#i think i failed but w/e

[fishfacedterror]

idk what ppl are talking abt with Kabru being manipulative or w/e, i just think hes also autistic but with a special interest in people and social queues; laios is harder for him to predict so he is his current hyperfixation he wants to study him like a bug or perhaps a long term sociology project Do You See My Vision

[winepresswrath]

the thing is daniel never did anything wrong is his life and was a good little boy. which is why he's experiencing the magic of friendship with louis. i'm kidding it's because this time Louis is the lonely monster and Daniel is the sweet young thing. these people are cursed.

[buildarocketboys]

Man nothing like talking to other writers to make you feel like you're not a proper writer

[pied-piper-pluto]

been doing a 3 episodes a week rewatch of the owl house in a watchparty discord and while i could have missed something it did strike me that i dont think ive noticed any fatphobic jokes/plotlines in the series! didn't really register viewing it the first time around but it's very nice

[camels-pen]

(i haven't read Whole Cake in a while, and i never really watched it, so bear with me)

I'd love to write a fic with Usopp on Whole Cake. it'd be sooo fucking long and i'd need to refresh myself on the entire arc, but god i'd probably be so satisfied when it's done. specifically for having brought a single moment in my head to life, but we'll get to that.

On Zou, he insists to be taken along on the Sanji rescue team and has worked himself up with a whole bunch of very good reasons as to why he should go there instead of helping in Wano, but of course Luffy just immediately accepts with a "yeah sure"

With Whole Cake, I think he'd be flipping between having fun as part of the idiot trio/quartet (Luffy, Chopper, Carrot), and being terrified with Nami. There wouldn't be that many differences in the arc as a whole, though; some things would be easier/better and some things would be worse- I don't necessarily think Usopp's presence would be overall an advantage or disadvantage, just different. Like, major events would stay mostly the same, but little details would change and maybe those little details would build to a far more drastic change-

for example, maybe one of Big Mom's kids considers themself a great sniper and wants a match with Usopp, or is motivated to work harder because Usopp is around and they want to take him out and boast about it. Maybe it means Sunny takes more damage than canon, or maybe Usopp's help means less damage to Sunny. (idk if i'd really do smth like this, but it's just an example)

skjdhf fuck i'm really not equipped to try and figure this out when i don't remember shit from Whole Cake aaaa

I do know that, despite his penchant for talking and rambling, I'd probably have Usopp be dead silent after his initial shock when Sanji fights Luffy. Everything about that is the same, except Usopp is just watching Sanji the whole time- not panicking, not moving, and not speaking. He doesn't say a word the entire time, doesn't even make a sound, and that, along with Luffy's words and Nami's begging, stick with Sanji.

(Usopp is thinking of his own fight with Luffy in Water 7, he's partially wondering if this was what it was like- if it was this painful to watch from the sidelines- and partially knowing he doesn't have to say a word, because he knew, like he knew back then, that it didn't matter what was said. It wasn't quite the same, but he could tell in the way Sanji moved, in the way he spoke and held himself, that he was putting on a front, trying to be brave in all the wrong ways. Usopp didn't say a word to Sanji because there was nothing he could say that Sanji himself didn't already know. Should've known. And his quiet, direct stare, was more than enough.)

the singular moment i really wanna write, is a scene where Sanji is apologizing for dragging them into his mess- either during the big meeting in Bege's castle or some other time- and Usopp's like "I'll do what you can't, you do what I can't, right?" and Sanji pauses, a little confused, until he remembers Enies Lobby and a stupid mask and cape and-

and tears are gathering in his eyes now, fuck, but he laughs a little. It sounds wet and his face is itchy and they're surrounded by tentative allies, but he- he laughs again and he says, "Fuck, you remembered that?"

Usopp shrugs, a little smile on his face. "They were some wise words from a wise man."

Sanji laughs a third time. "You think I'm wise?"

And they banter a little more before Bege tells them to quit it since they're on a time constraint or something. Quietly, Usopp will ask, "It-it helps. On bad days. And I figured, 'what's a worse day than this?' Ah, not that you getting married would ever be bad per se-"

"Usopp," Sanji says, looking more relaxed and settled. He smiles fondly and grabs his friend in a one armed hug, crushing him to his side. "Thanks."

