#wish we had more introductory resources but oh well

[xenodelic]

can u help give a definition for what mad pride is and where I can learn about it

Hi! We will do our best to give a definition, but keep in mind that Mad Pride is quite a broad movement - it is intertwined with Mad Liberation and Antipsychiatry, which involve entire schools of thought and academic fields.

Mad Pride, in summary, is a movement in which people take pride in being neurodivergent, mentally ill / disordered, mentally disabled, intellectually disabled, and any variance of the mind that isn't considered "normal" by the psychiatric institution or society at large.

The label of "Mad" is in reference to "madness", and is used as an umbrella term. It is a reclamation of derogatory terms used against those who are mentally atypical. People in the movement often also reclaim terms such as crazy, insane, lunatic, etc. The point is to demonstrate that being mad is not something to be ashamed of.

Currently, people are incarcerated against their will solely for being mentally disordered, or even just abnormal in any way. Any sort of neurodivergence is pathologized and treated as something that must be forcefully cured. Many people do not get a say in their treatment, and they are often coerced into taking medications or doing treatments that they don't want. Psychiatry as an institution largely seeks to force people into normalcy, and has a long history of being used as a tool of oppression against people of color, women, queer people, and more.

Mad Liberation is the movement that seeks to give people autonomy in how they deal with their mental health. It is (generally) anti-incarceration, against the blanket pathologizing of neurodivergency, against forcing people into any sort of treatment, and against the idea that people who are mentally disordered in some way must be cured. Central to the movement is the autonomy of individuals to decide what's best for them, no matter how mad they are.

Here's a good list of literature related to Mad Liberation, as well as a few other resources.

What if Psychiatry is Fake? by Mia Mulder is a good introductory youtube video to some of the problems with the institution of psychiatry.

[laruna]

— THE GLASS LOGS.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒 are a series of video logs posted in 2013 by GLASS, then-producer for Big Hit Entertainment. Introductory in nature, the logs were intended to inform prospective fans about the members of the company’s upcoming boy group, BTS (방탄소년단). Each log was posted a day after the member it was about posted a solo log. Subbed by GLASS herself, she took on an educational role, even referring to herself as ‘professor’ throughout. Alongside shows like American Hustle Life, the mini-series was considered a great help in getting new people, particularly international fans, into the group.

While she never revealed her name, she was often referred to by their then-small fanbase as Glass, Professor Glass, or the affectionate nickname Bangsie, due to her prominent bangs.

GLASS LOG: RAP MONSTER TRANSCRIPT [ 130108 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #1... an introduction to GLASS and of course our Rapmon-oppa, whom you met yesterday!

My name is GLASS!  I was born in 1996, real name... none of your business! You get to know nothing about me. I am wrapped in mystery. Kekeke~ Just kidding! I’ll tell you a little bit. You see, I’m something of a musical prodigy. Please clap! I work as a producer for Big Hit Entertainment. They don’t have a lot of resources, but they have a lot of passion! And really, isn’t that what matters when it comes to producing music?! As someone who has done stuff related to music for a long time, that’s what I think.

Now let’s talk about Rap Monster, who I have known so long. Real name, Kim Namjoon! Born 1994 in Ilsan! You might know him as Runch Randa or Nexist or Largo or just Randa. He’s got lots of names. You see, he’s been in the rap game for quite some time, so he’s quite smart when it’s about music. Rapmon-oppa really is always thinking. He’s smart in a way not many people are. He can even speak English! He always works so hard to use his mind to make sure he writes the best songs for ARMY.

Who’s ARMY, you ask? That’s you, the fans! Maybe, possibly, in the future? It’s either that or Bangwools. But from now on, I’ll call you ARMY, okay? I think it’s easier to say and quite cute. Rapmon-oppa actually helped come up with that, you know? He’s so thoughtful, it’s like he has an entire solar system inside his brain. And he uses that big sexy brain to think of you, ARMY! Remember that!

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s sexy brain leader, Rap Monster~!  Kekeke~

GLASS LOG: JIN TRANSCRIPT [ 130113 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #2... an introduction to Jin-oppa!

Real name, Kim Seokjin! Born in 1992! Kim Seokjin is... so handsome... but don’t let that fool you! He is much more than just a pretty face. Jin is full of charms and talents. Musically, he’s got the voice of an angel~ To match his face appropriately, don’t you think?

As the oldest, he’ also had much more time in this world compared to everybody else in the dorms, you know? So I think he’s the best at basic life skills, too... in my opinion, Jin cooks and drives the best out of everyone. He’s also the best at emoting and at telling jokes. He’s quite easy to be around.

