#and you can agree with them or challenge them or simply change the topic

[soldsouls]

I think BG3 is one of the few games that has actually done complex morality well. Not necessarily in the choices you can make. I think most of those are pretty cut and dry. More in, like . . . What degree of responsibility do some of the companions bear for past actions, if any? What degree of responsibility does a durge bear? What about the Absolutists under the Elder Brain's sway? When you get down into the details of the branching stories / lore, there's a lot that leaves you with something to think about.

[pinkandpurple360]

TW: Mentions of Leaks & Serious and Sensitive Topics (ex. abuse, suicide, trauma, ptsd, etc) (apologizes for not putting this in my first ask to you; I didn't notice this mistake until after I read your reply; my bad 😅)

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Hey. Thank you so much for your response on my first ask to you. I really appreciate both that and your feedback on my idea on how I'd rewrite the leaked "Ghostfuckers" episode and the character of Ronaldo. Plus, I also like your idea on how his "reverse therapist ghost" shtick could've worked with him being a sinner who gained these powers after entering hell (which I like since the idea that sinners could develop powers after they enter hell is very interesting) and one that Blitz might've killed and never forgot about. And all without breaking the lore of the show. Not to mention I also agree that his design is smoky and ugly, plus his name for a supposedly intimidating villain is dumb and super lame (like, it sounds like the name that'd be of a gangster, mobster, someone from the 1980s, or a goofy/joke villain; not a villain that's supposed to be intimidating).

Aside from all that, I also loved the part where you mentioned that you allow people to share their ideas & stories with you and that you're a big writing dork. I say this because 1, I'm also a big writing dork myself, and 2, I love sharing my ideas and stories with other people.

I have a Helluva Boss rewrite that I have in development called Helluva Boss Reimagined (though I do plan on changing the project's name in the future; I just have yet to figure it out), where I reimagine the series (from rewriting episodes (be it a major, partial, or minor rewrite), creating new/fan episodes, redesign some of the characters (incl. the main cast, Stolas, Stella, Octavia, The Seven Deadly Sins (incl. Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel), Striker, Fizzarolli, Crimson, Sallie May, and many more), and integrate my HB OCs/Sonas into my HB reimagine as if they were canon characters in the show itself, as while I do like the show, I sadly have to agree that it's kind of a mess and it needs a lot of work (especially in the writing department), so that's where my reimagine comes in: to help the show reach the potential the canon is sadly falling short on.

I should note though that my reimagine is in no way shape or form an insult or disrespect towards Viv, Brandon, and the people working on Helluva Boss, nor am I claiming myself or my reimagine to be better and superior than them and the show itself. This is simply made not only for fun and entertainment purposes, but also to challenge my writing skills and me as an aspiring writer. Even with all the show's faults, I hold nothing but respect for Viv and everyone working on HB for being able to create something that people can not only watch for free, but also inspire them to potentially wanting to create a project of their own (be it a show, movie, comic, etc).

With all that said, IT'S REIMAGINE TIME!!! 🎨📔✍🏻🌈✨

-For starters, my reimagine of HB will the series be a mix of I.M.P. assassin missions and other plot lines. Like I don't mind there being other plot lines going on as I agree with some fans that just episodes of I.M.P. doing their job (despite that being the premise of the show) would get pretty boring after awhile and adding other plotlines to the series would spice things up (though, of course, that all comes down to the execution and how it's handled). But this idea definitely could've had much better execution, especially with where the series is at this point in time. So that's where my reimagine comes in with this idea. There will still be other plot points going on the side (ex. the Ars Goetia, Blitz being a victim to Stolas (making Stolitz toxic like the pilot originally intended and having both the show and characters actually acknowledge how toxic Stolitz is; though I'll also note that there will be no sexualizing or romanticizing SA & sex-trafficking, nor will there be any victim blaming either), backstories for the characters (incl. the main cast), the D.H.O.R.K.S. organization, C.H.E.R.U.B. & their rivalry with I.M.P., etc), but my reimagine will be a balance of I.M.P. doing their job and going on missions to earth + having other plot points occurring on the side without detaching itself from its original premise).

-The pilot will be canon to this series, as I have it planned to be the official start to the series instead of "Murder Family" (which in my reimagine, is the second episode of Season 1 instead of the first). However, I plan on largely rewriting it to both focus on the aspect of the I.M.P. business struggling and also be an introduction to the characters and their world.

-Seasons 1 & 2 will have 13 episodes each as a way to not only flesh out the characters, but also flesh out the world of Viv's version of hell as well, especially since it fits in with HB being a spinoff of HH and showcasing hell's other Rings besides Pride, since Hazbin itself takes place in the Pride Ring and that there's also the thing about sinners being stuck in the aforementioned ring and not being able to travel to other rings (though in my reimagine of Hazbin Hotel, I plan on removing that rule, changing it so that sinners can now travel to other rings and aren't stuck in Pride; plus, I feel like this idea could possibly explain all the hospitals, rehabs, money, and other earth stuff Viv's hell has thanks to the human sinners coming down and sharing their earthly stuff with the citizens of hell (though I should note that there will be no mafia or law enforcement system, as it's not only confusing, but also kinda dumb that it's there just for the sake of the plot of Season 2's "Exes and Oohs"); the yearly hell extermination would now be around all of Hell (incl. the other rings, not just pride); though it's possible this idea of mine might change in the future, as I feel like there's things that could be either done better or the idea itself is removed entirely). I say Seasons 1 & 2 since Seasons 3 & 4 have yet to have confirmed episode counts at this point in time. For Season 1, I wish there were more than just 8 episodes so that things could have a moment to breathe, and as for Season 2, while I do like that they upped the episode count to 12 (not trying to sound ungrateful or anything), I kinda wished they added an additional 13th episode to have an even episode count. Idk if it's just me, but I personally prefer having a certain number episode count (ex. 13 episode count, 30 episode count, etc), especially when I do my own projects.

-The main cast will still consist of BlitzØ, Moxxie, Millie, and Loona. However, there's going to be a couple changes to the cast, as now there will be two new characters (AKA a couple of my HB OCs) added to the main cast: Alice Lola and an Unnamed Envy Ring Demon OC.

Here are the summaries for them (though side note: there's a chance that some things about them may or not change about them once the official reimagine comes out).

Alice Lola (Ally for short): A 24-year-old Pride/Wrath Imp who works as an assassin at I.M.P. and is an aspiring writer. She is Millie's childhood best friend who moved back to the Pride Ring (as she spent a small part of her childhood in pride before moving to the Wrath Ring for reasons I have yet to figure out (I'm thinking about the reason being her dad got a new job at Satan's gym, be it as a gym trainer or an assistant manager) where she spent most of her life before moving back to Pride) in hopes of becoming a famous writer, inspired by the likes of her mother, who is a famous author, and works at I.M.P. to help support herself. She has pride heritage from her mom and wrath heritage from her dad. She is known as (as Viv tried to describe Millie in her Millie defense thread she made in March 2023, but sadly fails due to it not being translated well within the show itself) the heart and soul of the team. Aside from her job at I.M.P., she's also working on a book series that she'd love to publish someday, but it's established my version of HB's Pilot that this book series of hers is in the concept stages of development. (Fun Fact: I named her after Alice Ackerman and her FreeGirlsLive camgirl name "Lola_Lola" from Netflix's Cam)

Envy Demon OC: I'm still foggy on the details regarding him (ex. name, history, relationships with the other characters, what sea creature he'd resemble (I'm thinking about possibly making him resemble a Blue Glaucus, but I'm still thinking about it at this point in time), etc), but I do know six things about him so far:

-He's I.M.P.'s new receptionist (as in my AU, Loona is now I.M.P.'s bodyguard, but that's a story for another day when I talk about my reimagines of the main cast; though I will say that another thing in my AU is that EDOC is the new keeper of the grimoire, as he is the only member of I.M.P. who has read the it and knows how to use it; additionally, since EDOC is the new receptionist, he would keep the grimoire with him at I.M.P. and open it whenever Blitz calls him to help him and the gang get back to hell).

-He has the power of reading mastery (which is basically the ability to speed read and also has the user absorb and remember the knowledge they've gained; I'm thinking maybe he was given this power by Leviathan (maybe even possibly having a second job of working for Levi himself or somewhere in hell's hierarchy aside from his job at I.M.P.), but idk if I'll go through with these ideas or not).

-He loves organizing & keeping track of things.

-He's a neat freak & a bookworm.

-Possibly has a British accent.

-Has high knowledge of hell's hierarchy and class system (though I won't have him be a character who's there just to deliver exposition to both the characters and the audience; trust me, I hate it when characters (especially ones I like) are treated like that, when I know they are so much more than that, but the writing does them a massive disservice and I feel like they deserve better than just following the 'Mr./Ms. Exposition' trope).

But I thought it'd be cool to not only see other demons from other ring (in this case Envy), but also add more diversity (species-wise) to the main cast outside of Loona, who is a hellhound.

As for their relationships with the main cast, like I mentioned, I'm still figuring out EDOC's side of his relationships, but I will share Ally's:

BlitzØ - Boss/Love Interest

Moxxie - Co-Worker/Brother Figure

Millie - Co-Worker/Childhood Best Friend

Loona - Co-Worker/Daughter Figure (sort of)

But yeah, aside from them, there's also other HB OCs integrated, such as Maggie Quinn (my Impsona/HB Self-Insert who is a close friend of Ally, a famous rockstar celebrity, has two pet hell corgis (who btw aren't hellhounds, just devil dogs that look like corgis, inspired by Brady and Graffiti the Corgis on YouTube) and is also Fizzarolli's girlfriend; yes, I know he & Asmodeus are in a relationship, but in my AU, Fizz, Maggie, and Ozzie are in a poly OT3 relationship, with Fizz fucking both Maggie and Ozzie, and whether or not Maggie & Ozzie are also fucking each other as well is something I have yet to figure out; also, just as a friendly fyi, Fizz & Maggie's relationship is public, while Fizz & Ozzie is a secret and both do a much better job at keeping it that way; plus, their OT3 is a healthy one bc I love poly relationships and definitely agree that they deserve better representation in media *looking at you Netflix's Fate: The Winx Saga*), Rainbow (my Cherub OC who is a member of C.H.E.R.U.B., a painter & poet, Collin's love interest, and Ally's heaven counterpart), and Agent Three (my Human OC who is a member of the D.H.O.R.K.S. organization and works alongside Agent One & Agent Two).

