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imrllytootiredforthis · 1 year

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Hiya, I was reading your "how txt would sound in bed" post and was wondering if you could do the same for Stray kids :)

Your writing is amazing, thank you so much💙✌️

starting off with channie, he's not too loud i don't think.

he is very breathy and kinda more on the throaty side. that's just when he's trying to be quiet though, when you're in his studio and the boys are in the next room or and your hand just feels so good moving up and down his sensitive cock, he feels like he's losing his mind.

he isn't too much louder when you're alone but i do feel like he would be so much more whiny and when he's not whining, he's moaning and he moans with his accent and dear lord.

lixie's moans would be so pretty, so deep and rich omg. just like his deep voice normally, his moans would be the exact same.

but also in my heart and soul i think that if he got into it (if you played with his nipples), his voice would get several octaves higher.

he'd keen and mewl a lot, getting so much more vocal when he's about to cum, whining high and cute.

he'll be going red when you point it out, fucking hell imagine him with sweater paws, getting fucked out of his mind but you saying his moans are the cute is the most embarrassing thing in this moment and he just covers his face with the sweater paws with a cute little 'stoooop'.

honestly, hyunjin took me a little while because i couldn't figure it out. after some contemplation though i've come to a conclusion,

he'd be kinda a middle range in volume, not too loud or too quiet, but that changes depending on the situation.

he really is a performer and that doesn't change in bed at all. even if he's getting railed so hard he's seeing stars he still keeps note of exactly what sets you off.

exactly which noises he makes seem to illicit that hungry look in your eye. he changes based on what you like, plays with you by using it against you. whether you like him quieter or louder (you better like him louder or i don't trust you) he notices and then it's just a game to see how long it is until he starts making them in a non-sexual way in your normal life, waiting for the moment you'll snap and fuck him against the kitchen counter.

now my sweet little brat lee know would grunt and groan a lot pretty quietly because he doesn't want to moan and let you know how good he feels.

when he gets really close though or falls into subspace, he just gets so completely overwhelmed with pleasure that he really can't care anymore, utterly debauched sounds falling from those puffy lips, all swollen from how much he's bitten them. super loud and super ruined, any and every curse under the sun gasped or whined out.

it's really adorable to see him going from somewhat composed, but clearly trying his best to stay that way and then just melt away with the pleasure, dissolving into a mess, a slave to the sensations that you give him<33

the cute little puppy seungmin, he pants a lot, whimpers a bit, akin to a puppy-

but he isn't that loud in general, he'll have to place his mouth right by your ear for you to hear his tiny mewls and whispers for more, honestly it's pretty perfect for when you're pegging him in mating press or missionary, and his face is buried into your neck

he'll happily make himself a bit louder just for you but only if you ask him nicely-and only if puppy gets a reward

my little perv jisung, babygirl's a shrieker for sureee, gasping, moaning, screaming, losing the very concept of composure, thoughts a jumbled mess just because of how good you make him feel.

gives zero fucks for anyone else around-i've said it a million times and i'll say it again, there is not a single ounce of concern for common decency when he moans out loudly from the vibrating plug up his ass in a public area.

dirty talker 10000%, learned it all from the absolutely sinful-*sigh*, just check his browser search history. baby's got a mouth on him and will not shut up unless you gag him.

he also definitely gets upset when you tell him that he has to be quiet, pouting and maybe even shedding a tear, asking why you don't wanna hear his noises.

binnie, he would sound so cuteee-

it really depends where you are because he's really shy and if you're anywhere that people would possibly walk in on you (gym locker room) it's gonna be heavy breathing and the tiniest n e e d i e s t little 'please' e v e r

and he isn't that loud to begin with but when you're in private, just the two of you, looking up at you with the sweetest cutest doe eyes in the world,

then he really feels like he can lose himself into all of the sensations, he loses it real quick tbh just of how sensitive he is and can hardly bring himself to be quiet.

and lastly, with innie, poor baby just gets so overwhelmed and so flustered, he'll try to cover his face and muffle his moans until you pull his hands away (or tie them over his head). even then though he won't let you really hear him, biting his lip or swallowing the moan crawling up his throat

he'll try to bury his face into your skin, trying to distract himself, take his mind off of how good he feels while marking you all up,

when he finally does let you hear him though-it really should be a crime that he didn't let you sooner, absolutely heavenly, absolutely sinful, wholly and utterly delectable. soft whimpers and full moans, ughhhh.

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veliseraptor · 14 days

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April Reading Recap

Stars of Chaos vol. 2 by Priest. I'm not quite grabbed by this one yet. I'm not not enjoying it, but the main relationship doesn't quite have me compelled, and the politics aren't quite sharp enough to get me either. I'm not totally sure I'll keep buying the published volumes, at least not at this time, and just read the rest online to see how I end up feeling about it as a whole before making the financial commitment.

Medea by Eilish Quin. Listen, I'm a Medea apologist, but I'm a Medea apologist who is very much of the "she absolutely did all the awful things she's accused of and she is valid" and the author here is going "she did all the awful things she's accused of but it's not as bad as you thought it was because she didn't mean it!" and I'm just. I'm not mad, just disappointed (again). I was so hoping for a book that would do something interesting with a Medea retelling but I probably should've known better than to think it'd be this one. Why, you may ask, do I keep reading myth retellings about my problematic faves when all I do is complain about them? Hope springs eternal, I guess.

She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan. Exceptional. Might be my favorite books I read in April. I'd already read She Who Became the Sun back when it was first published and knew I'd enjoyed it (was rereading to refresh my memory for the sequel), but I felt like I enjoyed it more the second time around, and I might've liked He Who Drowned the World even more than its predecessor. If you're looking for works of just-barely fantasy with delightfully fucked up queer characters, come get 'em here. I won't say most of them are happy (they're not) or that things end well (they don't), but boy is it good reading.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling. Decent horror but not particularly outstanding, in my opinion. I liked The Luminous Dead more.

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee. I continue to struggle with novellas. This was a perfectly good novella but it felt like it could've been a stronger short story, which I guess is better than the other way I usually come out of novellas, which is "this was a fine novella but it should've been a novel."

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. I really liked this. It has more of a thriller-ish edge than I expected, but for all that I think it's a thoughtful book with some interesting things to say, and I feel like it's one I want more people to read so I can talk to them about it. It's set in a sort-of spooky, near-future dystopia, but a lot of it is about, like, the nature of thought and consciousness. Anyway, I found myself compelled.

Islands of Abandonment: Nation Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape by Cal Flyn. I found myself reading this thinking a lot about The World Without Us, a book I read many years ago and would kind of like to reread, and which I think I liked more than this (at least in my memory). I was hoping for more analysis than I got from this book, which was beautifully written but more nature/travel writing than science. One thing I did appreciate was the attention paid to the human cost of the "abandoned" places examined in this book - the pain that abandonment often signifies, and the trauma it indicates, in spite of the beauty that may come after.

Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World by Mary Beard. I really liked the way that Beard chose to do this one - namely, taking it by theme rather than by emperor, and breaking down different areas of the emperor's life over time rather than trying to tell a linear narrative. It also let her do some of the better "skeptical" reading of sources that I've read in a popular book on ancient history, where she was actually digging into the "rather than what this says about what this person may or may not have actually done, what does it say about expectations, beliefs, and tropes that people had" kind of reading. And after some of the other popular histories of Rome I've read, thank god for that.

