@innerutopia - Tumblr Blog

Oh hey you've returned to tumblr! How are things going with you?

I have returned, somewhat! I found myself lurking the tags for some stories that I've recently been enjoying, so I figured I may as well log on to Tumblr since I'm here anyway.

Things have been alright, all things considered! I've gone through plenty of life changes since I last used this blog on a regular basis, and life and the world is a lot, but I'm taking it day by day and that's all you can ever really do.

lady-of-the-spirit

Enemies to "I accidentally came across you while you were vulnerable and scared and I'm not a total asshole so I tried to help you" to "accidental mutual uncovering of softer sides and vulnerabilities" to "I can't be mean to you anymore, not out of pity but because it would feel weird betraying that brief truce we had" to "Fine I'll make an effort to be nice to you now I guess" to "actually now that we're not actively hating each other you're not so bad I guess" to "i think we're friends but I'm not going to say that because I'm afraid you're not gonna feel the same way" to "oh you also think we're friends? Great" to lovers

debrusks

you don’t have to cancel everyone the second they misstep or do something dumb but you also DON’T have to defend everything that your fave does. you can say “hey this particular thing sucked” without getting into this all-or-nothing mentality. you are not an extension of the things you like. you can think freely and criticize the things (and people) that you like, and a criticism of something you like is not something that you should take personally or feel the need to correct/defend.

defilerwyrm

Liam O'Brien is incapable of playing straight characters and honestly that's a mood

cheesethesecond

Here’s something I wanna say real quick, while I’m feeling salty: Amazon has totally contributed to the devaluation of literature. Those prices you see, the $13 they’re asking you to pay for a hardcover book? Those are deep, DEEP discounts that they’re able to implement because they don’t collect sales tax if they can get away with it, they don’t contribute money to the communities where they have a physical presence, they have shitty labor practices, Jeff Bezos has more money than god, etc.

(Read this report from the Institute for Self-Reliance if you really want to get into how they’re hurting the economy.)

They’re so omnipotent at this point that they’ve normalized the discounted prices for books as the standard. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had someone come up to me and tell me what the price on Amazon is, expecting me to match it. The number of times I’ve been told, “Oh, it’s cheaper on Amazon, I’ll just get it there.” Even at author events, where book sales DIRECTLY CONTRIBUTE to whether or not that bookstore will be able to get more authors in.

So when you go into a bookstore, and you’re asked to pay $27 for a hardcover, remember: THAT IS THE COVER PRICE. Set by the publishers. The bookstore is not upcharging you. They are asking you to pay the value of the book. Amazon’s low prices come with a cost. Please, just keep that in mind.

(I made a post with options for buying books online that aren’t Amazon. Check it out!)

allofthefeelings

This is a great post, and I just want to point out: publishers aren’t upcharging you either.

The cost of the book is the advance for the author, it’s the salaries for all the people who work on it (including editors, yes, but also designers and marketers and publicists and lawyers and accountants and everyone else who makes sure publishing works). It’s the cost of printing the books and the materials to print those books on and the warehouses to store those books in. It’s keeping the literal lights on.

No one in the book business, from the author to the publisher to the bookseller, is making themselves rich off your money. This is the cost to survive. Amazon is running at a deficit because they can make up the cost with other things they do, and because once they run everyone else out of business, they’ll be the only game in town and can charge whatever they damn well please.

sanspatronymic

And please, please do not ask a bookstore (especially an indie bookstore) if they “price match.” It’s so insulting.

Amazon routinely sells books at or *below* wholesale cost. Meaning that when you ask a bookstore to ‘price match’ Amazon, you’re literally asking them to give you the book for free, or even take a financial loss on it.

‘So how can Amazon do it?’ you ask? The answer is Amazon does not care about losing money. It sells goods at a loss continuously. (Don’t believe me? Just search “Amazon quarterly losses” and you can find article after article about this) Why? Because its goal isn’t to sell the most things, it’s goal is to be the only place where you CAN buy things. They gouge prices on goods to a point where brick and mortar retailers absolutely cannot compete and they do it with the singular goal of eliminating competition.

Things have value. They represent many people’s time and labor. For books, specifically, they represent tremendous cultural worth that extends far beyond the value of the paper they’re printed on. We have to appreciate the value of goods and be willing to pay a fair price that will support and nurture industries.

It’s ok to be upset that you can’t afford $26 for a new hardcover, but make sure that that anger is directed, not at the people whose labor makes books possible, but at the people on top (like Jeff Bezos) who have devalued your own labor such that you can’t afford it.

the-tin-dog

^^^ if anyone is wondering this is LITERALLY the exact same strategy that Walmart used to destroy any small business and fuck over local economies.

feralkwe-deactivated20210912

Might I suggest Indie Bound for those who still need the option of home delivery?

parakeet

now for the ultimate test. go to this website. set it to randomly generate ONE pokemon. all generations. all types. whatever it generates? thats you as a pokemon forever. what you get is what you get. NO RE ROLLING. now. who are you? i got goomy :^)

#primal groudon alright alright alright

lorn-art

Doriax 💙🧡

absolutely-nothing-to-see-here

I hate funko pops but I love this one

If I had to buy one funko pop in my lifetime, it would be this one. He looks like a good boy.

incorrectchoniberonicaswangs

I need the gay beronica subtext please, it’s for science. The science of entertainment.

datasoong47

agni-ignition

OC/canon and selfships are good y’all are just scared of having fun

agni-ignition

“But it’s cringe” ok what if it is? What’re you gonna do about it? Call the cops? Are you some kind of cringe police? Huh? Suck my nuts. I have 30 bfs and gfs and I’m having fun while you sit in your sad little clown corner getting second-hand embarrassment from looking at people having a blast. Make a self-insert oc and maybe you’ll feel better

picopond

“How cute! That was so sweet, big bro!!” “Shut up, stupid!!”

queenoftheskittleholics

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood + Onion Headlines

evanjinx

having a comfort character is such an insane and amazing thing. like here's this fictional person that you'll never met cause they're not real but you love them and you feel happy just for thinking about them and it's so incredible cause it's like you have a friend that it's always there for you and you know that they will never let you down.

pukicho

Everyone who has heard the term “guerrilla warfare” has also briefly imagined a war made up of gorillas - this is the one connecting thread that every single one of us on this planet share, surpassing race, virtues, culture and more. If you’re ever feeling lonely, know that at one point, all of us thought this very same thought.