#4 STAR COMPILATION VOLUME 2

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[shrewdbunny-art]

Birds on The Bird App Masterpost

All the Gotham Twitter posts can be found here. If you want to be added to the tag list, lmk!!

1 - Meant to be on Priv

2 - Eating burritos sloppy style

3 - Hood's war against being verified

4 - Out of costume intermission

5 - Hoods war against being verified pt 2

6 - RIP Grammy 🕊🕊

7 - Pride Month

8 - tweeting during your lunchbreak

9 - Damian and Animals, a compilation

10 - Saw trap Cornell notes

11 - Che Guevara pt 2

12 - I wanna kill that fuckibg clown

Tag List under cut

Ask/reply/dm to be added!! Whatever works for you!!

Note: some of the names aren't linkable/taggable via tumblr on mobile due to some users visibility/privacy settings. If you are one of these folks, I'll do my best to let you know of future installments via dm/ask

Taglist

@desicanary // @thegayseance // @soaring-through-the-stars // @thebat-musicman // @percyyeuss // @pathofglory // @andreaissy // @themiraculousec // @gnomewithalaptop // @viola-cola // @milotic109 // @kamala-msmarvel-khan // @suffer-my-beloved-mutuals // @arcadianico // @your-dead-european-ancestor // @asmodeusmustdiexo // @max-volume // @itsmeevie01 // @leagueofbats // @catostrofiqu // @amillionandonefandoms // @shykitten28 // @atlasaurelius // @ihavenohotcocoa // @kai-antreas // @living-on-borrowed-time // @o-i-have-too // @aroaceass // @silverwolf1249 // @cannimochi // @lesbianbooknerd // @scarlettauthor // @twinningglass // @1n0sss // @craptastico // @lovethewitchofendor // @insomniacweebqueen16 // @fashionstatement-deathwish // @brieftimetravelwhispers // @crabs-brencil // @universal-travel-er // @royal-illusion-loves-his-fandoms // @blankliferain // @p1xel-1mp // @kades-stuff // @theweevilofsweetreef // @fablehaven-rulez // @kalifornialove // @justahoomanbeing // @frosty--giants // @you-are-valid-and-deserve-love // @slitherynchiken // @kazbrekkersfedoraaintgotshitonme //

[wildflowerwoodsworld]

A guide on writing Charlotte Roselei (or, how I do it at least)

Okay. So. This is another one where I've written this over and over, trying to put into words how I write her and, honestly, the best advice I've got is to remember that she has goals and ambitions and personality outside of a romantic relationship.

(I have already done a bit of a meta on her and how her curse affects her here if you want to check that out)

The first thing I do when writing Charlotte is to ignore 90% of what goes on with her in canon. If it involves romance, ignore it for now. We're going to focus on the other facts.

So. What do we know about Charlotte Roselei and how do those facts effect her personality?

1) she was cursed as a little girl.

There is no arguing with this point. Yami straight up says it. The actual age is debatable, but the curse itself is not.

2) she seems to have a strained relationship with her parents.

This point comes from the flashback in Volume 12 (Chapter 104 if you want to check it out yourself), where she is the one reassuring her parents about her curse. Her parents never come up again.

3) she takes everything onto her own shoulders and sees a lot of things as personal failings when they're not.

Again, this point comes from the flashback in Volume 12, while we see several other people calling it "the curse on House Roselei" (the person laying the curse says "a curse on you, House Roselei), Charlotte always says "my curse". And when she can't hold it back, she calls herself pathetic.

4) she gets told something is impossible and tries to do it anyway.

For the final time, we're looking at the flashback in volume 12. Charlotte herself says that the only way to break the curse is for her to have her heart stolen by a man. And yet. The very first thing she says after being cursed is "I'll get stronger! Stronger than anyone! I'll overcome this curse!"

5) despite her calm and collected facade, she's actually a fairly dramatic person.

We see this literally every time we get to see her internal monologue. She wails and pulls faces and overall is just a bit of a mess. Also. Her go-to reaction when annoyed by someone is to attack them with briars, generally throwing the person in question up into the air. Sure, this general comes with a verbal smack down, but most of the time there was no need for her to react that, well, dramatically.

And the star festival (Chapter 103). When that guy tries to use her as arm candy and he goes "Don't you know who I am?" Her response? "Who you are? Don't you know who I am?" followed by her pulling noble rank on him, complete with wrapping the guy up in briars.

6) she has a problem with men.

I don't think this one really needs explaining. Personally, I prefer to interpret this as her having a problem with the trend of men objectifying her rather than a problem with men as a whole, but there is no denying she has a problem with men. And I can't really blame her, to be honest. If I had men I didn't really know randomly proposing to me in the streets, I'd have a problem too.

7) she is given multiple chances to drop out of the fighting during Spade and choses not to. (in other words, she doesn't know when to quit)

I don't think this point really needs any explanation. Every time she gets knocked down, she gets right back up again. To the point that, without Mimosa's intervention, she would have died.

Other fun facts about her that come with the volume extras (@/thoughfullyrainynightmare has compiled some of the volume extras here and here).

She's the most beautiful woman (as long as she doesn't have her helmet on)

She's the third smartest Captain

She's the worst (in the entire kingdom) at handling her alcohol

She's got the third biggest fan club out of the magic knights

She's got the second worst talent/taste in art

Her character profile (volume 7) tells us that she's 171 cm tall, her birthday September 18th, she's a virgo, her blood type is A and that she likes relaxing moments in the garden at her private residence. (it also specifies that she likes Yami while disliking most other men, but we're ignoring that for now).

Her stats in the data book look like this (though these numbers are sourced from the wiki as the data book has yet to be translated into English, so take them with a pinch of salt)

Physical Strength: 4/5 Magic Amount: 5/5 Magic Control: 5/5 Magic Sensing: 3/5 Cleverness: 4/5 And her extra stat is Honesty, with a score of 0/5 (interestingly enough, as far as I know, she's the only person to have 0/5 for her extra stat instead of 5/5).

The wiki also has stats for a card that came with volume 12, but, again, I'd take these numbers with a pinch of salt as I've never seen the card myself.

Magic Attribute: Briar Magic Magic: 1400 Affiliation: Blue Rose Type: Attack Leaves: 3 Power: 3/5 Magical: 4/5 Wisdom: 5/5 Stamina: 3/5 Vitality: 4/5

I also want to point out the anime-only Heart Training Arc. When Charlotte first arrives, she says "So this is what mages are capable of in the Heart kingdom" with a look on her face that, to me, screams "filing that away in case we ever have to face you". Because Charlotte is the eldest of the mages they send to Heart. By a significant margin. There's six years between her and the next oldest, Finral. She also struggles with understanding Sarado's initial explanation, but when her time in Heart is recapped in the manga (volume 28), we get Potrof calling her a genius, implying she picked up Heart's mana method very quickly one she understood what she was supposed to be doing.

