#but no they're just confidently wrong.....

[queervegancryptid]

Seriously, academics and the like are flawed like the rest of us, so use critical thinking skills even when you're talking to an "expert" (obligatory disclaimer half because this is the internet and half because I majored in philosophy and am wont to quarrel about what exactly counts as an "expert" because my brain is wrong)

BUT

I promise that, in general, they will be very happy to talk about their work. Academics in particular, a lot of them I've known, don't get to pursue exactly what they want all the time. So when you engage with them on topics they actually have a background in, they sometimes forget how to act and infodump with the enthusiasm of your autistic friend who lights up talking about their special interests. All the ivory tower pretentious bullshit you sometimes have to cake onto yourself in that world, it can just crumble to dust with the force of their excitement about actually getting to talk about things that interest them rather than having to publish for publishing's sake or having to teach a course because someone in the department has to and it's their turn. (Seriously, I don't know if this is common knowledge, but that's actually how some departments run things: I taught the intro course last year, so it's so-and-so's turn next. See, for example, the dude who taught my intro to astronomy course. Lecture was a snoozefest. The planetarium and outdoor work? He was a different man. The final grades for the class had like a 40 point curve. It was kind of a mess. But it was cool when he actually wanted to be there.)

I used to say that was my favorite part of academia, but then I realized it's the main thing about that world that drew me in: I wanted a place where I would be expected and encouraged to explore in ways I wasn't allowed (or wasn't able, not having the resources and living in a small town) to do when I was a kid. It didn't work out the way I wanted it to, but that's a story for another post.

It's why I love libraries. There's a "bookmine" near me (I don't want to doxx myself naming it but DM me if you want and I'll elaborate) that I would fucking adore to roam for days and days. Or just nights. You know, sneak in and hide in this massive building full of books, wait for them to close and go home for the evening, and just go to town exploring various subjects. Also my partner would be there so we could gab to each other about our discoveries. I feel like a lot of people, academic types especially but not exclusively, can relate to this yearning to explore and share.

Don't feel like the only people worth talking to are folks with advanced degrees or prestigious titles, though. Academics can be easy to find relative to other kinds of experts, but good information can come from anybody. Not just somebody with an email address ending in edu. At the same time, beware of influencers and whatnot, obviously. Good information can come from anywhere, and the same is true of bad information. Someone saying things with a lot of confidence isn't necessarily telling you the truth and doesn't necessarily know what they're talking about.

Anyway. Send the email. I promise you're not bothering them by asking about the thing they literally got at least one advanced degree learning about on purpose (in the case of academics, but like I said, this can apply more broadly than that; read the room and shoot your shot, or whatever the kids are saying nowadays). I have a lot more to say about this and may even make a post to help people find experts in a given field of study and how to use responsible critical thinking skills and research methods more generally, especially if anybody expresses an interest in any of that. But I've babbled enough on somebody else's post lol I apologize and also it will happen again

Signed - your local autistic philosopher weirdo who just really really likes information and libraries and finding and exploring cool stuff and can't shut up about it sometimes

[munsonsmixtapes]

wearing a matching set for eddie smut?

cw: MDNI (18+) smut (p in v) body insecurity, body worship, nipple play

There's not really a reason why you bought the lingerie set. It was pretty when you tried it on and it just so happened to that pretty red that Eddie loved to see you in. You wanted to surprise him with it, putting it on top of the t-shirts he stored in the bottom drawer of the dresser you shared.

You're washing dishes when Eddie comes home from work, trying your best to act normal as he presses a kiss to the crown of your head, murmuring a "hey, baby" as he passes by you to head to your shared room to change into some more comfy clothes.

You’re buzzing with excitement as you slowly follow him into the bedroom, leaning against the door frame as you watch him make the discovery, pulling the bright red, thin panties out of the drawer, whistling as he takes a look at them.

"Shit, baby, what are these?" He asks, as he turns towards you. "I'm assuming they're not for me, because," he holds them up to his body and they don't look quite right on him.

"They're for you," you tell him, your cheeks getting warm. "I mean, they're for me to wear for you." You enter the room and stand in front of him, reaching into the drawer to pull out the matching bra.

Eddie's never seen this side of you, but he has to admit that he finds it really hot. Sure, you've worn lingerie for him before, but you've never bought any to specifically wear for him. And that makes him feel special. It makes him feel…hot.

"And what did I do to deserve such special treatment?" He asks, fanning his face dramatically.

"Nothing," you shake your head. "It's for you being you." You press a kiss to his nose then take the underwear from him. "I'm gonna slip into these and you just sit there and look pretty, okay?"

You head into the bathroom and close the door, taking a deep breath as you gingerly take off your clothes, changing into the lingerie, suddenly not feeling as confident as you did in the store earlier.

The cups of the bra seem to be smaller than you remember, more transparent, your tits on full display through the sheer fabric. And the panties are more tight, hugging you in all the wrong places. The whole thing looks ill fitting and now you’re unsure of whether you should change or not.

You stare at your reflection as you fix one of the straps that’s fallen off your shoulder. You almost don’t want to go out there, the idea suddenly feeling stupid to you. But Eddie is waiting and you don’t want to disappoint him.

You slowly exit the bathroom, covering yourself up as much as you can with your hands and arms, but eventually give up, showing yourself to Eddie as he leans back where he’s sitting on the bed, another wolf whistles passing through his lips.

“Baby, you look fucking amazing.” He’s grinning ear to ear and you almost believe him. Almost. He’d never lie to you so you don’t know why you don’t believe him.

“Do I?” You ask genuinely and Eddie’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. He doesn’t know why you’re asking. He always thinks you look amazing and is very quick to tell you so.

