#and not to say I never advertised for something book related

[carica-ficus]

I've watched the infamous hbomberguy video about plagiarism the other day and cannot stop thinking about "content mills" (and consumerism) and its integration in the book community.

I have a bookstagram account because the community there is much more active (and most of my reading/writing friends use it as their primary social site), but it is filled to the brim with so much stupid and uninteresting content. Moreover, I'd say that the Croatian bookstagram community is even worse than the bookstagram community as a whole.

I'm lucky to have really cool mutuals on there that don't follow trends or don't feel the need to play influencers, but so many people do. I unfollowed at least 15 profiles yesterday because I couldn't take it anymore. None of their posts showed any love for reading and so much of their content is sponsored.

Worst of all is they're not even advertising for the author or their work, it's just for the publisher, which makes no fucking sense, in my humble opinion. Since when are books about congratulating a specific publisher on deciding to publish a book, and not for the author or their painstaking and beautiful work?

Not to mention, I rarely see Croatian publishers actually publishing Croatian authors! The biggest publishers only ever translate internationally popular works. And yes, I do realize why that's the case (there's barely any money in this industry and most of our publishers would perish if it weren't for the profit coming from translations), but for fucks sake, if you're advertising for yourself, at least throw in a few of our own authors. At least make our bookstagramers support their own community, the community without which they wouldn't even exist!

And you know what's the worst of the worst? The constant fake amazement in all those countless sponsored reviews, for books barely any of them even read! They call themselves creative, but most of their content wouldn't even exist without the creative work of others. All those giveaways, AI generated pictures, thousands upon thousands of advertisements for publishers only looking for profit, posting content just to post something, promotions for books which barely even hit the shelves, and the never-ending drama of who copies whom in a community where no one is original.

Yes, I know ads also provide a profit for editors, translators, authors, illustrators and everyone else involved in the publishing industry, but I ask you another thing: Why are these people never mentioned in the posts then? Why are they not given any credit? Because it's hard or because, to them - the publishers and to influencers - it doesn't matter? Why do our publishers print translated works with AI covers? Why do we translate and print new editions of old, popular, international works, instead of giving our own writers a chance? Why do some publishers chose to use an AI generated cover instead of hiring a local artist? How much profit do writers, artists, editors and translators really achieve compared to the publishers?

"Oh, but you don't understand. The industry would collapse if we did it differently."

Yeah, because money is the most important thing when it comes to publishing books. It isn't about the author. It isn't about supporting creative endeavors. It isn't about supporting the local community. It isn't about the story and its idea. Yeah, you're right. None of that matters. Because reading is about consumption and about making money.

Spare me.

Let it collapse then. Maybe we don't deserve all the people brave enough to share their work with millions of people who don't even care about them.

In hindsight, maybe I'm bitter because I spend a lot of time surrounded by the truly creative community - writers, illustrators, photographers and all other forms of artists, so I'm angry they're looked over in the community that should praise them. Or maybe I'm just fed up with all the dishonesty and advertisement these co-called influencers push for a few free books. You decide. I'm just saying that I'm tired of it.

[dunmeshistash]

As of... actually several episodes ago but more so on this episode, I'm starting to think there's something (a reason/correlation?) to the anime not going all out on the animation (youd think ep23 part 1 would have gotten more attention) or when its not doing a 100% panel-for-panel adaptation of the manga (ie cutting out gags and some other parts)

Its almost like the anime is slightly just a little maybe advertising the manga? but idk, you dont really get this feeling if youve never read the manga. It only torments those who have who know what's in the manga that the anime-only's are missing out on. and there's also the dungeon tidbits that dont/havent been adapted that expand more on the story.

lets be real tho, some things in the manga just would not translate as effectively into anime. (ie the manga covers that look raw as all hell)

tl;dr i have a feeling the anime is not doing the manga 100% perfect justice because animation restraints AND it wants you to read the manga as well.

I've actually been thinking about that too. But objectively I think the dungeon meshi anime is effective/overall good adaptation of the manga.

The feeling of "NOO IT'S MISSING X THING" as far as I can tell is only for people who have read the manga, everyone else doesn't seem to feel there's a lack of quality. I call it the cursed knowledge of the manga lol.

The fact is that the manga is just PACKED full of so many details an adaptation that has ALL of it is just impossible, and trigger's anime isn't necessarily bad just because it doesn't have it <- I say begrudgingly cause I wish it had all

From what I can tell they have been pacing themselves within their budget/time constraints and focusing on what the medium of animation can serve the best to compliment the manga, which is action scenes, they seem to be focusing most of their efforts into giving us BREATHTAKING animations during the action and honest I LOVE IT.

I recommend @swampjawn's animation breakdowns if you wanna really appreciate it in a more technical aspect, its so good.

But another thing I've been noticing is how much content Ryoko Kui does related to the anime? Like the merch, the blu-ray boxes the collabs. Is that something common at all? The manga author doing so much content related to the anime of their work?

Maybe it's an exception cause she finished publishing Dungeon Meshi before the anime came out but I hope that her gorgeous art inspires people to read it.

Anyway I'm not sure if trigger is on purpose doing "manga advertisement" but just where I believe they'll stop this season is probably gonna make a lot of people want to read so it's a win in my book.

[well-gosh-diddly-darnit-minyard]

so I was just Thinking some Thoughts, as one does when one cannot sleep, and i was wondering about the saddest book I’ve ever read (either The Raven King [Sakavic, not Stiefvater] or The Sunshine Court) and the book that I was told was super super sad (A Little Life) and now I have to rant. for those of you who have read A Little Life, the book was probably advertised to you in a similar way that it was advertised to me: “this is America’s saddest book”.

and while it is true that ALL is very sad, i have some thoughts on it that I’d like to share. if you haven’t read it but you want to, this is your time to back out and avoid spoilers. also: tw for SA and abuse, and whatever else is in AFTG and ALL.

as I read ALL, I kept wondering about the amount of foreshadowing around Jude’s trauma. when I was finished, I was floored by the writing (impeccable) and the plot itself (???). i constantly felt like Jude’s trauma would vary from place to place, but it seemed like the only form of trauma that the author even considered including was that of sexual assault and abuse. and while these are topics that should totally be discussed and written about in the literature world, it seemed so unrealistic that as Jude went from state to state and place to place that his trauma would only relate to sexual assault and abuse.

and while I do realize that thousands of people across the world have suffered immense amounts of trauma from SA and abuse, when I read Jude’s past I couldn’t see his trauma as anything but exploitative and used for shock value. it also seemed like the author did surface level research on PTSD from SA. before anyone in the notes says that they thought it was accurate, I myself am a victim and it only ever felt like a Hollywood-type piece of media wherein everything is written to gain revenue. there was also very little trauma related to anything BUT sexual assault and abuse. none of it was tied together in any way (I.e., brother Luke didn’t know/wasn’t related to Dr. Traylor in any way).

one thing I truly despised was how Jude responded to all of his trauma. no im not talking about his SH. i’m talking about his half-assed thoughts of, “oh woe is me I’m the worst example of a person ever.” i say these thoughts were half-assed because it seemed like they were never really taken anywhere other than to the people around him, who responded, “no you’re not!! stop hurting yourself!! we’re trying to help you get better!!”

and Jude never got better. there were honeymoon periods, but the author always threw in something new to make his trauma resurface. he also never truly threw himself into getting better, he only ever seemed to make empty promises and then continued to wallow. and in other characters’ povs, it never seems like Jude does anything wrong EXCEPT FOR WHEN HE’S NOT ACTIVELY DOING SOMETHING TO BETTER HIMSELF. it’s only when he is not taking care of himself that others get mad at him in any way, other moments of anger are fleeting and eventually just lead to absolutely nothing.

to sum that all up: there was no moral related to trauma responses or PTSD or healing. there was no true resolution for Jude’s trauma. and the feelings that Jude seemed to have around his trauma always came back to, “I deserved it, I’m the worst person ever, I hate myself,” even when the things that he experienced were so egregious that I had to put the book down. everything was so cliche to me, to the point where I didn’t ever notice if Jude even had a personalized response to his trauma, if there was anything that wouldn’t be found in some clout-fishing TikTok about battling depression where you can practically see the person reading lines off of a poster behind the camera.

of course, take what I say with a grain of salt and don’t let my opinions of the book influence whether or not you read it and enjoy it. many people loved it and I admire the author’s use of words and her writing style, I just think her use of sensitive material for plot value was mediocre at its best.

now: The Sunshine Court.

made me cry. i have only praise for this book and so many thoughts surrounding it, but I’ll try to only talk about Jean’s trauma because that’s what my rant on ALL was about.

in TSC, Jean also experiences some very extreme trauma, and he also resorts to SH, and he also thinks that he deserved it. in my opinion, the difference between him and Jude is the authenticity.

