#like even if she doesn't find out what if a publisher actually picks it up?????

[asterdeer]

siri what do you do if you're almost 30 but not out of the closet and your mom asks if you can read the paranormal mystery romance that you wrote about a nonbinary monster hunter.

[lovebvni]

intuitive messages pac !!

THIS IS FROM 2023!! BE FOREWARNED

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[ 🖊 ] created ⋮ 7.31.23

[  ] published ⋮  7.31.23

˚₊·͟͟͟͟͟͟͞͞͞͞͞͞➳❥ ꒰ ⌨ ✰ Arsyn   ⋆  ⁱˢ ᵗʸᵖⁱⁿᵍ··· ꒱ | ೃ࿔₊•

┊       ⋆     welcome to my blog !

┊     °

hello earthlings, its been a while since i've done a pac, mainly because of MANY personal issues - but thats not important. i thought for a while and went back to my old pac's and i found an older one i made and i remembered, my intuition is just as powerful as ever - so why do i need tarot cards now?

today i'm just going to have 10 messages/sentences the universe wants you to hear. they can be specific or general.  remember, take everything can be taken with a grain of salt, and your future can be changed. you are in control.

now please, find your inner peace, connect to your soul.

understand these messages were meant to find you, and see what is left for you.

inhale, exhale, and pick a pile

Pile 1 - Watching

confirmation :

procrastinating, pushing things off, turning the other cheek, tumblr, the colour purple (show or the actual colour), spacing out, spirits, double meaning, two faced, gemini, hidden meanings/words, red eyes (tired, puffy), burnt out, music, 'good night, sleep tight, don't let the demons fight.', the letter s, sharks, 'the grass is greener'.

side note : the month of august (summer in general) be significant for your shifting/spiritual journey.

Your messages

1. Why would you wait when you could just grab at it? It's right there. Don't let it rot.

2. "Hello? Are you there, listening? Listen to me. I'm here to help. I promise." (this could be an inner voice or a spirit guide)

3. Be your own boss. Keep going.

4. Pass on to the next step (Death to life)

5. You know what's there, talk to it. "I wont hurt you."

6. Listen, don't speak.

7. Let it go. Be like Elsa, don't let it bother you anymore.

8. Mind, Body and Soul. You're in harmony. Use it to your advantage.

9. Advise and criticize. And use the same techniques on yourself.

10. Peace and love. You deserve it. You know you do. And you will find it, soon.

Pile 2 - Renew

conformation :

saiki k, giving up, letting go, leaving things behind, mental overload, 'Jesus fucking Christ', jealous, letting go of that person, shadow work, yellow, outlook, aries, the moon, big lips, 333, the number 3.

Your messages

1. Bite down. Let it flow into your veins, your soul, your spirit. Its part of you now.

2. Is it a real worry, or just something from your past you don't want to let go of?

3. Jail. Time to rest. Now.

4. Eat and care for your physical body. You can't idolize shifting. You're not getting anywhere doing that.

5. Look in the mirror - no. Not at the past. At who you are now. Who you've become.

6. You have the balls. Go fucking do it.

7. Don't accept the truth from other people, find and make your own. That's what they see, not what you know.

8. Her claws. Her teeth. She's manipulating you. Let her go. Rip away from her. She's wasting your time, energy and draining your soul.

9. "I  DO love you. That doesn't mean I'll let you hurt yourself."

10. I am watching. Always. In your good times and bad. I'm here for you. Just ask for help.

Pile 3 - Love

confirmation :

wrist and elbow, jumpscares/ being scared, saturn, planets, fnaf, cycles, broken cycles, love watch, soulmate reuniting, mha (lmao bro idek at this point), drawing, heartache, feeling lonely, barbie, hip dips, trios.

1. Wake up from that dream and make it a reality, you know what you have to do, so go do it.

2. "Beg for my mercy." - This had a VERY sexual undertone... Obviously from a dominant partner or something

3. 'Hello again, my friend! What do you have to tell me now?"

4. You know that thing you asked for? Yeah. It's coming. Keep your eyes pealed (for some I heard it's even coming tomorrow!)

5. Sit in silence, you know what it is. You hear the voices.

6. Pack your bags and go.

7. Grab on, I'll lead you to where you need to be.

8. Don't chase what you're attracting, that will only lead to disaster. (A manifestation you wanted is coming, this is basically saying don't overwork and beat yourself up over it. It's coming and nothing will stop it.)

9. Nature is your friend. Go out and ground yourself. Lay in the grass, smell the rain.

10. If you want to learn, you need the knowledge. Search for what you want to find. You can see it. Ask around. You'll find it. Look, look, look, search, look look, search, find.

I hope this pac resonated for everyone! remember, this will find you when you need it, take what relates, leave what doesnt. remember you are in charge of your future.

i love you. new things are coming.

dont give up.

1111

[tossawary]

I started watching a few extremely long reviews of garbage books (and some reviews of better books, but that's not what I'm focusing on here) because 1) I need stuff playing in the background while I work and there's a LOT of time to fill, and 2) I don't have to pay it my full attention (can't give it). I'm not going to be tested on this later. I don't even have to look at the screen.

While I understand "everyone stop talking about garbage books, you're just giving them free advertising, you're being PROVOKED into giving this terrible book free advertising", it is still... fun... to listen to someone pull apart the pieces of a badly written story just to dunk on them. And if the reviewer actually knows what they're talking about in regards to writing and better stories, then you can actually learn a lot. I think that when learning, it helps to study good art and how it works, but it can also help to look at "bad art" and study why it doesn't work. I think that the strings of what a creator is trying to accomplish are often more visible here.

I also picked up some specific tips to keep in mind when providing descriptions! Example: It generally pays to design your world (characters, locations) with more specifics to draw people in. What KIND of sword? What KIND of tree? Also, when people write descriptions, they leave often leave out the sense of smell, which is not always necessary to include, but can be a helpful tool when setting a scene. Like, I already knew this stuff, but it's good to keep specific thoughts / critiques freshly in mind if there's something specific that I want to work on in my own writing.

I'm also super nosy sometimes and I want to know what people are talking about without having to read it for myself. And I know some people find it depressing that writing THIS bad gets published at all and becomes super popular, and I feel that sometimes, but I also find it kind of heartening while reflecting on my own writing and knowing I'm definitely better than that. And I actually like being reminded that I'm not alone in my frustration at various creative industries, and being reminded how much of success comes down to connections and good luck.

Most of all, sometimes I just really need some random book nerd to take me gently by the hand and say, "You're not crazy. It's not just you. This New York Times bestseller, that went viral on TikTok, by a multi-millionaire author, is complete dogshit."

(I haven't read anything super bad recently, actually, but years ago, I read a single Danielle Steel book (from a library, can't remember the title) because I saw her name around a lot and I was vaguely curious if she was honestly any good. That book made me feel nuts with how bad it was. Airport bookshops lied to me about her skill as an author. :( )

[thebluemallet]

Predictions for Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2!

I did a few predictions mostly focused in part 1. While some were spot on, a few others could still happen in part 2. I'll be discussing points I got right, points I could still get right, and other things I think could happen now that I've seen the first four episodes. Possible spoilers below the cut!

1- Francesca Will Feel Some Pressure From the Queen (Right ✅ )

I did say this wasn't that much of a guess and it's been what Queen Charlotte has done every season so far. Francesca didn't want to be singled out as the Queen's Favorite but hers and Eloise's efforts weren't enough in comparison to Lady Danbury's. She is feeling some pressure to marry the man that the Queen has chosen for her because it's the "easiest path" despite Violet telling her she can marry whoever she chooses. But Francesca is feeling that pressure less now that she has met the Earl of Kilmartin and he has made his intentions known (in as few words as possible).

2- Violet: Captain of the Polin Ship (Right ✅ )

Colin, you were not subtle in episode 3. Violet picked up on what you were really asking so fast! And she's the real MVP of episode 4. When Colin didn't want to go to the ball, Violet saved that ship when she told Colin about Debling's planned proposal. It's too bad she didn't anticipate the chaos Colin would cause to prevent the proposal.

3- Colin Still Doesn't Know (Right ✅ )

I knew the show could go one of two ways: Colin would find out that Penelope was Lady Whistledown in the part 1 finale OR they would hold off until part 2 for added drama.

As of the end of part 1...Colin still doesn't know that Penelope is Lady Whistledown!

4- Colin Will Find Out In Episode 5 or 6

I don't think they're going to put off revealing Penelope's secret identity for too many episodes. Episode 5 is titled "Tick Tock," and if you've seen the teaser for part 2, you know that Eloise is putting a deadline for Penelope to come clean to Colin about Lady Whistledown or she'll do it. I think that will also be the episode that the Queen offers a reward for Lady Whistledown's reveal. And as we heard from Lady Cowper in part 1, Lord Cowper has been tightening the purse strings since Cressida still isn't married. We also saw (I think in the teaser, maybe somewhere else?) Penelope writing and the small glimpse we got of the writing was calling Cressida out for being a liar and a fraud.

