin. Last Stop Studios is a turnkey video, audio and digital content production studio giving production companies, advertising agencies, content producers, and artists the unique opportunity to create and produce next-level content on an entry-level budget.

#Last stop cd shop sioux falls

0 notes

brookston · 2 years

Text

Holidays 5.25

Holidays

Africa Day

African Freedom Day (Zambia)

African Liberation Day (Rastafari)

Bojangles Day

Chuquisaca (Bolivia)

Day of Youth (Yugoslavia)

First National Government Day (Argentina)

Flitting Day (Scotland)

Geek Pride Day

Global Planking Day

Glorious 25 Day (a.k.a. Glorious Revolution, Glorious 25th of May; Discworld)

Grand Prix de Monaco begins (Monaco)

Gypsy Day

Heroes’ Day (Lesotho)

Independence Day (Jordan; from UK, 1946)

International Missing Children’s Day (UN)

International Planking Day

International Skin Pigmentation Day

Languedoc Day

Last Bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries) [5/25 or Friday before, if falls on a weekend]

Liberation Day (Lebanon)

Local Radio Day (UK)

National Bath Bomb Day

National Don't Utter a Word Day

National Missing Children's Day (US)

National Sing Out Day

National Tap Dance Day

National VTuber Day

Poetry Day (Florida)

Revolution Day (Argentina)

Saint Cool Day

Self-Reliance Day

Senior Health & Fitness Day

Star Wars Day

Towel Day

World Thyroid Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

National Brown Bag It Day [also Last Wednesday]

National Wine Day

Fourth/Last Wednesday in May

Emergency Medical Services for Children Day [4th Wednesday]

National Brown Bag It Day [Last Wednesday; also 5.25]

National Senior Health and Fitness Day [Last Wednesday]

World Orienteering Day [4th Wednesday]

World Otter Day [Last Wednesday]

Feast Days

Aldhelm (Christian; Saint)

St. Ambrose (Positivist; Saint)

Bede (Christian; Saint)

Boniface IV, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Canius (Christian; Saint)

Celebration of the Tao (The Mother of the World; Taoism)

Dionysius of Milan (Christian; Saint)

Dumhade, Abbot of Iona (Christian; Saint)

Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad (Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Lunel (Christian; Saint)

Gregory VII, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Madeleine Sophie Barat (Christian; Saint)

Mary Magdalene of Pazzi (Christian; Saint)

Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux (Christian; Saint)

Urban I, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Venerand (Christian; Saint)

Zenobius of Florence (Christian; Saint)

David Koresh Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Butsumetsu (仏滅 Japan) [Unlucky all day.]

Dismal Day (Unlucky or Evil Day; Medieval Europe; 10 of 24)

Egyptian Day (Unlucky Day; Middle Ages Europe) [10 of 24]

Premieres

Alien (Film; 1979)

Back to the Future (Film; 1985)

Back to the Future Part III (Film; 1990)

H.M.S. Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan (Comic Opera; 1878)

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (Film; 1977)

Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Film; 1983)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 145 of 2022; 220 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 21 of 2022

Celtic Tree Calendar: Huath (Hawthorn) [Day 13 of 28]

Chinese: Month 4 (Huáiyuè), Day 25 (Wu-Yin)

Chinese Year of the: Tiger (until January 22, 2023)

Hebrew: 24 Iyar 5782

Islamic: 23 Shawwal 1443

J Cal: 25 Bīja; Threesday [25 of 30]

Julian: 12 May 2022

Moon: 21% Waning Crescent

Positivist: 5 St. Paul (6th Month) [St. Ambrose]

Runic Half Month: Ing (Expansive Energy) [Day 13 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 64 of 90)

Zodiac: Gemini (Day 4 of 30)

#calendar #Holidays

0 notes

broadsandbroadswords · 3 years

Text

PREORDERS ARE NOW OPEN!

Broads and Broadswords is a celebration of women and nonbinary people with swords, from strapping blacksmiths to sapphic sea creatures, sheroes, they/them heroes, and of course, the ubiquitous knight in shining armor. This zine collects almost fifty pages of original color illustrations and comics from thirty independent artists in a perfect bound book, available in both digital and print format.

Digital Copy only: $9 USD

Physical Copy: $19 USD (includes digital copy)

Domestic Shipping: $5 USD

International Shipping: $20 USD Broads and Broadswords is a charity zine, and proceeds will go to the Transgender Law Center.

By reblogging this post you are also a part of our GIVEAWAY! Two winners will be drawn at the end of the pre-order period and one winner will receive a free copy of the digital zine, the other will receive a free copy of the physical zine. You can only reblog once a day, but the more reblogs, the better your odds, so keep at it!

2K notes · View notes

bugsharxx · 3 years

Text

How Hollywood Would Ruin The Dream SMP (Pt. 1/??)

I’ve seen many takes on how the Dream SMP would be ruined if it ever became a Netflix show, so I decided to make my own! (THIS IS PARTIALLY HEAVILY BASED ON @wooteena, @tokenducks, & @clairedreems‘s LISTS [some points are direct quotes from their lists], SO PLEASE CHECK THEIR POSTS OUT FIRST!)

The discs wouldn’t have any sentimental value and would just be used for a petty, never-ending conflict between Tommy and Dream

Niki would be that one female character everyone has a crush on

Other than that she’ll only exist to be Wilbur’s love interest

This will be an important arc in the old L’Manberg days

Technoblade would have no redeeming qualities

Wouldn’t go in-depth on his morals because “the protagonist [Tommy] has to be right”

He’d probably be the “edgy lone wolf” that the audience is expected to simp over

Philza would either be the wise mentor who’s really just a dick to everyone for no reason other than pure entertainment or a straight-up dilf

Bad would be all dark and edgy because he’s a demon and lose his kind and innocent personality

Sam would be seen as this mysterious, looming figure that everyone is intimidated by and lose his caring, “gentle giant” personality

Eret’s usage of all pronouns would be ignored

Eret would be either straight or gay

If she’s gay, she would have all the stereotypical characteristics of a gay man (very feminine, always flirting with other male characters, making comments about his sexuality and attraction to prove to the audience that yes, he’s gay, etc.)

Them being gay would ultimately end up being their entire personality

They would probably get no redemption arc/their redemption arc would be them dying for another character

Eret’s castle would probably look evil and menacing rather than a celebration of pride

Quackity would be the comic relief character with no development

He’d be a drug dealer to endorse the stereotypes about Mexicans rather than to poke fun at them satirically

He’d probably only join L’Manberg after Schlatt dies because he has nothing better to do

Karl would lose his soft and bubbly personality and instead be the biggest playboy despite being on the ace spectrum (which would be scrapped as well)

Tommy’s trauma from exile would just disappear as soon as he joins Techno

Tommy would get a love interest at the end of his story

Bonus: He briefly develops a crush on Drista or Lani 🤮🤮

All the LGBTQ+ relationships would either be nonexistent or treated as jokes

Karlnapity would either be made just to demonize poly relationships or not exist at all

Niki wouldn’t date Puffy because she’ll always pine over Wilbur

DREAMNOTFOUND QUEERBAIT

Or they’d make George a female

Fem!George wouldn’t show up to events because Dream keeps her away from the battles to keep her safe but instead of it being done in a “he cares about her 🥺” way it’s done in a “wow he treats her like a child who cannot defend herself” way [direct quote from @tokenducks’s post] [as are some other points]

