#or like books and podcasts and whatnot

[tow-bees]

okay but the thing about this tho is I actually love reading stuff where all the characters, in addition to their unique mannerisms that are distinct for each character, definitely all have an overlapping specific way of talking that was definitely influenced by the author’s very specific way of talking because it makes the story and characters have a very specific flavor that only that specific author could put into it (which I personally find very fun and charming)!

 Additionally, I think it makes the existences of fictional stories feel more concrete and believable when all the characters share very specific mannerisms because of course everyone in this story exclaims “what the heckaroodle?!!” whenever they are surprised - even though I have never heard anyone say that in real life - because it must be that the world in this story has developed in such a way that “what the heckaroodle” is a common phrase, and since all these characters exist in and grew up in this world of course they all say it (even though it is really just because the author says “what the heckaroodle” on the regular). I personally think it helps feel the characters feel more connected to their world and to their existence in it with each other (even, and possibly especially, in stories that take place in the real world).

and like I am definitely no expert in this for sure and it definitely makes sense to not want all of the characters to just sound like you, but I just really like it when stories have that Thing about them that comes from the author unintentionally putting some of their own specific existence into the story.

Character-voice is I think one of the hardest parts of writing and here's two charts to explain my thoughts on why.

The intention:

The thing I think is maybe happening which I have no idea how to check or prevent:

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

I absolutely love our flag means death and I love many of the blogs I follow, yours included, but I don't ever want to truly join the fandom. The blatant racism is abysmal and just a strong reminder how toxic and racist fandom culture is in general. The fact half the show is about the romantic lead is the monster legend has made him out to be, and they even like him, yet their bias can't make them actuve see a moc has anything but dangerous. The fact people stanning and apologizing unironically his toxic second mate who is more fascinating as a bad guy than a good guy. Who throw tantrums when people literally point out things within the show that happen but also act like people are insane and toxic for thinking racial stereotypes are bad. How can they literally watch the show and agree with the villian that a character who's been told who's cried and had panic attacks and is a dude bro that he doesn't deserve nice things actually doesn't and is as scary and mean as everyone says he is. How can you think that and still think youre in the right. This show is so fun and positive. These people are so fucking insane over a dumbass goofy workplace "check out this booty im hawking whip my balls pissing on boots" pirate sitcom. It's weird!! It's so weird!!!

honestly anon, that's probably a good call. i'm personally still having a blast because i've gathered a nice little circle of mutuals and mutual-in-laws whose takes i trust and whose ofmd content isnt fucking abysmal. but even then i still see Incredibly Shitty Takes on the regular. even if i turned anon off i'd still see shit if i went into the tags (which i rarely do) or if i just. tagged a post with the character that post is about. it's fucking wild

you're completely correct tho. the amount of Missing The Point Of The Entire Goddamn Show that goes on in this fandom so that people can woobify their white fave is fucking exhausting. i don't blame you for not wanting to get involved

[girljokes]

im gonna show my privilege here a bit, but as someone who’s only ever had formal education in their entire life, how do i start self teaching subjects like physics and chemistry?

[lowkeyrobin]

Platonic Phoebe and Trevor x Gary Grooberson’s teen kid reader and adjusting to being stepsiblings?

OH MY GOD YES BRO RJSKDMSNSN ; I did my best pls bare w this 💀💀💀

SPENGLER SIBLINGS ; stepsiblings

summary ; youre Gary's kid and you have to adjust with two new stepsiblings

warnings ; language

disclaimers ; your mom is nonexistent/Gary adopted you. it's not a topic brought up at all I don't think but you can choose, ik some people don't like kid of ___ reader or ____ sibling reader so beware lol, takes place between afterlife and frozen empire so no spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched gbfe yet, reader can drive/is around Trevor's age

word count ; 675

masterlist

it's so awkward at first

especially since you've never had siblings before so it's like they're teenage roommates

like okay your parents are dating or whatever but like, ew?

except you're living with them, not the other way around

both gary and callie are trying to urge you to interact but it's just not happening

you're not really a ghostbuster either, you aren't smart in the sciences and aren't into the whole ghost thing anyways

you're more into traditional ghosts anyways, not the ones that show up in broad daylight and need to be trapped by proton barriers

it's very rough at first

you connect with phoebe first, as a once in a blue moon experience happened, she wanted to act like a normal 14yo and go get ice cream

Callie couldn't take her because she was busy helping trevor with work stuff and told her to ask you

she was like 🤨 and like... "okay?-"

she asks and you look at her like 🤨😊

you guys go get ice cream and she tells you all about the shit you pass on the way there and back home

you surprisingly end up bonding over the struggle of talking to others like normal people and being well reserved with little to no friends

then comes the bonding over a certain book you both liked

the whole car ride home is oasis on the radio and chatter about this book, and going the longest possible way home because you didn't want this bonding moment to end

you sat in the car after phoebe got out, just sitting in silence

you were kind of in awe yet saddened the moment had ended because you were bonding so well

after that she clearly sees you in a new light and looks to you for your wisdom and clear view of the world when she's wrapped in her own madness and needs untangled

you were the trusting older sibling she needed since trevor never really understood the proper being there for your sister thing

they're proper siblings and whatnot but it's not like they go to each other if it's not to shit talk people

you're like their mediator and therapist sibling

getting through to trevor was much harder

you ended up finding him a job and he was like 🤨😒 when you showed him

"oh- uhm, sorry. I was just trying to be nice" and you quickly scramble away

he's just confused cause like ??? you never talked, he didn't even know how you knew he was looking for a job

he comes into your room a couple hours later like "Hey sorry I acted all weird, thanks"

and that's it

bonding with him is so hard, and Gary and Callie are like "okay go fucking do something"

you're all (spengler-groobersons + podcast bc phoebe needed a friend her age) out at an amusement park, and these mfs ditched yall at the carousel next to the bathrooms

and they weren't picking up their phones

you were basically forced to interact now, which was much less awkward in an amusement park

you guys ride some rides and get some food as you frequently call your parents

you finally find them, phew

but you two obviously made a little friendship and had fun together

took a little longer to get used to each other but you're fine now

awkward teenager shit yk?

