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little-pondhead · 2 years

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Fenton Family on Vacation (part 1)

Original Post⬅️

"You know, when you revealed yourself as Phantom, I thought it would be much harder to adjust." Madeline Fenton, ghost-hunting extraordinaire and mother of two, stared at the swirling green portal in her basement. Despite building the darn thing herself, with its glowing wires and simple design, Maddie felt like she was seeing the whole thing for the first time.

It was late afternoon on a Saturday. At least, Maddie assumed so. She hadn't stepped foot outside their lab for a while now. Too busy modifying all their ghost-hunting equipment. The blinking red numbers of the digital clock on their desk said it was almost six in the evening. Then again, it has been six in the evening for the past several months. The clock was very much broken, and no one had bothered to fix it.

It was summer, so the time spent in the Fenton lab drastically increased. And with the reveal of their son Danny, Maddie practically breathed ectoplasm with the amount of time she was spending in the basement. Danny said it was no big deal, but both Fenton parents were determined to re-evaluate their research and inventions completely. Basically, starting from scratch.

So imagine her surprise when, two days ago, both Jazz and Danny sat them down to propose a memorable family vacation.

And for some reason, she couldn't say no. Was it her guilt? They were prepared to shell out the money for any dream destination the kids proposed. But no, Danny had invited them to a different dimension via the Ghost Zone. This was tremendous progress, not just in her relationship with her kids but also for their new research. (Let's not mention the headache she got from learning parallel dimensions exist.)

Apparently, the kids had been planning this for a while because now everyone was packed and armed to the teeth, two days later. Jazz had taken care of the logistics-when to leave, how to get there, what to bring. Danny was the one to choose the location since he was the most familiar with the Ghost Zone. Maddie learned much later that he had just thrown a dart at a lineup of names on a corkboard.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to enter?" Maddie looked concerned.

"Yeah! It'll be fun, mom!" Danny reassured. "It's just a week off-I've always wanted to show you the cool parts of the Ghost Zone without the immediate threat of horrible death." Maddie gave her son the stink eye. He was grinning a bit too innocently for her liking.

"Well, I think it'll be a great bonding experience!" Jack announced, winking at Danny. Badly. "Someone was being a little paranoid about the mall trip yesterday; I hardly got a chance to spoil our new little princess."

Ah, yes, their new granddaughter. Danielle. Maddie had been furious to discover how horrible Vlad had been to her family. Attempting to murder her husband, trying to recruit Danny as a weird evil son/apprentice, outright disrespecting and dismissing Jazz's existence, and wanting to marry her?? "Furious" was putting it lightly. The man slept with a doll version of herself, for heaven's sake! And then Danny just offendedly mentions that Vlad had cloned him. Several times. Only one clone survived; a little girl with no identity of her own. And here was her son sheepishly asking if they might consider letting the clone stay? Even for a little? She was traveling around right now but didn't really have a place to call home-

Maddie and Jack immediately offered to adopt the girl into the family as their youngest.

(Jazz giggled. "Danny already beat you to it. They tried being cousins at first, but he acts like a total dad around her—the fastest case of ghost adoption that I've ever seen. Instead of a new child, Elle's more like a new grandchild.")

Danny blushed, hunching his shoulders in. "I don't know if Elle wants to be a grandkid-we haven't talked about it, really."

"YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET BISCUITS I WANNA BE A GRANDKID."

The trio startled and turned, watching the last two of the Fenton family work their way down the stairs into the lab. Jazz was gripping her backpack in one hand and Elle's arm in the other, using her superhuman strength to keep Elle in line. Probably so Elle wouldn't run down the stairs and permanently kill herself. Jack quietly chuckled at the sight of Elle's ghost-themed backpack, so painstakingly picked out the day before. It was a tad too big and looked just adorable on her. A few tiny blob ghosts floating around her head whizzed in excitement, sometimes using the backpack as a place to hide. Maddie, personally, loved the pink light-up sneakers that Elle showed off as much as possible. Her husband had done well shopping by himself.

It was evident Elle was excited about the trip. Despite all her travels abroad, satisfying her wanderlust, she'd never been to another dimension. When they had reached the bottom, Elle phased out of Jazz's grip, bolting to collide with Jack in a hug. "Yesterday was loads of fun." She exclaimed. "I loved shopping around for new stuff. And if being Danny's kid means I get two new grandparents in the deal, then I'm taking it."

Danny made a face. "But isn't it weird to have a dad so close in age to you? What if people look at you weird?"

Jazz snorted at her brother's words, picking her way around the lab mess. "Danny, you'd be the one they would look at funny. A fifteen-year-old-"

"I'm almost sixteen!"

"A fifteen-year-old who has a physically thirteen-year-old daughter? People will be ready to call CPS."

"And besides!" Elle detangled herself from Jack's grip and stomped over to Maddie with a shit-eating grin as she looked at her dad. "Technically, I'm only a year old. You're not going to leave your poor, unstable clone daughter alone in the world to fend for herself, right?" Danny just grumbled. Something about not even being old enough to drive.

Maddie cooed a bit and enjoyed the hug from her new granddaughter. It was cold but in a good way. Elle's response was a low hum that vibrated through her body. It reminded Maddie of a cat's purr.

"I've been meaning to ask," Maddie said. Elle clung tighter as she adjusted her grip. "What is ghost adoption?? You mentioned that before when explaining your relationship with Elle."

Their son shuffled his feet a little. "Uh, it basically means my core has connected to hers in a parental way, I guess." He was obviously nervous. "When we first met, even before I knew Elle was a clone, my core recognized her as a "baby ghost," so to speak. There was enough of a connection that I kind of adopted her subconsciously."

"But it doesn't happen with between all ghosts." Jazz cut in. It felt like their eldest was giving them a lecture on this and that every week. "Frostbite explained it a while ago, something about similar cores and ambient ectoplasm. Kind of like pack bonding?"

Maddie nodded, barely following. "And Frostbite...you said we were visiting this person?"

Danny perked up, actually floating a few feet off the ground in excitement. "Frostbite is the best! He's the leader of the Far Frozen and looks like a giant yeti. He helped me figure a bunch of things out and makes the best cocoa."

"Well, I'm excited to meet him."

And they were. Going through the portal was an experience and a half. It wasn't the first time they'd done this, but it was still memorable. Danny and Elle had gone ghost and chased each other around the Specter Speeder while Jazz piloted, hunched over the steering wheel. The Ghost Zone was a wonderful mix of greens and purples; Jack lamented his lack of a camera.

("We don't want to give Technus something to use." Tucker explained. Danny's friends had come by to help them all pack properly. "The Fenton Cameras haven't been ghost-proofed all the way, and Technus is an insufferable b-uh, idiot when he manages to get his hands on new tech. I'll never hear the end of it.")

It was just so much colder than they expected. The "Far Frozen" certainly lived up to its name. So did Frostbite and his legendary cocoa. The giant yeti (did he count as a ghost??) also took the opportunity to give each Fenton a checkup (ghosts have doctors???) to make sure everyone was healthy enough for inter-dimensional travel. They were, and Frostbite even handed over a few extra vials of pure ectoplasm to tide the kids over in case they didn't land near a natural source in the new dimension. Jack and Maddie took a few vials each, one for each of their ghost kids, and Jazz just tucked hers away in her luggage with a little pat.

Then they were off sightseeing. Understandably, most of Danny's allies were a bit wary around the (mostly former) ghost hunters but did their best to hide it. Jack and Maddie got to meet Princess Dorathea, who could turn into a freaking dragon how cool was that, Jack-

There was Pandora, a towering woman with blue skin and four arms. She took a liking to Maddie and gifted her an engraved xiphos. "To match her fighting spirit." The woman explained. She did not tell anyone what the engraving meant. At some point, they saw a towering castle in the distance. It was hard to see, but the towers looked like spiraling ice. Jack asked about it.

"Oh, that's nothing special." Danny waved them off. "Don't worry about it. We DO need to worry about Walker's prison, so duck down for a bit. He doesn't like it when the living are in his territory." Maddie didn't bother pushing the subject, so they moved on.

Then there was Wulf, a werewolf who could make portals and was the kids' teacher on that subject. Jazz was especially excited, greeting Wulf with a bear hug. (Maddie vaguely remembered something about her daughter being a werewolf now, but she very rarely changed while in the living world. Maddie had almost forgotten.) Jack was pleasantly surprised to learn Wulf spoke Esperanto. In fact, that was the only thing he could speak. It turns out Esperanto was something Jack had learned during their college days. The two hit it off, and Jack had to be dragged away from whatever conversation they were having.

Time moved a bit sluggishly, but eventually, they got around to "the least annoying ones." Elle had a blast messing with someone named Fright Knight, who just kept calling her 'my lady' for some reason. Danny got a few potshots in when one of his rouges (was that a robot?) got too close to the Speeder. They met Ghost Writer, Amorpho, Lunch Lady, Nocturne, Technus, Ember, Cujo, and a few others. Their final stop was Clockwork's.

