#the thing they do have in common is the need to distill things down to their essence

[4theitgirls]

study methods

the second brain method

this method focuses on organizing the information you learn to maximize effectiveness. a common way of doing this is through the CODE method:

capture - be quick and efficient in how you receive the information

organize - organize the information in a way that works for you

distill - break the information down to its key elements

express - apply the information you’ve learned

* there is a ton of information out there about this method. if you struggle with burnout and knowing where to start, i recommend researching this method further to figure out what works for you.

the pomodoro method

the pomodoro method is a time management method. the most common expression of this method is to pick a task, work for 25 minutes on that task, then take a break for 5 minutes. then, repeat. if you’re planning to work all day, you may up the time spent studying. for example, after a while of this, you may work for 30 minutes at a time, then 40, then 45, and so forth. this method is particularly good for when you’re feeling unmotivated or having a hard time focusing. if you’re still not feeling it after a while, you may start to take longer breaks. for example, you may study for 30 minutes, break for 15, and keep going like that.

the 5 minute rule method

this method is good for when you have to do a shorter task, but you’re procrastinating doing it. this method requires you to dedicate only 5 minutes to do your task. after that, you may stop, but chances are, once you’ve started, finishing won’t be as difficult.

the blurting method

this method is particularly good for revision. the blurting method requires you to read over the content you are learning, then put it away and write down everything you know or can remember. then, check the content and revise everything you didn’t write down.

spaced repetition

spaced repetition requires you to spread out your study reviews over the period of a few days. this has been shown to improve memory. rather than studying one thing at a time, then studying something else the next day and so on, review the information right after you’ve learned it, then recall it after a few hours, then a few days, then a few weeks, and so on. if you’re studying something you will need to remember for an extended period of time, this method would be perfect for you!

active recall

this is my absolute favorite method! it’s been shown to improve your studying immensely and so many people have benefited from practicing active recall. active recall involves retrieving information from your brain, usually done through questions. a good way to do this is to explain the concept to yourself, to someone else, or act like you’re doing a presentation on the subject. after you’ve recalled all of the information you know about the subject, go over your material again and be sure you covered everything and explained everything the best way you could. if you didn’t, review everything you did not remember or got wrong, and go again. do this until you get everything. doing this can also be referred to as the feynman technique.

the SQ3r method

survey - skim your text and identify bolded text, headers, images, etc.

question - generate questions about the text based on what you surveyed. what are the key concepts in this text? what is each paragraph about? what information do i need to take away from this text?

read - read through the entire text and answer the questions you created

recite - summarize what you learned in your own words

review - recall the key concepts and answers to your questions

[rubyarrows]

Bridging the Language

YN groaned as she stumbled into the Jeffersonian Institute's bustling lab, her hair in disarray and her eyes half-closed. It was early morning, and her brain was not yet fully awake. As she made her way to her assigned workstation, she noticed Zack Addy, immersed in a detailed discussion with Dr. Temperance Brennan about the intricacies of skeletal anatomy.

"Good morning," YN mumbled, stifling a yawn as she plopped down at her desk.

Zack turned towards her with an enthusiastic smile. "Good morning, YN. Did you know that the iliac crest plays a crucial role in..."

YN held up her hand, interrupting him with a groan. "Zack, Zack, slow down. It's way too early for anatomy lessons in high definition. Can we do low-res explanations?"

Zack blinked, adjusting and recalibrated his approach. "Of course. In simpler terms, the bony ridge on the side of the pelvis has an important function in identifying individuals through skeletal remains."

YN perked up, her eyes slightly less glazed over. "Got it. Bony ID card. Check."

Zack chuckled, finding her analogy amusing. "Precisely. A bony ID card."

Just then, Angela Montenegro, the lab's forensic artist, approached with a friendly smile. "Hey, you two. Early bird gets the skeletal worm, huh?"

YN managed a tired grin. "More like the early bird needs a coffee IV."

Angela chuckled. "I feel you. So, what's the science of the day?"

Zack cleared his throat, switching to a more approachable tone. "We were discussing the significance of the iliac crest in forensic identification."

YN leaned closer to Angela and whispered, "It's like the name tag of bones."

Angela stifled a laugh and nodded, playing along. "Ah, got it. The bones' way of saying 'Hello, my name is...'."

As the morning progressed, YN and Zack continued to work side by side, their dynamic a mix of scientific precision and relatable simplicity. While Zack delved into intricate details with Brennan, YN helped bridge the communication gap, offering analogies and relatable metaphors to make the concepts more accessible.

At one point, as they examined a particularly complex skeletal feature, Zack began, "The sphenoid bone forms the base of the cranium and—"

YN raised her hand again, giving him a bemused look. "Sphenoid bone, got it. It's like the skull's floor mat."

Zack chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yes, in a way, you could say that."

Dr. Brennan, observing their interaction, approached with an approving smile. "Miss YLN, your ability to distill complex concepts into relatable terms is quite impressive."

YN blushed, feeling a sense of validation from her mentor's words. "Thank you, Dr. Brennan. I just know that sometimes my brain needs the training wheels early in the morning."

Dr. Brennan nodded understandingly. "We all have our unique ways of processing information. Collaboration is about leveraging those strengths."

As the day continued, YN and Zack's collaborative approach proved to be a winning formula. While Zack excelled in his precise scientific explanations, YN's knack for simplifying complex ideas made their teamwork remarkably efficient. They were, in essence, the perfect balance of technicality and accessibility.

And so, amidst the whirlwind of bones, equations, and early morning fatigue, a unique friendship blossomed. YN and Zack, two interns with distinct strengths, found common ground in their shared pursuit of knowledge and the joy of making complex science a bit more relatable—even if it meant using unconventional metaphors and analogies.

As the day unfolded, YN found herself gradually absorbing more of the specific scientific terminology that was a hallmark of the Jeffersonian lab. While her initial approach had been to simplify concepts for herself, she realized that there was a certain elegance and precision in using the correct names for things.

Later that morning, while examining a set of bones, Zack began, "The metatarsals are distinct bones in the foot that—"

YN cut in with a grin, "Metatarsals, got it. They're the foot's fancy finger bones."

Zack chuckled softly, then continued, "Yes, essentially they're like the fingers of the foot."

Brennan, overhearing their conversation, chimed in. "YN, it's great that you're finding creative ways to understand these terms, but using their proper names can provide more accurate communication."

YN nodded, a determined look in her eyes. "You're right, Dr. Brennan. I'm up for the challenge."

Throughout the day, YN made an effort to incorporate the precise scientific terms into her vocabulary. As she worked alongside Zack and the rest of the team, she found herself asking questions, seeking clarification, and even occasionally correcting herself when she slipped into her simpler analogies.

During a lunch break, she sat with Zack, Angela, and the rest of the team in the lab's break room. Angela grinned playfully. "So, YN, have you upgraded from foot finger bones to metatarsals?"

YN chuckled and nodded, her determination evident. "Yes, Angela. I'm diving headfirst into the world of scientific names."

Zack looked pleased, offering a supportive smile. "It's a worthwhile endeavor. Accurate terminology is essential for effective communication in our field."

As the day progressed, YN's commitment to learning the scientific names didn't go unnoticed. During an analysis of skeletal remains, she surprised everyone when she pointed to the maxilla and confidently said, "So, the maxilla is the upper jawbone, right?"

Zack's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Yes, YN, that's absolutely correct."

YN beamed, feeling a sense of accomplishment. "I'm starting to see that these names actually make a lot of sense once you get used to them."

Brennan nodded approvingly. "Indeed, Miss YLN. Your dedication to learning and adapting is commendable."

As the workday drew to a close, YN felt a growing sense of pride in her ability to balance her simplified interpretations with the precision of scientific terminology. She realized that her approach had its own value—it had helped her build a solid foundation of understanding, which she could now expand upon with the proper terms.

As she and Zack wrapped up their tasks for the day, YN turned to him with a playful smile. "So, Zack, do you think I've earned a spot in the league of precise scientific language users?"

Zack chuckled, adjusting his glasses. "You're well on your way, YN. Keep it up, and you might just surpass me."

[benjaminrydersnest]

One thing I've found super helpful in writing characters is thinking about what is most fundamental to their character. If you take everything away from them, at their core, a few emotions and a common, overarching theme shows. It doesn't matter if they lose their memory, are down on their knees having suffered the greatest loss of their life (in battle, a loved one, etc.), this trait will stay with them no matter what. If it doesn't, they've betrayed their character, which can be useful for corruption/redemption/distillation arcs. Let me use an example to illustrate my point. One of my own characters, Trevor Steele, has the "hand squeeze," a thing that his sister Angela used to do to him when they were young to comfort him from anger or sadness. He remembers this, and uses it to calm others as well as to ground himself sometimes. This trait is so fundamental to his character that taking it away would change him radically. And I think that is a very important thing to know. Not every character has something this deep, Pure Evil villains in particular don't really need more of a fundamental trait than being evil, but I think it's interesting to explore, for the characters you've created, what their most fundamental aspects are. It can be an object, a person, an emotion, a mindset, themselves, their partner, or literally anything else ridiculously important to them specifically. Does it motivate them? Does it drag them down? Is it healthy or unhealthy? What happens if you take it away? All very interesting questions to explore, even if just for fun.

