#and to those who are part of the spectrum and supporting her garbage

[nerditudes]

Don't make me tap the sign.

I don't care how you rationalize supporting that nazi bitch. But I want nothing to do with you, and you don't wanna fuck with me.

[gunnerpalace]

Hi! Same anon as the previous one. Tbh, I agree wholeheartedly with you. Y'see I do ask rhetorically,too but i could really accept and understand how and why ppl can be oblivious to IchiRuki, and somehow felt that the 'canon' should suffice, even the most excruciating of all is the fact a number found the ending even acceptable (ships aside, too). Again, I could respect that. But it's my greatest bane when ppl ask 'why' and not be clear they are asking rhetorically because I literally will

provide you an actual answer. And I get it, it’s the reason why ppl find shipping wars toxic and silly. But then again, as human, conflicts are always part of us (partly because as social psych explains so, we are gravitated to the negative for that allows us to change and survive), and the reason why “logical fallacies” are coined in the first place. Human will always debate, and argue about something; the only thing we could change is how we approach the opposing views.

Again, I dont condone any way, shape or form of abuse and harm. In some certain extent, I could perhaps understand it’s much harder for some IH to approach the actual argument being there’s either too much noise, and trapped in their own island between sea of salt. Thus becoming too acquianted w/ few IH who shared the same thought until it became their views as the only truth (see, that’s why its important to have debates! it is what keep us grounded and fair! Just like you said)

Who am I to speak though? I never ever challenged anyone anyways. And as you said, you just have to understand things in every way you could possibly think of–endless ‘whys’. Which is where I agree in your reply the most–this silly fandom wars is just the black mirror to every truth that lies beneath human psyche–the dark and the grimy. Heck, being a psych major is like staring at dark hole–at times, good, but most just plain confusing, revolting even or just heartbreaking.

Sorry it’s been long, but for the final of this ask: let me tell how glad I was with IchiRuki fandom I found in tumblr. It was the saltiest I’ve ever been (im not generally a fandom person anyways) but it’s the himalayan salt–expensive and actually nutritive it really deepened my desire to become wiser in general. And you for your wonderful essays, critiques and whatnot. I definitively would love to talk with you more not only about IchiRuki but the wonders and nightmare that us humans! Kudos!

I have sitting in my drafts a post spelling out my thoughts on “canon” (and thus, the people who cling to it) in that as a concept it privileges:

officiality over quality when it comes to validity (thus violating Sturgeon’s law)

corporations (intellectual property rights holders) over fans, and thus capitalists over proletarians

hierarchical dominance over mutualist networking within fandom

curative fandom over transformative fandom

genre over literary content

plot over characters

events over emotions

It is notable that (1) generally degrades art as a whole, (2) generally advances the capitalist agenda, and (3–7) generally advances the dominance of men over women (as the genders tend to be instructed by society to view these as A. dichotomies rather than spectrums, and B. to ascribe gender to them and make them polarities). These form the sides of a mutually reinforcing power structure (in the typical “Iron Triangle” fashion) designed to preserve and maintain the status quo.

Who really benefits from say, the policing of what is or is not “canon” in Star Wars? Disney, first and foremost. And then whomever (almost certainly male) decides to dedicate their time to memorizing the minutiae of whatever that corporation has decided is “legitimate.”

One can imagine a universe in which fan fic is recognized by companies for what it is: free advertising. (Much like fan art already is.) Instead, it is specifically targeted by demonetization efforts in a way that fan art isn’t. Why? Because it demonstrates that corporate control and “official” sanction has no bearing on quality, and it is thus viewed as undermining the official products.

In the same way, by demonstrating that most “canonical” works are frankly shit, it undermines the investiture of fans in focusing on details that are ultimately errata (the events, the plot, the genre), which is the core function of curative fandom and the reason for its hierarchical structure. The people who “know the most” are at the top, but what they “know” is basically useless garbage. And those people so-engaged are, of course, usually male.

To “destroy” the basis of their credibility, and indeed the very purpose of their community, is naturally viewed by them as an attack.

(This is not to say that efforts to tear down internal consistency within established cultural properties are good unto themselves, or even desirable. For example, efforts to redefine properties such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Ghostbusters, for the sake of a identity-politics agenda have largely A. failed as art, B. failed as entertainment, C. failed to attract the supposedly intended audience, and D. failed to advance the agenda in question. Trying to repurpose extant media in the name of culture wars is essentially always doomed to failure unless it is done deftly and gradually.)

(At the same time, this also shows what I was talking about last time, with regard to people seeing whatever they want to see. You will see people complain that Star Trek and Doctor Who didn’t “used to be so political,” which is obviously nonsense. These shows were always political. What changed was how their politics were presented. For example, Star Trek has, since TNG, always shown a nominally socialist or outright communist future, but was beloved by plenty of conservatives because they could [somehow] ignore that aspect of it.)

Of course, almost no one is seriously suggesting that one side of the spectrums outlined above be destroyed, rather merely that a new balance be struck upon the spectrum. But, as we have seen time and again in society, any threat to the status quo, whether that be 20% of Hugo Awards going to non-white male authors or the top income tax rate in America being increased by a measly 5.3% (from 28.7% to 34%… when the all-time high was 94% and for over 50 years it was above 50%) is a threat. This is why, for example, Republicans are out there branding AOC as a “socialist” when her policies are really no different at all from a 1960 Democrat who believed in FDR’s New Deal. (Which they, of course, have also demonized as “socialism.”)

(As an aside, all this ignores the fact that most of the “literary canon” of Western civilization, or at least English literature… is Biblical or historical fan fic.)

And this is when I finally get to my point.

Those people out there who denigrate and mock shippers and shipping, the people who hurl “it reads like fan fiction” as an insult, and so on, are the people who benefit from and enjoy the extant power structure. You will see the same thing with self-identified “gamers” complaining about “fake girl gamers.” Admitting that the hobby has a lot of women in it, and a lot of “casuals,” and is indeed increasingly dominated by “non-traditional demographics” is an affront to the constructed identity of being a “gamer.” They are “losing control.” And they don’t like it.

This exact same sort of population is what the “fanbase” of Bleach has been largely reduced down to through a slow boiling off of any actual quality. Of course they’re dismissive of people who are looking for anything of substance: their identity, their “personal relationship” with the franchise, is founded on a superficial appreciation of it: things happening, flashy attacks, eye-catching character designs, fights, etc.

(What this really boils down to, at heart, is that society at large has generally told men that emotions are bad, romance and relationships of all kinds are gross, and that thinking and reflecting on things is stupid. So of course they not only don’t care about such things, but actively sneer at them as “girly” or “feminine,” which is again defined by society at large as strictly inferior. And this gender divide and misogyny is of course promulgated and reinforced by the powers that be, the capitalists, to facilitate class divisions just like say racism generally is.)

(The latest trick of these corporate overlords has been the weaponization of “woke” culture to continue to play the people off one another all the time. “If you don’t like this [poorly written, dimensionless Mary Sue] Strong Female Character, then you are a racist misogynist!” They are always only ever playing both sides for profit, not advancing an actual ideological position. It is worth noting that there was a push by IH some years ago to define IR as “anti-feminist” for critiquing Orihime for essentially the exact same reasons [admittedly, not for profit, but still as critical cover].)

Which makes it very curious, therefore, that the most ardent IH supporters tend to be women. (Though there are more than a few men, they seem to tend to support it because it is “canon” and to attack it is to attack “canon” and thus trigger all of the above, rather than out of any real investment.) I think there are a number of reasons for this (which I have detailed before) and at any rate it is not particularly surprising; 53% of white women voted for Trump, after all.

What we are really seeing in fandom, are again the exact same dynamics that we see at larger and larger scales, for the exact same reasons. The stakes are smaller, but the perception of the power struggle is exactly the same.

Of course, the people who are involved in these things rarely think to interrogate themselves as to the true dimensions and root causes of their motivations. People rarely do that in general.

Putting all that aside, I’m glad that you have found a place you enjoy and feel comfortable, and thank you for the kind words, although I am not of the opinion that there is anything poignant about the non-fiction I write. It is, as I keep trying to emphasize, all there to be seen. One just has to open their eyes. So, it’s hard for me to accept appreciation of it.

Anyway, don’t feel shy about coming off of anon rather than continuing to send asks. We don’t really bite.

[lsc-enviromental]

Blog Post #3

In Oregon’s fight against plastic pollution and water pollution, there are many individuals who have a stake in the decisions made about this issue. One individual we believe as one of those stakeholders is Nancy Bennett. Nancy works in policy and external relations for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. In the materials management section, she and her team work on reducing materials-related pollution all across the state, working alongside other environmental organizations. Nancy and the rest of the Department of Environmental Quality work to make Oregon a cleaner place. 

“DEQ's mission is to be a leader in restoring, maintaining, and enhancing the quality of Oregon's air, land, and water. Materials-related pollution –a.k.a. litter– is generated in many intentional and unintentional ways. Regardless of how it’s generated, litter and illegal dumping are issues for our air, land, and water, and in many of Oregon’s urban and rural areas. This pollution is not just negatively impacting the quality of our land – the garbage that is, unfortunately, making its way into our local waterways is also negatively impacting the ecosystems inhabiting those precious bodies of water. DEQ is currently pursuing legislation that would modernize Oregon’s decades-old recycling system and address plastic pollution. An expert stakeholder group, called the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, recently recommended a proposal that would create an effective, stable, and resilient system for the future. The proposal is a shared responsibility model, and it gives producers of packaging and printed paper new obligations to help fund improvements to the recycling system and prevent plastic pollution.”

“My department has several hundred dedicated employees across Oregon. Our urban employees may be more personally and professionally impacted by the litter and pollution associated with the difficult housing and homelessness issues that are heavily impacting our state’s more urban areas. Our employees in more rural parts of the state may be more impacted by illegal dumping in less populated areas. However, houselessness is certainly not just an urban issue and illegal dumping is not just a rural issue. Plastic pollution is certainly related to the broader consumption patterns of our culture. Many everyday products can have a longer useful life with proper maintenance and repair. Capturing this value through expanded opportunities for repair, refurbishment, resale and reuse reduces a broad variety of environmental impacts.”

Full Interview Transcript:

Abbey:  “What are your views regarding the plastic-pollution and garbage pollution issue in Oregon?”

Nancy: “DEQ's mission, and mine, is to be a leader in restoring, maintaining and enhancing the quality of Oregon's air, land and water. Materials-related pollution –a.k.a. litter– is generated in many intentional and unintentional ways. Regardless of how it’s generated, litter and illegal dumping are issues for our air, land and water, and in many of Oregon’s urban and rural areas. This pollution is not just negatively impacting the quality of our land – the garbage that is, unfortunately, making its way into our local waterways is also negatively impacting the ecosystems inhabiting those precious bodies of water.

 Jenn: “What about some other viewpoints?”

 Nancy: “There is a full spectrum of viewpoints from different experts on how to address this issue, and DEQ is working on several different efforts. One approach emphasizes more, better education. Another approach advocates for new, comprehensive laws and programs to help address these issues. For example, the Ocean Conservancy notes that 75% of the plastic entering the ocean was never collected in a recycling or solid waste program to begin with.

 Group: “Wow, 75% is a significant amount.”

 Nancy: “Material is often entering waterways from developing countries that do not have the same levels of regulation for their solid waste management infrastructure. Unfortunately, recyclable materials –and also the contamination that sometimes comes with them– have been exported to such countries, including many Asian countries for years. The United States, including Oregon, has been a contributor to the problem.”

 Kira: “What is something you’re doing now to fight against this issue?”

