#yearly book report

[phantomrose96]

Thinking about Edward Elric as the Amestrian Military's specialest little unfireable boy

State alchemists can be fired for underperforming. We know this up front from the likes of Shou Tucker. And this makes a ton of sense from the homunculi's standpoint since the state alchemists are sacrifice candidates, and the homunculi would want to cull the weakest candidates and focus only on cultivating the strongest ones who stand the best chance of opening the portal.

........Then there's Edward. Who's already opened the portal.

There's no need to cultivate him. No gamble taken on whether he's good enough to open the portal. He passed the final test already. Graduated 4 semesters early.

And as such, has a free pass to do Absolute Fuck All.

And I'm imagining how funny this is from like an outside perspective.

Some newish state alchemist who'd only ever read up on the stories of Edward Elric, ready and excited to start their career of being paid handsomely with endless freedom to research and travel and do anything they want in the pursuit of science... surprised and confused to find themselves put on probation their first month for things like "ignoring orders." Which is, as best they had thought, a famous Edward Elric pastime.

Roy showing a slight bit of stress about his yearly state alchemist report, and Ed just snorting and rolling his eyes at Roy because every year HE just hastily does his on the train ride over (canon in the manga, a travesty it was left out of the anime) and it gets rubber stamped. Ed not realizing that other alchemists' reports get genuinely scrutinized and torn apart while Ed is free to turn in whatever absolute bullshit he thinks of 36 hours ahead of time. One year his report was about whether alchemy could be done via dance (conclusion: no it can't) and no one cared. Roy WANTS to tell Ed there's some kind of unknown favoritism around Ed making him literally bullet-proof but Roy has no way to phrase this that doesn't sound like he's just in denial and mad at how good Ed's train-reports are.

Guy from the Internal Amestrian Affairs sector who's responsible for auditing other internal military personel for any suspicious activity hitting about 1 million red flags for Edward Elric, issuing a STRONG and URGENT recommendation to suspend the alchemist pending further investigation into things like "literal bunk-buddies with two members of the Xingese royalty (enemy nation)" and "spent $10,000,000 of his stipend on a librarian to make her re-copy (what he seemed to interpret as?) military records in some extremely transparent effort to unearth state secrets (it was a recipe book but he was literally asking her about state secrets)" and "literally has never once obeyed an order, ever, not even once in his career, and is on public record having said 'I do not care about the goals and protections of the Amestrian Military. I am in fact only pursuing my own interests several of which are diametrically opposed to the safety and well-being of the governing body of Amestris'"

The issued recommendation is intercepted before it even reaches its intended desk. President Bradley himself has taken issue with it and denies it before a single set of eyes has seen it. The President's veto stamp is a terrifying hammer, used rarely, and it is now sitting on the auditor's desk.

The auditor sleeps with one eye open from then on out.

[dykedteach]

I haven’t seen this article posted anywhere outside of my immediate library-sphere so I wanted to shout about it - remember that supporting your local libraries is super duper punk rock 📚❤️

[study-coffee-chicago]

Glasses (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister Imagine)

A/N: Thank you so much for reading and for sticking around with my sporadic posting! Please don't forget to vote and comment! 

I start my second year of my doctoral program next week and have been working 60 hrs/wk these past few weeks to save up for when I have less time during the school year. I don't know when I will post next, but I have an idea that I want to write and I've also been trying to write 300 words/day, which is very helpful in getting writing done. 

Anyway, sorry for the long author's note! Enjoy!

"You gonna go see my teacher now?" you asked after you and Jay walked into your elementary school one spring evening.

"Yup," Jay answered while he led you over to the small table set up right outside the room. It was stocked with coloring pages, markers, crayons, and a couple of books. "And you're going to sit right here while I talk to her, okay? I'll be right inside."

"And then we get ice cream after?"

"What was our deal?"

You sighed. "If I get a good re- re--" you scrunched up your eyebrows as you tried to remember the grown-up word that Jay had used earlier. "What's that word?"

"Report."

"Oh, yeah! If I get a good report, then I get ice cream."

"That's right."

"Mr. Halstead?" your teacher said as she stepped out of your classroom.

"Hi, Miss H!" You waved. "Please tell Jay I was good because I get ice cream then!"

Jay chuckled. "You'll just have to wait and see, kiddo. Now, be good while I talk to Miss H, okay?"

"Okay!" Then, you started flipping through the coloring pages to try and find one that you wanted to color.

***

"So, tell me the truth, is she a troublemaker?" Jay asked as he sat down across from your teacher. "I know for a fact me and my brother were, so it wouldn't surprise me."

You teacher smiled. "Y/N is anything but that. She does her work as assigned, gets her planner signed at night, and stays on task very well. She struggles with math, but that's understandable. Some take longer to learn math than others. But, she excels at reading. She said that you read with her and do flashcards with her every night."

Jay nodded. "We're working through The Chronicles of Narnia right now. Me, my wife, Hailey, or my brother, Will, will read that to her before she goes to bed, depending on who's with her due to our schedules. Then, the next night, we'll have her try and read to us. She's working on Junie B. Jones."

"Well, it's working. And, she's making more progress in her mad minutes for math than she was a month ago. Do you work on flashcards every day?"

"We try to," Jay answered. "Those we try to do right after school and give her a snack with it. Some would call it bribery, but it works."

"Keep doing what you're doing. It's been working really well." She paused. "There is one thing that has been concerning me about, Y/N." Jay furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to listen. "When we move seats for groups during partner reading and other times during the day, I noticed that she struggles to read what's on the board. Sometimes she'll squint really hard and sometimes she'll walk up to the board to write in her planner at the end of the day. I've moved her to the front row for class, but when we move for groups and she's further away from the board, it seems that it's hard for her to see. Do you have the time and money to get her eyes checked? If not, we have vision testing coming to school in a month, which is free and required for all students," your teacher finished.

"My brother's a doctor, and we'll make sure to see her pediatrician about this. It's getting close to her yearly physical anyway. Thank you for telling me. Is there any other times that you notice this?"

"During library days, she always makes sure to sit in the front so she can she the pictures better. I'm sorry. I wish I had more information to give you."

"No, thank you for telling me this. I know you have a lot of other kids to look out for. Is there anything else I should know? Behavior wise, she's good, right?"

"Very well behaved. The only thing I was concerned about is her vision."

"Great. Thank you again for telling me."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else you needed to discuss regarding Y/N?"

"No," Jay answered. "I'll get out of your hair now then. You've probably got more parents to see."

"I do. Have a good night."

"You, too," Jay replied and then made his way to the door and out into the hallway.

Your head shot up the second you heard the door open. "I was good, right?" you asked.

"You weren't good-"

You dropped your head. No ice cream. "But-"

"You were great, kiddo!" Jay exclaimed.

"Ice cream!" you cheered.

Jay squatted down to your height and looked at the picture you were coloring. "That's really pretty and you're almost done. So, how about instead of going out for ice cream, I call Will and have him pick up ice cream sundae stuff and we can make them at home. That way, you can finish your picture at home."

"Can we watch a movie, too?"

Jay looked at his watch. 5:33. You'd have time to watch a Disney movie before bedtime. "If you start it right when we get home, then yes, you can watch a movie."

"Yay!"

"Now, stay here for a couple more minutes while I go call Will, okay? And, what's my rule?"

"If I have to go somewhere and can't tell you, tell a good adult." Jay had taught it to you as trusted adult, but you couldn't remember that word, so you always said good adult.

"That's right. I'll be right back."

Then, he made his way all the way down the hallway and turned the corner and continued walking until he was sure that you weren't within earshot to call Will.

He picked up on the first ring.

"If you need help disciplining her based on a bad report, that's all you, Jay. You're the disciplinarian and I'm the fun brother."

Jay rolled his eyes. "It's not that. She did great, but her teacher said that she might need glasses. She said she struggles to see the board. Think you could check her out tonight?"

"Jay, she needs to go to an optometrist for that."

"I know, but can't you just do some preliminary stuff? Also, she wants you to come over for ice cream sundaes and a movie, so you'd be there anyway."

"Who says I don't have plans?"

"C'mon, man. I know you."

"Fine, I'll be there in 30 minutes. You need me to pick anything up? Maybe a pizza? Can't just give the kid ice cream for dinner, but you know that."

"If you bring pizza, at least bring a salad with it," Jay bargained.

"Deal. See you in 30. And, I'll put in a call to her pediatrician on the way to your place."

"Perfect. Thanks, man. See you later."

Then, Jay hung up the phone and walked back over to you. "Ready to go?"

"Yes! Ice cream!"

"Ice cream is right. Let's go, kiddo."

Then, you two made your way to his truck and went to the store to buy everything you, Jay, Will, and Hailey would need for ice cream sundaes. And, Jay kept an eye on you to see if you were squinting. But, it was a bit difficult because he was making a mental checklist and checking everything off while you two were in the store. He figured he'd investigate more when you got home.

***

When you got back, you quickly put on your Tangled pajamas and told Jay that was the movie you wanted to watch.

Then, you grabbed your stool from under the sink while Jay was in the living room getting the movie pulled up. Your hand was on the handle to the freezer and you were just about to open it when Jay walked back in.

"And what do you think you're doing, missy?" You turned around to face him and it was like you were a deer in the headlights. "Were you trying to get ice cream before dinner?"

"Maybe..." you answered slowly.

"That's what I thought. Now, how about you get down and start your movie so that you can finish it before bedtime? Will will be here soon and then I'll bring your food to you."

"I get to eat in the living room?" Jay almost never let you eat in the living room! You always had to eat at the table!

"If you eat over your plate, you can eat in the living room. But, if you start being messy, it's right back to the table."

"Okay!" You jumped down from your stool, put it away, and then made your way to the couch in the living room. You grabbed your favorite fuzzy blanket from the back of the couch and then hit play on the remote.

Jay chuckled and reached into the cabinet where he hid the stickers for your sticker chart. Then, he placed one on the line next to the chore that said Clean up when asked - No arguing.

Even though he didn't ask you to put your step stool away, you still did it. And, maybe he was giving you this because he felt guilty about not noticing that you were struggling to see. Either way, you were one step closer to getting a prize.