Putting all of this information together, we have a character who is very smart and very powerful (and knows it). She holds herself to a very high standard and appears to hold others to those same standards. If something goes wrong and she's involved, it's her fault, so nothing can ever go wrong, which likely leads to her double and triple checking everything and not delegating tasks as much as she should. She is someone who has been placed on a pedestal and is constantly trying to live up to the expectations that come with it. People are enamoured with the idea of Charlotte Roselei, but don't know who she actually is.

And, taking a break to look at the romance for a moment here, one of the key parts of her personality is that she doesn't know how to ask for help. We see this time and time again with her trying to ask Yami out.

So, how do I write Charlotte?

My interpretation of her is a woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. Who doesn't understand the phrases "reasonable human limits" or "it's impossible". If she wants something doing, she does it herself. I also tend to characterise her as petty and prone to jealousy. She's a skilled liar with a brilliant poker face (providing she isn't drunk). She keeps all her cards very close to her chest and doesn't volunteer information easily. She was isolated during a key point in her development (thanks to her curse) so she struggles with interacting with people, especially her peers. She's overly formal and doesn't understand a lot of slang. She's a little (or a lot) touch starved.

I interpret her trying to break her curse as her doing a lot of research into curses and as many different ways of using mana as she could get her hands on (which, as a noble, would be a lot) as well as doing plenty of training to work on her control. 5/5 for control has to be earnt. She pushes herself until she's exhausted and then gets up and does the exact same thing the next day. And the next. And the next. Because there is a clock ticking down above her head and every second could be the difference between her breaking the curse and her failing to control it.

I see her as a little- not suicidal, but reckless with her own life in her time in the magic knights between joining and her curse being broken/lifted/deactivated/whatever. She's going to suffer a fate worse than death when she turns eighteen anyway, and if she's going to die, she might as well die doing something useful. After the curse is broken, she is very aware that she's living on borrowed time, that every breath could be her last.

And, underneath it all, she's a little bit feral. She's not sadistic, but there's a clear line between Us and Them and there are times when she's almost begging Them to give her an excuse to let loose.

[soongtypehuman]

Crispy, Crunchy, Peanut-Buttery Updates

Hello everyone! You all look lovely today. Shiny coats, cold, wet noses.

I’ve been mostly absent for a bit while I try to get my health issues stabilized, but I’ve been working on a lot of things behind the scenes and wanted to update you.

First, as you can see below, I have front and back covers for Kinktober 2022-24, which indicates two things. First, there’s more than likely going to be a Kinktober this year. My health is precarious but my libido is strong. No promises, but nearly every day of October has at least an outline, and many with a first draft, so things look promising. But unlike previous years, requests are closed. I’m just doing whatever my depraved little heart desires.

Second, these have covers because I’m nearly finished putting together and formatting text and cover files that can be uploaded to a POD site (like Lulu) so that physical books can be printed. Everything will be available to download for free, I’m not making any money off this.

After the first of the year when season 4 of Positronic Rivalry has wrapped up, seasons 1-4 of PosiRi and Kinktober 2022-24 will be available as downloadable files with covers so you can print all 7 volumes at your print on demand supplier of choice. The text files for the seasons are already formatted, I just need to figure out something with the covers.

After that, I’m working on compiling “Neogenesis: The soong_type_human Synthetic Omnibus”, which will contain all 4 seasons of PosiRi, all 3 years of Kinktober, both PosiRi drabble/ficlet collections (explicit and non), the Positronic Christmas collection, the Stars and Circuits trilogy, The Family We Keep trilogy, the Data/Lore drabble/ficlet collection, as well as orphans such as Pet, To Walk as Death, and Oceans of Void Between Stars, as well as the two Detroit: Become Human fics I’ve written.

That’s a lot! But wait, there’s more.

I’ve currently got the first drafts of three different fics finished: 2 for season 4 of PosiRi, and the final (😢) installment of Among Stars and Circuits. All three are getting posted before Kinktober, and then after a short break, season 4 of PosiRi will resume.

And if you think this is all of lot of work, it is. But I love it and I’m fond of you guys as well.

As always, if you want to toss a coin to your android smut peddler, there’s a ko-fi link in my bio.

[4ngelmutt]

What I've noticed in the angelkin community is that we are all expected to be these dainty, skinny, porcelain pale, blonde, blue eyed, kind and quiet humanoid things.

So I've compiled a list of angel care for all my fellow angels who do not find themselves in that stereotype.

This is just the first volume with bits coming from my own experience, feel free to submit your own tips for the next volumes!

[Care for Grotesque Angels vol. I]

1. Encourage yourself and other angels to embrace their unique qualities and celebrate their individuality. Remind them that beauty and holiness comes in all forms, and there's no one-size-fits-all definition of what an angel should look like.

2. Go to places where reality feels altered. Those places that make your back and the top of your head tingle. And laugh, scream, run, make weird noises, bask in the sunlight. Just go ape.

3. Say random words in latin and enochian (you never finished Supernatural) to strangers, etch them on walls. When you have that random latin word stuck in your head just write it everywhere obsessively until it goes away.

4. Be divine. Or don't. Spit on the stairs of churches, or go inside ones you've never been before and just sit in the back. Don't get up for the hymns, don't do anything. Just stare at the priest. At the paintings. Look at Gabriel on the wall looking back and think "brother." Look at Jesus, think how uncomfortable that position must be. Think how many times has God betrayed (you ask yourself "who", someone says everyone. You're alone.) Think he should go to therapy and take his meds. Leave chocolate coins and apples in the offering basket. A book about good parenting. Never go to that church again.

5. If you are, be unapologetically, annoyingly, fully and loudly queer. Be a faggot, a transexual, be one in their churches and scream at them how they have no idea about what the truth is (you don't know either, but it's fun.)

6. Be angry at God. Scream at him, bleed for him, ignore him, cry for him, laugh with him, fuck him, make love with him. And then forget he ever existed and hope he left the body of that 20 years old with black box dyed hair and won't find his next home in the heart of your new lover.

6.5. Slam your door like he just told you to go to your room and took your mp3, and you're packing a bag to runaway with chocolate and your birthday money while your mother (mother?) watches fondly from your white door frame with a look that says "He didn't mean to." But she will not say. And you'll never know. You go to sleep angry. Running away is too hard. And there's gravity falls on tv in the morning.

7. Hold Judas's anger, bask in Jesus's kindness. Be a warrior like Michael. A messanger like Gabriel. An anarchist like Lucifer.

8. Use the Bible to your heart's content. Read it, rip it apart, burn it. Use it to draw, keep stable that wobbling table, roll a lavender cigarette for your lover after they "took you to church," as Hozier would say. Make a flame and make smores with your friends, tell stories. You will never see them again. But the memories will replace your blood. Transubstantiation.

