#27/04/2017

[kommabortsig]

Berlin_Spreepark_UAV_04-2017_img2.jpg

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Amazon’s financial shell game let it create an “impossible” monopoly

I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in TUCSON (Mar 9-10), then San Francisco (Mar 13), Anaheim, and more!

For the pro-monopoly crowd that absolutely dominated antitrust law from the Carter administration until 2020, Amazon presents a genuinely puzzling paradox: the company's monopoly power was never supposed to emerge, and if it did, it should have crumbled immediately.

Pro-monopoly economists embody Ely Devons's famous aphorism that "If economists wished to study the horse, they wouldn’t go and look at horses. They’d sit in their studies and say to themselves, ‘What would I do if I were a horse?’":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/27/economism/#what-would-i-do-if-i-were-a-horse

Rather than using the way the world actually works as their starting point for how to think about it, they build elaborate models out of abstract principles like "rational actors." The resulting mathematical models are so abstractly elegant that it's easy to forget that they're just imaginative exercises, disconnected from reality:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/03/all-models-are-wrong/#some-are-useful

These models predicted that it would be impossible for Amazon to attain monopoly power. Even if they became a monopoly – in the sense of dominating sales of various kinds of goods – the company still wouldn't get monopoly power.

For example, if Amazon tried to take over a category by selling goods below cost ("predatory pricing"), then rivals could just wait until the company got tired of losing money and put prices back up, and then those rivals could go back to competing. And if Amazon tried to keep the loss-leader going indefinitely by "cross-subsidizing" the losses with high-margin profits from some other part of its business, rivals could sell those high margin goods at a lower margin, which would lure away Amazon customers and cut the supply lines for the price war it was fighting with its discounted products.

That's what the model predicted, but it's not what happened in the real world. In the real world, Amazon was able use its access to the capital markets to embark on scorched-earth predatory pricing campaigns. When diapers.com refused to sell out to Amazon, the company casually committed $100m to selling diapers below cost. Diapers.com went bust, Amazon bought it for pennies on the dollar and shut it down:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/13/18563379/amazon-predatory-pricing-antitrust-law

Investors got the message: don't compete with Amazon. They can remain predatory longer than you can remain solvent.

Now, not everyone shared the antitrust establishment's confidence that Amazon couldn't create a durable monopoly with market power. In 2017, Lina Khan – then a third year law student – published "Amazon's Antitrust Paradox," a landmark paper arguing that Amazon had all the tools it needed to amass monopoly power:

https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox

Today, Khan is chair of the FTC, and has brought a case against Amazon that builds on some of the theories from that paper. One outcome of that suit is an unprecedented look at Amazon's internal operations. But, as the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Stacy Mitchell describes in a piece for The Atlantic, key pieces of information have been totally redacted in the court exhibits:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/amazon-profits-antitrust-ftc/677580/

The most important missing datum: how much money Amazon makes from each of its lines of business. Amazon's own story is that it basically breaks even on its retail operation, and keeps the whole business afloat with profits from its AWS cloud computing division. This is an important narrative, because if it's true, then Amazon can't be forcing up retail prices, which is the crux of the FTC's case against the company.

Here's what we know for sure about Amazon's retail business. First: merchants can't live without Amazon. The majority of US households have Prime, and 90% of Prime households start their ecommerce searches on Amazon; if they find what they're looking for, they buy it and stop. Thus, merchants who don't sell on Amazon just don't sell. This is called "monopsony power" and it's a lot easier to maintain than monopoly power. For most manufacturers, a 10% overnight drop in sales is a catastrophe, so a retailer that commands even a 10% market-share can extract huge concessions from its suppliers. Amazon's share of most categories of goods is a lot higher than 10%!

What kind of monopsony power does Amazon wield? Well, for one thing, it is able to levy a huge tax on its sellers. Add up all the junk-fees Amazon charges its platform sellers and it comes out to 45-51%:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

Competitive businesses just don't have 45% margins! No one can afford to kick that much back to Amazon. What is a merchant to do? Sell on Amazon and you lose money on every sale. Don't sell on Amazon and you don't get any business.

The only answer: raise prices on Amazon. After all, Prime customers – the majority of Amazon's retail business – don't shop for competitive prices. If Amazon wants a 45% vig, you can raise your Amazon prices by a third and just about break even.

But Amazon is wise to that: they have a "most favored nation" rule that punishes suppliers who sell goods more cheaply in rival stores, or even on their own site. The punishments vary, from banishing your products to page ten million of search-results to simply kicking you off the platform. With publishers, Amazon reserves the right to lower the prices they set when listing their books, to match the lowest price on the web, and paying publishers less for each sale.

That means that suppliers who sell on Amazon (which is anyone who wants to stay in business) have to dramatically hike their prices on Amazon, and when they do, they also have to hike their prices everywhere else (no wonder Prime customers don't bother to search elsewhere for a better deal!).

Now, Amazon says this is all wrong. That 45-51% vig they claim from business customers is barely enough to break even. The company's profits – they insist – come from selling AWS cloud service. The retail operation is just a public service they provide to us with cross-subsidy from those fat AWS margins.

This is a hell of a claim. Last year, Amazon raked in $130 billion in seller fees. In other words: they booked more revenue from junk fees than Bank of America made through its whole operation. Amazon's junk fees add up to more than all of Meta's revenues:

https://s2.q4cdn.com/299287126/files/doc_financials/2023/q4/AMZN-Q4-2023-Earnings-Release.pdf

Amazon claims that none of this is profit – it's just covering their operating expenses. According to Amazon, its non-AWS units combined have a one percent profit margin.

Now, this is an eye-popping claim indeed. Amazon is a public company, which means that it has to make thorough quarterly and annual financial disclosures breaking down its profit and loss. You'd think that somewhere in those disclosures, we'd find some details.

You'd think so, but you'd be wrong. Amazon's disclosures do not break out profits and losses by segment. SEC rules actually require the company to make these per-segment disclosures:

https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3524&context=lawreview#:~:text=If%20a%20company%20has%20more,income%20taxes%20and%20extraordinary%20items.

That rule was enacted in 1966, out of concern that companies could use cross-subsidies to fund predatory pricing and other anticompetitive practices. But over the years, the SEC just…stopped enforcing the rule. Companies have "near total managerial discretion" to lump business units together and group their profits and losses in bloated, undifferentiated balance-sheet items:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/publications/2021/dec/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragons

As Mitchell points you, it's not just Amazon that flouts this rule. We don't know how much money Google makes on Youtube, or how much Apple makes from the App Store (Apple told a federal judge that this number doesn't exist). Warren Buffett – with significant interest in hundreds of companies across dozens of markets – only breaks out seven segments of profit-and-loss for Berkshire Hathaway.

