#indigo reading challenge 2022

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

“This is one of those moments that I want to bottle up and keep with me forever. Not because it’s extraordinary, or because it’s the kind of thing you would find in a Bollywood movie. But because it’s the kind of moment I could never have dreamed of having in a million years.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPOILERS BELOW!!!

I’ve been meaning to read Adiba Jaigirdar’s work for a while now because, come on, a coming-of-age story about a queer Bangali girl living abroad? This is something I dream-journaled about and I’m really happy that teens now can have a book like this. I’m going to try and keep my thoughts as organized as I possibly can (keyword: try).

=>Nishat

I want to start off by saying that Nishat is a fantastic protagonist. I might be a little biased and irrationally protective of her, but I found Nishat to be a very balanced main character. She might come off as self-centred in certain parts of the book but I think a lot of people overlook what she’s going through and the fact that she is apologetic towards Priti and towards her friends. 

Initially, I had a visceral reaction to both the insensitive comments from Jess and the way Priti outed her sister and then called her selfish for being upset. 

However, once I sat with the book for a while I was able to be a little more understanding of the way Adiba Jaigirdar chose to portray these relationships. 

While Nishat had Priti to express her problems to, Priti could not do the same in turn. I can sympathize with her feeling isolated and in the middle of this silent war between her parents and her big sister, but I think it was really shitty of her to not come clean and apologize to Nishat. Throwing their grandmother’s health in her face was absolutely uncalled for. 

I appreciated the reconciliation between Nishat and her friends a lot more. Both Nishat and I had the same realization that Chaewon just wanted to be able to share her culture in this project and that it’s as important to her as henna is to Nishat. And Jess joking about Nishat having terrible taste in girls if there was some truth to Chyna’s rumours was the most best-friend-y she could’ve comforted her.

Nishat is also absolutely hilarious. The fact that she bought all the henna from the store Flávia was going to use was amazing, that is business women, I don’t care what anyone else has to say. Her resilience is something I would’ve looked up to if I had this book when I was younger. Scratch that, it’s something I think I can still look up to now as an adult.  

=>Nishat and Flávia

This book wasn’t as romance-heavy as I anticipated, but I was really invested in Nishat’s story and I think Nishat and Flávia’s relationship was still given the space to grow and to shine. 

I was expecting a rivals-to-lovers storyline, but instead, I got a childhood friends-to-somewhat rivals-to-lovers storyline which I think preferred. Childhood friends-to-lovers is my favourite trope and I like the way that it was done here.

 Nishat referring to the first time they see each other again at a wedding as her “Bollywood moment” was so cute! And it was so sweet that they still remembered certain things about each other. 

Overall, despite all the hurdles in their relationship, I did actually like their story.

=>Things I really appreciated, in no particular order.

The trigger warning at the beginning. Some of y’all were so shocked by the level of racism and homophobia in this book as if we weren’t made aware of this. I appreciate trigger warnings because as much as I love reading, I have my limits. Also, yes this is my PSA for everyone to read the trigger warnings! 

There was this brief conversation that Nishat had with her Sunny Apu that I appreciated because we got this fucking masterpiece of a line: “Sunny Apu, you don’t even pray namaz.” This hit so hard because it really is like that. People who’ve never even the Quran, who don’t know a single surah - these are the people with the most opinions on Islam and what makes a “good Muslim” like, get outta here.

Nishat getting happy when Priti’s impressed by the henna that she did, because older siblings seek just as much validation from their younger siblings that they do from them.

I mostly enjoyed Nishat and Priti’s bond as well. I didn’t grow up with sisters myself, but there were moments where I either related to Nishat as an older sister, or she and Priti reminded me of my cousins. Them calling each other ‘gadha’ and ‘chagol’ is just the beginning in terms of Bangali expressions that were used in the same way other authors would use very American language and expect everyone else in the world to just connect the dots.

Obviously, I didn’t live through Nishat’s exact experience, but there were still little things that I related to which is something that rarely happens with other books. Even something as simple as her Abbu reading Bengali news while her Ammu scrolls through Facebook for gossip was enough to bring a stupidly large smile to my face. Or the comment about “weddings of people we barely knew but were somehow related to.” And in that same vein, we had this line, “She’s Ammu’s aunt’s cousin’s daughter.”

=>Things I didn’t totally love.

Listen, I’m so happy Nishat’s parents came around, it was very sweet and I’m happy that we were able to end on a positive note. But I feel as though for a book of this length we could’ve gotten a better resolution because it kind of came out of nowhere.

That last bit with Chyna also came out of nowhere, but okay I guess, great that she’s trying to be a decent being.

I was not a big fan of the pacing is what I’m trying to say. The writing style in general felt a little all over the place to me, but it was a really strong debut.

