#i was so Aware that i was Reading A Book. if that makes sense

[flamingpudding]

Little Snippets #8

A/N: Recently reread an older prompt thread of Danny reincarnating as Tim and remembering his previous life at nine... that inspired this...

Something was different about Tim. They all noticed as they watched the third Robin as he went through the cave like a whirlwind on fire. Collecting small gadgets and trinkets, his laptop and other things before hurrying off with some kind of excuse again. Dick arched an eyebrow and glanced at Bruce. The first Robin felt tempted to as Bruce for help to figure out if something had happened during their last mission.

While near death situation weren't uncommon in their line of work, they never before had affected the young teen the way they have right now. Dick had first thought, the kid had suffered some kind of head trauma considering how disoriented he had been when he first woke up. But this, was ridiculous, it wasn't like Tim was acting all to different from his usual self but.... Dick shock his head. Maybe he was just imaging it. The kid was still the same, tinkering with gadgets and drinking coffee or energy drink in amounts the kid was still way to young to consume the way he does. Maybe the boy hit puberty finally.

In his room Tim dropped everything he had collected from the Batcave into a pile, before quickly grabbing a notepad and scratching out bullet points as well as adding new points. The kid then proceeded to start pacing his room, counting something down with the help of his fingers as he muttered to himself.

"Okay Tim, think... I should have everything I need... I just need to remember the blueprint and then build it. It's not like I never build gadgets of my own. It something I have always done once I got into it... so it will be easy to make it and then..." His muttered continued before he plopped onto the ground, not before grabbing his little multi-tool box. His hand grabbing his notebook once again as he opened it and began scribbling down.

"If I use the parts of the stun gun.... and then the chip set from the bat mini computer.... then use the metal from one of the many batarangs..." Tim mumbled to himself, before coursing as he dropped his pen. His hand going intangible for a brief moment. His eye twitches for a second before he took a deep breath calming down, then picked up his pen again. He really needed to get started on building that Fenton bracelet.

"They just had to knock me hard enough into the head that I would remember my past life...." Tim mutters quietly, annoyed with the goons he had fought during their last mission. He took another deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Memories that belonged to Danny Fenton flitting across his mind. When Tim had woken up the first time he hand't remembered for a hot second that he was Tim Drake, son of Janet and Jack Drake, ward of Bruce Wayne and third Robin to Batman.

He literally thought he was Danny Fenton waking up in a strange dimension. After his initial panic calmed down Danny, or rather Tim had anaylized his situation and figured out, he was remembering his past life. It made the most sense. At first that was easy to deal with, until Tim one day fell through the floor. Thankfully neither Bruce, Alfred or Dick had noticed that incident. But to Tim, that meant he unlocked his abilities from his past life.

Which how was he going to explain that? 'Oh hey Bruce, I woke up and I don't have a meta gene but I remember my past life and now I have ghost abilities.' Yeah... that would go really well with the paranoid old man. Someone Tim was currently babysitting until that man recovered from his grief.

That brought Tim to his next dilemma. Because he remembered Danny Fenton read comics, while he mostly read comics centered around Martian Manhunter his past self thankfully had a friend that was into Batman and had discussed the comics with him. That was lucky for Tim. Because Tim wasn't stupid, he had seen other kids at school read these kind of books before. So he was aware that he was currently experiencing and living through the plot of one of these reincarnations book.

A part of him was partially sure that he could blame that on some of his ghostly friends from his past life.

Eitherway, thanks to his past life's friend. Tim had knowledge of the future, even if he didn't remember everything. Bad point, he had by now figured out in which timeline he was. Or at least Tim believed he had, which meant he was to late to prevent the fall of the second Robin, but if he calculated right either Damian was going to appear soon or he would be joining the Teen Titans which meant one step closer to going to get attacked by an enraged second Robin coming back. There were targets painted on his back. At least he wasn't at the point at time where he had another insane fruitloop obsessed with him.

Tim groaned. "I swear if this life were a novel it would be called, 'how to survive your siblings rage after awakening to your past life'."

