#dont write a book dont write a book

[greykolla-art]

I was rereading Skulduggery Pleasant and realised it was a goldmine for cute Alastor & Charlie moments.👌

I’m gonna project genuine friendship onto these fuckers and you can’t stop me!

[ofswordsandpens]

actually I also wanna talk about the part where Percy convinces Bob to kill Hyperion because even though Percy never says anything outright sinister, the way he handles the entire situation with such cool ease, playing on Bob’s emotions... its so insane???

Because Annabeth’s reaction to the three of them encountering Hyperion reforming is: “oh this is bad we need to get out of here” She knows if Bob remembers himself, that it's not going to play out well for Percy and her. She also thinks about how they're being pursued and don't have a lot of time. Her solution to the problem, seemingly, is to leave.

But Percy's solution is to work the situation to his advantage. He re-affirms Bob's loyalty to him:

Percy then re-establishes Bob's moral code: "Some monsters are good. Some are bad. This Titan is bad. He tried to kill me and a lot of people. He's not good like you are."

And it ends with Percy leaving the choice of whatever to do with Hyperion to Bob but of course, is it really what Bob chose to do? Bob decides to kill Hyperion. It's not what he may have done, if Percy hadn't intervened. But it's exactly what Percy was oh-so-sweetly leading Bob to do.

And listen, I'm not claiming that it was exactly morally bankrupt of Percy to take advantage of a once-evil titan who could get him and his girlfriend through hell in one piece. Percy, Annabeth, they manipulate monsters and enemies all the time. Annabeth ended the previous book with manipulating Arachne into weaving her own web. So it's not exactly like she's against using manipulative tactics, in theory.

But Bob, at this point, is not just some monster. He is so painfully sincere in his belief in Percy and their friendship, so yes, it does feel a bit sinister whenever Percy uses Bob... and he really uses Bob.

And I think what makes the scene so unsettling, it isn't just that Percy manipulated Bob, its how well Percy manipulated him. He manipulates Bob so well that Percy doesn't even have to kill Hyperion... because Bob does it for him. He manipulates Bob so well, that Annabeth couldn't tell if Percy was purposefully trying to manipulate the situation. (Newsflash, he most definitely was). Like holy shit.

[sugarcoatednightshade]

thinking about how Humans Are Space Orcs stories always talk about how indestructible humans are, our endurance, our ability to withstand common poisons, etc. and thats all well and good, its really fun to read, but it gets repetitive after a while because we aren't all like that.

And that got me thinking about why this trope is so common in the first place, and the conclusion I came to is actually kind of obvious if you think about it. Not everyone is allowed to go into space. This is true now, with the number of physical restrictions placed on astronauts (including height limits), but I imagine it's just as strict in some imaginary future where humans are first coming into contact with alien species. Because in that case there will definitely be military personnel alongside any possible diplomatic parties.

And I imagine that all interactions aliens have ever had up until this point have been with trained personnel. Even basic military troops conform to this standard, to some degree. So aliens meet us and they're shocked and horrified to discover that we have no obvious weaknesses, we're all either crazy smart or crazy strong (still always a little crazy, academia and war will do that to you), and not only that but we like, literally all the same height so there's no way to tell any of us apart.

And Humans Are Death Worlders stories spread throughout the galaxy. Years or decades or centuries of interspecies suspicion and hostilities preventing any alien from setting foot/claw/limb/appendage/etc. on Earth until slowly more beings are allowed to come through. And not just diplomats who keep to government buildings, but tourists. Exchange students. Temporary visitors granted permission to go wherever they please, so they go out in search of 'real terran culture' and what do they find?

Humans with innate heart defects that prevent them from drinking caffeine. Humans with chronic pain and chronic fatigue who lack the boundless endurance humans are supposedly famous for. Humans too tall or too short or too fat to be allowed into space. Humans who are so scared of the world they need to take pills just to function. Humans with IBS who can't stand spicy foods, capsaicin really is poison to them. Lactose intolerance and celiac disease, my god all the autoimmune disorders out there, humans who struggle to function because their own bodies fight them. Humans who bruise easily and take too long to heal. Humans who sustained one too many concussions and now struggle to talk and read and write. Humans who've had strokes. Humans who were born unable to talk or hear or speak, and humans who through some accident lost that ability later.

Aliens visit Earth, and do you know what they find? Humanity, in all its wholeness.

[tea-cat-arts]

Shen Yuan getting transported into pidw isn't "the system punishing him for being a lazy internet hater," but instead representative of "step 1 of the creative process: getting so mad at something you decide to go write your own fucking book" in this essay I will

[ourg0dsal]

I don't know... it's probably been said before. But it's the fact that Gideon was originally supposed to be of the "two hundred dead daughters and sons" that she wasn't supposed to live. She wasn't supposed to live a life intrinsically connected to Harrow's, or ever leave the ninth. She was destined to die and become one with Harrow. All just to live long enough to die and become one with Harrow.