Five minutes later, Will walked in with the pizza.

"Will!" you exclaimed and jumped up off the couch and ran up to him. "My teacher said I was really good!"

"I heard that! Now let me put this down and then I can give you a big hug. And I even got you your own pizza!"

"You did?"

"Yes, I did, silly!"

"Jay, did you hear that? Will got me my own pizza! That way I don't have to pick the gross onions and black olives off yours."

"I did! Now, let's let Will put down the pizza, hmm?" Jay said and grabbed your hand to gently pull you out of the way.

You moved out of the way, allowing Will to set the pizza boxes on the table. Then, he crouched down and gave you a bone-crushing hug.

"Stop! Too tight!" you laughed, making Will just squeeze you harder while Jay tried his best to contain his laughter at the two of you.

"Alright, you two, Let's eat before the pizza gets cold. Y/N, go wash your--"

Jay was cut off by the door opening and you squealing.

"Hailey!"

You wriggled out of Will's hold and ran up to her. "Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?!"

"Guess we know who her favorite is," Will muttered.

"What?" Hailey asked with a giant smile on her face. She was also holding a pink box that you noticed sort of smelled like cookies.

"I did really good at school so I get pizza and ice cream sundaes!"

"I know! Jay told me! So, I thought we could have brownie sundaes!"

She moved toward the table and set down the pink box. Then, she opened the box, revealing fresh, warm brownies from the bakery a block from the district.

You reached for one, but Jay quickly swatted your hand away. "Nuh-uh. Dinner first, missy."

Jay then put your personal pizza on a plate along with a breadstick, baby carrots, and some ranch for you to dip the carrots in. He handed you the plate along with some napkins.

"Go ahead and watch Tangled while you eat, okay? We'll be in there soon."

"Okay!"

The minute Jay heard the movie playing again, he was all business. "So, how are we doing this, Will?"

Jay didn't need to explain to Hailey what he was referring to here because he texted her that you had gotten a good report, but that your teacher also said that you needed glasses after he called Will when you were at school.

"I called her pediatrician and she can see her on Friday. She said that if she does need glasses, the optometrist should be able to get her on Monday."

"Perfect, great. Me and Hailey both work Monday, so you can take her, right?"

"I can take her," Will confirmed.

"Okay, good."

"So, in the meantime, what do we do?" Hailey asked.

"I'm just gonna watch to see if she squints at all during the movie. Maybe if you guys take her to the park tomorrow ask her to see things that are far away, like, Hey! Look at that cool bird! or something and see if she squints or not. Can't really do much until she goes to the optometrist," Will answered.

"You guys are missing Flynn get hit with a frying pan!" you yelled.

"I blame you for her love of violence, Jay," Will joked.

"Coming!" Jay yelled. "Just a sec, kiddo!"

Then, the adults filled their plates and made their way to the living room.

***

Monday afternoon

Will was going to kill his brother. When you got in the car, he asked if you were ready to go. To where, you had no idea. So, you had asked if you were going home.

"No, to the doctor, silly. To get your eyes looked at," Will answered.

"But I already did that! No more, please! Wanna go home!"

Will sighed but continued driving. "Why don't you want to go to the doctor, kiddo?"

"Because I don't want shots! I didn't get shots last time, so I gotta get shots now! Don't want 'em!" you cried.

"Oh, no, no, no," Will quickly soothed. "No shots. They're just going to look at your eyes. Then, you have to tell them which picture is easier to see and what letter you're looking at."

"Really? No shots?"

"No shots," Will confirmed.

"And I get French fries after?"

Will took a deep breath. Did he want to have an argument with you while driving and then end up either in an accident or late to your appointment because he had to pull over? No. Neither of those sounded particularly appealing. So, he went with the safest option.

"Yes, we can get French fries after."

***

"Y/N Halstead," the optometrist called after you had been sitting at the office for ten minutes.

You stood up and so did Will and you quickly grabbed his hand, letting him know that he would be coming into that room with you no matter what.

"I'm not going anywhere, kiddo."

"I just making sure," you told him, causing him to chuckle lightly.

You walked into an office with a weird thing hanging from the ceiling. There were lots of different circles and it was really big. There was a chair in front of it, too.

While the doctor started talking to you, he lowered the chair. "So, Y/N, I hear you're having a little trouble seeing the board at school, hmm?"

You shrugged. "A little. But only when I'm far away."

"And that's okay. What I'm going to do is help you see better. I'm going to lower down this machine--I know it looks big, but it's not scary, I promise--. Then, I'm going to have you read some letters to me."

"Like I did the other day at the doctor's?" you asked as you looked up at Will.

"Exactly like you did the other day," he confirmed. "Now you just look into special stuff so we know exactly what glasses you need." Then, he quickly turned to the optometrist. "Sorry. I'm Dr. Will Halstead, an ED doc at Chicago Med. Also her older brother."

"He said I gotta go to someone else for my eyes, but he's a doctor," you said to the optometrist.

The optometrist laughed and then shook your brother's hand. "Well, he's right." Then, he got down to your level and said in a stage whisper, "and between you and me, I probably know more about eyes than him."

"Really? I didn't think anyone was smarter than Will!"

"Really. Now let's take a look at those eyes." He moved over to his chair and then had you look into the glass circles. "Now, read me the smallest letter you can see."

***

"How'd it go?" Jay asked when you and Will walked into his apartment. Then, he spotted the McDonald's bag. "Seriously?"

"Only way she was gonna go. You sure she doesn't listen to your interrogations at the district? She had to have learned blackmail from somewhere."

"Haha, very funny. Did it go well, kiddo?"

"Yeah, I had to look at these pictures and tell the not Will doctor what one looked better," you answered.

Jay held back a laugh at your description of the doctor. "Did you pick out any glasses?"

"Yeah, I got purple. Can I eat my food now?"

"Go wash your hands and then you can."

You ran off to go wash your hands so that you could eat your chicken nuggets and fries and then Jay turned to Will.

"She been like this all day?" Jay asked.

"Doesn't help when she has no idea what's going and I have to tell her thirty minutes before the appointment, Jay," Will quipped.

"Fries and nuggies!" you yelled as you ran out of the bathroom after washing your hands, which effectively cut your brothers' conversation about your lack of excitement to see clearly short.

***

3 days later, Thursday.

"You ready to pick up your glasses, kiddo?" Jay asked as you got in his truck in the pickup line at school.

You simply shrugged. "Yeah," was all you answered.

Today at school, during soccer at recess, a boy's glasses fell off and then someone accidentally stepped on them and broke them when you were playing! What if that happened with your glasses? What if you couldn't play soccer anymore because you wore glasses?

You loved soccer ever since you had started playing it last year. And, you and Jay always practiced on Sunday mornings at the park. And, when it was nice out, you two would always have a picnic. It was always a Jay and Y/N date (sometimes Hailey would come along, but only if you agreed to it). That time was sacred for you and Jay because of his demanding job, but what if you didn't get to do that anymore all because you needed stupid glasses to see the stupid board at stupid school?

"How was school?" Jay asked. He knew by your demeanor that your mood was more sour than it had been this morning, and he'd prefer to discuss it now than have you blow up at home. One would be shocked at how much anger you could hole up and spew out from your little body.

"It was good. Same old, same old."

Jay rolled his eyes. You had definitely picked up that saying from Will. "Do anything fun?" he probed. "Was recess good?"

"I played soccer during first and second recess, but I didn't score at all. Stupid boys. They're always faster than me."

If you hadn't added the last part, then Jay would probably have told you that boys have cooties anyway and to stay away from them until you're thirty. But, you did say that last part, so he knew he had to be comforting.

"Well, you gotta remember, you like playing defense, so what do I always tell you?"

"I gotta outsmart 'em...and slide tackle."

Last Jay checked that was illegal in kids' soccer. "I don't think me or Will ever taught you about slide tackling. Where'd you learn about that, kiddo?"

"Adam taught me when he took me to the park when you had to talk to some bad guys yesterday."

"Of course he did," Jay muttered. "Just remember, you can only do that to me, Will, or Adam. Don't try and do that to other people, okay?"

He knew that he should probably tell you to never do that, but eh, he figured he'd let you have a little fun. And, it wasn't like he never got kicked out of games for doing a slide tackle...okay, maybe multiple slide tackles in a game with one leading to the other team's captain getting a concussion.

"Okay," you answered. "I'm not good at 'em anyway."

Jay chuckled. "And let's keep it that way."

***

Jay was both happy and frustrated when he watched you put on your glasses and see the world clearly for the first time in who knows how long. He was frustrated because how could he have not noticed this? Hell, how could Will not have noticed this? And, he was happy as he watched your mouth fall slightly agape and mutter whoa to yourself.

After you made sure that your glasses fit and the optometrist did all the necessary checks, you made your way back to Jay's truck.

"I gotta stop at the district to pick up some paperwork," Jay said as he began driving. "You ready to show off your glasses to everyone?"

"Yes!" you exclaimed. You loved the color of your glasses and everything was so pretty! Nothing was blurry anymore!

When you walked into the district, you were first met with Trudy, who didn't see you at first.

"Looking for this, Chuckles? You left it here earlier and you and me both know that Voight will have your—" And then she noticed you and quickly shut her mouth before she swore in front of you.

"Good catch, sarge," Jay said and took the manilla folder from her.

"Y/N, I didn't know you had glasses! They look so pretty! So much better than my old lady ones," Trudy complimented.

Then, you heard someone coming down the stairs.

"So if I call you old—"

"Shut it, Ruzek," she snapped as Adam strode over to you.

"And, she's back. Thanks, man," Jay complained.

"I was just telling Y/N here how pretty her glasses were before you ever so impolitely interrupted," Trudy said to Adam.

Then, Adam crouched down to your height. "My, my. They sure are pretty." Then, he held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Adam!" you laughed. "That's not how they work."

"But I thought that's how glasses worked. How about you tell me how they do work?"

"I just can't see far away. You gotta back up and do that."

He did so and then reached into his pocket.

"So, can you read this?"

"Oreos! I can read the words now!"

That stopped Jay in his tracks. "What do you mean by that, kiddo?"