And yeah, don't remember much beyond that, except the whole "hiding and then busting out of the cake" bit, which would mean Usopp in a cute little tuxedo or smth- maybe with a fedora aaaaaa <- loves fedoras- helping out with the fighting and eventually sailing with everyone to Wano.

He would be so distressed about fixing up Sunny now that the whole thing with Whole Cake is over. Maybe there'd be a gag about him promising Franky to take good care of Sunny while they were gone and being confident, after being Franky's tinkering partner and learning from him over time, that he could handle minor repair work much better than he did the first time around with Merry. And so when he finally takes in all the very-not-minor repairs he has to do, he's certain Franky is gonna strangle him for not keeping his promise. Probably also try to write in some nostalgic 'repairman Usopp' vibes from pre-Water 7.

Also something something, Sanji, wanting to do more for the crew bc he still feels guilty about Whole Cake, decides to take it upon himself to help Usopp not fall into a whole anxiety spiral about the ship. In turn, Usopp ends up helping Sanji not feel so guilty- usually by handing his own words back to him on a silver platter. And, yknow, having the two of them bonding and being buddies again like they so rarely get to be in canon nowadays qwq

[hovkinnie]

honkai domination and kolosten arc spoilers/rambling+ some heavy complaining after the read more (it's basically a whole ass essay im so fucking sorry lkfjdslkfjdslkfj)

thinking ab how fucking rad and meaningful kolosten would've been if the domination arc had ended with kiana and HoV coexisting instead of what we got.

It definitely would've been better to do that with more setup of them actually talking throughout the story (which is the same thing you can say about the way it went, imo) but even without it- it would've been even more in line with what I think are the most resonant themes of that story.

The thing that made me fall in love with honkai like I did was the themes around victimhood and antagonism. Sirin, Wendy, Bronya, basically all the Herrschers we've seen- whenever a character that wasn't Otto during the beginning stages of the story became a threat to the world, it was never really because they were "evil". They were victims of the cruel world around them, sometimes victims of the same organisms that fought against the supposed real evil of the honkai, and either broke or lashed out because of their real vulnerability.

But in a lot of those moments the story understood two things: one, that that's a tragedy, one that deserves to become motivation to change the world so this kind of thing can't happen again, and two, that if at all possible, despite the threat they might pose to our characters or the world, what they deserve isn't hostility but compassion. Because they aren't the perpetrators of their own violence, only the victims through which it becomes externalized.

This compassion IS extended to Sirin, not only in Second Eruption but also through Kiana, who, despite being a danger in a sense because of HoV, is shown compassion as one of two different people carrying on from Sirin's past.

But imo, it undercuts this theme that HoV isn't extended the same compassion. Because HoV is not only a more direct threat to the world than just Kiana by proxy, she's a much more direct inheritor of what Sirin could represent: A righful anger at the world that victimised her, one that isn't content to fight to protect that world.

And in a story that had at that point so wonderfully allowed characters who were framed as villains to be accepted for who they are, to be recognized as the victims they are and shown a path forward that didn't end with them burning out, in a story with Bronya's self-determination being fought for, with Mei becoming a Herrscher that fights in her own way to protect who she loves, with HoS being shown compassion, Fu Hua being stopped from sacrificing herself for absolution and a pointless so-called victory, with Seele being allowed to live in harmony with her other self and taking her own name, it's just painful that HoV's anger cannot be accepted and coexisted with.

I know that it's not a hugely popular opinion, but I think kolosten drops the ball with Otto, and I think it's because until that point, we had seen Otto from the perspectives of those who were the most hurt by his actions, some of whom might have developed a sort of stockholm syndrome but who were still able to see the hurt he's caused the world. We knew, always, that his view of the world did not include the real compassion that we'd seen growing in the main cast towards those victimised by him, the thing that to me was the emotional core of honkai. Where kolosten fails for me is that now we got so, so, SO much from his own perspective, his own hand-washing, while getting absolutely NOTHING about the people he'd hurt.

