#Winter Edition Vol. 2

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Middlemen without enshittification

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me next in SALT LAKE CITY (Feb 21, Weller Book Works) and SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix and more!

Enshittification describes how platforms go bad, which is also how the internet goes bad, because the internet is made of platforms, which is weird, because platforms are intermediaries and we were promised that the internet would disintermediate the world:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel

The internet did disintermediate a hell of a lot of intermediaries – that is, "middlemen" – but then it created a bunch more of these middlemen, who coalesced into a handful of gatekeepers, or as the EU calls them "VLOPs" (Very Large Online Platforms, the most EU acronym ever).

Which raises two questions: first, why did so many of us end up flocking to these intermediaries' sites, and how did those sites end up with so much power?

To answer the first question, I want you to consider one of my favorite authors: Crad Kilodney (RIP):

https://archive.org/details/thecradkilodneypapers

When I was growing up, Crad was a fixture on the streets of Toronto. All through the day and late into the evening, winter or summer, Crad would stand on the street with a sign around his neck ("Very famous Canadian author, buy my books, $2" or sometimes just "Margaret Atwood, buy my books, $2"). He wrote these deeply weird, often very funny short stories, which he edited, typeset, printed, bound and sold himself, one at a time, to people who approached him on the street.

I had a lot of conversations with Crad – as an aspiring writer, I was endlessly fascinated by him and his books. He was funny, acerbic – and sneaky. Crad wore a wire: he kept a hidden tape recorder rolling in his coat and he secretly recorded conversations with people like me, and then released a series of home-duplicated tapes of the weirdest and funniest ones:

https://archive.org/details/on-the-street-crad-kilodney-vol-1

I love Crad. He deserves more recognition. There's an on-again/off-again documentary about his life and work that I hope gets made some day:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/09/free-sample/#putrid-scum

But – and this is the crucial part – there are writers out there I want to hear from who couldn't do what Crad did. Maybe they can write books, but not edit them. Or edit them, but not typeset them. Or typeset, but not print. Or print, but not spend the rest of their lives standing on a street-corner with a "PUTRID SCUM" sign around their neck.

Which is fine. That's why we have intermediaries. I like booksellers (I was one!). I like publishers. I like distributors. I like their salesforce, who go forth and convince the booksellers of the world to stock books like mine. I have ten million things I want to do before I die, and I'm already 52, and being a sales-rep for a publisher isn't on my bucket list. I am so thankful that someone else wants to do this for me.

That's why we have intermediaries, and why disintermediation always leads to some degree of re-intermediation. There's a lot of explicit and implicit knowledge and specialized skill required to connect buyers and sellers, creators and audiences, and other sides of two-sided markets. Some producers can do some of this stuff for themselves, and a very few – like Crad – can do it all, but most of us need some help, somewhere along the way. In the excellent 2022 book Direct, Kathryn Judge lays out a clear case for all the good that middlemen can do:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/direct-the-problem-of-middlemen/

So why were we all so anxious for disintermediation back in the late 1990s? Here's a hint: it wasn't because we hated intermediaries – it was because we hated powerful intermediaries.

The point of an intermediary is to serve as a conduit between producers and consumers, buyers and sellers, audiences and creators. When an intermediary gains power over the audience – say, by locking them inside a walled garden – and then uses that lock-in to screw producers and appropriate an ever larger share of the value going between them, that's when intermediaries become a problem.

The problem isn't that someone will handle ticketing for your gig. The problem is that Ticketmaster has locked down all the ticketing, and the venues, and the promotions, and it uses that power to gouge fans and rip off artists:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/20/anything-that-cant-go-on-forever-will-eventually-stop/

The problem isn't that there's a well-made website that lets you shop for goods sold by many small merchants and producers. It's that Amazon has cornered this market, takes $0.51 out of every dollar you spend there, and clones and destroys any small merchant who succeeds on the platform:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/25/greedflation/#commissar-bezos

The problem isn't that there's a website where you can stream most of the music ever recorded. It's that Spotify colludes with the Big Three labels to rip off artists and sneaks crap you don't want to hear into your stream in order to collect payola:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/09/12/streaming-doesnt-pay/#stunt-publishing

The problem isn't that there's a website where you can buy any audiobook you want. It's that Amazon's Audible locks every book to its platform forever and steals hundreds of millions of dollars from creators:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

The problem, in other words, isn't intermediation – it's power. The thing that distinguishes a useful intermediary from an enshittified bully is power. Intermediaries gain power when our governments stop enforcing competition law. This lets intermediaries buy each other up and corner markets. Once they've formed cozy cartels, they can capture their regulators and commit rampant labor, privacy and consumer violations with impunity. That capture also lets them harness governments to punish smaller players that want to free workers, creators, audiences and customers from walled gardens. It also hands them a whip-hand over their workers, so that any worker who refuses to aid in these nefarious plans can be easily fired:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel

A world with intermediaries is a better world. As much as I love Crad Kilodney's books, I wouldn't want to live in a world where the only books on my shelves came from people prepared to stand on a street-corner wearing a "FOUL PUS FROM DEAD DOGS" sign.

The problem isn't intermediaries – it's powerful intermediaries. That's why the world's surging antitrust movement is so exciting: by reinstating competition law, we can keep intermediaries small and comparatively weak, so that creators and audiences, drivers and riders, sellers and buyers, and other groups seeking to connect will not find themselves made subservient to middlemen.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#intermediation

#pluralistic #intermediation #disintermediation #publishing #creative labor #middlemen #distributors #publishers #publicists #enshittification #monopoly #monopsony #crad kilodney #trustbusting #antitrust

[freisende]

Thousand Autumns English Volume Covers 1-5 Are Now Complete!

Thousand Autumns (Qian Qiu) have officially been taken and published by Seven Seas Publishing. Take a look, the volumes are all now complete. Special edition of the last volume (5th volume) are also available with limited supplies to pre-order.

They're so beautiful and I can't wait to stuff them all up in my bookshelves🥺❤

The arts were done so beautifully by Mimo.

The drastic change in the fifth volume compared starting from the beginning of the first volume is 😔💖

They're really closing the final curtain with the season autumn💛💛

Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter; In the end, who can still remain eternal?

Look at the symbols on the side of the books! <3

Vol. 1: Shen Qiao's Bamboo pole

Vol. 2: Scroll (Zhuyang Ce)

Vol. 3: Ah-Qiao Tangren

Vol. 4: Shan He Tong Bei Sword

Vol. 5: Banbu Peak (Xuandu Mountain)

It's all related to our beloved protagonist Shen Qiao.

