#the great Amazon heist
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Amazon's bestselling "bitter lemon" energy drink was bottled delivery driver piss
Today (Oct 20), I'm in Charleston, WV at Charleston's Taylor Books from 12h-14h.
For a brief time this year, the bestselling "bitter lemon drink" on Amazon was "Release Energy," which consisted of the harvested urine of Amazon delivery drivers, rebottled for sale by Catfish UK prankster Oobah Butler in a stunt for a new Channel 4 doc, "The Great Amazon Heist":
https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-great-amazon-heist
Collecting driver piss is surprisingly easy. Amazon, you see, puts its drivers on a quota that makes it impossible for them to drive safely, park conscientiously, or, indeed, fulfill their basic human biological needs. Amazon has long waged war on its employees' kidneys, marking down warehouse workers for "time off task" when they visit the toilets.
As tales of drivers pissing – and shitting! – in their vans multiplied, Amazon took decisive action. The company enacted a strict zero tolerance policy for drivers returning to the depot with bottles of piss in their vans.
That's where Butler comes in: the roads leading to Amazon delivery depots are lined with bottles of piss thrown out of delivery vans by drivers who don't want to lose their jobs, which made harvesting the raw material for "Release Energy" a straightforward matter.
Butler was worried that he wouldn't be able to list his product on Amazon because he didn't have the requisite "food and drinks licensing" certificates, so he listed his drink in Amazon's refillable pump dispenser category. But Amazon's systems detected the mismatch and automatically shifted the product into the drinks section.
Butler enlisted some confederates to place orders for his drink, and it quickly rocketed to the top of Amazon's listings for the category, which led to Amazon's recommendation engine pushing the item on people who weren't in on the gag. When these orders came in, Butler pulled the plug, but not before an Amazon rep telephoned him to pitch him turning packaging, shipping and fulfillment over to Amazon:
https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-let-its-drivers-urine-be-sold-as-an-energy-drink/
The Release Energy prank was just one stunt Butler pulled for his doc; he also went undercover at an Amazon warehouse, during a period when Amazon hired an extra 1,000 workers for its warehouses in Coventry, UK, in a successful bid to dilute pro-union sentiment in his workforce in advance of a key union vote:
https://jacobin.com/2023/10/the-great-amazon-heist-oobah-butler-review
Butler's stint as an Amazon warehouse worker only lasted a couple of days, ending when Amazon recognized him and fired him.
The contrast between Amazon's ability to detect an undercover reporter and its inability to spot bottles of piss being marketed as bitter lemon energy drink says it all, really. Corporations like Amazon hire vast armies of "threat intelligence" creeps who LARP at being CIA superspies, subjecting employees and activists to intense and often illegal surveillance.
But while Amazon's defensive might is laser-focused on the threat of labor organizers and documentarians, the company can't figure out that one of its bestselling products is bottles of its tormented drivers' own urine.
In the USA, the FTC is suing Amazon for its monopolistic tactics, arguing that the company has found ways to raise prices and reduce quality by trapping manufacturers and sellers with its logistics operation, taking $0.45-$0.51 out of every dollar they earn and forcing them to raise prices at all retailers:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos
The Release Energy stunt shows where Amazon's priorities are. Not only did Release Energy get listed on Amazon without any quality checks, the company actually nudged it into a category where it was more likely to be consumed by a person. The only notice the company took of Release Energy was in its logistics and manufacturing department – the part of the business that extracts the monopoly rents at issue in the FTC case – which tracked Butler down in order to sell him these services.
The drivers whose piss Butler collected don't work directly for Amazon, they work for a Delivery Service Partner. These DSPs are victims of a pyramid scheme that Amazon set up. DSP operators lease vans and pay to have them skinned in Amazon livery and studded with Amazon sensors. They take out long-term leases on depots, and hire drivers who dress in Amazon uniforms. Their drivers are minutely monitored by Amazon, down to the movements of their eyeballs.
But none of this is "Amazon" – it's all run by an "entrepreneur," whom Amazon can cut loose without notice, leaving them with unfairly terminated employees, outstanding workers' comp claims, a fleet of Amazon-skinned vehicles and unbreakable facilities leases:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/
Speaking to Wired, Amazon denied that it forces its drivers to piss in bottles, but Butler clearly catches a DSP dispatcher telling drivers "If you pee in a bottle and leave it [in the vehicle], you will get a point for that" – that is, the part you get punished for isn't the peeing, it's the leaving.
Amazon's defense against the FTC is that it spares no effort to keep its marketplace safe. As Amazon spokesperson James Drummond says, they use "industry-leading tools to prevent genuinely unsafe products being listed." But the only industry-leading tools in evidence are tools to bust unions and screw suppliers.
In her landmark Yale Law Review paper, "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," FTC Chair Lina Khan makes a brilliant argument that Amazon's alleged benefits to "consumers" are temporary at best, illusory at worst:
https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox
In Butler's documentary, Khan's hypothesis is thoroughly validated: here's a company extracting hundreds of billions from merchants who raise prices to compensate, and those monopoly rents are "invested" in union-busting and countermeasures against investigative journalists, while the tools to keep you from accidentally getting a bottle of piss in the mail are laughably primitive.
Truly, Amazon is the apex predator of the platform era:
https://pluralistic.net/ApexPredator
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon
My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!
#pluralistic#release energy#channel 4#amazon#corporate intelligence#labor#unions#amazon labor union#the great Amazon heist#catfish uk#oobah butler#delivery service partner
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What's an obscure piece of media you wish more people knew about?
hi! I'm honestly so bad at judging what's obscure and what's not. In high school, I genuinely thought my music taste was alternative because I was the only person in my group of friends who listened to the Jonas Brothers. so idk if this is obscure media but it's media I love that I wish I could talk to people more about:
Some Girls (2012-14) - this sitcom series about 4 high school besties who live around the same housing estate was EVERYTHING to me. think Derry Girls/Sex Education but in the early 2010s with working class poc. I still quote this show at least once a week and miss it dearly even tho it ended exactly as it should!!