"I can read the words from far away now and not just close by me. It's because I have my glasses now, duh."

Adam almost burst out laughing at your sass, but held back his laughter when he saw Jay's death stare directed right at him.

"Right, of course, silly me," Jay answered quickly. "Go get your Oreos from Adam and then we can go upstairs and show everyone else your glasses, how's that sound?"

"Okay!" you excitedly ran up to Adam and he handed you the Oreos. "Thank you!"

"You're very welcome!"

You started towards the stairs and Jay quickly whispered to Adam, "Boards flipped?"

"Did it before I walked down here since I heard her voice."

"Great, thanks."

"Jay! You gotta put your hand here to open it because I'm not special enough to put my hand here!" you exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, hold on a sec," he said and then gently pushed you to the side to put his hand on the palm scanner. The door beeped and then he pulled the door open. "Ladies first."

You walked in and immediately everyone's heads turned towards you.

"Y/N!" Hailey exclaimed "You got your glasses!"

"Yeah! Everything looks so much better and so pretty!" You took a moment to look around the bullpen. Despite being in this room with Jay and Hailey for two years now off and on since your dad died, you could finally see it clearly. You thought everything was always a little blurry around the edges.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Voight asked from the back of the bullpen near his office.

"Three!" you yelled confidently.

"That's right! Wow, she counts faster than you, Ruzek."

Jay held back a laugh while Adam exclaimed, "Why you gotta be like that, Boss?"

"Because it's true. You got the paperwork, Halstead?"

"Right here. I'll get out of your hair now because it's my RDO and I do not want to be here on my day off. C'mon, Y/N, let's go home."

"But I didn't see Kevin or Kim yet!" you whined.

"They're out doing police work, kiddo. You can see them later, okay?"

"But I want to show them my glasses!"

Hailey quickly saw the temper tantrum that was about to erupt and stood up. "How about I take a picture of you with your glasses and send it to them? Then you can see what they say when I get home tonight. How does that sound, Y/N?"

You nodded and walked closer to her. "Yes!"

While Hailey was taking your picture, Jay mouthed thank you to his wife for avoiding a meltdown in the bullpen.

***

3 days later, Sunday

You did not sleep good at all. You tossed and turned all night thinking about your Jay and Y/N date in the morning. You loved them and you loved soccer! But you couldn't go now because what if your glasses fell off when you and Jay were passing the ball and practicing? And, if you took off your glasses before playing, what if he got mad at you? Jay and Will had told you that you had to wear them all the time! And you didn't want Jay Jay to be mad at you!

So, when you went into the kitchen in the morning (wearing your glasses of course) and saw Jay and Hailey sipping their cups of coffee, one could only imagine your relief when you looked out the window and saw the sky was covered with dark gray clouds.

"Morning, kiddo," Jay greeted. "Doesn't look like we can play soccer today." Then, Jay furrowed his eyebrows as he got a better look at you. You had dark circles under your eyes that looked like they should be for a college student cramming for finals instead of a first-grader on a Sunday morning. "You feeling okay?" Then, he walked up to you and placed the back of his hand on your forehead. "Hmm, you don't feel warm."

"Didn't sleep good," you mumbled.

"I didn't sleep good either," Hailey sympathized. "Must be the weather." She knew it was her insomnia acting up, but you had no idea what that was--and she hoped you never would have to know what that was like--, but she didn't feel like explaining it to a first grader this early in the morning while she was running on fumes herself.

"How about we have a lazy day," Jay suggested. "Movies and coloring sound good, Y/N?"

"Yeah. Can Will come, too? He always does the best coloring."

It was true. Because of how steady Will's hands were due to being a surgeon, he could color in all the small areas in the pictures, even in adult coloring books that Hailey had, that you, Jay, and Hailey would typically make a mess out of and at least color outside the lines a bit.

"I'll give him a call. I don't see why he wouldn't want a lazy day," Jay said.

"And, I think we have some chocolate chip cookie dough in the freezer to bake cookies," Hailey suggested.

Jay glared at his wife and then rolled his eyes. You've already gotten spoiled with treats and takeout more than enough this past week and a half. But, he knew as well Hailey knew herself that she had a sweet tooth and it only got worse when her insomnia was acting up.

"Before we do all that," Jay began, "let's get you some breakfast first. What sounds good, kiddo?"

"Can I have an omelet? With lots of cheese please?"

You were recently introduced to these a few months ago when you and Hailey were enjoying chocolate chip waffles at a diner and Jay had an omelet. You wanted some of his hash browns, but he said you had to try a bit of his omelet. You didn't really want to try this, but your want hash browns overpowered this. And, lo and behold, you liked it! So, now on Sundays when Jay wasn't working, you'd ask for an omelette. It has to be Jay who made them though because he made the best ones between him, Will, and Hailey.

"Omelet it is," Jay replied and then picked up a spatula. "How about you go get dressed while I make this, okay?"

"Okay!"

Then, you ran off to your room to put on some comfy clothes to spend the day in.

***

"Where's Y/N?" Will joked when he walked inside around 10:30 that morning.

"I'm right here!" you yelled while you sat at the table coloring. You had no idea how he couldn't see you when you were right there!

"Oh, I didn't recognize you with such pretty glasses."

You dropped your head. "You- You don't?"

Luckily Jay was behind you so that you didn't see him wipe his hand down his face. 

His brother, Jay thought. Thank god he didn't go into pediatrics.

"I was only kidding, silly! Of course, I recognize you! The only thing different about you is that you have glasses now. But, do you recognize me?"

"Yes! But your hair's really messy! Do you want to use my brush?"

Jay choked on his second cup of coffee at your comment and Hailey quickly hit him on the back.

He cleared his throat. "Sorry, went down the wrong pipe," he said and then coughed a couple more times.

Will smoothed down his hair. "Wind's pretty strong out there. Guess it messed it up a bit." Then, he walked over to the table and set a tray of drinks down. "Coffee for all three of us and hot chocolate for you." He handed you your drink. "Careful though. It might still be super hot. Now, what are we coloring?"

***

"She is totally out," Jay commented later that afternoon.

The four of you had started watching a movie and you had curled up next to Hailey under your favorite fuzzy blanket. Needless to say, after you struggled to sleep this past night, within thirty minutes of the movie, you were totally out with your head leaning against Hailey's chest.

Hailey smiled down at you. "She's so cute when she's sleeping."

"When she's awake she's a menace now apparently," Will joked.

"Just because she made one comment about your precious hair," Jay muttered. "Let the hair comment go, man. Let it go."

Will rolled his eyes. "So, how's she doing? She mention any headaches at all with her glasses?"

"Hasn't said anything to me," Jay answered. "She say anything to you, Hails?"

"Nothing," Hailey replied. "She also didn't say that kids were mean to her, so that's good, too."

"Yeah, I remember when Jay got his glasses. All the kids teased him about it," Will said.

"It wasn't all the kids. It was you! Just you! And, now they have more education for bullying and stuff, so maybe kids are nicer than when we were kids." Then, Jay changed the subject. "I'm just shocked she didn't throw a fit when I said we couldn't play soccer today because it was storming."

"But, she said she didn't sleep good last night," Hailey reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. But still, she loves Sundays. And, at the beginning of winter a few months ago, she threw a fit the first time there was too much snow on the ground to go."

"I would say consider it a good thing that she didn't fight with you this morning," Will began, "but you said she didn't sleep good. She say anything else to you? Her tummy or head hurt? I didn't notice anything off when I was here, but maybe she said something earlier."

Jay shook his head. "She seemed fine, other than her being tired."

"Okay, good. If she tells you anything else--especially if she's having headaches--let me know."

***

3 days later, Tuesday

You were usually so excited for Tuesday nights and soccer practice, but now, you were nervous. What if your glasses fell off and somebody broke them? You didn't want Jay or Will or Hailey to be mad at you!

So, when you were running at practice, you went exceptionally slow, which made Jay wonder if you were hurt. He watched you shake your head at your coach, so he must've asked you the same thing.

When you got in the car after practice, needless to say, Jay was slightly worried.

"You okay, kiddo? You didn't look like you were having fun out there."

"I was having fun," you answered, but that was only a half-truth. You only had fun when you were defending and didn't have to worry about running as much, and thus, your glasses falling off.

"Okay. You just didn't feel like it today then?" You shrugged. "That's okay. Everyone has days like that."

What he wasn't going to do was be like your dad and make it seem like you needed to be at 100% every single day. As long as you tried your best with what you had left in the tank, that was all that mattered.

You nodded and just looked out the window while Jay kept driving.

And once you got home, since you put your cleats away nicely without being asked, Jay added a sticker to your sticker chart. But, his detective senses were tingling.

Something was definitely off with you.

***

One week later

It had been a long week for both Hailey and Jay. They'd had their hands full at work trying to catch a serial rapist who ended up killing his last three victims.

During this time, you had spent most of your time with Will, except on Jay's RDO, and then Hailey's RDO when they each spent time with you instead. Even though each of them knew that the team would be a man down on each of their RDOs, they knew it would be difficult for Will to be the sole caretaker of you with his demanding job as well. So, even though they probably should've worked during their RDOs this week, they didn't.

But, they had been so mentally drained on their days off that neither of them remembered to check your backpack for important paperwork. And, both Jay and Hailey knew that Will always conveniently "forgot" to check this. (But, it was probably because he didn't feel like disciplining you if you got a bad report.)

Now, it was 8pm on Tuesday night, they had caught the guy, and both Jay and Hailey had quickly finished their paperwork so that they were home in time for bedtime.

Once Jay and Hailey had finished reading you a chapter of The Chronicles of Narnia, Jay did what he always did when he hadn't been able to see you on a couple of school days straight: he went through your backpack to see if he missed anything such as permission slips, notes from your teacher, and to ensure that Will had been making you do your homework.

When he went through your math folder, stuck between last week's homework assignments and this week's was a note written in cursive. Because it was written that way, he could only assume it was addressed to him or another adult.

Mr. Halstead, I'm writing you this to make sure that Y/N hasn't lost her glasses. I haven't seen her wearing them the past couple of days and wanted to make sure accommodations didn't need to be made. If she has lost them, please let me know and I will be sure to move her desk up to the front to help her see the board for the time being. If you have any questions, please call me at my office number or email me. I previously left a voicemail for you and emailed you, but I don't know if they went through. -Stephanie Harding.

