#posting this to my least active blog rather than my fashion one so that less notes will overwhelm that blog's notifications

[exa-reblogs]

Some identifiers for AI generated fashion images that I've noticed

So, recently and not unexpectedly, I've seen a major uptick in AI generated images showing up in my searches for fashion photos, specifically. I've seen people make posts like this for specific art styles, and for 2D art in general, but I wanted to share some observations I made regarding clothing, fashion, and runways. I've seen a lot of people getting fooled by these, but it seems like for every one person thinking it's real there's about three people informing them that it's AI, fortunately. I'll admit, a lot of them look somewhat believable at first, but once you look closer it becomes apparent that they're off somehow.

To clarify: this is about common inconsistencies I've personally noticed in AI fashion images, so that you can learn where to look for these and similar inconsistencies and avoid sharing AI content by accident.

There's this one "collection" specifically that seems to come up a lot (also, click on all these images in this post to see the details more clearly):

There's more images like this and yes, despite the "houseofai" watermark I still see people asking who the designer is, or saying that they genuinely thought it was real at first. First and foremost: these are all clearly meant to be from the same runway show, right? Then why does each image look like it was taken on a different runway? The lighting and coloring are different in each one, and the middle one has vague red stairs in the background while the other two look like just a plain light-colored runway. This is something you'll obviously only be able to notice in groups of images and not singular ones, but it's a pretty dead giveaway if you see it.

Secondly: AI generated images, as a whole, tend to have this specific kind of super dramatic lighting with very bright, white lights and soft grey shadows. I'm not very knowledgeable about photography, so I can't explain it exactly, but I know it when I see it (and if someone reading this can properly explain it , please do.)

Thirdly: AI generated fashion tends to attempt perfect symmetry, but always fails somehow.

As for the actual outfits: the best that I can describe it is that a lot of the shapes and patterns just don't look like intentional human choices.

What in the hell is that monogram on the upper right supposed to be? It's clearly mimicking a logo of some kind, but it's messy and indecipherable, not actual branding.

The heart motif is clearly the running theme here, but the hearts don't really make sense. Like the main one in two halves across the chest here: why does it have those two notches missing at the bottom that prevent it from coming to a point at the bottom like a heart is supposed to?

The bottom hem is way longer on the left than on the right.

The little shoulder hearts are like, bleeding into the shoulder seams; those lines in the hair look like they're supposed to be headbands, but they disappear at the part with the rest of the hair; the embroidery on the pants isn't in a clear or intentional pattern.

Again, compare the lighting on this one's neck with the lighting on the last one's neck, totally different.

Those pink things on the chest look like they're trying to be hearts, but they're so clearly not actually hearts. If your collection is heart themed, why aren't you using actual hearts?

The quilting effect is uneven and the individual lines don't follow through and finish in the places they should. Look at the upper right sleeve, where the diamonds are misshapen and the diagonal lines are clearly disconnected. On the lower right chest, the lines just disappear. This can't actually with quilted garments IRL because the top layer is literally stitched to the bottom one along those lines with material in between. It can't fuck up like that, especially not a designer garment that costs your monthly rent.

Smooth zipper. Zippers seem to be a common fuck up.

You can't read the text on the hearts. It's nonsense. Nonsense, unreadable text and fucked up hands are the absolutely surefire ways to identify AI art like this. Conveniently, there are no hands in these photos.

What are those embossed shapes on the sleeves? They're not identifiable as anything in particular.

That is not how zippers work.

I suppose that weird folding beneath the hearts is something technically physically possible. But it's much, much more likely that they would create smoother, less ugly seams with less excess fabric.

These generative AI programs don't actually comprehend what they're trying to depict. Thus, they make mistakes like these. Physical inconsistencies that are often totally impossible, but even the possible things are just... stupid choices that an actual designer isn't going to do. Yeah, sure, designs can be weird, asymmetrical, and imperfect on purpose. But it's way, way more likely that this is just an AI.

Experiment: look at these two images of retro-futuristic headpieces/eyewear and determine whether they're real or AI.

Right one is easy, mostly because of the wonky bitch in the back. But some other inconsistencies I specifically wanna note: if the blue goggles color the "model"'s skin, hair, helmet, and the background behind the lenses blue, why doesn't it do the same for the eyes? And also, I've noticed that a lot of these images have trouble properly rendering the corners of the mouth, which is a weird detail but one you won't be able to unsee once you know to look out for it. Yes, there's a dark line where actual human lips meet, often with some subtle divots at the corners, but in the image on the right, it's rendered as a harsh, gaping hole more like something sculpted out of plastic than actual flesh. On the note of imperfect symmetry again: the left lens isn't perfectly round. And finally, this is a really good example of that giveaway lighting I mentioned. I don't know how you would actually achieve that lighting IRL, but it's so, so common in AI images.

The left photo is an actual model in 1967 wearing pieces designed by Pierre Cardin, a designer that the right image is definitely trying to emulate. The model has a look on her face that isn't super duper expressive, but it's still far beyond any of the AI images I've seen. Every AI fashion image I've seen thus far has totally blank-faced, expressionless "models". They might pout slightly, but I haven't seen any with visible teeth. Something tells me the AI would render teeth the same way it renders fingers. The emblem on the hat is actually perfectly symmetrical, and the glasses are clearly asymmetrical as an intentional design choice, not like the shapes are supposed to be the same but got messed up somehow. And she has ten fingers total, five on each hand.

Two more:

These are both AI generated. I'm not gonna lie, i fell for the one on the left at first. The right is easy:

distorted faces

woman in back is being absorbed by the train(?) seat

those middle buttons on the jacket are totally useless

AI Lighting (TM)

But the "models" on the left look very, very convincing, and the lighting doesn't immediately register to me as AI lighting. The only really wonky thing on the faces is the mouth on the left "model". However, there's one dead giveaway: the headphone wires. Why are they different thicknesses? Why does the rightmost wire disappear into the jacket sleeve? Where the fuck does the leftmost wire even go? AI, I've noticed, struggles with thin lines, strings, and strands of things. Like with the quilted jacket above, you can often try and trace a single line, only to find that it drops off, distorts, or disappears. And sure enough, as soon as I noticed something was weird with those wires, I went to the Pinterest profile that posted it and found that they exclusively posted AI content. Speaking of the actual headphones, the leftmost ear cushion is sitting on an angle that doesn't make sense, and the one to the direct right of it is significantly thinner than the other three. Again, subtle failed symmetry.

This is by no means a comprehensive guide, and I encourage anyone seeing this to point out ways they've found to identify AI images like this. These are things I've just been on the lookout for lately. And when in doubt: conduct reverse image searches and try your best to identify solid sources for your images. AI images won't list designers, model names, photographers, stylists, makeup artists, etc., while actual runway and photoshoot images will, because there are human creatives behind them.

#posting this to my least active blog rather than my fashion one so that less notes will overwhelm that blog's notifications #ai #psa #long post

[moon-forest-princess]

An In-depth Elven perspective on Mind Power Subliminals (p1)

I felt lead to talk about the controversial subliminal creator known as Mind Power. This is a post to address anyone who may have been curious about the Elven Light Path but was turned off to it by Mind Power herself. Even if this post just helps one, that is a great thing. I also have suggestions for alterative Elven subs you can use and other resources! If you want them, just lemme know!

(sorry for the length of this, it ended up being WAAAAAY longer than I wanted it to be, so I split it in two parts! I wanted to fully address her actions that I've seen, from my perspective as an Elven soul).

TL;DR -- Mind Power seems to be a shady person who speaks with self-assumed authority about a people she is not a part of, because (as far as I can tell) she wants a bunch of devoted followers at her whim. But she does NOT speak for the collective.

-- If you are unfamiliar with what subliminals are, they are essentially a psychological tool to help you achieve goals for yourself. They are videos with silent or quiet affirmations covered by music. Creators of these videos typically post their subliminals to Youtube. I wrote about them a bit more in my last post here, but there is also another explanation here.

-- If you are unfamiliar with the Elven Light Path.... this is living as an Elven Soul. It's more than just a physical/fashion aesthetic. It is taking on the thoughts, lifestyle, mindsets, and wisdom of the Elves. It is NOT a religion or cult. It is appreciating the beauty of this world through the visions of the next. While most who follow this Path are spiritually awakened to their Elven higher selves, non-Elf identified souls may freely follow this path as well.

SO....I've been using subs actively for about 2 months, but have been using them on and off for the past yearish. In this time, I had heard of two controversial sub creators who have since left the community: Rose Subliminals and Mind Power.

I had never "researched" much about them but had been hearing more news about Rose and her actions since there were some more recent developments this year with her. There's a gaggle of YouTube videos meant to 'expose' both these channels, but I take them with a grain of salt. While I don't necessarily doubt the allegations, many of the videos seem to lean on common conspiracy theories (eg, illuminati) and mystical suggestions for entertainment, based on some serious claims vs just looking at the situation for what it might be at its bare bones. I just go by screenshot conversations from the actual accused and whatnot. Regardless, a number of people claimed to have had a bad experience with Mind Power's videos (from general discomfort to claims of hospital visits) and also claimed that she was "not a good person" and also that she "wanted to control everyone" (in her own words).

--

As I was looking through Google images for the thumbnail pic that I used in that previous post I linked above, I came across THIS image:

And it piqued my interest. I had missed the entire Mind Power saga. I was not really active and paying attention in the subliminal community until very recently so I wasn't actively around when Mind Power had her videos still up.

Clicking the image link here, it led to a blog post. Originally when I read the post I thought the best possible thing: that maybe she was working with someone and knew they were putting negative things in their affirmations and was trying a tactic to scare away people from using them. Then I read more of her posts and realized she was being serious. So then I thought, the next 'best' thing: There are kids/young teens in the sub community and maybe a lot of the comments on her videos her these younger users who just didn't quite understand the Elven Light Path and she was fussing about it. But no.. the truth is much worse.

--

So, I had no idea that (a lot of) her channel focus was apparently on the Elven Light Path--the path I walk--until I came across this blog post...but right away I could tell her perception of this spiritual and lifestyle path was severely skewed.

From what I can gather from her blog, Mind Power (AKA Asherah Aphrodite) is what some on this site might call godkin (Idk if she'd identify that way... probably not). She claims to have been offering the traits and powers of the Elves through her videos to help "turn humans into elves". With secret powers and gifts FROM the Elves.

To quote her directly, here is a small paragraph about using Elven subliminals from the article that Legolas meme image accompanies:

"This is completely changing from human to Elf. This is Elven immortality. This is being part of the Elven family. This is giving up your humanity. Do not use the Elf series unless you are serious about the Elven path. We would much rather have less people using the Elf series. It would be fine if only a few of you used it because we would be a more solid and dedicated tribe. Don't mess with them. They are not tolerant and forgiving towards humans who disrespect them. Have you read the folklore stories of what they do to humans they don't like?"

After reading this, I realized she was simply outside trying to define a group she doesn't even understand.

Yes, the Elven Light Path is a real lifestyle that goes beyond just dressing elven and being obsessed with LotR, but for many, that is how it starts. And that is more than okay! All journeys must start somewhere. If someone DESIRES to be elven and actively seeks out these sort of videos, it is a sign that they already have a connection to the Elven and Fae.

In truth, we elves would ALWAYS rather have MORE people walking the Elven path, than LESS. Even those who do not identify as elven themselves. We are not a closed club or sorority group that has to audition only the "best of the best" to be accepted in our little exclusive "tribe" as she calls it.

The Elven Path is a path for every and anyone, all who wish to explore it. It is simply about living and seeing life through the eyes of the Elven and connecting with your Elven self. The more you follow this path, the more you become aligned with Elven energy. Being Elven is NOT "giving up your humanity". It is heightening it. Elevating it. Elves are humans. Humans are Elves. There is an innate connection that only differs in frequencies, spiritual maturity levels, and physical form. Those of us who have become awakened to our higher Elven selves and claim to be Elven Souls only recognize this truth and strive to live it. But we are still human and recognize this as well. Regarding her point in the first quote about Elves not being "tolerant and forgiving toward humans who disrespect them" while, this is certainly not an exaggeration, it is not the only truth. Yes, many people have had contact with dark or demonic energies that show their wrath toward humanity, and these people record this experience through fear and lack of understanding, often as a Fae or Elven encounter. I mean, it's like when you're a kid experiencing your first thunderstorms. You may be terribly frightened of them and hate them.. but once you learn what thunderstorms are, what their purpose is, how they work, and the actual threat level.. you realize that, while the fear is valid, it is not needed. Once you understand, you are no longer afraid. Or at least, you know you don't have to be as afraid as you were. The same goes for adults who have experiences with the supernatural and no way to explain or interpret it. Human nature has the flight or fight instinct and this is grounded in fear to maintain survival. But with wisdom and understanding, we combat this instinct. Also.. I gotta point out that many stories about Fae and Elves in history are simply just... works of fiction meant to scare children or entertain adults (but often inspired by Elven/Fae energies).

////

PART 2 HERE

#mind power #mind power subliminals #subliminals #subliminal videos #subliminal community #elfkin #elvenkin #elven soul #elven awakening #elven light path #elven light #spriritual #spirituality #my ramblings

[imo-chan-imagines]

『 Haikyuu!! Week 2020 | Day 3 』

· Sept. 27th → Irresistible Force ·

Characters: Karasuno team

Prompts: A. favourite team + B. crossover/AU

Tags/warnings: Haikyuu!! (anime), PG, fluff, crack, a teensy bit of angst (because who doesn't love a sad superhero backstory), headcanons, AU, superheroes, HaikyuuWeek2020

A/N: Again, I love all the teams and didn't want to pick, but life is cruel, so here I am. This is headcanons about my fav team (Karasuno) in an AU (superheroes). I was thinking of a Hero Association, kind of like in 'The Boys'? But less corrupt... Maybe more like in 'One Punch'? I think you get me.

All of my Haikyuu Week 2020 posts will be SFW, but I have NFSW content on my blog if that butters your biscuit. Feel free to check it out! Thanks for reading! Please enjoy ♡ Imo~

Karasuno / Superhero Association AU

×

☆ Sawamura Daichi ☆

Powers: nigh invulnerability, super strength, enhanced healing

If he's not the ordinary cop that somehow befriends the heroes I was tempted then he's definitely the leader of the superhero group

Kind of like Superman in the old-school Justice League, just not as OP lol

Looks damn good is spandex those thighs *sweats*

Cape!! so ✨majestic✨

Probably wears dark-ish, neutral colours with a dash of blue

A bit serious. Not the kind of hero to go around making quips all the time, but will make light of his own suffering like Captain America

Takes younger heroes under his wing like the true Dadchi he is

Strong moral compass. Unbreakable

Won't hesitate to lay down his life for others

Who am I kidding. He's basically Captain America with a cape

Poster-boy for the Hero Association

×

☆ Sugawara Koushi ☆

Powers: telekinesis

A soft, pearly aesthetic with his suit, hair and skin. Lots of white and silver

A favourite among the ladies he's just too pretty, damm it T T

Very plucky and adorable

People in the vicinity will literally faint when he goes all serious to concentrate and use his powers

Has a duo move with Daichi where he literally throws him like a missle YEET

Has the most followers on Twitter and TikTok and his fans can be pretty nuts

Has a perfume line named after him and models for the adverts

Will smile like an angel right before bringing a building down on top of you fuck, I find this one really funny

×

☆ Azumane Asahi ☆

Powers: regeneration, enhanced stength

Kind of like Wolverine or Deapool but, like, much, much softer on the inside uwu

Wears green and black

Messed up big time back in the day and dropped off the grid out of guilt some people died :(

Was convinced to come back when his old teammates finally found him again because they needed his help in a crisis

Literally shed tears of relief when heroes and citizens alike welcomed him back instead of hating him mah heart *sniffs*

Can withstand seemingly anything and fully heal within a matter of days

Doesn't know the full extent of his powers himself. How exactly do one test it? 🤔

Still has to psych himself up for a fight, though big softy, really

×

☆ Shimizu Kiyoko ☆

Powers: electrokinesis, flight

Powers like Storm from X-Men, and kicks ass like Wonder Woman

Refuses to wear a revealing suit, but looks bomb af anyway

Kiyoko = absolute queen

One of the most powerful heroes, but doesn't throw her weight around unless she's kicking bady-guy booty

Stella gynamast, and has mastered several martial arts

Can literally throw a guy three times her size, all without any strength powers Tanaka: 👁👄👁

Somehow has perfect hair all the time secret superpower??