“Of course you do. Can’t stop looking at you. Hey, what’s wrong?” He notices your frown and rests his hands on his shoulder, his head moving in the direction of yours, trying to get you to look him in the eye.

“Nothing, Eds. Don’t worry about it.” You shake your head before turning it to the side so he can’t see how ashamed you feel.

“Do you not like it? Are you uncomfortable? You don’t have to do this for me. You can change back if that’s what you want. I love you no matter what you wear. You know that.” He wants to know what’s wrong so he can fix it. He hates when you feel anything but happy and wants to do whatever he can to make you feel better.

“Is it too small?”

“Small? No, baby, you look perfect.” His hand moved to one of the cups of your bra, his fingers brushing over the lace. “This, this is nice, but I think I like what’s underneath it even better.”

Eddie pushes the strap off of your shoulder then presses a featherlight kiss to it. He backs you up to the bed as his kisses get hotter and rougher, his lips sucking on your skin as your back collides with the bed.

“Once I’m done with you, you’ll know just how pretty I think you are. Especially when you see all of marks I’m about to leave on you when you look in the mirror.”

Your cheeks flush at his comment and he’s quick to get off of you, rushing to the other side of the room and grabbing something before hurrying back to you.

He straddles your waist and brings a camera up his face, making sure that you’re in the center of the frame.

“Need a photo of my pretty girl so pose for me.”

You do as he says, positioning yourself in a way that you think looks sexy, a pose that you’ve seen in the magazines he reads.

“That’s it,” he says then snaps a photo, the thing printing out of the camera. You take it and set it on the bedside table along with the camera before Eddie lies down on top of you once again.

He leans down and brings your nipple to his mouth, sucking on it through the fabric. You let out a whine and he takes that as an invitation to continue. His hands find yours and he pins them above you as he dives in for more, licking and sucking on the fabric as you moan underneath him, the sounds nothing but hot.

Eddie moves his hands underneath you and unhooks your bra, your tits coming into view and he feels his mouth watering as he stares down at your exposed chest and all of the things he wants to do to it. You’re right there on display for him like an all-you-can-eat buffet and fuck is he hungry.

He goes for your nipple, taking the whole thing into his mouth, flicking it back and forth as he sucks on it, wanting to get a full taste of it. He slides his hands underneath you, holding onto your bare back as he works, trying to giving himself more room, wanting to have his mouth on as much of you as he can.

You’re moaning and whining and he makes sure to press his rock hard cock against you so that you know just how hard you’re making him. That you know that he’s getting just as much enjoyment out of this as you are.

“Fuck,” you whine as he bites down on your nipple, arching into him as he bites down even harder, wanting you to moan as loud as possible so all of your neighbors know exactly how good he makes you feel.

You’re already reaching your orgasm and even though you’re embarrassed by it, Eddie is quick to let you know how good of a girl he thinks you are, how you’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to.

“Oh,” you moan loudly as you grab onto him, your nails digging into the back of his shirt. “Oh my god, Eddie.”

“That’s it,” he encourages as he helps you ride out your high. “That’s my girl. Sound so pretty when you moan my name.”

As you’re coming down, he moves lower, loving on every inch of skin he can get his mouth on, nipping and sucking on the parts of you he loves the most, stopping once he gets to your cunt. He spreads your legs wide and you look ready for him, already sopping wet through your panties.

Eddie gets undressed and puts on the first condom he can find before lowering himself onto you once again as he slides into you, pumping in and out slowly, knowing that this is exactly what you need. You want him to make love to you, not fuck you like he always does. You want him to show you just how much he loves you with his body.

“Wish you could see how pretty you are,” he says as he presses a kiss to your lips. “Because if you could see what I see, baby, fuck,” he sighs as he picks up the pace just slightly, his fingers interlocking with yours as his face is buried in your neck, pressing soft kisses to the skin.

“Can we do this more often?” You ask even though you’re kind of afraid to.

“What? Go slow?”

“Yes.” Your face flushes as you’re confession but Eddie just looks as you lovingly.

“Baby, you can have anything you want. All you gotta do is ask.”

“So we can do this all night as long as I ask?” Eddie pulls back to look at you as if you had just asked a silly question, and you suppose that you did.

“No question,” he shakes his head. “Now lie back darlin’, gonna show you just what I think of that pretty little thing you were wearing.”

And you do that the rest of the night and into the early morning, and afterwards, Eddie takes that Polaroid from the bedside table and puts it in his wallet so he can look at it anytime he wants. And after he does so, he pulls you into his arms and cuddles you until the two of you fall into a much needed sleep.

[fellow-fandom-fruitifier]

AU where Edwin knows he's gay from the start would be fire me thinks.

Imagine if he thinks he deserved Hell but still wants to escape and feel so wrong and selfish for it. So he never tells Charles what actually happened between 1916-1989, Charles only knows whatever happened was very bad no good. Edwin would be horribly, painfully aware that he was falling for Charles. But that's wrong, isn't it? Boys can't like boys.

So he tries so hard to ignore it, tamp it down. He can't let Charles know. If he knows then he'll know why he's avoiding the afterlife, that he deserves to go to Hell.

Charles knows Edwin is scared of Death and the afterlife, he assumes that something happened from 1916-1989 that convinced Edwin he was damned but there's just no damn way someone as good as Edwin deserves Hell. But, selfishly, he never tries to convince Edwin to go. To leave for his beautiful afterlife.

Then Port Townsend happens.

Crystal is no idiot, she can tell Edwin's jealous from the start. She can tell Charles thinks it's because they're best friends, she can tell it's because Edwin's in love. That doesn't stop her though, she deserves one good thing after everything, doesn't she?