There was a pause in the moment where Tim just let his mind wander. Before sitting straighter and getting to work onto the things he needed to suppress his ghost powers for the moment as well as making plans for the inevitable appearance of his future siblings. He just hoped he remembered the order of events correctly let alone that they were from the timeline he was in, otherwise he would be screwed.

"And that is, if I really only remembered my past life and did not taking over another kids life.... And Ancients... please don't let this be a Joker Jr. timeline...."

[wtfisgoingonirl]

Why I got on the ship, why I am still on it and why everybody is entitled to their opinion

I have read the Lukola tag on tumblr since spring last year as a guest and just signed up a few days ago. I’m not into sm at all. I like real life. But in this matter, I have something to contribute, bc the thoughts of bloggers helped me to get rid of negative emotions surrounding this topic. I’m not a native speaker of the english language, so I will try my best to describe what my motivation for getting on and staying on the ship was and is.

Probably like most of you, I was introduced to Pen and Colin in S1 of Bton. It seemed like a fun show. In episode one, while witnessing their interactions in the ballroom scene, I was intrigued by our very beloved Polin. I remember pausing the show bc I needed to know if there could be a romance between those two characters and I learned about the books and bought the ebook of Romancing Mr. Bridgerton. 

While this type of Novell is not my cup of tea, I still decided to read it bc I was eager to know the outcome of their story.

Continuing the show I was so struck by the chemistry of Pen and Colin, that I suspected the actress and actor playing them could actually be a couple in real life. So I did another research online to learn about them, their projects and, bc I was curious, about their privat life. At the time Mr. Luke Newton was dating his gf Jade and Mrs. Nicola Coughlan‘s love life was a mistery.

Even while watching S1 and S2 my interest was pinned on the interactions of our beloved Polin. And as soon as Netflix announced S3 will be Polin season, I was happy! While I got impatient for waiting for the release of Polin season, I started searching the internet for news. Oh boy, why did I do that? I learned about the breakup of Jade and Luke during filming of season 3. HBS in 2023 and that WT just started.

I watched every single Interview I could find on YT and was flabbergasted. There was so much chemistry! It was on another level. Now I was convinced they were secretly dating. I knew they were co-workers and good friends and the only thing I could think of, was that they finally fell in love on set of S3. 

I was waiting for some confirmation of N and L being together. Instead the Instyle article about L and A dating was released. What? WTF!? You kidding me? No way! Is this a rebound situation? 

I couldn’t wrap my head around it. What did I whiteness till then? Had N and L been the goods of PR, just selling the new season? I was lost, but couldn’t let go. Maybe dating A was just a rumor. So I continued watching clips and interviews paying more attention to details. There I was, I had already boarded the SS Lukola without realizing it. Surrounded by the endless ocean there was no escape. I was addicted. 

While searching, I found more information on tumblr. Thanks to all the great bloggers and all the helpful comments, I felt better immediately. Great, there are partners in crime. All willing to share their thoughts, opinions and information.

The last year was so much fun reading it. I simply loved it! Until a few weeks ago… People startet to hate on each others opinions viciously. A ridiculous war got in play. Ruthless enemies, former Lukolas now Ankes, Jakolas and even the Lukola-endgamers were bitching on the Lukola tag. Fighting over an opinion based on different views of events. Senseless hating on the others, especially the ones who were still on the ship believing in Lukolas bond. That kind of behavior didn’t make any sense to me. What’s the problem? Why not let the others be? Why does everybody want to convince the opposition? Blogs started hiding because their opinion got unpopular. What a shame! 

I think all of us can freely have our own opinions and conclusions of events. I do not care about trolls. I strongly believe Nic and Luke are a married couple since last autumn. I even think there could be a surprise on the way. Yes, I said that. I am fully aware I could be totally wrong and all the assumptions I made bc of several incidents (for example actions on the WT, comments in interviews, chaos week, claddah ring, total silence of Lukey Newts in the last few month) are false. 

And if they are: Nothing bad will happen. As long as you only have an assumption and you do not hate on someone, especially Nic and Luke, everything is fine. The only toxic thing is people hyping things up and making it about themselves. By not accepting that another person is allowed to have a different opinion, weather you like it or not, you are a part of the problem. The question is how all of us handle emotions that come with other ppl not sharing our believes.