But there’s nobody he wants to be more than you, ARMY! He’s always happy to see you all and always wants to make you smile and laugh! Ah, I know he’s handsome, but don’t let that intimidate you, okay, ARMY?  Kekeke~

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s ultra visual vocalist, Jin~!

GLASS LOG: JIMIN TRANSCRIPT [ 130126 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #3... an introduction to Jimin-oppa!

This oppa’s name is Park Jimin, born in 1995! Ah, what to say of Park Jimin... only good things, I think. Everyone likes him. He’s smart, he’s polite. He’s a sweet thing, really, and really talented, too. What’s he so talented in, you ask? Jiminie is our main dancer!

Dance is an art form I’m not well-versed in. There’s something crazy in how one can say so little, but tell so much just through their movements, don’t you think? His dancing when he first arrived was so pretty and so smooth. I thought, ‘how is he going to be a dancer in a group like this?’ But our Jiminie is so versatile. It seems he can do any dancing, any singing he sets his mind to.

And you know who it’s for? ARMY! Lovely, lovely, lovely ARMY~ That’s what he calls you, hehe. Jiminie wants to impress everyone, I think. He’s like the teacher’s pet of the whole world, kekeke. But more than anyone, he wants to impress you, so be nice to him, okay? He’s working hard!

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s sweet dancer Jimin~!

GLASS LOG: JUNGKOOK TRANSCRIPT [ 130209 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #4... an introduction to Jungkook!

Real name Jeon Jungkook, born in 1997! Gukkie, my sweet little brother~ The only one littler than even me, the prodigy GLASS! But you know what? Our Jungkook is a prodigy, too! Even though he’s the youngest, he really is so talented at so many different things. Really, I can’t think of a single thing he’s bad at. He’s like your mom’s friend’s son, you know? If my mom met him, I bet she’d say to my little brother, ‘Why can’t you be more like Jungkook?’ Hehe.

Sadly, our Kookie has trouble with seeing all these good things about himself, but aren’t we all like that? Ah, he’s so smart, but he still says, ‘noona, I wish I were better at studying... I feel so dumb, sometimes.’ But you know what makes him feel confident? The love of ARMY.  Kekeke~

He really works so hard. Sometimes the others will try to get him out of practicing late at the practice room and he goes, ‘no, I want to get this perfect so that I don’t disappoint ARMY!’ He really loves you guys so much. ARMY, when you see Jungkook, make sure to show him lots of love, okay?

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and takecare of Big Hit’s golden maknae Jungkook~!

GLASS LOG: SUGA TRANSCRIPT [ 130218 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #5... an introduction to Suga-oppa! 

Real name Min Yoongi, this oppa was born in 1993! ...oh, In Daegu! He told me to mention that specifically. He really loves his home, you know? But that’s off-topic, hehe. Ah, what to say of Min Suga... 

He likes... lamb skewers! He dislikes... studying! He fears... cows! His biggest talent is... sleeping! Hehe, just kidding. Really, he’s very talented when it comes to music. I mean, he’s an idol, right? Hehe. But really, he’s even a better producer than me, I think! He really loves music so much. It’s his first love.

So much that at first, I thought he’d much prefer to stay in the shadows and work on music as a producer, but that isn’t the case. Music may be his first love, but ARMY is his favorite love forever~

He can seem like he’s really shy, but he really adores ARMY so much, you know~? Don’t worry if he plays push-and-pull with you for a little bit. He’s really just like a cat. At the end of the day, the love of ARMY pulls him out of his shell~

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s studio genius Min Suga~!

GLASS LOG: J-HOPE 130108 TRANSCRIPT [ 130220 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #6... an introduction to Hobi-oppa!

Real name Jung Hoseok, this oppa was born in 1994! Ah, what to say about Hobi... he always makes us smile. And laugh. And cry. Hobi-oppa makes you feel every single emotion, I think, all without saying anything. Amazing, isn’t it? That’s because he’s a very good dancer, just like our Jimin!

But at the same time, he’s so different! Before, I said our Jiminie was very flowy, no? Hobi is very different. His dancing has always been aggressive and full of energy, like a big ball of fire! He was even famous before, you know? Everyone called him Smiling Hoya! He would dance on the street and in competitions, always popping and locking and... other stuff I don’t know much about. Haha. 

It fits very well with the image of Bangtan Sonyeondan, I think, so he didn’t have to change it as much when we got here. That doesn’t mean he works any less hard, though, our hope is always working hard! He gets so serious about it, too. It can be scary! But he’s only so serious because he wants to be perfect for you, okay, ARMY? Please appreciate him when you see him~ His heart is so warm!

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s cool dancer, J-Hope~!

GLASS LOG: V 130108 TRANSCRIPT [ 130604 ]

Hello, and welcome GLASS LOG #7... an introduction to V-oppa!