(I think Cat King would go very similar to canon, but it's less of "I'm not gay" and more of "I know what I am but these urges aren't okay".)

Niko loves love, she can tell Edwin loves Charles. She can tell Edwin doesn't know it's okay. Niko helps him through it, becomes his confidant, the first person he confesses everything to. I think they would have a huge conversation that ends in them both crying -- Edwin bemoaning his unrequited love, Niko mourning for him -- and cuddled up watching Scooby-Doo. (The sprites get teary eyed too but still mock them, Niko calls them out and they deny it. "It's dusty as shit in this old ass glass!" "Yeah, we're getting fucking pick eye in here!" "When's the last time you even washed this shit-ass jar?")

It all comes to a head with the Night Nurse. We all know her spiel, "I'm taking Edwin back to Hell and Charles to get processed." But Charles doesn't know Edwin's been processed. Charles doesn't know Edwin's assigned to Hell.

Niko is empathetic, not forcing Edwin to explain but not once thinking he did anything to deserve it. Crystal is up in arms, demanding to know what he did to deserve Hell, demanding to know why he hid it from Charles. Charles is confused, conflicted. Edwin's his best mate! There's no way he deserves Hell! But... but why didn't he tell Charles? Edwin is overwhelmed and panicked and no, no, no! Charles was never supposed to know!

Now, listen. Niko isn't one for confrontation, she doesn't like to fight. But hearing Crystal rip into an unresponsive Edwin while Charles lingers unsure on the back has her heart breaking, has her head hurting. So she steps in, shouts at them to stop, that they'll talk tomorrow when they've cooled off. And drags Edwin off to her room for the night. She doesn't demand answers and he doesn't give them.

The next day, everyone's off. The tension is high and only building. Crystal keeps sending Edwin pointed comments and Edwin is actively ignoring her existence. Charles is conflicted, caught between Crystal and Edwin; taking both their sides without taking either. And Niko doesn't know how to soothe any of it, so she sticks close to Edwin.

Eventually the four are leaving the graveyard, Crystal and Charles arguing when she rounds on Edwin. "And you! Don't think I forgot about you!" Niko tries to step in and stop it like she did last time but Edwin's tired, he's had enough, he breaks. "I was sacrificed! I was sacrificed and spent seventy-three gruelling years fighting to escape! There, happy? Might we please move on now?"

He storms past them all and for the first time since this dispute started, Niko is angry. She tells Crystal that wasn't okay, that it was cruel. And takes off after Edwin, leaving Charles and Crystal standing uselessly.

"I didn't know..." Neither remember who said that.

[inkskinned]

love when men cry about body hair bc "it's hygiene" and yet 15% of cis men leave the bathroom without washing their hands at all and an additional 35% only just wet their hands without using soap. that is nearly half of all men. that means statistically you have probably shaken hands with or been in direct contact with one of these people.

love when men say that women "only want money" when it turns out that even in equal-earning homes, women are actually adding caregiver burdens and housework from previous years, whereas men have been expanding leisure time and hobbies. in equal-earning households, men spend an average of 3.5 hours extra in leisure time per week, which is 182 hours per year - a little over a week of paid vacation time that the other partner does not receive. kinda sounds like he wants her money.

love that men have decided women are frail and weak and annoying when we scream in surprise but it turns out it's actually women who are more reliable in an emergency because men need to be convinced to actually take action and respond to the threat. like, actually, for-real: men experience such a strong sense of pride about their pre-supposed abilities that it gets them and their families killed. they are so used to dismissing women that it literally kills them.

love it. told my father this and he said there's lies, damned lies, and statistics. a year ago i tried to get him to evacuate the house during a flash flood. he ignored me and got injured. he has told me, laughing, that he never washes his hands. he has said in the last week that women are just happier when we're cooking or cleaning.

maybe i'm overly nostalgic. but it didn't used to feel so fucking bleak. it used to feel like at least a little shameful to consider women to be sheep. it just feels like the earth is round and we are still having conversations about it being flat - except these conversations are about the most obvious forms of patriarchy. like, we know about this stuff. we've known since well before the 50's.

recently andrew tate tried to justify cheating on his partner as being the "male prerogative." i don't know what the prerogative for the rest of us would be. just sitting at home, watching the slow erosion of our humanity.

[snowthornes]

Hello hello !! This is Aspen. As one of the people who came upon the post that is the center of the current conflict, I thought I'd come forward.

I was scrolling through my FYP when I came across this post. I read through it out of curiosity, but this particular part made me stop in my tracks.

— from @childrenofcain-if, this post.

You see, this part has strong similarities to a book I'd read only a few months ago and loved dearly.

— The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle Book #1)

It has such similar beats. Character A accusing Character B of being condescending, or trying to make them feel stupid. Character B lashing out and saying practically the exact same lines, just a little remixed, in response. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but I didn't want to just ignore it, either.

Even more concerning, there was no mention of the Raven Cycle anywhere at all. There was no attempt to credit the source this snippet had so clearly been 'inspired' by. (and that's another argument that i won't get into for now, because the lines between inspiration and straight up copying can blur real fast.)

I don't hold nearly enough knowledge about the incidents that happened in the past to truly comment on it, but I've heard concerning things regarding @/childrenofcain-if and plagiarism. The PJO if I've aside, actual people have voiced actual concerns about the 'what lovely bones' and 'IT'. That compounded with this latest thing only serves to make things more suspicious.

And @/childrenofcain-if's responses don't serve to inspire confidence.