I want to end my spiel by addressing the main plot of the book since people are so divided on it. The entire concept of this book is something that really resonated with me because I fully empathize with Nishat’s frustration. I understand other South Asian people have their own opinions on cultural appropriation and that’s perfectly fine, but for me personally, while I think it’s wonderful when we share our culture with the world, I find myself getting defensive when others think they have some sort of claim over my culture. Yes, there are many artistic elements to henna, but it’s not meant to be treated as paint or crayons - it is not a fucking tool, especially to be used by people who call them tattoos, and especially if someone like Chyna, known racist bully and all-around menace, is the one trying profit off of it. (Also, the “Holi party”? The stencils? Please tell me this isn’t what some of y’all are defending.)

(Also I totally made a playlist that’s constantly being updated because I have no self control like that.) x

[finishinglinepress]

FLP CHAPBOOK OF THE DAY: A Litany of SHE Poems by Davida Kilgore

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/a-litany-of-she-poems-by-davida-kilgore/

A Litany of SHE Poems weaves together themes of #disability, #race, and #gender of both humans and imaginary creatures with threads of sensuality and sexuality, Christianity and spirituality, deeply-felt love and equally felt lust. Like Sheila and SHE, the characters in these story/#poems challenge not only societal norms and expectations but also navigate the complexities of living at the crossroads of multiple marginalizations. Whether exploring love here on earth or there on Mars, illustrating love between #Black Mary and her husband G-Man, examining the self-love of their children Sustah or Brutah, or caring about the creature Igboo, each poem invites the reader to explore the transformative journeys that celebrate differences, advocate for equality, and amplify silenced voices. A Litany of SHE Poems is a tapestry of love songs whose melodies reach the highest octaves of the struggles and triumphs of a diverse slice of humanity.

Davida Kilgore is the author of a short story collection, Last Summer and, as Davida Adedjouma, the editor of an award-winning book of poetry, The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children written by children ages 5-13 who she taught in afterschool programs in St. Paul and Minneapolis. Her work has been produced by SteppingStone Theatre, read on Broadway at Symphony Space, adapted for film, and published nationally and internationally. Davida’s fiction recently appeared in the Water~Stone Review, midnight & indigo, and Fantasy Magazine, her monologues appeared in 2022 Best Women’s Stage Monologues and 2022 Best Men’s Stage Monologues, and her poetry appeared in I Am, I Can: Poetry About African American Minnesotans with Different Abilities, the Blue Collar Review and the anthology Let the Black Women Say Ase’. She has been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Bush Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, and the Minnesota State Arts Board.

PRAISE FOR A Litany of SHE Poems by Davida Kilgore

Davida’s powerful prose takes us on a cosmic trip through a she lens. She transports us in a mythical fever dream “by the strength of her voice alone.”

–Karen Gormandy

Please share/please repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #poetry #chapbook #read #poems

[where-have-all-the-curlews-gone]

What colour is water and what is in the water?

This weeks challenge was to paint the water between the curlew and the industrial background. Water is a difficult subject to paint! Generally water is clear, so what are the visual cues that tell us that is is water? After a bit of research, I found the sky is the biggest influence on the colour of a body of water (Kris Parins 'what colour is water?'artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums). The sky is generally lightest at the horizon, and becoming more intense above us. It reflects in water in the same way, lightest in the distance and darkest near the viewer. The waves in the distance appear smaller, closer together and lighter than those in the foreground. Also a body of water is flat, so the horizon above the body of water needs to be level. I have tried to incorporate these elements in my artwork. The colours I chose are similar to the sky but a bit darker (as reflections tend to be a bit darker and less saturated than the actual object), so I added some indigo to darken the water colour a bit more in the foreground. Overall, I am relatively happy with the outcome of the water painting. I still need to add some white gouache highlights to add some sparkle to the water.

My next question is: how clean is this water and the sediment that the curlew is feeding in? Unfortunately Heavy metal and metalloids have been found to be elevated in the sediments of the Hunter River South Channel (where this artwork is set) and sections of Newcastle Harbour (see Lottermoser's article link inserted above). Element concentrations of Ag, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn of the Hunter River sediments within heavily industrialized and urbanized Newcastle region exceeded upstream and background values by up to one order of magnitude. Sedimentary concentrations of total Lead (Pb) increased from a background of 17 ppm (upper Hunter River) to 317 ppm within Throsby Creek sediments, which then drains into the Hunter River South Arm (Lottermoser, 1998). These heavy metals can be absorbed by the curlew by eating contaminated organisms containing these heavy metals from the contaminated river mud. The adverse effects of these heavy metals on water birds include increased reproductive failure and susceptibility to bird illnesses (Pandiyan et al 2022 Toxins 10 (11) 641). Those poor curlews! They are really facing alot of problems. It is amaizing that there are any curlews left.

Next weeks challenge will be to complete the sandbar in the foreground with some mangrove aerial roots and I think I will probably add some rubbish which I frequently see stuck in the mud.

[ladyxskywalker]

Stardust Reblog Challenge

Sept - Dec 2022 📖☕️🌸

please be sure to check all individual ratings, tags, & content warnings before reading.