-The female characters are given more character and depth than just being accessories/side pieces/plot devices for the male characters (ex. Millie will be more than just Moxxie' wife, Loona will be more than just Blitz's adoptive daughter, Stella & Octavia will be more than just Stolas' wife & daughter, Verosika will be more than just Blitz's ex-girlfriend, Tilla & Moxxie's Unnamed Mother will be more than just the moms of Blitz & Moxxie, Sallie May will be more than just trans representation and merch bait, Barbie Wire will be more than just Blitz's twin sister, etc).

-Harmful stereotypes (including LGBTQ+ ones such as gays being hypersexual) are removed. The same thing applies to my reimagine of Hazbin Hotel as well.

-Characters will have consistent characterizations and development, with said development actually sticking with the characters from the episode they receive it from onward instead of restarting/reverting like nothing happened because of the stupid "status quo rule" a lot of shows tend to suffer from (ex. SpongeBob SquarePants, Winx Club (Seasons 5-8), etc).

-The plot/story, lore, and worldbuilding will be consistent and cohesive, though not in a way that I'm spoon-feeding info to the audience. More like in a natural way (i.e. passing comments and more). Oh, and there will be no breaking the lore or worldbuilding nor having it be inconsistent and/or irrelevant just because the episode and/or show demands it (such as people knowing of Fizz & Ozzie's relationship and Bee & Vortex's relationship; while I do think the writers could make Fizz & Ozzie hid their relationship better (and also make the audience finding out about their relationship less anticlimactic and more serious in Mammon's Musical Mid-Season Special), I (unpopular opinion) don't think Bee & Tex's relationship is public like some fans think it is; I personally think it's secret and that only Verosika, possibly her crew, and Loona know of this relationship between a sin and a hellhound (which I imagine they all agreed not to tell anyone else about), and that Bee & Vortex pass each other of to the citizens of hell (including those in the Gluttony Ring) as close friends; though I do feel like if that were the case, then the writers should've clarified that within the "Queen Bee" episode itself rather than leave it ambiguous as to whether or not people know about it).

-Do less 'Tell Don't Show' and more 'Show Don't Tell', which follows through with my previous note of having consistent & cohesive plot/storytelling, lore, and worldbuilding. And also have stuff Viv and the writers mention on social medias like Twitter & Patreon actually be seen in the show (ex. Moxxie's being a mercenary from wrath, Millie's "characterization", transportation to other rings besides the elevators shown in "Ozzie's", etc). Like I'm sorry, I don't wanna be mean or rude to Viv and the writers of HB (nor do I want to hurt anyone's feelings), but I have to agree with fans that we shouldn't need to go to other sources (in this case social medias like Twitter) to understand the show and it's plot & lore, as not only does it get lost in translation, but that's also bad writing & bad storytelling; not to mention I also agree that if you need to go to other sources to understand the story & writing of your media, then it not only shows your failure as a writer, but also that both your media's writing and your writing in general need a lot of work). One example of this is including the cutaways the pilot originally had but improving them by doing one cutaway at a time and not having another cutaway take place during an already playing cutaway. I did this because (unpopular opinion) I actually love cutaways, as I find them fun and entertaining (especially in Family Guy, most of the time), though I do have to agree that having a cutaway occur during a current cutaway is confusing and does make you question what's going on, hence why I plan on having the cutaways return from the pilot but improved upon to have one cutaway take place at a time.

-Characters actually face consequences for their actions and there will be no 'Karma Houdini' bs pulled on them at all (especially Blitz & Stolas); and I say Blitz & Stolas because a lot of fans complain about them not actually facing consequences for their actions and the show excusing it with them being "soft gay uwu baby boi's", so I thought I'd fix this mistake in my rewrite; and also, because I absolutely despise the 'karma houdini' trope)!

-Blitz, Moxxie, and Millie will have human disguises from the very beginning of the series. Loona will still have her human disguise as well, and even Ally & EDOC will have human disguises too. I'd have the team obtain them through the grimoire once Blitz gets his hands on it via a spell. In addition, I'm also considering on keeping the thing Loona & Verosika mentioned in "Spring Broken" about there being consequences to going to earth without human disguises (like for example, the reason being because Lucifer doesn't want people to know if demons truly exist or not), though idk if I'll go through with this idea or not. Not to mention I also wanna keep the silly disguises they use cuz I like them and think their fun. Hell, even Loona gets in on the costume fun as well.

-Stick to a consistent number of villains & antagonists. Not saying the characters can't face new enemies but have them use and flesh out the ones they already established (such as Stella, Striker, C.H.E.R.U.B., etc) and have the new ones they face either be one-offs or even enemies for other characters to face (ex. Mammon with Fizz & Ozzie). In regards to earth villains, they're usually one offs (with the exception of Ronaldo from the Ghostfuckers leaks, who I have be an enemy for Blitz to face, as I'm slowly considering on using the idea I proposed to you on making him Blitz's "target that got away" from HB's pitch bible for my rewrite), and as for the D.H.O.R.K.S. organization, I was thinking about having them show up later in the series (maybe in Season 3 or 4), with hints, foreshadowing, and buildup throughout Seasons 1 & 2 (and maybe Season 3 if I choose to have them appear in Season 4), ala The Diamonds from Steven Universe. Like have some enemies appear in the beginning of the series, and then introduce new ones later down the line.

-Remove the tonal whiplashes (especially with the increase of them in Season 2), and let serious scenes be serious, while comedic scenes stay comedic.

-Remove the jokes regarding serious & sensitive topics (ex. abuse, suicide, fatphobia, racism & discrimination, the neurodivergent "r word", trauma, ptsd, gaslighting, etc). I also plan on doing this with other reimagines of mine as well, because personally, I absolutely hate it (and I mean hate with a burning passion) when media treats serious & sensitive topics as jokes and/or gags for comedy, let alone handling them so poorly and distastefully, whether it's intentional by the writers or not. It's my #1 least favorite writing choice (tied with characters acting OOC just to make a plot and/or joke work). And no, idk that the characters are either demons from hell or awful human beings from earth, or that their assholes, and I certainly don't care about the "it's hell, what do you expect?" excuse the fandom likes to give. Those aren't excuses nor justifications to treat such topics as jokes for comedy, let alone for the sake of drama, shock value, or "spicy character development". It's not only disgusting, but incredibly distasteful and disrespectful to those who have been through such stuff irl. I also agree with @helluvabossrewrite45 (who btw I highly recommend checking out) in an ask that the show can't pick and choose which 'abuse' is good or bad because they all are bad in their own way. Not to mention I also agree that they should be treated like their bad, even if the characters are demons from hell.

-Integrate biblical lore in the show itself. I decided to do this after being inspired by LovesArt23's video on her reimagining of Leviathan (which btw I highly recommend checking out) and @campbell-rose's post about their Helluva Rewrite w/ Doodles of their version of imps (which I also highly recommend checking out), in which they talked about how important it is to do research. And, as much as I love Viv, I sadly have to agree with both of them, specially LovesArt in her Leviathan Reimagine video. While yes, Hazbin & Helluva are Viv's shows and she's free to do whatever she wants with them, the characters & setting are from pre-existing lore, and she should've at least done research on biblical lore and integrated said biblical lore (or at the very least some of it) into both shows and her version of hell.

-Have the power levels be consistent amongst the characters, including the main cast (specially Moxxie & Millie) and Stolas.

-Remove certain retcons (such as Blitz & Stolas being childhood friends who are "destined" to be together), fix any inconsistencies (such as reverted character development), and fill in plot holes (such as how Barbie Wire was able to obtain an Asmonean Crystal in the first place).

-And last, but certainly not least, plan the reimagine out from beginning to end. I got this idea from @helluvabossrewrite45 who in my first ask to them, recommended to me that I plan my reimagine out so that I don't make the same mistake Viv made on not planning the show out from the get-go, resulting in many of the show's issues such as plotlines being rushed, plot holes, inconsistencies, character development being reverted bc of the "status quo" rule, retcons, certain characters being neglected by the narrative (*cough* Loona *cough*), and many more. This not only helped me with my reimagine of Helluva Boss, but also with other reimagines I have in the pipeline that I'd love to do someday as well. And I owe them a huge thanks for the advice.

And those are my notes for my reimagine of Helluva Boss, with some Hazbin reimagine notes sprinkled into the mix. I know some of the ideas I noted here may not have (or had very little) depth to them, but hey, it was fun to write these ideas down, regardless of them being simple or complex. I hope you enjoyed reading my notes and my rambling. Thank you and have a wonderful day/afternoon/night. 🤗💕❤️🧡💛💚💙💜💖💕🤗

I’m so glad my tumblr is finally letting me answer this one. Thank you for including that adorable hug gif at the end. I miss thé found family we almost had.

Yes! Big writer dork and big fan of any ideas others fans and writers have cause i love to learn from you guys

[soulmatesinc-if]

Going around asking all my favourite IFs this-

My friend (who has written one and a half IFs so far) told me that she balances all the routes very carefully. If one choice reduces one stat and increases two others, then the other choice also does the same, though it might not be the same stats. She does this for most choices. She believes it's the only way to not have a route that's perfect or seems like the canon path.

I'm just starting writing an IF, but this does not seem to be working for me. Maybe I just need to add more stats?

Either way, do you agree with this? How do you balance your routes within the game?

First of all, congratulations on starting! Writing an IF is so much fun, although a bit strenuous at times 😅 I'd break down your question(s) into sub-topics and share my thoughts on the matter. This is just my personal take on the peculiarities of this media though!

