#finally responding!

[sweet-cynicalstrain]

booking you for 3, 16, 17, and 25

3. What were your top five books of the year?

I'm bad at favorites in general, and this year I read a lot of books that I very much enjoyed but wouldn’t quite say I loved. But I will say, in different ways and for different reasons: Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang, The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li, Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman, Dry Land by Ruby Rae Spiegel, and Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi by Mo Xiang Tong Xu. (I don't know if any particular volume was a favorite book of the year, but the story overall is absolutely one of my favorite things I experienced this year.) Now I'm gonna move on to the next question before I can continue second guessing this answer...

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Not sure if it counts as being overhyped, but I didn’t enjoy Greedy by Jen Winston as much as I was led to believe I would by some enthusiastic people on the internet. Probably the most hyped books I've read recently, in general, would be The Hunger Games series, and I had a great time reading them but maybe not quite as good of a time as their popularity would suggest.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson is not a genre I read much of (YA thriller-y drama), but it kept me absolutely riveted throughout. 

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

There were a few things I started reading this year and then put aside because I wasn’t quite in the right mood for them, including but not limited to The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan, and Little Foxes Took Up Matches by Katya Kazbek. I’m still very excited about these books and would love to read them next year! I hope to finish the book/series I am currently reading (the Lymond books…). In general I would love to read the many books I already own but have not yet read! Maybe my goal should be to read books at a faster rate than I acquire new ones...

[tsuutarr]

Yandere!Butler x Noble!Reader

Geoffrey has never particularly liked the Master of the House, Duke Arrington. Duke Arrington is what most hate about nobles – pompous and arrogant, but deeply incompetent. Thankfully, The House of Arrington isn’t doomed thanks to you, the heir to the Arrington Duchy.

You’re everything your father isn’t – sensible, witty, intelligent, kind… Why, Geoffrey could spend hours waxing poetic about how wonderful you are. It’s his honor to serve at your side as your right hand butler.

And, like any competent butler, Geoffrey must ensure that you obtain your rightful birthright. So, in the background, Geoffrey works hard with your other admirers to ensure that you can successfully take your father’s place.

As your personal butler, Geoffrey has the best access to your pathetic excuse of a father. This means that it’s quite easy to incorporate little drops of poison into your father’s teas or meals. 

Thanks to Geoffrey’s work, your father has been getting sicker by the day. You’re a dutiful child, so you worry and fret over the pathetic excuse of a parent. This kindness is something Geoffrey loves about you, truly, but he also can’t wait until your father is finally gone and over with, which won’t be much longer judging by how sickly your father has been looking as of late. You’ve taken up more of your father’s work officially because of this, too, and it’s amazing to see you at work. Geoffrey knew that you would be absolutely perfect for this role. It’s riveting to see you so focused on your tasks.

Just like any other day, Geoffrey is preparing tea (not poisoned, of course) for you. From your desk, you observe him, lips drawn in a tight line. “Do you think the House of Arrington is cursed?” you ask, making Geoffrey turn to you curiously.

“My goodness, why would you think that?”

“Just…” Leaning back in your chair, you sigh. “All my younger siblings have died. My step-mother disappeared. My father is dying… It’s all just… a lot, isn’t it?”

You really are too kind, Geoffrey thinks. All of those… misfortunes occurred thanks to him and your other supporters, so you shouldn’t feel bad about it. Your house isn’t cursed – everyone else just deserved to perish so that you could claim your rightful throne. But, you don’t have to know that, really, so Geoffrey says, “How could the Arrington Duchy be cursed when we have you?”

And he means it, truly, because there is no other person that can rule as dutifully as you.

[taffywabbit]

I finally watched breaking bad (all within the past week or so while I worked, finished it and watched el camino last night) and I'm confident this isn't a new thought I'm expressing or anything but genuinely how DID an entire generation of dudes convince themselves Walter White was cool and admirable and intended to be sympathetic. I know ppl just lack media literacy sometimes but I'm still so confused

I don't think I've EVER watched a piece of media that so blatantly depicts a guy making the worst possible decisions at every turn and having his life ruined for it and not being redeemed or made sympathetic in any significant or lasting way. the kinds of justifications villains USUALLY give that make people consider them "morally grey" or "tragic" or whatever (everything I did was for my loved ones, I did what I had to to survive, once I was in this I couldn't get out, I just needed you to trust me so I could keep you safe, etc etc) is ALWAYS framed as complete self-serving bullshit when Walt says it, and one of the only shreds of personal growth he ever exhibits in the whole series is when he finally fucking admits that. every time he does something even remotely cool or drops a quotable one-liner, something terrible immediately happens that makes everything worse and makes him look like an unreasonable idiot asshole again. by the end of the series the ONLY characters they can still contrast as being morally "worse" than him are literally a bunch of bloodthirsty neonazis who kept a guy in a cage for several months. this show is practically SCREAMING at you the entire time not to admire Walt. why did every dude I knew in highschool have his face on tshirts and Facebook pfps.