For more talk about fundamental aspects of characters, but in a more literal sense, I also made this post: https://www.tumblr.com/benjaminrydersnest/732451994465402880/but-maybe-this-doesnt-apply-to-all-of-the For more writing advice in general, check out: https://www.youtube.com/@OverlySarcasticProductions They do an excellent series called "Trope Talks" I highly recommend for learning more/improving on writing.

[darkstarofchaos]

For the character ask game, I'm not sure how many numbers you're willing to do for a single ask, so you can just do as much as you want from this. For Prowl - 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 23, 25

I don't mind a bunch of numbers! Gives me an excuse to ramble, lol. And to rant, because Prowl deserves better.

2: Favorite canon thing about this character?

His willingness to look Optimus in the face and tell him he's being stupid, and to do his own thing to mitigate the stupidity if he has to. Mostly applicable to IDW, but Optimus needs a foil so badly in G1 that I've pretty much transplanted it into G1 Prowl when I write him. Not in its entirety, because G1 Prowl isn't IDW Prowl, but I like that he has his own opinions on tactics and morality and doesn't just go with the Autobot collective. His job is not to be a yes-mech; it's to keep people alive and win battles. If his commander is making stupid decisions, what benefit is there in standing back and letting it happen?

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Making the police car an actual cop was the most boring decision anyone could have made. In stories where the Cybertronians choose their alts, especially, there are so many more interesting things you could say about his character by giving him a pre-war job that's completely unrelated to his Earth alt. For example, I like to think he chose it for tactical reasons: it's a common black and white vehicle, thus perfect as a disguise, and the sirens let him "legally" break Earth traffic laws in an emergency. It's far more interesting if his alt is a result of strategy and reasoning instead of, "I guess I'll take the one that matches my old job description."

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like that people took the little tidbit about Prowl having trouble with the unexpected that has exclusively appeared in two bios (that I'm aware of) and made it reasonably common. Would be really nice if they treated it seriously instead of making it comic relief, but maybe it does get treated more seriously these days. I don't read a lot of Prowl fic.

Let's talk about why.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

The image compilations of Prowl getting punched. The prick jokes that litter every TF Wiki page for every G1-based Prowl. The fanfics where Prowl is an uncompromising jerk or straight-up hate sink because the author needed a mean Autobot. The conversations and hypotheticals that make Prowl the source of any amoral action the Autobots take. The people who distill him down into Essence of Asshole and strip out every positive or sympathetic quality he has.

"Prowl gets villainized for being sensible" is one of my most hated fanfic tropes. Grab just about any fic where a Decepticon defects or earns the Autobots' sympathy in some way, and Prowl will be the only one who's unhappy with the situation. Which is perfectly reasonable because that is an enemy and he has no reason to trust them, let alone like them. But because we're supposed to sympathize with the Decepticon, that makes Prowl the villain. The other Autobots aren't naive and unreasonably forgiving, Prowl is just a bad person.

And it's not just IDW fics. G1 Prowl didn't get a whole lot of screen time, and thus no chance to develop his own personality, so he gets slapped with the same portrayal. Never mind the fact that when he does show up, he's one of the nicest characters - sure, he gets in on trash talking the Decepticons (though far less than some of the Autobots), but he's always helping out around base, shows concern for others, and pretty much stays out of interpersonal conflict. And yet, in stories based on a cartoon that has Powerglide, Gears, Cliffjumper, and Optimus Prime himself, I am expected to believe Prowl is the Autobots' resident jerk. Not gonna happen.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

As I mentioned earlier, it's kind of quasi-canon that Prowl has trouble dealing with the unexpected. It's never appeared in any actual media, but it does come from official sources, so I wouldn't call it a headcanon. But I do headcanon that he has some pretty severe anxiety in dealing with people because of it. Things like math and physics are reliable; if something doesn't do what you expect it to, it's because you lacked information, and you can remedy that. You can update your calculations based on the results you actually got, or try to find out what you were missing the first time. Given enough data, you can predict just about anything as long as the results are consistent.

People are not consistent. You can make some sweeping generalizations about them based on categories - social groups, behaviors, readily obvious personality traits - but you can never say with certainty that someone will react in a specific way to something. Once you've known them for a while, you start to understand them and can anticipate them with a reasonable degree of accuracy, but that's assuming their behavior is genuine and consistent. If they're messing with you or pretending to be something they aren't, your data is inaccurate, and you can't correct it unless you know it's inaccurate.

People are the only things in the natural world that can deliberately give you false data about what to expect from them. So yes, I think Prowl has social anxiety. And probably some form of people-centric agoraphobia or anthropophobia.

(I also headcanon him as biromantic asexual. It has nothing to do with the above, and actually predates the anxiety headcanon).

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

If I had to pick just one pairing, I guess I would say Jazz/Prowl. Which is ironic, because for a long time, it was one of my least favorite Prowl pairings. Not because it was particularly objectionable; it was just everywhere, and I couldn't see it working. I think of Prowl as the kind of person who needs a steady, reliable partner who will let him have his routines and respect his desire to plan things before doing them, and Jazz's thing is more spontaneity and flexibility. He seemed like one of the worst partners for Prowl, especially with how I developed Prowl's disorders over the years.

In the end, though, that spontaneity is what brought them full circle to a pairing I can support. Because I do think Jazz would be willing to compromise and accommodate for Prowl's needs, and that Prowl could eventually trust that he's not going to suddenly change how he acts around him. It's a rather tenuous case of opposites attract, and requires patience from both parties, but I can see it working now.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

First, an honorable mention goes to my immediate impulse, which was Constructicons/Prowl. I get why people want IDW Prowl to have someone on his side, and I don't think the Constructicons meant any harm. But Prowl was forced into the team through a series of traumatic events, the Constructicons like him for things he hates about himself, and being a part of Devastator seems to have contributed to his psychological decline. It wasn't a good or healthy situation for him, and I feel like the Constructicons having romantic feelings for him actually makes it more uncomfortable for me.

That being said, I'm going to have to go with Optimus/Prowl as my absolute least favorite ship. Optimus is very strongly motivated by morality and will generally take what he perceives to be the most moral action in a given situation. Pair that with someone like Prowl, who is willing to cross lines when he feels he has to, and you already have a relationship on rough ground. The only way things can work between them is either for Optimus to accept Prowl's "moral failings", or for Prowl to change a fundamental part of himself. There is literally no option that doesn't require one of them to compromise their principles or change who they are. And since Optimus isn't the kind of person who will do that, the only hope for a relationship is to "fix" Prowl. And that gets into abusive territory, because Optimus has power over Prowl in both the physical sense and in their professional relationship. He also has social power, because because Prowl is unpopular and Optimus is exactly the kind of person you wouldn't expect to be capable of abuse.

And yes. For the sake of argument, it could be toxic from Prowl's side too. He could try to hurt Optimus by throwing his mistakes in his face, or by blaming him for everything that goes wrong. But Optimus has a great deal of confidence in himself and the support of pretty much everyone, while Prowl is isolated and already isn't proud of things he's done. He is far more vulnerable to abuse than Optimus is, socially and psychologically, and he just doesn't deserve that.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Mmm. I guess I would have to say this one, since it inspired an entire story that I'm still working on. There's actually another one that I like better (which also spawned an in-progress story), but I'd have to do more digging to find the link for that one. Might do it later.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

When I started watching G1, the Autobots were just a conglomerate of near-identical personalities to me. Prowl was just one of the generic background bots who got a few minutes of screentime in one episode and was otherwise relegated to a support role. I was mildly interested by some of the fanfic portrayals I saw, but I definitely preferred the Decepticons, so I didn't read much where he was a main character unless there were Decepticon MCs too. And most of those fics were written by a couple authors whose endings were consistently disappointing, so after I stopped reading their stuff, Prowl just dropped off my radar.

Nowadays, Prowl is my favorite Autobot (well, second favorite after Skyfire). Thanks to IDW, I kind of see him as the Autobot version of Starscream (narratively if not in personality), but he's also a fascinating character in his own right. I love that he doesn't conform to the Autobots as a whole, he's fun to write and analyze, and he was the one good thing I got out of the IDW comics. 10/10 character, deserves better.

[roydeezed]

Luffy's defining characteristic is his deep empathy in the context of his desire for freedom

Wordy title? Yeah. But it expresses the point I want to get to pretty succinctly. I saw a post the other day that said Luffy was selfish. I don't know how I feel about that. I really don't think he is that selfish. Yeah, he's selfish about meat and having fun. But I don't think that's his defining characteristic. It feels like an uncharitable read of him that doesn't take into account his worldview that everyone deserves freedom. Though that reblog about him being lonely is an amazing catch. I'm glad someone else caught that moment in the flashback cause I thought I was going crazy thinking Luffy had a deep trauma relating to his loneliness.

I think there's a lot to talk about there, including a theory as to Luffy's core motivations which involves Impel Down, Incarceration and forced labour of some sort but we'll get to that later down this post. I normally don't like arguing or refuting people's takes, which is why I didn't do this through a reblog, but thinking about why that take sat wrong with me helped me to reconcile Shank's whole persona, prompting me to make this post. But to do that, me, as the authour of this post, and you, as the reader, need to get on the same page about my long held beliefs on Luffy's defining charecteristic and motivation. And I'll go into that below the "Keep reading".

To start off with, we need to establish some common ground. First, let's start off with something quite simple to accept. And that's the fact that Luffy is kind. He will fight for the weak and hates seeing injustice. One of my favourite early stories is the Orange Town arc and the bond Luffy forms with Chouchou.