 Nancy: “DEQ is currently pursuing legislation that would modernize Oregon’s decades-old recycling system and address plastic pollution. An expert stakeholder group, called the Oregon Recycling Steering Committee, recently recommended a proposal that would create an effective, stable and resilient system for the future. The proposal is a shared responsibility model, and it gives producers of packaging and printed paper new obligations to help fund improvements to the recycling system and prevent plastic pollution. DEQ used the consensus proposal to outline legislation, House Bill 2065, which was recently introduced in the Oregon Legislature.” 

 Anne: “Could you explain a bit more about the bill?”

 Nancy: “This bill requires the establishment of a new litter prevention and control program for Oregon, funded by producers. It also requires new standards for where our material goes and making sure it is recycled responsibly.

 Another notable effort, DEQ, as an agency, has been involved with and supports is working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other stakeholders –including PSU– on the state’s marine debris action plan. This is a collaborative effort with the purpose of facilitating and tracking collaborative and effective actions that prevent and reduce marine debris in Oregon.” 

 Anne: “How do you think you and your community are personally impacted by this issue? Do you think everyone is affected in the same way or differently?”

 “My department has several hundred dedicated employees across Oregon. Our urban employees may be more personally and professionally impacted by the litter and pollution associated with the difficult housing and homelessness issues that are heavily impacting our state’s more urban areas. Our employees in more rural parts of the state may be more impacted by illegal dumping in less populated areas. However, houselessness is certainly not just an urban issue and illegal dumping is not just a rural issue.” 

Jenn: “What can we do as young students to help advocate for change within this issue?” 

 Nancy: “There are a several options you can all do to undertake to advocate for change. Firstly, PSU is a participating member in Oregon’s Marine Debris Action Plan. Dorothy Horn would be your contact for that effort. PSU’s Community Environmental Services program may align with your interests, as well.

The Master Recycler program is also in the Portland Metro area and is a program that engaged local activists in recycling, composting, and other waste-related effort. 

Lastly, there are opportunities to provide public testimony during relevant public hearings in the Legislature. Anyone can sign up to for an oral or written testimony during a public hearing. DEQ’s bill to modernize the state’s recycling system has a public hearing on Tuesday, February 16 at 1. Signing up to provide oral or written testimony is available at the meeting’s webpage.” 

Jenn: “Would you agree that the plastic-pollution issue goes deeper as a societal and social issue regarding the way people constantly buy and throw away products?”

 Nancy: “Plastic pollution is certainly related to the broader consumption patterns of our culture. Many everyday products can have a longer useful life with proper maintenance and repair. Capturing this value through expanded opportunities for repair, refurbishment, resale and reuse reduces a broad variety of environmental impacts. This also offers greater access and affordability to many who can benefit from low-cost alternatives. If you would like to learn more about sustainable consumption or reuse & repair, you may contact Babe O’Sullivan.”

 Group: “Thank you so much for your time and responses.”

 Nancy: “I hope this helps. If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.”

[thelemstar]

Rusty’s Trivia #1 - “The hells is a Nightkin  - and how did it happen?“

aka: oh boy, time for me to delve into his family history

Seems like the research isn’t going too well on his end. A short while ago, I’ve made the page for the bio of Rusty, my Final Fantasy XIV character. Fact is - beyond a bit of personal information and a few RP hooks, I very much deliberately omit backstory from character bios if I can help it. The reason for that being that a) I like people finding things out for themselves and b) there’s way too much I could possibly go into and I am absolute garbage at condensing things. However, as I figured none of this stuff is coming up in RP directly - as there’s no real way he’d ever find out all of it in person - but I still really want to write lore and condense it with already existing lore to give form to my complicated thought processes. Both to share it and to have motivation to get everything down on paper for myself, because dear freakin’ lord. Ultimately, I figured I might as well use Tumblr for doing so. This is going to be a long one, so bear with me.

To first of all explain in detail what these terms are properly - Nightkin are those that have made blood pacts with Voidsent, as well as their descendants, and Voidsent in turn are beings whose souls have been corrupted by astral darkness - a type of aether. That being said, the term Voidsent is apparently attributed by the people of Eorzea to everything that seems like it just couldn’t belong to their world. Astral aether / darkness is aether that causes chaos and is made up of wind, lightning and fire - as opposed to umbral aether / light, which causes stagnation and is made up of Water, earth and ice. Basically, there’s a whole order vs. chaos dichotomy going on - and normally, your soul needs both. Now, Voidsent have so much astral darkness they they might as well be astral darkness, driving them to insanity and giving them an insatiable hunger for living aether in the futile search of reattaining a normal balance of soul. Meaning they can and will eat you. Their home world - the Void - is entirely devoid of living aether, thanks to all of it being in constant flux. Voidsent are basically this verse’s version of demons, which so happens to be the name of one of the many subtypes of them, as well as an alternative way to refer to their species as a whole. The other side of the spectrum - Sin Eaters - can and will also eat you, and they’re the angel equivalent of this verse. Yikes.

The eternal night of the Void. Actually very pretty for a post-apocalyptic hellhole in which no life can survive. Then they get summoned from the Void and people enslave or make pacts with them to attain more power in black magic - meaning astral magic, meaning chaotic magic made to destroy things really hard, judging by the DPS a good Black Mage can do. So far, so good. Unfortunately, a certain whole nation of black mages - Mhach - ended up causing a war and summoning a whole lot of Voidsent to do it. And unlike the Allagans before them, who created the art but had no countermeasures in case things went wrong - and they eventually did - the Mhachi made void magic kind of their big thing. Mhach summoned weaker Voidsent by weakening the fabric between worlds to create a gate. However, to summon stronger Voidsent of their hierarchy, they needed to use corporeal vessels - so the Voidsent that was intended to be summoned could enter their world by means of possessing their body and taking their soul as tribute. Buon appetito! As you might be able to guess, this will be important later. They fought with the nation of white mages - Amdapor - and basically ended up causing the Great Flood because none of them cared enough to actually use water magic. Fittingly, the offensive toolkit of player black mages is fire / ice / lightning, and earth / wind for white mages. Water magic is only part of healing and support abilities, meaning Amdapori white mages forgot to actually heal while they were doing damage. Thus, the Amdapori were shitty white mages. Q.E.D. Seeing as the rampant, uncontrolled use of magic caused an apocalypse, the last few remaining mages of the time banned black and white magic and instead developed red magic in the country their ark ended up in - Ala Mhigo. Red magic uses a balance of both black and white magic and balances it with sword fighting techniques to limit the use of aether - in red magic, aether is only drawn from your own body instead of directly from your surroundings, thus requiring a significantly more efficient design of the discipline instead of “big explosions = big damage” - as is the black mage creed.

Yes, this ark is a real thing. It’s somehow still in decent shape - even after more than 1500 years! However, as we find out in the actual quest line for red mages investigating the Ziggurat in the Peaks, the earliest forms of it experimented with a lot of interesting things. Interesting things such as blood pacts with Voidsent to defy the physical limits of the mages. Clearly the result of some lingering Mhachi influence - and after considering that maybe this is a bit too dangerous, as it will end up with enslaved Voidsent freeing themselves and rampantly devouring everything they can get their hands on, as well as gradually corrupting the souls of your entire bloodline, this was promptly outlawed from the discipline. And this is where Rusty’s family comes into play. The last remnants of his family - who came over from the island nation of Aerslaent because everything there got flooded over - partook in research with blood pacts, thus causing their entire bloodline to be cursed with Voidsent blood. And unless the pacts were to be forcibly severed by using a Mhachi device called the Nullstone - their final solution to Voidsent troubles - the taint doesn’t truly go away, instead staying dormant until any further interference happens. Unfortunately, the Nullstone was still in the Mhachi capital - guarded by the immortal void mage Calofisteri, who is not exactly thrilled to give it up and be at risk to lose her power. To make everything worse, Rusty’s ancestors decided that their Voidsent target of choice was to be one of the highest rung - a Voidsent king they called Ba’al. Meaning they sacrificed one of their own to pull the soul of Ba’al into their body - offering up the soul of said poor person in the process - then took his blood for their research. Ba’al was eventually banished back into the Void - his now completely deformed host body included. Again, yikes. Naturally, they weren’t keen on still sticking around in Ala Mhigo and being witch hunted for good reason and thus eventually went back to their homeland - migrating across the continent Ilsabard, to the Far East, across the New World and then back to Aerslaent. They and their descendants continue to inspire stories of witches and monsters all across the globe. Probably.

No. Not you, Rusty. Try and act scary all you like. Rusty Axe is just another descendant of that family of black mages, born in Ala Mhigo more than a millenium and a half after the Great Flood - his father having previously left said family in Aerslaent and traveled the continent of Eorzea as a warrior mercenary. As to what happened next - that’ll be explained once I decide to do Trivia #2. Which may be whenever I get enough inspiration. Stay tuned! If you seriously just read this entire essay on this entirely fictional science and history and how it ties into my OC lore-wise, kudos to you. Seriously.

[the-irish-mayhem]

Happy Fosterson Week Day 2: Outside POV! This fic stemmed from my love of fake academia, but also my absolute desire to never write an academic paper ever again. So I found a bit of a middle ground. Fair warning: Both Jane and Thor have passed away in this. But never fear, their life together was long and happy.

A generation later, a budding social scientist tries to figure out Jane and Thor.

Read on AO3.

Legacy.

Post Thread Created: 1/23/01 Originally Posted: 1/23/01 Post Edited: 10/30/04

Edit 10/30/04: WOW, I did not anticipate that this post series would blow up the way it did! Thank you to all who shared this and supported me in this journey, and if you’re wondering, yes, my book is now out! You can get your copy of The Dynasty That Never Was: A Biography at your local retailer, the Bionic Press cloudstore, or at your local library.

Just a little bit of context: this was very early in my thesis writing process, back when Jane and Thor were only planned to encompass a single chapter of my book (ha!) and I was planning on writing a straight cultural analysis rather than the cultural analysis-slash-biography it became.

Okay, now on with the original post!

Good morning, fellow New Asgard Anthropologists. For any newcomers, my name is (future Dr.) Melanie LaComb, and the purpose of this blog has been to share my research on a little more of a ground level, record my process of writing my thesis, and talk/write through some problems and put them up for community collaboration. It’s also nice to be able to shed the academic discourse for just a few minutes and write informally. So much freedom! So many exclamations and I statements! Anyway, I’m writing this new post to talk my way through a bit of a new thorn in my research. The late Thor Odinson and Jane Foster.

A lot of academics have kind of scoffed at this problem of mine—they were two extremely famous individuals! Integral to so many galactically significant events! Of course there is absolute mega loads of information on them! There must be dozens of biographies and at least two definitive autobiographies for beings of such impressive historical stature!

This may shock you, but NO there actually isn’t. Or, I suppose in some ways there is but not in the ways that would be most useful for me. For Odinson, who grew up on Old Asgard, the destruction of the planet meant the destruction of many records kept from his years before the Greatest War Against Thanos. His years afterwards are better trackable, but hardly centralized and hardly the more personalized records I am (now trying to get at. Foster, known on Midgard as Dr. Jane Foster and colloquially throughout the galaxy as “Jane the Thinker” or “Jane the Brilliant,” is surprisingly easier to get a handle on. Her fame wasn’t contingent upon her marital status, and she was well-known in scientific circles even before the first battle of the War in the year 2012.

So the root of my problem is this: fitting this pair into my New Asgard diaspora research. Because they are….. how do I say this…. not fitting? With my methodology? (I went to the school of redundancy school, but F*ck I’ve been writing and writing and writing for like 8 hours today already and I’m not changing it so THERE.)