It took him several reblogs to come right out and admit that that certain snippet was taken from The Raven Boys. Why didn't he come right out and say so in the first place? Why didn't he credit them if he was aware that he was taking that quote? Immediately going up in arms and trying to make someone look bad for accusing you of plagiarism when they hold actual pieces of evidence — instead of logically explaining why such a thing occurred and your reasonings behind them — is far from the powerful clapback you may wish to present.

Plagiarism is plagiarism and the way you, author, handled this does not inspire confidence at all. Perhaps that was a snippet that wasn't in the official game at all, but are people really wrong for thinking that you would plagiarize in the official game as well? The snippets we write outside of the game are still supposed to be our works, aren't they? They're something we're supposed to take pride in. Whether those snippets were 'official' or not, they were still written by you, and you represent the face of your official game.

When you plagiarize, no matter if it was official or not, people will notice.

And attacking those same people for having the gall to point them out won't fool anyone with working critical thinking skills.

Ciao, Axel! I've been following this project for a while now and really like your work. I just wanted to drop in here and tell you that the recent surge in hate asks may be from group chats and discord servers where people are very hateful towards interactive fiction authors.

I'm not in them personally but my friend is and she told me that's probably where a lot of the asks come from. There's you, Amy, Morgan, 13Leagues, and a lot of other authors that they do this to almost on a weekly basis. My friend has since left the server because it was getting more about hating on these authors than discussing interactive fiction.

I can share some username with you in PM if you need them, my friend was a lurker and got as much of the information as she could before leaving.

i’m so confused by this, ngl.

so they don’t like me or these authors, like concerningly so, but they still take the time out of their day to check our blogs on a regular basis, read everything we write, type up hate comments for us to read and enjoy? something is not clicking here cause why do they sound like obsessed exes?

i appreciate the heads up, dear bonnie, but i don’t need the usernames. their actions are already so pathetic that it gave me a good laugh lmao.

[chirpsythismorning]

Thinking about the what if El was never interested in Mike romantically, she just assumed she was discourse on the tag today and how it's very possible what could make El fully realize this, is when in s5 she see's Will's love for Mike in real time, for the first time, and she's just like damn! That is not me!

[cheeryembers]

I'll never get tired of drawing him.

[mickey-milkovichs]

probably a very hot take but i think an issue gallavich runs into with communication over time (one of many) is that ian is the most sure of their relationship seasons 10 and 11 especially post marriage and mickey was the most sure of their relationship end of season 4/beginning of season 5

[mycartoonmonster]

Like Ive stated before in this post; Bill shares one or two things with the zodiac members but if we're talking about the Pines;

Bill is detached from reality, prioritizes his fun and desires over other people's as well as rejecting that life doesn't always goes his way not unlike how Mabel would be without her family and friends and past relationship since she can accept she's wrong and decides to self improve whereas Bill doesn't, he wants things to be his way and refuses to improve

Bill's confidence in his smarts, attention to detail and knowledge does make him pridefull and arrogant with no one to call him out for it, he can be over-zealous and constantly demands to be taken seriously due to how he was treated back home but he's self centered and ruthless on the pursuit of his goals and he's not above breaking the law to have fun but to negative uncontrolling extremes like Dipper would be without his family.

Bill's mutation made him a social pariah which started his delusion that he was special hence he's arrogant and feels entitled to respect to lessen or soften the hurt he was feeling and cant let go of stuff easily, doesn't wanna admit the shame he has and refuses to admit hes wrong not unlike Ford but he didn't have any family nor genuine friends that pulled him back to reality and make him realize the error of his ways (As much of a jerk he was to McGucket, Ford let him go when he saw Fidds was hurt by his actions and didn't pursue him and he doesn't ask for forgiveness cause he feels he's not deserving of it)

Both scam and lie to people for their own benefit as a result of a mistake they did that forbides them from going back home but Stanley did it for survival (and thanks to the website we now know what stuff he had to go through) and his family whereas Bill can get by and he doesn't have a family that cares about him anymore so essentially he lost his impulse control/moral compass with the death of his family not to mention they both harmed Ford the most but Stan does know this whereas Bill refuses to accept the guilt and downplays everything he ever did to Ford and still seeks to be with him cause he sees him as his other half (in a more romantic context than a brotherly one) but Stan, although saddened by the fact Ford initially wants him out of his life, respects Ford's wishes cause it's thanks to his family that Stanley is selfless, willing to sacrifice his happiness and memories and why he got the happy ending Bill wanted.

And also he projects onto other members of the zodiac who deep down are miserable like him like Gideon and Pacifica;

Gideon was originally an outcast, just like Bill, who gained power at a very young age which speeded his growth into villany and ended up creating a rivalry with the Pines and both deeply crave connections and affection but dont know how to do it in a healthy way and damage those around them and think its the sibling of the twin they're pursuing who interposed in their relationship when in reality it was their own actions that did and both not only try to paint Stanley in a bad light but they essentially have the same plan in both seasons finale of taking over certain place and its up to the Pines to stop them and they get outdone by Stanley which makes them hate his guts for meddling with their plan for absolute power and both end up in jail where they do art therapy after failing to talk their way out of sentence.

The thing that differentiates them both is that when confronted for their actions and explained why what they want is impossible, only Gideon realizes the error of his ways and tries to do the right thing even if it ends up bad for him which is something Bill would never do.

