#still not 100% decided on “+” vs “plus” but i think i prefer the look of it

[fuchsiamae]

on may 16th, 2011, baby writer fuchsiamae (17!) came off anon for the first time, to post ch1 of a fic called "defrosting."

afaik this was the first cave/glados fic. around 5k words total, still on ffn. it was my first attempt at a multichapter, the longest thing I'd ever written at the time, and I was so proud of it. for a while.

then I grew past those baby writer skills and was embarrassed by its quality, but I could never let go of the concept. I knew it deserved to be done better. "glados finds cave johnson in cryo" burrowed into my brain like a fucking prion, and every year or two I'd try to write it again, and every time I'd fail without getting very far. until this time.

thirteen goddamn years later:

the complete rough draft of this fic is over 80k words.

the complete first draft of act 1 (of 5) is 30k words. which, terrifyingly, is double its length in the rough.

the first edit of ch1 (7k words) should be ready for my beta readers later today.

I'm not going to rush myself (or my extremely patient betas), so I don't have a release date, but I'm thinking a month or so would be a reasonable expectation.

and I've finally settled on a title:

Tragedy + Time

[playertwotails]

Thinking about how Tails has canonically blown up a man and his entire army killing them and how he defiantly told Sonic about it. But I don't think Sonic believed him really. Not that he thinks Tails is lying but little kids have a tendency to exaggerate. And depending on the game manual he either fights this army before he met Sonic or right after and I can't decide which is actually funnier. Cause in my mind when Sonic first met Tails he was like 3-4 while Sonic is 10-11.

Putting the rest under the cut cause this got longer than I meant for it to be

So if it's before they met, these big tough army guys just stumbled upon a random toddler that woke up and choose violence and napalm bombs that day. And who then proceed to pretty much hunt them down one by one which puts Tails in the role of terrifying unstoppable horror movie creature from their perspective.

If it's right after Tails met Sonic, they just beat Eggman. Tails just got his first taste of taking down would be dictators and decided he could go for a round two but with more explosions this time. Plus he hasn't really fought real people other than Eggman just his bots so Tails is a bit unknowingly deadly against these new more squishy opponents. (Not that Tails doesn't realize he's killing them he 100% knows what he's doing but also they're trying to take over the island and he's got some bombs so that math checks out for him)

Either way I just image little Tails telling Sonic he took out a whole army of bad guys on his own. And Sonic in his head knows Tails can fight but is thinking it was like 3-5 people at most maybe and Tails is just exaggerating . Plus Sonic thinks Tails just means he stopped them from doing what ever they were doing; not that Tails meant "took them out" as in he stopped them from existing.

Years go by and on one of their adventures they stumble upon a guy who was basically the sole survivor from Tails' rampage. That guy just takes one look at Tails and starts panicking and trying to run away.

Sonic sees this and runs after the guy and then gets a rundown from the guy of why he's so scared of Tails. Which leaves Sonic in a bit of a state of shock. He's not like mad at Tails at all but more like "huh???" cause Tails is sweet and doesn't like to hurt people and prefers peaceful resolutions if he can get them. So this is way out of left field from the sweet little brother he knows. But Sonic thinks back to that conversation he and Tails had all those years ago about Tails defeating an army. Realizes he was completely wrong about what Tails meant, and in hindsight knowing what Tails can do should have probably been a bit more concerned about that whole conversation. He was a kid raising and even smaller kid who is a genius he gets some leeway on not being 100% on top of things. But Sonic just turns to Tails and just

"Tails what the actual fuck????? THAT WAS A REAL THING????!!!??"

And Tails, who has thought this whole time Sonic believed him, is just like

"Yeah I told you about his already don't you remember??? Did you think I was lying???"

Sonic has to back pedal and explain his thoughts on what Tails told him back then. Which alleviates some of the confusion but also now he knows Tails has killed and like okay not great but also what can he do about it now. He personally doesn't like killing people but also Tails was like 3/4 at most and he was in a situation were it was him vs an army. Those odds were still in Tails favor but technically it was self defense in Sonic's mind. So Sonic doesn't really have any negative feeling towards Tails over this or see him in any negative light. It's just turns into a "well that's a thing now" kinda situation.

OR the flip side of this where Sonic 100% believes Tails from the get go and again same thoughts as above but he does lecture Tails about, you know, not killing their enemies.

He also takes away all Tails bombs which is why in later games Tails doesn't use bombs much just his inventions or those dummy rings from Sonic Heroes. Sonic lets him have his heavy weaponry back once he knows Tails wont go Doom Slayer on Eggman or their other enemies.

Idk just some funny thoughts about that game I've been having.

[fierykitten2]

Probably not quite last-minute Z-A predictions (I mean they’re more wishes than predictions) but I wanted to share my wishlist before leak season begins

Grass starter: Grass/Fairy Meganium

Fire starter: Fire/Steel Blaziken

Water starter: Water/Fighting Inteleon

Time period: 100-200 years after XY (cyberpunk with some greenery)

Male player character: based on Serena

Female player character: based on Calem

Bonus: non-binary/genderless player character (idc they wouldn’t do this they made it possible to be non-binary in GO I’d like to think they can do that in the core series somehow): based on Shauna (I do btw think the the player(s) not chosen should appear as NPCs so idk how this would work. I’d say this is my most ambitious idea out of all of these)

New Megas: Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, Kalosian Meganium, Kalosian Blaziken, Kalosian Inteleon, Goodra, Aromatisse and Slurpuff (because they’re cool Pokémon that deserve special treatment, not because “they suck and should get new forms so we don’t have to look at their ugly (they’re not ugly) faces anymore”), Meowscarada, Quaquaval (bonus points if they give it the massive wings I think Decidueye should have had if it had got a special Terastal form), Armarouge, Ceruledge, Volcanion and Hoopa(?)

Additional new forms: 100% Xerneas and Yveltal, Scarlet Beast Walking Wake and Violet Sword Iron Leaves (because I will not let the fact that the drawings in the books are imagined stop me from thinking the fusions would make these cool trios even cooler if that’s even possible when four of them make up my top 3 favourite Pokémon (sorry Bolt and Crown you two are pretty cool too you’re just not Wake, Leaves, Fire or Boulder)) when trying to put my ideas together in a procreate artwork for some reason I decided to give them signature moves with two effects/gimmicks each. Effect one is that SB Wake’s move defaults to Special but can become Physical “if it would do more damage” while VS Leaves’s move defaults to Physical but can become Special “if it would do more damage”. What I believe I meant with those is if those are their higher attacking stats but what it actually implies to me upon looking at it late at night is that it depends on stuff like the opponent’s defensive stats and anything like Reflect and Light Screen and stuff that would alter the amount of damage done by one type of attack while not altering the amount of damage done by the other type of attack and I’m really overthinking it now. Anyway the second effect is that SB Wake’s move increases to 120% damage in Rain, Sandstorm and Snow but 200% in Harsh Sunlight while VS Leaves’s move increases to 120% damage on Grassy Terrain, Misty Terrain and Psychic Terrain (apart from the fact that it’s a Psychic-type move and anyway gains a boost under Psychic Terrain) and 200% under Electric Terrain. Also I decided the fusions are by default pure Dragon (Wake) or pure Psychic (Leaves) but their abilities are upgraded versions of Protosynthesis and Quark Drive but act like they have the collective types of their entire trios including affecting type matchups allowing for triple weaknesses or triple resistances (I don’t think either combo would have a quadruple weakness/resistance as that would mean all three members of one of the trios would have to have a double weakness/resistance). Also I decided that the unused stones in SV are used for the fusion of these two trios (when did I ever think they weren’t) and the fusions look more like the Paradox Pokémon themselves than their modern-day counterparts (Wake has a slightly longer neck to match Bolt and thinner forearms to match Wake but still mostly matches Fire’s physique (I don’t think that’s the word I was looking for there) while Leaves is more metallic and more glowy plus the stuff meant to look like Terrakion’s brick pattern looks like Boulder’s brick pattern, the neck things look like Leaves’s leaves and the collar matches Crown’s collar (I will admit the two things I prefer about Cobalion are the collar and the neck fluff. I still prefer Crown though). Also for both of them the horns are closer to Wake/Boulder’s horns than Suicune/Terrakion’s horns (although Fire’s banana spikes make up some of SB Wake’s horn and Crown’s golden horns with blue glowy energy bits make up some of VS Leaves’s horns). Honestly, I come up with such cool ideas but I don’t know how to draw it). Never let the person obsessing over the Proto Beasts and Neo Swords who wishes that the fusions could also exist come up with their wishlist for the next game. uhh probably more idk. Oh yeah regional forms for the starters and some others but I think I implied that at least twice already

Bonus changes: terrain update! 100% Xerneas creates a stronger version of Grassy Terrain (similar to Heavy Rain) and Yveltal creates a stronger version of Electric Terrain (similar to Extremely Harsh Sunlight) Grassy Terrain and Electric Terrain made the most sense to me as opposites among the Terrains plus it gives me an excuse to give Leaves a signature move of its primary type to match the rest of the Neo Swords and the Proto Beasts. This results in Leaves requiring a Grass-type version of Psyblade just like how Wake requires Hydro Steam. Fittingly Wake gets a Dragon-type version of Hydro Steam to match

Yes I know the ugly croc would get a Mega if Meowscarada and Quaquaval got them it’s just ugly so I don’t want it to get anything special (still, they got the top two best starters in the Paldean starter trio so it would’ve been too powerful if they hadn’t have put the worst starter in it too in order to balance it out)

So yeah as you can see I’m being really ambitious. I think I might have taken Game Freak’s statement that this was gonna be the most ambitious entry a little too literally

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

Helluva Boss Fan Headcanon: Little Stolas & Phenice (2023)

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[Don’t Reblog Without Permission.]

Credit for Helluva Boss goes to Vivziepop

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I did this drawing on March 26, 2023 and I’m finally posting it here on April 22, 2023...

Dead-Name would be their Title, but the name Phenex could still be gender neutral enough for them to keep, but she might still prefer to be called Phenice.

I like the idea of Phenice/Phenex being one of Stolas’s half-siblings, and it turning out they have a better sibling relationship than with their other half-siblings...

if I decide to draw this version of Phenex again I will.

it could be possible that while Stolas was very supportive of Phenex coming out as a Transwoman, their father may of had a different feeling about it and wasn’t as supportive.

Phenice could of been very against Stolas being married to marry Stella,

but only sees one good thing that came out of that marriage and that would be her niece.

I don’t think Phenice would get along well with Stella’s brother...

that would be like Fire Vs Ice...

plus Phenice might know the real reason to Stella not wanting to have the divorce, because it would mean she would no longer hold the title of Princess and she will be back down to her original birth title...

and if it wasn’t a prank made my my pendulum, and if it were true that Phenex is my Other Soul-Parent (and the other being another Earth Angel), I guess I would technically be a Phenex II and be ranked the same as them...

but then there is that whole “Earth Angel Princess” thing, that is still freaky and weird, and it took me until just now in April 2023, to fully figure this out.

also the whole King Solomon’s curse where his line, like that has Rehoboam his son and his son’s descendants can’t take the throne...

still not a curse, it is a blessing, and I’m both King Solomon and his son’s descendant, and the song that matches my feelings about that “curse” being a blessing, while others still believe it’s a curse....

is still gonna be “The Jokes On You” by Niki Watkins.

also because of something I looked up, that has to do with some Angels who are suppose to be watching over you....according to the month & day of when you were born...

and apparently I found Zadkiel....guess that would explain the violet ethereal wings (even if I can’t really see the violet ethereal wings)....wonder if it means Holy Amethyst would be watching over me as well...?

 I’m still gonna view some Angels as Eon-Boomers, that would also include the Fallen Angels....

I’m weird and that is just how I started to view them...

 and yeah kind of have thoughts of wanting to flip Lucifer the double bird, and the whole thoughts of wanting to grab both Jesus and Antichrist by their ears...

even if I can still believe in Jesus, like the good parts, but if he crosses a line and if Heavenly Father & Earthly Mother allowed me to, I would grab him by his ear....and I have some reasons to want to...

and yeah I’m weird for no longer viewing Abel as a good person, and him not seeing that he was being part of the reason his own brother’s depression got worse to the point it crossed a VERY dangerous line...

and because of some info I read that says Cain was going through a spiritual depression, it makes me want to give him a hug...

and it also makes me view Abel as the embodiment of ego...

both brothers were in the wrong in different ways, but even if Adam did try to get Abel to stop using animals as offerings, because what he was doing wasn’t right....Abel probably still did it and ignored Adam.

Stolas and Phenex would probably have a better sibling bond than what Cain and Abel had, and one of them was kind of a monster from the very start...

and no I’m not talking about Cain, I’m talking about Abel...

even if there might be some who disagree with this, I mean I’m a Defective Earth Angel who doesn’t work 100% right like other Earth Angels...

but it makes sense, at least it does to me...

while animals can be used as food and clothes, and even some as animal companions, but what Abel was doing was still wrong...

some people only see Cain as the monster, but things are not always what they appear, he only became one when the dangerous breaking point happened.

both brothers became monsters in different ways, the differences is, is that Abel was the first of the two of them to become one.

plus if Adam and Eve had tried to do better parenting, they could of tried to help Cain during his depression and try harder to stop Abel from doing something that he shouldn’t.