9. Kiss a priest, or kill one. Run for pope, burn a church. Disappear into a forest. Become one with the flowers and the moss and the grass and the water and the moon and the sun and the stars and the birds and the maggots and the foxes and the bears. Become the genesis. Become God. And then go out and get pizza.

10. Pray. Or don't.

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Contemporary descriptions of the hébertist execution compilation

The joy of the people was universal at seeing the conspirators taken to the scaffold. There were the same demonstrations of joy everywhere; a sansculotte jumped up and said: “I would light up my windows this evening, if candles were not so rare.” In the evening, in all the groups and cafes, people talked about the death of these conspirators; the story of their last moments was the only subject of conversation. It was said in several places that Hébert had denounced around forty deputies. It was time, they added, that this conspiracy was discovered, because it was believed in several departments that Paris was under fire. […] According to the comments made on the Place de la Révolution, during the appearance of the conspirators on the scaffold, one noticed that there were people placed to sow trouble. One woman was beaten by another for having made some comment. While the 19 conspirators were being guillotined, the people remained silent; but when Hébert’s turn came, a swarm of hats appeared, and everyone shouted: “Long live the Republic! This is a great lesson for those who are consumed by ambition; the intriguers have done well; the committees of public safety and general security will manage to discover them, and ça ira!” Tableaux de la Révolution française publiés sur les papiers inédits (1869) by Adolphe Schmidt, volume 2, page 186. ”Situation in Paris 4 Germinal Year 2” (March 24 1794).

The events of yesterday, that is to say the judgment of the conspirators, their journey from the Palace to the Place de la Révolution and their execution, have entirely absorbed the attention and feelings of the people. Everyone wanted to at least see them pass so that they could judge the impression made on their wicked souls by the sight of an immense people, outraged by their crime, and the knowledge of the imminent death they were going to suffer. The crowd of curious people who were on their way or who witnessed their execution was innumerable. [...] Two opposing feelings, indignation against the guilty and joy at seeing the Republic saved by their death, animated all the spectators. One tried to read the faces of the condemned to enjoy, in a way, the internal pain from which they suffered: it was a kind of revenge that they took pleasure in obtaining. The sans-culottes were especially angry with Hébert and insulted him. “He’s damn angry,” said one, “we broke all his stoves (fourneaux).” “No,” said another, “he is very happy to see that the real aristocrats are going to fall under the guillotine.” Others carried stoves? (fourneaux) and pipes and raised them in the air so that they could strike Father Duchesne's eyes. Regardless, this wretch could not pay any attention to what was happening around him; the horror of his situation appalled him; he had reproached Custine for dying as a coward, and he showed no less pusillanimity than him. Momoro put up, as they say, a brave face against bad luck, he pretended to be confident, talked to his neighbors and laughed a wicked laugh. [...] Cloots appeared calm, Vincent lost, Ancart and Ronsin furious and Hébert overwhelmed. The latter was the star of the show, he appeared last [on the scaffold]. Report by the police spy Grisel, March 25 1794, cited in La Liberté ou la Mort: mourir en député (2015) by Michel Biard.

On D-Day, March 24, 1794, an “innumerable crowd” impatiently awaited the execution of Father Duchesne and his accomplices: “Advancing from the place of execution of Paris, one encountered waves of citizens on their way there; everything resounded with the cry of “Father Duchesne to the guillotine!” and in this respect the children acted as peddlers.” Another agent remarks that “in the streets, from the Palace to the Place de la Révolution, the crowds of people were so great that one could barely pass through.” The police estimate (already!) claimed that “perhaps four hundred thousand souls witnesses to this execution.” […] If the legend claiming that Hébert fainted in the tumbril seems false, all reports corroborate on the other hand the moral and physical collapse which this great sermonizer presented: […] “It was noticed that Ronsin seemed the least frightened by his execution, that Anacharsis Cloots had retained great composure, but that Hébert and the others bore on their faces the signs of the greatest consternation;” [Another report states that]: “Of the nineteen culprits dragged to execution, Hébert was the one who presented the saddest and most dismayed face.” Taken from the Palace to the Place de la Révolution amid cries of joy and insults (“Everywhere they passed one shouted “Long live the Republic!,” and threw hats in the air and everyone said some epithet to them, especially to Hébert.”), Father Duchesne was not yet at the end of his troubles. To make the feast complete, a cruel staging allowed him to meditate on his fate: “Upon his arrival on the Place de la Révolution, he and his accomplices were greeted by boos and murmurs of indignation. With each head that fell, the people took revenge again with the cry of “Long live the Republic!” while throwing their hats in the air. Hébert was saved for last, and the executioners, after putting his head through the fatal window, responded to the wish that the people had expressed to condemn this great conspirator to a punishment less gentle than the guillotine, by holding the suspended blade for several seconds on his criminal neck, and throwing, during this time, their victorious hats around him and attacking him with poignant cries of ”Long live this Republic that he had wanted to destroy.” As can be seem, one knew how to have fun in those days. However, as soon as the affair was completed, the agents noted contrasting reactions among the people: “In all public places, the aristocrats and the moderates rejoiced at this execution and affected a lot of patriotism. The patriots also rejoiced, but they observed one another.” [Another report states] “I visited different cabarets near the Gros Caillou, near the Military School. They talked only about Father Duchesne, about whom a thousand stories were made with the intention to bless the Committee of Public Safety for having discovered such a betrayal. I found the little people cheerful”; [Another report states]: “The walks are everywhere full of people and everywhere one stays and asks: “Did you go to see Hébert yesterday?” One answers “yes”. All the faces seem happy.” [Another report states]: “Since Hébert’s death, I have noticed that, in cafés, men who talked a lot no longer say anything.” This is because the execution of Hébert and his supporters, although it purged the Mountain of its extremists, nonetheless shook the people’s confidence in their leaders. Who would believe if even the most ardent patriots could suddenly become traitors? At least one thing is certain, that is that beyond the unconscious dismay which struck the people after the execution, the great cowardice which Father Duchesne demonstrated before the guillotine ended up destroying him in the eyes of everyone: “After the execution, everyone was talking about the conspirators. They said: “They died like suckers”; others said: “We would have thought that Hébert would have shown more courage, but he died as a good-for-nothing.” Series of police reports found in Paris pendant la Terreur (1962) by Pierre Caron, cited in this blog post.