Recall that there is one category of data from the FTC's antitrust case against Amazon that has been completely redacted. One guess which category that is! Yup, the profit-and-loss for its retail operation and other lines of business.

These redactions are the judge's fault, but the real fault lies with the SEC. Amazon is a public company. In exchange for access to the capital markets, it owes the public certain disclosures, which are set out in the SEC's rulebook. The SEC lets Amazon – and other gigantic companies – get away with a degree of secrecy that should disqualify it from offering stock to the public. As Mitchell says, SEC chairman Gary Gensler should adopt "new rules that more concretely define what qualifies as a segment and remove the discretion given to executives."

Amazon is the poster-child for monopoly run amok. As Yanis Varoufakis writes in Technofeudalism, Amazon has actually become a post-capitalist enterprise. Amazon doesn't make profits (money derived from selling goods); it makes rents (money charged to people who are seeking to make a profit):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/28/cloudalists/#cloud-capital

Profits are the defining characteristic of a capitalist economy; rents are the defining characteristic of feudalism. Amazon looks like a bazaar where thousands of merchants offer goods for sale to the public, but look harder and you discover that all those stallholders are totally controlled by Amazon. Amazon decides what goods they can sell, how much they cost, and whether a customer ever sees them. And then Amazon takes $0.45-51 out of every dollar. Amazon's "marketplace" isn't like a flea market, it's more like the interconnected shops on Disneyland's Main Street, USA: the sign over the door might say "20th Century Music Company" or "Emporium," but they're all just one store, run by one company.

And because Amazon has so much control over its sellers, it is able to exercise power over its buyers. Amazon's search results push down the best deals on the platform and promote results from more expensive, lower-quality items whose sellers have paid a fortune for an "ad" (not really an ad, but rather the top spot in search listings):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/29/aethelred-the-unready/#not-one-penny-for-tribute

This is "Amazon's pricing paradox." Amazon can claim that it offers low-priced, high-quality goods on the platform, but it makes $38b/year pushing those good deals way, way down in its search results. The top result for your Amazon search averages 29% more expensive than the best deal Amazon offers. Buy something from those first four spots and you'll pay a 25% premium. On average, you need to pick the seventeenth item on the search results page to get the best deal:

https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3645/

For 40 years, pro-monopoly economists claimed that it would be impossible for Amazon to attain monopoly power over buyers and sellers. Today, Amazon exercises that power so thoroughly that its junk-fee revenues alone exceed the total revenues of Bank of America. Amazon's story – that these fees barely stretch to covering its costs – assumes a nearly inconceivable level of credulity in its audience. Regrettably – for the human race – there is a cohort of senior, highly respected economists who possess this degree of credulity and more.

Of course, there's an easy way to settle the argument: Amazon could just comply with SEC regs and break out its P&L for its e-commerce operation. I assure you, they're not hiding this data because they think you'll be pleasantly surprised when they do and they don't want to spoil the moment.

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/2024/03/01/managerial-discretion/#junk-fees

Image: Doc Searls (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/4863121221/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[calderacitylovers]

Zutara SlowBurn FanFiction: Personal Favs, part I

·        I AM STILL HERE by owedbetter Published: 2017-10-09 | 77K words | 7 Chapters

After the Last Agni Kai K heals Z with the help of bloodbending. Very sweet.

 ·        THE SUMMIT by AJLenoire

Chronicles post-war years, as Gaang and other characters gather for annual summits to keep peace and build relationships between the Four Nations. Katara yearns for a bigger purpose than the Avatar’s companion and slowly grows into a shrewd diplomat. Very sweet slow burn ZK story. Has mature scenes.

 ·        CLOTHE ME IN SEASONS, DRESS ME IN SNOW by sadladybug Published: 2015-01-05 | 62K words | 7 Chapters

Follows old Zuko as he reflects on his life and what would have been if he kept Katara closer. Absolutely beautiful, but also a devastatingly heart-breaking story about loss and pain.

 ·        SILENT DECLARATIONS by Megara Pike (Megara_Pike) Published: 2021-01-20 | 2,6K words

A short story based on animation by Hayley Wong. Z finds K asleep in her study and carries her to bed. Very sweet, gentle story.

 ·        COVERED IN YOU by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-02 | 55K words | 14 Chapters

Eight years after the war Z convinces K to take on a role of a Southern Water Tribe ambassador in the Caldera city. Both are completely clueless about each other’s feelings. Features political talks, big gestures, and a ball. Very cute, sweet slow-burn story. Has mature scenes.

 ·        TEN STRIDES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION by evergreenonthehorizon Published: 2021-04-03 | 29K Words | 12 Chapters

A collection of short stories filling in the gaps between some of the events of ATLAS3 and up to the Last Agni Kai. Features accidental cuddling, embracing in the rain, sharing a bed for warmth, post-Ember Island Theater discussions, being discovered, waiting to be kissed, Suki & Katara being good friends, battle plans, Zuko & Sokka getting drunk, slow burn & angst. Very sweet.

 ·        THE SWAY OF THE SUN by TheBlackBriarSparrow Published: Published: 2019-10-14 | 102K Words | 27 Chapters

Two years post-war Gaang reunites in Caldera city for a secret party in honor of the overworked Fire Lord’s birthday. Rebels attack the palace setting a thrilling consequence of events in motion. Adventures, investigations, and fights ensue. Z & K work together and enlist old friends to help find missing people. Beautiful slow-burn story with an exciting plot.

·        A WARM EMBRACE by ewinkie Published: 2020-10-06 | 19K Words | 7 Chapters

An ATLAS3 rewrite from Southern Riders to the Last Agni Kai. Katara and Zuko have to hide in a cave following their encounter with Yon Rha. Comforting turns to cuddling, which turns to waking up on Appa's tail in each other's arms. Katara is shocked at how comfortable she is. Zuko is shocked that Katara doesn't hate him for it. Features sharing a bed, being discovered, slowburn, and lots of teenage silliness.