He understands people's(also read as animal's when applicable) emotions and gets upset when they're mistreated. So much so that he fights on behalf of people that can't fight for themselves. But only after they've resolved to fight. After Chochou loses to Mohji and Richie, Luffy fights them.

After Luffy defeats them, we get a soft moment between the two of them where he acknowledges Chouchou's effort, his love and his treasure. It chokes me up everytime but it's such a great distillation of Luffy's character.

This is why the label of selfish, even in the context that he selfishly wants to be nice, falls so flat for me. Luffy cares for people. He understands people(and once again, read as animals when applicable, it's just not as punchy you know what I mean?). He goes out of his way to care for them. Luffy has such a great emotional intelligence that he's able to understand when people are hurt, what's holding them back, and when they lie to themselves. For example, Sanji's dream was to go to the All Blue, but due to his obligation to Baratie, he couldn't leave. So what does Luffy do?

He destroys the physical metaphor for the mental block his friend has, not only to remind him that Baratie is just as much the people as the place, including Sanji himself, but also to unanchor him from the spot he's been rooted in so long, both physically and mentally. Oda does this time and time again, beautifully melding emotional concepts with their physical manifestations.

But Luffy understands one more thing. He can't fight these battles for them. He can show them the way. He can destroy things if it will help them come to a certain conclusion. But he won't make the decision for them. Because they need to do that themselves. They need to choose to fight. They need to choose to change. It's the most important thing to him. Not only the freedom to be unmoored from restrictions. But the freedom to choose either life. It's why he doesn't fight on their behalf until they ask him to.

He'll stop them from hurting themselves.

And he'll admit how much less he knows than them. About how little right he has to make a decision for them.

And he'll wait for them to make the decision. To ask for help.

Unlike animals, who he chooses to help when they choose to fight, for people he needs to hear it from their mouths. And then he seeks to understand the best way to help them. This is not the act of someone who is selfish. This is someone who respects choice and the dignity of being able to choose.

With Nami, once he understood what trapped her, her obligation to her people, the years of work she's done as a navigator, and all that Arlong was, Luffy set out to free her one by one.

Her obligation, and all that Arlong has done, Luffy could erase with beating Arlong. But her years of servitude, the crushing weight of incarceration? The feeling that comes with being used?

The only way Luffy could get rid of that was to destroy the place that kept her prisoner.

One Piece has very consistent and solid themes about how institutions, when granted power by the threat of violence, subjugates and restricts the freedom of the citizens it was meant to aid. We see that with the World Government, and places like Impel Down. On a smaller level, Oda shows us this threat through people like Arlong. They become like institutions and every action they take becomes one of restriction. Very rightfully, Oda shows that incarceration is one of the most dehumanising and soul shattering things that can be done to someone. The very place of Incarceration holds a power over the incarcerated. I'm sure if distilled enough, those statements can be ground up into something pithy enough to be an overarching theme, but I'm trying to make a point here so let's stick with my unwieldy lingo. Besides we all know if One Piece had a theme, it would be that Afro Power trumps all. I mean look at Brook, my guy survived dying. Also, Gaimon and Yasuie both had afros... We'll put a pin in this. But this is important. Back to the main point. Objects and places serve as anchors, the equivalent of handcuffs on a prisoner. That's why Luffy does this.

And this.

And this.

And this.

We see in Nami's reaction how much this all means to her. Her overwhelmed look as Luffy frees her from the weight and hold Arlong Park had on her.

These are the actions of a fundamentally kind person. One who believes that everyone deserves to be free. One who has the empathy to realize that it's a hard choice to pursue. And one who will unselfishly do his best to make it so that those that do choose to ask for help, get it. One who seeks to understand the pain of other's and how best to help them. The reason we see him choose to help people is because they've chosen to ask for help first.

Luffy understands that everyone deserves the dignity of freedom. Or more accurately, everyone deserves to be at a place where they can choose their future. It's why he doesn't begrudge Dragon or anyone for what they choose. Luffy also waits for people to ask for help because what good would freedom be if you weren't free to make the choice to pursue it. A forced decision isn't freedom to him. That's how deep his empathy runs. And that's how all encompassing his definition of freedom is. And it's the combination of this deep well of empathy and dream of freedom that drives and defines Luffy. My boy's wicked smaht(emotionally).

That's the face of someone who cares about others. The words of someone who cares about other. Unselfishly.

That was just one instance out of many where Luffy followed this pattern. Oda is amazing at cyclical storytelling, so much so that in the twenty year plus lifespan of One Piece I believe he has created his own tropes. And that cyclical storytelling is such a powerful engine of thematic storytelling, in so many different ways, that it's hard to get into here. But the general gist is that he repeats ideas that are important. Let's take a look at this pattern of deep empathy with another Best Girl, Robin.

We see here that Luffy comes to an understanding of what needs to happen first. It plays out in a different order but the beats are the same. And they all show his empathy.

He destroys her shackles first. He lets her know that as long as she's with them, she'll never have to fear the World Government.

And here's the most concrete example of his empathy. He needs to hear the words from her lips. He needs her to make the choice. And he gets her to the point where she's free to make that choice. The control the years of abuse and loneliness have on her is so intense that she doesn't even think she's allowed to wish for this, much less say it.

(I've stopped to cry multiple times while making this. Oda has a straight line to my tear ducts. Thank Nika I'm not talking about Fisher Tiger as well) At the end of it all, one must choose to live before being free. Up until this point. Up until learning the massive weight that Robin carries, Luffy was chasing after a friend. After learning of her struggles, he realizes that he needs to help her. And he got her to the point where she could ask for help.

I hope that, through actual textual evidence, I've demonstrated what I think Luffy's core characteristic, his empathy, and core motivation, his dream of freedom, are. Now we get into some of the more speculative points that build off of this foundation. We'll start with my take on Luffy's past and then explain what all of this showed me about Shanks.

This is going to be pretty quick. First of all, the following paragraph contain some SPOILERS up to CHAPTER 1080. Oda has time and time again made it a point to highlight a plot point of characters having to forcefully work in solitude, isolated from friends. Hell, he even made an entire arc about it that resulted in our hero only escaping because of his friends. And bringing up that cyclical storytelling, we've seen arcs and moments repeat. But here's two things we haven't seen yet. An Impel Down like arc and a giant flashback like the ASL flashback. And with Garp being where he is in the story, just like how Ace's death motivated Luffy's first big flashback, if something happens to Garp, we could get a flashback into Luffy's past as we still need to learn of his true dream. And based on that second picture in this post, of Luffy saying lonliness hurts more than physical pain, and Luffy's aversion to lonliness as well as his high tolerance to pain, it makes me believe that his early childhood was truly tragic, something where he was imprisoned alone and forced to work on things for his captors. Also the way he gets rid of obligations people think they have makes me feel like whatever thing he may have been forced to do, he might've felt an obligation to carry it out. If that does turn out to be the case, it would just go to show how well Luffy is characterized.

Next, talking about Shanks, I feel like Shanks has been such an enigma to me. Both in his actions and his buddy buddy relationship with the Gorosei. It wasn't until thinking about his most recent actions in the context of Luffy's desire of freedom, and how Luffy likes to get people to a place of equality where they're free to make their own choices, that it clicked for me. Shanks is in a way a reflection of Luffy. Or more likely he taught Luffy the concept of the freedom to choose and the equality in reaching that choice. Because Shanks is about equality. Maybe in the way that his desire is freedom for all but I'm not sure about that yet. More than anything, Shanks wants things to be fair. Equal. Actual Justice in a world of twisted renditions. He's a reflection of the Admirals as much as he is a reflection of Luffy.

Look at his actions. He wants Luffy to give him the hat back when they're equals. He didn't do a thing to the mountain bandits until they chose violence, letting him play in that realm as equals. Arriving at Marineford and stopping Kaido, it was all about equalizing the playing field. Stopping the navy from poaching the warriors of Wano while the recuperated, also about fairness and equality. And with the most recent example of Kid, he wanted to make sure Kid had recuperated and only attacked when he knew Kid was attacking. I can't tell yet if it comes from kindness. But what I do know is that Shanks is a reflection of Luffy meant to better highlight our boy's sense of empathy and Justice. I feel like Shanks represents what Rayliegh talked about in Sabaody, about how after seeing the One Piece they came to a certain conclusion. One that must have been based on fairness and equality. But I think the One Piece needs Luffy and his empathetic and kind viewpoint to come to a different conclusion, the right one.

If somehow, somebody's read through this whole thing and made it all the way down to the bottom, thanks for reading! And I always love talking about about the stuff I discuss here, especially One Piece so feel free to comment, ask or DM about things.

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

There are two dorks within me:

(I am neither well rested nor sober, forgive this being messy af)

Dorkus Primus sees Gotham War's plotline as being critically about the fact that there are more lines to cross than just killing and that if you (as Batman has in many many renditions of him) treat killing as the ONLY line you will not cross (also like a lot of Cops and Coppaganda does) then you ain't a hero! You will treat criminals in monstrous ways if you are willing to do anything except kill!!

Hurting Jason was very clearly meant to be one of those lines! Feeling like Batman is the villain in this one is the point!!

And like the Zur thing seems to be about grappling with how Batman is fundamentally not an answer to the challenges that the criminals themselves are facing because 'fuck em up and let the hospital and justice systems sort em out' does not do anything to help the criminals!!!! The Distilled Essence of Batman's reaction to seeing a dead criminal was to go hurt other criminals just as our own criminal "justice" system has no answer other than to hurt other criminals or victim blame the dead criminals.