NOVEMBER 🍂

challenge hosted by @natrace 🌸

fanfic bingo

a reading & reblog effort to show support for writers here on tumblr 📖

star wars

feel it by @ezrasbirdie (din djarin x cobb vanth)

oceans in the desert by @wyn-n-tonic (din djarin)

ranting to din while he repairs the razor crest by @archieimagines (din djarin)

Indigo by @artemiseamoon (fennec shand)

temptation's kiss by @hellotherekenobi (obi wan kenobi)

andor

hoping against hope by @saradika (kino loy)

moon knight

I'm right next door by @flightlessangelwings (steven grant)

pedro pascal

love you, endlessly by @artemiseamoon (ezra prospect)

the amazing spider man

keeping secrets by @luveline (tasm peter parker)

[wheelerthefroghere]

My Ao3 Writer Review of 2022

Happy New Year! It’s still New Year’s for me anyway lol. I saw some other authors doing this and I thought it would be fun so here I am too!

Top Fandom: Stranger Things (11 works, including those on both my main and side account)

Date of First Fic Posted: February 26th, 2022 (Ever After, The Turning, 33.5k words) 

Top Multi-Chapter Fic (kudos-based): Vale of Shadows, Stranger Things (Byler), 67.2k words

Top One-Shot: Just What I Needed, Stranger Things (Byler), 3.8k words

This was the first One-Shot I ever made and I can’t believe how well-received it was. I think it was probably because of when I posted it. Timing can mean so much with fanfics, but either way. <3 

Fic I’m Most Proud Of: Vale of Shadows or Ever After

Fic I Wish Had Gotten More Attention: Separate Ways - Hearts Broken in Two, Stranger Things (Byler), 5.5k words

This is an open-ended angsty fic I wrote pre-season 4 about Mike sacrificing himself to save the Cali crew. There is a sequel for it now with a happy ending, but because of the angst, I understand why it isn’t that popular. I love angst though and I’m really happy with the way this fic and the sequel turned out. 

Fic That Challenged Me the Most: Separate Ways - I’m Reachin’ For You, Stranger Things (Byler), 17.4k words

This one took me forever to finish because I was trying so hard to incorporate fluff and I’m awful at that. I just want to see characters going through it and I have to hold myself back a lot to keep things light. That being said, there isn’t actually that much fluff in this at all. So, I failed myself here. However, I still like how it turned out and it has its beautiful moments. 

Favorite Quotes/Passages: I don’t think I have very many that I can think of at the top of my head, but I’ll list some things from scenes I remember liking. 

From Vale of Shadows: 

The sky’s dark with a pale moon painting the world blue. Its rays cascade through the windows of the van, lighting up the features of its occupants in an ethereal sort of way. Mike looks at Will, stretched out across the expanse of the bench seat, with the angles of his face emphasized and glowing in the moonlight, and thinks it’s the same kind of beauty Tolkien wanted readers to imagine in Galadriel.

Also from Vale of Shadows: 

Bangs erupt from the double doors, the wood slamming against the frame. The grating screeches of demodogs sound from the other side and the adrenaline shoots Mike back into action. He struggles to stand, wobbly on his feet, and staggers to the front doors. Crimson hands push against them and suddenly, the darkness of what should be night morphs into a cloudy gray day. Tops of trees spread before him like tiny ants, wind ruffles through his hair, and his feet inch at the edge of a cliff.

From Make Believe: 

The palm of Will’s hand was slightly damp and warm from holding the washcloth and it trembled against Mike’s skin. His fingers splayed, his thumb tracing a circle along the side of one of the indigo bruises. Mike sucked in a breath. The touch was so ginger, like a feather brushing along his flesh, but the heat emanating from Will was enough to send little shockwaves through his nerves. Sparks of electricity raised goosebumps on his arms and his instincts made his mind fuzzy with how content they were now.

From Ever After: 

As the first drops of rain hit the window, Miles raised his fingers to the glass. The sound of the storm drowned out the low hum of music from the stereo and that of the muffled words down the hall. With paper-thin walls and doors, Miles couldn’t escape the reminder of Kate’s existence and how, in so little time, she’d managed to ensnare Flora in her spider’s web.

Total Words Posted: 268,777 words 

Most of my works are pretty long and most of my chapters average at about 5,000 words each. But also, wow. This is way more than I thought I wrote. I guess I really don’t have much of a life outside of this. Whoops. 

That being said, thank you so much to everyone that has read or interacted with my fics in any way. I wouldn’t have the confidence to post anything without all of the amazing support I’ve received. I appreciate each and every one of you!  ❤️

Some Things to Look Forward to in 2023: 

The rest of Vale of Shadows, Ever After, and If You Stay

A lot more chapters of Make Believe

More one-shots maybe?

And new fics to replace the ones I’ll finish. I have an idea for a Wheelclair thing at the moment so we’ll see what happens. And there’s a lot of stuff in my drafts...

[salsedine]

Ho postato 1.392 volte nel 2022

15 post creati (1%)

1.377 post rebloggati (99%)

Blog che ho rebloggato di più:

@mafaldinablabla

@catullan

@floragraysteel

@stridingcorgi

@wintersmitth

Ho taggato 1.392 dei miei post nel 2022

#! - 153 post

#art - 103 post

#history - 96 post

#photography - 91 post

#quote - 78 post

#illustration - 72 post

#sea - 43 post

#fanart - 39 post

#motivation - 37 post

#queer things - 36 post

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#as if to say 'look at me. this is who i am. please know me. please love me' you probably have a complicated relationship with vulnerability

I miei post migliori nel 2022:

#5

Cøvid + therapy session is... Truly something.

