We don’t want that kind of pearl clutching ‘christian’ conservative sitting on the AO3 board. Keep Moms For Liberty out of our fanfiction.
this is the second fucking year in a row someone has tried to pull this crap. but if you’re still on the fence about it (though fair warning, I am not copying everything she wrote as a response, which you can read on the OTW website):
Would you be in favor of creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee? Why or why not? I see no reason creating another committee would help anything in light of the continued staffing issues, and see several ways it could hurt. Lumping nonwhite, and non-English-speaking, and non-American volunteers together in one committee is just tokenism with a bow on top. Those experiences are not singular or universal. The DEI consultant to be hired by the organization will be able to speak to this far better than I can.
The cost of becoming a member/voting in elections is prohibitive for many users, particularly disabled, international and POC ones. Do you have any ideas about how this could be improved to make the otw more inclusive and less privileged? No.
Also, just for some proof of the “Republican” part, from Twitter:
like, it’s not a pejorative, it’s how she’s self-identified
also, ENTIRELY unrelated to this crap, but she’s only been a volunteer for about a year and a lot of her answers to questions about ongoing problems is “I don’t know because I’ve only been here a year.” she doesn’t even know what PAC is.
Also, it shouldn’t need to be said but don’t fucking harass anyone about this, whether that the Audrey Richards herself or anyone affiliated with ao3. They’ve already had to make a statement abt this:
And, for the record, I think this is a more relevant quote from this qna considering the accusation that she’s some “save the children” type:
Do you support adding additional mandatory archive warnings (for example, warnings for incest and slavery), and do you think this is feasible?
“In the short-term: no to both. Perhaps a year down the line this is a conversation to have, but right now I am focused on OTW’s internal stability.
In the long-term: we can look into whether additional mandatory warnings will be useful. Right now, from my perspective, the idea of adding those two warnings is a concession that enough work exists on the Archive for it to be a mandatory warning instead of individual tags. That could have serious implications as far as both domestic hosting and international access are concerned. As for their feasibility? I do not have the full knowledge base to pull from to say. That conversation will need to begin with the input of multiple committees.”
Dwayne Johnson donated the “largest single donation from an individual at one time” to the SAG-AFTRA relief fund.
The exact amount he donated is confidential, but they say it is 7 figures. From the article:
On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance and executive director Cyd Wilson drafted a letter to 2,700 of the union’s highest-earning actors outlining the financial need that many would face in the work stoppage.
“We rely on donations and grants to provide services — we have been very fortunate that we raised enough money to be able to cover all of our programs,” Wilson explains. “But when we hit a crisis like this and we’re going to spend millions and millions of dollars in financial assistance, this is when we need our high profile talent who can afford it, who are in a situation to help others.”
Shortly after sending the letter, Dwayne Johnson’s team reached out to say he wanted to help, so he and Vance hopped on a phone call.
“It was a love fest. It’s like, ‘Man, you’re stepping up in a way that is allowing others to know the dire necessity of it,‘” Vance told Johnson about his contribution to the fund, noting that the exact sum is being kept confidential, but he was heartened by the A-lister’s generosity. “This is him saying, ‘In such a time as this, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, whatever you need me to do.’ And that sends a huge message to other folks to do the same thing.”
Wilson explains that the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s grants deliver up to $1,500 per individual member, but in extreme conditions where there are health issues or other situations that indicate an actor is in serious jeopardy, a lifetime member can receive up to $6,000 in emergency financial assistance. Thus, Johnson’s seven-figure donation has the potential to aid thousands of actors. (Wilson estimates between 7,000 to 10,000 members will need these services.)
“It is a call to arms for all of us to know that we just have to step up however you can,” Vance adds. “If your step up is $10, step up. Because that $10 is going to help somebody. If it’s $10,000, if it’s $10 million, step up, because we have to. Everyone knows what happens when you go on strike, when you stand for something — as the saying goes, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for everything — you can’t stand unless you have support underneath you, on the side, up top and up front. So Dwayne is letting everyone know, ‘I’m here. What are you going to do?'”
Hopefully his donation will inspire other high-earning actors who also received letters to step up.
My grandfather used to grow watermelons, among other things, and he told me about most of this, especially the orange spot. Those are the absolute best!
Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023, and $7.50 more per hour over the length of the contract.
Existing part-timers will be raised up to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment would still receive all new general wage increases.
General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract — and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.
Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.
Current UPS Teamsters working part-time would receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.
New part-time hires at UPS would start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.
All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s would be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS.
Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024. All cars get two fans and air induction vents in the cargo compartments.
All UPS Teamsters would receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.
No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers’ days off. Drivers would keep one of two workweek schedules and could not be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.
UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.
The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.
More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement — more than any other time in Teamsters history — and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.
Dungeon Meshi is a fantasy action/comedy manga that has been running since 2014. At the time of writing, the manga has not reached its conclusion, but I feel its getting close. Its funny, heartwarming, has an interesting world and an endearing art style.
Pitch
The story is set in a classic high fantasy world, where underground structures called Dungeons litter the landscape. Dungeons are a complex set of biomes in their own right with advanced magic systems, including the unique quirk that adventurers who die in a dungeon can be revived fairly reliably. It is fairly standard D&D in its initial presentation, but the world has a uniquely real spin on the standard fantasy format.
We follow the party of Laios Touden, a human fighter, who’s sister, Falin, a human cleric, was killed by a dragon and eaten deep in the dungeon. Due to the laws of the dungeon, if they find her remains soon enough, they will be able to revive her, but before her end, Falin teleported the party to the surface. A few members of their party quit on the spot. They do not have the funds or resources to do that trip again, and without a healer, their party would be in even more danger. Laios, not wanting to waste any time, decides the best course of action is to head back in immediately, and use the resources of the dungeon for food on the way. He is accompanied by Marcille, an elf mage, and Chilchuck, a half-foot trap-finder.