 ·        FOLLOWING BLUE by Boogum Published: 2018-11-07 | 39K Words | 10 Chapters

ATLA S2 rewrite. After Katara falls from Appa’s saddle during a pursuit, the Blue Spirit becomes her reluctant companion and helps her reunite with her friends. Ba Sing Se scenes are completely rewritten, and Z ends up joining the Gaang much earlier. Thrilling beginning, sweet middle, average ending.

 ·        ANOTHER WORD FOR ALCHEMY by FanPanda13 Published: 2014-08-19 | 108K words | 24 Chapters

Five years post-war Aang summons old friends for a summit and invites them on a trip to investigate mysterious locations where he experiences loss of bending. Features Gaang setting Z & K up, travelling on Appa like in the olden days, lots of sparring, royal courting, magnificent navy ships & war ballons. Thrilling story with fun banter between old friends. Slowburn, mature content.

 ·        CONSUME ME WITH FIRE, FLOOD ME WITH DESIRE by Dacamia Published: 2020-08-14 | 86K words | 24 Chapters

Steamy ATLAS2 and ATLA S3 rewrite. Z & K accidentally meetup on their way to Ba Sing Se and decide to travel together. Features aged-up characters, lots of intimate scenes, staying in a beautiful cave, helping villagers, betrayal in Ba Sing Se, reunion, forgiveness, etc. Explicit mature content.

 ·        ROOTS AND WINGS by zukoscomet Published: 2020-08-14 | 250K words | 25 Chapters

A series of short stories of Z & K as they grow closer, confess their love for one another and start a family.

 ·        THOSE WHO FAVOR FIRE by hiwasseelane Published: 2021-05-02 |29K Words | 13 Chapters

An ATLAS3 rewrite. Sweet, teen-appopriate.

Here’s a link to Part II of my personal favs.

Here’s a link to Wholesome Zutara Short Stories.

[batsplat]

your top 5 fave motogp races? or alternatively what races you’d show to a newbie to get them into the sport or smth

one of those things where it's painful to pick five, but at least this ask gives me the chance to hedge my bets and pick five different races for each category (most of these races will be featured in the recs lists; 27, 4+93, 46)

laguna '08: works wonders to bring both that season and the rivalry alive. delightfully visceral and vicious, there's few duels that tell you quite so much about both participants. I have lap-by-lap notes for this race. I have points tables assessing how much of a turning point it was in the season. I have read the bit in casey's autobiography about this race about a million times. how their expectations going in influenced the dynamics of the race, how the slower man won the race, what valentino was attempting to do to casey, casey's response... I could quite literally talk about this race forever

phillip island '17: idk I don't think this is objectively 'better' than the other two infamous dogfights of that era (pi '15; assen '18), but sometimes you just notice which one has the most rewatch value for you... I really like races where risk/reward calculation is a big deal, where at least one of the riders is having to actively judge how much they're willing to do to win... with the hard style of racing in this one, those calculations feel particularly present. phillip island is in such a perfect calendar spot for generating maximum drama

misano '17: maybe the quirkiest pick. marc is too good and too successful for me to ever really have been 'stressed' watching him in his prime, but bloody hell did he run me close here. something so satisfying about being so adept in wet/mixed conditions... love the spite element of this race, love the risk/reward calculations, how marc just needs to go for it in the very final lap, his dogged determination... a race where he doesn't have a massive margin over the field but just wants it so so badly that he goes for it. he's making a statement, bouncing back from a low point in the season, super compelling stuff

mugello '04: just love races that are kinda a mess! lots of twists and turns... bunch of riders fighting it out, the sete duel, the rain interruption, bunch of riders fighting it out but now on a way more slippery track... I don't know, there's just something charming about a race that has a bit of everything! of course it's also part of my beloved 2004 season, from which I could have easily included five different races (and if you're ever looking for a full season to watch, 2004 2006 and 2017 are the holy trinity - mix of title fight drama and banger races)

okay listen I'm gonna cheat here because I wrote out the word 'catalunya' and then had a crisis staring at this post. '07 I need to include because it's my favourite casey win and it's how he establishes himself as an all-round threat and is so important in the overall context of the valentino rivalry, but '09 is like... right up there with laguna as season lynchpin races and also somehow jorge has been left out from these picks... I love big momentum-switchers I love races that have so much meaning in the context of a rivalry AND season. I also love how they're connected! that valentino did the same move on casey (just not on the final lap) and had basically already rehearsed his coup de grâce two years in advance, before visualising it the week before the race... casey joking about it in the catalunya '09 presser, jorge knowing he kinda should have seen it coming, casey kinda ragging on jorge for not having seen it coming... idk!! I like this little legacy they built there together

for newbies

phillip island '23: you need to include something a little more current to give new fans a reason to watch now... phillip island races are reliably great - this one introduces you to two of the major protagonists of the current game in a way that kind tells you a lot about both of them, gives you a demonstration of one of the best types of races (the multi-rider dogfight), and it also is the most brute force way imaginable of explaining how tyres work in motogp. pedagogically pleasing! it's the kind of race new viewers will be able to enjoy in the moment, but have a lot of questions about afterwards - the sweet spot

assen '15: easily makes my top five rewatched races too, but I put it under the newbie header because again... tells you a lot! it's very likely this hypothetical newbie will have at least have SOME knowledge of who the two protagonists are and know they've fallen out, though I suppose it'd be funny to go in completely blind. obviously a great duel and a very nice introduction to the two big names plus their respective riding styles... what you really want is some late drama and a controversial finish that you can immediately have a hot take about

donington '05: we need a full wet race, not just mixed but wet wet... this one's got one hell of an attrition rate but also proper tussling between the different riders, rather than everyone just riding out on their own. it really gives you a feeling for how these kinds of races work... lot of riders wobbling around, saving near-falls, trying to get a sense of how much they can risk, riding behind each other to have somebody else test out their conditions... plus, the valentino performance kinda slaps

austria '17: got to be a marc/dovi duel in here, and this one has the clear edge not as much for the race itself but a) the novelty at the time, and b) the significance in the title fight. in dovi you've got somebody who is emerging as a threat and is providing a new flavour of challenge.... there's also that fun tension between how marc logically very much should just be happy to be there as a result of what a ducati circuit it is and he's simply supposed to be limiting the points damage... but he also really, really wants to win... actually either this or motegi 2017, almost want to change my pick. one of those two!!