5 note - Postate 6 ottobre 2022

#4

Tagged by the lovely @birdkeeperklink 💙 thanks!

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better or catch up (or tag whomever you wish lmao)

Favorite Color: sea-green, silver, indigo

Last Song: "Paesaggi Stranieri" by La Rappresentante di Lista

Currently Reading: a lot of stuff for upcoming exams, mostly administrative law applied to universities. The last book that I read for fun was "The left hand of darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin. I plan to catch up with a friend's fantasy novel tho.

Last Movie: Encanto (animation), The Green Knight (with actors)

Sweet, Savory or Spicy: savory and sweet

Currently Working on: sketches for illustrations based on a mix of historical and contemporary fashion. Then another portrait for this challenge on Instagram:

And an illustration based on this:

Guarda il post completo

5 note - Postate 9 gennaio 2022

#3

10 songs I like by 10 different artists 🎶

Tagged by @anosrepasi 💙✨ thank you!

Never love an anchor - The Crane Wives

Dreams - The Cranberries

The bomb - Florence + the Machine

Visitor - Of Monsters and Men

Sally - Fabrizio De André

Circles - Greta Svabo Bech, Ludovico Einaudi

Videotape - Radiohead

Mesečina - Goran Bregovic

On brûlera - Pomme

Finisterre - Vetusta Morla

Did I use my 'liked songs' playlist on Spotify? Maybe, maybe :P

I tag whoever wants to do it (@birdkeeperklink? @greypetrel?) but as usual: no pressure! 💙

6 note - Postate 23 luglio 2022

#2

Quick update since I haven't overshared in a while: hello! Still hopeless, one year older since 12th of March, still a lesbian, still doing artsy things/doodling a lot (I'm more active as @ salsedinepicta on IG in this regard, I have twitter too but I'm rather useless at proficiently using it), still trying to patch up my mental health with paper tape 💅🏻

Here, have a relaxing gif:

6 note - Postate 24 marzo 2022

Il mio post numero 1 del 2022

Fellow lovely mutuals, I'm presa bene™ on Duolingo, if you want peer pressure I'm GretaStella12 🤡

8 note - Postate 1 giugno 2022

Guarda ora l'Analisi del tuo anno 2022 di Tumblr →

[ieindigoeast]

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🌿🍊Long-awaited Sequel Japanese Lesson Finally Available to Read Now! Est. Read ⌚ ≈ 29min, so pace yourself! 💡https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2VC💡 ・ 📔🌿Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 [Part 2] ・ 📹@kikikokonihongo × @lovekikikokoo 🎶@ieindigoeast Excerpt from「Seaside」 ・ 「ハロー、エブリにゃん！日本語教師の嬉嬉ちゃんで〰す！✨ Hope you’re studying hard, but resting well!🧸💕 ・ 💭σ(´^｀)そういえば、朝勉強と夜勉強、あなたに合っているのはどちらですか？ 💭Speaking of which, do you study best in the morning or evening? ・ The long-awaited sequel to 「Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 」is finally here! And, it is quite the read! ・ At over 5400 words, you’ll want to grab a cuppa & take it one concept at a time as our computer robot friend, QUIZBO™, takes a closer look 🔍 at an excerpt from Koko’s travelogue entry, explaining a vast array of #Japaneselanguage topics!

🌿Japanese vocabulary from Koko’s 自己紹介 on The ♡Kiki+Koko™ Travelogue 📔[(https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2I7)] 🌿Expressions 🌿Conditional 「~ば 」Verb Conjugation 🌿Nominalising Verb Clauses with 「の」 🌿〜すぎ suffix 🌿Additional「と」particle function, e.g. 「だと思う」 🌿Listing Sequential and Parallel Actions using 「て 」form; 🌿「〜たち」suffix 🌿「〜てみる」conjugation/expression 🌿 Difference between 「思う」vs.「考える」 🌿and more Japanese linguistic nuance. ・ Of course, as a Heisei era computer robot, we lent him some help in formatting those 1s and 0s into organised colour-coded notes. ・ We have created internal anchor links so that you can skip directly to concepts you would like to revise in future. (Go at your own pace! ♡) ・ ・ Don’t forget the 📃 Word Bank as well as the 📝writing activity challenge so you can apply your newfound knowledge! ・ Follow for future learning opportunities and aesthetics!」 ・ ♡Kiki 🌿https://ieindigoeast.com/lovekikikoko🌿 ・ ・ ・ ・

©2022 Indigo East, All Rights Reserved

[kikikokonihongo]

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A post shared by Kiki+Koko: Let's NihonGO!! (@kikiandkokoletsnihongo)

