#you don’t hate poetry you just hate the way it was taught to you

[queenjunothegreat]

Okay, but hear me out: Reciting poetry would be the PERFECT hobby for Jason. To start with, have you ever tried reading poetry out loud? It is an AMAZING vocal stim. (For anyone who wants to try, Lewis Carol is a fantastic place to start.) It also exercises a very specific part of your brain. It's like getting the dopamine rush of knowing exactly the right answer on a test with none of the pressure. Also, for the autistic Jason who fans out there, do you struggle with putting your feelings into words? Get frustrated because NOTHING you say is right? Good news! Thousands of people for thousands of years have been doing it for you! If you want, you can even collect and sort the poems that you like so you can always have one on hand for whatever situation. You're welcome.

[mykoreanlove]

Articulate

Felix loved nothing more than flirting for his dear life. Shy glances, cocky pick up lines and eye-fucking were his specialty.

But lately, he barely got time for that. Work was getting the best of him which he hated, he wanted to have some fun. He needed to have some fun.

So he went on those apps and swiped girls and boys left and right but grew rather bored of them.

They always wanted pictures - portraits of his face, his abs or his dick but Felix was way more than that.

He wanted to speak filthy poetry with his heart-shaped lips.

He almost deleted the app but then you showed up, piquing his interest with your alluring looks.

You were beyond dangerous - a mixture of cute and sexy that could easily steal his soul. Although, he wouldn’t mind.

The conversation got heated quickly, you were just as curious about him.

„When will I see you then?“

Felix sighed annoyed. He loved touring but after countless cities he longed to be home again.

„I guess in May.“

„May? No way. You need to come sooner, mate.“

He chuckled delighted. Mate?

„Oooh, you’re pretty tempting, y/n. If you’re lucky, I can come anywhere for you ;)“

Boy did he wish that would be true.

„Tempting, huh? Was it because I said mate? Did the Aussie in you get turned on by that? :P“

Felix looked down on his hard-on, nodding in agreement.

„Actually, you’re becoming more tempting by the minute. I‘d love to give you an Australian kiss. It’s like a French kiss but you know… down under.“

For a second he worried about you being uncomfortable with his straightforwardness. He watched you type in anticipation while kneading himself.

„Damn, my pussy clenched just reading this. What are you doing to me?“

Felix chuckled in delight. He was about to tell you exactly what he would do to you. He snapped a picture of his erected cock and asked for your Snapchat, like he was taught to do.

„I don’t have Snapchat, sorry. Use your words like a grown up :P“

His eyes widened in surprise. He had been right, you were different.

Delighted he thought about all the things he would do to you while jerking himself off.

It took him forever to answer which made you nervous. You always matched with guys that sent dick pics and such but that never turned you on. You needed a story, you needed to connect.

Finally, you saw him send multiple messages.

„Well.

I loooove giving massages.

I’d start by gently massaging your shoulders.

While I press my chest against your soft back.

And you can feel my breath lightly on your neck.

Giving you goosebumps.

And then I’d massage down your spine.

And rest at your booty, giving it extra care and attention. Kneading, squeezing, leaving many kisses on your cheeks.

Then I’m going back up your back again, resting my hands on your neck.

Next thing you know you’re sitting on my lap.

My chest pushed up against you.

And then I’d start kissing your throat as I massage your arms.

Biting on the thin skin on your throat, marking it as mine.

As I’m doing that my hands are slightly moving up and down your body.

Finally, my hands go underneath your shirt.

I’m clasping your bra open and free you from all unnecessarily clothing.

I’d probably take a break and admire your tits with eyes wide open and a smirk on my lips.

And then I’d start to fondle with your boobs.

Getting all hard again just thinking about you like this.

I would hold your boobs with my full hands but would massage your nipples with my index finger.

Slightly squeezing your buds.

Until my mouth is on you. I’d write praises with my tongue on your nipples, taking my time with each one. And then..

Sucking, licking, devouring your divine tits. I haven’t even met you yet but I’m convinced I’d admire all of you.

Praise all of you.

And then, well…

You wanna know what would come next?“

[mimizficsz]

Hi could I request a JD x female reader flirting headcanons (before and after they start dating). All his bad pick lines and ways to try and impress her, but they never work lol

Y was this so goddamn short

My brain got stuck in the middle of writing this and I had to pause for 2 days just for it to turn out this short.

JD x reader headcanons : flirting

Warnings: Sexual/Nsfw flirting , Nothing physical tbh. DNI if you’re uncomfortable with this type of stuff, Minors DNI.

-At first he'd probably be all showy when he saw you. You know, trying to get you to see him do cool stuff but he obviously fails...

-After several embarrassing attempts, he got your number somehow (Or however they communicate but I’m pretty sure they have the internet in trolls in some shorts)

-When you get to know him, as in chatting with him more, hanging out with him, randomly in conversations he'd drop stupid pick up lines and either you'd brush it off and ccompletely ignore it, flirt back, or laugh (Maybe don’t do the last option, the first time you did he felt so embarrassed he locked himself in rhonda for 2 days without ever coming out)

-The flirty “jokes” would eventually get more and more meaningful… As in stupid poetry type of flirting. Except he accidentally offends and insults you most of the time while trying to do it.

“..Your voice is so deafening”

“Excuse you?”

Most of the time he won’t even realize it until he’s laying in his bed

-Now when you start flirting back or even flirting with him first, he’s just all… “Huh”, “Am I tweaking right now” , “WHAHRHFHEHFHHS” , and “Oh shit” basically he’d start malfunctioning and have passed out on several occasions.

-Somehow he actually caught you off guard once after trying to make his own pick up lines from what Branch taught him (he forced Branch to help him get better with flirting respectfully)

“I can stay here forever and get lost in your eyes..”

You just stare at him all like “Is this really John Dory?”

Turns into awkward silence once he notices himself staring way too long until one of you changes the subject.

Flirting but you’re dating now :]

-Watch as the flirting becomes so much more fucking explicit

-It’s either you or JD that starts it. Either way, the other would just be in disbelief. “Did he/they really just say that?”

-Overtime the explicit flirting becomes normalized :p but I think that you’d occasionally catch JD off guard.

John was sipping on coffee and you brought up a random topic while brewing your own

“Which name do you like to be called by more? JD, John, John dory, Dory??”

“I honestly don’t know babe.”

“I think John is the best. It’s the most moanable out of all of them”

“PFHFGT— WHAT?”

“What??”

Now he has to clean his shorts because he spat coffee on them.

Or something like,

“I actually hate you so much.”

“Doesn’t seem like it based on what you kept saying last night.”

“JOHN DORY”

[billkaulitzwife]

The Outsiders Coping With a Breakup

(ps guys im not over it leave me alone(i also watched the notebook and i hate myself))

Ponyboy

Reading or writing.