Here's what I think could happen:

I think it's very likely that Lord Cowper might tighten the purse strings even more in episode 5. He's already been threatening to marry Cressida off to a random older gentleman. Cressida, feeling desperate, takes the credit for being Lady Whistledown so she can collect the reward. Financial independence might help her secure a husband of her choosing. But like in the books, Penelope can't stand the idea of Cressida taking credit for her hard work, so she writes a rebuttal in her latest Whistledown column and sets off to get it printed. Colin will either a) follow Penelope and discover she's Whistledown or b) track down Whistledown only to discover it's Penelope.

Also like the book, Colin will double down on marrying Penelope because he believes he can offer her some form of protection in case people do discover she's Whistledown.

There's another shot of Colin looking like he's fuming in the teaser. I think this will also be like the book where Penelope publishes the column refuting Cressida's claim, anyway. But the column accidentally comes out earlier than intended and it blindsides Colin before Penelope can say anything about it to him.

5- Peneloise Won't Reconcile Until the Final Episode

I think this is still the most likely outcome. Eloise, thankfully, did not enter her bitchy mean girl era by hanging out with Cressida so much. She tries to apologize when Cressida rips her dress, chases after her when she realizes that she's at fault for the gossip spreading throughout the ball about Penelope and Colin, and then actually shows up at Featherington House to apologize to Penelope for it later. The ice seems to beginning to thaw.

But it will quickly freeze over again when Colin announces his engagement to Penelope. Any progress they might have made toward reconciliation will be out the window. Ultimately, I think it will be actions taken by Cressida in the second half of the season that will let Eloise make up with Penelope once and for all.

6- Cressida Finds Out Who Whistledown Is...Because of Penelope

Previously, I said that Cressida would find out about Whistledown through Eloise. That Eloise would make enough snide comments that Cressida would figure it out. It could still play out that way. Cressida is very observant and more clever than she's given credit for. When Eloise confronts her for spreading the gossip about Penelope and Colin, Cressida says that she spotted another girl whispering about it nearby and that Eloise was "not very discreet" when she shared the gossip with Cressida.

However, if the events of part 2 play out a little closer to the book, then it will be Penelope's Whistledown article condemning Cressida that allows her to put two and two together and blackmail Penelope.

7- Lady Whistledown Stays Secret(?)

I think as much as the Queen gets vexed by Lady Whistledown, she sort of realized at the end of last season when Whistledown had a hiatus how much enjoyment she got from the column. And what fun is an anonymous gossip column if the writer is no longer anonymous? Maybe we'll get an "I'm Spartacus!" moment (or, for a more recent example, an "It's my vagina!" moment) where people start claiming left and right to be Whistledown when Cressida tries to expose Penelope in the final episode. It would take away Cressida's power over Penelope once and for all, and it could allow Penelope to keep on writing.

Honestly, I think this is not a likely scenario, but it's a possibility and I'm putting it out there.

[transmutationisms]

i am the world's biggest wikipedia defender (especially against people who say that it's unreliable) because, while i know it's not infallible (is anything, though?), it is peer-reviewed. once, my friend edited the othello page to include a joke we had made and she got her account banned. how do you reckon with wikipedia as a source of knowledge? my understanding of it is that it can serve as a good base for things, but learning never stops and one should read as many sources as possible to gain a fuller understanding of whatever they want to know about. this is a very long-winded way of asking your opinions on wikipedia. my apologies, and i hope today is alright for you :~)

wikipedia obviously gets a lot of flak for the fact that anyone can edit it, which means that people certainly can and do check each other's work, but also that anybody with an axe to grind or just a poor understanding of a subject can potentially really distort the presentation of that topic. there have been some high-profile cases of bad and even dangerous editorialising, like the woman who basically single-handedly is trying to correct a whole bunch of pages for former nazis that really whitewashed their legacies and cited various antisemitic and white supremacist sources to do so. i think it would be foolish to claim that crowdsourced knowledge is inherently accurate, fair, nuanced, &c. wikipedia replicates the biases people put into it, and just having more people edit it doesn't instantly 'average them out' because yknow, we're often talking about widely held positions or prejudices that have also caused distortions in many of the cited sources. also, wikipedia has many more gaps than most people realise, partly because an encyclopedia is necessarily a massive undertaking and also because, by design, it excludes eg oral traditions, non-literate people, &c.

however i do find a lot of wikipedia criticism annoying because it will usually involve trying to counterpose wikipedia to approved academic channels of knowledge production, specifically in a way that sets academic institutions and publishing as an intellectual gold standard that crowd knowledge simply can't compete with. academia is not some kind of magical solution to problems of distortion and bias; academics have their own ways of perpetuating and rationalising prejudices, and reinforcing rather than challenging each other's epistemological authority and laziest, most harmful assumptions. not to mention that many shitty wikipedia articles do actually cite approved academic sources published by university presses! because these characteristics do not actually guarantee that a source is good, only that it passed quality control at a reactionary institution lol.

ultimately i approach wikipedia basically the same way i approach any academic text, which is to say i have to read both with attention to how the arguments are being developed, what evidence they rely on, what ideological assumptions are being made or defended, and so forth. i can't really think of a source or genre of source that i would endorse just reading and uncritically believing; in that sense i certainly agree with people who point out the major potential for inaccuracy in wikipedia articles, only i think this line of criticism is totally useless and blatantly elitist if it simply exempts 'respectable' academic sources or presumes institutional channels of knowledge to be epistemologically infallible.

anyway i use wikipedia to check dates of major events and it's sometimes useful or intriguing simply to see what about a topic interested people enough to write an entry about it. but i don't automatically trust any arguments or analyses in wikipedia articles, any more than i would the thesis of any nonfiction book i pick up.

[roseaesynstylae]

Star Wars: Republic Commando: Triple Zero, Chapter 6

I had a nice vacation.

I visited family. I soaked up the sun. I created an AO3 account and have been collecting bookmarks and posting short fic, so when I feel confident enough to link it, there'll be something substantial. I began reading my way through the High Republic. I started refining OCs that I might post fic about in a year.

And now I'm coming back to this.

(Hand to God, instant burst of rage when I opened the book.)

"In five millennia, the Mandalorians fought with and against a thousand armies on a thousand worlds. They learned to speak as many languages and absorbed weapons technology and tactics from every war. And yet, despite the overwhelming influence of alien cultures, and the absence of a true homeworld and even species, their own language not only survived but changed little, their way of life and their philosophy remained untouched, and their ideals and sense of family, of identity, of nation, were only strengthened. Armor does not make a Mandalorian. The armor is merely a manifestation of an impenetrable, unassailable heart.

-- Mandalorians: Identity and Language, published by the Galactic Institute of Anthropology"

That right there is complete bullshit.

No culture exists that long and interacts with others without being influenced in some way. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they would pick up something. I know Star Wars doesn't necessarily involve itself with the nitty-gritty of worldbuilding, but...

Part of this feels like I'm overreacting to something small, but over the course of my vacation, I have lost what little willingness I had to be nice to Karen Traviss, her Mando Sues, and all the bullshit in this series. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a bitch going forward.

Anyway.

There's something about this excerpt that really makes me feel like it's lording its (unrealistic and impossible) linguistic "purity" over everyone else. This is a case of "If this were a different author/book/series, I wouldn't be bothered."

Mando-Shilling: 2

I haven't even gotten to the actual content of the chapter yet and I'm metaphorically throttling this book. This is a bad sign.

"'General,' he said. He paused to nod formally at Etain, which -- given Skirata's general contempt for anyone not in armor -- seemed quite an encouraging start, Fi decided."

We are not pleased.

"'In here, ma'am.' He could make ma'am sound like girl somehow; he could do the same with General. But as a Jedi she had no right to feel affronted by the lack of deference. She realized that she simply wished he would like her. 'Just a little chat and you can find General Jusik and catch up on events.'

Yes, Skirata gave the orders."

Okay!

This isn't lack of deference; this is just being an asshole.

Oh, he can make ma'am sound like girl? Well, I can make Kal Skirata sound like eat shit and die.

"'In urban operations, a woman is always useful, Jedi or not. Another aid to invisibility -- old di'kute like me and females like you.'"

I hate you so fucking much.

It's a Man's World: 2

Like I said above, I have lost all patience for this series' bullshit. I'm going to go look at some pro-Jedi/Bad Batch content (my version of touching grass) and possibly assemble romantic prompts.

My last comment on this chapter?