I'm drunk so maybe in the morning this won't make any sense, but if Gideon was always going to die. Was always going to become a catalyst of Harrows power. And there is a reflection of her importance to Harrow in the power she gives Harrow. Had she died as part of the 200 she wouldn't have done anything extraordinary at all. But she lived and loved Harrow and became the catalyst for lyctorhood. A power equal in everyway to her importance to Harrow.

I'm sure someone will get the vibes.

[obsob]

making and weaving and loving! like we have done for millennia!!

[deunmiu-dessie-sideblog]

“si, look at me.” simon's gaze meets yours as you turn his head towards you with a delicate hand. he can’t stop the small gasp of mesmerization that escapes him; the deep pools of love and devotion that smolder in your eyes look unfathomable, like a vast sea of water out in a sweltering desert. as your palm cups his face, simon feels his heart surge and ache at the sight of your captivating, teetering smile.

you tenderly glide your thumb over his skin, longingly. “if you don’t let go,” you shift closer--- melting him despite the bleak, glacial weather, to press your supple lips against the underside of his jaw, breathing in the spice of his cologne. “if you don’t forgive yourself; unless you forgive what happened, you can’t possibly move on.” you murmur, withdrawing your hand from his cheek and planting it against his chest, where his heart, that seemed to beat solely for you, lay pumping a mile a second. “johnny's death is not your fault.” and while simon had heard those exact words, many times over — this time he truthfully believed it. 

[nonexistentbees]

i rlly like how this one came out visually but i dont know if i super got the VIBE i wanted .... i think this ep just makes me too mushy. the so scary uncharted territory of girlbestfriendship when youre in like middle school

[myfairkatiecat]

“Sophie became exactly like Keefe in Stellarlune”

Loud incorrect buzzer

Sophie, beginning in Neverseen and slowly in increasing amounts begins to pick up Keefe’s way of speaking/his form of snarkiness/his style of humor because she spends a TON of time around him and our speech patterns are influenced by those around us. Also, she got older and more confident, so a lot of her shyness melted away. But she is the girl she’s always been—just a lot more confident and making a lot more of the same style of jokes as one of her closest relationships. That is way more realistic than y’all give it credit for

[cammy-mcspammy]

Guys.. my bill personified.. my childhood crush has come full circle

I like to think this form is mostly just to make fun of Ford or to experiment on himself. Bill doesn't actually know how to use this form..

...

....Therefore he comes off a bit uncanny valley at times (he also just. Does not care about his appearance and it changes OFTEN when he finds a feature interesting)

[orpheuswasmine]

More Amnesia Bill AU

Amnesia Bill! I think it is a really bittersweet idea. I imagine they were going to do their ritual thing to get rid of him but after the ritual fails they opp on trying to kill him. Fortunately, no one can really bring themselves to kill him, since he’s so lost and confused about everything. Genieuly helpless and everyone just takes pity.

I said in my last post he would remember some things via dreams and shit, but I think the only thing he would remember in the start would be his parents. Can you imagine Ford mentally preparing himself to kill Bill, just to hear him talk about his parents so suddenly? I don’t think he would say a lot, but just like, “I was close with my mom. I don’t know where she is,” or something like that.

More about the whole regaining memories bit by bit, I swear up and down he would have a meltdown in the middle of the night because he regained the memory that HE DESTROYED HIS DIMENSION. Even though he keeps getting told it’s just a nightmare, it definitely wasn’t just a nightmare, he’s reliving the worst of the worst every night.

Slow a burn story. I fw the whole enemies to lovers but in this case, it’s a one-sided enemies shit. Ford (and everyone else as mentioned in the last post) hates Bill—Ford shows it, whether subtly or outright, he leans more into the subtleness of it all. After a while, he does realize Bill is genuinely powerless and not faking shit. He would be more sympathetic, but he definitely will still harbor the animosity for a while; however, Bill definitely fell in love during the time Ford was more sympathetic to him.

The start between them is like, Bill wanted to be friends with Ford because he seemed to know him like the back of his hand. Bill doesn’t have romantic feelings for Ford in the start, rather just this kind of desperation to cling to anything or anyone that can help him remember something, anything. Ford definitely didn’t like him, and any time Bill tried interacting with him, he either ignored him or walked away. Avoidance is key, but he can’t avoid the man forever. Eventually, they start to talk—more like Bill does the talking—Ford becomes a lot more invested whenever Bill talks about his memories. There were definitely times he got a bit worried Bill would remember their time together.

