#no one's ready for vol 10 in general

[genderqueer-miharu]

Thank you for warning us about chapter 47. However my heart could not take it at all 😭

Don't worry, no one's ever ready for that chapter.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Footnotes, 201 - 250

[201] W. Gramich, Verfassungs- und Verwaltungsgeschichte der Stadt Würzburg im 13. bis zum 15. Jahrhundert, Würzburg, 1882, p. 34.

[202] When a boat brought a cargo of coal to Würzburg, coal could only be sold in retail during the first eight days, each family being entitled to no more than fifty basketfuls. The remaining cargo could be sold wholesale, but the retailer was allowed to raise a zittlicher profit only, the unzittlicher, or dishonest profit, being strictly forbidden (Gramich, l.c.). Same in London (Liber albus, quoted by Ochenkowski, p. 161), and, in fact, everywhere.

[203] See Fagniez, Études sur l’industrie et la classe industrielle à Paris au XIIIme et XIVme siècle, Paris, 1877, pp. 155 seq. It hardly need be added that the tax on bread, and on beer as well, was settled after careful experiments as to the quantity of bread and beer which could be obtained from a given amount of corn. The Amiens archives contain the minutes of such experiences (A. de Calonne, l.c. pp. 77, 93). Also those of London (Ochenkowski, England’s wirthschaftliche Entwickelung, etc., Jena, 1879, p. 165).

[204] Ch. Gross, The Guild Merchant, Oxford, 1890, i. 135. His documents prove that this practice existed in Liverpool (ii. 148–150), Waterford in Ireland, Neath in Wales, and Linlithgow and Thurso in Scotland. Mr. Gross’s texts also show that the purchases were made for distribution, not only among the merchant burgesses, but “upon all citsains and commynalte” (p. 136, note), or, as the Thurso ordinance of the seventeenth century runs, to “make offer to the merchants, craftsmen, and inhabitants of the said burgh, that they may have their proportion of the same, according to their necessitys and ability.”

[205] The Early History of the Guild of Merchant Taylors, by Charles M. Clode, London, 1888, i. 361, appendix 10; also the following appendix which shows that the same purchases were made in 1546.

[206] Cibrario, Les conditions économiques de l’Italie au temps de Dante, Paris, 1865, p. 44.

[207] A. de Calonne, La vie municipale au XVme siècle dans le Nord de la France, Paris, 1880, pp. 12–16. In 1485 the city permitted the export to Antwerp of a certain quantity of corn, “the inhabitants of Antwerp being always ready to be agreeable to the merchants and burgesses of Amiens” (ibid., pp. 75–77 and texts).

[208] A. Babeau, La ville sous l’ancien régime, Paris, 1880.

[209] Ennen, Geschichte der Stadt Köln, i. 491, 492, also texts.

[210] The literature of the subject is immense; but there is no work yet which treats of the mediæval city as of a whole. For the French Communes, Augustin Thierry’s Lettres and Considérations sur l’histoire de France still remain classical, and Luchaire’s Communes françaises is an excellent addition on the same lines. For the cities of Italy, the great work of Sismondi (Histoire des républiques italiennes du moyen âge, Paris, 1826, 16 vols.), Leo and Botta’s History of Italy, Ferrari’s Révolutions d’Italie, and Hegel’s Geschichte der Städteverfassung in Italien, are the chief sources of general information. For Germany we have Maurer’s Städteverfassung, Barthold’s Geschichte der deutschen Städte, and, of recent works, Hegel’s Städte und Gilden der germanischen Völker (2 vols. Leipzig, 1891), and Dr. Otto Kallsen’s Die deutschen Städte im Mittelalter (2 vols. Halle, 1891), as also Janssen’s Geschichte des deutschen Volkes (5 vols. 1886), which, let us hope, will soon be translated into English (French translation in 1892). For Belgium, A. Wauters, Les Libertés communales (Bruxelles, 1869–78, 3 vols.). For Russia, Byelaeff’s, Kostomaroff’s and Sergievich’s works. And finally, for England, we posses one of the best works on cities of a wider region in Mrs. J.R. Green’s Town Life in the Fifteenth Century (2 vols. London, 1894). We have, moreover, a wealth of well-known local histories, and several excellent works of general or economical history which I have so often mentioned in this and the preceding chapter. The richness of literature consists, however, chiefly in separate, sometimes admirable, researches into the history of separate cities, especially Italian and German; the guilds; the land question; the economical principles of the time; the economical importance of guilds and crafts; the leagues between, cities (the Hansa); and communal art. An incredible wealth of information is contained in works of this second category, of which only some of the more important are named in these pages.

[211] Kulischer, in an excellent essay on primitive trade (Zeitschrift für Völkerpsychologie, Bd. x. 380), also points out that, according to Herodotus, the Argippaeans were considered inviolable, because the trade between the Scythians and the northern tribes took place on their territory. A fugitive was sacred on their territory, and they were often asked to act as arbiters for their neighbors. See Appendix XI.

[212] Some discussion has lately taken place upon the Weichbild and the Weichbild-law, which still remain obscure (see Zöpfl, Alterthümer des deutschen Reichs und Rechts, iii. 29; Kallsen, i. 316). The above explanation seems to be the more probable, but, of course, it must be tested by further research. It is also evident that, to use a Scotch expression, the “mercet cross” could be considered as an emblem of Church jurisdiction, but we find it both in bishop cities and in those in which the folkmote was sovereign.

[213] For all concerning the merchant guild see Mr. Gross’s exhaustive work, The Guild Merchant (Oxford, 1890, 2 vols.); also Mrs. Green’s remarks in Town Life in the Fifteenth Century, vol. ii. chaps. v. viii. x; and A. Doren’s review of the subject in Schmoller’s Forschungen, vol. xii. If the considerations indicated in the previous chapter (according to which trade was communal at its beginnings) prove to be correct, it will be permissible to suggest as a probable hypothesis that the guild merchant was a body entrusted with commerce in the interest of the whole city, and only gradually became a guild of merchants trading for themselves; while the merchant adventurers of this country, the Novgorod povolniki (free colonizers and merchants) and the mercati personati, would be those to whom it was left to open new markets and new branches of commerce for themselves. Altogether, it must be remarked that the origin of the medieval city can be ascribed to no separate agency. It was a result of many agencies in different degrees.

[214] Janssen’s Geschichte des deutschen Volkes, i. 315; Gramich’s Würzburg; and, in fact, any collection of ordinances.

[215] Falke, Geschichtliche Statistik, i. 373–393, and ii. 66; quoted in Janssen’s Geschichte, i. 339; J.D. Blavignac, in Comptes et dépenses de la construction du clocher de Saint-Nicolas à Friborg en Suisse, comes to a similar conclusion. For Amiens, De Calonne’s Vie Municipale, p. 99 and Appendix. For a thorough appreciation and graphical representation of the mediæval wages in England and their value in bread and meat, see G. Steffen’s excellent article and curves in The Nineteenth Century for 1891, and Studier öfver lönsystemets historia i England, Stockholm, 1895.

[216] To quote but one example out of many which may be found in Schönberg’s and Falke’s works, the sixteen shoemaker workers (Schusterknechte) of the town Xanten, on the Rhine, gave, for erecting a screen and an altar in the church, 75 guldens of subscriptions, and 12 guldens out of their box, which money was worth, according to the best valuations, ten times its present value.

[217] Quoted by Janssen, l.c. i. 343.

[218] The Economical Interpretation of History, London, 1891, p. 303.

[219] Janssen, l.c. See also Dr. Alwin Schultz, Deutsches Leben im XIV und XV Jahrhundert, grosse Ausgabe, Wien, 1892, pp. 67 seq. At Paris, the day of labor varied from seven to eight hours in the winter to fourteen hours in summer in certain trades, while in others it was from eight to nine hours in winter, to from ten to twelve in Summer. All work was stopped on Saturdays and on about twenty-five other days (jors de commun de vile foire) at four o’clock, while on Sundays and thirty other holidays there was no work at all. The general conclusion is, that the mediæval worker worked less hours, all taken, than the present-day worker (Dr. E. Martin Saint-Léon, Histoire des corporations, p. 121).

[220] W. Stieda, “Hansische Vereinbarungen über städtisches Gewerbe im XIV und XV Jahrhundert,” in Hansische Geschichtsblätter, Jahrgang 1886, p. 121. Schönberg’s Wirthschaftliche Bedeutung der Zünfte; also, partly, Roscher.

[221] See Toulmin Smith’s deeply-felt remarks about the royal spoliation of the guilds, in Miss Smith’s Introduction to English Guilds. In France the same royal spoliation and abolition of the guilds’ jurisdiction was begun from 1306, and the final blow was struck in 1382 (Fagniez, l.c. pp. 52–54).

[222] Adam Smith and his contemporaries knew well what they were condemning when they wrote against the State interference in trade and the trade monopolies of State creation. Unhappily, their followers, with their hopeless superficiality, flung mediæval guilds and State interference into the same sack, making no distinction between a Versailles edict and a guild ordinance. It hardly need be said that the economists who have seriously studied the subject, like Schönberg (the editor of the well-known course of Political Economy), never fell into such an error. But, till lately, diffuse discussions of the above type went on for economical “science.”

[223] In Florence the seven minor arts made their revolution in 1270–82, and its results are fully described by Perrens (Histoire de Florence, Paris, 1877, 3 vols.), and especially by Gino Capponi (Storia della repubblica di Firenze, 2da edizione, 1876, i. 58–80; translated into German). In Lyons, on the contrary, where the movement of the minor crafts took place in 1402, the latter were defeated and lost the right of themselves nominating their own judges. The two parties came apparently to a compromise. In Rostock the same movement took place in 1313; in Zürich in 1336; in Bern in 1363; in Braunschweig in 1374, and next year in Hamburg; in Lübeck in 1376–84; and so on. See Schmoller’s Strassburg zur Zeit der Zunftkämpfe and Strassburg’s Blüthe; Brentano’s Arbeitergilden der Gegenwart, 2 vols., Leipzig, 1871–72; Eb. Bain’s Merchant and Craft Guilds, Aberdeen, 1887, pp. 26–47, 75, etc. As to Mr. Gross’s opinion relative to the same struggles in England, see Mrs. Green’s remarks in her Town Life in the Fifteenth Century, ii. 190–217; also the chapter on the Labor Question, and, in fact, the whole of this extremely interesting volume. Brentano’s views on the crafts’ struggles, expressed especially in iii. and iv. of his essay “On the History and Development of Guilds,” in Toulmin Smith’s English Guilds remain classical for the subject, and may be said to have been again and again confirmed by subsequent research.

[224] To give but one example — Cambrai made its first revolution in 907, and, after three or four more revolts, it obtained its charter in 1076. This charter was repealed twice (1107 and 1138), and twice obtained again (in 1127 and 1180). Total, 223 years of struggles before conquering the right to independence. Lyons — from 1195 to 1320.

[225] See Tuetey, “Étude sur Le droit municipal... en Franche-Comté,” in Mémoires de la Société d’émulation de Montbéliard, 2e série, ii. 129 seq.