Schlatt and Quackity would actually get married but be hella toxic and the show would try to convince the audience that it’s normal (*cough* early 2010s Nickelodeon shows *cough*)

Awful Bad x Puffy x Skeppy/Fem!Skeppy love triangle

Ranboo’s mental issues would be demonized and paint him as dangerous and shady

Ranboo would get a villain arc

Tubbo would be a naive baby and all his choices will be chalked up to that instead of the fact that he’s a kid

Fundy’s tragic character arc will be infantilized and his relationship with Wilbur will be heavily romanticized as “aww he’s got daddy issues uwu 🥺”

Same with Sapnap’s character

E.g. He’ll feel betrayed when he finds out Dream doesn’t care about him but won’t really do anything about it

Or he’ll just kinda just be there and not have much plot relevance

Niki will finally get her own arc about coming to terms with Wilbur’s death but it will ultimately end with her ending up with Jack Manifold

The show won’t have the blurred morality theme that makes every individual character interesting and will instead paint all the characters as either right or wrong

Alyssa will be that one female character whose entire personality is being a strong independent woman (even though she was only around for the early days of the SMP before any real lore happened) and will disappear before the disc saga and never brought up again

Quackity, Fundy, and/or Ranboo would be killed off/not get a happy ending

Callahan, Ponk, and Antfrost will not exist

Mexican Dream will exist but will unironically be played by a white guy

The only characters that will pretty much stay the same are Punz and Purpled, only they’ll be less likeable and Purpled will be aged up

In the end, it would be revealed that Dream has some tragic backstory that made him the way he is and will immediately be let off the hook because “yeah he was an awful person who did awful things but he has a sad past so it’s fine 😭”

The show will be cancelled mid-season 3 because either the writers will feel that the plot’s taking too different of a turn or they’ll get sued for ripping off Stranger Things

There will probably be a part 2 (I didn’t even get started on Wilbur’s character) but it’ll help if you leave suggestions of your own so I can add them to the next part!

[also don’t forget to check out @wooteena, @tokenducks, and @clairedreems’s posts!]

460 notes · View notes

jjkpls · 3 years

Text

the wishlist (m) - 2

“Since when do we buy each other sextoys?”

> genre : light angst, fluff

> pairing : jeon jungkook x reader (f)

> words : 5k

> content/warnings : back at it again w/ the bff2l; one sided love, lot of pining; sextoys talk; explicit language; ambiguous infidelity; chaotic oc; clueless koo

previous - next

It all starts with the first box and the vague memory of a warm touch on your face.

When you wake up that morning, groggy from exhaustion and the sensation of having spent the night waking up, again and again, you sense something. You struggle to point out if you’ve dreamt or if it really happened, but there’s the lingering of a warm hand's trace, cupping your cheek, soothing the stress lines on your forehead, and softly brushing your hair back from your face. You can’t tell if it’s happened but it left a lovely sensation both on your skin and heart.

You get up and out of bed, slowly stroll to your living room with a lazy hand raising to your head, meaning to scratch at the snake nest you expect to be sitting on it. Instead, your fingers are met with a rather neat braid you definitely didn’t go to sleep with as you were too fucking done with this day to even try and deal with your tight bun -the very bun that elongated your time to fall asleep by at least a good half an hour. The same fingers that caressed your face took care of your hair and you know exactly to whom they belong.

Of course, giddiness ensues and the mildly serious feeling of mortification -you despise the idea of not knowing in what state he found you, in what state of ugly, of dishevelled, of smelly. There’s no room for embarrassment in this friendship, not this kind anyway, fortunately or not, he’s seen you at your worst (at a time when you didn’t care much if he did or not) so it counters, always a bit, the shame.

He hasn't left your side yet, has he? And he’s exposing himself to this face of yours, so why should you feel bad about it? He sneaks into your apartment at night just to brush your face and bring the covers up to your chin, tuck you nicely in as if he’s your mom or something, so why should you care. He doesn’t seem to mind. He never seems to mind. He’s the best of friends. The best of all the people you know and the best of your friends.

And of course, naturally fitting this role, you’d find the morning of Christmas, a mysterious box you’ve never seen before sitting on your coffee table.

The girls, your friends, have presents for you, you know they do, but yesterday you were working and couldn’t see them, therefore, the little celebration was reported and you didn’t expect, you wouldn’t expect them to come at night or early in the morning to bring you your gifts. It can wait (so they decided).

But Jungkook is sweet like no one else is.

And he came to wish you a merry Christmas even if you were too tired to wish him back and he left a present for you.

There’s not a name attached to it but it’s obvious it comes from him. There’s just a post-it he stole from your desk, with a Merry Christmas written on it, the lines of the letters, round and neat, you’d recognize from any other lettering and a bunny with teeth as big as the eyes smiling at you, drawn next to it.

The box is so pretty, you feel an actual pressure thinking about opening it, as if there is a certain way, a proper way, to go about it.

And apparently, there is. You go wash your face and rinse your mouth, prepare yourself one of your good teas, tear the curtain wide open and slowly, almost ceremoniously, take a seat on the ground, right in front of it.

The box is neat. You don’t know what’s inside, probably a perfume or some kit for the bath you’d assume, but you already know that whatever is inside, even if it’s not of your liking -which is impossible, it comes from Jungkook-, will be balanced out by the appearance of this perfectly elegant, tasteful box that you’ll use again to stock anything, maybe your face masks, maybe nothing -it’ll just sit, looking good on a shelf.

It’s a pastel blue, with a black rose drawn on top of it, the icon to a brand you absolutely don’t recognize. With fingers trembling with excitement you drag the box to yourself, it’s mildly heavy, for some reasons, it gives you a little rush of anxiety. There’s just a tiny black ribbon holding the box firmly closed. A tiny pull on it and it slips open.

Slowly you lift the lid, a grin already plastered on your face, hurting your cheeks. You expect a blinding magical light to come out of it, with the sound of bells ringing near your ears and sense to suddenly knock into you as you’d understand what wondrous present is in front of you.

But none of it comes. There's just a thing hidden inside a black satin bag.

It’s not a perfume nor a bath kit and you’re confused.

A bit scared.

Honestly, maybe a little shameful part of you has guessed it. But the louder yet weaker rest of you can’t see it. It would be too... ludicrous. And wouldn’t make sense, would it? You’ve never actually seen any in real life so how would you know what the packaging would look like and how would you come to this conclusion now? And how, why, how would he, Jeon Jungkook, come about to offer you this?

Doesn’t make any sense.

But somehow, when you pick up the courage to open the little bag and drag the object out of it, you hardly even gasp in surprise when you discover a dildo. You just let it drop to the table, thumping loudly the fake wood.

Why did you guess it to be that and why did he get you this shit?

Scorching red seize your face and your whole being.

You are infuriated.

How dares he? You are mortified. How dares he?

What does this fucking mean?

A joke?

Is it a joke?

If it a joke then what’s the fucking point? It’s not fucking funny. It’s weird as hell and you can’t believe he came in the middle of the night, pretending to be Santa to leave you a fucking kidding present as if your miserable life needed that.

And if it’s not then what the actual fuck? Does he think you’re that desperate? Does he have really no notion of boundaries?

