#..... anyway.

[sleepsart]

Hello DC community ... Hi... Handing this over as a peace offering

[isawiitch]

ok NOW we can all freak out marvel vfx workers voted to unionize thank god

article here

[mroddmod]

don't be weepy sleepy puppies

[spitblaze]

I guess Chilchuck has brought us right back to 'adults who are short are child-coded and if you like them you're a pedophile' discourse huh

[sidras-tak]

I don’t go to cons to “have fun” or “attend panels”. I go to cons to wander the artist alley in a daze and emerge hours later missing $200. I go to cons to think “hmm I should get some food. But the line is too long right now” every five minutes into perpetuity. I go to cons to say “you look so cool” at people in cosplay and have them not to hear me even a little bit.

[eff-plays]

Scene I can't put into my fic #5748574: Hiraeth bullying the elderly

[marisatomay]

just saw someone call barbie movie an independent film. and. girls. what are we doing here. a $100mil movie, from warner brothers, about one of the most famous toys in the world, produced by the makers of that toy, is not an independent film. come on. you can be excited for it without treating it like some low budget arthouse underdog.

[gilmores-glorious-blog]

[ocdhuacheng]

So laios and fallin have been ostracized by society since they were children, Marcille has lifelong grief from constantly outliving her loved ones that leads her to dark magics, kabru’s village was destroyed by monsters, senshi and mithrun both have horror movie level backstories, izutsumi was sold as a freak show attraction, and then there’s chilchuck, who is a normal ass divorced middle aged man. And somehow he’s the most shady and secretive out of all of them

Edit can y’all please let me live I didn’t make this post bc I think chilchuck doesn’t have his own trauma or doesn’t experience racism or that being a union boss is a walk in the park or whatever I made it because him lying that he cheated on his wife to get the others to stop asking about his family was funny as fuck. Come on.

[meercraft]

100% convinced Scar has a secret twitter account btw bc that man appears in the most random conversations. he’s out here replying to a tweet of someone who was trying to promote their ranchers fic. how did he get there. i KNOW he’s out there lurking. he has to be. secretly. in the shadows. i know it

[mqfx]

(guy who's lost so much and loses more every day) I never fucking lose

[hawberries]

emilie cultivars

[sandflakedraws]

hug time 🌺

[emry-stars-art]

Just let them have one nice nap

[burins]

I know this is the Take Personal Responsibility for Systemic Issues website, but I keep seeing weirdly guilt trippy posts about libraries and ebook licenses, which are a labyrinth from hell and not actually something you personally need to feel guilty about. here are a few facts about ebook licenses you may not know:

in Libby/Overdrive, which currently operates in most US public libraries, ebook licenses vary widely in how much they cost and what their terms are. some ebooks get charged per use, some have a set number of uses before the license runs out, and others have a period of time they're good for (usually 1-2 years) with unlimited checkouts during that period before they expire. these terms are set by the publisher and can also vary from book to book (for instance, a publisher might offer two types of licenses for a book, and we might buy one copy of a book with a set number of uses we want to have but know won't move as much, and another copy with a one year unlimited license for a new bestseller we know will be really moving this year.)

you as a patron have NO way of knowing which is which.

ebook licenses are very expensive compared to physical books! on average they run about 60 bucks a pop, where the same physical book would cost us $10-15 and last us five to ten years (or much longer, if it's a hardcover that doesn't get read a lot.)

if your library uses Hoopla instead, those are all pay per use, which is why many libraries cap checkouts at anywhere between 2-10 per month.

however.

this doesn't mean you shouldn't use ebooks. this doesn't mean you should feel guilty about checking things out! we buy ebook licenses for people to use them, because we know that ebook formats are easier for a lot of people (more accessible, more convenient, easier for people with schedules that don't let them get into the library.) these are resources the library buys for you. this is why we exist. you don't need to feel guilty about using them!

things that are responsible for libraries being underfunded and having to stretch their resources:

government priorities and systemic underfunding of social services that don't turn a profit and aren't easily quantified

our society's failure to value learning and pleasure reading for their own sake

predatory ebook licensing models

things that are not responsible for libraries being underfunded:

individual patron behavior

I promise promise promise that your personal library use is not making or breaking your library's budget. your local politicians are doing that. capitalism is doing that. you are fine.

(if you want to help your local library, the number one thing you can do is to advocate for us! talk to your city or county government about how much you like the library. or call or write emails or letters. advocate for us locally. make sure your state reps know how important the library is to you. there are local advocacy groups in pretty much every state pushing for library priorities. or just ask your local librarian. we like to answer questions!

also, if you're in Massachusetts, bill h3239 would make a huge difference in letting us negotiate ebook prices more fairly. tell your rep to vote for it!)