How could you ever hurt this little freshman boy he‘s such a sweetheart

He would probably silently cry into a pillow until he thought his lungs were about to collapse or cave in

if this was now … he‘d chain smoke and listen to lana del rey while looking out a moonlit window

he definitely listens to Elvis to get over it.

I don’t know what exactly he would read to get over it but probably some sad ass Edgar Allan Poe. Annabelle Lee lookin ass.

He‘d write the most heart breaking

tear dripping

heavy breathing sad poetry ever.

show him a romance novel.

he’d never stop reading them until he got over it.

just the bare thought of it drives him nuts.

so he reads.

Johnny

if you hurt this man he would probably hurt himself.

he would dream bout it and wake up in cold sweats, tears running down his face.

in all honesty

i think he‘d be artistic with it

he’d somehow turn each and every single tiny thought into something about you

whether it be thinking about a teddy bear then contorting it into nothing but an image of you and him.

he would never be able to look at the places you went together the same.

he would be an artist.

hand him a pencil and he’ll make your heart break and ache.

might etch and sketch on himself to see if you still care.

ps you obviously do.

Dallas

Doesn’t know how.

All this man does is sleep, drink, fuck, repeat.

being honest this manwhore is probably gonna screw every hoe in Tulsa to try and get his mind off of it,

but every path leads back to what he knows best.

he would smoke more,

party more,

drink away all his problems, etc before facing a problem head on.

people may see him as this

uhh

violent gang member hoodlum kid guy man

but deep down hes really just a kid who wishes he couldve given his momma one more hug

a kid that needed to be loved.

a kid that was never taught how to be loved.

Adelaide

crier.

she’s a big ol’ crier, but it doesnt matter since thats not the only way she copes.

she loves to paint and puts every emotion into her paintings.

she may’ve become a kleptomaniac since she needs the supplies.

the curtis boys would

PERSONALLY

kill you if anything happened to her

one heartbreak and shes done for

love? whats that? it isnt real?

dont hurt her no matter what.

she would also turn to cigarettessss (as if she doesnt smoke enough).

adelaide would develop stage five lung cancer before even admitting that love could in the slightest exist anymore.

Sodapop

working.

soda seems like the kinda guy to go through a breakup and cry a lot

but the only thing that really helped was work.

he’d probably get a raise

yk with how hard and how much he’d be working to get over it.

his siblings would warn him about not overworkimg himself

and guess what.

he didnt listen and got really sick from all the stress.

i know for a fact he would keep away from cigarettes even if someone said they help and he believed it

he would only ever listen to the radio

hoping and praying that when he’d hear a love song he‘d hear your voice

Darrell

probably the most sane of everybody while dealing with his bs

he wld obviously be heart broken

but not to the point he needed some insane coping mechanism.

he would probably meditate.

i mean this is the sixties cmon he’s either gonna do wxxd

or meditate.

as soon as a thought of you came up and his mind started to panic he would sit on the couch and

well.

relax.

he probably has the healthiest coping mechanism he’s definitely got his life together

the others are jealous as fuuuuck

Steve

bro wouldnt eat.

every time he thought about the breakup

he thought it was because he was strong enough

or that he was too chubby for his girl.

one time he passed out while on the way to work and the gang freaked out so bad

they couldnt take him to the hospital so they carried him home and stuck a juice box in his mouth

eventually his ass woke up and they all cheered like the war had just ended “HIP HOORAY!”

but then in all seriousness

he needed to get his weight back up so the curtis kids make him eat at their house

even if he says he ate.

theres always snacks for him laying around thay house from then on out

Two-Bit

drinking.

do i have to explain.

in the novel pony said two-bit was famous for shoplifting and his black-handled switchblade…

but for some reason i know he wouldnt shoplift any more.

(he sure did teach adelaide how to tho)

along with his love for “shopping” you gotta remember he’s a heavy alcoholic

he’d drink away all of his problems and thoughts until he blacked out.

his buddies would think its just your average keith

but in all reality he’s really struggling

even though he seems like the usual drunk happy joking guy

HE IS HURTTT.

okay thanks for watching todays vlog

if u ever need to vent please dont be scared to message me bruv im sure Ik how to help.

[redeliminator]

"A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth"

(i remember seeing this quote here on tumblr in the context of zero day and it hit me so hard I've never forgotten it)

we don’t know the level of bullying Andre and/or Cal endured at school. we only got hints that they were bullied, but we never witnessed anything first-hand (excluding the hilarious fight after the poetry evening because let's face it, they started this shit lol).

how often were they insulted? did it ever get physical? were they beat up? were they deliberately isolated by their peers?

in the police report, we learn that “neither Kriegman nor Gabriel was singled out for teasing” and that they were generally liked. yeah I think I've heard that one before so let me rant before I fucking combust

many people, including even some investigators and psychologists, still refuse to acknowledge the toxic environment that Columbine was and the way it fueled Eric and Dylan’s mental conditions. bullying at Columbine was so common that it had long lost its shock value. being shoved into lockers and having shit thrown at you was just a part of many people’s average school day, and the faculty turned a blind eye to it in favor of the bullies because they carried the school’s reputation with their achievements, making them basically untouchable.

the alienation and the humiliation landed Eric and Dylan at a point where they couldn’t see past their suffering and frustration. they didn’t know how to cope with it other than (self-)destruction and no one managed to stop them. Columbine was a perfect storm, with many factors randomly playing out in Eric and Dylan’s favor and worsening their conditions at the same time.

bullying was not the sole reason they carried out the massacre, but denying its impact will not lead you anywhere near the truth. 

Eric and Dylan both had friends and acquaintances. they spent time together and made memories just like all the other teenagers. the fact that they were on friendly terms with a number of people doesn’t rule out bullying from other groups and I can't stress that enough.

I can’t help but think that there might be a similar reasoning lying underneath the statement in the Zero Day police report. it’s easier to say that the kids never showed any signs, that they were not bullied, that they were mentally sick and beyond helping. it removes many (adult) people’s responsibility to look out for the signs, to intervene when it’s necessary, to recognize and address the silent cries for help. after all, if someone was a high-functioning psychopath who mastered the art of manipulation and hiding behind a mask, then was anyone really capable of helping them?

at some point, the built-up anger will start to pour out. there’ll be no way to keep it in anymore, no more room to store it. if no one has ever taught the kid how to deal with it, their self-hatred may start to turn outwards. they will no longer only hate themselves for not being able to fit in, for not managing to fulfill the social expectations of an average likable teenager. they will also hate the world for not letting them in. they will hate people who somehow found their place while they couldn’t. these people might have had nothing to do with the kid’s misery, many of them won’t even know the kid’s name, but that doesn’t matter. all these people will slowly morph into one big enemy unit. fellow students will be no individuals - they will be merely part of a larger hostile entity. when you hurt one of them, you hurt the big enemy - and that’s the objective.