While The Men Are Away (2023-?) - lesbian period drama comedy about a bunch of Australian lesbians on the WW2 homefront in regional Australia. Beautifully horny show that also has STUNNING representation of immigrant and Indigenous experiences of the time.
Clarice (2020) - silence of the lambs sequel series that follows Clarice Sterling on a case 2 years after her encounter with Hannibal Lector. so sad this was cancelled but it's still a great season of tv!
The Underground Railroad (2021) - limited series on Amazon Prime about the Underground Railroad. Tw for literally everything, BUT it's directed by Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and his hands down some of the most beautiful TV I've ever seen.
The Silent Sea (2020) - limited series on Netflix about some astronauts sent to a mining station on the moon where something has infected all the crew.
The OA (2016-18) - difficult to describe this show but it's everything to me. theeeeee show about multiverses. Ahead of its time, gone too soon 💔
But 2 genuinely obscure pieces of media I think people should watch, especially rn, are Salt of this Sea (a film about a Palestinian-American woman heisting an Israeli bank to get her grandfather's money back) and the 2019 sci-fi short film In Vitro about an elderly Palestinian woman in an underground bunker trying to pass on why she's here to another Palestinian woman but neither can remember.
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Do you like ... böøkes?
Khaldaia Chronicles is an Epic Fantasy series inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, with a diverse cast, a sense of humour, and a sweeping, evolving plotline set across four nations.
Following Theodosia Archmail, a young mage whose powerful mother has high expectations of her, the story sees her thrown ten years into the future, into an era where the world as she knew it has collapsed, falling under the authoritarian thumb of the Blood Moon Church. To survive and set right what’s gone wrong, she must team up with Tamara Redgrave, a former pirate captain turned reluctant nun; Jakob Riordain, a librarian with the ability to see the flow of magic; Ser Lance de Orleans, a Knight of the Ardent Church and the son of a Great House; Rook, a pragmatic and jaded mercenary with a mechanical arm; and Snuffles, a demon, mercenary, and the exiled prince of far Tengetsu.
The series so far:
Umbral Ten: Rated 5 Stars on Reader’s Favorite!
Waking up in the desolate Starkwind Monastery, Theo must band together with her fellow time-displaced survivors, discover what happened to the monastery, and find a way off the island. That last won’t be so easy, though, as her actions draw down the wrath of the Blood Moon Inquisition, led by old friend and fellow mage Elizabet, who will slaughter the island’s inhabitants if Theo can’t protect them.
Umbral Ten is available in eBook, paperback, hardback, or on Kindle Unlimited at Amazon.
Chrysalides: Reaching the mainland, the party arrives at the town of Goldenrose, a desolate place under the thumb of the demonic Sheriff Boisduval and his Goat-Headed Doctor. They swiftly become wrapped up in a local resistance cell, the Jackdaws, who want their help with a dangerous mission: A heist to steal the Doctor’s greatest treasure. As they make preparations for the heist, however, it becomes apparent that not all the Jackdaws may be trustworthy.
Chrysalides is available in eBook, paperback, hardback, or Kindle Unlimited at Amazon.
Our Upsetting Foulweather Friends: Continuing their journey into the mountains of Aldwick, the party reaches the town of Karminrot in time for a strange festival, administered by a mysterious band of Tragedians. As the ugly truth of the festival becomes apparent and the party’s help is enlisted, they find themselves set against the seemingly immortal Tragedians, whose centuries long task may be entwined with the Witch who summoned them through time. Worse still, when Snuffles encounters an old friend among the Tragedians, it seems as if he may betray the party.
Our Upsetting Foulweather Friends is available in eBook, paperback, hardback, or Kindle Unlimited at Amazon.
The Bishop King: Finally arriving in Lordgarde, the capital of Aldwick, the party receives help from an unlikely source: The usurper king Alcides, a loyalist of the Blood Moon Church. Alcides has a simple task for them: Assassinate Ser Gorre, Apostle Knight of the Church. Alcides has his own agenda, though, and he’s not the only one -- as schemes collide, the party finds themselves at the epicentre of a clash of interests.
The Bishop King is available in eBook, paperback, or Kindle Unlimited at Amazon.
Hardback coming in July.
There’s also an omnibus of the first three books (Umbral Ten, Chrysalides, and Our Upsetting Foulweather Friends) which can be found here.
Book V: City of the Dying is currently scheduled for Early 2023.
If you’re interested, take a look and maybe read some! And if you want to support me as an author, reblogging this post goes a long, long way towards doing that and only takes a second. I will honestly love you forever if you do.
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Helloooooo great writer. Just want to ask if you knew when you are going to update your fanfic ? shanks's birthday or after ? thank you pleas continue your beautiful work <3
Hi! I'm not sure exactly which fanfic you're referring to (but then to be fair I have a lot of WIPs), but here's my current list of planned updates!
Mnemosyne - Chapter 25+26/27. The amnesia AU where Makino ends up raising Shanks' daughter on Amazon Lily. ✅
Heart and Anchor - Chapter 2+3/?. An AU of Mnemosyne where Makino doesn't end up on Amazon Lily but raises her daughter in Fuschia with ASL. ✅
Moon and Her Maiden - Chapter 6/6. My Shanks x Makino Selkie AU. ✅
Tideswept - Chapter 7/8. My Shanks x Makino Royal/Arranged Marriage AU. ✅
Andromeda Unbound - Chapter 8/8. My Reverie/Heist/Everyone-Crashes-Shanks' Execution AU.
On the Water - Chapter 4/5. The pirate!Makino fic featuring Shanks and Makino's travelling bar, set during the current canon storyline.