Bruce, the side of human compassion, was willing to consider Selina's plan after seeing results because no matter how realistic or unrealistic Catwoman's scheme might be in logistical terms, if you accept the comic's premise that it was working, then it is factually more compassionate! People who commit crimes deserve compassion! Even if, or especially if, they continue to need to operate outside the law in order to survive! Batman and Bruce being separated out is key.

It also makes a TON of sense to have Jason in the center because he has many times been used as the Bad Apple Cop who kills criminals and thus legitimizes Batman's justice as being repairative even though... it... it does not... uh... seem to have actually been repairative in any comic I've read. And yet! Due to Jason's history he has a rich potential to be someone who is far far more sympathetic to his fellow criminals. Arguably has been in several versions of him.

Sidenote: I would LOVE to see him take up 'controlling crime' in the direction of doing shit like making sure all dealers gave free clean needles to their customers or shit like that, not that I have any hope of that ever happening

Thus Dorkus Primus thinks that it is 10000000% utterly critical that no vigilante or villain kills anyone and that no one else dies for the rest of the story to keep it being about the other lines one should not cross and how criminals are entitled to way more human rights than just their lives!!!

Dorkus Secundus says that it would be off the chain sick-nasty (positive) if Bruce killed Jason again and the fact that he died at the end of Under the Red Hood (technically unconfirmed but like wow is the evidence real stronk) was finally addressed when Jason is inevitably resurrected and actually breaks down and/or slips up and admits that this was his FOURTH stint walking in the resurrection direction. Also any version of him getting declared Officially Immortal in the Jack Harkness way would be reaaaaally dope!

...Shit actually the Superboy Prime method of resurrection has a LOT in common with the Bad Wolf method... sleepy thoughts for a decidedly different day!

[youredoingg8sweetie]

Pre-Jily concept

I have a lot of thoughts about That Day at The Lake™ and how Lily/The Mauraders recover. I also think a lot about the fact that Peter was as ingrained in the group and that he was GOOD before being corrupted by fear and zealots - which is what makes the betrayal so heart-wrenching. Sirius x Lily is my BroTP but I wanted to consider a moment of connection between Peter and Lily that may have that might lead to a deeper friendship and trust. This is what got spat out of my brain.

I haven't written since high school and I overuse commas, sue me.

----

She was hiding. She knew she shouldn’t be out on the grounds. The sun was already beginning to set but Lily rationalized that all of the things to happen today–the potential of losing house points for being out past curfew is hardly her main concern. 

When she stormed away from the lake this afternoon, she didn’t have a plan, she just couldn’t keep standing there with everyone looking at her. Lily had stalked away so quickly after yelling at James–so hot-headed–that her original path back to the castle had been a blur with her body on autopilot. When she was taking the stairs to the tower leading to the common room she intercepted Mary and Marlene. They weren’t even there, maybe they didn’t know? Her question was quickly answered by the way they were looking at her. Like she was a wounded, broken thing.

“Lily!” Mary started, “Remus is looking for you, he told us every–”

Lily had turned without a word racing down the stairs. Ignoring the call of her friends after her. She crossed the entire castle to stop by the kitchens, knowing that dinner in the great hall was out of the question today. Too many peering eyes, too many silent ‘I told you so’s.’ 

She considered taking solace in the potions classroom. No. Too close to the Slytherin common room, and the first place Sev would look for her, if he had any intention of doing so. She had wandered outside, past the whomping willow, and reached the greenhouses as her stomach started to grumble. Lily unbuttoned her cloak, laying it on the ground as a cover for her makeshift picnic for one. 

As she started in on the bread and fruit she had nicked from the kitchens Lily couldn’t stop her mind from racing. She was sitting still, but the day continued to spin around her. Lily’s anger was quick and strong, but short lived. It and the adrenaline had mostly relinquished in her long search for a place to hide. She was left with the buzzing need of trying to cope with the madness of the afternoon. 

Severus. Her first real friend, once her best friend in this world, had publicly denounced her by reducing her to the blood he had always preached didn’t really matter. Tears welled in her eyes. She may never know when that changed; when her blood mattered more than their friendship… as distilled as it was now. After today, she could never fool herself that their friendship could survive. 

She had tried all year to bargain with herself, convinced that they could maintain their friendship as they grew older despite his new friends, despite her growing power as a witch, despite the growing tension between their houses and the world outside of Hogwarts. Lily blinked away the tears threatening to fall. Hurt and rage and stubbornness rising. Severus Snape had made his decision, loudly and publicly, and she could not pretend the boy who once made her flowers would stand by her when push came to shove, when it counted.  

And James. Prideful and arrogant and cruel, picking a fight with him in the first place. Cocking it up further by asking her out as a way to embarrass Snape. To embarrass her too, really. And her pride couldn’t have that, so she yelled at him and she turned down his flagrant proposal with all the hurt she couldn’t swallow. She wanted James to hurt. Wanted him to cut him down at the knees for teasing her for a laugh.

She thought they were finally starting to get along too. Like maybe they could be friends afterall. Like maybe the way he sometimes looked at her wasn’t just a joke to make Black laugh. She was such an idiot for believing them both. Her breath caught in her throat - Lily couldn’t decipher if it was the beginning of a sob or a sardonic laugh. As she reached for the water she had stowed away in her bag, the happenings of the afternoon continued to play in her head as the sun started to hide behind the trees of the forbidden forest.

Go out with me. Giant squid. Mudblood.

Go out with me. Giant squid. Mudblood.

Go out with me. Giant squid. Mudblood.

Go out with me. Giant squid. Mud–

“Lily!” Lily jerked at the voice who pulled her out of the trance. 

“Peter?” she looked at the young man who was peering around the corner of the greenhouse, his face flushed in what looked like relief that he had indeed found her. “What are you doing here?” Her voice was sharp, still poised to slice despite her exhaustion. Of the people she may have expected to come looking after her, she wouldn’t have put Peter Pettigrew at the top of the list.

His body tensed, halting his approach to her and standing what he must have ascertained was a safe distance away, “I–” his hands tightened around the small bag he was carrying, “I wanted to make sure you were okay. And to bring you this.” He stuck his arm straight to her holding the brown paper bag out for Lily to grab. “I thought you might need it.”

She didn’t answer him, eyeing him curiously in the silence that followed. Lily dropped her gaze to the package and stood up from where she had been sitting against the greenhouse to meet him. Taking the bag and peering inside she found a large corked bottle. She pulled the cork out and brought the bottle to her nose, her brain instantly recognizing the sweet scent of butterbeer. Lily’s brow twisted as she replaced the cork on top of the bottle. How had he managed to get this? They hadn’t had a day in Hogsmead day in over a month, anything purchased would have gone sour by now. When she looked back at Peter, a small smirk was threatening to show on his face. 

“Ask me no questions and I will tell you no lies.” 

Gaining no reaction from Lily, Peter’s face grew solemn again, looking down he spoke again, “I am sorry about what happened at the lake.” 

Lily stayed silent, her gaze not quite meeting his eyes as she considered punishing him too. But her rage had simmered into sadness and frankly she could use a drink. Peter was being kind, in his own way. 

“Do you have anything stronger?”

Pete’s eyes snapped to hers in surprise, “What?” Confusion knitting his brows. 

“Wherever you procured this,” she looked back down at the bottle, removing it  from the bag and now holding it loosely in her hand, “can you bring me anything stronger?” When he didn’t say anything she continued, “You’re right. Today has been shit.” A rueful too-tight smile pulled at her lips, “but if we are going to begin toasting to new beginnings, then I am going to need something stronger than this to believe them.” 

Peter looked unsure if he should laugh or run, “I-Uh,” he scratched his head, “Yes. I could.. But–” he stepped closer, moving to join her rather than make his way back to where he came, “but I wouldn’t get away with it. James won’t notice for days that I nicked this from him. Sirius, however? Keeps a much closer eye on his... procurements.” 

Lily rolled her eyes, of course Sirius had hard liquor at his disposal. Lily will need to tease Remus about that next time they meet in the library or on rounds. They were prefects after all. 

“Fair enough,” Lily said to Peter as she sat back down. “Did you bring cups? Or are we pulling straight from the bottle?” Lily eyed Peter. From the way he shifted under his gaze Lily could tell he was nervous, despite seeking her out. 

“Didn’t get that far,” he confessed. “I wasn’t sure you would talk to me let alone believe you would accept it” his eyes darted between her and the bottle as he sat down beside her. “I–Uh, I could transfigure a few goblets if you would like?” He fumbled to pull his wand from his robes but Lily stopped him with her hand. 

“Don’t bother. We can share.” She pulled the stopper from the bottle and took a long swig. Not stopping to think why she had decided to accept the bottle or his company instead of sending him away. Savoring the warmth of the drink as she swallowed, her hand extended away from her inviting Peter to take the bottle. He didn’t move to accept it. 

“Lily,” Peter looked down again, his voice somehow softer than before, “I feel responsible for what happened today. And–” 

Lily bristled. Accepting his company was one thing. His pity, another. 

“Not your fault” she dismissed, hoping he would just take the damn bottle from her. He eyed her, unconvinced. “You aren’t innocent,” she conceded. “Certainly you played your part in encouraging them. I am sure you laughed, as you always do when they decide to make a mockery of someone in the name of their own entertainment, spurred from nothing but their boredom and a need to feed their unending egos–” she huffed, “but you’re not the one who took it too far, Peter. You’re not the reason I’m out here.”