I just don't get it. at least with The Dark Knight's Joker it was like, a feature-length movie and that's it. you spend a lot less time with the Joker and it has a lot less time to delve into his motivations, so there's way more room for flanderization and misinterpretation as people extrapolate the few cool/interesting/sad things they saw into a whole nuanced misunderstood guy in their heads and online. Walter White has 5 seasons' worth of 45min episodes to convince you beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a miserable fucking loser who ruins everything he touches because of greed and selfishness. if you weren't watching it for that, what WERE you getting out of this. what DID you think this show was about. am I just missing some key piece of context from 2012 or whatever that would help me understand this

[cubbihue]

Hi! this is kinda an art request if u dont mind. And it's angst related, can you draw like where wanda and cosmo obvs have seen for a while how (human) timmy has been treated by his real parents. I just want to see like the "last straw" which lead Cosmo and Wanda wanting them to make Timmy as their own. (IM HAPPY THAT TIMMY HAS A FAMILY THAT LOVES AND CARES FOR HIM)

The "Last Straw"?

Cosmo and Wanda have seen humans at their best. They've seen humans at their worst. They've seen anything and everything that they've gone numb and used to what humans get up to.

But nothing's shaken them quite like Timmy's case did. Nothing has ever made a Fairy feel such strong human emotions than what Timmy made them feel, on that one particular night.

The thing that broke Cosmo and Wanda was Timmy himself.

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[choccy-milky]

just the wedding pic bc i rly like it🥹💖

[kizzer55555]

Core Gems

So when a ghost becomes injured, they have a last ditch defense where they retreat into their core. And I mean, injured badly where their body is rip apart to the point they can’t hold a solid form anymore. And they basically go into a hibernation state until they are strong enough to form again.

Ellie, Danny, and Dan are all injured in a final battle against the GIW. The organization was destroyed and the ghosts were safe but the halfas ended up being so injured that they reverted to core form and then went to sleep for a bit. When they woke up, they were still weak but at least recovered enough to gain consciousness. And realize…they are in some kind of auction…in the middle of a heist. It appeared that two furries (one in a bat costume and one in a cat costume) were ducking it out. And they…they were a necklace. All three of them had been turned into a necklace with their cores as gems accompanied by sapphires, pearls, and opals. And frankly gorgeous craftsmanship as the metal was crafted around their cores as if to cradle them and the other gems.

Unfortunately, they were too weak to take a form properly, they could still feel the strain on their bodies. But at least they could still communicate through their auras. Then the cat lady punched a hole in the glass container surrounding them and grabbed their necklace.

However, the bat grabbed the other end and it resulted in a sort of tug-a-war. Meanwhile, Danny, Ellie, and Dan were having a back and form commentary on the situation and what they should do. Completely unheard by the other party.

In the corner of their eye, the three halfas finally noticed a third contender. Some kind of clown who was…hold on…holding a gun?! And it was pointed straight at the two fighting furies who had yet to notice him. The ghosts’ protective instincts went into overdrive and they frantically tried to shout, yell, move. Just do something to warn the two but their cries fell on deaf ears. All they succeeded in doing was faintly glow which immediatly caught the attention of the fighting duo. The two turned to look at the strange necklace but right at that moment, the clown fired and a gunshot rang throughout the auction room. Having no other options, Danny and the others poured every ounce of ectoplasm they had to try and phaseshift, making the two furries intangible as the bullets passed right through them, but in their shock, the two jumped away in opposite directions and accidentally ripped the necklace apart. Gems and pearls went flying and the three cores bounced along the ground.

Luckily, the two finally noticed the clown and went to deal with him and his minions who had appeared. Seemingly putting their fight on hold and forming a temporary truce. The three halfas could only watch as the battle finally wound down, ending with the cops barging into the place and arresting the clown and his grunts, the cat managing to escape with half the scattered gems and pearls from the broken necklace along with a few other jewelry pieces (none of their cores though) and the bat leaving through a skylight.