So most of my research deals with the formation of a New Asgardian identity, and it relies heavily upon the shared cultural experiences of the Dark Elf Invasion of Old Asgard and the death of Queen Frigga (an aside, but one of my classmates, Korla Majer, wrote a really stellar article on why the Dark Elf invasion should be included as one of the major battles of the Greatest War, and how the dismissal of the event by most historians actively hurts our understanding of galactic politics at the time and I absolutely 10/10 would recommend you go read it after you finish this blog post) as well as the battle for and destruction of New Asgard. For beings so long lived as us, Asgardians have proven that we can make our memories as short as we need to, and those two events seemed to create the largest basis for the new cultural identity forged on Earth. (For some obvious reasons, namely being the events that led to the planet being destroyed and necessitating the move to Midgard, but ANYWAY.)

But I can’t really deny Jane and Thor’s place in the New Asgardian identity because their effect on the masses is well-documented. There are libraries full of memes, old paper magazines with paparazzi photos paired with barely-real stories that say a lot more about the readership than they do the subjects, even some old FanFiction that I was able to dig up that is in some ways more helpful than all the academia from that time period combined XD

In my roundabout way, the problem I’m trying to sort through is this: HOW do I tackle the Jane/Thor chapter?

Because in my original outlining of my thesis, I had planned on their chapter being a quick summation of how they met just before the Greatest War’s beginning, courted through the course of it, and married at its conclusion. Then, I’d give some context on their influence on galactic politics (because despite what some people erroneously think, they actually were not the monarchs of New Asgard. They remained advisors only after Thor abdicated the throne and named Brunnhilde [of house Dragonfang, an extremely old and well-respected Old Asgardian family] his successor. There was the five year gap of the Blip where Thor was officially King, but it was hardly a politically significant time as for much of this period Thor was gone from New Asgard), how some political maneuvers affected the general New Asgardian populace, and then move back to the cultural study portion of things. But the more sources I gather about them, the more I think this chapter might need to be extended, or made into some… sub point of my main thesis.

Because while I said earlier that information on them is hard to find (because it is!!! You try making document requests to 17 different universities on 15 different planets!!!! Alfheim literally delivered what I asked for in a light spectrum file format!!!!!!!! Like WHAT!!!!!! AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS????? HOW DO I CONVERT THIS INTO A PDF OR EVEN JUST MAKE IT COMPATIBLE WITH HOLOREADERS) it’s not always the quantity that’s the issue, it’s the content. I found myself longing to know more about who these people were and why they did the things they did. I’ve always found that I've done my best research when I follow my gut feelings, and research things that I’m passionate about. New Asgardian diaspora culture? I’m living it, baby! I’m very interested because my generation is the first generation to have never set foot on Asgard, and that’s something worth exploring!

And now here I am weirdly fascinated by an almost-king whose magical powers are pretty legendary who was banished and fell in love with a woman (who was 100% human at the time, by the way) whose scientific theories were so advanced that her own people thought she was a bit of a kook until all of her theories started getting proven right. From a non-academic perspective, that sounds like a freaking romance novel or epic movie or something. (Which, by the way, it was! There were at least 6 separate pieces of media [film, novel, television show] that were based on their story that I can find on record.) So on a personal level, here I am wondering why two people in the past got married in spite of wildly different life circumstances/why one of them abdicated a throne that was his birthright, and on an academic level A) trying to figure out how to fit this weird fascination into my thesis B) how did these two political and cultural figures shape the cultural landscape C) was their effect on the cultural landscape more or less significant than the two events which have been taking the most of my focus for the last year? D) how productive is it to even ask the question of more or less significance?

*screaming*

A few people have asked me if I should just switch my track to talk about how they affected Brunnhilde’s rule over New Asgard (which, in case you missed previous posts, Brunnhilde is a huge part of my current thesis as she essentially presided over what I’m terming “The New Asgardian Cultural Renaissance” and was absolutely critical to how things were shaped.) I’m hesitant to do this because this has actually already been done. I’ll stick JSTOR links in the endnotes, but Dr. Hamel Radley literally wrote this. “A King For the Ages: Brunnhilde’s First Three Decades.” Also, Dr. Leslie Storn’s “A King’s Court: Brunnhilde’s Advisory Council.” AND Dr. Jorseph Naulty’s “King Brunnhilde’s Surprising Advisory Council: Steady Hands, Scientists, Military Minds, and Galactic Politicking.” Look, there’s a LOT on Brunnhilde’s rule, and a LOT written on her advisory council. She was the ruling monarch, so it’s pretty par for the course.

But for how politically and culturally significant they seemed to be, there’s not really much specifically on Jane and Thor. Their cultural influences are given lip-service, and that’s it. (Again, Jane has been scientifically significant in a way no one has achieved since Albert Einstein, so in that way she’s more famous than her husband, but scientific notoriety isn’t the same as recognizing the fullness of her cultural contributions.)

I brought this stuff up to my advisor, and she said to keep pulling this thread because I’m on to something here, I just need to figure out what.

So my next research goal is to reach out to their descendents. They have a few children and grandchildren living, and hopefully at least one of them is willing to speak to me about them as people so I can get that portion of things nailed down before I go insane.

My almost-insanity probably bled into this post a little bit because it’s redundant as heck and you can bet your bum I am not spell-checking or proofreading. I need a break from that garbage. The life of a doctoral student continues.

Here’s to pulling the thread. Hopefully something useful unravels.

-(Future Dr.) Melanie LaComb

Reply posted by: Winsome34, 1/23/01 08:23

Melanie--this is a super interesting track, and your advisor was absolutely right when they said to follow it. I think it would be really interesting to read a sort of half-biography, half-cultural analysis piece. Would be really unique, and I’m sure any doctoral committee would find it an engaging topic.

Not sure if you’ve tried the Avengers Museum and Historical Library yet, but that might be a good place to go for some more primary sources, since Thor was a founding member and Jane was closely tied to them throughout their life. They have a really solid amazing librarians there who know the stacks backwards and forwards. I relied heavily on them when I was researching my last paper about racism against superheroes of color in the early 21st century.

Reply posted by: KorlaMajer, 1/23/01 10:22

Thanks for the shoutout boo ;) Your thesis is gonna be amazing!

ALSO: I have a light spectrum file converter from my dad. He does a ton of business with Alfheim and they are NOTORIOUS for sending incompatible LSFs.

Reply posted by: Chloe Durbin, 2/2/01 20:40

Hey! My mom is actually really tight with Thor and Jane’s oldest daughter Valkyrie. I think they knew each other from school or something back in the day, but she’s really awesome and basically my aunt, so if you need an intro or a number to call, I’ve got you! Just shoot me an email chdurbin02@naun.edu. She’s really approachable if you don’t mind walking up to a lady who is literally 6’8” and looks like she literally HAS killed a man with her bare hands. But super nice though!

Universal Reply posted by: Blogmaster, 5/3/01 06:27

Thank you everyone for the tips! It’s going to help so much! The Avengers Library has actually been majorly helpful (I never even thought to look there, honestly!) and Valkyrie has agreed to sit down to an interview (of sorts) so everything is seriously looking up. And THE LSF CONVERTER WORKED LIKE A CHARM.

[arecomicsevengood]

BARGAIN BIN COMICS 1

Bought a bunch of comics from bargain bins relatively recently. Many of them are not very good, and I basically knew that going in. I want to write about them so the purchase feels less self-indulgent, but I also don’t want to work very hard on articulating my reactions or having a point.

Some of these comics cost $1, (or from a bin where 15 comics cost ten bucks, so let’s say 75 cents), some cost a quarter, some cost a dime. There is no shame in having a comic you made end up in a bargain bin. Everything in our culture is devalued, anything that exists eventually becomes garbage.

Anyway: Deathblow 1, with art by Jim Lee, and a Cybernary backup story with art by Nick Manabat. I missed the Image Comics explosion as a kid, which was happening right as I was getting into comics. It all seemed like it was for older kids than me. My brother loved Todd McFarlane and Spawn but he is nine years older than me, I was getting into Mark Bagley’s Spider-Man and Mike Parobeck’s Batman Adventures. I checked this out now though. Anyway, I know everyone says that the deal with early Image is there’s no story, it’s all pin-ups, but it’s insane how true this is. The Cybernary stuff is basically non-narrative, just total nonsense. I get how the art is cool though. There’s a plot summary in the Deathblow comic that does not describe the contents of the comic at all.

Savage Dragon 1. I have bought random issues of Savage Dragon from dollar bins before. Erik Larsen also, if I remember correctly, uploaded like five of his favorite issues to Myspace back in the day. One or two of those ruled. These aren’t total “no plot” comics, because there’s always just a basic level of sequential art happening, even if it’s just like… Following a main character until he meets some new characters, they fight a little bit, then become friends. There’s a level of purity I appreciate. Also, while everyone always describes the Image stuff as being like total teenage-boy id comics I feel like they don’t make male adolescents like this anymore. Or maybe the issue is I live in a city so the only teens I see are hip teens with cool parents. These children interact with their parents with a sort of freedom of boundaries I tend to interpret as “on the spectrum.” I’m going to digress in these write-ups and say some stuff that’s maybe offensive. One thing I didn’t do in the comic book store was hold up a Gerard Jones Green Lantern to the owner and say “Hey did you hear about how they’re not releasing this stuff digitally because the guy who wrote them is a pedophile?” but now that I’m home and online I’m going wild.

MCMLXXVI. or whatever it’s called. Written by Joe Casey, art by Ian MacEwan. This comic has, as a supporting character, a DJ who narrates the action and plays songs. A similar thing happens in an Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle Detective Comics arc, but while that comic ends with the DJ doing cocaine and then getting in a car crash at the end of the three issues, this DJ dates the main character and gets killed by the villains in the second issue of three. It’s kind of a riff on The Warriors, but with a lady cab driver as the hero, and underground demon hell monsters provide her backstory. The covers, where MacEwan colors his own art, look better than the interiors. Kind of feel like there is too much story but not enough characterization or something, like the story’s incredibly simple but also needlessly cluttered.

Tom Strong 6 by Alan Moore and Chris Sprouse. I stopped buying Tom Strong with issue 5 but have since read it all in a former roommate’s trade paperbacks. Reading a random issue for cheap years after the fact is kind of the ideal experience though, it really is like a long-running TV drama you catch on basic cable. Chris Sprouse’s art is really exemplary of a type of style I associate with DC Comics from when I was growing up, maybe from the ubiquity of the ads for Legionnaires. It’s clean and bright. I guess the common perception of DC now is different from this, and is closer to what people think of when they think of as “nineties comics.” But Chris Sprouse, Stuart Immonen, Kevin Maguire, Cliff Chiang, Graham Nolan, all do this thing I think of that I find attractive and appealing.

Mother Panic, three issues drawn by John Paul Leon. I love John Paul Leon, his stuff’s not far off from what I’m talking about either, but damn these comics sucked! I paid ten cents apiece for them and they are so narratively thin that it really brings home that part of what makes this stuff work is it’s illustration-y quality that then feels super-unsatisfying when the story being illustrated just is garbage. It’s not like Cybernary or something where the visuals present such a strong aesthetic no narrative can contain it. It’s so dull that it’s less like pin-ups and more just like model sheets of character design for an animated series or something.

Batman: Gothan By Gaslight, with art by Mike Mignola and P. Craig Russell. I think this wasn’t technically in a bargain bin, but was a back issue marked down to a dollar because a store was going out of business. Anyway I hadn’t read it before. Good art, thin story but this was the first Elseworlds book and so was maybe more conceptually ambitious at the time than it reads after all the other Elseworlds stuff omnipresent when I was growing up reading DC comics. They had a year where every annual was an Elseworlds. Apparently in the animated movie to make the story more of a thing the twist is that James Gordon is Jack The Ripper, which seems like it defeats the whole point of having a Batman vs. Jack the Ripper comic. I guess the comic even predates From Hell. I really gotta award this comic a lot of extra points for feeling unable to judge it based on things that came after it.

