#honestly what a mensch

[fairweathermyth]

When I was a kid my aunt knew someone who knew Henry Winkler and got autographs for me and my siblings. Every now and then I remember that I still have this. “Enjoy your great self. Enjoy your wonderful life!” I think I will Mr. Cousineau!

[foldingfittedsheets]

I’ve seen a bunch of neighbors today and Wyvern is a little shy but has taken treats from all of them, including the same baby from yesterday.

But he saw a three year old on a scooter and lost his fucking mind. No amount of treats could console him. The dad and kid really wanted to pet him and waited patiently while he barked between taking treats and sitting for me but to no avail.

[spacelazarwolf]

So obviously I don't expect you to speak for all Jewish people, but I don't know any in real life and was hoping for an opinion.

Is it in poor taste for goyim to borrow Yiddish terms in everyday conversation? Terms like mensch, schmuck, and schlep are so evocative and pleasant to use, but I always feel like I'm appropriating Jewish culture when I use them. On one hand I feel it's not my right to use them as an outsider, but on the other I feel that broader use creates more exposure and "normalizes" Jewish culture. Your post about people thinking that Jewish people literally have horns got me thinking about how ignorant people can be about cultures they haven't studied and how maybe a little extra exposure might do some good in the world.

Curious to hear what you think!

Thank you for consistently creating quality content and speaking out regarding the ongoing genocide in Palestine.

imo it depends on the context, and it's kind of part of a larger conversation. i don't think it's inherently appropriation for non jews to use yiddish words, many have become part of the general american lexicon (not sure abt other english speaking countries or other countries in general) to the point where a lot of people have no idea that some of the words they use are yiddish. especially in places like new york where there is a large jewish population, it's not a surprise that people who interact with jews on a regular basis have picked up some of the language, and honestly it's pretty cool.

that being said, i think the appropriation part comes in when people insist on separating those words from their yiddish origins, especially if their intent is distancing themselves from jews. they don't want to admit that they have picked up something that comes from jewish culture because they see it as a negative thing, so they insist it's become "de-judenized" in a sense. obviously it's not the exact same dynamic, but people do something similar when they call words that originated in the black community like "fam", "lit", "slay", "woke", etc "gen z slang" or "internet slang."

basically, if you spend a lot of time around a group of people, you're likely going to pick up some of the language they use. as long as you're aware of that and aren't weird about it, you're fine.

[newtonsheffield]

Oh Molly me again with the Bruises Spicy Sunday request.. either that or My Hand.. Bruises Anthony is my favorite but My Hand was really, REALLY close. I love that story. You are a mensch girl and your training for a marathon is so inspiring, I have been working on my health this past year and I feel so much better, happier, saner.. Not marathon territory but maybe one day. Its has been the best thing I have ever done for myself, 100% worth it. I am far away but I am cheering for you from here

Ohhh that’s a good idea. Let’s revisit my hand Kate and Anthony. I’ll admit I loved how these two were intimate with each other. They were so good at reading each other’s body language and I think it made the way they connected very special honestly.

(Also thank you for your kind comments about my journey. This year has been really tough for me and I guess I’m trying to use this as a way to take time and connect with myself again in a way that I haven’t for a while. Already over the last month I feel better, I feel more motivated, I’m being more productive, and ah yeah… I’m not advocating that this needs to be everyone’s journey before I get comments about that. If you’re happy with how you are then that’s great but this so far is a great way for me personally to check in with myself. Get to know myself and my body better and even with just walking through August my general health is improving so I’m excited for the journey ahead)

Kate could feel his eyes on her as she worked in the corner of the living room and she ignored him. Very pointedly, she ignored her boyfriend. Anthony’s eyes had been soft when she’d woken this morning, and the soft noise he’d made as he nestled closer had still sounded so beautiful.

“You’re so pretty.”

She’d laughed, kissing his palm as his fingers swept over her cheek, “I’m not staying in bed with you today.”

Anthony drew back indignantly, “I wasn’t asking for you to!”

“Oh yes you were.” She kissed the edge of his nose, “You were trying your old Oh Kate, you’re so pretty. Oh my god, how did my hand get up there? What a wild coincidence, well I’d hate to not take advantage of an opportunity now that it’s presented itself routine and I don’t have time for that today.” She patted his cheek, scooting away from him. “I have work to do. Books need to be illustrated Anthony, and I’m sure you have little cakes to make.”

Anthony pouted, ruffling his hair adorable, “I don’t like that you know me so well.” He huffed, settling back against the pillows as she stood, “I have time for a little romp.”

“A romp?” Kate chuckled, pulling on one of his T-shirts. “Oh that’s so romantic, Anthony. Is it any wonder I’ve been in love with you all these years?”

He grinned, bouncing the muscles in his chest, “It’s not a surprise to me, no.”

She sent him a rude hand gesture, “I’m having breakfast, and then I’m starting work. Go to work.”

He flopped down against the pillows, “What if I just gave you head?”

Kate sighed as she stepped forward, running her fingers quickly through his hair before she spoke and her lips moved in time with her words, “It’s never just head with you, Babe. You’ll get excited and I’ll get carried away and then before I know it, I’ve spent all day in bed and I’ve still not illustrated this fucking book.”

Anthony pouted again, “So I’m being blamed for your lack of self control?”

“Yes,” She sighed, leaning down to kiss him. She let herself linger against his lips, let herself lean over him on the bed and tangle her tongue with his. “Be a good boy and go to work.”

He’d stomped out the door, slamming it loudly behind him just the way he always did minutes later while she sat at the breakfast bar, eating her cereal.

“Daddy’s silly, Newtie boy.” Kate had chuckled to herself, hearing his heavy footfalls the entire way down the corridor. “It’s a good thing he’s very cute.”