[eyelessfaces]

heyyyy!! might seem random and I don’t know if you listen to Lana Del Rey at all so feel free to ignore me, but if you do, what are some of her songs that you associate with Oscar’s characters (like Poe, Llewyn, Miguel, Rydal, the Moon boys... whatever, I’m not picky). Love your work btw!

dear anon, you are in luck, you have no idea how much.

I don't listen to lana that much, I do listen to a few songs and appreciate her work but my dear best friend @eatingyouryoung happens to have the oscar + lana brainrot cocktail

when I asked her for help to answer this ask, she happened to have already thought about this and sent me a 5 pages long document she had written about the subject, so there you go:

Llewyn:

In My Feelings

Brooklyn Baby

« Could it be that I fell for another loser

I'm crying while I'm cummin'

Making love while I'm making good money

Sobbin' in my cup of coffee

'Cause I fell for another loser

Get that cigarette smoke out of my face

You've been wasting my time

While you're taking what's mine, with the things that you're doing

Talk that talk, well now they all know your name

And there's no coming back from the place that you came

Baby don't do it

'Cause you got me in my feelings (catch you, it's so much right now)

Talking in my sleep again (you can whistle if you want) »

Rydal:

« Well, my boyfriend's in a band

He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed

I've got feathers in my hair

I get down to Beat poetry

And my jazz collection's rare

I can play most anything

I'm a Brooklyn baby »

« They say I'm too young to love you

They say I'm too dumb to see

They judge me like a picture book

By the colors, like they forgot to read

I think we're like fire and water

I think we're like the wind and sea

You're burnin' up, I'm coolin' down

You're up, I'm down

You're blind, I see »

California

Lucky Ones

« I shouldn't have done it, but I read it in your letter

You said to a friend that you wish you were doing better

I wanted to call you, but I didn't say a thing

Oh, I'll pick you up

If you come back to America, just hit me up »

« You don't ever have to be stronger than you really are

When you're lying in my arms, and, honey

You don't ever have to act cooler than you think you should

You're brighter than the brightest stars

You're scared to win, scared to lose

I've heard the war was over if you really choose

The one in and around you

You hate the heat, you got the blues

Changing like the weather, oh, that's so like you »

Santiago:

« Boy, get into my car, got a bad desire

You know that we'll never leave if we don't get out now, now, now

You're a careless con and you're a crazy liar, but, baby

Nobody can compare to the way you get down, down, down

I tried so hard to act nice like a lady

You taught me that it was good to be crazy

Every now and then, the stars align

Boy and girl meet by the great design

Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones?

Everybody told me love was blind

Then I saw your face and you blew my mind

Finally, you and me are the lucky ones this time »

On Our Way

Poe:

« Why do I think too much?

You tell me not to worry

Because you're the boss

And you, you got a real good plan

My trouble's all over now

Because you're my man

You don't know what you've done to me

You're heavier than heavenly

Life on the run has set me free, me free now

We're on our way »

Love Song

Miguel:

« Dream a dream, here's a scene

Touch me anywhere 'cause I'm your baby

Grab my waist, don't waste any part

I believe that you see me for who I am

So spill my clothes on the floor of your new car

Is it safe, is it safe to just be who we are? »

Black Beauty

Marc:

« I paint my nails black

I dye my hair a darker shade of brown

'Cause you like your women Spanish, dark, strong and proud

I paint the sky black

You said if you could have your way

You'd make it nighttime all today

So it'd suit the mood with your soul

Oh, what can I do?

Nothing, my sparrow blue

Oh, what can I do?

Life is beautiful, but you don't have a clue

Sun and ocean blue

Their magnificence, it don't make sense to you »

Say Yes to Heaven

Jake:

« If you dance, I'll dance

And if you don't, I'll dance anyway

Give peace a chance

Let the fear you have fall away

I've got my eye on you »

Honeymoon

Steven:

« There are violets in your eyes

There are guns that blaze around you

There are roses in between my thighs

And a fire that surrounds you

It's no wonder every man in town

Had neither fought nor found you

Everything you do is elusive

To even your honey dew »

Prom Song (Gone Wrong)

Nathan:

« Boy, it's late, walk me home, put your hand in mine

At the gate, stop and say, "be my valentine"

You are, by far, the brightest star

I've ever seen, and I never dreamed

I'd be so happy that I could die

You used to say that I was beautiful like Cleopatra

But you the king too, so I would say, "back at ya"

I flip my hair and make you stare and put my makeup on

And make up stories 'bout my life and put on very cherry bomb

And even then, I knew that we were something serious

That you would dominate my thoughts like radio to Sirius »

Pretty When You Cry

Blue:

« All those special times I spent with you, my love

They don't mean shit compared to all your drugs

But I don't really mind, I've got much more than that

Like my memories, I don't need that

I'll wait for you, babe, you don't come through, babe

You never do, babe, that's just what you do

Because I'm pretty when I cry »

Dealer

Jonathan:

« I check it, I wreck it, I turn it around

I gave you all my money, gave you all my money

Gave you all my money, gave you all my money

I don't wanna live

I don't wanna give you nothing

'Cause you never give me nothing back

Why can't you be good for something?

Not one shirt off your back

Why can't you be good for something?

Not one shirt off your back »

Young and Beautiful

Leto:

« Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?

Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?

I know you will, I know you will, I know that you will

Will you still love me when I'm no longer beautiful?

Dear Lord, when I get to Heaven

Please let me bring my man

When he comes, tell me that you'll let him in

Father, tell me if you can

All that grace, all that body

All that face makes me wanna party

He's my sun, he makes me shine like diamonds »

National Anthem

here you go :))

« I'm your national anthem

God, you're so handsome

Take me to the Hamptons, Bugatti Veyron

He loves to romance 'em, reckless abandon

Holding me for ransom, upper echelon

He says to be cool but, I don't know how yet

Wind in my hair, hand on the back of my neck

I said, "Can we party later on?"

He said, "Yes, yes, yes" »

[chalicechipper]

a lot of people want to write not because they think it is the right medium for the story they want to tell, or because they love literature, or because they like to write even, but because they want to actualize a fantasy and writing feels like an accessible way to do that because of our largely literate society. lots of (especially genre fiction) books from contemporary authors seem misplaced in medium, like they were meant for the screen. usually, these authors primarily watch art, not read it, and writing as a skill becomes mercenary. it seems based in a lacking, a desire to make the written word something it isn’t. this is how you end up with br*ndon s*nderson and his lifeless prose holding up meticulous world building like an ikea side table put together wrong.

film and video games are logistically much more complicated than writing and require often very unfamiliar skillsets, and this keeps a lot of stories that were really meant to be a corny fantasy action film from being just that. instead, writers shove these narratives into the novel form without really understanding what the novel is, that it had to be invented, that it isn’t just the default way a story is told.

people are taught how to write, technically, but literary education is so lacking in the general public. so many authors refuse to read, admit they don’t even like books! could you imagine a chef who hates food, who refuses to taste as they cook? yet literature is taken so for granted, as something without depth and purpose, and as essentially a place for worldbuilding masturbation for a guy who really should just be running a dnd campaign.