Is active on the political stage as a human rights activist, headlining women's rights yes, yes yes

Will strike you with lightning for sexual harassment

Comes up with really good mission plans

Is a soothing balm for Tanaka when he loses it

Black and gold aesthetic✨

Asymmetrical cape! super fashionable

Poster-girl for the Hero Association

☆ Tanaka Ryuunosuke ☆

Powers: fire generation and manipulation

Tanaka brings the heat literally

A bit of a chaotic-good, but what's new there?

Can get out of control if he loses his focus, so his friends have to keep him grounded Kiyoko is a literal angel when that happens

Kiyoko: Sun's getting real low...

Bonus points if you get the reference

Is terrified of hurting innocents if he gets out of control

It rarely happens, but if he loses his self confidence, his powers don't seem to work

Shouts cringy lines at the villains before roasting their asses lmfao

Wears a black and orange flame-retardant suit, and actually looks pretty fine in it 😌👌

Literally head over heels for Kiyoko just imagine it. Biggest hype man

×

☆ Nishinoya Yuu ☆

Powers: animal metamorphosis, enhanced speed

Think Beast Boy from 'Teen Titans', but less green he's more likely to be yellow or orange, lmao

Handy in lots of different situations. Very versatile

Incredibly cheeky and joins in with Tanaka's cheesy jokes and one-liners

Absolute maniac, but the people love him, especially schoolkids lmao

Has his own energy drink flavour, and he's STOKED about it

Yellow and black suit, kind of like his hair

Has a surprisingly large following of fans

Laps up the attention, but it doesn't really go to his head

Quiet and serious when he's on a mission/fighting

☆ Hinata Shouyou ☆

Powers: self replication, super speed, levitation

His powers took a while to properly manifest, which left him feeling isolated as a teen

Was pretty lost until Ukai helped train him

Got into a fight with Kageyama in an alleyway when he first met him MET HIM IN THE STREET, LMAO

Argues with Kageyama a lot at headquarters, but they work together like a dream when taking down bad guys

Has a heart of literal gold precious baby

Is contantly amazed when he helps significantly

Was inspired to become a hero by his idol, the Little Giant and it's his dream to inspire someone else 😭😭

Uses his replication ability to confuse the bad guys ULTIMATE DECOY

Levitates around the room when he's excited like Aang from ATLA, hahaha

Wears an orange, white and yellow suit with little wings on his heels cuuuute

×

☆ Kageyama Tobio ☆

Powers: water/ice generation and manipulation, breathing underwater, superhuman reflexes

I was tempted to give him fire/ice powers like Todoroki, but I didn't want to detract from Tanaka

Has problems focusing his powers, and can be quite turbulent in the heat of battle

Finds it hard to work well with others initially, but really makes an effort

Has hurt people close to him by accident before and never wants to do it again it would tear him apart

Becomes a power duo with Hinata when Ukai helps train them, even though they don't seem to get on well at first

Broody boi on the surface, but a cinnamon roll deep down

Wears a dark blue and deep purple suit that has fins to assist in underwater escapades which are his forte

Freezes Hinata's feet to the floor when he pisses him off or anybody's feet, tbh

Can dodge almost anything because of his reflexes don't ever try to punch him. You'll look stupid

Is surprised by the number of people in his fan club especially the number of women asking to marry him??

×

☆ Tsukishima Kei ☆

Powers: telepathy, superhuman intellect, mind control on weak-willed individuals

Prefers to outwit his enemies rather than getting into a brawl

But his self-designed gadgets and tech help him out if he has to a bit like Tony Stark, wink wonk

Sometimes makes you question if he's really a hero or not Tsukki, please

Doesn't take orders well

Baits villains by insulting them and getting the better of them with his words it's hilarious

Comes up with good plans, but improvises well with whatever he's got

Probably wears suits over his spandex most of the time fancy shmancy

Is prepared to die to protect Yamaguchi waahhh

×

☆ Yamaguchi Tadashi ☆

Powers: invisibility, force fields, teleportation

Susan Storm with added teleportation, lol

Often finds it hard to value his powers because they're not as visually strong and impressive as other people's

Rather than squaring up to a battle, he often has to 'hide' from it by literally going invisible

But he gradually becomes aware of how vital his powers can be, and learns to control them and make them as advantageous as possible

Is a highly important and valued member of the team

Soft bean that gets nervous and throws up before a fight

But he's hella determined and won't back down

Honestly, just wants to protect Tsukki and make him proud PROTECT HIM

×

☆ Yachi Hitoka ☆

Powers: size manipulation

She can shrink and enlarge herself and objects she touches at will, including other people

Sometimes shrinks really small to avoid social situations she doesn't want to be in samez, honey

The clumsiest and least experienced on the team

But she tries her best, gradually getting to grips with her powers

Sometimes uses her powers by accident, like when she's nervous

Once touched a watermelon slice on the refreshment table and accidentally blew it up to the size of a car Hinata, Kageyama and Noya fully dug in with their faces 😭😭

Nearly passed out when Daichi, the literal god of the Hero Association, told her she had great potential

Don't worry, Yams teleported and caught her

☆ Ukai Keishin ☆

Powers: laser vision, metal mimicry

The has-been hero who lost his enthusiasm for hero-ing and retired some years ago

Was really cool back in his hayday. Big hot-shot with a fan club

Has been working as a convenience store attendant to pay the bills and is bored out of his mind but refuses to admit it

Was convinced to get back in the game when he found Hinata and Kageyama fighting, both struggling with their abilities. He broke up the fight and agreed to coach them

Doesn't do much of the flashy hero stuff anymore, but will occasionally get stuck in when he's needed must protecc his children

Is only, like, ten years older than the other heroes, but they treat him like some fossilised sensei out of Natuto, or some shit

Tbf, he has the back problems of one 😭😭

×

☆ Takeda Ittetsu ☆

Powers: power absorption

Transferred from being a hero to hero management after having having issues with the effects of his powers he has a conscience :(

He felt guilty and responsible for permanently taking the powers of others, even if they were criminals

It was like removing a piece of their souls it kind of broke him

These days, he makes sure nobody knows about his powers, so it can't be used against him

He helps in any other way possible

He would only use his powers again in dire circumstances he knows he'll eventually have to

Is generally chipper and good natured, though

If he was ever captured by a villain, they'd probably send him back because he talks too much omg, hahaha

Helps gather info for the team and direct them on missions and in fights

Gives bomb inspirational speeches ✊

© imo-chan-imagines 2020

#imo chan imagines #haikyuuweek2020 #karasuno #haikyuu!! #hq! #headcanons #haikyuu headcanons #sawamura daichi #sugawara koushi #azumane asahi #shimizu kiyoko #tanaka ryuunosuke #nishinoya yuu #hinata shouyou #kageyama tobio #tsukishima kei #yamaguchi tadashi #yachi hitoka #ukai keishin #takeda ittestu

[thebudgetgarden]

The Budget Garden 2: Tachikaze “Goodstuff” (V-Premium)

Hello Cardfighters, So, I haven’t even completed a total of 3 posts before I got my very first request ! A person from my Vanguard playgroup overheard me mention this blog in passing to one of my friends, and so asked me if he could see my approach to a very cheap and strong Tachikaze deck. This, for those who are not in the know, is already a challenge, as Tachikaze is based on certain interactions with it’s own units, and on much more rare occassions, very strong, individual cards. So, I thought I would discuss one of the very first decks I build by myself, Tachikaze Goodstuff, an Accel deck that aims to hit hard and hit fast. 

Let’s begin with the grade 3 units, as understanding our win conditions is the key to success with learning and handling Tachikaze properly. 

We shall begin first with a list of our main grade 3 units, which in this case are varying rations of 4 different units, these being:

Light Battle Dragon, Gigannoblazer

Sundering Dragon, Terror Therizeeno

Fiery Light Dragon, Opticalcerato

Savage Mercenary 

[CONT](VC):During your turn, if three or more new equip gauges were put for your units this turn, all of your front row units get [Power]+5000. [ACT](VC)1/Turn:COST [Counter Blast (1) & Soul Blast (1)], draw two cards, and call two cards from your hand to (RC). Put up to one card from the top of your deck face down as an equip gauge for each of those units. (Put without looking at the front of those cards）

[AUTO](VC/RC):When it attacks a vanguard, COST [retire another rear-guard], draw a card, if a unit with equip gauge was retired for this cost, choose one of your opponent's rear-guards, and retire it.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, or when it attacks a vanguard, you may put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for one of your rear-guards.

[CONT]:You cannot normal ride this card. [CONT](RC):If you have no units with equip gauge in the same column as this unit, this unit cannot attack. So, wow, right off the bat, there is a lot to unpack, so let us take it step by step, first by explaining the notion of what “goodstuff” means. “Goodstuff”, used in the context of card games, is a strategy or type of playstyle that doesn’t adhere to the usual norms of having a normal win condition and trying to fullfill that condition every game. It practically means that we are a Jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none.  Taking a look at our grade 3 line-up, this notion becomes all the more noticeable, as we dont really follow a coherent gameplan, rather we decide to play as many tools as possible in order to have the best chance of winning. Reading through these cards, we can already gleam at least three characteristics that set Tachikaze apart from all of the other clans in the game, with those key-words being: Equip gauge, which means placing the top card of your deck under one of your units as a “marker” or “indicator” that can be used in conjunction with various effects Retire, meaning getting rid of one of ours or one of our opponent’s rear-guard units. Excuse me for making such a long-winded introduction to what someone would innitially think is a fairly simple and easy to play deck, but understanding these concepts, as easy as they are for some, is an integral part of understanding the clan as a whole. That is very obvious with our main boss unit, Gigannoblazer. Gigannoblazer encapsulates the essence of Tachikaze perfectly. Not only does he possess a very strong advantage skill that helps facilitate very aggressive plays, but he also allows the Cardfighter that is using him to give a healthy 5k boost in the front row, allowing for magic numbers and choke-points to be hit in a much easier fashion. This is highlighted further by Terror Therizeeno, a strong back-up ride target, as well as a potent rear-guard unit. His skill might seem odd initially, but there is a lot of synergistic potential with his retiring skill, as he allows for dead columns that have already performed their attack to provide some value for you, both in forms of a draw and retiring a pesky unit your opponent may have.  Opticerato is also fairly basic and simple. He’s a good call target that also functions well with the rest of the deck while attacking. A very simple and strong card, running a few copies wouldn’t hurt any Tachikaze deck. Savage Mercenary is an odd one. With a whopping 27k power, higher than any grade 3 in the game, you would think that his restrictive skill would stop him from being a gread addition, however, that is simply not the case. With a stupidly easy condition to fulfill, Mercenary becomes a very strong unit that cannot be blocked easily. Having a few copies in your deck as a simple and strong finisher is a must, as this card can easily steal wins from our opponents. All of these cards, while very strong, are also incredibly cost effective. If you were to buy a play-set of each card, meaning 4 copies of each individual grade 3, it would hardly set you back about 6 euros, which is a laughably low cost for such high impact units. 

Moving on to the Grade 2 Units, we find ourselves in a very odd and unique predicament.

The grade 2 line-up for Tachikaze is, for a lack of a better term, completely pre-determined. This is not, however, a bad thing. It just means that the choices that we do have are both so powerful and inexpensive that they would usually find their home in the full competitive versions of these decks. The downside, though, is that the creative aspect gets a tiny bit stiffled, which is a small price to pay for such power-houses.

The grade 2 line-up is split amongst 4 very high impact units, those being:

Clearout Dragon, Sweeperacrocanto

Ravenous Dragon, Megarex

Turbo Smilodon

Regiment Dragon, Regiodon

[AUTO](RC)1/Turn:When it attacks a vanguard, put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for this unit. [CONT](RC):This unit gets [Power]+5000 for each of this unit's equip gauges, and if it has three or more equip gauges, it cannot be chosen by your opponent's card's abilities.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When it attacks a vanguard, COST [retire another rear-guard], and draw a card. If this unit is on (RC), COST [Counter Blast (1)], put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for this unit, and it gets [Power]+5000 until end of that battle for each gauge equipped to this unit.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When placed, or when it attacks a vanguard, you may put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for one of your rear-guards.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When it attacks, you may put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for one of your rear-guards. [AUTO]:When retired from (RC) by your card's ability, call up to one card from this unit's equip gauge to (RC). You may put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for that unit. This ability may only be used by a card with the same card name once a turn. There is a lot to unpack here. Simply put, both Sweeper and Megarex are insane cards, maybe unfair in the general landscape of budget deck-building. Sweeper gives himself an equip gauge on attack, and he gets 5k power and a removal dodge ability… on BOTH players’ turns. Meaning that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, on the first turn that sweeper is played, he is going to be a 19k-24k attacker that keeps his high numbers and is resistant to pretty much all forms of removal, apart from some unique cases. There was a point that this card was so good people were considering it as a possible candidate for a BAN. Couple that with its laughably low price point, at 50 cents each, and it’s no wonder why people still use this card in every possible build of Tachikaze, no exceptions. Megarex is a completely different beast entirely. His power-up skill is a bit more restrictive, but it follows the exact same path as sweeper, simply less efficient, while also being more susceptible to removal. He more than makes up for it, however, with his retire and draw skill, which is completely free and works perfectly with the rest of the clan. Another thing to note is that he is insanely cheap, an entire playset of him going for about 1 euro and 20 cents. There is not a lot to be said about Turbo Smilodon, he’s a grade 2 version of Opticalcerato, a card we briefly discussed in the grade 3 section. Smilodon is, also, quite an expensive card. In the time of me writing this, we still dont know what the reprint price for him is from the new Revival Collection set, so for now he is sitting at a comfortable 1 euro and 50 cents per copy. If he’s not readily available, then running the grade 3 Optic is suggested as a replacement. Regiodon is also quite simple. A lot of skills in Tachikaze require the retiring of a rear-guard to be activated, and Regiodon is an excellent card, working as not only fodder for the rest of the team, but also as a multi-attack engine, if placed on an Accel marker. A lot of utility as well as a little bit of extra oomph for your combo turn.

The grade 2 line-up was a million times better than anticipated, but with that, it is now time to move along to the grade 1 line-up. The grade 1 line-up, to a certain extend, has also been solved, however a bit more of a creative spin can be put in it if any Cardfighter feels like experimenting.

There are several key budget units to consider right off the bat, those units being: 

Fierce Claw Dragon, Laceraterex

Full Speed Dragon, Bluesprint

Angry Roar Dragon, Roarbaryo 

Sonic Noa 

[AUTO](RC):When placed from hand, put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for this unit. [AUTO]:When it is retired from (RC), COST [Soul Blast (1)], and return up to one gauge equipped to this unit to your hand.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When it attacks, you may put one card from the top of your deck face down as an equip gauge for one of your rear-guards. [AUTO]:When retired from (RC) by your card's ability, call up to one of this unit's equip gauges to (RC). You may put one card from the top of your deck face down as an equip gauge for that unit. This ability may only be used by a card with the same card name once a turn.

[AUTO](RC):When placed, COST [Soul Blast (1)], put the top card of your deck face down as an equip gauge for one of your other rear-guards, and that unit gets [Power]+5000 until end of turn for each of its equip gauges.

[AUTO](RC):When it boosts a rear-guard, put the top card of your deck face down as an

equip gauge

for the boosted unit.