Conveniently your phone lays centimetres away from the offending thing, you don’t even need to get up to grab it and therefore, you start looking furiously for his name in your recent call list. After only two rings as if he was just expecting your call, his bright hello reaches your ear.

“What the actual fuck, Jeon?” He must hear the madness in your voice, both the anger and the hysteria. There’s a pause during which he doesn’t say anything, doesn’t make a sound and you even check your screen to make sure he hasn’t hung up on you.

“That’s- not- the reaction I expected.” He sounds sheepish. Mumbled words, lisped syllables, long pauses.

“What did you expect?” You yell a bit, you can just picture him, dragging the phone out of earshot and winding, the same way you do when your mom who doesn’t get the concept of telephone screams in it each time she calls you. The realization hits you, that in your quiet little apartment, in this (for once) quiet morning, you are screeching like a banshee. You quiet down instantly, some of the anger soothed down by embarrassment. “Are you insane?” You whisper in his ear and comically, he starts whispering too, with the same alterations to his usually bright and open tone.

“M’not. I just- you said that’s what you wanted so I got it for you.”

Now he’s making stuff up and blaming this insanity on you and that serves to raise a bit more the bar of anger -along with the loudness of your voice, “When have I ever said that I wanted a-“ You choke on your own saliva once your brain realizes that you’re supposed to say the word, out loud, to him. In an angry whisper, as if someone, your mother, for example, could be listening “fucking dildo!” You blush furiously at that and it’s ridiculous. Probably the reason why you didn’t own one in the first place and maybe shouldn’t yet. Because you’re a grown-ass woman of a quarter of a century, living alone and admittedly independent and responsible for your own existence, but you can’t even say the word “dildo” out loud to this asshole of a friend who apparently, and that’s new news, doesn’t have an issue talking about sex and everything related to it with you.

“Y-you said-“ There’s a pregnant pause. You can’t know for sure since you’re not seeing him if he’s faking it or not but he sounds confused as hell. Like he genuinely doesn’t understand what’s wrong. Moron. “You said you wanted sex but not a boyfriend so I thought- it’s pretty much- it’s exactly what it is. Why are you so mad?”

The question in itself serves to drag you a little further over the edge. So much so, it clogs your brain with anguish and leaves you unable to give him an answer.

When he’s starting to talk again, maybe ask again his question, you just hung up, slamming your phone down on the carpet.

You hear it vibrate to life twice before it shuts down completely. Good. At least he knows you well enough, still, to assume rightfully so that you won’t pick up his calls anymore. Not today.

You just have the time to pack the dildo back in its bag and inside its box, throw away your tea that tastes unbearably bitter and maniacally scrub your face in an attempt to get rid of the red patches that don’t want to fucking leave before the telling high beeps of your front door’s digital lock alert you. Your face is soaking in cold water, another attempt to cool it, your face and your troubled mind.

You mean to ignore him. Dipping your head further in the filled up sink, closing your eyes tight shut hoping somehow it’ll help you push aside the calls of your name better.

For a few seconds, it works. You can’t hear him anymore. You wonder if the furious pleas you were chanting in your head could have been loud enough to make the sound of the door slamming behind him as he would have left, completely quiet.

He’s such a try-hard. You hung up on him because he’s saying batshit crazy things and his first reflex is to barge in your house again. You really need to change your lock and not tell him. You can do that. You’re an adult and you have the right to your own fucking place. It’s not a fucking benevolent stay in, for fuck's sake.

The cold water really seems to work. You feel better, light-headed, coming down after the earlier hysteria. And knowing that he’s left and won’t pursue this mess any further, for now, surely helps a lot.

Except it doesn’t last for, as soon as your face leaves the water, your hands reaching clumsily for a towel that falls magically in them, one wipe at your eyes and your worst nightmare is standing right in front of you.

“Fucking- Jungkook!” Burying your face back in the towel, drying your face as much as possible, maybe even trying for a second to suffocate yourself, you wish vainly that when you’ll take it off he would have disappeared.

He is still here though. Watching with dark eyes and a straight severe line replacing the cute button he owns for a mouth, he looks awfully serious for a guy that’s never really serious. Your towel ends up centimetres away from his face, he catches it right before it touches him. You hoped it would blind and confuse him momentarily, long enough for you to escape but of course, this guy would never miss a shot, even a surprise one.

“Why are you like this?” He asks when you try and push him from the ribs, out of the door frame. You hate that you think about it. About his chest being so hard and warm and his fucking smell of sweat that you’d recognize amongst any others (pretty easily as any other makes you gag and this one, probably because you’re a primary animal guided by hormones, leaves you dizzy and wanting). He doesn’t budge until he decides to, mercilessly stepping aside to let you through. Because you’re an idiot, you don’t think and head for the living room and it’s only once you’re there, very aware of his steps following you, that the devilish object of your discord is right fucking there, obnoxiously sitting on the middle of your coffee table. You groan and squeeze your eyes tight.

What meditation technique, an extra effective one, could you use right now before you definitely lose it and throw yourself out the window?

Before you find one, you end up clinging to the opposite wall, forehead pressed to it, back to him, in a vain attempt to suppress yourself from the situation. You might look a little insane or at best, somehow on edge, but who cares at this point?

“Jungkook, if I don’t pick up your call, do you think I want to see your face?”

“But why though?” His tone is still harsher than usual. You notice it and you notice you don’t hate it either. What a little bitch you are. If you like his usual self, with the bright smile, soft words, boisterous laugh, dainty manners, you can’t deny that this rougher version of him, genuinely pissed off as you’ve never seen him, tickles your fancy. You’re fucked. “Seriously these days you- you’re such-“

“I’m what?” You bark, swirling on your feet, expression distorted by an offence he hasn’t even made yet. You completed the sentence he’s never finished with terrible words that you’ve never heard him use talking about anyone: bitch, hysterical, cunt.

“You’re trying to pick a fight with me all the fucking time, I don’t get it!”

Now you feel terrible. You’re still bothered by the raw edges of his tone, it’s literally sending electric shocks to your lower tummy. But his eyebrows have dropped and his fiery dark eyes have turned shiny and sad, your heart hurts in your bosom.

Ugh.

You’re such a bitch.

“I’m sorry. I know I’m insufferable. I’m on my period. Sorry.” You send a mental apology to womanhood. You're just an idiot lacking imagination.

Jungkook frowns, his eyebrows dancing in all kind of ways, before they settle for an, unfortunately for you, attractive finale, one straight down, one tilt up. He stares at you, dubious.

“For three weeks. You’ve been on your period for three weeks.”

The first thing you take notes of is the fact that he dated it way shorter than you would have. Honestly, you found yourself becoming a weirdo with inappropriate feelings that reindeer you into an asshole for at least a month and a half. Before that, it was extremely tamed, totally under control. You’d just notice his handsome face and cute smiles and nice smell, thinking “oh yeah that’s right. He’s kinda attractive. How funny I never really noticed.” And slowly it progressed to not being able to handle him touching you without having something close to a panic attack.

The second thing you note is that he doesn’t believe you. His stare is insistent, turns a bit dark as he lingers, studying your own eyes with judgment in his. He’s frowning even more, looks down at the floor and sighs so deep, heartbreakingly so. He looks hurt that you’re lying and don’t want to share what's really been up with you. If only you could be a better liar.

