#(i need a tag for steph march edit)
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So I’m new to reading comics. I’m not someone who grew up with access to them, and no one in my immediate or extended family really were into them, and, to the best of my knowledge, most of my friends were in a similar boat. Basically, I’m an adult, and I’m new to comics, and I’m really enjoying exploring them.
I’m bringing this up because I found my way into DC comics via tumblr, which is arguably still the most centralized hub of fandom life, which means I entered through the recent issues. Because I’m me, I also immediately started making shitposts. Inevitably these shitposts have broken out of my dumb curated little enclosure to interact with bits of the fandom I’m generally unfamiliar with. Namely, gatekeepers.
Throwing this under a cut so it’s easily bypassable 👍
It has happened with literally all of my Batman posts that break ~500 notes. People show up in the tags to rant about how sick they are of people on tumblr getting characters wrong, or not understanding canon, or getting mad because of something getting ignored that happened in canon 20+ years ago. They start off by attacking immediately, and getting angry, and ranting about how new fans are so awful/annoying/stupid/etc.
I’ve been in fandom spaces for Far Too Long, so I’m used to dealing with input like this. But if 14/15/16 year old me was met with the kind of vitriol that shows up in my notifications sometimes? She would’ve disengaged with the material entirely and never interacted with the fandom again. She would’ve actively told people to stay out of those spaces because of how mean and unwelcoming many of the people were to her.
Listen: I do get it. It’s frustrating when someone misunderstands a thing you love. I really truly do understand. At the same time, though, we’re talking about characters who have been appearing for 20, 30, 50, 80 years. Characters who have had hard resets and retcons done 3+ times. Characters who have been written by tens or hundreds of different writers and drawn by just as wide a range of artists. It is next to impossible to pick one version of any of them that is The Definitive Version.
And to use myself as an example? Like I said, I’ve been reading these comics since March-ish. I work full time. I hang out with friends. I am querying an original book. I’m reading other books. I need to cook and clean and grocery shop and take walks and get writing done. Most weeks, I spend 1-2 hours reading comics, if that. I had to start somewhere, so I went with some Tim-centric runs (Lonely Place of Dying, the Contagion arc, Battle for the Cowl, Red Robin and related issues, and am now right around where Steph has the baby in his Robin run) and am now wading into Nightwing (1996). So the versions of the characters in my head are related to these moments in time, the early/mid nineties and 2009/2010ish eras. Those versions of the characters may also directly contradict your version, and that’s okay!
What’s not okay is how people immediately see a post and assume the worst instead of taking the opportunity to introduce a new fan to your version of these comics. Taking 2 seconds to be kind is the same amount of time it takes to rip someone’s head off. Like, instead of “jfc, I can’t believe this is framed as a joke when it’s canon, I’m so sick of this, try opening a comic,” try, “Hey guys! This is actually in canon! If you like this concept, check out these runs/issues for how it plays out.”
You all have a really great opportunity to expand your fandom in a dynamic and interesting way. It just makes me sad and a little frustrated to see people moaning about how comics aren’t appreciated enough, and then actively chasing away people who are new to them. No one is going to be able to absorb nearly a century’s worth of content overnight, and expecting them to stay out of fandom spaces until they have a sufficient knowledge base (whatever that means to you) literally defeats the point of fandom.
EDIT: also, just a quick note, for every interaction I’ve had with a gatekeeper in some way, I’ve had 3 interactions with wonderful and helpful people who have directed me to runs/issues that I may enjoy. This is definitely not an “all fans” complaint. There are just some very loud voices that sure are yelling a lot.
Anyway.
Those are my Monday thoughts.
Do with them what you will.
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STEPHANIE MARCH as GRETCHEN THOMAS
30 ROCK | 1.03 “Blind Date”
#stephanie march#30 rock#in honor of#lesbian visibility week#lesbian pride#lgbtq#steph march: im gonna give the gays everything they want#svu won't let her do it#she found another way#everyone say thank you ms stephanie march#the last gif: ARMS#(i need a tag for steph march edit)#smarchedit#gretchen thomas aka alex cabot in witness protection
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Hey Steph! I’d like to start by thanking you for your service to the fandom! You’re a true star! Also, I’ve been reading a lot of your fic recommendations recently and they’re all amazing! I was just wondering, what are some of your personal favourite fics?