Peter finally reached for the bottle. “Why are you out here? I mean,” he took a quick, small swig from the bottle, biding time before asking “why are you out here alone?”

“I am not alone.” Lily answered too quickly. Her words sounded hollow, even to her own ears, unsuccessful in her sad attempt of cheek. 

“But you tried to be.” He countered, his tone remaining serious. 

She can’t think of the last time she and Peter had spoken to each other with no one else around. Can’t remember the last time he asked her anything so directly that wasn’t related to coursework. She reached out and he handed her the butterbeer. Her eyes shifted to the castle grounds again. The sun is completely hidden by the trees. It’s definitely past curfew now. 

“Are you close with your family, Peter?”

“My family?” he questioned, surprised by the quick change in subject.  “I love my parents, sure, but prefer to be at school if that’s what you mean. My fri–my brothers, are here. Why do you ask?” His eyes widened in panic, “are you going to ask to go back to Cokeworth? Oh Lily please don’t leave Hogwarts” Peters words were quick and pleading. 

“No” She interrupted him. He let out a deep sigh and waited for her to elaborate. Lily took another swig of the bottle. “Sev–Snape. Snape was like a brother to me once. Estranged as we may have been this year, I couldn’t not step in today when Potter chose to torment him."

“Believe it or not, the worst part isn’t even that he called me a mudblood.” Peter flinched at her casual use of the slur, “I am angry, sure. That they got to him. That I could see that he believed it when he said it. But I am more upset that he said he didn’t want my help, that he didn’t want… me, anymore.” The silence of the truth hung between them. “The fact that he called me a mudblood just confirms that we will be fighting on opposite sides of the war when we get out of here.” She outstretched her arm, holding the bottle out for him to take, “I am out here alone because I needed a chance to come to terms with that.”

Lily nearly asked if there was veritaserum in the Butterbeer. The truth spilled out of her with more clarity than she possessed. She was in a tizzy when she had parked herself on the side of the greenhouse, figuring she would cry or scream to fight against the storm of feelings and memories in her head. And yet, in the moments after her confession her mind is silent with calm. 

Peter moved the bottle to his lips. After the pull, he wiped a drop of liquid off his chin with his sleeve. 

“Snape’s an idiot.”

Lily nearly laughed at that, his words pulling her out of her thoughts. “He’s not the only one.” Peter glanced at her, catching her eye for the first time in minutes. 

“Do you mean James?” 

“After the shit he pulled today? Of course I mean Potter.” Lily grabbed the bread from her bag, shaking her head as she pulled off a piece and ate it.

“He was really worried about you when you didn’t show up for dinner.” Peter defended, “We all were. Especially once we realized that no one knew where you were. I know he wants to apologize to you, too.” 

“Potter is only sorry he got told off.” Lily replied, not trying to hide her frustration. She decided not to comment on the worries of her classmates, her friends. Choosing instead to reach for the butterbeer bottle and take a drink. They were approaching the end of the butterbeer now by the weight of it. The sun had completely set, and the dim greenhouse lights were the only thing keeping Peter in view. Lily peered inside the bottle and handed what was left of it back to Peter. 

“You can finish it. Thank you for sharing it with me.” After he took it from her grasp, she stood up and grabbed her cloak from the ground, shaking it to remove the dirt and earth that clung to it. “It’s getting dark. You should get inside.”

“What about you?” He vanished the now empty bottle and tilted his towards the castle. “Aren’t you coming?”

“In a bit. I am going to collect a few Lacewings Flies.” She lied. 

Lily tried to conjure a small smile, encouraging him to take the bait that she was alright. Or at least alright enough. Peter didn’t head towards the castle. 

“Truly, just a few minutes.” Lily tried again, “I’m practically right behind you. You can tell anyone that’s looking after me that I am okay. It would actually be a massive favor!” Peter considered her.

“I’m sort of terrified of Marlene.” Peter confessed. “If she knows I left you out here alone, I know she’ll curse me. If Remus doesn’t manage it first.”

“I was alone when you found me,” Lily countered. The guilt of running away from her friends earlier hitting her in the chest. 

“Sure, but that was your choice. If I turn my back on you, that’s my choice.” 

Lily wanted to curse Godric Gryfindor himself - for brandishing nobility as a house trait. Wishing for a moment a logical Ravenclaw might have discovered her hiding place instead. 

“I could dock you points for being out after curfew,” she threatened. She was reaching now and they both knew it. 

“I would deserve it,” he admitted. “I really am sorry, Lily. About everything. But you have to come inside eventually. Please come with me.”

So she did. 

– – –

[heysawbones]

hmm, what's your take on the ethics of military service in a country where the military is known for invasions? that one gets pretty heated on these here tumblrs

That’s a pretty complicated one, isn’t it? Are invasions inherently unethical? As I suspect you’re referencing a real-life scenario here - one much like USian military recruits face - I’ll say this. It’s broadly unethical. As in, “if you distill away the ups and downs of reality, it is not morally preferable”. A question I often ask myself is, who can afford ethics, and in what situation? When is it fair to expect broad ethical behavior, versus behavior which might be broadly unethical, but narrowly moral?

When I enlisted, I was working two minimum wage jobs and living out of an art school dorm. I was not a student - I was either mistaken for one, or none of the students cared that I lived there illegally. My goal had been to apply for grants and scholarships. As a high school dropout, few of those were available to me - and given my family situation, I didn’t have access to the basic information needed to apply for many of these resources, in the first place. I tried moving into a legitimate place of residence and could barely afford it. It became obvious that I could not work two jobs and either afford, or have time, to go to college. It wasn’t possible. Was it ethical for me to enlist, despite a known history of the U.S. military invading other countries, for reasons that I either disagreed with, or couldn’t possibly begin to care about? If I ignore the fact that I exist, and arguably matter, no. It is definitely unethical. If I am more realistic and consider that society basically left me in the ditch, it is narrowly quite ethical to try not to be left in the ditch for the sake of avoiding the breach of theoreticals which may or may not come to pass under one’s watch.

Consider an even more common scenario: a person who is like me, but has children or other dependents who cannot work, or work but do not have access to adequate housing or health care. I would argue that if enlistment is available, other options are not, and you are not literally living in 3rd Reich Germany, it is more moral *to* enlist to care for your dependents. It is broadly unethical, but narrowly moral: as in, I would argue this is an individual in a situation where they cannot “afford ethics”. It is unfair to hold people to standards that the part of society that determines ethics either A:

-would not hold themselves to, if in the same situation

or B:

-have so little experience with that they cannot even begin to understand that they would not hold themselves to said ethical standard, if in the same situation.

In short, if polite society isn’t going to come save people from feeling obliged to enlist, they can shut the fuck up and go make podcasts or whatever.

Notably, none of these things actually make the choice “good”. It is not “good”, but it is the product of a broader societal wrong. It is the realistic choice that remains, for many. If one would not honestly expect themselves or others they care about to just up and rot away in society’s ditch in this situation, it is unfair to cast aspersions.

Does this apply to people who had no need to join the US military? People who had other feasible options with reasonable and sustainable outcomes? I don’t think it does, but this isn’t a hard binary. I think the ethics of enlistment or military commission are a gradient, and vary widely.

[darlingaffogato]

a thought re: cooking i just had while looking through bread recipes -> i think for people who are USED to cooking, it can be easy for us to lose sight of the (deep airquotes) "basic" bits of the cooking process.

like, for all of the bread recipes i've hoarded, i think i've only seen maybe 2 that mention the water that you should be adding to your yeast is distilled water, bc a lot of tap water has additives in it meant to inhibit the growth of things like yeast. and, yes, sure, once you say that out loud, it makes a lot of sense that you wouldn't want to use tap water in your bread recipes.

BUT if it makes so much sense, WHY do so few recipes mention that? most people, just starting out, will use what they have access to, which is often tap water. and after two, three, four, failed attempts at making bread bc their yeast just won't rise, they're probably likely to say, "fuck it, guess i wasn't meant to bake!" i'm a fairly good cook, and i went through this, only figuring out what i was doing wrong after going down a rabbit hole.

i was joking about another, unrelated cooking mishap to my bff, and i jokingly said, "no, i really need cookbook authors to start writing 'basic dumb bitch beginner' versions of their recipes!" bc tiny little "basic" things that they leave out (in THAT case, that you need to squeeze the water out of a block of tofu before you cook it, even after you drain the package) without even thinking about it may leave some people thinking "oh, well, guess i'm just a terrible cook!! 🙃"

i'm not sure what i'm trying to say here, but i think that as much fun as it might be making fun of ppl who don't know how to do ~basic~ tasks, it might in fact be better to make sure that "basic knowledge" is actually basic and common!

[literalgrill]

I wanted to write about the best anime from 2023 so I did just that! You can support independent blogging by checking it out on my blog, or just click keep reading below and check out my thoughts here. Idk, I'm not your mom, do what you want! But hey, maybe share some cool shows I might have missed too? I love watching good stuff!

Over 300 anime shows and films were released in 2023, no seriously, I went and counted by hand and a bit after 300 is where I gave up! The amount of shows we get each season, let alone in an entire year, has been massively increasing as of late. While I obviously couldn't watch literally everything, it still made it incredibly difficult to narrow things down to a top 10. But you didn't come here to read an intro, let's get into the meat of things! I'll be covering everything from the Winter 2023 season through Fall 2023. Reader beware, minor spoilers ahead! Let's get to it ✦

Honorable Mentions:

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2

It felt weird to include just the second part of the show when you need the first season to get the most out of it. While the first also technically ended in 2023 and I could joke about being the best kind of correct, I left this one off the list so other incredible choices could be included. But seriously, go watch one of the best Gundam series of all time!

