#how to write a good article

[blackwaves]

reading into irl ichiyo higuchi and dwelling on the statement that ichiyo was bound by the structure of acceptable writing for female writers at the time — having to recreate a performance of feminity which contradicted and moved around the actual way women spoke, & which notably did not come naturally to her — but managed to make it her own + express assertiveness within it nonetheless.

anyway this is all just to say that i'm so fond of the bsd higuchi-centric chapter which says she's not naturally suited the port mafia, but that she stays and tries anyway. the way she gains respect via throwing herself into a fight she expects to lose from the motivation of her love/loyalty for akutagawa. thinking primarily of ch.77 where tachihara's suitability to the mafia is defined in his recklessness, passion, and bravery— there is something to me there about how she makes those traits her own.

[seiwas]

for writing game, iwaizumi + assistance <3

hope this sparks some inspo and thank you in advancee

hi there!! thanks for sending in a prompt 🫶

contains: friends to lovers (ish), halloween parties, reader is dressed as catwoman, expletives, iwaizumi is thiiiiis 🤏 close to murdering seijoh4 (jk)

iwaizumi + assistance

this is a set-up.

iwaizumi knows he shouldn't have fucking believed anything the boys "promised" him back when they assigned him this costume.

the suit is fucking tight, spandex digging into his groins and all other crevices that definitely should be aired out after after a few hours. he's had to constantly readjust his stance almost every few minutes, the black fabric compressing his thighs and torso, significantly constricting the range of motion his shoulders and arms are typically used to. if anything else, it could double up as a back brace from how rigidly straight it's kept his posture all night.

he'll give it to makki though; he did outdo himself sourcing this year's costumes―this batman set looks pretty damn legit.

except for one tiny problem.

there's no fucking pee hole. it's a zip-up, zip-down one-piece situation. and that normally wouldn't be a problem, except that oikawa "accidentally" knocked over a cocktail straight into his pants, the sickeningly sweet liquid now seeping straight into the fabric and past his boxers―cold and sticky as it touches his skin.

and so, the problem: his pants are wet, it makes him want to fucking pee, and coincidentally, the only vacant bathroom is across the hall, at your apartment.

this is why he believes this is a set up. that, and the fact that you're dressed in an outfit strikingly similar―just with cat ears.

he's been asked five times in this party if you're in matching couple outfits.

it catches him off guard, flusters him because of how badly he wants to say yes. but, you're just friends, and he doesn't even think you like him that way (despite mattsun and oikawa practically begging him to confess. makki tells him he thinks you're going to do it first).

so he politely smiles and says no, but you look good, your costume clinging to you in all the right places. thank fucking god he has a cape because he's pretty sure he spent the first 30 minutes in the party hiding his boner.

"hajime, it's fine, i swear," you stand beside him in front of the conveniently locked bathroom in oikawa's apartment. from the other side of the door, he's pretty sure he hears mattsun and his girlfriend mumbling. maybe fucking? who knows. "you can just use the bathroom in my apartment."

he glances at you before closing his eyes, contemplating, before finally agreeing to you.

"okay."

if he's being honest with himself, friends is definitely an incomplete label to what you are. as oikawa's neighbor, you are conveniently around all the time; and oikawa being oikawa, the ever-social butterfly, he's somehow managed to carve a space for you in the friend group.

(never mind the fact that oikawa's sniffed him out from the moment he first introduced you.)

you were a crush, then a friend, and now you're someone he picks up from work and drives back home three times a week, because he "has to train oikawa." you don't question it, even when you both know he stays over for dinner way past the gym's open hours.

"you know where it is," you open your apartment and urge him in.

"sorry again," he turns to face you.

"yeah, yeah, just pee!" you laugh, shoving him towards the bathroom door.

getting out of the suit is manageable, and he's able to wipe off a bit of the cocktail that's leaked to the suit and his boxers just to make sure it isn't gross and sticky when he gets home later. peeing is a big relief once he gets it over with, but it's when he has to suit up again that things become difficult.

stretching out the spandex one body part at a time is a workout in itself―the hardest task being when he has to pull it over his shoulders, adjusting it to fit properly over his arms and chest.

but then the zipper breaks.

and he truly thinks makki has fucked him over.

iwaizumi contemplates what to do next for a good, good while. he tries calling oikawa, only to no success every time; no way in hell is he calling mattsun in the middle of having sex. and calling makki isn't even an option; he'd never hear the end of it.

then you knock on the door, your voice soft and concerned as you ask, "hajime? you good in there?" you hit it spot on, too, "do you need help with your suit?"

iwaizumi presses his palms to his eyes. he's a rational man, straightforward and logical in thinking. there is literally no other option for him right now but to ask help from you. again.

fuck.