Jedi-Bashing: 9

Mando-Shilling: 2

It's a Man's World: 2

Shut the Fuck Up, Kal: 1

Deltas, Move Out: 4

Mird, My Beloved: 3

Is This The Bad Batch?: 2

Main Post

[n0nesence]

I'm honestly so confused about that Tiktok Timothy made about the r@p3 allegations. In November of 2017, Timothy tweeted "what if I have my own story of ab*se but I'm scared to ruin the persons life and I still love them in a f*ck*d up way and the public really loves them and most probably wouldn't believe me" (talking about Melanie) And on December 4, 2017, Timothy publicly accused Melanie of s*xual assault on Twitter. She alleged two nights during which she "repeatedly said no" to advances from Melanie, claiming she kept secret for years and describing how Melanie had performed s*xual activities on her without her consent. Melanie replied to the accusation shortly after claiming Timothy's allegation was false, and stating "she never said no to what we chose to do together". Melanie further affirmed: "I understand how hard it could be to see my side of the story, considering no one with a heart would want to invalidate anyone speaking up about this topic I would never be intimate with someone without their absolute consent" and then In an interview with Newsweek, Timothy claimed that Melanie tried to contact both her and her boyfriend around 20 minutes after publishing the accusations through text and phone calls. No evidence to back this up was ever shared. In the aforementioned interview, Timothy went on to say that Melanie's dismissal of her account "says it all": "First of all, I did say 'no,' multiple times, but even if I hadn't, that doesn't mean I wanted it. She dug her own grave saying, 'she didn't say no'. That's not consent." I'm so confused, because Timothy said this and then she had changed the story multiple times in that year ect. and now she's talking about it again after so many years, why didn't she go to the police ect. I don't know, her Tiktok is confusing. Like, why would you make a Tiktok instead of going to the police? (Also, I'm not picking sides or anything I'm just saying because this is really confusing) anyways, I hope the truth is revealed, idk.

(Just wanted to share my thoughts about it and the information I had because I've been a fan of Melanie since 2012 and I have seen the 2017 tweets Timothy had said and I have them screenshoted after years and everything)

Exactly, the story is getting changed left right and centre. There's no clear story

Also, Timothy's friend has actually revealed that in 2017 when Melanie actually tried to call her to understand what was happening with the accusations, Timothy just laughed at her and said nothing before hanging up (you can find it here)

Timothy also isn't that good of a person anyway, she's been caught saying the N word, lying about being trans for money from a rapper, and getting a person in junior high to create the banner for her Only Fans 😬 (she's also been seen only letting her minor-aged fans access to her private Instagram...)

I feel like there's much more to this case than what either are speaking about (not that Melanie is speaking at all)

I guess we'll just have to wait it out just like in 2017 (just like the saying: history will always find a way to repeat itself)

Also please either send or post those screenshots! I've never actually been able to read them fully, just been able to read the ones that aren't fully true yk?

[sailorblossoms-snowbaz]

[I have a post in my drafts that I might never publish because it's hard to elaborate without bringing up examples of specific things people have written or directly said to me, and it might come across as a long dunk fest (which is not my intention, and it might detract for my actual points). But I want to share these parts of it]

When Simon and Agatha date, Agatha sets the pace.

It might not seem like it because she's still trapped in a role and in a place she doesn't want to be. She's still feeling unheard and invisible. It might be in a way that might or might not matter. But she still does.

I think that the reader is not immune to the very same heteronormativity and gender roles that were trapping for Simon and Agatha, which might influence them to reach mistaken conclusions. Conclusions that aren't compatible with what the characters actually express, but that are compatible with assumptions about what boys and girls are supposed to feel and behave. It explains the ease with which Agatha's disinterest seems to be picked up, but Simon is seen as eagerly into it even though his disinterest is louder. He might not be as direct as Agatha, but part of why I post so much about him and not Agatha is partly because I admittedly haven't paid as much attention to her POV, and partly because he actually gives many more signs (what with him being the main character and having more POVs and all).

However, if you think about it, Simon is very passive while dating Agatha. He's facing it like it's something that's happening to him, rather than something he's choosing to do. He wonders if he should kiss her not because he wants to, but because he thinks he's supposed to. He even thinks about things he's supposed to be doing with her... and still doesn't do it. Simon, the guy who acts first and thinks later. Look at that. If something is happening, outside of Simon refusing to let Agatha talk about what happened with Baz (but he tellingly doesn't refuse with Baz, he does basically a jealous scene and wants explanations with him) is because Agatha is doing something.

They break up when Agatha says so (Simon laters expresses things that imply he has wanted to break up before but didn't want to be the one to do it). If Agatha says Simon shouldn't go her house, Simon doesn't fight it (even though her parents are the ones inviting him like, this shit goes beyond Agatha). If they're going out, it's only if Agatha wants it – "she wouldn't go to the movies with me" implies she was the only one of the two who would choose to not do something she doesn't actually want to do, at least occasionally, and to actually say something. He even talks about being friends like it's something Agatha allowed to happen because they were trapped in her house together, instead of them just... clicking or something. Simon thinks about not wanting to lose a friendship he has had half his life (when he should tellingly be thinking about not wanting to lose his girlfriend) but he's still not doing shit to prevent this. He's like "I'll just say yes to whatever she wants" (I've talked about the difference between Simon "giving in" to Agatha vs giving in to Baz, one is survival mode that avoids processing, the other one is a Simon who knows his wants and needs and is moved by a desire to take care of his love). I've said this by considering general context and motivations even before realizing the extent to which Agatha sets the pace, but I'll say it again: I beg y'all to release yourself from the shackles of heteronormative gender roles. Sex wouldn't have happened because Simon is a boy and thus would be the one asking for it. Agatha sets the pace (it is Agatha, and not Simon, who can even think about it, but those are other posts you can find here)

Also, Simon is genuinely a bad boyfriend (not that Agatha was a good girlfriend either, we could say that sometimes she was even a bad friend – I suppose the same could be said about Simon and even Penny – and I say this as someone who would have done the same "questionable" shit in Agatha's shoes – as someone who doesn't want to be uncomfortable in my own house even for a second, when she uninvited Simon from her house knowing damn well he didn't anywhere else to go, but preferring to make that Penny's problem, I completely understood) (It was also the best choice, I mean, if Agatha uninvites Simon, he's mildly annoyed but gets over it quickly. Imagine Agatha trying to have "tact" and going to her parents. If they don't listen to her with something that's about her comfort in her own house, even if it's reasonable, how would Agatha feel? and if they do listen and uninvite Simon, which would translate into direct rejection by adults who have always welcomed him before, what would that do to Simon? He self-harms in a similar situation, when Penny is saying her mom doesn't want Simon in her house...)

Some things people want to give Simon good boy cookies for are actually things you should be crediting Agatha with. Outside of saving Agatha when she gets kidnapped, Simon doesn't take care of her. For the love of god, there's no scenario, romantic or sexual, where he's good to her. That's like, very specifically part of Agatha's grievances. Agatha is the one who tries to take care of Simon in some way because he lives dangerously, and she would very much prefer not to have a dead friend, and she's forced to choose to save herself and run when it's clear there's nothing she can do for a guy who won't listen to her. I think people can be uncharitable to her when they see her selfishness and the sort of awkward bluntness that can be off-putting, which are her flaws, but she's not made of stone, nor is she unrelatable or hard to understand. In that vein, being a sucky ass boyfriend are part of what makes Simon interesting. It doesn't make him a bad person! In fact, it's very interesting and notable that Simon, who doesn't know how to be in a loving relationship, who doesn't know how to identify romantic love, who has always been neglected... it wouldn't be crazy for that type of person to be bad at a relationship, to be neglectful and hurtful (you gotta remember he made Agatha cry) and to not realize that. But Simon is aware! I think it's such a big sign of his goodness that he's able to identify he's being bad to her when it would make so much sense for him to be unaware. It would make sense for the neglected to not realize he's being neglectful. The fact that he realizes and feels guilty about it, but still doesn't do anything to change (he doesn't know how, he doesn't have the tools and, as brave as he can be, doesn't have the courage to do what must be done here: letting go) is what makes him a relatable, flawed and thus interesting human being. It's part of what reveals what he actually wants (and what he doesn't want) before he's able to identify it. It's a manifestation of his unhappiness, of doing what he thinks he's supposed to, even if he doesn't want it.

I actually think there's a point with Simon being a genuinely bad boyfriend until he's putting in the work to be good for Baz. It's part of his character growth. Part of it is that he's taking his cues from Baz, a natural caretaker – he genuinely doesn't know how to be a good boyfriend until he's learning from Baz. But we can see by Simon's ability to see when he's being bad and neglectful that he already has the right instincts. What he was lacking was motivation, which he only gets when he figures out he loves and wants Baz, and that a future (which he never considered he would actually have, not even when he talked about marriage with Agatha, his actual belief was that he was going to die soon) without Baz is intolerable. When he decides he wants Baz to be his future.

[bookwyrminspiration]

KOTLC Graphic Novel: B&N Virtual Event Summary

There are no spoilers

Shannon Messenger was accompanied by Stuart Gibbs, author of Spy School and other series, who asked the questions

Enjoy!