it’s fine that this writing exists, i’m not saying it shouldn’t, but it’s frustrating how much “advice for writers” comes from this perspective, how so many books are begging on every page to be something other than a book, and how deviating from this approach to writing is viewed by many as stupid and pretentious. i really don’t gaf if people want to read poorly written fantasy novels or write them either, but why is this now the assumed default in so many communities? like, returning to the food comparison, imagine rolling up to a cooking class and they start teaching you how to heat up frozen meals. what’s the fucking point of that?

there are so few writers i see online who genuinely love literature and it’s fucking depressing. i’ve even come across this in creative writing courses! i had classmates in undergrad who didn’t like reading poetry but wanted to write it, and guess what, their poetry was bad!!!!! they’re entitled to write their shit poetry, but my brother in christ you made the sandwich!!! you are in a creative writing degree program!!!!!!!!! the whole point is to learn how to write and i’m sorry to have to break the fucking news but that’s gonna involve some READING!

[merrivia]

I’ve finally read Pet and am kicking myself I didn’t read it sooner!

I’ve measured out the short stories like I’m nibbling on chocolate, Charlie Bucket style, and I was leaving this till last partly because of that, and partly because I didn’t feel that interested in Ancel (sorry Ancel, I take it back).

It’s fascinating reading about events that occur in Captive Prince but not from Damen’s POV. The idea that everyone has complexities under the surface, and that things aren't always as they seem, is only understood by Damen negatively in the first half of Captive Prince I think. Veretians are untrustworthy and slippery and Machiavellian. And that's not, not true! The Veretian court IS a pit of vipers. But people are also still human, and it's that extra step of understanding the humanity underneath even these acidic, performative snakes which is interesting. Ancel is sharp and smart (and really needs to be taught how to read forthwith). Berenger is morally admirable, and isn't actually sleeping with him. Vannes cares about Berenger in her own small way. Laurent emits a great deal of power and is "instantly commanding" to others (but not to Damen, which must have really infuriated him).

Here’s some more snippets of my thoughts in general:

Waxing is canon! So interesting. Why does no grown man ever shave in the books also? Why isn't attending, also shaving? I think we'll just have to accept that as Pacat's choice. Maybe the only blade she wanted between them was the ghost of swords from a long ago fight/swords in the present?

Isagoras the writer/poet- any connection to Isagoras the historical figure who was embroiled in a power play in terms of Athenian politics and democracy? Who Aristotle called ‘friend of tyrants’? Obviously he’s not meant to be that figure but is it a sort of irony and foreshadowing for the political choices Berenger has to make?

And Akielon writing/poetry is popular among men with status? Interesting. You wonder if Laurent approved a poem waxing lyrical about Ios, or really anything that suggested the Akielons aren't barbarians.

I feel as if Damen would know this poem, and read it to Laurent as part of courting him 🥺

Interesting to see a first impression of Laurent from the viewpoint of someone not instantly obsessed with him- severe and harsh, but no mention of his beauty till later.

I mean this nicely but Damen really has no idea how naturally arrogant and superior he comes across as in this situation, does he? I mean, it’s completely understandable if you think of Akielon society, and how he’s been raised and treated; in fact it would be implausible any other way based on his character traits too. He’s just so bad at pretending to be a slave even as his life is at risk if they find out he’s a prince 😂 oh Damen /pets his curls/. And oh, a *lion* you say....

Just really bad at acting servile, it's so funny. Love him.

Speaking of Lamen, it is a little unsettling how quickly Damen starts to fall for Laurent in Captive Prince and how Laurent truly does hate him, yet…is clearly on some molecular level, attracted to him, I think? It’s just a really heartbreaking and stressful dynamic. His "complete attention" on him...let's face it, if Damen had looked like Govart, Laurent wouldn't be fixated in the same way (I mean this nicely).

Oh my baby Laurent. You know this isn’t right. Are you reenacting a past trauma? Making him suffer what you suffered? Even if you aren’t, your flaw is letting your hatred and anger blind you to your morals. (Lucky a man is going to fall in love with you who is pretty much always on your side even when you don’t always deserve it…). Damen will help you be more honourable /pats blond head/

"Locked” is an apt word isn’t it, considering all that ties them together (and not to mention the gold cuffs and collar…) and oof, Laurent's sexual domination in this scene is quite apparent.

and…

I mean, we all know this is sex by proxy and so does Ancel, who just met Laurent and Damen!

And lastly, I am team Berenger. He's a Good Man and would probably get on pretty well with Torveld and Nikandros, the other dark haired, loyal and responsible men in the trilogy.

Nice to see someone see commoners as people all year round (not simply when their villages are being massacred and their humanity is thrown into stark relief by it)!

[fiercynn]

Hey I’d love poetry recommendations! And thank you for your reply to that post, it pissed me off but I don’t think I could have worded it as well as you did

i'm very happy to recommend poetry!!! i have a ton of recs but am going to keep it to contemporary poets i've been reading recently just to keep this manageable haha

i'm gonna recommend specific poetry collections, and if you can purchase them that would be great to support the poets and the small presses that tend to publish them, but if you can't afford to or don't live somewhere where you can access them, you can also search their names and find some of their work online

birthright, george abraham

i don't think i've ever read a collection that has hit me this hard. george abraham (they/he/هو) is a queer palestinian american poet, performance arist, and writer who was born and raised on unceded timucuan lands (jacksonville, FL). birthright is their debut collection, and its title is based on the idea of the "birthright" trips that israel funds to bring young jewish adults to israel and indoctrinate them into becoming zionist settlers. the collection is based around abraham's own trip to palestine, the "inverse of birthright", and it is absolutely stunning. the way they write about the grief and fury of the colonized, about gender, about memories and history and palestinian liberation, is gorgeous and heartbreaking and utterly galvanizing.

once, a language failed me & i hadn't a home to claim it in my own throat— in Arabic, the word for tonsil translates to daughters of the ears—we are taught that to have a body is to carry its lineage inside of us— & i've tried to make a language where my blood was just mine—but my tongue rejected it. spat it out like a mouthful of Arabic—maybe it was defense mechanism; maybe this is how i cough up blood [ translation: how i cough up History ] - "Lexicon Of"

sacrament of bodies, romeo oriogun

romeo oriogun is a queer bisexual nigerian poet born and raised in lagos, who now lives in the united states. sacrament of bodies is a powerful collection about grief - both his parents died when he was young; about the violence of both homophobia and colonialism; about love and sex and desire and more. sacrament of bodies was his first full collection after publishing several chapbooks; his most recent collection is the gathering of bastards, which i have not yet read.