[226] This seems to have been often the case in Italy. In Switzerland, Bern bought even the towns of Thun and Burgdorf.

[227] Such was, at least, the case in the cities of Tuscany (Florence, Lucca, Sienna, Bologna, etc.), for which the relations between city and peasants are best known. (Luchitzkiy, “Slavery and Russian Slaves in Florence,” in Kieff University Izvestia for 1885, who has perused Rumohr’s Ursprung der Besitzlosigkeit der Colonien in Toscana, 1830.) The whole matter concerning the relations between the cities and the peasants requires much more study than has hitherto been done.

[228] Ferrari’s generalizations are often too theoretical to bealways correct; but his views upon the part played by the nobles in the city wars are based upon a wide range of authenticated facts.

[229] Only such cities as stubbornly kept to the cause of the barons, like Pisa or Verona, lost through the wars. For many towns which fought on the barons’ side, the defeat was also the beginning of liberation and progress.

[230] Ferrari, ii. 18, 104 seq.; Leo and Botta, i. 432.

[231] Joh. Falke, Die Hansa als Deutsche See- und Handelsmacht, Berlin, 1863, pp. 31, 55.

[232] For Aachen and Cologne we have direct testimony that the bishops of these two cities — one of them bought by the enemy opened to him the gates.

[233] See the facts, though not always the conclusions, of Nitzsch, iii. 133 seq.; also Kallsen, i. 458, etc.

[234] On the Commune of the Laonnais, which, until Melleville’s researches (Histoire de la Commune du Laonnais, Paris, 1853), was confounded with the Commune of Laon, see Luchaire, pp. 75 seq. For the early peasants’ guilds and subsequent unions see R. Wilman’s “Die ländlichen Schutzgilden Westphaliens,” in Zeitschrift für Kulturgeschichte, neue Folge, Bd. iii., quoted in Henne-am-Rhyn’s Kulturgeschichte, iii. 249.

[235] Luchaire, p. 149.

[236] Two important cities, like Mainz and Worms, would settle a political contest by means of arbitration. After a civil war broken out in Abbeville, Amiens would act, in 1231, as arbiter (Luchaire, 149); and so on.

[237] See, for instance, W. Stieda, Hansische Vereinbarungen, l.c., p.114.

[238] Cosmo Innes’s Early Scottish History and Scotland in Middle Ages, quoted by Rev. Denton, l.c., pp. 68, 69; Lamprecht’s Deutsches wirthschaftliche Leben im Mittelalter, review by Schmoller in his Jahrbuch, Bd. xii.; Sismondi’s Tableau de l’agriculture toscane, pp. 226 seq. The dominions of Florence could be recognized at a glance through their prosperity.

[239] Mr. John J. Ennett (Six Essays, London, 1891) has excellent pages on this aspect of mediæval architecture. Mr. Willis, in his appendix to Whewell’s History of Inductive Sciences (i. 261–262), has pointed out the beauty of the mechanical relations in mediæval buildings. “A new decorative construction was matured,” he writes, “not thwarting and controlling, but assisting and harmonizing with the mechanical construction. Every member, every molding, becomes a sustainer of weight; and by the multiplicity of props assisting each other, and the consequent subdivision of weight, the eye was satisfied of the stability of the structure, notwithstanding curiously slender aspects of the separate parts.” An art which sprang out of the social life of the city could not be better characterized.

[240] Dr. L. Ennen, Der Dom zu Köln, seine Construction und Anstaltung, Köln, 1871.

[241] The three statues are among the outer decorations of Nôtre Dame de Paris.

[242] Mediæval art, like Greek art, did not know those curiosity shops which we call a National Gallery or a Museum. A picture was painted, a statue was carved, a bronze decoration was cast to stand in its proper place in a monument of communal art. It lived there, it was part of a whole, and it contributed to give unity to the impression produced by the whole.

[243] Cf. J. T. Ennett’s “Second Essay,” p. 36.

[244] Sismondi, iv. 172; xvi. 356. The great canal, Naviglio Grande, which brings the water from the Tessino, was begun in 1179, i.e. after the conquest of independence, and it was ended in the thirteenth century. On the subsequent decay, see xvi. 355.

[245] In 1336 it had 8,000 to 10,000 boys and girls in its primary schools, 1,000 to 1,200 boys in its seven middle schools, and from 550 to 600 students in its four universities. The thirty communal hospitals contained over 1,000 beds for a population of 90,000 inhabitants (Capponi, ii. 249 seq.). It has more than once been suggested by authoritative writers that education stood, as a rule, at a much higher level than is generally supposed. Certainly so in democratic Nuremberg.

[246] Cf. L. Ranke’s excellent considerations upon the essence of Roman Law in his Weltgeschichte, Bd. iv. Abth. 2, pp. 20–31. Also Sismondi’s remarks upon the part played by the légistes in the constitution of royal authority, Histoire des Français, Paris, 1826, viii. 85–99. The popular hatred against these “weize Doktoren und Beutelschneider des Volks” broke out with full force in the first years of the sixteenth century in the sermons of the early Reform movement.

[247] Brentano fully understood the fatal effects of the struggle between the “old burghers” and the new-comers. Miaskowski, in his work on the village communities of Switzerland, has indicated the same for village communities.

[248] The trade in slaves kidnapped in the East was never discontinued in the Italian republics till the fifteenth century. Feeble traces of it are found also in Germany and elsewhere. See Cibrario. Della schiavitù e del servaggio, 2 vols. Milan, 1868; Professor Luchitzkiy, “Slavery and Russian Slaves in Florence in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries,” in Izvestia of the Kieff University, 1885.

[249] J.R. Green’s History of the English People, London, 1878, i. 455.

[250] See the theories expressed by the Bologna lawyers, already at the Congress of Roncaglia in 1158.

[darkskarth]

The Forever Session - Vol.1 The boys are back, and so am I

It's been a while, hasn't it? I am not sure how this will go but for those who enjoyed my funny post about my favorite band here's one about their last album.

I will give a small opinion on every new version (spoiler: they are all amazing) but first a quick glance at the setlist in general; At first, I was a bit dubious about the songs from "Nothing Personal" since we already got a new version of them on the 10 year anniversary of that album. After hearing them, they made so much sense. I hoped we would see some from "Put Up Or Shut Up" but I enjoyed how they switched the order of Dear Maria and Lost In Stereo since they usually open with the latter and end with the other.

Dear Maria, Count Me In: Obviously She is here. It's a grand idea to open with it, setting the tone on what to expect from the album. Crazy vocals, and a nostalgic yet fresh sound.

Coffee Shop Soundtrack: I love this song. Rian goes super hard on the drums, and I love it! The End? 'Waiting for something' STOP. Wow!

Damned If I Do Ya, Damned If I Don't: Love this version, a bit more pop-ish, but still has the same vibe we are getting from the whole album; you can hear a bit of the synth (?) sounds they tried from the original "Nothing Personal" so it has a good recall. They (obviously) kept the iconic stutter of D-D-Damned at the end of the song: perfection.

Six Feet Under The Stars: Another song I love from their early album. I realized that Alex's vocals were way less defined (obviously since they were still developing their sounds and all), and these versions of the songs from "So Wrong, It's Right" are way crispier. The backup vocals are insane: some are very similar to the old ones, while other are brand new.

Weightless: Do I need to say anything about this? Same as DMCMI, old vibes but new at the same time.

Poppin' Champagne: I'll admit this wasn't one of my favorite songs, but this version? Very good, I think I understood the lyrics for the first time lmao (I couldn't really understand what was sung and was too lazy to look it up).

Jasey Rae: I feel like everyone loves Jasey Rae (me too). This is an insane rendition of the song so I don't have much to say. Love it!

Lost In Stereo: Love that they switched the position of this song since it usually is the one played first during concerts (pretty sure they often open with LIS). I feel like this might be the weakest of all the songs in here. I prefer both older renditions of Lost In Stereo. I still like the song.

Remembering Sunday: They teased it. We waited for it. They delivered it. Jack tricked us with the "what the hell" comment and I fell for it. I was ready to hear Avril sing one of my favorite songs. When they released the pre-save and I saw 'Lisa Gaskarth' in there I was shocked. Is Lisa a trained singer? Because the way she killed Juliet Simms' part is incredible. I was not expecting that. I was listening to it in the car and forgot how roundabout worked for a moment. A new all-time favorite!

There it is. My useless review of this insane album. I had a blast writing this even if it was difficult as hell; I haven't used my English writing skills in a while and had to check multiple times what I was typing ahahahah. I know I'll have this on repeat for weeks and I'll be obnoxious about it lmao. hope to hear about you sooner this time. Until then Stay Safe, Be Kind, and remember, Somebody loves you.  ☀️💕

[hikennosabo]

trimax vol 11 random thoughts

we're back to 6 chapters in this volume, huh!

i dont know if i'm ready for this, i still feel emotionally caught up in volume 10. but as always, i must press onward.

chapter 1:

CHAPEL JUMPSCARE?!?! WHY DOES THIS VOLUME OPEN WITH A SCENE OF CHAPEL. I THOUGHT WE WERE DONE WITH YOU!!!! GO AWAY!!!!

and we're back to legato!! yay!!! i feel like i haven't seen him in forever!! he's looking a little worse for wear...

HELPPPP HSDKLJFDKLSFJS SHE'S SO MEAN TO HIMMMM

"there's no reason why i shouldn't just kill you" SHE'S SO MEAN!!!!!

it's really such a funny dynamic and i agree that legato is very bullyable but where does this hostility come from, actually? does she view legato as a rival for knives's attention? does she just think he has rancid vibes? it seems kinda one-sided too, legato hasn't expressed the same degree of annoyance regarding elendira... or we haven't really seen what he thinks of her at all, iirc? he just kind of ignores her goading... which honestly makes this dynamic funnier LMAO

and now we cut to--wait, LIVIO CAN DRIVE?! ...actually, now that i think about it, he probably drove chapel around, right? chapel probably couldn't drive in the condition he was in...

WHAT'S WITH THE SWANKY-ASS CAR, THOUGH???

i am happy to see brad again. i am always happy to see brad

^ me when i see brad

vash is clearly so so so tired. he decided to trust livio because he trusts wolfwood who trusted livio, but he's also mad about it. he's still very raw and very angry with livio i think. and also just fed up with this conversation in general lol. he's low on patience.

"at least let me punch him," says brad, after he already did it! livio would take the punch either way, he thinks he deserves to get punched... (ourgh...) but if you're going to ask for permission, do it beforehand!

i've been physically holding myself back from making more ff7 comparisons than i have already, but this is not making it easy. also y'all are literally in a narrative i know this shit is NOT going to work.

knives using his sisters as a shield... again... well, maybe "using" isn't the right word in this case. i actually expected him to destroy the cannon, but his expression... he knew it wouldn't fire.

i'm wondering about the plants' will now... how much self-awareness do they have? is it like, collective? are they more of a hivemind compared to the independents? ummm... hmmm... uuuummmm... i still feel like i don't know enough about plants!!

also does this mean they could have refused to fuse with knives if they didn't want to? not like knives is a stranger to using force, but in the scene where he fused with that first plant, he did ask... ummm... gaahhhh... my soupy brain...

i don't remember who in stampede said non-independent plants don't have free will... but it's an assumption everyone in this world seems to have been operating on...

