dreamsbookblr

[dreamsbookblr]

there should be a sub genre of books that were originally written to comment on the evils of capitalism and how greed and wealth corrupts society as a whole and how those popular books were subsequently made into hollywood movies and were marketed in a way in order to mass produce as much merchandise as possible so the companies behind the movies can make as much money as possible and thus completely erasing the original meaning of that story while also unintentionally proving the point of the original novels themes

[dreamsbookblr]

Still thinking about the Jurassic Park novels and. Like. I talk a lot about the fact that Hammond was spared and Muldoon was killed in the movie. But also, the character who probably got both screwed and spared the hardest is, I think, Dr. Henry Wu.

In the movies, Dr. Wu has basically been reframed as the overarching secondary antagonist of the franchise. An amoral geneticist who will create anything for the right price and is more than happy to sell out to whoever's buying, up until his redemption in Dominion.

In the book, Dr. Wu isn't. Like. Some super-shady ultra-science mercenary. He's just a guy Hammond hired straight out of college, 'cause college kids come cheap. A geneticist who, like the people designing the park's automated systems, wasn't given full disclosure on what he was even creating for a long time.

in an ironic reversal of his argument with Masrani in World, Dr. Wu argued with Hammond about the extent to which they should engineer the dinosaurs. Wu wanted to genetically engineer their animals to be slower and more docile in order to mitigate the risk of harm, but Hammond insisted on realistic, lifelike dinosaurs - or as close as they could engineer them to be.

Masrani didn't want reality, he wanted more teeth. In the novel, Hammond wanted reality and Wu wanted less teeth.

But Dr. Wu would not return for a trilogy of sequels to Jurassic Park because he was ripped apart by a velociraptor and left dead on Isla Nublar.

The movies allowed him to survive... only to villainize him.

[dreamsbookblr]

My favorite detail about Jurassic Park is that it has a baked-in justification for any and all retcons it might need to make due to paleontology advancing forwards.

Because there is not a single dinosaur that has ever appeared in Jurassic Park.

Not one. Not in the books. Not in the movies. Not ever.

"Now what John Hammond and InGen did at Jurassic Park was to create genetically engineered theme park monsters." ~Alan Grant

Grant says that in a moment of cynicism. It's part of his arc for the film. But it's not inaccurate. What Jurassic Park has, what it's always had since the very first novel, are "Mostly Dinosaurs".

"And since the DNA is so old, it's full of holes! Now, that's where our geneticists take over!" ~Mr. DNA

It's impossible to recover a fully intact gene sequence from an ancient amber mosquito. Cloning a pure dinosaur would have been completely impossible, and so the park filled in the gene sequence with whatever works. Frog. Lizard. Bird. Whatever they need to get the result they are trying to get.

Every single dinosaur is a chimeric beast made up of mostly dinosaur and a bunch of other stuff that some scientists thought would achieve the appropriate dinosaur-like result.

"Nothing in Jurassic World is natural! We have always filled gaps in the genome with the DNA of other animals. And if the genetic code was pure, many of them would look quite different." ~Dr. Henry Wu

Which, from a writing perspective, is fucking genius. Because now you have a preset excuse for each and every plot hole your movie has.

Like. Why don't the raptors have feathers? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why do dilophosaurs spit venom? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why do T-Rexes have movement based vision? Oh, they don't. But Rexy does. Because of her chimera DNA.

Why is the Spinosaurus so fucking big? Because of the chimera DNA.

Why are the velociraptors mislabeled? Because Hammond's a dipshit.

Like. I've always marveled at the way Jurassic Park started out by giving itself a blanket excuse to be wrong about every single thing it ever said about the central attraction of its franchise. It's honestly beautiful, and allows the series a degree of immortality well into the era where we know better about its animals.

[dreamsbookblr]

God I wish M.L. Rio's Graveyard Shift would be longer! Love how Rio writes characters, and fungi based horror is just so gooooddd

[dreamsbookblr]

George Orwell's Animal Farm Cover Art

All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.

