#HISTORY WILL REMEMBER THIS DAY: AUDIOBOOKS

[edwardjones88]

HISTORY WILL REMEMBER THIS DAY: AUDIOBOOKS, GAMES & ART – 90% OFF. 📜 SCREENSHAKE WARNING

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[gauntletgirlie]

Get to know your Mutuals

Thanks for the tag @perlen-gold, even though I’m just an unhinged follower obsessed with your writing 🙈 I started my own chain so your original post wouldn’t get too long.

What's the origin of your blog's title? My thirst for Adar and the gauntlet kink he inspired.

Favorite Fandoms: I have a lot, but The Silmarillion/The Lord of the Rings/The Rings of Power are my main ones I always fall back on.

OTP(s) + shipname: I’m a self shipper so me + whomever I’m obsessed with (currently Melkor, Adar, and Gil-galad) but also more recently:

Melkor x Mairon (Angbang)

Adar x Celebrimbor (Silverscars)

Favorite color: Orange (also partial to purple and dark green).

Favorite game: Hero Quest (I’m not a console gamer. Though I did enjoy watching my husband play Horizon Zero Dawn).

Song stuck in your head: Dog Days (Are Over) by Florence and The Machine.

Weirdest habit/trait? Oh boy, where to begin… I make random noises, I meep like Beaker to songs, laugh at my own jokes… I’m just a weird person altogether folks.

Hobbies: Writing, visiting places of historical interest, I also used to be an avid reader but then motherhood robbed me of my energy and concentration. I listen to audiobooks more now.

If you work, what's your profession? I write scientific reports and run data tables for an Early Drug Development CRO, which is as fun as it sounds. I’m also a mother. Everything you’ve heard about motherhood is true and also a lie.

If you could have any job you wish what would it be? I would be rich enough not to need to work 🤷🏻‍♀️ or working on a petting farm would be cute.

Something you're good at: Berating myself. Encouraging others/being a cheerleader. Also writing, I hope 🙈

Something you're bad at: Most things, but especially anything requiring mathematics or physical exercise.

Something you excel at: Being a silly goose 😏thirsting over fictional characters 🙈 and raging at injustices. Erm, I think that’s about it. How tragic for me 😂

Something you love: The community I’ve found here on Tumblr 🫶🏼 period dramas, Dracula, and tattoos (I have none of my own… yet).

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: Mormonism, The Wars of the Roses, the people I love.

Something you hate: Injustice, mayonnaise, and corsets improperly portrayed in period drama.

Something you collect: Cuddly toy bats, and more characters to thirst over (I need help).

Something you forget: That motherhood is difficult so to give myself more grace.

What's your love language? I don’t adhere to love languages, but I guess genuine connection over similar interests, banter/in-jokes.

Favorite movie/show: Aaahhh don’t make me choose! It’s always changing.

Favorite food: Galaxy Cookie Crumble, Mini Eggs, Yorkshire puddings, and pizza.

Favorite animal: Bats 🦇

Are you musical? I can hold a tune and I played flute as a kid, otherwise sadly no.

What were you like as a child? Intelligent, saw everything in black and white, more artistic, more outgoing.

Favorite subject at school? History and art.

Least favorite subject? Maths and PE.

What's your best character trait? I like to think I’m kind and understanding.

What's your worst character trait? I can be so incredibly lazy.

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? More sleep. Always more sleep.

If you could travel in time who would you like to meet? Bram Stoker. I’d also love to meet my mum as a young woman, I think we would have had fun.

Recommend one of your favorite fanfics (spread the love!):

Come by @perlen-gold (Angbang)

Of Convenience by @greenleaf4stuff (Silverscars)

Last but not least, show your favorite fanart of your favorite character(s) (please remember to credit/add links!):

Melkor/Morgoth

Adar

Gil-Galad (TROP)

No pressure tags for @greenleaf4stuff, @valar-did-me-wrong, @strifes13, @wowstrawberrycow, @iwanderbecauseimlost, @withallthatisleftofmyheart, @calmlyy-chaotiic, @margauxmara, @varda-starqueen, @saffronstories, @gingeragenda, @gracefallingart, @dwarveslikeshinythings, @whenimaunicorn, @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 and anyone else who would like to play! Sorry if I missed anyone.

[storm-angel989]

Hello!!

I was wondering if you could do a Val x daughter teen reader.

- She’s super duper sleep deprived (yawning every other 5 minutes and it’s so obvious she’s fighting to stay awake), and relies on a crap ton of energy drinks to keep her up and going. How would Val, Vel, and Vox react to finding out about this?

Hi Friend,

Thank you so much for your patience <3

As all three of the Vee’s very well know, sleep is so important. They want to see Reader succeed, but not at the expense of her own health. So take a peek at what happens!

Enjoy!

<3 Mandy

My official bedtime is eleven. I crawl into bed at two. 

My day started at 4:30.

Get up. Drag myself to the gym. Lately, I’ve been listening to my textbooks on audiobook while I run because I, for the life of me, can’t get my brain to retain any of the information. My first sip of an energy drink is paired with water as I frantically scramble to scrub my hair and get dressed in my uniform before I need to leave for school. 

Seven thirty. Skip breakfast in favor of the second energy drink of the day. Slide into my homeroom seat exactly six minutes before the bell rings. I can’t be late, or else I risk getting kicked off the water polo team. 

School ends at three. I lose track of how many energy drinks I buy, how many cups of coffee I consume. All I know is it’s easier to study and drink coffee than it is to study and eat. And midterms start tomorrow. 

Practice starts at three thirty and by the time I get in the water, my week and a half worth of cramming for midterms is starting to catch up to me. It’s all I can do to stay awake, and unlike the other girls, I’m grateful for the freezing cold water. 

This routine had been mine for the past two weeks, and I was exhausted. Cramming for exams always sucked, but this time around felt harder than most. 

“I just need to review one more chapter,” I promised myself as I climbed into the limo. The ache in my head matched the heaviness of my eyelids and I let out another yawn. “One more chapter, and then…”

Out of habit, I pulled out my exam schedule. I felt my heart drop and jolted awake as I read through the test list for the next day. Fuck. Science was tomorrow. Not history. I hadn’t even started to review science.  I opened up another energy drink as I stared into the eyes of what would be another all nighter. As the last drop of liquid entered my body, I could feel my heart beat- an uncomfortable buzz. I tried to ignore it as I exited the limo and trudged upstairs. My mind blurred as I went through the motions without remembering exactly what I was doing. 

“Ah, princessa, I’m glad you’re home,” my father’s voice floated across the room. “Your Uncle Vox just finished making dinner. Come sit.”

“I can’t, Daddy, midterms start tomorrow,” I replied through a yawn. “I have to study, I mixed up…”

“You can’t study on an empty tummy. Your body needs fuel,” my Aunt Velvette replied.

Her tone told me I wasn’t getting out of it. I dropped my backpack and hazily made my way across the living room. I stumbled but caught myself on the table. I could feel all three sets of eyes on me as I righted myself and slowly sank into my chair. 

“Babygirl, are you feeling okay?” Vox asked as he pressed his hand to my forehead. “You don’t look good.”

“No, no you don’t,” my father added. “Did you eat before practice?”

I tried to remember but the memories of the day wouldn’t come. I shrugged in response. 