🌿🍊Long-awaited Sequel Japanese Lesson Finally Available to Read Now! Est. Read ⌚ ≈ 29min, so pace yourself! 💡https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2VC💡 ・ 📔🌿Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 [Part 2] ・ 📹@kikikokonihongo × @lovekikikokoo 🎶@ieindigoeast Excerpt from「Seaside」 ・ 「ハロー、エブリにゃん！日本語教師の嬉嬉ちゃんで〰す！✨ Hope you’re studying hard, but resting well!🧸💕 ・ 💭σ(´^｀)そういえば、朝勉強と夜勉強、あなたに合っているのはどちらですか？ 💭Speaking of which, do you study best in the morning or evening? ・ The long-awaited sequel to 「Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 」is finally here! And, it is quite the read! ・ At over 5400 words, you’ll want to grab a cuppa & take it one concept at a time as our computer robot friend, QUIZBO™, takes a closer look 🔍 at an excerpt from Koko’s travelogue entry, explaining a vast array of #Japaneselanguage topics!

🌿Japanese vocabulary from Koko’s 自己紹介 on The ♡Kiki+Koko™ Travelogue 📔[(https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2I7)] 🌿Expressions 🌿Conditional 「~ば 」Verb Conjugation 🌿Nominalising Verb Clauses with 「の」 🌿〜すぎ suffix 🌿Additional「と」particle function, e.g. 「だと思う」 🌿Listing Sequential and Parallel Actions using 「て 」form; 🌿「〜たち」suffix 🌿「〜てみる」conjugation/expression 🌿 Difference between 「思う」vs.「考える」 🌿and more Japanese linguistic nuance. ・ Of course, as a Heisei era computer robot, we lent him some help in formatting those 1s and 0s into organised colour-coded notes. ・ We have created internal anchor links so that you can skip directly to concepts you would like to revise in future. (Go at your own pace! ♡) ・ ・ Don’t forget the 📃 Word Bank as well as the 📝writing activity challenge so you can apply your newfound knowledge! ・ Follow for future learning opportunities and aesthetics!」 ・ ♡Kiki 🌿https://ieindigoeast.com/lovekikikoko🌿 ・ ・ ・ ・

©2022 Indigo East, All Rights Reserved

[lovekikikoko]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ♡Kiki+Koko™ (@love.kikikoko)

🌿🍊Long-awaited Sequel Japanese Lesson Finally Available to Read Now! Est. Read ⌚ ≈ 29min, so pace yourself! 💡https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2VC💡 ・ 📔🌿Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 [Part 2] ・ 📹@kikikokonihongo × @lovekikikokoo 🎶@ieindigoeast Excerpt from「Seaside」 ・ 「ハロー、エブリにゃん！日本語教師の嬉嬉ちゃんで〰す！✨ Hope you’re studying hard, but resting well!🧸💕 ・ 💭σ(´^｀)そういえば、朝勉強と夜勉強、あなたに合っているのはどちらですか？ 💭Speaking of which, do you study best in the morning or evening? ・ The long-awaited sequel to 「Closer Look w/QUIZBO™興子の紀行文#〇〇〇一｜ご紹介 」is finally here! And, it is quite the read! ・ At over 5400 words, you’ll want to grab a cuppa & take it one concept at a time as our computer robot friend, QUIZBO™, takes a closer look 🔍 at an excerpt from Koko’s travelogue entry, explaining a vast array of #Japaneselanguage topics!

🌿Japanese vocabulary from Koko’s 自己紹介 on The ♡Kiki+Koko™ Travelogue 📔[(https://wp.me/p9kdOE-2I7)] 🌿Expressions 🌿Conditional 「~ば 」Verb Conjugation 🌿Nominalising Verb Clauses with 「の」 🌿〜すぎ suffix 🌿Additional「と」particle function, e.g. 「だと思う」 🌿Listing Sequential and Parallel Actions using 「て 」form; 🌿「〜たち」suffix 🌿「〜てみる」conjugation/expression 🌿 Difference between 「思う」vs.「考える」 🌿and more Japanese linguistic nuance. ・ Of course, as a Heisei era computer robot, we lent him some help in formatting those 1s and 0s into organised colour-coded notes. ・ We have created internal anchor links so that you can skip directly to concepts you would like to revise in future. (Go at your own pace! ♡) ・ ・ Don’t forget the 📃 Word Bank as well as the 📝writing activity challenge so you can apply your newfound knowledge! ・ Follow for future learning opportunities and aesthetics!」 ・ ♡Kiki 🌿https://ieindigoeast.com/lovekikikoko🌿 ・ ・ ・ ・

©2022 Indigo East, All Rights Reserved

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Heartstopper, Vol. 1 by Alice Oseman

"You're just gonna assume they're a she?"

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Okay, yeah, it took me forever and a half to finally read this - leave me alone. I don’t know why, but it was so hard for me to rate this book (maybe because it’s the first book and more often than not, my ratings for books definitely change if I end up re-reading them). It’s such a sweet, simple love story on the surface, but once you get deeper into the story there’s a lot more to it.

My personal favourite art moments even though I know nothing about art:

Charlie’s face the first time he ever sees Nick, right before their eyes meet. I never knew that ‘awestruck’ could be captured through art in such a way, I don’t know how else to describe his face.