in general, the three of you now are super close

trevor is your hype man when it comes to talking to people or doing something out of your comfort zone

phoebe is your hype man when you talk to her about maybe wanting to be a ghostbuster / study ghosts

you're the driver for the three of you, callie doesn't trust Trevor with driving, considering how he was driving the ecto1 when he first got it usable again, and obviously, phoebe can't drive

after a few years you're basically just like normal siblings

you three have a sibling group chat and it's 90% you sending memes, Trevor sending random tik tok links and phoebe begging you two to stop blowing up her phone

spenglerson siblings 🔛🔝

[m4sonn]

✧*̥˚ The outsiders Modern AU Headcanons *̥˚✧

- Credits to @stevelovbot on Tumblr for the inspo for this post! And also credits to my friend @peachyponyboyy who I collaborate with for these!! :3

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Ponyboy

• Is a big fan of the Simpsons and can quote almost any episode word by word.

• Says that The Godfather is his favorite movie ever but it’s actually Mamma Mia. He secretly loves musicals.

• Is the only one with a Tumblr account and he’s pretty active in there.

• Definitely writes fan fiction or character studies in AO3.

•The only person that knows about that and gets to read them is Johnny.

• His pfp always matches Johnny’s in any social media platform.

• When he feels annoyed/pissed by his brothers, he likes signing them up for random ass newsletters and whatnot, making sure they get spammed constantly.

• He loves digital books and owns a Kindle but he feels like nothing compares to real books.

• His bi awakening was watching hunger games with dally and seeing peeta, made things worse when he saw the fnaf movie, he’s just a wh0re for josh hutcherson. (He would’ve made the whistle baby edit /j 😣😣🔥🔥)

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Sodapop

• Is the only one who can actually use TikTok and he’s pretty popular. He loves doing trends with the gang, probably forcing them to do the cinnamon challenge. (they agree bc they're all stupid)

• Loves avocados a lot and gets teased for posting pictures of his meals.

• His favorite game is Assassins Creed but isn’t a big fan of the community and fandom around the game. He just wants to play it and have fun.

•Facetimes the rest of the group whenever he wants, specially Ponyboy and Darry.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Darry

•He’s the owner of the only Netflix and/or any other streaming accounts of the group and is the one who pays for it. The rest of the gang add their own profiles and watch everything they want. (Or they share one account, there is no inbetween)

• Likes to keep up with the news and current affairs, so he follows a lot of reporters and activists on Twitter and Facebook. He’s subscribed to lots of newsletters for sure.

• Was the biggest football star of his school and got a scholarship thanks to it. He went to college but had to stop playing football eventually due to a freak accident on the field. However, this didn’t sadden him, since he got his diploma and works in things related to football anyways, he works as a coach for the local youth football team.

• His phone password is Ponyboy and soda’s birthdays mixed together.

• He is a big fan of No Doubt, when he found out that they were performing at Coachella, he absolutely lost it and started saving for a ticket immediately. When he went and saw them in the front row he cried, absolutely WEEPED.

• Constant listener of destiny’s child and connects with survivor on a personal level and he’s not scared to admit, you’ll sometimes hear him singing it while he’s doing stuff around the house while listening to music

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Dally

•Has been blocked by multiple celebrities on Twitter AND instagram, on various occasions.

•Is a very big fan of The Hunger Games and one of his favorite characters is Peeta.

•Makes sure to be the first one to text Johnny on his birthday, even if they’re standing next to each other.

•Loves crime/serial killer podcasts and has good knowledge about these topics.

•Hates going to the dentist. There is a very embarrassing video of him being out of it after getting one of his wisdom teeth removed that Johnny recorded (Dally forced Johnny to take him since he was scared).

•Is always listening to music and doesn’t like sharing his earphones unless it’s Johnny.

•Has practiced a lot of sports during his life and his favorite one so far is boxing.

•Got drunk one New Year’s Eve and confessed that Darry was like the brother he wished he had had, and that his New Years Resolution was to make it up to Darry (He never did, since he had forgotten). and nobody has ever let him live it down.

•Secret fanboy of the neighborhood, one time he thought nobody was home and started singing daddy issues at the top of his lungs, two-bit has it on video and never lets him hear the end of it about it.

• Still enjoys stealing and robbing old ladies and young children and still enjoys annoying random pretty girls on the street (so basically still and ahole)

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Johnny

• Wears denim overalls with cute sweaters and loves jackets with lots of pockets.

• Loves spicy food and is the only one in the group who can actually eat it without any problem.

• Has always wanted a puppy or any kind of pet but his situation at home always made it impossible. Because of this, Pony gifted him a goldfish one Christmas and they set the fish tank at the Curtis’ so Johnny could visit it as much as he wanted without risking getting his parents angry.

• He gets really attached to that fish pretty fast and treasures the gesture behind it. Pony and him name is Frost.

• Pony and him use Twitter DM’s just to send memes to each other and store them.

• He has a private Twitter account that only Pony gets to follow.

• Can speak Spanish and French.

•Owns a leather jacket that had been Dally’s a couple of years ago and takes care of it as if it was made of gold.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Two-Bit

• He’s the reason why Darry had to get a Disney+ account.

• Knows all the songs from Frozen I.

• Wanted to have a mouse as a pet (since…mickey mouse, duh.) for a while but Darry refused.

• He doesn’t admit it, but he loves sweet drinks made of fruits and cocktails more than beer.

• His socks never match and they all have at least one hole in them.

• Is the one that gets the most excited about Christmas. He’s not particularly religious but he loves the decorations, and the lights, and the whole mood in general. He’s the one that always makes sure the rest of the boys have presents, even if it’s something small.

• His first time going to disney world he bawled his eyes out, like full on mental breakdown inside the park, Ponyboy and Sodapop saved up all their birthday money, allowance, and paycheck money for about a year and a half to buy the tickets. (they wanted to get a fast pass and like the entire deluxe trip for him, that's why it took so long.) Ponyboy was SO embarrassed from two-bits crying, “You’re 22, Stop. Crying. Over. Mickey.” but still was happy for him.