"it's possible that the plants could rebel against humans. if that's the case, then there's no way humanity could survive." <- yeah no kidding! so you gotta be niceys to them!

chapter 2:

i'm apprehensive about the earth humans arriving, they're gonna make this situation even more complicated...

YOU'D BEST START BELIEVING IN SCIENCE FICTION, NAMELESS RANDO, YOU'RE IN ONE

UUAAAGH MERYL AND MILLY :( one of them (i can't tell who's talking) mentions her family... ARE their families okay?? hmmm... if they were, they'd probably be in this city, right? so i guess not... or maybe the situation is just too chaotic to find them even if they are in the city.

we never learned that much about meryl and milly's families, but i liked what we did get. that bit all those chapters ago, which touched on meryl's feelings about her own family (jeez that was FOREVER ago?!)... i thought it gave an interesting dimension to her.

THE REUNION.. CAN I GET A HUG?? CAN I PLEEEAAAASE GET A HUG??

oh holy shit he is giving MAAAAJOR sephiroth vibes here and i love it. he is beautiful and terrifying. and he's losing his shape... a physical representation of him losing himself...

and the ark itself is giving... something... i don't really know what to make of this grotesque display. it's... a lot.

chapter 3:

actually, what are the earth humans planning on doing exactly. are they gonna gather everyone up and ferry them back to earth? provide resources and technology so they can continue living on noman's land? i mean obviously we have to deal with knives first but what about after that?

OH?! BRAD TO THE RESCUE?! UNEXPECTED BRAD & LIVIO FRIENDSHIP?!

girl me too.

of course she immediately picked up on what really happened, not like brad's lie was any good to begin with...

OH, CUTE!!! what's in vash's coat! a lil figurine... what else does he have. the communicator pen, a swiss army knife, a key, the coin case... and some miscellaneous things...

"to tell you the truth, it wasn't a priority of mine" about the coins... it wasn't a priority of the author either dw

BRAD LIVIO FRIENDSHIP CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE!!!! i love this, brad is trying so hard...!! he's so sweet... this is not a friendship i expected but i'm loving it so much!!!

:( vash crying over marlon's words to him is making me feel a type of way. it's something he needs to hear, but...!! "i don't know what else to do..." asking for help is easier said than done... he doesn't know how. i can relate...

and now we get... a big explosion and...!!!!

YES.... YES!!!!! LEGATO!!!!! MY SWEET (not an adjective that describes him in the slightest) LITTLE (also not an adjective that describes him) BAGWORM HAS FINALLY EMERGED FROM HIS COCOON!!!! i missed you so much honey i can't wait to see what fucked up shit you do next <3

oh also zazie's been cut in half. ehhh they'll be fine.

chapter 4:

oh fuck. this concept has been knocking around in my head for a while, and now it's been confirmed canon... it's never quiet for him anymore...

baby knives!!!!!! :(

someone: "you're nonbinary? but what's in your pants though?" zazie:

okay but jokes aside 1. GROSS!!!, 2. would this have even worked? legato and elendira recognize the danger so maybe it would have, 3. zazie says "we will use your powers for our purposes" which is... what? eliminating the humans, i suppose, and then... what?

huh... wait... is this how his powers worked all along or is this a new thing?? it's a new thing, right??

carve strings?? out of iron?? with what, his bare hands??? and he's moving by... puppeteering... himself?? that's... insane. i'm impressed.

i actually love seeing him up and moving around again, but i guess this means i can't call him a bagworm anymore... initially i called him a jolly rancher (because of his hair color in stampede and also because my friend called him "chewable"), then he changed to bagworm... which i guess was an upgrade since at least bagworms are alive?! i need another weird pet name for him. maybe i should just call him a moth now...

he's sitting like a frog :)

and he's imbuing the bullets with his power...! i see, that's how he defeated that big guy 2 chapters ago! ...and then livio startles him so much he leaves a hole. i'm sobbing.

handsome!!!! also "new hair, new outlook" hits different when it comes from vash, huh?

i am not gonna lie, the coin case has been such a nonentity in this story that i was temporarily VERY confused because i forgot it had come with the other halves already in the case.

also... elendira doesn't get one? why? is it because it's legato's game? so she refused to play... because she hates him...? LOL

and then. a random guy shows up. and gives them the last coin. why. listen nightow i know your initial plan for the coins went out the window and you need to wrap up this plot point now but like. is this REALLY the best you could do? LMAO

chapter 5:

oh boy... so much information here... the sudden reveal of another independent... and what to glean from all this about the relationship between plants and humans on earth... aaahghgh i wanted more information about this but now i have to wrap my head around it!! aaaaghh... my soupy brain...

"our generation was wired with neural blocking programs"... to prevent them from fusing? or is there more to it? hmmm. this is giving like. sci-fi advanced AI vibes. with a program that blocks them from going terminator. except the plants are made of flesh. or something. i'm... not sure how to feel about it, honestly.

i love seeing vash and livio being silly together. lord knows we need what silliness we can get.

vash going to press the switch and livio freaking out about it is SOOO funny BUT meryl DID tell vash that there were no explosives in the coin case. so he could've pressed it!!!

why is he flirting.....

i'm joking but also i'm not. but i think the only way these two would actually kiss is if they were playing a game of gay chicken.

...but come on, "let's kill each other, just the two of us"?? buddy...

also his uh... companion... helper...? is here...? is this the same one that was assisting him when he was a bagworm? ????? i still have no idea what they are or what to make of them.

?!?!?!?! RUDE?????

i mean she IS a bitch but i'm saying that as a COMPLIMENT. a compliment!!! as in "my wife is a bitch and i love her so much"!!! BUT VASH IS BEING RUDE!!!!

uagh, i had to post the full page, this is so lovely. i like seeing vash and livio bond; it looks like vash is warming up and happy that his choice to trust livio is paying off. and livio is trying really hard to live up to that. they both feel the impact wolfwood had on the two of them... it's very sweet.

this exchange is SO funny. just doing some diy with explosive items :)

uhhh, something something humanity's relationship with god!

right, this happened in the final fight in 98. "he cancelled me out..."

oh my god, FINALLY a fucking HUG around here!!!!!

they're sweet. :( also we need more hugs in this manga. EVERYONE needs a hug. what we really need is a big cuddle pile.

so much buildup... i'm scared. chronica turning off her "limiter program"... is this the same thing that prevents plants from fusing or is it something else? what is she gonna try doing?? ughhh, the apprehension is killing me...

chapter 6:

she's so cute... and she's soooo... COOOOL!!!!!

i love elendira, she is really cool and strong and funny, but... we don't really know anything deeper about her. what makes her tick? why is she following knives? are we gonna get a backstory? i wanna know everything about her!! i've wanted to know since her introduction!!!

and of course livio can live through getting impaled so many times. that's NOTHING to him. and his interaction with the kids is cute. and his reunion with jasmine is sweet. not going to say aaaanything about nightow's inconsistent timeline again...

actually no, i lied just now. it would be one thing if he had just... changed his mind midway though the manga and then stuck with it. but he's ACTIVELY going BACK AND FORTH on this. "six years" was LESS THAN 10 CHAPTERS AGO but if it still holds true then jasmine should NOT be this old. these chapters were published WITHIN THE SAME YEAR. RRAAAAAGHHGHGH

*cough* anyway. livio is such a big sweetie... i never disliked him, but my impression of him has changed. in stampede i didn't really know what to think of him. he didn't have a personality, he was just brainwashed. and his manga self was stoic and cool before. which... didn't seem like it was brainwashing, necessarily? i don't know?? maybe it was just an act he was putting on. he went goober mode as soon as the fight was over. perhaps no longer being beholden to EoM allowed him to embrace his inherent silliness. i liked his cool and stoic self but i LOVE his big silly teddy bear self. he's so... uwah. he makes me smile.

now that we're getting closer to the end i'm getting impatient... i feel the urge to just read the rest of it all in one go... but i mustn't... i must show restraint...!!!

[zishadragon]

FAQ for Yixing Teapots Part 1

"What is a "Yixing Teapot"?" It's a teapot made out of Yixing [Ih-sing] ore, which is an ore mined in the same named City in the prefecture of Southern Jiangsu. It has a unique composition which makes it unable to be wheel-thrown as other clays and requires Slab Building technique to make pottery out of. The clay itself also has to be stored and fermented for a couple years in order to gain plasticity. Since 2004 but also before, Yixing Ore/Clay has become more limited as most of the mines have been overmined and have been as of 2004 been closed by the Government, which skyrocketed the price of Yixing wares/clay/ore.

"I've heard you can only use one type of tea in an Yixing Teapot, so do I have to buy multiple?" No, that is a myth that might've been born out of mistranslation, misunderstanding or simply a story that some sellers might push to sell more teapots. you can essentially brew all tea types in your yixing teapot, it will only very faintly transfer notes from a previous session to the next (i.e. from fermented puerh tea to a very light green tea). However if you brew heavily roasted tea in your teapot, the roast can build a patina inside which can mute certain things in a tea in the future, but that can be cleaned and prevented. As long as you clean your teapot after each session with some clean water (and preferrably hot water to sterilize it further), hardly anything should transfer from one session to another.

"Where do i buy a good Yixing Teapot?" For someone new to teawares and especially Yixing, I recommend sticking to vendors that are suggested and purchased from, from users in the tea community. I would avoid buying from other sources because odds are it is not real yixing and/or it is quite dodgy and you have no idea what's in the clay or how it will affect your tea. Do not buy an Yixing teapot from Aliexpress for example. Refer to a previously made suggestion list of mine

If Yixing teapots are too much for your budget, I recommend looking into Jianshui (for bigger pots, 90-350ml), Nixing (70-400ml) or Chaozhou (40-160ml) Teapots.

I suggest to determine what size of vessel you need for how you usually brew (most likely 80-140ml), then determine the clay for the tea you brew, most likely it will be Zini or Zhuni/Hongni. Look around and see what catches your eye as the teapot u buy should appeal to you as you will use it for the years to come after all.