brno '03: sneaking in an old race as a gateway drug, and I think this one is quite 'accessible' to the uninitiated. I considered other ones like phillip island '01 (valentino's first premier class matchpoint race, classic dogfight) or welkom '04 (first yamaha race and one of the duels) - but I think you don't need much context to get absorbed in this one. the race commentary already gives you the most important information... valentino's struggles that season, the criticisms he was facing from the italian press, how badly he wanted to win, the haircut, all of it... and then you get to see the post-race prisoner's celebrations, a flavour of the proper classic camp dramatics

slightly silly number of honourable mentions, each of which I was extremely tempted to include: motegi '10, jerez 2005, misano '19, laguna '11, jerez '10, assen '04, catalunya '04 '05 '16, mugello '05 '06, sachsenring '06, assen '04, phillip island '04, le mans 2005, qatar 2005, suzuka '01, thailand '19, austria '19, qatar '18, silverstone '19, sachsenring '10, qatar '15, mugello '16, sepang '10, assen '07 (and ones I did already kinda mention above: phillip island '15, assen '18, phillip island '01, welkom '04, motegi '17)

[autumnslance]

LynMars's FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

We're back again! The list and links for all of my completed prompts for this year's FFXIV Write. Stats and ramblings about writing will go under the Read More cut. Eventually these will be revised in some manner and tossed onto Ao3.

Asterisks again mean there's wolship nonsense happening.

01. Steer - Vignettes of less sociable times over Aeryn's life. 02. Horizon - WoL at the end of Ultima Thule, EW 6.0. 03. Tempest - WoL returns to Amaurot to contemplate, EW 6.4. 04. Reticent - C'oretta & Dark Autumn have a chat. Sort of. 05. Stamp - Aeryn finds a memento while cleaning, post-EW 6.0 06. Halcyon - Tanzel, Emelia, & understanding grief. Backstory. 07. Morsel - Zenos heading to Camp Broken Glass, EW 6.0. 08. Free Day! 09. Lend an Ear - Emperor Varis is very much alone. StB patches. 10. Stable - Hydaelyn as the avatar of Light. Endwalker. 11. Surrogate - Weird West AU. Unexpected new roles for the Strikers. 12. Quarry* - Dominants AU. Thavnair comes to Tural's aid. DT 7.0. 13. Butte - Dark Autumn versus seedkin in Xak Tural. DT 7.0. 14. Telling - WoL reflects on Emet-Selch's expected reaction. EW 6.0. 15. Free Day! 16. Third-Rate - Aeryn's annoyed by the Unbound. DT Role Quests. 17. Sally - Dark pays a final visit to a traitor, post-StB 4.1. 18. Hackneyed* - Aeryn, Thancred, & terrible literature. 19. Taken - A young wood warder tries to save his sibling. Backstory. 20. Duel - Wuk Lamat's challenge does not go as expected. DT 7.0. 21. Shade - WoL ruminates on some of their ghosts. Thru DT 7.0. 22. Free Day! 23. On Cloud Nine - A chocobo & her Warrior of Light. End ShB 5.0. 24. Bar - 2 different adventurers starting out. Legacy & ARR. 25. Perpetuity - Aeryn, Deryk, & questions of faith. EW 24man raid. 26. Zip - C'oretta helping out Hamon at the Coliseum. Technically DT. 27. Memory - In a future, music makes Iyna remember. EW Patches. 28. Deleterious - Aeryn & Shale discuss regulators & history. DT 7.0. 29. (Free) Deleterious 2* - Thancred & self-recrimination. ShB 5.0. 30. Two Heads are Better than One - Gulool Ja Ja muses. DT 7.0.

Previous years: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

Ended up a touch Aeryn-heavy this year, though Generic WoL, various NPCs, the other OCs, forays in the FC's AUs, and some supporting family cast members make appearances. There's even a callback to a previous FFXIV Write entry. Lots of Endwalker and Dawntrail due to recency bias, but it manages to span the spectrum from backstories through various expansions.

I only did 1 Free Day, due to having 2 solid ideas I ended up writing for that prompt. It was right at the end of my annual birthday vacation week, so I was pretty rested (may also be why they're among the longer entries!). Unusually, the rest of that week's works are not any longer than the others.

I'm also still working on some original writing, though, so that did cut into fanfiction time.

Below 500 words: #2 Horizon (347), #3 Tempest (415), #7 Morsel (499), #10 Stable (400), #13 Butte (477), #14 Telling (355), #17 Sally (464), #20 Duel (499), #24 Bar (462).

500 - 1,000 words: #1 Steer (944), #4 Reticent (581), #5 Stamp (588), #11 Surrogate (964), #12 Quarry (844), #16 Third-Rate (564), #18 Hackneyed (577), #19 Taken (915), #21 Shade (764), #23 On Cloud Nine (728), #25 Perpetuity (958), #26 Zip (592), #27 Memory (810), #30 Two Heads are Better than One (500).

Over 1,000 words: #6 Halcyon (2,479), #9 Lend an Ear (1,326), #28 Deleterious (1,099), #29 Deleterious 2 (1,231).

Shortest: #2 Horizon Longest: #6 Halcyon

Total: 20,382 words. Not my shortest but far from my longest. Comparing with the previous years, I can see a clear improvement in my grasp of both NPC and OC voices, and more confidence in general.

Even so, "Butte", "Sally", "Bar", and "Zip" were the hardest for me this year, and I may need to warm up to them. I love "Halcyon" for a lot of reasons, and am also fond of the lighter offerings in "Duel" and "On Cloud Nine." I like a lot of the others, particularly when trying to get into NPC heads (even if they're really weird places to be ffs, Zenos).

Not too many shippy entries this year, one of them for one of the AUs, one mostly talking about it rather than seeing it, but I like "Hackneyed" a lot as it's been awhile since I've written about Aeryn & Thancred's literary tastes (and opposite ways of treating their books).

These will eventually be revised and added to Ao3, and then we await next year!

[userm4x]

27/04/17, Sochi. Daniel Ricciardo during the run-up to the F1 Russian Grand Prix 2017. Photo by XPB, edited.

[lola-andheruniverse]

I've so appreciated the recs you've been posting! It's been really fun to dig into some new (and old, but new to me) fics to keep me going while we wait for The Book of Carol. If you ever have the time/energy/inclination, I'd love for any recommendations you have that focus on Carol telling/Daryl finding out about what happened with Lizzie - that's something I'm still so mad we never saw on the show, and I've found some great fics but you (and your followers) have a gift for unearthing treasures!