She settled at her desk in the corner of the living room where the light filtered in through the windows, not bothering to change out of the shirt she’d thrown on for breakfast and before long she heard the same footsteps again. Thundering down the hallway. She’d teased him gently about it once, how his footsteps echoed through the room and he’d blinked at her,

“I’m as quiet as a mouse, Kate. I can’t hear any difference between yours and mine.”

“Dickhead.” She’d chuckled, leaning in to kiss him, but she loved the sound of Anthony moving about. It was comforting, the noise of him clattering in the living room and slamming drawers in the bathroom.

Kate paused her hand, moving over the paper, letting her eyes flick to the clock on the wall. Her eyes narrowed. It was barely passed one. He was early, and that made her suspicious.

The door slammed closed and Kate turned towards him, her eyebrow raised. He was looking at something on his phone, completely engrossed in whatever he was reading. Kate flicked her eraser at him and it bounced off his shoulder. He looked up at her indignantly, dropping his phone.

“What was that for?”

“What are you doing home?”

His expression was innocent, far too innocent, and that as well had made her suspicious. “We were quiet. Jack’s just closing up.”

“Right.” Kate hummed suspiciously, “I don’t trust you, Bridgerton.”

Anthony held his hands up in surrender as he dropped his bag, “I’m only going to be trying out some new recipes. I won’t bother you at all.”

He had moved to the kitchen and started pulling out bowl after bowl, and she’d settled back to work herself but his eyes had stayed on her still.

They were still there now.

Kate saw him move quickly from the corner of her eye and a flash of his skin appeared. She turned towards him and found she didn’t need to get his attention, because he was staring right at her, separating eggs with his shirt now abandoned.

“What are you doing?”

Anthony blinked at her far too innocently, “I told you, Babe. I’m trying a new donut recipe.”

He let to egg yolk slip through his hands and started measuring out flour in a separate bowl, Kate gasped as Anthony grunted, letting his hands mix the ingredients into a sticky dough. “No you aren’t! You’re trying to thirst trap me into having sex with you!”

“Why would I do that?” He slapped the couch onto the counter, his muscles flexing and his fingers squeezed it and Kate felt heat rise in her cheeks.

“Why would I do that?”

Anthony’s hips thrust forward against the countertop. “You don’t need to fuck the counter to mix dough!”

Anthony grinned at her and his hair fell in his eyes, a satisfied little noise in the back of his throat, “Well, I wouldn’t need to if you let me fuck you.”

Kate;s stomach dropped and her mouth felt dry and she let her pencil fall from her hand as she stood, making her way the short distance to the kitchen. “Oh, so you admit it! This was a honey pot scheme! I’m never getting any donuts, this was all the seduce me!”

Anthony blinked at her, cleaning off his hands, handprints of flour stark against his chest. “Well, did it work?”

He was leaning against the counter, the muscles in his arms tight and she could almost feel the heat of him. She could almost feel those hands ghosting over her and his lips against hers. She could feel him kneading her flesh the same way his hands had moved through that dough seconds ago.

She sighed, “Obviously, take off your pants.”

Anthony grinned, reaching out to wrap around her waist. Tugging her firmly against his bare chest. He lifted her with one arm, as though she wasn’t made of anything and her legs wrapped around him seconds before their lips crashed together. Their teeth clashed and their tongues swept over one another and she felt his moan ripple through her chest as well.

The marble countertop was cold on the backs of her bare legs and the fabric of his jeans was rough against the inside of her thighs and Anthony’s deft hand slid up her shirt tickling the skin of her stomach. Kate let her lips fall to his neck, right to the spot that her made his spine shiver when they’d been eighteen years old and fumbling together in her bedroom for the first time. They were so much surer of themselves now, of the way they were together as well but it still felt just the same. Just as thrilling and heady, the tension simmering between them.

She left her hands drift down his chest, delighting in the way he shivered against her. Kate tugged roughly that the button, pushing them down his thighs with his underwear. His eyes caught hers and he pressed his forehead against hers, his breath shuddering in his chest as his hips bucked softly against the inside of her thigh. His hands tilted her hips just so, just enough for her to feel him, to feel how desperate he was for her.

“Kate!” His voice was a strangled sound, echoing through the kitchen as she rolled her hips and he slid inside and all Kate could do was nod helplessly her own moan pressed against his chest.

She loved his voice, she’d told him so many times not to be self conscious of it, and he wasn’t here, when they were like this. He let his gasps and moans echo off the walls and the way her name sounded on his lips branded itself against her skin. His hips snapped forward, and one hand kept her hips firmly in place while the other kneaded her breasts softly. His lips tasted like sugar, and something that might have been lemon, and Kate could feel the tension in her stomach coiling tighter already.

Anthony’s hair was falling in his eyes over the bandana that he wore to work most days and his cheeks were flushed and his eyes fluttered closed as though he couldn’t imagine anything better than the feeling of them together. Their hips were moving together faster and faster and Kate’s lungs were burning as her legs started to shake, squeezing around his waist, every second pushing her closer and closer to the edge.

“Fuck! Anthony!”

“Kate!

They fell over the edge together as quickly as this had started, and Anthonys legs seemed to give way as he shuddered, falling forwards to press her back against the marble of the counter.

Kate let her fingernail trace his spine as their breathing evened out and finally Anthony lifted his head to look at her, a smug smile on his shiny cheeks. “I knew you’d give in.”

Kate rolled her eyes, pushing him off her. “Shut up and make my donuts.” She slapped his arse, “Are they lemon?”

“Lemon meringue, yeah.”

“Lovely,” She hummed, “Get to work.”