The auction continued and in the end, despite being broken, their necklace seemed to have caught someone’s interest. A man named Bruce Wayne bought up every piece of the shattered jewelry wear. The auctioneers appeared relived that the item managed to sell in the end and gratefully gave it to him.

Bruce had no idea what happened at the auction, but he could have sworn that some of the gems faintly glowed right before he and Selina were shot. If the necklace was some sort of magical item, then he needed to understand exactly what has been brought to Gotham. It was unfortunate that Selena had taken some parts of the necklace but he utilized his vast wealth to make sure all the other parts ended in his possession. Now he would take them back to the mansion for examination.

[just-posting-kalone]

Athena Cykes!!

[imnotditzy]

I need Billy to dress up for Halloween. Captain Marvel too.

Captain’s the only one who shows up to the missions on Halloween in costume and everyone just stares at them.

( Superman: Captain it’s good you’re here, we really need you here right now, the invaders seem to have an ungodly amount of— what are you wearing?

Captain Marvel: It’s my Halloween costume! Can you guess what I am? Superman (off guard): Oh uhm, tiger?

Captain Marvel: Yup, good guess! Say, why am I the only one dressed up?

League: . . . )

The whole Leagues there in regular clothes and Captains just in costume, tiger onesie and all.

It would be so funny when this 6 to 7 feet tall (depends on how Cap’s feeling that day), muscular man in a cute orange tiger onesie and face paint, starts knocking out villains.

it would be even funnier if they used magic trickery too because it was Halloween. Like a lightning bolt strikes them and drains the villains youth making them old, or they start coughing out candy.

Billy dressed up as a tiger too probably, he hesitated because it might be suspicious for him and Captain to be in the same costume — but his only other affordable option was Peter Pan and that one just made him sad.

[mxtxfanatic]

Let’s talk Yi City Arc! I’ve seen a few posts since my time in the fandom that talks about the Yi City Arc as unnecessary or out of place in the whole of the mdzs narrative. I’ve even seen some suggest that the disconnect is because Yi City was originally a separate story to mdzs, a sort of prototype, if you will, to explain it away. I, too, after my first read questioned the significance of this arc to the overall story. However, the Yi City arc and its placement so early in the novel is actually just a huge and very clever spoiler to most of the important plot points of the overarching story… if you know what plot points to look for, which an un-spoiled first-time reader would not. So let’s talk about those spoilers:

1) The righteous cultivation clans’ refusal to stand against evil—and, really, their indulgence of it—leads to the wiping out of an entire clan and a monastery as well as the deaths of two powerful cultivators unaffiliated with any major sect.

The “righteous” cultivation clans happily ignore that fact that the Jin Clan is amassing power through unscrupulous guest disciples, and it is only when Xiao Xingchen, an outsider, brings the crime against the Chang Clan to light do they bother to pretend to do anything about it. However behind the scenes, the Jin Clan assassinates their only real opposition, and the other clans, great and small, continue to do nothing as Xue Yang is released to commit another massacre. The Jin are never held responsible for their actions. Likewise, all the clans turn away from Wei Wuxian, an outsider, when he calls out the Jin Clan’s crimes against the Wen remnants and accuses them of amassing power via poaching vassal clans and attempting to steal his tools. Behind the scenes, the Jin work to undermine Wei Wuxian’s reputation before joining in to massacre Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants. The Jin are never held accountable for this, which directly leads into the Xue Yang situation.

2) Xiao Xingchen has his reputation slandered by Xue Yang killing others using his sword.

After Xiao Xingchen kills himself, Xue Yang begins using his sword to enact “vengeance” on the remnants of the Chang Clan, who he considers as having “betrayed” Xiao Xingchen. Finding the signature of Xiao Xingchen’s sword on the slain bodies leads the cultivation world to believe that a disillusioned Xiao Xingchen is killing in revenge. In much the same way, Wei Wuxian is used as a scapegoat by the cultivation world whenever bad things happen, such as the presence of walking corpses or the mass digging of graves. In neither situation does any clan investigate the true events of the situations, happy to blame the easiest suspect and allow the unrest to continue. In both situations, Xiao Xingchen and Wei Wuxian are eventually found innocent of the crimes for which they are accused, and the true culprit is revealed.

3) Xiao Xingchen is betrayed by someone he considered close to him, which eventually leads to his death.