Salt Vows - Chapter 2/?. The fic where the navy finds out about Makino. ✅
......like I said, I have a lot of projects, but many of them only have one or two chapters left, and this is the year I aim to finish them! (She says confidently, or you know, like a fool).
But my undying gratitude to the people who comment on long-since-updated fics with kindness and excitement. You are the reason these stories are picked up and dusted off, even if it's been years<3
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~Lupin The Third vs Cat's Eye~
Will debut January 27th, 2023 world wide via Amazon Video .
(Synopsis)
"1981, Tokyo.
The beautiful kisugi sisters, Hitomi, Rui, and Ai, run a coffee shop during the day but at night, are secretly japans mysterious art thieves known as Cat's Eye. During their heist of the famous painting "Bouquet and Girl", one of three in a trilogy of paintings; the girls are out-smarted by the master thief himself, the great Lupin The Third, who is after the famous art collection of Michael Heinz.
As paths are crossed and the bullets start flying, cat's eye and lupin the third must go toe to toe and unravel the long-buried mystery behind the disappearance of Michael Heinz, father of the kisugi sisters".
youtube
(More info to come, stay tuned !!!)
#lupin iii#jigen daisuke#lupin the third#inspector zenigata#goemon ishikawa xiii#fujiko mine#lupin the 3rd#yuji ohno#50th anniversary#monkey punch#cat's eye#hitomi kisugi#ai kisugi#Youtube#rui kisugi#Toshio Utsumi#tsukasa hojo
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Future Competitions
In light of recent requests and submissions, once this competition is over, we'll be starting back up again with a whole new set of books! If you'd like to submit a title, check my pinned post and the list below to make sure your submission is eligible. I can no longer add to this list. Any further titles are being kept privately by me, but there are there, I promise! I am now tagging asks with the titles submitted.
A to Z Mysteries
Abhorsen
A Dog's Life
Adventure (Blyton)
Adventures of the Bailey School Kids
Adventurers Wanted
Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians
Alex Rider
All-of-a-Kind Family
The American Girl Books
Amulet
Anne of Green Gables
Animal Ark
Animorphs
Applewhites
The Babysitter's Club
The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Beacon Street Girls
Beatrice Bailey
The Belgariad
Bella Sara
Betsy-Tacy
Black Beauty
The Black Stallion
The Blackwell Pages
Books of Bayern
The Borrowers
Bridge to Terabithia
The Boxcar Children
Captain Underpants
Casson Family
The Cat Club
Catwings
Charlotte's Web
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci
The Chronicles of Dragon
The Chronicles of Prydain
The Circle of Magic
Clementine
The Clique
The Cloak Society
Cobble Street Cousins
The Cooper Kids Adventures
Coraline
Damar (McKinley)
The Dark Hills Divide
The Dark Is Rising
Dear America
Dear Canada
Deltora Quest
The Divide (Kay)
Dork Diaries
Dragonbreath
The Dragonfly Pool
Dragonhaven
Dragon Rider
Dragon Slayer's Academy
Earthsea Cycle
East (Pattou)
Echo (Ryan)
Edgar & Ellen
Emily (Montgomery)
Emily Windsnap
The Enchanted Castle
Encyclopedia Brown
Esperanza Rising
The Ever Afters
The Faerie Realm
Fablehaven
Fairyland (Valente)
The Faraway Tree
Ferngully
First Light (Stead)
Five Children and It
Flat Stanley
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Gallagher Girls
Geronimo Stilton
The Girl Who Drank the Moon
The Giver
Goddess Girls
Goosebumps
Graceling
The Great Brain
The Greenglass House
Gunnerkrigg Court
Half Upon a Time
The Hardy Boys
Hatchet
Heist Society
Help, I'm Trapped...
His Dark Materials
Holes
How to Train Your Dragon
The Hunger Games
Igraine the Brave
The Immortals Quartet
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place
Ingo (Dunmore)
The Inheritance Cycle
Inkheart
Iron Hearted Violet
Island of the Aunts
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Ivy & Bean
Journey to the River Sea
Julie of the Wolves
Junie B. Jones
The Kane Chronicles
The Kid Who Ran for President
Kiki Strike
Killer Unicorns
Kingdom Keepers
The Last Apprentice
The Letter for the King
La Quête d’Ewilan (in French)
Legend (Lu)
Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude (in French)
Leven Thumps
Liesl & Po
Little House on the Prairie
A Little Princess
Little Women
Lockwood & Co.
The Lost Conspiracy
Macdonald Hall
The Magic Thief
Magic Treehouse
The Magisterium
Magnus Chase
Malory Towers
Matt Cruse
Maximum Ride
Melissa (Gino)
Merlin (Barron)
Michael Vey
Miri and Molly
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
The Missing (Haddix)
Mister Max
The Mistmantle Chronicles
Misty (Henry)
Molly Moon
The Moorchild
Mr. Lemoncello's Library
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
The Music of Dolphins
My Secret Unicorn
My Side of the Mountain
My Teacher Is an Alien
Nancy Drew
Nevermoor
The Neverending Story
Nimona
The Ogre Downstairs
Out of My Mind
The Penderwicks
Pendragon
Peter and the Starcatchers
The Phantom Stallion
The Phantom Tollbooth
Pillage (Skye)
Pippi Longstocking
Pixie Tricks
Poison (Zinn)
Pony Pals
Princess Academy
Protector of the Small
Rainbow Magic
Rain Reign
Ramona
Regarding the...