Soon into their journey, they run into Senshi, a dwarf who has lived in this dungeon as long as adventurers have known about it. Senshi is very knowledgeable about how to prepare and cook monsters of the dungeon, and intrigued by Laios and his journey, accompanies the party. Laios grew up obsessed with monsters and knows the ins and outs of their biology, ecology, how to kill them, and what parts are inedible. Combined with Senshi’s knowledge on how to cook them, the party (Marcille and Chilchuk begrudgingly) are well equipped to delve deep into the dungeon surviving on nothing but the wildlife of the dungeon.
My Thoughts
Delicious in Dungeon is such an easily likeable story. The artstyle is cute and unique, but at the same time, portrays such intense action and interesting monster designs. The story starts out as a quirky little romp, but very soon it becomes apparent that every detail about the world is meticulously crafted to make it feel real and lived in. Monster Biology is based in real anatomical rules, but Magic is still part of the world too. For example, spirits are a real type of magical creature, and some monsters are adapted to filter feed on them.
The party all have very one-note personalities at the beginning. Senshi is obsessed with healthy habits, Laios is a bit of a dunderhead, Marcille is squeamish, and Chilchuck is selfish. But as the story progresses, you get to know each better and their personalities and ideals evolve as they encounter new challenges.
As I touched on above, the art style is gorgeous. The food looks delicious, the monsters are fun to look at in action, and the character design of each of the main and supporting cast of characters is varied and fun. Without spoiling anything, the story goes in a direction deeper and is more engaging than I thought possible from as simple a pitch as “adventurers eat the monsters in a dungeon”, and although at the time of writing the manga is not finished, I am very happy with where the story has gone and am very keen to see where the ending takes us.
If my description has piqued your interest at all, I highly recommend seeking out Delicious in Dungeon. It’s a fantastic read. And I just found out while writing this that an anime is being produced by Studio Trigger. So keep an eye out for that too.
Disco Elysium
ZA/UM
Disco Elysium is a role playing game released for PC and all main consoles, I personally played the Final Cut version on Nintendo Switch. Now when someone says Role Playing Game, the first thought is usually a random-encounter, turn-based combat system with parties, health and magic meters. But Disco Elysium is more like the classic table top RPG type, a point and click narrative adventure with dice rolls and branching narratives depending on the player’s actions. It was a very engaging experience that I will probably go back and play again for a whole new experience.
The Pitch
Disco Elysium is based in a fictional post-war European-type city called Revachol. You play the role of a very broken man who wakes up after a few days of binge drinking, having forgotten literally everything about who you are and why you are here. A bit of briefing with the hotel staff and discussion with a police officer named Kim Kitsuragi, you find that you are a police officer too, and your precinct sent you to help Lieutenant Kitsuragi solve a murder case.
You interact with the world through walking up to objects, people, and landmarks, and making observations, growing your knowledge base of the world and who you once were. The player character’s progression is through assigning points to various skills to build the type of cop you want to be in this story. Split into 4 main categories of skills; Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics; you start the game by assigning base points to a few different areas that will make it easier to be better at certain skills.
A character with good base Intellect will be better at general knowledge, conceptualisation, and talking smart, while a character with good base Motorics will have good hand-eye coordination, composure, and reaction time. You have the option to start from a few base pre-builds, or customise your stats to your preference. But you can’t be good at everything. Are you the type of cop that talks down people in your way or the type to punch them in the jaw? That’s up to you. Anytime you attempt a challenging task, be that persuasion, violence, or anything in between, you can attempt a dice roll. And depending on what skills you have points in, you will have better odds in different challenges.
Getting more skill points requires experience, which can be gained by pursuing the main objective, and by solving side-story mysteries. And the world is full of mysteries! There are cults, supernatural hauntings, post-war trauma, Eurobeat ravers, and much more to interact with. You are a broken man in a broken world, and there’s nothing stopping you from being the worst kind of human being to get your way. Unless you don’t want to upset Kim Kitsuragi.
And Kim is the one light in this dark, sad world.
My Thoughts
Disco Elysium is an experience like no other. The absolute depth of the world is just immense, you could get lost in centuries of in-game lore for hours. Even though the entire game takes place in part of one city, you have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the entire world, decades of conflict, and the political matrix of powers that has led to such a desolate world.
Just as deep as the world are the characters, particularly the player character, Harry Dubois. You can play the entire game multiple times and not find everything wrong with this poor little meow meow. I neglected to mention this above, but each Skill talks, offering input from their area of specialty. Most dialogue in the game is from the inner thoughts of our cop, and what he can make of the situation. Putting more points into different skills will mean you hear the perspective of that skill more often. In my playthrough, I heard a lot from Encyclopedia, Drama, and Perception, but in a future playthrough, maybe Savor Flaire, Inland Empire, and Electrochemistry might have more to say.
Although the game is full of choice, there is ultimately one ending. I initially thought this as a bad thing, but it makes sense on further thought. This city was boiling towards an explosive conclusion no matter what two policemen do. What we can change however, is if we can save anyone on the way there, and what sort of person you make yourself into by the end. What kind of cop do you want to be?
Thanks for Reading
This recommendation has been a long time coming, as I’ve had these two series in in the back of my mind for ages. If you have engaged with either, please spread this post and tell me what you’ve enjoyed from them.
If you enjoy my style of writing, I have made 45 other posts just like this recommending all sorts of media. Check the pinned post on my blog.
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