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Steve

• He tells everyone his top artist is Limp Bizkit but it's actually Queen, his top song was good old fashioned lover boy.

• Wakes up early to watch the F1 races and has never missed a season of Top Gear since he was little. His favorite was Hamilton, but ever since he saw that race with verstappen vs hamilton, his opinions have changed…

• He’s the best at playing video games, and he especially likes horror ones like Resident Evil. (absolute wh0re for Leon Kennedy, i am too tho so no shame)

• Sodapop and him are always playing online together and they sometimes let Ponyboy join them. Him and Sodapop gave ponyboy an unplugged controller once and said it was wireless (for the shitz and giggles and to see how long it took for him to notice), he realized half way through the game and told Darry who then yelled at them for 5 minutes.

• Doesn’t like TikTok and is always going about how Vine was just much better. (He’s stuck in 2014..)

• Gets angry when his texts go unanswered in the group chat (they do it on purpose since they know it pisses him off.)

• He listens to cotton eye joe on repeat, change my mind.

[red-might-be-dead]

hello hi here to force strange thoughts into your brain once again, this time about jrwi (wow who could’ve guessed)

been thinking about this for a little but it’s basically what i think some campaigns would be if not podcasts, i haven’t listened to some of the older ones so i’m sorry they’re not on here :(( if you have any ideas feel free to add them btw :DD

RIPTIDE!!!!! - really long animated series

not an anime though, no matter how much grizzly wants it, it would be an animation style where the characters could have very clearly different nose, face and body shapes, really pushing my riptide nose agenda here sorry, each episode would be like 20-40 minutes long and instead of coming out in seasons there would be massive gaps in between episodes, from 2-6 months long, to leave time for writers and animators to get stuff done (massive team of animators btw, i feel like it would be pretty successful)

PRIME DEFENDERS!! - comics

literally nothing else they could be, just really well made, well performing comics (i’ve already talked about this before you can stalk my talk tag if you really want to find it lmao), the comic company making them would be keeping well away from movies n shit btw

APOTHEOSIS!!! - i wasn’t really sure about this one to be honest

i had to ask my friend and she said anime which i don’t agree with but i can see it, i think maybe a short book series where each book is 150 - 300 pages and is about a different god they have to kill/a different episode, i think that works but if anyone has any better ideas please tell me :D!!

BLOOD IN THE BAYOU!!! - i hate to say it, i really do…

bitb would be a really long really good 80s horror book with strong homoerotic undertones, a satisfied fanbase and lots of active members in the community making fan comics, films, writing, theories and art ect… until well after the book came out……….. and then it would be made into the most egregious and awful live action movie you have ever seen, the most awful casting (like chris pratt as officer dudes….. throws up) and even worse sfx, oh yeah and the characters would be ruined and the story would become so butchered it wouldn’t make sense, they would do some shit like cut out becky so kian just kisses some random lady (removing both a really good and well written character and a layer of kian’s character that i think is super important) and make rolan really be an evil bug spy the whole time so rand has to kill him to save the town also add in a whole new sub plot that never existed like the rand family is secretly a long line of bug alien hunters or something fucking stupid like that and the entire fanbase would murder whoever thought re-writing the story was a good idea (ahaha can you tell ive been through something like this before ahahaha, character morals and motives being removed and whatnot ahahahhahahaha.)

anyways………

THE SUCKENING!!! - live action series

it would be well made though, unlike the bitb movie it would be its own original thing, have great makeup and effects also be well casted and well shot, well written, ect ect, it would bloody and gory and not suitable for people who can’t handle showing bones and organs all over everywhere, lots of shitty rip off merch would be made though and the fandom would be 99% gay little freaks (normal suckening enjoyers) and 1% homophobic straight white men who get mad whenever they see soda and emizel having gay sex on screen or whatever fag shit that biting thing was

again feel free to add your thoughts and ideas and shit in the reblogs it would be nice to read them :DD!!

[literaticat]

Since I’m hearing that most author marketing doesn’t significantly move the needle on book sales - is it ok then for an author to not market their book?

I don’t mean not talk about it; I mean skipping out on doing book tours, launches, interviews, presentations, cringe videos with one’s pet to try to game the algo…

Authors "not significantly moving the needle on book sales" all on their own is probably true in most cases. However, authors WITH PUBLISHER SUPPORT can for sure move the needle.

I would suggest that you do everything the publisher wants you to do in terms of marketing, etc. That IS them trying to move the needle, and you need to help as much as you can.

Beyond that, on your own, it's nice for you to do what is in your power to boost your own work without sinking a ton of money or all your energy into it. Your being game and positive may well inspire the publisher to give you more support, and look, there goes that needle again.

Appearances: If your publisher is sending you to a conference, book festival, on a book tour or similar (ie, paying for the travel, setting it up, etc) - DO IT! This is marketing that not every book automatically gets, your publisher WANTS you to do this, they are PAYING for you to do this, yes, you should absolutely do this.

If you're talking about setting up your OWN book tour, or paying to travel out of state to some conference on your OWN dime -- well, if you really want to do that and can afford to do that, sure, but I wouldn't go out of my way to pay for that kind of thing.

School Visits - if it is something where the publisher is setting it up and they are considering it part of a tour or a marketing opportunity - DO IT! IF you want to do your own as a money-making venture (where you charge the schools) -- by all means! It's a good source of income for a lot of kid's authors! But if that's just not something you enjoy or have the bandwidth for, you can skip it.

Interviews and whatnot -- again, if it is something that the publisher is setting up, with a well-regarded magazine, review outlet, blogger with big reach, online influencer, fancy TV show or big podcast or something like that where it's not easy to get that kind of coverage -- DO IT! Do you need to hustle all over NYC to try and set up your own Vanity Fair article or Good Morning America appearance or whatever? Absolutely not.