The Roman Mysteries
Rose (Webb)
Rowan of Rin
The Royal Diaries
Running Out of Time
Sammy Keyes
Savvy
School of Fear
The Search for Wondla
The Secret Garden
The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
The Secret Series
Septimus Heap
A Series of Unfortunate Events
The Seventh Tower
Shadow Children (Haddix)
Silver Brumby
Silverwing
Skullduggery Pleasant
Song of the Lioness
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Stardust
Stargirl
The Strictest School in the World
Swallows and Amazons
Sweet Valley High
The Swiss Family Robinson
A Tale Dark & Grimm
The Tale of Despereaux
Tales of Alderley
Tales of Magic
Ten Kids, No Pets
The Thief Lord
Tiffany Aching
Tillerman Cycle
Time Hunters
The Trumpet of the Swan
Tuck Everlasting
Tuesday McGillycuddy
The Two Princesses of Bamarre
Uglies
Un Lun Dun
Undertow
Unicorn Chronicles
Upon a Marigold
Upside-Down Magic
The Vengekeep Prophecies
The View from Saturday
The War That Saved My Life
Wayside School
The Westing Game
When You Reach Me
Where the Red Fern Grows
Wildwood Chronicles
Windsingers
Wings & Co.
Winnie the Pooh
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Worst Witch
You Be the Jury
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Definitive DBH > Saints Row Reboot > Fallout Crossover Timeline
Thanks to @grubhubgamingofficial for helping me fix it.
Tagging @marcusrobertobaq @ltcolonelcarter @thirium-800 now we have actual placement of events! Obviously Nuka World is retconned to Pre-War, and the Dustmoot DLC will be updated as soon as it comes out later this year.
Pre-War (2030 - 2077)
Nuka World opens (2030)
Detroit: Become Human Peaceful Ending, Kara crosses Canadian border but Luther Dies, CLT results in RK800 -60 success/Nuka World: All Aboard - Power Play, side with The Disciples and The Operators (between August 15 to November 12, 2038, All Aboard begins a week after The Hostage)
Ultor Corporation acquires Cyberlife after retail sales slump, the corporation unveils the RK900 production model in the first financial quarter of the year (2039)
Santo Ileso owned company, Marshall Defense Industries expands to an international market with headquarters in Sydney, Dubai, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin and Paris (2040)
City Of Watoga, West Virginia is founded (2042)
RobCo Industries is founded by Robert House (2042)
A group of friends in Santo Ileso come together to form a criminal empire, Doc Ketchum holds the Murder Circus on New Birmingham Island, better known as Boothill (2043)
RK800 -51 (Connor) is re-activated in 52's recovered body (August 15, 2043)
The Heist And The Hazardous (July, 2044)
A Song Of Ice And Dust: the mighty Bossonius, along with Neenifer Leadfoot, Elijah The Wise and DJ Keviticus must unite with Gwendolyn Firebird to avenge the merged houses of Sandy Kraken and Phoenix from the Frostlanders (a LARP team from Meeker City cheat and steal in game macguffins to win that year's Great Tourney at the Dustfaire, Connor, The Saints and Gwen team up to kick their ass, meanwhile Kiki and Sixty head out for a last few weeks of summer road trip to Vallejo) (August, 2044)
Nuka World: Open Season (2045)
Resource Wars begin, UN and NATO Disband (2052)
US Frontline is established in Anchorage, Alaska (2059)
China and Russia invades Anchorage, Alaska, the Sino-Russo-American War begins (2066)
The U.S develop a superweapon to combat Chinese and Russian forces: Liberty Prime (2072)
Pan Immunity Virion Project begins (2073)
RobCo Industries buys out REPCONN Aerospace to compete directly with the Ultor Corporation (2076)
Vault 76 is unveiled and opened by Vault-Tec in West Virginia (2076)
Canada is annexed by the U.S (2076)
Fallout 4: Nora prologue/The Great War begins (October 23rd, 2077)
Post War (2077 - 2289)
Fallout 76 - side with Foundation (2102 - 2104)
Steel Dawn (2104)
Steel Reign - Side with Knight Shin, Paladin Rahmani leaves (2104)
Responders Reborn (2104)
Expeditions: The Pitt/Atlantic City? (2104)
Nuclear Winter (2108)
Fallout 1 (2161)
Fallout Tactics (2197)
Fallout Brotherhood Of Steel (2208)
Fallout 2 (2241)
Fallout 3 + DLC (2277)
Fallout New Vegas + DLC (2281)
Fallout 4 Main Questline Brotherhood Of Steel Ending, Free Lorenzo Cabot (Cabot House) + Automatron as The Silver Shroud (2287)
Far Harbor (2288)
Nick Valentine Mysteries: Death Shroud (2289)
Fallout - Amazon Prime series (2296)
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French viewing recs for you!
movies:
How I Became a Superhero - this is a super fun and creative little movie about how bonkers it would be if superpowers were real, if you're burned out on superheroes at all (understandable!) this might be refreshing
AKA - seemingly standard gritty action movie but wait! the main action guy has unexpected heartwarming dad vibes with the mafia boss's adorable young son!
The Takedown - action comedy starring the guy from Lupin
shows:
Lupin - you're probably already aware of this one, season 3 just dropped, super charming mystery thriller heist antics thing, the main character has a guest appearance in one of my fics
Jusqu'ici tout va bien | Thicker than Water - crime thriller with just a super compelling main character, she's a protective older sister who ends up an accidental druglord maybe? you'll recognize her boyfriend from Disorder
Into the Night - environmental disaster survivors thriller, political in ways that are sometimes clunky and sometimes really interesting, stressful to watch at times but highly recommend if you like that sort of thing
Le Bazar de la Charité | The Bonfire of Destiny and Les combattantes | Women at War - soapy period dramas
plus a bonus rec that's not in French but it's my very favorite of my non-English watching: Onisciente. Brazilian scifi mystery that's sort of a dystopia but remarkably upbeat? hard to describe but I love the main character so much, I feel like she and Nile would dig each other
also also! I haven't seen this one yet, just discovered it when I was looking up titles for these recs: Oxygen, a scifi thriller starring Booker's wife's namesake Mélanie Laurent
I'm all ears if you've got recs en español! <3333
Dirah!! Thank you so much!! These all sound very intriguing <3<3<3
How I became a superhero I think I watched it, or maybe started it at least lol AKA and The Takedown are def going on the list!!