I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out King Paimon is a terrible to a father to all his kids, and not just Stolas...well from how he acts and how he believes he is “so good daddying” well that would have to be wrong...

at least Greg from Steven Universe, as not as 100% good parent he was, and he was more maybe in the 95% good parent, at least he tried to make sure to be there for his son....even if the worse thing he did was NEVER take Steven to see a doctor, I mean seriously, his human half will still need treatment and you got enough money to pay for it, and let’s not forget he could of hired a tutor to teach Steven at home and teach him what grades are.

at least Steven’s Adoptive Family that makes up Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst

have a better excuse than Greg....

Stolas’s Dad, might not really have a good excuse for being a terrible dad...

and if Phenex turns out to be Stolas’s half-sibling, then I wouldn’t be surprised if King Paimon was a terrible dad to them as well.

I also like the idea that I put in this drawing, and if Phenex does have kids of their own, maybe they would be they would spend time with them...

it be interesting if Phenex is very protective of Stolas, and if she ever got word about what Stella was trying to do to him because he cheated and wanted a divorce...like she could try to attack Stella, even so much as threaten to burn her feathers off and even saying she would kill her and then use her powers to bring her back, and then do it over and over again...

even if Phenex might not appear in the canon, there is always the fanon.

it could turn out that Phenex loved to spoil Stolas when they were growing-up, and would baby him and even call him a precious cinnamon roll.

Little Stolas is like a Precious Cinnamon Roll that is too pure for this world.

Older Stolas however, might still be that Precious Cinnamon Roll that is still too pure for this world.

it could turn out that Phenex is dating a Imp or sinner demon.

even if it would be more Fanon, but can you picture Phenex dating Cherri Bomb from Hazbin Hotel, would that be like dangerous chemistry...? XD

or if Phenex was dating one of Millie’s Older Brothers or even Millie’s sister Sallie-May....

wonder if we will learn Millie and Sallie’s brothers names in the future...?

well maybe we will and maybe we wont, plus we can always call them by fan names for now.

anyway if we ever see one of Stolas’s siblings in a future episode, maybe we can see if they have a bad relationship or not, but it might be possible we wont see them.

we will see Stella’s brother Andrealphus in one of the future episodes, don’t know which one though....is it weird that I want to call him Andrea for short...?

I still think Phenex and Andrea wouldn’t get along too well, plus if Andrea does have ice powers, and Phenex has fire powers, you know which one will be the most likely to win, well unless the ice is far stronger, but for all we know, Phenex could be much stronger than Andrea.                                                         

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

BNHA

(may the bridges i have burned) light my way back home by Chrome (NOTE: I've never been a big BakuDeku fan, but there's something about the respectful, intense way the author writes them - a sense of Knowing and Trusting in a way that goes beyond words - that I really dig. Plus, I'm a fiend for bnha characters interacting with the public/social media in fics)

Since Bakugou Katsuki discovered the secret of One for All, he and Midoriya Izuku have been slowly repairing the friendship they once had. They still haven’t talked about it—but Izuku’s certain that it’s only a matter of time before they manage to lay the past to rest. But when the League of Villains attack the Sports Festival and Bakugou takes a devastating blow meant for Izuku, the whole nation is suddenly paying attention to a relationship the two people involved barely understand. Izuku needs more than ever to figure out who he and Kacchan are to each other—preferably before the internet does.

Or, “Fuck you,” Bakugou said. “I don’t need a whole face to kick your ass.”

DC (Batfamily)

Late Night Encounters by paperxcrowns

Not long after Jason comes back to Gotham and asserts himself as the Red Hood, Tim meets Jason in a diner late at night and by some miracle he doesn't recognize him. After another chance meeting where Jason still doesn't make the connection between him and Robin, Tim decides that this might just his chance to get to know Jason Todd.

the hardest part by emavee

Dick is dreading his eighteenth birthday and everything that it means for him as a foster kid. His time with his family is running out, and he needs to be prepared for what comes next, to be on his own again.

Clone Wars

Standard Operating Procedures by galateaGalvanized

“Sir, I need you to tell me what’s wrong,” Cody says, battlefield calm, and he can’t help his relief when Obi-Wan pulls the tattered remains of his usual dignity back over his shoulders.

“Right,” Obi-Wan says. “Of course. Commander, as far as I can tell, everyone besides you on this ship has fallen truly, madly, deeply in love with me.”

SVSSS

The Perils of LIVE Editing! (ft. BinggYuan!!!) by seol_xiv

In which Shen Yuan flounces around the PIDW timeline in different roles and makes a mess of everything. He likes to think he helped make some things better, but he’s pretty sure he made things worse too.

Apparently, constantly leaving behind a protagonist that has major abandonment issues was a bad thing.

…Huh, who knew?

If Shen Yuan could go back to redo his first meeting with Luo Binghe (Yes, the one where he pretended to be a fortune teller. No, not the one where he picked him up from the Luo River.) He thought that it wouldn’t have gone very differently. After all, how could he have predicted this??! “A’Yuan,” Luo Binghe (as in LUO BINGHE) purred as he leaned into Shen Yuan’s…well, everything, really. “Would you kindly tell this lord where you’ve been for the past five years?” Danger! Danger!! Danger!!! Important things must be said three times! And the protagonist looking like he was going to eat him alive was 100% f*cking important okay!?! Also, how the hell did he find out about his identity?!?! SYSTEM! WHAT THE F*CK??!!

(OR: Giving Binggē a happy ending, one version of Shen Yuan at a time!)

The Favourite by x_los

Demonic Emperor Luo Binghe's reputation precedes him. It's just not very accurate.

Anyways, Stan Shen Qingqiu by x_los

Millennial vs Gen Z? Shen Qingqiu wishes.

A young transmigrator has a new idol; Shen Qingqiu is very tired.

[oncejaw]

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 .

1. What does your muse smell like?

(thank you Puffin for already getting me to think about that one!) Marcel is one of those people who easily retain the smell of the soap or shampoo they are using. The ones they have available in Liberio are mostly basic and unscented, but still retain that particular, pleasant, almost homely fragrance of clean, plain soap. Marcel likes to wash in the morning, be it a proper shower or just a basin of cold water; if the Warriors have physical training during the day, he will shower back at the barracks too, so the scent of plain soap is almost inevitable on him. In both verses where he lives up to adulthood, he picks up mechanics, tinkering with clockworks and bikes, motorbikes and cars as a hobby, so there is also a touch of mechanical oil added to the mix.

After transforming back from titan form to human form, Marcel naturally emanates the same smell as his titan and his titan’s steam, especially if he literally just got out and is still regenerating from the process. Isayama has apparently stated that titans smell “like a hot springs town” - hot springs smell mostly like sulfur, which is often described as rotten eggs (yes, delightful). Considering how close to the ground and how much in direct contact the Jaw titan is with its victims, the smell of blood and possibly of viscera is, unfortunately, pretty much inevitable. The Warriors have probably grown insensitive to titan smell considering how much they spend inside their titans, but Marcel very distinctly remembers his brother and his parents flinching the first time he returned from a mission. Since then, he has made it a mandatory ritual to scrub the smell off of him as soon as he returns home from a mission.

2. What do your muse’s hands feel like?

For the most part, his hands are what you would expect of a child trained as a soldier: calloused by exercise and the handling of weapons, but not heavily calloused like you would expect from a manual labourer (farmer, carpenter, etc). They are clearly tried hands, working hands, not those of an academic or strictly an intellectual. Marcel being a playful child always ready to engage in games, scrapes and scratches are also common occurrence as a result. Adult Marcel grows to have hands that are a little larger than would be expected for a man his height; they have a strong feel to them, a solid, firm grip, meant for holding up, supporting, and building. Or at least he hopes so; he has noticed a few people looking uneasy upon sharing a handshake with him, and only then realised that there are times, especially when in a grim mood, that his grip may feel tighter than usual; go from comforting or reassuring to threatening and destructive. Whether or not this unconscious feel and behaviour may be the result of the Jaw’s telltale claws is completely up for speculation.

3. What does your muse usually eat in a day?

Marcel is not a picky eater - living conditions in Liberio are not the easiest to start with, and especially after meeting less fortunate children than he is like Pieck and Bertholdt, he counts his blessings and eats whatever it is the army provides for its Warriors and candidates. Whenever given the choice, however, for instance at home when trade has been good and their parents can afford their boys more options, Marcel will admit to a weakness towards anything made with eggs - scrambled eggs, poached eggs, eggs on toast, you name it. He does not have much of a sweet tooth, but his absolute favourite kind of food is fruit, especially apples and pears. If he can eat fruit once or several times in a day, he is a happy bunny. 

4. Does your muse have a good singing voice?

I will admit I have spent way more time than necessary thinking about Marcel’s voice, finally I can put it to use. So there is not much to play around with when it comes to Marcel’s voice because we hear him for literally one episode (plus a flashback to his death when he screams “it’s a titan, get out of the way”) but I’m taking the voice we hear in the anime as his adult voice, rather than his actual voice when he was 11 to 13 (I love Susumu Chiba and the other VAs but those voices are clearly not the voices of children, no matter how hard they try to make them sound young :’) here is an actual 13yo for comparison). I didn’t particularly think of Marcel having a good singing voice until I had a bout of nostalgia and found this live version of Somebody That I Used to Know, and decided that was 100% Marcel’s voice. It has the same somewhat airy quality with a very slight rasp, but he can also give it more body and make it sond fuller (like Marcel’s normal talking voice vs when he shouts). All of this to say - yes, Marcel can have a good singing voice, for literally no other reason than my own personal guilty pleasure of apparently making every single one of my muses adept musicians vjbhfvjb. Although that would probably be more applicable to a modern/reincarnation AU of sorts, since I doubt he gets many opportunities to practice in canon. 

5. Does your muse have any bad habits or nervous ticks?

Technically it’s not quite a tic, but past experimentations on his titan and his human body have left Marcel with long-lasting effects that include, among others, twitching, mostly in his hands. Most of the time, he can either suppress it, or hide it by burying his hands in his pockets or crossing them behind his back when the sensation becomes too uncomfortable. His nervosity also manifests through a shaky leg when sitting down and forgetting to keep it under control. As for bad habits, he is the kind of person who constantly forgets where he placed his keys/shoes/clothes/books mostly because he’s too busy remembering where Porco and the other Warrior candidates have placed their own things on their behalf. 

6. What does your muse usually look like / wear?

Most of the time, Marcel wears his standard Warrior candidate/Warrior uniform, mandatory armband with the corresponding colour included. When left to make his own choices as a child, he is not too fussy about what to wear, always happy to don something comfortable and relaxed - short-sleeved shirts in the summer, hoodies in winter. In verses where he gets to grow up, he is a little more conservative than his brother, but not enough to stick to buttoned-up shirts ad clean-pressed uniform pieces. His go-to choices in his wardrobe are turtleneck jumpers and hoodies, always worn under his uniform jacket or under a long coat. Should he ever need to opt for something more formal, he will either wear his ceremonial uniform or a three-piece suit. His preferred colours for his clothes err towards the neutral side, greys, muted greens and browns, beige. In a modern verse, his wardrobe would include more colourful pieces and a lot of denim. 

7. Is your muse affectionate?  How much?  How so?

Oh boy, little Marcel is a bundle of affection, and might as well be a human incarnation of a labrador. He is always keen to show his appreciation to the people he loves and certainly never shies away from giving or receiving hugs, hair tousling, leaning on someone or putting his hand(s) on their shoulders. Casual touches are common occurrence as long as he is certain not to overstep other people’s boundaries. If uncertain, or if he knows the other person to be uncomfortable with touch, he will use words or little attentions to make sure they know he likes them. 

8. What position does your muse sleep in?

More often than not, he sleeps on the side, with one arm folded under his pillow or under his head, and bundled up in his blankets to the point of almost disappearing under them. He doesn’t toss and turn too much in his sleep, except when subjected to nightmares or night terrors, or even regular but agitated dreams; when that happens, waking up literally trapped in a burrito of blankets has proved to be a problem more than once. 

9. Could you hear your muse in the hallway from another room?

That depends on the circumstances. If he is in official military buildings, no - he knows to make himself quiet and beyond reproach in the face of officials or anyone who might question his attitude. In more relaxed settings, he tends to be the discrete and quiet kind, unless of course he is playing or actively chatting with his friends. They are children, children can make noise. If he and his brother are up to mischief? They can be heard from the other side of the entire house. 

Tagged by: @viivyre (thank you, this was so cool!)