“It happens sometimes, all women are diff-“

He just sat down on your sofa, eyes fixed on the blue box. Before you can finish your sentence, he sends you a glare that awfully looks like a threat. You shut up. He doesn’t believe you anyway. He knows you and your periods (sort of) way too well. He knows you’re in pain the first day, you’re a bit tender on the following ones and he takes it upon himself to be gentler and not try to play WWE with you on those but you don’t turn into a mean dragon. This much he knows for sure.

There’s something he’s seeking for within the box. He’s grabbed it, holds it now in between his fingertips, piercing virtual holes into it. It’s probably the answer he didn’t find in your eyes.

It makes you flush furiously. Seeing his pretty hands with his long fingers touching it. Here’s the reason, he would have caught it on your cheeks if he wasn’t so busy looking for it elsewhere.

“I really thought that- you’d like it.” He sounds so saddened. You’re caught off guard. Again. So this present wasn’t meant to be a joke. It is a genuine one. It makes sense that he’s hurt then. You’re shitting all over his gift but how could you not? How could he believe that you could just accept that for a random gift? Slowly he makes the top of the box slide up, pout sucked in in concentration, dimple out. Your heart seems to stop at that. He’s not going to take it out, is he?

He can’t take it in his hands.

You’ll die if he takes it in his hands.

Fortunately, he just opens the box, looks at the satin bag, looks at it with a pained expression as if he feels bad for the thing, then closes it back.

“The woman at the shop said that it’s one of the best ones, for starters.” He sulks like a child. Bottom lip all plumped out, shiny eyes under curved eyebrows.

Jungkook looks up at you, ultimate sad puppy look on.

“She said the size and the texture were perfect if you’ve never used one before. It wouldn’t be too... what was that again?” He asks aloud as if you’d know. And you’re mortified. On behalf of him. The concept that he’s not embarrassed right now and that he went to an actual shop, browsed through the shelves and asked an actual saleswoman for help is absolutely insane. Unbelievable if it were not for the sincerity he’s dipped in. “And I picked blue because I know you like this colour. It matches your planner, doesn’t it?” He adds as if he’s not sure when obviously he knows.

It is surprisingly very close in shade. And so what? He expected you to love it so much, take fucking aesthetic pictures with it and your planner sitting on your fake marble desktop, next to Diego the succulent? What an idiot. And for how fucking long did he talk to that woman?

Silence hangs heavy between you. You watch as he scowls some more, mumbles under his breath while staring with despair at the box.

Slowly, resolute to be the better friend you have not successfully been these past weeks (months), you leave your protecting wall. Taking a seat on the carpet, on the opposite side of the table, you do your best to ignore the blue patch invading the bottom of your vision and try to give him the softest expression you can come up with at this moment.

“Why are you so butthurt?”

His curiously perfect round eyes raise in a swift motion, pouty lips agape in a silent little gasp.

“Sorry.” You apologize before he even gets to respond because, maybe, you could try harder to be good and nice to him.

“Because it’s a present.” He starts at a very slow pace. He pauses between words like he’s addressing a dim, dim brain. And he might be honestly. But he’s one to talk. How can he not see an issue? “That I’ve looked for and bought for you. That’s why I’m butthurt, what do you mean?”

“But- since when are we buying each other-“ You need to grow up. There’s no one else but him hearing you and since your last conversation about it, when he too was embarrassed, he’s able to say it just fine apparently. Still, you whisper the following, “sex toys?”

“Since you turned twenty-five and said you were interested in it.” His right-hand raises from the box to start flapping the air and you know it means bad news. He’s upset. When he needs his hands to further accompany his speech, it means he’s a bit too taken by the conversation. And in this case, you don’t feel like it’s a good idea for him to be. “When you were fourteen and into Legos, I bought you a set of Legos.”

Hardly makes sense.

“You’re just going to pretend it’s a random present?”

“It’s not random. I put thought into it.” His eyes are digging up intensively in your own. It might be desperation that leads you to remain still, allow him to look. Hopefully, he won’t dig deep enough to find stuff he shouldn’t. “Why do you hate it? I thought- I don’t know- you’re a- flourished single woman and-“

Flourished? Really? The words don’t come out of your mouth but he reads them on your face and an adorable smile cracks open the mask of gravity.

“Jungkook.” You owe him an effort. Maybe you should look into why it requires an act of inhuman courage for you to admit your shame. It might be because if he were anyone else, you’d be embarrassed by the present for five seconds because clearly, you’re still half of a fucking child but soon enough, you’d probably be enchanted by the thing. Who doesn’t need a good sex toy? You definitely do. You thought about getting one for a long while but never got to it for some reasons and here’s one offered to you (in a very pretty shade of baby blue).

The thing is you don’t think about anyone sexually except for him (and his friend Jimin, once in a while, just by curiosity because the guy is a very sexual being). If you don’t even consider them in this light, you don’t have to think about them using it, do you? But he’s all you think about, unfortunately. And you’re friends. And it feels like one step closer to your fantasy while simultaneously one step closer to betrayal. And he certainly is not offering you this wishing for you to keep close in mind the fact that this is his. His present. He knows about it. Maybe can think of you using it and liking it without any further implications. Because obviously, it’s not like that for him. “It's awkward. How can you not see that.”

“Is it? What is?”

“First of all, we don’t- we- don’t even talk about... it. And suddenly you’re buying me- this?”

“Yeah, I realized that too!” It’s too much enthusiasm. Eyes too big and hands not leaving the air. You can already guess his next sentence. It’s probably going to be a terrible suggestion. “I talk about sex all the time with the guys,” Your eyebrows jump to your hairline at that. You’re not even that surprised but the formulation could probably be fixed. “and you talk about it with your girls, right? But we’ve known each other the longest and we never talk about it. Isn’t it fucked up?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘fucked up’-”

“Well, I would. I am.”

“Don’t you- don’t you see that you’re a boy and coincidentally you can easily talk about it with the guys who happen to be boys and I am a girl, right? And I-“ Who would have thought? It took you fifteen years to finally be giving him the beginning of the talk about the birds and the bees. You would have given it to him sooner if you’d have known how far behind he’s been.

“But what if I need girl advice-“

“I’m sure Jimin knows a whole lot about girls, Jeon.”

“From a girl point of view. Real girl advice.”

“Jungkook-“

“If I ask what the G spot exactly feels like, what-“

“Jungkook!”

He’s amused, the fucker. He’s not as clueless as he sounds. But the crooked grin on his face is too telling. He might just be messing with you. Usually, when he’s just playing he wouldn’t insist so much, he wouldn’t take the conversation this far so surely, there are some genuine intentions. However, he's still having way too much fun.

With his frowned nose, and squinting shiny orbs and stupid bunny teeth.

“You’re just embarrassed, aren’t you?” You might have terribly loud red streaks painting your cheeks that you try naively to cover with your hands. He can see it all and silently, he nods his head, looking like he’s reached the final touch of his experiment. “How? What happened to the teenage girl who spent her nights writing dirty stories about Harry Styles?”

Horror.

How the fuck-

“How the fuck do you know about that?”

“You showed me!” He defends, hands high above in the air like a soccer player claiming innocence. “You did! You don’t remember?” No, you don’t. But you can tell he’s not lying. Apparently, young you was quite the fearless bitch.

What happened indeed?

Years happened. A growing sense of self-preservation along with them. Undesired feelings for an idiot with a bunny smile. An inappropriate sense of shame along with those.