.

it's 30 minutes later when oikawa barges in your door, and the sight that greets him is iwaizumi in nothing but a hoodie (the hoodie you borrowed some time ago) and his boxers, with his hands on your waist as you hover your hairdryer over the crotch of his batman costume―cat headpiece off and all.

"you finally got together?!"

[sesamestreep]

sexy himbo jock interpretations of James Tiberius Kirk are silly and do a disservice to the character for a lot of reasons, not least of which is that it fundamentally ignores all the times in canon when Kirk is faced with a scientific discovery or oddity and you can see the effort it takes for him not to clap and skip with excitement. like in ‘the devil in the dark’ when Spock posits that they might be dealing with a silicon based life form and McCoy’s like “but that’s impossible!” and Kirk literally crosses the room to flirt talk excitedly with Spock about the prospect and how it could work! and what it would mean!

What I’m saying is, Kirk’s gotta be smart and a huge dork because how else could he pull a bad autistic bitch like Spock?

[drbased]

I need someone to write an essay on how 'nerds' are associated with being a social outcast but also they're the most capitalism-loving people? Like from my understanding any group that's made a social outcast would have to be a challenge to mainstream society in some way but nerds fucking love their capitalism perhaps even more than the normies do. And sure you could say that any social rebellion represented by the nerds was co-opted by capitalism as any rebellion is, but it seems to me the entire history of the nerd involves buying and owning and collecting and being very snobby and elitist and in fierce competition with other nerds. My guess is that whilst a lot of nerds are autistic and therefore do represent some threat to social norms, the only ones who've had the freedom to express that divergence are men, and those same men have always had this incel-like mentality where they don't believe women can be nerds because no matter what the social norms are, women are always the ones supposedly at the nerve center and benefit the most. Pop culture being 'vapid' is always a dogwhistle to women's pop culture being vapid; meanwhile those nerdy loves of juvenile misogynistic comic books have gone fully mainstream and we're all supposed to take them seriously now. As that Sarah Z video said, nerdiness is mainstream now. So like, what is the fundamental essence of nerdiness that means it's somehow been the safe haven for social outcasts but also fits incredibly comfortable into the social order? Why do nerdy spaces include so many disabled people, gay people, fat people, autistic people - groups that don't have jack shit to each other but you can reliably find all of them at board game conventions? It's fascinated me for years what it is that makes a 'nerd' this surprisingly tight-nit and predictable group of people that also love capitalism so much. Is it a trauma thing - feeling left out by society in some way and finding solace in fandom and things because people have hurt you? But then why is it almost entirely white? Is it just whiteness over-amplifying their persecution on other axes of oppression and making that their whole identity?

[pendraegon]

thesis updates: sent the draft to my advisor -> she said it was "incoherent" and that she was "shocked" at my work and instead of telling me anything in detail as to what's wrong directs me to the writing center then proceeds to cc my committee members saying that she's at a loss with what to do with me -> was confused because... did i send her the wrong draft?? it seemed pretty solid to me?? like i was genuinely proud of it??? -> next day she sends me another email saying that actually my draft isn't bad at all and it just needs some reworking ???????

[the-love-witch-roleplays]

[heartofalifer]

sometimes I lay at night thinking what exactly did daisy write in the description of alec hardy's tinder profile and what pictures did she use that made her think that could get women to swipe right on him. was it selfies? was it candid photos she took? was alec wearing that blue jumper on and reading a paper with his legs crossed in the photos? I need to know

[alexjcrowley]

Btw I can't believe all the Hamilton edits with Hamilton the musical, especially to Wait for it but when they're done with Carlos

Like girl be fr if someone is his Burr that's not Carlos that's Nico fucking Rosberg, he owned that role

Carlos and Lewis have had beef for a month because Vasseur gave Lewis Carlos's job, you want bitter soul crushing rivalry that's been destroying another guy's life step by step, that's been booked by Britney since day one

[thelovers-thedreamers-and-me]

the downside to being a sitcom neighbour sort of person is that when rough things happen and emotionally fuck u up a lil bit, it also sounds completely made up

[daddy-long-legssss]

The Story Behind The Song: Arctic Monkeys’ early ambitions on ‘A Certain Romance’

Lucy Harbron – Far Out Magazine | January 17, 2024

It was 2006. Mortgages were crashing, and businesses were going bust. Tony Blair was on his last legs in office as the longest-serving prime minister since Margaret Thatcher, and the hangover of ‘Cool Brittania’ was beginning to set in with an unexpected ferocity. Things were bleak when a young Alex Turner sang, “There ain’t no romance around there” through the public’s speakers. Arctic Monkeys were about to write themselves into musical history as the voice of a new generation.