“Have you been drinking?” Velvette demanded after a moment of silence. She crossed her arms. “You’re stumbling, you’re pale, you’re slurring your words, something is wrong.”

“No! I’m just, I’m really tired,” I protested as I tried to bite back a yawn. “Midterms, they're tomorrow and I..I need to study. I can have another energy drink, maybe that will help.”

I went to push myself up from the table and felt the heaviness of Vox’s hands on my shoulder hold me in place. His other hand reached over and clicked on my VoxTech watch. 

“When did you go to bed last night?” My father asked gently. 

“More importantly, how many energy drinks did you have today?” Vox asked. 

Unable to hold back, I yawned. “It's midterm week, I dunno. Guys, I have to study, I…” 

I watched all three of them exchange glances. Vox hit a button on my watch and they both looked at their phones. Alarm spread over each of their faces.

“No. You’re not going anywhere except to bed,” my father said firmly as he stood up. 

“Dad, no, I’m…I’m fine..” I started to protest as he lifted me into his arms. “Daddy, I’m sixteen, lemme go…” I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as I tried to push myself away from him. 

“Mhm, yeah, you’re right, you are sixteen,” he replied softly.

The next thing I knew, he laid me down in my bed and pulled the covers over me. I felt the weight of his body on the bed as he sat down next to me. 

“Close your eyes, ninita,” he said softly. “You need to rest.”

Under the warmth of the covers, snuggled in the comfort of my bed, exhaustion swept over me. Unable to fight, I sank into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

It could have been days, or hours later. As I slowly came to, the red digits of my alarm clock flashed. Eleven thirty am. Panic rushed through me. Late! I was so late! I sat straight up, but before I could swing myself out of bed, Vox’s hand pushed me down. 

“Hey, hey kid. Calm down. Relax, you’re fine,” he said soothingly.

“No, Uncle Vox I have my history midterm today, I have to go, I’m so late!” I babbled as I tried to push against him.

“You’ll make them up, deep breath,” he replied evenly. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m going to let your Dad and Vel know you’re awake. If I let you go, will you please stay down?”

Slowly, I nodded as the panic began to subside. He released me and sat down on the bed next to me. A few moments later, the door opened and they both walked into the room. 

“How are you feeling?” my father asked. 

“Better? Dad, my midterms, practice, I have homework,” I began.

He held up his hand. “Stop. Take a breath. Uncle Vox called the school. Your midterms are rescheduled for two weeks from now. Lots of time to study without you running yourself down to nothing.” 

“As for homework and practice, you don’t have to worry about that until Monday, which is when you’re allowed to go back to school,” Velvette added. 

“Allowed back to school? What the fuck does that mean?” I asked. 

“It means you’ve been asleep for almost a day and a half. It’s Thursday, sweetheart,” Vox said gently. 

Panic washed over me. A day and a half? I slept for a day and a half?

“See, the problem with sleep deprivation is that it catches up to you. No amount of energy drinks or coffee can fix the issue. The only way to feel better is to sleep,” he continued. “And it appears that you, little girl, pushed yourself to your max.”

“And could have done some serious damage to your body in the process,” my father added. “So this is how the rest of this weekend goes. You’re going to the doctors to get checked over…”

“Why? I was just overtired,” I protested. 

“No, you were exhausted. And you consumed so much caffeine your heart rate and your blood pressure were sky high,” Vox answered.

“Your Aunt Velvette, Uncle Vox and I have been taking turns sitting with you just to make sure you were okay,” my father added. “So no. A checkup is not negotiable. We’re also going to have a discussion with the doctor on the importance of sleep and the negative effects caffeine can have on the body. Anyway, after you get the all clear, you are going to spend the weekend resting. You can watch movies, study for a few hours, I don’t care. But when your body is tired, you need to sleep. Otherwise, you’re not going to recover from this.”

I felt myself deflate. “Am I grounded too?”

“Call it grounding if you want, but you’re staying home all weekend,” my father replied calmly. 

A thousand protests raced through my mind. I had an away game this week. I needed to keep in shape. I had projects to do and laps to swim. But as I studied the concerned expression on my fathers face, I realized that nothing I could say would make them change their minds. The creeping feeling of exhaustion swept over me and I yawned as I settled back against the pillows. 

I felt lips press to my forehead and I snuggled back under the covers. Maybe a bit more sleep wouldn't hurt.

[meichenxi]

which 'shoulds' can you get rid of?

I want to read non-fiction, but whenever I try, I can't remember shit. this is a Problem. I have since been diagnosed with both autism and adhd, and I realised that: this part of my brain is not going to magically get better.

this is Also a Problem.

to give you an extent of the Problem: during covid, I read the history of japan and a week later had forgotten every single era except the meiji one. To this day, I have absolutely no idea what happened in japan beyond that bill wurtz video. It’s got islands. It’s volcanoes. It had a shogunate. Uhhhh

it only occurred to me about two weeks ago to try audible. and it has completely changed my life.

I should be able to read non-fiction. I should read physically, because I read so quickly and it's such a waste of time to listen to audiobooks. I should read more. I should read. I should -

okay. but I'm now listening to 2+ hours of lectures on the history of china every day. I'm learning about mengzi, xunzi, weizi, han feizi, numerous philosophers I'd heard of and never interrogated more, because I couldn't read the damn books. I'm feeling curious about other things that I haven't felt curious about in ages - how did confucianism spread to other asian countries? how did buddhism change after it entered china? and even parts of later history I have never really been grabbed by: what actually happened in the sino-japanese war?

for the first time in years, I feel hope: that maybe, just maybe, this is the way to learn that works for me. (I'm also actually doing chores about the house, because I get bored of sitting still.)

what could you do, if you got rid of your 'should's?

[ohsalome]

Ivan and Phoebe by Oksana Lutsyshyna

Ivan and Phoebe is a novel about a revolution of consciousness triggered by very different events, both global and personal. This is a book about the choices we make, even if we decide to just go with the flow of life. It is about cruelty, guilt, love, passion – about many things, and most importantly, about Ukraine of the recent past, despite or because of which it has become what it is today.

The story told in Oksana Lutsyshyna’s novel Ivan and Phoebe is set during a critical period – the 1990s. In the three decades that have passed since gaining independence, Ukraine has experienced many socio-political, economic, and cultural changes that have yet to be fully expressed. The Revolution of Dignity in 2014 marked a pivotal moment in the country’s history, as it signaled a shift towards European integration and a strong desire to distance itself from Moscow. Prior to this, Ukrainian culture had remained overshadowed by Russian influence, struggled to compete for an audience and was consequently constrained in exploring vital issues.

77 days of February. Living and dying in Ukraine

"77 Days," is a compelling anthology by contributors to Reporters, a Ukrainian platform for longform journalism. The book, published in English as both an e-book and an audiobook by Scribe Originals.

"77 Days'' offers a tapestry of styles and experiences from over a dozen contributors, making it a complex work to define. It includes narratives about those who stayed put as the Russians advanced, and the horror they encountered, like Zoya Kramchenko’s defiant "Kherson is Ukraine," Vira Kuryko’s somber "Ten Days in Chernihiv," and Inna Adruh’s wry "I Can’t Leave – I’ve Got Twenty Cats." The collection also explores the ordeal of fleeing, as in Kateryna Babkina’s stark "Surviving Teleportation '' and "There Were Four People There. Only the Mother Survived." 