LUPIN YEAH I love it haha I'm about to start the last episode of part 3 rn! Jusqu'ice tout va bien sounds interesting too (reminds me of La Haine which I doubt is a coincidence lol) Into The Night I actually started and abandoned :/ just didn't click at the time, can't say why. I'll keep Le Bazard and Les Combattantes in mind but I'm not super into soapy and period and drama together haha
I haven't heard of Onisciente but I WILL keep it in mind, it sounds great, and Oxygen sounds maddening lol
Hmm I find it hard to think of recs cause I have no idea where they might be available with English subs! I'll leave you some anyways
Nueve Reinas: A movie about an amateur conman and the mentor who decides to train him for a big strike. Set in the late 90s Argentina. It either won an Oscar or was nominated if you care about that sort of thing
Los Simuladores: TV series, also heist/conmen vibes, I've yelled about it a lot
Relatos Salvajes | Wild Tales: Five stories of violence set in different parts of Argentina, a dark comedy is how I'd best describe it
El Reino: Series, 2 seasons so far, A crime drama about an Evangelist presidential candidate with a murky background. Second season is more of a political drama but I haven't finished it yet!
Argentina, 1985: A drama following the attorney general who carried about the trials against the top leaders of the last dictatorship. Based on true events, not a lot of fun but in my opinion very well done. Also Oscar nominated. It's on Amazon Prime. In the same vein but fictional: La Historia Oficial
Un Cuento Perfecto: Spanish series, pure romcom very cute!
El Robo del Siglo: Heist movie based on a true story of a crew that robbed a bank. More of a comedy
Muerte en Buenos Aires | Death in Buenos Aires: crime-ish movie with very big homoerotic vibes, I really enjoyed it. Also, Chino Darín POR FAVOR QUE HERMOSO QUE ES
El Secreto De Sus Ojos | The Secret in Their Eyes: NOT the usamerican version with Jessica Chastain (why????), the argentinian one, deals with rape and murder so you gotta be ready for that
Just in general Almodóvar is a great filmaker though he likes a lot of shadier themes, his movies feature cheating, murder, incest, rape and etc. Guillermo del Toro's Laberinto del Fauno is vvv good if you want some fantasy! Sorry I went very argentinian on this but it's what I've seen the most haha and not a lot of action because we ain't got the budget akhdfñg
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I thought I was only gonna make a review at the end, as this is a standalone, and I wasn't super into it at first, but this chapter has been the most thrilling so far. which is a pity since it's only a flashback chapter. but even in this chapter, it feels like I'm reading an introduction still. there is so much worldbuilding still going on and I'm still a little lost and every sentence has five lore words, so I have to look into the glossary every 2 secs. I do have to admit that might also be bc I know zero south-east asian languages. but I'm also having a bit of a hard time with the world itself. I thought this was gonna be high fantasy but it's kind of sci fi too?
on a positive note though, I do like this chapter for its action scenes. it's giving auror/order duty and crows mission/heist. I generally have this weird thing where I have to imagine a fantasy magic story is set in a world that I already know well but like an au or future version /in this case), in order to motivate me lol. I imagine the theonite world as a modern grishaverse, it also makes sense bc of the "races" and the elemental magic for the most part. it's essentially about tidemakers and misaki is a corporalnik too (more heartrender than healer) and there are two inferni in this scene including robin, and elleen (who is kaelish "coded") is something akin to a sun summoner (the holographic thing she can do is really cool) and koli is a materialnik etc. to me it fits even more than it did with the grishaverse as a wizarding world au. also, they call misaki shadow, like hello wraith. but at the same time they are basically superheroes, especially with the firebird symbol printed on robins back. (I also just realized the misaki flashback plot is basically the plot of miraculous ladybug?)
to summarize, I'm a nerd (and autistic) and just like to know the ins and outs of a magic world and dislike stepping into a new one. so, interesting that I chose to read a fantasy standalone this time... I guess I just wanted to try it out. I feel like its gonna leave me unsatisfied though. but we'll see.
also very interesting to me is that this is called adult fantasy, since I can't see much of a difference to YA yet. I do see how GOT and e.g. the grishaverse are different, but that's also bc one is high fantasy and the other one is idk, something else. so far in this book there is as much gore as in the grisha books (think soc and oomen's eye), and even as in hp if I recall correctly. I think it's generally funny that hp is considered a middle grade series bc by dh it's at least YA. also, in this book the protagonist (or one of the two) is literally a 14 year old. and misaki is an angsty teenager in this chapter, they even have a romance trope. it also makes me kinda angry bc I recently saw a post about how YA writers are just too bad to write adult fiction and it's so untrue?? of course there are badly written YA books, but so are adult fantasy ones? and not to mention those two series again, but hp and the soc and kos duologies are objectively well written? ok, not objectively maybe, but a lot of people would agree. and I am well out of the main YA target group, I'm in my mid 20s and I honestly still love those books (even if I haven't read any new good series in a while). I mean reading YA at that age does say something about me, but still... ok, rant over.
anyway, I'm starting to enjoy this book even though the writing style is not teribbly great imo (not bad but it could be better), but I hope the main story gets a bit more exciting in a bit. I personally would've put this chapter right at the beginning. btw, I really can't tell how far I am in this book bc I'm reading it as an ebook (as it seems not to be available in europe in english, only off of amazon u.s. with really long delivery), but I feel like I've been reading this quite a bit.
#sam reading#the sword of kaigen#chapter 6#six of crows#order of the phoenix#harry potter#grishaverse#wizarding world#tsusano misaki#robin thundyil#elleen elden#miraculous ladybug#game of thrones#matsuda mamoru#ya fantasy#adult fantasy#fantasy
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Such is the start of a journey that takes the viewer through Amazon’s operations. In the course of the one-hour special, Butler works at a fulfillment center, sells a drink made of Amazon drivers’ pee on the company’s platform, has his very young nieces buy knives and rat poison through Alexa, and executes a complex scheme involving filling potholes around London with filler purchased on Amazon before then getting refunded for said filler by returning the packages loaded with sand.
