#and i love books that make me curious

[uma-lesbica-com-biscoitos]

Thoughts on political labels

I am currently reading Espionnes (Spies) by Marie Laure Buisson. It is, I think, the best book I have read this year. After reading some stories of these female spies, from North Korea (Kim Huyn-Hee), to the USSR (Sonya Burton) and Israel (Sylvia Rafael), I come to the conclusion that a political label sometimes (not all the time) defines well more who we want to rally to our cause than the ideas in themselves. The first story is about Sonya, Stalin's closest spy, a German Jew who was threatened by Hitler and a devout communist. Stalin was able to have this spy on her side because she was a convinced communist. He was the author of one of the greatest human massacres. We could say that his ideology is not communist and yet, under this political label, he organized the massacres. Sonya, her spy, admitted that she was disappointed that the communism in which she believed so strongly is full of vices. She didn't think that Stalin could be this monster because he was a communist. Stalin needed spies that were not going to turn their back on him... And what is better than the communist label to rally the spies who could be killed by Hitler for being jews?

[tangramkey]

i love my Basketbot Portal AU

[yunmeng-jiang]

every day i wish there had been a better solution for the qin su marriage problem.

in my fix-it fics i either have some other sect leader claim that he was actually madly in love with her this whole time and sweep her away for jgy's sake, have her mom confess earlier, make jgy decide to tell her for her own good and have them work together, or not give them a chance to meet and fall in love in the first place (i guess i could also make qin su have a miscarriage, but that's really sad and awful and not my preferred option at all), but all of those require tweaks to the circumstances, sometimes early on so they don't meet or jgy feels safe enough to talk with her or another confidant, or sometimes later like madam qin finding out they're pregnant before the marriage prep is too far along and telling one or both of them right away so they can make other arrangements.

with the situation being what it was, jgy didn't find out soon enough to do anything that wouldn't involve either marrying her anyway (and he didn't think telling her about it would do anything except make her upset and depressed) or leaving her essentially a ruined woman with no prospects and an illegitimate child who would inevitably grow up fatherless, which is pretty much exactly what his dad did to meng shi. this would be a crueler option than pretty much anything else, and given that he clearly still cares about her, he couldn't do that in good conscience. jgy tries his best to protect the people he loves, unless there is literally no other way for him to survive.

it's one more example of jgy being faced with a situation where the only choices are bad ones, and making the decision that he thinks will hurt the fewest number of people. metatextually, it's one more example of women in fiction being shoved aside and not given agency in their own lives, and getting killed off instead of surviving and growing as people like the male characters are allowed to do. it's just a tragic situation all around and i wish there had been something they could have done.

[englishlotusflower]

Elrond would have been the bestest grandpa ever and the fact that he never got the opportunity to be so is a Crime.

[huginsmemory]

Even with TBOB and thisisnotawebsite.com there's... Still so much we don't know about Bill. Like ok yeah he's given a tragic background, we know a bit more about his henchmaniacs, but we really don't know a lot. Like, what happened directly after he accidentally destroyed his dimension? It isn't said. Sure time baby KNOWS about Bill's destruction of his dimension, but it seems like he didn't show up after Bill's dimension was destroyed to apprehend him because he only knows about Bill after Bill tries to make a deal with him, causing Bill's wanted poster. And how did Bill become basically the overlord of the nightmare realm, and gather all his henchmaniacs? Like there's a good period where we just don't know. And it's implied he's shocked and horrified (likely even dissociates, since he does that) after he destroys his dimension. But his characterization doesn't seem by that point to be one that immediately goes into a self-destructive, violent god-becoming maniacal spiral of self hatred; it's more one to be overwhelmed with grief and spend a good long time in the midst of his grief, then necessarily he's about to DO anything. And generally speaking trope wise, there's steps missing; typically in this sort of scenario, the usual progression is this:

characterized as monster due to being different in some way

tries to prove their not

ends up hurting someone anyways

gets further villainized, and antagonized by others

Acceptance of being a monster, and goes okay? You wanted a monster? I'll be a monster.

Now this fits Bill's early life, up to number 4, but we don't know what happens immediately after. It's possible he just went into his spiral immediately after, but it feels wrong, because it is missing the part of someone further villainizing him beyond himself which causes him to lash out due to the expectation (and internalized) idea that he would cause harm. I'd assume maybe some kind of interdimensional authority showed up and accused him of purposely trying to kill his dimension, which triggered his "okay, then I'll be a monster", or even a situation where his 'monstrosity' through the badge of killing his dimension is garners him respect. Considering that his henchmaniacs are chosen out of monstrosity and violence as a badge of honor, it feels very much like this would make sense, except none of them really know about Bill's dimension. He doesn't brag about the violence of it; he only calls it a liberation, contrary to the idea that Bill ever used it to gain clout. Instead, it's more likely that an interdimensional authority showed up and accused Bill, except from circumstances, it doesn't seem like it was Time Baby, so not sure who it would be... but at the same time, that expectation is often required for the character to truly embrace their 'monstrosity' and become truly violent. Or perhaps it was delayed after the destruction of his dimension, later when he begins to run with his henchmaniacs and disregards the law, but that also doesn't feel satisfactory for character development. Or perhaps I'm just overthinking this trope...