The flight there was exceptionally long. It felt like forever, yet the clock in the Speeder only moved forward five minutes. Jazz explained that this was Clockwork's influence. He was the Master of Time, and the closer they got to his lair, the weirder time was. Eventually, the Fenton family arrived. Clockwork's lair was, well, a clock tower.

("Really, I don't know what we expected, Maddie.")

It was dark and green, sitting on a tiny island they could barely land on. Ectoplasm was thick in the air; Maddie was sure that if she weren't already ecto-contaminated, it would have been increasingly difficult to breathe. Multiple ticking sounds filled the air as if the tower was filled with nothing but clocks. Maddie took a wild guess and thought it probably was. A glowing green sticky note drew their attention as they approached the door.

Danny scowled as he read the note. "Daniel, something has come up with the Observants. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make the Watchtower your new haunt. A natural portal will open next to the Speeder. Enjoy your vacation, Clockwork. Drat, I was hoping he'd be home. I really wanted you to meet him."

Maddie pats his shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find time later." Elle giggled at the pun.

"I know." He sighed. "It's just, he can be so cryptic. Why would I make a watchtower my new haunt? I've never even been to a real watchtower! But the note says a natural portal will spawn next to the Speeder so that we can wait for that."

"You mean this portal?"

Jazz was closely examining a small tear in reality that had popped into existence next to her foot. It was small and low to the ground. Small enough that the Specter Speeder definitely couldn't get through. Maddie doubted they'd be going in all at once.

Elle peered over her shoulder. "That's it! Come on, old man, I'll race you!" She dove in without waiting for a reply.

"DANIELLE MADELINE FENTON!" Danny immediately chased after, disappearing into a swirl of green.

"Oh yeah, she's definitely related." Jazz said. "Come on. I'll follow behind once you two go through." Maddie looked at Jack, and Jack looked at Maddie. Fine with them.

Jack went first, knuckles tight from gripping his bag straps, doing his best to suck in his gut before dropping out of existence. Maddie went next, standing on tiptoes and still having Jazz bend down to press a kiss to her cheek before she left. "Make sure to lock up the Speeder."

Jazz smiled, her eyes glowing with the barest hint of green. She had a hand on the Fenton thermos clipped to her belt and if Maddie squinted, she could see the barest outline of a crown on her head. "See you on the other side, mom."

Maddie stepped into the portal, feeling nothing but open air, and fell through.

---

Edit: OH GOD I FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL ABOUT JAZZ I FIXED IT I AM SO SORRY

(the fix was kind of rushed but there is an extra line or two now that actually mentions it)

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jewish-vents · 1 month

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My entire life, I've yearned for the kind of community the Jewish community and Judaism have provided me. I found out I had Jewish ancestry when I was a kid, I looked into it more later and realized my most recent Jewish ancestor (like three-ish generations back) was almost certainly forcibly converted out, and decided to convert to like. Make amends for that I guess and also because I really vibed with the holidays and how we turn up everywhere in history bc we keep doing cool stuff despite consistently shitty circumstances.

But I digress.

I have waited my WHOLE LIFE trying to experience the joy becoming Jewish has shown me, and that gets shit on constantly.

My sister has started making a truly obscene number of Jew jokes. My mom scoffs at all the 'nonsense rules' and has said repeatedly that she thinks choosing a 'restrictive' religion is dumb and I've made a mistake. She even said it's an insult to HER parenting skills that I would seek out religion after she tried to teach me to know better.

My dad is dead but I never ever in a million years would have told him even if he were alive, and my sister thinks it's funny to threaten to 'out' me as Jewish to his relatives even though they're basically KKK-adjacent so she actually enjoys threatening mg safety at this point. (Yay family right?)

My friends have turned everything into an Israel/Palestine discussion lately and I know damn well what they're doing when they start saying truly horrible shit about Israelis and looking at me. They get mad if I try to temper their extremism so I've given up. I barely talk to them anymore and I spend more and more time with other Jews from temple and I don't want to like. Isolate myself from all non-Jews I guess bc I've always felt like that leads to weirdness and perpetuates shit about Jews being unfriendly I guess idk?

Anyway I digress again. My point is I'm really sick of constantly being expected to tolerate it when people think I shouldn't be Jewish.

Other queer people think I'm somehow compromising my queer identity by being Jewish, leftists think I hunt Palestinian children for sport now apparently, right-wingers think I traffic good Christian babies for organ harvesting or some shit idfk, my friends think that if I'm not being more vitriolic in my hatred of Israel than they already are I'm some kind of secret rabid Netanyahu fan, my family think I've been recruited into a cult apparently and the only other people who show me even an ounce of compassion or regard are other Jews and Gd knows there's like ten of us and that number is unlikely to increase.

Just. Fuck. I've put blood, sweat, tears and money into this, I invested more time and emotional commitment into this than I have into going to college or choosing a career, I love it more than anything and have only loved it more the more I learned about it, and all I get when I express this or even just let slip that I am Jewish and chose to be, I get nothing but hatred. I will never understand how a religion that has spent all 5000 years of our existence minding our business and arguing about the same book over and over can possibly have offended this many people with our existence.

Dmn anon, that is a lot you're dealing with right now. I'm so sorry you're surrounded by people who clearly don't respect you. Because yes this is a lack of basic respect, and it is antisemitic. Now I don't know how old you are and how safe you are, but if you can safely do so, set very hard boundaries. Do not tolerate this amount of disrespect towards who you are. It is hard, and many of us have had to go through similar situations, as you can read all over this blog. But I think having to spend your life surrounded by people who make you feel unsafe and disrespected is worse. I know sometimes there are situations in which people cannot safely set these boundaries, I hope it's not your case, but if it is feel free to come here to vent again.

I know you don't want to isolate yourself from goyim. Many Jewish people don't want to. Sadly, when people disrespect us like this, they're the ones isolating us. It's not your fault. Seek people who love and accept you. Sadly, a good chunk of goyim won't - I'm not saying everyone, obviously, but a portion. Having a good Jewish support network seems to be more and more important, whether it's irl or online.

I hope you can soon be in an environment that's safer and more accepting

- 🐺

#jewish vents #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #jewish convert #i feel like i need to clarify #while i said that a good portion of goyim are disrespectful and antisemitic #i dont mean every goy is #so if someone is coming in the comments to call me goy-phobic i assure you i do not have the patience to deal with that #i mean what i said #thats not an attack on goyim #its just an observable truth stated by literally every jewish person I've ever spoken to #if you feel offended at being called antisemitic try not to be antisemitic #like im sorry i sound so mad but i am just very tired of seeing my community suffer while everyone else just looks the other way

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fiercynn · 6 months

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otw's finances + questions for otw board meeting

okay i haven't been paying that much attention to ao3/otw stuff because i've been consumed with the fucking genocide israel is perpetrating on palestine, but i was thinking about otw and got mad all over again about them doing a fundraiser for money that they didn't need while that genocide is happening. and since there's an otw board meeting in about six hours (info here), which i can't make it to, i wanted to share some thoughts on otw's finances and questions people who do go to the meeting could pose, because i think both their finances and fundraising are pretty fucked up.

for context, @manogirl and i did a deep dive this summer on otw’s finances that i would really encourage you to read in full, but here’s are the key takeaways:

they have too much money: coming into 2023 they had more than $2.5 million USD in their “reserves”, which doesn’t include money that they had allocated to spend that year, just surplus

they always overshoot their fundraising targets: this is true both during their april and october fundraising drives, but also year-round since you can donate to become a member at any time

they have no concrete plans for the money: the vague plans they do have (hiring paid staff, investing it, etc) have been touted for years without any visible progress. and no, they do not need all of that money as an emergency fund or for legal costs (their legal services are mostly donated to them); please see the deep dive for a more detailed answers on that

they aren’t even earning interest on most of it: only $10,000 of it is in an interest-bearing account, meaning that in 2022 they only earned $90 interest on it. ninety dollars interest on two and a half million dollars in their accounts

so i think it’s safe to say that they don’t manage their money well.

then there’s the fact that because of the ddos attack this summer, they received a 35% bump in donations during that time compared to the same time the previous year. so when they announced their october 2023 drive, they said that because of the increase in donations, they were counting the numbers of members added instead of the dollars raised. except this isn’t a meaningful difference in what the fundraiser achieved: they still raised $192,743.11, which is four times what their targets have been in their fundraisers since 2021. and, if they truly wanted to add more members but didn’t want to raise money you didn’t need (and wouldn’t earn interest on!), they could have lowered membership dues, simultaneously making membership more accessible. this is a suggestion many people have given them over the years as well and that they do not seem to have ever entertained. and, again, they decided to a fundraiser they didn’t really need during the fucking horryifing genocide on palestinians.