The execution took place in the afternoon around 5 o'clock, at the Place de la Révolution. A prodigious crowd of citizens filled all the streets and squares through which they passed. Repeated cries of long live the Republic and applause were heard everywhere. These testimonies of the indignation of the People against men who had just so eminently compromised the salvation of the Fatherland, were proportionate to the extreme confidence they had in the art of surprising them; and the public satisfaction whose feeling was mixed with this deep indignation was a new proof of the love of the citizens for the Republic saved by the punishment of these great culprits. Thus perishes anyone who dares to attempt the re-establishment of tyranny! Gazette Nationale ou Moniteur Universel, number 185 (March 25 1794)

It was 18 of them who suffered the death penalty due to their crimes... It was Father Duchesne, this scoundrel, who was cursed by all the people. If he had been susceptible to remorse, he would have died of shame before his arrival, in front of Madame Guillotine... He was the last to be guillotined, each of the closest spectators continued to reproach him for his villainy... Letter written by the Convention deputy Ayral Bernard, March 26 1794

Hébert, Ronsin, Vincent, and the other conspiracy defendants whose names and qualities we reported in previous issues, were sentenced to death by the revolutionary tribunal. Only one was acquitted; Laboureau: he was immediately set free; the president of the tribunal embraced him and made him sit next to him: the room resounded with the liveliest applause. The other defendants said nothing when they were sentenced; the Prussian Cloots appealed to the human race, of which we know that he had made himself the speaker. Ronsin wanted to say a few words, he was removed alongside the others. Femme Quetineau declared herself pregnant. Taken back to the Conciergerie, the condemned asked for half a septier of wine and a soup. Around four in the afternoon, they left on three tumbril to go to the execution. Never had an execution attracted such a considerable crowd of spectators; everywhere they passed, one clapped hands, tossed hats in the air, and shouted vive la république ! They seemed quite insensitive to the indignation that was brewing against them: arrived at the foot of the scaffold, they all embraced each other. Hébert, known as Father Duchesne, was the last to be guillotined; his head was shown to the people, and this spectacle provoked clapping of hands and universal cries of vive la république ! Annales Patriotiques et Litteraires de la France, et Affaires Politiques de l’Europe, number 369 (March 26 1794)

The republic has once again been saved: 19 leaders of the conspiracy hatched for its ruin were sentenced to death today, 4 germinal, at half past twelve. The flattering sword of the law struck their guilty heads: these traitors marched towards the scaffold with all the audacity of crime; some laughed, others raised their shoulders: Father Duchène appeared to be neither in great joy nor in great anger; the people applauded and stood in crowds in the places through which the procession was to pass. A lot of cavalry and infantry preceded, accompanied and followed the tumbrils carrying the conspirators: but armed force became useless, because joy was universal. Le Courier Belgique, number 39 (March 31 1794)

Here is an anecdote which can serve to make better known the eighteen conspirators whom the sword of the law has struck down. On the day of their execution, several heads had already fallen when General Laumur's turn had come. Ronsin and Vincent looked at him at the scaffold and said to Hébert: ”without the clumsiness of this j... f... we would have succeeded.” They were alluding to the indiscretion of Laumur, who would tell anyone who would listen that the Convention had to be destroyed. Suite de Journal de Perlet, number 555 (March 31 1794)

My father told me that only once, during the Revolution, he found himself stuck in the crowd, without being able to move forward or backward, as the fatal tumbril passed. It was the one who carried the Hébertists. Cloots, placed at one end, said to the spectators: “My friends, please do not confuse me with these rascals.” Mémoires sur Carnot par son fils (1861) volume 1, page 366.

-

Previous parts of this totally family friendly series:

Contemporary descriptions of the dantonist execution compilation

Contemporary descriptions of the robespierrist execution compilation

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Saturn - SEGA AGES Volume 11 Phantasy Star Collection

Title: SEGA AGES Volume 11 Phantasy Star Collection / SEGA AGES ファンタシースターコレクション

Developer/Publisher: Sega CS1

Release date: 2 April 1998

Catalogue No.: GS-9186

Genre: Compilation / RPG

This is the ultimate Phantasy Star pack featuring all 4 of the original games in their original glory thanks to Sega’s fantastic Sega Mark III (Master System) and Mega Drive emulator for Saturn. The first Phantasy Star game as you know was on the Sega Mark III or Master System as it was later called in the West and Japan. Unfortunately, the Western Master System never had the built-in FM sound chip, unlike the Japanese model. This makes the sound 100 times more listenable than the western 3-channel beepy shite. The Japanese Master System and Mark III (with the expansion pack) produce some very nice audio in Stereo and thankfully this Saturn Master System emulator includes the FM sound. So now all Western players will be able to hear the difference between the weedy version of Phantasy Star that we got compared to the much nicer Japanese version. The only downside to Phantasy Star on the Saturn is that the game runs in a box due to Sega keeping the original resolution of the Master System.

The Mega Drive Phantasy Star games (2 to 4) are identical to the Mega Drive originals in every way. I don’t think much of Phantasy Star 2 or 3 for that matter but part 4 “The End of the Millennium” is very nice and well worth checking out. You’d be surprised that it’s running on a Mega Drive (or Mega Drive emulator in this case).

As well as having 4 games, this collection also includes video and illustration galleries. The video gallery shows the original Japanese TV ads for each of the games in this collection while the illustrations gallery has loads of pictures presented in the Saturn’s highest resolution.

A word of warning to those of you who are tracking this collection down. Make sure it comes with all 3 maps if you’re after a complete version. And for those who have bought this without the maps then here’s a little present for you.

[nullb1rdbones]

Masterpost of Projects

Hi! I'm Null! I make way too much stuff !! Here's a comprehensive list of everything I'm proud enough of to advertise on the front of my blog! It's a lot of kuro stuff!

My COMMISSIONS are OPEN!

BLACK BUTLER : BOOK OF SPIDERS [<- watch here]

A literal season 2 MOVIE. That's right i fucking COMPILED SEASON 2 INTO A FUCKING MOVIE it's a TWO AND A HALF HOUR LONG FUCKING MOVIE. I am in no way an editing professional, but the filler is cut, the gratuitously vile scenes are either done differently or also cut, and Alois and Hannah are portrayed in a kinder light, especially with Alois's backstory being handled a lot more carefully. No original footage is added - it is merely camera tricks and framing.

"You got rid of that Ciel screaming scene and that's like 5 stars for me." -- @warmmilk-n-honey

"Truly proves that less is more." -- @pain-in-the-butler

"An actual digestible version of Season 2." - @mantomhive

2. My Webcomic: The Dead The Damned & The Devil (Read here)

What if Vincent Phantomhive came back from the dead just before his sons were sacrificed? This is a fix-it AU...kind of. Many side characters are integral to this story, like Francis and Madam Red. It's got 8+ chapters, and if you like to watch scared parents protect sad little kids, its a good read. likewise, if you already want to hug vincent, its a good read. likewise, if you want to punch vincnet in the face, it's a good...

VOLUME ONE HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!

3. My Season 2 Video Essay (black butler season 2 is laughing at you)

watch me scream about the meta of season 2 as an exhausted season 2 fan for about two hours...it's got some original animatics, too!

4. My Youtube + some highlights such as

The Black Butler Actors OVA Abridged

exactly what it says on the tin! a 22 minute long black butler parody following what the hellish production of season 2 was actually like (and also. uh. character trauma??? somehow???)

"Cinder Soul" the angsty End-of-Contract visual novel

Sebastian and Ciel angst hours, in an AU where Ciel has quite literally lost everything. Ominous. Sad.