[ogsherlockholmes]

After writing my post on The Three Students, I read The Picture of Dorian Gray, not because I mentioned it in the post but because I’ve always wanted to read it. I already knew about the sexually implications within it, since it’s usally the first thing people think of when the book is mentioned, but I honestly didn’t realise it was so explicit.

Because I’ve only read the book once, I’m not going to do an analysis on all of the ‘subtext’; it’s not my area and plenty of other people with greater knowledge have done it before. 

However, one thing that I did notice was the strange ‘parallels’ between Sherlock and Watson with Dorian Gray and Lord Henry. I say parallels for lack of a better term, because I don’t actually see it as a mirror as such, or a foil either- I’m also not trying to suggest that ACD and Wilde wrote these stories with a huge masterplan to reflect each other (the other story being The Sign of the Four). 

A bit of context,  ACD and Wilde were both commissioned on 30th August 1889 by Lippincott’s monthly magazine to write a book. ACD wrote The Sign of the Four, published February 1890, and Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, April 1891. These dates are going to be very significant. 

The scene I am focusing most on in TSotF is the final scene (not the full scene though, just the last few paragraphs), where Watson is discussing his engagement to Mary Morstan to Sherlock. 

“I [Watson] fear that it may be the last investigation in which I shall have the chance of studying your methods. Miss Morstan has done me the honor to accept me as a husband in prospective.” He [Sherlock] gave a most dismal groan. “I feared as much,” said he. “I really cannot congratulate you.” I was a little hurt. “Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?” I asked. “Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met, and might have been most useful in such work as we have been doing. She had a decided genius that way… But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment.” “I trust,” said I, laughing, “that my judgment may survive the ordeal. But you look weary.” “Yes, the reaction is already upon me. I shall be as limp as a rag for a week.” “Strange,” said I, “how terms of what in another man I should call laziness alternate with your fits of splendid energy and vigor.” “Yes,” he answered, “there are in me the makings of a very fine loafer and also of a pretty spry sort of fellow. I often think of those lines of old Goethe,— Schade, daß die Natur nur einen Mensch aus Dir schuf, Denn zum wurdigen Mann war ¨ und zum Schelmen der Stoff. … I remarked. “You have done all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones [detective] gets the credit, pray what remains for you?” “For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” And he stretched his long white hand up for it. 

Ignoring how miserable it is for Sherlock to turn to drugs after Watson gets engaged (I know it’s difficult), but the translation of the ‘Old Goethe’ (German) is ‘It's a pity that nature only created a human being out of you, because the material was for a worthy man and for a rascal.’ This is important. 

Now, the scene(s) in APoDG I am focusing on is Chapter 4, when Dorain Gray is talking about his relationship Sibyl Vane to Lord Henry, and when Gray, Henry and Basil (the artist) are discussing it in the beginning of Chapter 6. Both of these sections are too long to entirely quote here, but in Chapter 4, when Gray tells Henry of his relationship, Henry is disappointed because he thinks marriage turns a person selfish, therefore making them boring. He goes on into a philosophical rant about marriage and women, with plenty of misogynistic remarks of course, before Gray talks about how he met Vane. When Gray leaves, Henry again thinks about it all, then receives a telegram from Gray telling him he is engaged. In Chapter 6, again Henry goes into the morality of marriage and why he hates it so much, even though he is married. I’ve put a few important quotes in. 

“Never marry at all, Dorian. Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed.” “I don’t think I am likely to marry, Harry. I am too much in love. That is one of your aphorisms. I am putting it into practice, as I do everything that you say.” “Who are you in love with?” asked Lord Henry after a pause. “With an actress,” said Dorian Gray, blushing.

“My dear boy, no woman is a genius. Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it charmingly. Women represent the triumph of matter over mind, just as men represent the triumph of mind over morals.” “Harry, how can you?” “My dear Dorian, it is quite true.”

“Your [Henry] voice and the voice of Sibyl Vane are two things that I [Gray] shall never forget. When I close my eyes, I hear them, and each of them says something different. I don’t know which to follow.

Lord Henry watched him with a subtle sense of pleasure. 

“But do you approve of it, Harry?” asked the painter, walking up and down the room and biting his lip. “You can’t approve of it, possibly. It is some silly infatuation.” “I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life.” 

Personally, when I read TPoDG, I immediately thought of TSotF, because of these scenes. I don’t know if I’m thinking too much into this, but anyway, this won’t hurt anyone. 

Dorian Gray’s and Lord Henry’s relationship is more explicit than Sherlock and Watson’s, clear by the stigma surrounding the story and the fact it needed to be pared down in order to be deemed ‘appropriate’ when it was originally published. Gray is heavily psychologically affected by Henry’s opinions and beliefs, leading to his demise. But, Henry has this strange infatuation about Gray, making it seem like a twisted romance. 

On the other hand, Sherlock and Watson’s relationship is less ‘mental/emotional torture’ and more ‘love’, to simply put it. But, if we strip down the characters to what the audience’s image is, or the stereotype, and not the writer’s initial intent, they bear some sort of resemblance. 

First we have the Sherlock-Lord Henry, the intelligent, cold, philosophical thinker, who is incredibly intimidating and has an overwhelming presence/influence. They are unusual, by both modern and Victorian standards, characters that people do not wish to be associated with. 

Next, the Watson-Dorian Gray character, deemed the only character to be ‘acceptable’ to the one above. They are in awe of their respective companions, treating them like a god and obeying whatever they say (for Watson, think The Hounds of the Baskervilles; for Gray, the first quote above). 

The difference between these relationships is that Lord Henry and Dorain Gray are so much more extreme. They are not right for each other, but they are drawn to each other. Lord Henry is obsessed with Gray, and Gray with Henry.

Sherlock and Watson are, again, drawn to each other, but they aren’t hurting each other. Sherlock has this admiration of Watson, and Watson is in awe of him, but they also recognise each other as human beings. 