and i think this matters because, while money alone cannot solve all the problems within the otw and ao3 (racism, mistreatment of volunteers including volunteers of color, the financial mismanagement in itself), it certainly could help, and the line often used to obstruct any kind of change at the org is “otw is just a scrappy all-volunteer org! they can’t be responsible for all this!” they could, you know, use that $2.5 million dollars to make themselves a little less scrappy? but they have not done so.

the other thing is that the otw finance committee is supposed to hold a yearly public meeting in the fall. last year’s was in october, but there's been no announcement of a meeting this year. the otw finance committee (like many otw committees) also asks you to contact them solely through the contact us form on the otw website. i personally wrote to the otw finance committee through that form on may 11, 2023 to ask for clarification on the amount of their reserves, and have not yet gotten a response. it is november.

with all that in mind, here are some questions that you could pose to the otw board at the meeting:

why did they run a fundraiser during an active genocide when they didn't need the money?

if their intention with their october 2023 fundraiser was simply to increase membership but not to generate more revenue, why didn't they lower membership dues so that membership is more accessible AND they are not collecting donations they don't need?

why has the otw finance committee not held its yearly public meeting yet, and when will it be?

why has neither their 2022 audited financial statement nor their 2022 form 990 been posted on their website yet, and when will they be posted?

how much total money do they have in their accounts right now?

have they invested at least 25% of their reserves yet, as they’ve been saying they will since at least 2021, and if not, what is the hold-up and when do they expect to do it?

have they appointed a volunteer paid staff officer to research options for hiring paid staff yet?

if any of the questions are confusing to you and you want more clarification, feel free to reply to ask!

also: FREE PALESTINE 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

#organization for transformative works #ao3 #otw board #archive of our own #otw #otw finances

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nopointic · 5 months

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blue eye samurai was so funny to me how everyone who saw mizu's blue eyes immediately were like YUCK! 🤮 DEMON! *hides children behind them* because in modern society today it's the opposite. i remember always being bummed when a character would have blue eyes and that was their defining beauty trait. books would go on to describe characters with brown eyes as dull and lifeless and you don't think these things stick with you but it does. and then colored contacts came out. and i remember so many black people in my city buying blue contact lenses to feel "prettier". it became a huge thing. so with black girls it was ok we gotta straighten our hair with toxic chemicals and for a bigger glow up pop in blue contacts.

then photoshopping became very common. fans would give their favorite artists blue eyes. i remember this specifically with zayn in one direction. it made me so fucking mad. zayn looks like something out of perfect runway anyways. and here fans were making his eyes blue and saying "now he's perfect!" imagine thinking zayn malik needed a makeover. mind boggling then and now.

but here we have a whole show where the culture is like nah those blue eyes? that shit is demonic and ugly. it's obviously cruel and nobody should be treated as such.

but remember when fowler bragged how one day they would love a face like his and consider his beauty above their their own when he got done colonizing their country? it happened.

in damn near every country where nonwhite people exist, european features are the pinnacle of beauty.

we see this when we have "international" modeling show. a model from every country but the sharp jawlines and lightest skin always win. loose curls not tightly coiled hair like some black people have. thin bodies. tall bodies. international but those qualities are always wanted. the same fucking look. a slight shade difference at most.

hell the natural hair movement with black people is oddly just a parade of expensive products to give one the looser curl pattern that society accepts. curl puddings and products to combat "shrinkage" makes up majority of black hair products in the natural section. it's something.

chemically straightened hair. the natural hair that grows out of my black scalp has been called unprofessional and needed several laws to protect others like me from various job discrimination policies. kids with natural black hair are still being told their hair is out of dress code.

skin bleaching is popular in several ethnic cultures. i can find a bleaching soap at my local big box retail store. they're not advertised but it's still a big seller. i want you to put that into perspective.

many products today boast about glowing skin. brightening is a nicer way to say bleaching. turmeric powder and lemon in everything now.

western media loves to point fingers at koreans now due to an increase of kpop in the media. they judge those who spend a massive amount of time, money, and resources to obtain a strict set of beauty standards. lighter skin, weight loss plans, sharper cheeks, new eyelids, color contacts, chin exercises you can learn on youtube it goes on and on. western white people judge asian people on their beauty obsession standards and it's tone deaf. it's a slap in the fucking face when i see it. your ancestors told all of us people of color we were ugly and needed to look like you to succeed in life. now we do it and you wanna point fingers and talk about how vain and fickle we are? that's fucked up! it pissed me off!!!!!!

so i guess it's a bitter taste in my mouth when i do laugh at mizu's "unfortunate eye color" being the cause of so much pain. because now it's the opposite.

as the cool kids say, she would do "numbers" in beauty standard rankings now. ethnic, but not "too" ethnic. blue eyes, androgynous and athletic but not too bulky and long hair? the algorithm says money honey!

funny how all this works out. eurocentric beauty is a hell of a drug. no katana will be able to kill that. no body positivity campaign or hashtag will undo any of this global phenomenon we now live with. we can call brown eyes beautiful now in songs and yet the angels in the church will always have blue eyes. this is the first time i've not seen a fandom go batshit insane when seeing a person of color WITH blue eyes. usually it's all caps with phrases like "woke liberal bullshit" or something. the fallout from the black little mermaid with red hair showed this very well.

white people have damn near colonized every other race and then they cry foul at the thought of a non white person with eyes other than brown and hair other than black and brown. it's the funniest shit. i mean they'll accept a mermaid. but her being black with red hair? too far. we truly would have never heard the fucking end if they made halle wear blue contacts as ariel. white people would have lost their fucking minds on another level lbh!

we joke that brown contacts would have given mizu an easier life. it's sobering that blue contacts and other fucked up beauty rituals give people of color the same easier life now.

mizu in blue eye samurai during that period is shunned for their appearance. today mizu would do numbers on instagram and make money being the face of some random blue low calorie sport drinks available at big chain stores.

anyways that's my TED talk on blue eyes, eurocentric beauty standards and why i really really love how blue eyes samurai shows all of this. i am in awe of the creators making this show from them having a biracial asian baby with blue eyes. because so many don't even realize how their blue eyes will always leave them being talked about no matter what. they will be called a a faker with contacts, have to constantly prove with baby pictures their eyes were and have always been blue. people will make immediate judgements and even though you would think this would not happen in 2023 it does.

so i commend the parents for making this show. it's a conversation we need to have more. how society treats those with certain features when you are not in control of said features. and how far we go personally to try to "fit in" in a world that is hell bent on neat and tidy labels. this is good this is bad blah blah blah.

i fucking love blue eye samurai. please let there be a season 2!

#blue eye samurai #Mizu #eurocentric beauty standards #beauty

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brehaaorgana · 4 months

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What if I just become an annoying ADHD money blogger sometimes

#adhd adult money liveblogging

If you have problems saving money (especially emergency savings money) because you always spend it on too many impulse purchases, or take money out of your savings to cover your fun money:

you need to open a savings account with a new bank. The more impulsive you are, the more I recommend a small credit union or online only bank, or a really local bank. Someone whose online fund transfers to other banks takes three whole business days, so you literally can't just instant transfer money from savings to your checking account to spur of the moment buy things. If you're afraid this defeats the point of an emergency savings fund in the case of, well, an emergency, set up a small checking account with a minimal amount at this bank too, and just set aside the debit card somewhere you won't frequently use because it won't have much money until you pull it from emergency savings and put it in the checking account.

Look for one with a high APY relative to having basically no deposit minimum (mine is like 3%) and no minimum deposit or monthly fees. The APY is basically when bank sometimes pays you money for not spending money. It will be like, cents at first. Change in the sofa cushions. But over time, it will be more. Don't worry about it. It's just surprise money for later. Not a lot, mind you. But you're a competitive winner and every cent they give you FREE is a success to zap your brain with dopamine. (Eventually if you have enough money you can do this by like, investing in shit or buying CDs and they just give you MORE MONEY. BUT!!! BABY STEPS.)

This is crucial: if you have some kind of direct deposit paycheck set up, see if you can SPLIT the direct deposit between multiple accounts. The company my job uses to pay people allows us to choose between depositing a fixed dollar amount to certain accounts (with "remainder of paycheck balance" being automatic for one account), OR depositing a percentage of my paycheck to certain accounts. (Percents of a paycheck tend to be higher to start). If you don't get paid this way, figure out a good date to set a recurring transfer from your checking to your savings for an amount so it won't sit in your spendy account long. The goal is to pretend like you just actually never had the savings money in that paycheck. Poof. Gone. Disappeared. It got saved before you became aware of the money.

Feel free to start with a small amount. It can be $5 or whatever. Once you start doing this for a few paychecks look at your money. If you're not genuinely struggling to stay afloat after 2-3 months and are still comfortable, try increasing the number a little. Repeat as needed.