This oppa was born in 1995! Real name, Kim Taehyung! Such a simple name for a man who really isn’t simple at all, don’t you think?

It’s strange that he was kept in the shadows for so long when he’s the one I think takes the longest time to get to know and understand well, hehe. That’s why you haven’t seen him do any logs or post anything on social media yet! But he will, very, very soon! This is a little secret, but Big Hit called him Bangtan’s secret weapon for a long time. We wanted to get ARMY excited for someone, and who better to award their excitement with than our strange, handsome V?

Ah, he was so strange, even from the day everyone first met him. We called it alien speak, the way that he talked. I even nicknamed him Taelien, hehe. He’s such a unique person. Hey may be hard to understand, but understand that his love for ARMY is true and pure! He’s been itching to meet you, you know. He’s missed you so much when he couldn’t talk to you! He’s really happy to finally be able to get to meet you and talk to you, so welcome him lovingly, okay, ARMY?

That’s Professor GLASS’s lesson for today! Please support our Bangtan Boys and take care of Big Hit’s secret weapon, Kim Taetae!

[ruthsheart]

from dusk till dawn

Ruth glided through the crowd like a thief in the night, melded flawlessly into the environment of glittering diamonds and sheer silk. The click of her heels on the polished wooden floor made hardly a sound amidst the chiming of tiny silver hors d'oeuvre forks against glowing white porcelain tea plates and the steady circling flutter of violin strings that hovered over the low chatter of guests. She lifted her hand and, without pausing to stop and search, effortlessly plucked a flute of champagne from a silver tray as it slipped past. The air was sweet with the aromas of ripe summer fruits and fresh cut flowers, intoxicating in the thick summer humidity. Ruth continued to flit between slick dark suits and light-colored shimmering gowns, unheard and unseen, while the guests bantered in cheerful vapid conversation.

As she settled against the back wall, tucked between two tall paintings she had donated to the charity for auction, Ruth sipped pensively at the delicate flute of champagne perched between her fingers. Her eyes slid over the pulsing mass of people with pointed disappointment. It was the first year in many that Ruth didn’t have a date to the charity ball. Faye didn’t want her, Imogen had some competition going with Jude, Marco had snatched up lovely Cleo, even Ava… Well, she got the feeling Ava wasn’t ready for that sort of thing yet. Alone. The last few months she had tried so hard to let go of the needless grasping for love and attention, the endless search that only perpetuated her misery, but it had only made her feel so utterly alone. If it weren’t for the warm, inviting glow of the crystal ball that rested at her bedside, she would have given up her new attitude of dis-attachment long before it ever settled in. Instead, she drew her strength from the enlightened crystal, taking solace in its constant friendly energy that lit up the darkest of nights.

On the opposite end of the room, Eduardo and Elizabeth had framed the raised corner stage with thick frilly curtains, the dour colour of a deep red rose, like some prolific opera house stage. Ruth sniffed a short incredulous huff. They could have spent half as much on curtains if they really cared at all about this mental health charity. It was an odd choice for the Marinos, to be quite honest. Her mother and father usually went for more loud charity themes for their yearly ball. Themes like hunger and poverty always brought the big spenders. They avoided anything too political, such as resources for refugees or the more controversial environmental protections. This was, in truth, a political act, after all. It always had been. So what had inspired the unusual choice to talk about “invisible illness”? Where was the money in that?

“Always follow the money, Ruthie.” Elizabeth had told Ruth over and over again. “Money can’t lie to you.”

Ruth’s mother was an old world goddess in new paint, a flame reflected in the cut surface of a diamond, a rare and dangerous creature. She had stalked the fluorescent jungle of hallways at HM Treasury long before her girlhood had blossomed into womanhood. Even at events such as this, when Elizabeth hung on Eduardo’s arm and proudly gloated to the guests about Marco’s latest success, every man in the room wanted her. They dreamed of her, and they feared her. Elizabeth Marino-Hart could make or break any man in the world on a simple whim. So when she stepped out onto the stage, a hush fell over the party guests before she had even turned on the microphone at the podium. She moved with slow, roiling confidence, like a panther in the brush. Delicate grace and smooth, silky power shifted beneath her skin. With a radiant smile that could topple empires, she tucked a thick curl of dark hair back behind her ear. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues. I am… immensely honored that so many of you have accepted our invitation once again and come to help us on our little mission to make the world a better place.”

As sweet as her mother’s endearing rosy blush was, and her carefully chosen introductory words, Ruth couldn’t help but sigh. It was almost word for word the same speech she’d given the year Ruth and Marco had moved away for uni. Elizabeth glanced back at her husband, standing like a stone monolith at the edge of the stage. “Thank you all for coming. Please, enjoy the array of hors d'oeuvres and our expertly tended bar. You may want to get in there sooner than later as some particularly hungry individuals have been cleaning out the strawberries and goat cheese with fig vinegar parfaits with unprecedented speed.”