Please read Qianqiu if you haven't! Let's support the authors too by buying the official books if you can.

#千秋 #qianqiu #thousand autumns #yan wushi #shen qiao #yanshen #meng xi shi #text post #english translation #chinese novel #book cover #cover #digital art

[theretirementhome]

What Child Is This?

2023. WHOSE child is this? GET IT THE EFF OUT OF HERE. Jesus Christ. Consider this your invitation to disassociate for 2 hours with every favorite Christmas song I could coherently stuff into one long megamix. All killer, no filler. Here's to 2024 not being such a little dickhead.

https://www.mixcloud.com/jessprice/what-child-is-this/

Image via @weirdchristmas

Tracklist:

Dorothy Remsen - On An Old Christmas Song (Silent Night)

The Crossing - Prelude: Adam

The Swingle Singers - Medley: Deck the Hall with Boughs of Holly / What Child Is This?

Les Petits Chanteurs De La Renaissance - Le Messie Vient De Naitre

The Annapolis Brass Quintet - O Holy Night

Urbie Green - Ave Maria

Anne Phillips Choir - Touro Louro Louro

Roberto Perera & Juan Areco - Joy

High Spirits, Past And Present-Youth Of Holy Spirit Parish - Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy

The Dixie Humming Birds - The Holy Baby

The Roy Meriwether Trio - Jingle Bells (Part I)

The Flirtations - Christmas Time is Here Again

The Supremes - Twinkle Twinkle Little Me

The Staples Singers - Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas

The Jack Brokensha Quartet - Do You Hear What I Hear?

Brook Benton - You're All I Want For Christmas

Joe Tex - I'll Make Everyday Christmas (For My Woman)

Roy Smeck and His Island Quartet - Winter Wonderland Vol. 2

Johnny Selph - All I Want For Christmas Is My Baby

Ed McCurdy And The Harvesters - (Tonight Is Christmas Eve) Get Along Home Cindy

Gene & Jerry - Hootenanny Christmas

Richard Gillis - C.B. Santa Claus

Dave Dudley - Six Tons Of Toys

The Smothers Brothers With Childrens Chorus - The Toy Song

Marc Haney - Christmas Song

Rhys O'Brien - Christmas Morning

Kenny Rogers And The First Edition - Joy (Jeso, Joy Of Man's Desiring)

Chaquito - Carol Of The Bells

Sacha Distel - Ding, Ding, Dong (Jingle Bells)

Cincinnati Symphony Members With Mac Frampton-Soloist - Jingle Bells 

Les Paul and Mary Ford - Jungle Bells (Dingo-Dongo-Day)

Edmundo Ros - My Favorite Things

Walt Harper - Silent Night

The Ramsey Lewis Trio - Mary's Boy Child

Raindolls - Disco Santa Claus

Hot Chocolate - Brand New Christmas

Moonlion - Little Drummer Boy

Geoff Bastow - God Rest Ye

Hot & Sassy - Christmas Strutt

The Next of Kin - Merry Christmas

Freddie Mitchell Orchestra Featuring Rip Harrigan - Auld Lang Syne Boogie

Washington High School Acappella Choir - We Wish You The Merriest

David Axelrod - Hallelujah

Airforce Broadcast Services - Slide Whistle And Pop

Airforce Broadcast Services - Ho, Ho

[thebeautifulbook]

THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN: Summer and winter journeys through Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and northern Finland by Paul B. Du Chaillu. (New York: Harper, 1881). 2 Vols.

source [later edition]

#beautiful books #book blog #books books books #book cover #books #vintage books #victorian era #travelogue #sweden #norway #lappland #finland #etching

[hellframe]

Francis Abernathy: fake pince-nez

I was wondering where Francis ‘borrowed’ this accessory, so let there be some observations.

First of all, there’s a sassy definition of a typical dandy by Paul de Saint-Victor (La Presse, 21 August 1859):

'Black Prince of Elegance, the demigod of boredom who looked at the world with an eye as glassy as his pince-nez, suffering because his disarranged cravat had a crease, like ancient Sybarite who suffered because his rose was crushed.'

Then I thought that red hair combined with pince-nez reminds of Ezra Pound, known for his dandyish style and some other unpleasant things.

[Considering that Henry Winter could be read as a projection of T. S. Eliot, I think it's logical to compare Francis to Eliot's friend Pound, who edited The Waste Land, btw.]

Pince-nez also wore Mark Twain, another elegant redhead. Speaking of Twain, he left a description of one notable encounter in his Autobiography (vol. 2, 1924):

'Last night I was at a large dinner party at Norman Hapgood's palace uptown, and a very long and very slender gentleman was introduced to me — a gentleman with a fine, alert, and intellectual face, with a becoming gold pince-nez on his nose and clothed in an evening costume which was perfect from the broad spread of immaculate bosom to the rosetted slippers on his feet. His gait, his bows, and his intonations were those of an English gentleman, and I took him for an earl.'

Dapper-looking, tall, thin young gentleman in pince-nez, giving an impression of English aristocracy at uptown dinner parties. Doesn’t it sound like Francis?

Another possible source is 'The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez', one of Sherlock Holmes short stories. This pince-nez belongs to a refined and well-dressed lady, who committed an accidental murder, and then committed a suicide.

Eventually, when I was reading a review on Baudelaire’s last oeuvre, among his notes about Belgium I discovered a curious fact: Baudelaire complained that Belgians sold pince-nez with plain glass as a fashion accessory.

So I put my nose into that piece of prejudiced decadent writing:

'The pince-nez, with its cord, perched on the nose. A multitude of vitreous eyes, even among the officers. An optician told me that the majority of pince-nez that sells are clear glass. Thus this national pince-nez craze is nothing more than a pathetic effort to appear elegant and yet one more sign of the spirit of imitation and conformity.'

Late Fragments: Flares, My Heart Laid Bare, Prose Poems, Belgium Disrobed, trans. by Richard Sieburth (p. 301)

Francis bought his phony pince-nez in Belgium. That's it.