Metamorphoses by Ovid, trans. Stephanie McCarter. Continuing on with my "reading new translations (by women!) of classical epics" run (started with The Odyssey, The Iliad is on my list). It was fun to reread Ovid! As usual one of my favorite parts of this was reading the translator's note and introduction, and I wanted about 500% more of that through the text (tell me about the assonance you're preserving in the Latin!) but did get some of (thanks for the information on the penis/pubic hair puns!). Overall would recommend as a good translation of Ovid that very much does not flinch away from - and makes/keeps appropriately uncomfortable - the sexual assault.

Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat. Slightly more YA than I usually like, but I enjoyed it! I was a little :\ about it for a while, very much feeling the YA cliches of it all, but the late hour twist got me interested again, and I will be picking up the sequel. Did miss the full balls-to-the-wall iddy joy of Captive Prince, though, since I probably wouldn't have picked this book up without the author recognition.

Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other by Judy Klitsner. I really liked this one, particularly for its commentary comparing and contrasting Eve, and the other women of Genesis, with later Biblical narratives. I don't know how much I buy all of her arguments when it comes to intentionality of all of the comparisons she's drawing, but it certainly makes interesting food for thought, and a good sampler for me of what literary-based Biblical scholarship can look like (and an indication that I'm interested in trying more of it).

Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks. I read most of my way through this book continuing to really appreciate what Banks does with the Culture novels and planning to continue on reading the next one, but not enjoying this specific one as much as I did The Player of Games in particular, and then I got to the very end of it and went "hang on what the fuck???" but in a decidedly good way. And I'm still kind of thinking about That even though it's been a while, which I think is a positive. Anyway, I don't think I'd recommend this as a starting place for anyone to read the Culture novels, or as a must read, but it was on the upper end of a three star rating.

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid. I wanted this to be more gothic horror and less romance and it ended up being more romance and less gothic horror, was my feeling. Not necessarily the book's fault, but if anyone else is eyeing it wondering...now you know.

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. I really enjoyed this one! I was kind of skeptical going in - I'm not a big magic school person, as a rule, and the more I feel like something is hyped to me the more I tend to drag my heels about it - but Naomi Novik is really good at what she does and she clearly had a lot of fun here. It's tropey for sure, but I enjoy the narrative voice (very important, in a first person narration), and the action moves along with what I felt was pretty good momentum. The other thing I was worried about - that it'd feel too much like this was just ~commentary on/against Harry Potter~ without saying anything for itself - didn't materialize for me. I'm looking forward to reading the next ones.

The Monster Theory Reader ed. by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock. I'm so rusty on my academic/theory reading and I felt it reading this collection, some of which was definitely better than others. Kristeva's essay on abjection was particularly rough as far as "I'm reading words and I know all the words but something about the order they're going in is just not making sense to me." Overall...it was a decent primer? There were a few very interesting essays in there; my favorite might've been the one on tanuki in modernizing Japan's folklore, but there were a couple on "monstrous" bodies that made me wish I had someone to discuss them with. That's probably my main problem reading academic works these days: I want a seminar to dissect them afterwards and I just don't have that.

The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man by Abraham Joshua Heschel. I'm trying to read something Jewish on Shabbat now and finally getting around to reading some Heschel after years of meaning to. I thought "oh, I'll start easy with something nice and short" - yeah, no, Heschel's got a very particular style of writing and there's a lot of theological depth packed into a very short volume. I'm looking forward to reading The Prophets, though.

The Husky and His White Cat Shizun vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou. I think we're juuuuust about caught up now with the official translation to where I started reading the machine translation, so I'm very excited for (a) things I don't remember as well (b) reading it not in machine translation. Also looking forward to everything about what happened with Nangong Liu and Nangong Xu making more sense this time around, on account of not reading it machine translated, because I didn't follow it so well on my first read and I feel like I'm already doing better. (Though that could also be because it's a reread, no matter how different an experience of one.) Still feel real bad for Ye Wangxi, on so many levels. Mark that one down for 'characters I'd love to know more about what they're thinking.'

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang. I really enjoyed S.L. Huang's other work with the Cas Russell series, and I liked this book a little less than those. It felt like an almost winner, for me. Certainly I read through it quickly enough, and I can say I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I'd give it an enthusiastic recommendation. It falls somewhere in the middle between "a fun action/adventure story" and "something I can sink my teeth into" in a way that didn't quite satisfy either itch. Still, it did make me curious about the source material, which is one of the Chinese classics (Water Margin) and I might go and find a place to read that, if I can; if I'd had that background going in I wonder if my experience of this work would've been more edifying.

I'm currently rereading A Memory Called Empire so I can (finally) read the sequel (A Desolation Called Peace); I also checked out from the library the next two Scholomance books so I'll be reading those. I'm going to try to throw some nonfiction somewhere in there (maybe The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman, which I also have out from the library, but maybe something else), but I've still got the sequel to The First Sister sitting on my shelf (also from the library).

Outside of that I've got no big reading plans - I'm working my way through some of the unreads on my own shelf (despite what it may look like, about the library books) and eyeing The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky or a reread of Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett so I can continue that series.

#long post for ts #reading recaps #sometimes i read things #sometimes i wonder if i should have more like. summary information on what books are about #but i am lazy and also that's not really the point #important text posts

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blysse-and-blunder · 4 months

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in lieu of a commonplace book

saturday, jan 27, 2024

*brennan lee mulligan voice* heeeeeeeelllllllllllllloooooooOOOOOOOOO one and all and welcome back for another thrilling episode of...whatever this is. thank you for being here.

It's 2024! Say hi, intrepid heroes!

reading recently finished:

-orwell's roses by rebecca solnit (audio) - glad I listened, ultimately very gratifying - history, criticism, extremely lush garden-filled prose and love for growing things - nona the ninth by tamsyn muir - felt so much about [redacted] it made me cry. i can unblock ALL THE TAGS NOW - the blue sword by robin mckinley (audio) - catching up on old school fantasy continues -when the angels left the old country by sacha lamb (audio) - beautiful. not not in conversation with good omens but doing something different.

recently begun: -the ministry of the future by kim stanley robinson - can't decide if it's a scifi novel or a policy brief about ways to combat climate change- reading on my mom's recommendation -babel: an arcane history by r.f.kuang - withholding judgment, but i know you probably want me to hate it and so far i don't, really! to my own surprise -the shadow of the wind by carlos ruiz zafrón (audio) - spooky, post-modern but incredibly good at sounding like it is of the time it depicts. many thoughts on the audio book narrator's accent work, most favorable -one corpse too many by ellis peters. wild that i have only just begun reading the cadfael mysteries

listening last week was about discovering and putting on continuous loop the group trousdale on the recommendation of @m2pixie (!) and other trusted friends; the energy, the harmonies! they fill a girl group void i didn't realize i had, it feels like the best kind of throwback, like old chicks or something, some desperately needed bops. exhibit a: bad blood.