It also highlights tales of Ukrainians who created safe havens amidst the turmoil, such as Olga Omelyanchuk’s "Hippo and the Team," about zookeepers safeguarding animals in an occupied private zoo near Kyiv, and one of Paplauskaite’s three pieces, "Les Kurbas Theater Military Hostel," depicting an historic Lviv theater turned shelter for the displaced, including the writer/editor herself.

In the Eye of the Storm. Modernism in Ukraine 1900’s – 1930’s

This book was inspired by the exhibition of the same name that took place in Madrid, at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, and is currently at the Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany. 

Rather than being a traditional catalogue, the publishers and authors took a more ambitious approach. Rather than merely publishing several texts and works from the exhibition, they choose to showcase the history of the Ukrainian avant-garde in its entirety – from the first avant-garde exhibition in Kyiv to the eventual destruction of works and their relegation to the "special funds" of museums, where they were hidden from public view.

These texts explain Ukrainian context to those who may have just learned about the distinction between Ukrainian and Russian art. Those "similarities" are also a product of colonization. It was achieved not only through the physical elimination of artists or Russification – artists were also often forced to emigrate abroad for political or personal reasons. Under the totalitarian regime, discussing or remembering these artists was forbidden. Archives and cultural property were also destroyed or taken to Russia.

"The Yellow Butterfly" by Oleksandr Shatokhin 

"The Yellow Butterfly" is poised to become another prominent Ukrainian book on the themes of war and hope. It has been listed among the top 100 best picture books of 2023, according to the international art platform dPICTUS.

The book was crafted amidst the ongoing invasion. Oleksandr and his family witnessed columns of occupiers, destroyed buildings, and charred civilian cars. Shatokhin describes the book’s creation as a form of therapy, a way to cope with the horrors. "During this time my vision became clearer about what I wanted to create – a silent book about hope, victory, the transition from darkness to light, something symbolic," he explains.

Although "The Yellow Butterfly" is a wordless book, today its message resonates with readers across the globe.

A Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails by Halyna Kruk

A Crash Course in Molotov Cocktails is a bilingual poetry book (Ukrainian and English) about war, written between 2013 and 2022, based on Halyna’s experience as an author, volunteer, wife of a military man and witness to conflict. 

The Ukrainian-speaking audience is well-acquainted with Halyna Kruk – a poet, prose author and literature historian. Kruk is increasingly active on the international stage, with her poetry featured in numerous anthologies across various languages, including Italian, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, English, German, Lithuanian, Georgian and Vietnamese. 

For an English-speaking audience, her poetry unveils a realm of intense and delicate experiences, both in the midst of disaster and in the anticipation of it. The poems are succinct, direct, and highly specific, often depicting real-life events and individuals engaged in combat, mourning, and upholding their right to freedom.

[pencildragons]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

thanks for tagging me @voidcat-senket :D

3 Ships I Like: fox/quinlan, gideon/harrow, house/wilson

First Ship Ever: lowk i think it was hiccstrid ........... definitely the first ship i wrote for during The Dark Days (when i was on wattpad lol). love those guys

Last Song You Heard: technically 'wayfarin' stranger' because i was in a choir rehearsal an hour ago, but the last song i Listened to was 'something in the way she moves' by james taylor whom i love forever and ever and ever and ever and

Favorite Childhood Book: i was WILDLY obsessed with beatrix potter. like listen-to-the-audiobook-cds-every-night + being able to recite most of the books from heart with the inflections of the narrators, kind of obssessed lolol (/hj) . in retrospect i really should've been diagnosed with autism sooner /j . of those tho i think the ones i remember listening to the most were the tale of little pig robinson, the tale of pigling bland, and the tale of mr tod

Currently Reading: looks nervously at the book i havent read for a fortnight and then at my huge to read shelf . currently i'm reading the history of magic: from alchemy to witchcraft, from the ice-age to the present by chris gosden! it's a history/anthropology book about the intersections between magic + science + religion in different world cultures across time and i've kind of been in the process of reading it for . four years. i have been reading this book longer than i've been transgender which is a really wild thing when i think about it ..... i should finish that tbh

Currently Watching: House MD :D i love house im so so normal about house md [<<<lying]

Currently Consuming: actually not consuming anything right now BUT i had a very very very good quiche earlier

Currently Craving: ack i have to think about My Body And The Feelings Within now .... hmm ........ yoghurt i think .... i love yoghurt ..... it is SO bad for me

I tag…

@hastalavistabyebye @lttrsfrmlnrrgby @whiskygoldwings @puppymons @corpsecowboy @pyrrhawakeisms @larcenistarsonist @sta-ccat-o @stardustloki

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The long sleep of capitalism’s watchdogs

There are only five more days left in my Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

One of the weirdest aspect of end-stage capitalism is the collapse of auditing, the lynchpin of investing. Auditors – independent professionals who sign off on a company's finances – are the only way that investors can be sure they're not handing their money over to failing businesses run by crooks.

It's just not feasible for investors to talk to supply-chain partners and retailers and verify that a company's orders and costs are real. Investors can't walk into a company's bank and demand to see their account histories. Auditors – who are paid by companies, but work for themselves – are how investors avoid shoveling money into Ponzi-pits.

Attentive readers will have noticed that there is an intrinsic tension in an arrangement where someone is paid by a company to certify its honesty. The company gets to decide who its auditors are, and those auditors are dependent on the company for future business. To manage this conflict of interest, auditors swear fealty to a professional code of ethics, and are themselves overseen by professional boards with the power to issue fines and ban cheaters.

Enter monopolization. Over the past 40 years, the US government conducted a failed experiment in allowing companies to form monopolies on the theory that these would be "efficient." From Boeing to Facebook, Cigna to InBev, Warner to Microsoft, it has been a catastrophe. The American corporate landscape is dominated by vast, crumbling, ghastly companies whose bad products and worse corporate conduct are locked in a race to see who can attain the most depraved enshittification quickest.

The accounting profession is no exception. A decades-long incestuous orgy of mergers and acquisitions yielded up an accounting sector dominated by just four firms: EY, KPMG, PWC and Deloitte (the last holdout from the alphabetsoupification of corporate identity). Virtually every major company relies on one of these companies for auditing, but that's only a small part of corporate America's relationship with these tottering behemoths. The real action comes from "consulting."

Each of the Big Four accounting firms is also a corporate consultancy. Some of those consulting services are the normal work of corporate consultants – cookie cutter advice to fire workers and reduce product quality, as well as supplying dangerously defecting enterprise software. But you can get that from the overpaid enablers at McKinsey or BCG. The advantage of contracting with a Big Four accounting firm for consulting is that they can help you commit finance fraud.

Remember: if you're an executive greenlighting fraud, you mostly just want to be sure it's not discovered until after you've pocketed your bonus and moved on. After all, the pro-monopoly experiment was also an experiment in tolerating corporate crime. Executives who cheat their investors, workers and suppliers typically generate fines for their companies, while escaping any personal liability.

By buying your cheating advice from the same company that is paid to certify that you're not cheating, you greatly improve your chances of avoiding detection until you've blown town.