Social Media -- THIS IS IN YOUR POWER, and is free. Yes, please. You don't have to GO OFF or anything - but some social media presence, ONE platform at least, would be helpful. I have written extensively about how to start social media stuff if you don't feel adept at it, look at the FAQ. No, you don't have to make "cringe videos with your pet" -- but yeah, you should do *something* if at all possible, if only so that librarians and whatnot can write to you and you can post starred reviews of your books or whatever.

Website -- This is in your power, and costs little, and is important. YES PLEASE. Keep it updated. Have a press kit on there. PLEASE.

Other things you can and should absolutely do: Have a local launch party to celebrate with your friends and family -- introduce yourself to local booksellers and offer to sign stock -- direct people to that bookstore to buy autographed books via your social media, website and/or newsletter. Be nice to people. ETC.

Anything beyond that is gravy -- fine if you want gravy, but if you don't like it, and it costs $$ -- it is not necessary.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Hey do you have any literature recommendations for people who want to broaden their knowledge on the classics and Greek/Roman myths without taking university courses?

So like for people (such as myself) who have read Bullfinch's Myths of Greece and Rome and Edith Hamilton's Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes but want to deepen their knowledge and maybe go to intermediate level type stuff. Or whatever the level above the mentioned literature is.

Well those two books are quite old and skip over quite a few things. Both are very important to our culture, historically, but I'd recommend reading through some more modern popular retellings like Stephen Fry's Mythos series if you're looking for pure entertainment and a dummy's guide to Greek myths.

The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology is a useful reference book if you have difficulty keeping track of all these names and whatnot. It's just a reference book but you know. Having a reference book handy is quite useful. I personally prefer reference books when it comes to checking stuff when I'm doing mythology things anyways. They're generally more organized than the internet.

If you're looking for entertaining retellings of less popular myths, I'd actually recommend going to videos and podcasts for that. YouTubers like MonarchsFactory, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Jake Doubleyoo, and Mythology & Fiction Explained are all people who do a lot of research themselves on the myths they retell and I would recommend all of them to basically anybody. As far as podcasts go, Mythology & Fiction Explained has a podcast version and Let's Talk About Myths, Baby! is a very informative podcast that talks about sources for the myths and has interviews with experts on the subjects. It's also a podcast that is specifically Greco-Roman based.

As far as doing slightly more in-depth research, I cannot recommend theoi.com enough. I really can't. It has overviews of the most common myths, it has pages about god and hero cults, it cites it's sources and has an online library of translated texts. It's just really good. Go clicking around it for a while. It's a lot of fun if you're into that sort of thing.

As far as primary sources for myths go, there's a few places you could start. The Iliad, perhaps. The most recent English translation is by Caroline Alexander but I personally prefer Stanley Lombardo's translation. The Odyssey is a more accessible read in my opinion if you're not used to reading epic poetry. Emily Wilson's translation is especially accessible, written in iambic pentameter and generally replicating Homer's simple conversational language.

The third traditional entrance into the epic cycle of the surviving literature is the Aeneid. The newest translation of that is by Shadi Bartsch, which is pretty good, but it reads more like prose than poetry. Would still highly recommend it though. Robert Fitzgerald's translation is also good.

If you wanna get fancy you can read the Post-Homerica which attempts to bridge the gap between the Iliad and the Odyssey. It's not often read but it's one of the latest pagan sources we have from people who still practiced ancient Greek religion.

If you want a collection of short stories from ancient times, Ovid's your guy. Metamorphosis is specifically Roman and specifically Ovid's fanfiction, but it's also a valid primary resource and Ovid generally views women as people. What a concept!

Though I think the absolute best overview from ancient times itself is The Library aka Biblioteca by pseudo-apollodorus. Doesn't matter what translation you get. The prose is simple to the point where it's difficult to screw it up. Not artistic at all. It is, quite simply, a guy from ancient times trying to write down the mythological history of the world as he knew it. It has a bunch of summaries of myths in it, and most modern printings also have a table of contents so you can essentially use it as a reference book or a cheat sheet. I love it.

The Homeric Hymns weren't actually written by Homer but that's what they're called anyways. They're a lovely bit of poetry because, well, they were originally hymns. They've got some of the earliest full tellings of the Hades and Persephone story and the birth of Hermes in them. They also provide an insight into how ancient people who were most devoted to these gods viewed them. Go read the Homeric Hymns. They're lovely. You can buy the Michael Crudden translation or you can read a public domain translation online. I don't care. Just read them.

If you're into tedious lists, the next place I'd recommend you go after you read all the fun stuff is Hesiod's Theogony. Hesiod, the red pill douchebag of the ancient world, decided he was gonna write down the genealogy of all the Greek gods. That means lists. I'm not exaggerating. Be prepared for a lot of lists. But this work also has the earliest and one of the most complete versions of the story of Pandora, the creation of humans, and the most popular version of the Greek creation myth. So, it's very useful. If you can take all the lists.

The Argonautica aka the voyage of the argo by Apollonius of Rhodes, is also here. That is also a thing you can read. About the golden fleece and whatnot. And Jason. You know Jason. We all hate Jason.

Greek theatre also provides a good overview of specific myths. The three theben plays, Medea, the Bacche, etc. We've only got thirty-something surviving plays in their entirety so like... look up the list. Find one that looks interesting. Read it. Find a performance of it online, maybe. They're good.

If you want to dive into the mythology as a religion that was practiced, Greek Religion by Walter Burkurt and Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide by Jennifer Larson are pretty good books on the topic and often used as textbooks in college courses.

If you wanna get meta and get a feel for what the general public today thinks about Greek myths and what the average person that's sort of knowledgeable about Greek myths knows, the books you already mentioned are good. That's what people usually read. In addition to those, most people's intro to Greek myths generally involves The Complete World of Greek Mythology by Richard Buxton, D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire, or The Percy Jackson series.

I've been flipping through the big stacks of mythology books I keep on my table trying to remember if I've forgotten anything but I don't think I have so, yeah. Hope this helps. There's no correct starting point here. Once you get started there's a nearly endless void of complications and scholarship you can fall down that you'll never reach the bottom of. This post is basically just a guide to the tip of the iceberg.