I do know about the hate that sinks a name and turns water into homes drowning boys, I cannot speak because my mouth is a grave. Every day men hurting bodies filled with love are praised as heroes are hailed as saviors opening bodies into fields eaten by locusts. - "Departure"

okay so tumblr hates me and i accidentally posted this when it was not completed!!! i have more recs but i'm going to do a part 2 replying to another person with a similar ask instead of trying to salvage this post 🤦🏾‍♀️

[destinedtobeloved]

Now that I’ve finished Altered Carbon, I think it would be fun to share one of my notes from my notes app that I’ve been writing on since I’ve started it. I’ve cried a lot about this book, and everything I’ve ever left behind has claw marks.

This book definitely has claw marks.

It includes all of my favorite moments and parts of the book down below :)

Things I love about book Kovacs

- he’s trying to quit smoking

- His hallucinations are of Jimmy and Virginia Vadura

- Him and Ortega don’t actually hate eachother that much in the beginning

- At first Takeshi doesn’t actually hate Bancroft either

- He’s genuinely confused about earth terms

- He was mad that at the Wei clinic they didn’t give him back his watch or his bandana, simply because he just bought it and he’d liked the watch

- He likes shopping

- He likes fruit juice???

- Gaslit Umou into being late to Psychasec because he needed to eat breakfast

- He deals with hangovers like a champ

- Started smoking in the construct once he remembered it had no real consequences in the real

- Understands female complexity/differences between male and female

- Knows how to handle gentle situations most of the time (victor talking about his daughter, Kristen talking about Ryker.)

- Quotes poetry from Quell

- Also enjoys poetry (ex; the carving on the bench at the faculty when he’s waiting for the doctor.)

- Slept for twenty hours after the Wei clinic??

- His emotion (though i do miss the scene where he’s drugged up outside of the raven talking to Quell. ‘250 years is long enough. It’s time to move on.’ ‘Never. You hear me? Never.’)

- His love for Sarah

- His attempts at smiling

- His explanation of personality frag!!!!

- Chapter 20 as a whole is so amazing (talking about Ryker- him and Curtis, bla bla bla, mostly just Elias and Kristen stuff.)

- Ramen just awakens something in him

- Actually very good at telling children’s stories to Ortega (like a dad.)

- Good at cracking jokes

- His interaction with the little girl in the second page of chapter 25???!?? (He shoots her with a little finger gun when he realizes she’s looking at him expectantly after seeing his weapon.)

- After the whole blown up building Kadmni thing (‘that’s fucking enough!’) he smokes because he just decides it’s not worth it

- Him and Trepp playing card games on the airship that Trepp had taught him

- He literally reaches for his Nemex every three seconds istg

- Remaining ‘innocent at the core’ -reileen

- Apparently having a very deep very drugged convo about cats in chapter 26

- Kovacs is a MUNCH

- Repeats the same Virginia Vidora quote over again. ‘We take what is offered. And sometimes, that must be enough.’

- Reileen always starting off her talks with him in Japanese because she thinks it unites them in a way

- Had to stop himself from calling reileen ray

- He actually DOES genuinely smile (ex; when Irene is exited about the limo)

- ‘I’m a sucker for family reunions.’ HE ACTUALLY DOES CARE (maybe it’s because him and Sarah never got to have one after he was taken out of the store.)

- Sleeping in the car (limo) so Irene can get laid

- The guilt/itchiness he has after relapsing into smoking

- Him and Trepp are actually friends and she insists that they go party, drink coffee, play card games together, ect.

- Considers trepp not getting into the envoys a ‘Lucky escape’

- Trepp n Kovacs playful teasing

- He missed Ortega when she left the Hendrix and didn’t come back. ‘I missed Ortega.’ Page 356

- Bancroft saying he’d been around for the RD’s of two of his children. (Going out of order back to the beginning)

- Doesn’t bullshit. Didn’t tell Irene it would pass when she was feeling hurt after being resleeved.

- It was nerve wracking to him to watch Irene code

- Reileen and Miriam slept together??

- Takeshis urge to be cruel

- Got anyoyed when Miller was tapping on the table and just flatted out his hand LMFAO

- When he heard he got a call he immediately asked if it was Ortega.

- Literally seconds before he’s about to get beat to death in the Panamrose he thinks about how bored he is

- Still, right before he about to die, he thinks about Ortega and calls her a ‘pocket of calm’

- He’s ready to die, not awfully upset about it because he knows Kristen has enough information to get Reileen and also because he knows Sarah will be released

- Trepp saves him in the Panama rose

- He talks to his dad mid fight after not hearing him forever. Before he killed Kadmin (calling him the ‘patchwork man’) he asks if he wants to say anything.

- He’s afraid to alter his virtual self because he thinks it’s not far away from what reileen and Bancroft do

- Sits on a forklift after the fight thinking. He’s weirdly soft.

- Claims that nothing hurt more then the realization that this would be his and Ortegas last moments together

- Held hands with her too

- Would’ve given anything to not have to dissolve what was growing between them.

- He loves her more in the book than he did in the show (and it’s making me sob.)

- He literally is arguing with himself when he is double sleeved

- He almost killed someone at 16 because he looked like his dad

- Also wanted to help the Elliot’s because of his family and his mom who was like Lizzy

- Absolutely does not want to talk about his past and his father/family

- Planning to get drunk because he doesn’t want to talk to himself sober

- Disappointed with his copy for smoking

- Takeshi fter the microsurgery is down at the lake with a little girl who seemed to ‘adopt him’

- He’s actually kind of heartbroken when him and Kristen’s relationship changes after he is resleeved.

- Makes his day that he can still make Ortega laugh before he convinces her to get him some stiff because he thought their dynamic was weird afterwards

- Before he and Reileen fall to their deaths he says, ‘When they ask how I died,' I said, 'tell them: still angry’ as well as ‘that’s fucking enough’

- Once his clone lost to rock paper scissors and was set to die, he asks if he wants him to tell Jimmy anything. I sobbed.

- Kept accidentally talking about Reileen in present terms after she died.

- He gave money to Irene once he’s about to leave for Lizzy. (‘I want there to be something clean at the end of all this, something I can feel good about.’)

- He held Irene after that.

- He attempts to laugh with Ortega before he goes

- His quote saying that no matter what you always leave alone. (‘Whatever world it is, whatever you've done there for better or worse, you always leave the same way. Alone.’)

- His last wishes are for Kristen to get Ryker to stop smoking once he’s out of the store

[askbensolo]

Hey Ben!

I first found your blog when i was 13 years old and i just turned 18! I’ve been watching (or rather reading) as you’ve grown, and I’d like to say that you seem to have turned out to be a pretty great person. Even though I hadn’t faced the same challenges as you, it was really comforting to know that i was not alone with personal struggles, and just how hard growing up is. Thank you for being you and sharing that with so many people! I head off to university when my planet transitions to fall, and since you’re out of school now do you have and recommendations for college/university? It seems like such a daunting change, but you seemed to have handled it well. (I mean you did graduate so that’s a pretty big success!) Again I’m super proud of you!