On the edge of her vision, Ruth spotted Jude freeze up, loaded spoon poised in his mouth. Shamefully, he chewed, swallowed, and set his parfait on the nearest table like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. A rude snort of laughter escaped Ruth’s nose as she tried to stifle her smile behind her hand.

Her mother continued, “But this is not a night for being greedy. As we do every year, we’ve gathered to open our hearts and give freely to those in need. The… heartbreaking pieces of art you see around the room tonight were all donated by an incredible artist for the charity auction this evening. She is giving one hundred percent of the proceeds to benefit our selected mental health organizations, out of the kindness of her heart. Thank you, Ruthie, we’re very proud.” With a soundless, dainty pat of her hands together, Elizabeth encouraged a round of applause from the room. Ruth had heard this speech a dozen times. She told herself it didn’t really mean anything. Every year, they took her art and she was repaid with pride. She didn’t mind, she wanted to support a cause and it was the best way she could. All she wished was that their pride could last a little longer than one night.

“It’s time to introduce our speakers for this year on the theme of mental illness, a tragedy that affects people across the globe from all walks of life. As you all may know, my husband Eduardo will start off our discussions, as he does every year, with his annual statement. I’d like you all to please welcome Eduardo Marino-Hart to the stage.” Elizabeth backed away from the podium. The room rippled with applause, more enthusiastic than the polite applause that had been offered Ruth. Leaning back against the wall, Ruth lifted the champagne to her lips and sucked down a deep gulp. Her father’s speeches were always quite dry and clinical. Facts lined up like ducks at a shooting range. Words like bullets that tore so rapid through the hall that you couldn’t exactly follow where they had come from, yet they still managed to wrap around the brain and subdue the tongue’s ability to fight. Ruth swallowed a stiff lump in her throat as Eduardo lumbered onto the stage. He loomed over the little podium, his broad shoulders casting a mountain-sized shadow. He did not fidget with the chunky rings on his fingers, nor straighten his ornate blue and black silk brocaded tie. He did not even force a smile. Even from across the room, he was just as enormous and foreboding as Ruth remembered him being. A man with fists like solid bricks and a jaw hewn from hard stone. He adjusted the comically small glasses that perched on the bridge of his regal Roman nose and cleared his throat in a deep growl.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” He didn’t need the tiny microphone on the podium. When he stood up straight, the podium hardly reached up to his trim waistline. Though his tone was gentle, the booming resonance of his voice rang out easily over the heads of the guests and aloft into the high-vaulted ceiling. He simply had that kind of voice, the kind that commanded attention and drew you in. “Thank you all for coming. Tonight’s charity is a subject very near and dear to my heart. I have been the president of the Marino Aerospace Corporation for over two decades. Our satellites are beaming information to your cell phones every second of every day. Our latest drone jets are circling the planet to protect us while we sleep. I had come to think of myself as invincible. A man who could resolve any problem with ingenuity. I was wrong.”

Ruth’s gaze sharpened with suspicion. This couldn’t be what it sounded like. Her father couldn’t be admitting to a mental illness. It would ruin his career. His company stocks would crash. He’d lose his place on his own governing board. So, why did he sound so uncharacteristically vulnerable?

A nagging tension in her stomach warned her something was terribly wrong.

“This year has been a very challenging one for my family. Pain comes in many forms, and often it keeps itself hidden where you least expect to find it. Throughout their young lives, I had reinforced the values of strength, persistence, and honesty in my children. I am proud of the brilliant and dedicated people they have become, and hope that one day they will leave their impression on the world as I have. Nobody would have expected illness to creep in and deal us the blow that it did this year.”

No, no, no, oh god no, don’t do it. Eduardo, don’t do it. Please. Please stop. I’m not crazy. Don’t tell everyone I’m crazy. Please, please stop-

“Last November, my daughter Ruth attempted to take her own life.”

The welling tension in her stomach dropped into a bottomless pit, like she was on one of those free-fall rides at the fair. Dozens of curious eyes turned in her direction. Ruth could feel the color draining from her face.

“I hope none of you are ever in that position we were in, your child in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines and IV drips, wondering where you went wrong…”

The crystal glass dropped from her shock-loosened fingers. She didn’t even hear it crash, or feel the champagne soaking into the skirt of her dress. All she could hear were the whispers and gasps of sympathy scattering around the room. What a horrible experience that must have been. How unfortunate! Ruth clenched her fists tight and set her jaw. Her skin prickled as she imagined the heat of so many eyes inspecting her, judging her. Poor girl. So sensitive. So fragile.