[milksockets]

i recently had a very heartwarming exchange… about a typo.

to start at the beginning, at some point during my first couple of weeks at this job, i stopped by my supervisor’s office to mention that i’m very good at spotting typos if that’s something that would ever come in handy. i was referring both to the blizzard of daily emails as well as the information system program we use for documentation. he laughed and said he appreciated it, but also that a lot of people - including himself - are writing emails and whatnot all day and don’t necessarily have the time or ability to catch such errors. i remember thinking “yeah, that’s something i hadn’t really considered” and went on my merry way. note: his office door was open during the exchange because the discussion was not super private or confidential so why the fuck wouldn’t it be.

so the next day, i am summoned into his office, with the door closed this time. turns out some lurking busybody cunt with nothing better to do was hovering around and overheard the conversation, and decided to report it to both him and the supervisor above him that it was inappropriate and “who is this nurse who just started here talking about typos.”

i was flabbergasted at the time, but since then, it’s become apparent just how many things of that nature happen in offices (or mine at least; i’ve never worked in one before). when it comes specifically to pointing out a panoply of constant typos, i am not doing so in a manner that translates to “you’re a fucking idiot and i want to make you feel bad about it.” i guess i foolishly thought people might be open to hearing about ways they could improve their writing to avoid miscommunication.

there have been other instances of this ilk, namely that this woman moved into the office with a door next to me (the rest is an open plan type deal) and never has her door closed, whether she’s screaming into her phone, having an irl meeting, or blasting a podcast. like go figure, that’s sort of distracting and wearing headphones is not a solution because then i can’t hear if someone is trying to get my attention (or sneaking up behind me while i’m online shopping). it soon became very apparent that simply asking this lady to close her fucking door because other people do work here - but in nicer words - had the potential to cause a dramatic upheaval in office politics. i also had said that i would hope anyone in the office with a similar issue with me or my team would feel comfortable simply bringing it up for resolution.

it’s insane to me that these instances of direct communication about practical matters affecting other people are almost taboo and that i’ve been considered “inappropriate” on several occasions for relaying such remarks. also don’t say you value feedback if you actually don’t. let’s not play pretend here.

anyway, yesterday i passed a piece of street art that said “fight facism” and the artist tagged their IG handle so i just messaged them to say i thought they might like to know it’s misspelled. they were so fucking grateful, and said they’re glad someone pointed it out so nicely so they can fix it for the next batch. truly the antidote to the fragile, wretched office bullshit and evidence that i am doing god’s work.

so the moral of this story is that i need to find a way to get paid for finding typos. i mean, i spot them in just about every published book i read, too. and, friends, there is a solution: me.

[vanillevs]

https://www.tumblr.com/vanillevs/756598317411074048/this-is-just-me-rambling-and-being-insane-but-i?source=share

saw this and couldn't help but agreed though iirc someone said on a TikTok comment ( and that is coming from an RB fan ) that dts and Netflix kinda made look toto scary. also if we were being honest he's silly and funny ( I mean look at how Gunther Steiner said in that one podcast that Toto is one of the funniest tp out there and look at how he and Fred would always joke around each other ) people would look at Toto the opposite way because of him being tall ( literally towering anyone ) and the way he is Austrian - German ( probably a stigma and whatnot ) and his deep voice ( husky voice that Susie likes ok dndhdh )

also if we were being honest here DTS and Netflix made Toto look bad and made Christian Horner a good guy ( even though he isn't )

tbh toto is more awkward and shy than he is of being bad and scary lol

Exactly, anon! Toto was portrayed as the villain in DTS just because him and Mercedes were winning nonstop and everyone was kinda cheering for his downfall just to make F1 more interesting.

He is actually soooo funny, you can totally see his personality shine through in older pre-DTS videos and interviews though I do think he can be scary when needed (cue the brocedes crash in Barcelona and Lewis recalling that’s when he has seen Toto at his angriest, rightfully so) but he is just really intense because he has this drive to win.

I don’t think Toto would have gotten this far by just being the scary type. It’s his charm (along with hard work and brains) that has gotten him this far! He is a natural comedian like he is so effortlessly funny (cue him mocking Alonso swerving when Lewis came out in front of him in the pits last year, when they were filing the Mercedes factory like a good 10 years ago him walking to his office and commenting to his staff about the cameras in the office “they’re filming for James Bond…I’m the villain” or when a fan was like “Toto you’re the man!” And he just replied immediately “tell that to my wife!” Lol) he just be saying shit, he is so funny!

His relationship with other TPs shows it. Recently in an interview he said Gunther is really funny and that he wrote a foreword for Gunther’s book (this was after the interviewers brought up Gunther and Toto, in the most serious voice was like “Gunther fucking Gunther…wanker” and the interviewers cracked up lol)

And yes! He is also a little bit awkward too! Half the time he doesn’t know what to do with his 6’5 frame a d long limbs and he is bashful when people remind him he is really hot (though I’m sure he is deeply aware he is so sexy lol)

Overall…he is just really funny and part of that comes from his awkwardness in certain moments he is just so funny and charming….he is so misunderstood!

[howlingday]

Do you think Salem has hobbies if she does what kind of hobbies would she have? What would her inner circles hobbies be?

Let's see... Going for jokes and whatnot, let's see what kind of hobbies Salem and her inner circle probably has.

Salem is literally making Grimm all the time in her black pool. That said, I could see her also being really into cooking and might even watch cooking shows and cooking along with them. She then has her Grimm dispose of what's left of the meals when the inner circle is done eating.

Up next, we have Cinder, who is constantly plotting and scheming of way to become more powerful. It's kinda hard for me to say what she likes to do since most of what she does is all in the interest of serving the purpose of a later goal. That said, I'm having trouble thinking of anything since most of it would be more what she considers a waste of time... except gardening. She has her own personal garden that she plants seeds for and waters until they grow into beautiful flowers or food-stuffs for Salem to cook with. It may also better solidify her ties with Salem.