today my daylist introduced me to joy oladokun and i'm so glad it did. love her vibe, love this cover art. had to take a picture of my desk, the visuals were so satisfying.

watching the newest series of netflix's lupin!! so far i'm really, really enjoying where this season has been spending most of its time-- the new characters, the new heists, the new stakes. especially fun to watch with friends where we can all shout about the mrs doubtfire of it all, the betrayals, the misdirection, the 'he can't keep getting away with this!.' the original lupin series will always bring back memories of watching it in early lockdown; i'm glad that there's this now to think about and remember instead.

playing hollow knight hollow knight hollow kniiiiiiight. bought it a few months ago when it was on sale, after hanging out and watching @dimir-charmer stream for us a bit, but playing it yourself is a different game. i'm having a blast. it's becoming a problem. i'm having to be so so good and mature in how much i let myself just get suckered in to a full day spent in my little buggy maze adventures. the temptation to keep going until i've made a meaningful advancement of some kind (today: got the longer nail! last time: beat hornet! saved zote the mighty, got the baldur shell charm, and beat the gruz mother!) is very, very real. have also gotten around this by listening to lots of lo-fi hollow knight beats to relax and study to while being 'productive.'

(found this screenshot online, and holy extra health batman)

making pancakes. lots and lots of weekend pancakes. sent a bunch of mail since new year's, and have some new arts and crafts (charcoal pencils!! those little paper cone blender guys! better paper) to fuck around with next time i want to get ~artistic. watch this space.

working on teaching is so all-consuming. it's great, i love it. the course (maps class! if you see that tag, this is that) is going well, i think! first three lectures down. the students i've gotten to know i really like, the material has yet to get old (see one - do one - teach one is so real. i understand this class now, finally, in a way i don't think i did just being the TA, even after three times). it takes so much longer to just copy-paste-change color and font on slides than it should! i've regularly been getting four-five hours of sleep on monday nights before teaching on tuesdays, but it has meant that i don't have the brain space to be self-conscious while i'm 'on', i just. go. having fun selecting teaching 'fits, having (less) fun handling all the students who joined in the second or third week and need help with catching up, but it's not their fault there was a waiting list and lots of turnover.

(petrus roselli - portolan chart of the mediterranean, 1466)

non-teaching: - student letter of recommendation for dental school (DONE) - conference panel proposal (due 1/31) -submit revised conference paper for that prize (due 1/30) -send draft of grant application to A for her to be able to write a letter of recommendation (due IMMEDIATELY WHY ARE YOU ON TUMBLR) (you have until 2/15 to fix it but she needs the draft!) -chapter 3 edits (lmao) -read for that other course you're meant to be the TA for (oops) - give i. feedback on her thing (tonight) -RAship hours (c'mon these are actually paid work, please do them)

#in lieu of a commonplace book #phone didn’t autocomplete that tag which just proves it’s been a MINUTE #ilcb #weekly roundup #Spotify

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balanceoflightanddark · 1 year

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I've read several Azulaang AUs where Aang gets Azula to open and master all of her chakras. Each with their own take on what's blocking them.

What do you think is blocking all of Azula's chakras? What's your take?

Well, I'm not a huge expert on chakras, but I can think of a few things that might be interfering with Azula's if you want to go that route. Course this is gonna take a little bit to go through each and every one of them, so get comfy.

Earth: This one should be fairly easy. This chakra deals with survival and is blocked by fear. Fear and Azula go together like bread and butter. Sure, many people think of Azula causing fear, but you also have to remember that Azula is terrified herself. Particularly of failure and the consequences of failure. Especially poignant since...well, the price of failure could possibly be maiming or even worse. A very real possibility with Ozai as your father. Hell, in the novelization of Sozin's Comet, we get this particular scene:

Overcoming and opening her Earth chakra means overcoming her fear of failure. Which would be difficult, but also a major step since that means overcoming Ozai's conditioning.

2. Water: Another fairly obvious one. This deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. People often accuse of Azula of having no guilt for a lot of things. Which in many ways isn't entirely inaccurate (I mean, you can't exactly feel guilty over something you do that for your entire life is told to be correct). However, we do get a good idea of what might be blocking this particular chakra in the mirror scene.

We see in this scene that Azula admits that she did treat Mai and Ty Lee poorly, but also said she didn't have any choice because...well, fear is the only reliable way in her mind. Hell, she wouldn't be reacting this way if she didn't have any guilt over the whole mess. Even though, again, when you grow up under Ozai's shadow, that screws up how you view the world. Coming to grips with how wrong her worldview is and forgiving herself for how bad things got with some of the only positive relationships in her life can help unblock this chakra.

3. Fire: Driven by willpower. Blocked by shame. Azula has a determination that puts a lot to others to shame. To be the best firebender, the perfect daughter, the embodiment of what the Fire Nation should be. And her success was driven by that will (and less luck as Zuko puts it), particularly with firebending and being able to bend blue fire.

Unfortunately, the shame of her humiliating defeat at Sozin's Comet probably shattered that willpower. And I could see it affecting her firebending if she's as shaken as she was in canon about what happened. Learning that her loss doesn't necessarily mean she's a failure and learning to fall in love with firebending outside of the context of combat and competitiveness to just firebending for firebending's sake, to appreciate the effort it takes to be so good can go a long way to unblock this chakra.

4. Air: Embodiment of love. Blocked by grief. Azula and love...yeesh. What a complicated history that one is. Azula is undeniably capable of love, and did have love for her family members. She wouldn't have hallucinated Ursa and been shaken by her rejection if that weren't the case. She did care about Zuko enough to bring him home with his honor intact while warning him about visiting Iroh. And her love for Ozai is undeniable.

And they all left in the end. Ursa neglected her. Zuko took everything from her (taking one of the few genuinely compassionate acts she did and throws it in her face). And Ozai abandoned her to the wolves. Not to mention her ruined relationship with Mai and Ty Lee, and she's more than wracked with grief. Again, she wouldn't have broken down if she didn't love them. That is the meaning of loss and grief.

5. Sound: Embodiment of truth. Blocked by lies.

...

youtube

Yeah that goes without saying that Azula is a knack liar. More importantly, even to herself. Azula's convinced herself that she's some irredeemable monster. That her only choice is to play with the cards given to her and embrace that notion of being a monster.

Thing is...she isn't. As proven before, she's NOT a monster. She is capable of showing compassion and love. Even if she's bad at showing it, she's not the callous, heartless demon she tries to present herself as. Unblocking this chakra means accepting that her lie is exactly that: a lie. And embracing the truth that she is indeed capable of so much more than what Ozai or herself have taught her to be.

6. Light: Embodies insight. Blocked by illusion. We've talked about lying before, but this particular one can also mean her regards to the Fire Nation in general. Azula, like so many others, was raised with the belief that the Fire Nation was the superior nation. That fire was the superior element, and that their way was justified.

But just like Azula's lie, the illusion is just an illusion. The Fire Nation isn't inherently better than the others, and their drive, their cause was built on the ego of the Fire Lords and a misguided attempt to bring about a world in their own image. If the previous chakras are about breaking down Azula's self image and her relationship to Ozai, then it sets the bedrock for unblocking this chakra and discovering just what the Fire Nation truly has done.