The number of stats. There is no set amount of stats to track, there is no minimum and no maximum, and your game can play just as well with 3 as it does with 10. Some IF games track more than others. In some games, the personality of MC is defined through numerous characteristics, in others, it is whatever powers they have. Or a mixture of both. Finding what works for you is essential. Less is more, imo, especially if you're just starting off and even more especially if you feel like they're starting to drag you down. Be mindful of which parameters you decide to track and why. Are you adding it because the players expect their X to be tracked, or do you know what this stat will be doing in your game, what outcomes it will affect? When you plan, try to see if there is overlap in what your stats signify and merge them if it's possible. Notice if perhaps it's always all the same one/two stats that are giving you trouble.

Best/canon route. An IF game is about player choice, so care should absolutely be taken about what these choices mean. In my opinion, the devil is in the game design. You can set broad thresholds for achieving certain actions and missed stat increase opportunities would seem less punishing. Or you can insert opportunities into the failure outcomes: have an extra scene that improves a relationship, reveals a plot point, or allows MC an emotional moment of introspection. This, of course, assumes that no path explicitly punishes the reader for picking a certain choice you, as a writer, have put in there: no hardcore railroading, no breaking the fourth wall to tell them it was unreasonable to pick that, etc. Having a clear path from the beginning of your story to the end is good, but there need to be sides to it that can be revealed if you step off it. I believe this will reduce the pressure on the player to follow a specific path, chasing those perceived "best" stats. E.g. you don't have to be the fastest runner if being some kind of runner will give you an engaging and fun/emotional playthrough.

Stat balancing. You have mentioned that careful control of the stat changes while writing doesn't seem to be working for you. I can share what I found works best for me, and that is to accept it will change. The game is in the WIP stage, so I simply take it for granted that the values and stats I am adjusting now are probably fairly coarse, and sometimes I later rethink the relationship between the option and which stats it should modify and by how much. As I write along, things will adapt and fine-comb editing will take place. I also don't think every single choice should change some stat, sometimes it's just about letting the player connect with their MC and the game, and that is just fine.

Just a few words to how I approach balancing it in Soulmates Inc.: I prefer the path of content. You may have noticed that your MC doesn't have to rely on the soul-link powers. And while using them may be fun, your MC's refusal to use them (a clear penalty to the value of the corresponding stats) may either be a stance on free will, their love for a challenge, a creative approach to their work, or even an uneasy feeling about the whole soul-matching enterprise. This will show up in the game at times as options and conversations exclusive to that path.

I hope this helps you a bit, even if merely to give you a perspective. Always remember to have fun with the project, and I wish you that smooth creative sailing, anon!

[i-heart-hxh]

Who do you think fell in love first, Gon or Killua?

Thank you so much for asking! Sorry for taking so long to reply, I've been busy, but I've been thinking about this since I received it!

I don't think this is a simple thing to gauge, but I think ultimately Gon started having feelings first. This is a great meta that I agree with on the topic and it goes over a lot of the more objective reasons to think this is the case.

Both of them gravitated towards each other fairly equally in the Hunter Exam (although Gon does have friendships with Kurapika and Leorio as well, vs Killua's primary focus being on Gon), however because of Gon's personality, in my opinion he was more prone to simply like and admire Killua with no complication right off the bat, and without the need to examine or confront those feelings. Whereas with Killua it takes him a bit longer to let himself trust and care about Gon fully, due to the complications of how he grew up and what he was taught to believe about making friends.

In the earlier parts of the Hunter Exam, Killua clearly is interested in Gon, but it almost seems like he's testing him to see if they can be friends. Killua keeps throwing out edgy facts about himself, which, while they're true, the way he uses them almost as quips seems like he's pushing to see if Gon will stop wanting to associate with him. Of course, Gon is an unusual guy and isn't fazed by anything Killua throws at him. He simply accepts whatever Killua reveals to him, and it doesn't lower his opinion of Killua.

Then in the later parts of the exam, Killua feels slighted that Netero ranked Gon above him, and during the Gon vs Hanzo match it seems like he's essentially assessing Gon trying to figure out why rather than having much emotional response to what Hanzo does to Gon (as the meta I posted above said, violence towards children is also normal in Killua's household, so there's that as well).

By the time Killua makes his big declaration of wanting to be friends with Gon to Illumi, he's clearly made up his mind, but it seems like a new revelation, and of course after that he's busy dealing with the situation with Illumi.

As soon as Gon hears about what happened with Killua, he marches up to Illumi and breaks his arm in the middle of the lecture, and then he puts aside his goal of finding his dad, his entire aim and purpose for his journey, because he feels he MUST rescue Killua and be with him again. He even tells Illumi he'll never see Killua again. I don't know if I'd say he's fully in love with Killua at that point, but...he's definitely a good few steps in that direction.

The Zoldyck Family arc is instrumental to the formation of their bond on both sides. Even with how naturally stubborn and self-sacrificing Gon is, I do think it's worth noting how Gon does absolutely everything in his power to get Killua back. He demands Killua back at every turn. I think knowing Gon went to those lengths for him is a huge thing for Killua, and from that point on Killua's feelings for Gon change and grow. But it seems like Gon had already reached that point before Killua did--it's like Killua needed that final push.

I personally see Gon's feelings as ones that have been growing all along and he knows they're there and they're different from his feelings for his other friends, but he's likely not entirely aware of the full context around them or what exactly they mean because he hasn't bothered to pick them apart or try to place them in the right context. (Previous answer on this topic here.) Whereas with Killua, because of his more introspective personality and the fact that Gon is his main focus and connection, his romantic feelings for Gon are something he's more aware of and they're more at the forefront of his mind, particularly from Greed Island onward.

I think they have mutual crushes from the Zoldyck arc on (Gon's perhaps starting a just bit sooner for the reasons I wrote above), and the actual love is something that's more challenging to pinpoint. They adore each other so much from the beginning and in the narrative it seems both of their feelings only keep growing as time goes and they spend more time together. I certainly think that by Greed Island they're quite committed to each other. There are so many milestones for these two realizing how much they care about each other, it's incredibly sweet and it makes it hard to narrow down some sort of specific timeline. I could probably write a book length post trying, haha.

In spite of how differently the two of them may experience and think about their feelings, I believe they love each other to a similar degree. One of the differences is that, while Gon has several other areas of focus and quite a few friendships, Killua's focus up until now has been unhealthily weighted towards Gon. In Chimera Ant Arc, even amid Killua's intense infatuation with Gon, we begin to see this change--with Killua befriending Ikalgo and Palm, then later rescuing Alluka, accepting Nanika, etc. The separation may give them each a chance to focus on the parts of their life that they were lacking--for Gon, introspection and better understanding his own feelings and figuring out what he wants to do now, and for Killua, expanding his focus and friendships to others besides Gon so his life isn't only Gon all the time.

I hope that's at least somewhat satisfying. Thanks again for asking and waiting for me to respond!

[elysiansparadise]

can you post about uranus in 9H! i hope your break is going well and that you’re enjoying yourself to the fullest

Of course I can, love.

Uranus in the 9th house

Here we have quite creative and imaginative natives with a high intellectual potential. They are people who can stand out a lot for their knowledge, charm and friendliness. These people truly know how to connect with people regardless of their cultural differences or even how they think, in fact they can feel very curious about a foreign country and eager to travel to distant places, it is worth mentioning that this taste can include some nervousness also, either to the idea of ​​reaching an unknown place or to heights. This placement can give them the tendency to have friends who live far away or foreign friends. These people may have a completely different religion or beliefs than the rest of their family, likewise, they may decide to study something unconventional or something that others do not agree with. Uranus in this house also tells us about a possible change of mind regarding what they want to study and, depending on what aspects Uranus makes, it could also tell us about someone who decides not to have higher education or drops out of school. It should be added that this placement makes the native think excessively about their future and this makes them somewhat nervous.

Many people can highlight the unique way in which these natives perceive life, they are able to give new perspectives to the people around them. They are great friends who make their loved ones feel much more optimistic, positive and happy. Even if they are introverts, people can perceive them as nice. In terms of tastes and hobbies, they may be very attracted to astrology, numerology, learning new languages ​​and experiencing new things. They are not people obsessed with their beliefs, they simply practice them and enjoy sharing them, but they will never go to extremes. They can be very distractible people and are likely to get lost in their own minds while a conversation is taking place. They don't like being told what to believe and what not to, and they can't just ignore it if this happens, they'll let you know their disagreement about it. They do not discriminate at all, they are people who will not judge someone just because of their status, skin color or beliefs of any kind.

Something curious happens with them and that is that they can either become friends or get along with their teachers, or on the contrary challenge them or have many differences with them (especially if Mars or Saturn are aspecting Uranus, more precisely, making hard aspects). They may decide to study things related to science, technology, sociology or something that allows them to connect with many different people. This placement makes them seem somewhat indifferent to studies, many may see them as the typical ones who do not study and pass the subject and many may highlight the intelligence of the native. Sudden opportunities to travel can arise, and travel can bring new perspectives and unique and memorable experiences. They are capable of seeing different perspectives about the same topic, they may over analyze and overthink at times. It's worth mentioning that some of them dislike closed places and may get nervous.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[curiouslycaffeinatedcephalopod]

entry 03

do not be afraid to use technology if using paper based methods of note taking, planning and scheduling and journaling.

when i first started my research project i was afraid of using only applications and software such as Notion, drives for storage, Microsoft Word AI grammar assistance etc. I was afraid because i was told (and anxious about it myself) that i could lose my data and information if i didn't have a backup on paper.

this resulted in me not quite meeting my weekly deadlines with tasks and goals because i was spending time "backing up" all my data, planning, schedules, meeting notes, everything.