Hey Lovely!!
Ahhhhh this is so sweet, thank you so much!!
AHHHH this is like asking me what my fave fluffy blanket is, I just have a hard time choosing. I CAN say that any fic on my fic lists that I have read and bookmarked are ALL my fave fics; I kind of initially built my “fic rec brand” out of “I rec what I read, and they’re all on my bookmarks” when I first started, and it’s just always kind of stuck. Nowadays though, because I now keep track of my MFLs from others on an offline list that’s tagged as well, I can now suggest fics other people like, which is helpful for fics that aren’t in my preferred genres. Plus it builds a nice sense of community here, so I am very proud of that, hahaha.
BUT ANYWAY, yes, anything on my Fic Masterlists are all my personal recs and they’re the bookmarks I’ve filed on a text edit doc, LOL. AND lucky for you, I made a few “fave” lists, so here they are for you! I really need to do a new “last xx bookmarked” list, haven’t done one in a few years LOL.
Hope this is what you’re looking for, and please let me know if you want me to be more specific, hahah :)
I-J’s Last 50 Bookmarked Fics (June 2017)
Last 17 Bookmarked Fics (July 2017)
Last 30 Bookmarked Fics (November 2017)
Last 86 Bookmarked Fics (Jan 2019) || [MOBILE]
Top 20 Fave 40K+ w. Fics (April 2017)
Ten Fave Short Johnlock Fics (Easy Reads April 2018)
25 Fave Johnlock One Shots (April 2018)
Top 10 Fave Fics (September 2018)
Top 20 Bookmarks of 2018 (March 2019)
Another Top 10 Fave Fics (June 2019)
Top 30 Read-Again Fics (March 2019)
Top 30 Read-Again Fics Pt. 2 (Sept. 2019)
Top 25 Fave Non-Ao3 Fics (Nov. 2019)
Top 25 Bookmarks of 2019 (Dec. 29/2019)
Top 30 Bookmarks of 2020
Fave Read-Again Fics (10) (Dec 11/20)
Cheers!! <3
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Make Your Home Beautiful with Bambury (and WIN a $500 Gift Voucher!)
If you are after one of the quickest, most affordable and also easiest ways to freshen up a bedroom or living space, I always think new cushions are a fail-proof way to go. Nothing brightens and lifts a space quite as easily! Add in a fresh new plant and you’ve treated your room or outdoor area to a speedy, mini facelift that will lift you up as you walk into it.
I keep cushion covers in our linen closet, and rotate them through the year. I buy what I love, and although I try to declutter our things often I find I rarely get rid of cushions. Yesterday a friend visited my house for the first time and commented on how pretty a cushion in our lounge room was – I told her I’d bought it about eight years ago! Although I LOVE following interiors trends (so much so I even write a weekly interiors trends and looks column for STM in The Weekend West) I still go by the ‘buy what you love’ rule. Trends will come and go, but if you buy what you really love, you’ll never go wrong, and you can usually find new ways to rework an ‘old’ trend into a new look. (I may make a small exclusion here for chevron… however, if you still love it, that’s the important thing!)
So I have a small library of cushion covers filed Marie-Kondo style in our linen closet, and I love pulling them out and using them again and again. When I first bought a couple of cushions from Bambury recently, I was blown away by their gorgeous – and very expansive – range of cushions and textiles. I was blown away a second time when I realised they are local – I’d never actually realised they a Perth-based company, I’d thought they were in Melbourne.
In fact, Bambury is one of Perth’s oldest – and most successful – textile companies. They have beautiful wares, and they’re run by a really nice group of people too. It’s probably quite obvious by now that I’ve always loved learning the stories behind start-ups (since I was a teenager, I used to cut clippings about businesses and business people that inspired me and saved them all in a folder). Well, Bambury began in 1994 in a Fremantle garage – just like many businesses do when they are starting out. It was a small wholesale business founded by now-managing director Andrew Lodge. Andrew was working in the sales within the textile industry. He saw a gap in the market for beautiful and individual wholesale products, and decided to manufacture his own.