Event's theme was Iggy Celebration--Shannon chose to wear dark blue, as it's secretly her favorite Iggy

It's officially called Dark Blue Iggy in the books, but the actual color nomination from fans was "tardis blue". She couldn't use that for potential legal issues, but she knows it's actually Tardis blue, making it her favorite

Shannon can't take credit for Iggy's changing color

She'd made him pink in book 2, and so a fan at an event asked her what color he'd be in the next book

Shannon asked her what color she wanted him to be. This fan, dressed in head to toe purple, leaned in and very seriously said "Orange." So Iggy was orange

Opened it to fans after that--but sadly never got the name of that one fan to thank her properly ("Whoever you are girl in purple, thank you!")

Book 10 doesn't have an official release date because Shannon's still writing it (as fast as she can!)

Iggy's color options for Book 10 are still undecided as well

Shannon thanks everyone immensely for their patience; "it's my focus! I want to get to them as fast as possible," but she also wants the book to be good and worth the wait

"Naive Shannon thought the later I got into the series the easier the books would be to write. WRONG!"

she has so many planted seeds to keep track of and constantly feels the pressure to one up her previous books

"I kinda wish I'd set the bar a little lower from the beginning"

She can't make a perfect book; there's always going to be someone who doesn't like something

She's reached the point of realizing her plans, and it's a delicate balance. You don't want reveals to feel like they came completely out of left field, but also don't want them to be like "I guessed that six books ago"

Finding the balance between feeling earned and still surprising is a daunting task ahead of her; it's more labor intensive than she thought it'd be

Stuart Gibbs points out that even if it takes a while, Shannon gives us a lot of book per book, so it's worth it

Shannon never intended to write such long books; she used to say every time that the next one she'd get the hang of being concise and it would be shorter, but everyone stopped believing her by book four

Was a graphic novel adaptation ever part of her plans? Secretly yes--she started as an art major and loves seeing illustrated versions of her characters. The highlight of her year is the cover art, and graphic novels are entire books!

It was on her author bucket-list, but she wasn't sure it'd would be possible; some books just don't work as graphic novels and they're expensive for publishers

When she found out she got the adaptation she "did a happy dance I was very grateful no one could see"

How involved were you in this process? Very involved, since her publishers know she has an art background

They let her pick from writers who auditioned--she wasn't sure that was a great idea because she didn't know if she could be objective; "no, I wrote it this way because it needs to be this way!"

Celina "knocked it out of the park" with her audition

For Gabriella, the artist, she was exactly what Shannon was looking for; she wanted a new style--Jason Chan (the cover artist) is incredible, but she wanted the GN to be distinct and more illustrated

She describes the GN as "like Disney meets manga," cartoonish but not

Shannon gave notes on rough drafts, inked pages, and colored versions--she's sure they got sick of her notes by the end of it

She remembers thinking "certain Keefe jokes MUST make it in," but then seeing them in the visual format they realized "huh, this joke isn't funny anymore"

Anything that surprised you about the process? Definitely some of those Keefe jokes not working, but also the fact they had to split it. At first she thought they could work it all into one, but emotion takes longer to convey visually, and they were "robbing the heart out of the book" by trying to fit it in one

Shannon jokes everything she writes ends up longer than they expect

Do you have any idea about part two? It's in the works, but it's a herculean task for the artists, so it all depends on them; "do not blame them at all! this is a daunting, daunting, massive work load"

Shannon owes Gabriella "all the cookies ever"

it's a very tight timeline, so they'll share the release date when they have it, but for now just let the artist do their thing

Was it weird to spend so much time with book 1 again? Forget anything? Want to change anything? There were some sentences she wanted to rewrite--"a book is never done, it's just due"

Thought about adding Gisela in book one, since she wishes she'd introduced her then; she always knew she'd play a huge role, but thought it'd be more clever to not introduce her until she was ready to bring her into play.

Now she disagrees with that decision and wishes she'd been there from book one, but decided that "it's not bad the way she did it, but it would've been more elegant" so she didn't change it

Does Gibbs have anything he would change about his book? He says you don't always know which characters will catch on, some some that become important he wishes he spent more time with in the beginning--"if I'd done this in book one, I couldn't done this in book 7!"

Any movie news? Hollywood is so much hurry up and wait, a ladder with thousands of rungs; they got caught at the script stage when the writer's strike happened, and even though the strike ended that doesn't mean the gears start turning again immediately.

the script is the most important thing, especially since KOTLC would be a very expensive movie, so the more solid the foundation the better the chance they have of getting greenlit

Her fingers are crossed; she wants a movie/show, but she wants it to be a good movie/show

Fans often don't realize how much work it is and how out of the author's hands it is

Reader questions! (name spellings are to the best of my ability)

Celiana: what advice do you have for young authors? Focus on writing and enjoying that part of the process before publishing! Publishing is stressful and complicated

Shannon throws the question to Gibbs. He says a lot of the times fans tell them they don't like their writing, it's their first draft. "Well that would be the problem."

Very few people hit it out of the park on their first try. Editing is a super important part of the process!

Shannon writers her books weird (editing intensely as she goes because she's always behind on deadlines, and hopes to go back to normal one day), but before that she'd have 2 or 3 drafts each. Book 1 was draft 20, Exile was draft 3, Everblaze was 2.

Gibbs does about 10 drafts each (though admits his outlines process isn't nearly as rigorous as Shannon's)

Shannon reached a point where she said "I don't think I'm smart enough to do this alone anymore!" Her books are like houses of cards, and she simply doesn't have time for the drafts to fall apart

She and her team frequently painstakingly plan things out--and even then sometimes have to scrap things. Remember that scene we rigorously went through last week? "it's not working! Now what?"

Mary Claire: Was it hard for you to find a publisher? Yes. First she got an agent, as that's important when traditionally publishing. She got her at draft 13--said that while she loved the book and its idea, you could tell this was Shannon's first book.

They went through a few edits and thought draft 15 was the one, but she got LOTS of rejections

her confidence was shaken, and draft 16 turned into a mess

At draft 18 it was sold, and then they went through 2 more versions with an actual editor; "so so much rewriting..."

Gibbs tried to get published as a kid, but was rejected throughout all of his schooling, so "to heck with this! I'm going to Hollywood to write movies"...which was actually pretty similar

he came back to writing 15.5 years ago during the last writers strike--"hey maybe I should try this book thing again"

They don't share their experiences to scare you; it's worth it, but you have to love writing to be an author given how much work and rejection it is

That's why Shannon says to enjoy the writing stage as long as you can; you need to fall in love with writing and with your story and truly believe in it

Were you always reading as a kid? Writing stories? When did you decide to write a book? Shannon was very focused on art as a kid and wanted to be a Disney animator, but her art doesn't work for that; she can't draw what's in her head, she can only copy, which "makes me about as useful as a camera"

She thought she could learn the skill, but couldn't in art classes; she realized she was always going to be frustrated if she kept at it

She'd started college at 16 and now her life plan was falling to pieces, so her mom advised her to take a class for fun

it was a film class, since she thought she'd be able to watch TV for school

she was, but her teacher also encouraged her to go to film school since she could finally bring things out properly on the page how they were in her head

"You have a lot to learn, but I see something in you." "Cool, I'm a film major now. Answered!"

Turns out film is too collaborative for her and she wanted more control; "there's those book things, I guess I could try those."

She doesn't regret the journey

Addie: How do you et the ideas to write? Shannon wishes she had a tree that sprouted money and great ideas, but really ideas are everywhere and it's a matter of paying attention.

You don't need your whole idea all at once--can be small like "I wonder if that hat...wasn't a hat at all!"

She knew she wanted to work with elves, and she knew she wanted to strip the magic from the story in favor of sci-fi/superhero logistics. The rest came bit by bit

Some days she couldn't write fast enough, others it was "oo, what if they wore capes?"

Elizabeth: what do you do when you have writers' block? Shannon doesn't like to call it that because that makes it seem scarier than it is; to her it's just being stuck, and she plays the "what if?" game

What if I got rid of the previous scene? What if they went here instead? What if, what if, what if? Open yourself to new possibilities

Gibbs is a big going for a walk person for when you're stuck. We all get stuck, not just young writers. he also likes hiking--walking but not coming back for a while.

At this point a poll was sent to the audience asking them to choose between 5 pairs. Bolded won with percentage included afterwards

Teleporting or light leaping? (63%). Eternalia or Mysterium? (63%). Bathe a T-Rex or Pet a Verminion? (55%). Telepath or Empath? (62%). Cape or No Cape? (60%)

Shannon's surprised the Keefe fans didn't pull through with the Empath vote

No matter what Shannon writes, someone's going to be unhappy, so she started pulling back on appealing to fans and prioritizes what fits the story

Marissa: Will Iggy ever go back to grey? That's up to the readers! Shannon leaves it completely in our hands, so if we ever nominate and vote for grey, she'll write it.

Shannon thanks everyone for reading and being patient, as she's writing as fast as she can

When a book is released she usually celebrates with a dessert; she ordered a bunch of fall flavor donuts from Krispy Kreme today, so she's not sure if she'll save one for tomorrow or get something new

It's dangerous that she can just push a button and donuts will show up at her house (doordash)

Gibbs and Shannon hope everyone love the graphic novel as much as they do--and stay tuned for part 2!