Miracleman reprints of the Alan Moore stuff. I don’t like this comic at all. I basically knew that from reading scans fifteen years ago, but those weird Marvel reprints with the recoloring and including the original Mick Anglo strips were ten cents and I thought I might as well give it another look and yeah I don’t care for it. Mostly put off by the grim tone, but there’s also just a ton of other things that just make it a difficult read for me. Just putting that on the record.

Going to do more of these after I’ve read more of what I’ve bought.

[notisaidthefrogg-blog]

Dear Octopath Exchange Creator...

Hello! I really appreciate you reading this letter and I eagerly anticipate your awesome creation! As a writer myself, I’ve probably made my requests/prompts very narrative-based; feel free to take inspiration from any part to turn into art if that is your strength! If you have any questions/would like to challenge any unreasonable requests, don’t hesitate to ask on anon!

(edit: this ended up being way longer than it had any right to be, I just tried to make up for any restrictions with a whole bunch of prompts, I probably rambled way too much, don’t feel pressured to read the whole thing)

First of all, I’ll just introduce myself briefly because I haven’t posted here before. I am Frogg (Nebulariffic on Ao3). You won’t have seen me around at all because I tend to lurk on sites like Tumblr, but I’ve been following the Octopath fandom since the game’s release and I’ve really loved the fan creations that have come from it! This is the first fandom exchange I’ve participated in here, and I’m hoping it will help me come out of my shell enough to post some of my other fan works!

But enough about me, time to get to my gift preferences! I do have some odd tastes by some standards, but as long as there’s no DNWs, I’m sure I’ll love whatever you come up with! Again, if anything here seems unreasonable, just message me and we can come up with something.

I’ll start with what I really like:

- Friendship/found family fluff! I’m a sucker for some high quality friendships and nothing forges friendships like trekking across the continent together! I think that our favourite eight travellers have a lot of potential for fun interactions together, or even if it’s just one or two of them with some NPCs or other characters!

- On the other side of the spectrum, hurt/comfort featuring supportive pals just warms my heart! Cheery friend/s lifting spirits of sad friend/s? Wonderful. Multiple sad friends taking comfort in each other? Exquisite. Again, there’s so much potential with this crew to make something really touching!

- Character growth! This may or may not be self explanatory, but I love characters doing tricky things and becoming better people for it. Things like working up courage to admit fault, apologise, forgive, put aside differences, or generally facing and conquering fears!

- If you have a cool AU idea, I’d love to see it!

Now as for my dislikes, these are mostly things that I’d be okay seeing in general, but I’d just rather not have in something I was requesting.

- This one’s going to seem a bit odd/prudish, but I’d like for no non-canon romantic/sexual pairings. I’m fine with super-close ambiguous friendships with hugs and comfort, but I’ve always felt weird about non-canon ships. Besides, I think we could do with more platonic friendships!

- If you would like to go for a non-canon romantic pairing anyway, I’d be okay with that just as long as it stays Lite(TM). In particular, I really don’t like pieces focussed on marriage proposals, weddings and pregnancies (especially mpreg) - that’s just something I’ve never liked in fic/art.

- Please no excessive emphasis on past abuse... It’s okay for characters to remember dark moments in their pasts, but detailed flashbacks and characters bemoaning their existences just make me feel like garbage.

- I’d prefer no prominent OCs. Background roles are cool, but self-inserts/reader-inserts/fanchildren and the like break my immersion.

And for my DNWs:

- No smut/porn/nudity

- No rape/non-con

- No underage/incest

- No kinks

- No excessive violence

- No character bashing

- No major character death (unless it’s directly portraying/referencing a canon event)

I make that last point because you can’t very well have a Primrose-Chapter-1-centric moment without Yusufa, for example.

Now we get to the fun bit - prompts! I realise that I drive a hard bargain by requesting all eight travellers, and I’d be perfectly fine if you only want to focus on a subset of them. If you have an idea for something based on what I’ve already mentioned, then go for it, but if you’re stuck, I’ve got some prompts based on who I’d particularly like to see! I’ve also provided some general/AU prompts, and if you want to go with one of those prompts, you can include any number of the travellers as you please!

Alfyn - If I had to pick a favourite traveller, it would be this wholesome boy.

I’d love to see him helping out his friends if they get sick or injured, or if they just need someone to listen. Counsellor Alf is a very good Alf!

If you want to go for super-angst, I’d suggest something related to his Chapter 3. There’s so much to unpack in that chapter alone that the game couldn’t even touch on!

Olberic - I think Olberic is really under-represented in fan works, and I’d love to see more of him!

I know he has a softer side, particularly around children, and it would be cool to see that played against his protective aggression. Maybe the group gets attacked and Olberic has to defend them?

H’aanit - Another underrated character imo. If the prospect of H’aanit-speak is too intimidating, I wouldn’t be offended if you just had her talk normally.

H’aanit always strikes me as the kind of quiet, stoic character who doesn’t say much, but every one of her words is meaningful, if a little blunt. Perhaps some wacky antics will get her to open up? (wink wink nudge nudge)

Or maybe she accidentally offends someone and (with coaching from the rest of the team) gets enough social courage to apologise?

Does Linde count as an unrequested character since she’s not on my request list? I jest, but feel free to make something with her and/or her relationship with H’aanit if that strikes your fancy! If you want a Linde prompt, maybe something that contrasts her noble-fierce-wild-beast side with her big-domestic-cat side? 

Other travellers -  If you want to make something focussed on any of the other travellers, that’s perfectly okay too! I just don’t have any specific prompts for them (bc its 2:30am here and I’m tired). Just hit me up if you’d like prompts for a character I haven’t touched on here!

General/AU prompts -

Rescue Fic: Nothing says “I care about you” than “you were in X predicament and I got you out of it”. Ties in very well with the fear-facing I mentioned in my likes. The only question is, is it one or two people saving the rest of the team, or is it seven looking for their missing friend? You decide!

Innocent Bystander: This is one of my bigger prompts, so you can skip this idea if it’s too longwinded/complex. Team OCTOPATH blows through town, leaving innkeeper/barkeep OC (or other NPC) to chase after them and witness/reflect on/clean up after their shenanigans. I can elaborate on this idea further if you like, just shoot me an ask!

Modern AU: How would the backstories/jobs of the cast translate into modern day? How would they meet/become friends? I love seeing theories for this topic.

Band AU: You know that new Break, Boost and Beyond artwork? The one where half the cast is practically a rock band (looking at you Olberic)? Tell me how that happened. Go nuts.

I think I’m going to wrap up this letter here, hopefully some of this was useful! Of course, feel free to disregard my prompts if you’ve already got ideas, or hit me up by anon if you want me to elaborate on any of these ideas. And of course, have fun and thanks for making me a thing!

Sincerely, Frogg (Nebula)

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Free! S1-S2

Good lord there are really only five English VAs huh 

I appreciate the level of existential dread it takes to sit in a bathtub in a bathing suit 

Apron designers I have some questions!!! Firstly: Whomst?

“Anything has magical properties if you believe hard enough” I love Nagisa

“What can I say, I’m a romantic” so what I’m gathering is that Haru and Rin were small and in love with each other

Update from one minute later: Angry with each other now, I guess? 

That’s right Haru you wear that swimsuit all day!!! But wash it bc that’s not a breathable fabric trust me you’re asking for trouble 

“You only live once so do what you want” Dghdfjghjkhkjdf I can’t believe that Amakata’s contribution to this disciplinary lecture amounts to “yolo”

Makoto really knows how to get Haru to do things he doesn’t want to do all he’s gotta do is whisper “pool” and there he is

“What is wrong with you” I hope that Haru continues to strip to reveal his swimsuit no matter where they are throughout this anime. The doctor’s office. A dog park. The mall. Pls let this be a trope

What the shit is this Arabian nights outro this is a Japanese high school swim anime lmao

There’s a joke to be made about the visual metaphor of Haru needing to quench his thirst in the ending but I’ll refrain 

How do their teachers keep finding out about their trespassing who is telling on these boys

What is Ms. Amakata’s previous job what kind of swim job could possibly be inappropriate to talk about at school

Omg Kou is so thirsty for swim boys and while I can’t really relate I appreciate her enthusiasm 

HARU’S STRIPPING AT THE FISH STORE THEY REALLY COMMITTED TO THE “I’LL SWIM ANYWHERE” TROPE I LOVE IT

“I promised myself that I’d never wear a swimsuit again” omg she was a swimsuit model

So Haru quit swimming because Rin is a sore loser? Suspect and lame

“No, come back, you’ll die!” Makoto is truly the highlight of this show and the friend Haru needs

Haru pls I’m weeping

Amakata: They might approve your request [if you win a swimming competition] 

Haru, already taking off his clothes: LET’S GET TO WORK

“He’s just like us! He’s a guy, but he’s got a girly name!” What kind of dumbass logic for deciding who joins your swim team Nagisa lmao 

“You talk about Haru a lot” Hahaha it’s bad form to bring up other people you admire when you’re flirting Nagisa, Rei is Offended™

Ffdhkdshfkhfkj he hasn’t gotten in the water yet but I’m pretty sure Rei can’t fucking swim

“That would’ve meant admitting defeat, and I’m not adept at that” okay I love Rei too this ensemble cast is so funny

Rei’s so cute omg his small and betrayed “but why” when he can’t float

Is it truly an anime without a rivalry-friendship with blatant homoerotic overtones

Oh wow that’s a weird thing for Rin’s sister to have to watch lmao

“Let the water guide you” “Could you try to be less abstract about this” I’m giggling at Haru just throwing out platitudes and hoping one sticks

“I’ll have you know that I have the constitution of a samurai” Rei you are by far the best part of this show so far

Wait a hot minute what in the hell happened in the ocean why do you have to say it like that Haru

Really if any Haru’s relationships are going to err on the side of romantic it should probably be with Makoto because they’re like actually friends and support each other lmao

I don’t know what’s wilder about this scene Makoto using his trauma to convince Haru to swim relay or the Gaze™ that follows

“You’d be the newlywed couple that gets killed in the first five minutes” HMMMM newlywed couple huh

This episode is soooo cute I love the boys bonding together in starlight

Wow was Rin’s problem with Haru just latent daddy issues all along I completely misread this situation

WAIT WAS RIN’S DAD ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED ON THE FISHERMAN’S BOAT

“It’s hard to explain, that’s just the way they are” “What’s that supposed to mean” people are gay, Rei

Why do the people on this show have such weird interpersonal relationships do you really need to hold Rin’s ankles for this conversation, Aiichiro

Regardless of her thirst Kou is really the best manager they could ask for

 “I will relish destroying you” okay calm down Swimsuit Sasuke

“This victory means I never have to swim with you again. Ever” were you not the one constantly harassing Haru for competitions???? What’s your problem Rin!!!