“Anyway. So it’s a bribe for girl advice?” You ask, chin pointing to the box. Jungkook looks down on it, drums his fingertips lightly on the top before he looks up, beaming.

“Sort of.” Shrugging, he adds with a shifty eye that telltales a certain vulnerable sincerity. “I just wish for us to be able to share everything. Be comfortable like before.”

“Before what?” He stares for a long time, mouth shut. He then blinks the moment away and for the first time, you might believe ever, Jungkook looks like he might have a secret too.

“Just before. Back in the days, I mean.” He simply explains. His attention is back on the stupid box. He’s staring at the rose on top of it. Fingers playing with the corner of it.

“Back in your old days.”

“You’re older than me. So you really don’t want it?” Here he comes again with the sad puppy face. Why would it be breaking his dumb little heart to refuse a dildo from him? What kind of insane parallel universe is this? “Is it like a 'men are fine but little Jeon Jungkookie still has cooties so I can’t accept his present, it’s gross'?”

“Something like that.”

“Oh.” Defeated, he sighs. Another one of those soul-harming sighs. “Fine. I’ll get it refunded and you’ll buy yourself something else with the money then.”

Is he really going to make you do that?

As if the question is even to be raised. He can make you do anything.

“No, Guk, sorry. It’s fine. Sorry.” You start, hands clasping over the box you drag your side of the table. The only way you can do it is if you don’t actively think about what’s inside. “I’ll keep it. Sorry.”

“So you kind of want it?” He is grinning from one ear to the other. You can feel him giddy and excited, kind of jumpy on his seat and really, you don’t see any difference with the excitement he portrays each time he gets you any kind of presents and you tell him that you like it.

“I won’t use it.” It’s almost a threat. Eyes squinted in severe slits, index finger millimetres away from poking his eye. “It’s a gift so I won’t make you get a refund, that’s rude but- I won’t use it.” After a second of seemingly deep reflection, he breaks out in his loud, annoying boyish laughter. Eyes watery at the corners and hands clapping like a stupid seal. “I’m serious!”

“Sure.” He’s still cackling, the idiot. “But you should. The lady said it’s a best seller too.”

“Great. I don’t care.”

He has his eyebrows high, a twitch in his wide grin, and the amused black orbs. He doesn’t believe you one bit. “Course, you don’t.”

The idea that he sincerely expects you to use it might drive your delusional brain for a loop. He just wants to be the best gift-giver, the best Santa, and wants you to make good use of whatever he's got you. But how can he not consider that you could not use something like that, to pleasure yourself, when it’s directly related to him, your best friend? It’s weird as hell. It can’t be just weird to you.

Unfortunately, there’s no one you can come up with the question to have them agree with you. You already know what the girls will say. They’re even worse than you when it comes to Jeon Jungkook and your ambiguous (on your side solely) friendship. They’ll say the ship is sailed and start buying themselves bridesmaid matching dresses.

They don’t understand. It’s not like they’ve grown up with someone like him. Someone rather simple, authentic and kind, so much so, so much more than most people, that it turns him complicated because so different from other humans you can meet. There’s nothing to be read in between the lines with him. It’s always lovingly honest, blatant, generous.

He doesn’t mean anything else behind the gift besides a “have a good one!”.

And you didn’t mean anything else but the truth when you said you wouldn’t use it.

At the moment, anyway, you meant it.

A/N: hoping it makes sense and is not too raw, edited it at midnight TT; may i manifest a sugar daddy that would pay me to stay home and write fanfiction for you guys all day :). i really hope you like it, and hope also that you can handle the secondhand embarrassement because even i struggled. let me know what you think of the series so far, sending everyone reading this an infinite amount of virtual kisses and hugs, take care of yourself, love yourself and others a lot, BYEE.

tag list: @moon-asia @btstrasht @jkbangtan7 @taehugger @kaepjjangiya @daggerbeneathmygown @cuteipat @jinsalpaca

PLEASE ASK TO BE TAGGED IN THE COMMENT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER! TY <3

#btswriterscollective #networkbangtan #ggukienet #jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #bts smut #bts fluff #bts angst #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfic #my writing

331 notes · View notes

justjensenanddean · 4 years

Video

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jensen Ackles (@jensenackles)

instagram

“Supernatural” star Jensen Ackles is jumping from one Eric Kripke show right into another. The actor is joining the cast of “The Boys” in its third season, Ackles and Amazon Prime Video announced Monday.

“I keep wondering what I’ll do….when @cw_supernatural finally ends this year,” Ackles wrote on Instagram. “Then it hit me.”

Ackles will portray Soldier Boy aka the original superhero in the streaming drama. After Soldier Boy fought in World War II, he became the first super celebrity and a mainstay of American culture for decades.

“When I was a child, I had a crazy, impossible dream — to provide Jensen Ackles with gainful employment,” said Kripke in a statement. “I’m happy to say that dream has come true. Jensen is an amazing actor, an even better person, smells like warm chocolate chip cookies, and I consider him a brother. As Soldier Boy, the very first superhero, he’ll bring so much humor, pathos, and danger to the role. I can’t wait to be on set with him again, and bring a bit of ‘Supernatural’ to ‘The Boys.’”

“The Boys” was renewed for a third season ahead of its second, which launches on Sept. 4 on Amazon. The show is based on the best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson and was developed by Eric Kripke, who also serves as showrunner. Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver also executive produce, along with Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty, as well as Phil Sgriccia, Craig Rosenberg, Rebecca Sonnenshine, Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Robertson also co-executive produce along with Michael Saltzman.

Ackles currently stars on “Supernatural,” which Kripke created in the early-aughts and first launched on the WB network in 2005. It was scheduled to wrap up its 15th and final season in May of this year, before the coronavirus pandemic forced a production shutdown. Now, it is on-track to wrap this fall on the CW. Ackles’ previous acting credits include “Devour,” the big screen remake “My Bloody Valentine” and the independent rom-com “Ten Inch Hero.” On the small screen he is also known for “Smallville,” “Dark Angel,” “Dawson’s Creek” and “Days of our Lives,” for which he received three Daytime Emmy nominations and won a Soap Opera Digest Award in 1998.

Ackles and his wife Danneel Ackles are now active in raising funds for various social interests, including his “Supernatural” co-star Misha Collins’ Random Acts, as well as Creative Action, a nonprofit, arts-based youth development organization that provides creative learning programs for Central Texas youth; OutYouth, an organization providing a safe space for all sexual orientations and gender identities and The Birthday Party Project, and organization that throws birthday parties for children in homeless shelters.