7. Thought: Embodies pure cosmic energy. Blocked by earthly ties. This one is...unique. The others are at least defined by something concrete. Pure cosmic energy is something that's a bit more abstract. Azula's earthly ties are easy. They're all the blockages that we've just mentioned and shaped her as a person. And we've just talked about how she can overcome them.

The final step would be to finally break ties from them. To accept that no, she's NOT defined by Ozai. She's NOT a monster. And she can be more than what Ozai or the previous Fire Lords had wanted her to be. This is the critical point. It's accepting that she can be good and do the right thing no matter where she came from. Thus, coming to terms with her past, and choosing to move on and forge a new future for herself. At least how I'd interpret this.

So...yeah. This is how I'd view Azula's chakras, what's blocking them, and what can be done to clear them. It'll take time, but I do believe she's capable of it. I mean, she has addressed some of the issues herself. Now it's a matter of capitalizing on what she's learned and putting them into practice.

Thanks for the ask, anon! This was actually a bit of fun. Maybe this can be a sort of roadmap for anyone interested in writing an Azula redemption fic or something.

#azula #princess azula #azula meta #atla #atla meta #atla chakras #chakras #i'm...not an expert #so forgive me if i'm wrong on something #anon answered #ask me anything #long post

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taylortruther · 2 months

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i’m curious if you’re comfortable answering what places have you branched out to besides the atlantic as you’ve moved further left???

so this is hard to answer, because you can't just go to one source. i didn't just replace the atlantic with a single other publication, i just outgrew it.

anyway, i read A LOT. i've always been interested in issues of gender, inequality, prejudice, even before i knew what they were called. so beyond resources, i encourage you to read a lot, read from many different sources, and read critically. it is up to you to distill the truth from fiction, opinion from fact. also, you must think critically. you have to take the information and apply it, let it challenge you, let it stack up in your brain until you have convictions that you can actually justify.

🚨 also, disclaimer: i do not endorse EVERYTHING these publications or sites have printed. i don't co-sign every opinion these activists hold. i am sorry if i am ignorant to some crime against humanity within! i'm certain all the resources here are considered "problematic" or biased in some way, or to someone. some publications serve corporate interests, some have problematic business practices, some writers have problematic histories, and some of the info will challenge your worldview in a way that might seem harmful and cause you to deem them problematic. 🚨

mainstream news is still essential to stay aware of what's going on in the world (al jazeera, npr, cnn, to name a few) -- but these are some of the corporate interests i was talking about. they're biased, heavily, but sadly can't think of a news site that covers world news that isn't somehow beholden to their corporate overlords.

magazines, such as: mother jones, the nation, tempest, jacobin, dissent, inverse (for science) -- some of these are socialist publications. some, like mother jones, do excellent investigative reporting. you must know the difference between that and editorial - they are all valuable, but they aren't interchangeable. you will find a lot of editorials/opinions here, and you should assume any of them are owned by a bigger company and might be subject to their interests.

a selection of books i've loved at various times in my life: "aint i a woman? Black women and feminism" and "feminist theory" by bell hooks; "revolution and evolution" by grace lee boggs; "so you want to talk about race?" by ijeoma oluo; "bad feminist" by roxane gay; "unpacking the invisible knapsack" by peggy mcintosh; the publications of jackson katz, who researches what we now call toxic masculinity.

i also follow a lot of activists/thinkers, such as:

ericka hart - sexuality and Black history educator

tarana burke - founder of the metoo movement, Black feminist activist

laura danger - discusses domestic labor and gender inequality in relationships, and how global inequality creates it

megan jayne crabbe - writer and body positivity activist

ijeoma oluo - activist and author of "so you want to talk about race?"

abolition notes - not an activist, but a resource for educational material

following magazines and activists is probably the "easiest" solution, because you can expose yourself over time. read articles as they interest you, don't look away when activists say something that initially seems too extreme. idk! hope this helps!!

#recs #turning off rbs for now because i don't know if i want this to escape containment #socio #politics

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aaronsrpgs · 3 months

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DAWstruck

A Quick Look at Sci-Fi/Fantasy Publisher DAW and My Desire for Cheap Entertainment

If you've ever been to an American used bookstore, flea market, etc., you probably recognize the distinctively uniform yellow (or faded-to-brown) spines of the DAW books pictured above.

From Wikipedia: "DAW Books is an American science fiction and fantasy publisher, founded by Donald A. Wollheim, along with his wife, Elsie B. Wollheim, following his departure from Ace Books in 1971. The company claims to be 'the first publishing company ever devoted exclusively to science fiction and fantasy.'"

Wollheim was active in sci-fi publishing and fandom circles; he published the Ursula LeGuin's first two books at Ace, and as a youth, he was kicked out of the New York Science Fiction League club for getting a group of unpaid authors together to sue writer/publisher/organizer Hugo Gernsback after they weren't paid for published stories:

"It grieves us to announce that we have found the first disloyalty in our organization… These members we expelled on June 12th. Their names are Donald A. Wollheim, John B. Michel, and William S. Sykora—three active fans who just got themselves onto the wrong road."

I've worked in bookstores and libraries for decades, and my eyes always glossed over the shelves full of yellow spines. But I started to reconsider after listening to Sean at SFUltra talk about Electric Forest by Tanith Lee. (Once you're equally convinced, go back his Patreon, which is literally my favorite criticism on the internet.)

I started devouring Lee's work. In my opinion, she outstrips most of the "greats" of that era of sci-fi. Her prose is awesome, her plots are great fun, and she's prolific across science fiction and fantasy. Had I been sleeping on DAW Books? Were they all this good?!

They are not all that good.

DAW Books books run the gamut of sci-fi and fantasy, from alternate histories to barbarian tales to postmodern reactions to the post-war West. And taken as an overview of the sci-fi field at that time, they reflect the good (Tanith Lee) and the bad (libertarian cryto-fascism, coercive sex freaks, tired cliches).

So why am I writing about them? Because they represent a type of publisher that, as far as I know, doesn't really exist anymore. They published authors who'd never been published before, and they printed straight to paperback.

I have no idea if anyone was making a living being published by DAW, but I assume this was a foot in the door for lots of these authors. And the books were so cheap! The one I have on hand was $1.25 in 1976. Adjusted for inflation, that's $6.93.

And listen, I read difficult books. I read literary fiction and academic histories and complicated, confusing cross-genre works. But I also like to read trash! I think everyone deserves to read some trash. But I want that trash to be cheap and easily accessible.

And with modern publishers focusing on established authors and Next Big Things, it's hard to find trash! And when you do find it, it's often dressed up to look like a Next Big Thing and priced accordingly.

Please give me more cheap trash.

And god, look at those covers. Again, I don't know if any painters were making a living by selling work to DAW, but they were definitely putting in the work. You got classic Frazetta horniness, you got '70s psychedelia, you got "what if the Bible was weirder?" classicism.

I want to decorate my walls with these.

The nice part is that they're mostly shorter than 200 pages, and I've never spent more than $5 on one of these, and I can usually find them even cheaper. So next time you're at a library sale and you see a faded yellow DAW spine, take a closer look.