Tagging: @austerulous  @gerichteter @gepanzrt @jawlost / @dehducer @deuscaedo @desolyt @worstheir​ and whoever else who wants to do it!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Fun fact: I googled Winston’s famous “you’re on a revenge jag” quote including the part about digging two graves (neither of which needed to be his). Apparently that was a reference to a Chinese proverb (often attributed to Confucius but not really) that states “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves,” meaning that seeking revenge will probably lead to destroying yourself as well as whoever you’re trying to destroy. In this case, Taylor was screwing over all of Mase (1/2)

(2/2) Cap in their quest to get back at Axe and Winston was understandably pissed at how they were paying for something they didn’t ask to be caught up in. When he said “neither [grave] needs to be mine” he meant that he didn’t have to stay and end up in a grave, which of course led to Mafee attacking him for being “disloyal” for not wanting to be in the crossfire of a revenge plot that he never asked to be a part of. But yeah, make of that what you will. Just something interesting I found.

oh yeah after reading this i also tried to look up if we know the source of the Dig Two Graves saying and apparently we really do not (i.e. yeah frequently attributed to confucius but there’s no actual record of that, been attributed to Ancient Greece or smthing just as baselessly, there’s apparently an idea it could be a rough translation of a japanese aphorism but it’s just an idea)

really winston is laying out his whole Argument v well and i suppose that’s why taylor had No immediate response for him, b/c surely if he Was just gonna complain abt it like “this sucks >:/” and leave it at that, they’d be prepared to maybe handle that level of disgruntlement and have some methods in mind to shut it down, but winston is just Right and is being thorough about why he’s right and like. i don’t think they Can really argue with it, much less were prepared to do so in that moment, and sure seems like they did ultimately agree with him / listen to him seeing as they turn around (in 4x12, not 4x11, rip) to say they Had gotten off-course and weren’t interested in taking the revenge jag route, actually

like, he’s walking through why the Revenge Jag is the only reason they’re not getting bonuses, vs mafee just ascribing it to a general strategy to Save Resources in year 1 of the fund.......pointing out that if taylor Wanted to pay *anyone* full bonuses, they Could prioritize their top employees which does included winston even though he gets no backup on that outside of 3x11 and certainly not now when he’s Cringe N Fail cuz he said Moi while insisting on his value (and when the general audience of the show seems to have decided he’s out-of-line Egotistical for taking pride in his ability and never downplaying it / the value of it) as well as the fact that this isn’t about “oh i Would pay you if i Could” b/c he knows they’re not just waiting for some influx of funds, they’re Only holding back on paying people because they’re Anticipating the [dig two graves] situation, i.e. it’s Because they’re now planning to reorient their strategy around Actively Battling Axe Cap (in that they’re now intending to go on the offensive rather than just reacting defensively to axe’s attacks) that they foresee a need to Conserve Resources b/c they know this course of action could be “damaging” to mase cap by costing them money. and that taylor is putting that Anticipated Burden of an unnecessary plan that they personally chose......like, taylor’s employees don’t really get a say in this shift where the overall direction of the fund is now: Revenge Jag, but they’re pretty literally paying for it, aka having that [dig two graves] Cost put on them, aka neither grave has to be winston’s......

plus winston has Especial reason to be upset with this shift towards revenge jag, b/c he’s the quantitative guy, and this isn’t a Quantitatively Driven approach, as evident by him in 4x08 talking abt how the numbers don’t back up this particular strategy and in 4x12 when taylor’s talking about returning to their mathematical model and then winston says Q is for Quantitative Babey which isn’t just a total nonsequitur......Revenge Jag Tmc would be less focused on the quant-driven approach and thus winston’s work would be less relevant and he wouldn’t be able to just do his best shit for them if it kept being the case like “yeah we’re pursuing this strategy b/c first and foremost it’d suck for axe” so he’d have reason to feel like not only is he being Devalued right now in not being worth like, basically investing in as a Resource (like, speaking of conserving them, Not driving off your head quant would = conserving a resource) but in the future his contributions and ideas might continue to be pushed aside b/c like, again with the Dig Two Graves, the revenge jag probably isn’t gonna be quantitatively-friendly and he’d have to keep writing off his own potential input / have his own strategies be valued less b/c they’re deprioritized in favor of “what might be damaging for axe cap”

and then from a more Meta perspective, there’s the fact that mase cap only has four named non-taylor people, and mafee’s feeling Especially obligated to provide taylor with immediate and unconditional support thanks to his whole “oops i spilled some intel” thing, and sara really wouldn’t criticize this move even if she didn’t 100% individually love it either, b/c it Would conserve resources for tmc and she’s more about telling taylor what they need to do from the “you gotta do this thing you might not personally wanna do to make / avoid losing money” and this is like, the opposite of that, and sara would also probably save such input for a one-on-one meeting lol, and lauren’s not gonna say anything, so really only winston is Available to speak up lol

and that transitions right into how winston’s also immediately proven correct in criticizing the whole structure of this “choice” they’re getting, in that they’re all pressured to take the [defer bonus for a year] route and this is happening not through Direct pressure from taylor, but the expectation that the Social Dynamics among coworkers will push everyone to defer. like, clearly the thing is that everyone’s going to be worried that if anyone’s deferring, that’ll make those employees Look Good b/c they’re proving their Loyalty and “taking one for the team,” and a reasonable worry that those employees will thus be Preferred going forward. and in this moment that winston’s bringing it up, he’s also, you know, arguing with his boss and gets no support / backup on it not only b/c none of the other people present wanna actually make these Complaints themselves / back them up even if, like mafee, they’re evidently not personally thrilled about it, but also b/c winston really doesn’t seem to have much support in s4 beyond taylor’s indirect and implicit validation, which he of course isn’t gonna get here, and if people were willing to ignore / dismiss winston’s input and/or dunk on him about it over basically Nothing before, here’s a chance to choose between “hmm Winston Vs Taylor” like. nobody’s gonna side with winston, maybe not even if he Was popular and beloved, but he’s apparently the guy nobody has much respect / appreciation for and broadly dislikes, so it’s just like. he has Points, and mafee doesn’t even argue against those, just argues against winston daring to bring them up at all, because a) mafee is looking to continue Proving his support of taylor anyways and here’s an obvious avenue to do so by just shoving winston into a locker b/c you easily Can and b) he’s attacking winston not for being Wrong but for being Disloyal for not just Supporting taylor here and being whiny rather than taking one for the team and whatever nonsense about “if you don’t like it, become ceo of your own fund” like, the lesson here is to unionize......but really winston is just proven Right by mafee, a coworker, immediately making this an issue of Loyalty and by winston only caving not b/c he accepts that he’s Wrong on any of his points but b/c he’s being Social Pressured here in the form of “being yelled at / insulted and when he’s yelled at / insulted winston seems to just want it to Be Over, reasonably,” and taylor doesn’t Have to pressure him themself if their employees will pressure each other For them

god i’m still mad about 4x11 lmfao. bitter 5ever like how can you not be. he was Right but it didn’t matter b/c nobody was gonna stick up for him in the face of a) backign Taylor instead or b) in the face of anything, tbh. that shit didn’t kick in until s5, finally, and still only Partially.....peak standing up for winston in the form of rian in 5x05 going “yeah i’ll casually argue for why you shouldn’t fire him" and “oh you’re saying winston should have a drink? i’m saying he should do whatever he wants b/c what are you, shit at math?” thank you rian. probably totally unnecessary and that’s what winston deserves for once, like, go Beyond “someone intervening only if the most belligerent and bullying axe capper comes storming over to yell at winston, but if bill uses his inside voice it’s okay to just monitor the situation even if it involves threats and getting all up in winston’s space like a creep” i don’t think rian would be a silent observer to that

tl;dr Yeah Agree lmao sorry it took me ages to answer this....i was like “oh god i gotta be semi-Coherent for this one and say smthing beyond ‘yeah agree’” and i procrastinated that for this whole time b/c it’s intimidating to think of trying to accomplish that. thank u for the ask lol

[comicteaparty]

April 1st-April 7th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from April 1st, 2020 to April 7th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How do you feel about creators spoiling their own stories, and how does it effect how you read the comic?

Joichi [Hybrid Dolls]

As someone who's both reader & a creator, it can be really hard to restrain giving spoilers. But it could also be that they are excited to make this story and they wanna 'get to the spoilers' really soon. But if you are such creator, an idea is to find friends whom you can trust, don't mind giving critique/give spoilers to. As a reader it can be slight disappointment to learn about spoilers in a comic you were invested in and still reading. At this point, I might think, I'm going to get out of the conversation on the spoilers and wait until more content is made(edited)

DanitheCarutor

Being someone who was raised by a parent who wanted me to spoiler movies for them if I saw it first, I don't care about stories being spoiled for me. Experiencing the scene is usually very different than being told what it is, also once I get to that spoiled scene I've already forgotten about it thanks to my Quality short-term memory. Honestly, I would totally go all out spoiling my own comic, but I know most people hate that stuff so I don't out of respect. There have been a few times when I've talked about spoilery stuff not really knowing if it would be considered a spoiler, or because I'm talking about something else that is related and I have to spoil a bit for the topic.

shadowhood (SunnyxRain)

Personally it depends on how plot heavy the spoiler is. If it's something like what food/clothing/interests the characters have, I don't mind so much. But if it's something like who is going to die, who falls in love with who....I think the experience would be slightly more diminished.

Like @Joichi [Hybrid Dolls] said, I usually share the spoilers only with close friends, particularly those who know how to give their input. It's important to get feedback, but choosing who you tell is very important.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I’m very protective of story details. I don’t want people to know any of what’s going to happen in my story. I like having secrets

I don’t really mind hearing spoilers myself much of the time because I mostly enjoy stories by looking at all the events in the story together. If I know all the events sooner that often lets me enjoy it sooner

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I usually don't care that much about spoilers, unless it's about character death or something. Usually, I try to avoid them like the plague, just in case, but I don't really care that much.(edited)

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Personally, on other people's comics, I usually only refer to what's in the comic proper. Not too fond of having to read supplemental material, like creator QA's.

I know they can be nice for some readers, but I genuinely don't like it when the knowledge established in a QA or so is assumed to be known in the comic proper without ever being mentioned there.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm having difficulty articulating my reasons, but for me, the creator spoiling things is different from a reader spoiling the same things. And reader-supplied spoilers can also be VERY different based on context and tone. I hate it when people spoil things for others out of malice (like when people were buying ad spaces, just after that one Harry Potter book came out, to broadcast [THIS IMPORTANT CHARACTER] DIES!!!!), even if I don't care about the work being spoiled.

Going back to creator-supplied spoilers........ it's something I can't relate to, as a creator myself? (Sharing spoilers in private is one thing, but if they're posting it in public...) This is going to sound negative and I apologize in advance. When I see a creator laying out the big spoilers in public, it makes me worry that maybe they prefer to talk instead of actually making the comic -- that maybe they won't make it to the ending. I'm happy to be proven wrong, of course. And there is no shame in dropping a comic before you get to the end (I've done that myself!). But yeah, public spoilers is one of those things that makes me worry.(edited)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

^My thoughts exactly. It worries me in exactly the same way.

Deo101 [Millennium]

when it comes to reading spoilers, Ive never really minded. Granted, I'd rather have spoilers more towards "what to expect" because I otherwise will get a lot of anxiety. A bit of the way in, I want to know if something is going to be worth my time to get invested into, or if I should ignore the stress and just be along for the ride. Being told things like "this is a tragedy and you shouldnt expect to have a happy ending" and "everything will work out in the end" really calms me down when I'm reading. Getting small spoilers about character things, inconsequential plot stuff, etc. don't really bother me at all, but yeah I'm with keiiii where if someone is sharing the ending of their story halfway through I worry theyre not interested in actually working to get there.

I'll personally share in small private settings whatever people want to know, but I refuse to in a public setting share what I'd consider to be a big spoiler. I'll share small character things or vague plans and some worldbuilding stuff, but I don't see those as spoilers really.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

The "what to expect" thing is a really great topic though. I would love to discuss it in depth in shop talk when the caffeine kicks in

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Ooh me too. I drop some future story features in my About page - very broadly. But it's more of a pitch than an outright spoiler. It requires some vagueness to be effective.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

@Deo101 [Millennium] Setting expectations correctly is very different from spoilers, I think, and more in direction of "what genre does that story fall under". Like a romance means happy (for now) ending for the main couple - even if you might end up disagreeing if an ending is happy.

It ain't a spoiler that a space opera has some kind of space travel, that kind of thing.

For me spoilers tend to cover plot specifics, not genre and general tone. That's setting expectations.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, but a lot of people really don't like to say that their story is gonna be a tragedy because they dont want to spoil that people are gonna die or whatever

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

That's... bad marketing.

Deo101 [Millennium]

it happens constantly

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I agree that a lot of times what creators share is basically bonus plot info, or extra details, or even warnings. I actually haven't really ever gotten a major spoiler from a creator.

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Mind you, you can have people die without being a tradgedy, see the majority of epic fantasy.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

(On a side note, I have spoiled 100% of the plot of my comic to very specific close people in my life, but I don't know if that counts.)

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I don't think there is a single person to whom I've spoiled 100% and I'm jelly of those of you who have Story Confidantes!

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Honestly SOs and close siblings are a GODSEND

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I'm close with my bro, but he's not into the kind of stuff I write. (might be getting off topic?)

RebelVampire

Yeah I do want to remind again here this should be about experiences as a reader, not as a creator. And I know there can be a bit of bleed over, but there's a point where the focus changes too much.

RebelVampire

I think this depends on who it's being spoiled to. If creators want to spoil their stories to close personal friends in private convos, I think that's A-okay. Even as a writer I do that, because it's good to have people to bounce ideas off of. And I think for more creators it's the same. Also, sometimes you just want to have a fun chat to de-stress and it's easier with people who you can tell all your secrets too. If it's being spoiled to people who asked for spoilers, that's also another matter where I think it's mostly fine. In fact, depending on what's spoiled, it can really help drive engagement. For example, if a comic is "spoiling" lore that has a significant bearing on the plot without revealing the exact how of it all. However, then we come to the matter of major public spoilers, which there are tons and tons of creators who do this. On the one hand, that's the creator's right to do so, so a part of me feels like embracing the can't be helped mindset. But, if I'm being brutally honest, as a reader 90% of the time it just kills all engagement with the story for me. I mean, what's the point of reading the story if I can just find out everything in a fraction of the time? Plus, for me personally, I enjoy theorizing and trying to guess events, mysteries, etc. And if I'm being told the answers, that basically ruins like 80% of how I engage with content. I'm also confident I'm not the only reader who feels this way, so personally speaking I don't think it's a wise decision no matter how juicy or agonizing it is to hold in the spoiler.