The Great Amazon Heist Takes the Piss Out of a Terrible Company
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Dear Yuletide Writer 2023
Here are some things I think are rad: snark. friendships. sneaky twisty endings. stories with bite. characters with personalities. stories that make their writers happy. mythology. humor. stories that dig into and expand on the canon, whether that’s backstory or minor characters or worldbuilding. brown paper packages tied up with string.
Stuff I’m not so keen on: rape, incest, mentions of RL pandemics/quarantines or cancer? more into het and femslash than slash. no modern AUs for the fandoms I’ve selected this year, as I’m interested in the canon settings; AUs that preserve the canon setting (either canon divergence or trope-based [soulmate, daemons, fantasy elements in non-fantasy canons]) are not just fine but would be much adored!
Treat Policy: Yes, please!
Fandoms Requested: Kandukondain Kandukondain… (2000), New Life Begins (TV), Spymaster series- Joanna Bourne
Kandukondain Kandukondain…
Characters: Any
Where To Find Source: Available on Amazon/Youtube/video streaming source of your choice!
This movie is such comfort-film fuel, with characters who are genuinely kind, clever, and funny. I also love how the original JA characters and plot and transplanted so cleverly, with clear love for the original source, but more importantly, that captures Austen’s talent for satire. I laughed out loud at the film industry parody, and the other small town scenes (the cat wedding at the beginning! what a delightful detail)
*Soumya and Manohar, after. I love gentle, established relationships in fiction–and the contrast between Manohar’s flashy film background and Soumya’s snark and steady competence is great. Tell me about the years that came after, or different ways they might have met and fell in love!
* Kamala (who wants to grow up and marry C.V.Raman! My favorite version of Margaret Dashwood!) futurefic? What amazing future does she have? How are her relationships with her sisters/brothers-in-law?
* A crossover with any other Austen couple, similarly transported to this setting? Or, if you want to work this into Kamala and Nandini Varma-centric fic, that would be superb!
*Or, if you just want to celebrate and tell me the filmography/backstory/general awesomeness of Nandini Varma, LADY SUPERSTAR, ACTION HERO, be my guest!
--
New Life Begins (TV)
Characters Requested: Any
Where To Find Source Material: Available with subs for free on Youtube, HERE! (40 episodes x ~40-45 min each)
This series is a fun, frothy delight built around a solid foundation of feminism, and I love the gentle humor that nevertheless never forgets the actual darkness of the world these characters live in. I love exploring all these characters and the worldbuilding (the different kingdoms! their cultural differences and values! What would the subtle differences be in a shared legend or myth found in this world depending on the biases of each state? I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW.) but honestly I would be delighted with anything that captures the tone of canon.
Ensemble fic with the characters solving a political problem, or mystery, or carrying off the zaniest of heists--essentially, anything that requires our leads to show off their individual strengths and talents would be amazing.
Or, if you are a fan of AUs, what havoc would a soulmate or daemon AU of any sort cause in this universe? Particularly with the different states' approaches to marriage and society, worldbuilding further would be extremely fun to read! How different is say, Xin State's explanation for a daemon as compared to Dan's? Does every state have a different soulmark/soulmate identification trope, and does this cause even more chaos to their respective relationships?
On which note: I am pretty open to most ships in this universe, actually! I find Yin Zheng/Li Wei too cute to break up entirely, and enjoy pretty much all the eventual canon couples, and would prefer no endgame ships with Crown Prince (though incorporating his canonical relationships with Hao Jia and Zhao Fangru is fine), but other than that, I don't have any hard preferences.
--
Spymaster Series- Joanna Bourne
Characters Requested: Justine DeCabrillac, Adrian “Hawker” Hawkhurst
Where to Find Source Material: Your local library, bookstore, or ebook supplier!
The Spymaster series is all brilliant characterization and intrigue. The action plots are superbly paced, where the romance doesn’t take up too much from the main plot, and the limited perspective works so well–the Annique twist in the first book took me utterly by surprise, and then delighted me.
So writer, if your long standing dream has been to write canon-typical plotfic, I would be so ecstatic! Couples working and bantering together is always one of my favorite things to read, and the espionage aspect of this series is a particular strength . While we see a lot of glimpses of the Adrian-Justine relationship, I think there’s always room for more, so whether you want to add a post-canon adventure, or invent one we didn’t see between flashbacks, it would be great!
I also love these characters, and their relationship–I love the pining in the face of duty, the very real tragedy* I love how it extends in bits and pieces of the years, I love how it’s frequently interpreted and misinterepreted through outsider POVs. Something that plays with outsider POVs would also be so fascinating, again, at any time during the series; or, what a happily ever after looks like for these two crazy kids.
*again, DNW caveat: it’s okay to acknowledge canon-accurate mentions of prior assault in this case, but I would really prefer that it be kept to a minimum, with no on-screen incidences.
I was lucky enough to get amazing Cami/Pax exchange fic for the prompt "5 ways they didn't meet and one way they did" and if you want to adapt that (or another 5+1 AU format) to Adrian and Justine's story, that would be great!
Finally, although I haven’t formally requested, Annique (and her irreverent narration) is always a delight. I love her instant platonic-soulmates friendship with Adrian, and I am intrigued by Joanna Bourne’s words on her blog on how Annique compares with Justine:
When I was writing Annique, I was making her the other side of the coin with Justine.
They were both child spies, about the same age. Both raised by Lucille. One relatively protected, innocent, a child of the light, one who had not killed. The other abandoned and debauched, a child with little light inside her, a willing killer.
And they knew each other, of course, as they were growing up. They were more than a little jealous. When Annique makes the remark about the doppleganger, she’s thinking of Justine.