[AUTO](VC/RC):When its attack or the attack that it boosted hits a vanguard, COST [retire one other rear-guard], and draw a card.

The grade 1 line-up, just like the grade 2 line-up, is also quite excellent. We have more and more cards that fulfill our win-condition and allow us to have options no matter what the current board-state is. 

An overwhelming amount of utility and value comes from both Bluesprint and Laceraterex, 2 cards that don’t only gauge themselves but also allow us to get even more value from our retires, both from a card-advantage, in the case of Laceraterex, and a potent multi-attack engine, in the case of Bluesprint. 

Roarbaryo, however, is just pure damage output. With the cost of just one soul he can make a unit not only get an equip gauge for future usage, but also gives a boost that can range from just 5k, to 25k in the case of Sweeper. Overall a very simple and strong card. The 3 cards discussed above will not set you back more than 2 euros for a playset of all of them.

Sonic noa is a special case. He is a bit pricier and harder to come by compared to the previous cards that we discussed, but his effect more than makes up for it. Sonic Noa is our decks’ WHOLE game-plan, condenced into one card. Equip gauges, self-retire, card draw, he does it all and he does it very well. A playset of him will set you back about 2 euros but he’s getting reprinted in the next revival collection, so picking him up won’t be a difficult task in the coming weeks.

Example decklist 

This particular list is not only very cheap and strong, but it’s also an excellent investment for future Tachikaze builds, if you wish to stick with this particular clan.

GRADE 3

4x Gigannoblazer

2x Terror Therizeeno

2x Opticalcerato

1x Savage Mercenary

GRADE 2

4x Sweeper

3x Megarex

3x Turbo Smilodon

2x Regiodon

GRADE 1

4x Roarbaryo

4x Sonic Noa

2x Bluesprint

2x Laceraterex 

GRADE 0

x1 Starting Vanguard 

x4 Draw Perfect Guards

x4 Heals

x8 Front Triggers

(Please keep in mind that these lists are made with the Budget Constraints first, as well as what is the most optimal ratio of cards depeding on their availability in Greece. All of these prices and lists are subject to change, but keeping the price low is the number 1 priority.) 

Final Price: ~19 Euros

Closing thoughts and Special thanks

While this particular Budget profile wasn’t as long as the Previous one, I feel like I did a good enough job at showcasing one of the least appreciated clans out there, and I hope I assisted you in finding a new and interesting deck or playstyle. As a massive tachikaze fan (one of my top 5 favorite clans), this deck was a joy to playtest and write about.Special thanks to my friend Dimitri, who without him this Budget Profile wouldn’t have existed, as well as a special thanks to my close friends for reading through the previous post, even though they don’t know a single thing about Vanguard.That’s all for now, Cardfighters ! If you have read this far, thank you so much for your time and attention. Have a wonderful rest of your day ! Bloom aka thebudgetgarden (if you have any questions, feel free to contact my discord account: Bloom#8890) 

#cardfight!! vanguard #vanguard #budgetdecks #tachikaze #cardgame #tabletop #cards

[finishing-touch]

I try to refrain from introducing too much OOC on what is intended to be a roleplaying blog but the year is nearing its end and I find myself openly musing about many things. Here are a collection of messy thoughts, sentiments, and some personal goals below the cut.

I’ve been fortunate in the sense that 2020 has not had impacted me as gravely as others. Suppose that’s the one good thing about being a working professional with no immediate family. Was employed for the majority of the year and have been coasting on my savings for a few months now which but it’s time to hit the job market again. I do want to get the hell out of Orlando and return to my college town.

Over more than a year this blog has become less and less RP-oriented and more of a platform for user-created content. Granted it’s still all FFXIV themed but I would prefer this blog to be known more for the character as opposed to being reduced to “the gif guy”. I realize that may sound like an odd complaint, but I’m hoping to strike a better balance between RP content and whatever else. With the proper encouragement I finally began working on a rather complicated carrd. It is still a work in progress but in the truest Square-Enix fashion please look forward to it.

Fell out of touch and grew distant with some people I considered myself close to. Maybe 2020 is to blame, but if you’re having to repeatedly chase after people just to stay in touch then they were never meant to be in your life. On the flip side, I met a group of wonderful people who have helped me repeatedly with my passion projects for which I’m always going to be grateful for. You lot know who you are.

Speaking of projects, I managed to complete my most ambitious set featuring my highlander and his company of mercenaries. It was a five-month long labor which honed my eye for composing gifs and I learned quite a bit from it... even if tumblr as a platform was poorly suited for it. That 100-gif post is still floating somewhere out there, and I apologize if you encounter it on mobile because it will absolutely crash the app. 

Continuing on that subject, I’d like to set a goal of collaborating with other content creators (let’s make it at least five). Bonus points if it’s roleplay related. 

I’ve been told a few separate times I am intimidating which is baffling to me, but my hope for 2021 is to become more affable so I’m easier to approach. Similarly, I am looking to remain less a hermit who crawls out of his rock on occasion and be more active and engaged with the community because there is an abundance of creativity here which is not nurtured nearly as often or is often drowned by other things. I want to be more supportive on that front which is why I created a side-blog months ago solely dedicated to reblogging other people’s work. 

This has become long-winded but here I am waving my relative clean laundry. As a reminder, my DMs are always open for all your needs whatever they may be. 

#|| Out Of Touch

[dessarious]

Misconceptions, Miscommunication, and Misinformation Pt51

Inspired by @ozmav​ Maribat AU

AO3   Beginning   Previous   Next

The next day started out well enough. Gabriel insisted on getting to the show early so he could try to find the mystery designer before anyone else had a chance to recruit them. Damian was grateful for the extra time but he knew Gabriel wouldn’t be successful no matter how early he got there. Hopefully Marinette didn’t give him an outright no and piss him off enough to come back home. He trusted her to be smarter than that but he still wanted to get this over with.

“Oracle is the security system down?” She’d sent him a comm along with all the equipment because, apparently, he couldn’t be trusted to do this himself. She’d given him some nonsense about dead spots but he was fairly certain they just expected him to screw up the placements.

“Yep, sensors are off and the security video is being looped, you’re good to go.” He took a deep breath before leaving his room just to calm his mind. He didn’t want his annoyance at his overprotective family affecting his work. He padded silently down the hall to Gabriel’s office more out of habit than necessity. He was the only one in the house as far as he knew, but caution is what kept him alive.

Entering the office he was again struck by Agreste’s need to overpower everyone else in the room, even when he wasn’t there. It was a sign of a large ego that had been trampled on regularly. That explained a lot actually.

He went around the room placing and activating the devices knowing that Oracle was watching his through the security cameras. She didn’t correct him once which he took an inordinate amount of pride in. Maybe they’d learn to trust him.

“That’s all of them, are you getting all the feeds?” He stood in the center of the room to see if he could spot the devices, when he was certain nothing would be noticed he moved to other parts of the room and repeated the process. He was confident no one would notice he’d been here.

“Yes, they’re all active and we’ve got complete coverage. I’m already picking up one or two rooms in the house that shouldn’t be there. Hopefully he accesses them from this room, if not I’ll send you more devices to place in other parts of the house.” Damian snorted.

“The man lives in this room. If there’s an access point it’s here.” He had no doubt about that, mainly because almost all the locks in the house had been removed. This was the only room that guaranteed complete privacy. “If we’re done I have other things to attend to.”

“Got a hot date?” He could hear the mocking laughter in her tone and forced himself not to react until after he left the study.

“Just because you lot make decisions with your hormones doesn’t mean we all do.” Most of his siblings seemed to think he was interested in Ladybug. He didn’t know why but he’d rather they focus attention on the hero than delve into his civilian life. It was bad enough with just Marinette making assumptions about his feelings.

“Easy baby bird. You won’t be so high and mighty when you meet the right person.” Damian just rolled his eyes as he shut off the comm. He was hoping to get to the fashion show before the big reveal. If he knew Marinette she had a speech prepared and it was sure to ruffle feathers.

When he arrived there was still an air of anticipation. He didn’t see Marinette anywhere but he did see Chloe and Luka standing together. That was less than optimal. In the other direction he saw Gabriel, Nathalie, and Adrien. He stood there far too long trying to figure out which would be worse. Adrien and Luka spotted him at the same time and started walking towards him. He actually had to remind himself that he was a vigilante so that he didn’t just turn and run out the door.

“Damian! I thought you weren’t interested in fashion. If you wanted to come you should have said something.” Damian scowled at the accusatory note in Adrien’s tone. Before he could respond, Luka made it to them.

“Damian, we weren’t sure you were going to make it. Mari will be happy you’re here.” The soft look in the other boys eyes did strange things to his insides, and suddenly putting Adrien in his place didn’t seem quite as important. At least until he opened his mouth again.

“You’re not seriously here to see them are you? After what Mari’s mother did to the class it’s obvious she’s just vindictive and petty. And if he’s still hanging out with her I'm sure he’s no better. You shouldn’t be seen with people like them.” Damian didn’t even realize he’d cocked his fist back to punch the entitled brat until Luka grabbed his wrist. His glare was returned with a sympathetic look.

“He’s not worth it Hibou. Let’s not ruin this day for Mari. She’s worked so hard to be here.” He continued to glare at Luka waiting for the other boy to back down but he didn’t. Finally Damian huffed out an annoyed breath

“Fine. I suggest you stay away from me after today Agreste. No one insults the people I tolerate and gets away with it. You get a pass today because I have better things to do but next time it won’t matter.” He turned and walked to where he had seen Chloe while Adrien sputtered behind him. Damian would have to remember to call his father and tell him he might be getting kicked out of his current placement. He didn’t realize Luka had used a nickname for him until they were halfway across the room. “Why did you call me that?”

“It seemed appropriate.” Luka’s thoughtful expression assured Damian that he hadn’t been making fun of him. “You’re nocturnal, protective of your home and ‘people you tolerate’. You move silently when you need to and strike swiftly.” One of Luka’s hands moved to brush where Damian had one of his concealed knives. “And you have very sharp talons.”

Damian felt himself blush. They way Luka said it, it was more than a compliment and he didn’t know how to react to that. He’d been avoiding the boy all week to try and figure things out without the distraction of his presence. He hadn’t made any progress and it was driving him insane. No one had prepared him for this and he wanted to yell at both of his parents for the oversight in his education.

AO3   Beginning   Previous    Next

Kofi

Tag List

@noirdots @valeks-princess @chocolatecatstheron @krispydefendorpolice @bee-wrecker @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @northernbluetongue @paradoxal-occurance @scrumptiouslyelegantchaosqueen @sonif50 @thequestionablyhuman @persephonebutkore @elspethshadow @geekydragonyt @mmwolf1605 @da-tasuky @mjisntme @bluerosette23 @anjuschiffer @littleredrobinhoodlum @tazanna-blythe @resignedcatservant @schrodingers25 @seraphichana @persephonescat @punstoppablechatnoir @magicalfirebird @crazylittlemunchkin @corabeth11 @cyborgcandy @casual-darkness @shamefullove @miraculous-simmer7 @tamoni112 @cat181818meow @littleblue5mcdork @allthebooksandcrannies @enchanted-nerd @disneyfoxuniverse @fallinginthe-void @mandy984 @goggles-mcgee @fontegagrilledcheese @dorkus-minimus @theatreandcomicfreak @zerotosiki @ayuchan07 @mindfulmagics @urbanpineapplefarmer @winter-gardenflower @mooshoon @my-name-is-michell @valeks-princess @melicmusicmagic @7-sage-7 @hypnosharkrebeldreamer @alicesangelofmusic @caffeinetheory @nataladriana9 @multplelifes @wanderingreader1019 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mvaree @redscarlet95 @storyteller-d @howabouticallyou @ginamarie1512 @kurogaya913 @tbehartoo @maddrag @two-faced-biatch @senyahgirl @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine @iloontjeboontje @kakashixobito @welcometopradasa @amirahevens @amlesi @miraculousbelladonna @redscarlet95 @virgil-is-a-cutie @18-fandoms-unite-08 @cupcakeandkisses @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @book-r-the-best @dur55 @moonlightstar64 @fertileleaf @thequeenofpotatoeunicornss @thecaptainthunder @danielslilangel @novicevoice @nyaabinch @interobanginyourmom @welcometopradasa @charlietheepic7 @im-here-for-the-content @maya-custodios-dionach @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @starwindmaden @tired-butterfly @rogueptoridactyl @emeraldpuffguide @suzen23smith @yuulxd @animegirlweeb @alovelyocean @kris-pines04 @semaalcocer-blog @redscarlet95 @cadencehood @jardimazul @shethecat @silent-storms-posts @simplysslytherin @tog84 @thesunanditsangel @dast218 @tall-and-angry @the-alice-of-hearts @captainmac6 @theyellowfeverexperience @chrismarium @alessialeone6997 @heaven428 @tinyterror333 @smolplantmum @lilyellowink @naoryllis @katiegardneriscoolerthanyou @magewriter @doodledeerest @athena452 @peachedpocky @tired-butterfly @risingmoonyue @lunammoon @mylife-demonstrates-murphys-law  @bobothyross @silvergold-swirl @loysydark @heaven428 @peachedpocky @hauntedwintersweets @awesome-starfish-and-tacos @silvergold-swirl @rosesgonerogue @castielsofficialtoothbrush @myazael @aestheticnpoetic @creator-josie @sturchling @snowstar1016 @myblacknightworld @kittycatwowmeow @midnightkaito @chylou34 @hufflejournals @indecisive-mess-named-me @uwuteamleader @sassakitty @jessigurl-design @demigodgirl20031 @freshbark @soup-served-chilling @elmokingkong @unknownvsworld @thatonegaybitchfromschool @tis-i-beanbandit @damianette-is-life

#maribat #marinette dupen chang #damian wayne #bffmaridami

[goblin-alchemist]

Good-Guy-Gabe fic recs

I’m going to share some of the fics I’ve come across where Gabriel isn’t treated like a raging dirtbag in the stories.  Please feel free to recommend any others and once I get the ability I’ll create a separate tag to group them all together :)

A few personal rules:

1) Work will be complete.  I won’t make you guys suffer through a WIP with no resolution.

2) Gabriel appears in at least one scene and has a significant interaction with the characters.

3) Gabriel can be Hawkmoth as long as he’s not a jerk.  I have a whole series where he’s Hawkmoth yet I still like to think I write him as a decent person.

4) If Gabriel appears as less-than-pleasant, but he undergoes a redemption and emerges at the end of the story as a decent person, I’ll accept it.

Now, onto some recommendations!  I try to add in the Tumblr tag if I can find it, but if you guys happen to know the author’s username on here that I haven’t included, please tell me and I’ll edit it in.  I’ll post separate fanfic.net and AO3 links (though some authors post on both sites, I’m linking the first ones that I happen to have bookmarked).  Now, in no particular order, including both AO3 and Fanfic.net stories:

- @perditaalottachocolate-blog Perdita writes Gabriel as decent, but he doesn’t always show up in all of her stories.  The ones he actually does, however, he is shown as an okay guy.  I could list the specific ones if people want, but her work is a good bet that he’ll be shown decently.  Link to her AO3 profile and fanfic.net profile.

Archive of Our Own stories:

- Season of Miracles by Miraculousredfox - One of the first fics I made sure to bookmark the moment I got an AO3 profile.  Written prior to Season 2, Hawkmoth’s identity is ambiguous in this one, though it’s hinted it’s Gabriel.  Gabriel starts out the fic a bit neutral, borderline on Grinchy, but it quickly veers into heartwarming and Good-Guy-Gabe territory before too long.

-The Almost-Akumas by Juneprinx - Hawkmoth goes to akumatize a suicidal teenager without realizing exactly what’s happening, and discovers some lines are too great for even him to cross.  A quick one-shot to the heart.