Feather J. Fern

For me, spoilers don't mean much. I'm still going to read the comic regardless. Now I spoiling something is funnier, because it takes me forever to get to the section which I spoiled, so something I spoiled would take a year to get to, and then everyone forgot the spoiler anyways. XD

I have already spoiled endings to my friends about one of my comic projects, and three months in they are already like "I forgot about that." So maybe it's just my readers haha.

DanitheCarutor

@keii’ii (Heart of Keol) About the talking vs. finishing the comic thing. If I decided to spoil it would be because I was impatient to discuss. Like, right now I have the worst itch just to talk about the climax and ending to discuss all the little details, what I could do better next time, if I should put trigger warnings on specific chapters, and/or how my readers feel. Would it keep me from making it to the end? Nah, executing and seeing the results are not the same as describing them. The emotions a reader has can change vastly when they experience an event vs. read a description, it's not as fulfilling... or as painful. At least that is my perspective, neither I nor my readers would get the full experience from me describing a major event/ending. I don't know how it would be for other creators though. Lol

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Yeah, it's definitely a case by case thing.

DanitheCarutor

Pff yeah, I imagine some people are less anal about execution than I am.

eli [a winged tale]

Great discussions here! If I’m the reader, I’d prefer not to be spoiled and enjoy the story as is. It helps me as both a consumer and a creator to see how the plot twists are planted and revealed. As a beta reader, though, I would need to know the story to give suggestions on how to execute said spoilers but this is more of a creator-to-creator basis. I totally get the itch to share and I think having betareaders/comic confidantes are great for satisfying that need while getting constructive ways to evaluate them.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Agreed. I think having at least one person within your reader circle who is privy to deeper details can be very helpful, both for editing and for motivation Especially if there are story details that won't be shared for years. It's a good way to prevent 'leakage'

DanitheCarutor

I need to get myself a confidant, not only would it help the itch but talking about it would probably help me better fill in the small details. There was a rl friend I had who got too busy and lost interested, and someone online who I talked to about smaller stuff, but I don't like bothering people. Especially since my comic is sooo... my comic. Lmao!

Gosh, I would be the perfect person for someone to confide in about their comic, I would totally forget about the spoilers after waking up the next day.

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Tbh I don't mind if a story is spoiled to me. I'm the type of person who is like "okay so that's how it ends? How does it get there?" and I would be more upset if the creator spills those important parts that reach the end result. Though, when explaining my comic plots and details to my irl friends and beta readers, it's more of a planning session than things said in stone. Basically if it's something that I've not written down and could be a spoiler, yet I talk about it and those spoiler squeals aren't in the final scripts though. If it's an important detail and is a spoiler, I will withhold that information till the time comes.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I don't know what I'd think because I've never seen a webcomic I liked share spoilers before. I get the feeling that a "serious" writer would keep their twists private because they know they can show their plot better than they can tell it, if that makes sense. Even Sfeer Theory, a comic I really like that iirc did much of its brainstorming online, shut down their old worldbuilding posts once they got their actual comic started.

varethane

Personally, I'm not hugely opposed to spoilers, though it depends on the context. A lot of new webcomics when they're just started out will often only be able to market themselves with illustrations of scenes or dynamics that haven't quite happened yet, just by virtue of being so early on, and that's fine-- though increasingly less necessary the more Comic is released. The only kind of spoiler I might be actively mad about is if a comic whose appeal hingest largely on a central mystery or suspense spoiled The Answer, but I feel like most of the writers creating stories like that are conscious of this and keep that sort of thing under lock. There's also a big reason why I personally try not to share spoilers (and why I try not to put much stock by any spoilers I see posted by other webcomic creators, in case their process is like mine)-- which is that, basically anything that is more than a month ahead of the pages I've already drawn, is very likely to change substantially. I rewrite future plot points all the dang time. So if I shared something as a 'spoiler', there's only a 50/50 chance of that plot point actually coming to pass (unless it's one of the 4/5 big central plot linchpins); any readers waiting for it may come away disappointed, lol.

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

Def agree with Vare on this one. However, sometimes when a writer tells details to the point of no surprise in the comic whatsoever, that usually breaks immersion and interest for me. I've had a couple stories stagnate from having their plots revealed by the writer, and when the story hinges on that being a selling point, it tends to be very dissapointing to have done. Unless the story is character driven/ has characters charming enough to capture readers, i would def avoid spoiling the main plot points of the story if they can

eli [a winged tale]

I feel like anything in act 1 is technically not a spoiler since in books, the blurb encompasses act 1 even the beginning of act 2.

RebelVampire

Once again I'm popping in here to remind people this chat is primarily to talk about experiences as a reader, not as a creator. So let's not go too far into creator territory here.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

It's hard to say how I'd feel because I don't really see writers post, like "X dies in the end" or whatever. Like it's not that common an occurrence, at least for comics I follow. What is common in my experience is creators posting ship art for characters that haven't shown up yet (thus spoiling that these are characters who will show up at some point, and at least have some interaction with each other). And with regards to that... I dunno. Like, my mentality as a reader/watcher of things is that a character doesn't "exist" until I see them in the story. Like, if I see a character in an anime OP, I'll be like "oh that character looks cool, I can't wait until I meet them". That is, I don't consider myself as having "met" them yet - I need the story as context. (for the record, that's true for me as a creator too - i know plenty of creators figure out their OCs' personality & backstory first before figuring out what sort of story they work in, and that's valid, but I can't imagine working like that) So anyway, to me creators posting OC art before they appear in the story is less "oh, i've been spoiled on what these OCs will do" and more "oh, i can't wait to read the story that these characters are involved in"

[maddie-grove]

Bi-Monthly Reading Round-Up (July/August)

PLAYLIST

"Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson (The Wonder)

“The Lusty Month of May” from Camelot (Between a Highlander and a Hard Place)

“Blood on My Name” by The Brothers Bright (Vampires in the Lemon Grove)

“Too Good at Goodbyes” by Sam Smith (A Prince on Paper)

“All I See Is You” by Dusty Springfield (The End of Everything)

“Your Song” by Elton John (Patience and Sarah)

“Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” by Diana Ross (Touchy Subjects)

“When You’re Young and in Love” by the Marvelettes (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda)

“No Sleep Tonight” by the Faders (Can’t Escape Love)

“Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” by Kim Weston (Bury Me Deep)

“Cold Bread” by Johnny Flynn (Fludd)

“Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen (The Rest of the Story)

“How Can I Meet Her?” by the Everly Brothers (Someone to Honor)

“A Matter of Trust” by Billy Joel (The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor)

BEST OF THE BI-MONTH

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (2016): Lib Wright, an English nurse who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, is hired to observe Anna O’Donnell, an eleven-year-old Irish girl who claims to have not eaten for four months. Initially exasperated at the everyone’s credulity, Lib gradually realizes that there’s a lot more going on with Anna, her family, and her village than she thought...and that the girl may be in serious danger if she doesn’t intervene. Despite my love of Donoghue’s work, I put off reading this one for a while because the subject looked so grim. Although Donoghue does deal with difficult material, the growing relationship between prickly Lib and bright-but-haunted Anna makes the novel transcendent.

WORST OF THE BI-MONTH

Between a Highlander and Hard Place by Mary Wine (2018): After her highborn suitor shows his true colors, Athena Trappes sets fire to his house in self-defense and flees to Scotland. There she attracts the attention of Symon, Laird Grant, a melancholy widower. This Elizabethan romance has its moments, notably a lovely meet-cute at a May Day celebration, but it’s mostly dull with some irritating tropes.

REST OF THE BI-MONTH

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell (2013): In this collection, Russell tells the stories of various oddities, including women who turn into silkworms, presidents who are reincarnated as horses, and, yes, vampires in the lemon grove. The collection is remarkably consistent, and Russell shows enormous range in it. My favorites are the utterly chilling prairie horror of “Proving Up,” the hilariously absurd “The Barn at the End of the Term,” and the heartbreaking “The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis.”

A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole (2019): Nya Jerami has existed under a cloud of suspicion and gossip since her abusive father, an adviser to the king of Thesolo, was sent to prison for poisoning his political rivals. Eager to start her life properly but unsure how, Nya finds unexpected help from Johan van Braustein, the seemingly devil-may-care stepson of the king of a European micronation. This is my favorite contemporary romance I’ve ever read, with two dynamic, endearing protagonists and a strong sense of setting. Cole expertly blends realistic modern-day concerns with frothy wish fulfillment (plus a dash of fairy-tale Gothic).

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (2011): When her best friend Evie disappears, thirteen-year-old Lizzie only has scanty clues regarding where or why. As she becomes more and more consumed with finding the answer, she discovers dark secrets underlying her seemingly placid 1980′s suburb. Of all the Abbott novels I’ve read, this is the simplest and perhaps the most disturbing. I didn’t love it, but it’s very effective.

Patience and Sarah by Isabel Miller (1969): In 1810′s Connecticut, educated “spinster” Patience White finds herself intrigued by sweet, rough-hewn Sarah Dowling. Although their families contrive to keep them apart, they eventually make it to New York and start a farm together. Of the five f/f romance novels I’ve read, this is my very favorite. Miller captures the feel of early American literature very well, and the romance has a nice balance of tension and sweetness.

Touchy Subjects by Emma Donoghue (2006): This collection of short stories is, naturally enough, organized around “touchy subjects” like babies, domesticity, strangers, desire, and death. There are some jewels in this collection: the sad/funny “WritOr” (about a struggling author who takes on a resident-writer position at a rural college), the bittersweet “The Welcome” (about a naive young lesbian with a crush on a reserved trans woman), and the strangely uplifting “Enchantment” (about a rivalry between Cajun fishermen). There’s a lot of chaff to separate from the wheat, though; many of the stories are very slight.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (2015): Simon Spier, an upper-middle-class teen in suburban Atlanta, isn’t 100% sure why he hasn’t come out as gay to his liberal family or friends, but for now he prefers to keep his sexuality (and a flirtatious email correspondence with an anonymous boy called Blue) under wraps. When a classmate finds out the truth and blackmails Simon into setting him up with his friend Abby, that task becomes a lot more complicated. Despite the rather disturbing premise, this is a super-cute YA novel that I would have loved when I was a YA. (At twenty-eight, I still liked it a lot; it’s just got a sense of immediacy that was a little lost on me thanks to my relatively advanced age, but would’ve been very appealing to me at sixteen.) 

Can’t Escape Love by Alyssa Cole (2019): Regina Hobbs, highly successful proprietor of a website about nerdy stuff, has it all together, except she’s suffering from a wicked case of insomnia. She’s convinced that only the voice of Gustave Nguyen, a puzzle designer she got to know after tuning into his livestream, can get her to sleep, so she contacts him to see if she can have a recording of his voice. Even though they both think it’s kind of weird, her request gets them talking...and MORE. This is a short but absolutely delightful novella about two neat people hooking up. The stakes are low, but the tensions stemming from Regina’s family keeps things interesting.

Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott (2009): In the depths of the Great Depression, Marion Seeley finds herself alone in Phoenix while her morphine-addict husband chases redemption in Mexico. Working an administrative job at a local hospital, she falls in with party-girl nurse Louise, her TB-afflicted girlfriend Ginny, and (much to her sorrow) corrupt, handsome Joe Lanigan. Abbott’s historical crime novel takes a little while to heat up, but once it does it’s a very satisfying thriller. However, I was never convinced of Joe’s attractiveness even at a surface level, which was kind of an impediment to enjoying the story because Marion sure is.

Fludd by Hilary Mantel (1989): A mysterious stranger comes to a deeply Catholic, determinedly miserable English village in the 1950′s, claiming to be the new curate. While there, he greatly affects the lives of an alcoholic priest, his prim housekeeper, an unhappy young nun, and a pompous bishop. This is a highly peculiar, often enjoyable fable, although it drags quite a bit in the third quarter.

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen (2019): Emma, an anxious seventeen-year-old who lost her mom to addiction five years ago, ends up spending part of the summer with her seldom-seen maternal relatives, who own a downscale motel in a lake town. While there, she learns about her mother’s secret history, observes the tensions between her family’s working-class community and the upscale resort people across the lake, has a low-key romance with a childhood friend, and practices her driving. This novel isn’t among Sarah Dessen’s best--the ending is a little rushed, and the romance feels perfunctory--but the setting is cool and Emma is an interesting protagonist.

Someone to Honor by Mary Balogh (2019): Years after her dad’s bigamy was revealed, resulting in her de-legitimization, reserved Abigail Westcott shows no interest in trying to re-enter society, instead opting to hang out with her convalescing Napoleonic War veteran brother. Unfortunately, his surly friend, Lieutenant Gilbert Bennington, is also intent on keeping her brother company to avoid his own problems, and he and Abigail don’t exactly get along. They come to understand each other, though, and decide to take a chance on marriage when Gilbert finds himself in trouble. I found this Regency romance to be solid but overly somber (not an infrequent issue with Balogh). I never got a great sense of who Abigail was and, while I sympathized with Gil, I also found him very irritating at times.

The Scandalous Secret of Abigail MacGregor by Paula Quinn (2015): In the late 1700′s, Queen Anne summons Davina MacGregor, secret eldest daughter of James II (and, were she not Catholic, rightful ruler of Great Britain), to court. Because Davina is sickly, her daughter Abigail, who has ambitions of being clan chieftain, goes to court in her place. She’s accompanied by Captain General Daniel Marlow, a Jacobite-hating English soldier and close friend of Anne’s. He’s got some trust issues and a stalker. This romance had a lot of potential, but too much of it is spent on the road and not enough on juicy court drama. The straight-version-of-Rachel-Weisz’s-character-in-The-Favorite villain was also, unfortunately, usurped by her much more boring lover.