It wasn’t long though before his product range of sheets and towels expanded and Bambury needed to find new premises – this time a warehouse in North Fremantle. Now 25 years later, Bambury have a vast range of products stocked across Australia and New Zealand – and amazingly, they’re still local! Their design team consists of Design Director, Amy Clarke, Textile Designer, Anne Campbell, and Graphics and Marketing Stephanie Harrison. “We are very proud to be a West Australian company,” Amy tells me. “There aren’t many textile businesses based here in WA and a lot of the industry and customers are located on the East Coast, however we have overcome all geographical challenges and have kept Bambury’s head office here in Perth.
“From very early on Andrew knew that design was going to play a key role in the business, it was to become Bambury’s strength and point of difference, and it still is today. All of our designing happens in our studio in Bibra Lake, in Perth’s south, not too far away from Fremantle.”
Recently Bambury experienced a big change as the company went from a wholesale-only business to an online retailer as well, delving into the world of social media too – which is how I actually stumbled upon them online, through their Instagram.
I couldn’t take my eyes off their beautiful images and brand photography, but what I liked too was that while they have so many on-trend cushions and throws (with their newest palettes featuring the latest hottest colour trends of dusty pinks, ochres, terracottas, burnt umbers, bracken, tinged mustards and army greens) they are still the kinds of pieces you can keep and style with for ages. And they’re easy to style with too – their feed alone gives you so many ideas for colour combinations and textures that work together. Their products range from cushions and throws to bed sheets, towels, bathroom products, rugs, ottomans, beach towels and bags, wall hangings, teatowels, pieces for outdoor living, exercise and things for kids.
It’s not a complete surprise that everything Bambury creates looks as complementary as it does – the design team have been working as a tight-knit team for almost eight years now. “Anna and I develop the prints and product ranges, while Stephanie works on photography, catalogues and marketing,” says Amy. “We have quite similar tastes, so we all work really well together.”
Styling and photography by @villastyling. Assistance from @rmcbuilderswife
The whole team is West Australian-born – Steph was born in Perth, Anna is from Fremantle and Amy grew up in Carnarvon and Bunbury. “We have all travelled a little over the years and lived in other places, but our families are here in WA – Perth (and Fremantle) is home,” says Amy. Each of the girls has a new home that they are all busy decorating and styling.
They design two main ranges a year. “When we first come together to discuss the next range, we usually have a few ideas that we have bookmarked to bring to the table,” says Amy. “These ideas might be as simple as a colour, a fabric we have collected from a trade show or a motif that we think will work; quite often it is an extension of the previous range. Like most creative people, your work never stops, you are always taking things in and on the constant lookout for exciting new ideas, trends and products. We sometimes attend overseas trade shows, and we make sure we keep on top of the latest design and interior trends.” After collating and editing ideas, they play with colour and drawings until they are happy that they have a good range.
“It’s hard to explain, but I do think gut instinct pays a big role too – if we all start noticing or loving something, there’s a good chance our customers will pick up on that soon too,” says Amy.
So what colours and textures are they predicting will be big in 2020? “Trends have been moving to warmer tones for a while now, beautiful terracotta and nude tones – this will continue for a while longer,” says Amy.
“It’s less about the grey and white Scandi look, and moving towards a colour palette with warm greys and natural earthy tones – think soft taupe rather than silvery grey. There’s also a really fun play with unexpected colour combinations such as terracotta and lilac, or ochre and blush pink.
Andy and Deb from The Block styled this gorgeous living room with a Miimi and Jinda painting and cushions from Bambury.
“There’s definitely a move to being more nature inspired, which is where olive greens come into play, as well as products that are more textural and artisan looking, a more hand-made look, like our macramé products.
“The 70s vibe is well and truly here for 2020, so lots of floral patterns with mustards and straw yellow tones – look out for our next range in March, it will feature some 70s-inspired brown velvet and corduroy!”
If you love interior design but have ever felt nervous about styling your own home, I completely understand – sometimes I take a while to choose things for my own home and like to play around with mini moodboards or Pinterest boards (like below!) other times I can make a decision in a snap (it gets easier the more you do it!)
And a common piece of feedback I get from House Nerd readers is that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when it comes to choosing things for our own homes. So how can you confidently choose pieces that you’ll really love in your own place?