#the secret history #francis abernathy #tsh notes #metahemeralism

[putschki1969]

Botanical Tsushin Vol#14 HQ Scans

Download the entire newsletter HERE

❗This is FAN CLUB EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗These scans are for PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗DO NOT SHARE on other sites❗ ❗Join her FAN CLUB! Check out my detailed TUTORIAL ❗

Contents Botanical Tsushin 2023 Winter Vol.14

03 Wakana Special Interview 08 Studio Ghibli Tribute Album Recording Report 09 Anison Days Report 10 Travel with Wakana to Eat Gyoza Vol.05 14 Talk Corner Vol.16 16 Join Wakana on an Animal Expedition! Animeal Odaiba Store Edition! 18 Member Contribution Corner Vol.16 20 Information

Harmony Magazine Vol: 5 | 6&7

Botanical Land: Vol 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

#kalafina #wakana #wakana scans #scans #my scans #botanical tsushin #botanical land #fan club exclusive content #wakana in that dark green dress!! #wow #so flattering #LOVED all the gyoza content #also #I really hope she can do that tour for her 5th anniversary

[the-mad-dog-of-eckhart]

Villains Are Destined to Die Vol. 6 is coming in July 28!

Volume 6 limited edition contains:

Callisto Acrylic Stand

5 types of illustrated postcards

2 transparent photocards

1 Large Poster

1 Winter Verdandi carrier sticker

Online Korean stores:

Yes24

Kyobo

Aladin

#villains are destined to die #vadd news #vadd volume #vadd merchandise #manhwa #webtoon #webcomic #penelope eckhart #winter verdandi #please remember that the following titles are not official: #death is the only ending for a villainess #death is the only ending for the villainess #death is the only ending for the villain

[b4rk1ng-l0t]

TMC Timeline

I'm not including anything before Mark's birth. Aside from that, lmk if I'm missing anything or somethings wrong.

1974

July 24— Mark is born

?- Thatcher is most likely born this decade

1981

MandelaTech is formed, US Department of unforeseen temporal phenomena too

1982

95% increase in MAD cases

1988

January 18th— Adam is born in Mandela

March 7-- Jonah is born

?— Eve is most likely born

1989

?-- Sarah is born when Mark is 15

1990

Population: 19,867

June 8— Jude and Lynn married

1991

Population: 19,465

1992

Population: 14,763

April 4— Thatcher’s and Ruth’s promotion, Thatcher is in his twenties

August 29— Jude and Lynn divorced

August 30— Pictures of window (exhibition)

September 13-15— Mark and Cesar. Mark died on the 15 (Sarah is 3)

September 14— Adam is tested at 4

September 21— Mark's body was discovered

?— Intruder Alert takes place. Jude calls Ruth and Thatcher. Ruth is killed. 

1995

Population: 5,024

March— Newspeak issue ("Off duty mandela officers withhold information about alternate invasion")

2004

Population: 2,403

July 3— Post created for Mandela Meerkats vs Brighton Bunnies soccer game on the 21st (old Mandela police site leak)

July 24— Sarah recorded the message on mandelapolice.com

November 12— Post is created about Mandela’s population decrease (old Mandela police site leak)

2005

Population: 2,069

US Department of Temporal Phenomena releases "Know Your Enemy-A guide on alternate types as of 2005"

2006

Population: 1,786

June 11— Sarah advertises BPC

2007

Population: 1,687

July 10— Adam is added to BPC, and it becomes BPS! Adam makes the first entry in his diary

July 14— Adam shows Sarah the first piece of footage

July 15— Adam and Sarah watch the green hand video. Adam makes his next diary entry about this

July 17— Adam finds Jonah online

Population: 1,687

2008

Population: 1,347

June 24— Thatcher accepts Eve into department. (I'm not sure if this part is still canon to the series because it doesnt really line up with Vol 4 and Alex had taken the video down)

August 14— Adam's 3rd diary entry about sleep paralysis

2009

Population: 1,075

Soccer game video and Mymovie.mp4

(Winter break) Jan 10-13— Volume 2. Takes them a day to arrive.

Jan 13-- Jonah leaves and offs himself. Adam eventually leaves the house, and walks through snow until he finds the van

Past Jan 13— Sarah and Adam talk about Jonah

Jan 14- Dave's death at Gabriel Church (church Sarah and Mark went to) is reported on Channel 3. His death was around midnight. Nurses talk about him later in the evening.

Jan 15— Adam's 4th diary entry about waking up and hearing his screams from the van. It makes him feel bad

Jan ?- Adam goes all 'Preacher Mode' on Eve. Sarah eventually contacts her asking about him.

Jan 16- Thatcher drives out to Werksha at 1:57 and finds Adam in his home at 2:21. Adam starts screaming (and Thatcher does too from MAD). At 4, he drives him to the station and comforts questions him. Meanwhile, Sarah hacks into the security cameras and watches this go down.

(Last edit: November 24, 2023)

#tmc vol 4 spoilers #mandela catalogue #the mandela catalogue #timeline #:star:

[izumi-fanclub]

🌸Translation Masterlist🌸

Event Story

Blessed Memories

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

SSR Family

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Moon Traveler

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Ah, My Dearly Beloved

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

NEW ERA GARDEN (Act 3.5)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Backstage Story

Spring Troupe

Chikage SR Card “Promise of Blooming” [Let’s Play! Real Life Gacha: Chikage’s Turn]

Tsuzuru R Card “Oriental Note” [Who sent the chocolate?]

Chikage SSR Card “Tailor-Made” [Suit of Your Choice]

Citron N Card “Harugaoka Quartet” [Role-building: Saionji Ennis]

Chikage R Card “Emerald Palette” [Spice is the best]

Citron SSR Card [ Prince Jasmine Across The Sea ]

Chikage SSR Card “MANKAI Glitter” [To ARIES: Chikage]

Chikage SR Card “Necessary Sacrifice” [BBQ Essentials]

Masumi Usui SR Card “SUNNY SPRING” [Harugumi Fanservice Study Group ~Masumi Edition~]

Chikage SSR Card “His Welcoming Territory” [ A Boy’s Dream ]

Tsuzuru SSR Card “Everyone From the Minagi Family” [ Midnight cramming ]

Chikage R Card “Last Planet” [ Let’s do good deeds ]

Chikage SR Card “SUNNY SPRING” [Harugumi Fanservice Study Group ~Chikage Edition~]

Chikage SR Card “Invitation On Board” [Ship Model Full of Arrangements]

Chikage SR Card “Brilliance of Blooming” [ MANKAI Livestream! ~ LIVE: Chikage ~ ]

Chikage SR Card “A Capable Man’s Morning Routine” [ An Elite’s Morning ]

Chikage SSR Card “Graceful Paani” [ Sweet and Spicy ]

Chikage SR Card “You Can You Know” [ Secret Notepad ]

Chikage Utsuki SSR Card “Dear My Moon” [ Twinkle Sign ]

Chikage Utsuki SSR Card “Wizard of Death” [ The Western, Northern Wizards and the Ruler of Darkness ]

Summer Troupe

Autumn Troupe

Winter Troupe

Tasuku SSR Card “Fire Kingdom” [What I see now]