Now you've saved money. 🎉

This is genuinely how I managed to save money more consistently than anything else I've ever tried. Savings money goes in the secret money account. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Incredibly silly but it works.

#adhd #actually adhd #adhd budgeting #adhd finance #adult money blogging #adhd blogging

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askagamedev · 8 months

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Form an insider perspective, what forms of monetization, if any, tend to be harmful for the games health, in terms of player numbers and/or amount of money spent by the players on the game?

In my experience, the most damaging form of monetization to a game and studio's health is actually undercharging. I've said many times before that the goal with monetization of any kind is a positive value proposition to the player - the player spending the money needs to feel like they are getting more value out of the product they purchase than the money they spent to obtain it. Undercharging for value is often the quickest way to financial ruin because we can always lower prices later, but we can't raise prices after the fact without a massive player backlash.

On one F2P title I worked on, we had a game system where players could earn a weekly number of special keys to open special chests through gameplay and could buy an additional allotment of weekly keys through the cash shop if they wanted. We set a price and launched it with the game. The keys quickly became the biggest seller in the game but we mistakenly priced them too low for the value they provided and we weren't selling enough other things to support the continued development of the game. We didn't want to increase the key cap, because we'd get backlash for essentially "selling power" and would have to deal with significant gear inflation. Raising prices on the keys would have incurred the wrath of the player base, even if they would have paid more for those keys if we had set those prices at the start. We were stuck looking for a new form of monetization that would make up the shortfall of the other products that weren't selling, and ended up having to sunset the game because we couldn't find one that stuck and didn't earn enough to sustain continued development.

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#game monetization #the business of video games #working in the game industry #financial things

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dwellordream · 2 months

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“The Great Depression reached into every corner of the country, but it did not affect all people equally. For many middle-class women of all races, the depression required certain changes in spending patterns: buying cheaper cuts of meat, feeding the homeless men who stopped at the back door, and doing without new clothes. Some of these women continued to do community volunteer work, raising money for the unemployed. They saw the food lines, but they did not have to join them.

Among women workers, race played an important role. The fierce competition for jobs fueled racial resentments. Mexican-American and African-American women were the first to lose their jobs and the last to get relief from welfare agencies. Often, they were already living on the margin of survival. Before 1933, when the Prohibition amendment making the manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages illegal was repealed, many of these women turned to bootlegging, making their own beer or liquor and selling it.

…Even relatively prosperous farm women--owners, not tenants--in general produced as much as 70 percent of what their families consumed in clothing, toys, and food. They not only gardened but raised poultry. During the depression, women increased the size of their gardens and the number of their hens. They made more butter from their dairy cows and sold it. They cut up the sacks that held large amounts of flour and sewed them into underwear. In the previous decade, they had proudly begun to participate in a culture of store-bought goods. Now they began to can food again. Government agents dragged huge canning kettles across the mountains of northern New Mexico and eastern Tennessee so that women in remote farming villages could preserve their food.

Even with all this work, rural children suffered from malnutrition, and rural women faced childbirth without a doctor or midwife because they could afford neither the medical fees nor the gasoline for transportation. The women resented their declining standards of living, particularly those from better-off farm families who owned their own farms and had, during the 1920s, aspired to participate in the new domestic technology of indoor bath-rooms, modern stoves and heating, and super cleanliness.

…In 1936, a federal appeals court overruled an earlier law that had classified birth control information as obscene and thus illegal to dispense. That decision still left state laws intact, however. The number of birth control clinics nationwide rose from 55 in 1930 to 300 by 1938, but in some states and in many rural areas women still had no access to birth control. In 1937, North Carolina became the first state to provide contraceptives with tax dollar, and six others soon followed. Ironically, North Carolina’s reasoning was not that birth control was a human right but that birth control would reduce the black population.

Despite statistics showing that black women had fewer babies than white women with similar incomes and living situations, many white southern officials in states with large black populations feared a black population explosion. In 1939, the Birth Control Federation of American responded to eager southern state governments by developing “The Negro Project,” a program to disseminate birth control information, which they carefully staffed with local black community leaders. Whatever the logic, one quarter of all women in the United States in their 20s during the depression never bore children. This was the highest rate of childlessness for any decade. Many people simply decided not to get married, and marriage rates fell.

…In the mass media women seemed to be receiving mixed messages. On the one hand, in 1930, the Ladies’ Home Journal featured a former career woman confessing, “I know now without any hesitation… that [my husband’s job] must come first.” In 1931, the popular magazine Outlook and Independent quoted the dean of Barnard College, a women’s college in New York City, telling her students that “perhaps the greatest service that you can render to the community… is to have the courage to refuse to work for gain.” And on its front page in 1935, the New York Times reported that women “suffering from masculine psychological states” and an “aversion to marriage” were being “cured” by the removal of their adrenal gland. In this atmosphere, not only were women workers under fire, but women who centered their lives on women rather than on men came under attack. Lesbianism was no longer chic. Lesbian bars almost disappeared. Homosexuality was now seen by many people as just one more threat to the family.

On the other hand, movie houses showed zany screwball comedies with more complicated lessons. Often deliciously ditsy, incompetent women were rescued by sensible, capable men. Yet, the men in these movies were frequently portrayed as bumbling or slower-witted than the women. Sometimes the men were people who needed joy and whimsy restored to their lives, not an unexpected theme for a nation in the throes of an economic depression. In other movies, however, women were by no means incompetent. The women portrayed by Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford in the 1930s were often intelligent but needed men alternately to tame and to soften them.”

- Sarah Jane Deutsch, “Making Do with Disaster.” in From Ballots to Breadlines: American Women, 1920-1940

#sarah jane deutsch #1930s #race #gender #from ballots to breadlines #class #20th century #history #american

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imnotspencerhastings · 8 months

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change your life challenge

Hi Spencer here, I wrote on Twitter about wanting to do a change your life challenge.

Anyone is more than welcome to do the challenge with me! and please give me updates.

The whole point of this challenge is to change your life, mindset, appearance, and self concept.

This is my version but i highly suggest you make your own

but you're free to use mine!

A year from now, your life will be completely different.

You will have your apartment, you will have the SP, you will look different, and you will be content; but you have to have discipline

I don't care if one person does it with me, but I don't like to gatekeep, and I love helping people.

Morning: The first thing you do when you wake up is tell yourself:

"I don't care about the old story; the old story can't hurt me; the old story is irrelevant and dead."

spend the next 10 mins doing your routine. you can affirm script just decide or swift your awareness to one topic of your choice.

you can do beauty, mindset, and self concept and then go about your day. if you feel like thinking about something just say

"I don't care about the old story; the old story can't hurt me; the old story is irrelevant and dead."

For money I want you to throw away everything you know about money and create your own opinions about money.

Tell yourself, "Money is so easy; money is never that serious."

Every time you look at your wallet or bank account, try not to get upset about what you see! The goal is to be content with what you have, but in the back of your mind, know that you can get endless amounts of money.

We are also not going to affirm for a certain amount of money. Just tell yourself that "I always receive money in my bank account."

When you affrim for a certain amount of money, you're going to be hyper-focused on the number.

Afternoon:

For self concept I want you to affirm " My mind is a friend to my body'

"I have the power to create the life I want." "I am becoming a better version of myself one day at a time."

Then take a break and go on with your day. I also want you to stop consuming information on Twitter and being online. Be anti-online and create a self-care routine. I suggest taking a 3-day break on Twitter and then come back; Twitter isn't going anywhere.

night time: i want you to sit in a quiet room and write down a goal list of your choice and either script, visualize, innner convos, and spend any hour doing it. think in the past tense and do not give the old story life.

for beauty affs :

"Every day I notice improvements in how I feel about myself."

"My attractiveness increases every single day."

"Everyone notices and appreciates my good looks."

and that's pretty much iit! the goal is to build a routine and stick with it. enjoy and give me updates. kisses xoxoxo.

#law of assumption #law of manifestation #celebrity sp #law of abundance

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wool-f · 2 days

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LIFE IS SHORT - DO YOUR TIME BEFORE IT DOES YOU

Hello friends,

I’m back again this week with something I’ve been thinking about a lot of late, particularly as I get closer to 30.

The importance of putting yourself out there and asking for the things you want out loud.

After the last few years of the pandemic, I have come to realise that the the more we delve into being online and the increasing influence that technology has in our everyday life, the less we know how to actually speak with each other face to face.

I’ve experienced this in the workplace, with my friendships and family; but most potently, in the dating pool.

It seems that closer we get through our phones and devices, the further away we fall from human connection in the real world.

In the last year, I’ve completely removed myself from dating apps, content with the concept of someone approaching me in real life, at bars, in clubs, the local coffee shop, anywhere. I found the dating apps served as a shield for real conversation and connection, more often leading to small talk and the constant facilitator of hook up culture.

It’s not that I don’t want a physical connection with anyone, but I’m so sick of physical connection being the only option on the table – what happened to people writing love letters to each other, what happened to yearning, what happened to romance, to taking a chance to speak with a stranger?