ANON! You sent me this ask on January 1st but some error on Tumblr didn't make it visible until now! I hope you're still there to enjoy this small selection of fics despite the six month delay. While there's life, there's hope so fingers crossed that Carol finally tells Daryl about The Grove in TBOC. Caryl on! 🥰

Every Bit by Wanderings/ @deannawoso [ 9Lives ] Summary: Carol finally breaks down and tells Daryl what happened at the grove. Rating: T Word Count: 2.330 (02 chapters) Published: November 19, 2014 (incomplete, but with a satisfying resolution).

Genesis by @silversundown2 [ 9Lives ] Summary: A new beginning grows in the ruins of a burnt city. Set in the episode “Consumed”. Rating: T Word Count: 1.706 Published: June 25, 2016 (one-shot)

Home by sweettooth7 [ 9Lives ] Summary: Since the moment Tyreese died she'd been carrying it all alone. Here's my version of Carol telling Daryl about what happened at the grove. Rating: T Word Count: 2.996 Published: October 04, 2015 (one-shot)

In Your Eyes by @equuleus86 [ 9Lives ] Summary: My take on a conversation we all want to see taking place. Carol relives the events of The Grove. Rating: G Word Count: 2.680 Published: November 05, 2017 (one-shot)

see the world hanging upside down by averita/ @catelyngrant [ 9Lives | AO3 ] Summary: "What would you do," she says, so quietly it could be the wind, "if I snapped?" Post 10x13, Daryl and Carol talk. Rating: T Word Count: 3.711 Published: March 27, 2020 (one-shot) Oh, and there's also Starting Over by @gunmetal-ring, which I already recommended here.

[staydandy]

Candle in the Tomb 4: The Lost Caverns (2020) - 龙岭迷窟 - Whump List

List by StayDandy Synopsis : Hu Ba Yi, Shirley Yang and Wang Pang Zi explore a mysterious tomb in the Shaanxi region. Shirley Yang travels to the Longling Maze Grottos to investigate unusual patterns on fossil fragments. On the way, she crosses paths with Hu Ba Yi who along with Wang Pang Zi have just escaped from the ancient city. The trio become companions in another tomb-raiding adventure. (MDL)

Whumpee : Hu Ba Yi played by Pan Yue Ming (3rd from left) • Wang Pang Zi played by Jiang Chao (far left) • Thomas played by Zach Ireland Splittgerber (small top group, torch) • Zhe Gu Shao played by Gao Wei Guang (small top group, blue light stick)

Country : 🇨🇳 China Genres : Action, Adventure, Mystery, Horror, Bromance

Notes : This is a Full Whump List • Adapted from the 2nd volume in the novel series "Candle in the Tomb" (鬼吹灯) by Zhang Mu Ye (天下霸唱). • End credits song : 乾坤暴躁-《龙岭迷窟》影视剧主题曲 by 潘粵明, GAI周延 • TW : Arachnophobia

Related Lists : Candle in the Tomb 1 (2016) - Full List • Candle in the Tomb 2: The Weasel Grave (2017) - Full List • Candle in the Tomb 3: The Wrath of Time (2019) - Full List • Candle in the Tomb 5: The Worm Valley (2021) - Full List • Candle in the Tomb 6: Kunlun Tomb (2022) - Full List

Episodes on List : 10 Total Episodes : 18

*Spoilers below*

03 : Hu Ba Yi & Wang Pang Zi knocked around on a ship in a storm, Pang Zi falls overboard.. Ba Yi exhausted after fighting a monster

04 : Ba Yi & Pang Zi in a fight

05 : (near end) Ba Yi & Pang Zi fall into a cave, tumbling down through a tunnel system

08 : [past] (this story with Thomas is so funny lol) Thomas slapped (Zhe Gu Shao getting shocked 😆).. poked in the stomach & force fed a medicine (all comedic) … Zhe Gu Shao & Thomas hallucinating, Thomas falls into a ravine, saved

09 : [past] (@ 1:30 this whole exchange is so funny 😆 - he's definitely one of the better english actors I've seen for a while in a chinese drama) (near end) Gu Shao spits up blood … Thomas falls & hurts his leg, Gu Shao's arm is eaten off by bugs (would totally watch a whole show of just Gu Shao & Thomas!)

11 : [present] Pang Zi captured, tied up, beat up [not shown].. knocked out … locked in a cage, bit by piranhas

12 : TW: arachnophobia @ 12:10-27:30

13 : (@ 2:05 😆 hahaha I knew it 😆) (TW: arachnophobia @ 2:14-2:22, 3:34-9:28)

14 : Ba Yi tries to hold a stone door dropping down.. Ba Yi & Pang Zi trapped in a room filling with mercury.. Ba Yi dizzy

15 : (TW: arachnophobia @ 21:18-32:53 (end of ep)) Ba Yi & Pang Zi fight a group of monsters; Ba Yi thrown by an explosion

16 : (TW: arachnophobia @ 1:30-8:16) Hurt/exhausted from fighting monster, helped to walk … passes out briefly

17 : Has to climb freestyle, barehanded up a wall with little to no experience.. exhausted … (TW: arachnophobia @ 32:16 (end of ep))

18 : TW: arachnophobia @ 1:32-2:11

[dl-drama-cd]

DL Magazines Masterlist

B's-LOG

2012: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2013: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2014: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2015: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2016: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12

2017: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2018: № 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2019: №1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2020: № 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11

2021: № 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12

2022: № 2, 3, 4, 5, 10

2023: №4, 8, 10, 11, 12

2024: 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12

2025: 1

Dengeki Girl's Style

2012: № 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2013: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

2014: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2015: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11

2016: № 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

2017: № 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Otomate Magazine

Vol.01, 03, 04, 05, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32

Rejet Cluster Magazine

Vol.1, 2

Otomedia

12.2013

02.2014

06.2014

07.2014

12.2015

06.2015

10.2013

08.2015

10.2015

Pash!

august 2013

december 2013

december 2015

november 2013

january 2014

febraury 2014

june 2015

Animage

09 2013

10 2013

11 2013

01 2014

03 2014

04 2014

07 2014

Prince Animage

fall 2013

Otaku USA

06/2016

Animedia

2013: 8,10

Media Information

34/2015

2D☆STAR

Vol.13

Cool-B

#60, #88

Cool-B Sweet Princess

vol.17, vol.26, vol.28

[lgbtawarenessproject]

All Eyes on Rafah

It is the seventh of May, 2024. Israel is attacking Rafah. I know I haven’t been active on this account in a while, and I know this has nothing to do with queer news, but there is a genocide going on right now. If you think that the murder of 1.4 million refugees(https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/6/why-is-israel-forcing-the-evacuation-of-part-of-rafah-gazas-last-refuge)  is okay, then you should ask yourself “what if that was my friend, my family member, why is it different if it isn’t?” Because it isn’t different. It isn’t. Every person in that city has friends, family members. Everyone in that city is being targeted. Whether they are a 3 month old baby, an 87 year old grandmother or otherwise. Rafah was supposed to be a refuge (https://www.vox.com/2024/2/16/24074311/israel-hamas-war-rafah-gaza-civilians) and now they are sending in airstrikes and ground troops.