Other Characters

Haruto R Card “Twin Kingdoms” [Part-time job together! ~Haruto Version~]

Shift SR Card “Wanting To Be Relied Upon” [Special homemade udon noodles]

Haruto SSR Card “Ice Kingdom” [The Story of Haruto Asuka]

Rento R Card “Cheerful Mr. Sounds Man” [Melon Bread from God]

Mini Talk

Spring Troupe

SSR Family Mini Talk Translation || Chikage Utsuki

Summer Troupe

Autumn Troupe

Winter Troupe

5th Anniversary Mini Talk “Under The Same Starry Sky” Tsumugi & Rento

Other Characters

Haruto Mini Talk [Twin Kingdoms]

Song Lyric translation

Spring Troupe

Chikage’s Second Solo “SEEDS” [ FULL VER. ]

Tsuzuru’s Second Solo “The Storyteller” [ FULL VER. (REUPLOAD) ]

Family Activation [ FULL VER. ]

Summer Troupe

Autumn Troupe

Azami’s Second Solo “Teenager” [ FULL VER. ]

Juza’s Second Solo “MIRAILIGHT” [ FULL VER. ]

Winter Troupe

Other Characters

Haruto’s solo “Nitou Joutou” [FULL VER.]

Web Comic /Manga Translation

Chapter 173 “Croquette feat. Curry”

Chapter 184: ”Be Yourself…”

Chapter 189: “Fearless Eyes”

Chapter 195: “Unrelenting”

Chapter 198: “Teach Us”

Chapter 232: “State Secrets”

A3! Comic Anthology Vol. 2 Translation: Love For The Director

#a3 #a3! #a3 translation #a3! translation #a3 translation masterlist #a3! translation masterlist

[dowhatteverer]

If they're a male character who treats women like shit, you RWDE folks will stan the hell out of them, huh?

You literally cannot come up with any other criticism of us outside of projecting the show writers' misogyny onto us because you can't come up with a good retort to our criticisms so you fall back on using buzwords to demonize us.

Look, I don't know what character you're specifically talking about, my blog is mainly centered around Ironwood, and I just posted an edited screenshot of Whitley, so I'll just go over peoples reasons for liking these male characters you've decided we shouldn't like and why we're not misogynists for doing so.

Adam Taurus- let's get something very clear, no one likes Adam as he is in the show. No one likes that he abused Blake, no one likes that he was a faunus supremacist, and no one likes his terrible voice acting. The reason people have still held onto Adam and go out of their way to rewrite him is because he is the embodiment of the show's disgusting opinions on race and the concept of fighting back, and is the main face of the white fang plotline.

Illia? She turned to Blake's side after getting talked out of violent protest, so she can't be a representation of violent protest being necessary. (And it was necessary canonically, According to Blake, the only reason the faunus have most of the equal treatment they get now is because of the white fang moving to a more violent approach) Sienna was a gorgeous character design that existed for four minutes before she was unceremoniously killed and Adam was once again cemented as the big bad. Forgive us for wanting a well written racism plotline rather than a poorly written abuse plotline.

If you're bitching about Ironwood here's the deal, I only like Vol 2-7 Ironwood, because I view vol 8 Ironwood to be an entirely different person. Let's see what sexist things vol 2-7 Ironwood did? He flirts with Glynda in his first appearance (kind of, all he does is say "Glynda! It has been far too long) and she walks off annoyed.

Flirting with a woman does not inherently make a man sexist? JAUNE went out of his way to not hear a no from Weiss and Weiss was treated like the bad guy by her own friends because she didn't say yes to a boy she wasn't attracted to. That's sexist, but I bet you guys don't think it was that big of a deal do you?

Ironwood is mostly shown to care about the opinions of the women in his life, encouraging young women like Ruby when he tells her that going after that masked woman and trying to prevent harm was exactly what a huntress should do. And he defaults to Winter's opinion constantly because he respects her and views her as essentially his second in command. If you're going to bring up the Winter Maiden, I don't know if you can blame Ironwood for providing Hospice care to an old woman with dementia as well as keeping her safe from the villains who want to murder her and take her powers, as well as putting the woman he believes is the best possible fit for the job in charge of taking care of her needs so she when she passes, Winter can take the powers.

Any sexism in that plotline is inevitable because the Maidens are kind of an inherently Sexist concept for the show writers to add onto the story.

Ironwood treated Penny just fine until Vol 8. What we're told and what we're shown in volume 7 is inherently contradictory ("Ironwood says I don't have time for friends" *Ironwood literally lets her hang around these people all the time and have a goddamn party with them*) so that's up to interpretation. I personally think that him keeping Penny on a tight leash in the Beacon arc because of her status as a government funded synthetic person who is also meant to be a weapon, and whose discovery could get Atlas in big trouble and might compromise her safety (which it did for the record) is personality reasonable, BUT I don't agree with it. I think that Penny deserves to be her own person with her own friends, and who can get the chance to live a happy normal life. And her relationship with Ironwood and his overprotectiveness is a big theme in my Remnant City AU.

Ok, so, for laughs. Let's talk about Whitley. I don't know about you, but I feel no need to be nice to people who have never been nice to me even if they are women.

The only women Whitley is shown to be mean to in anyway are his female family members, and if I was ever in his position, I would probably hate them too. His mother basically abandoned him for his entire life and became a neglectful alcoholic, something that every child should have the right to be pissed about. Winter and Whitley barely interact. Winter never mentions him or worries about his safety, and Whitley is not obligated to be kind to someone who clearly doesn't give a shit about him.

As for Weiss? He and Weiss are literally raised in a narcissistic abuse situation (as in the parent abuses the child to further their own goals, not necessarily that the abuser IS a diagnosed narcissist, I just feel the need to clear that up) where their father pits them against each other.

Whitley has also been left by Weiss with his abusers without her giving a damn about him after already being gaslit by his father into believing that Weiss is his competition and not a loved one. Even when Weiss's told that Whitley has been abused by his parents as much as she has, and the reason he hates her is because she chose to leave and never think about him, cementing in his mind that she never cared about him, Whitley couldn't even get a goddamn sentence out before she was threatening him with a military grade weapon designed to kill monsters three times his size.

I don't understand why the show writers thought it was the abused child's job to redeem himself in the eyes of someone who he thinks (with very good reason mind you) doesn't love him or care about him just because she's the main character, and I definitely don't understand why the FNDM took this interpretation and ran with it. But accusing Whitley of treating women like shit because he didn't immediately roll over and do everything he could to appease them when they never even looked in his direction with anything other than a glare? Shut up.