Jay sighed, pulled out a chair at the kitchen table, and began scrolling through his phone. There, from Friday afternoon, was an email from your teacher as well as a phone call from yesterday morning. How could he have missed these?

"You okay?" Hailey asked as she walked into the kitchen, freshly showered. She grabbed two beers from the fridge, popped the cap off both, made her way to the table, and handed one to Jay. "We should be celebrating, not sulking."

"I know, and I'm glad that case is over and the guy's in prison because, you know, he's a monster, but look what I found in Y/N's backpack."

He slid her the note and she began reading.

When she finished, she looked up. "Don't talk to her tonight, Jay. You might dysregulate her so bad that she might go back to sleep because her routine got thrown off."

"I know, but when am I supposed to talk to her? I don't want her throwing a fit in the morning before school, and who knows what's going to come across our desks in terms of cases tomorrow."

Hailey grabbed one of Jay's hands. "Jay, we'll figure it out. And, if we need to wait for your RDO or the weekend when we both hopefully have off, then we'll do that, okay?"

"Okay." He gave his wife's hand a squeeze and then took a sip of his beer.

Thank god for Hailey Upton, he thought.

***

The next day, Wednesday

Once you and Jay got home after he picked you up from school, he made you a snack and you pulled out a chapter book to read to him to practice your reading skills like it was just any other day. He set the addition and subtraction flashcards next to him. You'd do those after you read to him.

But, when you took your first bite of your ants on a log (celery with peanut butter, topped with a few chocolate chips), he reached over and slid the book over to himself. Then, he set it down on the chair next to him so as not to distract you from the upcoming conversation.

"We're not reading?" you asked, furrowing your eyebrows at him.

"Listen, kiddo, we need to talk about why you are not wearing your glasses at school."

"I am!" you protested.

But, Jay saw how your eyes widened slightly when he first said it. He knew you were lying; now he just needed you to admit to it.

"Y/N, your teacher called me and told me that you aren't wearing them. You're not in trouble--"

"No!" you shouted and jumped off your chair. Then, you ran to your room and slammed your door.

Tears pricked your eyes as you threw yourself on your bed.

You couldn't play soccer when you were in high school if you had glasses! At all the games you went to, none of them had glasses! You couldn't give up soccer just to wear these stupid glasses! What did your brothers and your teacher know, anyway? None of them even wore glasses!

You were waiting for Jay to come yell at you for slamming your door, but he never came. And you were so tired from school and from the short conversation that you had with Jay, that you eventually just cried yourself to sleep.

As for Jay, the second he heard your door slam, he sighed and laid his head on the table. What the hell was he supposed to do?

***

You woke up to someone gently shaking your shoulder.

"Y/N, c'mon it's time for dinner, honey."

Hailey.

"No," you mumbled.

You didn't want to face Jay after everything!

"You need to eat, Y/N. You didn't even finish your snack earlier. Just c'mon out and eat dinner with me and Jay."

"Jay gonna be mad at me," you said quietly and rolled over so that you were facing the wall.

"He won't be mad; we just want you to eat something. He made your favorite, fettuccine alfredo, remember?"

That's right! You got to pick dinner once a week and told Jay last week that you wanted fettuccine! And today was Wednesday! It was your dinner day!

"Oh yeah! I forgetted!"

Then, you jumped out of bed and ran downstairs.

Hailey shook her head as she walked behind you. Kids and their moods.

When you got to the kitchen, your plate was set right where it usually was with fettuccine, broccoli, and garlic bread.

You eyed Jay suspiciously when you sat down.

Then, Jay noticed you weren't wearing your glasses. Hailey noticed the very slight tilt of his head, so she quickly jumped in.

"They're on her bedside table," she said. "She was sound asleep when I went up there."

"Mhm," you agreed and then took a bite of your pasta.

Jay figured it was better to let you eat almost all of your food before he started in on the glasses conversation again. He needed you to eat something because, at this point, you hadn't eaten anything except your one ant on a log since 11am at school, which was seven hours ago. He didn't know how you hadn't woken up and been hungry but hey, he knew as well as you did that tantrums made you utterly exhausted.

Once you only had half of your garlic bread left, Jay decided it was time to have another go at this.

"Y/N, me and Hailey were talking, and we thought that if you came home from school wearing glasses, you can get an extra sticker on your chore chart," Jay said. "How's that sound?"

You shrugged. "Okay." You had already been doing that. You'd put them on right when you got in the car. You didn't need them for up close stuff like talking with your friends anyway and you could see Jay, Hailey, and Will just fine without your glasses; they were just a little blurry around the edges.

"That means we need to see you wearing them when we pick you up," Jay continued. "You can't just put them on when you get inside the car." Your brother was nothing if not perceptive.

You could do that. You'd just put them on when you walked out of school for pickup. You couldn't wear them all the time because then what if someone said something about you not wearing them while playing soccer at recess? Then you'd have to wear them at recess and you couldn't play soccer with them on!

"Okay," you said.

"Okay, good," Jay replied.

But, he shot a glance at Hailey. That was way too quick for you to agree to this without a fight even with the added incentive of getting a sticker on your sticker chart.

Something was off and both he and Hailey knew it.

***

Two days later, Friday

Jay walked out of an interrogation, relayed the info to his team, and then sat down at his desk to do some digging into this guy's financials. But, his phone lit up, notifying him that he had a voicemail.

He saw it was from your teacher and his brow furrowed.

"Hi, Mr. Halstead. This is Stephanie Harding calling. I received your email a couple of days ago explaining how you talked with Y/N about wearing her glasses and she said that she'd wear them and that they are not lost. I just wanted to inform you that she hasn't worn her glasses at all throughout the school day, but will put them on for pickup.

I just wanted to inform you of this and please let me know if there's anything that I can do to help."

Jay clenched his jaw and sighed frustratedly after he finished listening. He thought he'd be dealing with this level of sneakiness when you were a teenager, not now!

"Nothing in the financials?" Hailey asked from across from him.

"Still working on that," Jay answered. "Y/N's teacher called. Said she still hasn't been wearing her glasses."

"What? She was wearing them yesterday when I picked her up."

"Her teacher said that she'll put them on at pickup but won't wear them at all during the rest of the day."

Hailey shook her head and rolled her eyes. "We are getting played by a first-grader, Halstead."

"Don't I know it. I'm gonna give Will a call and see if she wore her glasses at pickup. Maybe he can get to the bottom of it while she's at his house tonight."

***

"Alright, kiddo. Game plan today is homework, snack, and reading. Then we'll grab a quick dinner somewhere and go to the girls' soccer game. Sound good?" Will asked when you got inside and set your backpack down.

"Don't wanna do my math homework," you complained. "It's stupid."

"What are you working on?" Will probed. "Maybe I can help you."

"Subtraction. My friends say it's like adding, but the opposite, but it's not!"

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'll make you a snack and then we'll work through it together. How's an apple with peanut butter sound?"

"Do you still have the green apples?"

"I do. Green apple with peanut butter coming right up."

***

Will wasn't stupid. He knew why Jay probably couldn't get the answer from you about not wearing your glasses. And that was because he was asking at the wrong time and because he was the one who disciplined you. Will never had to do that except for taking away ice cream as a bedtime snack a couple of times when you mouthed off to him. You didn't have to worry about having to go to bed early or not being able to watch more tv because you had gotten in trouble with Will. And, you and Jay were very much alike; both of you bottled up your emotions and were stubborn to no end...which is probably why you argued more with Jay than you did Will and Hailey and why Jay couldn't get you to talk about your glasses.

So, Will didn't bring up the glasses at dinner. He didn't even bring them up when you were at the soccer game.

But now was the time for him to bring this up.

You were currently sitting down next to him on the pull-out couch with your teddy bear and your favorite blanket, all ready for a chapter of Narnia and then for bed. You were comfortable and there was nothing to overstimulate you. You had food in your system and the excitement from the day was over.

You were calm.

"Before we start reading, kiddo, I need to ask you a question," Will started.

"Okay, what is it? Is it about what happened in Narnia when me Jay and Hailey readed it last week? Because I can tell you so you're not con...con—" You scrunched up your eyebrows as you tried to remember the word. "So that you know what's happenin'," you said instead.

"It's not about Narnia, but you can tell me before we start reading if you want. But first, I want to know why you aren't wearing your glasses. Do they make your head hurt? Did someone laugh at you?" You shook your head. "Okay, then what is? What's going on, Y/N?"

"Soccer," you mumbled, but it was so quiet that Will couldn't even hear you.

"What was that?" Will asked softly. "It's okay. You can tell me. I won't be mad at you."

You looked up at Will's face. He didn't look mad. Maybe you could tell him. Maybe he wouldn't tell Jay either and then everything would be fine.

"I can't play soccer no more be-because I have glasses!"

At this, you started to cry. All of the nerves you had felt about lying to your brothers and Hailey and the sadness about not being able to play soccer anymore all came tumbling out of you. And, it didn't help that no one on the high school girls' soccer team that you just went and watched earlier wore glasses. That just proved your point!

Will sighed and held back a laugh. Leave it to a little kid to catastrophize from A to Z.

"Who told you that?" Will asked, now realizing that he needed to get to the root of the problem.

"No one did! But none of the big girls wear glasses when they play soccer! And one boy's fell off at school and they got smashed and I'm the only one on my team that has glasses and---"

"Hey, hey, slow down. Take a deep breath, okay?" He allowed you to take a few breaths before he placed a hand on your shoulder. "You can still play soccer."

You looked up at him and your eyebrows furrowed before your mouth fell slightly agape. "I can?

"Yes, silly! We just need to get a strap for the back of your glasses because then they'll stay on when you're running."

"And I can play soccer with Jay Jay on Sunday?!"

"And you can play soccer with Jay on Sunday, yes," Will confirmed.

"Yay!"

"Now what do you say you fill me in on Narnia before I start reading to you, hmm?"

***

"Tell me you got something out of her," was the first thing that Jay said when he answered Will's call later that night.