The panel with Charlie’s anxiety over why Nick’s talking to him (given his friend group and the fact that he’s a popular guy who’s a year older) did hit a little too close to home. (Middle school was not kind to me and absolutely gave me a complex, no follow-ups.)

I love the art on page 21 where Nick’s asking to be friends; there’s ink dripping from his hand and you can see leaves forming from the ink droplets - it’s just good art.

I love the broken panels on pg. 71 as kind of like a way to emphasize Charlie’s inner struggle where on the one hand he’s healing after having befriended Nick, but he’s still getting texts from Ben basically harassing him and doesn’t know how to end that relationship. 

Their first kiss was actually perfect, it’s one of the sweetest first kiss moments I’ve ever seen, I adore them - Alice Oseman all my love to you for the art behind that kiss.

I loved seeing their journal entries at the end!

Favourite moments in general, in no particular order (I think):

Nick noticing Charlie more and more with each new thing he learns - first that he’s such a fast runner and then he plays drums too.

Nick punching Ben.

“Sorry!” // “You know, you say sorry a lot.” - One of my favourite NickxCharlie moments actually, I feel like this type of dialogue can even be considered as its own trope where you have a people pleaser prone to apologizing for things that are not their fault who meets someone determined to not let them be used by others and lift them up.

“I fell for a straight boy… haha…” - oof, I felt that ‘haha’ in my soul

Tori popping out from literally the beyond to tell Charlie that she doesn’t think that Nick is straight is very in character and big sisterly of her.

Not the ‘am i gay’ quizzes! Been there dude, right after I saw Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princess, it was a whole thing.

The hug after they won the rugby match!

A good old ‘their eyes find each other from across the crowded room’ moment.

A bisexual man having a crush on a lesbian once upon a time is a canon event I fear.

Everybody hates Harry Greene but still showed up to his birthday party, that’s so funny actually. I mean, I would’ve showed up too - he’s rich rich. That party location is what some people save up to have their wedding at, truly. (the art for it was gorgeous) 

Tara is so real for immediately liking Nick because he told off Harry at his own birthday party, I can’t wait to see how this friendship develops!

General Thoughts:

I love how they tease each other!

Well, I understand rugby now, so thank you Nick.

I love the teachers, especially Miss Singh!

Sai is my favourite of Nick’s friends so far, Otis seems chill too (when he doesn’t accidentally stereotype). Christian probably means well.

Fuck Ben Hope (omg Nick hit him again)

[perfectirishgifts]

Celebrating A Decade Of Success, Swimwear Brand Acacia Makes Its Mark With New Ready-To-Wear Designs And A Flagship Store

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/celebrating-a-decade-of-success-swimwear-brand-acacia-makes-its-mark-with-new-ready-to-wear-designs-and-a-flagship-store/

Celebrating A Decade Of Success, Swimwear Brand Acacia Makes Its Mark With New Ready-To-Wear Designs And A Flagship Store

Naomi Newirth, founder, creative director and designer of Acacia, Photo Credit: Maui Maka … [] Photography

While the concept of swimsuits for every body feels like a more recent inclusion in the swimwear space, global brand Acacia has been making a splash in this realm for over ten years now.

As a Maui-based girl, founder Naomi Newirth wanted her bikinis to be small and form fitting, but couldn’t find them anywhere. So she created them herself, by mixing low Italian cuts with minimal Brazilian coverage, for women of all shapes.

“I launched Acacia out of necessity at the time. I have lived most of my life in a bikini, and until then, hadn’t found a suit that made me feel most feminine and sophisticated, without compromising function. So that’s what I created.”

More than a decade out the gate, Acacia has since expanded its product category to include dresses, elevated ready-to-wear collections, and kids’ clothes. When it comes to swimsuits, its signature style is the small cut of its swimsuit bottoms. Acacia has also become known for its original prints (a time-consuming, yet worthwhile part of the design process).

Acacia is based in Hawaii, but hit the global stage after headlining Miami Swim Week. “The first year I attended Miami I was young, naïve and nervous. I was always very mindful of spending business money and this show was expensive for us at the time. However, it was this first show that really put us on the map.” (For its fourth show, the brand was sponsored by Mini Cooper, “who wrapped one of their cars in our vintage-inspired aloha prints, which felt so surreal.”)

While Acacia’s footprint spans international stores and retailers like Revolve and Free People), the brand opened its flagship store in Hawaii at the end of 2019 — just two days after the birth of Newirth’s second child, and shortly before Covid-19 hit. 

Hawaii has been on lockdown since March, with strict requirements to quarantine, which has deterred the bulk of the tourism on the island. The town of Paia, in which Acacia is located, is 90% tourism-based.

“I have always aspired to open a flagship store on the island I grew up on and currently reside, but couldn’t seem to find the perfect space.”

They say life is what happens when you’re busy making plans — and while Newirth indeed found the perfect spot, the remained closed for most of 2020, but finally reopened in time for the holidays.