#rwde #asks

[alexhasalotofthoughts]

My FULL Alice Oseman collection (So far)

Before I start, I would just like to preface this post by saying that I’m really tired because this is my second time writing this post because Tumblr decided to delete it right before I posted it, so sorry for any spelling mistakes.

I have been collecting Alice Oseman books for a while now, so I thought I would share my collection so far. I have included how much I spent on each book and where I got them from, in case that is something that interests you 😊

The bookshelf:

This is the bookshelf where I keep my collection. I made a second, much less stable, shelf out of cardboard so that you could see the books at the back! This shelf brings me so much joy. Every book has a memory attached to it and a story to tell. If this shelf was a person, I would hug it.

The UK editions:

These are probably the most loved books in my collection. I have taken these books to school and fallen asleep reading them. Although easily accessible where I live in the UK, I love these books and they hold a special place in my heart.

In order, these books are:

This Winter - £8.99, Amazon

I Was Born for This - £8.99, Amazon

Nick and Charlie - £8.99, Amazon

Radio Silence - £8.99, Amazon

Loveless - £8.99, Amazon

Solitaire - £8.99, Amazon

The Heartstopper books:

I love the Heartstopper graphic novels as they were my introduction to the Osemanverse. Like with the UK novels, these books are well-loved, though they have not been taken to school. I got most of these books and a Christmas gift from my parents, so I do not know the price, sorry.

In order, these books are:

Heartstopper vol 1 (TV Tie in cover) - £10, Amazon

Heartstopper vol 1 - ???, gift

Heartstopper vol 2 - ???, gift

Heartstopper vol 3 - ???, gift

Heartstopper vol 4 - ???, gift

Heartstopper Colouring book - £6, Amazon

The Hardbacks:

This is the most expensive bit of my collection by far. I have seen some of these books on eBay for as high as £400, though I never spent anywhere close to that on a singular book. This section also includes some of my favourite books, with Solitaire (Us Hardback, 2014) and Heartstopper vol 1 (Fairyloot edition, signed) being in my top 5 favourite books in my collection.

In order, these books are:

Heartstopper vol 1 (Fairyloot edition, signed) - £80, eBay

Heartstopper vol 2 (Fairyloot edition) - £20, Fairyloot

Solitaire (US Hardback, 2014) - £15, eBay

Radio Silence (US Hardback, 2016) - £18, eBay

Loveless (US Hardback) - £18, Book Depository

The UK Original Covers:

Like with the hardbacks, this bit of my collection has another one of my favourite books in my collection, Solitaire (2014 edition), which I was able to get for the bargain price for £1.30 with free delivery!

In order, these books are:

Solitaire (2014 edition) - £1.30, eBay

Radio silence (2016 edition) - £8, eBay

The Miscellaneous Bunch:

Finally, we have the miscellaneous items that did not fit into the other groups. I have had some of these items since I was in year 7, which was in 2018, before I even knew Alice existed!

In order, these items are:

Proud - ???, gift

Echo (who plays Nellie in the show) the dog’s paw print - £10, Echo’s official shop

Solitaire poster – £18, Redbubble

The conclusion:

I hope you enjoyed this in-depth look at my Alice Oseman collection. I have been collecting these books for a while now and felt like it was time to share them. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments 😊

Thank you for reading.

This is Alex, over and out.

#alice oseman #nick nelson #charlie spring #heartstopper #lgbtq #osemanverse #nick and charlie #radio silence #non bianry #aled last #radio silence book #iwbft #i was born for this #loveless #proud #this winter #solitaire #solitaire by alice oseman #solitaire alice oseman #solitaire book #radio silence alice oseman #heartstopper alice oseman #frances janvier #heartstopper darcy #darcy olsson #tara jones #taradarcy #tartaglia #nick x charlie #elle heartstopper

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (18-24 Dec 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

🥰👂‍ Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman (Lucy Worsley, author & narrator) - an excellent biography

😍 All That You Are to Me series (2bestfriends) - 87K, shrunkyclunks - holiday reread, 'the lumberjack steve/twink bucky fic of our hearts' - main fic 67K, sequel fic 20K

😍 It's the Best Time of the Year (chicklette) - 40K, shrunkyclunks, holiday time fic - reread of a fave with baker!Bucky & Cap!Steve - perfect blend of angst, fluff and action

😍 (if only in my dreams) (jehans) - 45K, stucky no powers AU - reread of holiday season friends2lovers/2nd chance with some QUALITY pining

💖💖 +323K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

SHOCKING! Spiderman's Alien Baby: Friendly Neighborhood Hero and His Hanukkah Blessing (AggressiveWhenStartled) - MCU: Peter Parker v the Geriatric Supersoldier Husbands, 4.8K - no one writes the adventures of a hapless Peter tangled up with the Geriatric Supersolider Husbands like AggressiveWhenStartled - pure hilarity throughout (and ZERO alien babies despite the title)

One Does Not Simply Walk Into JoAnn Fabrics (And other millennial lessons from The Winter Soldier) (attackofthezee (noxlunate)) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 11.9K - forever fave; holiday reread of a recovering WS who gets a job working at JoAnn's and falls hard for a customer

Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (and Other Lies He Tells Himself) (betts) - MCU: stucky no-powers AU, 14K - holiday reread of recovering vet Bucky & single dad baker Steve

Here Comes Santa Claus (AidaRonan) - MCU: stucky, 6.7K - holiday reread - hilarious and hot - Bucky meets Santa!Steve and this santa definitely fucks

then a small thing happened (BeaArthurPendragon) - MCU: stucky no-powers AU, 35K - new holiday fave about recovering photojournalist Bucky and astronaut Steve - LOVED LOVED LOVED

rockin' around (wearing_tearing) - Stranger Things: Steddie/Ronance/Fruity Four, 13K - an absolutely DELIGHTFUL advent collection of ficlets - every day was a pop of pure joy to read

Knit One, Purl Two (mollus) - MCU: stucky, 32K - holiday reread, forever fave - recovering WS/Cap with healing via crafting with a delightful knitting group

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Taskmaster - s14, e1-10

Glass Onion

Single All The Way

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Decoder Ring Plus - Encore: ‘You’ve Got Mail’ Got It Wrong

Switched on Pop - Anitta & Rosalía on the borders of Latin pop

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Tumbleweed Christmas Tree

99% Invisible #519 - Balikbayan Boxes

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Priscilla’s Homecoming

It's Been a Minute - (Almost) 20 years of 'Love Actually'

Off Menu - Ep 41: Joe Lycett (Christmas Special)