Kaguya-sama: Love is War: -The First Kiss That Never Ends-

This one also technically could have made it as the episodic version was released during the Spring 2023 season. However, I was fortunate enough to watch it with my partner in a theater, so my experience with it was slightly different. And that movie officially came out in 2022. I would have included this one because of how my partner openly bawled right alongside me as we watched it despite having essentially no previous knowledge of the series. The movie dives deep into traumas surrounding loving oneself and the fears of opening up in intimate relationships in a way that is so powerful and relatable that I had to at least mention it here.

10. I'm in Love with the Villainess

It's easy to pack lists like this with nothing but "high art." It takes more guts to just openly say this slapstick lesbian romance is one of the best shows I saw this year! The show is all about Rae's adventures in her favorite otome game where she wants nothing to do with the princes and everything to do with Claire François. I'm not usually huge on isekai shows these days but common tropes of the genre aren't as in your face here. While her knowledge of the game comes in handy, it is rarely used as a deus ex machina to escape every difficult situation. This series produced so many reaction image worthy stills while still managing to pull quite hard on the heartstrings, especially at the end. I can only hope its second season is announced soon.

9. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts

These days, shojo series are sadly adapted far less often than their shonen counterparts and are rarely even given full adaptations of their material at all. Hearing Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts would not only be fully adapted but also have its entire story aired without a break between cours made it instantly stand out as something to keep an eye on. Add hunky and cute furries to the mix and how could I say no?

All kidding aside, the show has over-the-top cheesy romance moments distilled down to such a science that they seriously brought me to tears. It's unfair that shojo anime are stereotyped as being only about romances but it's hard to deny that no stories do romance quite like shojo stories. The machinations of the nobility add political intrigue that kept me hooked throughout as well. Hell, there were even some pretty good fight scenes!

I can't deny the iffy age issues between Sariphi and King Leonhart are a bit ehhhhh and why it's a bit lower on my list, even if these elements are not even remotely focused on in the series at all unlike some more problematic releases in 2023 (I'm looking at you A Girl & Her Guard Dog). But if that's not a dealbreaker for you, I'd recommend giving this underseen gem of 2023 a shot.

8. Ōoku: The Inner Chambers

I admit, I almost missed this one purely by being busy. Its first episode being over an hour long alone was a lot to plan around, so I didn't catch it when it came out in spring. However, Colleen's Manga Recs made an entire video about why people should watch it, so I kept it in the back of my mind until I was free to check it out recently.

I'm so glad that I did! There are far too many half-baked stories released as of late exploring how society might change if a majority or all of the male population were to suddenly die from disease. This one is all the way baked and paints the picture of a fascinating world where gender roles are turned upside down and royalty struggles to maintain succession in a world where men have been traditionally expected to rule. I don't want to spoil much here, it's worth seeing the story yourself. If the first episode gets a tight grip on your mind, you'll enjoy the rest of the series for sure.

Just be warned: The series does discuss and depict sexual assault. Be sure if you're going to check this one out that you're prepared for this and a lot of other heavy subject matter.

7. Yuri Is My Job

Especially for those who have avidly enjoyed lesbian romance stories from Japan, Yuri Is My Job is among the best yuri anime released in years. This is because it not only features a yuri romance, but breaks down historic tropes of the genre itself from the days of early Class S literature. This meta commentary alongside sweet complex romantic relationships came together to become more than just a show where a girl is wrangled into working for an oddly themed private school cafe!

If you're interested in these deeper parts of the show, Anime Feminist released a fantastic retrospective on the anime you'll want to check out. If you haven't seen this one yet and love everything yuri, do yourself a favor and get this on your screen already!

6. Buddy Daddies

It feels like the release of SPY x FAMILY kinda drowned this show out as too many people tried to say it was just a copy trying to ride off the coattails of a major success. This couldn't be less of a case! Just because people in high risk jobs suddenly adopt a daughter doesn't mean their stories will be the same.

Buddy Daddies has some comedic hijinks but is far more focused on what is essentially a queer relationship between two men as they become the best people they can be while taking care of a girl suddenly thrust into their care. How do you get a kid signed up for school, get all her supplies, and help her with the issues a young girl faces all while being top tier assassins? Oh, and did I mention that it's an original anime and not an adaptation to boot? Come for the badass action scenes and stay for the deep emotional core of the show.

5. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

It should be obvious I deeply enjoyed Zom 100, hell I made an entire video essay about it! I have few other praises to speak about the show that weren't included there already. I'll just say that the last three episodes of the show absolutely delivered a compelling finale. Check this out for something outside the tropey zombie norm!

4. Overtake!

MF Ghost seemed like it had all the power of Initial D behind it as proof it would be the racing anime of the year, let alone Fall 2023. Overtake! simply made that impossible. It may not be as flashy, but the extremly grounded story of a son trying to follow in the footsteps of his F4 racing father and a man trying to recover from his trauma surrounding taking photographs of people is just so raw and real. The show is character driven to perfection and it's impossible to not care about the hopes and dreams feveryone involved by the time it concludes. The racing is also way more focused in reality than most other shows, which may be a turn off for those who want off-the-walls action, but is a marvel for those who intimately know the actual sport. Another anime original that absolutely swept me off my feet.

3. Helck

If Helck doesn't get a second season I swear I'll start a riot. The show starts off so goofy with this overpowered RPG world hero absolutely demolishing the competition to become the new demon king and quickly becomes a series about maintaining hope and fighting for freedom while within extreme emotional turmoil. There are so many themes in this show that are relevant in current times, especially the bit where the human government paints an entire race of people as being evil despite that not being the case... Hint hint...

I looked more forward to seeing this show than anything else in each week in the Summer 2023 season and can't recommend it more!

2. The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

This show possibly made me cry harder than anything else released in 2023 which is a driving force behind why it's so high up on my list. It is by far the best isekai of 2023 as well, especially because of how subtly the main character Anisphia Wynn Palettia being reincarnated affects the plot to begin with. There are so many ways this show pulls at the heartstrings from Euphyllia trying to figure out what she wants in her life after knowing little but being raised to marry a prince to the complex darkness held in the heart of Anisphia's brother, there's just so much to dig into here.

It's not too often we get to see a full blown lesbian wedding at the end of a series either. There's no plausible deniability here, no leaving things up to interpretation, this show has lesbians in love! Period! I want to make sure all the emotional beats have their chance to hit so I won't risk spoiling anything more. Just please, pretty please, watch The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady.

1. Pluto

If I could only get people to watch one anime series this year, it would have to be Pluto. The questions it raises on AI and humanity couldn't have come at a better time, and it challenges the viewer to decide what they think instead of simply giving an answer they want you to believe. It directly calls out the kind of garbage America pulled during its "War on Terror" in a time when the country is currently destabilizing the middle east once again. As America actively and publicly funds a genocide despite the wishes of the majority of its citizens. It shows what happens when hate is a driving force behind decisions and how that can and will come back to haunt us all.

All of this is wrapped up in an incredible murder mystery that could have been enough to carry the show all by itself! This brainchild of Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka himself should be watched by anyone who considers themselves a fan of anime. Hell, show this one to any fan of sci-fi that is prepared for a psychological drama that will knock their socks off.

[creative-anchorage]

I have been trying to distill down what it feels like to share a wavelength with someone. That feeling when you meet someone and think: you are my people. When the texture of your energy is similar. You care about similar things. You vibe in a similar way. You connect naturally, instantly. Perhaps through a deep conversation, at a concert, shopping, reading, writing. Somewhere where you feel like you can be completely yourself. You connect over something so fundamental to both of you that you think: wow, this person really gets me. To be on the same wavelength as someone is to feel seen for who you truly are and to see them for who they truly are. ... Clicking with someone means you don’t need to start from scratch—you feel familiar to each other instantly. Context you would typically need to explain to a new person is collapsed. The connection is fresh but deep: you both just make sense to each other.

Whenever I’m meeting a lot of people in a short period of time, I always notice the stark contrast between people that I share common interests, values, principles, and context with, vs. those who I don’t. And when I say “context”, I don’t mean upbringing and background, but the context of what is going on in your mind—the contents of your inner world.

I’ve come to understand that being on the same wavelength as someone is some combination of (1) admiring them, (2) sharing deep elements of yourselves (values, interests, principles, current inner context), and (3) being socially compatible (having similar ways that you like hanging out with one another). If you align on any of these, you’re going to connect. If you align on all three, you’re going to click.