"Jay, this is our sister we're talking about, not a criminal investigation."

"I know that, smartass. Still...anything?"

"She thought she couldn't play soccer with her glasses."

"What? Where'd she get that idea?"

"Well, kids are very observant, Jay. Maybe more observant than you seeing as you didn't even catch this--"

"Neither did you!"

"Last I checked, my job doesn't involve me doing a stakeout or working undercover."

And then Will launched into a recap of the conversation he had with you.

"Come to think of it," Will began when he was done and had answered all of Jay's questions, "I'm shocked you didn't think to get one for her right away because you didn't get contacts until high school and wore your glasses with a strap when you played soccer all the way from elementary school to middle school. You know what? I think I still have some pictures of that from the family photo album I took from Dad's--"

"Don't you dare!" Jay threatened.

"Who's gonna stop me?"

"Name your price...within reason."

"Breakfast tomorrow, 9am before me and Y/N go pick out her glasses strap. And you're paying."

"Deal!"

And years later, once you got to high school, you never did get contacts because one, you thought you looked better with glasses than without, and two, you wanted all of the little kids that came and watched your games to know that they could play whatever sport they wanted regardless of whether or not they wore glasses.

A/N: Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote and comment! Also, fun fact, I didn't get my glasses until I was 21. I went to renew my driver's license and barely passed the eye exam, so now I wear glasses.

[astroismypassion]

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[ach-sss-no]

I just watched batman (1989) + batman returns (1992). I have never seen a more stark contrast between 'here is a nice, safe, decent studio superhero movie with a comedy reporter and a mild romance and we'll only let jack nicholson do dance numbers a little bit' and 'Tim Burton will now be given all the $$$ and we will not tell him no on any of his decisions. He's casting Christopher Walken and putting him in a suit that looks like it came out of a Dr. Seuss book and we're paying him to do it. Half of every frame is pitch black, and the other half of the frame is either explosions or an adorable animal'. It's great. All movies should be made like this. 11/10 superhero movie, and going on my yearly Christmas watchlist as well

[feministdragon]

Concluding reflections

We initially feared that the actual level of the basic income would be too low to have a major series of effects on work and labour. However, we soon realized that the liquidity effect was likely to mean that the real value of the money was greater than it seemed and that it could unlock constraints to create mini- multiplier or transformative effects through the influence on work and labour.

Overall, the effects were positive, reducing the extent of short-term labour migration, changing the nature of child work, raising economic opportunities for women, curbing naukar labour, and leading to a shift from casual wage labour to own-account farming and non-farm economic activity. The money helped households to buy more productive assets, which helped to increase economic security as well as raise incomes.

There are also indirect effects to bear in mind, such as the impact of improved health and nutrition that make work and labour more feasible and less onerous. And one should not ignore the possibility that by providing a steadier, more predictable income, basic incomes reduce the adverse shock of temporary periods of unemployment. Households are also less likely to default on debt repayments and thus are less likely to fall into an asset loss cycle.

We believe the effects of the basic income on the pattern of work and labour were positive. Overall, there was an increase in economic activity and thus a beneficial effect on economic growth and incomes. 

p154

what's crazy about this for me is that the basic income given was only one third of their normal yearly income

[when-life-gives-you-lemons-if]

I enjoyed writing book 1, I love those characters and I know I will enjoy writing book 2 as well. This book was my first self-published game and I take pride in that even though it didn't do too well financially in comparison to the games I publish with Hosted Games. 😅

Could you talk a bit about your experience and the difference between publishing with Hosted Games vs self-publishing? Like the pros and cons? I feel like you're one of the few writers on here who has experience of both, knows the numbers behind the scenes, etc.

Oh, this is going to be a long one, but I’ll do pros and cons to make it easy. Please keep in mind that this is my personal experience, and it might not be the same for every author.

Pros of self-publishing.

You get the full cut of your sales: as some of you may know Hosted games takes 75% of the sales of your game, and you get 25% (this amount is after the platforms takes their cuts, Apple cuts is 30%, Steam cut is 30% and Goggle cut is 30% however, if you are a small indie Dev, Apple and Google cut go down to only 15% which is great.

No content revisions, no content restrictions: Hosted games sometimes will ask you to change the title of your game or change some content, when you self-publish you only have to follow the platform rules, and make sure to answer the appropriate questions for the platforms to properly rate your games. Depending on content, Steam will block your game for certain country, also Adult-only content gets less views since people need to sign in to see them. So, keep that in mind.

No queues: Hosted games once you submit the game to them, they put you in a queue and they decide when the game will be published, with self-publishing as soon as the platforms give you the green light, you’re ready to publish and sell your game.

You can do Steam-key giveaway: You have access to the game dashboard so you can request keys from Steams and do giveaway.

Cons of self-publishing.

Less reach. If you’re a small author like me, your game will not sell much because you’re doing your own advertising. Small authors = small following and fewer eyes on your game for people to buy it.

You need to pay for the platform fees: Google is $25 one-time payment. Steam is $100 for each game you put on their platform. And Apple is a $99 yearly subscription, so if you don’t keep paying that $99 your game will be removed from the platform, which is a pity because the release month is the only major sale you get, after that, your revenue falls to $100-60 every month which is the case for me.

You’re doing all the leg work yourself: There’s going to be a lot of watching YouTube videos to find out how to upload your games to Steam, and Google. Apple uses something called X-code and I had to buy a MacBook to recode the game in X-code in order to publish with them. Being a small indie Dev, your game might be rejected for the silliest reason such as you forgot to click yes or no on a questionnaire somewhere. Testing, bug reports, and complaints, they all go to you because you are the dev. Unless you have a team helping you, get reading to make time to fix every little issue because the platform will not fix them for you.

Remaining anonymous might be an issue: Apples need your real name in order to publish with them unless you have an LLC, your anonymity is out the door. Google requires your country and home address.

Pros of publishing with Hosted games.

More reach, more views, more sales: They are the go-to for those types of games and they have an established clientele so your game will reach more people.

They do the work for you: You don’t have to deal with the platform fees, rejections, uploading, bug reports, they do it all.

You can be fully anonymous: Although, you’ll have to disclose your legal name to them for tax purpose and money transfer.

Cons of publishing with Hosted games. (Those cons won’t apply for everyone)

I think the biggest cons is that 75% 🤣 but hey, what are you gonna do?

Changing content and name of your game.

Long queue.

No direct access to your game info, if you need anything you need to ask.

Other: People will pirate you game whether is you doing it alone or you publish with Hosted Games. Get ready to cry in a corner like I did.

Take away, I’m still planning on self-publishing and publishing with Hosted games.  At the end of the day, do what you think is best for you.

Number comparison: To give you an idea of the numbers:

Self-publish numbers Sold overall on all 3 platforms Goggle, Apple Steam.

Around 1,500 copies

Hosted Games copies Sold overall on all 3 platforms Goggle, Apple Steam.

Around 6,500 copies.

I’m working on a how-to self-publish guide, for all 3 platforms so I’ll post that when ready. 💕

[sgiandubh]

The ripple effect

So finally, it would seem the news from Hollywood are not good at all. A press release from SAG-AFTRA informs us that AMPTP/TPTB chose to drop the towel after a very long negotiation process (not a good sign, in my book), that continued even after their latest unacceptable offer, as you can read down below (https://x.com/sagaftra/status/1712368110253285730?s=20):

The mainstream media (always NYT, in this house) reported also on the studios' offer, which may or may not be helpful for understanding what exactly is at stake (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/business/media/actors-strike-talks-suspended.html?searchResultPosition=2):

Now that is a very hardball, completely insolent position. I am peeling my eyes in disbelief at the idea of offering 'further protections around the use of A.I.', when it was hoped that the use of A.I. would be treated as an exception, not as future reality the industry should work 'around'. This is what really is at stake, not the almost abusive allegation of 'unbearable economic burden' (that is a mafioso pretext) an 800 million USD yearly viewership bonus would supposedly entail. The real financial impact of such a compromise solution, as disclosed by SAG-AFTRA, is negligible: 'less than 57 cents/subscriber'.

And, to make things worse, it would seem the studios deliberately lied to the press, too (it would not be the first time - we shippers know it so well, eh?):

All this circus, despite a cataclysmic impact on California's economy:

(Sourced at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/realestate/writers-strike-rent-ny-la.html).

And that was the situation three weeks ago, when I found this article and promptly set it aside, waiting for the right moment to share it with you. And you know the situation is serious, when news like these are to be found not in the business, but in the real estate section of the newspaper. Along with this kind of comments, likely to suggest the possibility of unrest, if things go on like this:

People living in their flats without electricity or sleeping in their cars: it would seem this strike added unwanted insult to the drastic COVID injury in this particular sector of the labor market.

But what interested me the most about this whole affair was the ripple effect on the British film industry, in an attempt to see what is next for OL's Season 8. Thankfully, I didn't have to go very far and speculate more than the NYT did itself. Oh, and before Mordor starts shouting insanities, their LHR's correspondent paper, back in September, is called 'Hollywood Strikes Send a Chill Through Britain’s Film Industry' (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/19/business/hollywood-strikes-uk-filmmaking-industry.html):

Despite my unflappable optimism, I have to say that doesn't sound good at all, especially when you know this is precisely the case for OL, a production 'with stars who are SAG-AFTRA members' (or at least compelled to stand in solidarity with the strike, by SAG-AFTRA's own statement of conduct). I predict a very late start for the shooting of Season 8. And further unrest in the UK sector 'in the middle of next year' means that UK based and staffed productions may be fewer and less important, since that calendar announced by Equity could seriously compromise their promotion, a risk not many studios are willing to take. So less alternatives for both S&C, at least for the UK alone.

The writers' strike was a very long one - five months. I suppose the studios are willing to play for time and prefer a long stalemate of the negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, in the attempt of breaking the union consensus from the inside. With people's economies gone and the prospect of a dire, uncertain way ahead, there is no way SAG-AFTRA's compensations, mainly aimed at keeping people afloat with their rent costs, could cover the real impact on its members' everyday lives, on the long run. They would also prefer to foolishly cry over a fictitious 800 million USD 'burden' and not see the (at least) six times bigger negative impact on the local economy, which translates both in net losses of profit for thousands of businesses (mainly SMEs) and thousands of lost jobs.