Jean’s trauma mostly stems from his time at the nest, and I say this because his backstory has not been discussed in detail yet. but his trauma is brilliantly discussed and here’s how:

one: he is a person outside of his trauma. he makes fun of people to himself! he does the dishes and cooks!! he’s honest and brutally so!!! not much else to say on this, but I loved that every pov with Jean didn’t always talk about his trauma.

two: the two biggest triggers for him (biting and water) don’t relate!! they are two separate points of concern. biting comes from getting assaulted comes from Grayson. water comes from water boarding comes from extreme punishment comes from Riko.

three: his SH isn’t cutting himself. i realize that cutting is the most common form of SH, but there are other ways that people choose to hurt themselves that aren’t talked about at all. Jean claws at his throat, he tries to scratch the feeling of getting bitten off of his skin. he doesn’t go for the knives in the kitchen.

four: last but most certainly not least, he starts getting better!! he doesn’t just make empty promises, he actually tries to be better! and his line of recovery is. not. linear!!!!! recovery is never linear, and I thought that Nora showed that wonderfully in TSC. he goes back and forth between thinking of the Ravens and being at peace in the present, his past and present aren’t one big flashback.

overall, TSC can be summed up like this: it has a moral about healing. it doesn’t exploit trauma for shock value or revenue, it utilizes one person’s specific response to his own trauma to show how healing and recovery can happen sometimes. and the character actually tries!! he doesn’t wallow, he tries to get better!

anyway. if you made it all the way through, I appreciate you. and if you haven’t read one of these books, I strongly suggest both of them so you can form your own opinions and come to your own conclusions.

[onioety]

Okay!!! I'm fucking around with searches on the thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com's computer. I'll keep this thing updated with everything I find!!

(Disclaimer: typing names several times can change the outcomes)

List below!!

-BILL: either jazz triangle YouTube video or a Wikipedia link to eye triangle dollar bill things.

-MCGUCKET: cottoned eye Joe video on YouTube.

-MABEL: stickers will get sticked in the lab until 'lab now fully mabelized' appears on the pc's screen.

-DIPPER: Note from Bill asking him to stare 13 hours at the sun to develope powers to see 'special sun ink'. If you keep clicking, more notes appear saying you're on the right path. Gradually, the notes will get black (you're blind)

-STAN: HERE ME OUT THIS ONE IS MARVELOUS. The first searches will lead you to eBay and different random objects related to Stan (8 ball, rings, compression vest, hat, bow...). If you keep going you'll be able to see this (I love Stanley he's my baby):

Here you can take a look at a TON of random Stan-related things. Special mention to one of Stan's fear being having very small fingertips. I'll never be over it.

-DIVORCE/BREAKUP: THE FUCKING O'SADLEYS SIGN. I'M.

-BOYFRIEND: the romance book.

No because maybe there's more to this... 'there's three sides to every story'. Yes, triangle, love triangle, it's a very good pun. But we had Ford's POV in Diaries 3 and Bill's in the book of Bill. Thinking thoughts.

-GIDEON: sweat resistant bolo ties search on Google.

-TRIANGLE: ')' and 'tri harder'

-ALEX: flannel search on google

-PORTAL: 'portal.exe has been deleted. I bet you could build one'

-GRAVITY FALLS: 'never heard of it'

-FORD/SIXER: 18th y.o Ford's hand radiography. Weird something written I cannot really tell?? H8T0? HBT0? HBTO? H8TO?

-WENDY: 👌

-SOOS: some notes written down by him. Claims that when looking at the book everything glitches and he just sees 'HE'S UNCORRUPTABLE'.

-PIÑATA: video of a girl punching a Bill-shaped piñata.

-ABUELITA: vacuum cleaner commercial spot on YouTube.

-Any insult: soap image, angry message. They do not approve us.

-LIES: okay I find this specially important because the book is very introspective and gives out a lot of info about Bill but we all know he's an unreliable narrator. He rants about post-truth, scientism and superstition (very cool and interesting philosophical topics if I may say). But it's specially interesting when it comes to understanding Bill and his mindset. Lie until what you want becomes true, which can't. Lie until you can't remember what's a lie and what isn't. Reality is doomed, if you can't physically escape, do so in your mind. Lie until you aren't lying anymore. Reality is a compendium, and ultimate construct, a truth of lies, a possibility among endless. Lies are truths

-GOD: video of an axolot swimming with a Bill figurine made out of rock.

-HEY NERD: advertisement

-EVEN HIS LIES ARE LIES:

SORRY: Old picture of Fiddleford and Stanford back in college :(

ONE EYED KING: fucking morse code. Took me some minutes to catch it: -./.-/../-/.../..-/.-/..-.

Resulting in: NAITSUAF. If you enter this word as a new code, you'll see a page with a contract and terms of service to sell your soul. It has a code that translates to: 'you're now twenty one grams lighter'.

[silviawordsworth]

A comprehensive reason as to why I, as a teenage girl, think the marauders fandom is heaven on earth. (+ a few faults)

In simple terms, its a pit of representation. The characters, even the ones mentioned more than just a name drop, have very little known information about them. Like yes, we know remus lupin marries tonks and we know james marries lily, but besides that? They were teenagers at hogwarts, its fun to play around with the dynamics of them.

And its also a passion project. The marauders is by no means an actual thing. Sure, theyre side characters in hp. But the marauders fandom is created solely on headcanons and fanon info. Its almost like if i were to pull finnick and annie from thg and develop them with such depth that it contextualises things that couldve been explained better in the actual books.

And not only that, but it shows creativity. Its like weve all taken these characters, aged them down to make them more relatable, and projected our own teenage experiences onto them in a way that jk could never as she wrote them as an adult and likely has never experienced the struggles of the lgbtq teens nowadays

The lgbtq is also a good point to bring up. Nowhere anywhere else on the internet will you find a fandom so full of lgbtq characters solely bc 'it doesnt sell'. The marauders is a prime example of how marketing realistic teenagers to teenagers is not unprofitable.

Mental health is also a big thing that needs to be explored more in media. And not as the main plot, but as something that just exists. Its done well in the marauders fandom.

Usually when watching a show or reading a book, you think these characters arent that realistic. In their world, sure. But its hard to relate to characters who link nothing to you. The marauders, though wizards, are teenagers in school. They are relatable.

Also the ability to create everything out of nothing. I adore pandora rosier and regulus black but in canon they are never even shown in the movies besides reg.

The poc inclusivity, the non skinny inclusivity, etc etc.

However! There are issues.