When you find these people, it’s easy to think that many more of them will come around—that it’s quite common to find someone on your wavelength. But my observation is that you will find a lot of people you connect with on some level (same background, same interests, same values). But to find people you connect with on all three in a way that makes you feel instantly understood—that transcendent feeling of: I just met someone that gets me without even trying—now, that doesn’t come around very often. [...]

when you don’t “click”

To be on the “same wavelength” is to feel in synchronicity: like you operate in the same way, like you can skip some conversation you would have with someone who isn’t on your wavelength. Those people you end up over-explaining yourself to in an effort to feel seen—only to eventually feel like they simply don’t “get it.” We underestimate how much feeling seen has to do with the other person understanding how and why you make the choices that you do. If there is too large a gap between how you both approach life, it can be nearly impossible to feel fully understood by them, and conversely: for you to understand them. You’re just different. And that’s okay! We’re not meant to make sense to everyone: we are not all on the same wavelength (the world would be pretty boring if we were). Our job is to vibrate loudly on the wavelength that we are on by being open, expressive, alive, and authentic to who we really are. When we do, the people that vibrate like us can find us. ... Your wavelength is a sacred place—when you find others bopping along it with you, sync up with them. We connect best with people when we aren’t trying to force anything, when we are not trying to be something that we are not. We click with people when we are simply being ourselves, vibrating at our natural frequency: trusting that being ourselves will invite in others that can meet us where we are truly at. And those moments where you click with someone are precious. It’s like finding new family. You both “get it” without having to try. You share an invisible language. You don’t need to translate yourselves to each other. It’s easy. Effortless. That’s what it feels like to be travelling along the same wavelength. The connection between you just glides.

[ddddaikon]

Thinking about media criticism and how a lot of modern "feminist" media fails so hard because it has nothing to do with self-actualization of its characters and everything to do with a specific set of actions and character tropes. Why does this female character engage in competition with male characters in the story? The broadest answer is (usually) always "to sell something," but then the other common answer is the idea of girl power. And girl power and girl bossery is still like, it only exists to sell the idea that women are just as worthy as consumers or as workers generating profits. And like when we try to pretend that it doesnt all boil down to capitalism its about keeping genders strictly defined and proving that women are as capable as men based on antiquated ideas that men as biologically and fundamentally different than women. And yeah a lot of that bias still exists everywhere, but in the real world when gender bias presents itself its not as obvious as it is in media. Theres a difference between a female character like, winning a basketball game against a male character who brags about how girls are no good at sports and the persistent and pervasive idea that when it comes to raising children, boys are easier than girls. The other point, about keeping gender defined, is that its almost always about assigning roles and talents based on gender and claiming that women are also good at boy things! Theres also the fact that these instances usually have to have the characters obnoxiously declare that women are also good at boy things.

Back to the original question is why does the female character need to prove this? But instead within a cultural or a story context. In a cultural context its like, very recently in the internet age its about ideas of morality defined by active negation of tropes that can be considered harmful. We want the audience to think that the female character is feminist because feminism is moral. Even if we have an antagonist, we still dont want to use harmful tropes, so we still have the character do something to specifically address those tropes. Rather than not incorporate those tropes at all, we actively call them out in the most obtuse way possible.

As for story context, often in the case of very large media companies that spend millions of dollars to make every show and movie they release have the same benign, easily digestible flavor, there is no story context. If there is, its weak at best, and really only to fill the previous check marks. For anything else, the story context is also usually negligible, or hamfisted to be able to fit within the narrowly defined confines of how we lamely qualify feminist storytelling.

And i mean like, trying to define a piece of media as feminist is kind of useless anyways. Its a way we try to distill broader issues with media that enforces gender divided culture. Like its not something that can be meaningfully discussed or addressed by asking "is this movie feminist?". Its the same with how we can't just ask "is this thing good or bad" in literally any other context.

And i dont have a much of a conclusion otherwise its just this is what annoys the shit out of me when it comes to the quality of modern books. Also: this is what annoys the shit out of me when it comes to critique of modern books too.

[innovations-to-distillery]

Distilleries powered by what?

Now everyone knows global warming is becoming a greater concern each year and more action needs to be taken to start slowing it down. This is why the Scottish Whisky Association have taken it upon themselves to set a goal for all distilleries to be carbon neutral by 2040. This is important because distilleries use a lot of electricity, some may even argue that they aren’t necessary! If you said that to a Whisky drinker I’m sure they would have something to say about it though.

This goal of distilleries being carbon neutral by 2040 seems fairly reasonably especially when you could just plant a lot of trees until that evens the scales. Hopefully distilleries are seen to go for something else as this option is quite expensive and not really the idea of the goal. Ideally renewable energy is the best for the environment but it’s good to explore other options.

One of the biggest by-products of Brewing and Distilling is spent grain, once sugar has been extracted from the grain it is no longer needed. There are various ways to dispose of this but ideally it can be recycled. The most common way of doing this is farmers using the spent grain to feed their livestock. Another more recent innovation is to use the spent grain to create power for the brewery/distillery.

For example, Bunnahabhain a distillery on Isla have built a Biomass energy centre that will power the distillery and more. The spent grain is usually not enough to power the whole distillery so they have arranged to receive wood chips from a nearby forestry commission. The good thing about the wood chips is that the trees in these forests is that they are already being chopped down regardless to add more variety rather than a purely carnivorous forest. The biomass energy centre works by combusting the spent grain and the wood chips together, the ash is then used as fertilizer for the new trees.

Similar to Biomass energy, due to the water content in spent grain, creating biogas may be more favourable. Biogas is created from a reaction called anaerobic digestion, this involves the spent grain being placed in a sealed container and the bacteria converts the spent grain into gasses - mostly methane. Zorg, a company that has been designing and building biogas plants since 2006 have made a number of biogas plants in distilleries.

The most common way of powering your distillery with renewable energy would be with wind turbines. Most distilleries in Scotland are located outside densely populated areas so making use of the land to build wind turbines seems like the easiest option. It is expensive, however they will need to do something by 2040 anyway so this might be the only way. North Point Distillery is a distillery located towards the north of Scotland and specialises in rum. Their distillery runs 100% of renewable energy thanks to a nearby wind farm. To add to that their bottles are made from 100% recycled bottles. Corks and labels come from partners with carbon-free certifications

Overall there will be many distilleries creating many unique methods of getting their distillery to carbon neutral. They also may use many different sources of energy but as long as they reach that target then I can't really complain.

[tinyreviews]

Tiny View: Philosophy of Happiness

What’s essential in this modern day? What makes a good life? What ideals, once mastered, enable happiness to fall effortlessly into place?

Explore

Be curious. Stay curious. Never lose that sense of wonder.

Look: Pay attention. To the big stuff. To the small stuff. To nature and our environment. To how things come together, go together, in marvelous ways. To how life finds a way.

Play: More to the point, create! Distill, press, filter, mix and remix your experiences into something creative.

Select: All these magical moments, write them down, take pictures of them, etch them into memory. Keep the ones that resonate, good or bad, and make them a part of yourself.

Produce

Production fills our bellies. Production gives us nice things. Production pays the bills. Be so good they can’t ignore you.

Deep Work: These days, the ability to focus on one important task is becoming increasingly difficult, and becoming increasingly valuable. Shallow, distractible work is common, cheap, and a trap. Train yourself to have intention and priority. Master yourself.

Atomic Habits: Develop a consistent routine. Adjust your habits. Show up and do the bare minimum. Be purposeful and effective in your everyday behavior.

Become: Be that person. Celebrate small wins. Make small changes. How you do anything is how you do everything. Become the person you would admire.

Reduce

Minimalize: Declutter your space. Declutter your mind. Sometimes, it’s best to let things be. But sometimes it’s best to let things go. Keep what’s needed. Discard everything else. Enough said.

Protect

Protect the vessel through which you experience the universe. Simply put, cultivate a healthy life. Good food, good exercise, good sleep. Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.

Exercise: Walk in daylight. Jog in daylight. Run in daylight. Skip. Squat. Plank. Pullup. Pushup. Heck, just hang on a bar for as long as you can. Do something that gets your heartrate up. Do the bare minimum, but do it consistently. Make that vitamin D.

Nutrition: Whole, nutrient-dense foods. They go by the moniker “superfood”. I think they are just food, everything else is not-food. Chicken, eggs, peas, leafy greens, fruits, nuts and berries. Fatty fish. Salt and plain water.

Relationships: Find your family, no, forge your family. Find yourself. Forge yourself. Be gentle to people. Be gentle to yourself. Be firm with people. Be firm with yourself.

Sleep: Life revolves around rest and sleep, not the other way round. Plan your rest. Darkness, silence, comfort, emptiness, no distractions. Your bad day started last night when you failed to prepare for sleep. Win at life and sleep.

That’s all of it. How to live a happy life to 150. See you in the 22nd Century!

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk. Universe bless.

[ancestorsofjudah]

2 Kings 6: 17-23. "Chariots of Fire."

A dispute between the King of Aram and the King of Israel results in a Conference between the King and the Officials. The prophet, Elisha intervenes and explains the source of the trouble, one that is quite common, and suggests a solution.

Religion unfortunately does not work if one tells offspring, a sibling or peer, "say as I say, do as I do." There must direct experience of Ha Shem. Each person must come to know the Maker on his own and set his own soul's priorities. These priorities must naturally fall within the limits of secular law, about this there is no doubt. As for the rest, whether a man is wise or foolish, happy or sad depends on how well acquainted he is with what is called Shabbat.

Shabbat is the culmination of the forced evolution path called the Seven Days. There are Seven Laws, Seven Says, Seven Adams and Seven Eves, each play a role in explaining the course each man must follow in order to play a successful role in mankind. It is the King and the Court's job to make sure the importance of this process is observed, one generation to the next.

Of critical significance is the transition between Day Three and Day Four. All violence in the mind and heart has to be squelched by Day Three. Day Four is when the stars and satellites and the mind is able to saturate itself with knowledge.

"Governments are born on Ararat" AKA "Governments reverse the curse" is a good example. We need to acknowledge the government's legal authority to contolr and end violence, become non-violent ourselves, and understand intuitively why God told us these things must be so. There is evidence this creates goodness in the world.