So, if they are different, why have I bothered writing this post for about an hour now?

What I am trying to suggest is that Wilde perhaps took some inspiration from TSotF and inserted it into TPoDG. Yes, I recognise that they were released not long from each other, but I don’t think it’s entirely impossible. Lord Henry seems like the evil, dark version of Sherlock Holmes, focusing mainly on his thinking rather than his character. I drew attention to the German quote that Sherlock said, ‘It's a pity that nature only created a human being out of you, because the material was for a worthy man and for a rascal.’ What he is saying here, after Watson tells him he is both energetic and lazy, is that he agrees, and humans have potential to be amazing or awful. From such a small-meaning comment of ‘you are amazingly lazy and hyperactive’ to talking about a person’s path in life, it really reflects the basis of Lord Henry’s personality; he turns even the smallest statement into a heated discussion about morality. 

So, I might not be making any sense in this, but I do truly think there is some sort of link. Whether Wilde read TSotF and decided to base his characters on it, but making them extreme, will probably never be known. I might write a bit more on this because I do have some other ideas.

[lvebug]

👀

"so he and- carlos is the cop, right?" nancy nods. he'd been on the scene. the dark, muddy, rainy, miserable scene where andie hadn't gotten a good look at anything, especially the police officer on the far side of the accident. he'd been nothing but a hazy blob against the rain, but he'd been there nonetheless. "and they're engaged?"

nancy wiggles in her seat and leans forward—closer to andie which is honestly a little dizzying because she's breathtakingly beautiful especially when she's smiling like that. "yeah, they're cute right?" she scrunches her nose and she's cute, andie thinks. "c'mon, what else do you want to know while we're trapped here?"

the call center had had it's fair share of drama, but who knew that there would be ten times as much as a paramedic? she's still new to the station, and reeling with how much there is to catch up on. what doesn't she want to know?

"and... tk is the captain's son?" this one is far more transparent and self explanatory except— "tk is so nice though." which sounds bad, actually.

but nancy snorts out a laugh so maybe everybody just feels that way.

"y'know," her feet swing back and forth and she adjusts the blanket around her shoulders. they're still sopping wet from the storm. some first week. "there were so many stories about him at the call center. some of them were roundabout from grace who knows him, but a bunch'a them were just..." she trails off because how do you sum up all that tk is? "did he really once save people from a bus accident with, like, loose stitches from a gunshot wound?" she can't help but shake her head, eyes wide, not in disbelief or even with the idea that he's ridiculous. he's admirable, miraculous, a mensch. "the whole city loves him, y'know. and it's kind of no wonder why."

[mellotronmkll]

1, 5, 27 💕

First LP you ever bought?

My whole life ever since i was like 12 i had One record I carried around with me and never played until I got my first turntable last year literally and that was thick as a brick by jethro tull. Actually that's a lie because I also for some reason had spike by elvis costello I'm now remember but yeah those were my two records

5. Favorite LP in your collection?

This kind of agonized me but honestly I feel like my first thought was funkentelechy vs. the placebo syndrome by parliament like i just love that album so much and was so happy to get it and like it's just a lot of fun to listen to. That or the lamb lies down on broadway but that's more of a Right Now than an Ever answer. Also Halber Mensch which I got with someone awesome 😏

27. What was the highest number of records you bought in one sitting

I think I bought like 6 or 7 at once from a record fair which isn't like That many as they were very cheap but yeah I don't often buy a bunch at once

[leam1983]

On Masculinity

I just watched Pop Culture Detective's breakdown of Ke Huy Quan's character, in Everywhere Everything All at Once. Their final thesis is that Waymond Wong manifests actionable empathy, which runs contrary to the assertive, punchy, room-controlling machismo that's come to define the concept of your average male protagonist. It made me think back to that last Reblog from a Radfem I posted on here, which I ended by specifying I'd been effectively victimized all my life as a disabled man. To make a long story short, it made me realize how I frame my own sense of Self.

I can't punch up to save my life. I've never wanted to assert myself in ways that would deprive others of the same right. I've always wanted to make other people feel seen and understood, and I generally try and display kindness when and however I can. It's all I've got, honestly. So when someone effectively reduces me to just another Joe who'll shove gals aside just to prove how much of a mensch he is, I feel sad, honestly. Sad for them, specifically. It tells me I'm looking at someone who's never known a kind man, or who's rationalized History as being entirely the result of masculine Heads-of-State.

What about the serfs who cooked food and raised livestock? What about the tailors and carpenters? What about all those who supported their communities through family-run businesses where gender has no real basis? What about families, where people can see one another for who and what they are, with all the kindness they can muster?

I won't carry the guilt that's more the lot of callous decision-makers or boardroom sexists - it's not mine to shoulder. I'd rather offer kindness. That's what Waymond Wong does in his attempts to liven up the family laundromat during the Chinese New Year, and it's how his kindness ultimately trumps his Alphaverse self's extreme combat prowess. He can't throw a punch to save his life, and still teaches Evelyn the most important lesson anyone, of any gender, could ever hope to learn.

Be kind. Even if it means shouldering burdens people can't see while coming across as an immature goofball, and even if it leads more classic judges of character to bill you as spineless or lacking authority.

[missmungoe]

Just had the loveliest visit from the incredible @rhdina, who I still can’t believe I got to meet in person(!!), after so many years of making the comment section of my stories my favourite place to be. A bastion of kindness and infectious enthusiasm, and a key reason my AO3 word count has long since passed the 2 million mark. Honestly, what a mensch<3

[littleoddwriter]

helo hi about those weird questions for fic writers!! sorry for so many but I couldn't decide 😂✊

please just pick your favorites if it's too many BUT: 4, 10, 22, 25, 26, 32, 35 for the weird writers asks 💜

Hiii! <3 Lmfao, it's no problem, I enjoy it. Thanks for asking! :')

4. What’s a word that makes you go absolutely feral?

"appreciate". I don't really know why, I just like how it sounds and looks, I suppose, jhskfhjskh---

10. Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?