If tomorrow is the day we get a video of Luke singing ‚Happy Birthday’ to A on a beach in Cyprus and telling the world that she is his most beloved gf, then so be it. We all would be relieved of the burden of not knowing. If that happens, I will still ask: „Who is Nic‘s husband?“ (I suppose his name is not Bert). Bc as nice of a young man Jake seems to be, I would be utterly surprised if it is him, but also would be able to accept a romantic involvement.

Touches, kisses on cheeks, holding hands, putting you arm around, sitting or standing next to someone, going for dinner together, wearing the same hoodie or hat, sitting in someones kitchen or living room, going together on vacation, bathing in the ocean together, sunbathing on a hotel balcony, buying groceries and all the other usual things probably all of us did with a friend are sadly not a confirmation of a romantic relationship. So we still do not know who is with whom. We are only assuming a certain connection by evaluating the main clues.

I will stay on the ship until there is any confirmation of N or L regarding another partner or I see actual proof with my own eyes. And it has to be a picture of one of them french kissing another person or any sort of declaration of N or L! In the meantime everyone is entitled to think whatever they want to be true!

What do you assume, believe or wish?

Shipping doesn’t have to be tough. Leaving a ship is not a crime. I will probably gracefully leave at the next stop if there will be confirmation that N and L are with other ppl. Then the Endgamers will have more space and staying is also fine. I simply believe if N and L did not get together on the WT they are just friends… but who knows?

Do you want to know why I think Luke is not showing up? Because Nic wants to keep their relationship private, as she seemingly always did in the past. While he seems to be such a genuine guy who would love showing his relationship to the world, as he always did in the past, but simply got so much hate for everything he was doing that he is preferring to hide. This is also just a theory, again, I could be totally wrong. We will see.

Till then remember: Trying to insult each other is not supporting your argument. Nobody has to agree with anybody! Also nobody has to argue with anybody! Just share your opinion respectfully and enjoy the possibility of exchanging information with others on this platform. A little sarcasm is therefore essential.

Stay strong! Peace✌️ 

[through-the-rabbit-hole]

Thank you for the addition! This is much better worded than my unstructured little rant.

I'm aware of the (to me unfortunate) trend of how books are advertised these days, whether it be with terms such as dark academia used as a genre indicator despite being an aesthetic, or as "book 1 meets book 2 meets book 3", or just tropes (enemies to lovers, childhood friends, etc). The sales of a book hinge on its marketability to the modern audience, and I do not blame authors for doing what they should to get their book out there, especially with the sheer number of books published every year. It's a constant race against other books that fit in that same specific niche or genre. This is just a truth about publishing.

However, I think it's precisely what you mentioned about Babel and The Secret History being lumped in the same category of dark academia that makes me wary of dark academia being used as a genre (at least on the internet, since it isn't officially, to my knowledge! but I'd argue the internet is where it most counts anyway). Romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller and other genres are very good categories to sort a book into because they're, as you say, indicative of a structure and elements of a book in a way that has been defined long ago and that people have consistently been using for years. (Despite my dislike of romantasy, I'll concede that it also makes sense that it's now its own category; the elements of romance and fantasy are equally important, you'll know what you're getting into, and there's enough similar books in the category that you can contrast and compare and say that they all fit.) Dark academia, as I mentioned in the beginning, is a concept you can grasp as an aesthetic if you look at enough Pinterest moodboards, but that becomes much muddier and more complicated when you try to define it as a genre. And the consequences of that are books that don't actually have all that much in common all being marketed to you the same way, only for you to find that the actual genre doesn't fit your taste, and the imagery that the books invoke are about where the similarities between them end. But you read it because it was "dark academia", and you thought it would make sense when you started reading.