Pacifica and Bill were nice kids before the abuse they went through by their parents (Bill's was accidental/didn't mean to but their actions hurt him and it peeved the way to his descent into villany) turned them into mean individuals who seek to hurt others to feel better about themselves and their miserable lives and both act like they dont care what others think of them but they secretly do (Bill is a monster but deep down craves connections and was hurt over his and Ford's breakup), can't admit they need help cause that would break the mask they're presenting to people which would reveal they are nothing but a weakling seeking help and the riches they have access to dont make their lifes better and they see themselves as monsters covered in blood for their sins (Euclydian's blood in Bill's case and human blood in Pacifica's case) but Bill already accepted that (cause there's no undoing what he did) but refuses to admit it whereas Pacifica suffers cause she's genuinely trying to change for the better but thankfully she's not alone in doing so (she's got the Lumberjack's spirit and she's working at Greasy's dinner and Lady Susan is a much better influence for her than Priscilla and Preston ever were); the same cant be said about Bill, I'm afraid.

And on a minor scale, Robbie and Bill are heavily inmature for relationships with both of them being jelaous of the partner's friends which did eventually lead to their demise in one way or another and it was their own actions that led to the break up which they did not take well and did message their ex in attempts to get their attention but nothing but at the very least Robbie is aware enough he cant force Wendy back into the relationship and was able to move on and find someone else whereas Bill became abusive and aggresive towards Ford to the point of physically harming him either by puppetering his body or using his neurons to cause him pain and is still down bad for Ford even 30 years later and refuses to move on hence why he tries to offer him several chances to join him as an ally or why he gets better treatment (in Bill's standards) than the townsfolk in Gravity Falls or his Henchmaniacs during Weirdmageddon.

Everything boils down to family if you think about it; Bill is shown able to form relationships and feel guilt/remorse but he's so detached from reality that he refuses to recognize his wrongs and he cant help but project onto others as soon as he sees anything that makes another person similar to him cause he cannot take or recognize the pain that he's carrying cause that would break him and unlike old times he's got no one to sing him a comforting lullaby to lessen his hurt.

No parental figure is flawless in Gravity Falls;

Dipper and Mabel's parents's troubling marriage situation does worry their kids and is why they're never homesick and they decided to focus on other stuff during their summer and why Mabel was terrified of going home all alone to a place that would be broken, she couldn't bring Waddles, she wouldn't be able to go back to the Mystery Shack next summer and she'd have to face the horrors of high school all alone (which can be pretty terrifying lemme tell you as someone who spent the first year separated from her brother and it was among the worst school years ever) and there would be no one at her birthday party to say goodbye to her.

Priscilla and Preston did abuse Pacifica by essentially treating her like a dog with a bell and installing the idea she needs to be pretty and perfect.

Bud and his wife let Gideon do as he pleases cause they're terrified of him and dont give any discipline.

Fildbrick was a bad father with his kids by constantly treating Stan badly and Ford as the golden child but not truly respecting him or valueing his wants and essentially raising them to be abuse victims throughout their adulthood (Stan was only 18 when he had to fend for himself and thanks to the website we now have clues about how awfull his expierences were in a decade of homelessness and due to his need for validation he never got from his dad, Ford became trapped in a toxic relationship with Bill where he felt he couldn't get out and was helpless and alone when facing Bill) and Carynn, as loving as she was, she couldn't stand up for her son when it mattered the most. Plus, we still dont know how bad Shermie had it between living in Ford's shadow and fearing to be a dissappointment like Stanley was, not only to his dad but the entire town he was growing up in (and doing the math assuming he's the youngest of his brothers, it would mean he got married at 19-20 and moved to California probably in an attempt to get away from it all but thankfully he broke the cycle of abuse if Mabel and Dipper's parents dont want the kids to witness their rough patch going through which shows they care for their kids)

Stanley does gaslight Dipper and lies to everyone around him in an attempt to protect them which surprise to no one did get them into trouble more than enough times that could have been avoided if Stanley warned them or how he could of told them head he had a brother sooner to save himself the trouble, not to mention he struggles with Dipper when it comes to masculinity because of how he was raised but he would never lay a hand on him like how his father did. And he does try to be a better parental figure to those closest to him like Soos or Wendy, but again its hard.

Ford, although fond of his niece and nephew, can't help but project onto Dipper a bit and is why he offers him the chance to study in Gravity Falls as his apprentice for his well being but in reality this is bad for him as its stealing Dipper the chance to grow up and miss on many life expierences he wont get to expierence if he stays in a lab (said by Alex Hirsch) and Ford doesn't take a moment to think about Mabel's feelings regarding this situation and assumes she'll be okay all on her own just like he was in collage but fully overseeing the fact that she's still 12 years old and just like his brother, Ford hides the truth in order to keep them safe but with the addition of shame for not seeing past Bill's manipulations and tricks and he cant talk openly about it cause he was never given the proper tools to deal with it and he cannot bring himself to be fully trusting his family save for Dipper aka the person that resembles him the most (not unlike Bill sharing with Ford what truly happened to Euclydia) and it's exactly that distrust which causes Weirdmaggedon.

Scalene and Euclid as well meaning as they were; medically abused their kid and installed the idea he was different from others and Billy deflected that onto him being special in order not to feel bad for not fitting in and being the weird one in his home. Worst part is that Bill seemed to be aware that as bad as his treatment was, he knew his parents wanted the best for him but went about in the worst way possible and despite everything they did to him, he still loves them as seen in how he continuosly draws red and blue triangles or the fact he's wearing what remains of them aka his bow tie and tophat and he drops the sass and becomes serious upon hearing his mother's name coming out of Time Baby's mouth. He misses home but can't return. And now their baby boy is stuck somewhere somewhat resembling the past expierences of medical abuse he had back in his childhood and he cannot get out without exterior help which he lacks and tries to convince himself he'll get out of there, but can't.