Oh, yeah. Literally all my fanfics from when I was 13/14 because OOF. Not Good. No. And I don't just mean that in the objective way, as they were written poorly, sure; but I also mean that they were something I wouldn't write today. So, when my own writing haunts me, I feel embarrassed and ashamed of it, that's what it means for me.

22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud?

So, I use Google Doc and Microsoft Word on my laptop, such as the Google Doc and ColorNote app on my phone, depending on it. Or I simply write in Tumblr already if it's just a headcanon post. I'm not usually organised. All my fics are only categorised by actor or character. So all fics of one actor are in one document (Paul Dano has 200 pages now). In terms of writing, I let it go with the flow, which is why it sometimes just runs away from me. But my own stories that I know will be longer have an outline by now, so I don't forget what the plot was (because it happened before and now I'm paying the price by being stuck, rip).

25. What is a weird, hyper-specific detail you know about one of your characters that is completely irrelevant to the story?

Oof, good question. Difficult question. I can’t come up with anything truly hyper-specific, but: Alastair loves dark chocolate and still eats it; even though he technically shouldn't, considering he's a vampire and doesn't normally eat human food anymore. (At least you know him, everyone else reading this is gonna be confused, djksdksg.)

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

"Nur dadurch lebt der Mensch, dass er so gründlich Vergessen kann, dass er ein Mensch doch ist." '2. Dreigroschenfinale - Wovon lebt der Mensch?' von der Dreigroschenoper von Bertolt Brecht und Kurt Weill.

English Translation (kind of official? Taken from Alan Cumming singing it): "This life is possible because most humans Avoid the sight of their own frying pans." ‘How Do Humans Live’ from the Threepenny Opera (Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill).

I just love, love, love the Threepenny Opera and this line makes me feel a lot of things. Because it's true. And it stays true, unfortunately. And I feel like this line especially formed the way I view the world and humanity, which is something I feel like I explore a lot in my stories by making them so character-driven. Hopefully that makes sense.^^”

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe that everything has to have a clear plot? That there have to be descriptions and what-not? After all, I rely more on emotions, impressions, dialogue and such things. Hm.

[freeasthewindsthatblowpastme]

We were so close.

And now you're so far away.

And I don't know how to deal with that.

And I guess that you don't care.

Some days it feels like I'll never get over you.

I just still love you soo much.

I wanna hold you in my arms again.

And I guess that you don't care.

I am fine without you.

But I am not happy.

I am on edge all the time.

I can't really relax.

It feels like you took my safe place from me.

And at the same time I try to understand.

I know that I am a lot.

I just never thaught I'd ever be too much for you.

But I guess you never know what happens.

And now you're gone.

And I keep wondering if you ever think of me.

I just want you to be happy.

But it sucks so much that you can't be happy with me.

I don't even know what you ever loved about me.

And some days I just wanna cry.

I dream of you at night.

And I can't stop thinking about you during the day.

But I guess you don't care.

When did you stop to care?

Why did you leave me to fight alone?

Why did you leave me on my own?

What made you not show up for me/for us?

Are you ok?

I want you to be ok.

Then at least one of us would be.

Cause as much as I want to be ok about this. I am not.

You treated me like I was the least important thing to you.

And I still feel the effects of it on my self esteem.

I don't know what you ever liked about me.

Couldn't have been that much if it didn't make you stay.

The thing is my brain knows that it wouldn't have worked because our ideas of how much time we need to spend together were just so different.

Sometimes I felt like you were just finding excuses not to have to meet me.

And still I loved you.

Hell I still love you although you left me alone.

I honestly didn't think I'd ever break up with you.

Which is smart of you.

Not being brave enough to break up with me. So you don't have to say what we both knew at the time.

Like how did you even imagine a relationship to work if you didn't want to put effort into it and prioritise it?

Or did you just not think about it?

I guess I'll never know.

Maybe I should just ask.

But I don't know if I would gain anything from it.

You probably can't even answer most of the questions yourself.

Sometimes I wonder if you are also sitting there asking yourself questions you don't know if you should send them to me.

I don't know.

I'm struggling without you.

But I was struggling with you too.

I whish I could say this isn't your fault.

But part of it is.

And I'm sorry about that.

I whish it didn't affect me so much.

But it does.

And I guess you don't care.

And I just hope you are ok.

I want you to be ok so badly.

You said something about your friendgroup falling apart and you being blamed for it.

How is that going?

I just want you to be fine.

And I just want you to find someone who isn't too much for you and who is worth it to prioritise and to put an effort into.

And I still sometimes whish I could be in your arms.

Especially when I'm feeling down like today. When I feel like my body is working against me.

I am three years on T today.

I don't know if you know what that means to me.

There are tiny hairs on my chin now.

I wondered if that would have ever been a reason for you to leave if I would have grown too much of a beard.

Now I'll never know.

I just think it's a shame.

I trusted you.

You knew me so well.

And now you're gone.

You felt so safe.

And I loved how protective of me you were.

And I just whish we would have worked out.

But sometimes life's against you.

And there are all those things I want to tell you.

And I whish you still cared.

And there are all those songs I want to send you.

Especially one.

"Richtiger Mensch, falscher Moment"

I wish you were still here.

I still want to show you my world so bad.

I wish you still cared.