Which brings me to the idea of the "bezzle." This is John Kenneth Galbraith's term for "the weeks, months, or years that elapse between the commission of the crime and its discovery." This is the period in which both the criminal and the victim feel like they're better off. The crook has the victim's money, and the victim doesn't know it. The Bezzle is that interval when you're still assuming that FTX isn't lying to you about the crazy returns they're generating for your crypto. It's the period between you getting the shrinkwrapped box with a 90% discounted PS5 in it from a guy in an alley, and getting home and discovering that it's full of bricks and styrofoam.

Big Accounting is a factory for producing bezzles at scale. The game is rigged, and they are the riggers. When banks fail and need a public bailout, chances are those banks were recently certified as healthy by one of the Big Four, whose audited bank financials failed 800 re-audits between 2009-17:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/28/cyberwar-tactics/#aligned-incentives

The Big Four dispute this, of course. They claim to be models of probity, adhering to the strictest possible ethical standards. This would be a lot easier to believe if KPMG hadn't been caught bribing its regulators to help its staff cheat on ethics exams:

https://www.nysscpa.org/news/publications/the-trusted-professional/article/sec-probe-finds-kpmg-auditors-cheating-on-training-exams-061819

Likewise, it would be easier to believe if their consulting arms didn't keep getting caught advising their clients on how to cheat their auditing arms:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/09/dingo-babysitter/#maybe-the-dingos-ate-your-nan

Big Accounting is a very weird phenomenon, even by the standards of End-Stage Capitalism. It's an organized system of millionaire-on-billionaire violence, a rare instance of the very richest people getting scammed the hardest:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/04/aaronsw/#crooked-ref

The collapse of accounting is such an ominous and fractally weird phenomenon, it inspired me to write a series of hard-boiled forensic accountancy novels about a two-fisted auditor named Martin Hench, starting with last year's Red Team Blues (out in paperback next week!):

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865854/redteamblues

The sequel to Red Team Blues is called (what else?) The Bezzle, and part of its ice-cold revenge plot involves a disillusioned EY auditor who can't bear to be part of the scam any longer:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-bezzle-a-martin-hench-audiobook-amazon-wont-sell

The Hench stories span a 40-year period, and are a chronicle of decades of corporate decay. Accountancy is the perfect lens for understanding our modern fraud economy. After all, it was crooked accountants who gave us the S&L crisis:

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=10130&context=etd

Crooked auditors were at the center of the Great Financial Crisis, too:

https://francinemckenna.com/2009/12/07/they-werent-there-auditors-and-the-financial-crisis/

And of course, crooked auditors were behind the Enron fraud, a rare instance in which a fraud triggered a serious attempt to prevent future crimes, including the destruction of accounting giant Arthur Andersen. After Enron, Congress passed Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), which created a new oversight board called the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

The PCAOB is a watchdog for watchdogs, charged with auditing the auditors and punishing the incompetent and corrupt among them. Writing for The American Prospect and the Revolving Door Project, Timi Iwayemi describes the long-running failure of the PCAOB to do its job:

https://prospect.org/power/2024-01-26-corporate-self-oversight/

For example: from 2003-2019, the PCAOB undertook only 18 enforcement cases – even though the PCAOB also detected more than 800 "seriously defective audits" by the Big Four. And those 18 cases were purely ornamental: the PCAOB issued a mere $6.5m in fines for all 18, even though they could have fined the accounting companies $1.6 billion:

https://www.pogo.org/investigations/how-an-agency-youve-never-heard-of-is-leaving-the-economy-at-risk

Few people are better on this subject than the investigative journalist Francine McKenna, who has just co-authored a major paper on the PCAOB:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4227295

The paper uses a new data set – documents disclosed in a 2019 criminal trial – to identify the structural forces that cause the PCAOB to be such a weak watchdog whose employees didn't merely fail to do their jobs, but actually criminally abetted the misdeeds of the companies they were supposed to be keeping honest.

They put the blame – indirectly – on the SEC. The PCAOB has three missions: protecting investors, keeping markets running smoothly, and ensuring that businesses can raise capital. These missions come into conflict. For example, declaring one of the Big Four auditors ineligible would throw markets into chaos, removing a quarter of the auditing capacity that all public firms rely on. The Big Four are the auditors for 99.7% of the S&P 500, and certify the books for the majority of all listed companies:

https://blog.auditanalytics.com/audit-fee-trends-of-sp-500/

For the first two decades of the PCAOB's existence, the SEC insisted that conflicts be resolved in ways that let the auditing firms commit fraud, because the alternative would be bad for the market.

So: rather than cultivating an adversarial relationship to the Big Four, the PCAOB effectively merged with them. Two of its board seats are reserved for accountants, and those two seats have been occupied by Big Four veterans almost without exception:

https://www.pogo.org/investigations/captured-financial-regulator-at-risk

It was no better on the SEC side. The Office of the Chief Accountant is the SEC's overseer for the PCAOB, and it, too, has operated with a revolving door between the Big Four and their watchdog (indeed, the Chief Accountant is the watchdog for the watchdog for the watchdogs!). Meanwhile, staffers from the Office of the Chief Accountant routinely rotated out of government service and into the Big Four.

This corrupt arrangement reached a crescendo in 2019, with the appointment of William Duhnke – formerly of Senator Richard Shelby's [R-AL] staff – took over as Chief Accountant. Under Duhnke's leadership, the already-toothless watchdog was first neutered, then euthanized. Duhnke fired all four heads of the PCAOB's main division and then left their seats vacant for 18 months. He slashed the agency's budget, "weakened inspection requirements and auditor independence policies, and disregarded obligations to hold Board meetings and publicize its agenda."

All that ended in 2021, when SEC chair Gary Gensler fired Duhnke and replaced him with Erica Williams, at the insistence of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Within a year, Williams had issued 42 enforcement actions, the largest number since 2017, levying over $11m in sanctions:

https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2023/01/pcaob-sets-aggressive-agenda-for-2023-what-to-expect-as-agency-enforcement-expands

She was just getting warmed up: last year, PCAOB collected $20m in fines, with five cases seeing fines in excess of $2m each, a record:

https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/2024/01/pcaobs-enforcement-and-standard-setting-rev-up-what-to-expect-in-2024

Williams isn't shy about condemning the Big Four, publicly sounding the alarm that 40% of the 2022 audits the PCAOB reviewed were deficient, up from 34% in 2021 and 29% in 2020:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/we-audit-the-auditors-and-we-found-trouble-accountability-capital-markets-c5587f05

Under Williams, the PCAOB has enacted new, muscular rules on lead auditors' duties, and they're now consulting on a rule that will make audit inspections much faster, shortening the documentation period from 45 days to 14:

https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/news/pcaob-rulemaking-could-lead-to-more-timely-issuance-of-audit-inspection-reports/

Williams is no fire-breathing leftist. She's an alum of the SEC and a BigLaw firm, creating modest, obvious technical improvements to a key system that capitalism requires for its orderly functioning. Moreover, she is competent, able to craft regulations that are effective and enforceable. This has been a motif within the Biden administration:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/18/administrative-competence/#i-know-stuff

But though these improvements are decidedly moderate, they are grounded in a truly radical break from business-as-usual in the age of monopoly auditors. It's a transition from self-regulation to regulation. As @40_Years on Twitter so aptly put it: "Self regulation is to regulation as self-importance is to importance":

https://twitter.com/40_Years/status/1750025605465178260

Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28 - THIS SUNDAY!) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/26/noclar-war/#millionaire-on-billionaire-violence

Back the Kickstarter for the audiobook of The Bezzle here!