Some of you seeing this are going to say that Palestine attacked first, and that Israel has the right to defend itself. You’re wrong. I’m not going to argue with you about who attacked first, there isn’t any point in it, but I want to ask you. Does self-defense look like the murder of over thirty thousand people? (https://time.com/6909636/gaza-death-toll/) What about more? This article is from March. Right now, they are in Rafah. A place they said they wouldn’t attack. (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israel-continues-bombarding-gaza-including-places-it-told-palestinians-to-evacuate-to) It is easy, to blame this on Hamas. It is easy to say the Israelis are protecting themselves. This situation is a whole lot more complicated than that. With every person Israel kills, every man, woman, child, elder, with the excuse that “they were part of Hamas”, it makes you wonder if their definition of “Hamas” is instead, Palestinians. A minimum of 12,000 children have died (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israel-continues-bombarding-gaza-including-places-it-told-palestinians-to-evacuate-to) . You don’t kill 12,000 children by accident. You don’t think that children are part of a terrorist organization. You kill 12,000 children because you want them to be scared of you, because you want them to fight back so you can kill more.

You cannot call every person who picks up a gun, a terrorist. If you were forced to watch someone kill your child, your kid sibling, your best friend, your grandmother, and you didn’t try to fight back? People would call you a monster. Yet- they call Palestinians monsters for doing just that. They call people who are in mourning monsters, after they killed their families. If you still side with Israel, you are a monster. If you still side with Israel after all that they have done, you are a monster. This isn’t a matter of religion, this isn’t a matter of stolen land, this is a genocide. This is a country committing war crimes. (https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/1654922) (https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/04/israel-50-years-occupation-abuses) (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/31/have-war-crimes-been-committed-in-israel-and-gaza-and-what-international-laws-apply)

If your defense of Israel is that is antisemitic to go against them, choose a better one. Judaism is not a country; Judaism is not a government; Judaism is not the murder of thousands. If that is what you think Judaism is, then you are the one being antisemitic. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/09/israel-gaza-war-crimes-genocide/) (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/apr/27/london-gaza-protest-openly-jewish-march-holocaust-survivors-palestine-demonstration) (https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/israel-using-holocaust-as-a-cover-for-gaza-genocide-holocaust-survivor/3207269)

Neither group in this battle are my people, neither group are mine by genetics nor religion nor culture, but they are all humans. Every single one of them is a human. Every single person out there deserves a chance to live. Please put your eyes, put your attention, or Rafah. On the families that are trying to escape and to live. Please help them before it is too late. For the ones that it is too late. Donate, support, make you voices heard. We cannot let another genocide happen while we just stand back and watch. It shouldn’t be our responsibility to tell them to stop, it shouldn’t be our jobs to stop humans from killing humans. But we have to. Because they aren’t doing it themselves.

It is hard to watch these things when you know you can look away. It is hard to help when you know that it is easier not to. But do you want to tell your friends and family, your children and grandchildren, the people in Rafah, that you decided to stand back? That you had the opportunity to help, like very few have before, and you didn’t? Help these people. Get them to safety. Do your part. Whether that be donating a couple of dollars, sharing a video, going to protests, writing an essay. Do something. You can do something, so do it. I know it is scary, it is depressing, but they can't just look away as they are running and hiding for their lives. Even one small thing, can do a lot.

Please reblog and reply to this post with GFM's and other places to donate to. Additional information and updates are welcome.

Go here to keep updated on the situation in Rafah.

-Soul

[black-arcana]

SPIRITBOX Announces Spring 2025 North American Tour With LOATHE, DYING WISH And GEL

Two-time Grammy-nominated progressive metal band SPIRITBOX has announced the "Tsunami Sea" North American tour. Kicking off April 3 in Dallas, Texas, produced by Live Nation, the 24-date tour will hit cities across the U.S. and Canada with LOATHE, DYING WISH and GEL as support.

Tickets will first be available through a Citi presale starting today, December 3. The official artist presale begins on December 4 and will include a special Spiritboxoffice pop-up event in Los Angeles at the Hollywood Palladium from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. where fans can purchase tickets and meet the band. Additional presales will follow on December 5, ahead of the general onsale and Citi Cardmember Preferred Tickets, beginning Friday, December 6 at 10 a.m. local time on Spiritbox.com.

The tour wants to give fans, not scalpers, the best chance to buy tickets at face value. To make this possible they have chosen to use Ticketmaster's Face Value Exchange. If fans purchase tickets for a show in the U.S. or Canada and can't attend, they'll have the option to resell them to other fans at the original price paid. To help protect the Exchange, the tour has requested all tickets be mobile only and restricted from transfer. This applies to all shows except those in Colorado, Illinois, and New York where Face Value Exchange cannot be mandated. Please note, a valid bank account or debit card within the country of your event is required to sell on the Face Value Exchange.

Citi is the official card of the "Tsunami Sea" North American tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning Tuesday, December 3 at 12 p.m. ET until Thursday, December 5 at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program.

The announcement follows SPIRITBOX's second consecutive Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance" ("Cellar Door") which no woman has ever won this sole category. The tour announcement also follows the reveal of their anticipated sophomore album, "Tsunami Sea", slated for release on March 7 via Pale Chord / Rise Records. The album's first two singles, the heavy hitter "Soft Spine" and melodic "Perfect Soul", showcase the band's dynamic range and their ability to seamlessly fuse diverse sonic influences, offering a glimpse into the depth and ambition of the forthcoming record.

In addition to SPIRITBOX's headline U.S. and European tours in 2025, the band will jump on select dates of LINKIN PARK's world tour, joining the rock icons for performances in Italy, the Netherlands and the U.K.