I took myself off the dating apps because they increasingly made me feel bad about myself and made me doubt my likability and worthiness of the things that I desire. This was unacceptable to me – I have worked too hard throughout my twenties to now compromise with my own self confidence and love.

I also realised the kind of person I was looking for most likely isn’t on the apps for the same reasons that I wanted to not be on them. I definitely had my fun while using them in my mid-twenties, but now, if I’m going to spend a significant amount of time with someone, I want it to mean something more than a fleeting few dates or a giggle over a drink.

So to put my money where my mouth is, I’ve started putting myself out there again, in the REAL world.

I was recently at a wedding and met someone. I really enjoyed their company and we ended up being the last two people in a bar after the wedding, just laughing and chatting and revelling in each-other's company.

We exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

A few days after the wedding, we’d been chatting on and off over text, and I took the plunge – I asked him if he wanted to go for drinks.

Prior to this, I would always wait for the guy to make the first move on all fronts – asking out, first kiss, everything. When I deleted the apps, I knew I would have to make a compromise from this, and I was more than happy to do that in this case.

However, despite it all, I struck out. Let me be honest – I was disappointed with the rejection – no is not something I'm used to hearing from men. I was surprised, but I knew this came with the territory of putting myself out there – I would have to be willing to get rejected every now and then to really get to the prize.

At this point, I leant into my mindful practices and felt comfort knowing that whatever is meant for me will never pass me by. And despite the small low of rejection, I felt proud of myself for taking the chance – it’s no small feat to be vulnerable or exposed at risk of not receiving the response you want!

I did that all by myself! It sounds crazy to be congratulating myself over such a small thing that humans used to do all the time – but that is the state of our world at the moment. People live in constant fear of rejection, when really it’s a gift – it’s an example of us being brave. Calling myself brave is something I’ll happily add to my resume of adjectives.

The notion of bravely walking towards the things we want by putting ourselves out there, or actively asking for the things we want is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, as I said above. The reason I have been thinking about it so much is due to the creeping realisation that life is to be lived and we don’t really have that much time to live it.

The older I get the more I understand how important it is to at least try to live your dreams. The fear of being on my death bed and not having achieved the goals I set for myself now, or even the goals I had in my younger years, overwhelms me at times, as I recognise how quickly time is moving around me.

Asking for the things I want and throwing myself at opportunities and chances to achieve them is something I try to do every single day.

Even if it has to be in one percent increments, one percent is better than remaining where I am.

It signifies a commitment to myself, if nothing else. The promises we make to ourselves are so often broken to appease the desire of another person - whether it be our bosses, our partners, friends or family members. Why is it that we are so willing to break promises we make to ourselves, but keep those we make to others? I think it's because if we break a promise to ourselves, it's private - nobody but you knows that it's been broken. But when it's to another person - it becomes public, it attracts an expected judgement or exterior disappointment.

I've come to the realisation that I never want to feel disappointment for myself again. I am keeping the promises I make to myself. Judgement and disappointment from others is becoming more and more irrelevant the older I get, and honestly I'm enjoying life so much more without the pressure of caring about it.

This is something that has played on my mind regarding deleting the apps as well. So many people have just accepted that "the only way to meet someone" is through these low effort apps. I've spoken with numerous friends about it and for the most part they are supportive of the decision, however the apprehensive friends are concerned about the likelihood of meeting someone in the "real world".

But this is not something I'm actually concerned about if I'm being honest - finding a boyfriend/partner/husband/romantic soulmate is not what I centre my life around. I have amazing friends, so many hobbies I enjoy, a career that is at its grassroots level and family.

Furthermore, my truth is that I don't want to meet someone on "the apps". I don't want our love story to begin with a swipe right. I want a meet-cute, a moment in a bar, a friend of a friend, a romantic gesture! And if that is something I want, I'm more than certain that there is someone out there willing to give it to me!

And I'm not taking that step towards that reality if I'm still using the apps to mindlessly swipe through people as if it's a game or gambling. I truly believe if you want something, you have to become it first. So if I want a real life romance, I have to become the person who has a role in that, by being present in the moment, not walking around with my head in the virtual cloud. I have to be open to being approached (not by creeps though lol) and willing to take a chance!

At the end of the day, whether you meet on an app or in real life, we are all strangers until we are not.

So, I have written all this to say - take your life into your own hands! It is not enough to make a vision board and hope those things will happen, it's not enough to make the to do list - you have to get out and get the stuff done!

Take control of your own destiny. I will be.

In the wise words of Slim Halliday,

Do you time before it does you.

As always, chat to me in the comments! I want to hear your thoughts on dating right now, dating experiences and life in general - what are you taking control of?

Signing off for another week,

G xx

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solarishashernoseinabook · 2 months

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Could you expand on what you said in a post about libraries about the big 5 publishers screwing over libraries in terms of digital lending rights?? I’ve not heard of that at *all* and im generally pretty caught up on publisher news, so I think theres a pretty big library-shaped hole in my sources lol

All righty, a couple disclaimers here. One, this is from a Canadian library perspective, so idk how well it applies to the US. Two, I don't work in the collections department at my library, so I'm basing this off what I remember from class years ago

(also clarifying that I'll be referring to ebooks and audiobooks collectively as digital books just to make it easier)

But in short, the Big Five publishers only very reluctantly put up with libraries having physical books, and one of the reasons they do that is because only one person can have a physical book at a time. Digital books, though? Why, if a library has a copy of one of those, hundreds of people could read it at a time! That's profits they're losing! How terrible!

But, well, selling to libraries is still a sale, so the companies sell to them but restrict it as much as possible. One, libraries pay much more for digital books than your average consumer. I don't have the exact number, but it's significantly higher. Two, unlike a physical book, which a library can have rebound if it's popular but hard to find, and which could conceivably last years if it's hardcover or paperback binding, digital books have severe limits on them. Maybe the library can only buy one "copy" of a digital book - i.e., only one patron can use it at a time. That digital copy artificially expires after 20 loans or 2 years, whichever comes first. Got a waitlist of 50 people waiting to read the latest Alexander McCall Smith book? Too bad! 30 of them are gonna have to go without! Do you have a moderately popular book by Danielle Steel, which gets borrowed every couple of months? Sorry! You've had it for two years, so it's gone now! Better buy a new copy!

Now, this is the case on digital platforms like Libby/Overdrive. Each digital book acts the same as a physical book, except that most of them go away after a certain amount of time. Certain public domain books might be a one-time buy for libraries, but for the most part, every loan, every week that goes by is chipping away at a digital book's life. Certain digital platforms - Hoopla, for example - have what's called "simultaneous use" policies - maybe you only have one ebook copy of a book by Agatha Christie, but every library patron can read it at once. The trade-off for this is that my library has to pay a certain amount for every person currently reading or listening to a book on Hoopla. We have a daily budget that can't be exceeded. Every week we field calls from people who, one afternoon, wanted to open up Hoopla, but were told they couldn't take out any books - because too many of my library's 40 000 active patrons had also decided to enjoy a book that day. And not every publisher even allows simultaneous use licenses, or they don't allow it on all of their titles

A final reminder to this very long post: please do not boycott Libby or Hoopla over this, I beg of you. Your libraries are pouring a lot of money into them because they're being used. Instead, put pressure on the big five publishers to make their digital books accessible, and vote in your municipal elections to get libraries more funding so we have more budget to put into those items. An easy way to increase your library's funding is just to spend a bit of time a week in there. Hang out with your friend for a few hours, just walk in and look at the shelves, or sit there and use their free wifi to play games on your phone. Digital books are here to stay, and libraries are important for getting those books into people's hands

#long post #libraries #if i made any errors pls lemme know #i'm remembering what we were taught in class but this was...er 2019 or 2020 or so #it might've changed since then but tbh probably not for the better #asks

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burstingwithbellies · 1 year

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So, recently I’ve been seeing a lot of breeder family scenarios flying around in my feeds and I think I will put my two cents in. This goes out to @infinitegest who I’ve been seeing giving out a lot of these scenarios.

So, my thing is a family full of preggos within a house that can’t keep up with them. I’m talking about a very BIG family that takes breeding very seriously. It is tradition to them; it’s a huge part of their identity and it goes in hand with their great amount of fertility. So much so that a generation from said family could amount to the population of a small city sometimes.

Singleton pregnancies practically don’t exist with them. A small pregnancy for them is triplets. Every pregnancy out of this family is a show-stopper. And so because of this, they have this home that was built especially for them; to house their huge and ever-growing clan.

But it worked for only so long.

Each generation got bigger than the last. Their libidos got stronger, the number of multiples in each pregnancy increased and they cared less and less about giving their wombs and each other’s wombs a break.

The eldest members of the household, the grandparents for instance, have both been pumping out babies for over 20 years and still going strong. They themselves have an impressive amount of kids, but their kids and grandkids took the cake.