Whilst i definitely agree with others that you should have a back up, a lot of these applications and software are so well developed and have really well functioning servers, there is such a minimal chance of just losing everything. it would be more logical to make back ups on other storage platforms/drives than keeping everything in paper AS WELL. this is so time consuming and sends you in a panic every time you need to upload data, write notes, prepare documents, edit documents, review data and leaves you with notes you made hastily (and anxiously) which often times never even helped me as the notes were illegible because i was in such a rush.

of course, a paper based method for laboratory notes is a good idea as devices are not recommended in the labs if you're working with biological matter/chemical substances - pencil down your notes and then you can go home if you have the time and the need to write it onto a notion page or type up a document so that you can review the protocol and how you performed during and the outcomes, any changes you may need to make etc.

you can use notion for your research scheduling and planning and just keep a very simple bullet journal/notebook for day to day notations and planning. i had been told to make sure i have a paper based record of everything i wrote on my notion but i think you can keep an abbreviated version and rather keep a copy pasted document of this and/or screenshots and store that across multiple drives (or one if you're not an anxious academic like me, haha).

if anyone tells you how you should do something so intricately personal to each student/researcher because they do not like the interface you use (yes, i was told i should not use the one thing that has worked for me because it was too difficult for the other party to understand or review), it is obviously nice and kind to try and provide things a format they understand, but do not stop doing the thing you enjoy and that actually helps you reach your goals.

context for number 3:

i found notion through various content creators in the research realm, with mixed recommendations ranging from yes it works well to no not for me. i struggle with planning and procrastinating and academic challenges so i decided to give it a go. honestly, the fact that it was aesthetically customisable was a big plus. that is just simply something that makes me want to work. the next thing was its cross compatibility with other apps and software i used, primarily google. it helped me keep track of upcoming meetings, events and urgent tasks and provided a way for me to visually see my progress. but someone i was wokring with, whose opinion mattered very much to me, had mentioned that they were not a fan and that they did not have the time to use the interface, even though the interface was not our primary mode of communication regarding my research project, it was simply a way for them to see how i was spending my time or planning to as a student of theirs. needless to say, i gave up because their way took way too much time already. it is not a problem or a topic that requires someone to blame, i just was in the midst of an already overwhelming time in my project and had to just do what i needed to survive (lol).

anyways, the lesson i learnt was, after falling a couple months behind because of poor planning and compatibility with how i was going about my most important component of my research was that you really need to prioritise the thing that works for you. whether that is paper based or digital.

but you cannot spend every moment fearing that notion will drop off the face of the earth with all your notes and plans along with it. i wasted so much time stressing and creating paper and digital back ups of EVERYTHING. i have now had to spend essentially a month organising things across multiple emails and drives just to get a start on my next big project. the most important lesson will definitely be that you need to train and teach yourself to know what are things that require a back...

you do not need 17 backups, paper and digital of plans passed and plans to come, you will quickly be reminded or be able to recall most such things as they will stress you out and haunt you so much anyways.

however you certainly do need a sufficient back up of data that belongs to the university as part of your project, or any personal methods of tracking such things.

anyways, sorry for the long rambles i post, i am using tumblr as a way to have a blog until i can actually get a website and publish better and more concise posts. i hope you still enjoy reading or at least find some solace or advice in between it all!

[animehouse-moe]

Until I Love Myself, The Journey of A Non-Binary Manga Artist: Volume 1

Viz publishing an LGBTQ autobiographical/nonfiction series (this isn't just a one shot)? Color me impressed. What I'm more impressed with though is the content itself, such a powerful and important story to tell about the struggles and challenges faced by people in positions similar to Pesuyama's, which presents countless reasons for why people should be checking this one out.

⚠️Warning: Sensitive Content such as self-harm, sexual harassment, and others are lightly discussed⚠️

I think that one of the things that stands out to me most after reading this volume is its presentation. It's the thoughts of Pesuyama laid out to readers. It stumbles, it's unsure and doesn't offer perfect conclusions or all the right explanations. First and foremost, it's as Pesuyama says: this manga is for them. It's their way of healing and processing and growing, and I think that provides its own sense of importance and emotion that you wouldn't be able to provide otherwise.

It's a really powerful piece, to feel that influence from the torrent of emotions that rest within them. It's not as much about explaining their past, or trying to give context or truth or anything like that. It's simply pleading for their story to be heard, to have someone feel for them and agree that what's happened is terrible.

And I think overall that emotion plays greatly into the more profound aspects of this first volume. Pesuyama is looking for resolutions, they're looking for concrete truth that justifies their actions and life up until that point. But not everything goes that way. People change, society... changes. All those years that you fought for the very right to exist, all the struggles and issues that you had to face alone, bearing so much weight that it would stun the titan Atlas. All of it, erased. Replaced with apologies and kindness and warm gestures.

I've not experienced any of this myself, but just the feeling of having to fight every single day not to be accepted as yourself, but to be able to attempt to live as yourself, all for it to be erased like it was nothing to begin with. I'm not really sure what to say.

In more grounded pieces (those pieces which are explicit experiences in reality) however, it's still incredibly strong. Lots of people have it in their heads about what sexual assault and harassment "should look like", so I think Pesuyama's story is an insanely important read in that sense. It's simple things, little micro-aggressions that establish an outside view of Pesuyama's gender, that objectify them and perpetuate stereotypes and gender norms. The smallest things, the simplest pieces can so effortlessly end up as harassment. For some, it might be an easy thing to forget about, for others they might not even see it as that. But it happens, it can be as simple as placing your hand on the back of a person, or standing outside talking to them while they shower.

On the topic of gender, I feel like even though it's implicit, Pesuyama's approach to the discussion of their own gender (as well as a handful of others in the volume) is really well done. Once more, no definitive answers, no definite truths or surefire beliefs. No 1's, and no 0's. It's a flowing scale with a somewhat defined left and right. Most importantly, it's not scrubbed clean of the more negative aspects. Pesuyama's struggle in regards to gender identity and their body is very well depicted as it explores their internalized misogyny (I apologize if this isn't the right term here) as it feeds off of their dysphoria to create a hatred fueled by trauma. It's really harrowing, and is just such an important example of the struggles that people face in these situations. It isn't just dysphoria, it isn't just trauma, and it certainly isn't just sexism. It's a mixture of all three that feed off of one another and create an all too easily constructed cycle.

And it hardly stops there. This first volume is just an absolute mountain of information condensed into such an emotional story. Self-harm, trauma induced behavior, social media. There's a massive catalogue of all the effects and challenges and most minute details that contribute to the importance of this story. Experiences with childhood friends, falling outs and periods of struggle. From start to finish, Until I Love Myself provides readers with an incredibly dense story that so many people should be reading and experiencing to better understand the world they live in and the people they exist alongside.

[imagionationstation]

Hiya, fellow turtle truth seekers!

So I’d just like to clear something up since I have a moment of free time rn-

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having an opinion. There is even less wrong with believing in your opinion as if it is fact, and looking at the world with this belief. (In relation to headcanons and shows and stuff.)

I love other people’s opinions. I adore when they’re the same as mine, and I’m intrigued when they aren’t. I follow plenty of people who share similar opinions to mine, and I try to avoid the ones that feel toxic. Just because an opinion feels bad to me does not make it a bad opinion! Opinions are not fact.

My opinions tend to change for as long as I’ve been in the turtle game. I used to hate April with everything in me, but after reading people’s opinions and comparing them to her character based of the show, I found that she’s not as bad as originally believed. She’s okay as a character, but in certain relations to certain things or people- *pats Donnie*- I can get a bit overprotective, and that effects my opinion of her.

Now, I simply have a strong dislike for the things she does. Not a dislike for the character herself, but her actions in certain cases. And this is all because I found people with opinions different than mine.

There’s nothing wrong with having an opinion! If you dislike one of mine and feel the need to share, absolutely go for it! I would love to see the world from your POV!!

BUT.

Something important to note- this opinion that you are sharing with me is your opinion. Unless you can prove to me that something is canon (or fact) in the show itself, I will not believe your opinion or headcanon without skepticism. Maybe even with canon proof, I’ll doubt you. Not because I’m judgemental or hateful, but because I have my own opinions.

If you come to me to talk about your opinion, let’s talk!

If you come to me to force your opinion down my throat, I guarantee you that I will respond by locking you out and refusing to let you back in until you prove to me that you have learned some manners.

I’m blunt. I’m skeptical. When I say no, I mean no. When you show me something new, my instinct may be to cling to what I know. When I pour my heart into a headcanon, it becomes canon in my mind. I know it’s not canon for everyone else, but it is for me.

One of my favorite quotes is “Agree to disagree.”

If we’re conversing, and I know I’m not going to be swayed, I say this to friends and fam, and they know that pushing further is pointless. It’s time to move topics because neither side is going to win.

You can absolutely have your opinion! Maybe it’s one that we both share, but I don’t even know I love it yet! (Those are just the coolest-)

The thing is, I’ll never know how I feel about this opinion if I never get the chance to hear you out. So drop a comment! Challenge me (politely and with an open mind) in my ask box! I may fight for my opinion, but that’s simply because it’s my opinion. You will protect yours, and I’ll protect mine.

And never, ever hesitate to let me know (if you want) if you agree with an opinion of mine! I have so many stored away, and a million thoughts on everything, and knowing that there’s at least one person out there who agrees with me is more gratifying than words can say!

Again, there’s nothing wrong with an opinion. Just remember that everyone else’s matters as much as yours!

[uglytsumugi12]

shine▲polyhedric tri-lights 【ep 4】

♢ characters: natsume, sora, tsumugi, madara

♢ season: winter

― ☆ ―

Sora: HaHa~! HiHi~! HuHu~!

Ice skating is so funn~♪ Sora wants to jump just like a figure skater!

Madara: Hahaha. Sora still looks the same even while ice skating, doesn't he? Rather, he looks even more energetic than usual ♪

Now. What about the other two…

Natsume: WeLL, this is rather eaSY. We wouldn't want to make fools of ourselves in front of the puBLIC, after aLL.

I'm not bad at exercisING, I simply do not want to waste my enerGY. Please don't get the wrong idEA.

Madara: Ooh, you're right, Natsume-san. Although you tend to get overshadowed by Sora's unique physical abilities, your foundation is good!

By the way, I can't seem to find Tsumugi-san?— …Oh? That figure holding onto the railing at the entrance, that's….