[dreamsbookblr]

Writing Worksheets & Templates

will update this every few weeks/months. alternatively, here are all my tagged Writing Worksheets & Templates

Chapter Outline ⚜ Character- or Plot-Driven Story

Death & Sacrifice ⚜ Magic & Rituals ⚜ Plot-Planning

Editing: Sentence Check ⚜ Writing Your Novel: 20 Questions

Tension ⚜ Thought Distortions ⚜ What's at Stake

Character Development

50 Questions ⚜ Backstory ⚜ Character Creation

Antagonist; Villain; Fighting ⚜ Protagonist & Antagonist

Character: Change; Adding Action; Conflict

Character: Creator; Name; Quirks; Flaws; Motivation

Character Profile (by Rick Riordan) ⚜ Character Sheet Template

Character Sketch & Bible ⚜ Interview your Character

Story-Worthy Hero ⚜ "Well-Rounded" Character Worksheet

Worldbuilding

20 Questions ⚜ Decisions & Categories ⚜ Worksheet

Setting ⚜ Dystopian World ⚜ Magic System (AALC Method)

Templates: Geography; World History; City; Fictional Plant

Writing References: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character

all posts are queued. send questions/requests here.

[dreamsbookblr]

kicking a hornets nest.

[dreamsbookblr]

Iron Flame spoiler!!!

1. Imogen and Violet being snarky friends is the best

2. They just fucking killed Nadine like that what the hell😭

[dreamsbookblr]

Catelyn chapters are like if reading was scraping a cheese grater across your eyes she’s so…like I get her when she gets irritated at Ned for (currently thinking) Jon is a child of an affair but beyond that she’s literally so fucking snotty about everything and is very self centering

[dreamsbookblr]

I’m not even halfway through the first Inheritance Games book and I already want to slap the crap out of Grayson

[dreamsbookblr]

Tairn and Andarna

Art by @unitydust on Instagram

[dreamsbookblr]

I had 80 pages left in Yellowface but it returned on Libby on US time and I’m in Hungary I’m *screams* it was becoming a 5 star too

[dreamsbookblr]

If Max Hastings has no haters I’m dead

[dreamsbookblr]

I think the most radical thing the hunger games does is tell young people that the most revolutionary thing you can do is have unconditional love for humanity. Katniss throughout the entire series is guided by a deep sense of compassion for the people around her. It is what causes her to volunteer, to bury rue, to mercy kill cato, its why she tries to save peeta, why finnick telling her to remember who the real enemy is works, and even though her compassion for the larger world falters when peeta is kidnapped, it comes back when she visits hospitals and asks for mercy for other victors and ultimately, it is love and belief in a better humanity that makes her kill coin. Through it all, she maintains an unfaltering belief in the fundemental goodness of humanity, which is diametrically opposed to dr gaul's and snow's worldview. Peeta is even more unwaveringly compassionate

So the series tells young people that the most revolutionary thing you can be is compassionate. Let compassion drive your politics. Let yourself believe in the fundemental goodness of people. And i think that's deeply important in a world that touts the superiority of pure reason or logic, to allow yourself to be guided by something as emotional as compassion. Katniss everdeen tells us that your politics should be rooted in compassion in a world that thinks detatchment or cynicism is intelligence and i think thats v cool

[dreamsbookblr]

I don’t think people understand how true How To Sell A Haunted House is in the sense that Grady Hendrix didn’t make up anything when it comes to the Charleston setting or facts…like the Stuhr’s funeral home is real, the streets where Louise’s parents had their car accident are real and do intersect, Wando (the high school Louise went to) is real and I knew people who went there! Piggly Wiggly had AMAZING Mrs. Mac’s friend chicken that people still mourn! Being a Charleston native while reading this is completely wild.

[dreamsbookblr]

My Good Girl, Bad Blood hold just got available on Libby I’m so excited!!!!!

[dreamsbookblr]

NEW HUNGER GAMES BOOK FOR HAYMITCH’S GAMES ANNOUNCED I’M GOING TO BE ILL