[tolbachik]

hello again! i hope you're doing well

since you asked me to say a bit about myself, i'm pretty much just a young american who enjoys history & exploring a lot of old and 'foreign' media; i grew up in a small rural town and had an isolated upbringing, so i've always felt the need to learn more about what's out there, so to speak. i like to learn about other cultures when i can, and that often translates to me getting lost in research rabbit holes & listening to a ton of music from all over. (currently. a lot of my favorite music comes from Argentina!)

out of the Telex albums i listened to, i quite enjoyed Looking For Saint-Tropez the most. it's a bit hard to explain but there was something sensorily appealing about the sounds to me? particularly Something about the opening of Rock Around The Clock, the keys in Café de la jungle, the beat in Something To Say.. understandably a bit strange to focus on. Victime de la societe was probably my favorite track though, both for the groove and the flitter-y synth outro

i personally don't listen to much electronic music apart from Yellow Magic Orchestra and Fad Gadget, but i DID try getting into Kraftwerk as a teenager because of my obsession with Einstürzende Neubauten (as Kraftwerk was an influence on them). i remember that i enjoyed Die Mensch-Machine, but my attention span back then was so much of a wreck that i didn't get much of a chance to look further until i was going down my next rabbit hole. i'm much more organized nowadays though and wouldn't mind checking them out again if you've got any particular suggestions :^)

also you're in luck with finding another Soviet music enjoyer‼️ i fixated very strongly on the USSR for similar reasons and know a lot of the bands, mainly those from the 80s — particular points of interest for me were Kino, Yegor Letov, & many of the artists & musicians associated with them. i think you might find interest in some groups like Nautilus Pompilius (Князь Тишины era especially), Zvuki Mu, and Televizor if you haven't heard of them already

if you can, i think it'd be cool if you could tell me a bit more about yourself & the soviet art and animations that you've enjoyed!

- 🌯

Hi again! Same to you, I hope you had a good day yesterday!

Aww, I get that. I live in a semi-rural area myself, although definitely not as rural as some. I do live near a fairly decently sized city, but outside of that by a few miles, it can get pretty empty. I'm happy you've been able to reach out and explore more, there's truly a whole world out there! That's always the best, even if it does take a lot of time up. It's so fulfilling finding new stuff! Ooh, nice! I don't know of much from Argentina; any recommendations? I'm glad you enjoyed it! The only reason I didn't recommend it was because I had already recommended a bulk of their work, and I didn't wanna overwhelm either of you. Glad you looked into it on your own! It's a great album though, I really appreciate how new and interesting it sounded, especially for 1979. Oh no, I totally get that!! I also tend to focus on just a few parts of a song, listening to it over and over again just for those few seconds. It's honestly one of my favorite parts lol That's fair! I don't really actively seek it out either, but I do tend to come across a majority of that kind of stuff by accident. I really like finding outliers and firsts in the music world; it's so exciting to see when things first came around, y'know? Like this early use of a talk box, I just love stuff like that! Or things like TONTO, just weird little parts of history. Oh, I haven't heard of them! I'll go check them out then, thank you! And I get that in regards to Kraftwerk, it's definitely a bit hard to listen to at times. Some of the songs are just so repetitive and long, it can be hard to listen through in one go! That being said, I do like Franz Schubert, Computer Love, Europe Endless, Pocket Calculator, and The Telephone Call. Yessss, it's so good finally meeting another person who also enjoys it! Just going over those bands real quick, I see we've taken very different paths in exploring music from behind the Iron Curtain, so it'll be fun swapping bands and the like! I'm absolutely going to check those all out first chance I get; do you have any specific album or song recommendations from those bands? Also, do you focus more on the Russian SSR, or the rest of the Union as well? Some very interesting stuff came out of Central Asia, especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan! For myself, I really love Yuri Morozov (his more "traditional" music, not so much of the experimental stuff he did... From a technical standpoint it's interesting, but I've never liked harsh noise much lol) and his Cherry Garden of Jimi Hendrix album (specifically Last Night, the title song, and Hippie Song), Dos-Musakan (intro to the first song on this album always blows me away lol), Andy Rodionov and Boris Tikhomirov's 512 KB album is neat, Volodymyr Bystriakov's work is nice, I like the soundtracks to a lot of Soviet films... I can go on, but I will be honest; my collection is very disorganized, and it's been awhile since I did a deep dive on Soviet music! Thank you so much again for the suggestions; I'm really excited to get back into it! Thank you for asking! Well, I like to write, research for my writing, cook (especially baking & canning stuff!), and playing with my three sweet but fairly annoying cats. I love them all, but they love to wake me up in the middle of the night like nothing else! As for animations, I'd have to say my favorite animations/animators would beeee Anatoliy Petrov for how distinct and unique his work is (esp. at 2:01 in that vid, volume warning for the video by the way lol the sound is. pretty awful), Mystery of the Third Planet since it was my first interaction with Soviet animation (and also the soundtrack is pretty great!), There Will Come Soft Rains (pretty dark, goes over a lonely robot after a nuclear apocalypse), and the Bremen Town Musicians (just a classic lol, soundtrack is nice too!).

I could absolutely go on for hours about Soviet animation; in the west, it's always portrayed as robotic, cold, and mechanical but nothing could be further from the truth! Soviet animation is some of the most unique, free, and colorful work I've seen in my entire life. In the US during the 60s-80s you had stuff like Hanna-Barbera cartoons and Transformers primarily made to sell toys and the like, while in the USSR you had stuff like this to truly just tell a story. I really appreciate that, y'know? I'd like to hear more about you as well, if you feel comfortable sharing! Thanks again for the wonderful ask; I can't wait to hear back from you! Take care, and have a lovely rest of your day!

[dgc-trash]

Is the “less gifted with power than themselves” part the more important part, or the “applied equally to elves, humans, and dwarves” part? There’s a lot of intelligent species that are less magically gifted than Sartan/Patryns, but which are not specifically elven, human, or dwarven.