"How do I take care of my Yixing teapot so it will last me a long time?" First of, DO NOT BOIL IT, boiling it is not necessary at all (unless you've got a fake one from aliexpress that has god knows what inside). After receiving your Yixing Teapot you should rinse it under luke warm tap water and scrub the inside with your fingers in case there is some quartz powder (used in firing so the lid doesn't stick to the body) or other dirt. Then I suggest to gradually pre-heat it with a temperature controlled Kettle, pour in water in 10°c steps one after another until you've gotten to 100°, then it's ready to go! other people may suggest leaving it in a water bath for a day or overnight. Note that my method is very careful and at most, just fill with hot tap water, then boiling. For general usage afterwards for each new session, Preheat your pots! immediately pouring in boiling water puts thermal stress upon the dry clay and you risk getting hairlines that can develop into cracks and splits and you do not want that. there are various methods of preheating you can find out and develop your own, however as i'm writing this I will once again give my method: Pour in 50% vol. with 50°c Water, then add 70°c water up to 100% vol., pour back into the kettle back to 50% vol. and add 90°c water, then pour out! With modern pieces, zini, duanni and lvni teapot, it's good to go! for a vintage or antique or zhuni teapot i'd recommend giving it another step of pouring out back to 50% vol. then adding 100° water to 100%. After a session, obviously throw away the spent leaves and rinse with water, you can also rinse with hot tapwater, then with boiling to sterilize the inside (and make it dry faster).

"Zini, Zhuni, Hongi, Lvni, Duanni? what are these funny words magic woman?" These refer to the subcategory of Yixing clay the teapot is made out of, because depending on what layer the ore was mined, it has different properties and compounds, but what this means for you as a consumer is that generally speaking they refer to the color and porosity/affecting capabilities of the clay. They are named after the color of the clay or ore itself: Zini= Purple Clay, Zhuni=Vermillion Clay, Hongni=Red Clay, Lvni=Green Clay, Duanni=combined clay of a mix of zini and lvni or hongni and lvni. The affecting capabilities generally go parallel with the porosity of the clay and that is dictated per clay and how it is fired/quality of the clay, but a rule of thumb of porosity is this: Least affecting/porous: Zhuni > Hongni > Zini > Duanni > Lvni :Most affecting/porous. Here's a video of two 80s Mo Lvni teapot, one being higher fired (less porous) and the other being lower fired, you notice it in the sound and look.

"Muting? Enhancing? is that what they mean when they say Yixing Teapots make tea taste better?" Yes! but that's only half of what Yixing Teapots do. Since the clay is unglazed and porous it can do various things to tea, with enhancing/muting it is meant that it can reduce the taste of certain notes and increase other things in the tea, ultimately making it taste better. most notably undesirable notes such as bitterness or astringency are often reduced. However, Yixing Teapots act, to make a good analogy, like an equalizer acts to music, it can reduce but also give certain things, while it may not (or should not) give additional notes to a tea, it can make it so certain notes stick out, but it can also give or take things such as the body, thickness, aroma and aftertaste to the tea! This is not as easily understood or understandable and each teapot is unique in its "equalizer setting" but we can make some rule of thumbs that, for example, usually Zhuni is less neutral than Porcelain and gives more body to the tea than porcelain, or that Zini has a bigger effect and takes away more bitterness than zhuni does.

"So can a Yixing Teapot make tea taste phenomenal?" Yes, but the bottle cap is the tea itself, it is the base material you, as the composer of the brew, use to make the tea liquor. While Yixing teapots certainly can refine and make tea taste better you should also keep in mind that there are other factors that are just as important if not more important! Variables are the water you use (softer vs harder), the Temperature at which you brew, the ratio of tea leaves to water (10g to 100ml is stronger and more complex than 2g to 100ml) and the length at which you steep (longer=stronger and more extraction). In general I recommend tweaking the water you use with a Water Filter(softer water, better for most teas) and/or a Tetsubin (harsher water, better for Puerh) to control the extraction, as well as the ratio of leaf to water, the Temperature and the length of the steep first, if one mainly wants to get an Yixing teapot for the effect in the cup.

"So I've heard about other clay teapots like Nixing, Jianshui and Chaozhou, how do they differ from Yixing?" Well, simply said, it's clay from a different place in China altogether! While Nixing (similarly sounding to Yixing but far different from it!) and Jianshui Teapots are a fairly recent cultivation in their respective pottery culture, Chaozhou is known, besides Yixing, as another place that is known for its teapot culture with Chaozhou pots mainly being used for the Chaozhou Gong Fu brewing practice.

"Why are Yixing teapots so small? are they toys made for kids?" Good question! They are small since they are meant to be used with whole leaf high quality loose leaf, no tea bags or broken tealeaves (like assam blends and such). This allows the tea to swell up and the extraction of the tea compounds into the liquor has more longevity, i.e. you can make multiple steeps, so-called infusions. Due to the small size, it allows you to make bite-sized volumes of strong, complex tea liquor akin to espresso (which is used as a comparison often for Chaozhou Gongfu brewing). In China though, popular teapot sizes are a lot bigger than those we solo practitioners acquire and seek, as they usually brew not only for them but their whole family. There are many ways to make tea however and you can brew as you see fit, no need to limit yourself : ) (just don't put your teapot into the microwave, that would be pretty dangerous I reckon).

"A Laminar pour means its amazing quality and a bad pour means it's a bad quality teapot" Actually, quite the contrary. The Flow of the teapot is dictated by it's shape, size and how the spout is formed, but it is not much an indicator of the overall quality of the teapot itself. Old teapots usually have bad pours, but that doesn't mean they are of bad quality as they often have a lot better and more unadulterated clay quality compared to modern teapots (modern teapots often have barium¹ added to combat efforescence of the clay in firing, but that doesn't mean much to the performance). Similarly the Lidfit also does not mean a teapot is of better quality, Older pots, being lower fired than what we currently have access to (electric kiln, far better control, higher temps, etc.), usually had not that well fitting lids, especially Yixing Teapots from the 70's+ era of Factory 1. Arguably it is easier to machine/mold make/engineer a perfect pouring spout and a perfect lidfit with lower quality teapots than it is with half handmade or handmade yixing teapots.

¹: Barium in clay doesn't translate to any change in the cup and even if it were, it is so miniscule that it's negligible. It will probably also not leach to the amount that its concerning, the tea you drink will probably affect your health more than the Barium in a teapot. In fact Lvni naturally comes with about 1500 ppm Barium where as the highest dosage I've heard of was in a white label F1 (1988-1992) Hongni, over 1% Barium, 12,000 ppm. Barium is added to skip the step of manually having to massage the clay, this is to save time and energy and, according to an yixing artist, there is seemingly no difference in result between the handmassaged and barium added pots.

Go to Part 2 here

[bearbonespdf]

Sorry but I wanna talk more abt your cd burning adventures. Are the chapters separated to where you can click "next' on a CD player and skip to the next one? Or is it one big mb4 file on each one? Did you just sharpie each volume/chapters/parts onto each CD or did you somehow put the book cover designs on them? (Ready with a pen and notepad)

hi i also wanna talk more about my cd burning adventures. okay SO.

short answer: yes, all the files were converted into mp3s and the chapters were broken up into individual files. if you hit 'next' then it will go to the next chapter until the disc ends.

long answer: the sexy thing about converting files to mb4 is that most mb4 files will automatically separate per chapter. smth smth abt detecting breaks in the audio and finding when the narrator says the chapter number (i actually had a scare there in volume 3 where there was a 10 second chapter, turns out nope no fuck up the chapter was just straight up a sentence long)

what i did was i downloaded (cough cough pirate cough cough) the books through torrent files, found a free torrent browser, and used that to convert them to their original form. which would be m4b files. unfortunately those files were all around 12hrs long which absolutely will not fit on my cds, which can contain 80mins max. additionally, my laptops built in burning program (windows play or smth, its easy and free) wouldnt take anything but mp3 files. so i found an m4b to mp3 converter fairly easily and it gave me the option to separate all of the chapters into separate mp3 files. i managed to fit around 3-6 chapters per disc depending on the length, though some chapters were too long and ended up taking a whole disc. also be so careful to order the chapters correctly before burning, i had to throw away a couple cds cuz i did it backwards.

side note: DO NOT PAY FOR SHIT, all of the sites i used were free and efficient. if you have to pay a subscription to convert or download anything at all then dont bother, move on. you'll find smth free i promise

second note: use firefox as your browser for this. it has a ton of malware protection and allows you to actually access non sponsored free sites pretty easily.

as for the labeling, all i did was sharpie the info on. painting or generally decorating the back of a cd can damage the player and unbalance the disc. unless you have a cd printer its better to avoid fancy decorations on the disc itself, stick to the cases if you have those available. because of the sheer amount of discs i had it wasnt really practical to use standard cases so like i said in my og post, theyre all residing in a massive cd case like the ones ppl keep in their cars.

the labeling format i used was

VOL. #

Tales From the Gas Station

Chap. # - Chap. #

Disc #

with each volume i would start the disc # from 1.

ex: vol. 1 has discs 1-9, then vol. 2 starts at disc 1 again.

like i mentioned before, i made these for a friend so i catered my labeling system to what i know he'd like. do it however you please tho :3

hope this helpsssss

brief addition, pic of the cds

[desperatecheesecubes]

Now that we’re into March here’s my reading wrap up for February! (Part 1 because I read too many things for Tumblr)

Interesting facts About Space By Emily Austen

Dates Read: February 1-2.

Review: 5 stars

Thoughts: I loved this as much as I loved Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead. I was a little apprehensive in the beginning about how I would like this writing style over a full length novel but I needn’t have worried.

Things You May Find In My Ear: Poems from Gaza by Mosab Abu Toha

Dates Read: February 2-3

Review: Four Stars

Thoughts: I don’t think I can speak articulately about what is happening, and has been happening, in Palestine. This collection was painful to read and very important I think.

The Splendid City by Karen Heuler

Dates Read: January 29-February 4

Review: 2 stars

Thoughts: have you ever thought you had important things to say, sat down and thought real hard about how to articulate them, but then realized you sounded like an idiot? Yeah that’s this whole book. It’s BAD. It’s a fucking mess. I do not recommend it to anyone,

Green Lantern (2023) issues 7-8

Dates Read: February 7 and February 18

Review: 3 stars and 3 stars

Thoughts: im really enjoying this run so far! It’s got everything I like! Hal’s dysfunctional relationship with Carol, Kyle being definitely totally mentally well FOR SURE, and Guy ready to fuck shit up immediately! I have not been reading the back ups because, and this is true, I could not care less about this son of Sinestro that’s been shoehorned into being. Sinestro already had a daughter who was complex and fleshed out. And if they wanted to keep writing Supersons they shouldn’t have aged up Jon 🤷‍♀️. And can you fucking believe they’re ignoring Chris Kent again?! Everyday I be seething.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Dates Read: February 4-8

Review: 4 stars

Thoughts: Lisa See knows how to write books that destroy me and I hope she never stops. The scene where they were trapped on a mountain and debating which son to let die?? Holy shit. The movie was bad though lol.

Batman the Cult issues 1-4

Dates Read: February 9, February 10, February 12, February 18

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: Started this miniseries because I was sad the Robin in Infinity Inc wasn’t Jason lmao. Over all this was an interesting story I guess but it’s no longer a unique one in the way it might have been when published. Batman gets beaten by his villians mentally kind of a lot now. I’d also heard this was a great story for Jason and I… don’t really agree? He never really did anything lol.