Season 2 Reanimation project

on indefinite hiatus -- but its still 14 minutes of technically an episode, and the ending is more 'open' than 'cliffhanger.' what if Alois and Ciel got to talk it out when they were trapped in the same body, back in episode 11? Fully originally animated (thsi is probably the largest thing I've ever made hghdfhs)

Collabs w Mel ( @weeb-cheese )

This list will probably get longer but aaa they're so cool!

Pluto video essay!

Drossel video essay!

NOT-KURO VIsual Novel

A light-hearted (?) sapphic visual novel about some ladies who LARP at garden club. On hiatus

5. Ego Te Absolvo

So what if Alois Trancy teamed up with Ash Landers and became an exorcist who killed demons? Would he be happy? Would he be free? This is a really fun fic, i've been co-writing it with @eemoo1o and its aaa!! very cool!! do be warned, it gets...darker...the longer you read it. it is an alois trancy fic after all, even if the initial concept might seem a bit silly

6. RIan Stoker Ask Blog

Don't ask me why i wanted to make this. but he's always open!

I have a number of other smaller projects that you can find by hunting through my youtube and stalking my ao3. I don't mind!! tho some of the older stuff is definitely not as good lmao thanks for reading!!

I also run @blackbutler-heritage-posts and hosted @dadbastianweek2023 !!!

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Same energy.

...

Here's some context...

SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2 is an unusual LP in the Beach Boys' discography. There is no Beach Boys album called SHUT DOWN VOLUME 1, or SHUT DOWN for that matter...

Instead, SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2 is something of a sequel to a compilation album put out by their then-label Capitol Records, titled SHUT DOWN.

SHUT DOWN, put together by then-Beach Boys producer Nick Venet and collaborating songwriter Gary Usher in 1963 and released in the summer of that year, was a collection of previously-released hot rod songs spanning the early 1950s up until release year, with presumably some new additions. The album is named after The Beach Boys' song that appeared as the B-side of 'Surfin' USA' and as a track on the accompanying SURFIN' USA album earlier in 1963. Though, 'Shut Down' wasn't the only Beach Boys song about a car by this point. '409' had previously appeared in June 1962, B-side of 'Surfin' Safari' and later a track on the SURFIN' SAFARI album the following fall. '409' also appears on SHUT DOWN.

There was something of a hot rod rock craze at the time that intersected with the surf rock sounds coming out of California, The Beach Boys' early singles and albums among it all. Those unique riffs just synced up so well with the excitement of a chrome-decked street machine, they practically became bread and butter.

The SHUT DOWN album surprisingly went to #8, it really struck while that iron was hot, eh? 1963 was chock-a-block in car songs, such as Jan & Dean's 'Drag City' and The Rip Chords' 'Hey Little Cobra'. The latter group's Bruce Johnston later became a full-fledged Beach Boy, and The Beach Boys' association with Jan & Dean goes hand-in-hand. All connected.

In March 1964, Capitol released the group's SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2, which was all theirs. No songs from other surf rock groups about cars, just Beach Boys car songs... And some songs that aren't about cars as well... It's a Beach Boys album through and through that just so happened to have then-new car songs on it, if the album cover didn't give that away. But it's quite an unusual record from the outside! And yet, this album also contained several certified bangers, like 'Fun, Fun, Fun', 'Don't Worry Baby', 'The Warmth of the Sun', and 'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'. Those with no knowledge of the Capitol compilation would probably look at The Beach Boys' discography and be like "Where's Volume 1?"

Similarly, WOODY WOODPECKER IN CRAZY CASTLE 5 for the Game Boy Advance follows... No WOODY WOODPECKER IN CRAZY CASTLE 1, 2, 3, and 4...

Who had 1, 2, 3, and 4, then?

Bugs Bunny!

Developer Kemco's CRAZY CASTLE games date back to 1989, and it's a convoluted carrot clustercuss... Even though THE BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE games 1-4 certainly exist, some of them are actually re-skins of their Japanese counterparts starring different characters, a la SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 USA/DOKI DOKI PANIC...

THE BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE was originally... ROGER RABBIT... In Japan, on the Famicom. For us yanks, Roger was changed to Bugs... Now how 'bout that? Roger Rabbit, the character and his movie, are very much a homage to the classic Warner Bros. cartoons... And there was a Roger Rabbit Japan-only game that became a Bugs Bunny game in the West...

(Also, the scrapped Roger Rabbit prequel that was being developed around 1990-92 was apparently supposed to reveal that Bugs Bunny was Roger's father... Wrap your head around that!)

It also explains why that "Crazy Castle" that Bugs goes through is a lot of red brick walls, for sure.

Now, the Game Boy version of THE BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE wasn't a Roger Rabbit game in Japan, to make this even more unusual... It was a Mickey Mouse game! Simply titled MICKEY MOUSE. Like Bugs, a Golden Age of Animation icon (for those living under a rock who somehow found my page first after emerging into the world), and he and Bugs share a legendary scene together in WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT...

So the intersection of this series of platformers seems to be Golden Age of American animation cartoon characters...

MICKEY MOUSE II came out in Japan and Europe for the Game Boy in 1991 and 1992 respectively. Roger is now officially out, for Kemco lost the rights to using the character by this point. Here in the U.S. it was BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE 2. It also got re-skinned as a game called HUGO in Europe waaaay afterwards in 1996; HUGO is a franchise of its own - about a little troll - that I am aware of but never got into. I'm much more familiar with the HUGO games for the MS-DOS, a totally separate series starring a guy in purple pants who - in games 1 and 3 - goes on perilous adventures to save his sweetheart Penelope. They were staples of my childhood.

MICKEY MOUSE III: BALLOON DREAMS hits the Famicom in 1992... That game isn't released here as a Bugs Bunny game, but instead as a game called KID KLOWN IN NIGHT MAYOR WORLD. Kid Klown appeared in games of his own thereafter, such as KID KLOWN IN CRAZY CHASE for the Super NES.

1993's MICKEY MOUSE IV: THE MAGICAL LABYRINTH for the Game Boy becomes... A REAL GHOSTBUSTERS game in the U.S. And... GARFIELD LABYRINTH in Europe... Wait a minute... Garfield was voiced by Lorenzo Music in GARFIELD AND FRIENDS and many animated specials made in the '80s and '90s, he also voiced Peter Venkman in the first two seasons of REAL GHOSTBUSTERS, who of course was portrayed by Bill Murray in the movies... Murray also voiced a CGI Garfield in two live-action movies made in the mid-2000s... And GARFIELD AND FRIENDS made a joke or two about GHOSTBUSTERS, Garfield and Slimer both appear in the infamous special CARTOON ALL-STARS TO THE RESCUE... Soooo... Yeah, all roads lead to Rome! And they all seem to come from... This Japanese platformer series!