[a-fight-we-have-to-win]

Newsies as Immigrants Headcanons (Part 2)

Part 1

Albert DaSilva

- Portuguese

- him and his dad came over from the Azores Islands

- his dad works as a whaler which means Albert doesn’t see him for months or years at a time, and really at this point Albert has given up on him returning

- all he has left of him is a whalebone necklace his dad carved for him, he never takes it off

- the name DaSilva is Portuguese in origin, it means “forest”

- he maintains a lot of superstitions passed down to him from his dad

- like, he once changed his selling spot because too many black birds had gathered there

- the first newsie he met after his dad left was Race, he introduced himself as Anthony and Albert took it as a sign that he should stay with the newsies because Saint Anthony is one of the patron saints of Portugal

- he says Jack has a natural talent for the evil eye and should really be careful where he points that sucker

- being an island child, he’s one of the few newsies who knows how to swim and will generally take it upon himself to teach the younger kids and Race because dammit Jack, someone has to make sure they don’t drown

- he pretends to not like kids, but absolutely no one believes him and all the little newsies love him

- they’re convinced he’s a pirate and will follow him around begging for stories, and you know just because he helped his dad take over a boat once doesn’t make him a pirate, but he’ll make up stories for them anyway

- he speaks Portuguese, French, and English

- he and Finch have figured out how to speak to each other in French despite the differences in the dialects

- he’s a secret poet, he scribbles poems in Portuguese on old newspapers and then shows them to no one. Ever. No one is allowed to know.

Spot Conlon

- Irish

- Conlon is a very Irish surname derived from Gaelic Ó Connalláin, meaning Dog-Lion or someone who’s very strong

- his story is a lot like Jack’s, except he and his family came from Dublin

- unlike Jack, he still has family left

- his mother is often sick and can’t work, so he helps provide for them

- he has a sister and a brother who work in a factory, they all look after their mother and the younger kids

- a rumor exists among the newsies that Spot spat on his father’s body at his wake and returns to his grave every year to make sure he’s still dead

- no one has worked up the courage to ask Spot if that’s true

- he and Jack can and will hold lengthy arguments in Gaelic

- they will also occasionally give each other shit for their respective city, poor Racetrack is sitting in the middle so very confused

- everyone but the Brooklyn newsies have trouble understanding him through his accent, it’s why he tends to keep his sentences short, loud, and to the point.

- he still goes to church with his family every Sunday, a closely guarded secret among Brooklyn newsies, no other borough would believe them anyway

- Brooklyn has story nights at the Lodge where Spot will tell different Irish myths, he’s like a walking anthology

- and he even acts them out, doing different voices, leaping around the Lodging House pretending to be Fionn mac Cumhaill or Cu Chulainn locked in battle

- another closely guarded Brooklyn secret

- he has befriended crows and ravens in every one of the boroughs, they sometimes follow him or land on his shoulders

- this makes everyone extremely uncomfortable, which Spot finds hilarious

Mush Meyers

- German Jewish

- he came over as a baby with his mother escaping persecution in Berlin

- she died when he was little, so he more or less grew up inside the Lodging House, raised by newsies

- the name Meyers comes from the Hebrew word “meir” meaning “one who shines”

- he doesn’t really know he’s Jewish, or at least doesn’t quite know what that means

- he has a Star of David necklace given to him by his mother, it’s his good luck charm, he has it wrapped around his wrist because the clasp is broken

- it’s Davey that notices the necklace and asks him about it, Mush just sort of shrugs

- cue Davey dragging Mush back to his house and depositing him in front of his parents, like, someone fill him in, please

- it’s one of the reasons he spends a lot of time in the Jacobs’ house, but it’s also because him and Les get on like a house on fire

- he becomes something like the third Jacobs’ brother

- I have a lot of feelings about Mush and Davey being best friends, okay, I blame 92sies

- Davey will go to him if he has questions about being a newsie and Mush will go to Davey if he has questions about being Jewish

- his mother left behind a box of letters written in Hebrew and Davey helps him go through and translate them

- he discovers he has an uncle in Manhattan, his mother had planned to live with him and his family

- he takes Davey with him when he goes to meet them for the first time, they are so happy to see him and poor Mush doesn’t quite know what to do with that

- he ends up with more folks than he knows what to do with, so he just unilaterally decides to extend them to the newsies

- that’s how the Meyers family became the unofficial newsie safe house

Elmer Kasprzak

- Polish

- he’s the only one I don’t have to guess or extrapolate because his broadway trading card states that he’s one of nine siblings in a Polish family

- the name Kasprzak, shared by Elmer’s original actor Evan Kasprzak, is decidedly Polish, but see the thing is, Polish last names don’t usually mean anything

- I know because I have one, sometimes they’ll correspond to the name of a town or son of insert-name-here, but that’s about it

- anyway, Elmer is the son of Polish immigrants, he and his two older sisters remember Poland, but the other six came afterward

- his parents both work in factories, one sister’s married, the other works the night shift at a hospital

- he speaks Polish, German, and English

- everything he does is for his family, he lives in the Lodging House to give his younger siblings more space, but he visits them everyday

- approximately thirty seconds into his and Davey’s first conversation they discover that they were born one town removed from each other

- he gets it into his head that means they’re family and more or less adopts Davey and Les into the Kasprzak clan, but to be fair he does that with the other newsies too

- the Kasprzaks hold a Christmas dinner at the Lodge every year for this very reason

- speaking of, he loves Christmas, he’s responsible for the scrawny little Christmas tree in the Lodge

- he’ll make little snowflakes out of newspapers and stick them to the windows, he always saves up to put candles in the windows, all the little newsies help him

- the little newsies adore him, by the way, and he does his best to look out for them

- he, Albert, and JoJo are the Babysitting Squad™

Benjamin “Buttons” Davenport

- British

- described by Spot Conlon himself as “the only good Brit,” Jack agrees with this sentiment, Buttons doesn’t know what to do with this information

- Davenport is a locational surname, in this case meaning he likely came from Cheshire, England, let’s say Liverpool specifically

- he’s is a fierce Scouser, absolutely no one can understand his accent at first

- his dad’s a sailor and long ago he decided it was safer to live in the Lodging House than with his mother, so he doesn’t really see his parents and he would prefer it to stay that way

- England doesn’t hold many good memories for him, so he’s quick to adopt American culture

- he adores baseball, the different neighborhoods will sometimes meet up for a game and, they might be playing with a ball of twine and a busted pipe, but this kid is all over it

- he’s an excellent pitcher, but you know street rules means playing all the positions

- once during a Manhattan vs Brooklyn game, he ran a grand slam against Brooklyn, knocking the ball all the way into the East river and earning Spot Conlon’s respect

- he can sew, his mother taught him how, and he actually enjoys doing it, plus it’s pretty useful

- he collects buttons for the express purpose of fixing newsies’ vests and he hoards as much thread as possible

- he knows. How to. Darn. Socks. Fight me. It’s true. The newsies’ll find him in the corner of the Lodge with a small collection of their socks just… humming along, darning socks

- he hates coffee and has often asked the nuns if they have any tea, they surprise him one today with some, he is over the moon

- the newsies sometimes refer to him as their Yank

- he once called Spot Conlon a redcoat to his face

JoJo de la Guerra

- Spanish

- Guerra is a Spanish surname that means “war”

- in JoJo’s broadway trading card it says that he was raised by the nuns

- I can imagine his likely religious Spanish parents leaving him on their doorstep with nothing but his name, Jorgelino Josephino de la Guerra

- and the nuns call him Joseph, they only use his full name if they’re angry with him

- but the first newsie he meets, Elmer, hears that name and thinks… JoJo it is then

- he grew up watching the newsies and helping the nuns take care of them and he just wants to be a part of them so badly

- it’s like having siblings, he thinks, he’s already got a dozen mothers, he might as well add siblings to his family

- so the nuns let him, they wave him off to work every morning with coffee and biscuit in hand, blessed six ways from Sunday

- at first, he’s textbook sheltered, but he adjusts very quickly and such language

- the nuns taught him Latin and Greek in addition to English

- when he moves into the Lodging House it mysteriously becomes 100% cleaner overnight and no one can figure out why until they stumble upon JoJo trying to clean the fire escape

- he’s just trained to keep things clean, including himself, but the more time he spends with the boys the less he does it

- someone points out that good things tend to happen with him around, so he’s quickly accepted as the resident good luck charm

- the newsies come up with the notion that any water touched by JoJo becomes holy water, he tries to protest the idea

- it’s become a habit to touch their glasses to JoJo’s forehead before they drink

Bonus:

Katherine Pulitzer

- Hungarian

- the historical Joseph Pulitzer was an immigrant from Hungary, he moved to America and married Katherine Davis, their youngest daughter, Katherine Ethel Pulitzer, died in infancy

- but in our case, she survived to become the Katherine Plumber we know and love

- she doesn’t know anything about her father’s origins because he refuses to talk about it, if he addresses her at all

[incarnateirony]

Interesting rediscoveries

Hoping this can fix a LOT of misconceptions, break old broken rhetoric that’s used to discredit this wonderful old study, and maybe give some faith back between broken wings of fandom.

I was doing a but of deep diving for my old charts and graphics and sources, to visibly reconfigure things that are about two computers ago when I first found them. I mentioned showing people how my demographics were found before I stress tested and fine tuned them for my ratings reports. One of my (several collaborative) sources was the tumblr fandometric (for the record, I use 7 sources, but that's offtopic right now). I decided to see if there were any I forgot about that might help fill in the blanks for other people and found a funny "inconsistency" which is actually a huge point prover.

A frequent protest I've heard is that "it's just a high number of Castiel fans that answered!" and while... yes, yes that's true to some extent, it's also not entirely true.

One of the divisional brackets was "Cas fan" or "Sam&Dean ONLY," now given, knowing the state of the fandom, some people may very well qualify as neither and there was no "I LOVE THEM ALL" option. Of course, we could just speculate that's what it is, but let's have some fun here.

By "Cas fan" or "S&D only fan" brackets,

We see SD exclusive Dean at 54%, Sam at 46%, and Cas at 100%; clearly S&D fans had to divide their demo. However, this illustrates both demos stayed in their lanes during this poll.

...Only those who IDENTIFIED. But in theory, since this was a “Cas heavy” demographic, that answer should be staggeringly overshadowing. (I’ll post the sums on answers later for another point.)

Let's look at the actual main result, 28.57% share should be left between Sam and Dean in comparison to whatever overshadow Cas would put in, theoretically.

But we don't get that.

But what else are these numbers telling us? Well, if we were working on the "roughly 3.5 times as many Cas fans" theory (based on other tilted responses on other charts and common naysaying 0 here’s one where we know ALL answered Cas stan responses are one bin), dividing up Sam and Dean's red/blue poll vs the Castiel 100% gives us 13.14 for Sam, and 15.43 for Dean, which should have left us with 71.43 for Cas. But he got less than half that. So something's up. Let's do easy math and gouge the others in half, down, to match. 6, 7, 33.

But that isn't what we get at all.

This is the GENERAL, TEAM FREE WILL, SHOW LOVING AUDIENCE AT WORK FOLKS.

This poll is actually a walking manifestation that for every person that identifies as an X or Y fan, there's at least three more that don't identify a preference, identify TFW, or general audience, even in social media. But most certainly do NOT identify as “S&D ONLY”

Because I'm gonna give you the truth of how the respondents actually answered.

Yes, it was very Cas heavy. Here you go.

About nine times as many people identified as Cas fans than ONLY Sam and Dean.

3,298 Cas fans responded to the "emotional investment" poll. Out of 10,000. 420 people identified as Sam and Dean only. Out of 10,000 respondents. We know for a FACT that 3,298 Cas stans chose Cas. We know for a FACT 193 chose Sam and 227 chose Dean. Those numbers should be Sam showing at 1/17th of Cas' result, and Dean showing at 1/14th of Cas' result. But he's not. It's not. We get 67% Sam and Dean sum with 33% Castiel. Similarly, on Dean-and-Sam voters, there was only an 8% divide, but on the final chart manifestation, Dean holds 33% more popularity than Sam. In fact, quite interestingly, Sam and Cas' sums amount to Dean's equally, which is a point I've always made: Dean is the hub of the characters and gains attention from both lanes.That last part is subjective observation, mind you, but quite funny to see pan out in numbers like this.

That leaves 6286 unidentified floaters. That leaves nearly twice-over the Cas fan bulk. Why were Cas' results half of what they "should" have been? Because of this. Dean needs 5,000 respondents for that number to make the mark, we know where 227 came from. Sam needs 1700. We know where 193 came from. 6280 votes were unaffiliated. Cas fans readily identified, but NOT all Sam and Dean fans identified Bro-Only. In fact, less than 7% of fans count as Bro-Only. And a few may not have knowingly identified TBH.

As for the frequency of Cas exclusive answering, I’ma take it as “cornered fox syndrome” since you’ve let that Bro-Only bracket trumpet at you for so long. Look, bruh, you really don’t need to.

