You said you're a pro shipper? That means problematic shipper which means that you either ship abusive relationships or children with adults, etc. do you ship those or something gross like that?
my brother in christ you cannot be more wrong and I'm so tired. also if you ask a random stranger this in real life, a random stranger who's mature enough to understand the difference between fiction and reality, they will look at you like you speak gibberish.
proship stance = anti harassing real people over goddamned fiction. your kink is not my kink and that's okay. don't like don't read. there are some prompts that trigger the fuck out of me. I don't read it. I don't even like it. but I will defend its rights to exist because
1.) it is fiction
2.) no one in real life is harmed
3.) it cannot harm you unless you go searching for it, knowing it will upset or trigger you
4.) a lot of victims and survivors cope and heal through fiction, a safe and controlled environment
5.) censorship is a fascist tool. once you allow one thing to be censored because someone somewhere doesn't want it to exist, anything and everything can and will be censored.
but if you want to know my ship, it's myself and your dad β€οΈ
Now that we are getting Lestat as a narrator in the show Iβm thinking about how Armand described the way Lestat tells his own stories bc itβs funny
β[β¦] he would appear sooner or later and tell us some fantastical yarn. It would be regular Lestat talk, for nobody aggrandizes as he does his preposterous adventures. This is not to say that he hasnβt [done the things he claims] I know that he did. [β¦] But itβs the way he describes things that happen to him that maddens me, the way he connects one incident to another as though all these random and grisly occurrences were in fact links in some significant chain. They are not. They are capers. And he knows it. But he must make a gutter theatrical out of stubbing his toe.
The James Bond of the Vampires, the Sam Spade of his own pages! A rock singer wailing on a mortal stage for all of two hours [β¦].
He has a knack for making tragedy of tribulation, and forgiving himself for anything and everything in every confessional paragraph he pens.β
Been hearing rumors about potential Night Island again and dunno how to feel. Initially I was super excited about it few years back but really the only thing that makes me excited about Night Island is the plot-line of Daniel and Armand and vamps gathering there which should be part of main storyline anyway. Just as Talamasca is part of main storyline. I dunno why they insist on all these spinoffs chopping up the story than making them subpar. if Talamasca is anything to go buy, if they make Night Island a spinoff, it will probably be bait and switch with Armand and Daniel but than it will just be bunch of random OC's with invented OC plotlines. which literally defeats the purpose of it. If they do show those flashbacks with Devil's Minion if should be on the MAIN show not some second rate spinoff. what are your thoughts on it? on what would be the purpose of it and what could that show cover that iwtv/tvl doesn't?
I mean, ages ago there was a connect page for potential advertisers:
Thanks to the scoop by @thepacksvrvives, apparently AMCN Connect website is accessible and it contains some information on their upcoming ad
I am not sure, if that concept has changed. Or if it is still the same.
But yeah, I also... would be careful with the expectations, I guess. Because replicating the kind of quality we get in THIS show? Is very, very hard.
I mean, for ME, I would want a Night Island spin-off to be a LIMITED series. Meaning, only being for one season. Only six to eight episodes, max.
And with Armand and Daniel being the CLEAR leads, with the focus being on their relationship together ... and maybe delving into why it began to fracture during this time.
Because, in the books, it was around the time of Night Island when it began to fracture, and Daniel started running away, sometimes for months at a time.
Talamasca was conceived to be an ongoing series. And the show having OCs at the forefront made it much easier to not lock themselves into any set endings that characters like Jesse Reeves and David Talbot have.
Because let's be real for a minute here: if a Talamasca TV show had had David Talbot as the Superior General of the London Motherhouse during that show, and then had had Jasper kill him, like he did with the OC one we got in the show? Book fandom would have lost their collective minds -- some ecstatic, some pissed off.
Anyway, I think you could do a fascinating story centered around Armand and Daniel during the Night Island time period. Because I'm sorry, but there is only so much time the main show will have to explore the past time period wrt Armand and Daniel's relationship. With so many other plots and characters coming up, as we head into Queen of the Damned.
That is just one of the big differences between a book and a TV show. With a book, you can take all the time you want to explore something, a character dynamic, etc. With a TV show, however, you only have a finite amount of time each season.
So, a very focused limited series, however, IMO, would provide a chance to show things I don't think we will ever see with the two of them on the main show.
The original concept for Night Island was completely removed from something like I'm describing, btw. It was supposed to be (at first an animated series, then maybe changed to live action, I think) about Art Thieves going to Night Island to steal paintings, not knowing a vampire (Armand) owned the Island.
AMC/AMC+ released a teaser key art image for the next chapter in Anne Rice's Immortal Universe, inviting us to Night Island.
Like, no. No one would want to watch a Night Island TV show where the main characters were a group of Art Thieves. It's a nice idea for maybe a subplot in an episode (or a misdirection plot for the pilot episode), but not the main story.
Anyway, I have some faith that Rolin, Mark Johnson, and AMC do understand this NOW; that a Night Island show would work best as a limited series, and one 100% focused on Armand and Daniel as the main characters the show centers around. Because that very much is where the success of something like this would, first and foremost, come from.