Nearly all of them were of age and had gotten into the family tradition and their bellies challenged all of their parents’ pregnancies from the past and the present and maybe in the future.

One of the grandparents’ kids from their first-ever batch got knocked up with an astonishing 25 babies on their first pregnancy and that shocked them. The people who were getting knocked up for decades with multiples were shocked by the new generation of fertility.

And the house was supposed to be adapted to handle their expanding families and bellies, but it has been done over. The house that was built to be the size of a mansion was too small for them! The doors were tiny, the hallways narrow and tight and God forbid there be more than four people in a room. That would be way too many people in one room. Everyone is always knocking into one another and there’s always the threat of getting stuck somewhere.

It honestly wouldn’t be a problem if everyone would quit getting so pregnant all the time, but you might as well tell them to stop breathing too. Breathing is like breeding in this family, that’s their motto.

And unfortunately, they can’t make adjustments.

At least not all the time.

The family is really always growing and they can’t be spending thousands of dollars on renovations that would need to be redone again later when that money could have been better spent on food, maternity or paternity clothes or baby supplies, or something else.

Also, there’s no telling who’s heavily pregnant and nearly finished gestating or who is just now getting started and is going to have a much greater gigantic belly down the line. It’s unpredictable how big someone is gonna get. Some grow at a snail’s pace, some through fixed growth spurts and others grow to the size of an elephant in seconds before your eyes. And it’s hard keeping track of all the babies in your womb sometimes.

The space in the house gets smaller every day. Too many people, too many bellies with too many babies in them and that’s a growing problem.

The youngest adult in the family has a hard time getting through a door by himself and he’s just 2 months pregnant along. He just might burst down a wall tomorrow. This is the countdown for the house before the family gets too big for it.

#pregnancy kink #feeling really kinky ~ 😈#mpreg #nbpreg #fpreg #hyperpregnancy #pregnant fantasy #stuckage #immobility

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thefloatingstone · 11 months

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Do you think anime today are made with too many safety nets? Like gone are the days where something experimental or risky (risky in terms of something not seen before)

Yes but I think it's also a ratio thing.

In the entirety of the 80s, 256 were released. In 2022 ALONE 106 anime were released. There is a VAST amount more anime released today, and as a result, a good majority of it is extremely "safe" from a business point of view.

However I think the biggest culprit for this is simply one of money. 1980s Japan was going through an INSANE economic boom. On top of this, the "Straight to VHS" market hit the scene in 1983, which enabled anime to be able to show things which were technically illegal for Japanese broadcasting. Because straight to video anime were not technically broadcasted. This is why OVA from this time period tend to be as hyper-violent and sexual as they are. It was the first time anime actually had the medium in which it could show those things and this new freedom had many anime studios go to an extreme just to explore these new possibilities.

These days, anime animators are paid less than what's considered the legal minimum wage in Japan. But because anime is such a huge profit for Japan, the Japanese government overlooks the breaking of worker's rights. Animators in japan have not had a wage increase since the late 90s, and many of the artists who work on animation make about $400 to $500 a month. While also being expected to live in Tokyo (one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in) and essentially work 24/7 to make deadline. It's reaching a point where, because the people funding anime do NOT want to spend more money but their animators are actively dying from being overworked, have started outsourcing the animation part of anime to overseas studios like the Philippines because they don't have to pay as much. Or their NEW fun little tactic which is to hire amatuer animators off twitter from young kids who REALLY want to work in anime as their dream who are easier to exploit and misuse because they are young, inexperienced, passionate and naive. WATCH OUT FOR THIS. It's becoming more common.

Most larger anime shows also know their main money won't come from broadcast or even blu-ray sales (although Blu-ray sales are EXTREMELY important as far as an anime's success goes) the REAL money comes from merchandise sales or a push of sales in gacha games that are tied to the anime in question. Basically the way Pokemon works at this point. Where the games only exist to justify the existence of merchandise.

So the producers of anime want shows that they know will translate well into merchandise sales. The big merchandise target which these companies like tend to be men aged 18 - 25 who don't yet have families of their own. Because they tend to have a lot more disposable income. However, as things have changed and shows like Sailor Moon have proven, women are also willing to spend large amounts of money on merch. But due to the social structure of Japan, statistically women are less likely to spend the same amount of money because society pressures them more to work towards starting families and focusing their money on building households. (something Japan itself puts extreme pressure on especially with their declining birthrate but even before this just through their traditional family values).

This is why if you compare the amount of shoujo and Josei anime that come out per year versus the amount of Shounen and Seinen anime, it's not even CLOSE in numbers. And what shows MIGHT appeal to women just as men tend to still have cute girls in them to push figurine sales.

It's created an extremely hostile environment where artists simply do not have the means to actually be creative because they are being bled dry for no money.

BUT, because of the sheer number of anime that release per year, it IS more likely to have hidden gems come out made by people who genuinely have a great passion for what they make. It's just that before these would be the anime that outshines everybody else, but because there is just SO MUCH shovelware anime, it can be a little harder to see in the crowd of 5000 isekai and gacha anime.

The industry is not in a great place right now in terms of a creative environment. But it doesn't mean quality isn't there. It's just the quality anime won't be the "biggest" anime of the season or the most talked about or the one you see the most merch for.

Except for Mob Psycho 100. MP100 is GENUINELY one of the best anime to come out in the last 10 years. It uses experimental mixed media in its animation, the animation itself is top tier, and its story and characters are extremely unique for the anime medium.

ALSO! there is an anime coming out for one of my favourite current running manga "Kaiju No. 8". Monster Number 8 is part of a new breed of manga that's part of a branch of Shounen Jump called "Jump+". Shounen Jump has for DECADES demanded its manga writers provide a chapter PER WEEK for publishing. Similarly to anime, this bleeds manga artists dry and leaves them often with debilitating health conditions due to overwork (I have a manga by Satoshi Kon where he talks about getting Jaundice while making the comic due to overwork).

Jump+ on the otherhand works differently. The manga do NOT update per week but have larger gaps between updates with short breaks sometimes by the artists.

AND GUESS WHAT???

IT MEANS THE QUALITY OF THE MANGA HAVE GONE UP!

WHAT A SHOCK!

Anyway apparently Kaiju No. 8 is getting an anime adaptation and I am extremely excited.

(He's upset because he pissed through his nipples on the street)

Seriously tho. Kaiju No. 8 is about a 30 something year old dude who works as "monster clean up" which is basically the guys who have to mop up the guts of whatever Kaiju the heroes blew up that week.

until he accidentally becomes exposed to something which gives him the ability to shapeshift into a monster. He reapplies to the Kaiju-fighting division being one year under the cut-off age, an entrance exam he has failed multiple times in the past, but gets in this time (but barely iirc. It's been a while since I read the beginning. (of course if the defense division ever sees him in his monster form they will kill him which is probably not the smartest career move but I mean WHAT ELSE IS HE SUPPOSED TO DO?)

AND THEN THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP HAPPENS.

Where his hero buddies who find out he is also a kaiju have to help him BOTH fight the monsters attacking the city while ALSO keeping his powers a secret from the OTHER officers in the division. Specifically his best friend who then pushes himself to be BETTER at the defense thing specifically so his friend (who's named Kafka by the way because of course) won't transform to protect him and potentially get himself killed by the defense division.

It's so good. Please... I am weak for power of friendship stories....

Everybody protects each other and care about each other so much...

I just hope the anime can get something good out, because already from the sneak peaks we've seen, the quality seems to be the same level of mid most major anime have these days. But hey. At least it's not CG.

#C-Puff answers #long post

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raisedbythetv89 · 3 months

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Reason number 1 million of why Rob Thomas’s execution of a “noir” veronica mars failed horrendously:

In the “Drinking the Cool-aide” episode a $5,000 bonus would have been enough for them to MOVE (an insanely expensive endeavor on it’s own let alone the increase in rent)

And literally the VERY. NEXT. EPISODE. “Echolls Family Christmas” Veronica wants to get her father a THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR christmas present 😭 and decides that’s what she’ll spend her poker game winnings on.

That’s just the DUMBEST fucking thing I’ve ever heard on both counts!!! Even in the early 2000’s a single bonus payment of $5,000 would not be enough to upgrade your housing situation on southern California!

And second!! Even in my best financial situations (which do varying spending so much time as a server/bartender) but still are supposedly better than Keith and Veronica’s are presented (“tonight, we eat like the lower middle class to which we aspire”) I have never in my life spent anywhere close to that amount of money on a Christmas present for myself or a loved one. And while yes, everyone needs to treat themselves no matter what your financial situation is because you deserve a treat. Everyone needs fun and special things in their life but $3,000 worth of a fun thing?? On ONE present that would also take Keith out of work for an entire week and if he’s chasing a bail jumper potentially couldn’t even go????!!!!