“I think a room definitely needs to show the owner’s personality,” advises Amy. “Go with a colour palette that feels natural to you, don’t overwhelm yourself with colours you aren’t comfortable with. You don’t have to follow the latest trend, just keep it simple. If navy is what feels natural to you, go with it and pair it with a neutral tone like white or taupe or keep it really tonal, and create interest with different textures and fabrics.
“The other way to do it would be to start with something you already have, something that you love whether that’s a vase, or a cushion or a painting, use it as a starting point and add pieces that match it, but also items that just make you happy.” Maya x
The perils of styling with children about….
WIN! A $500 BAMBURY GIFT VOUCHER
The team at Bambury are really kindly giving me an epic competition prize for one lucky House Nerd, who’ll score a $500 Bambury gift card!
Think of all the gorgeous goodies you could get with this! Would you give your bedroomor guest room a stunning new look? Replace all your old bathroom towels? Refresh your living room with some beautiful new cushions or throws? Get kitted out with colourful new beach towels and beach bags for this scorching summer? Or maybe your kids rooms could do with some fun new cushions and bedsheets? The choice is totally up to you.
There are four ways you can gain entries into the draw:
Visit the Bambury website and leave a comment below telling me which piece you love from their range (1 entry).
Visit the Bambury website and sign up for their email newsletter (worth 5 entries).
If you’re on Facebook, follow both Bambury @BamburyPtyLtd and House Nerd @Housenerd (1 entry). Tag a friend on the Facebook competition post for an additional draw entry. One friend, one additional entry, five friends, five entries and so on.
If you’re on Instagram, follow both Bambury @bambury and House Nerd @housenerd (1 entry). Tag a friend on the Instagam competition post for an additional draw entry. One friend, one additional entry, five friends, five entries and so on.
COMPETITION RULES:
Winner will be drawn Jan 10th, 2019.
There is a complete release of Instagram and Facebook by each entrant.
Promotion in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Instagram or Facebook.
Competition open only to people living in Australia or New Zealand.
Good luck!
The post Make Your Home Beautiful with Bambury (and WIN a $500 Gift Voucher!) appeared first on House Nerd.
from Home Improvement https://house-nerd.com/2019/12/15/bambury-win-a-500-gift-voucher/
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Watch This Wrestling 10 (3/10 – 16)
What a week it's been. So much to talk about, and so many things we can't talk about.
Of course, though, I can say that this was the week I dropped Impact (fka TNA). It took 19 minutes for that show to focus its whole efforts on the Josh Matthews vs JB storyline and for me to tune out.
Also, this was the week where I learned what it's like to watch NJPW's non-English content. Shows with only Japanese commentary are the most engaging, while matches without any commentary and a fixed angle, they can be difficult. For more on NJPW, read my explainer here.
Last little note, who the hell schedules ROH's content? The ROH Wrestling show that landed on 3/13 was completely incongruous with the promotion's 3/10 ppv. Not only did it ignore 15th Anniversary, but it had the Young Bucks holding the tag titles. Which they haven't since March 4th, when they lost them at Manhattan Mayhem.
Below, as usual now, you'll see what I watched for this week's edition and what I'm planning to watch next week. If I'm missing anything that can be accessed without too much trouble, @ me on twitter: henrytcasey.
What I Watched:
ROH 15th Anniversary aka Winner Takes All, 3/10
New Japan Cup (Night 1) 3/11
New Japan Cup (Night 2) 3/12
New Japan Cup (Night 3) 3/13
ROH Wrestling, 3/13
WWE Monday Night Raw, 3/13
New Japan Cup (Night 4) 3/14
WWE SmackDown Live, 3/14
WWE 205 Live, 3/14
WWE Talking Smack Live, 3/14
New Japan Cup (Night 5) 3/15
WWE NXT, 3/15
Impact Wrestling, 3/16 (well, the first 19 minutes)
My Upcoming Watch list:
Southpaw Regional Wrestling, 3/17
New Japan Cup 3/17
wXw 16 Carat Gold (Night 1), 3/17
WCPW: Matt Riddle vs Cody, 3/18
New Japan Cup 3/19
New Japan Cup 3/20
ROH Wrestling, 3/20
WWE Monday Night Raw, 3/20
New Japan Cup 3/20
WWE SmackDown Live, 3/21
WWE 205 Live, 3/21
WWE Talking Smack Live, 3/21
WWE NXT, 3/22
Segment of the Week (Non-WWE):
Christopher Daniels Promo
ROH 15th Anniversary aka Winner Takes All, 3/10
youtube
I went into this late, having known everything that would happen, but damn did Daniels' promo still pump me up. In part, it works so well because it plays upon his history with the company and his lack of reward, blurring that line and creating that raw emotional tension.