Tsumugi: A- Ah, I'm okay! Look, I can even let go of the railing—

U- Uwaah–?!

…Haha. Looks like I accidentally fell~….

Marada: No way, no way! I would've never expected Tsumugi-san to know how to skate so well~¹

Natsume: You walk as pathetically as a newborn faWN. Where did all that boldness and self-praising from before GO?

Even your hair got completely frizzy from the coLD², mophEAD. SeriouSLY, I'm disappointed in yOU.

Tsumugi: Aah, what kind of insult is that…?!

I was confident until I started skating..~ When I was little, I knew how to skate quite well…

Perhaps growing taller has made me less agile.

Madara: Hmm. Tsumugi-san is so tall that keeping his balance is quite hard, isn't it? I guess that's part of the strenghts and weaknesses of having a nice figure.

Alright. Lemme escort you!

Hold my hands until you regain your childhood senses, Tsumugi-san ♪

Tsumugi: Thank you, Mikejima-kun.

Ahh, I didn't know skating after a long time would be so hard… I thought it was the same as cycling or swimming-- once you've learned it, you never forget it…

Maybe if I skate a bit, I'll be able to regain my old senses. Until then, thank you for helping me… ♪

Sora: HeHe~? Giant-san and senpai are sliding so elegantly, just like ballroom dancers.

Natsume: I think what you mean is more like ice dancING.

Either wAY, we only need to bring out the sporty apeal of Switch through extracurricular activitIES. I don't think it'd be possible for it to happen in such a short span of tIME.

..HM, looks like they're having fun over heRE. Come ON, let's skate on our oWN, SoRA.

Sora: Yes! Let's skate together so that we don't lose to them two!

Madara: Hehe. They look so full of energy, I kinda envy them.

Tsumugi: Mhm, you're right. This whole project... Sora-kun said he wanted to work on it. I find myself regretting having chosen Switch's form in it by myself before I was aware of that…

During the "Magic Lantern Fest"… He'd said that Switch will show to the world many beautiful things.

If Switch's future is to show to the world many of the stuff Sora-kun loves, then…

We'll have to show him things he might love in more details, like parkour, or other physical activities.

Ah… This will be quite the challenge, won't it?

Madara: What you're saying is really nice, though I doubt anyone would take you seriously with how you're waddling around like a toddler right now, y'know?

Well, I agree with you that the juniors--rather, the newcomers--are pretty much breaking our initial norms.

Like with the recent success of ALKALOID, CrazyB's boldness, and such.

They come from an outside system working differently from ours… And they're skillfully breaking the old traditions.

Hmm.. Oh! I think there's a more accurate precedent to them, right? Trickstar. They were the one to break Yumenosaki Academy's old system. Ah, I can't possibly talk about this topic without mentioning their story.

Tsumugi: That's right. And thanks to that happening, Eichi-kun also looks much happier than before…

Oh, speaking of newcomers… Oukawa-kun is also one of them, isn't he? I feel that since you've been more active in Double Face, your usual mood has also quite changed.

Now that we have something to protect, we're taking our unit activities much more seriously. I wonder if this has to do with the juniors' influence…

If so, I think it'd be very nice ♪

Madara: Ohh. Hm. I wonder, if I try to see things similarly to Tsumugi-san's point of view…

Well now that you mention it.. Right after ES was etablished, I was mostly working behind the scenes, which caused my idol activities in MaM to decrease.

Since Double Face was formed, I've been able to perform much more. I wonder if this is thanks to Kohaku-san's help.

Tsumugi: If I had to say, I do think it is~♪

I'll have to learn from you. In no way must I disturb Sora-kun and Natsume-kun's development.

I feel that if I do this… They'll be the ones inspiring me to climb even higher.

Madara: Haha, those youngsters… They grow faster everyday. If you're too slow for them, they might not even wait for you to catch up!

First of all, we gotta get you to skate! C'mon, do you think you can try without slipping?

Tsumugi: Yes! I'll do my best…♪

—

1- the phrasing doesnt rly go like this but id thought itd fit mama more in a teasing/ironic way LMAO 2- here natsume uses a term like..."white fur" which is kinda like how animals have their fur standing on end when its cold outside. which also kinda bring back to the fawn as well

― ☆ ― ♢ previous chapter ♢ next chapter

✦ masterlist

[burningtheroots]

My stance on transgenderism/transsexuality/TRA (only some points):

So, I'm aware that the trans community and TRAs would label me as a "TERF" regardless of what I say, but I still want to share my views with the radfem community and in general.

There's a common misconception that radical feminists (and radical feminism itself) hate trans people and wish harm upon them.

While there undeniably are some people like this and no movement is flawless, it's simply not true for the sentiment of radical feminism and a large number of radfems, and only villainizes our activism for the greater good. We get to the roots of societal problems.

Personally, I care for people who suffer from dysphoria and try to navigate through a world which is built on misogynistic concepts like "gender" "masculinity" and "femininity".

Dysphoric people shouldn't be bullied, mocked, harassed or assaulted. Trans-identified men who are forced into prostitution DO MATTER.

However, I also equally acknowledge that the trans and gender ideology nowadays is universially harmful. It reinforces "gender" and misogyny, and erases the existence and importance of sex - a biologially innate identity and reality.

We see J.K. Rowling getting harassed and threatened by TRAs in the most misogynistic ways possible, we see Shumirun Nessa AND HER CHILDREN getting harassed and threatened and being put in *actual* danger by TRAs simply because they spoke the truth, and not only that, they remained respectful through and through up until today.

We also frequently see women getting threatened by "transwomen" (of course, I'm not saying actually dysphoric men are inherently evil, that's not the point so don't come at me!) with literal rape and sexual violence. These women get threatened, harassed, assaulted and silenced in the name of "trans rights" and "inclusivity" just because they want to be recognize and considered as the oppressed SEX CLASS that they belong to.

Meanwhile, it is MEN who perpetuate crimes against trans people, but somehow women who point out that your sex matters when it comes to legal identification, women's spaces and science are THE ultimate evil and need to be eradicated.

We also need to keep in mind that the term "trans genocide" is illegitimate and false, but that's another topic I'll cover later on in another post. Still, the number of murdered trans people is low, and only a few of these have actually been associated with hate crimes (again, see later). For crimes against women and girls, it's the other way around, and yet we're expected to remain silent and focus on men who "identify" with womanhood and refuse to accept that they can't *adapt* womanhood.

You're free to express yourself, in a "masculine" or "feminine" way or anything in between (these concepts still need to challenged and destroyed as far as they promote dominance & submission, but other than that, all traits and interests should only be humane, not gendered).

And yet, your sex outweighs your "gender identity". Dysphoria is real and I SEE YOU, and I care about you. And I understand that you might feel attacked and the need to fight me, but none of my words come from a place of hatred.

Women are a sex class. Sex is an undeniable, inescapable biological reality. They deserve to be treated and acknowledged as such, especially since they're globally the most oppressed class. (Yes, this includes trans-identified women.)

Yet, I don't want dysphoric people to get harassed or hurt, in fact, I want to protect them and fight for a better world together. But I don't agree with the new-found ideology behind what we know as "trans".

You can be dysphoric/trans, but it doesn't change your sex, which, again, is what matters. Sex is real, gender is not. Sex shouldn't be associated with anything other than its biological facts, and I understand that the assigned gender identities in our society are harmful. Reinforcing them, however, isn't the solution. The solution is to abolish them.

[sportsgeekonomics]

The prepared version of my remarks to the Faculty Athletic Representatives Association annual meeting

My actual talk today veered from these prepared remark more than usual, but here is the version I prepared in advance:

I’d like to start my talk out today with a question: since we are on the topic of NIL, how many of you think it’s morally wrong for a college football athlete to choose his university, at least in part, on the basis of financial considerations, such as how much better off he and his family will be if he chooses School A over School B?

So is it fair to say a number of you think this is a real problem – that it’s wrong to choose a university based on financial considerations? 

Ok, so let’s explore that -- do you feel the same way about that for FBS as FCS?  If an FCS athlete is choosing between two schools and factoring cash flow into the decision, is that wrong on some deep level?

Is it the same for FCS as D2?  D2 as D3?

What about for other sports?  What about for a women’s rower?  If a women’s rower is factoring in her financial benefit from attending one college versus another, is that problematic in any way to any of you?

Are there any of you out there who would agree that money should never be part of the college choice process?

Now what if I told you the women’s rower is a walk-on and the financial decision is whether to go to a state school that is offering an in-state academic scholarship that won’t cost the family anything versus an out-of-state private scholarship that will put the family in debt $50,000 a year for the 5 years it will take her to finish her pre-med degree?  If the family tells the young woman she has to go to the state school over the private for financial reasons, are they committing a moral offense?

If there are any of you out there who answered yes when I was asking about the football player, when you thought the flow of money was outward from the university, but who have changed your mind now that I’ve contextualized it as a women’s rower where the flow of money is outward from the family, I would challenge you to rethink your moral code.    

I believe it is totally appropriate for that young woman and her family to weigh the financial toll her education choice may take on her family’s financial health.    The burden she might impose on her family from $250,000 of debt might very well outweigh any of the benefits of that elite private school education, and it absolutely needs to be factored into the decision.

Moreover, if a product or service like education is being sold in the marketplace now, with schools putting a price on it, so that they are asking families to choose among options with different financial impacts, then flipping the script and asking the school to pay them instead is morally identical.  It is just a negotiation over which party ultimately values the agreement more.  Unless you think there is something morally wrong with a family choosing not to bankrupt itself by selecting a less expensive college for their child, I posit that there is nothing wrong with making that same decision when the flow of money to the family is positive.

Treating Education as a Unit of Exchange is simply part of the economic system that our society has chosen – putting a price on education is not a moral crisis, it’s just a consequence of living in capitalism.  Politically, I can tell you that I would prefer to change our country so that education were either taken out of the economic decision space altogether for families or at least far more heavily subsidized, to go back to the days where the University of California was free for all qualified Californians, but if we choose as a nation to adopt a system where schools charge tuition, then selecting which college to attend is always partially an economic choice.  Your salary is funded by asking students to make that choice, so for your moral consciences I sure hope you agree with me that money and education are compatible.