1. The court holds Google responsible for statements made by its AI, considering them Google's statements (search engines have limited liability for results in their engine as they're the words of other sites/companies/people), meaning when their AI lies/hallucinates they're liable for the defamation/harm resulting from those statements.
2. Google's defense that customers are generally aware of the lack of reliability and are responsible for fact checking was dismissed. As the court pointed out, that would "significantly diminish" AI Search's stated purpose and it can't be distinguished from Google's business practices/statements as a search tool.
3. Studies have found about 91% of Google's everyday AI responses are accurate, leaving millions of searches per HOUR with potential liability for falsehoods. 56% of correct responses weren't supported by the sources the AI listed. Both of which mean Google is now liable for a LOT more AI "errors."
4. Google was held liable for 80% of court costs in this case and this precedent is expected to reverberate around the world. This is a massive shift from the 3rd-party search provider role Google has previously played and it comes right as they've tied ALL searches to their AI search.
5. If the words are Google's, this solidifies the position of universities who demand that all answers from AI are fully cited. If all the in-line citations now have to be (Google, 2026), that's going to make it obvious when someone's trying to use Google as a source. There's still the difficulty with people who are academically dishonest by trying to pass off the AI writing as their own.
6. 91% accuracy is officially too low to use as a source of references, which means the AI can't be used as a source of references either. This makes it less legitimate for such purposes than Wikipedia of all places (Wikipedia might need date/time proof of when it was accessed for the reference to be valid, but at least it is possible to prove the link existed at a particular date and time).
7. This will help encourage the rollout of courses on how to avoid AI search for students who need academic accuracy, because it's statistically not good enough to use.
8. This strengthens the case intellectual property authors have against Google in the EU, as this is proof that an intellectual property transfer took place.
I feel like in the rush of βthrow out etiquette who cares what fork you use or who gets introduced firstβ we actually lost a lot of social scripts that the younger generations are floundering without.
A lot of tough situations where we now feel like we βdonβt know what to do or sayβ had social scripts just a couple of generations ago and they might have been canned phrases or robotic actions but they could still be meant sincerely and unfortunately we havenβt replaced them with any more sincere or easier new script.
a lot of people are giving examples in the notes of things they just find annoying like not using headphones in public, but OP is talking about actual literal scripts of things to say in awkward situations
if you have a date or two with someone and you don't see a relationship developing? most millennials / gen Zers just end up ghosting. but a social script that might have been taught and rehearsed in the past could be:
"I really appreciated getting dinner with you the other night and I enjoyed your company, but I'm afraid I didn't feel a spark. I wish you the best, and hope you find that special someone!"
like it sounds kind of trite but it was at least something to say and it can still be meant with kind sincerity. it also communicates in 2 sentences that you don't want to see them romantically again, but there aren't any hard feelings about that. that's it!!! that's all it takes!!!
Another example is that at parties a lot of people talk about how awkward it is to mingle or talk to people they dont know. But at old timey parties that was traditionally the HOST'S job, and there was a specific scripted way of doing it that eased the process! The host would bring you in, introduce you and maybe even a little bit about you like what you did for a living, and then guide you to a group you could talk to. They didn't just let you in the door and then ditch you to fend for yourself in a sea of strangers. That would be unthinkable and no one would be surprised if a get-together like that wound up being awkward.
I still do the party-host thing and yall can, too! (Thanks Mad Men for teaching me a lot of outmoded social scripts... no really tho)
Remember things about your friends! Ask people about their weekends, hobbies, holidays, studies, and jobs! Listen for the concerns people have and what they are working on! Draw connections between one person and another to get the ball rolling. "Oh, Maura, you just got your first cat! You should talk to Felix, he used to work at a rescue. Felix, please tell Maura all the new-cat-guardian pointers."
"Bill, Sheila, Xan, this is my friend Kale. Kale is really into Star Trek, Bill you and them should talk about it!"
Orrr whatever! After you make the introduction and draw the connection you just float on into the next interaction with someone else at the function. Just listen, care about your friends, get our of your own head, and think of how you can bring other people together and you will feel 100% less awkward.
hi i am so excited about this post because i have posted this exact thing MANY times on here, often in the specific context of how formal etiquette is so useful for autistic people especially, but also for everyone. even if you come off a little bit formal, which you will sometimes, having Old School Manners (or just knowing what they are) for various common scenarios is like having a magic ticket that will just sail you through all kinds of social iinteractions, gatekeeping, social weirdness, and as is pointed out in the above posts about introducing people to each other, can make you into a really valuable and helpful person for an entire gathering or group of people.
i also want to point out that knowing what the polite thing to do in all situations makes you a lot more effective at being rude and obnoxious when the situation calls for it, which is also a valuable and necessary adult skill
#things to write#but also#things to do#I could certainly benefit from a manual...
If you're looking for a manual on these sorts of things; social etiquette, social scripts, how to handle difficult and/or awkward social situations, etc. then I highly recommend picking up any book by Miss Manners. Her books really are the gold standard for learning the types of skills this post is talking about. I should also mention that Miss Manners is witty and hilarious so her books are also fun to read.