-P.S.

Im glad that you’re getting back in contact with Fannie! You should totally invite her on a day out (go to a park, hang out in a market, etc.) I think those are great ways to better connect with someone if they feel a little distant. (plus that could be a perfect opportunity to ask her if she would like to move in with you)!

Thanks! Stay Awesome Ben!

Hey anon! Congrats on becoming an adult! It’s okay if you don’t feel like one yet, haha—Force knows I didn’t when I was eighteen. I’m glad I could share my growing-up experiences with you and everyone! And I'm glad you think I'm a decent guy. I try. Well, usually.

Congrats on getting into university! Oh, what? You're asking me for advice? Well, yeah, I guess I did graduate, heh. Sure, I'll give it a go.

Don’t freak out about not knowing how to do stuff—like not knowing how to buy groceries, or sign a lease, or navigate local speeder lanes, or apply for a job, or any of that. I used to not know how to do any of that. I was freaked out. But somehow, I learned. And now it’s no big deal. Older students and the holonet are your friends when it comes to figuring that stuff out!

For the love of the Force: take care of yourself. Whoever was taking care of you when you were a kid isn’t there anymore. The seven-year-old in you is gonna think that means you can eat ice cream for dinner and stay up till 2am every night. Don’t. Do. That. You’re gonna need to be your own mom now. Or, you can pretend my mom, the OG Space Mom™, lives in your head and lovingly judges your life choices.

Question the things you’ve been taught. And when professors tell you to question the things you’ve been taught, question their questioning too. But don't question things forever. You need to decide what you believe about things, 'cause otherwise someone else is gonna decide for you.

You don't have to choose certain classes (or even an entire major!) just because they line up with your interests. For example—I tried taking a poetry class. Hated it. I didn't like having my creativity cramped by assignments, and I didn't learn anything I didn't already know or couldn't learn on my own.

Don’t feel pressured to date in college. I didn't date anyone (yeah, I know, you're so surprised). Sometimes I felt like I was being left behind, 'cause I saw so many of my friends get into relationships...but, I saw some nasty breakups, too. Things happen when (and if!) they're meant to happen, so there's no need to stress about it. You know?

Try new stuff! Yeah, it sounds cliche. But I let my roommate drag me to the gym when I was a squishy noodly boi, and now lifting's my thing. You never know what you might be into!

Always keep the big picture in mind. Sure, it may feel like the end of the galaxy when you flunk an exam or fail a class. But do you really think you’re gonna care about that when you’re like, fifty? Nah bro. Keep it chill. And sometimes that even means dropping out of a minor or an honors program, if you look into the future and realize it won't really make a difference.

Don't do deathsticks. If anyone offers you deathsticks tell them to go home and rethink their life.

That's all the advice I can currently think of, though I'm always happy to share more from my infinite (not really) stores of wisdom! And thanks for your advice, too—those totally sound like things Fannie would be into.

Thanks for reaching out! You're gonna do great at college, little buddy!

[raccoonfallsharder]

you've probably already answered something like this before, but if you're okay with sharing, how old are you? your writing is so good and I'm a freshman in college looking to major in creative writing so I can't help but be curious about how long you've had to write about sexy raccoons :)

LOVE. you sweet little mint latte. thank you for this ask and may your college years be full of a wealth of learning both in and outside of the classroom and may every experience bring you joy. may they not be the best years of your life but only because every subsequent year only gets exponentially better

anyway i am entering my

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* crone phase *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

in my mid-thirties. discovered fanfiction around the turn of the fuckin millennia and if you ignore the fact that i’ve taken a few multi-year breaks that means that my fanfic career is older than some of my tumblr friends, probably including yourself. horrifying!

⸜(♡ ॑ᗜ ॑♡)⸝

for what it’s worth i was a lit major in undergrad (my school had creative writing classes but no specified major or certs). not sure if you want to hear about that or not but i will say i enjoyed most of my classes a lot and it taught me a lot of valuable skills that have been transferable to other areas of my life (though it has sometimes been hard to market them)

honestly i think (and i know this isn’t what you asked but im going here anyway) that what has been most helpful to me as a writer - far beyond classes or professors - has been just reading ♡ A LOT ♡ of weird shit, and then talking about it from a nerdy standpoint with friends (what did i enjoy or hate about this text? this style? these ideas? how the narrative weaves together? the language? is the writer a good writer? is the writer a good storyteller? how are these different things? what is my personal authorial/narrative philosophy or foundation - like what is the thing i aspire to accomplish with my narrative technique?). so i read SO MUCH fanfiction - yes. and poetry - yes. and YA/kid’s books. and short story collections where the authors are doing weird stuff with narrative. and authors who know how to write PEOPLE, poets who know how to write FEELINGS, or writers who know how to entangle plotlines in creative ways.

books & friends are a writer’s best teachers imo (outside of life itself i guess???)

blah blah blah i’m starting to realize i probably don’t get a lot of asks because i write too much in response. but regardless you are a precious perfect crispy autumn leaf and i love you very much and i hope you receive scholarships and grants at every turn and never end up having to pay a penny for your education. thank you for this question ♡♡♡ i deeply appreciate you indulging my love of asks lol

[jadescornerofinternetinsanity]

Its cold and its dark and im thinking about fathers and what it means to love. Because the first person who taught me the shape of love crushed me in his fist and now im scared that every one i fall for will die with claw marks in their chest. Im worried that i don’t know what it means to love without destruction.

I will cling and i will claw my chest open and ask if you think my lungs are beautiful. I will lie on a concrete floor and bleed and hope it’s pretty. Suffering is like art if you do it right. 

Tell me who left first, because in the haze i cant quite remember. If it was you, i forgive you. If it was me, i hope you hate me for it forever. 

I’ve spent more years trying to reach into the mirror and reshape my skin even if the broken glass cuts me than i ever did finding it beautiful. And sometimes i look at the blue in my eyes and the scars on my stomach and think “someone could love this” and sometimes i think i’ll only find peace beneath a gravestone. 

And if i did, would you write my epitaph? Would it be kind? Would you claw into the stone with your nails and tell the world i lived and someone loved me for it? 

Would you forgive me for leaving? It would be easier than forgiving me for what i did to stay. 

The strings tying me to life are tangled these days, they fray and twist and tighten around my wrists like restraints. 

Sometimes i scream at the sky like it’s my fathers ghost and i ask who was I supposed to be? I ask where are you? Why aren’t you here? 

I hate flying. I hate getting too close to the stars. 

There are a million poems about people being made out of stardust. Hell hath no fury like a poet with a science metaphor. We love to strip the world bare and claw through the dirt looking for something beautiful. How long have humans stared at the sky and found home? How long have we buried our friends in the dirt. How long have we looked up and down and found more? How long have we traced shapes into the stars and told their stories? When does it end? 

Should it? 