Into It - Matt Rogers Has Heard of Christmas, But 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'

Off Menu - Ep 175: Alex Horne (Christmas Special)

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

Simply Christmas (Deluxe Edition) [Leslie Odom Jr]

Merry Christmas…Have A Nice Life [Cyndi Lauper]

Trans Siberian Orchestra playlist

Classical Christmas

A Sunny Brazilian Christmas

A Merry Little Christmas [Linda Ronstadt]

A Legendary Christmas [John Legend]

Jingle Bell Swing

It's a Holiday Soul Party [Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings]

Twelve Songs Of Christmas [Etta James]

Home for Christmas [Daryl Hall & John Oates]

A Very Too Many Zooz Xmas [Too Many Zooz]

A Heavy Metal Christmas [Christopher Lee]

A Heavy Metal Christmas Too [Christopher Lee]

Merry Flippin' Christmas Vol. 1 and 2 [Bowling For Soup]

Punk Rock Christmas

Classic Soul Christmas

my rockabilly christmas playlist

my xmas playlist

#sunday reading recap #bookgeekgrrl's reading habits #bookgeekgrrl's soundtracks #fanfic ftw #so many great holiday fics to reread!!! #glass onion #no surprise i adored it #expect a deluge of glass onion posts starting tomorrow #the atlas obscura podcast podcast #99% invisible podcast #off menu podcast #switched on pop podcast #decoder ring plus podcast #it's been a minute podcast #into it podcast #all xmas music all the time this week #fan makers are a *gift*

[padme789]

This story is rated E

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Robin Buckley/Nancy Wheeler, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: Nancy Wheeler, Robin Buckley, Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Erica Sinclair, Maxine “Max” Mayfield, Mike Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers, Jonathan Byers, Argyle (Stranger Things), The Party (Stranger Things), Holly Wheeler, Additional Tags: Background Relationships, Bisexual Nancy Wheeler, Lesbian Robin Buckley, Canon Compliant, Past Relationship(s), Period Typical Attitudes, Robin Buckley has ADHD, Dungeons & Dragons References, Graphic Description, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Open Relationships, Friends With Benefits, Eddie Munson Lives, Maxine “max” Mayfield has recovered, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Are Best Friends, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson Friendship, Steve Harrington & Nancy Wheeler Friendship, Eddie Munson & Nancy Wheeler are Best Friends, Post-Stranger Things 4 Vol. 2, Time Jump, Pathfinder 1st Edition, Blades in the Dark, Fluff and Smut, Dirty Talk, Vaginal Fingering, Grinding, Established Relationship, Multiple Orgasms, Semi-Public Sex, Phone Sex, Cunnilingus Series: Part 3 of A Strange Universe Chapters: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16  - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - INTERLUDE - 22 - not finished Steamy Fluff: 1 - 8 - 18 - 19 - INTERLUDE Good stuff: 5 - 7 - 13 - 18 -19

CHAPTER 22 Excerpt: A throat cleared as the door to the building finally shut.

She’s the same and completely different all at once. Nancy and Robin watch each other closely. She should have considered what she wore to pick Holly up from school. The brunette looked at the blonde, and the blonde looked back just as intense. Her hair still shagged, which was not a surprise. Robin liked to keep some consistency to her appearance. Tailored corduroy, a vest, and a jacket. Her makeup’s less heavy, but this was the woman she etched permanently into her mind the day she watched Robin pack away the last bit of the things she kept at Nancy’s previous residence.

“Hi,” said Nancy.

“Hi,” responded Robin.

PART I: “The goal … should not be to destroy Vecna … but to stop the evil plans carried out by his mortal servants.” – Vecna Reborn

It’s the winter break of 1988. Now a junior in college, Nancy has not returned to Hawkins since the spring break of 1987. Nancy and Robin decide to revisit the situationship started as friends with benefits before the summer of 1986.

INTERLUDE: Relationships are complicated, and not defining the obvious would twist anyone to knots. Good or bad life moves on. PART II: “Once upon a time lost to history lived a mortal man called Vecna … Vecna schemed, laying audacious plans designed to transform himself into a true god” – Die Vecna Die. It’s the late fall of 1999, and with one midday phone call Nancy’s back in Hawkins. A relationship starts again, had it ever stopped? Ask their friends, ask their families, they’ll all say no with a roll of their eyes. Because Nancy and Robin might twist and turn, but there was no end in sight, yet.

or What if Nancy and Robin were canon for season 5 and They also play Tabletop

#ronance #robin x nancy #nancy x robin #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #ronance fanfiction #ronance endgame #stranger things fanfiction

[noelcollection]

Evenings in Autumn

Happy Equinox and first official day of the autumn season! Soon nature will grace us with a splattering of fall hues as leaves change color and the crisp north wind blows them loose from their branches. There is the anticipation of glowing pumpkins on front porches, warm knit sweaters, and hands heated by seasonal drinks as the weather grows cooler. While Autumn is the start of a cooler season for the Northern hemisphere, it is also used in literature as measurement of human life, the autumn years meaning the later years of a person’s life. 

In the case of Nathan Drake and his work, which is spotlighted here, Evenings in Autumn; a series of essays, narrative and miscellaneous is a two volume work that discusses human civilization and the influence of seasons over the heart and mind. Nathan Drake, not to be confused with the main character of the popular Uncharted video game series, was a real person born in England in 1766 and died in 1836. He spent his life being a physician and writer of various topics. Evenings in Autumn was first published in 1822 in London and the first chapter of the first volume opens with several verses and turns into a philosophical essay discussing the twilight hour, the descending light of the sun to the decline of humanity and human aging. The first essay continues into discussing autumn as the season for reflection and the season in the title of the full work. Drake mentions Milton as being partial to autumn, believing it was the greatest inspiration for his poetry and most poetic inspiration. Drake refers to Evenings of Autumn “as the season of Tender Melancholy, of Philosophic Enthusiasm, and of Religious Hope …” (p. 7). The whole work is a collection of thoughts and verses.

The two volumes in the James Smith Noel Collection have a marbled cover with matching marbling on the fore edge. The first volume has eleven chapters which continues through the second volume with chapters twelve through twenty-two. The second volume mainly discusses Homer, Ossian, and Milton. Both volumes contain a running work titled “The Valley of the Rye, a tale” which is placed in parts throughout the two volumes.

In the same way as the “Valley of the Rye” tale in Drake’s Evenings of Autumn is balanced throughout the two volumes, the Autumn Equinox is the balancing of daylight hours and evening hours as the sun passes for a single day marking the change of seasons. Fall is naturally seen as a season of harvesting and preparation for the winter, though it does not have to be viewed as a period of decay but rather, as Drake viewed Autumn through Milton as a season of poetic inspiration. 