Adrian, in TSL, come fresh from one side of the coin to the other and neither Annique nor Adrian realize this.
This is such an amazing dynamic we never see on-screen, and I would love to dig into it further at both ends.
I hope at least some of these prompts help! Thank you in advance and have a wonderful Yuletide yourself:D
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I’ve followed you for a long time, idk why tbh but, wtf is critical role? you’re always tagging spoilers about it and idk what to make of it 😅
I don't know what constitutes "a long time", but honestly, kind of impressive you haven't picked up anything via like...Tumblr dash osmosis since it feels like most of my blog these days is just Critical Role junk.
Anyway! Critical Role! A bunch of professional voice actor friends all get together every week for a session of their D&D 5e campaign. There's been three of campaigns so far. The first two are complete while the third is the currently airing one.
If you wanna start watching, you can start with any campaign that tickles your fancy. They're set in the same homebrewed universe but are largely self-contained. The only real important thing to know is that Campaign 1 production is a fair bit more scuffed than the second or third campaigns, but it's still enjoyable especially once they hit their stride.
The rule of thumb for CR1 is basically the show starts to hit a nice groove once Grog gets his beard.
But yeah, they've done smaller contained one-off episodes and miniseries too. And not everything is played in 5e. I'd recommend 'To the Poop!' the Pathfinder goblin or the first Honey Heist episode as great one-shots.
The first campaign is also currently being adapted as an animated series called The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime. Second Season for that starts Jan. 20th.
If you wanna know more, feel free to gimme a holler.
#Also this blog is firmly a 'CR1 starts at Episode 1' blog#none of this 'start at episode 27' bullpucky#Critical Role
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hiii no worries if you dont want to answer but i'm just wondering if you could recommend any recent aus tv shows?
hello and oooh yes I absolutely can!!!
In Limbo / watch on ABC Iview! Stars Ryan Corr and Bob Morely, a kind of dramedy ghost story about 2 best friends, one of whom dies and becomes a ghost bound to the other until they figure out why he's still stuck on Earth. Really lovely and they're such a great duo!
Class of '07 / Amazon Prime - easily in my top 5 shows of the year, comedy about a group of women who are at their 10 year private all girls school reunion when the apocalypse happens and they're all stuck together surviving.
True Colours / watch on SBS ON DEMAND - murder mystery about an Aboriginal woman who has to go back to her home town to investigate the strange death of a young woman.
New Gold Mountain / SBS ON DEMAND - period drama murder mystery about a group of Chinese gold miners during Australia's initial gold rush who are falsely accused of murdering a white woman.
Preppers / watch on ABC Iview - created by Nakkiah Lui, comedy about a young Aboriginal journalist who gets cancelled and runs away to her grandmother's land only to find her grandmother leased it to a bunch of hapless doomsday preppers.
The Unusual Suspects / SBS ON DEMAND - comedy drama about a group of filipino Australian women who try to heist a necklace from a rich white woman and it goes sideways.
Firebite / NITV and/or AMC - vampire drama about Aboriginal father-daughter vampire hunters hunting a vampire who came here during colonisation on the First Fleet.
The Newsreader (ABC) - starring Sam Reid and Anna Torv, about a local news station trying to keep afloat in the 80s, follows 2 tv journalists who fall in love and things just get messy. Honestly it's the best Australian drama in recent memory and season 2 is only a few months away!
Aunty Donna's Big Ol House of Fun (Netflix) & Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe (ABC) - 2 comedy sketch series courtesy of the iconic trio that is Aunty Donna. Great if you grew up loving The Young Ones, Monty Python or SNL when it was good.
I notice you have a shiv/sarah snook icon too. while it's not as recent as the one's above, the 2015 period drama The Secret River stars Sarah Snook and Oliver Jackson Cohen as 2 married convicts sent to start a new life in early colonial New South Wales and the challenges they face. It's not one of my favourites honestly (it's a little racist in spots because it's made by white women) but it's great performance from Sarah ❤️
Not sure what kind of shows you're into but hopefully there's something that tickles your fancy there.
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As someone who has watched too much tv for a long time i thought i should share with the group.
TV recs for the upcoming drought:
Some of these are harder to find, the tone and quality vary wildly, they're in no specific order. I tried for not too obscure, but not too obvious. Some are still airing, some are 20 yrs old. I swear I have a life.
Slings and Arrows. Early 2000s Canadian dramedy about theatre and shakespear. Fun without being shallow, aged ok, lovely performances, great writing. nuclear grade comfort watching.
Halt and Catch Fire. 2014 - 2017, US drama. Follows four characters through the 80s tech industry. First time I got the hype around Lee Pace. S1 is ok, but nothing special, s2 is a lot more interesting but kinda goes round in a circle. S3 and 4 and some of the best tv I've ever seen.
Somebody Somewhere. This is actually a new show, but has 2 seasons out if u want a gentle but never shallow comedy. Fills my sad gay heart with joy. And if want more new tv with middle aged gays Deadloch is streaming on amazon atm.
The Expanse. Finished recently. The sci fi I've always wanted. Big and scary and wonderful and pew pew pew space battles and adventure. Balances the grim with a surprising amount of hope? Has repeated themes of redemption. Also a whole book series should u need more.
This Is England. UK drama. A film and 3 mini series set from 1983 through to 1990. Grim, sad af, also funnyand sweet? And characters that I love. The start of my undying love for Vicky McClure. Big ol CW for violence, sexual violence, and era specific racism (esp the first film). Very good, but very hard tv.
Kingdom. 2014. Can be a pain to find because so many shows are called Kingdom. About MMA fighters having drama. Also families, mental health, addiction, etc. Excellent performances. Both a very dumb and very sweet, painful show.
Animal Kingdom. Legit only watched it because I was searched Kingdom posts and AK was out around the same time. Awful family having drama and heists. Adaptation of an Aussie film into a southern California TV show. Kind of a mess? but very compelling mess.