It's sad and I do pity the small child who just wanted to show others the stars Bill once was but I cannot extend the sentiment towards the sociopathic megalomaniac monster that seeks to hurt others he became later on.

....im gonna read happy fanfics to cope now.

you ever think about how bill is who the pines could have been if they didn't have any kind of support from anyone in their lives

[shannonsketches]

Why is the anime so weird, it's not even the same series dude?? It's like,

Anime:

GOKU: I have a great idea to bring peace to the universe, and my leadership and compassion alone will unite us all. I have No Flaws and am A True Relatable Everyman :)

VEGETA: NO! I AM THE BEST AND I WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS UNTIL I AM RECOGNIZED AS SUCH!!!!

Manga:

GOKU: Vegeta what's cornmeal made of? I know it's what the corn eats, but what's it made of? VEGETA: Hey Kakarot let's play the quiet game until one of us dies.

[naamahdarling]

.

[dearmahiru-archive]

i've been having brain worms about mahiru's relationship so i've been rewatching i love you to piece together day sixteen. this feels like a reach but i think a fight might've broken out between them.

first, mahiru boyfriend's house, birdcage, and carousel are all the same location─we know this because each one has the same couch, throw pillows, and table formation.

on day sixteen, mahiru excitedly prepares her boyfriend's favorite meals as a surprise for him. later, when milgram extracts mahiru's mind, we see a table with shattered silverware. then, mahiru fantasizes about her boyfriend coming back to life so they can share food together (notably, only mahiru is fed because when mahiru tries feeding her boyfriend it goes awry.)

though i don't believe her boyfriend was ever physical and broke the dishes, it's possible that he suffered from an eating disorder and responded badly to mahiru's attempts to convince him to eat. this is the reason mahiru's murder is portrayed as feeding him rats that she percieved as a gift to save him from starvation.

we also know that they've fought multiple times from mahiru's t1 song. specifically. theres this very moment in the second teaser where mahiru's screams at her boyfriend, telling him (paraphrased) "don't say you love me if you don't mean it."

which is insane because mahiru is a very forgiving person! she can turn a cheek to someone trying to kill her, laugh off those who trick her, call her stupid to her face, and says she's happy to fight with her boyfriend—lovingly referring to it as their break-up ritual—but saying you love her without any weight behind it? that's what sends mahiru right over the edge.

i think it's possible that mahiru's boyfriend reacted poorly to mahiru's "gift," and tried to console her by saying he loved her which made mahiru's upset, which then escalated into their final fight.

[brimswithmoxie]

@ofcockytenacity

Logan, I promise I'm only teasing you. I'm not looking to rush into anything. Don't get me wrong, I love being your... {I paused as a playful smirk pulled at the corners of my lips before I added} girlfriend. It's kinda a rush to know I had such an effect on you that you're actually giving the whole one girl thing a shot, but that's as far as my expectations go. I love dating you. Being with you makes me feel a kind of excitement I've never had with another guy. You're charming, funny, smart, and fun to hang out with. Not to mention ridiculously attractive too, so I'd be crazy not to want to be your girlfriend. That aside though, I just want us to get to know each other and to continue to hang out. One step at a time... Okay? {I said through a reassuring smile. I was in college and fully focused on getting good grades, graduating with honors, and then getting my dream job in journalism, so things like marriage, kids, and settling down was the last thing on my mind at the moment. Ten or more years from now, sure, but right now, I just wanted to date Logan and for us to get to know each other better} As far as my town goes, yes, you'll be under a microscope. I'm not even going to sugar coat it or try to lie to you... This town will watch you like a hawk. {I said with a soft, playful grin before my tone became more serious and sincere as I added} But if I didn't have full confidence in the impression you'll make on them, and with that, how much they're going to love you, I wouldn't put your through it. All that to say, be confident, Huntzberger... You've got this. {A playful tone in my voice as I spoke; all the while flashing you a grin}

continued

@brimswithmoxie 

I never felt more relieved to hear a ringing of a phone until the moment I waited outside Rory’s window. I knew the chances of her mother allowing me inside if she caught sight of me lurking around the porch. I was nothing if not sleuth; I had to owe it to all the years of sneaking out of windows in the mansion, or the pipes I’ve managed to climb down unsnatched. But this time I knew what I wanted to do; I wanted Rory to hear me out. I had no idea what words would come out of my mouth seeing as I felt the nerves coursing through my body. But I also knew i had to see her. 

The town was small; but with the address I had managed to squeeze out of Paris it felt easy going. The big hurdle was escaping her mother. I felt the rage her mother might exhibit if she had seen me. It’s why I held my hand right above the glass until I watched her frame leave my view and the wood door had closed. Exhaling a sigh of relief; I had let my fist knock gentle against her glass window. Did I think Rory had gotten wind I was coming? No because I could tell Paris had been begging me to not go after her; and I couldn’t figure out why. Yeah I had hurt the brunette; I had broken her hopes for us. But I had no intentions. For the first time I wasn’t being selfish, I wasn’t focused on myself. I believed I wasn’t enough; that Ace would get bored of me, that she would realize she was wrong about me. I was a waste of space as a boyfriend; along the way of friends with benefits; I saw who I wanted to be. For her. 

It scared the living shit out of me. I felt my hands sweating; which is why the second I offered a gentle at ease smile to the female when she spotted me, I had pulled my palms to my shirt and tried to will the sweat to go away. But I had stopped worrying about my sweating palms, or the nerves I felt when I saw her. On crutches? Was Rory in an accident? Brows pushed together confused. Logan had tilted his head to the side attempting to grasp onto what happened? It had only been a few days since Rory stomped out of my dorm room; a few days since I felt that ache in my chest. I was worried for her, I was feeling the ache in my heart why? Because Rory was hurt; and now it clicked; maybe Paris was giving a warning sign, because she didn’t want me to hear about Rory being hurt? The thoughts kept spinning in my head; as she inched closer. 