Image: Sam Valadi (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/17086570218/

Disco Dan (modified)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/danhogbenspics/8318883471/

CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

[inthefightgarden]

so umm i just finished mother of learning in like 5 days, and my brain is now full of wriggling squiggling worms. i'm also just starting a re-read with the audiobook and it is already giving me even more questions and ideas! so here i am to share my wormy burden ^_^

anyway, here's something chapter 1 started me thinking about...

do you think zorian's mother knows about their bloodline? (also her name is cikan. i had to look it up, so saying it here incase anyone else needed reminding)

we know that cikan really hated being associated with zorian's grandmother, but she was still immersed in witch culture at least somewhat in her home life. we don't really know how old she was when she first started to reject those practices, so it's hard to judge how much she would have learned before she went out of her way to avoid it, and we also just don't have enough context about the witches' traditions for raising their kids to make guesses about her knowlege level.

we do see later on in the series (what comes to mind is the confrontation in koth) that cikan doesn't have much knowlege about magic as zorian knows it (eg. what you can expect from certain spells used for travel), but given that the witches are an separate spellcasting tradition from the ikosians that doesn't necessarily tell us loads about what she might have picked up from her mother.

also, knowing you have a bloodline is pretty important information to have, so even with the antagonism you'd think zorian's grandmother would've at least made sure cikan knew about that... if SHE knew, anyway, cause that's also not something we can really take for granted is it? there are a few ways i can picture it being

option 1. most of what we see in the series is not typical from an empathy bloodline. archmage zorian is an outlier and should not be counted. and even daimen, the more "normal" natural mind mage is still a whole magical prodigy, which isn't exactly baseline for most people with empathy either. so yeah... zorian's grandmother may not have known that she had a empathy in her family in the first place.

option 2. we do hear (i don't remember when or who from. maybe one of the teachers? was it ilsa? idk) that empathy is a pretty common form of natural magical ability, and it's kind of a mild plot twist that it's a bloodline thing if i remember correctly. so even if zorian's grandmother knew about an empath in her family history she might not have known that meant it could pass down.

option 3. part of the reason in world that empathy isn't usually thought of as a bloodline thing (again, if i'm remembering right) is because it's so comparatively common, so it's entirely possible that empathy bloodlines (and possibly to a lesser extent bloodlines in general) are just quite common for witches to the extent that it's not really something that needs to be said explicitly, or at least wouldn't have been if cikan hadn't done so much to assimilate with the dominant culture and distance herself from witch tradition and knowlege

BUT, those options are thinking about the reasons cikan might NOT know about their bloodline... so again, does she know? even if she doesn't think of it as a bloodline she might be aware that her family has a history of empathy. so now for some thoughts on what the situation might be if she IS aware of the family history.

(note. i'm pretty damn sure cikan herself isn't an empath. zorian would be able to tell if she was "open", and she just doesn't have that understanding of how other people feel. but if you think otherwise, or just want to think about a "what if", i'd love to hear about it ^-^)

(oh and same goes for kiri and fortov)

cikan might know that there's a family history, but not really know what that means in practise. as i mentioned earlier she doesn't seem very knowlegable on magic, so she might not have any clue about the signs and how it typically presents.

she also might be in denial about the possibility that her kids inherited something like that from her, given what we've seen of how she thinks about her heritage. or she might have focused any concern about the possibility onto kirielle, who seems to be where much of her trauma goes, and not considered that the boys might get it. especially considering the witches' beliefs about sex and magical lineage.

but she also might know or suspect that zorian and/or daimen is an empath. which if nothing else is certainly the option with the most potential drama.

personally, i doubt she knows that daimen is an empath. he put a lot of work into hiding it, and i feel like it would probably affect how he sees him. given how much baggage she has about her witch heritage i just can't see that knowlege not somewhat tainting her golden boy, you know? like i know she's fine with him being a mage and really proud of his prodigy status, but i just can't envision her seeing empathy the same way, and i think it would come through in a slightly colder attitude to daimen. especially given the cultural stigma against mind magic when she's worked so hard to become socially acceptable.

but i'm just not sure whether she knows about zorian or not! on the one hand i could totally see her just being oblivious, in denial, not having the right context, whatever, but I can also kind of see the way she treats him (specifically in relation to him socialising and stuff), through the lense of knowing he's an empath.

like he straight up told her as a child that crowds caused him physical pain. he had tp stop going to church because it made him actually pass out! that is some pretty intense stuff to just ignore... we're never told that he saw a doctor or anything about this via his parents (as far as i remember, please let me know if i'm missimg something!) so did she have some idea about what was going on or was it just plain neglect?

and if she did have some understanding of the situation, how did that affect her behaviour? did she think if she ignored it he'd just adjust and never find out? did she just not want it to be associated with her family history if/when he did find out? did she think that if she forced him into triggering situations he'd eventually realise? or that he'd learn to control it subconciously? or did it just not matter how he felt as long as he was still functional when it came to his political use? did she hide it more out of personal shame, or a legitimate conviction that she was protecting him like with kiri?

like i said, i'm not sure what my headcannon is, but the topic fascinates me. as you can probably tell from how long and rambly this got. sorry ^_^'

but yeah, i'd love to hear what other people think!

[cultivating-wildflowers]

2024 Reading - March

By now it is clear that I will not achieve my arbitrary goal of reading 100 books this year, and that's fine. My overall progress so far is what I really care about. I am confronting my TBR, I've already read a good number of nonfics, and for the most part my reading has been enjoyable.

While I do have some large books coming up on my list, I am hoping to set aside a little time in April to get to a couple of anticipated rereads (finally) because I'm starting to crave a change of pace into something more familiar.

Total books: 4  |  New reads: 4   |   2024 TBR completed: 5 (2 DNF) / 9/36 total   |   2024 Reading Goal: 11/100

February | April

potential reading list from March 1st

#1 - Dorothy and Jack: The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis by Gina Dalfonzo - 4/5 stars (audio)

After the whole Thing with The Mutual Admiration Society, I went into this book with no small amount of trepidation.

I was immediately put at ease.

This was a surprisingly cozy little book that accomplished what it set out to do. It wasn't horribly deep, but it was thorough and heartwarming. And I found myself cheering when I discovered that Sayers and I apparently have the same opinions about a certain aspect of Paradise Lost, so that was fun.

It does lose a star for spending what felt like too long on the Charles Williams scandal. I think the writer was trying to make a point but I'm a bit lost on what it was.

Notes: 1) Do not get the audiobook if you are at all put off by poor pronunciation and enunciation. The narrator couldn't even say "Pevensie" correctly. 2) I have to be objective, since I kicked up such a stink with the last Sayers-adjacent nonfic I tried, and say there is a bit of bias to this one, with the writer coming from an Evangelical background. It's not overpowering but I would say it informs Dalfonzo's approach. (Which...is how writing works. Whatever.)

#2 - Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - 5/5 stars ('24 TBR)

"There are men who are wolves inside, and want to eat up other people to fill their bellies. That it what was in your house with you, all your life. But here you are with your brothers, and you are not eaten up, and there is not a wolf inside you. You have fed each other, and you kept the wolf away. That is all we can do for each other in the world, to keep the wolf away."