Infinity Inc: the Generations Saga Vol 1

Dates Read: February 7-9

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: I was so fucking confused going into this because I forgot it takes place on Earth 2, and ALSO because I didn’t realize the first few issues happen during World War II. But it was a fun set up. Can’t believe Dick went out like a bitch in this timeline tho. Homie does not have a good record.

Superman Lost issues 8-10

Dates Read: February 18

Review: 3 stars (miniseries gets a 4 over all)

Thoughts: I wish the pacing had been just a little different (I would have loved to explore Lois dealing with her impending death more, Clark mourning the loss of a child more etc etc. also Lois getting instacured wasn’t my favorite thing) but I really enjoyed what this mini did. I’ll probably have to reread the whole thing to figure it out but I gave it 4 stars over all.

Spidergwen: Smash! Issue 3

Dates Read: February 18

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: I just think they should make Gwen and Em-Jay kiss

Adventures of Superman issues 511-512

Dates Read: February 18, February 22

Review: 3 stars, 3 stars

Thoughts: This arc was fine until Superman started swelling up a whole bunch….

[abrahampaakow]

page6/7

Ghana is an agricultural country that deal in timber as export. The green in the Ghana flag represent agriculture. Because of this reason, when I saw the huge naked tree on my way to university, I knew I had to implement it in my work to visually communicate my narrative. The tree, tall and big also reminded me of similar trees back home in Ghana.

In the evening around 4pm when the sun was almost down, I went out with my camera and took some shots of the tree. I purposely went around this time to avoid any direct harsh light from the sun subsequently ruining my desired outcome of the picture. The aim was- to take a picture without using low exposure but at the same time, end up with a picture where everything including the main subject- the tree looks dark so, during sunset was a perfect time.

Before I started with my methodology, I considered how I want to visually communicate my narrative in my sketchbook in terms of layout.  I considered negative space and the sizing of my subject which is the tree in this case. So, I decided to print my work on an A3 paper in order to scale up my subject- the tree, so that its big enough to fit ¾ of my sketchbook, leaving enough negative space to further develop my primary picture. The reason I decided to scale up the picture on an A3 paper is because I didn’t want to undermine the real-life size of the tree especially when I am going to use it to visually communicate a generation so powerful and mighty-the Older generation.

It may sound like I am contradicting myself since I have portrayed the Older generation in a not so positive way, but I am not. The Older generation are mighty and powerful even with their flaws i.e., having a black and white mindset. So, I didn’t want to take that away from them by down scaling the image.

After printing out the image on an A3 paper, I went ahead and cut around the tree in order to isolate the tree from the background. Cutting around the tree was not so simple, the tree had irregular sides which made it a bit tricky to cut with clean precision but, since I didn’t cut with scissors but instead with a knife cutter, I was able to get the results I wanted.

Now that I have my subject- the tree, isolated, I was now ready to move on to the next step. 

The paper- the background of the tree, I am still deciding if I should throw it away or use it to visually communicate my narrative. So far, I have come up with one idea and that is- use the remainder paper to visually communicate the younger generation by using blow painting technique. This is because blow painting is one of the playful ways children paints. It involves blowing air through a straw to make intricate patterns. I can further describe how blow painting as a technique is playful like that of the younger generation’s mindset

I cut the tree in half and collage them on my sketchbook page leaving space in-between the split paper tree. Then with my thumb and black paint, I filled in the gap with paint, using my fingerprint as a tool to visually communicate my narrative.

The inspiration for the technique I used – finger painting, was from the artist/ Art therapist- Ruth Faison Shaw.

Reference

(2006)’Ruth Faison Shaw: First Lady of Finger painting (THE ARTS)’. vol.21(10) (October 2006)

‘In the article, the origin of finger painting, relative to shaw’s life, unravels. Leonardo, member of the royal family cuts himself in lesson. Shaw responded by aiding the child with iodine. Unsupervised, the child smeared iodine on the bathroom walls. Intrigued by this phenomenon, she was able to use what she had learned to help delinquents and people who were mentally ill.’

Leonardo, the boy who cut himself was able turn pain into art.

Highlighting the flaws of the Older generation. i.e., visually communicating the mindset of the Older generation in nothing but with dark colours is beautiful and painful at the same time. I am turning a sensitive topic into art and that is why I resonate with the art technique and the story at the same time.

When I was dissolving the embroidered leaves, I found that one of the leave was unable to dissolve properly, so I ended up with something that didn’t look like a leaf. Still I was able to implement it in my work. The narrative I gave the “ruined” embroidered leaf is; the older generation are imperfect just like the failed embroidered leaf.

I stitched the embroidered leaves onto real leaf autumn leaves with a green thread. The green thread represents green in the Ghana flag which also stands for agriculture.

At the bottom of the page, I have a piece of green fabric with roots sewn into it. The green fabric represents the soil. The fabric has texture so it was a good representation for the soil/ground and The roots sewn onto the fabric demonstrate how stubborn the older generation are, their mindset is like the roots, they sink deep into the soil, clutching onto each particle of the soil making it hard to uproot/change their mind.

I decided to expand the same narrative onto the next page. My aim is to visually communicate how both generations are identical and the difference between them is the way they think, their mindset. For the older generation I used black paint to visually communicate their mindset and the way they think. On this part of the page, I used a range of colours to visually communicate the younger generation.

With the same technique- finger painting, I painted in order, red, yellow, green, colours of the Ghana flag, underneath the colours of the Ghana flag are a range of colours that makes up the stem and roots of the tree.

Here, I have visually communicated how the younger generation are culturally innovative but at the same time they can freely express themselves, they are not grounded like the older generation are. For the leaves, I used reverse appliqué technique. I used two fabrics, one fabric is yellow, and the other fabric has a combination of different colours. I stitch both fabrics together to create an outline of leaves, after, I cut around the outline of the leaves and cut the top layer of the fabric to reveal the bottom layer.

 The leaves represents, again the mindset of the younger generation, it is as colourful as the leaves, meaning their thinking is filled with good innovative ideas. 

[imemon-blog]

PLR DFY 100 Coloring Book Pages – Vol 1 And vol 2

Hello and welcome to my review of PLR DFY 100 Coloring Book Pages, Vol 1. Because of the glut of generic and sometimes uninspired coloring books on the market, it can be difficult to stand out and attract the attention of discriminating customers. Without the distinctive edge that DFY content offers, competing in this competitive market may be difficult. But going the DIY route to make a coloring book is a wise move since it allows for more time to be spent on customization rather than product creation.

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Read My More Blog: AI Lead Hunter Review

[btsfangirling]

BTS and ARMY for BLM and More

I think many people are familiar with BTS and the dedication of their fans. What some people may not be aware of is the depth of BTS's philanthropic endeavors nor just how crucial ARMY's role is in BTS's transmedia and transcultural success. Combined, they have a rather incredible impact on the world that is unmatched by any other fandom. One of the most well known examples is when, during the peak of the BLM protests, BTS made a $1 million donation to BLM organizations and it was easily matched by BTS fans from around the world in just around 24 hours.

As one can imagine, there were certainly some people who tried to argue that BTS's donation was just a big publicity stunt. Of course, however, there were many more people who were ready to come to BTS's defense. As a group that heavily takes inspiration from Black American hip-hop and pop music, this donation is not just a lazy gesture but a conscious one that holds historical significance. It also shows that BTS is making genuine efforts to center Black voices and experiences in an attempt to to bridge the gap between races (Cho "BTS for BLM").

In general, one million dollars may also not be much for big name artists like BTS, but it is still not an insignificant number in terms of a donation. And you can't discredit the level of dedication and organization it took for their fans to match that number in a single day. The amount of effort that is put in behind the scenes by BTS fans is truly unlike any we see elsewhere and it has been stated that this highly organized structure of ARMY is "driven by a desire to see the seven members of BTS leave theirmark in territories previously uncharted by any other pop act from South Korea" (Moon).

BTS as a group and as individual members have been and have continued to donate millions of dollars to charities around the world including those that help children in Africa and children undergoing cancer treatments, on top of several various local South Korean charities.

Beyond these donations, BTS also launched their Love Myself campaign which aimed to end violence and promote the protection of young people. This was a global campaign that was in partnership with UNICEF and was trending with hundreds of thousands of BTS fans and others alike posting self-loving pictures with hashtags like #ENDviolence and $BTSLoveMyself. This campaign and partnership would ultimately bring them to the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly where the leader of BTS, RM, would give. a speech talking about his journey of learning to love himself and the purpose of the Love Myself campaign.

It's difficult to deny the positive impacts of BTS's philanthropic endeavors and the genuineness behind these actions is certainly one of the many reasons why fans love and care for the group as much as they do. These donations and campaign and BTS's consistent message of love and connection definitely speak for themselves, but I think the level of dedication and support that BTS receives from their fans across the world and their transmedial approach (use of several different platforms) is truly what sets them apart from other artists and what has led to their transnational and transcultural success.

Sources:

Acharya, Avani. “8 Times BTS Donated to Causes They Care About.” Www.sportskeeda.com, 17 Dec. 2022, www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/8-times-bts-donated-causes-care.

Cho, Michelle. “BTS for BLM: K-Pop, Race, and Transcultural Fandom.” Celebrity Studies, vol. 13, no. 2, Apr. 2022, pp. 1–10, https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2022.2063974.

Moon, Kat. “Inside the BTS ARMY, the Devoted Fandom with an Unrivaled Level of Organization.” Time Magazine, Nov. 2020.

[laocommunity]

Get ready to relive the iconic stealth-action gameplay of Metal Gear Solid with the Master Collection Vol.1! But that's not all – the collection now includes the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, taking fans back to where it all began. It's every Metal Gear fan's dream come true – and we can't wait to see the world react to it on social media!