SPIRITBOX with LOATHE, DYING WISH and GEL 2025 North American tour dates:

April 03 - Dallas, TX - South Side Ballroom April 04 - San Antonio, TX - Boeing Center at Tech Port April 05 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center April 07 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy April 08 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live April 11 - Washington, DC - MGM National Harbor April 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - UPMC Events Center April 14 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore April 15 - Montclair, NJ - The Wellmont Theater April 18 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom April 19 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway April 21 - Montreal, QC - M TELUS* April 23 - Toronto, ON - Great Canadian Casino April 25 - Chicago, IL - Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom April 26 - Madison, WI - The Sylvee April 27 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe April 29 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant April 30 - Des Moines, IA - Vibrant Music Hall May 02 - Denver, CO - Fillmore Auditorium May 03 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex May 06 - Vancouver, BC - PNE Forum May 07 - Tacoma, WA - Temple Theatre May 09 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic May 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium*

* Without GEL

Formed in 2017 in the picturesque-yet-isolated region of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, by singer Courtney Laplante and guitarist Mike Stringer, SPIRITBOX became a household name in rock circles in the summer of 2020 with the release of their blistering breakout single "Holy Roller", along with a host of other captivating singles shortly after, resulting in a media firestorm of hype.

With new and existing fans eagerly watching their next move, SPIRITBOX exceeded every expectation imaginable in 2021 with the release of their genre-defining debut studio album "Eternal Blue" via Pale Chord/Rise Records. "Eternal Blue", which debuted at No. 13 on the Billboard 200, kicked open the doors of the heavy metal scene and rewrote the genre's playbook with 12 stunning tracks that incorporated everything from djent and post-metal to infectious synth-laden pop sensibilities and cinematic arrangements, brought fully to life by the inimitable Laplante's ethereal and commanding vocal performances.

The album cycle for "Eternal Blue" saw SPIRITBOX not only grace the covers of esteemed music publications such as Revolver, Alternative Press, Rock Sound and Kerrang!, among many others but would also solidify the band as one of the most in-demand groups in live music today with their one-hundred percent sold out, first-ever headlining tour in support of the album which saw ticket sales over 40,000. The band would also share the stage with seasoned metal veterans such as LIMP BIZKIT and GHOST and win "Best International Breakthrough Band" at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards.

In 2022, SPIRITBOX secured highly-coveted spots at numerous major U.S. rock and metal festivals and were nominated for two Juno awards, respectively. SPIRITBOX would also round out their current lineup with the inclusion of drummer Zev Rose and bassist Josh Gilbert in addition to releasing their sonically experimental EP "Rotoscope" in June of that year as well as a cross-genre collaboration with dubstep artist Illenium for the track "Shivering".

During another whirlwind year for the band, including a U.S. tour with SHINEDOWN and PAPA ROACH, SPIRITBOX wrote and recorded their critically acclaimed EP "The Fear Of Fear", released in November 2023. The EP features the single "Jaded", which was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. In the same month, the band would make another genre-bending splash with a high-profile collaboration with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a remix of her song "Cobra".

Photo credit: Jonathan Weiner

[dragons-bones]

FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

Another year, another master post! Throughout September, this post will be updated to reflect completed prompts. Fills posted to Tumblr will remain raw and unedited, but in October, I will edit and upload to Archive of Our Own, and further update this post with links to the AO3 versions.

Fills run the gamut of the timeline; all content through Dawntrail is fair game. Please note individual warnings where necessary on each fill.

--

AETHERSURGE

--

Previous Master Posts: 2017 || 2018 || 2019 || 2020 || 2021 || 2022 || 2023

--

Prompt 01 [Steer]: The Constants of Adventure

Prompt 02 [Horizon]: High Flying

Prompt 03 [Tempst]: Levinstrike

Prompt 04 [Reticent]: Lominsan Girls

Prompt 05 [Stamp]: Missives from Aboard

Prompt 06 [Halcyon]: Promise

Prompt 07 [Morsel]: In Pie We Crust

Prompt 08 [Free Write | Telegraphy]: Aethergraphy

Prompt 09 [Lend an Ear]: Matters of the Heart

Prompt 10 [Stable]: Carbuncle Quality

Prompt 11 [Surrogate]: Maternal Instinct

Prompt 12 [Quarry]: A Rescue!

Prompt 13 [Butte]: A Sky Full of Stars

Prompt 14 [Telling]: Skin-Deep

Prompt 15 [Free Write | Deodate]: Lux Solaris

Prompt 16 [Third-Rate]: Scorched and Chipped

Prompt 17 [Sally]: War Paint

Prompt 18 [Hackneyed]: Bard Off

Prompt 19 [Taken]: Levinstorm

Prompt 20 [Duel]: Reach and Flexibility

Prompt 21 [Shade]: Vistas

Prompt 22 [Free Write | Rencounter]: Kith and Kin

Prompt 23 [On Cloud Nine]: What the Future Holds

Prompt 24 [Bar]: [SELF-DETERMINATION PROTOCOLS]

Prompt 25 [Perpetuity]: Endless

Prompt 26 [Zip]: The Heron Hike and Hustle

Prompt 27 [Memory]: Fragments

Prompt 28 [Deleterious]: Summer Heat

Prompt 29 [Free Write | Thanatopsis]: Only the Good Die Young

Prompt 30 [Two Heads Are Better Than One]: More Uxorio

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

A list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing

I made a list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing.

2009

NOV 30 Manageable Tongue Twisters.

2010

FEB 24 Marxist-Socialists Jokes

2011

JUL 21 A Post Gender Normative Man Tries to Pick Up a Woman at a Bar

DEC 07 ACTOR & PLAYWRIGHT JESSE EISENBERG ON THE THRILL OF THE STAGE

2012

JAN 25 Courage Is Just an Act

FEB 15 Jeremy Lin Has Helped Me Through Some Pretty Tough Times

MAR 12 Jesse Eisenberg on His Lifelong Aversion to Youth Culture

MAY 24 Sushi Nozawa

JUN 06 Masgouf

JUL 09 The Whiskey Blue Bar at the W Hotel

AUG 01 TCBY

AUG 20 Robert Frost Elementary School Cafeteria

OCT 02 Organix vs. the San Gennaro Street Festival

NOV 21 Thanksgiving With Vegans

DEC 11 Body Rituals Among the Lauxesortem

2013

FEB 22 Matthew’s House

MAR 17 Marv Albert Is My Therapist

APR 15 The League, Passed Down

APR 17 I Didn’t Win Any Pulitzer Prizes This Year

APR 25 A Marriage Counselor Tries to Heckle at a Knicks Game

JUN 03 Fuddruckers and an Unreliable New Friend

JUN 24 Separation-Anxiety Sleepaway Camp

AUG 06 A Crawfish Boil and Dad’s New Family

SEP 09 A Bully Does His Research

OCT 02 A Post Gender Normative Woman Tries to Pick Up a Man at a Bar

OCT 07 Final Conversations at Pompeii

NOV 01 The Museum of Natural History and Making Compromises

NOV 12 Alexander Graham Bell’s First Five Phone Calls

DEC 12 The Ashram and Mom

2014

JAN 20 If I Was Fluent in . . .

