#also fun bit of trivia: my actual job right now is preparing an academic book on reproductive tech. and law for publication

[ailuronymy]

Jaypelt and Jayleaf for the ask game?

Jaypelt: alter one thing about a character?

I really had a think about this one, because I didn’t want to offer another lacklustre answer after the previous two! It’s been super difficult to come up with anything, but if it came to, “what would make me enjoy the series more?” I think I’d go with a sort-of-cheat answer, which is that I would remove the superpowers from all cats with some sort of magic ability. That’s very boring to me, to just have powers and no reason for it and no cost for using them. 

For me to enjoy a series like this one, set in what pretends to be a real world location, you can’t just have a cat who can throw a tree. You just can’t. So I would remove those powers and if there still had to be powers, I would want more subtle things: hearing whispering voices, enhanced endurance, an ability to understand what is inexplicable to other cats (i.e., behaviour of humans, or the speech of another animal), eerily accurate prophetic feelings, so on. The kind of thing that can usually be explained away as coincidence, or that otherwise has an element of the unreal or the hoax-y about it–i.e., how can we trust you? or, if it is from a supernatural source, how can we trust it? I enjoy that kind of thing a lot. 

Jayleaf: alter one thing about a storyline?

I vaguely remember that time Brambleclaw found out his kits weren’t biologically his kits, and then got stroppy about it, and I don’t care for that at all. I thought it was a childish, stupid response, to be so tied up in the concept of “blood relative,” and also I thought it was pretty ridiculous that Leafpool and Squirrelflight would just… not tell him. That fundamentally rings so many alarm bells for me re: the health of a relationship; it’s built on bad ground if you keep that kind of a secret from a partner. 

So, the change I would make is that, actually, Brambleclaw is in on the whole thing. That would be way cooler to me, and turn a situation that’s really pretty ick to me into, if nothing else, a much kinder, better message re: what constitutes a healthy relationship, a healthy partnership, a supportive family, and a caring and invested father. There’s a massive privileging that goes on when it comes to biological family, wrapped up in the belief that all it takes to be considered a “real” father is to sire a child–whereas a man who raises a child he isn’t biologically related to isn’t typically referred to as “real,” because of the biological implication of the word. 

I’d personally love to see that conflict play out, and watch the discussion between the clans and cats involved. It’d be swell to see the truth come out and someone turn, shocked, to Brambleclaw like, “Gasp! you poor thing, this must be so hard for you to find out they’re not your–” and he’s there with shades on in his Proud Dad shirt like, “Oh you THOUGHT??” Basically, I would prefer for the storyline to be one that made the characters cool and supportive and ride-or-die for each other, instead of snippy and secretive and overall kind of shitty about the whole situation. 

It’s also a way better romance plot to me, frankly, for Squirrelflight to be like, “Brambleclaw, I think you’re right, we should have kits,” and he’s like, “Oh man this is great, I’d love to, we’ve talked about being parents for so long, I’m so happy that–” and she’s like, “Yeah, it’s swell, we’re having them in like one month and also they’re my sister’s, she’s just told me and do you think we can make this work???? sorry for the late notice, also I love you,” and he’s like… “…all right. all right, okay, we’ve got this, I’ll ask you tomorrow in public if your paws hurt and do you need some extra sun-time and no-one will ever know otherwise, it’s foolproof,” and basically what I’m saying is the intimacy created in sharing such an enormous important secret on top of raising kids together is phenomenal and very good. That’s a love I can believe in.  

[tatumbutinblogform-blog]

Sample Blogs!

1. What is something vexing that you're currently wrestling with?

My first (of many) MIT dilemmas

Ah yes. MIT. The place that provides students SO MANY things to do (not just plain or boring things, things I love!). The ~things~ I’m referring to are all of the majors, minors, activities, clubs, seminars, learning communities... You get the point. Though I am still a smol, not-yet-exposed-to-the-real-MIT prefrosh, I get the sense that it’s hard not to want to do everything. MIT is amazing in that it does a phenomenal job of picking diverse, passionate, motivated students; these students avidly seek out challenges and, from what I’ve seen amongst my prefrosh kin™, are ready to do literally everything at MIT.

But of course, that’s not possible. Although many wish they could quadruple major, time limitations exist, other obligations exist, you need SLEEP, and thus it’s likely not going to happen. I recently encountered one of my first dilemmas with regards to MIT (let’s just acknowledge that I’m not even there yet!) so buckle up!

Although I think I know what I plan on majoring in (course 20?!), deciding on my HASS concentration (preemptive, of course, as I am currently attempting to plan my academic journey here at MIT on FireRoad) has proven to be a challenge.

Obviously, I love math and science; but my academic interests also include non-STEM subjects like literally anything art history (actually history in general…) and Mandarin Chinese. I had the chance to explore these two subjects in high school-- taking an AP Art History course junior year (and consequently falling in love) and Mandarin Chinese sophomore through senior year. I knew I needed to continue these in college, as they really added a must-needed balance to my years in high school.