Haru looking at Mako like swimming has meaning again I don’t care if this is friendship or romance THAT’S LOVE BITCH

“It’s not that easy in real life huh” a weirdly realistic turn of events

Honestly Haru what a mood I never want anyone to contact me either

God could Mako and Haru’s relationship stop being the cutest in the world? This sleeping in the hallway for Haru to come home will not stand! Thanks

“Why is an amateur like that swimming with them?” BECAUSE THEY’RE NICE AND LIKE EACH OTHER, RIN

THEY WON!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE THEM

“That’s what you’re supposed to say if you arrive early for a date” IWATOBI SWIM TEAM DOUBLE DATE CONFIRMED (as if the outfits were not confirmation enough)

Gfgkfugkfg Rei is so put out Nagisa will not acknowledge his “exsquidsite” pun

This Rin/Haru/Mako dynamic could not be more like Ex-Boyfriend vs. New Boyfriend I’m wheezing 

“Hah, I’m a ninja” REI YOU’RE SO STUPID I LOVE YOU

“I hope he’s okay” Aiichiro is a better pal that Rin deserves this is such a one-sided friendship lmao

AW REI FEELS LEFT OUT OF THE MEMORIES POOR GUY

Is Rei gonna go pick a fight with Rin because I’d kind of be up for that

“I wanted to know what your feelings are towards Haru” Dad Mode Activated you will not hurt Rei’s buddies

“Don’t get in the way. If you do, I will never forgive you,” damn Rei!!! You’re not even his friend but those words packed a wallop

I like that each of these swim team boys has a friend whom they are closest to it’s nice and balanced

“Every single member of this team is irreplacable” LOVE AND SUPPORT!

I can’t tell if Rin invited Rei out to this ominous night meeting as overture of friendship or as a threat

Aiichiro get a new friend!!! You don’t deserve to be treated this way

AHHHHHHHHHHH REI YOU’RE SO GOOD “I feel the exact same way” you empathetic sweetheart <3 

WOW I do NOT approve of this Rin treats everyone like garbage for twelve straight episodes and then they reward this garbage behaviour by giving up Rei’s spot on the team just so Rin can enjoy swimming again??? Boooooo he doesn’t even go to your school

These fuckin flower petals FIND YOURSELF A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP HARU

“Come on Matsuoka!” AGAIN, way better friend than Rin deserves 

LET REI IN THE GROUP HUG HE’S THE BEST ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Well I’m thoroughly confused” ME TOO AMAKATA!!!! HOW DID THIS SOLVE ANYTHING 

Ten seconds into this second series and Mako continues to prove he’s The Best by cuddling cats to keep them warm

“You look good” “Stop patronizing me, damn it!” Rei and Nagisa’s relationship is also really a highlight of this show

“Rin’s far from the obvious choice for Mikoshiba’s replacement” that’s valid Rei, Rin has had a lot of trouble with the concept of being a team player thus far in his Samezuka career

“Just when you thought it was safe to cosplay” it is never safe to cosplay. Just ask all those Sasukes who got arrested

LMAO AT THIS DUMBASS STRIP SHOW IN FRONT OF THEIR SCHOOL

“My triceps are guaranteed to drive you out of your mind” I’M SCREAMIN THESE YOUTHS ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO SOCIETY

“You really gotta stop calling me sir, just drop it okay” “Yes s-eugokay” Beautiful voice acting. Iconic

Oh god please don’t give Haru another rival one was really enough

I never thought I’d say this but that was the most wholesome kidnapping in the world

Rin saying “Life after graduation” in the same tone as one might say “Life after death” is honestly a mood

Sosuke’s only had about five seconds of screen time but I’m gonna guess he’s Rin’s Australian ex-boyfriend

Update: Just his homie from elementary school I guess that’s fair

“So this is what a nationally-ranked swimmer’s build looks like” Aiichiro pls could you check Sosuke out with a little more subtlety 

“He’s the type of rival you can become obsessed with” AHHHHH Rin has been #calledout I think I like Sosuke

Okay you’re allowed to just be friends I’m just saying that runs on the beach in the moonlight are not always the most platonic activity, Haru and Makoto 

Omg Mako’s siblings love Rei I love it!!!!!

FDdkfhkdjhf I was certain Mikoshiba’s little brother would also have the hots for Kou but it’s still funny 

You go Kou judging the muscle contest live your dream

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay out of Rin’s way” Wow Sosuke that was a HARD 180 chill tf out

Omf I can’t believe it took me this long to realize that Aiichiro and Rin were roommates and it wasn’t just Aiichiro showing up in Rin’s room every night like “hey”

“Preferably ones with wonderful muscles and tight washboard abs!” “Yeah!!” Iwatobi Swim Club pls

Does this mean that the Makoto and Haru go on midnight runs bc Haru is slow as all hell on land lmao

YEAH REI’S TRACK EXPERTISE BECOMING RELEVANT AYYYYY

Omg Nagisa nudging Rei’s shoulder is fucking adorable ahhhhhh

Rei’s plans: Being sad about your personal inadequacies (what a mood)

“Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to fall prey to something so preposterously illogical as love” CALLING IT RIGHT NOW REI’S GONNA FALL IN LOVE

Lmao @ Momo checking out Rin’s cleavage this is truly the weird “all siblings have the same taste in crushes” universe

“I THINK HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN REI’S BOYFRIEND” Okay 1) This is stupid but the part of me that actually wants these shows to have a diverse spectrum of sexuality is lured in thanks I hate it, and 2) How dare you Rei’s boyfriend is Nagisa

[Makoto voice] This is a swimtervention 

AHHHHHHH EVERYBODY LOVES REI (AS THEY SHOULD)

I bet Rei’s going to train in his time off because he wants to catch to the boys <3 

Update: He’s getting Rin to teach him finally some helpful friendship times from Rin!!!! Good job

“Which do you think I’d look more swole in” omg who wrote this dialogue

Pls Sosuke don’t use this childhood joke debt as an excuse to be like “Don’t hang out with your old homies anymore”

“I need to sit on it for a little longer, that’s all”

Sosuke, internally, probably: Kiss me

“I want you to think of me as part of your team” FINALLY SOME OPEN AND HONEST COMMUNICATION ABOUT YOUR EMOTIONS

Woo woo positive character development for Rin prioritizing friendship over competition this is such a nice turn

Uh oh why is Nagisa lying about his motives for camping has he been kicked out of his house for stripping in public

I grow more and more concerned for Nagisa with every scene

“We said no and we meant it” I can’t believe that Makoto and Haru are Nagisa’s new parents wow 

Well we know who the good cop parent is, Makoto had a conversation with Nagisa and exactly one (1) second later was convinced they had to rescue him

Update from 30 seconds later: I spoke too soon he got Haru too “I’ve decided to let him stay with me” THESE NERDS

But why do you have to unbutton your shirt a little in order to negotiate Rei

“Studying became like some kind of torture” that’s depression honey

This soft glowing light while Rei tells Nagisa to follow his dreams is so sweet but also jdhkjfhkdjh what if his parents are just mean 

These boys are the definition of ride or die they’re in this empty ass pool area still trying to hide their friend behind their backs what absolute best boys are these

“Haru” “I’m sneaky” CUTE!!!! Also good call on not calling mum but on calling Trusted Adult instead

“You can’t quit. I won’t let you” AHHHH THAT’S LOVE!!! REI <3

The matching swimsuit pose god every moment of this show kills me

“We’re a team! If we can’t do it together what’s the point?” WOW I CAN’T BELIEVE MAKOTO AND HARU HAVE BEEN A TEAM LITERALLY SINCE THEY WERE BABIES! PICK UP THE PHONE AND SMELL THE HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP

“Here, dolphin’s yours” Oh!!! Makoto has also been selfless since birth he just wants Haru to be happy but Haru just wants him to be happy too 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I also like this Matsuoka siblings bonding this is what I wanted from the beginning tbh

Aiichiro you superstitious little nerd

“I want to know what it feels like to kick your ass” what a hard swerve Makoto pls 

“Congratulations, between the two of us you’re still the best in the water, how awesome is that?” “Hah, you’re so weird” I’ve never seen someone so excited to lose Makoto is truly the best boy I love this relationship 

Aw is Makoto jealous of Haru’s relationship with Rin? I 100% buy it but baby!!! You are so good there’s no need to worry

I’m so proud of the Iwatobi boys for qualifying for regionals and also I bet this means that the Samezuka boys will win relay

Update from an ep later: I was correct

“Don’t limit yourself kid” are you not... the same age as him Sosuke???

Working theory is that Makoto wants Haru to care about being scouted so they can go to the same school together and swim there

“I wonder what Haru wants to do after graduation” be a mermaid 

Sosuke really needs to get in touch with his emotions good grief

“But I am sure about one thing, I love it and I don’t want to stop” in all seriousness do people intentionally write these relationships as romantically-charged or is that just something that happens? Like this 100% reads as an allegory for discovering your sexuality

Ahhhh Makoto helping the babies I know I’ve said this a million times in the past few episodes but he’s the best boy

“I haven’t thought about [Kisumi] in who knows how long” Wow does everyone in this show have an ex-boyfriend who suddenly pops up to stir up drama bc it sure seems like it

There’s probably some symbolism in Haru handing off of a boxed lunch 

“But isn’t it... scary?” “Only til it’s not” Oh my goooood I love this swim teaching arc I love Makoto I just!!! HE’S THE BEST

Ahhhh Haru bringing Makoto’s siblings to see him at work this is disgustingly domestic and I love it 

“If he’s competing at the regional level I’m guessing that means they fixed [Sosuke’s shoulder]!” Wow Kisumi was truly just here to inspire some drama omg

Ffgkdfjjkhg this elevator stand-off it’s the Battle of Rin’s Overly Intimate Swim Partners

Oh no Haru is having an anxiety attack yikes but I get it

HARU NO AHHH THIS SUCKS COMPETITIVE SPORTS ARE SO UPSETTING 

Man this was a real traumatizing episode what the fuck Free! You lulled me into a false sense of security how dare you

“We don’t do things for each other. That’s just how we are” Ddfksdjhfkjhfd even Baby Sosuke had a lot of true processing how a friendship should work wow

“I trust him implicitly, he’ll be here” idk homies Haru’s sort of in the middle of an Anxiety Episode those don’t usually go well

“I realize it’s over for me. But before I go, I want swim the best damn relay I can. With you. Today.” Wow Sosuke finally connects with his emotions and proves himself as Good Boyfriend Material in one swing

Is it really a swim meet if Rin doesn’t have a dramatic outdoor confession of feelings with a former rival 

Samezuka you’re adorable but also a health hazard where’s your adult

MY BOYS MADE IT TO NATIONALS I’M GONNA CRY

“Look at Sosuke, being a big cheese ball” CHARACTER GROWTH

“I think I finally found what I was looking for” “Took you long enough” okay this seriously reads like an allegory for coming to terms with your sexuality Sosuke I have so many thoughts

Amakata is such a good teacher she won’t let Haru be slandered

I’m glad the boys are getting some acknowledgement but poor Haru 

“You never hear someone talk about their last summer” TITLE REFERENCE

Wooooooow Sosuke’s really here to tell Haru to keep going just for Rin’s sake this is almost the opposite of their first confrontation but it’s still   about how much Sosuke cares about Rin what kind of single-minded boyfriend antics 

“Why the hell are you so hung up on Rin” LOVE, HARU, LOVE!!

Haru methinks Makoto was about to make an important declaration quit evading your friend/future (she said, hypocritically)

[Makoto voice] Swimtervention: The Sequel

YES MAKOTO GO HELP HARU YOU KNOW HIM BEST

“Why don’t you understand that we love you” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MAKOTO #1 BOY MOST IN TOUCH WITH HIS EMOTIONS BEST FRIEND GOOD BOYFRIEND MATERIAL BUT ALSO JUST A WONDERFUL BOY WHO WANTS HARU HAPPY

Okay okay I’m not trying to project romance onto this narrative (that’s a lie I’ve been sold on romance for a while) but like.... fireworks!!! Fireworks going off in the background while they stand in front of each other in silhouette PICK UP THE PHONE ANIMATORS

“You and Makoto had a falling out, huh?” Omg not only does Rin pinpoint Haru’s problem right away he’s also making a direct parallel to him and Sosuke’s relationship my kinda amicable exes 

“It was our first fight” I’M WHEEZING THIS IS LIKE THAT EPISODE OF FRIENDS WHERE CHANDLER EXPERIENCES FIGHTING IN A RELATIONSHIP FOR THE FIRST TIME AND HE’S LIKE ‘GUESS WE’RE BROKEN UP’ AND MONICA’S LIKE ‘???? NO?’