Drake, N. (1822). Evenings in autumn: A series of essays, narrative and miscellaneous (First Edition, Vol. 1-2). Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown. https://bit.ly/3Uq4S1P

#autumn #special collections #rarebooks #philosophy #literature

[holeynightsky]

overthinking albums: midnights 3am expansion pack

hello friends, and welcome to part three of me making the entire midnights album about RWBY characters and ships! today, we'll address the songs from midnights (3am edition) by taylor swift. this is part three of this series, so be sure to check out parts 1 and 2!

with that said, let's jump right in!

14. the great war - once again, we begin with a bumbleby song. what can i say, i'm weak and this is *perfect* for their gradual trust building in vol 6/7/8. you drew up some good faith treaties / i drew curtains closed could go in either direction, depending on which part of their arc you're in. and maybe it's the past that's talking / screaming from the crypt is adam haunting them through vol 6. and the repetition of hand-holding imagery? my hand was the one you reached for, but every time the line occurs, we cut to a different scene where that matters: lying on the ground post-adam vol3, standing in the classroom during the trauma dump vol2, dancing in the atlas dorms getting ready for a night out. and don't get me started on the whole somewhere in the haze / got the sense i'd been betrayed verse--if that doesn't scream their fractured dynamic through vol5 and 6, i don't know what does. we've burned for better / i vowed i would always be yours.

15. bigger than the whole sky - okay this is gonna sound a bit out there because we know so little about her, but stick with me: a song for summer rose, dying in battle somewhere in remnant, thinking about never getting to see her little girls grow up. i'm never gonna meet / what could've been, would've been / what should've been you. for bonus points, and to align with i've got a lot to live about, this can be for both summer and raven--leaving in different ways, with different degrees of choice, but leaving nonetheless, thinking about how they will never see what becomes of their children. every single thing to come / has turned into ashes.

16. paris - another bumbleby song, because i'm shameless and obsessed. specifically, this is yang/blake from @thirteenyasmin 's rockstar/hollywood au fic, let you see my wilder side, which has been one of my all-time favorites for years now so if you haven't read it please go do that immediately. i'm so in love that i might stop breathing is that exact dynamic, and they are absolutely so wrapped up in each other that they pay no attention to the outside world. ksdjfhaslkj i have to move on or i'll start crying because they deserve. so. much.

17. high infidelity - this one's for team STRQ as a whole, because i am absolutely certain that every non-sibiling member of that team has had a romantic/sexual relationship at some point. so this song, at various points, could be any member singing about any member--put on your records / and regret meeting me / ... / put on your headphones / and burn my city. i don't even have to go into i didn't know you were keeping count, that's so obvious from literally everything qrow does and says and implies about his old team. or tai and summer and raven, all tangled up, and you know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love / the slowest way is never loving them enough. and the slow-dawning horror of storm coming / good husband / bad omen / dragged my feet right down the aisle, over shots of summer fighting on a desolate farm road, raven turning away, tai and yang in the kitchen at night. ugh, absolute chills.

.18. glitch - i actually think this is a salem/ozma song! i mean, come on--a romance that was never meant to be, fast-growing love, the breathless wonder at it all? i was supposed to sweat you out / in search of glorious happenings of happenstance on someone else's playground? that's so salem, i cannot even believe it. and i'm not even sorry / nights are so starry, blood moonlit. beautiful romance and ominous foreshadowing. 10/10 fits with their whole messy situation.

.19. would've could've should've - winter schnee. i'll say it again, louder: *winter schnee*. oh my god is this winter at the end of vol8 singing to ironwood. i'm having trouble isolating lines because that's how much of this fits. if you'd never looked my way / i would've stayed / on my knees / and i damn sure never would've danced with the devil / at nineteen, and the god's honest truth is that the pain was heaven is her breaking out of that toxic mansion, joining the atlas military, finally existing out of that space. but then you hit the second-guessing as ironwood spirals into paranoia: and now that i'm grown / i'm scared of ghosts / memories feel like weapons. or, or, or! you're a crisis of my faith, watching her turn her back on everything she's dedicated her life to for years? the tomb won't close / stained-glass windows in my mind, looking at the trauma her siblings have? asdfksjdhfkla please put me out of my misery, i'm so emotional thinking about this.

.20. dear reader - i've thought about this one a lot, and i keep circling back to ozma/oz/oscar (oz, for the sake of this post). watching his slow progression through time, trying to escape his past: desert all your past lives / and if you don't recognize yourself / that means you did it right. his eons-long fight against salem: the greatest of luxuries is your secrets / dear reader / when you aim at the devil / make sure you don't miss. the lives he spent hiding away from that fight, crushed by the weight of it all: i prefer hiding in plain sight / my fourth drink in hand / these desperate prayers of a cursed man. and throughout it all, the plea at the root of it, the why-is-this-my-problem, the please-let-it-end: never take advice from someone who's falling apart.

and that, at last, concludes overthinking albums: midnights! thank you if you read that absolute insane amount of text. and even if you didn't, hey, i hope you're having a great time regardless. really, i just hope everyone is hanging in there in this roller-coaster world

#taylor swift midnights #lyric analysis #lyric musings #overthinking albums #rwby #rwby bumbleby #bumbleby #blake x yang #team strq #i was genuinely so afraid i was gonna hit the text limit again #the fact that i'm even worried about that is probably a sign that i'm misusing this medium #but hey i gotta scream into the void somewhere #3am tracks #midnights 3am version

[kokiafans]

KOKIA in flashback - 2009

After her 10th anniversary year, KOKIA does decidedly not take it easier in 2009. She releases two albums on the same day: KOKIA∞AKIKO ~Balance~ and AKIKO∞KOKIA ~Balance~, to celebrate the conclusion of her 10th anniversary year. The AKIKO album is only available via her webshop and at concert venues and is distributed via her own office, anco&co, whereas the KOKIA album is distributed via Victor Entertainment. She explains that the AKIKO album deals more with her ‘inner’ songs, as she feels she is both KOKIA the artist and Akiko the person.

She departs on a world tour this year, called infinity (as the ∞ symbol from her albums is the symbol for infinity), starting in Japan before traveling to France, Ireland, Poland, Belgium and Germany. This results in two concert DVDs: 2009 infinity tour at Tokyo, recording the performance in Tokyo, and Wherever I am, a 3 disc documentary covering her journey and performances abroad.