And sorry, my fellow Sam fans, but unfortunately Sam still isn't doing that hot with GA. As observed in my other work abroad, Castiel has an incredibly loyal base (as per the 72-74K viewer-plus average), so I don't think there's particular need to assume GA slammed him entirely and this metric makes perfect sense with all trends we're seeing. General, TFW audience is incredibly Dean-Winchester-Centric, or the ITTY BITTY DIVIDE of the brothers wouldn't have turned into a thrice-over massacre. Even still, only 13.3% of Sam dedicants in that result were Bro-Only too. SOME OF THEM ARE LIKE ME: SANE. 4.5% of Dean were bro-only, or 1/3 the frequency of Sam per capita.

Sam is not pulling the general audience. This fandometric is from S10. Sam hasn't been pulling the general audience for years. There's a dedicated forum of about 200 high-rung Sam stans, a WATERFALL of Dean stans that don't necessarily identify with "Bro Only" or "J2", a strong base of Cas fans and a smatter of TFW/GA across it all.

And there you have it.

Cas fan turn out was high, yes, but general audience turnout was highest, two-fold the Cas stans.

Which makes this a very interesting infographic to finish with. GA/TFW fans minded,

I could go on about that chart’s ramifications for days but it deserves its own rant at some point. That wasn’t the point of this rant as much as detailing the umpteenth reason the naysayers are wrong about ... well, everything TBH. As if my weekly projections didn’t say enough.

[scarletwelly-boots]

Books Read 2018

I read 20 books in 2018, about 15 fewer books than last year (I work longer hours and have a further commute is my excuse). Technically I’m not even done with one of them, but I have like an hour or two to go of it and it’s an audiobook so it’ll be read faster than I could read it.

This is the third year I have done the Reading Challenge, which lists a number of categories to read books under (there were 40 categories this year, so I got a solid 50%). You can find the challenges I’ve done at least last, this, and next year, on Popsugar. (I don’t remember if I got the 2016 one from the same site). I also took some liberties with the categories and even changed a few to entries from last year’s list.

1. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (A book made into a movie you’ve already seen). ‘Kay so. I liked it, of course I did. I like the movie and I’m in love with Ian Malcolm. It was interesting because it provide some context fro scenes in the movie or left out of the movie that I didn’t get when I watched it. It was different from the movie in a lot of spoiler-y ways that I won’t get into. Most of these differences were good with one exception that really upset me. I would recommend to read it anyway.

2. Leah on the Offbeat, by Becky Albertalli (The next book in a series you started). This is the sequel to Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda and I’m gonna be honest. I LOVED it. Was it better than Simon? No, probably not. But the representation made me really happy. I’m also a fat bisexual and though I’m not always a woman, I was raised AFAB, so it was still really relatable to me. There were some plot holes, because I’m pretty sure Albertalli decided Leah was bi after Simon was published. I thought it was really cute, though, and I definitely recommend it.

3. Weird Ireland, assorted authors (A book involving a mythical creature). A very small, independently published book about paranormal, supernatural, and extra-terrestrial sightings in Ireland. It was okay. I finished it in two hours. I knew everything that was in it, and some of it they even got wrong. Even if you’re crazy-obsessed with Ireland like me, you can skip this one.

4. Wild Irish Women, by Marian Broderick (a book set in a country that fascinates you). This is the kind of history book I like. Each chapter follows the biography of a different person and provides some context about the time period in which they lived. I learned a lot about Irish women I had never heard of, learned more about women I already knew about, and reread what little is known about my hero and historical crush, Grainne Ni Mhaille. One shortcoming of this book was their inclusion and insistent misgendering of Dr. Barry, an Irish physician who made great strides in natal care for women and who at this point is pretty widely believed to have been a transman. As a genderfluid person, this frustrated me so much that about three sentences into his entry I grabbed a red pen and actually corrected the pronoun usage. All the same, I recommend the book if you like women’s or Irish history, or los dos, like myself.

5. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (a book with a time of day in the title). Hey, it had the word ‘time’; I say that counts! Guys, if you have never read this book, you need to. Even if you watched/sobbed during the movie. Dear god this book is so good. The theoretical physics is confusing, but that’s to be expected (my fifth graders were like ‘wth does this mean’ and I was like ‘you got me; this is why I teach elementary’). But it had some of my favorite themes, and Meg does her job as the oldest sibling, which as an oldest sibling, I respect and expect. (Never bring up the movie The Wind that Shakes the Barley with me; I am very, very firm about my Oldest Sibling Job responsibilities.) Anyway, read this goddamn book please.

6. Heart of the Fae, by Emma Hamm (A book with a villain or antihero). I am a sucker for all things Beauty and the Beast and all things Ireland, so when I saw a recommendation for this independently published Irish retelling of Beauty and the Beast on tumblr, I ordered it immediately. I really loved it. It’s also the first in a series and listen, the only thing better than a Beauty and the Beast retelling is a TRILOGY of a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I started the sequel but I haven’t finished yet. This book is so good. I highly recommend it.

7. The Upside of Unrequited, by Becky Albertalli (A book with alliteration in the title). This was...okay. It’s a companion to Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda, and it follows Abby’s cousins. In a way, it was gayer than the others, because her cousins have two moms and one of the cousins is gay. But it’s from the POV of the straight one, so not as gay. Plus I really like the characters from the first two, and we didn’t even get very much Abby in this one. You kind of have to read it like its own novel with a couple cameos from Abby. As a standalone, it wasn’t bad, but as a series it was a bit of a letdown.

8. The Once and Future King, by TH White (a book about time travel). Look, Merlin ages opposite to the passage of time, so it counts as time travel. I have been trying to read this book for ten years. I liked most of it. I had a few qualms but given the climate in which it was written it makes sense for the time period (not that that should excuse some of the cringe-worthy parts). The last like fifty pages White waxes poetic on the capitalist system and it’s like, we get it, you’re a white man from the middle of the Cold War, but read a goddamn book. Additionally, at least three men were raped by women with some not-so-subtle victim blaming which pissed me the fuck off. But the overall story, the legend of King Arthur, was good. It’s definitely a cornerstone in the Arthurian saga. I might try to read Le Morte d’Arthur next year and see how it compares.

9. All the King’s Men, by Nora Sakavic (a book with song lyrics in the title). Humpty Dumpty is close enough to a song. This is book three of the All for the Game trilogy, and holy shit you have to read this. It’s the best book in the trilogy. It is a series about a college sports team who play a made up sport called Exy, which is basically a more violent version of lacrosse. I’m not a huge sports fan, but the way she writes Exy matches had me on the edge of my seat. The team is made up of all “at-risk” students, the main character being a kid on the run from his mob boss dad. Trigger warning for the series for violence, sexual assault/rape, abuse, drug use, I may be missing some things. It was so good though.

10. The War I Finally Won, by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley (A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist). This is a really great sequel to another children’s book. See below for the synopsis.

11. The War that Saved My Life, by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley (a book about mental health). Okay, I don’t know why that is the category I put it in, other than the protagonist was told by her mother all her life that she was mentally disabled even though it was just physically. This book and it’s sequel above were AMAZING. It’s about a little girl and her brother in World War II England. The girl has a club foot and spends her life locked away in her abusive mother’s flat in London. She teaches herself to walk, and then she and her brother run away to join the other children being evacuated to the country. They are taken in by a woman who doesn’t want to care for them but in less than a day becomes totally ride-or-die for them (I love that trope). The woman is heavily implied to be gay and is grieving the death of her companion (hence the category above). I loved both books and highly recommend them.

12. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman (a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you). British isn’t that different of an ethnicity from my pasty ass, but I was hard-pressed to put this wonderful book in a category. Apparently my disaster wife Loki is a dumbass and they just look clever because the other gods are stupider than they are. I loved all the stories but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t just pick this up exclusively because I’m fucking in love with Loki. I do really recommend it though.

13. Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow (a book that is also a stage play or musical). I’ve been meaning to read this for ages. It was really interesting, and a lot of it didn’t make it into the musical since it’s like 600 pages long so I learned a lot. I’m still reading it, and I’ve reached the duel so I’m almost finished. Thank god for audiobooks; if my slow-ass self were reading this, I’d still be on page like 100 and I’ve been reading it for a month. If you liked the musical I recommend you read this.

14. Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee (a book that you borrowed or was given to you as a gift). I had a hard time following this book. Lee went back and forth between the present (Scout in her twenties) and the 15-or-so years in between the end of TKAM and the beginning of GSAW. It wasn’t bad, but given the stories from Scout’s high school years that were really amusing and the most engaging of the whole book, I’d have preferred if the sequel took place during those years. I think this is the proof as to why most classics don’t have sequels. Read it, but don’t expect much.

15. Making Thinking Visible, by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, etc. (a book by two authors). I had to read this for work. Meh.

16. Fence, by CS Pacat (a book about or involving a sport). This is a comic by the same author as The Captive Prince trilogy. I’m behind in issues, but I did really like it. It’s about fencing, which I love, and it’s supposed to be gay eventually. And I’m pretty sure there’s a genderfluid or gnc character which I was super excited about. I recommend it.

17. The Orphelines in the Enchanted Castle, by Natalie Savage Carlson (a childhood classic you’ve never read). Okay, don’t tell my mother, but I don’t remember anything about this book. This year (at twenty-four) was the first time I read this old, old book that I have had since I was six or seven (don’t tell my mom that, either). It was from my mom/the tooth fairy and she loved it as a kid. I guess read it if you can find it and remind me what happened in it?

18. Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda, by Becky Albertalli (a book you meant to read in 2017 but didn’t get to). Obviously I really loved this book if I also read the sequel and companion books. It was really good, and I definitely cried. If you liked the movie, read the book. It’s different in several ways. I think if you’re thinking in terms of trueness to the book, the movie was maybe not as good, but they’re both good as their own standalone things. But I highly recommend both.

19. Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo (a book that involves a bookstore or library). This book is so good. It was interesting to reread it as an adult when I last read it as a third grader. I think I understood more than I did then and got different things out of it. I think everyone should reread books from their childhood because the books can still impact you, and they’ll probably affect you differently than when you were a child. So if the last time you read this book was as a young child, pick it up again. If you’ve never read it, still read it.

20. Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo (your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 Popsugar reading challenges: the first book in a series you haven’t read before). This was so good. It was a really interesting book with characters I’ve already kind-of met since my DM recycled some names from the book into our campaign. But I’ve come to know Waylan with similar traits but in a different context, so it was fun to be reintroduced to him. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where I was already attached to a character in a different context before reading the book, so that was new. I’m terrible at synopses, so if you want to know what this book is about, Google it I guess. And then read it.

[blogpr940]

Capture One 20 Slow

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Anyone else experience C1 catalogs taking forever to load? Once the app is open, then I can load/change catalogs with ease. But the first time I open the app and the catalog size is at least 40GB, it just takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Reminds me of Aperture 2. Just painful and my number one complaint. I’m still using the test version… but maybe things are better once I purchase???

Not noticing that here, and my machine is not overpowered.

Behind the scenes videos with our favourite photographers, tutorials, tips and guides to Capture One. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, prepare yourself for a dose of tips, tricks. This indicates what speed the camera is connected: 12Mb/s: USB 1.1. If the camera is connecting slower than it should be, reconnect it and refresh System Profiler (via cmd+R). If it persists, try a different port on the machine, preferably on a different USB bus. For our Capture One 21 launch, we challenged Polish food and still life photographer Maciek Miloch to tell us about his experience of the pandemic – using just one color. In this blog, he shares the inspiration behind his shoot. Customizing the Interface. Capture One is a popular RAW photo editor that caters to the professional photographer looking for full control over their craft. In a land of competing products, CO stands out as being one of the few to take the GPU seriously, which is exactly why we decided to take the application for a. Length: 60:00 minutes New Heal and Clone tools in Capture One's latest update are both easier and faster to work with, while providing the high image quality that Capture One is known for. Webinars Shooting and Editing with the Fujifilm X-T4 and Capture One.

“but maybe things are better once I purchase???”

That is never a good thing to assume. It’s rarely right. :-)

Apparently, it is a known issue. Received this from their tech support (which was pretty cool that they’d reply to a non-customer using their time-bombed app):

Hi

If you are on “All images” in the catalog, then CaptureOne is strating threads to open all images. If you instead highlight a low count folder before closing, it will only start opening that folder and it will be much quicker. We are looking in to things to improve this.

Kind Regards Phase One support

Could also be linked to the size of the preview images?

I have a fast iMac, with a very fast thunderbolt drobo. My library contains 40k images. C1 opens in 2mins- 10sec. Holy Cow. I will try pre-selecting a low count folder as described above. Hope this works. So far C1 is the best alternative to Aperture. I tried LR… Really not happy with that program. It’s kindof a disorganized mess.

(Reply to #5)#6

Like I wrote in the other thread, try to relocate your masters out of the Aperture library. I think reading an Aperture managed library may slow C1 down (just an idea).

My catalog also opens quite slowly, taking about a minute with 63K images. This is with the catalog on an SSD and the referenced images on a Thunderbolt drive.

It was worse when I first created the catalog from my Aperture library (over 2 minutes, like you are seeing) but I used the command “File > Verify Catalog or Session…” and it found some problems which it was able to repair. That improved the file opening time from over two minutes to about a minute.

Also, selecting either a small folder of images to open at startup or the full “All Images” collection doesn’t make any difference in the performance.

Look at what part of your catalog you have selected in the left sidebar when closing C1. I've noticed that if I select All Images, then loading of the catalog upon next startup can be slow. Selecting an individual Album or Folder that has fewer images speeds up loading on next startup. I've given this feedback to PhaseOne. Don't know if they will find a way to improve that in a future update, but they do seem to be very interested in user feedback so tell them all of the quirks you experience using their Support Case system.