[peoplesrazor]

Lily judges media without actually interacting with it, part two.

Above is a character from the game Nier Automata. Lily used a similar image to "discuss" the type of person who she feels would play such a game. She took one look at the character design, and thought only three things: Japanese, anime, and fetish.

I'm not going to deny that we live in a world where some gamers complain anytime they feel a female character isn't "boobing around the screen boobly" enough. Not sure who I picked that up from, but that's an apt description of the chuds who scream whenever they find a character not sexy enough. That's certainly something that happens way too often.

What I'm saying is you can't just lump a game into that category and make judgements on the type of person who plays it based solely on an image from the game. Trying do so with this game, is extra stupid. Anyone who has played it can tell you that. Which should not be me, btw.

This is the part where I confess I also have never played this game. How do I know Lily is wrong? I listened to smarter people, got curious, and then I did a little reading on it. Tim Hickson, who has published three books just on writing and worldbuilding and runs the Hello Future Me youtube channel, has a video on Nebula talking about it. You can find it on Nebula here if you have a subscription.

Tim's video is actually about how some stories effect you, but the gameplay of Nier Automata is part of the opening of the video. He covers what Lily's dismissal doesn't. Lily described a story about a sexy android in a French maid's outfit. Tim describes a story that changed him as a person and stuck with him.

Below, some very light spoilers. I say "very light," as, again, I have not played this and do not want to give out misinformation. I'm only including what I could gather from Tim's video.

However, reading the following could actually mute the experience for some first time players. Continue with that in mind.

Ready?

So, in the beginning you start out in a pretty standard action rpg. You play as the human/android B9 and you hack and slash your way through mobs of machine enemies. There are hubs. You get quests. The style is fast. The terrain is nothing more than scenery and never an obstacle.

And then there is a fade and, suddenly, most of those things are not true anymore.

Now you are playing as the enemy, a nameless mob, one of the machines... and your brother isn't moving. You decide oil may fix him and decide to go get some. Only now, your movement is slow, laborious, leaden. Now the terrain, never a concern before, is an obstacle, another enemy to hinder your path. It's frustratingly difficult and apparently the only path forward.

And in the end, it doesn't even matter. Your efforts are futile.

What does this mean? How does this effect the story? How does it make the player feel?

I don't know. Again, you have to ask people who have played the game. Unlike Lily, I am not speaking from a place of supposed authority. I'm not the media critic with a youtube platform here.

But I listened to people who have played the game and did a little looking into the franchise and this game. I've interacted with other similar media. Played other games with similar switches in them. I can make some assumptions here, but I can't really know what the experience is like, because I haven't had that experience. I can't even say every player has this experience, since it's an rpg with different paths in it.

And that's my point. You shouldn't take my word as the only viewpoint. It's not even mine. It's from watching Tim's gameplay as he talked about storytelling. Nor should you take Tim's experience as the only possible way to view this. He is very purposely talking about his personal feelings about this game. That's part of the video's theme.

And we certainly shouldn't be taking the word of someone who based their theory on what this game was based on a single image.

[starryeyedjanai]

✨ first line tag game ✨

tagged by @aringofsalt, @kkpwnall, @fastcardotmp3, @fragilecapric0rnn, @penny00dreadful,

@thefreakandthehair, and @pearynice🩷🩷🩷 mwah i am kissing you all

Rules: Share the first line of your last ten published works or as many as you are able and see if there are any patterns!

these are the last ten fics (minus the microfics) i've posted!

It���s been a long day—a long week, actually. 911 / my arms belong around you

Indianapolis is frigid this time of year. Stranger Things / your needs, my needs

The first time Eddie stumbles across the monster in Lover’s Lake is right after he fails senior year for the second time. Stranger Things / counting the days till i'm coming home

Buck wakes up to his limbs being moved, to the mattress shifting with the weight change of Tommy getting out of bed. 911 / no place to be but right here

“I want to go on a road trip to Max and Lucas’ wedding,” Eddie says as soon as Steve picks up the phone. Stranger Things / where i most want to be

Buck doesn’t mean to almost jump Tommy’s bones in the hospital lobby. 911 / order up, i'm hot to go

It’s not like Buck was planning on sending Tommy a shirtless picture of himself, but even after he realizes his mistake, he thinks it’s probably better that it went to him after all. 911 / all the vices i can't give up

Chrissy doesn't know what she’s doing. Stranger Things / you see better when you’re looking

The day Eddie finds out that Steve has been learning how to play the drums isn't even the first day that he looks at him and knows he feels something other than friendship about him. Stranger Things / if devotion is a river, then i’m floating away

Steve doesn't think much of it when Tommy begs him to drive him and Carol to Skull Rock at first. Stranger Things / it takes two, not three (but i’m here anyway)

conclusion: sometimes i start in media res, and other times i kind of ease into the fic with some good ol exposition to explain where we are and why. i don't typically start with dialogue and where i most want to be might be the only fic where i do (other than some of my drabbles)

no pressure tags (i have no idea who's already done this or not): @sidekick-hero @steddieas-shegoes @spicysix @stevethehairington @carbonbased000

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

My Thoughts on the Roger Rabbit Novels

Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

The Plot: It's the 1980s, and human beings and comic strip characters ("toons") live side-by-side, albeit not on an equal social standing. Roger Rabbit approaches private detective Eddie Valiant and asks him to investigate a dispute he has with Rocco and Dominick DeGreasy, the brothers who own his comic strip. Roger claims his life is in danger, but Eddie, who's somewhat racist towards toons, doesn't take him seriously - which comes back to bite him when he finds Roger's dead body. Now Eddie has to work out who killed Roger, as well as who killed Rocco DeGreasy on the same night.

What I Liked: This is a very well-paced story. It sets up the mystery straightaway, it cracks along at a good speed, and you don't have the full truth of whodunnit until the very end. The chapters are short and punchy, and even the time spent on plot points that turned out to be red herrings never felt wasted. I was always eager to pick the book up again and read just one more chapter!

Also, in any other novel, the twist regarding Roger's killer would be a massive "What the heck?" moment, but here, it's set up far enough in advance that it doesn't feel unnatural when it comes.

And as a fun minor detail, Eddie casually mentions being one of four children, and then the next novel, Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?, gives him two brothers and a sister! It was probably a coincidence, but I was glad to spot it!

What I Disliked: I really wasn't a fan of the way Jessica Rabbit was portrayed. Who Framed Roger Rabbit subverts her femme fatale image, but Who Censored Roger Rabbit? plays it straight, which didn't appeal to me as much. I prefer the "looks like she could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll" trope over the "looks like she could kill you, could actually kill you" trope.

At one point in the story, Jessica claims she was forced to pose for a racy comic, but when Eddie speaks to the owner of said comic, the man claims Jessica posed for those pictures willingly and was actually eager to make more. At the time the story was published (1981), one might just about have got away with such a portrayal, but in a post-#MeToo world, it's discomforting that Jessica's allegations of coercion and sexual abuse aren't taken seriously. (Also, the man who owns the racy comic is a creepy crossdresser, which ... what? Why was that in there? That didn't need to be in there.)

As a consequence of Jessica's portrayal, her relationship with Roger is nowhere near as sweet as in the film. Their entire marriage is basically a sham. No, thank you. Give me "honey bunny" and "love cup" instead, please.

Verdict: I saw the film first, and I prefer it to the novel. Who Framed Roger Rabbit will always be my favourite piece of Roger Rabbit media. But I can appreciate Who Censored Roger Rabbit? as its own thing - a product of its time, to be sure, but also a well-structured and fast-paced read.

Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?

The Plot: It's 1947 (more or less), sometime after the events of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and Kirk Enigma are three toons in line for the lead role in David Selznick's upcoming adaptation of Gone With the Wind. A box belonging to Selznick, a box of great importance, has gone missing, and Eddie Valiant has been hired to find it.

What I Liked: Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? has my favourite portrayal of Roger (after the film and the comics). We spend a bit more time with him than in the previous book, so we get to hear more about his worldviews and his backstory. We also get to see what a sweetie pie he is. He's an emotional bunny who loves his wife, just like in the film, and I frequently wanted to hug him.

A key highlight for me was the moment when Roger was singing like a Disney Princess and summoning a chorus of birds to wake Eddie one morning, which Eddie did not appreciate. Can someone animate that? I'd love to see it!

The second half of this novel also introduces Jessica's twin sister Joellyn (the six-inch-tall woman on Eddie's shoulder on the cover), and I enjoyed getting to know her. And, without giving away too many spoilers, I greatly preferred this rendition of Jessica over the one in Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

What I Disliked: Unlike the first novel, this one was pretty slow to get going. Eddie isn't actually hired by Selznick until Chapter 7, and most of the time before then is spent establishing Eddie as a down-on-his-luck private eye, using people and locations that show up once and then are barely used again. Some of that fat could have been trimmed, I feel. It made reaching the end of the book a bit more of a slog.