2009 also marks the start of her Life Trilogy digital singles, with the first two releasing this year. The final one will come out next year.

◆ Lives and events ◆

January 16 Essential Time (Ebisu LIQUIDROOM)

February 28-March 1 KOKIA Live in Naeba Prince white notes vol.3 (Naeba Prince Hotel Chatelaine)

March 31 YOU SING, YOU WANT (Shibuya DUO Music Exchange)

【KOKIA world tour 2009 「∞」 Infinity】 April 29 - Tokyo, Bunkamura Orchard Hall May 4 - Osaka, Sankei Hall Breeze June 12 - European tour 2009: Paris, La Cigale June 13 - performance on a cruise over the Seine river June 14 - Paris, Le Divian du Monde June 16 - Dublin, Button Factory June 17 - Poznań, Blue Note June 19 - Brussels, Botanique-Orangerie June 20 - Cologne, Blue Shell

July 11 4th Keyaki festival (Niigata, Nagaoka City School for Handicapped Children gymnasium)

July 20 8th Kobe Love Port - Port Festival (Kobe Meriken Park)

July 21 Eclipse festival KOKIA talk session & mini concert (Kagoshima Port, Honkô-ku, Waterfront Park)

July 26 Gion Kashiwazaki festival (Minatomachi beachside park, sunset dome)

August 7 D-51×KOKIA BEACH LIVE in OTODAMA SEA STUDIO (Kanagawa, Zushi Kaigan OTODAMA SEA STUDIO)

August 29 KOKIA sebone LIVE 2009 (Aichi, Arc Riche Toyohashi, The Grace)

September 12 (September 26/October 10) KOKIA tokai no kakurega concert ('hideout in the city’) (Tokyo, sonorium) ※ Event exclusively for members of the KOKIA fanclub, club ancoro, 4 performances total

October 17 Niigata Prefectural Niitsu-minami senior high school memorial ceremony on the 30th anniversary of its founding: KOKIA live (Niitsu-minami senior high school)

November 21 BREEZE BREEZE Music Live KOKIA (Osaka, Breeze Breeze Media Court)

November 26 Uiguru kara kita shounen ('Boy from the Uyghurs’) screening & KOKIA mini live (Tokyo, Uplink Factory) ※Movie for social awareness, Uiguru kara kita shounen ('Boy from the Uyghurs’) which uses KOKIA’s Lacrima ('Tear’) as end theme

November 28 Saturday Hot Request (Tokyo, NHK broadcasting center) ※ Public live broadcast by NHK-FM

December 5 SATURDAY GO AROUND from Jazz Dream Nagashima ※ Public live broadcast by ZIP-FM

【KOKIA Winter Live Tour 2009 12 gatsu no okurimono ('December present’)】 December 11 - Aichi, Nagoya City Chikusa small theater December 13 - Fukuoka, Hakata Gate's7 December 14 - Hiroshima, Club Quattro December 15 - Osaka, Sankei Hall Breeze December 21 - Miyagi, Sendai retro Back Page December 23-24 - Kanagawa, Yokohama Landmark Hall

December 25 KOKIA Kokoro no akari live ('light in the heart’) vol. 2 in KYOTO 2009 (The Museum of Kyoto, Annex Hall)

◆ Releases ◆

March 4 Release of the French edition of Fairy Dance ~KOKIA meets Ireland (Wasabi Records)

March 18 Release of original album KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~ (Victor Entertainment)

March 18 Release of original album AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~ (anco&co.) ※ Simultaneous release of a mainstream version and indie version, KOKIA and AKIKO, two albums that are each other’s counterparts (On April 29, a ∞ album 2 disc collection BOX including both albums gets released. It includes image clips for Ooki na senaka ('Broad back’).)

May 20 Release of the French edition of Balance (Wasabi Records) ※ 2-disc box with KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~ and AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~

July 22 Release of concert DVD KOKIA 2009 infinity tour at Tokyo (anco&co.)

August 5 Release of the iTunes Store exclusive digital EP Kimi o sagashite/last love song ('searching for you’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Chapter 1 in the <Life Trilogy ~inochi no 3-busaku> ('trilogy of life’). Mini album with 4 tracks

September 23 Release of the European Tour documentary DVD Wherever I am ~wordt tour 2009 in Europe~ (Victor Entertainment)

November 18 Release of the iTunes Store exclusive digital EP single mother/Christmas no hibiki ('Christmas echo’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Chapter 2 in the <Life Trilogy ~inochi no 3-busaku> ('trilogy of life’). Mini album with 4 tracks

December 2 Release of best-of album Coquillage ~The Best Collection II~ (Victor Entertainment)

December 2 Release of the French edition KOKIA COLLECTION 2 (Wasabi Records) 3-disc collection box including the albums KOKIA∞AKIKO ~balance~, AKIKO∞KOKIA ~balance~ and Fairy Dance (French edition of each)

◆ Other releases ◆

January 21 Release of the omnibus album Okaeri ('Welcome home’) (Sony Music) ※ Concept album collecting only timeless classics sung about great love for humans. Arigatou… (the pearl edition) ('Thank you…’) is included on this.

February 5 Release of the PlayStation 3 game Demon’s Souls ※ Vocals and chorus for the opening theme song Demon’s Souls and the end theme Return to Slumber

February 18 Release of Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta official compilation album (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’) (VAP) ※ Official CD for the Nippon TV show Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’). Includes Watashi ni dekiru koto ('the things I can do’)

February 18 Release of Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta gaiden ~ staff ga erabu kokoro no best one ~ (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry extra – best from the heart chosen by staff’) (Victor Entertainment) ※ Official program album for the Nippon TV series Dare mo shiranai nakeru uta (‘songs no-one knows that make you cry’), Victor Entertainment compilation. Includes Watashi ni dekiru koto ('the things I can do’)

April 22 Release of the single KARMA (Glory Heaven) ※ Opening theme for the animated TV series Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom

August 15 Release of the image sound album Bungaku shoujo to yumeutsutsu no senritsu (‘Book girl and the half-asleep melody’) (Lantis) ※ Performed the song Anata to deatte (‘Meeting you’)

August 26 Release of the single Transparent (Glory Heaven) ※ end theme for the animated TV series Phantom -Requiem for the Phantom

October 21 Release of Kidou senshi gundam 00 ('Mobile Suit Gundam’) Voice actor single Ayahi Takagaki come across Feldt Grace (Inori †/Justice) ('prayer’) (flying DOG) ※ First single produced by KOKIA. Also did the chorus for the B-side song Justice.

#KOKIA #25 years of kokia in flashback