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/supernaturals-jensen-ackles-joins-the-boys-season-3-1234737168/

@JensenAckles | jensenackles | EricKripke

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ᴅᴀɴɴᴇᴇʟ ᴀᴄᴋʟᴇs (@danneelackles512) on Aug 17, 2020 at 10:27am PDT

danneelackles512: We are so happy for our @jensenackles

on his new role on Season 3 of @theboystv!!!! Congratulations Daddy Man! This series is sooooooo goooood! Can’t wait to show our kids in 10 years!!! 😂

#Jensen Ackles #The Boys #Soldier Boy #Danneel Ackles #Jensen's Instagram #Jensen's Twitter #@JensenAckles #eric kripke #Zeppelin Bram Ackles #JJ Ackles #Arrow Rhodes Ackles #Danneel's Instagram #*#I'M FREAKING OUT #I WAS SO WAITING FOR THIS #AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1K notes · View notes

yamayuandadu · 3 years

Text

The Two (or more) Ishtars or A Certain Scandalous Easter Claim Proved to be The Worship of Reverend Alexander Hislop

Once upon a time the official facebook page of Richard Dawkins' foundation posted a graphic according to which the holiday of Easter is just a rebranded celebration of the Mesopotamian mythology superstar Ishtar, arguing that the evidence is contained in its very name. As everyone knows, Dawkins is an online talking head notable for discussing his non-belief in such an euphoric way that it might turn off even the most staunch secularists and for appearing in some reasonably funny memes about half a decade ago. Bizarrely enough, however, the same claim can be often found among the crowds dedicated to crystal healing, Robert Graves' mythology fanfiction, indigo children and similar dubiously esoteric content. What's yet more surprising is that once in a while it shows up among a certain subset of fundamentalist Christians, chiefly the types who believe giants are real (and, of course, satanic), the world is ruled by a secret group of Moloch worshipers and fossils were planted by the devil to led the sheeple astray from the truth about earth being 6000 years old, tops. Of course, to anyone even just vaguely familiar with Christianity whose primary language isn't English this claim rightfully seems completely baffling – after all it's evident in most languages that the name of the holiday celebrating Jesus' resurrection, and many associated customs, are derived from the earlier Jewish Pascha (Passover) which has nothing to do with Ishtar other than having its origin in the Middle East. Why would the purported association only be evident in English and not in Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, virtually any language other than English and its close relatives – languages which generally didn't have anything to do with Mesopotamia or early christianity? Read on to find out what sort of sources let this eclectic selection of characters arrive to the same baffling conclusion, why are they hilariously wrong, and – most importantly – where you can actually find a variety of Ishtars (or at least reasonably Ishtar-like figures) under different names instead.

The story of baffling Easter claims begins in Scotland in the 19th century. A core activity of theologians in many faiths through history was (and sometimes still is) finding alleged proof of purported “idolatry” or other “impure” practices among ideological opponents, even these from within the same religion – and a certain Presbyterian minister, Alexander Hislop, was no stranger to this traditional pastime. Like many Protestants in this period, he had an axe to grind with the catholic church - though not for the reasons many people are not particularly fond of this institution nowadays. What Hislop wanted to prove was much more esoteric – he believed that it's the Babylon known from the Book of Revelations. Complete with the beast with seven heads, blasphemous names and other such paraphernalia, of course. This wasn't a new claim – catholicism was equated with the New Testament Babylon for as long as Protestantism was a thing (and earlier catholicism itself regarded other religions as representing it). What set Hislop apart from dozens of other similar attempts like that was that he fancied himself a scholar of history and relied on the brand new accounts of excavations in what was once the core sphere of influence of the Assyrian empire (present day Iraq and Syria), supplemented by various Greek and Roman classics – though also by his own ideas, generally varying from baseless to completely unhinged. Hislop compiled his claims in the book The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife. You can find it on archive.org if you want to torment yourself and read the entire thing – please do not give clicks directly to any fundie sites hosting it though. How does the history of Easter and Ishtar look like according to Hislop? Everything started with Semiramis, who according to his vision was a historical figure and a contemporary of Noah's sons, here also entirely historical. Semiramis is either entirely fictional or a distorted Greek and Roman account of the 9th century BC Assyrian queen Shammuramat, who ruled as a regent for a few years after the death of her husband Shamshi Adad V – an interesting piece of historical trivia, but arguably not really a historical milestone, and by the standards of Mesopotamian history she's hardly a truly ancient figure. Hislop didn't even rely on the primary sources dealing with the legend of Semiramis though, but with their medieval christian interpretations, which cast her in the role of an adulterer first and foremost due to association of ancient Mesopotamia with any and all vices.

Hislop claims that Semiramis was both the Whore of Babylon from the Book of Revelations and the first idolater, instituting worship of herself as a goddess. This goddess, he argues, was Astarte (a combination of two flimsy claims – Roman claim that Semiramis' name means “dove” and now generally distrusted assumption that Phoenician Astarte had the same symbols as Greek Aphrodite) and thus Ishtar, but he also denotes her as a mother goddess – which goes against everything modern research has to say about Ishtar, of course. However, shoddy scholarship relying on few sources was the norm at the time, and Hislop on top of that was driven by religious zeal. In further passages, he identified this “universal mother” with Phrygian Cybele, Greek Rhea and Athena, Egyptian Isis, Taoist Xi Wangmu (sic) and many more, pretty much at random, arguing all of them were aspects of nefarious Semiramis cult which infected all corners of the globe. He believed that she was venerated alongside a son-consort, derived from Semiramis' even more fictional husband Ninus (a mythical founder of Assyria according to Greek authors, absent from any Mesopotamian sources; his name was derived from Nineveh, not from any word for son like Hislop claims), who he identifies with biblical Nimrod (likewise not a historical figure, probably a distorted reflection of the god Ninurta). Note the similarity with certain ideas perpetrated by Frazer's Golden Bough and his later fans like Jung, Graves and many neopagan authors – pseudohistory, regardless of ideological background, has a very small canon of genuinely original claims. Ishtar was finally introduced to Britain by “druids” (note once again the similarity to the baffling integration of random Greek, Egyptian or Mesopotamian deities into Graves-derived systems of fraudulent trivia about “universal mother goddesses” often using an inaccurate version of Celtic myths as framework). This eventually lead to the creation of the holiday of Easter. Pascha doesn't come up in the book at all, as far as I can tell. All of this is basically just buildup for the book's core shocking reveal: catholic veneration of Mary and depictions of Mary with infant Jesus in particular are actually the worship of Semiramis and her son-consort Ninus, and only the truly faithful can reveal this evil purpose of religious art. At least so claims Hislop. This bizarre idea is laughable, but it remains disturbingly persistent – do you remember the Chick Tracts memes from a few years ago, for example? These comics were in part inspired by Hislop's work. Many fundamentalist christian communities appear to hold his confabulations in high esteem up to this day – and many people who by design see themselves as a countercultural opposition to christianity independently gleefully embrace them, seemingly ignorant of their origin. While there are many articles debunking Hislop's claim about Easter, few of them try to show how truly incomprehensibly bad his book is as a whole – hopefully the following examples will be sufficient to illustrate this point: -Zoroaster is connected to Moloch because of the Zoroastrian holy fire - and Moloch is, of course Ninus. Note that while a few Greek authors believed Zoroaster to be the “king of Bactria” mythical accounts presented as a contemporary of Ninus, the two were regarded as enemies – Hislop doesn't even follow the pseudohistory he uses as proof! -Zoroaster is also Tammuz. Tammuz is, of course, yet another aspect of Ninus. -demonic character is ascribed to relics of the historical Buddha; also he's Osiris. And Ninus. -an incredibly racist passage explains why the biblical Nimrod (identified with – you guessed it - Ninus) might be regarded as “ugly and deformed” like Haephestus and thus identical to him (no, it makes no sense in context either) - Hislop thinks he was black (that's not the word he uses, naturally) which to him is the same thing. -Attis is a deification of sin itself -the pope represents Dagon (incorrectly interpreted as a fish god in the 19th century) -Baal and Bel are two unrelated words – this is meant to justify the historicity of the Tower of Babel by asserting it was built by Ninus, who was identical to Bel (in reality a title of Marduk); Bel, according to Hislop, means “the confounder (of languages)” rather than “lord” -the term “cannibal” comes from a made up term for priests of Baal (Ninus) who according to Hislop ate children. In reality it's a Spanish corruption of the endonym of one of the first tribes encountered by the Spanish conquerors in America, and was not a word used in antiquity – also, as I discussed in my Baal post, the worship of Baal did not involve cannibalism. This specific claim of Hislop's is popular with the adherents of prophetic doomsday cult slash wannabe terrorist group QAnon today, and shows up on their “redpilling” graphics. -Ninus was also Cronos; Cronos' name therefore meant “horned one” in reference to Mesopotamian bull/horned crown iconography and many superficially similar gods from all over the world were the same as him - note the similarity to Margaret Murray's obsession with her made up idea of worldwide worship of a “horned god” (later incorporated into Wicca). -Phaeton, Orpheus and Aesculapius are the same figure and analogous to Lucifer (and in turn to Ninus) -giants are real and they're satanists (or were, I think Hislop argues they're dead already). They are (were?) also servants of Ninus. -as an all around charming individual Hislop made sure to include a plethora of comments decrying the practices of various groups at random as digressions while presenting his ridiculous theories – so, while learning about the forbidden history of Easter, one can also learn why the author thinks Yezidi are satanists, for example -last but not least, the very sign of the cross is not truly christian but constitutes the worship of Tammuz, aka Ninus (slowly losing track of how many figures were regarded as one and the same as him by Hislop). Based on the summary above it's safe to say that Hislop's claim is incorrect – and, arguably, malevolent (and as such deserves scrutiny, not further possibilities for spreading). However, this doesn't answer the question where does the name of Easter actually come from? As I noted in the beginning, in English (and also German) it's a bit of an oddity – it actually was derived from a preexisting pagan term, at least if we are to believe the word of the monk Bede, who in the 8th century wrote that the term is a derivative of “Eosturmonath,” eg. “month of Eostre” - according to him a goddess. There are no known inscriptions mentioning such a goddess from the British Isles or beyond, though researchers involved in reconstructing proto-indo-european language assume that “Eostre” would logically be a derivative of the same term as the name of the Greek Eos and of the vedic Ushas, and the Austriahenae goddesses from Roman inscriptions from present day Germany – eg. a word simply referring to dawn, and by extension to a goddess embodying it. This is a sound, well researched theory, so while early medieval chroniclers sometimes cannot be trusted, I see no reason to doubt Bede's account.