Also, how did he have his powers? Some is clearly stuff he's always had; pyrokinesis from that one rhyme, the ability to see into 3d, and he was somehow able to destroy his dimension by whatever he did to let Euclydians see the stars (telekinesis?), but beyond that? Was he always all-seeing? How did he become a 'dream demon'? Are his deals actually binding or does he lie? Are these things that he acquired later, because Euclydians seem to be written about as if they usually don't have any of these abilities, nor the abilities Bill is known to have when young, nor did Bill seem to be able to be all seeing when he was younger. Plus, how was Bill able to survive the destruction of his dimension, if he's technically made of the same stuff as everyone else, who all seems to have a physical form? Why then does he seems to be characterized as a being made of pure energy and thought; is that just in Earth's dimension, or does he have a physical form within the nightmare realm? There's multiple things that are contradictory about his body (mouth-eye, yet talked about removing his exoskeleton to feed--not sure exactly when this was mentioned--plus his mouth located under his bricks and bowtie in his exoskeleton in journal 3). But he seems so thrilled by his physical form though on earth, and we know that physical forms exist within the Nightmare realm as Ford was in it... yet it seems like hes characterized to have no physical form, so did he perhaps lose his physical form when his dimension died? Did he technically die with them too, but with his powers was able to survive essentially as a ghost like he tells Dipper you become without a body?

[jeanmoreaue]

Do you think jerejean will be endgame? I feel like out of everyone Jeremy is the best fit for Jean

o ya 100% i think Jeremy and Jean are the best fit for each other. they’ve got chemistry, they’ve got shared goals, just symbolically i think they’re good for each other, and i love the dynamic it adds to each of their characters ie Jean liking people who are optimistic/bright and sunny (Renee, Jeremy) and Jean being able to read Jeremy really well/be attuned to whatever he’s repressing lol (I’m just assuming that’s where their dynamic is headed since Jean already has been so perceptive about Jeremy’s feelings)

for Kevin and Jean, i think that Kevin definitely doesn’t feel the same way that Jean did (i think Jean’s kind of moved on a bit), but even if Kevin did like Jean back i don’t think it would be the healthiest option for either of them. personally i just absolutely love the dynamic of Kevin and Jean’s current relationship, how it seems imbalanced with Jean liking Kevin and only having Kevin to rely on, but Kevin not quite as invested (but obv still caring for Jean)

and Jean and Renee just don’t see each other enough, i think it’s been set up narratively that they’re just friends now

[r3dblccd]

I can't wait to use my new bullet journal 🥰

Bonus: My first bullet journal that I've been using for this a d last year. I named it CHONKY (ignore the bottom left sticker, a friend gave it to me. Probably for a reason but ain't gonna talk about that fjgfjffif)

[suntails]

the book is done :D setting up a shop for it next week but i’ll start posting/open preorders in september!!

[welcometogrouchland]

Finally saw Wicked today. I fear it is, in fact, actually all that and a bag of chips. Like it is genuinely that good

[infinitelyweary]

Has anyone endlessly dissected Armand's subtle Marius shade yet

[atopvisenyashill]

i almost put cassandra clare on that rec list i’d like everyone to applaud my restraint

[cruesuffix]

What if alien! Mick took a vacation to the jungle? How would he react

you guys actually have me dying rn LMAOOO do you think he’s lara croft or something omg!!! i have no clue in what universe would the alien cosplaying a normal human being living in California (la to be exact) would be able to find a jungle to go explore like he’s christopher columbus come to find america but uhhhh…even regular irl mick ain’t stepping foot in no jungle! in the very small what if scenario, i think that shit would scare the fuck out of him and the moment he senses something’s up, he speed walking the FUCK outta there!

[oozeandgoo-art]

had an odd dream that i was reading a comic book. sketched a couple of the pages i could remember.

[docholligay]

I love looking over someone's blog and trying to figure out if they're an earnest person who can be talked to and is actually curious or someone who is like, 19 and right about everything. (i also was never incorrect at 19, it's just the time)

Anyway, if you want to read a very very good book about the actual history of the hamburger, I really recommend Josh Ozersky's Hamburger: A History. He does have his little annoying tics, but his history is good--the man was a history doctorate and a food writer--and I think it would provide some clarity on the question.

In short, Germany invented the hamburger in the way India invented tikka masala.

[shiroselia]

I love whenever somebody notices that I'm on volume/chapter/book/whatever 1 (or at least early in) of something and assume I haven't spent the past multiple months at least spoiling myself on the IP to even figure out if I wanna read it or not

Like I apprecaite your consideration but buddy, I know as much as you if not More

[autisticcole]

Heheheheheho I have gotten some of the Dragon Age books (🏴‍☠️) and this is gonna really let me dig into some stuff, especially my favorite guy Cole, cause now I can read his OG appearance, I want to see how much stuff Cole says, especially during his quest actually makes sense, and how much is in-universe "both sides are right"ing about not listening to what Cole wants to do.

I am mainly talking about Spirit!Cole thanking Inky for not making him change... Despite the fact that thoughout Cole's quest Solas ignores what Cole wants (Like being binded) & wants to do (Kill the guy who beat beyond beating a 12 (at most) year old (most likely, it isn't outright stated (to my memory) the Templar who fucked up the paperwork was also one of the ones who physically abused him, but I feel it's a pretty safe assumption) & got that child killed due to neglect & faced no consequences) but ultimately the choice that causes Cole to thank the player for not changing him is the one where you listen to Solas over Cole (Or well Varric, who also doesn't let Cole do what he wants but is closer to what Cole would have done if he had went alone for the confrontation) & in this route I would say Cole's character changes a lot more, especially as he forgets the original Cole, which... Rubs me wrong, but I'll save my more detailed thoughts for 1. After I fully read Asunder & 2. Either a full Cole analysis or a detailed post about my thoughts on his quest & routes (& maybe how I'd rewrite them, as a Autistic person & a ally to the aroace community)

Anyways my point is that I want to see how true it is characters rejected or wanted to change Cole, I want to see what leads him to feel that having two men argue & tell him who he is supposed to be & do only to have a third person decide out of those two's options for what he should do is remotely a situation where he's been accepted.