The marauders fandom is primarily girls, yet this fandom is an excellent example of the preference that male characters get. Like, i love regulus. But pray tell why jegulus gets more hype than pretty much any wlw ships combined? And why do i see so much of lily being a surrogate or her dying and james and reg getting harry? If youre gonna cut lily out of james life for him to be w reg, atleast find another way for them to have a kid. Lily is more than her uterus and a plot device for a kid.

And theres also sm arguments over headcanons. Like, if i were to say i hc james potter as straight, i would get attacked in todays fandom. It just gets a bit strange sometimes when people disregard canon at all. I get the seperation of canon from fanon is definitely inevitable in this fandom, but i dislike when people push their hcs as canon when its literally contradicted by canon.

I love the marauders fandom i do, and i love the way the characters are developed enough to be interesting to everyone, and not just babied down enough to be advertised to kids. Theres so much you can do when you dont have to worry about pr.

Anyways, thanks for listening to my rant. Please feel free to reblog w any questions or comments, il respond to everyone x

[kabii-kins]

You know, I never really talked about it in detail. All the shit I've been spouting about Spyke, Annie and the rest, I mean. I should probably talk about that now, even after three drafts I lost interest in writing. Fourth times the charm, I guess.

To start off, I feel like I need to say that in order to see what I see, you need to have a couple of notes in mind.

Note number 1?

Spyke and Annie are not opposites.

Spyke and Annie are different in appearance. That is a more than obvious observation. They're different species, they talk different, they provide different main services, and they stand at different heights. Their appearances are completely opposite to one another. One eye verses two eyes; tall and short-- Different.

But that just about where their differences end. The pair are far more alike when it comes to their composure and blank expressions; Their drive for business that led to the eventual (and inevitable) merger of their talents. Annie's side hustle might actually be akin to one of Spyke's services; obtaining gear to order.

You order the gear, and at a given time you pick up that gear for an inflated price.

Do we know how either of these orders are obtained? Not really, no. Not many people consider the origins of Annie's work, but many make the safe assumption regarding Spyke given his reputation.

But a lot of what they do is actually the same sort of thing. Annie just gets praise for it, while Spyke is always talked down.

The best example lies in Splatoon 2's sunken scrolls, where both scrolls contain an advertisement (from different sources) promoting a concept that sounds too good to be true, and to compell viewers to inquire for more information.

(source)

The main difference is perception and what is being advertised. A positive public reception for a shop with unique clothing, and a negative public reception for a get rich quick scheme which, granted, worked.

Another more observable yet debatable one, is their disinterest in socializing and social events.

Annie is depicted as a shy, introverted type who prefers to stay indoors; while Spyke is depicted as more non-social but charismatic type that prefers to people watch and go to bookstores to browse. (Splatoon 1 Art Book) He even states every splatfest that he enjoys the vibe of the festival, but would rather not participate in them.

And with note 2:

Accept that concept notes might have silently carried over as influence In future installments.

We do this with the ages with the characters, but not much outside of that.

This entire idea runs off of the idea scribbled down on Flow's concept art page about her and Spyke being friends with benefits. So to see the vision I see, you need to keep that very note in mind.

Okay? Are we good? Okay.

This image.

This fucking image drives me insane.

It's Spyke's card sleeve, and aside from it being one of the prettiest card sleeves in the game, I can't help but to feel like this is related to something symbolic.

Two larger triangles that point upward, one with a smaller triangle within it, and another with a purple splotch of paint across it. And two triangles that point downward. Three of these shapes are orange, while the fourth is purple.

I've compared Spyke, Annie, Murch and Flow to these triangles several times but I never really elaborated on why I did that. So, here's that, I guess:

The large triangle with the smaller triangle within it represents Murch: like the triangle has an eye.

The large triangle with the paint splatter on it represents Spyke: the paint splatter on the triangle is in the same spot and alignment of Spyke's eye. Not to mention that it's the same color as his scalare.

The small orange triangle represents Annie: someone who has business connections between the two sea urchins, a connection to the pair that is rather harmonious, surprisingly.

And the purple triangle represents Flow: The odd one out. The issue. The one that is similar in hue to a mark left on another triangle.

It might sound like nonsense, yeah. But it also wasn't the first time someone was singled out in a color-based manner.

Here you see two images of Spyke throughout the Splatoon 2 era. One is 2017-18, and the other is in 2019 and, ignoring the fact that Nintendo doesn't change shit in a current installment regarding side characters, pre Splatoon 3.

In the former are three bracelets, a small chunky one, a large slender one, and a slightly smaller black one.

The first bracelet might represent a younger Murch, who was short and stocky at the time. The second might represent Spyke who was, seemingly, at his peak at the time, leaving the final bracelet to represent Flow: the odd color out and the bracelet that was straight up removed by the final fest.

After all, he's pictured with only two of them at that time.

And you know who else was in that picture with him? Annie.

Just awkwardly dangling there, using his foot as support. Something that was likely foreshadowing given where they currently are.

And this was likely also reflected in his current bracelet (and general jewelry) choice.

He has a bracelet with a hanging triangle charm in the front of his bracelet arrangement, with two virtually identical bracelets behind it. Representing Annie, Spyke and Murch respectively.

The simple, more probable answer would probably be: "well, she's technically their boss. She would be on top due to that, right?" And yeah, it does.

But it can also indicate Spyke's opinion on Annie is higher than his opinion on Flow.

Just think about it: Flow, a woman he used to sleep with, was on the back of his wrist, colored a gun metal black. While Annie, a woman who bought in to his scary reputation and feared him as well, was set to the front of his wrist. One below the large bangle and a different one above it.

And not only that, but the bracelet representing Flow being removed? Indicating a falling out of sorts the moment Annie gets close?

The purple splatter on that large triangle indicating a permanent mark left by Flow?

The fact I can also apply this logic to Spyke's rug???

Honestly, its why I'm anticipating a potential second splat 3 art book announcement. I don't know if it's with excitement or fear, though.

And as much as I want to delve in to Spyke and Annie's overlaps in splat 3 in great detail, I can just say what I wanna say in a different post.

If you have any inquires, send them to my ask box <3

[thebirdandthebee]

Easy As

A Carmen Berzatto Universe

A/N: Here’s another request from my inbox - Carmen and Vanessa’s first date! This does not, however, include their first kiss. Feel free to slide more requests for these two my way :) Happy Sunday!

Vanessa Monaghan is the breath of fresh air that Carmen had been gasping for.

Chapter 20: Dancing Bears

Carmen shifted in his seat at Trunk Noodle. He and Vanessa had exchanged a few texts since meeting at the supermarket last week and while he’d felt confident enough walking her through the neighborhood grocer, he was now sweating bullets.

He’d been stressed all day, from texting Syd to let her know he’d need the night off to figuring out what to wear – and attempting to manage his curls when he desperately needed a haircut.

He’d suggested the restaurant, which was a hole in the wall Vietnamese place in West Loop from which he frequently ordered takeout. He’d arrived 10 minutes early and was greeted by the staff warmly. They knew Carmen as a customer and a chef, and reassured him he always had a table.

At 7 p.m. on the dot, the doors to the restaurant, whose dining room was no bigger than a home’s family room, opened up and there stood Vanessa.

She was better looking than he recalled, and he’d had several days to romanticize her silky brunette hair and long kohl lashes. She beamed a wide smile upon seeing him and he stood, meeting her halfway in a brief, but tight hug before he pulled out her chair.

“It smells amazing in here,” she gushed before even saying hello.

“I love this place,” Carmen nodded, taking his seat. “I didn’t even think to ask if you liked Vietnamese, I just assumed,” he shrugged softly, a small smile on his face.

“I’ve never had Vietnamese,” Vanessa confessed, to which Carmen grinned, “but I have a feeling I’ll like it.”