But the thing is, the morality of a commercial exchange doesn’t change when you switch who is paying and who is receiving.  When the flow of money changes direction so a school pays a family instead of the other way around, it does not suddenly become a moral travesty, where moments ago it was just a business decision.

Ok, another check in.  Am I right that everyone here is ok with a full athletic scholarship, also known as a GIA?  A Full GIA is sort of the halfway point, because essentially you’re offering a talented athlete a discount of 100% to attend your university.  You are offering a financial inducement, but just enough to make the transaction cash-flow neutral to both parties.  But that is a huge net outflow from the university relative to the status quo, so to an economist, that represents a payment, it’s just one we don’t see because it’s only a payment relative to a status quo that didn’t happen.

Am I also right that most of you have gotten okay with Cost of Attendance stipends, which turns the corner just a bit, i.e., paying a small positive amount to the athlete?  How about if your school now offers so-called Alston Awards of around $6,000 a year.  Now your athletes are being paid above and beyond any semblance of what it costs to attend school simply because they bring value to your institution. 

Was this the bridge too far? 

Or perhaps it was the fact that Athletes are being paid for their NIL now.

Have you sworn off college sports now as having been forever ruined?  Are the athletes now corrupt?  How many of you have watched a college football game this year?  Was it palpably different?  Did you hate it?  Or was it the same game as ever?  Did the fans seem just as jazzed as ever?  To my eyes, people simply don’t factor in Alston Awards or NIL compensation when they watch sports.  Anyone telling me otherwise really needs to show me some tangible evidence because ratings are at their highest since about 2017, and I was told that if athletes got paid more than a scholarship, no one would watch.  Yet people still watch.

You may think I am exaggerating about the “no one will watch” part, but I am not.  Let’s stop for a moment and review some of the very intelligent people who have made these sorts of claims.

In O’Bannon, my former boss, Professor Daniel Rubinfeld of NYU and UC Berkeley, former Chief Economist of the Department of Justice, stated under penalty of perjury that college sports WOULD NOT EXIST without the rules in place as of 2013, which prohibited any NIL compensation and didn’t even allow Full COA scholarships.  Slide 1 please.

Four years later, Professor Kenneth Elzinga of the University of Virginia submitted, again under penalty of perjury, the claim that COA was a bright line, so that even a penny of pay unrelated to COA, like Alston Awards or NIL, would put consumer interest in college sports at risk.  Slide 2 please.

What these claims have in common is that they were extremely definitive statements about consumer conduct, based entirely on fiction.  Paying athletes more makes no sense if you know that by paying more your costs will go up and your revenues will go down.  This would be the equivalent of Starbucks asking customers if they would like some plutonium in their coffee, having customers say no, then Starbucks spending money to add in plutonium anyway, right in front of their customers, knowing sales will decline as a result.  It’s not how businesses behave if they know their customers’ preferences as well as the NCAA claims.  If paying athletes is really poisonous to consumer demand, you really don’t need a rule against it – just like the Coffee Retailers Association of America has never needed an antitrust exemption to ban its members from adding plutonium to coffee.  Firms do not need to collude to avoid adding expensive demand-decreasing features to their products.  They only need to collude to avoid adding expensive demand-INCREASING features.  And this is how I know that the NCAA actually knows that fans will flock to games if athletes are paid, because they collude to prevent it.

The very fact that the NCAA NEEDS to ban schools from paying their players, is strong economic evidence that the theory that paying players will hurt business is false.  Quick; ask yourself what would happen if the rules went away and schools could offer money to athletes.  Would LSU say, well gosh, my fans would hate it if we paid players so we’ll stay out of that market and let the other SEC teams commit business suicide, while we stay amateur and reap the commercial benefits of that decision.  Or would they assess their fan base and decide to compete using pay?

I think most of you would agree with me that they would look out at what their fanbase wanted and decide to do it, NOT to damage their business prospects but because they foresaw a business ADVANTAGE from paying money.

But it hasn’t just been pointy-headed economists who have said silly things under oath.  There were also the people who run college sports.  There’s Mark Emmert – still NCAA President at least as of last time I checked -- who testified under oath that receiving NIL money would render an athlete forever unable to be part of an academic environment.  Slide 3, please.

And of course, who could forget former Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who said if the Big Ten had to give any more money to athletes than they were giving in 2013, pre-COA, pre-Alston Awards, pre-NIL, the Big Ten would leave D1 for D3 out of principle. Slide 4, please.

Back in 2013 or 2017 when these statements were made, they were unfalsifiable, because the NCAA rules in place meant they were, as Jim Delany said, entirely hypothetical.  There would never be a way to test whether the cockamamy demand curves of Professors Rubinfeld and Elzinga existed or not, or whether an athlete could do a commercial for an HVAC company and still go to English class like Mark Emmert said was impossible because under the rules that existed no one was able to pay athletes for their NIL or give them academic payments above COA.  But the cool thing about the state NIL law experiment that I asked Nancy Skinner to let us get started in California is now we get to test all these claims.    Slide 5 Please.

Everyone knows NIL is unrelated to education.  NIL is above COA.  NIL is about raw, crass commerce.  Mark Emmert’s shills and pitchmen are now Big Men and Women on Campus.

But that’s the thing, those athletes with NIL deals are still on campus, going to class as much or as little or on UNC paper as before, majoring in majors just as real or fake as before.  This theory of demand concocted by the NCAA wilted at first contact with a market test.  It’s bogus.  It always was but now you have to be willful to ignore the truth, not just unimaginative.

Fans haven’t lost interest.  Boosters haven’t lost interest.  TV networks definitely haven’t lost interest.  Just ask Kevin Warren and he’ll give you one billion examples per year of how network demand for college sports has not decreased in the era of NIL.  Last weekend’s news that the value of the Big 12 rights grew despite losing Texas and Oklahoma should tell you that NIL has not decreased demand for college sports broadcast rights.

The economic justification for the cap in the first place, the “if we don’t fix prices, we’ll ruin the product and consumers will flee like we’re selling plutonium-laced coffee” excuse turns out to make as much sense as the plutonium example I concocted.  There has never been a product whose consumers have boycotted it because the workers make Too MUCH money.  Maybe they would boycott if you underpaid them, but can you imagine a protest outside of a garment factory with outraged consumers saying they won’t buy another Polo shirt until Ralph Lauren agrees to pay his immigrant seamstresses a LOWER wage?

This is why I think that if Courts were fully rational, the current Collegiate Model would be gone already.  Conservatives like Justice Kavanaugh have certainly seen through the charade – amateurism is just price fixing dressed up in the language of morality.  Isn’t it just a matter of time before the other conservatives on the court see it that way too?  And as for the shrinking liberal wing of the court, the fact that amateurism’s price fixing taxes poor black athletes and redirects the money to mostly white male coaches can’t possibly be on their list of deserving targets for economic redistribution.  Do we think Justices Samuel Alito and Ketanji Brown Jackson are likely to find a consensus to support the idea that keeping Najee Harris poor so that Nick Saban can earn $10 million was the one spot where affirmative action was still needed in America?

But I do think the fact that amateurism redistributes wealth away from young black men is a reason why a Republican take over of Congress is the NCAA’s best bet.  Because rhetoric aside, nothing is more consistent with the party of Trump and McConnell than making sure that Gen X and Baby Boomer coaches keep earning millions while Gen Z athlete pay is fixed at less than market rate.  So for the next two years, I think your business model is probably safe.  

But let’s assume at some point in the next decade Congress finally wakes up and recognizes that being paid to play D1 college football is no more or less moral than paying a school to play D3 college football or being paid to play NFL football.  In which case, taking the next step and offering FBS athletes a market rate becomes a business decision just like charging a women’s rower a market rate, no more of a moral outrage than sending a chemistry major a tuition bill at the start of every semester. 

Hence, the current worry about whether NIL payments might possibly be used as so-called inducements to encourage an athlete, especially a football or women’s or men’s basketball athlete, to enroll as a freshman at, or transfer to, a school miss the mark completely.  I’m even less worried about whether a payment prevents an athlete from transferring or leaving college altogether.   If I told you that college sports had found a way to lower the incidence of athletic transfers and to prevent athletes from leaving school early for a dubious shot at going pro before they are ready, wouldn’t you normally cheer that?  What is it about an NIL deal that makes a longer college tenure suddenly a sin?

Paying someone to play football is not an outrage.  Taking away a right that the rest of us enjoy, simply because colleges don’t want to have to pay market rates for valuable services is an outrage.  We need to stop confusing the two.

Speaking of outrages, I’d like to take a look at the current NCAA Interim Policy on NIL.  Even as modified last week it’s still trying to legislate a moral line where none actually exists.  The policy’s big picture take away is (and now I am quoting) Slide 6 Please

“The NCAA is committed to ensuring that its rules, and its enforcement of those rules, protect and enhance student-athlete well-being and maintain national standards for recruiting. Those goals are consistent with the NCAA’s foundational prohibitions on pay-for-play and impermissible recruiting inducements, which remain essential to collegiate athletics.”

So there we go, the NCAA has “foundational prohibitions” on recruiting inducements.  Luring someone to your school with financial benefits is prohibited.  Well, except it’s not, right?  Because a GIA is a financial inducement.  If one school wants me to be a walk-on and another offers me a GIA, that’s a recruiting inducement.   If you look closely, the NCAA is not banning recruiting inducements, but only “impermissible” ones. 

To the NCAA, it does matter whether the flow of money is into the university or out of the university.  A cynic will not be shocked that the NCAA, an organization made up primarily of colleges and universities, finds it to be totally appropriate if a transaction results in cash flowing into a school and “foundationally” wrong if a transaction results in too much cash leaving one of its member schools.   So is all of this moral outrage just a veneer to paper over naked price fixing?  I think that’s a lot closer to the truth than most people want to admit.