I haven't had much luck with Novik in the past. I read Uprooted probably six years ago and remember it struck me as kind of bland and disjointed. When A Deadly Education was released I picked it up, excited by the premise, but didn't make it through the first chapter. I was starting to think Novik's style just wasn't for me.

Then while chatting with Elsabet (@eddis-not-eeddis), she mentioned how much she loves Spinning Silver and urged me to give it a try, so here we are.

Friends.

I did in fact enjoy it quite a lot.

The standout aspect for me is how Novik writes relationships. Any kind of relationship. Even the little ones that barely get a paragraph's mention. And then we get to see how those relationships build bonds, build links, make their own kind of magic, and I'm sold. This is how you flesh out characters. And this is how you make me care about them and connect with them.

Novik still has a very distinct style that sometimes trips me up, but it works.

(side note: I always forget Novik helped found AO3, and every time I'm reminded I go "oh yeah! good for her!)

More like this: "The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden; "Anya and the Dragon" by Sofiya Pasternack (middle grade but the same sort of vibes); "Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow" by Jessica Day George.

#3 - A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan - 4/5 stars ('24 TBR, audio)

Fantastically written, well-paced, with an engaging narrative and a solid cast of characters. However, it works well as a stand-alone and I’m not sure whether or not I’ll continue the series. There was something in it that was lacking for me personally. I would definitely recommend it, though!

More like this: the Emily Wilde series; the Frontier Magic trilogy by Patricia C. Wrede.

#4 - South With the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery by Lynne Cox - 3/5 stars ('24 TBR)

If you’re looking for a book that's strictly about Roald Amundsen, don't start here. This book is half a general history of 19th century polar exploration leading up to Roald Amundsen; and half a recounting of some of Lynne Cox’s swimming accomplishments, which were largely inspired by Amundsen's work and travels.

I also wouldn't recommend this as a starting-off point for people who aren't familiar with the details of Lynne's story, since she ties so much of that into Amundsen's story.

Overall, it was a decent enough read. Lynne's passion and enthusiasm are plain all throughout the story, but her writing voice is lacking and parts of the book--especially those focusing on Amundsen's various expeditions--were clumsily written and difficult to follow. Amundsen finally crossing the North Pole received a grand total of one paragraph and was so unclear that I had to read it twice and then google the details of the endeavor to understand the significance of the dates listed. The last hundred pages are a proper muddle.

DNF

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern ('24 TBR) - Another book that was strongly recommended by a tumblr mutual! I wanted to like this one, and not just for Jules's sake. I gave it about 15% but it wasn’t clicking and I kept getting lost. Some reviews say the first part is rough, so maybe I’ll give this another try later. Don’t hate me, Jules 😅.

A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher ('24 TBR) - I will not apologize for not finishing this one. I'm straight-up ticked off.

The story started out strong (despite me being pathetic and having to really power through the stressful parts). It set a good pace AND the story was straight-forward and compelling. The first red flag was the writing style because my. stars. Did we have to get ominous, melodramatic, foreshadow-y asides practically every single chapter? Could be my fresh-from-DNFing self talking, but the whole voice came off as pretentious trying for profound. [Edit from after browsing 1- and 2-star reviews: it's not just me.]

I decided to put up with it because I honestly did want to know how the story would end. But it just dragged on and on with no direction. Stuff just...happened. And I got bored.

So I looked up reviews. And found spoilers. And rage-skimmed the last few chapters.

Friends. If you can get to the half-way mark in the story you're telling without even a hint of setting up for a stunt like that ending, you're doing it wrong.

Don't read this book. It's dumb.

Currently Reading:

Recorder by Cathy McCrumb (reread)

[wolfstarshipping]

The Shoebox Project by dorkorific & ladyjaida in Audio and Video by greeniron

@hprecfest day 3 prompt: a podfic

Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

Summary:

The Shoebox Project is a multimedia story of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and Lily Evans in their last years at Hogwarts and first year after school. This is an audiobook and video compilation (and completion) of the collective attempts to podfic the SPB between 2004 and 2014.

Comment:

I've already posted a fic rec for the shoebox project years ago and have raved about this fic on many occasions over the years, but in my eyes this fic absolutely deserves its fandom classic status. And if you've ever wanted to read it but didn't want to download all the pdf files, I highly recommend checking out the podfic version! It's so lovely and it also includes all the art in the videos. I will try to find the tumblr post because I think I remember reading a meta post talking more in depth about the different recordings, but a little bit of that history is mentioned on ao3 as well, and I think the fact that the podfic consists of so many different recordings, done by different groups of fans over the years who were then collected and completed, speaks for the impact this fic has had on the fandom and the love it has deservedly received over the years.

[tailoredshirt]

I was tagged in this book meme by @lemonlyman-dotcom and @guardian-angle22 a while back, and I'm finally doing it!

Last book I…

Bought

Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger / Trials of Life by David Attenborough

I mostly borrow books from the library these days, so I only tend to buy books my library doesn't have. I'd been really wanting to listen to Apollo 13, and it was part of Libro.fm's BOGO sale. I also added Trials of Life, which is nonfiction about animal behavior.

Borrowed

The Terror by Dan Simmons (audiobook)

I’ve had the paperback for ages, but I've been reading so much by audiobook lately that I thought that might be best, since it's so long. I had to wait quite a while for it to become available, and yesterday it finally was! 🎉 I've been reading a ton about polar exploration lately in preparation. After I finish it I'll finally be able to watch the TV show!!

Was gifted

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limon

I don’t get gifted books very often! Probably because I have too many already, and also because I mostly read ebooks and audiobooks. But it was on my wishlist (I tend to put poetry on my wishlists because I like reading poetry from physical books), and my mom got it for me for Christmas. Haven’t read it yet.

Gave/lent to someone

I usually give my mom a book for Christmas, but I don't remember what I got her last year. Unfortunately I don't have a ton of people in my life who read.

Started

Guard! Guards! by Terry Pratchett (audiobook)

I’ve never read any Pratchett (chorus of shocked gasps), so I decided to start with the first of the Night Watch books. It’s very fun so far!

Finished

Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition by Buddy Levy (audiobook)

I've been obsessed with the history of polar exploration lately, particularly the ones that went horribly wrong somehow (sorry to this man). It's a really interesting story. I found a good map of the region online and was able to track all of the landmarks and locations they mentioned while I listened.

Didn’t finish

A Murder Was Announced by Agatha Christie (audiobook)

I’ve been reading a bunch of Agatha Christie lately, mostly Poirot novels, but this would be my first Miss Marple. I just couldn’t understand the narrator. 😩 The other books were narrated by Hugh Fraser, who I’ve enjoyed. I think this one was narrated by Emilia Fox. I cannot distinguish between British accents, but something about hers was difficult for me to understand against the ambient noise of my bus ride. Two minutes in, I noped out and returned the book (via Libby). I'll probably try it again sometime when I'm at home and can hear it better.

Gave 5 stars

11/22/63 by Stephen King (audiobook)

This gave me the worst book hangover. It’s about a guy who travels back in time to 1959(ish?) and lives in the past for a few years as he prepares to try to stop Kennedy’s assassination. It’s not actually a perfect novel, but I think I listened to it as fast as humanly possible because I was so engaged. (32 hours long!) I love time travel stories.

Gave 2 stars

A Limited Run by Karen McQuestion (audiobook)

This had a Truman Show-like setup, with actors living - in character - in a gigantic enclosed 1940s neighborhood. All of that was an immediate yes for me, but the story itself was very boring and contrived.