MICKEY MOUSE V: THE MAGICAL STICK comes out the same year in Japan for the Game Boy, it isn't released in the U.S. until... 1998... In its original form. No Bugs, no Ghostbusters, no Kid Klown... Titled MICKEY MOUSE: MAGIC WANDS!

1997, SOREYUKE!! KID: GO, GO! KID is released for the Game Boy... Starring... Kid Klown... Here in America, two years later, it's converted into a Game Boy Color BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE threequel... About 8 years after BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE 2.

2000... Japan and the states both get THE BUGS BUNNY CRAZY CASTLE 4 for the Game Boy Color.

The series concludes in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance with WOODY WOODPECKER IN CRAZY CASTLE 5, this is released in the U.S. a year later...

Woody Woodpecker, as you probably know, is a Universal character. Also from American animation's Golden Age. He was co-created by Ben Hardaway in 1940 with Walter Lantz. Hardaway, two years prior at Warner Bros., co-created a rabbit who appeared in PORKY'S HARE HUNT... Which he was a director on... Said rabbit, you can imagine, was like a first draft of Bugs Bunny who made his first proper appearance two years later in A WILD HARE. The first draft Bugs in HARE HUNT laughs similarly to Woody Woodpecker, at that. Mel Blanc voiced both Bugs and Woody.

And then you have these Bugs Bunny CRAZY CASTLE games later concluding with Woody Woodpecker as the star. This interchangeable series is a literal rabbit hole (heh!) and it has all these coincidental connections... How 'bout that?

[annon-guy2]

SEGA Saturn Collection Game Volume Five: SEGA AGES - Voting Poll

Note 1: I put list of games for the compilation titles on the box covers, so if you want to see the games, look them up.

Note 2: Even if you hadn't played the game yet, you can still vote for that option if it appeals or interests you.

[b-else-writes]

The Great CLAMP Re-Read Part 11: The One I Love

Part 1 (RG Veda) | Part 2 (Man of Many Faces) | Part 3 (Tokyo Babylon) | Part 4 (Duklyon) | Part 5 (Clamp Detectives)| Part 6 (Shirahime)| Part 7 (X)| Part 8 (Chunhyang)|Part 9 (Miyuki-chan)|Part 10 (Rayearth)| Part 12 (Wish)

The 90s were a period where CLAMP's star was on an astronomic rise, and they were frequently scouted to publish works in a variety of magazines. This resulted in their most obscure work - and yes I mean it this time! - the semi-autobiographical manga The One I Love, serialized from 1993 to 1995 in the short-lived josei magazine Monthly Young Rose. It was compiled into a singular volume (released in English by Tokyopop), and its lack of adaptation or crossover potential is rather obvious - as a work of creative non-fiction vignettes, it simply doesn't work. Even CLAMP themselves forgot they made this!

The One I Love is formatted as individual vignettes of around 7 pages, all illustrated by Nekoi, her first time as the primary illustrator on a CLAMP work, and accompanied by an essay by Ohkawa, where she explains the real-world inspiration of the vignette and her thoughts on love. It's also the first real peek behind the curtain of Ohkawa as a person and her opinions on love and womanhood. What is there is....frankly a lot more unsatisfying than I really wanted to know. I'll be formatting my thoughts on this one differently as well, since this is such an outlier in CLAMP's oeuvre - and not one I really think anyone should be rushing to get ahold of.

I think there is a real danger in work that is autobiographical, or semi-autobiographical, in this case. The reality is not all of us have the deft hand or complex life experience that produces work like Maus or Persepolis, leading to shallow work that attempts to package rather bland incidents as revelatory Live-Laugh-Love moments. This is the great weakness of The One I Love: it is largely pedestrian in its stories, with trite little reflections such as "love happens unexpectedly", or "try on something different in order to express yourself without your insecurities". There's nothing groundbreaking or particularly meaningful here, and the collection feels geared more towards young girls than it does adult women because of how juvenile a lot of it comes across.

While some of the "lessons" have some merit, because they're approached so shallowly, I often find myself disagreeing. For example, the vignette that features, of all things, Sonic the Hedgehog, is about how girls shouldn't be judged for getting into their boyfriends' interests because it's good to share interests. Well, yes, it is true you'll be happier if you and your man have the same interests....it also shouldn't be an obligation especially if you don't have a genuine liking for a thing. And that's not even getting into the whole gendered aspect of this! But that's the whole issue - because these stories are so superficial and trite, you end up with these empty platitudes that don't offer any new insight into love.

Now, on the issue of gender, the other great issue of autobiographical fiction is the peek behind the curtain. I'm not saying that I lost all respect for CLAMP, but I was reminded that they're women born in the late 60s in Japan. There's a strong "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" theme underpinning a lot of the essays - women are inherently more paranoid and neurotic and insecure than men and have Strange and Mysterious Reasons for how we approach romance, and not the basic human desire for connection and reassurance. The amount of neuroses on display here are more than a little alarming (listen, if you are catastrophizing on this level that your boyfriend hates you, it's not because you're a #Girl). Men are largely framed as breadwinners and women as aspiring housewives, and women especially as "all wanting to feel and be pretty" (again, #Men also like reassurance about their looks, men aren't cave trolls and women beautiful fairies). It really makes a lot of the stories very difficult to read - but it does also validate a lot of the lingering unease I feel with how CLAMP approaches female characters and the regressive gender roles and writing they often fall into. I love CLAMP, I do, but I'd really like to know less about how they think Men and Women have Men Brains and Women Brains.

Also, because it must said: ALL the relationships in this are heterosexual.

That's not to say I didn't find some of the vignettes cute. I did like their vignettes on marriage - that it shouldn't fundamentally change you as a person, but life will be different (from the POV where it is uncommon to live with your partner before marriage) afterwards, and that is the adventure you undertake with someone. I also found the story "Suddenly", while largely silly in its topic, to be cute. But none of the stories necessarily moved me to want to pick this up again.

I also have mixed feelings on the overall art of the series. I do like the opening colour spread with all the different ladies. It has a nice, delicate sensibility that matches the romantic nature of the story (though it's a shame they all have the exact same face). But in the manga proper, there's a certain plainness and simplicity to the art style that I find lacks the lavishness of their earlier work. Even low stakes work like Man of Many Faces had a decadent nature to its designs that really remain in my memory despite my indifference to its plot. The One I Love, in contrast, feels less refined - and I know Nekoi was taking on a very big new task here, and I don't want to sound harsh, but I simply didn't find the work very visually impressive when judged against their entire oeuvre. Also, I really don't like how the noses here are drawn.

Overall, The One I Love is a quick and lightweight read with some big pitfalls in its approach to gender and a troubling look behind the curtain. It is not in any way an essential CLAMP work, and while cutely illustrated, I didn't particularly find it impressive or meaningful. I would recommend this only for diehard completionists.

[aspiringpolymath]

Mid Year Reading Check In

I compiled this at the end of June, so it's not up to the minute accurate, but a good indication of how my reading year has gone so far. I tweaked the questions a bit to suit my reading style. If anyone sees this and wants to answer them PLEASE tag me so I can see what you are reading!