“With retailers being closed worldwide due to Covid-19 lockdowns, we have had a surge of interest within our customer base, on our e-commerce site. We switched gears to adapt our reach in hopes to provide some sort of normalcy. We are pushing user-generated content to encourage a sense of community. While it’s important for us to be sensitive to the effects of the pandemic especially being in Hawaii, we still strive to increase our reach through virtual platforms and social media content that resonates,” Newirth shares.

A designer by trade, Newirth is a force of nature when it comes to juggling motherhood (she has two sons), designing everything from swim, ready-to-wear, kids’ collections, and opening a flagship store — all while managing her business. Between the challenges of opening a brick and mortar space while dealing with a pregnancy-related illness, to finally opening the store right before the pandemic hit, Newirth proves to have resiliency as a founder.

I spoke to Newirth about her mission of creating timeless pieces that make each woman feel most beautiful and confident in their own skin, and the lessons she’s learned while riding Acacia’s wave of success for over a decade.

Karin Eldor: Can you share more about how you identified the whitespace and opportunity in the market, for sophisticated swimwear and wearable silhouettes designed for real women, at every stage of life?

Naomi Newirth: Fashion’s always been something that’s fascinated me. We all choose to put certain garments on our bodies every day, but it’s the way in which we wear them that gives us each our own creative outlet. 

As a teenager I was often altering my clothing to better complement my aesthetic or my body, which then segued into altering my swimwear — naturally so, living on an island. When I was 16, I had taken a course to learn to sew my own suits and in that moment had essentially started designing for myself. I was looking for a very specific style that just wasn’t available to the masses at the time. I had traveled quite a bit in my late teens and early twenties, mainly to coastal towns, and started to notice the silhouettes that really worked for most body types.

At the time it was the hybrid of the cheeky Brazilian bottom and the low-rise Italian swim that I was drawn to – a silhouette that has since become our best-selling Ho‘okipa bottom. It was a really organic start for me, I think mainly because swim was such a large part of my everyday life at the time.

Eldor: Acacia is a time-tested swimwear brand that’s already made its mark, after a decade. Can you share 3 lessons you’ve learned, now that you’re currently in your 11th year? 

Newirth: Lesson #1: I started by designing for myself and my closest girlfriends, and that’s something that has helped me in terms of my design process throughout the years. I think it’s so important to live and breathe your product, regardless of the industry you’re in, and I feel like maintaining that intimacy has been beneficial to Acacia. I feel lucky to be able to create what I feel best in, and offer designs that resonate with other women. 

Lesson #2: I am always thinking about future collections and studying designs that transcend the test of time. I myself am drawn to silhouettes that are simple and timeless, and that’s something I’ve always kept at the forefront of my own creative process. As a designer, I think it can be easy to get caught up in tracking the trends and striving to create for a larger audience, but at the end of the day it’s about knowing the needs of your customer and creating pieces that are wearable and enhance their lifestyle. It’s that one blouse in your closet that you reach for, day after day. We’ve implemented sustainable practices in more obvious and tangible ways, but it truly starts with the design. It’s my duty as a designer to create timeless pieces that can be styled season to season, year after year — that’s sustainability at its core. 

Lesson #3: Prioritizing time for my family and myself has been somewhat of a learning curve for me. When I had first started Acacia in 2008, I was 22 and in such a different season of life. I dove in headfirst and was 100% committed to the success of the brand. It was my only responsibility at the time. I did everything myself, from creating samples with my manufacturer, fittings, marketing, sales, etc. After a few years I realized that being able to step away from work and make time for myself was beneficial not only for me, but for the company as well. Now in my early thirties with a little family, it’s so important to be present and allow myself to respect those boundaries.

Eldor: You’re committed to working and partnering with women, while implementing changes to more sustainable practices. Can you share more about the ways you’re working to eliminate the gender gap and support women in the workplace?

Newirth: I am so proud of our women-run business! All in all, we create for women, so having a team of women to soundboard ideas and provide honest feedback is huge. Our manufacturers that we’ve been working with since day one are women as well.

Eldor: How do you manage it all?

Newirth: Having a team that I trust wholeheartedly is key! My team is so talented and truly cares about the brand, and that means the world to me. I couldn’t do it without them. I’m very lucky that I have help with my sons while I’m running to the office to check in with my team. My mother also lives a stone’s throw away and is tremendously helpful with everything from my kids to work and everything in between. I’m so fortunate to have so many people who contribute to the success of Acacia and also allow me to prioritize time with my boys.

Eldor: Your Instagram community is so impressive with over 430K followers. How did the brand cultivate and grow its IG following?

Newirth: We started an Acacia Instagram soon after the app had hit the market. I think timing had a lot to do with it, as we acquired the bulk of our followers pretty quickly. We were endorsed by a handful of celebrities that posted early on, which also helped draw attention to our brand. I handled all social media myself until a couple of years ago when we expanded and brought on a member to handle all aspects of marketing. I think now the focus is on adaptability and maintaining a closeness and relatability to your following. Being able to “read the room” in a climate that changes so rapidly and provide inspiring content that resonates with your community. 

Eldor: What is coming up for Acacia in 2021?