They don’t know, she told herself. Her fists shook, her muscles coiled all the way up her arms. None of them know what happened. They have no idea.

It didn’t matter. She couldn’t tell them. Then they would lock her up in a hospital for certain.

Calm down. Count to ten… Months of mandatory meditation classes had to be worth something.

“It has been a difficult trial, for all of us. Every day we worry for our daughter’s health, knowing that we cannot understand the darkness that pushed her to such drastic lengths. But there is hope…”

“Shut up! Just shut up!” The words burst from her chest in an unexpected fury before she had even reached the number ten. The screaming inside her could no longer be stifled by carefully forged walls to trap her emotions. It was too loud, too furious. A wordless hurt thundered behind her rib cage. Betrayal—ruthless, cold and razor-sharp—cut through her hardened skin as if it were merely paper.

Her heels crunched on broken glass as she marched toward the emotionless monster she called father. She opened her mouth for the anger to spill from her like tongues of flame, but small hands grasped tight at her arms, tugging her away from the stage and the bright unfeeling spotlights.

@imogenxsong

[mooglesorts]

[rusty lake: roots spoilers!]

first stab at sorting the vanderboom cousins:

---

leonard seems like a fairly open-and-shut lion bird to me, burned by his experiences in the war. beforehand he seemed eager, overconfident, a little goofy, comes across as a fairly chill glory hound lion; his introductory chapter as an adult has him building his own motorcycle, and making use of a bunch of pigeons he presumably trained (and meticulously mapped out the flight patterns of). he performs lion by charging off into war, but it uh. doesn't go so well. when he's out on the battlefield he does NOT handle improvising well; he's in over his head and he just wants to go home. it makes me so sad to see how jaded and bitter he looks after losing his leg and getting his wish. :(

i wish we knew more about why he goes to look for his timepiece, though. if i had to guess i'd say it's because bad shit has been happening to him his whole life, for reasons he knows exist but that no one will explain to him, and after what he saw in his fever dreams after losing his leg he wants some answers god damn it.

---

frank's secondary is hard to figure out tbh, i would imagine it's Really Fucking Burned after all that time in the well, but i want to say he's a snake primary. killing albert could easily be read as getting revenge for his mother as well as himself; he follows the messages she left him in search of answers, and then acts on her wishes when he seems to have found them; rose becomes his Person after pulling him out of the well, and you could also read him going along with the plan as making her goals his own.

maybe he's a badger secondary, considering that his first instinct is to ask for help--not just escape, but water and food--when he realizes a stranger has found him? it's possible that it's a model, though; he might actually be a snake secondary who spends his time in neutral and focuses on practicality. one of his major defining traits that we see from childhood is sheer determination to survive through whatever means are available. he grabs the bar over the well; he asks rose for help; he carves a chess piece out of a potato for his chess match against albert (and wow, that symbolism, given that we see potatoes as a method of albert faux-benevolently drawing out his torment and degradation). he takes back albert's house as a shelter after he's dead.

it's also worth noting that, while again he seems like more of a practical snake than an entertainer snake, he's the one to offer rose to dance. it may have taken him ten years after escaping, and it may only be for his Person in private, but he's unburned a little bit of that snake playfulness and it fucks me up.

(even more painful that albert gets him into the well in a way that is, as usual, calculated to target a tiny snake primary: he shoves his beloved teddy bear into his hands to get him to let go of the bar. his snake primary loyalty overrides his snakesec resourcefulness, and it dooms him to thirty years of torture as a result. he keeps what's left of it while he's in the well, too, before he's found his new actual living Person :') )

---

rose... oh, boy, rose. she's a hard one. primarily because we, well, don't know her motivations for what she's doing, or much about her dynamic with her father.

i'm thinking she's a lion primary, though. she's got that conviction in her goals, that acceptance of Fate and Destiny, that theme of willingness to sacrifice whatever she has to to make it happen. you could read her dedicating her life to helping william live again as a snake thing, since he's family, but if she were a loyalist i really doubt she would be so willing to sacrifice leonard and frank at the end.

(if that's what she did, anyway. it's ambiguous whether they survived the tree or not.)

it's also fitting as a foil to albert. they've got that same determination to a lifelong goal no matter the cost, and i would imagine being raised by him really amplified that in her... but where his lifelong goal is to hurt others, hers is to help someone. i love her.

her secondary... i wouldn't be surprised if she picked up a bird model from albert, but i actually want to say she's a badger. the course of her life is decided by her willingness to help someone who's reaching out for it, bloody corrupted soul asking for sacrifice or not; she helps frank by giving him food and drink and getting him out of the well, and invests in him by doing so; she recruits both him and leonard to help her find the timepieces. her methods are all about asking for help with the metaphorical locked door, or being the one other people ask to open it instead.