Are dolphins mensch guys??

[herzlak]

enjoy this tatort rewatch review i still had in my drafts, or don't

Tatort Wien — VIRUS

I did my waiting... Twelve years of it... In Azkaban!

Honestly ich hab sooo lang gewartet bis der wiederholt wird, wollte den unbedingt sehen

Ich hoffe das ists wert jetzt

OMG BIBI AND MORITZ ARE WRESTLING AHAHSH I LOVE IT ALREADY

Fuck all the hug scenes they had, this is so much better

Der Tatort ist so schön aggressiv, ich liebs

Happy bir- KOST DU NED Z SPÄD KEMMA WIA JEDA NORMALE MENSCH

Wir sollten für Wien nen Steinbruch Counter einführen

Jedes Mal wirklich JEDES MAL

Schimpf is literally me when I gotta do sports

Wenns übrigens der junge Polizist war, dann hab ichs von Anfang an gewusst

Bibi darling please don't cry :(

I mog koa Menschen, wir ham a Überbevölkerung, do löst si des Problem vo allein... ok first of all, BIG MOOD

PLEASE DON'T CRY BIBI :(

Hahahahah bibi omg what a queen

I've missed these two so much I can't wait for Sunday next week

#eslebederbioterrorismus

#eslebederbioterrorismus

Ey ich find diesen Virus Typen so cool

"I kann allein abtransportiert werden"

Der Virus Typ so: da Eisner hat gniest, der hat sicher mit da Bibi gschmust, der kimmt mid

SO YOU'RE TELLING ME WE DON'T GET TO SEE EISNER AND FELLNER QUARRELING FOR THREE WEEKS ON THE QUARANTÄNE STATION?!?!

[welcometomy20s]

June 30, 2021

Coco (and Lulu’s) Legacy

Coco wrote the book on how to be a Hololive member, from front to back. She plotted out how one can amass an audience, how to interact and build a worldwide fandom, how to integrate ideas of the audience to the grand narrative of the company, how to deal with tee-tee and pairings, how to cope when YouTube strikes you down in its impunity, and how to cope when Cancel Brigade comes to destroy your work, along with how to bring a more cohesive workplace, how to protect yourself from the unmooring of identity that is inherent in VTube, and finally how to leave when you are in a rollercoaster that is only going up. Coco wrote the book and now we follow.

AsaCoco was brilliant from its outset. Having a place to know the ins and outs of various members of Hololive was a great way to connect the rabbit hole. But there is a deeper reason for the brilliance. I talked before about how the major tension in VTube is one between the corporate back-end tradition of Japan colliding with the audience front-end tradition of YouTube. AsaCoco is something directly in line with that second tradition. The visual language of YouTube is different from those of movies. A jump cut in a movie denotes a different idea than a jump cut on YouTube. Movie critic complaining about jump cuts in vlogs is like a Spanish reader complaining about a sentence in English being awkward. Of course it is, it’s in a different language. Unlike movies, which come from theatre and literature, vlogs’ lineage comes from news broadcasts. Many of the early web successes were styled in a news format (rocketboom, Ze Frank, What the Buck and so on…) One does not complain about the jump cut between different presenters in a newscast, and so one does not complain when a similar thing happens in vlogs. But the point is that AsaCoco harkens to the audience-based tradition.

One might write off the ARK arc as an aberration, but I think ARK did add something constructive to Hololive and VTubers as a whole. I like to think of ARK as a training wheel for Minecraft. Minecraft is relatively challenging compared to ARK. Minecraft speedruns are mildly impressive, ARK speedrun less so. ARK is actually like the middle ground between Monster Hunter and Minecraft. You can play ARK like Monster Hunter, gather a bunch of friends to hunt monsters, or like Minecraft, build your own zoo or house or so on… And in that flexibility, one can easily learn how to tell a compelling narrative in an open-world setting. Pekora’s war criminal tendencies developed there, Miko’s ‘pon’ nature was crystalized there, and so on…

Holohouse was an underrated achievement. At first, the idea feels like the natural extension of their idol nature. Idols live together, so why not virtual idols? But having virtual idols living together comes with additional benefits that Nijisanji should note.

Stalking is an awful thing, I know since I experienced and have done something similar in my past, but stalking is also a desperate thing. And desperation tends to abate when people are more open about themselves. One of the articles talking about Coco’s graduation infamously notes the mystery of Coco’s identity, which is chucklesome since Coco’s identity might be the most open secret in all of Hololive. This was in line with Hololive’s more open policy, several of Hololive members do their own personal work on the side, while in many early companies, this was forbidden. Nijisanji’s background is less open than Hololive, perhaps due to the number and less mass attention, and that leads to stalking being a more adventurous one. One that livers have to deal with more alone, while for Hololive, it’s likely people would catch and perhaps even tar the perpetrator. More attention means more risk with less excitement.

Holohouse also protects aggressive fan behavior by introducing VTuber solidarity. With more offline collabs, the people would know each other more personally and therefore have a ground of contacts in which to alert suspicious behavior. Safety in numbers.

Holohouse also brought us KanaCoco, which was a lesser known pairing until the couple ring story, and now it has become one of three big couples of Hololive, the other two being NoeFlare and OkaKoro. The big three all have a different style of their tee tee. KanaCoco is the type of a longtime buddy. Both Kanata and Coco struggled with familial and economic circumstances, and they are both struggling under the same roof. And within that struggle comes comity and friendship. It’s not love in your typical sense, but it is a type that would lead to marriage and childrens… but the current LBGTQ+ status in Japan is pretty bad, so tee tee and hush hush it is.

In a sense, KanaCoco provides for an excellent cover. It is one of the most inspiring portrayals of woman-woman friendships in media and it would be one of the more enduring aspect of Coco’s legacy as it passes down through the generations.