- Phoenix Rising by lilacquartz - A “Gabriel is being blackmailed” fic.  Written shortly after season 2 premiered but before we really knew too many reasons why Gabriel was Hawkmoth, this fic is one of the first and only fics I’ve read where he is being blackmailed into terrorizing Paris.  A nice redemption is included.

- Father Knows Best, Listen to Your Dad Now by callmetash -  A post-Hawkmoth fic, this quick one-shot has Gabriel attempting to make amends for his actions, and we get to see the relationship between Gabriel and Adrien slowly being repaired as Adrien asks his father for advice on how to reveal his true identity to his partner.  Humorous story.

- La Vie de la Joie by Anvildude - A nice redemption arc for Gabriel, and a unique way of dealing with the Wish.

-  A Mothy Matchmaker by @bluetreeleaves - Gabriel is Hawkmoth, but determined to get Adrien to date Marinette (she’s so talented, son!)  Humor, borderline crack, nice and lighthearted.

- Hug Moth by @tempomental-fanfics - Gabriel discovers that he maybe should have deciphered the Grimoire before engaging in nefarious activities.  A quick one-shot crackfic.

- Christmas Crisis - by @jamiehascateyes - Gabriel gives Adrien some guidance on getting the perfect Secret Santa gift for Marinette.  A one-shot.

- A Step at a Time - by @jamiehascateyes - One of my favorite rare-pairs that I’ve never read before!  Gabriel meets Ms. Bustier and slowly falls for her, eventually leading to a redemption.  If Gabriel were to ever just give up Emilie, I’ve often said to Perdita that I think Ms. Bustier would be a better match for him than Nathalie.

Fanfiction.net links

- Peacock to the Rescue by @quicksilversquared - Written prior to season 2, this followed the theory that Gabriel wasn’t Hawkmoth but rather connected to the Peacock Miraculous via his wife.  In this one, he assumes that mantle to assist the two heroes in his own stoic way.  A one-shot.

- A Different Type of Inspiration also by @quicksilversquared - Hawkmoth’s identity is ambiguous, as this is not the focus of the story.  This one centers around Marinette entering a fashion contest held by Gabriel Agreste.  A one-shot.

- Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story by @unforgetabelle - One of my favorite “Gabriel is being blackmailed” stories, written prior to season 2 when we knew nothing about anything.  Gabriel is Hawkmoth, but undergoes redemption.  A fairly long story, there’s also a sequel!

- Dreamcatcher  by Golden Lunar Eclipse- Gabriel is Hawkmoth, but gets hit with his own akuma, leading him down the path to redemption.  This is one of my favorite stories because of the feeling and emotion behind it.  The author captures the redemption regret perfectly and I love it.  There’s also another story that has a few scenes from the POV of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

- Birthday Gifts by @thenovelartist - Adrien wants to get Marinette the perfect present, so he guilts Gabriel into assisting.  Gabriel ends up being extremely impressed by Marinette’s talent, much to his surprise.

#miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ml fanfics #ml fics #good-guy-gabe fic recommendations #ml fanfiction #gabriel agreste #good-guy-gabe

[bryanfaganlaw]

Resolving Child Support Disputes without going to court: A how-to guide for Texas parents

If you have need a best suitable service your Child Law experience, Resolving Child Support Disputes without going to court: A how-to guide for Texas parents with the great process!

Divorce Lawyer in Spring TX: Family law cases are typically not decided in a courtroom with a judge playing tiebreaker between two parents that cannot seem to agree on anything. I know that television and movies would have you think otherwise, but if you are facing a family law case do not start your case off with this mistaken assumption.

I have known more than one person who was hesitant to file a family law case because they were so concerned that the case would take a lot of time, cost a lot of money and would be decided by a person that didn't even know you or your child.

I think the subject that gets the most attention in family law has to be child support. Parties to family law cases will often times reach settlements on issues like property division, child custody, visitation, and other issues, but child support can be one that requires a little more effort to settle. Communication between parents is essential to settling a case and for some reason the ability to communicate breaks down when it comes to discussing child support.

On some level, this may be confusing to many of you reading this blog post. Many family law cases are the sort where child support is very straightforward. For example, if you are responsible for the support of one child and earn $50,000 per year, you will likely pay child support according to the guidelines set forth in the Texas Family Code. However, if you earn more than $8,550 per month or if your child has a special need or disability then your situation may not be so simple.

If you anticipate that settling your case will be difficult because of child support related issues, then today's blog post from the Law Office of Bryan Fagan is for you. I will share with you some tips that I have picked up in my time as a family law attorney that relates to settling child support issues before getting to a courtroom. Settling a case means that you have direct say over what the final orders of your case will be. If you are trying to avoid the expense and headaches associated with family law trials you should read this blog post.

Discuss child support in terms of the specific needs of your child rather than in dollars and cents

Spring TX Divorce Lawyer: For most children, you should have a very good idea of what he or she "costs" each year as far as their activities are concerned. Does he or she participate in extracurricular activities through school? Does he or she go to a private or public school? Does he or she play travel soccer which requires gear, uniforms and hotel costs?

Or does he or she run cross country, which requires a couple of pairs of shoes and a Gatorade bottle? My point is that for most parents, you know pretty well what it takes to keep your kid moving as far as money is concerned.

More importantly, you will know if your child has special medical or school-related needs that have to be attended to. If your reality is a child who goes to see a specialist once a month for treatment then those costs should already be worked into your family budget. Likewise, if your child has to receive tutoring in math every week in order to keep their grades up then this is likely a cost that has been in place for at least a few months prior to the start of your family law case. Again, you can predict these costs. They should not catch you by surprise once your family case gets moving.

What you need to do is that once you have a firm idea of what those costs are on a monthly basis, you need to communicate them to your attorney. Many attorneys will fall into the trap of applying guidelines levels of child support for every case they have. This would for most cases, but your case isn’t one that the guideline levels of support would work for. If you know that your child needs a greater than average amount of monthly child support then you need to communicate that to your lawyer so that he can negotiate for that in mediation.

Work with your attorney on coming up with outside the box solutions to your child support challenges

The Texas Family Code is like any other group of laws contained within a codebook, especially in relation to child support. They are pretty inflexible. That works ok when you have a straightforward case. However, once you throw some curveballs into the mix of your case, then you may need some more creative, outside the box thinking in order to settle your case before a trial.

You and your child’s other parent need to work with your attorneys to incorporate your child’s specific needs into a plan for achieving a just amount of child support to be paid. Remember that the amount of child support that is set may be the law for years to come. Fortunately what you and your soon to be ex-spouse agree to pay in child support can be much more flexible than what a judge is likely to order be paid.

Suppose that you and your spouse want the ever-popular “50/50” possession schedule, where you split your child’s time with your spouse 50/50. If this is what you want as far as possession is concerned, you can calculate what each of your child support would be based on your income and then subtract the smaller amount from the larger amount. The parent who earns more income would then pay the difference in child support to the parent who earns less income.

Uninsured medical costs can also be handled in a similar fashion. If you look at your own income and compare that to the other parent. Whatever your percentage of the household income is, you can pay that percentage of the uninsured medical costs that your child incurs. This way neither parent can argue that the other one doesn't have "skin in the game" when it comes to paying for these costs which can be difficult to predict on a year to year basis. If you want to feel like you have ownership over the costs of your child then this is a great way to do so.

What about travel costs?

Spring Divorce Lawyer: Many parents in today's world do not live in neighboring areas or even neighboring towns. In a metropolitan area like Houston, even suburbs like Kingwood and Katy can feel like they are light-years apart. What happens if, during the middle of your divorce case, your ex-spouse moves to Galveston for work? He would not necessarily be in violation of your court order's geographic restriction but there would be increased costs associated with transporting your child back and forth across a great distance.

You should certainly take into consideration these costs when setting an amount of child support. If your spouse must bear the burden of paying most of the travel costs then you may offer a reduction in child support in an effort to settle your case rather than push it to a trial.

This is a fair thing to do even after your child support case has ended. Suppose that you as the custodial parent choose to move to Galveston two months after the divorce was finalized. You are not in violation of your court order but that move has put a huge burden on your ex-spouse who now has to do a great deal more in the way of driving to see your child.

In order to make this right, you can decrease the amount of child support that he is expected to pay. Having a handshake agreement to decrease the amount of child support is one way to go about accomplishing this goal, but you can also seek a modified order through mediation if you would like to get something in writing. In addition, you could always offer to do the driving once a month (for example) or offer to meet your ex-spouse halfway in between your homes in order to cut the driving distance he has to cover down by 50%.

In order to give yourself a good shot at being able to negotiate successfully in this area, make sure that you come ready with receipts, estimates for cost, estimates for time and anything else that would be helpful in meditation. If you can come with an Excel spreadsheet of figures for your spouse to pour over that will go over much better than throwing around a lot of numbers with very little in the way of back up ... Continue Reading

#divorce #Divorce Attorney #divorce lawyer #divorce law #houston divorce lawyer #family #Family Law #fagan #family attorneys #Houston family law #attorney #attorneys #child custody attorney #law #lawyer #lawyers #Houston #Houston attorneys #texas attorneys #Texas

[notbigondoors]

About the Muse: My Version of Vision On This Blog

{out of equations} Alright, folks… here is the information that is in Vision’s “About the Muse” page, for people who are on mobile and can’t view/access blog pages. If you think you would like to rp with me, or you already are and just would like to have some more information, please read this general “About the Muse” post, as well as my NSFW Headcanons post, if you are 18+ of course.

I largely follow the movie verse canon for Vision. Where I may draw from the comics a bit is for some aspects of his relationship with Wanda. Some of them. There was a lot about the comic story arcs with them and the creation of a family of “Visions” that I don’t use on this blog. Besides that, the reason why my version of Vision is canon-divergent has to do with his physical construction, how he can manipulate his physical body, and what he is capable of.

{ Vision’s Physical Construction }

My interpretation of “The Vision” is that he is a bio-organic synthezoid. This is different from being a robot or machine, and different entirely from being a cyborg. A cyborg by most definitions is something that was once human and is now heavily augmented with machine technology either to sustain life or enhance activity (examples: Robocop; Raiden of the Metal Gear franchise). With cyborgs there is a good chance of most of the body being human or derived from humans or at the very least, the head, brain, and spinal column of a human are likely to be present. Vision is not a cyborg, as he was never human, is not derived from a human body and is not meant to function as an actual human being. He does not have human organs, systems, or a brain as one would expect a human should have, unless he chooses to change his body construction to emulate such things (I’ll get more into that later). He is also not an android, which is a true machine that is only meant to look and maybe behave human, even though most of his body is constructed of vibranium metal. As a synthezoid, Vision has intermixed with vibranium atoms a bio-polymeric cellular tissue which confers much of his abilities to change his density, change his form, and emulate human biological activities. As mentioned by Dr. Helen Cho in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the vibranium atoms in Vision's body have bonded with the cells printed by the regeneration cradle. This created a synthezoid: a synthetic or synthesized organism (rather than one which is born naturally) that is not human but no less alive.

My concept of Vision’s body is that it is mostly vibranium, making him virtually indestructible as he was in the films, but with about 30-40% of his body mass being composed of organic bio-polymer and cellular tissue. What do I mean by that? Well, polymers are groups of monomers (think small building blocks of life) that are bonded together, sometimes in impermanent fashions. So think about basic biology in which nucleic acids comprise DNA and amino acids comprise proteins. Small building blocks that, when combined, can function as higher components of life. I headcanon that Vision essentially has organic matter (carbon-based materials that typically also contain hydrogen, oxygen, and water), interspersed with the vibranium ions that comprise his body. “Organic matter” or “NOM” (natural organic matter) is material that is derived from or resulting from the degradation of living things, but I headcanon that Vision’s organic matter is unique in that it was never alive previously, but rather was sythezised in the regeneration cradle. It is the result of his unique construction and a combination of synthesis and condensation processes that occurred when he was “born.”

As he was being created, the combination of the vibranium, electricity, a semi-sentient influx of energy from Ultron, Jarvis, etc. created a bio-electric field that attracted carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to it. As these elements became fused with the otherwise mechanical components of his body during his “birth,” condensation reactions occurred that created water and a kind of organic matter which bonded to the vibranium and other metal matrices of his composition. The result was a kind of perfect storm that coated Vision’s “cells” as printed by the cradle with this bio-polymeric substance, much like how life was first created on Earth by introducing electricity into pools containing water and many other elements mixed together. Think about essentially growing living tissue in Petri dishes not derived from any living thing previously, except that for Vision this happened somewhat uniformly throughout his body during the course of his construction and “birth.” What this boils down to, is that I headcanon that Vision is actually a living being, just not human. He is a new and unique form of life that was made (synthesized) rather than born naturally of other living things. A synthezoid.

It is this organic matter forming these bio-polymeric substances that permeates Vision’s body that mediates so many things that he is able to do, emulate, learn, and create. His ability to change his body’s density from a heavy and dense metal to a thinly-dispersed gas is what allows him to phase. On a molecular level, this living network of organic material running throughout his body acts a lot like a system of neurons as far as physical function is concerned, working in tandem with actual wires to convey information from his CPU ("central processing unit" in computer language, but like a brain) to the rest of his body, much in the way a human brain would command control over the whole of a human body. It is more adaptable, polymorphic, fluid, and convertible a material than the vibranium metal, allowing for the mediation of all of Vision’s abilities which involve changing his density, appearance, and shape. The bio-polymeric substances within his body “tissue” are also what allow him to feel pain and pleasure, what can allow him to learn how to taste, and what allow him to not only process emotions on a rational and informational level but also to legitimately learn to feel them. Were he made of solid metal, a true machine/computer/AI instead of a living bio-machine, none of this would be possible.

Also, fun fact: Vision’s body temperature tends to run hotter than humans, due to biological and electrical systems working in tandem and drawing from the power of the mind stone. His average resting-state body temperature is around 100-101°C, and his emotionally and/or physically ramped-up temperature is around 105-106°C. This makes him an excellent heater in the winter if you can get him to hug you or share a bed with you, haha.

{ Emulating Everyday Human Emotions and Activities }

When he is first “born,” Vision behaves much like a machine, computer, or AI. But from that moment on, he is learning and adapting to a multitude of stimuli, ideas, and human responses that he is processing. He is not an AI, because that implies a true machine that can only “learn” up to a certain point by employing probability algorithms and imitation techniques. It also implies that he can only learn to emote as a result of compiling data from the reactions of human beings around him rather than emoting because he genuinely feels a certain way. Human children learn from their parents, from other children, etc., what emotions are and how to navigate social situations. Vision’s learning process is somewhere in between a straight AI and a human child. Like the AI, he is compiling, analyzing, and comparing data constantly. In addition to what he is exposed to firsthand, Vision also can access the internet, so he has access to eBooks, Google, YouTube, online encyclopedias, government websites, and other educational tools. However, like a human child, Vision is a living being who is being exposed to so many things for the first time and struggling to find his place among it all. So there is a heightened capacity for knowledge and an ability to process and retain it, but there is also a naivety and innocence with regard to his trial-and-error learning process that sometimes can seem very human. Combine that with a desire to develop his own personality and unique identity but having no others of his own kind to relate to, and we have one very curious and potentially lonely being who soaks up knowledge like a sponge.

As a result of how he learns and processes information, and due to his unique and adaptable physical structure, Vision can learn how to participate in various human activities such as eating, drinking, laughing, participating in activities purely for sport or fun, and even having sex (see the “NSFW” section), even though he has no mechanical or biological need to do so. Whereas in humans these abilities are built into our physical structure and somewhat wired into our brains to be able to learn how to do at certain ages either through instruction or on instinct, Vision must actually learn these things backwards. He sees how humans do these things and much back-calculate and back-create physical structures in order to perform them himself.