Their server brought over shots of fresh coconut milk with lime before taking drink orders.

“Why don’t you order?” Vanessa suggested.

“Are you sure?” Carmen asked.

“Our server addressed you by name, so something tells me you’ve been here before – I’ll try anything,” she smiled. Carmen’s heart skipped a beat.

“No allergies?” He asked, closing his menu. He knew it front to back by heart anyway.

“None,” she shook her head. Carmen rattled off four or five dishes when the server returned with their Cokes and she gladly clinked her glass bottle against his.

“So you know what I do,” Carmen cleared his throat softly. “What do you do for a living?” He asked.

“I work in marketing,” she began, crossing her legs. “For a firm called Olson Group downtown, I’ve been there since I left school.”

“So what exactly does that mean? Like commercials?” He asked.

“Kind of – commercial adjacent,” she nodded, “I help clients of all industries, so retail, restaurant, tech and ecommerce with branding, advertising, public relations management, pretty much anything that’s public-facing for their company.”

“Who’s your favorite client?” Carmen asked, ready to listen to her talk about anything. He liked the way her mouth shaped around the words she spoke.

“Right now, probably United Airlines,” she grinned, “they’re doing this retro PanAm-type of throwback branding overhaul and it’s just been a blast going through old school inspiration and updating it to fit 2021, but with a nod to the past.”

“That’s a huge company,” he commented, surprised.

“Our firm does a lot of big clients,” she nodded. “Our headquarters are here, but we have offices all over North America and Europe – I got to do a transfer year in Luxembourg, it was one of the best years of my life,” she grinned.

“Are you from Chicago?” Carmen asked, realizing he was practically interrogating this woman. “Sorry, god, I don’t mean to grill you.”

“I’m an open book,” she laughed. “It’s like a universal truth that people enjoy talking about themselves, right? I am from Chicago,” she nodded, “and I don’t mean Evanston or Rockford, but Chicago.”

“River North,” Carmen nodded.

“Lincoln Park,” she replied. “But I should caveat I went to grade school in Evanston.”

“I see,” Carmen quirked a small, knowing smile. Vanessa couldn’t believe someone with eyes that blue even existed. There was something about the round of his shoulders, prominent nose and jawline that made Carmen breathtakingly beautiful.

“I knew it!” she laughed, “stop judging me!”

“I’m not judging! Just filing it away for later,” Carmen’s first laugh helped draw his shoulders down from his ears.

Dishes started to pile up on their table as plate after plate was delivered and Vanessa excitedly dug into everything she could, enjoying every bite.

“This one’s a little risky,” Carmen said, stabbing a piece of lemon pepper squid, twirling it about in a sauce before holding it up in front of Vanessa without second thought. She gladly leaned over their small table to take a bite.

“It’s so’good,” she moaned. Carmen’s arms broke out into goose bumps. “Everything is so good,” she commented, holding up her fork with excitement at the spread in front of her, deciding on what to eat next.

Carmen explained more and more of what they were eating and they compared the dishes, ranking them as conversation flowed.

“So why did you decide to come back to Chicago? Miss home?” Vanessa asked.

“Something like that,” Carmen nodded, averting his gaze to the table before looking back to Vanessa. He might as well be honest. “I actually hadn’t planned on it, but my brother, who owned The Beef, he died,” he said, picking up his drink. “And he left it to me.” Vanessa’s eyes softened.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Carmen,” she said with heartfelt honestly. “What was he like?” Carmen swallowed softly. People never asked follow up questions, and if they did, it was never that.

“Eccentric in the best way possible,” Carmen recalled the older days, cooking in their family kitchen and how he idolized Mikey growing up – before things changed. “He was a really good storyteller and knew how to bring people together.”

“Is he your only sibling?” Vanessa asked, taking another bite of her spring roll.

“I’ve got a sister, Natalie,” he nodded. “What about you? Only child?” Vanessa threw her head back with a laugh.

“Am I putting off only-child energy?” She asked. “No, I’ve got two sisters – Nicola, she’s 20 and goes to DePaul, and Hannah, she’s in sixth grade.”

“Three girls,” Carmen raised his brows.

“My Dad thinks it’s penance for his wild boy days,” she laughed. “He raised us on his own – he’s incredibly in touch with his feminine side. My mom died a few weeks after Hannah was born, drunk driver accident,” she offered, seeing as Carmen had really opened himself up by telling her about his brother, she felt compelled to do the same.

“I’m sorry,” Carmen winced. He wasn’t sure what was worse, losing someone by their choice, or against their will.

Vanessa simply smiled, reaching across to squeeze his hand on the tabletop.

“Do you think we could order more of these?” she held up her fork, which had speared a pork wonton.

“Anything you want,” Carmen said sincerely. He’d serve his heart up on a platter it meant she’d smile at him again.

After dinner was finished, they’d agreed to take a stroll and try to walk off their overstuffed stomachs. The weather was nice enough as Chicago approached the end of summer and they weren’t far from Oz Park, which Carmen learned was one of Vanessa’s favorite parks in the city.

Carmen skirted the side of the walkways that were closest to the street and when a large group of people came by, Vanessa deftly stepped closer into his side, tucking her hand around one of his biceps. His brain shorted at her soft skin pressed against his.

“Oh,” she said softly, pausing in front of the retaining wall of a brownstone where a small bear had been spray-painted just above where the wall met the sidewalk. “I need to take a photo quick,” she said, whipping out her phone and crouching down to snap a picture. “Bears are my favorite animal,” she explained, “which sounds really juvenile, but my sisters and I always send each other pictures when we see them out in the wild.”

Carmen gulped softly.

“Why bears?” He asked.

“It’s actually a story our Mom used to tell us that her mother told her,” she said, stepping back into his side and lacing her fingers with his. Carmen squeezed her hand softly as they began to move forward again. “There’s this belief in our grandmother’s culture that when you pass away, you come back reincarnated as an animal, and everyone wants to be a bear because they’re the king of the animal kingdom,” she explained. “So when people pass, they come back to the world as an animal and those that are bears are so happy, they dance,” she laughed. “I don’t know, it sounds silly, but it’s always stuck with us.”

Carmen paused, gently tugging Vanessa’s hand so she’d step closer to him.

“It’s not silly,” he assured. “It actually makes more sense than most things people have said to me about the afterlife – thank you for sharing that with me.”

“Carmen?” Vanessa asked as they continued their way toward Oz Park. He looked over at her, not minding when an errant curl flopped onto his forehead. “I know our first date isn’t over, but I’d really like to go on a second date.”

“Me too.”

[claireelizabethsblog]

~ August's Books Reviewed ~

The month started out strong with me riding a Sanderson high, then I did a thing that I objectively hate and know will 9 times out of 10 have me reading less, which is started several books at once.... as of the end of August I was reading three books at once, yet none of them were finished so none of them get included in August's round up... look forward to that in September I guess!

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

(763 pages)

The stress I felt reading this was unreal... which is simply evidence of how good it is. It genuinely was pulling actual visceral reactions from me and I physically could not put it down at points. I know this is a shorter review than usual, but I can think of nothing else to say.

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

(748 pages)

An amazing conclusion to a really really good trilogy. The twists and turns of this were so well executed and completely shocking in exactly the right way. The ending in particular I never could have seen coming. If this were a spoiler review I'd be able to go on more, but for now, I leave with simply the promise that if you love fantasy novels, Sanderson novels, epic twists and/or social/religious/political commentary then you should definitely give this series a try!