While Ushas is a prominent goddess in the Vedas, Eos was rather marginal in Greek religion (see her Theoi entry for details), and it's hard to tell to what degree Bede's Eostre was similar to either of them beyond plausibly being a personification of dawn. Of course, the hypothetical proto-indo-european dawn goddess all of these could be derived from would have next to nothing to do with Ishtar. While the history of the name of Easter (though not the celebration itself) is undeniably interesting, I suppose it lacks the elements which make the fake Ishtar claim a viral hit – the connection is indirect, and an equivalent of the Greek Eos isn't exactly exciting (Eos herself is, let be honest, remembered at best as an obscure part of the Odyssey), while Ishtar is understood by many as “wicked” sex goddess (a simplification, to put it very lightly) which adds a scandalous, sacrilegious dimension to the baffling lie, explaining its appeal to Dawkins' fans, arguably. As demonstrated above, Hislop's theories are false and adapting them for any new context – be it christian, atheist or neopagan – won't change that, but are there any genuine examples of, well, “hidden Ishtars”? If that's the part of the summary which caught your attention, rejoice – there is a plenty of these to be found in Bronze Age texts. I'd go as far as saying that most of ancient middle eastern cultures from that era felt compelled to include an Ishtar ersatz in their pantheons. Due to the popularity of the original Ishtar, she was almost a class of figures rather than a single figure – a situation almost comparable to modern franchising, when you think about it. The following figures can be undeniably regarded as “Ishtar-like” in some capacity or even as outright analogs:

Astarte (or Ashtart, to go with a more accurate transcription of the oldest recorded version of the name) – the most direct counterpart of Ishtar there is: a cognate of her own name. Simply, put Astarte is the “Levantine”equivalent of the “Mesopotamian” Ishtar. In the city of Mari, the names were pretty much used interchangeably, and some god lists equate them, though Astarte had a fair share of distinct traits. In Ugaritic mythology, which forms the core of our understanding of the western Semitic deities, she was a warrior and hunter (though it's possible that in addition to conventional weapons she was also skilled at wielding curses), and was usually grouped with Anat. Both of them were regarded as the allies of Baal, and assist him against his enemies in various myth. They also were envisioned to spend a lot of time together – one ritual calls them upon as a pair from distant lands where they're hunting together, while a fragmentary myth depicts both of them arriving in the household of the head god El and taking pity on Yarikh, the moon god, seemingly treated as a pariah. Astarte's close relation to Baal is illustrated by her epithet, “face of Baal” or “of the name of Baal.” They were often regarde as a couple and even late, Hellenic sources preserve a traditional belief that Astarte and “Adados” (Baal) ruled together as a pair. In some documents from Ugarit concerned with what we would call foreign policy today they were invoked together as the most prominent deities. It's therefore possible that she had some role related to human politics. She was regarded as exceptionally beautiful and some texts favorably describe mortal women's appearance by comparing them to Astarte. In later times she was regarded as a goddess of love, but it's unclear if that was a significant aspect of her in the Bronze Age. It's equally unclear if she shared Ishtar's astral character – in Canaan there were seemingly entirely separate dawn and dusk deities. Despite clamis you might see online, Astarte was not the same as the mother goddess Asherah. In the Baal cycle they actually belong to the opposing camps. Additionally, the names are only superficially similar (one starts with an aleph, the other with an ayin) and have different etymology. Also, that famous sculpture of a very blatantly Minoan potnia theron? Ugaritic in origin but not a depiction of either Astarte or Asherah.

The Egyptians, due to extensive contact with Canaan and various Syrian states in the second half of the Bronze Age, adapted Astarte (and by extension Anat) into their own pantheon. Like in Ugarit, her warrior character was emphasized. An Egyptian innovation was depicting her as a cavalry goddess of sorts – associated with mounted combat and chariots. In Egypt, Ptah, the head god of Memphis and divine craftsman, was regarded as her father. In most texts, Astarte is part of Seth's inner circle of associates – however, in this context Seth wasn't the slayer of Osiris, but a heroic storm god similar to Baal. The so-called Astarte papyrus presents an account of a myth eerily similar to the Ugaritic battle between Baal and Yam – starring Seth as the hero, with Astarte in a supporting role resembling that played by Shaushka, another Ishtar analog, in the Hittite song of Hedammu, which will be discussed below.