Am I supposed to read little Rin telling his host family that Haru had eyes that look like the ocean in a platonic way because.... buddy

God I love Rin’s Australian family they’re so sweet and understanding

Ddfalsfjdskljf EXPLAIN THIS!!!

Russell: So mate, got a girlfriend back home?

Rin: Eummm, long story, or not actually [awkward laughter]

BED SHARING TROPES OH MY GOD!! THEY ARE LEANING INTO THIS PSEUDO-ROMCOM ANGLE EXCEPT THEY’VE BOTH GOT OTHER DUDES IN THEIR LIVES LMAO WHAT WOULD MAKOTO AND SOSUKE THINK

Rin and Haru don’t even wear the same style of swimsuit so lol @ Rin bringing a different suit across the world specifically to make Haru swim in it 

OMG HARU JUST DISCOVERED HIS DREAM I LOVE IT

Aw are Haru and Makoto going to end up separated bc of their different dreams because I’m gonna be very upset

I’m so touched by Makoto’s dream of helping children even if Makoto can’t fully be in the next season because it’s a Haru-centric show I still love him so much 4ever

Hahaha at them recapping the whole show I guess they didn’t know that there would be a third season

“C’mon you two, no more tears” what sweet sobbing boys you’re pulling at my heartstrings 

“We’ll always be a team” HECK YEAH YOU WILL

Yay for Rei getting his own swim hallucination!!!! That’s my boy

Maybe the real swimtervention was inside Haru’s heart all along  😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

THEY WON AND HARU’S CRYING HE’S FINALLY LEARNING TO EXPRESS FEELINGS 1000/10 WOULD RECOMMEND 

I knew Nitori would be captain but I’m still so happy for him!!! Baby!!!

“When you decide not to be done, I’ll be waiting” Rin has seen the most character growth of anyone on this show good for him!!

“Why you gotta say my name like that, it sounds weird” I keep telling you that is the sound of love, Harukaaaa <3

I LOVE EVERY PART OF THIS MONTAGE THE FLOWER PETALS THE “I’M IN COLLEGE NOW” GLASSES ON MAKOTO THE DREAMS COMING TRUE

WAIT ARE HARU AND MAKOTO GOING TO COLLEGE TOGETHER I LOVE IT 

I SAID IT BEFORE BUT YOU WIN THIS TIME, SPORTS ANIME. YOU GOT ME. YOU GOT ME REAL GOOD.

[the-e4b]

THE FOLLOWING RESPONSE POST IS VERY OLD: IT HAS BEEN IN THE DRAFTS FOR A LONG WHILE. IT IS POSTED TODAY BECAUSE DISNEYMASTER IS STILL SEEKING ATTENTION SO HE WILL GET ATTENTION.

Continuing on from this post because DM has managed to totally miss the point of our replies and make up something entirely different.

1. We are not pretending our fandom isn’t filled with Men Rights Activist, Alt-righters and corporate yes men. Because, guess what? That’s not the focus of our blog. The focus of our blog is bronies (like yourself) who make an ass out of themselves or try to look smart but in the end look like nothing less than the end of a donkey’s ass. None of us CARE about politics in the slightest, we only care about a show about pastel talking horses to escape our shitty lives.

2. We will immediately give dear Peet every ounce of respect once he starts to own up to it. What he does now is make fun of transgenders, feminists, bronies, weeboos, professional writers and everything that goes against atleast one of his policies. No one respects him but his faithful herd of cockroaches.

3. There’s a difference between pointing out flaws in a character and obsessing and hating over every trait they have and show in an episode. But, I shouldn’t try to explain that to someone who obsesses over a character getting wings and character growth…

4. Bit too late on that “blackmailing us over to Peet”. Every one of us is already blocked by Jerry and already knows our dirty laundry and absolutely doesn’t care about it. And he will certainly not care about what a pathetic little shit like you has to say.

5. This point I’m not even gonna argue with. If you really want to go as far as to call a CHILDREN’S show sexist then you’re way past the point of no return. You’re taking a show for little kids WAY too serious, even by our standards. And BTW, Rotten Tomatoes’ opinion doesn’t mean shit if the movie made it’s money back with even more to add to this day. As we speak MLP:the movie has broken 50 million dollars in the box office with still a lot of theaters to hit and the DVD and Blu-ray still to come out. One small thing doesn’t seem like a lot, but soon one small thing leads to more and soon one small thing can be the biggest thing of all.

YOU, Disneymaster, are one of those vocal minorities who think that the show is full of “right wing/centralist corporate bs”. How about you just sit back and enjoy a good series like Ducktales or watch reruns of the good ol days of MLP. That’s still 52 episode where you can just shut your yap and enjoy blandness and the glory days of Queen and Empress Faust.

- Space Mare

PS. Still can’t believe you haven’t found out who I am yet.

I find it hard to believe that this poor soul is still trying to start more issues with us because we still exist and continue to oppose the most toxic people in the community. It doesn’t matter which way they lean politically, scum is scum. Al Franken and Roy Moore sit on each side of the political spectrum, both of them are dirty abusers, deserving to rot in a prison cell for the harm they caused others

I do not know why DM insists on white knighting on behalf of someone who actually despises that part of the fanbase that threw a giant tantrum many moons ago over Twilight Sparkle’s wings. It’s like how Ephrom continues to track down Peet’s enemies, despite senpai not giving a rat’s ass about him.

Also, It’s funny how DisneyMaster feels like he can act like an asshole again despite apologizing for his actions towards the fanbase. After that, we closed the book on the Anticorns as most of them were willing to acknowledge their faults and move on. DisneyMaster tried the moral high ground approach with us and even tried to use blackmail to try and get us to remove his Encyclopedia Dramatica page (which we had no hand in despite what his paranoia would tell him) and our previous screencaps.

He also tried to shine the spotlight on the things that we have done, as Space Mare said… Peet doesn’t care and no one else cares about what you have to say. Everyone had a phase where they were reckless and pious in their beliefs. You wanted to be a hero, you fought for something you believed was noble but you were shortsighted by the part of the fanbase that wanted to wait and see where the show was going before jumping to conclusions. At some points, we wanted to make a difference, we all wanted to interact with others, beg for free art and contribute to many collaborative stories… however because of the ambiguity of text, everyone’s true feelings are masked. I don’t remember everyone I annoyed but I moved on and worked to improve. The Book of Five Rings says that the path of self improvement is a neverending cycle.

I say this because humans are social creatures and making a good first impression is the first step to building a strong bond. The point is to grow from the mistakes and move on. We’ve moved on from you, DM… why can’t you do the same?

-JoJo

To finally relieve some inner anger I’ve been feeling because Disneymaster is an obnoxious parasite that doesn’t know when to fade into a pit of nothing or won’t fucking back off and leave us alone..I’m gonna speak myself with this Linkara:

You are the most annoying, self entitled, obnoxious and downright most self important scumfuck that I have EVER fucking come across when it comes to any fandom.

AND THAT IS SAYING A LOT.

You constantly seek to complain about certain things the MLP fandom as if that’s ALL the fandom consists off. As Saturn states, E4B is not on THAT type of garbage because we aren’t INTERESTED in it, we discuss and criticize the people who make the fandom look poor or make complete ass out of themselves and come off a arrogant and think they know more in regards to a show about multicolored horses.YOU’RE the one constantly seeking the negative traits and screech the almighty heavens how “TEH BRONIEZ FANDOM IZ BAD CAUSE THIS AND THAT”.

And then we come to my favorite one:

SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. OVER. THE MISGENDERING. SHIT.

We’ve stated this and stated THIS AGAIN:

The reasons we REFUSE to call Jerry “Lily” ISN’T because we have something against transgenders, hell we have transgender friends. One of the bands I’m a fan of has a transgender leader (And just so you can get it through your fucking obnoxious skull, the person in question is Laura Jane Grace of Against Me, who came out as a transgender in 2012 and even wrote an album about her struggles with gender dysphoria). The reasons we don’t call Jerry by their preferred name is because not only does Jerry show no respect to not only ex friends who dared disagree with him on certain things, no respect to his family, no respect to his own colleagues of the fandom, no respect to other fandoms,or even his fans…

He has no respect TRANSGENDERS, he even infamously snarked and attacked a transgendered individual who called out his garbage.

How do we (myself especially) respect someone who does THAT?!

Or what, does that not fit your stupid political leanings or for your SJW tendancies?

“OH YOU SHOULDN’T BE COMPLAINING OVER RINGTEAM CRITICZING CHARACTER TRAAAAITS”.

Have you looked in the mirror Mr. I-Hate-MLP-Because-Twilight-Got-Wings-And-Said-Meghan-McCarthy-Should-Be-Beaten?

“DURRRRR BE GLAD I HAVEN’T TATTLETAILED ON YOU GUYS TO JERRY WAAAH”

Jerry knows about the blog’s existence and has both shown little to no interest and even when he did, he gave the usual bitch rant he always gives towards people who call out his shit:

Obligatory insults that involve “transphobic” and “Nazi”.

Also, “MLP Sexist”. Oh sure, Gen 4 is totally sexist. A generation created by a feminist with the idea of making the show towards a general audience is “sexist”.

Do you ever fucking hear yourself, or do you love the sound of your voice that you jerk to it?

But then again, this is the same asshole who took his niece’s plushie away and has no regret over it and has even show depression over a fucking children’s show involving multicolored horses, all while screeching pity about how “nobody likes him” despite the fact he himself is his own downfall by constantly bitching at fans of the show and even comparing them to Donald Trump supporters.

Clearly we’re the bad guys compared to the guy whining about colored horse butts for about four years.

As Saturn stated, while critical reception for the movie was just mixed, it was a financial success, getting a total of $51 million at the box office and even then, it did good for it’s opening week with $21.9 million in the US and Canada. That’s ESPECIALLY impressive considering BLADE RUNNER 2049 (and by an extent, the romnatic survival film The Mountain Between Us) came out ON THE SAME DAY. Not to mention the 2017 adaptation of IT was still in theaters.

At the end of the day DM, You’re nothing but an obnoxious, annoying, and downright tumorous parasite that doesn’t know when to fuck off and leave us alone, let alone the fandom.

You really wanna know why people give you shit?

BECAUSE YOU FUCKING MAKE THEM DO IT. 

YOU FUCKING SPEW POLITICAL GARBAGE OVER A CHILDREN’S SHOW, ATTACK FANS OVER SIMPLY ENJOYING THE SHOW THEY’VE GROWN TO LOVE, AND DOWNRIGHT CONSTANTLY THINK YOU’RE IN THE FUCKING RIGHT EVERY TIME. 

Heck, one of your fucking DA Tags was “Disneymaster is always right”. You cry fucking pity every time because you hate how people snark at you, but then you do stupid shit like accuse a show created by FEMINIST, let alone a toy line targeted to a certain demographic of “being sexist”.

I would say take responsibility for your shitty actions, but the one time you did, you backed out f it because “WAAAAAAAH E4B ARE SAYING SHIT I DON’T LIIIKE”. Like you STILL keep doing because you can’t let shit fucking go.

Do everyone a fucking favor: Do something with your sad fucking life.

But chances are, you’ll disregard everything we’ve said because nobody else is right but you.