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(585 pages)

I was gifted this book and admit to being a little wary before committing to reading it, as a general rule books that blow up exclusively on social media tend to be a let down to me after the copious amounts of hype they've received. I'm pleased to say that was not the case with this book. If anything, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. It was extremely uniquely written; it was emotional, clever and beautiful. The characters were all so complex and felt genuinely so real. I would say that was the highlight of this book, the characterisation. Every character you could relate to a real person. You sympathised with their decisions, or at least understood them. Like real life, there was no villains and heroes. Bad people and good people and somewhere in the middle people, sure. But also like real life, the last group was the most prevalent, and the first two groups different to each individual's opinions. I would actually really recommend this book to almost everyone I know who reads, I'm pretty sure everyone could find something in it that keeps their focus, be it the mystery, the love story, the characters....

I gave this book 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The twist of a knife by Anthony Horowitz

(373 pages)

I am like 90% sure that this was not the first book in a series, however it stood well as a stand alone book too! Like the other Horowitz book I read earlier this year, I found this novel a little slow to pick up at first, however I did get into it in the end. I found it clever and quirky and I loved the meta elements. Ultimately, it was exactly what it was advertised as - a light, humorous murder mystery - and actually, I'm not mad about taking a break for something silly every so often!

I gave this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

(422 pages)

After the success of The Seven Husbands, I felt brave enough to try another recent social media favourite book. I'd seen mixed reviews over this one, however my flatmate strongly recommended it and as usual, our tastes in books aligned and it was extremely good. Despite the predictability of the plot, I was fully engaged the entire way through which speaks to how well the characters were depicted that I was willing to look past the predictability of it all just to read more about the people. In fact, I would like to make this a formal call for more people to start writing fanfictions for this novel because I want to read even more about these characters and am being denied that currently based off the limited options on ao3 (if anyone has any good recommendations please let me know!) I think, if I had read this in another month it would have received five stars, however it was let down by the fact that it was read within the same weeks as Sanderson and The Seven Husbands which meant I could not in good conscience give it full marks when the plot was just a little too easy to see coming for me. Therefore....

I gave this book 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[artsy-hobbitses]

Wait, what is the advertising and pr like on the autobot side of things.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the autobots did charity as well.

That, and they film their table top rpg events live and request donations to some organizations or the autobot cause.

Who even orchestrates the advertising and pr for the autobots? Is it blaster?

Less propaganda (they’re not in the business of conquering territories), more PSAs.

There is some degree of recruitment stuff going on of course, but it tends to have the flavour of signing up for Docs Without Borders or an international NGO—it’s less ‘elite’/militarised than ‘Con propaganda and more altruistic.

While they don’t have ‘territories’, they do have outposts constructed in areas free of Con and Functionist grip, and often train people there/offer backup to help ensure their borders remain free. The idea is to let them rebuild on their own terms for their own people on the foundation that freedom is the right of all.

You’ll find care packages with booklets for war refugees/cold constructs kind of like 101 on agencies that can help them, the rights they have, and where to go for aid and the type of aid they are are eligible for.

There’s also lots of posters combating Beastman and Manual Class stigma, and breaking down how ridiculous it is to adopt the same caste system a bunch of fucking coloniser space squids first used to divide them up into slaves.

Charity work and volunteerism is very much a thing they do as well, though to a slightly smaller scale than the Cons because their funds are sort of limited and they’re just generally a smaller team (their biggest benefactor is Mirage and potentially Tracks) with less manpower. So yes the Tabletop RPG thing and music jam sessions to help raise funds is something that happens quite often.

Something that sort of becomes unexpectedly popular here is actually OP reading (think of it like Henry Cavill reading the Witcher books) and discussing books with the audience after. Sometimes he’ll take book requests so there’s a pretty large online (and on radio for those with no Net access, if you can tap in to Blaster’s channel) book club for the book of the month (there will be people saying his voice reading to them is like a very cozy ASMR). This is also novel because a lot of Manual classes especially did not have access to books outside of their class specification, and in lacking resources to get these books to all of them physically, this is how OP chooses to break that barrier/share the joy and knowledge from them with a worldwide audience regardless of caste. It’s why his moniker as The Librarian sticks in an affectionate manner for a lot of people (sometimes Megs listens in too on particularly lonely nights, though you could never pry that out of him)

OP, Mirage, Jazz and Blaster usually oversee the public relations work they do as it’s mostly a combined effort that gets input from everyone.

[laslow]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

tagging: all the ladies out there ;D

Name: Samantha/Sam

Pronouns: she/her

Birthday (no year): May 28

Where are you from? What is your time zone? California! I am on PST timezone so three hours behind the TOA clock

Roleplay experience: Over 10 years! (Dear Naga the passage of time)

Got any pets? No :(

Favorite time of year: Winter!

Some interests and things you like: Reading but that's a given. I'm a huge history nerd and love learning random facts. Also love languages and have tried learning a handful of them but never stick to it rip. Dragons are my fave fantasy creature. (I'm terrible at filling these things out LOL)

Some fun facts & trivia about you: -I own about 300 books -I can skateboard -I wanted to be a geologist as a child until I learned how much math was involved -I can play the piano and a tiny bit of violin -I've never broken a bone

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Zelda, Persona, SSB, Honkai Star Rail

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: Water & Vaporeon!

How did you get into Fire Emblem? Watching my brother play on the GameCube

What Fire Emblem games have you played? Physically played: Everything from SacStones on. Read scripts for Genealogy and Thracia.

First Fire Emblem game: Path of Radiance

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Awakening!

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Take a WILD guess. LMAO but besides the Boy of All Time, I can admit I have a crush on Xander.

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: Chrom and I'd still S support him I'm basic and that's ok - Fates: Silas and it's a tossup between him and Leo now - Three Houses: Dimitri and still Dimitri. - Engage: Diamant and still Diamant I know what I'm about

Favorite Fire Emblem class: Swordmaster!

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class? Swordmaster!

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Blue Lions

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with? It's a tie between Leif and Eirika & Ephraim

How did you find TOA? I saw an advertisement for the group on tumblr WAAAAY back when

Current TOA muses: Inilow, Leo, and Azelle

Who was your first TOA muse? If you don’t have them anymore, could you see yourself picking them up again? The one and only Inigo. I really can't see myself dropping him unless I left the group.

Have you had any other TOA muses? Ilyana and Vanessa!

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards?The loyal ones for sure. A shocking amount have sibling complexes and I don't know what that says about me as a person.

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most? Honestly, I enjoy writing a little bit of everything! Happiness, angst, romance. But if I have to pick a favorite it'd be combat :thinking: Something about the adrenaline

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔 Tee-Oh-Ay

Favorite TOA-related memory: Oh naga. I literally cannot pick one so any and all the inside jokes/memes that pop up that would NOT make sense to anyone else

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day that you’d like to share? 😉Coughs into hands. If I said I had a Seth blog what then. Silas is up there too and there's a few from Thracia I have my eye on

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 231

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 Go Go! 33 - “Hustle! Urara and the Curry Restaurant” Date watched: 27 January 2023 Original air date: 28 September 2008 Screenshots Precure Metamorphose Gallery | Sky Rose Translate Gallery Project info and master list of posts

Bunbee is starting to see the writing on the wall and looking for a way out of Eternal. Maybe a curry restaurant. Meanwhile, Urara’s friend has a failing curry restaurant and she wants to help revive it. What happens when Bunbee comes sniffing around the competition? Let’s take a look.

The Plot

Urara asks Yoshimi, a friend and classmate, to help go over her script.

After school, they go to Yoshimi’s family’s failing curry restaurant. Urara tries to rope the others in but Yoshimi asks for just the two of them, not wanting to trouble the upperclassmen.

Bunbee sees Anacondy stressing over the repeated failures of Eternal, trying to figure out why they can't win against the Precures. She’s ignoring him, and Bunbee recalls Kawarino doing the same at Nightmare, so he begins to question his future at Eternal. He ponders opening a curry shop.