Just stay away from Gor.

(DAW is still in business today, as a subsidiary of Astra House Publishing. I would say they occupy the same spheres as Tor: popular, readable, and usually left-of-center science fiction and fantasy. Such as The Forever Sea, a sapphic ecological fantasy book about sailors on a sea of plants. They cost, unfortunately, more than $7.)

#books #sci-fi #science fiction #fantasy #sff

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rudikawhy · 7 months

Text

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season Three

Just like I did with season two, I took some notes while watching season three.

There are spoilers, but since I've marked when a new episode starts, you could just skip those you haven't seen yet. If there are any.

(S03 E01) I feel you, Coulson. It's hard for me too to get used to calling her Daisy

"He looks big and intimidating. But inside, he's just a soft, little, fluffy little teddy bear."

It must be so tough, knowing you can't go back to your own life

I was waiting for them to mention that Simmons has been swallowed (15 minutes)

Glad that Bobbi's back at work tho.

What's your mission, Fitz!?

"One last thing" what does that mean!?

I loooove sassy Fitz. "Hey, wait. Ah. I want to see Yusef. You understand? Or is your English worse than you think?"

Why doesn't Hunter talk to Bobbi now?

How dare you touch Fitz!

Is it just me or does Iain sound here more scottish than in season two?

I would like to have Fitz as my hero

This "monster" that appears at the hospital looks pretty creepy

And now, Fitz can also read Hebrew. What can't he do?

I love that both Jemma and Elizabeth are from Sheffield

No, don't accept it yet! This is Marvel, of course Jemma isn't dead

Fitz continues to break my heart (DO SOMETHING!!)

What the hell is happening there? Wherever Jemma is

(S03 E02) "In all of history, no one has ever returned" well maybe it's time someone does. Jemma, would you be so kind?

Okay, that was close, pulling Fitz away from that thing

I really love soft Bobbi

"So you think the Rock is a portal?" "No. No, I'm proving that it's a portal." I like confident Fitz (I also like self-conscious Fitz. I like Fitz in general)

"... and a Sandwich would be nice" Mood

Fitz would do any- and everything for Jemma, wouldn't he?

I'm confused by Bobbi and Hunter's relationship

"Don't die out there" I love that they keep saying that

If Hunter is looking for Ward at Hydra and Ward built his own team, than Hunter won't find anything, will he?

Coulson doesn’t open the portal just for ONE life. It's Jemma's life

"A lot of speculation back at HQ as to why you went AWOL. Spiritual walkabout. Mid-life crisis. EARLY mid-life crisis" Saved last second, Hunter

What the HELL do you think you're doing, Fitz!!!?

Why does it hurt so much more when they are inaudible?

Also my heart started beating so loudly

Fitz smiles! For the first time in what? One season?

I absolutely LOVE Hunter's reaction "Fitz, you absolute beauty!"

First Hunter sleeping by Bobbi's bed, and now Fitz by Jemma's bed - I love them

(S03 E03)

Jemma doesn't look too good

I, too, would be creeped out if someone put a tracker on me

I like Hunter

Fitz taking Jemma's hand is just the beginning of cuteness I expect from them

"Besides, she knows I'm lying, so it's not even really a lie." What kind of logic is that?

Did I mention that I love Bobbi? The way she speaks to Fitz

Would you mind leaving Hunter alone? I mean I know he kinda signed up for this but still

How is it that even when Fitzsimmons get to go to the restaurant where Fitz was holding the reservation for MONTHS, they manage to hurt my heart?

Does Hunter really want to meet Ward in this condition?

Why would you have to go back there, Jemma?

(S03 E04) The guy in the first scene who died kinda looked like Lee from the Kissing Booth

I can't make really sense of Coulson, what's his plan with this "cooperation"

Hunter calling May first "love" and then "mum" is just brilliant

"It's tough when people keep things from you" is Fitz referring to the beginning of Season two or to the present when he doesn't know what Jemma plans with the folder?

"Sorry, this coming from the guy who shot his own girlfriend by mistake?" Sassy Hunter is cool Hunter

Sooo, I have a feeling May's gonna kill Hunter after what happened to Andrew.

"It's time I told you the truth about everything" is "Something happened to me, Fitz, on the other side" already the truth about everything or does she simply not tell US the truth?

(S03 E05) Why is Jemma running, though? She has no destination

Note for myself: always charge your phone. Just in case you get swallowed by a monolith and you need to update your file of research and take pictures

It looks so cold there

Her talking about the restaurant to herself is too cute

I don't want to know how clean that water is

Where did she get the bathing suit from?

Okay, I see now, it's not a bathing suit

"You're dinner, biatch" Fitz and her ARE really the same

"Everyone always said we could read each other's minds, Fitz. So I really need you to read mine right now."

You're telling me she only had one picture of Fitz on her phone?

"I know you won't give up, so I won't, either"

Whatever this magic phone battery is, I need it! One month and it still works (or maybe I just need a Fitz in my life, not only for the phone battery)

"You wouldn't happen to have any alcohol, would you, Will?" - "Yeah, I'll run down to the drugstore and get it for you." - "Would you, please? If it's not too much trouble." I don't know if Jemma doesn't understand his sarcasm or just replies with own sarcasm

Is this just going to be a whole episode of Jemma on that planet?

"His name is like your favorite word" you're not wrong

Oh, that's the scene from the end of S03 E01

And Will's the reason Jemma needs to get back. That makes so much sense

You said you wouldn't give up hope

I know it's not really cheating but still, JEMMA!?

What was I saying? Fitz would do really anything for Jemma, even get Will back

(S03 E06) Why take Hunter (who does it for revenge) off a task and put May (who does it also for revenge) on it?

I never would have thought that May couldn't think clear

"You're not gonna say the thing?" That's exactly what I thought that moment. 'We don't get a "Don't die out there" this time?'

But Hunter, it's more than just keeping Simmons warm with a fire. She honestly couldn't have survived without him.

What language does Bobbi Not speak?

I'm always impressed how good they all can improvise

May smiling is just wrong

"Now we use the new dwarf Fitz crafted. He doesn't think it's ready yet, but that's stupid because it's awesome, so I stole it" isn't that with most things Fitz crafts? That he thinks it's not finished but other think it's awesome

Finally some soft Fitzsimmons scenes

I haven't said it yet, so I'll say it now: I don't like Rosalind

Even when she (apparently) has good intentions, I don't like her

Badass Bobbi

I don't know, for some reason I saw that coming. That Andrew is Lash

(S03 E07) Now knowing that Andrew is Lash, it makes it so much worse when they talk about inhumans in his present

Why do agents tend to keep information they got to themselves?

I like Hunter/Bobbi scenes

Can we please also see Fitz listening to the other audios?

Thank you, wish fulfilled

"Do you remember when we first met? I do. You were so quiet and pasty, and... so incredibly smart, handsome... quite a strange feeling... isn't it? Never wanting to be without someone. You must have been so annoyed, me following you around all the time." - "No. Never." - "I imagine our dinner sometimes... where we'd go, what we'd eat. I wonder about us a lot, actually. There's this small cottage in Perthshire we drove by once when I was a girl, some... some... family holiday, and I don't know why but I... I found it so lovely. I still think about it... a place where you and I could have... But that's that, I suppose. I'm not sure how long this battery will last. I should save it, just in case, for more important things. But I'll still talk to you on my own, if that's all right. I'll always be with you, Fitz." I'm sorry, I just HAD to write this down.