Xiao Xingchen, due to being literally blinded by his sacrifice, ends up running into, rescuing, and caring for his mortal enemy, Xue Yang. Taking advantage of Xiao Xingchen’s blindness, Xue Yang tricks him into murdering a bunch of innocents and his best friend, causing him to commit suicide. Wei Wuxian, similarly, is betrayed by a close friend he kept near, figuratively blinded by a former childhood friendship and the present debt he felt owed to said friend’s parents. This misplaced trust directly leads to his death.

4) Xiao Xingchen must give up his eyes for Song Lan to see again, because Baoshan Sanren is not magical.

This is probably the biggest spoiler of the entire arc, but by the time you get to where this information is relevant, you’d probably have forgotten that this was even said. Xue Yang blinds Song Lan after destroying his home, and to atone for this, Xiao Xingchen goes to his master, Baoshan Sanren, to beg for her help. However, Baoshan Sanren cannot make something out of nothing. Mxtx explicitly writes that tidbit into the narration. Song Lan goes up the mountain blind and comes down with eyes. Xiao Xingchen goes up the mountain with eyes and comes down blind. Song Lan was given Xiao Xingchen’s eyes.

Much later in the story, Jiang Cheng loses his golden core. Wei Wuxian offers the miracle solution of Baoshan Sanren “giving” him a new one. Jiang Cheng, obviously skeptical, questions Wei Wuxian up until the moment he must go up “Baoshan Sanren’s mountain” alone. Wei Wuxian descends, alone, looking pale and weak. Later, when Wei Wuxian is ambushed by the Wen, Wen “Core-melting Hand” Zhuliu touches him and is visibly shocked by a discovery that he then keeps to himself. Jiang Cheng emerges from the mountain with a new golden core, while Wei Wuxian emerges from the Burial Mounds with a new cultivation method wholly independent of the need for a golden core. The Yi City arc tells us why this is: “Baoshan Sanren” cannot make something out of nothing.

And these are just the major parallels I remember off the top of my head. However, while a reread makes a lot of these parallels directly applicable to specific plot points in Wei Wuxian’s own story, I would argue that the biggest role the explicit paralleling is meant to play for a new reader is to make you question the dominant narrative of the main story. The narration tells us that Wei Wuxian is a bloodthirsty man who may as well be a demon, known for cruelty and vengeance. We see none of that from his character when he is resurrected. Then we get a mini-drama where a man with attributes Wei Wuxian directly relates to, with a story Wei Wuxian directly compares to his own life, is scapegoated by society, killed, then eventually vindicated. If nothing else, the Yi City Arc is meant to make you, as a reader, stop and go “Hey, wait a minute, what if Wei Wuxian isn’t the bad guy here???” And once you understand that, you should start questioning everything the prologue told you, just like the juniors start to question what they were told about Xiao Xingchen post Yi City in their group debrief.

[lumi-cherries]

shu and mika booba comparison plsplsplsplsplspls (<- on hands and knees)

SHUMIKA BOOBA COMPARISON!!!!!!!

[nova-rpv]

unhinged stinky critter for @lazydayslivin

dont forget ur daily clicks!!

[myokk]

💘

[bamsara]

So idk if it’s been mentioned before or I’ve missed anything but the biggest question…

Are you single? 👀

[goldkirk]

I don’t know how to explain any more clearly that it doesn’t MATTER if it seems legitimate to you. You have got to fact check every single headline and post and claim on the left just like you need to do on the right.

The left is NOT immune to misinformation and rushed reporting. And the more emotionally polarizing or shocking the talking points, sound bytes, and headlines are, the worse it is and more frequently it happens.

Learn to verify through multiple independent sources. If you can’t do that, you can’t trust it.

If you have to wait extra hours for the real information to come through vetted channels—NOT just one individual somewhere everyone links to, and not just one single media source either, EVEN if it’s a major news network—thats just how it has to be. What news outside of genuine local disasters near you TRULY needs your outrage and post-sharing in the next hour specifically?

Misinformation works best by not seeming like misinformation and by fitting in with the rest of what you already expect to see. It doesn’t help anyone to not be able to recognize and avoid the stuff.

[sickfires]

right to repair

[royalarchivist]

To be clear, I'm not going anywhere. I love this community, and although I'm disappointed seeing how certain things have been handled, I still believe in the objective of QSMP: uniting communities and people from all around the world and breaking down language barriers.

Regardless of what happens next, or whether people choose to step away from the series or not, QSMP gave many content creators and their communities a platform to meet other people and make those first cross-cultural connections and friendships. The positive ripple-effects from that aren't going away anytime soon.