I vividly remember basically being in <3 love <3 when I saw the art pieces printed in my AP booklet during the test, mostly because the print quality was so nice! I was definitely not expecting to spend time ogling over some art pieces I studied all year during the most important test for the class, but there I was. I am still so incredibly fascinated by art history; I love learning why an artist decided to create their pieces, why the pieces were important during the time period, and omg how pretty! 

I also discovered the wonder that is learning a new language! Most students took a required foreign language during their time in high school, as did I, but I never expected to thoroughly enjoy Mandarin so much. Although I never had exposure to the language growing up (as judging from my appearance, I am most definitely caucasian and our family only speaks English. but fun fact I’m ¼ Japanese!), I definitely had a great time learning about the intricate language and culture. And at this point, I virtually only speak at the elementary-level, so there is still so much 中文 (Chinese) to learn!

So this is my first MIT dilemma-- do I want to do my HASS Concentration in the History of Architecture, Art and Design, or in Chinese Studies? Learn cool history things, or (hopefully) become bilingual? ahhhh!!!

After a lot of thinking, planning, playing around with FireRoad, I think I’ve come to the decision of choosing the art history route. I am most definitely not dead-set on it, but just to give myself some peace of mind. It came down to which one I really enjoy studying! While I love learning Mandarin, my passion for art history ultimately prevailed. But stay tuned for any changes!

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2. What happened Tuesday?

Solace in the Summertime My First Tuesday of July!

For many people, it’s usually a rarity to see the sunrise every morning (and in a perfect world, I’d be “many people”). I’m unfortunately woken up each morning by my 5:40am alarm-- I mean, I love my daily routine, but I just wish my day started a bit later. After getting everything situated, aka my breakfast, clothes, backpack, and bike loaded into the car (more on that later), I’m off to rowing practice!

Today's workout includes some hard pieces¹ on the erg², where I eventually totaled 16,000 meters rowed for the day. After stretching and foam-rolling, I did some strength training and wooo I’m done!

Just kidding! I brought my bike to ride today (thanks to mom for dropping me off this morning :D ) because the weather is wonderful in Southern California and I love the scenic route home. So, I embark on the 40 minute-ish ride-- slightly longer because my legs are dead, and hills are no joke-- and think about what I’m going to do for the rest of my day! With only 47 days (insert surprised Pikachu) until I leave for MIT, my time left to spend at home is quite limited. So many things to do!

It’s only 10:52 in the morning, but I’m hungry so I snack on some blueberries. I absolutely love blueberries!!! I wrote a sonnet on my love for blueberries once (my teacher told us to be creative, it’s just what came to mind!), so clearly, the love is real. So sweet! So pigmented!

After my blueberry escapade, I decided to read a bit. I didn’t have much time throughout the school year to read for leisure, so I’m just cherishing the time now! I just started the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin (aka Game of Thrones in book form before it became a TV show). After reading for a while, I eat lunch, chill a bit, and write in my new planner that I got as one of my graduation gifts.

A few hours later, it’s dinner time! I make a delicious salad for dinner (I make one literally every night ~ friendly reminder to get your veggies in!) and get prepare for a meeting I have in the evening. The meeting is for a nonprofit I help run, called STEMChats, and we’re having our weekly leadership team call that will last a few hours (it’s a busy time for us!).

Sparing some minor events that occurred through the day, this is what I did on my first Tuesday in July! The day was pretty uneventful for me, mostly because I’ve done a similar routine most days of my summer so far. But I hope you enjoyed Tatum’s Tuesday!

A “piece” is basically rowing lingo for the workout. Most are either by time or distance (meters).

We <3 erging! Ergs are the indoor rowing machines used for on-land workouts and such (most rowers don’t actually like them because hard workouts = pain).

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3. What is your current obsession?

Jeopardy! Joy An Evening Tradition 

If you ask me to hang out any given day between 7pm to 7:30pm, chances are I’ll say no. I’ve been watching the fast-paced classic trivia show Jeopardy! for over 11 years with the company of my mom. Though I didn’t get many answers right in my early years, I now get enough correct clues each night to tally ‘em up (sorry for the unintentional flex). So, when I hear the ever-so-memorable theme song each night when the clock strikes 7, I instantly grab my small chalkboard, chalk, and a nice glass of water because it’s time for some Jeopardy!. 

Now, I’m not sure you’d call it an obsession. For me, it’s a hobby. Surprising yourself by remembering very niche details on events, names, and just utterly random topics? Count me in! Now I know at MIT we had (have? idk?) a ~celebrity~ in our midst: Lily Chin, Jeopardy! College Champion. I remember watching the tournament a few years back, greatly looking up to the contestants who just knew so much! I never ever thought that I’d be going to the same institution, let alone writing this blog. Maybe one day I’ll be on Jeopardy! (currently waiting for the next college student try-out!!!) and I’ll fulfill my life-long dream! Or maybe I won’t! But I’ll still continue to watch the show and reminisce on all the great memories watching it with family (but show no remorse for all the missed opportunities for hangouts with friends. sorry y’all <3) (let’s play a game called “how many times can you mention ‘Jeopardy!’ in one blog post”!)