Tyrian is Salem's oldest and most faithful servant, serving as her tracker and hunter for the Maidens and the relics. Since murder isn't considering a viable hobby, part of me wants to say hunting, though I can't really see Tyrian as a hunting guy. Not with long range methods, anyways. Now fishing is a different story. I could see him dipping his tail into the water, using it was a hook until he yanks up the hapless fish. He also provides Salem with her cooking supplies. Am I just making up a Salem cooking AU? Who know.

Watts is Salem's tech guy, and he is very good at hacking and other computer-based things. Aside from that, I could also see him into other intellectually-driven pursuits. Not chess because chess is too important to the story of RWBY. No, I'm thinking more like crossword puzzles and sudokus. His morning paper is all he needs to have a good time. And if he screws up, he can just erase it because he's not an idiot who fills out the crossword in pen! YOU HAVE PENCILS! USE THEM! ...Wait, what were we talking about?

Hazel. Oh, Hazel, how sad it was to see you go after coming so far. Judging by his size, you'd think he'd be big into weight-lifting and some kind of martial-arts routine, but I think he instead picks up where his sister probably left off with her hobby. I'm thinking things like books or movies or maybe even like tiny horse figurines. Stuff you wouldn't normally associate with an eight-foot-tall brickhouse with an immunity to pain and an unquenchable desire for hate.

Let's see, who else is in Salem's Inner Circle? Looking at the Wiki, it's... Oh no. Ohoho my god... Evernight Castle? No, that's not what it's called, is it? Oh, it is! Oh my god, and it's located in "The Land of Darkness". Yeah, no, Hazel is definitely an MLP fan and he joined the villains to avenge his dead sister. Just... Oh my god... This cannot be real! Ugh... Anyway, who else is there?

Wait, who the hell is Vermillion Raddock? Oh, RWBY: Grimm Campaign. Yeah, one of these days I'll actually see it or hopefully play it, but good golly, will it be a while. Did they ever sell Grimm Campaign merchandise, or was it just a podcast that we had to be members of RT to watch? Oh well, questions for later.

Let's see... Tock... Unnamed female warrior... Oh, Mercury! I guess Emerald isn't a member, either, huh? Or even a member at all? Anyway...

Mercury is probably the easiest to figure out for me. Judging by how he's into sniffing boots and recording genocide, I'm gonna guess he's a blogger of some kind as a hobby. He's not in it for the money, just for the reactions he can get out of people. But then again, I may have a bias against the guy who recorded people being murdered with a smile on his face. Seriously, fuck this guy!

But I could be wrong on all accounts for these characters. What do you guys think?

[louisa-gc]

a (not-so-)little note

since my post about reading now has over 2000 notes (wow! i know it's not much for some but to me it's a lot!), i wanted to add to it a thought i hoped would be apparent from between the lines but this is the internet and one can never be too sure, so:

while we all know why reading is important, it's not a competition, and reading or not reading is not a judgment of a person's character, values or virtue. i don't think maximising the amount one reads through whatever methods should be anyone's goal at all, though perhaps my wording made it seem so. i would always encourage to rather read two books a year with thought instead of reading and listening to two hundred books a year just to have gone through two hundred books.

i appreciate all the additions and replies to my post and, while i'm not an audiobook person myself, can see how they could be very valuable to some people. however, i do listen to podcasts and video essays when cleaning or walking, and at least in my case, the amount of attention i am able to pay to what i'm hearing is not at all similar to the way i can concentrate on reading a physical book.

we all read differently, and i would not want to dictate what kind of reading is or isn't valuable; some books are quick, almost mindless reads, others take a long time and a lot of concentration. our circumstances are different too, sometimes we might not be able to either read or listen to a book. what i would encourage us all to avoid though, is the trap of trying to do as much as possible of everything all at once.

you don't need to optimise your time, you don't need to be reading or listening to books at all times to be a reader, you don't even need to be a reader(!).

if you like audiobooks, that's great! sit down, knit and listen to one. but if you're using audiobooks just because you want to go through as many books as possible, feel "productive" or whatnot, if you listen to books as background noise and then fool yourself to think it's the same as actually reading, i would advise you to just find fifteen minutes in which to sit down and read a physical book. it trains a different muscle than listening and it forces you to focus on one thing at a time and to go at your own pace, whatever that might look like for you.

there is no right or wrong way to read or be a reader, and i love to see how something i've always loved has suddenly become "cool". on the other hand, i'd be very wary of reading sliding under the umbrella of "things we must do as much of as possible to be good human beings". there is nothing inherently wrong about audiobooks, but the way some people seem to think of them hints at a culture of overconsumption and excess. quality over quantity, always.

[jakethesequel]

Things that are true about tabletop role playing games and adjacent media:

TTRPG podcasts or actual plays cannot provide an accurate representation of what your tabletop games should look like, they have fundamentally different goals. APs are created to be entertaining to an audience first and foremost. They have to prioritize things like tone, pacing, and character arcs at the cost of some naturalism and spontaneity. (This doesn't mean AP GMs have to or are "railroading" everything to tell their story, mind. Just as often it means AP cast buying in to plot hooks, crafting responsive characters, and working to fit their character arc where it fits the overall game rather than waiting for the game to make the arc happen.) It'll always be a bit more like an improvised, rules-based performance than a true game, that's an inevitability of the medium. Home games should be primarily about everyone having a good time (whatever that means for your group), not about telling The Story. Don't worry if your BBEG plot never got resolved, or your PC never saved her kidnapped girlfriend, the important thing is that you got to spend several evenings having fun with your friends. Don't fall prey to Matt Mercer Effect.