Lock hatched up, I had heard her voice quipped up with question probably dying to know. Considering she never told me where she lived, or the exact address the last thing I wanted was for her to believe I was stalking her out; definitely not my style please I had class, well sometimes. Placing my hands on the edges of the window I had used my upper body to pull myself through the window, once my feet had landed on the boards of her bedroom; I took a second to admire the shelf of books, the big tv, which was probably all her grandmother’s doing. Eyes slowly moved until they landed on her; the knots now forming. 

“ Paris told me, I wanted to talk to you, and I kinda made her, Don’t get mad.” A plead because honestly this encounter could go one of two ways; awfully wrong, or Rory could be willing to hear me out. Arms falling to my sides; the male had waiting a second; hoping she would show if this was a good idea or not.

[gwaedhannen]

Maedhros & Maglor Week day 2: Trust/Distrust

Double drabble. Warning for discussion of canon-typical treatment of escaped thralls.

One alchemist, mixing a warming draught, says: “You can tell by the eyes. Look closely, when he wakes. If they are the eyes of a dead thing, he is already gone.” One weaver, dying yarn the yellow of Arien’s hair, says: “Their memories give it away. They cannot recall details, will mix names, will refuse to describe their torment.” One fisher, returning from the lake empty-handed, says: “They cannot last long without revealing themselves. If they haven’t tried to gut or strangle anyone within a sennight, they are safe.” One chieftain, scowling over a map of the Noldor’s encampments, says: “They are already gone. You cannot see it, you cannot prove it, you can only wait until the knife is in your ribs and the gates are unbarred. You do not make such a mistake a second time. None return from Angband.”

So the Mithrim say. So here Maglor waits, blade in hand. He will allow none other to hold this vigil, has bartered knowledge from Artanis of the songs of wakefulness improvised on the Ice in exchange for his best harp. It is an easy task for the regent-king. After all, he has already condemned Maitimo to death once.

[itwoodbeprefect]

"but how do you watch something accidentally with french subtitles?" you may ask, and i may tell you that it's simple, because i love english, english is fun and versatile and incredibly useful in this world, but listening to some dutch music recently reminded me how much consuming dutch art for a change feels like doing stretches for my brain (i don't really notice what i'm missing out on if i don't do it, but it feels SO good when i do), and that had me pondering once again how to incorporate some german into my diet in a natural way, because if dutch is my language, then german belongs to people i love, german is the one used to tell family stories, german is a language that feels like home but that i use so little it always takes a few days of just listening before i remember how to speak without feeling like an idiot, and so i thought to myself, well, i know bad buddy has a whole list of subtitle options, and perhaps i can pull off a really neat trick here and get my fill of german while also spending some time with thai (with which i am having a torrid love affair this year) through a show i know almost by heart at this point, because i can process the german fast enough to still be able to listen to what i'm hearing (the spoken thai), and then as a bonus, i'd get to sidestep english entirely for a few brief but glorious moments, which is a thing so rare it's almost unheard of, and that would just be a win-win-win. however! it turns out german is not one of the many, many languages offered on youtube as a subtitle option for bad buddy (which is of course fine because in a grand way, truly, why would it). and they do happen to have french, which i then of course had to click just for fun almost as a joke just to see it play for a minute or so and definitely not any longer than that, and as it turns out, on a practical is-this-doable-for-me level french in this context worked out way better than i thought it might, which is why i got sucked in immediately, easily fascinated as i am. but this is also a language that has me reading just slowly enough that it takes all my attention to have any hope at staying caught up with the speed of the dialogue, which amounts to a situation that is, you know, not making me feel much closer to my german grandmother (or making me feel very much at all for that matter, because on the whole i have a deeply impersonal relationship with french), but that IS very unexpectedly making me think fondly of my high school french teacher who once wrote under an assignment that he really hoped i'd choose to do something with languages. and this is probably not what he meant, but i suppose i am doing that, yes. both by choice and because i stumbled and tripped and now i've watched several episodes of a french subtitled thai show in an attempt to find german input because i was listening to dutch music.

[ariaste]

Hello, professional author here, I have a *slight* tweak of a suggestion to offer, or an alternate take from a slightly different perspective. First, I 100% agree with the meat of what you're both saying here, and I absolutely share your frustrations with the genre of cozy fantasy as a whole -- so many of them have something going wrong with the engine of the story. The car won't start. You turn the ignition and all you get out of it is a weak grumbling. So what's happening here from a mechanical perspective?

We're talking about cozy fantasy being "low stakes", and that's certainly how it bills itself. But low stakes are not the source of the problem -- there are plenty of stories/movies/tv shows with very low stakes that we still enjoy watching! Great British Bake Off, for example. The stakes are only "Will the cake come out right" and "how will the judges react". Right? Those are low stakes! The world is not ending, society is not in danger of crumbling to pieces, there is no great battle between Good and Evil for the fate of all humanity. But we watch GBBO and we're ENRAPTURED. We're INVESTED. Why?