You fucking are sad and borderline unstable.

- deafpony.

I love how right there you admit you don’t care about what the SU fandom did, because they agree with your opinions.

Those extremest you think are all over the MLP community? They are often called out and are despised but the fandom at large. Like you.

 Unlike SU, which has no problems harassing artists and staff members over petty shit because you sad losers think you’re heroes living in a crappy Young Adult novel.

“ROTTEN TOMATOS SAID MOVIE BAD ME RIGHT!!!!!!”

Who the fuck cares about what the same site that bashed A Cure for Wellness, one of the most unique horror movies of 2017? The movie still made a mint anyway. Bet you’re one of those types who freaked out because Ghostbusters 2016 flopped.

Because you’re the worst type of fan, Dumpy. You don’t care about the story, or characters, or animation, you care about how “progressive” it is. I bet that’s why you like that blander than white bread Season 1 of MLP, because Faust’s name was on it. Nothing more.

Go do something productive with your sad life. Or screech about a blog that hasn’t said a word about you again. That’s a victory for Social Justice!

[johnboothus]

Bar Tab Venmo May Ease the Sting of Media Layoffs But Its Far From a Safety Net

Push alerts are the scourge of our #mobilefirst existence, so it makes sense that Megan Greenwell had turned them off for all her most used apps. It also makes sense that Venmo, the ubiquitous platform that allows strangers to seamlessly transfer one another funds by phone, was not one of those apps.

After all, who walks the earth expecting strangers to simultaneously begin sending them funds with little to no warning? In this economy?! And yet, one fateful late-October afternoon last year, that’s exactly what happened to the editor of Wired, who had helmed the sports blog Deadspin for 18 months before resigning in protest of what she saw as improper editorial meddling by the executives running the site’s parent company.

“All of a sudden like my phone was like too hot to touch because of all the Venmos coming in,” Greenwell told me in a recent phone interview. The money wasn’t for her, not all of it at least. In fall 2019, 20 of the editor’s former Deadspin colleagues began walking off the job in a principled stand against the firing of one of their own, and the site’s fans (who included millions of regular readers per month and many NYC media insiders) wanted to show their support. Greenwell had stepped up as a digital bagwoman on Twitter, posting her Venmo handle and offering to run point on disbursement of any funds collected.

And lo, did the funds roll in. To buy the erstwhile Deadspinners drinks, strangers on the internet ultimately pooled together a “healthy five figures,” says Greenwell. (This went to more than drinks; we’ll get to that in a moment.) “I was like, ‘Holy fuck, I have to figure out how to turn off my notifications!’”

‘In lieu of a better safety net’

Such is the power and majesty of the “bar tab Venmo,” a digital-age rite borne of journalistic tribalism, smartphone connectivity, and the excruciating death shudders of an ever-collapsing American media ecosystem. It’s a fairly simple exercise: When journalists find themselves out of work, other journalists — plus rank-and-file subscribers, fans of a free press, and so forth — toss a few bucks into a digital bucket as consolation beer money for the newly unemployed.

Unfortunately, layoffs have been a nearly omnipresent specter in the media business for the entire decade I’ve been in it. (This story, in fact, is expanding on an essay I wrote for my drinking culture newsletter after being laid off, for the first time, from a media gig of my own. Fun!) In that time, as shop after shop has shed writers and editors, hard-nosed reporters and soft-handed listicle jockeys, the bar tab Venmo routine has become a bit of a funeral rite.

(Apparently this is a thing that people also did with former staffers of failed Democratic presidential campaigns, which is different and honestly a little weird to me in ways that I can’t quite put my finger on right now. Anyway!)

Given how often journalists get laid off, it’s impossible to say how many of these booze-focused fundraisers have hit the timeline since Venmo was created in 2009. But in the past few years, as the digital-media balloon has deflated in an atmosphere of impossible growth goals, video pivots, and impatient, inept venture-capitalism and private-equity opportunism, they’ve gotten bigger. Due to the site’s stature and its writers’ popularity, the drive for former Deadspinners was arguably the highest-profile of the bunch. The last year and a half alone seen has similar ad-hoc efforts for journalists at BuzzFeed News, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times en Espanol, Outside Magazine … and on and on.

“I’ve spent a lot of time over the past four years or so specifically … donating to bar tab Venmos,” says Maya Kosoff, a freelance writer and editor who, back in the Before Times, wrote movingly for GEN on “the human toll of the 2019 media apocalypse” that put 3,000 journalists out of work. (Smash cut to 2020 and that number looks downright adorable next to the toll taken by pandemic-related media layoffs, which The New York Times ballparked at 36,000 back in April. And uh, folks, things have not gotten better since April!)

“It feels like you’re trying to help your fellow peers get back on their feet at a time when there’s complete instability in the industry, and no guarantee that you’re gonna find another staff job in journalism,” she added. Bar tab Venmo “is kind of in lieu of there being like a better safety net — for reporters, writers, editors, and freelancers.”

“I don’t know where I first saw people doing this,” says Amanda Mull, a staff writer for The Atlantic whose tweet about the Deadspin walkout was among those that prompted Greenwell to offer up her Venmo handle last fall. “Maybe it was an early round of BuzzFeed layoffs? I saw people doing it, so I sent some money. It seemed like just a nice thing to do, people who are losing their jobs or who are in an unstable employment situation.”

Mutual Aid in the Modern Era

Speaking of which: As the coronavirus pandemic continues its literal and figurative death march through the American economy, rolling layoffs and gobsmacking unemployment numbers have become a de rigeur part of the national discourse. There are a lot more workers (both in the media and beyond) in unstable employment situations than ever before.

As such, new conversation has sprung forth about the shortcomings of America’s dismal system of meat-grinder capitalism and what average folks — buried in student loan, perpetually renting, and/or clinging to garbage jobs they hate because the bad health benefits they get are still better than the obscenely expensive alternatives in our cartoonishly corrupt privatized healthcare industry — can do to help each other survive. Like, beyond buying each other drinks, I mean.

Workers, neighbors, marginalized groups, and more have been passing the hat to help their own cover the costs of sickness, death, and bad luck for centuries. That’s neither new (it was a staple of 19th-century fraternal lodges), nor particularly mainstream, in the United States at least. But things are shifting, according to Max Haiven, an author and professor at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada. Rank-and-file attitudes toward mutual aid were “changing already very quickly before the pandemic, [and they’re] changing even faster right now. … What we’ve actually begun to see is that since Covid, a lot of workers who previously were not unionized are now taking forms of collective action.”

At the very least, people seem more aware of the idea. Google Trends indicates that interest in the phrase “mutual aid” has been higher than normal for virtually the entire duration of the coronavirus pandemic. That tool also suggests searches spiked directly after a police officer killed George Floyd in the street this past spring, which makes sense because American capitalism and American racism are “different” in the sense that Bud Light and Miller Lite are “different,” which is to say sort of but also not really.

What’s the connection between neighborhood grocery deliveries and strangers paying each other’s medical bills, and random Twitter avatars throwing beer money at unemployed bloggers? Ah, so glad you asked, my dear rhetorical device!

Drinks Do Not a Union Organize

To Haiven, journalism’s money-for-booze routine isn’t quite a pure expression of solidarity — it’s long on symbol, but short on substance, and is probably predicated a bit too much on journalism’s romanticized “brand” and the popularity of individual outlets and writers to constitute real movement-building action.

On that, all the journalists I spoke with for this story agreed emphatically. “Part of me is a little unsettled by the popularity aspect of it,” says Greenwell. The success or failure of a bar tab Venmo is “not determined by who needs it the most, and it’s not determined by whose circumstances were the worst in terms of their layoff or firing or whatever, it’s determined by popularity on Twitter.”

Kosoff, who received some Venmo dough herself after leaving “new Gawker” over ethical concerns regarding the site’s leadership, echoed that reservation, warning that the practice is potentially exclusionary and even “clique-y” — words more or less incompatible with true solidarity.

Another aspect of bar tab Venmo that makes it more a “solidaristic” behavior than a true form of solidarity is that the stakes are relatively low. With the exception of alcoholics who’d be wracked with delirium tremens in the absence of drink, buying rounds for writers online is not really in the same category as, say, passing the hat to help the family of a union brother slain on the job to cover funeral costs.

And contrary to what you’ve heard, not every journalist unwinds at the end of the day with several glasses of Scotch. “Sending money for booze is a heartwarming gesture and a good expression of love and solidarity for people who have been laid off,” says Hamilton Nolan, a labor reporter for In These Times and a former staffer of the various companies that have owned Deadspin. “But speaking as someone who doesn’t drink, I would suggest that an even better practice would be just donating cash to laid off workers. They can buy their own drinks, or pay the rent.”

Still, Haiven says, if labor activism occurs on a spectrum, with strikes and solidarity actions between different unions or workers organizations on one end, “on the other end of the spectrum are these like small almost seemingly insignificant acts of mutual aid, where people say ‘actually, our fates are connected.’”

“It’s kind of a culture of solidarity that could then turn into the structures of solidarity,” he adds.

Beyond the Bar Tab

Those structures, it should be noted, are already being built both outside media — and within it. After five decades of declining union density in the United States, the digital-media industry was a bright spot in the second half of the 2010s, with a wave of successful union drives, with workers at publications like Vox, New York Magazine, Deadspin, Vice, HuffPost, Salon, and many more organizing themselves to bargain for better conditions and more stability. (Disclosure: I organized at Thrillist, another digital shop that went union in that wave. We won, but it took awhile.)

So while bar tab Venmo is an imperfect vessel for building coalition across the industry, it might act as sort of a gateway drug to more substantive acts of solidarity. For one thing, it’s more for newly activated workers to send fallen coworkers beer money with a few taps on an iPhone, than to, say, write them a check for a portion of their rent, or baby formula, or whatever.

“It’s a perfect way to say like, ‘Hey, I’m thinking about you, when we’re not close enough to say “I’m thinking about you,” so here’s 20 bucks,’” muses Greenwell. Under the guise of sending a round of send-off shots, contributors were able to offer financial support that could cover actual necessities. And it did: The Deadspin fund fueled several outings with Greenwell’s former staff, but also went toward paying months of rent and buying half a dozen laptops for those writers who had previously relied on their company-issue machines. Many of those workers went on to launch Defector, one of several promising new worker-owned media co-ops seeking to reinvent a broken business with good blogs. (Maybe the drinks helped!)

Greenwell imagines mutual aid in an ideal world simply as money doled out to people who need it most, donated by those with common cause who weren’t swayed by individual popularity or, as Kosoff put it, “the stereotype of journalists as miserable sad sacks want to drink together at the bar.” Something less like a bar tab Venmo, and more like the Journalist Furlough Fund.

Launched in late March by Seattle Times reporter Paige Cornwell as a GoFundMe, the JFF is a by-journalists, for-journalists effort to plug the gaping holes in both the media industry’s broken model and the United States’ shredded social safety net. The fundraising target was $60,000, but to date the campaign has raised over $96,000 from journalists, local businesses, public-relations pros … you name it.

Speaking on the phone while coordinating wildfire coverage in Seattle, Cornwell was intent to note two things. First: “I do this independent of my employer,” she says, noting that, though the Seattle Times has been supportive of the effort, it is not a company initiative. (The Times, for what it’s worth, is a partly union newsroom; its digital journalists are currently fighting for their right to join their already-organized colleagues, of which Cornwell is one.)

The second thing Cornwell was adamant about was something every other journalist I interviewed also brought up: The sheer deficiency of crowdfunded mutual aid, even $100,000 of it, when compared to the scope of the problem at hand. Even though the JFF is much more explicitly oriented around aid than a bar tab Venmo, it pales in comparison to the broad, systematic dysfunction of the media industry.