It must have been so hard for May to shoot Andrew and put into that box

Soft Fitzsimmons incoming!!

"Didn't know you thought about setting down in Perthshire. That's in Scotland." - "I know where it is, Fitz." :D

Also: "So when you said all those things about... I mean, you were tired and dehydrated." - "I was as clearheaded then as I've ever been... when I said all those things.... What do you think we should do about it?" - "For now... let's just watch the sunrise."

"You should think on a grander scale." - "Oh, I'll be grand." Yes, cause he is already Grant (Ward)

(S03 E08) That escalated quickly

I like Lincoln's voice

Fuck Ward

Why can Lincoln just work with them from one moment to the other?

Hunter's "Damn the Yanks" Shirt 😅

Coulson and Price together is just urghh

That wasn't a nice thing to do, Ward

"Stop. Just stop trying to do all the right things. It's too much." But that's what we love about Fitz

Why is it so funny; Hunter typing on the computer with Daisy on comms

And of course Hunter can't be really serious (Username: God Save The Queen), and Daisy feels the need to clarify that that wasn't her idea

I love jealous Fitz

"And you dove through a hole in the universe for me!" Thank you for pointing that out

I didn't even realize at first that this was really the FIRST Fitzsimmons kiss, it felt so natural

I may or may not have squeaked

I never realized how long Iain's eyelashes are

No, Fitz, you're not cursed

Watch out, Bobbi, I still need you

"Our friend Mr Banks has just showed up, and I do not have a handkerchief to cover my face... and that would be weird, anyhow." Indeed that would be weird

I don't know if I like Lincoln

I love Bobbi/Hunter dynamic

Of course everything is connected

(S03 E09)

Why is this dinner so awkward?

I mean I didn't like Rosalind, but she didn't deserve that

Aaaaand of course it was Ward

This episode started off with so much, and so fast, I can't even put my thoughts into words and write them down

Kinda cool, the interrogation

Crazy how Coulson, who is normally one of those who can think clearest, is now acting fully emotionally.

First May, then Coulson, everyone is attacking Hunter

Okay, what is going on here? Always putting Fitzsimmons in danger, aren't we, writers of AoS?

You can't just simply separate Fitzsimmons!

Don't you touch Jemma

Ward, you bloody psychopath

I kinda like Thomas

How many phones does someone with anger issues buy each year if every time something inconvenient is said on the phone they throw it away?

Cable ties are really the worst to be bind to something

Oh Fitz, when I said you'd really do anything for Jemma, this isn't what I meant

I beg you pardon, Ward? S.H.I.E.L.D. killed Kara? I think you got there something really wrong. That was you, you shot her

"Fitz, please just let them kill me." Jemma, you know that that's never gonna happen. He would do anything in his power to keep you alive

"I lost you once. I can't lose you again. I'm just... I'm not strong enough to live in a world that doesn't have you in it"

She wants to hug him but she can't 😭😭

Okay, Coulson, that was crazy

They really could have given Fitz some better clothes

(S03 E10) That way, Fitz won't be able to figure out anything

"This is how S.H.I.E.L.D. works. You make a plan, plan turns to rubbish, you make a new plan." Well said

Oh god, oh god, what can I say? I'm literally shaking because of this Fitz/Will thing

I wasn't really able to pause the episode to write something down, so I don't really have any notes from this episode.

But, some things:

I feel bad for Jemma because she looked so guilty when May said that Lash killed all the inhumans, and she was the one who let Andrew free, just to save herself. I don't know, I just feel bad for her

Also, I feel bad for Fitz because he just wanted to bring Will back for Jemma and then Will turns out to be "it"

Also, the few seconds between Fitz shouting to Coulson that they have to hurry and them actually hurrying, when Coulson left his hand by Ward's side, that felt so much longer than it actually was.

Jemma standing by the container at the end, thinking that Fitz didn't make it, just hurt really

Also what was that last glance between Coulson and Fitz suppose to mean? That confused me

And because I feel like I haven't said it in a while: I really love Bobbi and Hunter

(S03 E11) What president is that supposed to be?

I love that Jemma still asks Fitz for his opinion, even when (it seems like) she doesn't really need it

This person with those super powers (who puts Mack in the car) is scary

What did Fitz do to Will, though? I thought Will really died saving Jemma and that, whatever it was, was just disguised as Will

Who could this person be who might know something about Malick?

Ah, van Strucker

This new "Ward" is really weird and scary

Bobbi's "Hey you" (rescuing Mack) made me unreasonable happy

When Coulson said "What about him?" to Lincoln, I thought he wanted to put him into this machine

Why is there almost no episode where no one is captured, hurt, knocked out, or anything like that? And why is it once again Bobbi and Hunter?

"Why are you really here?" is a pretty stupid question you can ask a person who you've kidnapped

Okay, now Elena's no longer scary, more cool

Also please keep Bobbi and Hunter save

"I miss you"

"You've been nothing less than extraordinary this whole time." Jemma's here to speak the truth

"Can we start over, back to where we began?" - "Sixteen and achingly shy" - "Two people, endlessly inquisitive, about to embark on a relationship that will change their lives, but they don't know where it will go. I'm Jemma Simmons, biochemist." - "Leopold Fitz, engineering." What are you planning with this?

Sometimes I feel like they just let Ward live (or something similar), so that Brett Dalton can continue to be a part of the series

(S03 E12)

"What are you?" - "What are we?" That was creepy

"No one would ever intentionally cut their hair like that" That's what I've been thinking about Talbot's hair cut for quite some time

Sometimes I wonder if Lincoln really doesn't follow orders because he doesn't want to or because he can't stop using his powers on command

I'm impressed by Brett Dalton's acting

How could anyone not want to be Hunter's friend? I mean, yes, sometimes he can be out of control and maybe he isn't ALWAYS the greatest friend, but deep down, I believe, he is a great friend and always there for you

Oh, I was wondering, why his right arm is in that sling, but that's actually a smart trick

Jemma calls him Dr. Fitz :)

Why does Hunter keep on doing his own thing?

And why is he always right? ("Oh, guns. Why does no one ever listen to me?")

And why do agents continue to read something or look for something with their backs to the room when they're in a room they're not supposed to be?

Oh, COME ON, Hunter

Well, that's kinda your own fault now, Hunter

Excuse me, Talbot!?

Each episode, my trust issues just get bigger. Like, who CAN I even trust anymore?

Also, why does Coulson always, literally always, look like he's smiling, even when he's not?

"I hate to be a buzzkill, but this is a gun free zone, so I'm gonna have to take that off you." I love you, Hunter

"I love you" same, Bobbi, same

How do the villains always manage to turn things to their advantage?