The final song on their debut album, there has always been something special about ‘A Certain Romance’. In 2022, after the release of their seventh album, The Car, Turner seemed to find himself reflecting back on that 2006 track. To the musician, that early cut holds a clue to everything that was to come as he said the piece “showed that we did actually have these ambitions beyond what we once thought we were capable of”.

Coming in at over the five-minute mark, ‘A Certain Romance’ almost feels like the Arctic Monkeys’ version of a rock opera, summarising all the themes, feelings and energy that came before it on their seminal album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. It has the cheekiness of ‘Fake Tales Of San Francisco’ and the catchy instrumentals of hits like ‘Dancing Shoes’ or ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’. Utilising the northern charm of ‘Mardy Bum’, it stands as a final, neatly summarising point on the social commentary found in their early tracks like ‘From The Ritz To The Rubble’ or ‘Riot Van’. Really, it could be argued that ‘A Certain Romance’ is the ultimate example of Arctic Monkeys’ original sound, perfectly encapsulating all the things that made the world listen up and pay attention.

It’s like they seemed to know that, too, always allowing the song a special place. In fact, it was really the band’s opening remark. Years before the offer of a debut album came around, the group were a well-oiled machine with their own local hits. They had the northern live music scene in their hands as their homemade demo CD was passed around like everyone’s worst-kept secret. Beneath the Boardwalk features eight out of the 13 songs that would be on Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, albeit in a slightly different, lower-quality version. But the opening number, ‘A Certain Romance’, sounds just the same.

It’s all there, from the rolling opening drums to that final guitar solo. Recorded and produced in a rented studio at only age 17, the existence of ‘A Certain Romance’, one of the band’s most explorative and energetic numbers, in this form this early in their career feels like a diamond sitting in a mine. It proves that they were always onto something special.

They never needed any help. In fact, their producer, Jim Abbiss, noted that they even seemed nervous about the help. “I think they were probably a bit weary, like ‘who’s this guy? And is he gonna make our sound this or that.’”

They didn’t want anything to change too much, as the group already had the songs figured out. Turner certainly did, as the track’s meandering narrative about hometown lads, fights, and local boredom is already there. Talking on a podcast, original member Andy Nicholson revealed the story behind the song. “We had a practice room with a pool table in, and we had a party in there, and we invited another band who were friends of ours, and we all had some drinks,” he said. “Then something happened, someone throws a pool cue, someone throws a pool ball, and everyone ends up fighting,” he added, explaining the lyrics, “there’s boys in bands / And kids who like to scrap with pool cues in their hands.”

But the magic of Arctic Monkeys lies in their nuance. What begins as a snooty analysis of his local landscape is a genuinely affectionate take. “Well, over there, there’s friends of mine / What can I say? I’ve known ’em for a long long time / And, yeah, they might overstep the line / But you just cannot get angry in the same way,” Turner sings, looking around at his bandmates and lifelong friends. ‘A Certain Romance’ is not only a time capsule for the group’s beginnings but is an ode to all the people who were there with them. It’s an ode to the hometown that made them and all its various characters.

But as the last guitar solo roars to life, there is an unspoken statement that they’re going to be bigger than what they came from. “I remember when we were recording ‘A Certain Romance’ and having a conversation with the producer about the final guitar solo,” Turner told NME, recalling the moment these songs were reworked for their debut. But they wouldn’t let anyone mess with ‘A Certain Romance’, knowing exactly what they were doing and trying to say with that one. In the 2003 demo version, all the feeling is already there, and Turner wouldn’t risk it.

“There’s something that happens at the end of that track where we break some rules in a single moment,” he continued. What happens at the end of the piece feels even more special, considering how the album was recorded. “These are the songs we wanna do, and I think this is the order we wanna do them in,” Alex Turner told their producer, recounting the conversation in 2007 to RadioX, “And he goes, ‘alright, we’ll try to record them in that order as well.’” As the final song, that last guitar solo is the last thing recorded for the album, standing as a cathartic outlet and a chance for the band to prove themselves.