Yoshimi's family explains business was booming before an adjacent building literally overshadowed them

Urara and Yoshimi try to put up fliers, but no business will let them, so they try to hand them out directly.

At Natts House, everyone is concerned and distracted by Urara's predicament and this annoys Princess Crepe, who says she’s NEVER BEEN TREATED SO HORRIBLY, because she's dramatic. Syrup leaves to "work".

Syrup actually shows up to help Urara and Yoshimi hand out fliers. Bunbee happens to pick one up, considering it a competitor to his hypothetical future store.

Everyone at Natts House separately leaves to go do something, intentionally or not slipping in the word Curry to their excuses. Nozomi is the last to catch on to what’s happening.

You can view all the jokes in the gallery.

Bunbee shows up at the curry restaurant. He antagonizes Urara and Syrup. Rin shows up, then Karen, Komachi, and Nozomi and Kurumi in turn. Bunbee complains about them not all showing up at once. They transform and Bunbee turns a flier into a Hoshiina.

Lemonade is worried about the restaurant getting damaged so they lure the monster away by flying on Syrup, but it causes them to crash.

Bunbee taunts them about not being strong individually, both as warriors and in the attempt to promote the curry shop. They retort that one person is enough to start a movement. It’s not stated, but the way that relates to the plot of the episode is the idea that they can bring customers to the store.

The Hoshiina splits into 5 and grabs the girls. Rose knocks Bunbee back and the Precure break the monsters’ holds. Coco helps them perform Rainbow Rose Explosion.

After the fight, everyone is eating at the restaurant. Urara apologizes to Yoshimi for not being able to do anything to help, but her parents say that she brought in all these customers (pointing to the others). Seeing the girls happily eating draws in more people and the restaurant is quickly packed.

The Analysis

What I Liked

Yoshimi asks that Urara’s other friends not help them to promote her restaurant, and she accepts that request graciously. That was a nice touch.

Bunbee flashing back to his time at Nightmare is a nice little bit of continuity.

A souvenir store, a clothing store, and another restaurant may not be the best places to advertise, but that’s a good reflection on the relative immaturity of Urara and Yoshimi.

Rin prepares 10 cups of tea for everyone, but there’s one left over when everyone grabs theirs because she forgot to account for Urara’s absence. Everyone gets the big sad. It’s super cheesy and I point that out below, but I also find it funny.

Also, Komachi gets super distracted and dumps a pile of books on Crepe when she says she’s thirsty. She deserved it. (yes, I am being petty)

The gag with everyone coming up with curry-related reasons to leave the store and go help Urara was hilarious, and the follow-up with them dramatically appearing one by one at the scene of the fight was the icing on the cake.

One of the messages of the episode, about helping people in need and the impact that seemingly small effort can produce, is nice.

What I Didn’t Like

The other girls act super sad to not be around Urara for a day while she’s helping her friend, even though they've each previously let friends do their own things without causing such a fuss. Like give the girl some space, jeez!

Related to that, the other lesson in this episode is trying to be “Help your friends in need” but it comes across as “butt into their afffairs when they’ve asked you not to.” which is a bad lesson.

Bunbee’s line about the cures being easy to take out individually is….. A bit absurd. He’s fought them at less than full strength before and of course seen others be defeated by individuals.

The art is middling in this episode.

Princess Crepe is more obnoxious than usual in her one notable moment.

Miscellaneous

Milk does not appear in her fairy form in this episode.

Yoshimi is voiced by Amano Yuri, an actress with credits going back to the mid-80s. Reportedly, her most notable role is Makibi Kiyone in the Tenchi franchise. She also played some villains in Sailor Moon (Berthier in R and CereCere in SuperS). She will go on to play some other minor characters in Precure: a girl named Chika in Fresh episode 18, Mayuka in Heartcatch 44, the Queen of Hope Kingdom in Go! Princess, and Kotozume Shino (Yukari’s grandmother) in Kirakira.

Conclusion

It’s a decent episode about helping your friends, and the impact that seemingly small actions can have, and of course teamwork. It also signals the beginning of Bunbee’s redemption arc, if you can call it that. It doesn’t do much for anyone else, it’s just innocuous fall filler. Even Princess Crepe is reduced to a single scene. She’ll get her conclusion next episode, thankfully. For now, this episode just exists in between Mucardia’s more devious schemes and Bunbee’s more interesting ones.

Next time, on Precure Daily, Princess Crepe finally makes her move. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 kettei!

[anthroparis]

can you go more in depth on why you hated the barbie movie, i thought it was mid but i somewhat enjoyed it. mostly because i took an edible before going. also i love your blog for how angsty and opinionated you are

I would love to! and thank you, I try not to be so edgy (I used to be worse) but I am very opinionated and as my hero ron swanson said, if you believe in something, you sign your name to it.

Intro

"Hollywood is unoriginal and they love money" -ralph sepe, j.r.

thesis: my problem is more that it's probably one of the most soulless and offensive takes on feminism I have seen in my life, and people keep dragging its rotting corpse around on parade like it's accomplished literally anything.

like. come on.

actual movie parts

speaking on technical terms, I really fucking hated the pacing. so many random, useless points were brought up and then never developed. it's like gerwig didn't know what she wanted to say so she just said everything and never developed any of it. there were so many characters, plots and subplots, and conflicts in the movie and none had a good setup or payoff. like so much happened to the point where it feels like nothing happened at all. I'm not even quite sure what the point was? what were they even trying to say? women are powerful? it's okay to be a girl? aging is okay? like oh my god. I'm not saying you can't have a ton of themes, I'm saying that if you don't know how to make them work together and flesh them out enough, it's going to DESTROY your pacing. it was like watching fucking love on a leash with how many things started and ended right after one another.

okay those are my film school dropout gripes. now onto why this movie completely failed as a feminist story:

the feminism

it was a big-budget, star-packed movie made in hollywood

it's fucking barbie

"barbie was made to make women hate men" "barbie was made to empower women" BARBIE WAS MADE FOR MONEY. IF THE PRODUCERS DIDN'T THINK IT WAS GOING TO MAKE A PROFIT, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE MADE IT. IT WAS MADE TO SELL TICKETS. IT WAS MADE TO MAKE COMMERCIALS FOR. IT WAS MADE TO ADVERTISE MERCHANDISE.

it is actually literally not revolutionary at ALL to put money in a producer's pocket and more fast fashion in a landfill. stop pretending like it's feminism. it's not. it's capitalism that is preying on a demographic. congrats, you just fell victim to advertising!

okay now that that's said:

this is the kind of movie I imagine liberal parents would show their small children to introduce them to feminist theory. I saw someone on instagram saying that you shouldn't take your kids to this because it contains "themes that they might not understand" like fucking what? what themes? there was absolutely 0 nuance at all in that movie. nothing was symbolic or thematic, they literally just TOLD YOU WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

this is like if they made a picture book about feminism into a movie. I'm sorry but throwing around terms and buzzwords means literally nothing to me.

you want to write a powerful movie about defying gender roles, misogyny, and wanting to just exist without the weight of expectations? then write a fucking movie about a person. Whip It (2009) is an excellent example of a feminist movie that outsells barbie in every written regard, because it's not hamfisting these terms to fumble around a slightly progressive point, it's telling a story about a humanized, sympathetic character who is struggling with her own relationship to femininity. like I'm sorry, but there is nothing relatable about barbies. I am not flawlessly beautiful, I am not effortlessly successful. most women aren't.

which brings me to my next point: this movie is overly obsessed with the idea of being a woman rather than being a person who happens to be a woman.