Mid Year Book Check In Questions:

Did you set a reading challenge; if so, how’s it going? (AKA How many books have you read?)

Best book(s) you’ve read so far?

Best sequel or book in a series you've read so far?

New release you haven't read yet, but want to?

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

Biggest disappointment?

Biggest surprise?

Favorite new author? (Debut or new to you)

Newest favorite character (for whatever reason)?

Book that made you cry or saddest book you’ve read?

Book that made you happy?

Favorite review you've written this year? (Can be glowing or a takedown)

Favorite cover for a book you've read this year?

What books are your priority to read by the end of the year?

Answers:

According to GR, I’ve read 239 books (tho I prefer ‘title’ since some are pretty short. I read a mix of novels, novellas, shorts and manga/comics.) My GR goal is 365, so I’m ahead of schedule!

Bests

Manga - Restart After . . . duology by Cocomi

Graphic novel - Mamo by Sass Milledge (ff ya)

Non LGBTQ+ romance book - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (still casually queer)

Short book - Bisclavret by K.L. Noone

Standalone mm romance book (there are not a lot of these, lol) - We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (I didn’t want it to be over, so I really took my time.)

3. Three way tie between The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian, Malibu by Emmy Sanders, and Out of the Wild Night by Marina Vivancos. Oh, and Muscle Cub by Slade James!

4. Loads, but I still haven’t read The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles and I really need to get on that.

5. I’m looking forward to the next volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide by Mone Sorai. Oh, and Gentle Chaos by Tyler Gaga (ghosthoney on IG and TikTok)

6. I was most recently disappointed by How To Say I Do by Tal Bauer - not hugely, just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

7. I was really pleasantly surprised by Show Me How to Trust by Ray Celar. I didn’t have high hopes after book 2, but this one really took the time it needed to with the characters. Not a perfect book, but really lovely.

8. I’ve read a couple of short things by her in the past, but this year Crystal Lacy has become a new go-to author.

9. Sal from The Demon’s Mate by Delaney Rain, and maybe Collin from Off-Ice Behavior by Hannah Henry.

10. Some I’ve already mentioned made me cry, but I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain by Will Walton made me cry no fewer than five times. It’s a weird prose poem YA book about grief and generational addiction, I thought it was so well done. A book that made me cry mostly happy tears was Keep Me by HJ Welch.

11. The audiobook of Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green made me legitimately lol.

12. Well, the one that has gotten the most likes on GR is my 1 star of The Right Wrong Number by Katie Warren, but I did like my pithy review for So These Rude Grumpy Arrogant Jerks Fall In Love and It’s Gross by TJ Land. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5353619286

13. The Roger Crenshaw books by Taylor Titmouse have amazing covers, and illustrations inside, too.

Also, Haunt, Heart, Havoc by Freydís Moon has a super striking cover.

14. I’d like to get back to In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I started it, but there were holds and I knew it was going to get very sad. Oh, and this probably should have been listed above, but I also want to get to Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly soon.

[sidewalkstamps]

Clarence P. Day Corporation Pasadena (Photo taken by Scott Fajack on June 7, 2024 in Pasadena at the intersection of S. Sierra Bonita Ave. and E. California Blvd.)

Clarence Parkman Day was born on October 4, 1885 in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, USA to Isaac Franklin Day and Ella Frances Lovering Day and died on February 19, 1969; he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA, USA. He had been married twice (Findagrave.com).

He "was a well-known contractor and engineer in Pasadena throughout his professional life. After working with the Olmsted Brothers firm in the East, Day moved to Pasadena in the early 1900's. Working with the Allin Brothers' engineering firm, he helped with the design of the Annandale and Oak Knoll neighborhoods. Around 1910, he did the survey work for the new Caltech campus. His subdivisions, including the 1923 design of the Eldora Park neighborhood, were known for their winding streets which are reminiscent of his original Olmsted training. Day's firm later did work on the Grace Nicholson Building (Pacific Asia Museum) and the Westminster Presbyterian Church (both landmarks). Outside of Pasadena, Day was known for the development of the Pacific Palisades as well as being the head of civil engineering at Camp Pendleton." Additionally, he compiled "cartographical data of the district formerly known as North Pasadena before its annexation" (Agenda Report described below).

According to the City of Pasadena June 19, 2006 Agenda Report from the City Manager to the City Council on the designation of 492 Eldora Road as a landmark, we learn that Day was the first resident of a Tudor Revival-style house at that address.

In 1918, Clarence P Day was in the Boston Building and was listed as a surveyor, civil engineer, and landscape architect and also under Sprinkling Systems, plus they placed an ad in the city directory (Thurston's Pasadena (California) City Directory Including Altadena and Lamanda Park, Los Angeles Directory Company, 1918).

Day took out several advertisements in the Pasadena Star-news:

Confusingly, one ad says 335 S. Raymond Ave. and another says 35 N. Raymond Ave.! Either way "since 1904 always at Boston Building" and "the only organization of it's kind in the west"! At least today, the Boston Building is at 35 N. Raymond Ave. (and is now condos, of course). This is also the first time I've seen his business described as "landscape development" (Pasadena Star-news, Pasadena Star News, 1919).

In 1919, Day did the landscaping for Douglas Fairbanks's house in Beverly Hills ('Fairbanks to Have New Home,' "Motion Pictures," The New York Clipper, July 16, 1919, accessed via lantern.mediahist.org).

Day was the low bidder" and was awarded the general contract for the 2nd St. school bldg." in Chino, CA (Building and Engineering News, Volume 22, 1922).

Day was "in charge of the basic layout of the development that encompassed three and half acres" of the aforementioned Oak Knoll Gardens neighborhood of Pasadena, CA from 1922-1923 ("Neighborhood History: Oak Knoll Gardens," Madison Heights Neighborhood Association newsletter, June 2009).

According to the Online Archive of California Collection Guide for the El Mirador Ranch Collection, Day was the engineer for the real estate development (El Mirador Ranch Collection, 1924-1965, Pasadena Museum of History, OAC).

Still in the Boston Building in 1925 (The Railroad Yardmaster, Railroad Yardmasters of America, 1925).

In 1925, the Corp. submitted the low bids to the city of Pasadena for "walks on Sierra Bonita Ave., betw. California St. and Lombardy Rd." and for improving Hawkeye St., "involv. oil mac. pave." They also submitted not-the-lowest bids in Pasadena and Monrovia, CA. They were awarded the contract by Los Angeles County for improving Chevy Chase Dr. between 1/2 mile northeast of southwest boundary of lot C and other boundaries I can't read in the scan unfortunately. I love when other companies list their clients to prove they make a good product, and Blaw-Knox Batcherplants includes Clarence P. Day Corporation in that capacity (Southwest Builder and Contractor, Volume 65, F. W. Dodge Company, 1925)! Batcher plants combine the ingredients of concrete.