---

so there you have it! verdict so far is that leonard is a lion bird, frank is a double snake, and rose is a lion badger. i love them all so much.

the tension between ‘i want to sort rusty lake characters So Bad’ and ‘the motivations and inner workings of of damn near everyone in this series are hugely up to interpretation, haven’t been fully revealed yet, or both’

[askaceattorney]

Dear tanlerst,

That isn’t your fault.  There are currently over 2,000 letters in the inbox, and there hasn’t been a day yet that we didn’t get more, so the sad truth is that it usually takes 4 to 5 months for a letter to an AA character to reach the bottom of the queue and get an answer.  I wish it wasn’t that way, but as long as your letters are coherent and follow the rules, we’ll make every effort we can to answer them.

Letters to the Mods come in much less frequently, which is why I’ve been posting them on a weekly basis.  I’d love it if we could speed up the answer rate of every letter, but that’s an idea we’ll have to wait on for now.  I blame the Mod for making this blog so darn popular.

Dear Anonymous,

First of all, I’ve never heard a name pun I didn’t like.  In fact, I’ve always liked the names people came up with for the Mod -- Modfred von Karmod, Modot, Holy Moder, etc., although I never came up with one myself for some reason.

Secondly, those comparisons sound very appropriate and well thought-out, but Larry strikes me more as a Chewbacca kind of guy -- the one who has his talents but who’s mostly just there for comedy relief.

And on the topic of Ace Star Attorney Wars...

(Art by TinkBellQ)

(Video in Letter)

Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for compiling all of those statistics -- they might come in handy somewhere down the road.

[Statistics added to Court Record]

Interesting how Dahlia’s preferred method of murder never seemed to work out for her...unless her goal was to poison her own moral standards, which she did quite well.  Apparently, even the murderers can’t tell how things are going to happen.  For some of them, that’s their entire motive -- killing out of fear of what will happen if they don’t.

I’m about ready to see Athena come into her own as a defense attorney, too.  She’s definitely shown that she can stand at the defense’s bench on her own without panicking.  All she needs now is the self-confidence to figure things out without someone by her side (physically, at least), and I bet she’d take off on her own saga of cases the same way Phoenix and Apollo did.  Given, he had a co-counsel during most of it, but he at least did most of the critical thinking on his own.

There’s one notable prosecutor you didn’t mention, and that’s Godot.  Sure, he only prosecuted 3 different cases, and it was mostly for his own selfish reasons, but his smooth style, his personality, and his jazzy theme music made him stand out as an adversary in the courtroom.

And while replacing Maya as a co-counsel is like replacing Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune, I feel like Athena fits the position pretty well, especially with her emotion-detecting talents.  It sure beats turning into your colleague’s deceased mentor without anyone else noticing somehow.  Sorry, Maya, but that’s just cheating in my book.

Oh yeah, and...Grossberg might not be the most pleasant co-counsel to have, but at least he doesn’t sing in the courtroom.

Dear SC,

:D to you too!

So, Ghost Trick takes place in an unknown country in the Ace Attorney universe, huh?  I’m sure glad Dahlia never discovered that meteor...  (Dang it, why do I keep bringing her up?)

I haven’t been able to see 999 yet, but I have started watching a playthrough of Layton Brothers: Mystery Room.  It’s very intriguing from what I’ve seen so far, and the jazzed-up music helps to make it even more engaging, much like in an Ace Attorney game.  I can’t help but wonder, though...  Why would anyone order a sandwich with fried fish, pickles, egg, lettuce, pineapple, and smoked salmon?

I’m still planning on exploring the Layton series, but so far the only game I’ve played that includes the professor is the Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover.  I wouldn’t exactly call that game great, though.  I’d call it a masterpiece.

To start off, the introductory music and gradual illumination of the courtroom (to the beat of the music, no less) is one of the most creative things I’ve seen at the beginning of any game.  Then there’s the story, which carefully mixes the styles (including the gameplay styles) of the two different series, and the amazing plot, which keeps you guessing until the very end.  The music and visual art experienced throughout the game were pushed to an amazing level, especially when compared to those of the previous games in each series, and the voice acting was remarkably good in my opinion.  It was our first time hearing Maya, after all, and I think they did a great job of bringing out her character through it.

The ending wasn’t quite the same as an Ace Attorney ending, but it still left me satisfied for the most part.  The mysteries and conflicts of Labyrinthia were solved, the sins of the past were forgiven, and two of the most famous video game detectives got to work together in one of their wildest cases yet.