Get ready to relive the iconic stealth-action gameplay of Metal Gear Solid with the Master Collection Vol.1! But that's not all – the collection now includes the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, taking fans back to where it all began. It's every Metal Gear fan's dream come true – and we can't wait to see the world react to it on social media! Get Ready to Relive the Iconic Action-Stealth Gameplay of Metal Gear Solid with Master Collection Vol.1! Metal Gear Solid is one of the most iconic action-stealth video game franchises in history. The series has a long-standing legacy that has kept fans hooked for over two decades. When the game first released on the PlayStation in 1998, it paved the way for the modern gaming industry's action-stealth genre, inspiring numerous other franchises and spinoffs while amassing a massive fan following globally. Today, fans of the franchise can relive the iconic moments in their entirety with the brand-new Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1. A Dream Come True for Every Metal Gear Fan! Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1, released on September 30 this year, contains the original Metal Gear, Metal Gear 2, Metal Gear Solid, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance. It brings the nostalgia of the '90s to the modern era while retaining all the elements that made Metal Gear Solid what it is today. The collection is available on all major platforms, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X & S, and PC. The collection also features an extensive selection of bonus materials, such as a digital artbook, audio tracks, and archival footage. This additional content is a visual feast for fans of the series who want to delve deep into the game's lore and history. A Blast from the Past! The two games that started it all, Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2, were initially released for the MSX2 back in 1987 and 1990, respectively. These long-dormant hidden gems are now available with new features and upgrades that enhance the overall gameplay experience while retaining their original charm. Returning fans will enjoy revisiting these classic games, while newcomers can experience for themselves the series's origin story - "where it all began." Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance are also no stranger to enhancements. These beloved classics are now even better, with updated graphics, features, and functionalities. Metal Gear Solid remains one of the most defining moments in gaming history, with its groundbreaking storytelling, immersive gameplay, and iconic characters like Solid Snake, which have turned into gaming icons. Social Media is Buzzing! Fans of the series and media developers have shared their excitement about the release of the Master Collection Vol. 1 on social media. Popular gaming websites like Polygon, IGN, and Kotaku have already published their reviews on Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1, with Polygon giving it a 9.5/10 rating, calling it "a nearly perfect homage to the Metal Gear series' roots." Fans have been posting their gameplay videos, screenshots and sharing their stories and experiences with the series. The game has indeed generated quite a significant buzz on social media, surprising no one as the series' legacy is still strong after all these years. In conclusion The Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 takes you back in time and immerses you in the iconic action-styled gameplay that defined this series as unforgettable. The game beautifully combines all the franchise's best elements, from the legendary story to the iconic characters. So, hop onto your gaming platforms, get ready to sneak, strategize and fight your way out of any sticky situation! Hashtags: #MetalGearSolid #MasterCollectionVol1 #MetalGear2 #MetalGear #SolidSnake #ActionStealthGaming #VideoGames #PS4 #PS5 #Xbox #PC. #TECH Read the full article

[consuetudinari0]

“GET READY FOR A WORLD CURRENCY”

Title of article: Get Ready for the Phoenix

Source: Economist; 01/9/88, Vol. 306, pp 9-10

THIRTY years from now, Americans, Japanese, Europeans, and people in many other

rich countries, and some relatively poor ones will probably be paying for their shopping

with the same currency. Prices will be quoted not in dollars, yen or D-marks but in, let's

say, the phoenix. The phoenix will be favoured by companies and shoppers because it

will be more convenient than today's national currencies, which by then will seem a

quaint cause of much disruption to economic life in the last twentieth century.

At the beginning of 1988 this appears an outlandish prediction. Proposals for

eventual monetary union proliferated five and ten years ago, but they hardly envisaged

the setbacks of 1987. The governments of the big economies tried to move an inch or two

towards a more managed system of exchange rates - a logical preliminary, it might seem,

to radical monetary reform. For lack of co-operation in their underlying economic

policies they bungled it horribly, and provoked the rise in interest rates that brought on

the stock market crash of October. These events have chastened exchange-rate

reformers. The market crash taught them that the pretence of policy co-operation can be

worse than nothing, and that until real co-operation is feasible (i.e., until governments

surrender some economic sovereignty) further attempts to peg currencies will flounder.

But in spite of all the trouble governments have in reaching and (harder still)

sticking to international agreements about macroeconomic policy, the conviction is

growing that exchange rates cannot be left to themselves. Remember that the Louvre

accord and its predecessor, the Plaza agreement of September 1985, were emergency

measures to deal with a crisis of currency instability. Between 1983 and 1985 the dollar

rose by 34% against the currencies of America's trading partners; since then it has fallen

by 42%. Such changes have skewed the pattern of international comparative advantage

more drastically in four years than underlying economic forces might do in a whole

generation.

In the past few days the world's main central banks, fearing another dollar

collapse, have again jointly intervened in the currency markets (see page 62). Marketloving ministers such as Britain's Mr. Nigel Lawson have been converted to the cause of

exchange-rate stability. Japanese officials take seriously he idea of EMS-like schemes

for the main industrial economies. Regardless of the Louvre's embarrassing failure, the

conviction remains that something must be done about exchange rates.

Something will be, almost certainly in the course of 1988. And not long after the

next currency agreement is signed it will go the same way as the last one. It will

collapse. Governments are far from ready to subordinate their domestic objectives to the

goal of international stability. Several more big exchange-rate upsets, a few more

stockmarket crashes and probably a slump or two will be needed before politicians are

willing to face squarely up to that choice. This points to a muddled sequence of

emergency followed by a patch-up followed by emergency, stretching out far beyond

2018 - except for two things. As time passes, the damage caused by currency instability

is gradually going to mount; and the very tends that will make it mount are making the

utopia of monetary union feasible.

The new world economy

The biggest change in the world economy since the early 1970's is that flows of money

have replaced trade in goods as the force that drives exchange rates. As a result of the

relentless integration of the world's financial markets, differences in national economic

policies can disturb interest rates (or expectations of future interest rates) only slightly,

yet still call forth huge transfers of financial assets from one country to another. These

transfers swamp the flow of trade revenues in their effect on the demand and supply for

different currencies, and hence in their effect on exchange rates. As telecommunications

technology continues to advance, these transactions will be cheaper and faster still. With

uncoordinated economic policies, currencies can get only more volatile.

Alongside that trend is another - of ever-expanding opportunities for international

trade. This too is the gift of advancing technology. Falling transport costs will make it

easier for countries thousands of miles apart to compete in each others' markets. The law

of one price (that a good should cost the same everywhere, once prices are converted into

a single currency) will increasingly assert itself. Politicians permitting, national

economies will follow their financial markets - becoming ever more open to the outside

world. This will apply to labour as much as to goods, partly thorough migration but also

through technology's ability to separate the worker form the point at which he delivers his

labour. Indian computer operators will be processing New Yorkers' paychecks.

In all these ways national economic boundaries are slowly dissolving. As the

trend continues, the appeal of a currency union across at least the main industrial

countries will seem irresistible to everybody except foreign-exchange traders and

governments. In the phoenix zone, economic adjustment to shifts in relative prices would

happen smoothly and automatically, rather as it does today between different regions

within large economies (a brief on pages 74-75 explains how.) The absence of all

currency risk would spur trade, investment and employment.

The phoenix zone would impose tight constraints on national governments. There

would be no such thing, for instance, as a national monetary policy. The world phoenix

supply would be fixed by a new central bank, descended perhaps from the IMF. The

world inflation rate - and hence, within narrow margins, each national inflation ratewould be in its charge. Each country could use taxes and public spending to offset

temporary falls in demand, but it would have to borrow rather than print money to

finance its budget deficit. With no recourse to the inflation tax, governments and their

creditors would be forced to judge their borrowing and lending plans more carefully than

they do today. This means a big loss of economic sovereignty, but the trends that make

the phoenix so appealing are taking that sovereignty away in any case. Even in a world of

more-or-less floating exchange rates, individual governments have seen their policy

independence checked by an unfriendly outside world.

As the next century approaches, the natural forces that are pushing the world

towards economic integration will offer governments a broad choice. They can go with

the flow, or they can build barricades. Preparing the way for the phoenix will mean

fewer pretended agreements on policy and more real ones. It will mean allowing and

then actively promoting the private-sector use of an international money alongside

existing national monies. That would let people vote with their wallets for the eventual

move to full currency union. The phoenix would probably start as a cocktail of national

currencies, just as the Special Drawing Right is today. In time, though, its value against

national currencies would cease to matter, because people would choose it for its

convenience and the stability of its purchasing power.

The alternative - to preserve policymaking autonomy- would involve a new

proliferation of truly draconian controls on trade and capital flows. This course offers

governments a splendid time. They could manage exchange-rate movements, deploy

monetary and fiscal policy without inhibition, and tackle the resulting bursts of inflation

with prices and incomes polices. It is a growth-crippling prospect. Pencil in the phoenix

for around 2018, and welcome it when it comes.

https://subscribenow.economist.com/core-espresso-c?state=state-eb75efeaa0425c26e55b6360ece91ea6

Copyright of The Economist is the property of Economist Newspaper

Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites

or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for

individual use.

[the-letter-horror-lover]

More

Boruto Uzumaki: The story that hasn't been told! by Narutofying

Anime » Naruto Rated: K+, English, Humor & Adventure, Boruto U., Sarada U., Words: 1k+, Favs: 2, Follows: 2, Published: Jun 22, 2015

3

A.N: This is my first story ever okay. 4give me 4 mistakes.

Disclaimer: no i dont own naruto ok i wish i did but guess what i dont oops.

There is most likely going to be 5-10 chapters per volume. Depends on how you guys react :)

Vol.1 Chp.1

*Brring Brring* Boruto's alarm in the morning was ringing. Boruto, weary eyed, smashed it. "Oops."

"Come on Big brother, get up. It's graduation exams, you don't want to miss those do you?" "Hima, I hate when you call me that, you know that. Call me Boruto please. BUT I AM READY FOR THESE EXAMS!" "WOOHOO!"

"He's up." Hinata gave a slight smile. "I just wish Naruto was able to come to the graduation.." The door slid open and in came, the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. "Hey, Hinata, I took today off to see the children graduate. These students are from the 9 rookies of our generation, so I'm sure they're some of the most powerful" "Y- Youre right it has been 12 years hasn't it. Hm."

Boruto came running down the stairs. "MOM! D-dad? YOURE HERE TO SEE ME GRADUATE? I mean, er. You're coming to watch me graduate huh." "Yeah, I took today off to see you and Hima graduate." "Oh, that's um, cool." Boruto was happy, but a little sad. He never gets to see his dad, because of his stupid job. Hokages. He hated them. "You're going to be late, Boruto. Himiwari already left." "W-WHAT!?" Boruto took off to the academy, running as fast as he could.

Shino Sensei, was sitting at his desk. "Alright. Today is the final exam to graduate. After today, IF you pass, you will all be ninja. Are you ready for that?" "YEAHH WOOOHOO!" shouted pretty much the whole class. "Okay, the test's jutsu is going to be... CLONES!" The class all groaned, that is for except, Boruto. His dad taught him this jutsu before he came Hokage. This jutsu was his specialty. He was ready.

The jutsu was easy. But for Rock Lee Jr, it wasn't. He had almost no ninjutsu at all, which is why his specialty was taijutsu. "Transform!" and 3 clumsy but identical clones were created. "You pass." said Shino Sensei. "Barely." he mumbled to himself. "Alright, next up, Boruto Uzumaki." Boruto stepped up. "Alright, here I go! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Boruto's clones filled the room. "No need to showoff Boruto. This isn't a contest." "Yeah, whatever." He released the jutsu. "Congratulations, everyone passes." The class was filled with, "YEAH WOO!" and "IM A NINJA NOW!" "Now, settle down, you will get your teams assigned tomorrow. Be back here by 8:00 a.m. Now time for the graduation exam.

Naruto, had to give a speech to the new genin. But after that, he would step off to see his two children graduate.

"Good afternoon, genin, and their beloved parents." Everyone giggled. "Today, your children, my children, are graduating from the academy. I would like to congratulate all of our new ninja, for making it this far and trying their hardest. As you may know, these are the most strongest students we've had in the history of the Leaf Village. I'm putting you guys to the test. I believe in every single one of you, believe it!"

Naruto had a flashback of when he was younger. Iruka Sensei and him, laying in the forest, beat up. "C-Congratulations, Naruto. You pass."