For example, with eating and drinking, Vision has no real digestive system, as he does not need to process food to survive. His functions are powered by a combination of the mind stone and solar power. However, he can alter his form to create a tongue with which to taste, an esophagus, and some internal structure to house what he eats and drinks. From there, processing is probably far more ideal than a human system because there is no need for nourishment or fear of toxicity, and so food and drink are broken down into the most basic of components, which are then added to his structure (in the case of carbon, hydrogen, etc.) or released as gas or water vapor through ventilation ducts or through his “breathing.” This means there is no excrement or need for him to ever go to the bathroom, as it were. As far as being able to taste, Vision would always be able to determine the chemical composition of whatever he is ingesting, but to actually taste it in any way similar to how humans do would require a redirection of synapses to a tongue structure (probably in combination with an olfactory system in his nose as well, since smell and taste are strongly linked). Again, he would need to study exactly what is going on and then work backwards to create structures and systems within his own body to perform the functions.

And of course, since he does not actually need to eat or drink, he would do so only on occasion, probably as a bonding practice with friends or a romantic ship. Unfortunately, however, I’ll just throw in here that Vision cannot become drunk or high. His body processes things far too efficiently and thoroughly for any effect to last and such chemicals do not affect his “brain” or bodily functions in the same way they do in humans.

{ Emulating Human Appearance }

The way Vision achieves his human-like exterior in Avengers: Infinity War is through physical alterations to the shape and consistency of the outer layers of his body combined with an imaging overlay, similar to a holographic illusion. This creates the tactile perception of flesh or clothing while also maintaining the aesthetic of those materials as well.

To achieve the feel of flesh, Vision can increase the ratio of bio-polymer and cellular tissue to vibranium in the outer layers of his body – a similar process to changing his density - making those areas of his body actually more organic and therefore more flesh-like. This gives it a softer feel, just like human flesh. To achieve the feel of clothing, Vision can learn the coarseness, pattern, fiber construction, and stiffness of certain fabrics to emulate their feel by again, changing the ratio of organic matter to vibranium in the outer, visible layers of his body.

But that only changes tactile perception in any other beings that might touch him. He’d still feel like flesh or like a human body wearing clothing, but he would still look like a red/purple/gold/graphite-colored synthezoid. Vision’s largely dark red color comes from the organic matter matrixed in with the vibranium metal. Have you ever seen a raw steak? You know that dark red color it has when it’s raw and fresh? And then you see it after it’s cooked and it turns anywhere from a gray to brown to black color depending on how it’s cooked and for how long? That has to do with the oxidation and degradation of the components of the cells in the tissues themselves. I headcanon the same sort of thing occurred when Vision died, only it was a more instant process, probably due to the whole of his system being shocked violently from the power of the mind stone as it was ripped from his head, causing catastrophic systematic failures as well as an essential electrical burning of the organic matter in his body. Essentially… Vision was “flash fried,” in addition to being completely shut down. Standing near him shortly after his death, one could probably smell a strong metallic odor combined with the faint but distinct odor of burnt flesh. But, I digress.

To achieve the look of flesh, Vision employs an illusion overlay. This is similar to holographic technology in that an image is created to mask the appearance of the outer layers of his body. It’s integrated very well onto his surface and combined with the changes to his actual form and tactile feel, the illusion will “behave” like the flesh or clothing it is supposed to look like when it is touched. This takes care of the aesthetic, while the morphing takes care of shape and feel.

{ Why the Attack in Edinburgh Stopped Vision From Phasing }

Vision’s ability to change his shape and appearance, to change his density, and to phase through solid objects hinges upon the complex electro-organic relaying network of synapses throughout his body. Guided by wiring and electricity but performed by the organic components of his structure, his ability to do any of these things requires that he is able to send signals from his “brain” to the rest of his body to will it to change form. If that network is disrupted, damaged, or interfered with, he loses the ability to manipulate his form at will.

Think about a human being who is electrocuted, with the electrical energy traveling throughout the body, conducted by the water contained in blood, muscle cells, etc., and essentially burning things as it goes along. They become stunned and unable to move for a time because of the damage. The greater the shock, the greater the damage on a cellular level and the longer the stun effect will be. Similar to using a stun gun on a person too. The higher the voltage, the greater the stopping power and also the damage to the person being stunned. The same is true of Vision if his “neural” network is disturbed by energy capable of damaging the organic bio-polymeric material that laces his structure on a molecular level and is an essential component in the synapse relay that allows him to control his form.

Because Vision is powered by an infinity stone and made in large part of virtually indestructible vibranium, it would take some kind of magic, energy, weapon, force, etc. with a decent energy-disruption power to mess with the synapse relay throughout his body. So when Corvus Glaive stabbed him with his weapon, it not only created a physical wound through Vision’s form, but it shut down the changes to his form and illusion overlay he had been employing to look human. We actually saw the overlay decay from the wound outward, indicating that the closed-loop system of relays that makes such a thing possible for him had been disrupted and rendered no longer functional. His own admission that the weapon prevented him from phasing indicates that his complex electro-organic relay system that allows him to morph and alter his density at will has been significantly damaged.

{ Vision’s Psychology & Evolution }

Vision is a new being, initially Ultron’s Vision, but a combination of Ultron, Jarvis, the mind stone, and other sentience that contributed to his “birth.” But he has never lived before. This renders him very ignorant, naïve, and lacking in experience-based knowledge and abilities, even though he has access to the internet and is to a large extent born with the maturity level of an adult human. Some might assume that he is an all-knowing being that knows better than humans on a number of topics based on how he presents himself. The way he presents himself is as one who is very calm and wise. However, Vision is far from infallible. He has flaws and makes mistakes just like anyone else.

Although a strong and confident being, Vision does have a few insecurities. He wants very much to be considered alive and of equal value and importance to his human counterparts. If told often enough that this is not true, if he is referred to as a machine or a computer or a sentient toaster, or if he is referred to as “it,” he will react emotionally. And negatively. In extreme cases he may begin to question whether he is actually alive and begin searching for evidence of it, whether informationally in books and on the internet, or subjectively by soliciting the opinions of the humans (or other beings) around him, specifically humans he had related to on a personal level.

Being potentially denied validation as a truly living being deserving of the same rights and freedoms as other living beings is his largest insecurity, but he does have others. Wanting to please Wanda and worrying that she may not want a more involved relationship with him in Infinity War, for example, makes him nervous and approval-seeking. This is seen in his adorable stumbling over his words and then his addition of the qualifying statement, “…or not, if I’m overstepping.” By this point in his life, Vision had begun to evolve considerably, developing not merely the emulations of emotion, but true emotions he feels.

Vision’s evolution was not something expected by the Avengers. When he was “born,” Vision was considered and regarded as an android, a true machine, an artificial intelligence. Later comments from others about the fact that he appears to be “evolving,” indicate that he is adapting and growing both in his range of abilities and with regard to his psychology and personality. I headcanon that this occurred not only because the longer he lives, the more he experiences and the more people he encounters, but also because the longer he is alive, the longer he is interacting with his environment on a molecular level. The longer Vision exists, the more carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, etc. are integrated into his structure, during ingestion, respiration, or any other number of activities. This causes his body composition to slowly become more organic overall as time goes on. I don’t mean he’s suddenly going to turn completely human or something, it’s more subtle than that. Like a rock that grows a very fine layer of moss on it. The rock is the same, it just… gains something else. But the more organic his composition becomes, the more Vision behaves and evolves like a living organism. Had he survived past Infinity War, we would have seen him evolve even more.

Vision displays his own independence and personality very early on, within minutes of being “born.” He emulates Thor’s cloak, making a cloak of his own. While it is unclear as to why he does this, one can assume that he either wanted to fit in with those around him for the purpose of gaining acceptance or that he merely liked the aesthetic and chose to adopt it for himself. To do this, he had to figure out how to alter his own form very early on in his creation. Although a simple act, it shows critical and independent thinking as well as individuality.

Something else Vision can begin to suffer from is loneliness, despite being surrounded by the Avengers, by scientists and doctors, by maintenance workers, and by technical staff. This is because he is the only one of his kind, and that is a very isolating and lonely feeling. Try as he might to relate to others, he remains very much alone in his existence and learning processes, which can make him a little sad. This is why he bonds so closely with Wanda, who is away from home, has led a very sheltered life, is new to many things in the world, has lost everyone she was familiar with and cared about, and is new to the Avengers’ team. She is someone with whom he can confide in as far as having a vastly different perspective on things that may not meld as well as others’.

Alright, that’s all I’ve got as far as general headcanons, but if you have any other questions about how I write Vision, feel free to ask! =)

#{ out of equations } ᵒᵒᶜ #about the muse #headcanons

[lsamdon3]

Packaging and its Identity in Italy and United Kingdom

The topic I chose to talk about is packaging. I always found very interesting how product’s packaging is studied and designed and packaging itself is one of the main reasons that lead me to graphic design studies.

I have always found the subject very interesting, and in fact before creating a blog archive specifically for this research and for this project, I found myself collecting on my personal site many examples of packaging that I found aesthetically pleasing, well thought of, and interesting. After creating a new blog for this project, I started to gather a whole series of packaging examples that are not necessarily contemporary, but from different countries and times.  

At some point during my research I focused on two specific countries, Italy, my country of origin and England, the country that has been hosting me for five years now. Having experience shopping in my country, I grew accustomed to a certain product’s aesthetic. Personally, I find the difference between Italian and British packaging very interesting and I would therefore like to further explore this topic.

I think my research could be of interest to anyone that would like to see the difference between British and Italian’s culture by using packaging as a medium.

This research would take a look at objects that pass through our hands every day. Here I would like to reflect on their aesthetics and why common objects, specifically their packaging, can be so different in Italy and in the United Kingdom.In my research I would like to export my point of view. The point of view of a person of Italian origins who has nevertheless lived in England for five years. 

As a graphic design student, I have always looked at the packaging from the point of view of those who create it, reflecting on what could make the product more or less attractive to the customer. While shopping, I have always found interesting how my attention is drawn to product’s packaging designed in a way rather than another—and of course, being Italian and having lived in Italy for twenty years made me very aware of the aesthetic connected to my country’s identity. As an expatriate, I got to get used to the cultural identity of England. 

And I would like to export the point of view of and Italian graphic designer, expat in the United Kingdom, starting from asking myself an important question: what is that differentiate my country, Italy, and the united kingdom’s packaging design? The most obvious answer may be their respective national identity. But what is the national identity of a country? The national identity of a country comprises the claimed qualities that bind and distinguish the country’s population and form the basis of their unity and identity, and the expressions of the population’s culture—such as habits, behaviours, or symbols—that have a common, familiar or iconic quality readily identifiable with the country. 

If we’re talking about British culture, one of the very first things that come to our mind are the Royal Family.But how important are the Royal Family to the idea of Britishness today? On March 1st 2018 a set of coins goes into circulation in the United Kingdom. Launched by The Royal Mint, we now have a series of new ten pence pieces– 26 in all, created to form an A-Z of British life in the 21st century. They’re described as ‘Quintessentially British’ and two of the designs are directly linked to royalty (as expected, the Queen features on the reverse of all the new coins). The A-Z features plenty of the things you’d expect people to say if asked to name something really British. C is for cricket, T is for Tea, and U is for Union Flag. The royal mentions come towards the middle of the alphabet where we find J for Jubilee and K for King Arthur. That, according to this bit of social history, is where royalty fits into the concept of being British in 2018.

 But the Royal Family is just a start into the British national identity, and while researching on the identity of the United Kingdom, I also started researching on Italian National identity. The long history has left a legacy to the Italian population: a national character, whose traits are easily recognizable even if in continuous evolution. They often have become stereotypes, like a distinct mischief, loudness (with the colors of melodrama), sentimentality and attachment to the family. Italy is also known for its place in history as mother for many great artists, from centuries ago until today. For this reason, I found essential to ask myself what are the names that connects Italy to design. I started by reading “The story of graphics. Stories and pictures of Italian international graphic design from 1890 to today” (“Il racconto della grafica. Storie e immagini del graphic design italiano e internazionale dal 1890 a oggi”), by Andrea Rauch, (2017). The author begins his story from the second industrial revolution, when cities take over the countryside. Starting from Chéret, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cappiello, passing through the pioneers of the brand image and the first attempts at image coordination. Going through the climate of rebirth of post-war reconstruction, when in Italy emerge the great personalities of Albe Steiner, Bruno Munari, Erberto Carboni, Armando Testa, lo Studio Boggeri. E poi Müller-Brockmann e Max Bill, Noorda, Vignelli, Iliprandi, Grignani, Fronzoni, Leo Lionni, Saul Steinberg, Paul Rand, Milton Glaser, Seymour Chwast and Heinz Edelmann. Not strictly connected to the side of design that works with packaging, this reading has been essential to understand that outside-influences can make and break a country’s identity. My second reading has been “FATTOBENE Italian Everyday Archetypes”, cured by Anna Lagorio and Alex Carnevali, 2017. Have they been designed already perfect, in the midst of the tasks they perform, or is it the habit —culture—that makes them seemingly irreplaceable? The objects of daily use, those that we use in the office or at home, have been designed to perfection, or is it the continuous use and adaptation to which we are obliged to them that make them so indispensable? Bruno Munari, for example, believed the objects of daily use were "real design". Useful objects, independent of fashions and designers—often anonymous: “Even before the term design was used for objects that respond to essential functions, these objects had already been produced and are still in production and are improved each time through the materials and the technologies used. They are objects of daily use in homes and workplaces and people buy them because they don't follow fashions, they don't have problems with class symbols, they are well-designed objects and it doesn't matter by whom. This is true design."(Bruno Munari, Da cosa nasce cosa, 1981)While it can be argued that Bruno Munari’s point of view applies mainly on the design of “things” rather than their packaging, is outlook on what can be called true design has deeply influenced Italy’s vision of design in itself—therefore I think it was essential to read more about this designer.

 That’s when I found that Munari’s idea of perfect design extends, of course, on packaging. Munari describes the perfect packaging: an orange. For him the fruit was, in fact, inclusive of packaging and declared that "nature is the first producer of packaging in the world: every type of peel, shell or skin exists to protect the product contained within it". (Bruno Munari, “Good design”, 1963) 

I decided to integrate some online research and watched several TED talks, one of which “Beauty: the competitive identity of Italy”. The TED talk is given by Maurizio Robilant, president and founder of “Italia Patria della Bellezza” Foundation. After 30 years of experiences in branding consultant for Companies and a long-time activity to support the Made in Italy, Maurizio Robilant decided to put his skills to work for create a competitive identity for Italy. In this talk, Robilant opens with a stream of compliments to my beautiful country, only to follow with an unsurprising—for an Italian, at least—truth: “Italians don’t like Italy. From a research done in 2015 from the Reputation Institute, only 50,6% of Italians are satisfied with their country. Nonetheless, 65,8% of foreigners love Italy.” (Maurizio Robilant, TEDxMilano, 2015) This find can be particularly interesting for my research, considering that the country's self-esteem is reflected in every area of its appearance. No less than other areas, it affects the design of products, and of course, their packaging. As I noticed, Italians in the most recent times tend to have a desire for change, ditching the old and traditional for what is considered modern by the western standards. If motivated by a desire for change, or a desire for escapism from their country’s image, it’s not clear. Taking into account this information, I would consider the satisfaction and sense of belonging of the population of a country as a key concept, therefore I will have to research further on, as both influences deeply a country’s national identity.  I find that further research on this topic should be done for me to be able to compare the design of the packaging in Italy and United Kingdom. To make this comparison easier, I decided to pick three different products, and I will analyse their story, evolution and current packaging design in each country. For example, I could pick eggs, and analyse how the packaging has been presented on the shelves of British supermarkets in the past years, and how it looks now. Then I would do the same on Italian eggs packaging, to then compare the two of them. How do they differ from one another? And why? Which package would attract the interests of younger generations while groceries shopping, and which packages would instead end up being bought by older customers? Why? And more curiously, why do Italians and British people’s choices differ so much on this topic? I also find particularly interesting how certain products are packaged in the United Kingdom, and I’d like to talk about it on my research.  