Honorable mention:
EVIL's post-match mini-promo from New Japan Cup (Night 1), 3/11.
Match of the Week (Non-WWE, Overall):
Kenny Omega vs Tomohoro Ishii
New Japan Cup (Night 2), 3/12
I don't know what would make a man so foolish as to get into a knife-edge chop fight with Ben Grimm. Maybe Kenny Omega doesn't see Tomohoro Ishii the way I do, which is as New Japan's version of The Thing from The Fantastic Four.
Either way, this match was fantastic, so much so that I'm using it to start noting the overall best match of the week.
From the Terminator claps from the audience to the back and forth spitting on one another, this match made the New Japan Cup feel important.
My notes include the phrase "such lariat" and I'll stand behind that. It's the first no-English commentary match I ever loved and it validated my decision to go deeper down the rabbit hole into the NJPW content.
Available via NJPWworld.com
Honorable mentions:
Katsuyori Shibata vs Minoru Suzuki from New Japan Cup (Night 2), 3/12
Christopher Daniels vs Adam Cole (c) for the ROH World Championship from ROH 15th Anniversary aka Winner Takes All, 3/10
Segment of the Week (WWE):
Who will Mick Foley Fire?
WWE Monday Night Raw, 3/13
I'm not giving a YouTube video for this segment, as I sometimes do. Find it in full, WWE edite too much out of it.
Both the Mick Foley's Impending Firing storyline and Rollins vs. Triple H have been drawn on for so long that it felt like this night would never come. Therefore, seems fitting that WWE rolled the climaxes for the two into one night.
Mick Foley may often get praise for his Angry Old Veteran promos on Raw, but this segment truly allowed the McMahon/Levesque (pronounced "le•vek") duo to shine. This segment told us what we already knew (the Authority branding is dead but Steph and Paul still run this town), and made us feel those feelings.
From the look that Steph gives as Triple H's music hits to Hunter bringing up Foley disappointing his kids and potentially ruining Noelle's budding career as a WWE Superstar, there's a lot of beautiful malice happening here.
So to top it off with two returns, a low blow and a beating, help give the coming weeks some stakes. Good job, Raw.
Honorable mentions:
Bathing Bray, Bryan's Ultimate Face-Punching Extravaganza and AJ confronts Shanefrom WWE SmackDown Live, 3/14
Noam Dar tells Daivari that he needs a win, Drew Gulak is Angry, from WWE 205 Live, 3/14
Match of the Week (WWE):
Kassius Ohno vs Bobby Roode (c) for the NXT Championship
WWE NXT, 3/15
youtube
Sure, I'm awarding this match as a compliment, but I should like this match a whole lot more. Hell the audience in Tampa should have enjoyed this match more. I loved the reversals, and that Ohno elbowed Roode out of the ring, but I need to digress a little about what held this back.
The big problem, of course, is that they didn't get enough time to cook. 14 minutes may sound long for a WWE match on paper, but it's still the first match Hero wrestled as Ohno in this return to NXT. Therefore, parts of the audience had no idea who he was or why they should care. Also, WWE kinda botched Ohno's return, with a bunch of telling and not showing. By leaving the stories of his old feuds on the table, by trying to brush the topic of his weight under an unfortunately tucked-in customized Dream Team jersey, they gave a match so meta that audiences would need to be super aware in order to connect.
Also, I don't buy Ohno or Hero getting fooled into getting his neck hurt by the top rope. Dude's a veteran. Yes, I spent the majority of this bitching, but it wasn't the best week for matches in WWE.
Honorable Mention:
Number One Contender's Match for the Cruiserweight Championship from WWE 205 Live, 3/14
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