Shaushka – a Hurrian and Hittite goddess whose name means “the magnificent one” in the Hurrian language. Hurrian was widely spoken in ancient Mesopotamia and Anatolia (and in northernmost parts of the Levant – up to one fifth of personal names from Ugaritic documents were Hurrian iirc), but has no descendants today and its relation to any extant languages is uncertain. In Hittite texts she was often referred to with an “akkadogram” denoting Ishtar's name (or its Sumerian equivalent) instead of a phonetic spelling of her own (there was an analogous practice regarding the sun gods), while in Egyptian and Syrian texts there are a few references to “Ishtar Hurri” - “Ishtar of the Hurrians” - who is argued by researchers to be one and the same as Shaushka. Despite Shaushka's Hurrian name and her prominence in myths popular both among Hittites and Hurrians, her main cult center was the Assyrian city of Nineveh, associated with Ishtar herself as well, and there were relatively few temples dedicated to her in the core Hittite sphere of influence in Anatolia. Curiously, both the oldest reference to Shaushka and to the city of Nineveh come from the same text, stating that a sheep was sacrificed to her there. While most of her roles overlap with Ishtar's (she too was associated with sex, warfare and fertility), here are two distinct features of Shaushka that set her apart as unique: one is the fact she was perceived in part as a masculine deity, despite being consistently described as a woman – in the famous Yazılıkaya reliefs she appears twice, both among gods and goddesses. In Alalakh she was depicted in outfits combining elements of male and female clothing. Similar fashion preferences were at times attributed to Ninshubur, the attendant of Ishtar's Sumerian forerunner Inanna – though in that case they were likely the result of conflation of Ninshubur with the male messenger deity Papsukkal, while in the case of Shaushka the dual nature seems to be inherent to her (I haven't seen any in depth study of this matter yet, sadly, so I can't really tell confidently which modern term in my opinion describes Shaushka's character the best). Her two attendants, musician goddesses Ninatta and Kulitta, do not share it. Shaushka's other unique niche is her role in exorcisms and incantations, and by extension with curing various diseases – this role outlived her cult itself, as late Assyrian inscriptions still associated the “Ishtar of Nineveh” (at times viewed as separate from the regular Ishtar) with healing. It can be argued that even her sexual aspect was connected to healing, as she was invoked to cure impotence. The most significant myth in which she appears is the cycle dedicated to documenting the storm god's (Teshub for the Hurrians, Tarhunna for the Hittites) rise to power. Shaushka is depicted as his sister and arguably most reliable ally, and plays a prominent role in two sections in particular – the Song of Hedammu and the Song of Ullikummi. In the former, she seemingly comes up with an elaborate plan to defeat a new enemy of her brother - the sea monster Hedammu - by performing a seductive dance and song montage (with her attendants as a support act) and offering an elixir to him. The exact result is uncertain, but Hedammu evidently ends up vanquished. In the latter, she attempts to use the same gambit against yet another new foe, the “diorite man” Ullikummi – however, since he is unfeeling like a rock, she fails; some translators see this passage as comedic. However, elsewhere in the Song, the storm god's main enemy Kumarbi and his minions view Shaushka as a formidable warrior, and in the early installment of the cycle, Song of LAMMA, she seemingly partakes in a fight. In another myth, known only from a few fragments and compared to the Sumerian text “Inanna and the huluppu tree,” Shaushka takes care of “Ḫašarri” - a personification of olive oil, or a sentient olive tree. It seems that she has to protect this bizarre entity from various threats. While Shaushka lived on in Mesopotamia as “Ishtar of Nineveh,” this was far from the only “variant”of Ishtar in her homeland.

Nanaya was another such goddess. A few Sumerian hymns mention her alongside Inanna, the Sumerian equivalent of Ishtar, by the time of Sargon of Akkad virtually impossible to separate from her. As one composition puts it, Nanaya was “properly educated by holy Inana” and “counselled by holy Inana.” Initially she was most likely a part of Inanna's circle of deities in her cult center, Uruk, though due to shared character they eventually blurred together to a large degree. Just like Inanna/Ishtar, Nanaya was a goddess of love, described as beautiful and romantically and sexually active, and she too had an astral character. She was even celebrated during the same holidays as Inanna. Some researchers go as far as suggest Nanaya was only ever Inanna/Ishtar in her astral aspect alone and not a separate goddess. However, there is also evidence of her, Inanna and the sky god An being regarded as a trinity of distinct tutelary deities in Uruk. Additionally, king Melishipak's kudurru shown above shows both Nanaya (seated) and Ishtar/Inanna (as a star). Something peculiar to Nanaya was her later association with the scribe god Nabu. Sometimes Nabu's consort was the the goddess Tashmetu instead, but I can't find any summary explaining potential differences between them – it seems just like Nanaya, she was a goddess of love, including its physical aspects. Regardless of the name used to describe Nabu's wife, she was regarded as a sage and scribe like him – this arguably gives her a distinct identity she lacked in her early role as part of Inanna's circle. As the above examples demonstrate, the popularity of the “Ishtar type” was exceptional in the Bronze Age – but is it odd from a modern perspective? The myths dedicated to her are still quite fun to read today – much like any hero of ancient imagination she has a plethora of adversaries, a complex love life (not to mention many figures not intended to be read as her lovers originally but described in such terms that it's easy to see them this way today – including other women), a penchant for reckless behavior – and most importantly a consistent, easy to summarize character. She shouldn't be a part of modern mass consciousness only because of false 19th century claims detached from her actual character (both these from Hislop's works and “secular”claims about her purported “real”character based on flimsy reasoning and shoddy sources) – isn't a female character who is allowed to act about the same way as male mythical figures do without being condemned for it pretty much what many modern mythology retellings try to create? Further reading: On Astarte: -entry in the Iconography of Deities and Demons in Ancient Near East database by Izak Cornelius -‛Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts by Mark S. Smith -ʿAthtartu’s Incantations and the Use of Divine Names as Weapons by Theodore J. Lewis -The Other Version of the Story of the Storm-god’s Combat with the Sea in the Light of Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hurro-Hittite Texts by Noga Ayali-Darshan -for a summary of evidence that Astarte has nothing to do with Asherah see A Reassessment of Asherah With Further Considerations of the Goddess by Steve A. Wiggins On Shaushka: -Adapting Mesopotamian Myth in Hurro-Hittite Rituals at Hattuša: IŠTAR, the Underworld, and the Legendary Kings by Mary R. Bacharova -Ishtar seduces the Sea-serpent. A new join in the epic of Ḫedammu (KUB 36, 56 + 95) and its meaning for the battle between Baal and Yam in Ugaritic tradition by Meindert Dijkstra -Ištar of Nineveh Reconsidered by Gary Beckman -Shaushka, the Traveling Goddess by Graciela Gestoso Singer -Hittite Myths by Harry A. Hoffner jr. -The Hurritic Myth about Šaušga of Nineveh and Ḫašarri (CTH 776.2) by Meindert Dijkstra -The West Hurian Pantheon and its Background by Alfonso Archi On Nanaya: -entry in Brill’s New Pauly by Thomas Richter -entry from the Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses project by Ruth Horry -A tigi to Nanaya for Ishbi-Erra from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -A balbale to Inana as Nanaya from The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature -More Light on Nanaya by Michael P. Streck and Nathan Wasserman -More on the Nature and History of the Goddess Nanaya by Piotr Steinkeller A few introductory Ishtar/Inanna myths: -Inanna's descent to the netherworld -Inanna and the huluppu tree -Inanna and Enki -Enki and the world order -Inanna and Ebih -Dumuzid and Enkimdu

#mesopotamian mythology #sumerian mythology #inanna #ishtar #astarte

96 notes · View notes