"Were we the only ones that got the "no weapons" memo?" Probably

"I'm bored of this." Only a selected few could say something like that in the middle of a shooting, and Bobbi is one of them

Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again, Bobbi

"Oh, damn" was my (and probably Hunter's) though, when he saw the red point on his hand

Talbot's "Where is my son?" reminded me very much of Hamilton's in Stay Alive (Reprise)

Grant Ward (or whoever you might be now), that's disgusting!

Hunter, Bobbi, don't die out there

(S03 E13)

Not me who simply said "Bobbi!" when I saw her sitting there

"I'd like a cheeseburger, medium, with cheddar cheese, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. And some curly fries. Crispy." Queen Bobbi is here again

"There's no one else to help you here" what happened to Hunter?

That was nice, that Hunter and Bobbi, for once, had a conversation on their own

But of course it had to be interrupted

For a second there I forgot that Bobbi speaks a lot of languages, including Russian

"How's everyone's Russian?" - "My pronunciation's not fluent." - "And mine's nonexistent." - "I dated a Russian hacker once, but I only learned the dirty words." Why is this all so in character?

"Amadeus Ravenclaw Hunter" only Hunter could give that answer (OH WAIT, that is really his real name!? I thought it was just Hunter not taking anything seriously) (Or isn't it? I'm not following. Can anyone give me answers whether or not that's his real full name?)

Would any of them mind just leaving Bobbi and Hunter alone?

I love it so much when Hunter calls her "Bob"

"Wait, wait, hold on. The letter that looks like New Hampshire with legs, that's "D," right?"

A person who has a shadow even though they're not visible, that's creepy

"I have an idea, but it involves May hitting people" May's smirk

I'm sorry but it looked kind of pathetic, the way they were trying to beat the shadow

"As I was saying, don't panic, sir, but your life is in danger"

Fuck. The panic and fear in Bobbi's voice as she says "Hunter, are you OK? - Hunter, please answer me"

The forehead touch🥲🥹🥺

"It's a spy's goodbye" and I started crying, really hard, and didn't stop until the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo appeared

This can't be it. I can't accept it. Why would they let Bob and Hunter go? Why would they do that to me? To all of us?

I see it coming. I'm gonna rewatch season two and three just because of these two

At least they get to go together

I'm gonna miss them so much

The spy's goodbye was really beautiful, though

(S03 E14)

Why would you think that's awesome, brother-of-Mack?

I can't quite keep up

"No, I'm quite comfortable blaming myself, actually, for the lot of it. For all the miseries endured to rescue helpless little Agent Simmons. Will died trying to save me. And Fitz... Poor Fitz nearly got himself killed a number of times, and that's not even the worst of it." - "Andrew. What happened to those Inhumans... not your fault." - "No, I just let a known murderer loose to save my own skin. Traded all those... those lives for mine. Well, it won't happen again. And since I'm practically the only woman here, who can't kill with her bare hands..."

"OK, Fitz, you're with me." - "Uh... Am I?" That's so me

Sometimes I think Coulson is too hard on people, in this case Lincoln

Daisy, you're not supposed to get in a stranger's car

Fitz looks so shaky and kind of afraid when holding the gun against that guy in the car

Daisy can be charmingly dangerous

I'm not overly fond of Mack's brother. I mean I understand why he's angry for Mack constantly putting him off, but still

I hate it when people are somewhere they're not supposed to be

As I was saying, I'm not overly fond of Mack's brother

Oh please, not Fitz again

"Sooner or later, this bomb is gonna go off. And then... I'll implode. Which is gonna be messy." Fitz talks too casually about him imploding

Joss, Jed, Maurissa, would any of you mind not hurting or trying to kill Fitz anymore?

A shotgun axe!!

"Mini Mack"

I was totally expecting Ward to be in that car at the end

(S03 E15) Fitz didn't look too good in Daisy's vision

Why do people (/villains) always want to take over the world? Like, what would you get out of it?

Okay, it wasn't Fitz but Lincoln, still not looking too good

"And Fitz-Simmons will stay out of the damn snow." I mean I know it was part of the vision but why exactly is it so important to stay out of the damn snow?

"Ward" or whoever that is now is even crazier than the original Ward

That's actually a smart idea, them rehearing the fight

But it's also very funny

Ward's wayyy too crazy

Hurry up, hurry up, Daisy

I KNEW that their plan wouldn't work. When Coulson said that May would go in, no one else. That he'd stay away from guns until this is over. And that everyone else stays at HQ. And I can only assume that it's going to start snowing any second

"It's not snow." - "I think we're supposed to hold hands now.... Maybe some things are inevitable." They're too cute

Oh, right, I forgot that that plane explosion was already foreshadowed

I'm sorry for Charles

(S03 E16) I kinda feel sorry for Nathaniel

That transition of It wasn't necessary

Wait, so Nathaniel is It?

That sacrifice was disgusting

(S03 E17)

I was starting wondering what happened to Yo-Yo

And if I'm being honest I forgot about Joey

Daisy surely can jump out of a plane with style

"This seal gonna hold?" - "Hope so. It's chlorine gas. If not, we'll all go blind." And once again, Fitz talks too casually about them getting harmed

"Who needs space? 'Cause I've got something magnificent right here... A picture of space."

Finally, a wholesome Fitzsimmons scene

Also a beautiful, genuine laugh from Jemma

Oh fuck, I did not expect Daisy to be Hive's sway

Don't they have some kind of emergency alarm button in the quarantine room, so Lincoln could warn the others?

I'm confused. How can Daisy be stopped?

Can Daisy be stopped?

Daisy is probably the reason why people aren't allowed to walk under the wings of planes

(S03 E18) Fitz and Simmons are awfully formal, conspicuously inconspicuous

Fitz trying to talk without actually mentioning what he's talking about, and then there's Jemma with "You mean once we have sex"

Daisy, to me at least, looks suspicious the whole time when talking to Hive, but I'm not sure if she is aware that she is possessed

Fitz looks nice in a suit

"Happy to make the sacrifice" is the new "Happy to comply," isn't it?

"But she's the closest thing I have to a daughter."

I see it coming, the suitcase will be gone any moment

Or not

Fitz being confused by Jemma's actions is cute

Fitzsimmons tends to be separated and I am not happy about it

"I thought it would be cool if the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had a shield. Fitz agreed, so..."

When did Jemma say, she'd go nowhere without Ward? (Or did he mean Will?)

Okay, he meant Will

Don't you dare choking Fitz like that

"You know how many times Bobbi and Hunter pulled the "my comms are broken" trick?"

When Mack knows Fitzsimmons better than Fitzsimmons knows themselves

I've been screaming so loudly internally when they kissed (again). I literally had to put my hands on my mouth, so it would stay internally

(S03 E19) What was done to Hive's ancestor looks pretty disgusting

"You didn't see Daisy. She acted like we were still best of pals all while threatening to murder me." - "No, you're right. I didn't see that. I was much too busy listening to the disgusting face of Grant Ward act like my dead boyfriend." - "That's true. That does sound worse." - "Right. If this was a competition, then I'd win. I had to shoot him three times just to shut him up." - "Bet that felt good." - "Yeah, it did. Though it would have felt better had he actually died, instead of just sort of oozing."