Of course, I can't put it all on the author marketing their book. R. F. Kuang may have done it herself, but Donna Tartt sure as hell didn't know what dark academia was, so it was internet spaces like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, etc. that took the book, slapped the dark academia label onto it and shared it around. And I think my gripe with that is that there is not enough time to read all the books you want to read in your life, so you want to read good books, or rather books that you'll enjoy. Which means that you have to be very careful with what you choose to read and whose opinion you're going to follow when you look for recommendations, and labels like dark academia make it difficult to accurately judge if it's for you or not, because you think you identify with it but then end up being disappointed by the book. (For the record, it's not just dark academia as an aesthetic that gets this treatment; I've seen Bunny by Mona Awad quite a few times described as "coquette", and I'm pretty sure that term is widely used to indicate a specific clothing style, if not aesthetic.)

I don't know why The Secret History is considered THE dark academia book, and for that matter I don't think anyone knows what dark academia even is at this point. It's an aesthetic, yes, but it only works as a visual and maybe musical aesthetic. Books aren't about the visual aesthetic, they're about characters and plot and relationships and symbols and themes. They're not a photo collage put into words; if I wanted a photo collage I would have sought a photo collage.

The Secret History offers some good visuals that people enjoy, but it's not a "dark academia" book, because no book is a "dark academia" book. I've been reading Babel by R. F. Kuang, and it's unironically more of an "academia" book than The Secret History, because I, too, feel like throwing up when I start studying for exams, and the book actually critically examines academia. Not to mention, it's very clear that R. F. Kuang is very interested in language, and uses the academia setting to share her thoughts on some specific questions and topics in the field of linguistics. It's not "dark academia", but it's something better: it's about academia. It's not just meant to invoke a specific imagery.

( This is not to say The Secret History is bad for not being like Babel. I love the book. I just don't want it to be labeled a "dark academia" book, because that dilutes the book down to an aesthetic, and it's so much more than an aesthetic. )

For the record. It's because of the rising popularity of dark academia and books being an aesthetic that we get works like House of Hollow, which is, ironically, entirely hollow and void of deeper meaning and themes.

[kikuism]

one more thing and then i'll shut up but i think it's so true that if there's no joy for the writer then there's no joy for the reader. you can just Tell when the author had fun writing, there's a vitality behind the prose that speaks to a genuine enthusiasm for the craft. even if the subject matter is dark, you can still tell if the author enjoyed writing or if they just didn't care. and for lady macbeth i just can't help but feel the latter. and i can tell bc i have read all their previous works and felt the Energy behind the beautiful prose. this one felt....so dull. i never felt like i was being pulled into the story because it kept me at such a distance. it seems to me like it was written without much enthusiasm. various elements were so shoddily put together too—the relationship with her new handmaiden and the monster romance 🙄 it felt so random, they were there just for the sake of being there. i really don't feel like the proper care and attention was put into crafting this book that i've felt in their previous works. there was no passion here

[thewingedwolf]

luther: the golden child

diego: the mastermind

allison: the peace keeper

klaus: the clown / mascot

five: the rebel / truth teller

ben: the lost child

viktor: the scapegoat

is this something i think this is something

[scales-n-art]

It's so sad when you try to explain to another member of the LGBTQ+ community what Asexuality really is (after they make a wrong statement assuming that it is just a lack of sexual desire), and then they dismiss you with a "You're not making any sense".

No honey, it's not making sense in your head, because you refuse to accept that the asexual experience is much more complex and diverse than "no want sexy times ever".

[perplexingluciddreams]

I love reading fanfiction to better understand characters I watched in a TV show or film. I can get to know them so much better from the words on a page, than watching them and hearing them speak.

I see patterns in facial movements, I see gait patterns, I see patterns in the shapes made by limbs and bodies. I hear intonation changes in voices like music. I notice patterns everywhere - it is making sense of these patterns and connecting things with their meanings that I struggle with, greatly.

When it comes to real people, if I watch long enough, I start to pin the meaning to these repeated movements and expressions and sounds. With fictional characters, I can't do that, as I can't ask them what their own behaviour means. I am unable to "read between the lines" at all.

When I read, the words hand me the meaning at the same time as explaining the visual or auditory that goes along with it. There is less necessary "reading between the lines", as those gaps are filled by words much more than on a TV show, where there is only dialogue.