I can understand why some might be uneasy about such a big government project being kept a secret even after everything that happened, but we can at least rest assured that Labrelum, Inc. will use its resources for more reasonable purposes, rather than just to convince a young lady that she isn’t a Great Witch.

Speaking of witch which, they really had me going with the whole “witchcraft” thing for most of the game.  Either I’m really that gullible, or Capcom and Level-5 are just that good at storytelling.  In any case, I can tell they poured a lot of effort into this game, and I genuinely appreciate it as a gamer.

Dear aceattorneyfanforever789,

What the--!?

My identity’s been compromised!  MAYDAY!  MAYDAY!

Just joking.  I guess it’s my own fault for not changing everything that shows my actual name on my blog.  Fortunately, that’s all been remedied now, so hopefully I can keep that a secret for a little longer.

Anyway, to answer your question, I haven’t reached your letter yet for the same reason I mentioned earlier -- it takes 4 to 5 months for us to get to a letter and answer it, simply because of the sheer number of them.  But as long as it follows the rules and makes sense, it should eventually make its way to us and receive an answer.  Believe me, I’m as eager to see them all get answered as everyone else is.

-The Co-Mod

[not-toys-com-blog]

Today in our “Web-Cafe” we drink coffee and talking with famous graphical artist Vladimir Booth…

– Hello, Vladimir. Thank you for agreeing for the interview. Many of our readers will be very interested to read an interview with a man whose works decorate MiniArt and ICM boxes of models. Let’s start from the very begining … Could you tell me, where did it all start? Do you have some kind of art education or drawing was your hobby originally and later developed into a profession?

– Hi, Denis! Hello to everyone who reads these lines! It all began from an early childhood when my father was making military toys for me.The situation with military toys was not very good in our region at that time (the 80s) and my father was making tanks, planes, even ships out of wood and plasticine for me and my older brother using materials from magazine “Youth of Enginery”. They were not exact copies of the originals, however, one could guess the silhouettes. For some reason, I remember very well how my father painted the Mustang fighter, which he also carved from wood, remembered the invasion strip on the wings and the smell of oil paints and enamels. That was probably the moment when the foundation for the interest in the history of military equipment was laid. I was not interested in the drawing then, only games. A little bit later, one New Year’s morning, I got my first NOVO model, it was Martin Baltimore airplane. After we gathered it together with my father, we realized that this was not our last model. Of course, prefabricated models were not perceived by me as an object of art but were used as toys and along with plasticine copies and were intensively used for games. I began to get involved in drawing in the 7th form. It was amateurish, I did not go to art school. I drew with simple pencils what I liked but I did not picture anything military. At the end of the 9th form, my parents offered to enter the vocational school for a specialty”Artist-Decorator of Interiors of Civil and Industrial Buildings. This was my starting point in choosing a future profession. It was in the vocational school where I learned how to work with paints, got acquainted with different techniques of drawing. At the same time I began to try and draw the first colored profiles (sides) of tanks. It was in 1999.

– Yes, most of our hobbies emerged in childhood. I also remember my first model assembled with my father. This incomparable, almost magical smell of model glue, sprues with details … How did your career develop further? If not mistaken, at first there were works for magazines and after that you started to work on box-art for models?

– There were 8 long years between working in the magazine. For quite some time after graduating from vocational school I could not find a job according to my specialty and I had to work as a loader, security guard, taxi dispatcher, there was even a time when I was offered a job as a janitor at a cemetery by the local employment center))) After that I worked in outdoor advertising in my hometown Tokmak for several years. In the evenings I was drawing military equipment and color profiles of armored vehicles in gouache, reading periodicals. I dreamed of doing a book on the camouflage of the Red Army armored vehicles. At school time I started building ships from the paper, then I realized that the tanks were closer to me and started building paper tanks until I was ready for the plastic sets on the 35th scale. Several years passed before due to some circumstances I had to go to Kharkov. At the same time my friend and colleague Sergey called and told me that he found such an interesting magazine “Science and Technology” which was published just in Kharkov. He thought that maybe I should try to offer them my work as I draw military equipment, so I called them and agreed upon an interview that went well for me. And so it began)) My first drawing of the T-55 appeared on the second page of the cover in the 9th issue for 2007. The work in the journal had to be combined with the main type of activity at the time – outdoor advertising. And even now you can find shop and café signs in Kharkov made by me.

Working with illustrations for the magazine in gouache technique did not satisfy me, I saw it myself and I also received criticism at the forum of the magazine. It really bothered me, I felt that gouache and paper were limiting me. I saw the illustrations made in graphic editors and realized that I had to try myself in this area as well. One day I ran Photoshop and began to study this program independantly. Frankly speaking, I was carried away instantly, I almost immediately figured out how to use the tools and began making my first illustration in the evening on the same day. It was the color profile of the IS-4 tank. In 2011 I had to abandon outdoor advertising and began to make illustrations more actively because thanks to the new technique and the increased quality of of my illustrations, the number of orders increased.