We climbed our way to the moon and never went back. A checkmark on a list to prove something to a god that doesn’t exist. A challenge. How dare he think anything is out of reach. 

The universe is expanding, did you know that? Did you know that every second the edge of life gets further away? There will always be something we can't see. There will always be places we can’t go. There will always be rocks we can’t claim, stick our flag into, and pretend to own. 

One day the sun is going to collapse in on itself. Did you know how fragile life is? Did you know we live every day on the precipice of destruction? This is not poetry. There is nothing beautiful about mortality. There is nothing pretty about death. One day the sun will cave in on itself and burn everything we’ve built, one day ozymandias crumbles to dust. Atlantis sinks. The stars burn out. Checkmate. 

We claw life out from the jaws of death and think we’ve won something. We haven’t. 

To live is to suffer, did you know that? 

I don’t know who im talking to. The sky doesn’t answer your questions. It doesn’t matter how many telescopes you send to ask the stars why we’re here. Sound doesn’t travel in space.

Do you know how much we made out of nothing? How much of our history is purely a riot against insignificance? How much blood spilled, temples built, statues carved, wars fought and lost and won and bones buried to prove we were here? How much of the past is just a teenaged nobody screaming that something happened here, something mattered here. How much time do we spend begging our descendants to listen to us? 

There is something violent about fading out of existence. There is peace in it too. Aristotle will never rest, and Shakespeare will be studied by people he never knew until the world ends. 

What is more cruel? To be forgotten or remembered? 

I don’t know who i’m talking to. 

One day the sun will cave in on itself. One day we will fall through a crease in the center of the galaxy. Nothing is immortal. Why do we beg for it to be? 

I don’t know who I’m talking to. None of us do. We talk anyway.

[daisychainsandbowties]

This Dragon/Temeraire AU is driving me feral (half-intended).

Okay, so with Bea, are you thinking her parents are both Chinese, or just one of them?

Because I'm thinking maybe only her mom is from China, and yeah she's a diplomat, and her dad is British diplomat. And so that creates a tension of her mother thinking it's okay for Bea to be working with dragons, but her father will never like it.

But also, they could both be Chinese diplomats stationed long-term in the UK. If Bea had grown up in China, she would probs deserve one of the more important dragon breeds, but not an Imperial or Celestial.

So, in Britain, they kind of let Bea work with Temeraire because he's a Celestial. But maybe they also low-key hate it because why is Bea working with a crew. That's so... debasing.

Temeraire, on the other hand, loves Bea. I am thinking, this story would be set maybe a decade after Laurence has passed away (rip)? And Temeraire loves his crew now, but you know how the British Dragon Corps is, they're kinda rough and tumble. Then along comes Bea who's very proper and reads Chinese books with him (perhaps, Bea even respectfully gives him a present of a book when they first met) and she reminds him so much of Laurence sometimes, and he is all starry-eyed over her for it.

Then when Bea makes captain, her mother uses her influence so that Bea gets Temeraire's hatchling. But also! Temeraire helps her mom with it because he loves Bea and it's the only way he would let her go LMAO.

So yes, Bea comes into this Celestial thinking she doesn't deserve it. And maybe most of the other people in the British corps thinks the same thing too, but it's not like any of them could stop both Temeraire and an important diplomat.

Bea is a conundrum to them, and it's even a relief when she's sent away. The only one who has a hard time accepting that she has to go away is Temeraire.

oh same! the temeraire dragons are my favourite way of doing dragons in anything ever. 

with bea yeah i am thinking that her mum is from China & her father is British. & they argue at length about the optics of sending their 7y/o to work with dragons, but since it’s tem & it isn’t far from their estate, he agrees, so long as she also recieves a classical education. which is how we end up with a beatrice who should, by all rights, be half-wild, but who is also taught manners and etiquette and fencing and, thanks to tem and his & laurence’s library, she also learns advanced mathematics and physics and aeronautics and philosophy and poetry and a kind of eclectic mixture of disciplines. 

BUT she also works on tem’s crew and flies with him & listens to him for hours talking about his adventures. & she dreams of seeing the world on dragonback too. so she’s in this weird position of working a dragon crew, but tem clearly likes her more than a normal crew member, meanwhile she’s also educated and wealthy and not like the children she grows up with. so she ends up slightly isolated, quite lonely.

& tem, seeing this, decides that bea is going to have a celestial, & nobody can change his mind about it. he adores this deeply formal and stuiously proper girl who shows up the first day with a book which she reads to him standing at attention and then gradually falling asleep against his wing. & she’s very like laurnce because she’s a fish out of water & very stiff & mannered but also indescribably warm and genuine. 

so yeah, even though, barring exceptional longwing circumstances, Nobody makes captain at eighteen, he just insists on it, and the corps want a celestial so they shrug. but then, ofc, Something Happens with bea and her parents do not want her in the corps so they strongarm the ocs into laying claim to her (bc yes they DO need celestials) and they assign lilith as her lieutenant while lil waits for Halo to secure the succession. (i love the idea of a tem & beamom tag team where no they don’t like each other but YES they will work together for nepotism purposes. neither of them give a damn about the fairness of it, & tem knows that beatrice deserves it anyway)

so now bea is in this strange organisation with a legendary dragon and a legacy hanging over her (& her secret, which in 19th century Britain could get her in serious trouble). it’s perfect i love her and meddlesome tem. 

[diedeilv]

The latter. But also I'm very paranoid and would convince myself that someone would only put in all that effort to tell me something bad or that they're leaving or something. Silly me things.

I don't get how people could take being recommended poetry wrong? And you are right. English is limiting in regards to emotions, it's horrible. Usually when I'm trying to say something but I can't English about it, I just switch to another language and it comes easier. It's good that you figured out how to express yourself though.

I know what henna is but I forgot and I don't feel like looking it up. Remind me.

I have been playing roblox since I was a child, I've played so much, but I've played through the first two chapters of the mimic, and I played the other one. Very fun games, Roblox horror games are so fun. And I will indeed look into both of those games!

That fight sounds so fun.. I'd love to do all of that. And that does sound very romantic. Maybe without making them bald, but yknow. For someone of average strength, you fight very well, good job! And I don't quite think whether you kneel and admit defeat would be in your control, but you can be hopeful, I guess.

I have nothing to comment on about that but hey good to know if I’ll ever write a paragraph to you.

Me neither, some find it offensive that I’d even recommend poetry (like damn okay I didn’t even know you hated it how am I supposed to know..) Or it’s them talking about how I should read English poetry instead, or any language of the sort. A lot of their reasons are pretty stupid at least to me.. ah glad I’m not the only person who thinks that! It really is difficult. Do you speak another language then?

lmaoo bro was too lazy, therefore I’ll give you the whole explanation. Henna itself is a natural dye derived from the leaves of the henna plant, people use this dye as a temporary tattoo (though for some reason I don’t like calling it that? It the best way to explain it though) and sometimes as hair dye. It stains whatever part of the skin/hair you use it on. It’s used in celebrations, holidays, etc. You could probably see some people now using it as makeup. I do henna designs myself on my hands and feet sometimes. These designs fade naturally over 1–3 weeks. If you have anymore questions on it you can ask me!