I can tell when dialogue is cleverly written, I can find links and patterns, I can recognise when there is a reference to something - either that happened earlier in the show or timeline, or to something external that I am not aware of. My difficulty is that I simply don't understand it. I can't get all of that information from reading, either, but I certainly have a lot less gaps to fill.

Afterwards, I can rewatch and have a much deeper understanding of the characters. I start to be able to see them as fully-formed people, rather than just the words they say from the script.

I like to read different people's interpretations, also. Whilst it can be confusing, not knowing which interpretation I agree with more (as I can't much interpret behaviour or figurative language at all, on my own), it is also useful in giving me different perspectives to consider.

I might read several different fanfictions on a specific character or pairing, then rewatch relevant scenes several times; each time with one of those fanfiction's interpretations in mind.

Some of my favourite characters ever only became so strongly favoured because I read a fantastic fanfiction revolving around them, and started to understand them beyond the lines of a script.

[lemonduckisnowawake]

Genuinely believe that Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint has something to say about reading a story alone and reading it with a community. Because you see this man who read stories just to survive, who found some form of happiness in his very lonely life reading a story alone. By being the only reader, he gained this strange perspective of exclusivity, where he could feel like these characters and this story really was made FOR him alone. A way he could be seen without being seen....which plays into ORV's subversion but still inclusion of the reader self insert trope.

And THEN, he gets isekaid and - while still being the only reader - gets to experience the story with both the characters made real and real people made characters. There's a bond that we all know that comes from experiencing a story together. He could finally have actual tangible people understand him and want to reach the story's end together...until the point that if it was the story keeping him with them, they never wanted the story to end.

[repotting]

people who don't normally read sci fi have such bad taste in sci fi 😭

[msburgundy]

the book looks a lot cuter than i was expecting lol

[titsthedamnseason]

YOURE WELCOME FOR THE REMINDER BC I THINK ABOUT THAT POST AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK (and the mbobhft + lilo post) 🫡 i am patiently waiting for the parallels :)

oh yes even when i try i can never think of anyone but lilo during the bridge of that song it’s actually just so fucking perfect (and heart wrenching??? it always gets me teary)

but yeah the day i made the connection with coballoway and so high school something shifted for me. like it’s so fitting that it’s insaneeeee

[corvidarcana]

After Aurum is officially published, have you considered reuploading the original fic? Both for archival purposes, and also I'd love to see what concepts got changed and which stayed.

Hi! I will not be uploading the original fic— sorry!! Though it would definitely be fun for folks to compare, it would directly impact the book’s sales. Part of me does hate to lock it behind a paywall, but if sales are low because there’s a free version available, the story may not get as much public reach, and I do really want to see this project succeed!

[izzy-b-hands]

Didn't think the 1989 version of The Woman In Black would be scarier than the one with Dan Radcliffe in it

I was Wrong flkjdsafkldsja, but I'm delighted to have been wrong. I had missed getting scared with more practical effects/careful timing of things in the background of shots appearing and disappearing, and this one scratches that itch well.

[alanalmeara]

Fitz just want his kids (plural bc I include Nettle, Hap, Dutiful and even Swfit and Thick) to be happy and safe and god do I love him (he be adopting people left and right and then be like I am alone and do not make connections with people)

Edit : Someone pointed out that including Thick in the list of fitz’s kids was infantilizing him and that was totally not my intention. I just meant that he feels responsible for Thick and wants him to be happy and safe and in no way did I want to even unintentionally be ableist so I’m sorry about that

[whereisthedamndaddymanual]

And there you go. There's a leek is bee's

I love this latent implication that a bee derives a life directing joy from the passive production of honey

[babycharmander]

(BOOK OF BILL SPOILERS)

I just finished reading The Book of Bill and I am kindof losing my mind over some of this stuff.

I had wondered if Alex Hirsch might make Bill sympathetic in some way and oh boy I was not expecting him to do it so successfully (and without cheapening Bill's character).