– So all your recent illustrations are completely digital? I mean, work in graphic editors along with a digital tablet? Or do you work “in the old-fashioned way” with paper as well?

– About a year ago I still worked with paper but now the graphics tablet is my everything)))

  – If we talk about box-arts… Do you have some favorite and not so favorite thematic? For instance, tanks, trucks, aviation? What do you do for your soul and what is perceived only as work?

– I prefer ground enginery and it is not limited only to military, aviation is also quite an interesting direction. I did not have to deal with the fleet in terms of boxers. But what is really perceived as a routine is the color profiles of enginery. There is less creativity and more craft.

  – Could you tell me, when you’re working on some boxing art, is it a hard story provided by the customer or are you provided with introductory information (prototype, necessary angle), and the rest of the environment is completely at your discretion?

– More often the customer offers prototype and angle and the rest is completely up to me. But I can also suggest and change the camera angle, because it is not so spectacular in my opinion.

  – Indeed, your works are spectacular and with a good taste. Could you name a couple of your boxing arts, which you prefer the most? My todays’ favorite is “The King Tiger” with an interior from ICM.

– Thank you 🙂 Well, “King Tiger” is a joint work with the illustrator Elena Stanilevich, there was such an experiment of work in co-authorship. To tell you the truth, I’m almost never satisfied with my work 100%. If we choose from those works that I like myself, it’s the Afghan T-55A miniart 37022, SU-85 miniart 35204 and Sd.Kfz.223 ICM 48192.

  – I agree with you here, if a person is satisfied with his work 100%, then it means that the development in this area stopped … I would say this is not applicable to you. Most of your new boxing art is superior in quality and drive if to compare to the previous ones …Side color arts, color schemes for models. Where do the varieties of paintings come from? Is the information normally collected and provided by the customer or is this your work as well? 

– Side color arts are joint work, as a rule I find something, something might be provided by the customer. Sometimes these are photographs from private collections and they are not even on the Internet.

  – How do you spend your free time if you have some? Do you have other hobbies other than modeling?

– I mostly spend my free time with my family. I do not forget about modelism, although I do not have much time for it. I love walking tours, when I can think about the subjects of future works, or simply admire the surrounding world.

– Vladimir, our conversation is coming to an end… In conclusion, a couple of traditional questions that I ask all guests of our rubric WEB-Cafe. A couple of years ago I had a feeling that modeling is slowly dying out … But now, based on my Facebook news feed, I can conclude that the modeling has not lost its relevance. Moreover, over the past year there has been a tangible leap forward. This concerns both the general professional level of the modelers and the expansion of topics in the model hobby. For example, the genre of fantasy, modernity became very popular… The 2-nd World War, in my opinion, forcibly surrenders its position. What do you think about this?

– Yes, I agree, modeling is now experiencing a new upsurge, and in my opinion this is facilitated by technical progress in terms of not only tools and materials, but also in the ability to easily exchange information. The social networks are full of modeling groups and the modelers themselves have the opportunity not only to upload photos of their work but also to shoot videos of reviews, construction sites and also do “streams” in which the assembling-coloring models are demonstrated in online mode…. As for the themes of World War II it is logical and similar to the trends of fashion. Now civilian equipment theme is becoming more popular, which, in my opinion, is also very interesting to the modelers. But I think World War II will return to the model shelves with a new force!

  – And the last question… You certainly know our web-site. Do you have any suggestions or tips for filling the content of not-TOYS.com? What is more interesting for you as an artist and a modeler: ready-made works by other modelers, kit reviews or, perhaps, some fundamentally new section or theme?

 – Oh, of course I am familiar! As for me it is quite interesting and convenient resource! To be honest I like everything and my most favorite section is the “Gallery” in which there are plenty of worthy works that I find very inspiring.

  – Thank you very much for the positive evaluation of our web-site. Also thank you for agreeing to talk. The interview turned out to be very bright and I am sure it will be interesting for a wide range of our readers.I would like to wish you good health, creative success, bright and non-standard boxing art. Good luck in everything! 

– Thank you, Denis! I was glad to talk to you! Good luck and prosperity to your resource and all its subscribers!

  Interviewed by: Denis Ignatiev Photo & box-arts: Vladimir Booth (personal archive)

Today in our "Web-Cafe" we drink coffee and talking with famous graphical artist Vladimir Booth... Today in our "Web-Cafe" we drink coffee and talking with famous graphical artist Vladimir Booth... - Hello, Vladimir.