“This isn’t a way to make up for [a laid-off journalist’s] loss,” says Cromwell. “It’s for keeping someone from the edge.” As the administrator of the fund, she’s disbursed cash to journalists across the country for daycare tuition fees, medical bills, equipment, and more. The JFF can help some journalists in a pinch, but still, “it’s not enough,” she says.

That doesn’t mean she plans to wind it down anytime soon, though. After surging in the spring, contributions to the fund have slowed, but considering that things are only getting worse in the American media business, she’s hopeful that people will contribute again if they can — if not to “fix” the media, then at least to keep more writers and editors from the meat grinder. “Someone else can figure out how to save journalism as a whole, [the JFF] will just make sure that someone will be able to buy their daughter school supplies,” she quips.

“It’s just so ridiculous that we even have to have those conversations.”

I’ll drink to that. (Please Venmo me.)

The article Bar Tab Venmo May Ease the Sting of Media Layoffs, But It’s Far From a Safety Net appeared first on VinePair.

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source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/bar-tab-venmo-may-ease-the-sting-of-media-layoffs-but-its-far-from-a-safety-net

[elenaognivtseva]

5 Party Tips To Elevate Your 4th Of July Celebration

Celebrate USA by reveling in the freedom to use CBD. That’s why we crafted this list of ways to incorporate it into your Fourth of July party plans.

Let’s face it, some holidays totally blow — you’re forced to spend time with weird relatives shoving dry pieces of turkey down your throat while Bing Crosby sings you into a boredom induced coma.

Thankfully, for every dreadful holiday, there’s one that we look forward to every year and it happens to be around the corner. That’s right, I’m talking about the birth of our nation: a day in which clothing is optional and explosives are mandatory. The Fourth of July is about setting our differences aside and remembering that there’s still one thing that binds us all together as a nation: Lady Liberty. Her fierce stare and long, flowing gown stand as a reminder of the resilience displayed by the brave men and women who have fought for our county. Without them, we might be a country founded on drinking tea, listening to Piers Morgan, and eating whatever “spotted dick” is.

For those of us who want to be a part of the day-long celebrations without feeling like a literal garbage can the next morning, we have a tip for you: it’s time to ditch the alcohol. Throw those shots of vodka over your shoulder, and allow yourself to unwind by going green this holiday! We aren’t talking about carpooling or recycling — although, we support doing both of those activities. What you (and everyone across the USA) need on Independence Day is CBD.

So, in the name of freedom, fireworks, barbeques, and cannabis, we crafted this list of ways in which to utilize CBD on this fiery Fourth of July.

Pop Gummies:

JustCBD has made it their mission since 2017 to consistently bring high quality, lab-tested CBD tinctures and edible products to an industry that’s misrepresented and misunderstood. That’s why they’re out to set the industry’s standards. It’s crucial to know exactly what you’re putting into your body. Thankfully you can rely on their labeling for such information. Plus, how to use its products is easy to understand, too.

JustCBD has an array of CBD gummies in their arsenal that are ideal for giving out at gatherings, while also being a product that works on all of your medicinal needs. If you’re looking to medicate with a tasty treat, let these gourmet edibles guide you into a higher state without your feet leaving the ground. They’re discreet and available in doses ranging from 250mg all the way to 3000mg. Let JustCBD be your boarding pass for a relaxing flight.

Support the Troops:

CBD is a great way for people who don’t regularly use cannabis to experience the plant. And what better way to celebrate the Fourth than with CBD gummies that scream U-S-A? To honor the sacrifices of our military veterans and provide funding for the ongoing efforts of support programs, JustCBD teamed up with Hope for the Warriors — a nonprofit organization that helps restore a sense of hope for the victims of 9/11, currently enlisted service members, and their families — to bring you limited edition FREEDOM GUMMIES, a special patriotic version of their trusted gummies. They’ll make being patriotic feel extra light and floaty.

Cocktails, Anyone?

For those of us who enjoy imbibing while partying in the sun, JustCBD has a variety of full-spectrum tinctures to choose from. Try adding their coconut oil to any tropical cocktail for an authentic island getaway. If beer is your go-to when the temperature goes up, their hemp-derived oil will give you all the wonderful benefits of CBD without adding clashing flavors. If you consider yourself a (professional or aspiring) mixologist then grab that shaker, wax your mustache, and get to work on our favorite seasonal CBD sipper!

Chill Hempire’s CBD-Colada:

2.0 ounces of Rum

2.0 ounces of Pineapple juice

.74 ounces Coco Lopez (Available in most liquor stores)

Add all the ingredients to a blender with ice and a few drops of your favorite JustCBD tincture. Blend and enjoy responsibly!

Don’t Get Toasted

The only downfall to the Fourth of July is that daytime partying is a different beast than raging at night. The sun is a challenge to overcome, and it gives even the most experienced partiers a run for their money. Aside from staying hydrated, we suggest using CBD sunscreen to block UVA and UVB rays, and experience CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties that are particularly effective in preventing sunburn. NeuCana, Felix & Ambrosia, and Cannabios Hemp Sunscreen are all the rage this summer!

Recuperate on July 5th

After one too many trips to the bar you’re going to need a pick-me-up when Friday morning finally arrives. Waking up on the wrong side of five tequila shots makes it easy to reach for the bottle of Advil. And we’re not telling you not to. But we are telling you that there’s another (more homeopathic) option to quell the sound of a 20-person drum circle banging through your head. JustCBD’s carefully formulated tinctures will ease you into a state of bliss and relaxation while you slowly make your way from the bedroom to the beach chair. Perfect as an addition to your favorite electrolyte enhanced beverage, it’s time to stop feeling like death and to start feeling like the life of the party.

CBD Is for Pets Too

Let’s face it, our fur babies have no idea what July fourth is about. Between the number of new people to smell and the sounds of explosions happening all around them, our favorite holiday happens to be a very stressful day for our pets. JustCBD understands that we treat our animals better than we treat ourselves and they’ve got relief in the bag. Next time your dog or cat is spending a holiday frightened by the sounds of the world coming to an end, JustCBD’s infused pet treats makes medicating easier than ever. They even have a wide selection of flavors made with natural ingredients your furry friend will love.

So there you have it. Next time you’re wondering how to bring another element of fun to your summer soirée, just remember the ABC’s of party planning with CBD.

[iambeauchamp]

So, how was Indiana?

Yes, I have a tumblr. Yes, I haven’t posted in like 3 years. Yes, looking through my old posts made me laugh and marvel at how much I have grown. Yes, I plan on writing more now that I have the energy, distance, and perspective to make sense of everything I’ve experienced since 2014.

Over the course of the last month I have been asked “So how was Indiana?” by more people than I can count. Now, I know they ask me in an attempt to begin to understand how this queer Puerto Rican navigated an experience at the complete opposite end of the Americana spectrum, and I trip and stumble over my words and feelings every time I attempt to answer. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized that I had already written my most honest response to that question before I had even left Bloomington. So, in an attempt to get this answer out to as many people as possible, I am immortalizing it here. Below is the text of the speech I gave at the Latinx Graduation Ceremony. When I was nominated to be the Graduate Student Speaker, I vividly remember thinking “I am not important enough. I have not done enough. I have barely survived this place, so how can I speak kindly about it?” At the encouragement of the Director of La Casa, I still accepted the nomination. A month and a half after writing it, I now realize that this opportunity to speak was never about me being or doing enough to speak on behalf of my community. It was about me reflecting and sharing how I navigated Indiana. While my story is uniquely mine, it does not belong only to me.

And so, without further ado, I present the entire text of my speech. Or, what I personally think of as the only love letter to Indiana University that I will ever write.

May 6, 2017

Buenas tardes a todos, y FELICIDADES CLASS OF 2017! LO HICIMOS!

En este momento despido que me desculpen por el discurso que les voy a presentar a los jovenes hoy dia en Ingles.

For those who do not know me, my name is Alyssa Beauchamp, and, yesterday, I graduated from IU’s Higher Education & Student Affair’s master’s program. Now, for some of you in the room, you know that this program is ranked top 10 in the nation. But, two years ago when I announced to my dear friends and family on the east coast that I was moving to the Midwest, they couldn’t fathom WHY I would do this. For my family in New Jersey to my long time friends in Washington, DC, where I had worked for almost 5 years after graduating from undergrad, I attempted to answer the question “WHY are you you going to Bloomington, Indiana” with facts and figures about this amazing master’s program that I was about to enter. Because, honestly, I had no idea what I would find here.

After two years of blood, sweat, and tears, I know I’ve discovered the true answer to everyone’s question: Why are you moving to Bloomington, Indiana? I moved to Indiana to push myself out of my comfort zone. I moved to Indiana to carve out as much space as this singular voice could for students in my Latino community. I moved to Indiana to challenge students to deconstruct everything they were taught about what it meant to be a leader, and to be vulnerable enough to learn from each other and not just their professors. I moved to Indiana to serve as living proof to IU’s Latino undergrads that, not only was finishing your bachelor’s possible, but that they too were capable of pursuing a graduate degree. I moved to Indiana to grow under the care of outstanding faculty. I moved to Indiana to be inspired by brilliant Latina faculty members, yes I’m talking about Silvia and Mitzi. And, lastly, I moved to Indiana to create community with, probably the greatest gem of all, other Latino graduate students. It has been these phenomenal humans who have helped me get through the days and nights I never thought would end.

The support, care, and fierce love of this tiny community of graduate students helped push me to the finish line. From Willy, literally, making me homemade sopita when I was ill to Jonathan, Patty, and Gabe always being down for a “study” party to Stephanie and Gionni never letting me miss a Salsa night at Serendipity, and to my co-graduate assistant, Juanita, who has stood side by side with me as I worked through two of the hardest semesters of my life - I have been the recipient of so much love. The kind of love that reminds you that you are not alone. The kind of love that pushes you to reach higher. The kind of love that makes you feel the joy of your friends’ accomplishments in your heart. The kind of love that makes it a gut reaction to protect your familia from the hateful, racist, xenophobic, garbage that the Cheeto in Chief and his minions hurl at us on, what feels like, an almost daily basis. The courage to resist and protect is rooted in love, and, let me tell you, our collective roots run deep.

As Latinos, it is important to us that we honor the legacies of those who came before us. Family members who sacrificed everything to put down roots in new lands - all in the pursuit of a better life for their children. Mami’s, Papi’s, Tia’s, Tio’s, and Abuelitos who did backbreaking labor day in and day out so that we could even dream of this day. We, graduates, are the manifestation of our ancestors wildest dreams. Our accomplishments are not just our own. I did not walk across that stage all alone yesterday. I walked accompanied by my grandparents, Dolores, Francisco, Lula, and Juan, and my parents, Maleni and Jonas. They will all also accompany my brother when he walks across the stage to receive his bachelor’s degree at Virginia Tech next week.

After many years of growing, learning, laughing, and loving in this place, I think I can safely speak for all the graduates in the room, when I say that we will take the very best of IU with us into the next chapters of our lives. Cream and Crimson roots will beautifully intertwine with the legacies of our ancestors to help us grow higher than we ever thought possible. Even after two years, it still amazes this Boricua from Jersey that part of her roots will forever span half of the country. My roots will join the long legacy of other IU Latino graduates whose roots extend deep beneath the prettiest, warmest, and safest house on 7th street.

In closing, to my fellow graduates, as you embark out into the world and enter new spaces where you find yourselves to be the sole representative of your entire community, again, I hope these words by Toni Morrision will remind you how important it is to our community that you are there: “I tell my students, when you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab bag candy game.”

Thank you, and, again, Congratulations Class of 2017.