So, we learn that Bill was born into a 2D world... as a mutant who can see into the third dimension. He claims he was absolutely loved by all, but when talking about his powers, he mentions under Pyrokinesis:

"Cipher, Cipher, he's insane / Starting fires with his brain." The kids in grade school could be so cruel. But where are they now, huh? WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

So probably not quite as liked as he was letting on. To add to that, there's the silly straw page, which looks like silly nonsense until you decipher some of the codes:

"EYE DOCTOR OF A DIFFERENT KIND / WHO WANTS TO MAKE HIS PATIENTS BLIND" "THE DOCTOR SAYS / THREE SIPS A DAY / WILL MAKE THE VISIONS / GO AWAY"

I wasn't sure what this meant until I saw someone point out... he was seeing a third dimension that no one else could see. His parents probably took him to the eye doctor to try to "fix" him. Which, speaking of his eye doctor, the coded message in the section about human eyeballs says something interesting:

"MY OPTOMETRIST NEVER SAW IT COMING"

It could be a joke given beforehand he's talking about dissecting a human eye, but given the previous hints of medical abuse, I wouldn't put it past him that he tried to get revenge on his eye doctor.

Oh yeah and the whole thing about him setting his entire dimension on fire? Yeah it turns out it was entirely a mistake (he just wanted everyone to understand the third dimension he was seeing so they could be free of only two dimensions), he was so traumatized by it he blacks out when trying to recall it. He deeply, deeply regrets it, and...

"What? Your ENTIRE home dimension? destroyed? How? By what?" Bill looked distant, more distant than I'd ever seen him. "By a monster."

He sees himself as a monster.

And yet, he's not some innocent, misunderstood being. He still revels in causing pain and chaos. He's terrible in general, but becomes incredibly abusive toward Ford.

"YOU'RE MY PROPERTY. DON'T FORGET IT. The hillbilly abandoned you, your father won't want you returning without millions, you have no friends, and if you died out here in the snow, who would even miss you?"

Which... speaking of him and Ford...

Yes, yes, I know people ship them. But like, whether you see their relationship as romantic or platonic (I see it as the latter), there's some interesting parallels to be made here.

Both Bill and Ford are mutants who were mocked for their being different. (Bill was not physically a mutant, as far as we know, but more in the sense of him having vision stronger than that of everyone else in his dimension, and also having special powers. And he does describe himself as a mutant.) Both became social outcasts, separated from their families but still haunted by them (Ford seeing commercials of Stan on TV and running across old photos of him and his brother, Bill being haunted by his family in some form). Neither could return home for one reason or another. Both more powerful than their peers (Ford intellectually, Bill in terms of actual powers). Both of them isolated and alone. (Yes, Bill does have the Henchmaniacs, but they seem like shallow friends, and only really seem to follow him out of a desire to have a place to party.)

Ford was not aware of most of this, aside from knowing that Bill could not go home because his dimension was destroyed. But Bill absolutely saw himself in Ford. There was no other person he tried to use whom he felt a stronger connection to.

And he actually seems to care about Ford--he actually gave him a birthday present, and when Ford didn't like it, he decided to get drunk and party with him instead to make up for it.

And then when Ford realizes what Bill's plan actually is and refuses to go along with it, and fights back no matter what Bill does, Bill completely breaks down.

After living for trillions of years, he met someone who was like him, and that person rejected him.

He goes berserk, wreaking havoc, being caught by the dimensional authority that he's been taunting for most of his life.

And then after dying and being cast out of hell for being too annoying, he winds up faced with the Axolotl, who sends him to therapy, where he continues to break down further, sending out the book in a desperate attempt to find someone, anyone who will help him break loose and wreak havoc once again.

"You have no friends, and if you died ... who would even miss you?"

I don't know, Bill. Who would even miss you?

In short,

[ID: The front and back of one of Bill's Valentines cards. On the front is a black void with Bill Cipher lying down without his hat, gazing blankly upwards, with the text "I DON'T WANT TO DIE ALONE" above him. On the back is a simple white "TO/FROM" in red, with a red outline illustration of Bill spontaneously growing a mouth and eating a realistic, bloody heart. /end ID]