According to the US Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form from 1997 for the Bekins Storage Co. Roof Sign on 511 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91105, Day constructed the sign in 1925-1926 for the Standard Fireproof Storage Company.

According to California Southland, the Clarence P. Day Corporation were engineers, contractors, and builders and were still located in the Boston Building in Pasadena, CA in 1926 (Volume 8, California Southland, 1926). That would be the aforementioned 35 N. Raymond Ave., I believe.

"Every motorist entering Ventura, California, finds a large sign which bears the A. G. C. SEal commanding his attention. The sign placed at the intersection of two main traffic arteries, heralds the work of Clarence P. Day Corporation on the Ventura Union High School" - this article was about the AGC, whom we've talked about before, but gives us a nice bit on Day, too! ("Marked Display Given Emblem of A. G. C." Constructor, Volume 8, Associated General Contractors of America, 1926).

Clarence P. Day was president, J. L Hazlehurst & S. J. Van Ornum were vice presidents, W. A. Moore was secretary, and E. R. Bartlett was treasurer of the Clarence P. Day Corporation in 1927. They were still in the Boston Building (Walker's Directory of Northern California Directors and Corporations (including Northern Nevada), Walker's Manual Incorporated, 1927).

In 1919, Day took out an ad stating they were the general contractors for the Westminster Presbyterian Church (The Architectural Digest, Volume VII, Number 3, 1929, John C. Brasfield, Los Angeles). The church is at 1757 N. Lake Avenue in Pasadena, CA. According to the church's website, the cornerstone was laid in 1927 and the dedication of the new church was November 25, 1928. As previously mentioned, it's now a landmark!

A flickr user named Luke Gattuso posted another contractor stamp photo which stated "Clarence P. Day Contractor Pasadena."

Some other work is documented in photography and is available through Pasadena Digital History:

"The Garden of Mr. Arthur Noble, Pasadena. Clarence P. Day, Landscape Engineer"

"The New Plunge at the Valley Hunt Club. Joseph Rhodes, Builder; Clarence P. Day, Concrete Work"

"Waterfall and Cistern"

Other source:

Kappa Alpha Record: Centennial Ed., 1825-1925, Being a Record of the Members and Activities of the Kappa Alpha Society, Kappa Alpha Society, Executive Council, 1926

[archoneddzs15]

Sega Mega CD - Game no Kanzume - Sega Games Can Volume 1

Title: Game no Kanzume - Sega Games Can Volume 1 / ゲームのかんづめ Ｓｅｇａ　Ｇａｍｅｓ　Ｃａｎ　ＶＯＬ.１

Developer/Publisher: Sega CS

Release date: 18 March 1994

Catalogue No.: G-6032

Genre: Various

Do you know the Sega Ages volumes for the Sega Saturn? Well, the Game Cans are pretty much the same but for Mega CD. They are pretty nice really with their novel can case. In the 1st volume shown here, you can find the following games, all of which were taken from their Sega Game Toshokan broadband bite-sized download library.

Flicky (God knows how many compilations this game has been on)

Paddle Fighter (crappy Air Hockey type game)

Hyper Marbles (pretty crappy game)

Pyramid Magic (nice puzzle game with 4 versions)

.....and four Phantasy Star II text adventures.

Volume 2 of game can is far better than this release. Oh, and before you go, all the music in this Mega CD disc is composed by none other than Jun Senoue before Crush 40 was even a thing.

[besteducationtips20]

Best IAS Coaching in India: Top 10 Institutes for Civil Services Aspirants

The journey to becoming an IAS officer is one of dedication, strategy, and the right mentorship. With thousands of coaching centers across India, finding the best one can be overwhelming. To ease your search, we’ve compiled a list of the Best IAS Coaching In India  , with Plutus IAS leading the pack. Let’s explore what makes these institutes exceptional.

1. Plutus IAS – The Ultimate Leader in IAS Coaching

If you’re looking for a coaching institute that blends technology with top-notch faculty, Plutus IAS is your best bet. Known for its small batch sizes, online & offline hybrid model, and one of the highest success rates, Plutus IAS has become the go-to choice for serious UPSC aspirants.

🔹 Why Plutus IAS?✅ Experienced faculty with a proven track record ✅ Interactive online and offline classes ✅ Personalized mentorship programs ✅ Comprehensive study materials and daily answer writing practice

2. Vajiram & Ravi – The Legacy Coaching

With over four decades of experience, Vajiram & Ravi has trained some of the top-ranking IAS officers. Their intensive classroom programs and high-quality notes make them a top choice.

3. Drishti IAS – A Hindi Medium Favorite

If you’re preparing in Hindi medium, Drishti IAS is the perfect coaching institute. Their well-structured study plan and mock test series help aspirants stay ahead in the game.

4. Vision IAS – Masters of Test Series

Vision IAS is widely known for its highly analytical test series and mentorship programs. Their innovative approach makes learning efficient and engaging.

5. Forum IAS – The Rising Star

Forum IAS has gained immense popularity for its mentorship-driven approach and interview guidance. Their success rate in recent years speaks volumes about their efficiency.

6. Rau’s IAS – The Oldest and Most Trusted Name

Established in 1953, Rau’s IAS is one of the pioneers of UPSC coaching in India. Their Foundation Course is highly recommended for beginners.

7. GS Score – The Concept-Based Approach

GS Score focuses on conceptual clarity and answer writing, making it a great choice for aspirants struggling with Mains.

8. Shankar IAS Academy �� South India’s Best

Shankar IAS Academy is a top-rated UPSC coaching institute in South India, with an excellent track record in Environmental Science & Geography.

9. NEXT IAS – The Tech-Savvy Learning Hub

A new-age coaching institute, NEXT IAS is backed by Made Easy, focusing on smart learning with digital resources.

10. KSG India – Mains Answer Writing Experts

Run by Dr. Khan, KSG India is known for its intensive Mains-focused program that sharpens answer-writing skills.

Final Thoughts: Which IAS Coaching Should You Choose?

Every aspirant has different needs. If you want small batch sizes and hybrid learning, Plutus IAS is the best. If test series matter, Vision IAS is a great pick. For Hindi medium students, Drishti IAS is unbeatable. Choose wisely based on your strengths and requirements!

[jesswallflowerreviews]

Veil Volume 2

by Kotteri, translated by Jocelyne Allen

4 Stars

Pub Date: May 07 2025

A copy was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This volume was a nice companion to the first. The writing style of disjointed scenes with beautiful artwork and colourful pages continues and this volume explores the relationship of these two characters outside the setting of their work at the police station. At the end, the author explains how these characters and the short scenes were previously posted in installments on social media before being compiled into these volumes, and that offered clarification and insight into the differences between this and a traditional manga. The art style is beautiful and in between the scenes, there is additional art in the style of flapper women and vintage women's fashion sketches.