I am experiencing this very slow startup as well. When the catalog and referenced files are both on external HDD, I have extremely slow startup. I made a screen recording and provided it to PhaseOne. It is an 8 minute video. I have under 40,000 images and the catalog is about 64GB. I copied the catalog to an internal SSD and left the referenced files on external HDD. Startup was extremely fast by comparison (under 30 seconds vs 5-8 minutes).

I have a running case open with PhaseOne (case #215211 if anyone else wants to reference it in their own case).

I’m using Apple Photos to be my reference catalog because C1 was so slow. C1 is too good and I don’t waste my time editing with any other software. Then Photos is too good at cataloging. jpegs and raw files show as 1 file and the viewing modes are perfect. No need to catalog every single photo with C1.

(Reply to #10)#11

Milo, this seems like a brilliant idea. I would like to reference my growing iPhone images from C1. Are you able to comment on the following:

1) Did you create a new C1 catalog for the images in Photos?

2) By default, Photos does not download images to your computer. The pictures reside in the iCloud, unless you download them into the Photos application. Are you only referencing the downloaded images in Photos?

3) How are you organizing your images in Photos and how does that structure appear in C1?

Capture One 20 Slow Start

4) Is the metadata, favorites, tags, etc. recognized when referenced by C1?

Your idea of referencing your Photos library in C1 could be a great solution for those of us who increasingly use iPhone 7 Plus pictures from our travels, etc.

Sincerely, Alex

I haven’t seen the slow starting many have. My catalog is 82G, and opens in approx. 9.5 seconds either on the internal HD on my laptop, or the backup copy on an external raid 5 thunderbolt DAS. All files are referenced, there aren’t any stored in the catalog. Thats opening on a root folder with not thumbnails showing on start up. The time measurement is the best I can do with a stop watch.

absolutely. a pain in the butt

I had. a catalogue. at 70gb

it took 12 hours

it seems. that with Mac there is. a huge problem.

I have been. writing with them , they know there is a problem but will not. admit

and so far nothing has really changed.

I don’t think they know what the problem is

(Reply to #13)#14

What is your configuration? Memory? HDD or SSD? Catalog on internal or external disk? I get the best performance from placing the catalog itself on internal SSD and leaving images on external disk. I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina, 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 1TB internal SSD, 2TB external portable HDD. My catalog has 56,000 images now.

If I select “All Images”, it sends Capture One into a tailspin where it consumes all 16GB of RAM and then some (so says Activity Monitor). The app locks up for 5-10 minutes, but eventually the memory goes back down and the app becomes responsive again. I opened several cases with Capture One and provided them a lot of evidence of the issue. They agree there is an issue. I believe an update will addresses this. I can't say when that update will be released.

If I select any other folder or album with fewer images with under 1000 image, for example, Capture One is much faster.

With a few tweaks, Capture One is a fantastic Lightroom alternative.

…and shrink that enormous Capture One catalog file

» Scroll to step-by-step instructions

One of the most pleasant surprises of going 100% Adobe-free has been the switch to Phase One’s Capture One. It has long been a favorite among pros, but I have to admit that I overlooked it at first after being seduced by the slicker marketing and shinier interfaces of some other self-described Lightroom alternatives. None of those proved to be — or show any real progress towards ever being — a complete replacement for Adobe Lightroom, at least not for many professional photographers.

Capture One Pro 11, on the other hand, is an excellent Adobe Lightroom alternative. Capture One is faster, has more powerful tools (including layers), and does not require a subscription! If only Phase One’s marketing reach matched that of Adobe’s (or Luminar’s for that matter), more photographers might learn that they’ve had a wonderful Lightroom alternative just waiting for them all along.

Update November 29, 2018

Capture One 12 is here and it’s the best pro-level Lightroom alternative on the market.

I do have one issue, however, with the configuration options of Capture One. Although it is simple enough to import images into Capture One while keeping those big RAW files on my external RAID, the preview and thumbnail images that Capture One creates can only be stored in the catalog file itself, which is actually a macOS package. This is not unlike Apple’s Photos app, and it makes sense for smaller catalogs.

However, the size of the preview files is not trivial. For a large library, the catalog file can reach many gigabytes, even while the database file itself is only a few hundred megabytes. I would much rather store those preview files on the external SSD that I reserve specifically for caches. That way I don’t waste precious space on my internal SSD, and I can exclude that drive from my various backup services. There’s not much point wasting bandwidth and storage space by constantly backing up new preview files that can always be recreated if lost, and, in my particular case, the catalog file size had surpassed the single file size limit for syncing with iCloud Drive, which is a critical part of my workflow.

I was unable to find an answer in the Capture One user forum, but I eventually, and accidentally, stumbled on a solution while testing the Backup Catalog… command. For whatever reason, Capture One creates a standalone database file when exporting a backup and separates out the preview image cache into its own directory.

It occurred to me that this database file was the same type as that found within the contents of the default catalog package, which led to the following 10-step procedure to move the cache to an external drive.

Step-by-step tutorial:

1 Find the location of the Capture One catalog file in the Finder. The default path is Pictures ▸ Capture One Catalog ▸ Capture One Catalog.cocatalog.

2 Right click on the catalog file (extension .cocatalog), which is actually a package.

3 Select Show Package Contents. This will reveal a .cocatalogdb file, along with various directories, including Cache and possibly Adjustments. You may also see Originals if you have opted to store photos inside the catalog, although that would negate the space savings of storing the preview files in a separate location!

Capture One 20 Slow Cooker

4 Copy the .cocatalogdb file (along with the Adjustments and Originals folders, if they exist) to the directory where you would like to keep your new database file. An easy way to do this is to select the files/directories and press Command-C. Click the back arrow in the top left corner of the Finder window to exit the package. If you want to keep your new catalog database file in the same directory as the original catalog package, just press Command-V to paste right there, or navigate to another location and paste the files there. Personally, I choose to store my Capture One Catalog in a directory that syncs with iCloud.

Capture One 20 Sony

5 Copy just the Cache directory to the drive where you want to store all of your preview images. In my case, I keep the cache in a folder named Capture One on an external SSD.

6 Delete the Cache directory that you just copied (the one in the same folder as the .cocatalogdb file).

7 Here’s where the magic happens. Use the Terminal to create a symbolic link, also known as a symlink or soft link, in the location of the Cache folder you just deleted. This symlink will point to your external cache in a way that is transparent to Capture One. To do this, enter the following at the command line prompt, replacing the first path with the location of your external cache directory and the second path with the original location. Note the backslash escape characters before the spaces.

ln -s /Volumes/My External Drive/Capture One/Cache /Users/username/Pictures/Capture One Catalog/Cache

Hint: You can drag a directory from the Finder into the Terminal window to paste in the path.

8 Double-click your new, nice and slim .cocatalogdb file to launch Capture One. Et voila! Your catalog should load exactly as before.

9 If everything is cool (and all photos are backed up as always!), you can delete the original, bulky .cocatalog file.

10 I can’t end at step 9! So go take some pictures!

[jjr1971]

Insomnia, ASD style

Content warning: TMI stuff

So the handy little thing about this Tumblr microblog is that while I try to keep it focused on anime, sometimes I just gotta rant about US politics or about personal stuff. I do have a dedicated anime blog from way back over on Typepad that is 100% Anime focused....and that I nearly never update because I try to save it for serious, essay-length posts.

Anway, I've had a rough night. Last night was bad. Tonight was worse. Last night I had a series of disconnected naps, back to back to back, at least with cool dreams & shit. Tonight I've just been unable to fall asleep period.

Things were so much simpler in my teens & 20s. Back then, jerking it to completion would knock me the f*ck out. It was the best natural sleep aid. At middle age with waning libido, it's a mixed blessing. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. It still feels great of course but it doesn't pack nearly the same knock out and sleep effect it used to. I did it twice tonight, to precious little avail. Still wide awake. I think one of the major problems of insomnia for ASD folks is just how hyper-aware we are of our own bodies. It's that much harder to find the "perfect" sleeping position. I rely on 12 hour Sudafed to clear my congestion in time to sleep...with varying rates of success. It definitely makes sleeping better, easier when I'm congestion free but it's not a cure-all. Plus the anxiety begins to creep in the closer dawn approaches. I've made it a habit to put a pair of boxers over the clock face on my digital clock radio so I don't know what time it is until the alarm goes off. It helps dampen anxiety but not enough tonight.

Also been having unwelcome thoughts about my Dad dying in hospital, in hospice care...how much he was suffering...they did their best, I know, and drugged him out of his mind...he was completely unconscious his last day, and that was a mercy for which I'm grateful. He might've beaten that Stage IV cancer but for that fatal surgical mistake that cost him his life first. He's been gone since 2019 and it still invades my thoughts....I ponder hypotheticals like what if we'd said no to the risky polyp-removal surgery and he'd made it to 2020 in time for the COVID19 pandemic with his COPD after years of smoking....how much more paranoid & careful we all would've had to have been even more than we were. I think how ironic it was he never got lung cancer but skin cancer instead. I speculate it was because he worked outside too much without sunscreen through the years, always working on his property up in Coldspring, Texas. He was just a very outdoorsy kind of man, really. Loved nature & hated people. Probably undiagnosed ASD until the day he died. He suffered a lot in life, never really fitting in, no real adult friends besides my mom. Mom had suggested to me once that Dad might be ASD too but at the time I was not prepared to hear that and was pretty dismissive. But over these past 10 years, I have come to accept he probably was. Dad had also wanted me to trade in my car for a truck which I thought a daft idea at the time but he was thinking long term, where I would be my mom's primary caretaker on down the line...and have a truck handy to haul stuff around for her if need be. He never put it that way directly but I think that's what he was thinking. I've been idly looking at new Toyota Tacomas, Nissan Frontiers, and Ford Rangers. I prefer Toyota out of all of them. The Honda Ridgeline is nice but hard to find and also too big and too expensive. I'm looking at a 2 door model vs. a 4 door for the Toyota/Nissan/Ford models. Anyway, decided to compose this Tumblr post since trying to sleep wasn't cutting it. Also, fuck Daylight Savings Time. That is all.

[skilledineverypostition-blog]

iPhone VS Android I NewsFeedInternational

iPhone vs. Android: Which is better for me? Confused?

Picking between the two primary players in portable relies upon what highlights and specs are most vital to you. This is what you have to know to settle on the correct choice.

Here’s how they match up on some key aspects of the smartphone experience

1) Ease of utilization

Individuals love to state Apple items simply work. It's absolutely evident that the iOS interface is anything but difficult to utilize. Be that as it may, so is the Android interface. To be perfectly honest, in the event that you can utilize one, you won't experience much difficulty utilizing the other.

Of course, 10 years prior, when the iPhone first showed up and Windows Mobile and Nokia Symbian telephones were the opposition, the iPhone overwhelmed them. It was simply such a great amount of simpler to utilize.

2) Fit Price

A few, for example, the Samsung S7 and the Google Pixel, are just as appealing as the iPhone 7 Plus. Valid, by controlling each progression of the assembling procedure, Apple ensures iPhones have an awesome fit and complete, yet so do the huge Android telephone makers. So, some Android telephones are out and out monstrous.

Some portion of the purpose behind this is Apple makes only extravagance telephones. There will never be a "shabby" iPhone. In the event that you would prefer not to pay as much as possible for an iPhone, your exclusive decision is to get a utilized one.

Conventional Android telephones can go for as meager as $100. Is it accurate to say that they are attractive? Not by any stretch of the imagination, yet they carry out the activity at a small amount of the cost of an iPhone. (In case you're thinking about the fact that it is so difficult to jettison the iPhone and move to an Android gadget here's our exchanging guide.) Here our iCloud keychain security code guide 

3) Closed vs. open frameworks

The iPhone stays as exclusive as ever. In the event that you don't need anything that you can't overcome Apple, fine. Then again, in case you're an iPhone client who needs to purchase an Amazon digital book from the Kindle application or watch a Google Play film utilizing Play Movies, you're up the creek without a paddle.

Android is both open source and unmistakably open to elective applications. Remember, Apple hasn't ported any of its applications to Android and never will. Along these lines, if your music library depends on iTunes, at that point you're bolted into iPhones.

For most clients, this is a distinction that has no effect. In any case, on the off chance that you incline toward open frameworks to shut ones, it's a vital differentiator.

4) A.I. what's more, voice aides

With regards to Google Assistant vs. Siri, there's no doubt of the champ: Google Assistant by a long distance.

Google Assistant is in excess of a brilliant voice interface to Google look. In the event that you utilize Google applications, for example, Google Calendar and Google Maps, Google Assistant can make life easier. Let's assume you're meeting somebody for lunch downtown and movement is terrible. Google Assistant will work out that you have to leave right on time to make your arrangement, and it will inform you heretofore. Presently, that is cool.

Siri may have been first to showcase, however it's still quite fundamental. It's fine to answer questions, however it's not so much that quite a bit of a right hand.

In case you're searching for an unmistakable motivation to pick one OS over another, however, Google Assistant isn't it. It's additionally accessible for iPhones.

5) Timely updates

Here, then again, is a territory where Apple beats Android empty. At the point when Apple discharges another refresh or fix, all telephones — those that are as yet upheld, in any case — get it. With Android telephones … it's implore and seek after the best.

Dissimilar to the iPhone, where everything about under Apple's control, with Android, Google supplies the base working framework and a few projects, and it's up to the telephone producer to convey updates and fixes. With top of the line telephones, odds are you'll get the patches; with the various Android cell phones, chances are you'll never at any point see a security fix.