We knew throughout the story, always, that the kinds of experiments he'd done to people en masse for hundreds of years were a kind of mass torture that was what created Sirin as a Herrscher in the first place, the pain that created her anger. We knew that Kallen would've been better off if he'd never been so obsessed with her because we got her perspective on that history, and we knew that the world would've been better off in the years after that because we got the perspectives of the people most hurt by his actions. And yet kolosten gave us none of those perspectives, only focusing on him, the people with the most stockholm syndrome for him, and Kiana as a newly-reborn protagonist who isn't about to let anger cloud her judgement.

All kolosten felt like was a pity party for what was undoubtedly one of the most horrid men imaginable in that world. And that's really only because there were perspectives that were sorely lacking, perspectives that could've been there, ANGER that could've been there, if HoV was allowed to exist, if she was allowed to be there to say what I wanted to say the most to every character that I otherwise adore throughout that entire arc.

"Fuck this garbage fire that's been burning for 500 years. He doesn't get his pity party, or his one in a million shot to save someone who never wanted to be saved by him. He's hurt too many people to deserve anything other than a million void lances tearing him apart, one for each person whose life he ruined by existing."

Because if your compassions for victims doesn't extend to accepting that they're allowed to just fucking HATE those who hurt them, then it isn't worth shit.

[fridayyy-13th]

i am feeling So Many Things at the moment but mostly i just feel like a disaster

[marsbotz]

gruxime makes me a little insaneeeee esp from maximes perspective cus its like. damn. a hell of my own creation.

[deathlonging]

classmate mentions sth that leaves you surprisingly touched and yr instinctive response is to say dry as hell oh profusely weeping etc. well FAILED grade in basic social interaction girl you keep forgetting your saving grace is you can never invite ppl in your head !!!

[queenerdloser]

my dad: yeah i'll be there at 3:30p

me, like a normal person: gets ready & is all set to go by 3:30p literally on the dot.

my dad at 3:45p: sike i'll actually be there at 4:30p

me: great :) love this :)

[forgetful-river]

I'm SORRY people who like Karkat <> Kanaya but I think you're WRONG

[okayto]

hi I graduate from undergrad in July & my hometown is opening a new public library this summer. Do you have any tips for applying? I plan to start my MLIS degree online in about a year, and will start applying to programs in spring/summer/fall. I want to work as a library director one day I think PS thank you for your blog that I just stumbled on bc you have SO much relevant information

Sorry, I somehow missed this when you sent it last month!

My advice is mostly gleaned from exposure in both library groups/discussions and job/professional resources/reading/experience, rather than personal public library practice--I work in an academic library and I don't think there was a ton of competition (who managed to make a good impression) since night hours are not often attractive to people. (But who knows: I know my resume and cover letter were enough to get me invited for an interview, which then got me hired, and now they love me.)

If you have any library experience at all--volunteer work, working in your school library, etc.--make sure that's on your resume. (Since you're graduating undergrad, it should be fine to have things on it that go back to high school, if you did library work in high school.)

The big things I see discussed when library people talk about hiring, from the employer's side, are:

Does the applicant show they meet any requirements (i.e., if the job says "you must have a bachelor's degree or two years of work experience," make sure that between your resume and cover letter, if one is included, that they can see you meet that requirement)

Does the applicant show an understanding that working in a library is not sitting and reading all day? (Basically, don't say "I want to work at Library X because I love reading and quiet, calm environments," because public library work is unlikely to involve any of that very often)

Can you follow directions and provide accurate info? (If the job listing says to send a resume and cover letter to Person X, send a resume and cover letter to Person X, and make sure that you haven't misspelled their name or the library name, etc.)

If you're thinking "well, that's all pretty basic," yes, yes it is. AND YET.

I would check out Ask A Manager for tips on resumes and cover letters, she is so helpful and has a wealth of information in general.

If you have any connection to the library system, leverage it--it's fine to mention what the library means/meant to you; if the new library is going to be part of an existing system, use your knowledge of existing branches to get a feel for what the work environment might be like, or to give you ideas of questions to ask. If you know anyone who works or has worked there (or if you have a second-degree connection, like a parent or friend knows someone who works there), see if it's possible to ask them questions or do an informational interview about what it's like to work there.