Let me offer up a better bright line for a new version of the collegiate model.  College Athletes should go to college.  Period.  Beyond that requirement that college athletes be college students, then there is no need for them to follow any specific rule, restriction, limitation, etc., that is not also applied to the coach or the Athletic Director, at least not without a valid negotiation with an empowered athlete representative body. 

Now, to be fair, there are other approaches than what I believe in.  Andy Zimbalist here, unless I am being unfair to his view of things, has proposed the other version of my “If it’s good for the coaches, it should be good for the athletes” rule, which is not to free up schools to compete for athletes, but instead to allow schools to collude to cap coaches pay too.  And presumably Athletic Director pay, though I have trouble imagining successful cartel meetings when the ADs get together to suppress their own pay.    So yes, a different solution is not to start treating athletes like adults, but to start treating coaches like children too, thus growing the list of second-class citizens disempowered by collusive conduct of the NCAA.

I’ve heard this justified as a way to let schools devote more of their resources to academics, but I would submit (with due respect to Andy and anyone else here in favor of this plan), that while treating professors as having superior rights to coaches may feel like some sort of high school revenge fantasy for all the times we intellectuals got shoved into lockers by the future football coaches of America, it’s still an injustice to tell one group of people they deserve fewer rights than others.  Coaches are people too! 

Just to be practical for a moment, unlike with athletes, the Courts have actually recognized that fixing prices for coaches pay is illegal, so to get to this outcome, we would need congressional intervention.  Do we really think Senator Tommy Tuberville is going to support a legalized wage cap on his former colleagues pay, just to support the priorities of a bunch of liberal college professors who think too much money is being spent on football?  Call me a pessimist, but I think you’ve got a tough slog ahead on that one when we can’t even get Kristen Sinema to support a tax on Hedge Fund managers.

I’ve also heard it justified by the fact that the NCAA and schools do a great deal of good with the wealth they extract from athletes by means of their collusive conduct.  I call this they “yes, we robbed the bank, but we donated most of the money to Maria Theresa’s orphanage” defense.  Its all fine and good to do good works, but if you’ve engaged in wrongful conduct to take the fruits of someone else’s labor to get that money in the first place, the good works do not erase the original sin of theft.

So, with the five minutes still allotted to me, perhaps I should actually address the question of the future of the collegiate model.  I’ve told you I think the current model rests on a false claim of moral superiority, namely that the current practice of preventing athletes from being induced to attend a specific university with some forms of money, but allowing them to be induced with other forms of money, isn’t a moral distinction, it’s just price fixing in fancy wrapping paper.  I think ultimately my understanding is going to become Federal law, either through the Courts or through Congress.  It will stop being legal to get together here in Indianapolis and decide as a national body on the maximum amount an FBS school can offer to an athlete, just like it’s currently illegal to agree among schools on how much to offer to coaches.

What will happen next?  Within minutes, the earth will spin out of its orbit, crash into Mars, and humanity will cease to exist.  “See,” Wally Renfro will scream from his retirement home in Arizona, “I told you so!” 

No, what will actually happen is that the negative impacts of amateurism depicted on Slide 7 will slowly unwind. Slide 7 Please.

Player compensation will normalize so that quarterbacks will get paid about the same as what offensive coordinators get paid today, but that money will come from a sharp deceleration in the rate of coaching pay. 

That pay may not decrease right away, but it will flatten out, and maybe even start to decline, as boosters realize it’s easier to just pay the players directly than to pay the coach in hopes he can recruit the players. 

Spending on lavish facilities whose primary purpose is to recruit players will decline rapidly.  This is already happening.  Take a look at Auburn University, where a new practice facility for the men’s basketball team was approved by the Board of Trustees, but recently head coach Bruce Pearl announced it was being mothballed because he wanted donors to redirect their portion of the money needed to fund the facility into a collective that would pay recruits directly instead.   Slide 8 please.

This is great news for those of us who have been saying that the so-called “arms race” in facilities was just a symptom of the price-fixing in player salaries to begin with, and it’s evidence that if the price fixing stops, we can redirect the excess spending from benefiting the shareholders of large construction firms to go instead to the talented young men and women who actually drive the value of college sports.

I’ll even go one step further.  Asking for a level of professionalism among people representing our universities is a good thing.  I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of glorifying an amateur operation; an amateur hour is not a positive thing.  This is the future of the collegiate model: that collegiate no longer is confused with amateur.  You are all professional professors yet nothing could be more collegiate.  Your best graduate students are university employees.  The undergraduates on work-study are university employees.  We ask all of them to be professional in their conduct, and to represent the university as collegiate employees in one aspect of their lives, but they still go to class as students.  College athletes will interact with the system in the same way.   This will be the collegiate model.  Like the old joke about a Mullet being all business in the front, all party in the back, college athletes will be all College in the classroom and all business on the field and in the marketplace.   

And people will love college sports identically to today.  Sports will change because of the changes in how society consumes sports generally, not because of how college athletes are compensated.  Mark Emmert will pontificate his way into retirement, but his erroneous predictions, and all of the other self-serving and highly compensated opinions of defense experts will all turn out to have been so obviously false everyone will wonder who would have been so gullible to have believed it.  Certainly, none of YOU fell for it, right?

[pacificworldschoolnoida]

Mindscape Marvels: A Journey Through Uncharted Intellectual Realms

The human mind is a wondrous place. It's where we have mind-bending thoughts, dig into fascinating subjects, and catch a passion for learning. These journeys within our mindscape open a universe of intellectual marvels and discoveries.

Students often see themselves as brave exploring uncharted intellectual realms. Every question you ask acts as your compass, guiding you towards exciting discoveries. Each book you read becomes a map, revealing new paths to explore. And with each challenge you conquer, you expand the boundaries of your knowledge. This is the vision that drives teachers at Pacific World School, the best leading school in Greater Noida West. Here, students step onto mind-bending intellectual journeys within their own mindscape, allowed to become fearless explorers.

Every inquisitive question a student asks becomes a secret tunnel, guiding them towards exciting discoveries. Each book they conquer converts into a treasure map, revealing hidden knowledge and pumping their imaginations. With each challenge they overcome, they build a stronger, sharper version of themselves.

Pacific World School goes beyond simply memorizing facts though to some extent, it can be agreed upon that few facts are undeniably cool. Their philosophy centers around nurturing a lifelong love for learning. They nurture curiosity by encouraging students to ask questions, encouraging a spirit of exploration that extends beyond the classroom walls. The school aims at creating lifelong learners who are constantly eager to come forward to discovering the uncharted mental landscapes of the world around them, and the even more amazing world within their own minds.

Pacific World School boasts a top-ranked CBSE curriculum, designed to serve as a comprehensive guidebook for their students' mindscape adventures. Forget about rote memorization. This top CBSE school in Greater Noida prioritizes a fun and engaging approach to learning, ensuring students develop a deep understanding of concepts. Their curriculum allows students to explore subjects that spark their individual interests, exposing the hidden intellectual gems embedded within each topic. This further develops a love for discovery, transforming the classroom into a launchpad for intellectual marvels and discoveries.

Pacific World School recognizes every child as an explorer, overflowing with potential to beat their own intellectual Everest. They equip their students with the necessary tools for critical thinking and problem-solving, developing a creative spirit that goes beyond memorization. The school believes in creating not just consumers of knowledge, but future creators who will shape the world with their intellectual discoveries.

So, how many of you are ready to release the genius within? The uncharted territories of your child's mindscape make a gesture, overflowing with possibilities. Parents who want their kids to get on these adventures should set sail on a journey of discovery at Pacific World School, who has left no stone unturned in achieving itself to be amongst the best & top schools in Greater Noida West.

To all the concerned parents, let your child follow his/her passion because the most awe-inspiring adventures often begin with a single, curious question. Pacific World School provides the perfect platform for that first, life-changing question, guiding students on a lifelong journey of intellectual exploration. To know more about the school visit the website and download their brochure!

[faith-in-democracy]

Criticism 101: The Art of Not Taking Any Feedback Seriously

Welcome, dear readers, to a topic that surely resonates with all of us - criticism! Ah, what a joy it is when someone decides to share their unsolicited opinions about our work. After all, who wouldn't love a little dose of negativity to brighten their day? Now, let's delve into the fine art of not taking any feedback seriously. Sit back, relax, and get ready to master the skill of shrugging off any criticism that comes your way. 1. Begin with disbelief The first step in the journey of not taking criticism seriously is to simply not believe it. Who needs pesky reality when you have your rose-tinted glasses firmly on your face? Remember, as an artist, your work is flawless, and mere mortal opinions hold no value. 2. Embrace your inner defensive warrior Criticism is like a mighty arrow aimed straight at the core of your creative soul. Naturally, the best way to handle this is to take a defensive stance. After all, your work is your child, and no one messes with your child without facing your wrath. Prepare your arsenal of justifications and counter-arguments to fend off any feedback that dares to challenge your genius. 3. Seek validation from your pets Who needs the opinions of mere mortals when you have a loyal audience right at home? Turn to your furry friends for the much-needed validation and unconditional love. They will always agree with your brilliance, no matter what. Remember, if your cat approves, then all is well in the creative universe. 4. Rewrite reality Why accept the reality that someone didn't like your work when you can create your own alternate version? Simply rewrite their feedback in your mind and transform it into an adoring fan letter. Who needs criticism when you can live in a world where everyone loves and admires your creations? 5. Avoid growth at all costs Criticism has this funny way of pushing us to improve and grow as individuals. But who needs personal growth when you can bask in the comfort of your stagnant bubble? Reject any suggestion for improvement and cling tightly to your comfort zone. After all, venturing into the unknown might lead to change, which, let's face it, is overrated. And there you have it, folks! A crash course on how to master the art of not taking any feedback seriously. Remember, the opinions of others are like sparkling drops of rain on a sunny day - they might exist, but who really needs them? Now go forth and create, without ever concerning yourself with the pesky world of criticism!

[beyondthedustjacket]

Bookish Asks

ORIGINAL BOOK TAG BY CINNASBOOKS

SPINE — WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GENRE TO READ?