Something else that bothered me was the high volume of old-timey slang, brand names and Americanisms that I, as a twentysomething Brit, did not recognise. I could read an entire paragraph and think, "Well, he's either drinking alcohol, smoking cigar or eating a foodstuff, but I'll be darned if I can tell you which is the right interpretation." I think the noir detective vernacular was slightly overdone, to the point of incomprehension.

Verdict: I thought this would be my favourite of the novels because it seemed the most similar in tone to the film, so I was disappointed by my lukewarm reception to it. Maybe I was disappointed because I'd hyped it up too much in my mind? That's not to say I didn't enjoy it - I greatly preferred the second half to the first, once Eddie found out what was actually in this mysterious box - but I think it could have done with a few more edits before publication.

Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?

The Plot: It's the 1940s or 1950s, sometime after the events of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and director Barney Sands is shooting a movie set in Toontown starring Gary Cooper and Roger Rabbit. He's been receiving threatening letters warning him to stay away from Toontown and stop making this film, but he can't afford to let down his investors. So he hires Eddie Valiant to be Cooper's bodyguard while filming takes place. But Eddie soon finds himself wrapped up in another mystery, involving a porcine crime lord called Willy Prosciutto and the corpse of Clabber Clown.

What I Liked: The majority of this novel takes place in Toontown, so we get some really cool worldbuilding details. We find out how the school system works, which churches are based in Toontown, and how crooked toons launder their money. I was particularly intrigued by the calm and serious toons in the Sanatorium - apparently, if you're not loud and goofy and bouncing off the walls, you're considered insane, which is the opposite of how humans think about mental health.

The blonde humanoid toon on the cover is Caitlyn "Honey" Graham, Willy's girlfriend. I really like Honey. In fact, she might be my favourite of the novel-exclusive characters. Throughout the book, you're trying to work out if she's a good bad girl or a bad good girl, or if she's really just a bad bad girl. If Who Framed Roger Rabbit ever gets a sequel or prequel or spin-off cartoon series, I'd love to see Honey on screen.

What I Disliked: The Roger we meet in this novel is a bit too stupid for my liking. In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Roger made seemingly nonsensical choices, but he had his own (cartoon) logic to explain his actions, and he was even proved right in his assumptions a few times. So I much prefer to think of Roger as the kind of toon where you're never quite sure if he's truly dumb or merely playing dumb for the sake of a gag. Here, he's just straight-up dumb, and that's not as fun to read about.

Verdict: This was the book I knew the least about before I read it, so I was more cautious going in - but it ended up being my second favourite of the Roger Rabbit novels. I enjoyed learning more about Toontown and its residents. My favourite parts of the film had been the toony parts - Roger, and Jessica, and Roger and Jessica together - so I guess it makes sense that I'd enjoy the novel that takes place almost entirely in Toontown.

Jessica Rabbit: XERIOUS Business

The Plot: It's the 2020s, sometime post-pandemic, and Jessica Krupnik is a human in a toon-less world. She's working a dead-end job in a crime-ridden part of town, her stepmother bosses her around and belittles her, her stepsisters treat her like a servant, and her stepbrothers sexually harass her. She's basically a modern-day Cinderella. But instead of a fairy godmother, Jessica is rescued from her life of drudgery by an opportunity to apply for a role at XERIOUS, a crime-fighting organisation of secret agents. She gets the job, and is later put on a mission with Robbe, one of XERIOUS's most experienced agents, to catch a criminal mastermind called the Klown.

(And this is somehow a prequel to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Despite being set decades after that film. And starring a human Jessica instead of a toon Jessica. Cartoon timelines be weird, y'all.)

What I Liked: This was the most fun novel to read! I think that's because it was a spy novel spoof, rather than a gritty noir detective story. The other three novels could be quite dour in tone - yes, cases would get solved, but people would get hurt in the process, and relationships would be irrevocably altered, so there was always this undercurrent of sadness in the seemingly happy endings. After three novels in a row of that, a story spoofing spy novels was always going to feel like a breath of fresh air. Gary K. Wolf has stated that he wrote this book in lockdown and had a lot of fun doing so, and I feel that coming across in his writing.

Robbe was another great novel-exclusive character. I can't say too much about him, because that would massively spoil things, but I can say that I enjoyed witnessing his development over the course of the novel. To give the most spoiler-free explanation I can, Robbe starts out as a suave and competent spy, but also a misogynist - until something happens to him in the line of duty that shakes his confidence. Watching him grow and try to be a better person, especially towards Jessica, while also dealing with the aftermath of his accident, was truly engaging. It even got me thinking about the portrayal of disability in fiction, which I did not expect a Roger Rabbit novel to do.

What I Disliked: For a novel called Jessica Rabbit: XERIOUS Business, Jessica herself was disappointingly under-developed. The first three chapters follow her miserable life and her desire for adventure, for respect, for something more. And then there's a two-year time skip and whoop, she's suddenly a confident and glamorous secret agent! And she's ditched her glasses and dyed her hair, so she's beautiful now! And she achieved her impossible hourglass figure with nothing but diet and exercise, despite being a human and not a toon! Sigh.

There was a real missed opportunity here. Robbe already has a plot where he starts off skilled and arrogant, but then has his worldview challenged and needs to learn to embrace vulnerability. So we could have had Jessica experiencing her own story of growth alongside him, but in reverse! We could have watched as, over the course of the novel, she transforms from the beaten-down self-conscious little girl into the sensational woman she was always meant to be. Robbe would start on top and fall down; Jessica would start at the bottom and claw her way up. The parallels could have been awesome!

Gary K. Wolf has admitted that, as a man, he would struggle to write a novel about women, and it shows. The sexism Jessica experiences doesn't have any nuance; the story just says, "Harassment is bad" over and over again. There's one moment where the Klown is sharing his nefarious plan to change the world, and Jessica responds, "I like the current world." And ... huh? You like the sexual harassment you receive on an almost daily basis? You like the system that trapped you in a dead-end job? You like all the poverty and crime and misery the world has right now? The story could have really benefitted from a feminist and/or intersectional analysis.

Also, in an effort to make Jessica seem smart, the men around her are extremely stupid, unable to see through the Klown's flimsy disguises. That is ... not the best way to make your female characters appear intelligent.

Verdict: My favourite of the Roger Rabbit novels! It's not perfect, but my criticisms are born out of love and a desire to see this concept reach its full potential. But even as it is, I still found this book a lot of fun to read, and I can excuse a few flaws if I'm having fun.

Final Ranking (Compared to Other Roger Rabbit Media)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Roger Rabbit and Roger Rabbit's Toontown comics

The three shorts

Jessica Rabbit: XERIOUS Business

Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?

Who Censored Roger Rabbit?

Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?

[lemonhemlock]

ASOIAF fandom is so hilarious to observe on a sociological level because why are there countless stans who have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the entire history of Westeros but cannot pick up the most obvious themes and foreshadowing. There are users who can tell me what the Red Keep chimney sweep overheard Maegor saying to one of his 977578 wives on a random Tuesday in 109 A.C. word for word, but does not believe that there is any foreshadowing for Dark Dany, Dany won't burn KL, and even if she does burn KL Martin won't frame it as a bad thing because things like mass casualties happen in war all the time.

I'm sorry but this is insane dfndfndfndfns like it's crazy? It's the most 'cannot see the forest for the trees' fandom I have ever experienced and it's honestly just baffling to witness.

This is a very interesting observation and I think part of the reasoning is certainly rose-coloured glasses & bias for one's favourite character(s). But, IMO, this environment has also festered in the last 12+ years since the publishing of ADWD because people are going nuts with such a large gap between books.

The quandary is that, despite the staunch and sometimes aggressive discourse on the matter, the series has been left in such a spot that really lends itself to various, sometimes contradictory, interpretations (if one is willing to give grace to others and not automatically assume everyone else is shortsighted or peace spoilers). No one likes hearing this because they all have put so much stock into being right by now,* but the truth is that, if you want to mount an argument for Saviour Dany, you can cherry pick some elements from the text, such as Dany's empathy for enslaved people, her emotional thought process, her striving to be kind and just etc - all of which are true enough, because Daenaerys is, thankfully, a well-crafted character and not a two-dimensional white girl pastiche. Likewise, if you're a Dark!Dany belieber (sic) like myself, you're going to be drawn to other recurring motifs in her story, such as her entitlement to a throne that doesn't "belong" to her, her unwillingness to examine her family's problematic past and history with violence, her eagerness to employ that violence in her quest for queenship, her equating social liberation with her simultaneously being at the top of the pyramid, her disinterest in what the people of Westeros actually want, her belief that her decisions are always correct and morally righteous etc.

So, to expand on this example further, could someone really craft a further two books where Daenerys turns into this benevolent queen who comes to be loved by the people of Westeros for selflessly saving them from the ice monsters? Of course someone could, anyone can do anything. Would it be a good story? LOL. Would it be in line with the themes already developed? Double LOL. ASOIAF could also turn out to be a bad story, you know! There's always that possibility. IMO the seeds for her downfall are already there, but the truth is that they're not exceptionally overt for a lot of readers and so they find them hard to accept. If evil why friend-shaped etc.