TTRPG campaigns are not books, and vice versa. Again, plan your campaigns around having a fun time, not as an excuse to worldbuild a fantasy novel or develop your OCs or impose The Story on the players. Further, just because your tabletop campaign was a really fun time with great moments doesn't mean it will make a great piece of writing when you retell it. Novelizing your D&D adventure will make it weirdly paced (because it was structured around weekly get togethers instead of chapters), inconsistent in tone (because the context of jokes and whatnot is so different), incomprehensibly characterized (because RPG players sometimes make RPG player decisions instead of roleplay ones, as is often appropriate), and narratively unsatisfying (because an 8-hour slog through a dungeon, carried by some skillful game strategy, to finally truimph over a dragon can feel incredible for a player but can look to a reader like "then our hero did everything right and won, the end"). A campaign can serve as inspiration for a novel or similar, but rarely will a 1-to-1 retelling ever work. You have to be careful to not fall prey to the less famous, but far older, Ed Greenwood Wannabe Effect.

Overall, games for friends and stories for audiances have different and oppositional goals. They can't be converting directly, even though it sounds like it should be so easy and fulfilling. Games don't make good Stories, and Stories don't make good Games.

[ezzydean]

steter into stetopher fluff I wrote for @cattatonically my teen wolf partner-in-crime 1100ish words, rated T for language (as usual with me) fluffy floofy fluff

If there was one thing that Stiles has learned in all his years on this earth it’s that he doesn’t know everything.  He likes to pretend he does.  He likes to have his fingers in enough pies and whatnot that he at least sounds like he knows what he’s talking about.  He has books and podcasts and social media accounts.  Contacts and clients.  

He knows things.  He knows a lot of things.

He doesn’t know how to handle this, though.

He’s just finally understanding how to handle the whole being in a committed relationship with someone who doesn’t think that Doritos and frozen pizza is a home cooked meal.  Not that his other relationships were bad.  This is just his first one since college, really.  It’s a good relationship.  A solid one.  One he doesn’t want to mess up.

So the fact that he’s sharing a home cooked meal with someone who isn’t technically part of the relationship feels a little weird.  Mostly because it’s not just a ‘hey I happened to be cooking tonight and you stopped by’ meal.  Or even a ‘hey thanks for helping with that thing’ meal.  No.  This was Chris inviting him over with the purpose of making a meal for him.

Oh sure it was originally supposed to be for Stiles and Peter both.  Which changed the odd factor a tiny bit considering Peter and Chris are basically best friends.  But then Peter got stuck on a call with Sweden of all places — and Stiles would call bullshit considering Sweden is something like nine hours ahead of them but he knows how Emelie is and a 2AM call isn’t actually that out of character for her — and so Stiles is here.  In Chris’ apartment.  Eating a ridiculously good meal simply because Chris had wanted to make a meal for Stiles and Peter.

They laugh about how much Peter is going to hate the fact he has to eat leftovers if he wants any.  They sip wine that Stiles enjoys but he knows Chris bought mostly for Peter.  They eat ice cream that Peter would have enjoyed but Stiles knows Chris bought specifically for him.  They clear the table together and Stiles argues his way into getting Chris to let him help with dishes.

Stiles falls asleep on the couch halfway through the movie they start after dinner and wakes up to the sound of Peter in the kitchen grumbling about how subpar leftovers are when compared to the original meal.  Chris grumbles something in reply and shuffles out of the kitchen back to his bedroom.  A few minutes later Peter settles on the couch and pulls Stiles’ feet into his lap before restarting the movie.  He makes it about as far this time as he did the first before he falls asleep.

—

“I have a question for you.”

Stiles looks up at Peter for a second and then goes back to the book he’s reading.

“Okay.  Go for it.”

“Do you think Christopher would like this?”

Stiles looks up again and squints at Peter’s phone, eyes darting between the screen and Peter’s face a few times.

“Kittens,” he says, turning back to his book again.

“Kit- what?”  Peter twists his hand to look at his phone.  “That’s not a kitten, Stiles.”

“I never said I was going to answer your question, Peter.  Besides.  He’s your best friend.  How the hell would I know better than you if he would like something?”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with him lately.  I thought you might have some insight.”

Stiles rolls his eyes.  “Don’t take your weird misplaced jealousy out on me.”

“What are you even talking about?”  Peter scowls at him.  “I am not jealous.”

“And cows don’t shit in the pasture.”

“Excuse me?”

Stiles shuts his book and drops it on the couch.

“You’re jealous,” he says.  “You’re jealous and you can’t figure out which one of us you’re jealous of.  If you’re jealous that I’m spending more time with Chris or that he’s getting to spend time with me.”

“That’s preposterous.”

Stiles shrugs.  “That’s just the way the cookie is crumbling, love.”

Peter stares at him for a few seconds before looking down at his phone again.  “I’m not fond of these cookies, Stiles.  Not at all.”

He watches Peter scrolls angrily for a few minutes before he sighs softly and pushes himself off the couch.  Peter grumbles and grouches when Stiles flops into his lap and wriggles around until Peter wraps his arm around him and settles him in place.

“We can always make other cookies,” Stiles offers as he runs his fingers up and down Peter’s arm.  “Together.”

Stiles reaches down and types something into the search bar.

Peter hums contemplatively.  “Together then.”

—

The door to Chris’ apartment swings open and Stiles grins.

“Hey, Chris.”

“Hi, Stiles.”  Chris looks past his shoulder.  “Hello, Peter.”

“Christopher,” Peter greets politely.

“I’m going in,” Stiles whispers loudly as he ducks under Chris’ arm and toes off his shoes before making a beeline to the kitchen.  “We’re clear, Peter,” he shouts back.

“Do I even want to know?” Chris asks as he steps back and waves Peter inside.

“It was mostly Stiles’ idea.  So.  Probably not.”

Chris shakes his head, holding his hand out for Peter’s coat and hanging it in the closet as Peter slips out of his own shoes.

Stiles isn’t in the kitchen when they get there.  They find him out on the balcony in Chris’ chair looking up at the sky.  Peter steps out and kisses Stiles’ forehead and then slips past Chris and back inside.  Chris watches Stiles, listening to Peter puttering around inside, until Stiles looks over his shoulder and smiles.