Obligatory Succession (Kardashians for annoying people, aka me. I am the annoying person. this is my perfect tv show), The Bear, (hospo stress and family grief show) and Severance (people talk about workplace horror, but tbh it also gives big mega church horror vibes too)- new shows that live up to the hype, esp if you like sad people. I don't think they really need recs, but i really liked them.
The Thick of It. 2000s UK political comedy? Tragedy? Though these days it looking fuckin utopian compared to UK politics now. Feels a bit like a partial villain origin story for Succession. I like how sad and broken hearted it is.
Outrageous Fortune. 2000s nz dramedy that is the source of my love of family crime drama. Aged badly in places, but still very good character drama. Also, for The Boys fans, Antony Starr at his absolute best. It's a big nostalgia fest for me now. Cheryl West is a forever fav.
Justified. 2010 - 2016ish. i'm lazy i'm not looking stuff up. Yes a cop show, yes a dad show, but also rock solid tv writing and timothy olyphant in a hat. I've watched it so many times, and every time it rewards. and yes, am watching Justified City Primeval atm.
White Collar. A dumb, total fantasy art crimes and capers show. Shit, but if you need to not think and also have Matt Bomer do a shirtless painting montage for vague plot reasons then oh boy there is no other.
Being Human UK. A ghost, a vampire and a werewolf share a flat. it's sweet and agonising and 10+ years later I still love these characters so much.
Legion. 2017 - 2019. Why make tv comic adaptations that are trying for realistic and boring? When they could all be like this? Why make anything that isn't as visually interesting as this?
Doom Patrol - same for doom patrol - superhero tv that cut out the boring bits and just went for the weird and painful. I read a couple of random doom patrols years ago and was so surprised and delighted and loved them. the tv show has the same effect.
The Boys. new, and still going, as far as I know. but two kiwi leads means under nz law i have to be a fan? also it's awful, pulpy vicious popcorn viewing. appeals to the shithead 12 yr old in me. yes, it's vicious anti corporate thing is deeply ironic for an amazon show, but considering amazon saved the expanse with no sense of irony at all I figure take all their money and keep yelling.
Preacher. Another comics adaption. The Boy's weirder, less obscene, more disturbing cousin. Tulip is another forever fav tv character.
Banshee. Continuing the tradition of heth and i starting dumb Dude TV and then getting overly attached. kinda pulpy trash, but if you can stomach the violence it's surprisingly good.
All Star Treks. I love them so much. They're so weird, and uneven, and dumb, and they're all the best and I love them.
One season wonders -
Trust. about the John Paul Getty III kidnapping. also about italian countryside.
State of Play. UK. the tv show, not the film.
I dunno. I could do a whole separate post for sit coms and brit coms and the weirder, more obscure shows and movies, but ffs this is so long.
#tv recs#see my justification is that i can draw while watching#this is my list so i doubt everything on it would appeal to anyone else#but some of it might#i fuckin love me some dramedy#i have a lot of thoughts and feelings about tv#as a medium and it's role in my weird life
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Watching the great amazon heist. A little bit of oobah in my life [to the tune of mambo no.5)
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hello love!
I hope you’re doing amazing and taking care of yourself I wanted to ask you since we gotta till 2025 for season 2 of TLOU I don’t know what to watch in the meantime so what shows or movies do you like or recommend???
OMG hi lovely!
I'm doing great thank you so much for asking! I hope you are, too!!
I haven't been watching much lately, I've been spending basically all my downtime writing lol BUT here's some stuff that I've generally enjoyed over the past few (maybe 10?) years!
Shows:
The Sopranos - Watched this right at the start of the pandemic and almost immediately saw why it was considered one of the best TV shows ever made. The idea of a mob boss going to a therapist? 10/10, fabulous. (HBO/Max)
The Newsroom - I'm a former journalist and lover of Aaron Sorkin so this show was addictive for me. Give me a good walk and talk dialogue sequence any day. Season one is far and away the best but the other two ain't bad. (HBO/Max)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This show was CRIMINALLY underrated. Several new musical numbers every episode, the writing is so damn brilliant it should be taught in school if it's not already. It also tackles mental health beautifully and is hilarious without being overly silly. (Netflix)
Fleabag - Brilliant, insightful, funny and heartbreaking all at once. Phoebe Waller Bridge is a genius. The worst thing about it is that it's so damn short. (Amazon)
Andor - Probably the best Star Wars series so far (SORRY MANDO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH) the storytelling and character work here is so damn good. If you haven't seen it yet, make it a priority. (Disney+)
Movies:
Baby Driver - A love letter to what you can do with sound in film, it's got so much to enjoy. Great performances, editing that's pure genius, excellent storytelling with fun action and a great script. Watch it if you haven't!
500 Days of Summer - in my opinion, this is the best "romantic comedy" (not sure it can REALLY be called that) since When Harry Met Sally. A really critical look at what it means to put the idea of someone over the actual person, it's funny and insightful while making its point.
Promising Young Woman - It's dark and funny and truthful and cathartic all at once. It's a movie length middle finger to the patriarchy and I'm all about it.
Knives Out - Everyone's probably already seen this but the fact that Daniel Craig plays a southern gay detective and is having the time of his life now that he's free of James Bond, it brings me so much joy. The mystery is great, the performances are top tier, it's damn near flawless. Will watch at any time. (Adjacent recommendation: Logan Lucky, a heist movie with a bunch of rednecks robbing a NASCAR race including Daniel Craig debuting his kooky southern drawl. Super fun!)
Nightcrawler - This was one that was super underrated (even though it was up for Best Original Screenplay at the oscars), a noir psychological thriller about a stringer who shoots video freelance for local TV stations. The appetite for bloody content pushes him further than you would expect. It's dark but so well done!
These might be a bit all over the map but hopefully there's some stuff here you've never seen and it's helpful!
Thank you for asking and for being here! Love you!
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