IT MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE 😭😭😭😭

For things to successfully be noir they need to be REALISTIC, hyper realistic. And Rob Thomas clearly has zero real world knowledge about literally anything he writes about AND IT SHOWS and I could cry about how popular this show was/is with someone at the helm who truly was just head empty no thoughts just vibes. Citing sources?? Rob has never heard of her. Consulting experts? HE DOESNT KNOW HER 😭

#I need to lie down 😭#veronica mars #veronica mars meta #ROB THOMAS HOW ARE YOU THIS DUMB #rob thomas i hate you #rant #but also #meta #?

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emyluwinter · 2 years

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A gift and a memory.

It's still hard to get back to writing and my head is behaving very strangely. But I'm already at home and there was a minimum of anxiety! Thank you all for your help!! But....my derealization occupies my consciousness more and more...and it's scary.. sorry for the mistakes

Walking quietly and uncertainly in the luxurious corridors of the Pomfiore dormitory, Yuu awkwardly looked at her modest birthday present. A simple, elegant cardboard bag with the locanic logo of the Beautiful Queen in the middle and a small purple ribbon with an artificial peacock feather on the handle. A little nervousness was impossible to avoid because the gift was not intended for a "simple" person in the usual way. But for himself...

......Vil Schoenheit...

Which only increased anxiety and panic. It was not an easy task to please him and his refined taste! Of course, Vil receives a huge number of gifts for his birthday from loyal fans. And of course some of the gifts were especially expensive! Yuu couldn't even imagine how much money some fans probably have. She had heard rumors that Vil manager had made strict rules for fans, not to give up to a certain amount. Because apparently someone was desperately trying to buy back some unique island!Buy the island as a gift, damn it! For Yuu, buying some household items was already an overspend of her modest student budget. Compared to them...Will the Leader of the Pomfiore Dorm be happy with her gift? Even if he is sincerely chosen with pure intentions to please the namesake?

The more time it took to wait for the right moment, the more thoughts were spinning in Yuu's head. And if he doesn't like the gift?Of course, Vil will gracefully beat that he can at least consider the very fact of attention a "sufficiently acceptable gift" for a person like him. And if not? Definitely wouldn't want to upset Schoenheit on his own birthday. But she chose a gift with such trepidation and diligence!

Restlessly fingering the ribbon on the handle of the package, Yuu still managed to find the right moment to briefly "steal" to him from everyone's attention.

***

- A gift?For me? - Vil was intrigued by what a not magical student could come up with for him. It was more curiosity than mockery that one of the fans was trying to earn his precious attention and time. Of course, he is flattered by so much attention, but he definitely did not expect that despite his position, Yuu would try so hard for him. But still, few people could understand what was going on in Yuu's head. Sometimes it seemed that even she herself could not do it.

- Y-yes..And if you don't mind. Can you open it now? - Stammering in Yuu's words, she carefully handed the gift package into Schoenheit's hands. Because of her excitement, she began to stumble in words quietly. Grasping the handles, Vil suddenly felt that the gift was heavier than he thought and seemed at first glance. It became even more interesting.

- Well, judging by how you tried to find free time with me and how carefully you chose the package in which the gift itself is hidden. I think it's worth going to my room so that we won't be disturbed.

***

Now him sitting in his room and taking out of the package a rather large box, albeit modestly, but very "with charming diligence" decorated in the view of the Vil.

- What could it be? Not sweet, I hope? - Schoenheit unhurriedly untied the velvet ribbon on the box, glancing at the very worried Prefect. His students said that Yuu looked like a mouse, inconspicuous and quiet. Well, he agreed with that a little. It could well have been a treat made by the Prefect himself. He heard from Epel how Yuu took cooking lessons in secret from everyone and treated the first-year students from time to time with her cooking. Of course, she was far from the level of Clover, but the very fact that a person spends his time, tries and makes every effort should be noticed.

- No. I know you follow your diet carefully... but...I heard you talking to Rook when you were looking at one of the old magazines...

While Yuu was still talking, Vil took the lid off the box and couldn't believe his eyes. For the first time in a long time, he felt goosebumps all over his body like a rushing wave and made him speechless.

Inside the box was a stunningly elegant lipstick box. She was at least three generations old!!! But not only that!! It was a reproduction of the same lipstick box that the most Beautiful Queen had!! There were only a few pieces and the master refused to do more because of the very difficult work with the mechanism. The box was an elegant cylinder with a lid on top and a small stand with legs. There was a special handle on the lid, by scrolling which it was possible to start a certain mechanism. The mechanism was responsible for turning the cylinder walls themselves and opening special lipstick cases like oysters.

The whole box was covered with a delicate and flawless pattern that even with centuries has not lost its beauty and luster. And moreover, the mechanism worked perfectly so far!! There were even precious and semi-precious stones, and the metal itself was terribly expensive. Every inch was polished so flawlessly that Vil could swear that he saw his surprised expression on his face in it, which was a very rare occurrence.

Vil couldn't believe his eyes. HOW could this student get such a thing?! He had been trying to find this box for years! No one even from auctioneers or private collections could get this thing, no matter how hard they tried!! Yes, maybe it's not the original, which was most likely lost over time. BUT this is a reproduction of one of the greatest masters!He even left his small signature in the form of a pattern change on one of the legs. A simple person who does not know about it will not even notice such a detail!! And in the stand itself there was a hidden place to store brushes or small perfume bottles!

- You said you wanted this box more than anything in the world, I accidentally heard while you were in the library... and... um....Vil?Are you all right?Oh, I'm sorry, is that not what was needed??

Stunned, looking at the panicked Prefect, Vil couldn't quite believe it. The same box that he saw in the museum when he was a small child, was in his hands. Real, tangible and real. As if her weight and radiance were enough to convince him that this wasn't a dream or a prank.

Yuu began to really worry about to him because he did not make any movements for two whole minutes and looked at the box in amazement. Oh, damn it, it was worth just doing with a bouquet of flowers!!He was probably upset that she gave a completely different thing than he wanted!!

- V-Vil?

The silence put more and more pressure on poor Yuu and her knees even began to tremble from the fact that he was going to swear at her now. That's not how she wanted to give him a gift.

Noticing another simple box, Vil curiously opened it and found a small bottle.

With aromatic oil with a certain smell.

Vil began to think that the Prefect had somehow poisoned him, or Schoenheit was now sleeping very soundly and it was all a dream. Because this bottle and this brand were more important than the box itself. Carefully putting the box and the box on the bed next to him, Vil opened the bottle to feel if it was the smell he was thinking about. A subtle and very faint fragrance awakened in him the warmest and one of the funniest memories. A childhood memory that Vil had almost forgotten.

- You know Yuu... this oil is no longer produced. - the tenderest and warmest smile blossomed on Vil's face for all the time that Yuu could see him. Looking at the contents of the bottle with such a soft look and carefully applying the smallest drop of oil to his wrists. Vil looked very relaxed, as if all his worries had gone away. And that meant only one thing. Now in front of her is not the famous model Wil Schoenheit. And the real Vil. Sincere and relaxed, without masks, without roles, without reputation. What he never shows to anyone.

Vil gestured for Yuu to sit next to him and she sat down with him with a little embarrassment.

- This manufacturer closed down over time, due to the fact that the recipe was lost or something from the components could not be obtained. I don't remember anymore. But....this oil was used by my father when I was very young. And we lived in Pyrokenes.

Yuu enthusiastically listened to the quiet soft voice of Vil who shared with her a little memory. She didn't dare interrupt him and tried to remember this moment better. It's not every day that she manages to support and feel someone's heart in her palms.

- Huh, I forgot about that already...but when I was little. I was playing with my father in the living room, in our old house where I grew up. And we played so much that I accidentally touched the table on which the bottle was standing. And the oil spilled on the carpet and the armrest of the chair in which we often sat in the evenings. My father read me different fairy tales or plays, anything that could please both of us. While there was another snow storm with frosts outside the window.

Vil laughed in embarrassment, pointing Yuu to the bottle and once again sighing with pleasure the aroma of the oil on his wrist. This suggested a great deal of nostalgia for his thoughts. The soft noise from the fire in the fireplace with a slight crackling of wood, the quiet howl of the wind outside the window mercilessly covering the whole city with snow. Father's strong and most loving hugs, their quiet conversations, silly and funny comments. The way Vill tried to rehearse the "role" of someone from the book he read when he was very young. And how sweet it was to fall asleep in my father's arms with this soft enveloping smell and his warmth. When there was no longer any strength to fight against sleep. - I thought my father would be angry because it was his favorite oil. But he laughed and said that now the living room would smell the same as himself..No cleaning has been able to remove the smell.Vil was quiet for a while, but then continued with a quiet laugh. - When my father had to leave for a couple of days or weeks because of work, I often sat next to this carpet and in that chair so that this smell would remind me that my father would be back soon..And I didn't miss him that much.