Probably fantasy or contemporary romance. Fantasy can be difficult for me to get into, but I enjoy it once the story gets moving. As for contemporary romance, there's nothing like some good fluff to put a smile on my face.

COMMA — WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER…. EVER!?

This one is so hard! The first literary character who came to mind was Diana Barry. She's such a good friend and could achieve so much if her family simply gave her the chance.

PAGE — HOW DO YOU GET OUT OF A BOOK SLUMP?

Honestly, if I'm in a slump, I don't force myself to read. I don't want to ruin the enjoyment of it by making it a chore. I always find my way back eventually.

LIBRARY — WHAT IS ONE BOOK THAT CHANGED YOUR VIEWS ON A TOPIC?

I wouldn't say this book changed my views about the topic since I already agree with and support her viewpoints, but Greta Thunberg's speech collection, No One Is Too Small Too Make a Difference, taught me a lot about climate change and the crisis our planet is currently undergoing. She provides tons of information about it that I didn't know about before reading her book. Her speeches really helped me understand the issue and the scientific evidence behind it on a much deeper level. She makes it easy to understand and doesn't come off as condescending. She genuinely cares about the earth and its continuation.

WORDS — WHAT BOOK MADE YOU LOVE READING?

I didn't have the same childhood experience that many avid readers had. Others talk about how amazing reading was for them as a child, but, for me, it was a chore. I was constantly being forced to read books in school that I didn't find interesting whatsoever. Because of that, I didn't experience the childhood wonder of discovering books like the Percy Jackson series or the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. I didn't start reading for personal enjoyment until my last year of high school. After I was free from narratives I didn't care about, I felt so much happiness once I found books that I actually enjoyed. So, overall, there isn't necessarily any one book that made me love reading. Instead, it was finally being given the chance to read what I wanted that changed my perception of it.

TYPEWRITER — HAVE YOU EVER CRIED OVER A BOOK?

Bridge to Terabithia is in the lead on this one, however, it did not actually achieve the task. No book that I have read has been successful in making me cry. (If you have a challenge for me, send it my way, lol!)

LETTER — WHO IS YOUR CHARACTER CRUSH?

I'm changing this question just a little bit since I don't really have an answer for it. In regards of which character I relate to and see myself in the most, it would have to be Nick Nelson from Heartstopper without a doubt. So many things he experienced in discovering his sexuality is what I went through as well. So much so that, in certain points of the story, it's almost a step-by-step recreation of my life. It's rather odd, but cathartic at the same time.

SPELLING — IF YOU COULD BE PUT INTO ANY UNIVERSE, WHICH WOULD IT BE?

I'm going with the Osemanverse! (Can you tell Alice Oseman is my fave yet?) Alice has put so much effort into her extended universe that exists within her novels. The Osemanverse provides such a warm feeling of comfort for me. I truly can't imagine a world without her works.

BOOKSTORE — IF YOU HAD A CHARACTER WRITTEN BASED ON YOU, WHAT WOULD THEIR PERSONALITY AND NAME BE?

Hopefully, I would just be me. I'm enough the way I am and I wouldn't change a single thing about myself.

GRAMMAR — WHAT IS THE SHORTEST PERIOD OF TIME IT HAS TAKEN YOU TO READ A NOVEL?

Probably a day, but only because I devoured Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake in one long, extended sitting.

SCROLL — WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE WEATHER TO READ IN?

Thunderstorms are where it's at for me!

PRINTER — WHY DO YOU READ?

Because it's fun! I like reading about other people's viewpoints and opinions, as well as discovering new fictional worlds that authors have put their hearts and souls into. Reading really is a beautiful thing.

PAPERBACK — STRANGEST PLACE YOU HAVE READ A BOOK?

I guess my answer would have to be the bathtub? I like to dim the lights and use bath bombs in the water as I take some time to relax. I don't know if I would call this strange though because I know quite a few people who do this as well.

HARDCOVER — LEAST FAVOURITE BOOK AND WHY?

Stephen King's It, primarily because of that extremely gross scene towards the end. (I won't say what it is, but I'm sure other reviewers know what I'm talking about.) Please research that book before you read it. I know it's horror and all, but that scene went way too far in my opinion. That was my first Stephen King book and I will never read another.

BESTSELLER — WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHOR?

Definitely Alice Oseman! Their books make me feel so warm and happy. I know I can always turn to their work if I ever need a pick-me-up!

BINDING — IF YOU COULD GIVE ANY BOOK TO A LOVED ONE, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

My sister is a lot like me in the sense that she didn't enjoy reading when she was younger. However, she still holds that view to a certain degree. If I recommend a book for her, she knows that I chose it because I'm sure she will like it. That's why I gave her a Chronicles of Narnia boxset. And she loves them!

CHAPTER — DO YOU THINK READING IS FOR EVERYONE?

That's a hard question. I think people consume stories differently and in their own ways. Maybe someone likes physical books while another person likes the audio versions? Someone else could prefer to simply watch the movie or TV adaptation of story? All of those options are fine. I think we need to let go of the idea that if someone doesn't read then they aren't as intelligent as people who do. Because that's simply not true. We should all be allowed to consume stories in whatever format suits us the best without the fear of judgment from others.

BLURB — HOW MANY BOOKS ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?

Don't look at me.

CLIFFHANGER — WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU READING CURRENTLY?

I won't include books that I haven't picked up in a while because we'd be here forever if I did. The two books I'm most actively reading are Beartown as well as The Duke and I. Beartown is apart of my current Shelf Unhaul challenge, which was inspired by BooksAndLala's Closet Unhaul series. If you remember the earlier question about odd reading locations, I said that I like to unwind and read in the bathtub. That's where I take some time to catch up on The Duke and I. Nothing like a good romance while being surrounded by candles, lol!

COVER — RECOMMEND A BOOK FOR ME?

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, especially if you like sweet, fluffy stories about friendship and romance.

PROLOGUE — DESCRIBE THE BOOK YOU ARE CURRENTLY READING USING ONLY EMOJIS?

I want to clarify that I've only read the first chapter of Beartown, so I'm only doing The Duke and I for this one, lol! 🤭👸🏻💅🏻✨👑💍💗

EPILOGUE — IF YOU COULD RENAME ANY BOOK, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

I genuinely can't think of a book for this one. I don't necessarily have issues with book titles because I know it's not (usually) up to the author what they're book is titled or how the cover is designed.

TITLE — WHAT CHARACTER WOULD BE YOUR BFF?

I'd say Tori Spring, but I'm sure you're all tired of me mentioning the Osemanverse over and over all, so I'll throw in a second character, lol! Annabeth Chase, forever and always! She's such a great character!

[nityarawal]

 May 2, 2023, 11:05 AM

Subject: Fwd: FROM AN UNSUSTAINABLE STATUS QUO ... (genius from Mrs. Presidencia- Mommy & co-parent Marianne Williamson!) Xo

Yes please! Can my kids & I campaign with you???

All love,

Nitya

PS SOS: legal team

Please read Marianne's divine letter & settle estates now.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Marianne Williamson <mariannewilliamson+politics-and-society@substack.com>

Date: Sun, Apr 30, 2023, 7:41 PM

Subject: FROM AN UNSUSTAINABLE STATUS QUO ...

To: <nityahuntley@gmail.com>



Open in app or online

FROM AN UNSUSTAINABLE STATUS QUO ...

To the possibility of a just and peaceful world.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

MAY 1

 

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We’re living at a time of historic phase transition, in which one world is falling apart and another is struggling to be born. We’re called at this time to be both death doulas and birth doulas, helping transition wisely and responsibly from an increasingly unsustainable status quo to the possibility of a just and peaceful world.

For that, we will need a movement - and a president - focused not on perpetuating the old but on bringing forth the new.

America’s political status quo is a village of societal dinosaurs, deeply resistant to any challenge to their well established perch of power. According to their minions in the world of mainstream media, President Biden is running unopposed. The voices of those asking for change go unheeded, and those who question their authority are simply deemed not to exist.

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To much of the mainstream media, therefore, I apparently do not exist. But that of itself is not what bothers me.

What bothers me is that to them, the poor do not exist.

The chronic anxiety of those struggling to make ends meet does not exist.

Hungry children in America do not exist.

The corruption of their corporate sponsors does not exist.

The destruction of the earth does not exist.

Of course they seek to invisible-ize those who bring up such inconvenient topics.

The derision of the status quo’s gatekeepers is almost a badge of honor in a world where the status quo is such a cesspool of denial and naïveté about the state of our country and the risks to our world.

The paragons of the political elite would like to ghost me. Begone with me!:) But it is they who are the ghosts, representing a world that is dying before our very eyes. We must - we must - resist the agents of stagnation, and welcome in our hearts the agents of change.

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I don’t have any Trump-like “Only I can do it” sentiments running around in my head. It’s not that I think I’m the only one who can do it, so much as I’m the only one who is doing it. Some might do it better in certain areas, and I might do better in others. I have learned a lot about when to speak, and a lot about when to listen. I now have confidence that the experiences I’ve gained over the years - both my successes and my failures - have prepared me for this moment in time. I would not be running for president if I didn’t feel I could do the job in a spectacular way.

How many times have we all read, “But she isn’t a serious candidate!” Contrary to those who seek to minimize my life and career, however, I am a serious woman. And I haven’t lived this long to let someone else determine that I’m not. Someone who founded an organization that has fed over 16 million meals to homebound people with AIDS and other critical illnesses is a serious person. Someone who has written 16 books that have reached bestseller lists and served the journey of millions of readers is a serious person. Someone who has had a forty-year career speaking to, writing about and teaching about the universal principles at the heart of all the religions of the world is a serious person. It’s time for those who believe this will stand up to the smear-mongers who would have people think otherwise. The erasure of a serious career is at a certain point a serious offense.

I appeal to everyone who agrees with me, to stand with me. We are the people and this is our time. No one person can fix the mess we ‘re in; we’re all going to fix the mess we’re in. But first, we have to override the power of those who have no intention of our doing so.

And that is serious.

Please join me.

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