There is no evidence walking around in a black bathrobe in a sombrero looking like you got in a fight with your aunt Tootsie's curling iron makes the world a better place.

Betterment is what the world needs, it needs in fact to be at its best, and for that we need the Light God created in the Beginning and trust what it reveals:

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.

20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”

22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 

23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.

Elisha, "the Spirit of the Government" obviously redirects the sanhedron away from what is not academically or legally appropriate under Jewish law and suggests another course of action.

Chariots of Fire represent the Prosecution in his argument.

"Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was the earthly manifestation of the "guardian angel" of Egypt, the spiritual distillation of the evil(s) embodied in Egypt. The imagery of the chariot [in Hebrew, "rechev"] evokes that of the celestial Chariot ["merkava", from the same root, reish-kaf-beit] Ezekiel saw in his famous prophetic vision.

There, the "chariot" depicts the array of spiritual forces of holiness that were departing from the world as the Divine Presence was being banished from Earth with the destruction of the Temple. Here, the earthly chariots of Egypt that Pharaoh summoned represent the array of evil forces the patron angel of Egypt summoned to do battle with the Jewish people."

This process of "the patron angel of Egypt" vs. the Jewish People, like the Seven Days has stages. After one is tired of it, AKA the Ten Plagues, all consequences of significant violations of the Ten Decrees, there comes a time for the Next Day. Meaning, yesterday, the First Born of Egypt have to die.

This entails what is called Haggadah, which includes all the details, rituals and desired outcomes for the Passover, chief amongst them is the desire to be free of oppression and to have the wherewithal to do something about it.

As the above reference states, Haggadah includes efforts like Black Lives Matter, the Stonewall Rebellion, and Israel's response to the terrorism inflicted upon it in October. Haggadah is the organization of thoughts, persons, nations, and the onset of a new reality sans the delusions that caused the absence of humanity in the first place. All blindness about the harm of oppression from the chest outward is cured via Haggadah.

"The verb חגג (hagag) describes a gathering up of people in order to celebrate or hold a feast, specifically any of the three main pilgrimage feasts that Israel was to celebrate (Exodus 23:14-16).

These feasts were huge affairs that caused the entire daily economy to cease for many days and pretty much the whole population to be on the move; this to the great delight of the Israelites but much to the chagrin and bewilderment of the various occupying forces (who had trouble enough with the Hebrew insistence on a whole day off per every seven)."

Haggadah cannot be enforced. It must be undertaken willingly and thoroughly as a matter of personal surrender. Then comes Shabbat, then come the Eighth and Ninth Days, etc.

The Values in Gematria for the above verses are:

v. 17: The Value in Gematria is 8049, חאֶפֶסדט‎‎, hafesdat, "to understand the counsel given at the Festival..."

v. 18: The Value in Gematria is 8771, חזזא‎ ‎‎, hazza, "gather in the village and pay Homage."

v. 19: The Value in Gematria is 7108, זאאֶפֶסח‎, "Passover."

v. 20: The Value in Gematria is 7962, ז‎טוב, zeto, "good" "to boil out the confusion, the wandering".

v. 21: The Value in Gematria is 4113, דיאג‎‎, diag, "that which guides, leads, carries, feteches..."

v. 22: The Value in Gematria is 14723, ידז‎בב‎, yadzab, "the human hand guided by God."

v. 23: The Value in Gematria is 8272, חבז‎ב‎, hebzeb, "to passover the Wolf" who attacks when the Seven Days are retrograde and the people become weak:

"There only one man in the Bible with the name Zeeb (which is really disyllabic: Ze'eb), and he was a king of Midian who, on account of Israel's continuous flirtations with ungods, was able to invade and ransack Israel for seven years, together with his three royal buddies Oreb, Zalmunna and Zebah, and of course their combined armies of 135,000 "sons of the east" (Judges 8:10).

After these seven years, YHWH called Gideon, son of Joah the Abiezrite, who mustered Israel's depleted forces of 32,000 men, then sent 31,700 of them home again and engaged the enemy with 300 men and some kitchenware.

The Midianites panicked and self-destructed. Their kings Oreb and Zeeb were captured by the troops that Gideon had sent home and were decapitated; Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb (Judges 7:25)."

The Sons of the East, those who become awakened are the ones that will defeat the enemies of the self within and without.

Victory takes place at the Rock of Oreb, "that which lies in wait" and the Wine Press, where the tables turn, and the wolf, a predator who waits for his prey to make mistakes is met by men who have decided to no longer be victims of a cruel and unjust world.

The People of Israel were recently the brunt of an attack that included hundreds of cobra bays lined with troops and weapons, guided and unguided missiles, an information blackout, and massacres on civilians. The Gazans were engaging in Eshkol, except for the purposes of opposite those dictated by the Torah.

The only choice available to anyone who has been subject to such an Eshkol, an organized attack is to respond with complete annihilation of their enemies.

It is unfortunate the People of Gaza have decided to dedicated themselves to their own demise. The consequences of their actions are going to be dire. The IDF must conclude its campaign in Gaza and the world must commit alongside it and free the territory from the potential for future horror.

History will also require a definite account of the ways such an attack was carried out, the decisiveness that put an end to it, and the implementation of the peace. Said documentation will provide other governments with "Chariots of Fire" they will need should the events of Oct 7 occur again.

*A note the Jewish Uniform. Kohens are expected to dress for work. Men who are Kedoshim, "seated" are also expected to dress the part. The Torah stipulates hair, beards, and sidelocks are to be in good condition, well groomed and neatly clipped. An excess of body hair, odors, fodors, and other inexplicable fashion statements and stains are forbidden.

[stevensavage]

Steve's Book Roundup!

I write a lot and have quite a few books.  So now and then I post a roundup of them for interested parties!

The Way With Worlds Series

This is what I do a lot of – writing on worldbuilding!.  You can find all of my books at www.WayWithWorlds.com! 

The core books of the series will help you get going:

Way With Worlds Book 1 – Discusses my philosophy of worldbuilding and world creation essentials.

Way With Worlds Book 2 – Looks at common subjects of worldbuilding like conflicts in your setting, skills for being a good worldbuilder, and more!

When you need to focus on specifics of worldbuilding, I have an ever-growing series of deep dive minibooks.  Each provides fifty questions with additional exercises and ideas to help you focus on one subject important to you!

The current subjects are:

Sex and Reproduction

Magic and Technology

Food and Culture

Religion

Worldbuilding Checkups

Characters

Superheroes

Organizations

Cities

Fashion

News

Gods and Deities

Conspiracies

Calendars and Holidays

History and Records

Natural Disasters

Man-Made Disasters

Misinformation, Disinformation, Propaganda

Disaster Response

Fiction

Take a typical fantasy world – and then let it evolve into the information age.  Welcome to the solar system of Avenoth, where gods use email, demons were banished to a distant planet, and science and sorcery fling people across worlds . . .

A Bridge To The Quiet Planet – Two future teachers of Techno-Magical safety find trying to earn their credentials hunting odd artifacts backfires when they’re hired to put some back . . . on a planet where gods go to die!

A School of Many Futures - The crew is back, and finding having secrets and keeping them isn't the same thing! Unfortunately they also find "very normal" is a cover for "anything but" . . .

Creativity

I’m the kind of person that studies how creativity works, and I’ve distilled my findings and advice into some helpful books!

The Power Of Creative Paths – Explores my theories of the Five Types of Creativity, how you can find yours, and how to expand your creative skills to use more Types of Creativity.

Agile Creativity – I take the Agile Manifesto, a guide to adaptable project development, and show how it can help creatives improve their work – and stay organized without being overwhelmed.

The Art of The Brainstorm Book – A quick guide to using a simple notebook to improve brainstorming, reduce the stress around having new ideas, and prioritize your latest inspirations.

Chance’s Muse – I take everything I learned at Seventh Sanctum and my love of random tables and charts and detail how randomness can produce inspiration!

Think Agile, Write Better – Use Agile techniques to write better, faster, and with less stress!  Using a series of small, specific tips you can find what works for you so you can get back to writing – with a whole new mindset!

Careers

Being a “Professional Geek” is what I do – I turned my interests into a career and have been doing my best to turn that into advice.  The following books are my ways of helping out!

Fan To Pro – My “flagship” book on using hobbies and interests in your career – and not always in ways you’d think!

Skill Portability – A quick guide to how to move skills from one job to another, or even from hobbies into your job.  Try out my “DARE” system and asses your abilities!

Resume Plus – A guide to jazzing up a resume, sometimes to extreme measures.

Epic Resume Go! – Make a resume a creative act so it’s both better and more enjoyable to make!

Quest For Employment – Where I distill down my job search experiences and ways to take the search further.

Cosplay, Costuming, and Careers – An interview-driven book about ways to leverage cosplay interests to help your career!

Fanart, Fanartists, and Careers – My second interview-driven book about ways to leverage fanart to help your career!

Convention Career Connection – A system for coming up with good career panels for conventions!

Culture

Her Eternal Moonlight – My co-author Bonnie and I analyze the impact Sailor Moon had on women’s lives when it first came to North America.  Based on a series of interviews, there’s a lot to analyze here, and surprisingly consistent themes . . .

My Sites

www.StevenSavage.com – My personal website, with my blog and latest updates.

www.InformoTron.com – My press site, with the links to my books and some extra goodies!

www.SeventhSanctum.com – My random inspiration website, with generators for all sorts of stories, characters, and more!