And in the middle of all this, it would seem that Herself is on her way to the NYCC. Whatever for, sweet summer child, I would brazenly ask this strange, diminutive woman who started it all.

[ros3ybabe]

Day 16 - 90 Day Challenge 🎀

I was still in a lot of pain yesterday (Thursday), it was a very odd pain, but I've woken up today (Friday) and it's finally gone! I'm excited because now I can move around without that uncomfortable feeling. I still didn't do much yesterday but I figured it was worth an update, regardless. That's the point of this challenege. Accountability and consistency.

🏋‍♀️ Physical Health

walked to work (~20 min)

scheduled my gym times for today and next week

found out the gym hours for my campus gym for the first part of winter break so I can schedule in gym time for then too

🧠 Mental Health

made myself get up and out of bed after work to curb how I was feeling (felt kinda numb and decided I needed to do something productive about it)

❤️ Emotional Health

therapy appointment! (may have been my last one until january, thank you gobernment for ending my health insurance coverage today)

was honest with my boyfriend about how I was feeling (was super grateful with how he handled it, hes so patient and understanding and kind to me, I'm so happy with my relationship with this man. I love him, so much)

📚 Intellectual Health

completed the respiratory lab report for my Anatomy lab

made a list of things to accomplish Friday morning (at the study room I booked)

filled in my planner with the rest of the assignment I have due

🏘 Adulting

worked a ~4 hour shift (recieved an actual frozen ham as our christmas gift from work)

cooked spaghetti for dinner for myself (needed comfort food)

cleared my old food out of the fridge

got my work schedule for next week figured out (my last week of work before the break, I could cry because I'm not going to see my work bestie until probably march of next year - she's super pregnant and due in the beginning of January)

filled in my budget for November and realized I spent over my means

deleted shopping apps from my phone

made a tentative lost of some goals for 2024 (might post them! thinking of breaking it down into monthly, quarterly, and yearly stuff)

zoom called my loving boyfriend <3

🥰 Self Love/Care

full morning skincare

full night skincare (I love how my face feels and looks after I oil cleanse)

I actually did a good amount of things yesterday, surprising with how much time I spent in bed not feeling like myself. But today is going to be a good day! My goals for today are to have a decent morning routine, finish and submit my final research study paper for my psyc class, attend the make up lab session for anatomy, attend the lan session for my psyc final exam (that's on monday), go to the gym, and make it through my work shift.

til next time lovelies 🩷

[alwayslosingtheplot-blog]

Making a world (Part 4)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 3.5

It's culture time!

I should be writing my book (or practicing for my driving test -_-) but I'm doing this instead because the novelty is more appealing. I'm going to do each island individually, focusing on settlements but talking a bit about the native species of plants and animals, food sources and all that.

The Island of Alseid

Alseid is in encircles by a ring of other islands. No monsters comes from the mainland or from the sea as they are many more places that are more convenient.

This city of Alsea is considered a wonder of history, art and invention. The shining city on the hill has been an inspiration for many heroes, poets and legends of old (think Arthurian).

Being inland, and on a hill helps keep the city safe from attack from raiders, while the wide river Achelous allows decently sized ships to travel to the sea.

Other than the city, there are five large towns worth mentioning: Crocus, Nelumbo, Nucifera, Iris and Lycoctonum. Yes, these are all flower names. There are many, many farms and small villages and shires that follow the river in both directions to and from the city itself.

Alseid is a gentle island with rolling hills and many small woods and forests. It's beaches are rocky and its weather is gentle with most of the storms having blown themselves out over other islands before arriving from the sea.

The main crops grow like corn but the kernels need to ground up into a flour in order to be used. The roots of this plant are also edible when roasted, but considered to be a poor person's food and is often used instead to feed the short, wooly cows found here instead. These cows are sometimes eaten by eagles and the small number of wolves that still live on the island.

The children here are educated until they reach ten and any of those who have shown talent (or have connections) will be given a patron to pursue their talents.

All others are allowed two 'fallow' years where they are allowed to work or be with family before being conscripted (until they reach 16). Once again, those who have shown talent are encouraged to remain in the military and those who have not are released.

There are policies in place to try and find every boy a trade to study at this stage. For some, it is easy. For example, a carpenter's son will be placed with his father unless there is good reason not to.

The girls are brought to the temple to serve for another year, where they are awarded merits. These merits are used to increase their bride-price for their family. Girls without families are also awarded merits and their bride-price are given towards the temple unless they decide to become priestesses.

Women are considered to be the protectors of the Alsean culture because of an old myth and all women are taught to read and write and write poetry in other to safe-guard the Alsean way of life. Any Alsean woman who travel out into the world (with their husbands, for the temple or by themselves) are expected to bring their culture with them and establish their traditions in new settlements.

Children educated outside of the city have instructors, who are to report any 'auspicious' children. Each school is visited yearly by a examiner who interviews the children and looks at their work. Any children who show talent are brought to a school in the city.

All 12-year-olds have to report to the city for their military training. Celebrations and festivals in Alseid mostly feature its naval pride and discipline in some way. Either through parades, the cleansing festival (think of it like a country-wide spring clean), the celebration of the construction of a new ship or a new bath construction. There is a celebration for births, but they only happen a year after the child is born and focuses on the mother 'overcoming the battle of birth'.

Naming conventions in Alseid are quite simple. A person's has a family name, but outside of their hometown the will refer to themselves as having the name of that hometown as their last name.

For example: in Iris, Atticus will be referred as Atticus Hann. Anywhere else, he will be Atticus Of Iris. Unless he meets someone else from the town, in which case they may swap 'home names'. I have a bit more on each of the towns themselves, (such as Crocus being Alsea's shield and Lycoctonum being next a wild forest with various beasts inside used for the last round of training for recruits in a annual 'Hunt') but the post is long enough.

I also have an idea for a series of short stories about a kid growing up through the military training and experiencing the island's features and faults - but I have a book to write and I really should focus on that.

[mariacallous]

A draft law in Serbia aims to allow the authorities to use both public and private CCTV cameras and facial recognition technology for the remote identification of citizens, raising concerns about mass surveillance of people during public assemblies or protests.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the assembly of the country’s Serb-led entity Republika Srpska has passed a law making defamation a crime punishable with a fine of up to 1,500 euros.

Romania’s parliament adopted a law increasing criminal penalties for acts of “outrage” against public officials and “disturbing of public order and peace”, among other offences.

In Hungary, some bookshops faced fines for selling books that deal with homosexuality in their youth sections and for failing to sell them in closed packaging.

These are some of the steps being taken in the wrong direction noted by rights watchdog Amnesty International in its latest yearly report on the “State of the World’s Human Rights”, published on Wednesday.

Worldwide, Amnesty says, freedom is under attack and authoritarian practices are on the rise. The number of people living in democratic countries is now the lowest since 1985.

Journalists face attacks and lawsuits

The Balkan region seems to be part of the international trend, albeit at a different speed, it says.

Journalists are often victims of this authoritarian tendency across the Balkan region, the report observes, as they became the objects of smear campaigns, strategic lawsuits or SLAPPs, or outright physical attacks in several countries.

In Serbia, independent and investigative journalists and activists faced “threats, vilification and punitive civil proceedings”, the report notes. In Albania, journalists were subjected to hate speech, physical assaults and a gun attack.

The report notes how Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj referred to a female journalist as “contract killer” following her investigation highlighting his role in a corruption scandal. In March, a security guard was murdered when unknown assailants sprayed bullets at the offices of Top Channel, Albania’s largest private TV station. Police have been unable to identify the authors of the attack or uncover their motives.

In Bosnia, the Journalists’ Association recorded an increase in attacks on journalists, with over 70 cases recorded in 2023, of which only a few were investigated. In Kosovo, journalists also faced “increased hostility”.

In North Macedonia, changes in the law regulating civil liability for insult and defamation reduced fines imposed on journalists. That welcome change, however, failed to curb the growing use of strategic lawsuits or SLAPPs. Journalists in Croatia are facing currently at least 945 SLAPPs, “mostly filed by public officials”.

The report said press freedom in Montenegro had improved, however, as the Appeals Court quashed proceedings against investigative journalist Jovo Martinović, wrongly convicted and imprisoned for drug trafficking.

Gender-based violence is a serious concern

The report highlights that gender-based violence remains a serious concern in Serbia where 27 women were victims of feminicide and in Albania, where 12 women were murdered last year by their partners or family members; in Kosovo, where there were six such deaths.

LGBTI rights remained under attack from religious groups in Serbia and North Macedonia; Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced he would never approve the Law on Same Sex Unions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was identified as one of the most hostile places in the world for LGBTI people. Albania registered “no progress” in this field.

Rights of refugees increasingly violated

The Balkans is also becoming a hotspot for refugee rights violations, the report underlines; to the old issue of Greece prosecuting rights activists who help emigrants is added new ones, including the plight of some 35,000 arrivals who were registered, some 2,500 of whom are estimated to be stranded there.

A controversial agreement between Albania PM Edi Rama and his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, to build a camp in Albania to host refugees rescued in international waters in the Mediterranean became the latest concern.

Albania, a country that once exported droves of asylum seekers, agreed to allow Italy to place thousands of migrants there each month in facilities built at Italian taxpayer’s expense.

Costing an estimated 800 million euros, the operation is seen as a political coup for PM Meloni as she tries to reassure her right-wing base that she is acting against illegal emigration – even though the number of these processed in Albania, at just 3,000 per month, is just a faction of the total arrivals – and even though many of those processed in Albania will have to be transferred again to Italy.

Human rights organisations and others have expressed concern about the wider impact this could have on the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants, including automatic and therefore arbitrary detention.

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

AAAAAAA ur reading house of leaves??? im buying that next week thats so cool! do u have any book recs? or recs in general shows movies etc

I AM!! I'm several chapters in and super enjoying it, although reading it alone in a tiny hotel room in the middle of nowhere was a Distinct Mistake.

As for recs! I'm going to specifically go for stuff that isn't super mainstream, in the hopes that I'll recommend you something you have never heard of before. Here's some stuff for you!