Bill's continuous nightmares would get so bad, Ford decided to stay with him for a night.

Last post, I said Mabel would be the only one to believe Bill, loosely. She shows her sympathy to him early on, but she’s still super weary of him. he helped him settle in a bit and when he needed to cry and tell someone about a new memory he regained, he’d always tell Mabel. Like his parents. A small conversation like this perchance?

“I wanted to show them the stars, that’s all I wanted. No one knew what I was talking about then. I wonder if they can see the stars now.”

“I’m sure they can now—hey, maybe they see you right now? I bet your parents would be happy to see where you are right now.”

“You reallY think they can see me?”

“Oh definitely. With your looks and personality, how can they miss you?”

While everyone is weary of Bill and lowkey trying to get rid of him, Bill is enjoying his time bonding with Mabel, even if she sometimes slips up and shows her suspicions towards him.

Bill's relationship with Stanley and Dipper is really rough. Like, genuinely, they don’t hide the fact they don’t like him, especially Dipper. Bill could be sweeping and then Dipper is in the back praying for his downfall. Dipper definitely shuns him and on some bad days, he does lash out at Bill. I don’t think their relationship would get super better over time, rather, I think it would become something like tolerance. As much as Dipper hates him, he doesn’t really have much of a say in what happens. He doesn’t show his hate toward him too much, occasionally they can have a decent conversation, but when push comes to shove, Dipper will definitely lash out at Bill again.

The same can be said about Stan, though I do think he would somewhat come around to like Bill. Not by much, just a bit. Just like Dipper, he would lash out, but he took a more teasing approach towards Bill, knowing it would definitely annoy the demon. Even if it went over Bill’s head, he definitely sensed him getting really agitated about it. He messes with Bill more so, his way of letting out his hate for him. Bill can tell Stan doesn’t like him, but he rather have to deal with stan’s antics than to be ignored all the time.

That's all for tonight gang BYEE

[svampira]

you could never hurt me

[bruciemilf]

Somebody tell me if this is a bad take, or if my love for Bruce is causing my objective brain to glitch, but-- something about advertising Batman, a hero who's very popular for being good with children, for being NURTURING with children, a bad father kinda defeats the whole purpose of what he's supposed to represent.

Batman is a protector; He protects people the world (and especially law enforcement) does not care about. That's literally the point of him.

Something about marketing " you can be incredibly violent to people you care about! And Its fine, because you care about them even if you abuse them, and that's what matters!" towards people, but especially men and young boys, is REALLY fucked up to me.

[littlest-bugz]

Man :( My uncle kinda bummed me out about my fantasy series.

He's like "well you need humans or elves or something that readers can already relate to" and I'm like

the 10+ species I made was for nothing? The species I made to replace the human population is just,,, irrelevant? Like damn :( I really broke my back making this fantasy realm for 8 years, and I have to change it entirely now because humans need to be there for 'relatability'?

My wee little heart is shattered,, Would literally anyone read a fantasy series that doesn't have humans or elves?

[catastrophicalcat]

Gotham is getting better and is safer than US cities

One of my pet peeves in comics is the notion that Gotham is cursed eternally; that Batman hasn't made an impact; that things aren't getting better. If you read the comics, this is not true:

In Detective Comics #999, Batman says that there were 182 people murdered in Gotham that year; and that the previous years' stats were 214 and 231: a downward trend. (His stated goal is to get it to 0).

That issue came out in 2019. In 2019, NYC had 319 homicides, Chicago had 490, and Detroit had 273. Which are all numbers bigger than 182.

Violent crime, including homicide, also shot up a lot in the US in 2020, and hasn't totally come down since. For example, through June, NYC had 236 homicides and Chicago had 343. I don't know whether Gotham had a similar homicide uptick since 2019, but if it didn't, it totally has less murder today than comparable real world U.S. cities.

[deoidesign]

I spent months prepping books and running a Kickstarter, and it's going great! But...

I just got 300 books with the wrong type of cover. They're glossy!!!

There's nothing else wrong with them! I'll be getting the matte covered books that match the set soon, but in the meantime I have 300 extra glossy books.

SO!!!

If you would like a book, the glossy covered copies are going to be $15 instead of $25!!!

If you're okay with the book cover not matching the set, or you're interested in trying the series out, then this is the best place to start! Each book is self contained, so you won't be missing out by starting with the second book.

This is the fan favorite book from the series, so it's a great one to pick up.

Time and Time Again: Summer Camp Cowabummer Volunteering as counselors at a summer camp facing closure, Adam and Steve must manage their campers and the mysterious problems at the camp.

You can buy it here!