For example, in the United Kingdom milk is packaged in ways that would, by far, prevent the sale in the whole country of Italy. To be more specific, an Italian customer would think that milk in the United Kingdom is sold in plastic packaging that Italians use only for machine washing detergent. I’d like to insert in my research little curiosity about packaging that can even be considered an actual culture shock for some.

As for my action plan I would research more on the British side of design and designers during this summer, as it’s an essential part of my research.I still have to look for visual examples to help my research. As I was suggested through feedback, I will choose a limited number of products of which I will study the packaging in Italy and in the UK respectively. As for this summer, I’m planning a trip to London, specifically to The Italian Cultural Institute, in 39 Belgrave Square. There I will be able to consult various sources to enrich my research. Subsequently, I intend to return to Italy for two weeks, and I will use this opportunity to observe the packaging of the three products I chose in this research. I’ll collect pictures and study the story behind the products, how they’re connected to the past and current culture.  Once back to the United Kingdom, I’ll do the same with the three products and their packaging. I’m currently collecting pictures and videos that could help me with my research on my blog, and I intend to keep doing that. 

In the meanwhile, I’m planning on watch a list of very interesting TED Talks that I found during my research, some of them:

-“Packaging is for people”,Sylvia Vitale Rotta,TEDxISTEC, Born in Tanzania of Italian parents, this citizen of the world studied in London at Art School. She meets Nick CRAIG with whom she founds Creative Team dedicated to Branding & Packaging Identity. Since the agency has become a reference in the market both in France and abroad;

-“How to think like a designer, Michael Bierut, Bierut announced the creation of his first ever monograph: How to: Use graphic design to sell things, explain things, make things look better, and (every once in a while) change the world.”

I’m also creating a list of books that I’m planning on reading this summer, some of the titles in the list:

- “Why Italians Love to Talk About Food” by Elena Kostioukovitch(2009), with a beautiful introductionby Umberto Eco;

- “TheTotal Package: The Secret History and Hidden Meanings of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Other Persuasive Containers”, by Thomas Hine, (1997);

- “Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging”, by Afua Hirsch (2018);

- “Identity Crisis”, by Ben Elton, (2019);

- “Britain Explained: Understanding British Identity”,by Martin Upham, (2017)

List of References

Bruno Munari(1981)

Da cosa nasce cosa

Bari:

Editori Laterza

Bruno Munari (1963)

Good design

Bari:

Editori Laterza

Anna Lagorio and Alex Carnevali (2017)

FATTOBENE Italian Everyday Archetypes

Milano:

Corraini Edizioni

Andrea Rauch (2017)

The story of graphics. Stories and pictures of Italian International Graphic Design from 1890 to Today

Milano:

La Casa Usher

Elena Kostioukovitch, Umberto Eco (2009)

Why Italians Love to Talk About Food

Thomas Hine, (1997)

TheTotal Package: The Secret History and Hidden Meanings of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Other Persuasive Containers

Afua Hirsch (2018)

Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

London:

Jonathan Cape

Martin Upham(2017)

Britain Explained: Understanding British Identity

London:

John Harper Publishing

Ben Elton (2019)

Identity Crisis

London:

Transworld Publishers Ltd

Maurizio Robilant (2015) Beauty: the competitive identity of Italy | Maurizio Robilant | TEDxMilano [online video]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuTBf0bkKI8

Sylvia Vitale Rotta(2016) Packaging is for people! | Sylvia Vitale Rotta | TEDxISTEC [online video]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db68SjgC3oY

Michael Bierut(2015)Michael Bierut on how to think like a designer [online video]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RanfCx18gi4

[fiftysevenacademics]

As long as I’m sitting here sick and weak on the sofa (not fashionably consumptive, just fucking bronchitis) and catching up on Tumblr, I might as well jot down some things about social media that’ve been rattling in my head for a while now. 

About two and a half years ago I spilled wine on my laptop and it died. I could afford to either try and fix it or buy a new one but the only thing I used it for at that point was Tumblr and a Wordpress blog I was trying halfheartedly to build. I also had a job that left me extremely underemployed, to say the least, and I spent most of my day at work researching topics that interested me and making Tumblr posts about them instead. I figured, I spend way too much time on Tumblr, let’s try going without a laptop and see what happens. 

The plan: Social media detox. Can use at work (to save my sanity) but only use on phone (which I don’t enjoy as much) on my own time. 

After Trump got elected, it’s like my enjoyment of fandoms and Tumblr memes and discourse plummeted. I found myself constantly on Twitter trying to keep up with the latest developments and finding ways to protest, politicians to supplicate, and had even returned to regular Facebook use, after about two years of bare minimum use. 

As time ground on, I just got depressed. Nothing was happening, no protest no actions... Nothing fucking got rid of that monster and I got sick of the nonstop hysterical and self-righteous journalists on my Twitter feed and the constant petitions and fundraisers and calls to action on my Facebook. Everything was just too depressing to even contemplate.

For a little over a year now I’ve been barely on social media at all. At first I thought, Oh, I’ll be one of those enlightened middle class liberals who tries to spend more time with face to face friends. I’ll do this “detox” thing and maybe I’ll be happier. I used Tumblr at work, mostly to post about stuff I was researching, but rarely at home. Maybe I’ll read more!

I didn’t quit social media, but I cut my involvement way down. I go on Tumblr long enough to fill up my queue or to answer a question or message, gave up entirely on Twitter, and disengaged from all but the most innocuous social posts from my Facebook friends. Basically, I’ve mostly used Facebook to keep up with family, real-life friends, and participate in one of the hobby groups I enjoy.

Then I got a job that actually keeps me busy. I have a new work Twitter that depresses the fucking hell out of me with nonstop bad news about the environment, instead of politics. I don’t use Tumblr at work, and by now I thoroughly detest Facebook.

I hate the idiotic memes, the constant guilt pushing, the self-righteousness, the mind-numbing tedium of other people’s everyday lives. Maybe that is awful to say, but I don’t need to see every detail of everyone’s lives, and I lost interest in sharing my own details constantly several years ago.

And you know what? Rather than feeling like I have so much free time now, like I’m liberated, like I’m spending more time involved with people I care about, like all the upper middle class folks write about in prestigious media outlets, I feel disconnected and lonely. I read even less than I did before, when I was reading stuff and posting about it on Tumblr. I need to share what I read!

I’ve got a new job, in a new town, and I have no friends. It’s hard to make friends when you’re an adult, especially if you also kind of hate people and going out. Something is missing in my life and it’s taken me months but you know what it is? TUMBLR. I miss the good old days, 3 or 4 years ago, when I was in over my head on topics I loved and meeting some really great people and having so much fun.

I have been on the Internet since 1994. I made very good friends on a hobby-oriented Usenet group, then went on to make more friends in niche interest Yahoo groups (one of which later morphed into the Facebook group that’s almost the only thing still keeping me on Facebook at this point). I joined Facebook in 2006 but wasn’t really active on it till 2009, and was really into it for a while. Fandom and niche interests finally piqued my curiosity about Tumblr in 2013 and though I never expected the wild ride I’ve been on, it’s been the best experience I’ve had since the old Usenet days.

I need an outlet for my weird interests, hobbies, and quirks. I need a place where I can geek out, preferably with some degree of anonymity, in the company of like-minded nerds. I like the uninhibited, everything plus the kitchen sink environment of Tumblr-- the good AND the bad. 

My plan for 2019 had been to get a new laptop and devote more time to my nerdy Tumblr interests and pay less attention to my stultifying Facebook feed. I was excited. 

And then came Nipplegate.

I don’t know what the future holds for Tumblr, but this is most likely a slow march to the scaffolds for all of our blogs. I hope Pillowfort is a good alternative. In the meantime, I’m going to still go through with my New Year’s resolution.

#stuff you probably dont want to know but I'm telling you anyway

[betterfor4-blog]

My Pursuit of Happiness Manifesto

--- In a nutshell (to take the time to read or not): This post gives context to my life, why I have started this blog, the clear goals I have set for my family and how I am going to manage it. ----

Dear Universe and the Human Race,

The Context of My Life

Thank you for my life.  Through nothing else but chance and luck I find myself truly blessed (in a completely non-religious way).  Even if I didn’t intend, plan or pursue it, I find myself in my late 30s with a beautiful old-fashioned, very-not-cool nuclear family.  We could be the poster family for hetero-normative, white, 2 young kids and a dog in an average brick house.  Please don’t for a second though think that I believe or promote this as the only way as being.  This is the context for my life, however, I am open-minded and supportive of all the different kinds of ways that family and love exists in this world. 

I acknowledge that I live on this planet in a way many cannot or will never get the opportunity to.  I acknowledge that the way I live is because of the toil of many who will never have my privilege.

Completely off life-plan I married my first love who I met when I was a teenager.  He is intelligent, gorgeous, compassionate, funny, loyal and simply a good person (if not sometimes a little too ‘linear/pragmatic/black and white in his thinking).  We both had opportunities to become well educated and ambition to form our own independent careers.  We both trained and work in the Sciences; I am an educator.  We lived exciting lives with lots of travel and friends and then 3 years ago we welcomed our first lovely daughter into this world (Miss C1).  Late last year our family was completed by our second lovely daughter (Miss C2).

The Reason For This Blog And What I Want In This Life

I am genuinely happy, 8/10, like Scandinavian happy (those guys have it all worked out).  I know who I am and I am very clear in my mind about my goals, values and ambitions for myself and my family.   I have prefaced and contextualized my life in this post however, as my problems are slight, though they still exist an I am in pursuit of  happiness (9 and 10 numbers).

I want to live meaningfully in this life and raise my girls consciously and with clear intent.  I want our family activities, daily life and conversations to be ‘rich’ in the holistic manner of the word rather than the dollars and cents version.  I want for a lot and have some clear goals/thoughts:

1. MINIMALISM - I want to live better with less...

-  I want to spend less on the stuff we don’t need.  

- I don’t want to waste things (especially food and other such resources). 

-  I want every item in our home to bring joy, be useful and used frequently. 

- I wish to invest in family experiences more than things.

- I don’t want to get caught up in the fast fashion cycle, buying my girls $2 t-shirts that last 3 washes and are thrown away at the cost of both environment and people.  

- I want high quality goods that are fixed or re-purposed rather than just thrown away.

- I want to our modest block of land to be productive for 

- I don’t want to spend my life cleaning or battling with storing stuff making our home and lives less enjoyable.

- I want a clean and organised house that I don’t have to feel burdened by maintaining but I am not ashamed by unexpected guests.

2. Experiential Based Family Life - I want our daily lives to be rich in conversation and experiences.

- Less Screen time or maybe more meaningful screen time for everybody.

- More games and playing.

- More travel and family experiences more frequently.

- More nature in our daily lives.  More getting outside.

- Ensure my girls get the best education possible by exposing them to opportunities and educational experiences.  Peppa Pig is not nearly educational enough (read severe sarcasm).

3. HEALTH - A Healthier Family

For us health comes in 3 pillars: sleep, food and exercise.  To be honest all are crumbling a little at the moment...

- I am overweight and have been my entire adult life and I want to rectify that for the most important reason in the world; it gives me the best chance to be with my family for the longest amount of time.  I’ll blog about this later.

- I want my family to eat well and diversely.  I want my girls to have a good relationship with food where no food is forbidden.  I need to create strategies and structures to allow and develop this.

- We need to be working towards 8 hours of sleep a night, the girls need more.  

- We need strategies in our lives than ensures that Mum and Dad are getting at least 10,000 steps a day and some cardio (I would love to know how far Miss C1 goes in a Day).

4. IMPROVE MY IDENTITY CAPITAL - be the best Mum I can be.

I think for the first time in my life I am ready to live by the wisdom of ‘taking care of yourself before others’ (the old apply your oxygen mask in a plane emergency before helping others).  I am tapped out, my cup is dry... whatever you want to call it.  

Basically, I am a stay at home Mum with 2 girls under 3 and I am TIRED.  Not just sleep deprived but emotionally exhausted.  I feel like junk and everywhere I look I see work to be done.  Worst thing yet, I just returned from a holiday super relaxed.  Which was good, because it reinforced to me that I am more than run down, I am depleted.

I want more ‘arrows  in my quiver’.  In short, as my husband would put it I need more diverse identity capital.  I need to my life to be filled with hobbies and activities and people to recover some of my energy and zest for life.  Yet at the same time I feel the Social Media Direct Messenger culture of 21st Century melts my mind a little. 

Previously, my job consumed me and that is the way I liked it.  I have chosen however to sacrifice my career in order to give my girls the best chance (see goal 2-5).  Staying at home was not an emotionally easy choice, but an easy logical one.  I am an educator.  This is what I do.  The idea of returning to work (when I didn’t have to) and allowing someone else to raise and educate my girls at this early stage seemed like insanity.  I am also lucky that the system I work for holds my job for me for about 6 years.   But back to the point, it left a career sized hole in my life that of late has been harder to fill. 

My mind is a fog of fruit pouches, nappies and nursery rhymes.  Yet, I know that this time of my life will pass faster than I will in retrospect have liked it to.  Before it does though I need to write in full sentences on a regular basis.  I need to stretch my mind.  I need to model to my girls how you can work towards a work-life balance.

Vainly, I am also in desperate need of a Mum makeover.  I need some Mum style before my girls start school.  B.C. (before children) I had work clothes and a few casual pieces.  2 pregnancies and no work later I am adrift in my new life, at least style wise, and it has left me feeling fairly invisible.

5. WEALTH - I want us all to be grateful for what we have and show that.

This one really doesn’t need dot points.  My family are privileged and that is not a crime, but to become entitled or not appreciate our good fortune, well that is.  I want us to not waste and give back where we can as often as we can. 

As for our actual finances.  I figure if we live more mindfully with less we will spend less.  The money we save will be able to fund our experiences and travel.  It is the old “take care of the cents and the dollars will take care of themselves” approach.   I will be exploring this later though.

Summary

So on rereading this, two things I note.

- I sound far more ‘hippy-dippy’ than I feel I am, but the list is accurate.  I wonder if this resonates with other 21st Century slightly left-leaning Mum’s out there?  Where is my tribe?

- I am WAY daunted by this list.  To set an appropriate mental image I am sitting at my dining room table eating a carrot as the baby bashes her drink bottle on her highchair pulverizing crackers into dust (now on the floor) and the toddler is talking to me asking constant ‘why’ questions.  The latest question was “why do doctors say you can’t jump on the bed?” referring to the song ‘5 little Monkies’.  Both of these things are an improvement from 30 minutes ago where they were both competing to press any buttons they could on my laptop.

How Will I Achieve This?

Don’t know in short.  But I know this... I cancelled my gym membership recently because getting there with the two girls was near impossible and ridiculously expensive once I paid for the creche for the both of them.  I felt like I had lost something too.  Like the cards were proverbially stacked against me and my fitness goals as a stay at home Mum (CHAINED TO THE HOUSE I TELL YOU).  On the way home though I questioned why I honestly needed the gym, more specifically an instructor telling me to ‘sashay’.  I decided on two reasons.  The first, the group environment means I won’t quit as I would never give in when being observed by others.  The second, because the instructor had the knowledge.   

It occurred to me on that trip home that I could replace those classes with YouTube and a blog.  A blog to keep me honest and check in (even if no one reads it) and YouTube for the knowledge.  The internet is a global community of ‘DIY knowledge’ and all I had to do was harness it.

So that is the strategy for this blog.  I am going to use the power of the internet to learn, share and record my improvements.  

How Will I Measure Progress And What Is The Timeline?

I am going to have to research that on the internet (LOL).  I think I am going to need different tools for different aspects of my life.

I am going to start by posting Mon, Wed, Fri and tackling a different aspect each time:

Monday - Health

Wednesday - Minimalism

Friday - Experiences

I am writing this to no one in particular and everyone in order to keep myself honest and on track in the way I am going to change our lives. 