Newirth: We are expanding our offering of fabrications, not only with our eco-swim fabric, but also clothing! Also sourcing quality fabric that will allow us to execute silhouettes in the way I’ve always envisioned. I’m head in 2022 right now, currently working with a Japanese supplier to source different types of beautiful cotton textiles dyed with indigo or other various natural dyes.

On the shorter term, I’m also looking forward to welcoming visitors to our flagship location. In a time where we’re experiencing constant digital overload with social media, Acacia’s brick and mortar location feels like a refreshing space to retreat to.

From Retail in Perfectirishgifts

[blogwiseguy123world]

Global Debt Collection & Management Software Market  - Upcoming Trends, Growth Drivers and Challenges, Forecast to 2022

Summary – A new market study, titled " Global Debt Collection & Management Software Market  - Upcoming Trends, Growth Drivers and Challenges, Forecast to 2022 " has been featured on WiseGuyReports.

Scope of the Report:

The global Debt Collection & Management Software market is valued at xx million USD in 2018 and is expected to reach xx million USD by the end of 2024, growing at a CAGR of xx% between 2019 and 2024

Also read – https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/covid-19-impact-on-debt-collection-management-software-market-status-analysis-and-business-outlook-2020-2024-2020-05-27

The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.

North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Debt Collection & Management Software.

Europe also play important roles in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2019 and will be xx million USD in 2024, with a CAGR of xx%.

This report studies the Debt Collection & Management Software market status and outlook of Global and major regions, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global market, and splits the Debt Collection & Management Software market by product type and applications/end industries.

Market Segment by Companies, this report covers

Experian

CDS Software

Comtronic Systems

Quantrax Corp

ICCO

Totality Software

Comtech Systems

CODIX

SeikoSoft

Decca Software

Collect Tech

Click Notices

Codewell Software

SPN

Adtec Software

JST

Indigo Cloud

Pamar Systems

CollectMORE

Kuhlekt

Lariat Software

Case Master

TrioSoft

LegalSoft

Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Market Segment by Type, covers

Cloud-based

On-premise

Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into

Collection Agencies

Finance Companies

Retail Firms

Law Firms & Government Departments

Others

For more details - https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/4457930-global-debt-collection-management-software-market-2019-by

About Us:

Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.              

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[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Voice Over!: Seiyu Academy, Vol. 3 by Maki Minami

But... who would understand? No one can perfectly read another person’s feelings.

⭐⭐⭐

This volume was a little boring compared to the previous one, not gonna lie, but it was enjoyable regardless.

My thoughts, in no particular order and therefore entirely incoherent, and other stuff I guess:

Okay, on the one hand, of course Mizuki has a key to Hime's place... but also, why does Mizuki have a key to Hime's place?

I love this trope of amateurs vs professionals because the amateur is always annoyed by how impressed they are/how much they can learn from the professional, and it happens in a lot of the manga series that I read (this one, Skip Beat, Library Wars - there's probably others too).

Senri the cat dad is the best part of this manga and I genuinely believe that.

I love the variation of speech bubbles that are given to Hime's terrible voices, it's a really lovely touch.

Yamada really takes tough love to a whole new level, but then he also became weirdly protective of Hime really quickly, so I don't know how I feel.

I really appreciated the whole "No can perfectly read another person's feelings" bit because I forgot that they didn't immediately go with the whole trope of Mizuki immediately being able to read her emotions because it's like, I don't care how well you know how to read another person, you've known her for like two weeks, calm down. Like, Mizuki was shocked when Hime said that she was frustrated with herself rather than what Yamada was making her do, I think it was a nice change for me personally.

Why does everyone in this series have some sort of trauma? It hurts, okay. Mizuki and Ume's stories are actually kind of similar when you think about it though, especially taking into account the reactions they had to Hime's words/actions respectively. I'm just saying that although I'm already onboard the UmexSho train, Ume and Mizuki could've had a really interesting dynamic (I actually don't even remember if they do).

Sidenote, Mizuki and Tsukino would absolutely be best-friends just based on the fact that they're both ride-or-die for Hime. Like, if you come at Hime, it's on sight. Let them be best-friends, they'd terrorize everyone.

Aw man, it really has been a long time because I do not recall Mizuki and Shuma being childhood friends, that's so cute!

Mizuki and Hime fighting is the most I've liked their dynamic, it feels like he finally stopped putting up the same "prince" act that he does in front of other people, just be the jerk that you know you are deep down Mizuki. (not them already interlocking hands though)

I completely forgot about Hime using Mizuki's glasses as a crutch. It's kind of like when I felt like I truly needed to drop $35 dollars on a Productivity Planner to get things done.

This was my favourite Mitchy's Room because my thoughts exactly! Imagine being the main love interest and only appearing for one chapter.

I don't think they did this last time, but I really enjoyed that they included a bonus page with interviews of voice acting students, it was definitely an interesting read. I can't remember if there are more like this, but I hope that there are.

Panels describing Hime's awful voices (there could be more, I have a terrible attention span, sorry): Hime Act No. 16 - Death Clown