“We focused on the [emotional] effect of the instrumentals over the words,” Turner reflected on the track, concluding, “and I feel like we’ve been trying to do that again and again since then.”

+

[martyrbat]

[ID: a Wikipedia article from under the controversies category on the page for ex CIA member (and comic book writer) Tom King. Text reads:

In July 24 2020, Tom king posted on his Twitter account a complaint about comic book artists Jae Lee doing an alternate cover for his upcoming Rorschach series. He stated that DC comics did not consult with him about it and said that Jae Lee had previously done a cover for an alleged hate group called ComicsGate. King said that he reached out to DC comics to let them know how much disappointed he was with that cover and that for him, the only real cover for issue number one of the series was the one by main artists Fornés Jorge.

The post received several responses, some users that sided with King, demanded DC comics to cancel Lee's cover for his alleged ties to ComicsGate. The same day, King made another post on his twitter account this time stating that he had talked to Lee, he is not on Twitter and he had no idea what ComicsGate is about and does not support any kind of similar groups. He ended the post saying that they were all good, and that it was the best possible outcome to the whole situation.

On July 26, Lee took on his Instagram account to post his side of the story, explaining how he was unaware of all the drama that unfolded on twitter because of King's post. He compared it to "A plague" that came barging into his life at a very sensitive moment as his beloved dog had just passed from health complications. He went on to explain how King's post took away his time for mourning for his dog, as he received several calls and texts by friends and colleagues bringing news of the hatred coming from a stranger's mouth into his life. Lee stated clearly that was not a part of any group and that he was angry, saying: "These irresponsible tweets are not harmless. They do not just go away. They have real world consequences. They can take away your job. Your life. Your memories. June (wife) and i were robbed of a special day. So, no, we are not ALL GOOD."

Following Lee's Instagram post, King tweeted that he was very sorry and wanted to publicly apologize to Lee and that he had done a critically mistake and would delete his post as a sign of closure.]

[annakarenina]

sooo barbie’s arc partially stems from teenage girls thinking that theyre not good enough. oh this movie is going to be my joker forever

[torchickentacos]

nobody understands feta cheese like i do

[bumblingbabooshka]

[TUVOKTOBER: Day 9] Ballet with the Captain.

[gailynovelry]

There are lots of reasons to hate AI generators right now. But aside from the plagiarism, the impact on career artists of all stripes, and the general use of AI for grifting schemes, they also just really suck if you already have trouble with unreality.

I'm not talking about "oooh those AI images sure are creepy."

I'm talking about "folks with low media literacy are telling me, a nervous, obsessive wreck, that Unreality-Type Things are Definitely Real because the Smart Science Fiction Machine told them so."

There's an old lady who frequents my workplace as a customer, and she likes me, y'know? I keep the place clean, I let her chat. I'm polite. So, she's decided that I'm a nice person who deserves to be warned if something bad is happening in the world. Trouble is, she eats up every news source without scrutiny, and has chipperly informed me that "ignorance is not bliss" when I've admitted that I don't follow the news very closely (for mental health reasons.)

Anyway, her daughter's taken to addressing the AI software in her phone about current political events. So the old lady came to me one day, very nervous, and quietly informed me that World War Three is probably going to happen in November.

Because the AI said so. And the AI, it's smart right? That's why it's callled "artificial intelligence." It's gotten fed all that knowledge, so it must know these things.

Except that it doesn't. Text AI are just sentence generators. No context, no awareness, no thought process to speak of.

I know this. I'm not socially competent enough to inform her of this in-person, since that requires more talking than an "uh-huh, yep," but I know this. I know that World War Three is not happening in November just because an AI said so. Ask an AI "when is WW3 happening?" ten different times, and it'll give you ten different answers. Tell it that it's full of crap, and it'll automatically apologize right before spitting out the next crap answer.

But she doesn't know this.

She's trying to warn me about something that scares her.

And she does not know that in trying to warning me, she is a) ineffective, and b) inflicting a different kind of harm.

Because my terrible, frustrating brain, with its ten different kinds of internal malware and software glitches, is looking over my shoulder at the future just in case. And so is she.

AI is misinformation and misinformation is hell.

[putriddivine]