If everything had gone to plan, these insane debates would not have had time to get so out of hand, because we would have had TWOW published 5-6 years ago and things would have become clearer by now. It's just that GRRM left us off in murky waters, with a text that's ambiguous enough in some places and a fandom that likes to one up each other and is bored enough to seek entertainment in trench wars & endless arguing. And Dany is just one point of contention, you have people out there fighting for their lives about Sansa, about whether Young Gryff is Rhaegar's son or not, about Stannis being the proper ruler for Westeros etc. Something that irks me is how a lot of these fans become so belligerent and can't just accept that sometimes the text we have so far is just vague! Because the story is unfinished! Sometimes it's really not just because everyone else is stupid or racist or misogynist, the text really IS lacking, with two full books missing.

*We also live in rather peculiar times, socially-wise, with the advent of content creators that have literally gone on to make an entire livelihood out of commenting on ASOIAF and presenting theories. Since people are so bored and desperate for some kind of content, they flock to these BNFs and that contributes to the popular interpretations being recycled. When you quit your day job to do this full-time, you kind of become dependent on your audience and feel the need to tell them what they want to hear because otherwise your paycheck is affected. And no one is really eager to forgo paying next month's rent because of something silly like criticising Dany online. This, in turn, influences new fans coming in and searching for information on their favourite characters, so when they encounter the popular talking points for years, of course they're going to take it at face value, because so many people can't be wrong, right?

[haruniki]

What do they smell like?

genshin impact ver.

Jean, Lisa, Amber, Eula, Rosaria, Sucrose

a/n: hiiii, im very sorry for not posting very much or at all during my winter break! I was really tired and just didn't feel like writing. I hope this makes up for it!! also all are headcanons, i dont remember if there's actual canon smells of the characters lol also galf sleep writing this🫶🫶🫶🥹 sorry if there's mistake or something doesn't make sense

Jean Gunnhildr

Jean smells like fields of soft grass and dandelions.

Her scent is like a distant feeling and as you get closer to it, you start to feel safe and comfortable in your surrounding

It's most notable in the morning when Jean returns from her morning walks

Dandelions freshly picked in her hands that she gently places on the bedside table beside you to let you know that she has already gone out and is on her way to do paperwork.

Lisa

Lisa smells of leather and tea leaves

Lisa spends a great amount of time in the library, she is Mondstat's librarian after all so it only makes sense that she smells a bit like the leather that holds the pages.

Of course every good read deserves a good side of freshly made tea. While placing books back on the shelf or while bring captivated with a new book imported from the Yae Publishing House, Lisa prepares a fresh cup of tea.

The tea leaves that she careful picked out this morning from the cupboard, smelled quite nice and a cup of tea is always nice to have after a bothersome task.

Amber

Amber smells of burning wood and soil

I like to think Amber does a lot of camping and with camping comes a fire to keep warm at night.

Of course her vision could also be of some blame too. Though it does mame for a pretty useful fire starter.

Lending a helping hand to help some elderly farmers is where the earthy sent of soil comes in. While Amber isn't too busy, helping out with some nearby farm makes the time fly by faster.

Digging up weeds and planting a few carrots or maybe even pulling up some radishes, Amber can never seem to full get rid of the dirt under her fingers. But it makes her glad that at least she can offer a helping hand.

Eula Lawrence

Eula smells of fog and mint

Fog has a really misty and moggy scent. One that smells earth but not overwhelming. The type of smell that you would recognize after it freshly rained during the winter but it wasn't quite able to make it into snowflakes

I believe mint is something that she tries to actively seek out. From making her own perfume using mint leaves and water to specially ordering it to be made.

The mint smell gives a calming that she likes and she hopes it's able to calm those around her enough that they'd stay awhile to chat.

Rosaria

Rosaria doesn't really have a scent.

The only way you'd be able to smell anything on her is if you get close enough to her. If your able to then smoke and a tangy, almost wine like smell will be present.

The snoke like smell can ve up to interpretation, but the soft scent of wine can be directed to Angel Share where you can find her most nights.

Around all those people, drinking and just trying to relax from her busy schedule of trying to remember what lord ibuprofen's name us.

Sucrose

Sucrose smells of Chemicals and.. burning hair?

Sucrose is a alchemist and tends to use a lot of different things in her mixtures. So it's no surpise that she might smell of those chemicals.

However, more concerning might the small fried ends of her hair.

Mistakes happen and Sucrose is more than prepared to deal with those mistakes even if it means a new haircut.

None the less, Sucrose doesn't mind if you give her something that might help mask the scent of her burnt ends.

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #5: Digit LeBoid

Let's talk about Digit and the series lore around him. As usual, we'll start with the original character bio from 2001. Given how old this is, some of this has probably been ret-conned over the years. This is extra likely for Digit since his backstory is inextricably tied to The Hacker's backstory, and The Hacker's backstory contains ret-cons.

His bio starts off by pointing out that he a klutz and an excellent friend to the kids. Out of all the CyberSquad members, he seems to be the one who gets hurt the most, probably due to the other three being children, and PBS not wanting to show them injured. It also establishes that he worked for The Hacker, and then he defected to Motherboard later.

I love that he can't decide on his favorite color. He is a published author, with his book "The Cyber Chef" listed as one of his favorites. I don't believe that this book exists in printed form, or even as a text on the website, both of which would have been very cool. His other favorite book is interesting, though. "Johnathan Livingston Seagull" is told from the perspective of a seagull learning about flying, personal reflection, freedom, and self-realization. Given Digit's backstory, it makes perfect sense that he would identify with the the themes of the book. The writers definitely picked it for reasons other than being bird-themed.

His favorite music being from The Dixie Chicks was definitely picked purely for the bird-theming, though.

Now, Chicken Run is a case where the writers may have picked that out due to the story being about the chickens escaping the farm to save their own lives from their horrible owner. Or maybe they just picked it as another bird reference. His pet peeves are listed as heights and having to do things over. It is unfortunate to be a bird and have a fear of heights. I definitely remember his complaining about having to do things over when the Cybersquad figured out that they had been doing things the wrong way.

We need to talk about Widget though. He is listed as Digit's pet. We meet him for the first time in Season 1 Episode 24 "Size Me Up". The kids need someone who can enter a small cave to use a portal to warn Motherboard of he Hacker's plans.

I don't think Widget has had enough appearances for me to give him an entire character discussion post of his own. Is he another CyBoid, like Digit? What are the ethics of one CyBoid keeping another CyBoid as a pet? Does Digit just carry him around in his chest hatch all the time?

Of course, he might not be a CyBoid. Between the rivets and springs, I wonder he is actually a robot, as Buzz and Delete have visible rivets as well. Then again, Widget's construction may be down to Digit's lack of skill or experience in the area, relative to his own creator.

Since I've already reposted the entire "How It All Started" prequel web comic series, I'll keep this part brief.

Digit was created by The Hacker, as he wanted an assistant of his own, similar to how he had been created as an assistant to Dr. Marbles. It is notable that The Hacker produced him with a built-in immunity to magnetite. So far, he's the only character native to Cyberspace with such an immunity.

One night, The Hacker steals the Encryptor Chip from Motherboard and locks it in a secret vault. Digit is opposed to this, but The Hacker doesn't listen.

Digit retrieves the Encryptor Chip.

There is no indication that The Hacker learned of Digit's betrayal during the theft of the Encryptor Chip. However, I find it hard to believe that he didn't realize what happened. Dr. Marbles was out, so it was just Digit, The Hacker, and Motherboard in Control Central at the time. Also, Digit was the only witness when the chip was placed in the vault, and he was opposed to the theft. Given that Motherboard didn't immediately detect that the chip was missing and raise the alarm, she didn't know it was gone. Who else, other than Digit, could have recovered the chip and reported The Hacker's crimes.

My personal theory is that The Hacker absolutely knew that Digit had betrayed him here. Digit was, at this point, The Hacker's greatest creation. The Hacker was about to be banished. I believe that The Hacker realized that firing Digit would leave his greatest creation working directly with Motherboard against him. And if he dismantled Digit, then he would be completely alone.

Regardless, when The Hacker is banished, he abducts Digit, intending to have him remain as his henchman. Somehow, neither Motherboard nor Dr. Marbles realized what happened.

In this new chapter of Digit's life, he takes part in the construction of The Hacker's infamous Grim Wreaker ship.

He gets two new brothers, in the form of Buzz and Delete.

The Hacker attacks Cybersite Valussa, plunging it into darkness, and Digit knows that he needs to be stopped.

Naturally, Digit is wary about going up against The Hacker.

However, he pushes through his fear and defies The Hacker a second time. He sends a coded message to Valussa to tell them how to get the power back on. However, Buzz and Delete witness this.

Digit foils The Hacker's plan, and Valussa is saved.