“Go on,” Stiles says.  “He misses you.  Spend some time with your bestie.  Bake a cake.  Make out.  Stare longingly into each other’s eyes for a bit.  Whatever.  Just pay him some attention.”

Chris holds his gaze until Stiles looks back up to the sky.

“Pay him some attention, huh?”

“Yeah,” Stiles laughs softly.  “Then when you’ve had your fill of him let me know and I’ll come in.”

“Could be awhile.  I’ve been dealing  with him for years.  I’ve built up a pretty good immunity for time spent in Peter’s company.”

“I’ll be waiting.”  Stiles reaches out for Chris and tangles their fingers together when Chris reaches out in return.  “I’m not in any hurry.”

Chris bends down to press a kiss to Stiles’ knuckles.

“I won’t keep you waiting too long.”  Chris kisses Stiles’ knuckles again and straightens.  “Promise.”

Stiles still isn’t entirely sure where they’re all going with this.  But that’s okay with him.  Because he knows he has both of them with him for the journey.

[ghostboneswrites2]

Hiii! So for the fic writer ask game thing:

1, 4, 8, 10, 19, 22, 25, 27.

Hello my lovely!!

1. The last sentence I wrote: “I said go.” (Spoiler??)

4. Story idea I haven’t written: One where reader (or OC but probably reader) is a foul mouthed violent little thing — like a total menace and everyone hates them — and Daryl simps for them at first sight (+ a few for other fandoms that I haven’t had time to get into)

8. If I had to write a sequel for a fic I’d write one for… From The Devil Himself bc I’m a whore for a good enemies to lovers plot

10. The longest I’ve let a draft sit before finishing it? Babe I still have drafts from 2020 😭

19. The most interesting topic I’ve ever researched for a fic: hmm probably when someone requested an Arab reader fic and I got to read up on Morocco. Neat place!

22. Do I ever worry about public opinion on what I’m writing? Yes absolutely. How do I get past it? I don’t have to face them in real life so I just try to think of the ones who enjoy my posts :) (I overthink everything I post for days to weeks)

25. Other than writing I have some pretty generic hobbies tbh. Reading/audio books, podcasts, coloring/drawing/painting, I play a lot of games on my phone, I love the sims & stardew valley, and I spend an embarassing amount of time on picrew and similar apps lol. I also love making collages and edits and whatnot

27. My favorite part of the writing process is when you finally get to the scene you’ve been imagining and the words just flow from the tips of your fingers with ease and everything just comes to life

Tysmm for the questions I luv u angel 🩵

[brandogenius]

eating up the content as per usual ‼️👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩 i'm so excited ur getting into muna i got into them a few months ago and they're just so chaotic and funny, id say another way to get good insight in their personalities and speech patterns and whatnot is by listening to gayotic (their podcast!) i literally listen to gayotic to fall asleep sometimes LMFAOAO

okay now time for my thoughts on more barista!reader x jb:

question, what do you think the drink actually is that jb orders? like, in my opinion, i feel like its just one of those really popular sweet ice coffees that most people like but its bc they don't actually like coffee and julien is like about to eat a spoonful of salt to cut the sweetness bc how dare she not drink every drop of this ice coffee her pretty gorgeous cool amazing barista girl crush made for her

THE ANGST i love, that's so something that i would do ngl, i can imagine julien being like gutted that reader would think they were coming off weird and stopped doodling on her cup and reader like blushing and smiling at her reaction

speaking of angst can you imagine the dramatics of when reader finds out that jb doesn't actually like her order...in my mind it's not even something reader loves it's just popular and they overhears phoebe or lucy with julien making fun of her getting a drink she doesn't even like and reader doesn't mention it until like a week later because they've been analyzing jb getting her drink

im picturing julien coming in and being like "same as usual ☺️" and reader is like "are you sure?" and julien is confused like "uhh yeah i always get that wdym hahah" and reader explains what she overheard and julien is internally panicking like 'okay this is it she found out and she's gonna hate me and think im a pathological liar'

omg what if from then on reader makes her something new EVERY time until jb finds something that she really likes

julien coming in during a rush and reader frantically ranting to her about how stressed they are but julien is sitting there listening to them like this 😍 and reader can't help but notice and then they're like "sorry i didn't mean to ramble on like that..." and all embarrassed

one last thought, julien coming in and getting her drink but then sitting on the couch or window seat and reading a book or doing work on her laptop and reader is checking on her every 0.5 seconds and they keep making accidental eye contact and smiling but neither will actually talk to each other (classic wlw yearning from afar)

OKAY rant over 😊😊

-🪷

tysm :D i’m definitely getting into muna!! funny enough i’ve gotten a few asks but i’m waiting to get more into them before i write them up!!

i’ve been watching their gayotic podcasts, i started by watching lucy’s then julien’s and lemme tell you i love it. i’m someone who loves to take note of speech patterns and how people word things so it was interesting to learn more about them individually

as for barista! reader

hmmm. i feel like jb isn’t someone to order overly sweet things. like say fraps or something. black coffee or something 😭 a little bit of sugar like maybe a teaspoon is fine but overly sickening sweet nooo. she takes it though and doesn’t complain because at the end of the day reader made it and there was cute doodles on it and she doesn’t want to be like “aha hey… so i don’t actually like this”

she either chugs it down or splits it in half with one of the boys so she has less to drink. she wouldn’t put your hard work down the drain

reader finding out jb doesn’t even like the orders they make and they are like “YOU COULDVE TOLD ME”AND JBS LJKE “that’s true”

omg reader handing jb a new cup everydsy like “so this is peach ice tea” and the next day it’s like “so this is matcha tea” and maybe julien’s just extremely picky on her drinks but she’s yet to find something she likes

reader literally watching julien sit down and write lyrics or type away at her laptop and they make eye contact every so often but both are too scared to say anything so queue reader coming over with a slice of chocolate cake like “here you go” and jbs like “oh i didn’t offer it” and readers like “it’s on the house” and jbs like “oh.. thank you-“ and you stick your hand out like “i’m [name]” and she’s like “julien. i can’t believe we didn’t ask for each others names yet”