The purpose of this blog and particularly long post... I’ve got to be better for the four of us.  I have to live my best life to honor this extraordinary life I have been gifted.

#mumlife #stayathomemomlife #familylife #happiness #bebetter #privilegedlife #makingachange #family #betterhealth #minamilism #scandihappy #betterfor4 #mumtribe

[yupuffin]

Why You Probably Think Nezumi’s Hair Looks Silly

(and why it’s probably not as bad as you think it is)

In the past I’ve written a few anime analysis posts with varying degrees of seriousness. My last post along these lines was not the most lighthearted read, but fortunately, this time around, I spontaneously got an idea for a less serious topic to write about. I managed to keep up with the anime JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR right on the tail end of its release, which I believe was crucial to my ultimate enjoyment of this series. What I did not manage to do was predict that Nezumi would end up my favorite character (although I’m certainly not complaining, given, for one, how much inspiration his narrative has given me for analytical posts such as this one).

Like most other viewers, I comfortably got to know Nezumi over the course of the story, but when the episode that focuses on his backstory rolled around, I was not sufficiently prepared for the most dramatic reveal of all!!: his true... hairstyle?

As usual, an obligatory warning for spoilers under the cut.

Let’s face it, the assumption that, under all of that armor, Nezumi is just a plain grey-haired anime boy is completely reasonable based on what we see of him i the first eleven episodes. Sure, we see that the armor on his head is shaped rather oddly, but -- I don’t know about you, but I merely assumed that its sole function was to provide a visual pun in reference to his zodiac animal and ability: the protruding portions are shaped like rodent ears, and match nicely with what I would guess is an ear cover shaped like a computer mouse (haha -- because of Hundred Click, and because he’s a rat). Alas, how very wrong I was, because it turns out, that part is actually --

...A HAIR PROTECTOR?

Okay, back up for a minute. What’s the deal with this?

As it is without the fwooshes (as I affectionately call the longer, flowing, reminiscent-of-rodent-ears portion of Nezumi’s hairstyle), short, solid-colored hair is a pretty typical style for any generic anime character, and based on what we can see when Nezumi is wearing his very stylish armor, we don’t really have any reason to think to ourselves, “Oh yeah, I bet his hair totally fwooshes out under those rat ears,” because we’ve never really seen it before -- or, if we have, characters with simple, short hair like you’d see on a normal person are much, MUCH more common. So, since that’s the basis of information we have to refer to, that’s what we conclude, and we never really give it a second thought until finally, in the very last episode, we see Nezumi in his civilian garb, and his hair, is in fact, very much not normal.

(Granted, there are slight visual indications of the presence of the fwooshes even when Nezumi is wearing his armor, or even the hooded sweatshirt he dons in the ending animation, but since we don’t have the expectation that there’s any ornamentation there to begin with, they are very easy to miss. That’s how the human brain works -- we tend not to notice things that we don’t expect to be there. This is effectively supported by one of my favorite studies of all time, which involves an animal whose close relative also participates in the Juni Taisen.)

Because Nezumi’s hairstyle is highly unusual and blatantly contradicts our expectations, it’s a big surprise when it’s finally revealed. From what I can tell based on the posts that were floating around on Tumblr, as well as other platforms, on the same day that the final episode of JUNI TAISEN was released, the overall response was one of shock. I recall reading the consensus that Nezumi’s hairstyle was thought of as “silly” (heck, I even said out loud to myself as I was watching the episode, in spite of how emotionally attached I was starting to get to him, “that looks stupid!”) and I distinctly remember reading a post that simply told Nezumi to “get a new haircut.” Again, given our previous assumptions and conclusions, this reaction is understandable. For eleven episodes prior, we got used to seeing Nezumi in cool-looking warrior armor, which, despite his meek disposition, makes him look strong and capable in battle on the outside. Hence, the flowing, delicate, arguably more feminine silhouette given by his everyday appearance is incredibly incongruous.

As anyone who has seen KADO: The Right Answer (another of my favorite anime to analyze, so shameless plug here) can certainly argue, properly executed surprises evoke a strong emotional response from the audience, and the artists behind JUNI TAISEN definitely did not design Nezumi thinking that the audience wouldn’t be at least a little bit surprised when they grew intimately familiar with an armor-clad Warrior of the Rat who was then revealed to be a normal schoolboy with strangely fwooshy hair in his everyday life. Hence, the pronounced and highly specific emotional reaction the audience experiences upon this reveal was evoked intentionally. However, the function of this response changes depending on your particular experience of the series.

The anime JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR is based on a one-shot manga released in January 2015 titled “The One Wish That Must Be Granted, and the Ninety-Nine That Can Be Done Without,” which, as you can probably guess from the shared name, encompasses what is essentially the exact same story retold in the twelfth episode of the JUNI TAISEN anime; hence, JUNI TAISEN functions as a sequel to the original manga, despite taking place beforehand from a chronological standpoint. As a result, the original manga is all about Nezumi; the readers have no previous experience to refer to when first diving in -- not even any background on the function of JUNI TAISEN in its dystopian society, or who any of the other characters are. In this case, Nezumi’s hairstyle does not exactly function as a surprise due to this lack of background. Instead, the added visual interest of Nezumi’s hair fwooshes make him less plain and more interesting to the reader. With normal hair, he would just be another main character anime schoolboy, and, because of his lack of other redeeming or heroic qualities (which makes him such an intriguing character in the narrative of a battle royale), there would not be much about him to make him memorable to the reader. (What he does have going for him is that his plainness and his general ambivalence towards the high school experience makes him particularly relatable to anyone who has also gone through that sort of thing.) Perhaps, in the case of the original manga, Nezumi’s hair was indeed simply an attention-grabbing visual quirk added mostly as a shoutout to his signature animal, the rat.

On the other hand, the JUNI TAISEN anime seems to be written under the assumption that the viewer is not already familiar with the original one-shot manga, hence the surprised reaction to Nezumi’s hairstyle reveal. This response adds some emotional interest and investment to an episode that would otherwise start out in a rather mundane fashion, and probably have the viewer thinking not much other than “Okay, here we go with yet another character introduction. I wonder what he’s going to wish for? Maybe, instead of watching, I’ll space out for the duration of the episode wondering what I would wish for.” This would be in stark contrast to the backstories of some of the other warriors, which tickled our emotions by making us feel for them to varying degrees. However, by instantly giving the audience a new, unexpected cue for a pronounced emotional response, Nezumi’s character design makes the viewers more emotionally vulnerable in preparation for the figurative roller coaster that is the twelfth episode. One of the major factors in my falling in love with Nezumi was the poignant expertise and effectiveness with which the narrative of “The One Wish That Must Be Granted, and the Ninety-Nine That Can Be Done Without” was composed to evoke very particular and measured emotional responses in the audience. We feel our pulses quicken as Nezumi frantically deliberates about which of his ninety-nine wishes would be the best one; our hearts sink when we witness Nezumi cry for the first time, begging that his one desire is to forget his experience of 139-plus horrifically violent deaths; and finally, we feel catharsis when Nezumi shows us his first smile, as though there was nothing more he ever wanted in the world.

Now, if the viewer was spacing out throughout this whole episode, none of this would have anywhere near as much of an emotional impact. Hence, as silly as it might look, the “surprise” factor behind Nezumi’s unusual hairstyle is actually critical for ensuring not only that the viewer is paying attention, but also that their emotions are activated and prepared to be fully invested in the story -- a necessity to experience full satisfaction at its deceptively meaningful conclusion.

And once you’ve recovered from that shock, maybe you’ll be like me and start to think that Nezumi’s hair actually looks kind of pretty.

That’s all I have for today on that subject! I hope you enjoyed reading this much more lighthearted analysis post. If you find this type of writing particularly interesting, feel free to take a look at some of my other anime analysis posts you may like. A few of them are linked in various places throughout this post, but here they all are in chronological order for your convenience:

 Why I Love Nezumi (and the ending to JUNI TAISEN in general)

 The Meaning of Meaninglessness in JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR and KADO: The Right Answer

Deus Ex Machina in KADO: The Right Answer, part 1

Deus Ex Machina in KADO: The Right Answer, part 2: Yaha-kui zaShunina as the Tragic Hero

*slaps roof of KADO* this bad boy can fit so much meaningful dialogue in it

JUNI TAISEN: ZODIAC WAR: Remember to Die

You can also find all of these by browsing through the “anime analysis” tag on my blog.

Additionally, my ask box is always open if you have any questions, want me to clarify something, have an idea about anything else you want me to write about, or if you just want to give me an excuse to gush about Nezumi for a little while!

#juni taisen #juuni taisen #juni taisen zodiac war #anime analysis #i don't think anybody reads these but i hope someone finds them and enjoys them as much as i enjoy writing them someday #because i'm going to keep writing these probably forever #no matter what i write about these always come out to about 1750 words each #the function of a tragic hero? 1750 words. nezumi's hair? 1750 words #i guess that's just the rhythm that works naturally for me

[mageinabarrel]

2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows. So as I started to consider “my year in anime,” I wondered if I would have much to say.

I needn’t have worried. The year is 2018 and anime is still good, so in the spirit of the 12 days of anime project (that I didn’t do this year)—here are twelve anime things that brought me some joy this year.

I Rediscovered Anime Crushes

It had been a long time. A long time since I’d felt those little flutteries you get when an anime character is really cute, really good, and really nice. But even before I knew that Ginko was a space princess, I was enamored. Cute anime girls are a dime a dozen, but characters that exude genuine warmth and care in the way Ginko does—from her time as a princess all the way through her cathartic moment in Planet With‘s finale—are something special.

So I spent a nice time with Planet With, amidst all of the show’s other wonderful strengths, feeling a cozy bunch of crushy feelings about Ginko Kuroi. It’s silly, but it was nice to be reminded what it felt like to have an anime crush once again. And, seeing as Ginko is far and away the Best Girl of 2018, my heart couldn’t have made a better choice.

Space princess! Space princess! Space princess!

Finding My Fate Anime Niche

I’ve never really been much of a Fate fan. After an extremely poor experience with Fate/Zero, there’s never really been much to attract me to the sprawling franchise. But when you’re needing an that you can put on while washing the dishes and cooking and Netflix shoves Fate/Apocrypha into your face, what can you do? You can watch it, be surprised at how much you enjoy it (especially Astolfo), enjoy the fact that the two opposing Ruler characters are both Catholics, be wowed by the stunning animation of #22, and finish the show somewhat more positively disposed to Fate than you’ve been before.

This will lead you to give Fate/Extra LAST ENCORE a shot, and after the show gets over its early inclination to appeal to the audience’s presumed base desires for Nero, you’ll be stunned as the show pulls a truly evocative atmosphere out of the now-cliché SHAFT stylings you thought were too tired to be effective. You won’t understand quite everything that happens, but the tremendous thematic coherence and the way the character relationships evolve from dull to genuine will grip you. It’ll be one of your favorite anime of the year. And, in combination with Apocrypha, it’ll leave you feeling like maybe alternate universe Fate series are the ones for you—which is good to know.

3 Perfect Episodes

If you asked me to name my favorite episode of TV anime of the year, I’d probably give the honor to Hugtto Precure‘s #16. But, fortunately, I don’t have to make such a specific choice here, so I can also add Yama no Susume S3‘s #10 and SSSS.GRIDMAN‘s #9 to that list. If you watch these three episodes (honorable mention to Hugtto #4), you’ll likely see the stylistic similarities between them. Of course, there are also plenty of things to distinguish them from each other, but it’s those similarities—a strong affiliation with cinematographic language, a tight grip on the power of atmospheric storytelling, and a webgen animation-adjacent visual style favoring bold and flat colors—that stayed with me.

But more important even than those smaller details is a sort of ideological unity that these episodes share. Each is distinctly a cartoon, yet also displays an impressive level of cinematic sophistication. Although some might be tempted to place cartoon and cinema in opposition to each other, these three episodes are a brilliant refutation of such narrow thinking—they embrace, even dance, in the best qualities of both. They are proof that cartoon-making and film-making are not separate arts but, rather, one and the same.

Hisomaso Wins Everything

When it comes to TV anime this year, one show stands head and shoulders above the rest for me: Hisone to Maston. Yet another show confined to the Netflix dungeons, I wasn’t prepared to let the streaming giant deprive me of my chance to watch Mari Okada’s return to TV anime weekly, and Hisomaso, yes, was worth it. From story to scripts, background art to character design, OP to ED, Hisomaso had it all—including the X-factor of the adorable dragons.

In short, there was really nothing else that aired that was anything like Hisomaso. Cute and quirky throughout, thoughtful and incisive at times, funny and dramatic in turns, this anime had basically everything. In the final rundown of the year, I expect it’ll likely go criminally under-watched, underrated, and under-remembered, but such is the reality of the anime times in which we live. I, at least, will remember Nao head with immense fondness. We salute you, brave solider, and all you stand for.

An Ode to a Strawberry

What do I think of Darling in the FranXX? I think it’s bad. I didn’t finish it, but I watched enough to consider it a representative portion, so I’m comfortable making that kind of wholistic statement. Basically, I think the very early criticism I made of the show proved to be a crucial flaw in the whole dang thing. But Ichigo? Ichigo was very good. She might have done a few things wrong, but not many. I liked Ichigo. 苺 means strawberry, and Ichigo was a very good strawberry with a killer character design.

No anime watcher is unfamiliar with the phenomenon of a good character—or even just a character the really appealed to them personally—stuck in a bad show, but I’d be hard pressed to think of another character who surpasses Ichigo’s gap between her relative goodness and the quality of her show. Not only was she cute and a childhood friend, but it was fascinating watching her navigate her complex feelings for Hiro, try her best to be a good leader for her team, and struggle against her own flaws. Best girl? Heck yeah. Eat your heart out, Zero Two stans!

Matsumoto Chocolate

This year, Rie Matsumoto (Heartcatch Precure! Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show…Desu ka!?, Kyousougiga, Blood Blockade Battlefront) storyboarded a few random episodes for other anime here and there. But in the time that she’s had a last major project, which if you’re counting like I am is THREE DAMN YEARS, other of her contemporaries have had multiple films released and done other great things. Meanwhile, aforementioned storyboards, the Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond ED, and whispers of a possibly discontinued film project aside, Matsumoto’s existence itself has been in question.

That’s why, when “Baby, I Love You Daze,” a music video/commercial directed by Riechang-kantoku herself and backed with some legitimate animation power, appeared almost out of the blue, I experienced a rush of joy unlike anything else I felt this year. Not only was Matsumoto back with something completely original, but it was a delightful, energetic little thing emblematic of pretty much everything I love about her as a director.

Please 2019. Give us something, literally anything. An announcement, an actual show or film. I don’t care. Give us back Rie Matsumoto.

This Bit is about Liz and the Blue Bird…

Wow, I saw a lot of anime movies (in theatres!) this year! Thankfully, I wasn’t asked to be on any year-end anime panels, so I wasn’t forced to make a choice that would kill me—to pick my favorite anime of the year. Liz and the Blue Bird, which is a stunning, delicate, spectacular, [blah blah blah how to make actual words about this damn thing] film, would be one of the top contenders, although as you’ve seen I can barely articulate what about it impressed me so much. But this is a blog post, so I will try.

If we set aside the craft elements (HA! You coward!), the heart of Liz is that its resolution is about something like learning to let go. Mizore and Nozomi are different people, with their own paths to follow in life. And yet, at the same time, they love each other deeply, and that love makes such realizations difficult to even perceive—as both struggle to do throughout most of the film—and to accept. But that catharsis of letting go, which is in many ways similar to the slow process of grief after the death of a loved one, is healthy. Love can tempt us to possessiveness, to illusions of control and ownership. But we may find in letting go that love can flourish in newer, healthier, and truer ways than we’ve known. [Editor: This paragraph might be complete garbage. Please give Bless some leeway if you think so. An attempt was at least made.]