Glad you’ll look into the games I’ve recommended, update me if you’ll ever try them. Also been playing Roblox since I was a young kid, normally played Royale High or obby’s like those simple ones. I did dabble in Tower Of Hell back in that time. Though now I absolutely suck at obby’s

Mhm! Don’t worry! I won’t make you bald (at least I hope) Thank you! I’ve been taught how to fight by other family members, they’re the ones who found all my skills. Where did you find your joy to fight/where/who did you learn from?

Oh shut up dumbass I’m not hopeful I’m most definitely sure, I’m not going down for nobody.

[ultramaga]

“ “Schools shouldn’t teach this book in class because–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative “ So schools should teach Nazism in class because if they don’t it means they are “an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative“? Here’s an idea. How about they stick to facts. Religious studies such as Feminism et al can be taught outside of school hours. Advanced Communism can be taught by shipping Leftists to North Korea, and seeing if they enjoy it there. If so, we can ship all of them off, safe in the knowledge that they will be welcomed for dinner. “ “Nobody actually likes or wants to read classics because they’re–” you are an anti-intellectual and an idiot “ What crap. It’s a fact, easily testable, that most people do not read “the classics”. That’s the way the world works. Hell, at the rate literacy in America is plummeting thanks to wokism, we’ll be lucky if they read anything deeper than a Tumblr post. I had a friend who loved classical literature. As a part of her degree, she had to study Daniel Defoe, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Years a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her brother) Twelve Years a Thief, Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv'd Honest and died a Penitent (a.k.a. Moll Flanders) (1722) She hated it so much that I avoided doing an English degree precisely so I could avoid that book and others like it.  Hell, there was no science fiction component, let alone fantasy, as a part of English studies back then. There is now, sort of ... https://www.une.edu.au/study/units/science-fiction-engl506 But I’m suspicious it would be taught with a Leftist slant. Parable of the Sower ISBN: 9781472263667 Octavia E. Butler, any edition 2019 Text refers to: All offerings Parable of the Sower is a 1993 speculative fiction novel by American writer Octavia E. Butler. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. Octavia Butler grates on me like a dentist’s drill. It would make far more sense to cover Isaac Asimov. I can see why Feminists and Leftists obsess about her, but if they had any guts, they would do The Female Man and admit they are a bunch of genocidal maniacs. The Left Hand of Darkness ISBN: 9781473221628 Le Guin, U.K., Orion 2017 Text refers to: All offerings The book was Le Guin's first to address feminist issues,[54] Vastly over-rated imo, mostly given attention because of the hermaphroditic characters. I honestly don’t give a shit about that story. I think The Culture novels by Iain M Banks did a better job of exploring how weird it would be if humans could change sex by putting that in the background, and having the science fiction stuff in the front.

And where’s Ringworld? Man, if you are going to teach Science Fiction, teach the stuff that was so important it influenced bloody Star Trek!

This Kzinti just found out the importance of his kind has been forgotten. Again. He is sad. Won’t you cheer him up by revisiting the classic Star Trek/Known Space crossover? “ You will examine how science fiction negotiates its hugely popular status with being also an arena for wider discussions about society, culture, politics, religion and identity. “ See, that screams of wokism in my eyes. Because any literature could make that exact same claim, as could music or poetry for fuck’s sake. What about focussing on what makes science fiction science fiction? You can have science fiction without anything beyond the examination of electron orbits in the chemistry of the past.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runaround_(story) a) Protagonist encounters a problem b) Solves problem by thinking about science! An awful lot of Isaac Asimov’s writing is pretty much barebones - problem, solution. It’s an incredibly successful formula that gave him fame and fortune, and spurned on assorted terrible movies and TV series precisely because they tried to inject all that bullshit instead of focussing on PROBLEM -> SOLUTION.

Schild’s Ladder does, I suppose, deal with the problems of identity, but it is entertaining because it also deals with how weird it would be to walk around in fourth dimensional space, or the terror of trying to escape an incredibly fast missile, or the body horror of a post apocalyptic humanity going extinct.

The time machine can work as a metaphor for contemporary society, but it works a lot better if you discard the limited understanding of class conflict and just see it as the simple statement that humans are not the peak of evolution, and evolution would be perfectly happy turning down our intelligence and making us useless eloi meat animals, or the bestial morlocks who breed and consume them as if they were cattle. The author wasn’t deep in his understanding of evolution, and seemed to think that books and nice speeches would change the ways of the eloi - whereas what was needed was a breeding program for intelligence and a lot of time - good thing he had a time machine - but the author never thought it through.

The message of the story is not the one the author intended. As far as I can see, the future is unalterable and the hero’s struggles are worse than futile, because he’s trying to save the Eloi when they are no longer human, and he should instead be trying to prevent the disaster that created them in the first place, especially as he had already skipped ahead and seen that everything on Earth was doomed. What does politics or identity matter in that context? In fact, a lot of science fiction stories have that looped time problem. With everything following train tracks, politics etc just don’t matter. You have to be able to change the future for there to be any point to struggling.

Closed time loops are incredibly popular, but the determinism means that social commentary etc is pretty much irrelevant.  Science fiction, generally speaking, IS NOT LIKE OTHER LITERATURE. You can have space opera, sure, and that can ignore the science and have superweapons and big explosions, and that is fine. Or you can have stuff that focuses more on the science. The Expanse has science, and it has politics, but they don’t really map to our politics. You have racism, but you have humans actually splitting into different species potentially. Our racism is irrelevant to their times. And nobody gives a shit about Trump or conservatives or whatever, when aliens have appeared that are quite capable of consuming humanity as fuel for their machinery. Or of eating us as we travel through higher dimensions because we have no other means to get to another star.

Would you sacrifice the lives of children to save humanity from extinction? This is not a real world dilemma. We never face an existential threat except perhaps from nuclear war. The Leftists have been trying to instill a panic since the time of Thomas Malthus but it just hasn’t worked. We do not realistically ever face such moral conundrums. But we can explore them in science fiction despite them never mapping to the real world.

And that is why Science Fiction is not taught at universities. They just spew out propaganda. They have no idea how to deal with stories that exist to be STORIES.

“Authors should not be ALLOWED to write about–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“This book should be taken off of shelves for featuring–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Schools shouldn’t teach this book in class because–” you are an anti-intellectual and functionally a conservative

“Nobody actually likes or wants to read classics because they’re–” you are an anti-intellectual and an idiot

“I only read YA fantasy books because every classic novel or work of literary fiction is problematic and features–” you are an anti-intellectual and you are robbing yourself of the full richness of the human experience.