-

Idk who to tag for reading memes, but please consider yourself tagged if you want to do it! And tag me so I can see what you're reading.

[rabbitcruiser]

Pan American Day

Pan American Day is celebrated on April 14 each year. This is a day for us to remember the first International Conference of American States, which took place in Washington and resulted in the formation of the Organization of American States (O.A.S.) in 1948. The O.A.S. is the oldest regional organization of its kind in the world. Pan American Day celebrates the coming together of the Americas — the northern and southern American states. It also celebrates the various cultures and diverse traditions of the region. The day also reminds us to strive for better opportunities for all the states.

History of Pan American Day

The idea of an international union of the Americas was first brought up at the 1826 Congress of Panama by José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar. The aim was to create an alliance of American nations. At the time, however, it was decided that national interests were more important than the union of the various countries.

However, on April 14, 1890, the idea of having international solidarity among the Americas was reignited at the First International Conference of American States. This conference took place in Washington, D.C. with 18 member nations who decided to join the assembly. This was the beginning of the Organization of American States (O.A.S.). This organization was served by a permanent secretariat called the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics.

In the 1930s, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt organized an inter-American conference in Buenos Aires to talk about the need for a ‘League of Nations of the Americas.’ The members of this league would stay neutral in the event of any conflict. Members also adopted a system of collective security in response to the demands of the post-war situation. The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty) was signed in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro.

Finally, after many subsequent conferences, April 1948 saw the birth of the O.A.S. with signatures from 21 American member countries. This particular conference in 1948 also approved and adopted the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, which became the first human rights document in the world.

Pan American Day timeline

1826

The Idea of Pan America is Born

José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar introduce the idea of an international union of the Americas at the Congress of Panama.

April 14, 1890

The Beginnings of O.A.S.

The First International Conference of American States is held in Washington, D.C.

1930s

The Need for a League is Proposed

U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt organizes a conference to propose a ‘League of Nations of the Americas.’

April 1948

Birth of the OAS

The Organization of American States is established with signatures from 21 American member countries.

Pan American Day FAQs

Why do we celebrate Pan American Day?

Pan American Day is a day to celebrate the alliances we have with other countries in North and South America. It is an opportunity to be thankful for the many opportunities that we have.

Why is Pan American Day important in Belize?

In Belize, Pan American Day is also a day of celebrating the arrival of various cultural groups from the Yucatan. It was originally known as Columbus Day.

What do people do on Pan American Day?

Parades and shows are held on Pan American Day. People also set up exhibits.

How to Observe Pan American Day

Plan a vacation: There is no better way to celebrate this day than to go and visit other American states. Explore the variety of cultures that the Americas have to offer.

Increase your knowledge: If you are a reader, find the nearest bookstore and read up about the different historical periods and cultures of the Americas. You can also listen to podcasts or audiobooks.

Take a quiz: Find a fun quiz to take with your friends or family. Make sure it is about North and South America.

5 Interesting Facts About The Organization Of American States (O.A.S.)

The O.A.S. helps strengthen democracyThe organization oversees free and fair elections in its member states.

The O.A.S. strives for peaceThe organization has initiated peace-keeping missions in places like Haiti and Guatemala.

The O.A.S. defends human rightsThe O.A.S. monitors and generates reports on the human rights situations in member states.

The O.A.S. fosters free tradeIt supports intracontinental free trade from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

The O.A.S. stands for sustainable developmentIt promotes sustainable development to fight poverty and climate change.

Why Pan American Day is Important

It’s a chance to revisit the past: This day reminds us to go back in time and look at how this union came to be. It is necessary to remember the many contributions that this union has made to life as we know it in America.

It’s a reminder to have an attitude of gratitude: This day helps us to be grateful for having allies. We should also be grateful for the many diplomatic and political advantages of this union.

It celebrates diversity: Pan American Day celebrates various cultures and people from the Americas. It makes us appreciate the rich heritage and history of the many generations before us.

Source

[rosewoodconch]

RWCH Readathon 2024: Day 18

Princess in Practice - Chapter 1

Back to the insanity of the real world consequences of portmans

I really like how much its clear that Lottie is uncomfortable by Saskia being in the basement

Like yeah thats wild

And the idea of keeping her identity secret by limiting photography is smart, but clearly is useless by book 3 - its really not even thought about passed this chapter and that makes me kind of sad

I know we dont know this yet and neither does anyone really, but if that tiara is in some of the sole surviving portraits of a mysterious runaway princess, I feel like at least one person at these wvents would recognise it

Like cmon you think none of those journalists and royal commentators didn't study art history or royal history???

Olga is an icon ngl

I like that jamie stands out by dressing simple

Jamie staying close to make sure nothing goes wrong makes so much sense

"None of them true" i swear it said she had snuck out at least once

Simeon!!!!

Oh not the statue oh my god

I really like our reintroduction to the king and queen. Their appearances match how they react to lottie too i think. The queen is welcoming and willing to play the part and to be honest also kind of takes in lottie. The king on the other hand has a sense of duty and treats lottie the same as jamie, as not much more than a means to protect ellie

I wanna find the note that connie made about how she imagined this art man furiously scribbling a sketch of lottie to make the statue but i dont remember where it was posted! I'll hunt for it and put it in a reblog if i can find it!

Im audiobooking, and i dont remember how to spell his name so im so sorry he will just be the art man

It must be really strange having someone else taking your childs place and trying to perform

I always picture the statue as being genuinely like 2 stories high but i feel like thats a bit much

Where is Ellie this whole time? Just in her room?

No because thats so so funny though. I wanna see art mans reaction when the real princess is revealed. Like this poor man, so much work and effort and it turns out its some girl from cornwall

Jamie also trying to hold it together really just makes this scene so incredible

I always forget how funny this scene is until i reread it but it really shows the wider consequences of lottie being a portman. Imagine if we in the real world found out that for example, Prince William didnt actually look like that and the man we all thought was him is actually just some kid he met at eton?

Thats insane yknow?

[ahh-fxck]

If you've read Warrior's Blues anytime in the last four years, thank you. The fourth year anniversary of me hitting "publish" on the first chapter was the 26th, and as a result I've been thinking about this story a lot. I decided I wanted to share some of my process for writing it and the reason I decided to write this fic in the first place.

I was going back and forth about publishing this, but what pushed me over the edge was a movie I just watched. It's currently available on Disney+, the title is Swan Song and it stars Udo Kier. Of all the movies I've watched, TV shows, books, audiobooks, podcasts, this one piece of media hits me the hardest. Queerness was supposed to be invisible, shunted to the margins of society. But all of these queer men and women carved spaces for themselves and their joy. They made community and celebrated and loved and fucked and set their own standards for beauty and attraction. Our predecessors and ancestors (and most of them are ancestors now, far too soon) were everywhere, as unstoppable as flowers forcing their way through concrete. They connected with each other and their communities, they made spaces for themselves. Those connections laid foundations of love that set the stage, both literally and metaphorically, for the queer youth of today to thrive. We're here because of them.

Ancestors. Those who came before us, the roots from which we spring. They were on my mind when my friend @stressedspidergirlsfandomblog prodded me to write something for queer history month. I had just watched season one of the Witcher and I was struck Very Queer Feelings. My fingers got to tapping and I thought, I'll write a short little crack piece with some internalized homophobia and 90s nostalgia sprinkled on, I'll be done in a week, it'll be great. (LOL.)