However, because The Hacker learned of Digit's betrayal, he locks Digit in a cage as punishment.

Digit uses his multi-purpose beak to escape, and he finishes defecting to Motherboard. He is welcomed back and accepted.

The Hacker does not take it well.

Digit is ashamed of his past work with The Hacker. We see this when Digit reveals his backstory to the kids in the first episode of the series.

Matt: Man, Hacker sure picked a nasty place to hide Dr. Marbles.

Digit: Nasty's nothing new for The Hacker. When I was part of his mob, believe me, I saw how evil he could be.

Jackie: *gasp* You work for Hacker?!

Digit: I'm not proud of it, okay! If Mother B. hadn't rescued me and set me straight, I'd still be wreaking havoc!

Inez: It's okay Didge, we had no idea.

I love this scene. We have Digit admitting a shameful part of his past, and the kids accepting that he is a better person now.

However, it doesn't really line up with the prequel comic. The two times that we saw Digit working alongside The Hacker, he defied The Hacker and ruined his plans. The worst thing we see Digit do is build the Grim Wreaker, since The Hacker went on to use it to cause so much chaos. And even then, this was after The Hacker kidnapped him without Motherboard or Dr. Marbles realizing it. Once Digit realized that The Hacker was sick of his betrayals and was going to keep him in that cage, he broke free and defected to Motherboard. We never see Digit out causing chaos. The line about Motherboard rescuing him and setting him straight also contradicts the comic, since he rescued himself.

No specific writers are credited for the How it All Started prequel comic. So, we don't know whether the same people wrote the comic versus the first episode. However, one way or another, it looks like the writers for the first episode decided they wanted to change Digit's backstory. They wanted him to have actually gone along with The Hacker willingly causing chaos before having a change of heart.

Later on, we get Season 2 Episode 5 "All the Right Angles". Motherboard accidentally sends a treasure map to The Hacker. The map leads to the secret to Ivanka the Invincible's invincibility. If The Hacker gets it, we're in trouble. While the kids work to find the treasure, Motherboard sends Digit to work undercover. He tells The Hacker that he has left Motherboard, and he wants to be a bad guy again. He even lies and tells The Hacker that he purposefully sent the map without Motherboard knowing about it. The Hacker buys this and lets him back into the fold.

But, if the webcomic is still Digit's backstory, then why would Hacker believe this? Sure, Digit only betrayed him twice in the past, and we only have confirmation that The Hacker found out about it once. But those were also the only two times that we see Digit involved in The Hacker's plans. There has to be something more here.

However, I plan to pitch a revised backstory for Digit in a separate post, as this is meant to be more about confirmed information about the character.

On the subject of The Hacker though, Digit makes it very clear during Season 1 Episode 1 what he thinks about him. It's an incredible rant. Sure, he probably wouldn't have said it if he knew that he Hacker was right behind him, but he still said it out loud.

Dr. Marbles: What about Hacker?

Digit: You mean that pompous piece of Cyber-trash!? That green-faced bag of wind?!

Damn.

So, here's some more Digit trivia. He's somehow gone to France.

They could have meant this as a meta joke: https://www.info.gouv.fr/

However, I like to think that he casually went to the real world to learn about French cuisine. If this happened when he was working for Motherboard, then that would be one thing, since she has the power to open the vortex. However, the fact that The Hacker has a copy of the book and wouldn't allow Digit to go on a book tour implies that this happened when he worked for The Hacker. Yeah, I'm not sure how they would have gotten the vortex open. Maybe Digit was a test subject for some sort of evil scheme where The Hacker would enter the real world in an attempt to find Motherboard's physical power switch.

We know that living things native to Cyberspace can pass into the real world, given that Jackie was able to bring a Madre Bonitas flower into the real world.

Anyway, Digit's clumsiness is established in the series. He falls out of the sky and messes up his beak and tail rotor a lot. He also slips or trips and ends up falling over a lot.

Sometimes this is helpful, as he breaks a picture of Slider and Coop, which reveals the NIC. This is the key to The Hacker's Transformatron, which will enable him to ascend. It also reveals why Coop left and enables them to find him.

Other times this is not helpful at all. Once of the best examples is from Season 5 Spisode 9 "On the Line". when he fumbled the NIC and dropped it on the ground a few feet away from the Forever-Gone Machine. This enabled The Hacker to retrieve it. In hindsight, Motherboard probably should have known better than to send him alone on something this important.

Digit has some insecurities related to messing up. In fact, during Season 6 Episode 1 "Digit's B-Day Surprise", he comes very close to signing paperwork to let The Hacker reprogram him to fix his clumsiness.

However, the children convince Digit that they love him just the way he is, and he is able to reject The Hacker. We all know that if The Hacker had been allowed to reprogram him, everyone would be doomed.

Digit is also absolutely devastated during Season 12 Episode 1 "Space Waste Odyssey" when he trips over Motherboard's cable and accidentally shuts her down. We get to see his room in this shot, as Jackie comforts him. I like the band poster on the wall. I love the photo of the Cybersquad together on his end table.

Let's finish off with his official trading card.

His age is listed as "not that old", which could mean literally anything. If we establish that he was born before The Hacker was banished, and that The Hacker's banishment lasted eons, then Digit is actually quite old.

He can't decide what his favorite color is.

I think the line "I knew that... I was just testing you", is a pretty good line for him. He definitely uses it when he's learning new things with the kids.

He is pretty great at crash landings, telling bad jokes, and doing impressions.

Oh, and, after every episode, he introduces "Cyberchase: For Real". You know, that's the show that takes place in the real world, with live-action Earthlies, where they talk about Cyberchase as if it was a show. Yeah, that's a mind-fuck.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Did you see that tiktok video that's been floating around twitter of that woman going The Love Hypothesis is problematic and woman in stem publishing this book will normalize teacher/student relationships and will be used as a excuse....like what the actual fuck??

I tried to find it, but haven't been able to so I'm going off secondhand info buuuut.

a) as someone who feels pretty well-acquainted with what is and isn't problematic in a way that matters.... that book isn't, unless there's some crazy shit I'm not aware of surrounding it

b) I really need this person to make their way into the real world and realize that STEM (and academia in general) did not need this book to normalize these types of "student/teacher" relationships because uh, that should not be a normal thing but it... is, and some advisor didn't need to read TLH to go "I'm picking up on a vibe between me and my advisee.... I'm gonna do it"

c) let's dig into the phrase "student/teacher" here--while a college professor is indeed the teacher of their adult student, I've seen people use the phrase student/teacher to describe these relationships, and I think it's manipulative, at least when you're using English.... I mean, I can only speak for American English, but I'm going for it. When we use the phrase "student/teacher", it's most commonly associated with crimes that involve minor students and their teachers.

Because very few adults, in my experience as someone who's gone to college, call their professors their "teachers" here. I never did. They were my profs, more specifically my mentors or advisors if that was their role. Perhaps it's different in other countries, but I don't know any college student who used "teacher", because we associated "teachers" with "children".

I sometimes feel that language like this is used to ensure that people who wanna weigh in with zero context jump into agreeing with the OP, because OF COURSE STUDENT/TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS ARE WRONG.

d) so, why are student/professor relationships bad if the student is an adult (and mind you--undergrad, grad, and postgrad students can be older than their profs... it's not unusual, depending on the situation; I was friends with fellow students old enough to be my mom and frankly probably the professor's, too)? Because of the power imbalance that occurs when the student is learning under that professor. Whether that professor is their advisor (who may not teach them--my advisors often taught me, but not throughout my college career) or is instructing them at the moment, that professor can impact the student's academic career, from their grades to the projects they're selected for. The professor can nepo their romantic partner into an opportunity they shouldn't get; they can threaten the student into silence or a coercive relationship, as well.

Which is why higher ed institutions have rules against these adults dating each other.... but often, not when a professor dates an ADULT who happens to be a student at the school but is not in their department. If I'm an English grad student and a Math prof asks me out... I mean, I guess they could theoretically use their personal relationships with the English department to impact my life, but that is dependent on them having a personal, not professional relationship that they could make outside of work even if they weren't in the school? They have zero direct professional connections to my work, and therefore the school really doesn't have much of an ability or need to police our relationship, because we are consenting adults.

e) the book directly deals addresses this, and in fact all of Ali's STEM books that I've read address the conflicts that can come up with people (usually male) who have power over female academics in STEM... Adam is not Olive's advisor and his research doesn't interact with hers. And at the end of the day? Yes, he is a professor, she is a student........ pursuing her doctorate......... she ain't anywhere near an undergrad, even.............. But he's not teaching her, their research doesn't intersect from what I remember, and when you are an academic it is very possible that you will fall in love with a fellow adult who is further along in your career than you are and works in a similar field but does not in fact have power over your studies. Because people who have academic careers breathe their academic careers and that is how they meet people and those people have shared interests and people with shared interests sometimes like each other.

f) Ali Hazelwood knows all of these things because she is in fact a professor...............