I want to see movies about people. just people. not defined by their genders. exhibiting a wide range of traits, interests, experiences, feelings, memories. I don't want to see barbie's steps into ""real womanhood"" being going to a fucking gyno, because women are not defined by our pussies. believe it or not!

I strongly, STRONGLY disliked the really heavy-handed terfy messages in this movie. I understand that most people would not notice them but I do. I see that shit.

here I'll give you one: barbies who are not enlightened by their knowledge of their "womanhood" are brainwashed by the kens. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. I'm reaching here but the whole brainwashing bit is a super fucking terfy talking point about women who like men. I've heard it a lot as someone who engages in kink.

I'll give you another one: universal girlhood. to "free" the brainwashed barbies, the enlightened ones have to tell them about these things that "every women experiences!"

I remember watching this bit and not relating to a SINGLE thing that was listed. not ONE thing. I am a cis woman. but because I am gnc and was raised to be gnc, I could not relate to these experiences. I do not worry about gaining weight. I am not self-conscious of my stretch marks, and never have been. I am not afraid of being mean or loud when it's necessary.

again I identify as cis. I'm just gnc. I have constantly struggled with feelings of not being a girl in the right way. I imagine lots of other people feel the same thing. this constantly snivelly "well you have to fit THIS criteria to be a girl" nonsense is so fucking harmful to me, to trans women, to other girls who don't feel like they fit within traditional gender norms or struggle with feeling like they're not doing femininity right.

barbie gives us an incredibly narrow, specific window into femininity, and yes, actually, it does reinforce gender norms. there's not really anything revolutionary about being conventionally attractive, smart, and successful.

that's where I really struggle with this movie. it represents a very tiny, limited piece of womanhood and then packages and sends it off as the full picture. it's exclusionary. it's narrow-minded. it's incomplete. things just happen. things just happen!

nothing about this representation of womanhood felt organic to me. it literally felt like it was written by some guy. it had "heyyy queen I saw your tweet about how men are trash and I just wanted to let you know that I agree. although I myself am a man, (i know, ugh)" written all over it.

they were so close. SO close with that part where normal barbie feels like she's less valuable as a woman for not being successful. I like that point a lot, and would've liked to see a movie that focused around that instead. but it's just not not true. she's gorgeous. she's intelligent. she understands politics. she's confident. she has friends. measuring women's success through numbers is literally corporate feminism. it's bullshit.

I would like to see movies about women who are people. women who are flawed, not in the palatable, socially-acceptable way. not in a cute, fashionable way. I want gross girls, I want loud, mean girls, I want girls who exist for themselves. I want girls who are just getting by. I want girls who are impassioned, I want girls who scream and are messy and violent.

because these things are not gendered. let's stop acting like they are.

I am so fucking tired of corporate feminism. of this idea that feminism needs to be palatable to be taken seriously. that women are not naturally aggressive, or loud, or mean. that we are defined by our genitals.

nothing or worth or significance happened in that movie. the arguments about it are stupid

outro

"It just exists. It exists so they can make commercials for it. So that you can pay money to see it. Films aren't made just to exist"

-ralph sepe jr.

[finnlongman]

Couple of thoughts on the changing social media landscape etc...

This blog is, and always has been, a public/mostly professional space. The nature of Tumblr means I can have sideblogs for personal venting and off-topic posts, as many of them as I want, and this blog is fairly carefully curated to be a public-facing page. My mum looks at it sometimes, after all, so anything I post has to be something I'm willing for her to see.

(Note: I think sideblogs and stuff are very important. Everybody needs a space on the internet where they're not being observed by colleagues, supervisors, managers, readers, anyone to whom they owe professional responsibility. A place to be Weird and know that it's not going to impact on their job the next day. If you don't yet have those spaces and you're someone who uses the internet in a professional capacity, I recommend creating them; it's freeing. If you think you've found somebody else's sideblog and they haven't indicated that they want to share it with you, it's polite to pretend you don't know and let them have their Weird Place Space in peace.)

This is a LESS professional space than, say, my website, and I have different rules for myself than I did on other social media. My Twitter policy has long been not to swear on there, and to keep my account reasonably suitable to be read by teenage readers, current/future employers, and other authors alike. Here, I tend to keep my own swearing to a minimum but I'm more relaxed about sharing others' sweary content, and I'll reblog slightly more risqué things (usually relating to the vampire novel).

I've been happy with that balance. It's a place people can follow me as an author, as an academic, and as a person, and get a reasonable mix of my research, my thoughts, and updates on my books, without being unduly formal and without me ever feeling like I couldn't be myself here. And it's a place where I both create my own material and share that of others, tending towards sharing things that are educational or that relate to my own work, but also just vibing.

I've always known, though, that this was not a space for publicity per se. While I do share links to my books here and I know that a few people have bought TBA, I've never been under any illusions about the possibility of Tumblr as a place to advertise myself. Nor do I WANT to do that. Honestly, I've come to resent the pressure to use Twitter as a "brand", as a "promotion" opportunity, when for years it was just a place I hung out as a person. But I'd rather do that there than here, partly because it actually worked there.

If this truly is the decline of Twitter, I don't mind my online socialising becoming more Tumblr-focused. I'm sad about the loss, because I think I'll lose a lot of academic community and opportunities to learn that I previously found on Tumblr, and it's going to be a lot harder to connect with other authors, but it won't be impossible; I have both academic and author friends here. But what I DON'T want is for Tumblr to have to become my Professional Space to the detriment of the fun, low-key vibe I've had going here for the last 11 years.

I'm worried that, if all of my professional contacts migrate here, I will have to start putting a mask on here as well, and I'll feel more pressure to self promote. It'll start to feel like the chore that other social media has become ever since I got published and have had to start using the internet As An Author and not just as a person who also writes books. I am very happy for more people to join this site, but I don't want the side effect of that to be that suddenly all my colleagues are here and I'm in Work Mode all the time.

One of the things I've found hardest about the internet in recent years is the switch from what it was in my teens (place to be weird and unique and unselfconscious) to what it is now (place where I'm expected to be professional and might be observed by my boss, academic colleagues, publisher, readers etc at any time). And Tumblr was for a long time the last bastion against that, even if my mum looks at it. I'll be sad if that goes, because all the sideblogs in the world won't help if actually being here starts to feel like something I do for work.

Crucially, I think the problem is that for career reasons, I need something that does for me what Twitter was doing, but also I was not enjoying that aspect of Twitter and it was not feeling like a fun place to do that, so what I REALLY need is for my career not to rely on me managing to virtually hand-sell my book to people on the internet while I'm just trying to live my life...

Anyway. Just something I'm thinking about as I face down the possibility of this being the main place where I as an author can communicate with potential readers. I don't really want it to be... that, but it might have to be that, and I'm going to be thinking hard about how I navigate that.

[rgr-pop]

This is the first time I had noticed something like this in Detroit Jewish News. I was looking for articles they may have published about rent control under OPA--specifically whether they might have run any op-eds about its extension or expiration in the early fifties. The ad (1942) is for a "colored property manager"--which is to say, likely, a black property manager whose job was to manage property rented by black people. The ad, run in the Jewish news, presumed to target landlords. There are some references to building managers in Beryl Satter's Family Properties--incredible book about jewish cities and black housing (I'm avoiding That Phrase, lol). Nathan Connolly's A World More Concrete (one of my favorite works of historical writing) picks up black landlords, managers of black rental housing, rent collectors, and black entrepreneurship in jim crow politics. But I hadn't seen this before. Here's what Isabell Management's listings looked like in the Detroit Free Press's classifieds:

I had just been showing R. some examples of "colored property" listings, so I sent him these. I had recommended Satter's book because there's a Bloomfield Hills mega landlord we've dealt with whose story is this story: a Jewish family willing to toe the color line--rentals, contract sales--for profit. I wanted to know who was behind Isabell Management and if my hunches were correct. Got lucky with a search on those hunches. I found a black social worker for the Detroit Welfare Department in 1940 named Iva (sometimes Ivy) Isabell. She was married to a man named George Isabell, who on the 1950 census was listed as a realtor.