Schoenheit was immensely grateful to Yuu for this gift. Perhaps he will revise his schedule and persuade his father to take a short vacation so that they can spend time together in his hometown of Pirokenes.

He caught himself thinking that he would like to write to his father about this aromatic oil and maybe try to divide it into two small bottles? So that Father Vil could also use it. Just to keep this thread of tender memories longer. His father will surely be happy, he loved this brand of oil. Because of all this work, reputation, and constant surveillance, Wil felt insanely tired for the first time. It was as if he had lost something important, but now he was able to get it back. And as the most greedy person wants to hide it and keep it as long as possible.

- I'm glad you liked it. - Yuu whispered softly, not wanting to spoil the moment and disturb Vil at this moment. - You can't even imagine how much. - Vil chuckled, finally looking at Yuu. There was something relaxing at that moment. A dim light was burning in the room so that there was no sharp bright color from which the eyes sometimes hurt and caused a severe headache. This calm peaceful silence around.. and... This immense kindness and tenderness from Yuu. His poor, stabbed heart wasn't ready for this.

- Still, I can't help but ask you. How did you manage to get all this? - Vil still couldn't miss this opportunity to get to know Yuu a little better. And with grace and care, he packed the gift back into the box, wanting to hear the story. She wasn't like Azul with his dark machinations. Not on Jade, who could also somehow miraculously get a certain thing. Not on a Rook that could find anyone by any means and methods known to him alone.

- Well ... - embarrassedly lowering her gaze and awkwardly tilting her head to one side, Yuu began nervously fingering her fingers.

- I heard your conversation and.....tried to look for whether someone could sell such a thing. Of course, I can't afford the original, but in order to save up for something like this. I need to either rob Kalim and Jamil will come to my soul along with Scarabia. Or else sell yourself to the last breath of Azul...so I went to the library to find some websites with supported things.

- Supported things?! - Vil couldn't believe that such a thing could be in some flea market?!

- Y-yes?..and that box was right there. It was sold by a very nice elderly man. He said that it was his great-grandmother's favorite thing that had been passed down from them for generations... and her old house flooded. And the box was so dirty and stained with such a thick layer of clay. That I had to wash it for two weeks...And I had to tinker a lot to make the mechanism work properly. And this man gave me a bottle of oil as a gift. He said that he was given it once, but he never used it.

Vil took a long breath and adjusted his bangs with a slight movement. He felt dizzy from the absurdity of what he had just heard. It never even occurred to him that it was worth watching such sites!Moreover, Yuu were able to get such an expensive thing at all and didn't even know about it!!Let's remember something Yuu immediately added, worried that Vil would be upset that she had not foreseen this.

- Oh, yes! And I checked these things for curses, dark magic, and poisons...

Yuu added very awkwardly, realizing how absurd it sounded from her mouth. Her knowledge of magic was tiny compared to the third-year student who was sitting next to her now. But still, she tried to foresee such scenarios. Who wasn't Vil himself who gave her the idea of checking things for curses and poisons? Although with poisons, Kalim was clearly the first among the others who even gave Yuu the fear that someone might try to kill her. Definitely not what she would like to know in her peaceful ordinary life.

Hearing that Yuu had "checked" the gift, Vil immediately stared at the Prefect. She's just a first-year student, especially about magic and the TWST world itself, she knows less than a preschooler, so someone will definitely have to know that he has this thing.

- I hope you didn't take this thing to Azul? - Vil warned quickly. If Ashengrotto knows that such an expensive box is in his room. Him have to fight off the twins and his slippery tentacles until they graduate from college.

- Um....No. I was afraid that Azul would steal this staff, because it's beautiful and he would definitely want to keep it for himself. So I asked Mr. Sam. He's a specialist in all sorts of strange things... but... In truth, he was shaking so much when he saw that I thought he would have a stroke. It was the first time I saw him like this.

Yuu laughed awkwardly, remembering how Sam had been trying to persuade her to give the box to him for about two hours. Although he said that the consultation and help would be free if she took a couple of snacks and drinks in return! Yuu could have sworn that she heard the persistent whispering of shadows in Sam's store so that she would sell this box. The Prefect understood that the thing could simply be expensive due to the fact that it is no longer being released. But it did not even occur to her that this was a reproduction of a casket of one of the Great Seven!Vil couldn't believe how absurd and funny Yuu was able to get all this. Damn it, how did she manage to maintain a grain of trust for all the students in college, even after all these overblots and words said to her?! And she also tried to give what the person who had a birthday wanted after all the experience?! Vil could not understand Yuu's intentions at all, but he was still grateful. For the fact that she let them fix the relationship that was before each overblott. He is not blind, he has seen how every dorm leader changes when Yuu gets into another problem of dorm. Neither the rigor of Riddle could stand, even the grumpy Leona could not resist. Neither Azul with his carefully constructed schemes, nor Jamil, nor himself. None of them could stand up to an ordinary person without magic. Who simply treated them honestly, with full kindness of heart and without any self-interest.

- It's just awful, Prefect...

Vill suddenly voiced his thought and Yuu's poor heart collapsed. Did he still not like the gift?Had she made a mistake and upset him?

- ..Huh?

- I'll have to spend some more time fixing my makeup...and it will be entirely on your conscience.

- V-Vil? what... are you talking about...

In the next second, Yuu was pushed onto her back on the bed with a quiet squeak. Vil gently held her by the shoulders and his face lit up with the most smug and proud smile that Yuu had seen.

She even had goosebumps on her skin, as if it was completely reckless to expect something from the category of "good deeds" from Vil now Well, at least he won't try to eat her, right?

What she didn't expect was that Vill suddenly left a light kiss on her cheek, like the touch of a babble in the wind. When you're lying in a flower meadow and can't tear yourself away from contemplating all the beauty of the surroundings.

The quiet, frightened squeak that escaped from her mouth made Vil laugh. And he continued his little "attack". Leaving a bunch of kiss marks and lipstick on the Prefect's face. Gently lovely and so carefully, as if he wanted to express all his gratitude that was hidden in his heart. Because of the actions of him, Yuu began to laugh softly, because his hair tickled her face and neck very much.

- Pfft! Vil! Wait!Hah! I'm tickled! It's not fair! I can't even move against you!

- And without finding Yuu! Everything should be perfect!Even the marks on your face!! - Vil laughed, holding the Prefect under him.

Occasionally breaking away from his "kissing attack" to make sure that everything looks the way he wants it to.

***

Ace and Deuce nervously looked at the clock in the Pomfiore living room. Epel also looked around nervously, standing next to them and trying to find the Prefect in the crowd. Deuce was the first to express his concerns

- Yuu is delayed...do you think senpai didn't like her gifts?

Ace quietly snorted out of discontent while drinking punch from a glass

- She didn't even show it to me...

No matter how hard Ace tried, he couldn't find out what Yuu had come up with for Vil. He was a little offended that the Prefect kept some secrets even from his "first" friend in college. Epel looked around the living room once more.

- He's not going to scold her on his birthday...right?

***

Ace, Deuce and Epel were in a very mixed emotions of shock, surprise and confusion when they finally saw Yuu. The whole face, cheeks, cheekbones, forehead, chin, neck, and even a piece of the collarbone were in bright purple lipstick marks. Poor Yuu was so out of breath that even through the darkness of lipstick marks, her rich blush on her cheeks was visible. After all, Schoenheit was merciless.

- He seemed to like the gift, didn't he? - Ace chuckled, trying not to laugh.

- Yes...kind of.....Boys, I have a problem... - Looking around in confusion, Yuu tried to "hide" from the eyes in the living room.

Epel looked Yuu up and down, disheveled and out of breath. - I can't even help but ask which one...

- Lipstick.....it's not f*cking erased....HOW to erase it?! - Yuu squeaked softly and embarrassedly, trying to stand with her back to the guests in the living room. She spent a good 20 minutes in the Pomfiore bathroom to try to wash off or wipe off the lipstick. But who knew that Schoenheit would use such a resistant brand that even soap does not take it!

*** The first-year students spent another 40 minutes trying to erase the lipstick marks in all the ways they knew. Epel even suggested that Vil so "cursed" Yuu because of the gift.Ace suggested applying a "different" layer of footprints to even out Yuu's complexion. Well, or draw her "hearts" For which he immediately received a light slap on the head from Deuce that Ace does not help at all. But then they gave up and asked for help from Rook, who "gladly" helped them.

Of course, he noticed that Vil had adjusted his makeup and applied a fresh layer of lipstick. But how surprised he was that the reason was a modest and cute Trickster coming out of his room with him on his arm. Ah, and with this pure innocent and such a dark blush on her cheeks, even traces of lipstick could not hide it!

#it came out very big..#twst #twst wonderland #twst vil #twisted wonderland #twst yuu #twst mc #vil twisted wonderland #vil schoenheit #I know I could have written better

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