Naruto has tears going down his face. "I want to thank you, for the opportunity of becoming Hokage. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"So if you please, LET THE GRADUATION BEGIN!" Everyone cheered, tears in their eyes. Even Boruto's eyes were getting a bit watery. "I love you, dattebayo."

"I love you too, Boruto." Naruto smiled. He and Boruto hugged. "I promise, I will be here for you. No matter what. That, is a promise. A promise I will not break. I swear that on my life, Boruto."

The new 9 rookies were stronger than the last. Which is saying a lot, considering the 9 rookie came out to be the most powerful ninja of all time. But now, Boruto, and Himiwari were now ninja. That was all that mattered at the time.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Sarada. She was with her mom Sakura, also Boruto's godmother. "Hey sakura-kun!" "B-Boruto! You've gotten so big!" (A.N: That's what she said :). KIDDING KIDDING GEEZ)

"Haha, yeah I guess so huh. Hey Sarada." Sarada looked at Boruto. "Hm."

Before he got frustrated with her, he walked off. He didn't have time to deal with that. He was a ninja! He just hoped he doesn't have to be in the same squad as her. She was a complete jerk to him.

The graduation was over, and everyone was heading back home. Himiwari's eyes started to hurt. "Mother, is there something in my eyes? They hurt like crazy." Hinata looked at Himiwari's eyes. "H-How is this possible? You're not full Hyuuga. There's no way.." "What is it mother? Is there something wrong?" "N-no. You've just awakened your Byakugan."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? HOW DID HIMIWARI AWAKEN HER BYAKUGAN FIRST? IS SHE STRONGER THAN ME?" Boruto was outraged. There's no way she was stronger than him. He was only a few minutes older than her but still. There is no possible way that she was stronger. "Actually, no. Just the opposite. The more children I have, the weaker they get. No, neither of you are weak, but Himiwari is not as strong as you will be. Therefore she will get her Byakugan first, but you will have a stronger dojutsu. It's a complicated process that Sakura told me about during the Great Ninja War."

"O-oh. SO I WILL BE THE STRONGEST? HAHAH! WOOHOO!"

Boruto and Himiwari finally got home after a long day. They took showers, ate dinner, and finally, went to bed. Tomorrow, they will be assigned teams and meet their sensei.

Thanks for reading! Leave a review and a favorite! Most likely going to post a new chapter every week!

[love-toxin]

mommy issues - steve harrington

plot: Steve is such a nice boy, he's a hearthrob with a good head on his shoulders, and he's always ready and willing to help you out. but he doesn't see you as just the nice new mom next door, no--he's got the hots for you, and you don't even know it.

cws: milf!angelface, 10 year age gap (20s-30s) angel has two sons + a shitty ex/absent father, body/age insecurity, mostly fluff with a touch of angst, kiss confession, clearly mutual pining, smut to come, fem reader.

vol II in the works!

word count: 2.1k

"Boys! Don't go too far!"

You haven't been in Hawkins long, but it does warm your heart to see your boys taking to it so well. Granted, they're pretty young–two and six–so they don't have much else to compare it to, but it's still relieving to see them have such carefree smiles as they run around the front yard.

And even if there is trouble, which your friends back home had warned you about extensively, there's someone you know you can count on.

Steve Harrington, your close neighbor, has done more for you in the short time of knowing him than anybody has in the last few years, including your now ex-husband. He's a younger guy–you thought he was still in high school, and he was happy to hear he still had his looks despite being in his early twenties–but he is by far one of the most responsible young men you've ever met. Selfless and sweet, he offered to help you with your boxes the first day you moved in, and since then he's been your man on hand for anything you need done. Steve's moved furniture for you, checked under the hood of your car when it crapped out on you, fixed leaky taps and the audio on your tv, and generally has been a helping hand when you've needed it. You weren't sure what his motivations were at first, but as you've gotten to know him, you've realized that it's just who he is. He thoroughly enjoys babysitting your kids and giving you a hand whenever possible, and the dinners you serve him and cookies you push into his hands after he's done some chore for you are probably pretty good incentives too.

It's honestly baffling to think that you've gotten so lucky. Some of your friends have encouraged you to go after him, to scoop up such a cute little thing while you still have a chance–and some of the more critical ones have admonished you for taking so much out of such a selfless young man. He's clearly a nice boy, but you must be "sucking him dry" just because you've been struggling as a single mom. Those comments certainly hurt, and it makes you question whether you're really taking advantage of Steve. He's such a sweet boy and he never says no, but maybe he feels like he can't?

So, since they brought that up at your last outing a couple weeks ago (one made possible by Steve offering to entertain the kids for an evening), you've asked for his help less. Haven't knocked on his door to ask if he wants to watch the kids for awhile, and you've had the check engine light on in your car for about a week now that you haven't gotten Steve to look at, and you haven't had time to take it to the mechanic either. And he hasn't said anything at all, hasn't rung up your house or knocked on the door to ask if you need anything–well, he has, but you weren't home and you didn't even realize–so at this point you've just assumed they were right. Poor Steve is probably so grateful he's gotten a break from you, you're sure now, even though it stings.

"Boys! C'mon–grab your brother, please." You call out into the yard as you haul the last box into your trunk, the old maternity clothes and other items you've collected to bring to the secondhand shop rustling around inside as you slide it all the way in. Though you make a decent wage at the general store downtown, you can't work too much with your kids, especially since Steve hasn't been babysitting. But even before then, you've been scrimping and saving since your first was born–and you could roll your eyes to the moon thinking about how their father refuses to send them even a penny. He hasn't contributed to their doctor's visits or daycare or even bought them a new pair of sneakers, along with the fact that he hasn't seen either of them in years. He didn't even show up to your youngest's birth, too busy off drinking and partying with his friends while you pushed out his second child alone.

With a grunt followed by a deep sigh, you slam the trunk closed and walk around the side of the car, your driver's side door already open for you to drop yourself into the seat. One foot out on the pavement in case one of the boys falls and an ear out for any crying or screaming, you pick the keys up from where they've sat on the passenger's seat and stick them into the ignition. One turn, and nothing. Another two, and it starts rumbling, only to fall silent.

"C'mon!" You groan, trying it again and again and revving it a bit when you get a glimpse of hope. There's so much start and stop rumbling that you're only about ten percent focused on what the boys are doing, and you bring your fist down hard on the dashboard as if to wake the piece of junk up. You can't afford a new one, you need this thing to fucking start.

"C'mon, you stupid piece of-"

That sentence would have been finished if a horrible groaning sound didn't cut you off, rumbling harder than you've ever heard–but then, after a beat of silence when you're just about to try the ignition again, an even louder sound pierces your ears and your hood bursts open in a cloud of black smoke.

"Jesus-!" You reel back with an arm braced in front of you, the fumes choking you out instantly and bringing a sting to your eyes that blacks out your vision. Crackling, a thrumming in your ears, and the sound of feet hitting the pavement all compound on you as you start coughing and hacking.

A pair of hands are tugging on your arm in those precious few seconds, pulling you out of your seat for your sandal-clad feet to hit the concrete of your driveway as you stagger out of your car and into the chest of someone you can't see, not with your eyes squeezed shut. But they tear away from you as you stand there coughing and retching, and you manage to wrench your gaze up to see through the smog–and there stands Steve in his blue polo shirt, having ducked into your open garage to grab the extinguisher, and aiming it at the hood and spraying it with a strong hand. Your savior. That's all you can think as he doesn't flinch away from the fire and moves from side to side to spray the foam at every angle, until the flames have died down to a smoldering heap of charred, black metal that once was an engine. Only then do you turn to look at your boys, both of them stopped and staring with wide eyes from across the lawn, and cough out for them to stay there and not move, to keep away from the driveway.

"Hey, c'mon." Steve's hand is on your arm again, and he guides you to the front porch for you to step up on before he hustles across the grass to collect your sons. Your youngest scooped up in the crook of his arm and your eldest with his hand in Steve's, you watch from the open doorway until he's pulling them up the steps to get inside and take a breath of the air conditioning to try and clear out your lungs.

"Mama?" Your six-year-old pulls on your shirt, and looks up at you with those big eyes while Steve shuts the door and soothes your youngest with a few bounces in his arm. You stroke his hair, wanting to say some comforting words, but it feels like if you even open your mouth to say them you might throw up.

"Go on, boys. In the playroom for a sec, okay? Mama's okay." He ushers them into the other room before he pulls you into the living room, making sure they're out of earshot before he starts fussing over you. Steve encourages you to breathe deeply, he even runs to get you a glass of water and waits for you to finish it, before he plucks it out of your hands and sets it down on the coffee table, and you feel like you can finally get some words out as he brushes some imaginary dust off your clothes.

"I'm fine, Steve. Promise. God, I've been meaning to check it out for the past week, but I just didn't-"

"You what?" Out of nowhere his eyes narrow, and his voice grows low and serious like you've never heard it. "You've been driving around in that death trap for a week? Why didn't you tell me?!"

You feel like a kid being admonished, and really, you deserve it. You were being an absolute idiot, and you fully expect Steve to call you as such. You rub at your arms, still feeling the heat from the fire on your skin.

"I-I dunno…" Steve sighs, and runs a hand through his hair. "M'sorry, Steve."

"Sorry? Why are you sorry? I'm just worried about you–I can't have you driving around in that thing if it's not safe." It takes the tension to hang there for a bit before you let all that other stuff just….fly out.

"I'm…I was…I've been avoiding you. Cause I thought I was working you too hard." Those few beats of silence absolutely tear your heart up. You're totally certain he's just going to leave, just walk out of your house while muttering about how stupid you are and how much of a bitch you must be–it stings even more to realize that those words are too familiar for you to just conjure up. They're ones you've heard before, ones you expect.

"Baby…" Whoa. You've never heard him call you that before–and not in that tone either, so soft and delicate and sweet. "You're not working me at all. I like taking care of you." He takes your shoulders in his hands, rubbing them a little bit, and tilts his head to look at you with reverence in his eyes.

"B-But I ask for help with everything. And you don't even take any money for babysitting, and I–I just feel like I'm taking-" He ducks his head down, and his lips smother any other babbling you might have tried to let out–warm and soft and there, he's right here, and he swallows that anxiety like it weighs nothing before he finally breaks off. Steve just kissed you. He kissed you.

"Steve!" You gasp out in consternation, and your hands are on his chest in moments, but even so, there's no way you'd wriggle out of his grasp. He's just too strong.

"I've wanted to do that for so long." He sighs, he can't even manage to get out an apology for taking you off guard, his giddy smile won't allow the words to come out.

"Steve, I–"

"Mama!" Both your heads turn to the side, and you pull your hands off Steve to see your son waddling towards you. "Mama, juice!" Your little one reaches for you, but in your hesitation, he turns and holds out those stubby arms to Steve instead. It draws your heart into a rushed beat to see your baby take to Steve like that, better than his own father, who you're sure he wouldn't even recognize…it makes you second guess yourself, but just for a moment.