Isabell Management was his company, and I probably should have known who he was--a minor celebrity in Detroit desegregation politics, appointed to housing commission by Cobo in response to criticism of his segregationist regime. Isabell was a director of Brewster homes. But a realtor first (and I think probably somewhat involved with "desegregating" "realtors associations" and so on.) It doesn't appear that Isabell placed any ads for "colored property management" in the Free Press! I'd like to know which Jewish landlords he might have worked with.

He placed (Jewish) holiday greetings in the Jewish News throughout the fifties, iconic (now I will say the phrase) Black-Jewish Relations. Now I am wondering how many black people and businesses placed such ads in the Jewish News that I never noticed!

here's something REALLY that phrase: a black realtor advertising a retail space to the jewish news, 1956:

okay now WHAT does this one (1949) mean:

A similar solicitation put more straightforwardly in 1948:

I found a few things about Iva Isabell's work for the city in what would become the Department of Social Services, but mostly I want to share this 1977 Women for Coleman Young ad:

[classychassiss]

hi, sorry for the stupid question, but what "bible" are u referring to in that TF post? i'm new to the tf fandom and was curious to go look up some good info-heavy lore reference dump books....

Hi!! Not a stupid question at all :D

The Aligned Continuity was supposed to be like a new take on Transformers that would combine G1 and other past generations into something more cohesive and contained, and while I can't say for sure this is what Aligned is, Rik Alvarez who was one of the main creators behind it has worked in transmedia according to his Linkedin, which is like a multi-media approach to telling a story (usually with an interactive element because you often see Transmedia Storytellng utilized as a form of advertising and engagement) meaning that ideally, all parts of Aligned would be telling one Big Story. Covenant of Primus for example, is like both a lore book for us but its a diagetic piece of media in that the Covenant is something that exists within Transformers itself.

In order to do that though, so that every piece of media related to Aligned was....well aligned with each other, they had to compile a giant Production Bible of information called the Binder of Revelations that detailed all the ins and outs of the Continuity, from the timelines of history, the character profiles, the stories of the Primes. I think they also wanted this to apply to other pieces of Transformers media as well.

Sadly, it kind of wasnt used to its fullest potential, with TFP wanting to do its own thing and then shows spinning off of TFP specifically not matching 100 percent with the lore laid out. Hasbro most likely insisted they like, followed SOME of what was outlined but generally wasnt too concerned about making things stay As consistent as they could have been (Thats where you get something like Beast hunters in TFP, which had to resolved in The Covenant of Primus later (citation needed))

I mostly think its funny because that portrayal of Orion Pax is, as far as I'm concerned, unique to the Aligned Continuity, where it works out really well given the full story, books and games included, and IDW2 made it work too. But for something that didn't take off at the time, they are still using a lot of things set forth in Aligned including the Primes and such, and I find that both funny and bittersweet, since I feel like Aligned had a lot of potential in stories they had planned out that simply never came to fruition and probably wont at this point? But like, also because constantly referencing and pushing these evergreen ideas from one continuity changes a lot and doesnt leave room for movement I think, and you also see this with those ideas and bios being retroactively applied to places where it wasnt the case, changing the story entirely by default

[penname-artist]

Life Updates (Jan. 2023)

(Dated as such because I presume I’ll do more month-to-month updates, assuming I’ve anything update-worthy. Highlighted the section’s themes cuz I bounce a lot and there was a lot to cover for this month)

My commissions have been doing well as of late. I wouldn’t say they’re “booming” per se, but I have two done and two right behind them. Getting onto a real schedule has its ups and downs, though. For one thing, remembering to block my time for work (espeeeeecially for logging commission times) has been challenging. Nevertheless, I’ve done the thing, and I’m being good and making myself not work on the weekends and only putting in my work toward the week days.

That said, this Monday (the 16th) will probably be busy. Next to those two commissions, I have a pair of videos (which aren’t even mine, they’re my father’s) to edit for posting to help him advertise somethin-or-other. I really need to work on my own videos for my channel and get my setup back (the camera holder thingy I use when doing speed art has been moved since I replaced my floor last year and I still haven’t put it back) BUT, because Monday already has three to four projects in it, I’m not gonna push it. I know what I’m like, I want to do everything at once and then I don’t do any of it.

Which ALSO reminds me of the Dusty Collaboration project that I intended to do in August last year and never finished. My plan on that, going forward (and I’ll go back and poke the members of this project and re-ensure everyone is still on board with this) is to do it this August instead for the Planes 10-year anniversary. Because, you know, it’s TEN YEARS. That’s fucking INSANE.

Now mental health wise...well it’s kind of a mixed bag. I definitely feel a lot better and more alive right now than I had working 36 hours a week and wasting away in a chair. I have all of my side hobbies in the same place and I can add to them and work on them in my own time (and literally, I have a lot of fucking hobbies. In this room alone I have two dozen someodd video games, board games, card games, stacks of books I’m addictively reading, piles of crochet projects and yarn, a desk full of art materials, another desk full of writing materials, and now I’m putting in a TV and DVD/CD player for television and music). It’s also given me enough motivation/inspiration to do the things I’ve been actually wanting and needing to do - like make money - more effectively. So on that front, all is well and good.

But, the rat situation from a few months ago is still going on. And I literally have no fucking idea what it is or why it is and what we can do to stop it. I literally don’t even know if it’s a rat anymore. I never hear any active chewing or scratching, all that I hear is the movement of an animal from one end of the bedroom all the way around to the other, and the occasional bump of something in the wall as it hits it. A pair of times I’ve heard some weird squeaking like it’s a baby animal of some sort, but only a teeny tiny amount of times. And the other day I discovered a cat outside my window, so NOW I’m thinking he’s sneaking into the house walls to hunt and just fucking with me. Or it’s something else, I literally have no idea. Either way, I have slept with the wax melter light on EVERY night for the last month or so.

Lastly, on the side of financial state, we’re still going by the skin of our teeth at the moment, but I suppose it’s working. Dad’s jumping between fixing cars (which he knows) and trying to do real estate (which he does not know as much - also making money from that takes significantly more time and less consistency) and I’m only just now starting to scratch into my savings for things.

My biggest focus aside from my commissions and things will probably be getting my license and then finding a second job somewhere, hopefully art-related (please), between now and May. That is, assuming that I’m still not quite making enough to be comfortable. I’m teetering on the edge of qualifying for making money through Youtube, and commissions are making a fair bit of pocket change right now, but even that plus my work income right now is about half of the rent money for the month. I did say I’d give myself until April to do this, because I can make it that far on savings alone, comfortably and without much fear. BUT, nothing and no one can break until then because I ain’t got no insurance for shit anymore. *punches body* Stop being stupid!

(oh yeah physical health wise I still get occasional noodle days where my body is just, non-functional and I’m just kinda made of limp noodles. Not often, but, it does happen. I dunno man, maybe it’s just a normal thing, who knows.)

That’s all I can think of for the time being, y’all. I’m gonna work on this immediate stuff first and then hopefully I’ll have room to put out some videos for you guys. And, there’s fanfics to look forward to! If anyone remembers Night on the Bow, a project collaborated by Ivory, Shu, and yours truly, we’re making another one! It’s a beefy fic too, so hang onto your hats... ;)

There’s tons more in the wings but I can’t even remember what lol, but it’ll get there when it gets there!

Take care y’all and have a nice Sunday, til the morrow!

-Pen