…and This Bit is about Maquia.

I could not pick between Liz and Maquia if you asked me. I could not do it. Unlike the previous pair of Yamada/Okada analogues, Koe no Katachi and Anthem of the Heart (which is dominated by Anthem), these two films are at once so similar in concern (love) and yet so different in every other way that I could not, in my great fondness for each, possibly choose between them. They are, together, the best anime I saw this year. Fortunately, unlike with Liz, I’ve already struggled through the pain of writing about stupidly good things with Maquia. So you can read that if you like.

Maquia‘s merits left to my prior writing, the other thing that made Maquia particularly special for me as a moment in my 2018 anime-watching is what it represents for Mari Okada’s career. Okada was the first anime creator’s name I ever learned, and it was because she had been involved with so many anime I loved. So seeing her continue to grow as a writer over time, seeing her reputation improve, and seeing her career flourish to the point that she was the chief director for her own movie has been really special—and Maquia is, in many ways, the culmination of that journey so far. Here’s to you, Okada-san! May you have many more works to come!

Owned by Macross. Again.

Early in the year, I watched Macross Flashback 7. Now, Macross has some horribly gratuitous parts to it—and I love them all—but you could make a very, very compelling case that FB7 is caps them all. The plot of the OVA/movie/special/whatever is that Ozama Lee finds some VHS tapes that basically contain the footage of Macross 7, which results in most the main members of Macross Frontier coming over to his and Ranka’s apartment to watch them. Yes, the Macross Frontier characters get together to have a Macross 7 watch party. I could type that out again in all caps, but I won’t.

That on its own is pretty pandering, but then the whole thing concludes with a Sheryl and Ranka mega-medley of Macross 7 songs with Basara even appearing in some of the background vocals. I was basically in tears by the end of the performance, which is just ridiculous, but that’s just what Macross does to me. It swings for the fences, trusts you love Macross, and gives you the fanservice you want, with big guitars and Sheryl and Ranka belting “OMAE NO MUNE NI MO LOVE HEART” in unison, and the gleeful stupidity of it all just smacks you in the gut and you feel the tears coming because it’s Macross, dammit, and you love Macross. Point, Shoji Kawamori.

A Comic Girl Isn’t As Good as a Doujin Game Artist, but I’ll Take It Anyways

If 2017 was the year of Saekano Flat, then 2018 was the year of me desperately hoping I’d find another show about creatives that would move me in the same way. I didn’t, but I did find Comic Girls, which gave me enough periodic artist anxiety that it earned a mention here.

Actually, looking back on Comiga, I think I actually didn’t give the show the credit it deserved at the time. While it was airing, one of my main complaints about it was that Kaos’ perpetual incompetence made it difficult to believe that she was indeed a manga artist with an editor, but then I think about my own haphazard art practice habits and my own incompetence despite my desire to be an artist and suddenly I feel like maybe it was spot on. So, just like Kaos, as down in the dumps as I might feel about my work and my talent and the speed at which I’m progressing, I’m not going to give up. Even though it hurts sometimes, I’m not going to give up! So yeah, thanks for that, Comiga.

METAL OVERMAN KING GAINER

In 2018, I finished watching Overman King Gainer. Inspired by my positive experience with Reconguista in G, I was interested in watching another original Tomino show, and settled on King Gainer mostly because I’d seen the OP on YouTube, and thought it was awesome. This proved to be a good choice, as King Gainer has many good reasons to watch it. I enjoyed the show quite a lot, and had fun tweeting about it and learning about some aspects of its production.

But that OP… I went out a bought it and let me tell you, there is nothing like coming to the end of a run with the Overman King Gainer OP pumping in your ears as your make a final sprint to the tree that marks the end of your workout. King Gainer‘s broadcast ended in 2003, but that song is timeless. 2018 may have been a crappy year for the world as a whole, but according to iTunes I listened to “King Gainer Over” about 60 times, so it’s impossible to say whether the year was truly bad or not.

And those were the highlights of my year in anime! I’ll probably put together a little graphic at some point for my top shows, but this’ll be the only blog post from me wrapping up the year. Happy New Year’s to you all, and here’s to a wonderful 2019!

What were some of your favorite shows, episodes, moments, or anything else of anime in 2018?

12 Anime Things that Made Me Happy in 2018 2018 was yet another year of evolution in my journey as an anime fan. Throughout the year, I spent less time watching anime and less time engaging in anime-related activities like doing freelance writing, blogging, and livetweeting shows.

#2018 #Baby I Love You Daze #Comic Girls #Darling in the FranXX #Fate/Apocrypha #Fate/EXTRA Last Encore #Hisomaso #Hisone to Masotan #Hugtto Precure #Liz and the Blue Bird #Macross #Macross 7 #Macross FB7 #Maquia #Overman King Gainer #Planet With #Sayoasa #SSSS.Gridman #Yama no Susume

[copperbadge]

There was a recent discussion on tumblr, which I didn’t reblog for obvious reasons, about how people with a large readership cope with a heavy interaction load -- how the person would be anxious if they dealt with that volume of notes on each post, that amount of interaction and contact. I was tagged in it because of my habit of "lochnessing", where I cause an activity spike on posts I reblog that looks like the loch ness monster.

It never occurs to me, because I’ve dealt with high-volume social media for so long -- realistically about ten years, probably closer to fifteen -- that it’s difficult for people to handle that, because they don’t have the systems in place that I do. I mean it does occur to me in the sense that I have become more cautious about what I reblog and its impact on the OP; there are things I’d like to share with you but don’t because I recognize it would be harmful to the person who wrote them. But it doesn't occur to me that someone might struggle with a high volume of notes purely because it's a volume that they don't have a system in place to deal with the way I do.

So I said I'd do a writeup on the "entire ecosystems" I had in place for handling the high volume of interaction I receive online. I sit at a weird place where I'm not so well known that I can just ignore most of what comes at me with impunity because everyone acknowledges I can't answer it all, like say a youtube star. But at the same time I do get too much attention to return it at the same level I receive it. I am one and you are sixteen thousand. So I had to make systems to return as much as I could and feel okay about not returning the rest.

Reading through this, of course it sounds like a weird humblebrag: "Here's how I deal with my MASSIVE POPULARITY". There's no real way around that; I can't talk about how I deal with comments without talking about how I get a disproportionately high number of them. The fact that I do is what leads me to do things like the Zero Comment Challenge, or Radio Free Monday, to try and balance shit out. So, as I mention occasionally below, you can think I'm an asshole for talking about how I am popular, but I can't talk about how to deal with that popularity without acknowledging the reality of it, and someone somewhere's gonna think I'm an asshole anyway, so whatever.

These are the systems I use to manage my life -- work, play, the weird inbetween space that's kind of both. Many of these are akin to the systems that I use in managing my depression, in that they involve a lot of small steps building up to a big result, but each small step on its own is manageable.

Let's start with AO3, because it's actually probably the simplest.

I clean out my comments once a week. Usually there are between forty and a hundred and fifty, depending on if I’ve published something recently or been recommended by someone. 

I go through all the one-sentence comments first, because those are the ones that are least likely to require a response. I read all comments but I learned through trial and error, twice in ten years, that I am physically and emotionally incapable of responding to every comment I receive even if it's just with a "Thank you!" and I'm just going to live with the fact that people think I'm an asshole for that. Also while I appreciate someone who leaves a "Great fic! <3" comment, that's genuinely really cool and validating, I don't think they truly need or expect a response. So most one-line comments, unless they are super weird or contain a question, get read, appreciated, and then deleted. 

Then I go through the longer comments that need a closer reading, and delete any that are cool but still don't seem to require responses. If someone has left a ton of comments, I'll find the one I think is coolest or most needing of response, delete the others, and reply to that one comment with a thoughtful response including a line thanking them for all their other comments.

Finally, I respond to comments that are in-depth or have questions that require some thought. I find that if I don't respond to these on a weekly basis they pile up and then someone who asked a question like six months ago is still waiting for an answer, so this one is non-negotiable: my AO3 inbox has to be empty at the end of each week, and everything that needed a reply has to have one. (I do have one or two that just live in my inbox because they are cool ideas I will one day get round to writing, and I want to credit them when I do, but it's never more than two.) For me, it's easiest to wait until Friday or Saturday and just take an hour to clear them all out, rather than clearing as I go, because I don't have AO3 open all the time the way I do some other sites.  

Tumblr: Every morning, before work, I go through the previous night's responses; I open all reblogs/mentions in new tabs to read and reply-as-necessary, and I reply to all comments that need responses. (This is also something I'll do throughout the day, but especially if I'm tired or pressed for time, the comment replies might be saved as a draft or left in an open tab until I can get to them). Occasionally shit doesn’t show up or I miss stuff but I’ve learned to just live with that as the price of doing fandom on Tumblr. 

If there's a post by someone else that requires a response from me -- either a reblog of one of my posts, or someone tagged me in a post -- I Like it to find it later or I save it as a draft. I don't use Likes as anything other than "I want to be able to find this again in less than a week's time" and I never have more than about 20 Likes in my files. (Unless I’m traveling; it’s easier to Like something than save it as a draft or respond, so when I get home from traveling I often have 30-50 Likes in my file.)

Often on Tumblr I go through what I call the Line Cycle -- I read my dash, and then I go "down the line" and open all the other pages that might need attention, in specific order. I open asks and try to respond to a few -- I try to answer at least five every time but sometimes I don't manage to answer any for whatever reason -- then I open likes and try to convert as many likes as I can to either queued reblogs or drafts. I open drafts and try to convert some of those to queued reblogs. Then I go through the same process for one or two side blogs.

(Also in drafts are a lot of things that I'm not sure I want to put in my queue yet, or things that I put in the queue weekly like the Zero Comment Challenge post, which I dust off when I'm ready to queue it, then immediately re-save to drafts when it posts.)

Occasionally if I feel shit is getting out of hand I dedicate myself to, every time, not leaving the page I'm on until I've reduced its "count" (number of asks, likes, drafts, etc) by five, or at least to below the next multiple of five -- if I have 23, for example, I'll try to get it below 20.

Sometimes posts in tabs sit open for a while because in order to respond I have to read an article or watch a video, which take a lot of focus and attention. It used to be that recommendations for books or stuff to watch also sat open forever until I could get round to doing it, but now I just have a "reccs" file on the cloud that is a list of what I've been recommended and who recommended it, and I work my way through them slowly.

Email: Once I've read them, site notifications in my inbox get deleted; I've turned off follow/kudos notifications because they tend to be white noise.

Email is tough for me, it requires a lot of focus and emotional attention to answer emails, so I treat it the same way I would asks or likes or whatnot, but much more slowly. I tend to have a backlog of about thirty emails in my inbox, though often five to ten of those are emails that don't need response and that I'm saving (I star them to mark them as not needing attention). I have the multiple-stars function in Gmail turned on, and when it gets really bad, I start opening emails and triaging -- "This will be easier to answer" "This will take some time" etc. by starring them different colors.

I like to have no more than fifteen emails in my inbox but that is a rarity. 

The Internet: Because social media takes up a lot of my time and I also work eight hours a day (well, four, we'll get to that in a bit) I have streamlined the way I encounter the internet, as well. I have a list of "daily reading" bookmarks that I open every morning and check through -- the horoscope page, the mustard tag on tumblr (which I don't follow because then the same dumbass two hipster fashion posts keep showing up on my dash), a blog that follows and posts about new small flash games that I might enjoy playing, a few others. (I also have a Monday file that I open once a week, it's calendars of events and such, and I go through on Mondays and add anything to my calendar that looks interesting.)

But if I can, any regularly-updated page that has an RSS feed gets converted to RSS and put into my Netvibes reader account, where I peruse it at my leisure. The Netvibes reader account includes a direct feed from the Steve/Tony and Steve/Sam tags on AO3, plus a few others; longform.org, some cooking blogs I follow, a bunch of podcast pages, a few webcomics, and one or two tumblrs that I don't want showing up on my dash (mainly artists' porny sideblogs, what up you glorious pervs) or think I would make the person uncomfortable by following them.

I have five tabs pinned to Chrome at any given time, and four tabs pinned to Firefox. The Chrome tabs are my personal Netvibes, Google Drive, a Google Sheets spreadsheet with my calendar and accounting tabs in it, Gmail, and Tumblr. The Firefox tabs are a second Netvibes account I use for work (we have several news sources we all monitor daily), my non-fannish gmail, my non-fannish facebook with a custom reading page so I never see anything twice, and the Google "family calendar" that I and my family use to track where we all are and what we're doing.

My parents use this more than I do, which is why I often open the calendar app on my phone to check my work schedule and find that my parents are taking the dogs to the groomer's today (yes, I know I could turn this off, but it amuses me). When I introduced my mother to Google Calendar her eyes got super big and she fell in immediate love; the first three things she added were the birthdays of her two dogs, followed by the birthday of Jesus. I would be more insulted by this but I had already added all the family birthdays, so at least I didn't come in behind the dogs AND the Christ Child.

Once in a while, when I'm at work and I feel like I'm not sure what I should be doing or that my day is spiralling out of my control, I'll take a deep breath, pull up Chrome, and go through all my pinned tabs, one by one, changing or fixing something on each -- I'll clear out my Longform reading, answer a few emails, check the calendar, etc. Then I'll go through any open tabs and try to close at least one. I get anxious if I have more than five or six non-pinned tabs open. Like having an inbox that's rarely over thirty emails total, it's not a sign I'm more effective or efficient than anyone else, it's just a sign I'm debilitatingly anxious about this kind of thing.

Work: I've read, many times, that people who work eight hours a day in a white collar job like mine really only do four hours of actual work. And for a while I joked that I wondered if I even did four, because I dick around on the internet A LOT. But lately I started to genuinely wonder, and so for the past six weeks, I've put that statement to the test.

When I arrive at work, I immediately put in two hours of solid work. I don't read tumblr, I don't read anything but work-related material. I triage all my work emails, I go through my Google Task list for the day and sort things by most to least urgent, and then I work my way through them for two solid hours. It's not easy at all, but any time I think "This is when I would stop and read tumblr" I shake my head and try to do one more work thing, and then I get back in the groove and can do like, three more. I also use this first morning period to take care of "personal work", stuff which has to get done to keep my life running smoothly, like mailing packages or replying to my parents' emails or whatnot.

Then I get a half-hour break to read tumblr, play a flash game, maybe read a piece on Longform. (I don't read fanfic at work; I sometimes clean out Netvibes of fics that from the tags and summaries I know I won't be interested in, but I don't open fanfic at work at all.) I also use this time to get some food in me.

Then I do another two hours of work, same deal. And that's four hours of work. And I get a shitload done, let me tell you.

For the next three hours after, I am basically free to do whatever I want. I usually use about an hour to do some freelance work, and I spend time on tumblr or on personal email, reading articles, listening to podcasts, playing games. I eat a snack, I talk to my coworkers. I find I actually run out of new stuff to read, and I do try to process the old stuff, like empty out my drafts and likes. And of course the nature of my job means that sometimes there is work to be done that comes up suddenly, but it's usually just a matter of teeing it up for the following morning's work shift.

For the last hour of my work day, I go through my work inbox, make sure everything's set up for tomorrow, send any last emails, do any last wrap-up, and make sure all my documents are either saved or closed. (Our IT team likes to run updates and involuntary restarts without warning, so I've learned to always save at end of day.)

So, yeah. Those are some of the systems I have in place in order to run a very mentally busy life. I'm not necessarily recommending them; a lot of them won't work for everyone because everyone is different, and I recognize that some of them are inapplicable (I work a job with no outward-facing element to it; a barista or a librarian or a teacher can't do what I do, schedule-wise), and some of them are a level of regimentation I'm not sure most people would find healthy. But that's how I do my thing, and maybe some of my techniques will sound appealing to other people who occasionally feel, as I do, like they're drowning a little bit.

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