Not because of the stakes, but because of the tension.

wait hang on i need to say this in the loud font because it's crucially important

IT'S BECAUSE OF THE TENSION

Both readers and apprentice writers often confuse "stakes" and "tension" because, frankly, increasing the stakes is often a cheap and easy way to increase the tension. Here's the difference, just to make sure we're all on the same page: Stakes are an external, objective thing -- "will the cake come out right, how will the judges react" -- but tension is internal. It is the pull between two things: On one hand, how much this contestant wants to win, how hard they've been trying, how emotional they're getting about a mishap, and our knowledge from an earlier episode about how their mum always believed in them and how they've struggled to believe in themself but since making it onto GBBO they've been thinking that maybe... maybe they can believe in themself.

And what's pulling from the other side is: How their nervousness and lack of confidence is causing them to make mistakes; how we as the audience don't know whether this challenging thing they're trying is going to turn out well; how they're ever going to recover from a cataclysm like forgetting to turn the oven on; whether they could do their absolute best and try so so so SO HARD and it might not make any difference because the other contestants also were all trying their hardest.

Man, I don't know about you, but even just as I was writing that out, my heart was in my throat and I was getting a little choked up.

THAT'S tension. And that's what a lot of cozy fantasy is lacking, because they say "low stakes" and they think that stakes and tension are the same thing, and so they forget that YOU STILL HAVE TO MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS CARE PASSIONATELY IF YOU WANT THE READER TO HAVE ANYTHING THAT THEY CARE ABOUT. As readers, we care when the character has something that really, really, REALLY matters to them. We literally cannot help it -- look up "mirror neurons" if you want the neuroscience explanation for why we literally cannot help it.

High stakes is a cheap cheat code to tension because something like "We have to save the world to keep the Dark Lord from invading the kingdom and slaughtering everyone" is sort of self-explanatory about why it matters. Ah, yes, We Don't Want To Be Slaughtered. Got it. No explanation necessary. You can get away with not really showing whether it matters to the character, because the audience just naturally ASSUMES that it's a Good and Important thing to be doing.

You can't get away with cutting corners like that if you're doing low stakes. Here, look:

High stakes & high tension = Think Mad Max: Fury Road. It is a LOT and you can't look away but you might feel sort of exhausted afterwards and need a nap.

High stakes & low tension = Many Marvel films. Sure ok yeah we're saving the world, that's fun, whatever. Probably saving the world is a good thing to do so that's fine

Low stakes & high tension = GBBO as previously mentioned. Also pretty much any sport (sorry, sports fans, but "will they win the big game" is not high stakes, it just SEEMS like high stakes because of ow much you care about it -- which is TENSION!!!) You will be on the edge of your seat, you will be crying about how amazingly well that border collie/papillon mix did in the agility course.

Low stakes & low tension: Legends & Lattes. Probably if Plan A doesn't work out, the character could just wander off and try Plan B and it wouldn't be that personally upsetting.

So that's my two cents on where a lot of cozy fantasy is going wrong. And like, I can kind of see where my colleagues are coming from and why books like this keep being produced these days??? Like the pandemic really fucked up everybody, and so many of us are incredibly burned out and running on fumes... And so sometimes it feels impossibly challenging to write any book except one where nothing bad happens and nothing is in danger and nobody is really bothered or worried about anything and everything is mostly fine and there aren't any major setbacks.....

But that leaves readers cold. And frankly, I don't feel like it does much of anything to nourish either our souls or theirs. It feels like eating a bag of potato chips for dinner instead of going to the effort of even just heating up a frozen dinner that has a vegetable in it.

idk, man. I've taught university classes about this shit, but what do I know. Maybe I'm talking out of my ass. (Also, if you would like an example of cozy fantasy where it really fucking matters to the person going through it, may I humbly suggest Yield Under Great Persuasion? I wrote it partially as an illustration of how there's a difference between Stakes and Tension. :D)

Cozy Fantasy and Why It Doesn't Work

I think I am among many who feel like they should love cozy fantasy and have found it an incredibly lacking genre.

This newly branded "cozy fantasy" genre that has taken readers by storm since 2020 and while it is new that books are now marketed as cozy, the genre itself isn't new. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a great example of the genre before it was labeled and also how to make it work.

Cozy fantasy is defined by many as fantasy with low stakes. Fantasy aesthetic but less sword fights. On paper, it sounds great. But the execution has been less than stellar for readers like me. The lack of physical stakes has also impacted the emotional stakes of these books, creating forgettable characters with boring problems. As a romance reader, I find this frustrating. Romance is known for being a predictable and formulaic genre, the now defunct Romance Writers of America defined romances as needing happy endings, a term romances have continued to follow. Yet these romance texts manage to have low physical stakes (how to date your neighbor, how to confront your toxic friends, etc) while still maintaining high personal stakes that keep readers invested and begging for more. So I was initially confused why cozy fantasy authors struggle to write texts that connect to readers like me.

I think I have found the answer which is the genre is just here for vibes. It is all about aesthetic, not even worldbuilding that fantasy is known for as most cozy fantasy I read have so many problems as soon as you ask one question. It is hard to acknowledge that a genre that is pitched to work for readers like me doesn't work for many of us. Especially because occasionally there is one that works beautifully to my taste.

I often say my favorite cozy fantasies that are more contemporary are short and visual, which I plays into the idea of the genre being an aesthetic. The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz is a good example because it is a simple story that is given the perfect amount of pages and gorgeous visuals without dragging on when the message is very clear and easy to understand. Books like The Phoenix Keeper and Legends and Lattes have absolutely nothing for me, their very clear message hitting the reader over and over so the readers don't miss it and focusing on the aesthetic of worldbuilding rather than the reality of the fantastic elements within the world.

I guess my point is. . . I realize this genre isn't for me since I have realized it is more of an aesthetic than anything. .. .but I want it to be. Should I let it go and put my efforts elsewhere? Or should I keep exploring this new trend and find the hidden gems?