JUN 10 Carmelo Anthony and I Debrief Our Friends After a Pickup Game at the Y.M.C.A.

2015

MAY 25 Men and Dancing

SEP 01 My Nephew Has Some Questions

SEP 09 My Spam Plays Hard to Get

NOV 22 THE GUY WHO HATED NOW YOU SEE ME, A SHORT STORY

NOV 23 An Honest Film Review

2016

JAN 27 What Do You Do When Your Mother Won’t Shut Up at The Ballet?

FEB 04 Act Like You Know

FEB 12 Why I Broke Up with the Little Mermaid

MAY 19 My Cousin Recently Became A Realtor

NOV 04 SELF-DEPRECATING HEROES

DEC 11 LOW TALK IN HIGH PLACES

2017

JAN 23 YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW

JAN 25 My Very Good Friend

FEB 01 发现肉——致中国读者

MAR 04 HAVE YOU DINED WITH US BEFORE?

NOV 14 Mongolia

2018

JAN 15 Sad Stuff on the Street

MAR 20 Thanks, Giving

MAY 14 My N.B.A. Knowledge Comes In Handy

MAY 18 One Small Blow Against Encroaching Totalitarianism: The Natural Order of the World Depends On It

MAY 31 Jesse Eisenberg on the Relentless Work Ethic of Philip Roth

DEC 05 The Cast Members and Their Crew

2019

JAN 03 MY SISTER PUSHES THE LOBSTER

NOV 21 My Two-Year-Old Requests Just One More Song Before Bed

NOV 23 Jesse Eisenberg: Recommends four contemporary plays

2021

MAR 02 Writer Courtney Zoffness and Jesse Eisenberg on the Radical Compassion of Art

2022

NOV 07 Content Warning

2023

FEB 20 A G.P.S. Route for My Anxiety

[not-poignant]

December 2023 Writing Round-Up

Here's the monthly round-up of everything written and posted in December 2023! It's the final round-up of this year! It's been a great month for housekeeping, and behind-the-scenes stuff happening on Patreon (and Ream!) But here's the chapters that were released: Underline the Black 73 

Underline the Black 74 

Underline the Black 75 

Underline the Blue 07 

Underline the Blue 08 

Constellations 01 

The Nascent Diplomat 39 

The Nascent Diplomat 40 (Augus+Gwyn Tier+)

Underline the Blue 11 (Augus+Gwyn Tier+)

Constellations 04 (Gary+Efnisien Tier+)

Chapter Commentary - Underline the Black 31 (Mosk+Eran Tier+)

Chapter Commentary - Underline the Black 32 (Mosk+Eran Tier+)

2014-2017 Chapter Commentaries - Full Compilation (Mosk+Eran Tier+)

2023 Chapter Commentaries - Full Compilation (Mosk&Eran Tier+)

Song Spotlight - Full Compilation (All Tiers)

FANFICTION

A Stain that Won't Dissolve 27 

A Stain that Won't Dissolve 28  

Palmarosa 12 

Palmarosa 13 

Palmarosa 14 

Palmarosa 15 

*

It was a much quieter month on the writing front. I managed 43,000 words by some miracle, across a bunch of different stories. 

A reminder that enrolment into the Merch Tier to get the May/June rewards is still valid until mid February!

*

On the writing side, I wrote across multiple stories: Palmarosa, Constellations, Underline the Black, and Underline the Blue. 

*

I had to step back on posting for my own health/sanity. And I'm taking the first two weeks of January off from posting chapters. I'll still be writing, but in between raising a puppy and also just general burnout, I'm still putting some mega health-preservation in place so I don't get really sick. 

You will mostly notice this in the form of one Underline the Black chapter not going up each month, to give me a Sunday-to-Sunday stretch with no chapter updates. I will still be active and around! These aren't holidays from writing or interacting with you all, just from the schedule itself. :D 

*

For those who remember the Merchantverse novel Tradewinds, this is coming in book / e-book form to Patreon and Ream only in the Gary+Efnisien Tier or higher. It is a completed Fae Tales Verse story, that focuses on merchant fae in the southern hemisphere, and Seelie vs. Unseelie merchant traders. This will come in January 2024.

*

I'll see you all in January 2024! Which is in one hour! Thanks so much for making this year incredible! :D

[jewishbarbies]

I… how does she even have enough life lived in these short release periods to live, experience, write and record new music. Just how?!

I literally made a timeline of releases because the way she’s churning out albums now compared to her normal release window is horrendous.

Taylor Swift 2006/10/24 

>> 355 DAYS

The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection 2007/10/14 

>> 275 DAYS

Beautiful Eyes (EP) 2008/07/15

>> 119 DAYS

Fearless 2008/11/11

>> 713 DAYS

Speak Now 2010/10/25

>> 728 DAYS

Red 2012/10/22

>> 735 DAYS

1989 2014/10/27

>> 1110 DAYS

Reputation 2017/11/10

>> 651 DAYS

Lover 2019/08/23

>> 336 DAYS

Folklore 2020/07/24

>> 140 DAYS

Evermore 2020/12/11

>> 119 DAYS

Fearless TV 2021/04/09

>> 217 DAYS

Red TV 2021/11/12

>> 344 DAYS

Midnights 2022/10/21

>> 260 DAYS

Speak Now TV 2023/07/07

>> 113 DAYS

1989 TV 2023/10/27

>> 176 DAYS

The Tortured Poets Department 2024/04/19

Not to mention we still have her debut TV and Rep TV to be released as well. Can she just stop for five seconds so we can breathe. 

girl can’t slow down bc then she’d have to think about how fucked her life is, probably. it’s definitely oversaturation but it’s kind of nice knowing her music won’t be on tiktok until UMG comes to an agreement. hoping that means we won’t be hearing the first single.