But then it became so much more. Because somewhere in there I realized I was writing a love poem to the Witcher fandom about queerness, about queer history and queer love and the pressures of living before legalization in the USA. When I realized I was doing that, I started watching, listening to, and reading, everything I could get my hands on.

Four years in, I have taken in a ton of media as part of writing this fic (and I will take in much more before I'm done. Recommendations welcome!) Swan Song was especially poignant, but it's all been important in forming this story. When I'm not actively writing, I try to be taking in things that help me understand the times and places each of my characters is steeped in. I've been devouring everything about and from 1995-1951 for years now. I'm not picky, I've been trying to distill all of it- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Golden Girls has been a favorite. Pose too. Right now I'm watching the Simpsons. I've also read things like American Warrior, a book written by Army Ranger Gary O'Neal. When I do dishes I watch Cheers, or the Donna Reed show. Other days it's Seinfeld. Some of my research has been beautiful, like reading the works of Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. A lot of it grates. It's painful to process all of the queerphobia, and it can be uncomfortable to wade through things that rub me wrong. But that's sort of the point. Queerness can be hard. It can also be so, so joyous.

More than reading, when I can feature vintage queer media in the story, I try to do so. Some of the easter eggs are subtle, and some of them much more obvious, like the Mapplethorpe photos in the bar. My hope is to honor their history and remember them with love.

I do want to make one special podcast shout-out: @makingqueerhistory has been an integral part of my research. Their archive of episodes is truly a treasure trove, and has enhanced not only my understanding of my characters' worlds but of the sheer depth and breadth of queer history itself. I am so grateful that this resource is available. I keep wanting to recommend them to you but I don't usually get around to talking about the media that goes into this story. So consider this a plug. If you love this story and you can donate to them, please do so, even if it's only a dollar or two.

As I mentioned before, this project got started during Pride month thanks to @stressedspidergirlsfandomblog goading me to write a fic. (Thank you friend, sometimes it helps to get a push) It is also my love letter to the Witcher fandom about Pride, about why it's important, about what our queer forbears did to pave the way to the world we live in today and what joy their hard work is bringing us. About why it's important to love what we have and also why it's so important to fight for our rights. I'm afraid for the future. I think a lot of us are, but what I see of our past gives me so, so much hope. We are strong, we are resilient, we have always been here. No matter what happens, we will persist. There is a reason that dandelions resonate with so many of us on this webbed site. Like them, we can flourish in the most adverse of conditions. They are fierce, and they are beautiful. Just like we are. We will keep popping up no matter what happens. I believe that queer people or all sorts deserve to exist. We deserve to celebrate ourselves and each other free of guilt, shame, or fear. And we deserve to experience joy. Cause you know what? Our joy is BEAUTIFUL. It's worth protecting! It's worth fighting for. Thank you for being with me on this journey. I'm in it for the long haul, and I appreciate each and every single one of you who's stopped in to enjoy this story along the way. You are wonderful.

And a special thanks to @stressedspidergirlsfandomblog. Without you, none of this would have happened. Love you, friend!

I hope this month brings everyone the joy they need. You all deserve it.

Happy Pride, family.

[leareadsheresy]

“The Lightning Tower”

This post contains spoilers for "The Lightning Tower," by Dan Abnett, first published as a short story in the 2007 Games Day exclusive two-story anthology Horus Heresy Chapbook on (as nearly as I can tell) September 23rd, 2007, and later republished in the anthology Shadows of Treachery on September 27th, 2012.

This story is a piece about Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists, as he ponders his work fortifying the Imperial Palace on Terra some time after the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. There are no action scenes and it's great.

It starts out with Dorn unhappily overseeing plans to strip the last of the ornamentation off the palace to replace it with ugly armor and weapon emplacements, making sure to have all the gold and jewels and things that used to attract pilgrims safely packed away in vaults below the palace and promising himself that when Horus is defeated he'll put everything back the way it was. He has a conversation with a subordinate who tells him he seems out of sorts and asks him what he's really afraid of, and he thinks that he's afraid of understanding what drove Horus to rebel, because that choice by Horus was such an inconceivable out of context course of action that Dorn's afraid if he really understood, it might be something he agrees with -- while he can't imagine what could drive him to rebellion against the Emperor, he can't imagine what would have driven Horus to rebellion either.

He broods for a while and the Emperor's regent Malcador the Sigillite (who showed up briefly at the end of Galaxy in Flames and who'll be more important later; he kind of serves as an uncle figure for the Primarchs) talks to him for a bit and then does a tarot spread for him, reassuring him that it's just a quaint old Earth custom and nothing superstitious. Dorn remarks that Curze used to do tarot spreads and he flashes back to the events of "The Dark King," remembering that Fulgrim told him of Curze's visions of a galaxy at war and lamenting that he hadn't believed him. The tarot spread centers around the card The Lightning Tower, which is the far-future equivalent of the Tower today, which Malcador says has signified many different things throughout history including both ruination and the destruction of a static edifice so something new can be built in its place. The story then ends with Dorn running simulation after simulation of assaults against the newly fortified Imperial Palace, all of which end in the palace falling to Horus's forces. He hears the Emperor's voice behind him saying that no matter what the simulations say, the Emperor knows Dorn will succeed when it counts, and Dorn decides what he's really afraid of is what that success will cost.

It's just really nice at this point to have a story by Dan Abnett where all the characters are capable of thinking and voicing complex thoughts and experiencing sympathetic melancholy, and where the writer has sufficient confidence in his narrative that he doesn't need to shoehorn in an action scene to wake the audience up. I have heard bad things about Dorn's characterization in later books, and if that's true it's a shame given what he got here.

Not the voice for the Emperor I was expecting -- to be clear, I'm not listening to an audiobook, I mean, like, the Emperor's manner of speaking. I know enough about the way he's characterized in later books to contextualize his statements here as manipulative, but he's plain-spoken and sounds like he cares.

[hoursofreading]

Continue your education.   Hipparchia's whole life was one of curiosity and exploration.  Having rejected the traditional woman's life of weaving and sitting at home, she went out into the world determined to educate herself, and she continue to educate herself her whole life long, looking for good arguments, trying out her own, experimenting in new ways of living.  In that same spirit, you can regard this day as not the end of your education but its beginning.  That's a hard one to remember when you are overworked, so that's why it is so important to think about your continuing education now, and build into your life various ways to continue to explore. How, you ask, could a busy ambitious young person possibly continue an education while determined to do good work in a very demanding job? Well, it might be by something as simple as listening to a series of audiobooks during your workouts or your morning and evening commutes.  It might be through a community project that you pursue outside work - or a pro bono project you pursue within work.  It might be through an organization with which you get involved, and in connection with which you might eventually even find time to travel to places you've never visited.  Or it might be in a determination to try out new intellectual approaches in your work: if you've so far had a passion for philosophy, learn some economics.  If you've focused on our rich offerings in law and economics, learn more history and philosophy.   There's no end to the list of productive ways to continue your education.  The only bad answer to the challenge is not to take it up at all.  As Hipparchia said, "Do you think I deliberated badly about my own life,..when I devoted my time to education?"

Martha Nussbaum