Podcasts

Dreamboy - one-season podcast from Night Vale Presents, definitely one of their less-known ones. Explicit in places, what I would describe as AO3 M-rated sex scenes. A worn-out musician ends up embroiled in inexplicable events in a small town, and also there's a murderous zebra and fossils that want to fuck. It's a musical cinematic podcast masterpiece, I'll always be sad there's only one season.

Apocrypals - nonfiction. Two non-believers read through the Bible and try not to be jerks about it. If you're interested in theology and apocryphal texts but have no idea where to start, this is such a good place. The hosts are delightful, and have a really nice way of taking you through all the various layers of Biblical scholarly nonsense. Considerable backlog of episodes, but worth listening through from the beginning. Weirdly, there's continuity.

Til Death Do Us Blart - five poor fools watch Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 every Thanksgiving from now until the end of eternity, and report back yearly on their mental state. You may think to yourself 'wow, that doesn't sound like a good time'. It isn't, to the hosts. To anyone listening along, it's fucking hilarious. Nine episodes so far, and it's a single episode per year, so plenty of time to catch up.

Web Series

The Monument Mythos - Several seasons. surreal analogue horror alternate history of America told through a series of videos of varying format. Brilliantly absurd, fucked up, and horrifying by turns (sometimes all at once).

No Evil - ongoing animated series, made mostly by a single person. Please don't immediately wave it off because of the colorful anthropormorphic animals. The mythology is amazing, the animation is sublime, and the music is haunting. The pacing is a bit strange at first, and you may be confused at the way the plot moves, but you have to understand that it's all part of its charm. I think about No Evil way too much.

Dances Moving - you may know Brian David Gilbert from his work at Polygon, and his more recent absurdist Youtube ventures. This is from way before that! It's a fun and gradually heartwrenching musical exploration of a local dance group and what it means to move away from home. Seven short episodes.

ENA - this one is a bit more mainstream, so you may know it already. Who knows what's going on in the world of ENA? Definitely not me. Absurdism at its finest. Bizarre architecture, strange characters, if it's a metaphor I don't know what it's about, but the vibes are immaculate. Three actual episodes of varying length, apparently there's a video game set to come out soon-ish?

An Unauthorized Fan Treatise - serialized story. If you're a fan of internet drama a la Msscribe, you're going to adore it. It's a fiction story about a fictional fandom, and one massively messed up person who decides that two of the lead actors in her favorite show are secretly dating and sets out to prove it with a cited multi-chapter essay. And then it gets wild.

Comics

The Property of Hate - a wonderfully dynamic and colorful webcomic about a young girl getting chosen to become a make-believe world's Hero. Puns and wordplay galore. Absolutely delightful characters and worldbuilding. Ongoing.

Eat the Rich - a young woman goes to meet her boyfriend's extremely rich family, and learns their horrifying secret. Warning: cannibalism. 5 issues, complete.

Beanworld - impossible to describe, but I'll try. An absurdist semiabstract musing on the nature of life and cycles and community, set in a world where the rules are weirdly two-dimensional and you as a reader get weirdly invested in the routines and cycles that the inhabitants follow. And all of the main characters are cute lil bean guys. If you read anything on this list, do this one. (Linked is the only online version I could find, and it's not up-to-date. I own all the omnibuses in print. If you liked what you read here, I recommend tracking them down too.)

Short Stories (in no particular order, and certainly not all my favorites - just the ones I had bookmarked and on hand)

Bride, Knife, Flaming Horse - a young Indian woman looks for marriage in the fantastical, and finds several suitors

Fish (in 13 sections) - an obsessive unpacks a bewildering insult. Just, really fun.

Fandom For Robots - a robot discovers anime, and definitely doesn't have big feelings about it

Informed Consent Logs From The Soul-Swap Clinic - two people decide to swap bodies, for somewhat murky reasons.

The Magician's Apprentice - a young girl learns magic from her mentor. This one's about grooming. But not like that. But also a lot like that. But also it's so much more fucked up than that. (This one is a MEGA favorite, it's by Tamsyn Muir. Who you may recognize as the author of the Locked Tomb series - I'd rec that too here, if it wasn't definitely too mainstream for what I'm going for. Read this. And also read the Locked Tomb.)

The Tale of the Foolish King Who Banished Music - it's a snippet of a longer Doctor Who audio drama, but stands so nicely on its own. Unnerving little fairy tale.

The Spider - 1908 horror story about a man trying to figure out why so many men have spontaneously committed suicide in a specific hotel room. It's basically a TMA statement, in more ways than one.

Video Games

What Did Veronica Dream Of? - strange little rpgmaker puzzle game. Obtuse and weird, and I adore it. I wish I could explain why.

Secret Little Haven - point-and-click about being a trans girl on the internet in 1999. Completely nails the tone it's going for. Period-typical homo- and transphobia.

Linelith - a short (1-hour) puzzle game with no plot and no characters, and yet it contains one of the greatest plot-twists of all time. I'm begging you to play it immediately.

Lingo - puzzle game about linguistics, words, non-Euclidean goemetry, and figuring out an endless series of rules in a constantly expanding world. RIDICULOUSLY clever and good, and I've been playing it almost continuously for the last few months. It's got so much content for such a reasonable price, and the community-made maps add even more content (and are also excellent). If English isn't your first language, you may struggle, but otherwise - grab a bunch of friends and stream it. It's better with friends helping you out, I can guarantee it.

For A Change - a 1999 interactive fiction game about raising the sun in a world where words do not mean what you think they mean. If you're familiar with old text-based games, go ahead and play it - otherwise, you may want to read this transcript of a group of people playing it together instead.

Other Things

Carmilla - the classic 1800s lesbian vampire novella. I read it very recently, and it's extremely good. Absolutely delivers on the lesbian vampire premise in full gory detail, although do be aware that it was written in the context of homophobic fear.

Alberio - very fun light musical about two siren brothers reconnecting under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Mosquitoes - stage play about life and families and physics (theoretical and practical both). Very heavy topics, pulls no punches. The Boson's final monologue always wrecks me.

Ghost Quartet - musical/song cycle/experience about love, death, alcohol, and (of course) ghosts. Lots of cyclical stories and time travel weirdness. All of the songs are incredible.

Yankee and the Foreigners - music group that performs delightful upbeat covers of songs in animal onesies. Their Bare Necessities cover is a favorite of mine.

I'm sure there's lots more things I could rec (not a lot of books or movies here, huh? sorry about that. I immediately forgot everything I've ever read and watched) but these were the things that came to mind when I sat down and wrote this list, so hopefully there's something new and good for you in here!

[everlastingfable]

Who even is Mark Smeaton? *runs*

omg anon are you sure you wanna ask this?

short answer: he's a bard from the 1530s who was in king henry viii's court and at the age of 24-ish confessed to committing adultery with queen anne boleyn, leading to his execution as well as the execution of anne and four other lords in her circle. but he most likely lied

long answer: mark smeaton (last name probably originally smet or smedt) was from flanders and later moved to england. he was a commoner, and the people in the royal court did not let him forget that. he originally worked under cardinal wolsey teaching choir boys, but was later transferred to king henry's court in the early 1530s when henry was doing his church of england thing. mark was quoted to be a "very handsome young man", "one of the prettiest monochord players", and "the deftest dancer in the land"

very little is actually known about him, except that he was getting paid very well by the king and queen. in less than two years his yearly salary nearly doubled (going from modern day £750 to £1250), and that doesn't even include the bonuses he received from them. to the point where he was able to afford expensive horses, clothes, liveries, etc. the horses alone were worth more than three times his yearly salary. he supposedly also had land and servants of his own. he was the court's sugar baby and some lords hated his attempt to social climb

we know he received a manuscript of two poems from viscount rochford. inside is inscribed "this book is mine, george boleyn 1526" and underneath "a moy, m. marc sn" which directly translates "to me" but basically "mine"

he was a favorite of anne boleyn and was probably in love with her. his downfall started when he was standing outside of anne's apartment window looking sad. anne asked him what was wrong and he replied that it was "no matter" she then chastised him for wanting her to speak to him as if he's a nobleman. he's a commoner and he should be glad she's speaking to him at all. he replied "no, no, madam. a look sufficeth, thus fare you well."

this conversation was reported to thomas cromwell (the king's secretary) who invited mark to his house for "entertainment" but it was a ruse. no one knows exactly what happened that night. most sources say he was tortured. but the next day mark confessed to sleeping with the queen along with four other men, all of whom were part of her circle. mark was the only one of the five men to confess and plead guilty.

he probably lied as the dates he gave didn't match up. the days he said he slept with the queen, she was somewhere else entirely.

he and the four men were executed in tower hill. despite being a commoner, he was beheaded (the nobleman's death) instead of hung and quartered. supposedly for his cooperation with cromwell and his crew. he was the last of the men to get beheaded and was described to have stumbled back when he saw the bloody scaffold and said "masters, I pray you all pray for me, for I have deserved the death"

he was buried in the tower of london in either where the building for the crown jewels are being displayed or behind the chapel royal of st peter ad vincula

I think he's the most fascinating person to have ever existed and is the definition of "I'm here for a good time not a long time"

[searchingforserendipity25]

If you're still doing the character ask, please: Fingolfin

Character Ask Game 💚🤍🖤

I am always up for asks! Thank you @melestasflight, Fingolfin was very fun to tackle!

Give me a character and I will give you my thoughts on

Fingolfin

one aspect about them i love 

Leading several thousand people across a desolate wasteland after cutting ties with their deities is THE most insane thing anyone does in the Silmarillion. This is true, and every time I remember Araman is right there as an option it makes me insane. 

 He is the single most interesting leader in this whole book for that. I don’t think it can be overestimate what a feat of every kind of resources it is. The commitment it takes, the huge amount of - even social control you need to have, to keep so many people united to the same goal, when the goal means fighting another worse deity, and vengeance, and sublimating the grief of the many partings and direct religious trauma while surviving the Arctic and facing constant privation?

In a way it’s a good thing everyone is busy creating steel-strong community concepts while on the Ice, because otherwise it would be a gigantic nightmare to deal with that fallout. The fact that he maintains the Flight of the Noldor as a Chase of Morgoth, creating unity and a shared ideal to maintain - the fact that his host only splinters under Turgon’s direction? Insane. 