"I…y-yes, honey, I'll get you some juice. Just give mama a second." You turn your gaze back to Steve, searching for any kind of answer or any words at all. But he says what you can't so effortlessly.

"I'll see you later tonight."

"Steve, my boys-"

"Already have a sitter planned. We can talk alone." He pats your shoulder and hesitates on taking it away, but when he does, he tousles your son's hair with a smile and a "seeya later, buddy" before his footsteps patter down the hall and you listen for the soft thunk of your front door being pulled closed behind him.

What can you do but throw your thoughts to the side, and focus on taking care of the boys until then? Thinking and worrying on it won't abate those conflicting feelings swirling in your stomach, nor solve the problem of how you're gonna tell Steve that this won't work, that you can't reciprocate his feelings, even though in your heart and soul that's all you want and you know it. All you can do is watch the clock, and wait….and hope dearly that this isn't the beginning of the end.

[blushing-titan]

My reasons to ship Erehisu

About two weeks ago, I got an anonymous ask that reads:

what made you ship erehisu? I don't ship anyone in the series (and defo not eremika lol) and I want to understand the reasons

...but when I tried to answer it on my app, it turned out that I can only post 10 pictures per post, so I decided to make a longer, regular one with my thoughts on this topic 😄 Erehisu remains one of my favorite ships in the series (...with the other ones being Yumi/hisu and Levi/han), so I really enjoy talking about it (...well, at least I did, before I started moving away from the series after that mess of a finale). Without further ado, my reasons to ship Erehisu are under the cut (just a quick warning: the pictures are obviously not mine, and there are some anti-eremika themes in this post).

They had an actual developement

As we know: in the beginning, Historia was pretending to be this good, selfless girl Krista. Later on, we learn that Eren was not particularly fond of her façade (...keep in mind he was the only person who noticed that she was acting off, too - obviously excluding Ymir, who was Historia's closest person and knew about her secret). As Historia chooses to embrace her identity and stop pretending, his opinion on her changes - he reassures her and appreciates the real Historia.

You’re just normal. Just a normal girl who’s absurdly honest. (Eren, ch. 54)

Eren...that day...the time you called me...normal. That made me really...happy. (Historia, ch. 65)

Later on, after Historia saves Eren in the Reiss cave, his thoughts on her change even further. There isn't just something that he likes about her anymore - instead, he starts to actually admire her strength and actions.

(ch. 68)

(ch. 70)

Even further on, he prioritizes her safety and hides an important piece of information that could help Paradis' cause - only because it could potentially put Historia in harm's way.

(ch. 89)

(ch. 90)

(ch. 106)

Keep in mind that there was a time skip in between these chapters, which means Eren kept this secret for years. He hid it even from Armin and Mikasa. After it's finally revealed, he strongly disagrees with, and fights against Historia becoming a titan for the sake of the island. Eren’s sentiment towards Historia is even noticed by Hanji on a few different occasions - it’s something that Hanji brings up while questioning him, later on.

(ch. 107)

Eren also meets Historia in secret, warns her of danger, and downright doesn't let her sacrifice herself - even when she assures him that she's ready to do it. 

(ch. 130)

She's also one of the only people with whom he shares the information about the rumbling. He also brings up her own words that she said to him back in the Reiss cave.

(ch. 130)

I believe he doesn't fight for her just because she's one of his friends. It's a natural progression that comes from the shared experience they had in the Reiss cave. Eren got to know and appreciate the real Historia, so whenever she reverts back to the Krista persona, he's there to remind her that she should live for herself and don't let others use her - just like Ymir told her, and just like Historia told him in the Reiss cave. When Eren stands up for Historia in ch. 107 and blatantly refuses to let her get sacrificed, she's actually touched to the point of tearing up.

Their relationship changes and deepens with time, and it's actually shown in the manga - not just as symbols or small hints, but actual, full-fledged conversations/actions. In my opinion, this should be the base of any well-estabilished ship. We have quite a few one-on-one moments with these two that illustrate this progression. There are also panels in which we can peak into Eren's thoughts on Historia, which makes for an unfiltered source of his opinions on her.

They can relate to each other

Something I find really important as well is that Eren and Historia can find each other very relatable, and therefore - understand each other's struggles better.

Both were used by their fathers, and both caused their demise. Both were fiercely protected by someone. Both felt like the world would be better without them, at some point. Both had a big role to play, despite having doubts if they can do it right (Eren, being humanity's titan; Historia, being the queen). Both wanted to sacrifice themselves for their people's sake - and both intervened, saving each other from actually going through with this decision.

Their relationship is well-balanced

Eren and Historia don't clash when it comes to their personalities. As their relationship grows, they mutually admire, protect and motivate each other, while still remaining two separate characters - with their own goals and traits. They freely talk to each other about their struggles; they also care about each other’s actual feelings on them.

(ch. 54)

(ch. 70)

I can easily see them as partners, which is something I've always had troubles with when it comes to EM. It's just hard not to make this comparison, since Mikasa's character has always been pretty much fully centered around Eren, which - in my eyes - made their relationship look unbalanced and toxic. I've already spoke about my issues with EM in depth in this post, so I won't elongate this one with repeating the same arguments - still, one of the reasons I started shipping Erehisu in the first place is the fact that I immediately saw it as a much more normal, healthy, and well-balanced alternative to EM.

Parallels and relevance to the story’s themes

Parallels are something that, for some reason, make a lot of people mad. I have no idea why - these things appear in the manga, so why not talk about them?

Aside from parallels between Eren and Historia (...please, keep in mind that I didn’t list all of them in this post), there are also a lot of obvious parallels between Historia and the founder Ymir - to the point, when the entire Requiem der Morgenröte ending revolves around this theme:

I've also already spoke about how Ymir/Historia parallels could possibly be tied to Eren in this answer.

(Historia on the cover of vol. 16/Ymir in ch. 122)

Aside from that, there are a few subtle Grisha/Dina and Eren/Historia parallels, as well. Historia is a royal, hiding as a regular person - just like Dina did, before joining the revivalists. Dina also tears up when Grisha stands up for Eldians, just like Historia does when Eren stands up for her.

(ch. 68)

(ch. 86)

(ch. 67)

(ch. 86)

(ch. 56)

(ch. 86)

(ch. 107)

(ch. 86)

Quite interestingly, in a lot of these parallels Historia and Eren act in an opposite way as to previous generations. While Frida teaches Historia to be a good, selfless girl, Historia ends up abandoning this persona to save herself and Eren in the Reiss cave. She doesn’t want to devote herself to fate - instead, she’s prepared for a showdown with it. While the founder Ymir’s children are ordered to eat their own mother to ensure her power’s succession (...and a few hundred years later, Grisha fights to return the founder’s power back to his wife - Dina), Eren does everything he can to ensure Historia and her children are safe and never even titanised in the first place. 

As the story unfolds, we learn about it’s leading themes - some of which are: oppression and fighting for freedom, desire to change history, the mechanism of circle of hate, and how it affects children who are a part of it. In my eyes, Erehisu just perfectly fit with these themes, especially considering how later on Historia’s pregnancy was handled in the manga.

There were countless ways to answer the who’s the father question? immediately, without even starting up conversation about it - for example, I don’t understand why it was needed to bring up the fact that Historia didn’t marry the farmer in the first place. What was it’s purpose, aside from stirring up theories - especially considering how in the last chapter it’s revealed that they are married, after all? Why end up the Eren/Historia flashback on the What do you think about me having a child? question, when the whole conversation they had beforehand was literally about Eren disagreeing with Historia wanting to get pregnant just to save herself? It doesn’t make sense, and led me (and many other readers - judging from opinions I read online and chapter reactions on youtube) to belive that there were other reasons, and that there was more to this conversation then was initially shown.

If the conclusion to this plotline was always supposed to be that she got pregnant just to save herself...then what was this mysterious built-up for? Why show this conversation in the first place, and in such a weird manner, too? Why not have Historia just say it out loud in ch. 130: yes, I got pregnant to save myself in the beginning, and spare us this whole I will not allow it talk...you know, instead of ending the conversation on the What do you think about me having a child? when the whole previous talk was about Eren fighting against it? Where’s the logic?

The truth is - from my perspective, Erehisu had a lot of logical build up that would benefit the story, and stay true to it’s already established themes and both characters’ previous developement. On top of that, I also think they simply had great chemistry.

That’s all from me today 😄 I apologize you had to wait so long for this, anon...life got in the way, and as I said - I think I’m just getting over this series. Hope you’re doing well anyway 😊

[wellntruly]

Les Misérables, Vol. II, Book 1—

Yes I’m just making this joke again. You see it just somehow manages to capture exactly the sensation of turning the page and suddenly being dropped into 50 pages of Napoleonic warfare.

The secret is that I was actually fully ready to skip 'Waterloo'. I was all set to making a jokingly tearful apology that I skipped it Hugo, I’m so sorry I skipped it! I read it before I promise!

Only, I read it. I read the whole thing aahahahaha, hell. I mean by the time it started to slog down a bit after all the haunting lines about wells full of skeletons and a dead orchard of bare apple trees and crows before a wood full of violets, well I was already in so far. Might as well get to the end.

And if I hadn’t, I would have missed this exquisite bit of French-on-English commentary:

“A detail to be noted. There was in the English infantry, particularly in Kempt’s brigade, a great many raw recruits. These young soldiers were valiant in the presence of our redoubtable infantry; […]they performed particularly excellent service as skirmishers: the soldier skirmisher, left somewhat to himself, becomes, so to speak, his own general. These recruits displayed some of the French ingenuity and fury. This novice of an infantry had dash. This displeased Wellington.”

I also would have missed the reveal that the near-dying officer whom Thenardier robs on the battlefield is one of the Marius line, something my butt had completely forgotten from nine years ago!!

This man: “My name is Pontmercy.” Literally me, abruptly swallowing a blood orange toddy: “WHAT!”

And then the next book again is just a fraction of the length of the previous book, Hugo ha ha what’s this about!

The few pages of 'The Ship Orion' do contain however both of the following very good chapter titles:

CHAPTER II—IN WHICH THE READER WILL PERUSE TWO VERSES, WHICH ARE OF THE DEVIL’S COMPOSITION, POSSIBLY

and

CHAPTER III—THE ANKLE-CHAIN MUST HAVE UNDERGONE A CERTAIN PREPARATORY MANIPULATION TO BE THUS BROKEN WITH A BLOW FROM A HAMMER

As well as this brief description:

“an evil Norman monk, a bit of a sorcerer, named Tryphon[…]. This Tryphon is buried at the Abbéy of Saint-Georges de Bocherville, near Rouen, and toads spawn on his grave.” (This part came from Chapter II)

Now comes the point where I have to confront my numbering system. For Hugo does not just keep counting up books until 48, he starts over in a new volume—we are back at Books 1 and 2, honestly speaking. But, I’m just going to keep going like this, it gives a sense of the whole. Maybe my notation will be like this:

Vol. II, Books 9-10 /48 ✓✓

[Brickolage]