[Note: This somehow became an apologia of the past week. Well, I do like to show my thinking with my behavior, perhaps to my detriment, so… just be warned.]

For the past week, I was hyping about the fact that Gura passed Kizuna Ai to become the most-subscribed VTuber. And I made the point, not through immaturity, but because I realized this coincided with Coco’s graduation. Without Coco, there wouldn’t be Hololive English, or Gawr Gura, and therefore this event would not have happened. This, therefore, was one of the last great accomplishments of Coco. An indelible mark of her foresight and perseverance. A realization of her plans. So, in a sense, this was one of my ways of celebrating Coco’s career, albeit in an admittedly twisted way.

But beyond Hololive English, there was the famous Meme Review, which has a weak lineage with the early meme review series from PewDiePie. Now for the digression, whoever ends up at the top gives us a flavor for that specific era, since one naturally assumes success means finesse and would try to emulate the style. Vlogbrother’s visual style and mannerism was largely lifted from Ze Frank. PBS Idea Channel famously emulated Ray William Johnson’s background to his own ends. And Kizuna Ai was famously inspired by PewDiePie at several points in her career. Which is why PewDiePie’s Congratulations felt right as a tribute. One of the big shared characteristics of the two was the lonely years at the top. PewDiePie is probably going to be longest reigning ‘King’ of YouTube for a while (of course, depends on if Cocomelon catches T-Series in due time) and at the time his reign was abnormally long. Most people hold onto the top spot for a year or two, so it felt odd that PewDiePie was untouchable for so long. Similar things must have been raised for Kizuna Ai as well. Many people must have felt that Kizuna Ai just did not represent VTubers at the current time.

So, when competition showed up, of course people were excited. It felt like it was time. I believe PewDiePie’s Congratulations was not a simple diss track, although it’s formatted like one, just due to the culture at the time. So the hypothetical Kizuna Ai version would be extremely light-hearted. The ‘diss’ would be your typical “she’s short”, “she’s hydrodynamic” and so on… it would be clear there is no actual bad blood, and the song would be welcoming of the new era. Era, as I said before, brought on by Coco.

Back to the Meme Review, meme review was great as it centered reddit as the base for the fandom, rather than twitter, which is a horrible platform to bring a sense of communal welcomeness. Reddit is probably the best functional place for stuff like this, even though we all know it has its host of problems that needs to be resolved.

What is the most important stream in Hololive? Well, some people would point to Aqua and Coco’s The Raft stream, which is a poignant encapsulation of a stream. The dramatic counterweight to the other greatest stream in Hololive, Korone’s all-english Mario stream. Aqua and Coco are always the odd pairing, but it could have worked, and it might have been beneficial. Aqua is one of the most shy people in Hololive, and Mio is already busy with Ayame and Subaru, so the best person might have been Coco.

But China. There were two big beneficiaries from China in Hololive, one was Fubuki and the other was Aqua. While Fubuki, in Coco’s last months, famously went out of her way to intertwine herself with Coco to directly redirect her audience, like the mensch she is, Aqua always struggled with her audience retention, therefore played shy with Coco.

Edit: Well, my initial final impression was… what a wonderful finish. The interview portion was well-meant, but honestly a little formal. When the 4th Gen went together, is when the stream turned into something special for me, and the final performance was actually really well-done. Coco went out like an idol, which makes sense. For whatever provocation Coco perpetuated, Coco only did them out of love. And ultimately Cover knew that. Coco’s final month was a warning and a reminder.

Can I talk about all the different tributes lately? In some sense, Usaken Summer Festival is part of this… for an organization that is immensely popular, I just adore how Cover and their talent always has this drive to throw everything and see if it works. I noticed this during Golden Week. Golden Week in Hololive was jam packed. There were great events, Mio’s morning stream was astounding, leading to one of biggest growth spurt for Mio. Miko’s drawing collab was absolutely hilarious, for such a simple and seemingly hastily put idea. One of the people in a forum commented on this and affixed something that left my mind… what did Nijisanji during the same week? Even I was surprised by how little Nijisanji did that Golden week. They barely did anything!

The innovative spirit does give them trouble, more than it is worth, but Cover never really stopped its momentum, even when most other companies would have stopped a long time ago! This is the greatest thing about Hololive and Cover, the most redeeming feature. One that would serve them well. Coco wrote the playing book, let us pray that Cover sticks to them, because the fall of Cover comes the moment they stray.

The Pre-Coco era was about a company struggling to get their idea through. The Coco era was about writing the playing book. So the Post-Coco era will be about remembrance, it’ll be a struggle to keep the memory of what the playing book is. It’ll be about them being Hololive as they become part of the global zeitgeist.

[mizufae]

So Xmas eve day was great, I spent the majority of it on the toilet emptying my guts while having sulfurous burps. My Chinese food plans were ruined. But the BFF helped me make congee once I felt like I was up to eating, and since I had some fancy stuff in the house it was dashi based congee with black oyster mushrooms, daikon, wakame, edemame and scallions with extra bonito and toasted sesame oil drizzle. Still waiting to see if it was all a mistake, but so far I’m doing okay, though I still have the tummy gurgles. I slept pretty much the entire day otherwise, so now it’s four in the morning and I am WIDE awake. The BFF cancelled his flight across the country to visit his family for the holiday and I am honestly really grateful he did. Most likely things would have been fine, but a confluence of events (not just GI stuff) has happened that makes it so his being here is really what I need right now. He woke me up to take my meds in the evening, even. What a mensch. Later this morning he is baking a half batch of his family’s cinnamon rolls, which is what they traditionally do, and cooking bacon. I really hope I can eat some of it but it’s probably unwise. Curse you, sugary fatty temptation!!