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

It is not even so much about Finwë, although of course it is also about Finwë. 

Being ambitious is not a crime! It is however a strong character trait, and a way to define one’s life when it’s very existence is a cause of philosophical debate. 

But politics, governing, those are Fingolfin’s true crafts, and Fëanor insisting on being always a step up on the dias and above him is maddening, and to a point feels like he is outright trying to stifle his calling on purpose.

Which he is, although perhaps not in a would-steal-your-forge-along- with-father’s-favoritism way. Not sure Fëanor cares to conceptualize leadership in such a crafting-equivalent way. 

This may be more suited to headcanons, but I do think the idea that a social role can have such a strong impetus, even spiritual value to someone is mostly Vanyar, and having no material evidence of work, doesn’t fit so well in the Noldor’s material culture point of view about singular purpose. 

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Big tea drinker. Not much of a musician. Loves cool tones (Indis sorrows for the adorable emerald green and amethyst-bright onesies he refused to wear). Also a smith, as all Noldor princes are, but his interests are tied to infrastructures - steam-energy mostly, awfully boring stuff for most. Runs life according to a constantly updated list of priorities in his mind, that include meal times, coups, trips with each of their kids, divorce settlement negotiations with Anairë, etc. 

This made him the logistics genius the host in the Ice needed, and was in fact the kind of basilar confidence that led him to it - among other things, I'm sure he studied the journey to Valinor extensively. He knew it would be incredibly difficult in their circumstances, that many would not survive, that the loss would change them utterly; but he also knew it was not impossible, and therefore it ought to be made possible.

His confidence in himself in never entirely wrong, but sometimes misjudged; he knew exactly he would be able to land up to five wounds on Morgoth. The last two were a freestyle bonus :/

as well as

one character i love seeing them interact with

Fingon! Father and son, king and heir, bright flare of despair and the inheritor of hope - they are foils, they are parallels, and they are painfully, painfully aware of it. Would love to read a JSTOR article comparing their rules, up to the yearly tax reports. 

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Lalwen (not a surprise!). The sort of loyalty involved is so interesting to me, but also the true that has to be based off true understanding and belief. They’re each other’s ride or die, and the idea of generally very magnificent and polis-minded Fingolfin being bffs with his irreverent younger sister is very amusing and fascinating.

(Also Turgon! Turgon and his disappearing act - well. He kind of commited treason, in a way? Treason-ish. It’s certainly a very pointed denial of Fingolfin’s direct authority, that’s for sure. Like. I crack up every time I think about this. Turgon must have been a nightmarish teenager, he’s very much like his father.)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Had a hard time connecting with Finarfin. They enjoyed each other’s company, mostly! Had a very clear understanding of who the other one is, which was even about 60% correct. 

But the spark just isn’t there, and later on that’s something he grieves as much as Fëanor’s whole business. In part because idealized memories of Finarfin’s restful diplomacy are a succor in Beleriand, and in part because he has moments of clarity with some foresight, and sees Finarfin in a position of commander against Morgoth against his own. 

That’s part of his despair - he thinks the war against Morgoth will go so badly it will be taken up against the elves of Amanyar in their own terrain, that all the efforts of guarding and defending in defiance will be for nothing, and even fair Valinor will perish with only Indis’ son to defend the Noldor.

 This - is not correct. Finarfin fully takes the hosts of Valinor to Beleriand; but part of Morgoth’s power in battle is to take one’s worst fears and inflate them with the force of his own undeniable might. It gets him one dead Noldorin king, but also several painful scars, so really it’s a toss up on how well that works for him. 

[malebotlabs]

(If you want an update on where I’ve been and the state of this blog where I answer some frequently asked questions and a bit of RP click below. If not, enjoy the pictures it will be a while before there’s more but do not worry I’m doing fine just taking a break.)

TRANSMISSION START:

Greetings and good evening, this is the Malebot Labs account PR unit operating again for it’s yearly update which will be reported in human emulation mode for convenience: *Ahem* Uh...hey? So I’ve been absolutely busy with life and a bit stressed out over the past several months, a bad mixture of life stuff and just generalized anxiety to be frank, so my production of stuff on this blog has been a bit...glacial to say the least. I’ve come to a few decisions on how to both improve my life and focus on things more. A break from a lot of stuff that takes a chunk of my time.

I’m going to take a break from here for a bit; not that anything here is bad or anything I just need to focus more on the stuff happening around me then hot robot men. Hopefully you guys understand

At the very least I should be fully operational at some time in the future! Just when things die down a bit and I can sit down and breathe a bit.

Here let me answer a few questions I’ve gotten while I’ve been working on stuff because that’ll hopefully get us all on the same page: 1. Do you have other social media or a discord account? Sorry no I don’t, I’m an odd case on that where I prefer to keep my internet footprint as small as possible. The fact I even made a tumblr blog at all is still baffling to me. If you need to contact me for whatever reason please message me here but I don’t think I’ll be responding anytime soon.

2. Can you do/make an edit of/Write a story involving ______ I don’t think I’ll be able to get to requests anytime soon. I’m real sorry.

3. Can you continue any of your stories? I probably won’t, most of the stories I write are small snippets of things going through my head making an edit or what I’m feeling that specific evening. I need to be in a specific mood to finish things. The fact that people have enjoyed them to the extent they have has surprised me for sure! Thank you all a lot for the kind words I’ve received over the years on them!

4. What do you do/where do you live/other various personal questions Sorry I prefer to keep myself anonymous online, I feel it’s safer and it allows those around me to act like I’m a machine more easily. Just think of me as everyone’s public robot/sexbot and leave it at that. Hell if you wanted to act like that I won’t stop you. If you can’t tell I’m a huge slut for being a robot and being around robots. Treat me like the machine I want to be and leave that silly human stuff to the side for the “emulation” to take care of!

5. Can we RP? I wouldn’t count on me responding anytime soon to anything here, but I want to say thank you to those that I’ve had sessions with in the past. You all have been real fun to roleplay with and I wish you all the best until we talk again! Thank you!

6. Do you exercise?/Are you a jock in real life? I need to exercise for sure! Part of my break is going to involve me going to the gym and exercising regularly when possible! As far as the other part of that goes I don’t act like a jock in real life, I don’t know anything about sports and I prefer to sit inside with a nice book or perhaps a video game if I have the time to sit down with one. I’m a nerdy guy who wears suits and is generally unremarkable.

7. What is the lore behind Malebot Labs and it’s world building? Basically nothing funnily enough, I just find robot men hot and then breaking apart even hotter. I’d say it’s a pretty shit company with all of it’s machines technical faults but there’s a market in universe for this malfunction stuff. I’d say there’s other companies and even female robots and other types of adult robotic companions out there it’s just that this blog was made when I was really into robotic men specifically so all of my feminine robot edits are largely on my own pc or just deleted. Actually a funny story I forgot that malebots was a website when I made this blog and felt extremely embarrassed when I remembered. I thought about changing the name but I never came up with anything better.

8. Are all the Malebots gay? Probably. I think robots can be whatever they want to/are programmed to be. As far as I go? I’m bisexual and I tend to swing to masculine and feminine body types about the same amount so yes the guy running the gay robot porn blog is gay.

9. What do you use to edit your pictures? I use GIMP and a lot of the selective gaussian blur tool to get that plastic look, I’d make a tutorial but that’s basically all I do besides some layers, some pngs I found online, and the perspective tool putting in a lot of work. I used to have a lot more higher quality images to work with for components but lost them on my old computer.

10. Do you speak any other languages? Sorry I only speak english. If I could just import new languages into my speech life would be so much easier!

11. Are you a robot? Of course not! That’d be crazy. That’d...be crazy. Y-You can’t really believe I-I’m a robot right? Right? I-I’m a normal h-human ma-man! Hu-ma-MAN! I-I-I’m sorry I seem to be-ERROR THIS UNIT IS EXPER- I seem to be-ERROR- I seem to b-be experiencing problems! O-ooooooh! H-Hey there ho-hot stuff do yo-you like what you see? What you see? W-what you. See? I am b-built to be the p-perfect man, the perfect. Man. So u-use me like the m-machine I am! The ma-ERROR IN HUMAN EMULATION PLEA-O-Oh Oh! You...Y-You want to go somewhere more...private? P-Private? I ho-hope you’re enjoying m-my b-body my b-bod-my blog! O-Okay I’m getting w-way too...HOT! W-way too h-hot...I-I’m so...hooooooooooot. So Hot. So. hothothothothothot. Oh l-look at the time! I-I need to get going. Going. enjoy th-the blog! The! Blog! ERROR-ERROR PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT.  PLEASE CONTACT MALEBOT LABS TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR MAINTENANCE OF YOUR PR UNIT. PLE- END TRANSMISSION

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

I was looking at a book recs list from 2020 where you mentioned GoodReads, and I was wondering if you've looked into The StoryGraph since then but had no idea what tags to check and didn't wanna scroll through three years of posts looking, sorry if you already have an existing manifesto somewhere.

I checked it out back when I stopped using Goodreads but wasn't really interested. as much of my decision to quit with Goodreads came from my desire to be as detached as possible from Amazon, I was also really over the performative gamification of reading that came from logging every book finished and page read for people to see, and as much as I respect Storygraph's existence as a Goodreads alternative I wasn't really interested in taking up the exact same behavior all over again.

Storygraph was also still definitely going through some growing pains at the time, and I frankly wasn't very interested in sticking around waiting for it to get good. this was very shortly before a large group of authors, most of them POC, reported that their books were getting flagged for content that was barely in the book or not present at all - ie, a queer middle readers book getting a CW for scat when nothing more explicit happened than a mention of a character going to the bathroom. I don't know if it was ever sorted out whether this was malicious targeting, well-meaning over caution, or a combo of the two, but between that and some other user features that I was side eyeing at the time + the above, that was a polite no from me.

after that I switched over to a Google docs list tracking the books I want to read and keeping track of what's been read on a yearly spreadsheet, with monthly recaps here. that's been much more satisfying for me 📚