(You can look it up, but at a minimum that means probably buying them coffee/similar beverage, asking questions and crucially not treating them as a way to sneakily get in--take their goodwill and get more knowledge, don't then try to get them to boost your app, but do remember they may tell people that you met/talked with them. I've had friends and acquaintances reach out to me when my library hires to ask things about work details, pay rate if I know it [because my stupid university won't list a pay scale for some reason], etc. Recently, someone took a coworker who is leaving out to coffee to ask him about the details of his job, since it's open and this person was applying. All of that is fine, because no one has then tried to use us to manipulate the people making hiring decisions.)

A lot will depend on your area, of course. If there is a library school nearby, the competition may be higher from what I've heard. Do apply!

[laniusbignaturals]

Also I don't know why but a song I associate with Joshua as the Malpais Legate is "Leviathan" by Dirt Poor Robins. Something about how Malpais means badlands, him having an unhinged moment as seeing himself as a biblical disaster and unholy destroyer.

Well this is certainly White Legs Conflict Coded: Joshua is always remarking on them and their “Great Salt Lake,” and Ulysses characterizes them in similar terms himself, “blood covered ghosts” and such. The other lyrics bring to mind that “vengeful spirit” archetype Siri introduces him as to the player: and you could take the repeated mention of lurking and concealment to allude to Edward’s disallowing of the mere mention of Joshua. Broke bitter bitch.

[rxtgallows]

being the same age as most long term lolitas were when they started getting into it but its different now bc there is just so much less of a community it feels like... like for me i feel more like i am finding a lot of individuals but no local communities bc its just rlly died down i think... like i found a 2013 pph article about a lolita meetup downtown. i dont think that wld happen now even if i COULD find a local community

[alienaiver]

HOLD ON. MEET CUTE W KENMA AT A CON. UR COSPLAYING HIS FAVORITE CHARA FROM HIS FAVORITE GAME. AFTER SEEING U IN HIS COMPANY'S STALL AT GAMEROOM HE DUCKS TO THE NEAREST CORNER TO CALL KUROO PANICKY WITH SWEATY PALMS

[pctaldrunk]

it's a headcanons night baby (they're only sort of related, so, different posts, shh). After months (maybe literal years), we have returned to Ro's series on J.in G.uangyao.

I was thinking about how in a great deal of circumstances when J.in G.uangyao likes someone - the less likely he is, almost, to accept any promises from them. Which - sounds counterintuitive, and it is, but - he knows he can't handle the emotional ramifications of someone he genuinely cares for and believes in go back on or retract their word, as they inevitably sometimes have to (and I do think he knows better than most that there is a circumstance for everything). Like everything with him - it's kind of a trust thing, though I feel even the people he trusts...will have to deal with this some, until something can resolve. Because he carries these walls with him from the beginning of his narrative - maybe from the beginning of his life.

The tragedy of his mother and the rather violent rejection from his father begins this thought process - and arguably I think, the events during, following, and after s.unshot, cements for him - that it only hurts worse and puts you in a worse position when you allow yourself to have any expectations or to believe in things that are subject to change. It's pessimistic but I think he genuinely prepares for and accepts it when people do turn on him...relatively quickly. He may or may not take measures, dependent on his level of panic and ability and energy availability to care about the outcome - but he accepts it very quickly. You can see that in G.uanyin T.emple - never let it be said that he wasn't shocked, because truly he was played, but he rolled with it, you know? Whether or not that screams repression - is a different headcanon, truly.

Likewise, I think it's hard for him to accept or consider someone's regard for him as the Solution to His Problems (tm), the sum of his worth or even a viable backup plan - feelings are fickle, feelings change, feelings can be acted - when you're stuck in a brothel, it's better to earn money yourself than to hope for someone to buy your contract. A relationship, whether that's platonic or romantic, is not a safety net he's willing to fall on. Barring his mother, he has accepted that it's easier if love is conditional, even if he is exhausted by it, because fulfilling his end of the bargain when he knows what it is is easier, safer and eons more reliable than counting on the ever elusive and easily changed thing known as human hearts. He's known to be eager to please - or rather, he's eager to bring something more substantial and demanding, shall we say, of attention and admiration, to the table other than being the blurry and mystifying concept of "a person another person likes."