As indicated by Skycure, a portable risk barrier seller, about seventy five percent of Android gadgets are running without-of-date security. For me, the amazement is that the figure is so low. I would have speculated 90% of Android gadgets had outdated programming.

This gets extremely old, in a manner of speaking.

Then again, iOS updates can be flaky. Apple needs to complete a superior employment with quality affirmation. I can't recollect a solitary time that a noteworthy iOS refresh didn't bring about a Wi-Fi issue, beginning with iOS 6 and going up to the most up to date, iOS 11.

My Android refreshes, be that as it may, simply work. When I can get them.

Favorable position: Apple.

6) Security

It's less that Android has security issues; it's that Google is more careless than Apple about what applications it will let into its application store. Genuine, the most ideal approach to keep malware off your Android contraption is to just get applications from the Google Play store; all things considered, Google reports that 0.16% of all applications contain malware.

In case you're an iPhone client, don't get excessively presumptuous. There is iPhone malware out there simply sitting tight for a pompous client to download a dodgy program.

In any case, iPhones are naturally more secure. (In case you're utilizing an Android gadget and believe you're prepared to move to iPhone, here's our Android-to-iPhone exchanging guide.)

7) Peripherals

I don't think about you, yet I have a tendency to interface my telephones to other apparatus. Here, Android has the favorable position. All Android gadgets utilize standard USB ports, so there are numerous contraptions you can associate with your telephone. With iPhones, you require something that will interface with its restrictive Lightning port.

Another Android advantage is that USB links and gadgets are less expensive than their Lightning port cousins.

8) Battery life and charging

This present one's difficult to judge, in light of the fact that each Android telephone is extraordinary. I would say, to a great extent with Samsung and Motorola telephones, Android telephones don't should be as revived as regularly as iPhones. Your charging may change, so we should call this something of a draw, contingent upon the telephone close by and how you utilize it.

9) Cloud combination

iCloud keeps on being a huge torment for me, regardless of what stage I run it on. Also, I'm by all account not the only one who experiences difficulty with iCloud.

Android, in any case, is firmly coordinated with Google's applications and administrations. I utilize Google applications all the ideal opportunity for work and fun. With an Android telephone and Google Now home screen, I likewise gain admittance to all the news I require, from the individual (nearby activity) to the worldwide (President Trump's most recent doings[JE2] ).

Google Photos has the boundless capacity and incorporates a tolerable fundamental photograph editorial manager. Genuine, the iCloud Photo Library is great as well, however getting to iCloud crosswise over gadgets keeps on being hazardous.

All things considered, for cloud combination, Android is the one to beat.

10) Videoconferencing

Google can't decide on its voice, video and IM applications. I think Google Hangouts is currently Google's lord correspondences application, yet I could not be right.

With iPhones, it's Facetime, period. Facetime is an incredible video conferencing program. I wish it kept running on something beyond Apple stages, yet in the event that your entire family or workgroup is utilizing Apple, you're ready.

11) Cameras

I'm no camera master, however I do realize that cameras differ fiercely on Android telephones. All things considered, the Galaxy S8, which utilizes basically an indistinguishable equipment from the S7, seems to be somewhat behind the highest point of-the-line iPhone 7 Plus.

Mind you, the two cameras are, great. As I would like to think, the iPhone is somewhat better at generally things. In any case, the Galaxy models, with their more extensive point focal point, are a touch better at selfies.

Preferred standpoint: The iPhone, in a near tie.

12) Software decision

Some time ago, you could contend that there were better applications on one application store than the other. Nowadays, it's essentially a dead tie. In addition, with 2.8 million applications on the Google Play store and 2.2 million on the Apple App Store, dislike you're regularly going to come up short on applications to play with.

Pick one that fits your financial plan and needs

Set up everything together, and there is certifiably not a straightforward, one-estimate fits-all response for you. As I said at the beginning, both telephone biological communities have their points of interest and burdens.

It truly descends to your financial plan and what makes a difference most to you. For me, the appropriate response is Android, however, I'm not going to battle with you on the off chance that you lean toward an iPhone — dissimilar to a few people I could name.

[andrewdburton]

Socially Responsible Investing: Is It Also More Profitable?

Since the Dawn of Mustachianism in 2011, the same question has come up over and over again:

“MMM, I see your point that index fund investing is the best option. But when you buy the index, you’re getting oil companies, factory farm slaughterhouses and a million other dirty stories.

How can I get the benefits of investing for early retirement without contributing to the decline of humanity?”

And in these nine years since then, the movement towards socially responsible investing has only grown. Public pension funds have started to “divest” from oil company stocks, and various social issues like human rights, child labor, climate change or corporate corruption have bubbled to the surface at different times.

And all of this has led to the exploding new field of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), and a growing array of new ways to do it.

So it seems that this is not just a passing trend – people just might be starting to care a bit more. And since capitalism is just an expression of human behavior, the nature of capitalism itself may be starting to change.

This leads us naturally to the question:

What can I do with my money to help fix the world? And even better, is there a way I can make money in the process of fixing it?

The answer is a good, solid “Probably.”

As long as you don’t get too hung up on getting every last detail perfect, because just like real life, investing is a haphazard and approximate and unpredictable thing. But by understanding the big picture, you can make slightly better decisions on average, which lead to slightly better results. And slightly better results, stacked up consistently over time, can lead to a much better life, or even a much better world.

This is true in all of the main areas we care about – personal wealth, fitness and health, even relationships and happiness. And while your money and investments are certainly not the most important thing in life, they are still worthy of a bit of easy and effective optimization.

So anyway, the first thing to understand with SRI is, “what problem am I trying to solve?”

The answer is, “You are trying to make your investing (especially index fund investing) have a better impact on the world.”

On its own, index fund investing is ridiculously simple. You just get an account at any brokerage like Vanguard, Etrade, Schwab or whatever, and dump all your money into one exchange-traded fund: VTI.

When you do this, you are buying a stake in 3500 companies at once(!), which is both impressive and overwhelming. How do you even know what you are holding?

Well, this is all public information, and easily available with a quick Google search. For example, here’s a list of the top 90 holdings in VTI (click for larger):

Top 90 holdings in Vanguard’s VTI Exchange Traded Fund

As you can see, the biggest chunk of money is allocated to today’s tech darlings, because this index fund is weighted according to market value, and these are the most valuable companies in the US today.

Through a convenient coincidence, the total value of the VTI fund happens to be just under $1 trillion dollars, which means you can just throw a decimal point after the ten billions digit of market value to get a percentage. In other words, about 4.7% of your money will go towards Apple stock, 4.4 towards Microsoft, and so on. Together, these top 90 companies are worth more than the remaining 3,540 companies combined, so these are what really drive your retirement account.

And within this list, you will see some of the usual suspects: Exxon and Chevron (oil), Philip Morris (tobacco), Raytheon and Lockheed (bombs), and so on.

But what about the less-usual suspects? For example, I happen to think that sugar, and especially sugar-packed beverages like Coke, is the biggest killer in the developed world – a major contributor to 2 million of the 2.8 million deaths each year in the US alone. Should I exclude that from my portfolio too?

And what about drug and insurance companies – aren’t they behind the political stalemate and high costs of the US healthcare system? Comcast funded some election disinformation campaigns here in my home town in the early 2010s, should I exclude them too? And if you’re part of a religion that is against charging interest on loans, or in favor of pasta and Pirate costumes, or against a spherical Earth, or any number of additional ornate rules, you may have still more preferences.

The higher your desire for perfection, the more difficult this exercise will become. However, if you are like me and you just want to get most of the desired result with minimal effort, you might simply have a look at the Vanguard fund called ESGV.

ESG stands for “Environmental, Social and Governance”, and in practice it just means “We have tried to avoid some of the shittier companies according to some fairly simple rules.”

And the result is this:

Vanguard’s ESGV Exchange traded fund (ETF) – top 90 holdings

The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s almost the same. In fact, the top five holdings – Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Alphabet (Google) and Netflix not far behind, collectively referred to as the FAANG stocks – are completely unchanged – and this means that there will be plenty of correlation between these funds.

It’s also the reason that the stock market as a whole has recovered so quickly from this COVID-era recession: small businesses like restaurants and hair salons have been destroyed by the shutdowns, but big companies that benefit from people staying at home and using computers and phones are making more money than ever. The stock market isn’t the whole economy, it’s just the publicly traded companies, which are the big ones.

But let’s look at the biggest differences between the normal index fund versus the social version.

The following large companies listed on the left are missing in the ESGV fund, in order of size. And to make up the difference, the stake in the companies on the right have been boosted up to take their place in your portfolio.

Main differences between VTI and ESGV (source: etfrc)

The omission of Berkshire Hathaway was a bit of a shocker, as it is run with solid ethical principles by Warren Buffet, one of the worlds most generous philanthropists. And in fact the modern day nerd-saint Bill Gates is on the Berkshire board of directors, another person whose work I follow and respect greatly.

(side note: Apparently the company fails on the “independent governance” category. And Buffet disputes this category, but in his characteristic way has decided to say, “Fuck it, I’ma just keep doing my own thing with my half-trillion dollar empire over here and you can have fun with your little committee” – I’m paraphrasing a bit but he totally did say that.)

Furthermore, both funds hold the factory meat king Tyson foods, while neither holds Roundup-happy Monsanto, because it was bought by the German conglomerate Bayer AG a while back. Nextera is a giant electric utility in the Southeastern US that claims to be the world’s largest generator of renewable energy. Some do-gooders are against nuclear power, while others (including me) think it’s the Bee’s Knees and we should keep advancing it. And all this just goes to show how nobody will agree 100% on what makes a good socially responsible fund.

But What About The Performance?

In the past, some investors were nervous about giving up oil companies in their portfolio, because while it was a dirty substance, it was also what made the world go round – which meant it was a cash cow.

Now, however, oil is on its way out as renewable energy and battery storage have crossed the cost parity threshold – meaning it’s cheaper to make power (and vehicles) that don’t use oil. In its place, technology is the new cash cow, and tech is heavily represented in the ESG funds. The result:

Traditional index fund (VTI) vs Socially Responsible equivalent (ESGV)

As you can see, the performance has been similar but the ESG fund has done significantly better in the (admittedly short) time since it was introduced at Vanguard.

Of course, we have no idea if this will continue, but the point is that at least our thesis is not a ridiculous one – environmentally sustainable companies do have an advantage, if the world gradually starts to care more about these things. And if you look at the share price of Tesla and other companies that surround it in electric transportation and energy storage, you will see that there are many trillions of dollars already lining up to benefit from this transition. And the very presence of so much investment money creates a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Tesla is now building or expanding five of the world’s largest factories on three continents simultaneously.

So What Should You Do? (and what I do myself)

My latest home-brewed ebike project – this one can reach 42MPH / 67km/hr!

First of all, it helps to remember a fundamental piece of economics: your spending dollars will probably have a much bigger impact than your investment dollars. This is because you are sending a direct message to the world rather than an indirect one:

When you buy a new gasoline-powered Subaru (or a tank of gas for your existing guzzler) or a steak at the grocery store, or a plane ticket, you are telling those company directly that consumers want more of these products, so they will produce more of them immediately.

When you buy shares in Exxon, you are only subtly raising the demand for those shares, which raises the average price, making it ever-so-slightly easier for Exxon to maybe issue more shares in the future. In other words, you are making it easier for them to access capital. But capital is only useful if there is demand for their products. And with oil there is a nearly constant surplus, which is why OPEC and other cartels need to work together to artificially restrict supply, just to keep prices up.

Plus, as a shareholder you are theoretically eligible to place votes and influence the future direction of companies – even companies that you don’t like. If you look up the field of “shareholder activism”, you’ll see this is a tradition that goes way back.

So I have tried to take a few simple steps on the consumer side myself, and I find it quite satisfying: Insulating the shit out of all of my properties, building a DIY solar electric array on one of them, and buying one electric car so far to eliminate local gas burning. And a few electric bikes including a super fast one I made myself.

Each one of these steps has provided a very high economic return, percentage-wise, but that still leaves a lot of money to account for, which brings us back to stock investing.

As someone who loves simplicity, I have done this:

Bought almost entirely VTI (or similar Vanguard funds) from 2000-2015

Started experimenting with Betterment in 2015, liked it, and have been adding a percentage of my ongoing savings to that account to that since then. (Note that Betterment now also offers a socially responsible portfolio option.)

Switched the dividend re-investing of my old Vanguard VTI over to Vanguard ESGV, to avoid “wash sales” in making the most of Betterment’s tax loss harvesting feature.

Bought some shares of Berkshire Hathaway separately, and also make a few sentimental investments in local businesses, including the MMM HQ Coworking space.

But you could choose to be more hardcore in your ESG/SRI investing:

Buy your own basket of stocks based on the index, but with different weighting based on your own values

Spend more money on other things that generate or save money (a bigger solar array on your house, better insulation, electric car, an ebike to reduce car trips, etc.)

Invest in local businesses of your choice, rental real estate, community solar projects, or other things which generate passive income – publicly traded stocks are just one of many ways to fund an early retirement!

Like most areas of life, investing is not something you have to do perfectly in order to succeed – even socially responsible investing. If you apply the 80/20 rule to get the big picture right, you have probably found the Sweet Spot and you can move on to the next area of life to optimize.

In the Comments: What is your own investment strategy? Have you thought at all about this ESG / SRI stuff? Did this article bring anything new to the table?

from Finance https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2020/08/22/socially-responsible-investing/ via http://www.rssmix.com/