The best book by Miss Manners to get started with would be Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. This one is probably the best starting point because it gives the best overview of all the basics.
If you're the type who likes to listen to podcasts, I recommend checking out "Were You Raised By Wolves?" and/or "Awesome Etiquette". Both are also great tools for learning the type of social skills this post is talking about. I'm personally a fan of "Were You Raised By Wolves?" because not only are they pretty funny and informative, they also bother to try to teach the underlying social intelligence behind various manners and social etiquette so that you can have the skills to solve social dilemmas on your own. However, "Awesome Etiquette" is also pretty fun and informative.
#long post#I feel like 'i dont do small talk nobody cares about the weather' had a negative impact on social interaction#I mean yeah sometimes small talk about nothing gets awkward. but often it leads to the most interesting conversations#just asking 'what kind of music do you listen to at the gym' or 'have you read any books lately' could be such a lovely subject#I'm sometimes socially awkward despite being a huge extrovert. that's why etiquette is such a great thing#if you don't know how to act around people just stick to the etiquette rules. if they have a problem with it they're not for me anyways
Sorry @darlingdear but I couldn't let this stay in the tags.
I say this as someone who is neurodivergent had grew up very socially awkward, but recently I find the "screw small talk, I wanna get to know the REAL you" attitude to be pretentious as well as a demonstration of a lack of boundaries.
But also, I think a lot of people who have this attitude don't actually really know what does qualify as small talk. The definition of small talk is any topic that's of no real consequence and includes topics like food, pets, sports, music, whatever show you're currently streaming, whatever book you're currently reading, and yes, the weather. A lot of people who have this "I hate small talk / I don't do small talk" attitude probably think it's only reciting a bunch of secret scripts about the weather, and don't realize how much they engage in small talk whenever they talk about their pets or their favorite foods or the really cool show they're watching right now.
Small talk is just about boundaries and getting to know someone *before* you move into more serious and personal topics. The older I get the more I learn you really can't just trust anyone with more serious and personal subjects. Small talk first is important to gauge if they're someone safe and trustworthy first before moving into more serious and personal subjects. If you really genuinely refuse to get to know someone before immediately discussing serious and personal subjects you may have an issue with boundaries and should consider working on that.
Oh my god, so much the last point. All of them, but especially the last.
Small talk is a way of sounding out a personβs attitudes. Itβs about finding out if theyβre a rabid asshole or someone you want to spend more time with.
I had a professor who got angry at a group of (mostly women), from five countries, all of whom met yesterday, for talking about daytime TV. He basically insulted us and called us shallow.
Dude, we were figuring each other out with a safe topic! We were the best of friends three weeks later. We could broach harder topics because we understood each otherβs boundaries better. If you immediately demand people bare their souls, youβre not likely to get them to be honest.
also it's always polite / a good idea to balance the conversation out between yourself and the other person.
By which I mean, if they've asked you several questions, turn it around: "and what about you?"
/ "what has your experience been in [topic]?"
I used to be too awkward to do it but noticed conversations would bleed to death. Then I overcompensated and only asked the other person question upon question. This was also Not Ideal because guys would end up thinking I was super interested in them and get confused when I shut off my interest / social battery later on.
So, balance: I try to talk about 50% of the time and share something that is either useful or relatable to the other or important to me. And by being interested and asking real questions you can get to know someone better and they will also know you a little, which can be really lovely.
Due to me seeing this post again, I decided to start re-reading Miss Manners Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior, and all I can say is, this is a book Tumblr is really sleeping on.
It's not just the fact that this book is perfect for those of us who are neurodivergent, who can really benefit from having a book which kindly and patiently bothers to explain social rules and norms that people just expect you to know without ever telling you themselves.
It's also the fact that, despite this book being nearly 45 years old, Miss Manners makes it clear in the preface and opening chapters that she is explicitly against classism, sexism, and homophobia. She also makes it explicitly clear in the preface that her personal belief in the importance of good manners and etiquette has nothing to do with a desire to return to "the good old days", because those days were not actually good for women, LGBTQ+ people, poor people, and people of color.
What really made me re-fall in love with Miss Manners though was right in the opening chapter she addresses using sexualized threats and insults to debase and degrade others (you know, like "get fcked", or "suck my genitals", or "yeah well that's not what your mom / sister / other female family member had to say last night") because if sex is something that's supposed to be good and pleasurable, why are we using it as a threat to debase and degrade others? Honestly I love her so much for calling out the inherent sex-negativity of using sexualized threats and insults like that, and nearly 45 years ago at that!
Miss Manners has never been a stuffy old fashioned fuddy-duddy. She has always been a deeply compassionate woman far ahead of her time, whose sole mission is to make the world a kinder and more considerate place.
iβm having fun drawing book designs. Although in these guysβ case i really was imagining the TV series actors while reading their chapter in queen of the damned and was kinda fighting for my life making the book accurate drawings look βrightββ¦ but it felt important to draw because the height difference is so cute, lol. Feat. armandβs big fat Rolex.