Okay, that was even more disgusting, Dr Radcliffe's attempt

I hope that they find a way to get Daisy out of there soon

Fitz talking about Milton, the absolute worst, is too funny

That was pretty stupid, Lincoln

Urghh, May smiled

Why are there suddenly so many nameless soldiers who say more than just "Yes sir"?

Also, I'm constantly expecting Hunter and/or Bobbi to appear on the screen

Hive Daisy's recklessness is scary

And now you've made Hive angry

(S03 E20) I didn't manage to write anything during the episode

But: I thought the lift from the bar to the HQ was really fancy

I was constantly angry at Lincoln for wanting to be with Daisy. So he fooled me too

I was definitely glad that he fooled me and didn't actually wanted to go to Daisy

I still don't like Talbot, even though he didn't really do anything for disliking him

I thought it was really cool that they tricked Hive and Daisy

I am still surprised that Lash doesn't harm Daisy, in contrary really. He was so careful when saving her and freeing her from Hive's sway

I am honestly not sure if I am glad that Lash died or not. Because, yes, he did kill a lot of innocent people, but he also saved Daisy, and maybe they need this power a few more times to free inhumans from Hive's sway

I did not really understand what bad news Fitzsimmons had in the end

(S03 E21) Fitz screamed like a monkey

I'm impressed that Fitz could keep up with that code

Fitz finally initiated a high-five and there's no one who's willing to give him one

Oh dammit, Coulson wants to put Daisy into that machine

Don't provoke Lincoln

Okay, he did

Brett Dalton is honestly a very good actor

Don't get too excited about catching Hive. There is always a hook

Fitz really is the romantic one

I told you, don't get too excited, Hive would find a way to escape

What the hell do you think you're doing, Daisy?

(S03 E22) some post-episode notes

That was... a lot

No, seriously, that was really thrilling

I can't recall particular thoughts or details I want to point out

But a few times I realized I'd clapped my hand over my mouth. I didn't know people really do that, I thought that's just something people in movies do

These new inhumans certainly are pretty creepy

When they were in the room where Jemma was hiding, I was so confused why they couldn't see her

Also Dr Radcliffe is too full of himself

Dammit, I knew Lincoln would die in this episode, but still- Whyyy? I was just stating to REALLY like him

Also Daisy didn't make it any easier not to cry

And that six-months-later scene wasn't what I was looking for. That Daisy left the team

And what the hell does Radcliffe plan to do?

Who is AIDA?

So many questions

But this also means that Fitzsimmons is now at least half a year together, which makes me happy

One of the few things in this episode that made me happy

So, this was me watching AoS season three within 11 days. That was... something. A lot to take in, to think about. I mean we finally got Fitzsimmons. Hive's dead. A lot of other good things happened. But sadly also a lot of bad and not-so-good things. I'm gonna miss Bobbi and Hunter like hell. I already do. (Well, not that I actually miss hell, but I'm gonna miss them really really much). But now to season four. Looking forward to it.

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thetypingpup · 6 months

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Ummm hi 🙋🏻‍♀️ so basically I've been following you for a while and I see you always talking about xiaojun and let me tell you, I listen a lot to all nct units but I don't know the members very well, but today youtube recommended me his episode of lee Mujin service and long story short I'm so in love with this man he's so adorable so polite so soft I need to know everything there is about him and read everything you've written about him bye

xiaojun love of my live 🥹

the lee mujin service he did will go down in history that was a beautiful showcase of his voice and his talent. also thanks so much for reading my work! i wish i could say i have more coming soon, but honestly i've been taking time to just write for myself and i've been really enjoying that, so i think i'm gonna keep doing that for a while.

sorry for the delayed screaming about wayv's comeback but i quite like the album! i might be back in full force for the ateez comeback but we shall see

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fictionadventurer · 9 months

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"Naturally, I challenge Lee's image as the "perfect Southern gentleman" (Was he the one I heard of who ordered a runaway slave to have his back washed in salt water after a whipping? You run across a lot of horrible slave owners in early American history, so I'm not saying it was, but I know he was a cruel master in other ways)"

I DID say "oft portrayed". Though unfortunately I'm not sure if that disqualifies him from being the perfect Southern gentleman...since I don't know how much cruelty it would take to be disqualifying in the Antebellum South.

I learned about the saltwater incident! I visited the Arlington Mansion which has a lot of good information on Lee and the Custises, giving a good breadth on both the good and the bad of Lee. I highly recommend it if you're ever in Arlington.

Anyway, the actual incident as I learned it makes Lee look even WORSE. Lee's father in law George Custis had died and in his will he directed that they be freed after the payment of legacies and debts and within five years. The slaves themselves thought they would be freed immediately, but Lee refused. Three of them left, feeling that they were rightfully freed. They were caught, then Lee ordered them whipped and the saltwater poured on their wounds.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that was your view--I noticed you specified the "oft-portrayed" part. It's just that most of the Lee-related history I've been getting has come from Ulysses S. Grant and from historians who are trying to correct the over-romanticized image of the Confederacy--who all have a vested interest in going "Lee was not that great!"--so naturally that all came to mind when his popular image was brought up. And I did think of mentioning that "Southern gentleman" and "cruel to slaves" weren't necessarily mutually-exclusive categories at the time. So we're very much in agreement.

Okay, yeah, that was the story! I don't remember where I heard it, but most of those details are familiar, and it's horrifying.

I don't know how likely a trip to Arlington is, but all that history does sound fascinating. (This American history dive is putting all my road-trip desires on overdrive.) This is a good place to mention that one of the more shocking lightbulb moments of my history reading was learning that Arlington--as in the cemetery--was Lee's estate. It felt like something I should have known a long time ago, but somehow missed out on, so it came as a shocking plot twist.

#answered asks #history is awesome #presidential talk #(yeah i should probably have a specific civil war tag at this point but i don't feel like organizing right now)

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ladyaj-13 · 9 months

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Thank you @ronniebox for the tag!

Rules: List ten books that have stayed with you in some way, don’t take but a few minutes, and don’t think too hard - they don’t have to be the “right” or “great” works, just the ones that have touched you.

1. 'Witches Abroad' by Terry Pratchett

My first Discworld. I was immediately sucked in and knew it would be a new love. My dad bought me the book, and I remember starting to read it on a gloomy beach, laughing out loud and getting weird looks from my family. "You mean everyone brought potato salad?!"

2. 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

An assigned book in high school, but one of the only ones I've returned to multiple times. I say it's my fave when I want to sound intellectual.

3. 'Good Omens' by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Came for the Terry Pratchett, stayed (and re-read maybe 10? 11 times?) because it's utter perfection. My actual favourite book.

4. 'Take Six Puppies' by Bette Paul

I don't know how many times I read this as a young child. My copy was almost in pieces, and the dogs on the front were embossed so you could run your fingers over them. I actually can't remember it much now, except the cover, but my God. I loved this book.

5. 'Claudia and the Middle School Mystery' (Babysitters' Club #40) by Ann M. Martin

I must have had about fifty of this series. I absolutely adored them, and used to play 'Babysitter's Club' in the garden. This one was the first book I ever bought with my own money. I remember it very clearly, handing over a £5 note in Wetherly's bookshop and feeling incredibly grown-up.

6. 'Goodnight Mister Tom' by Michelle Magorian

A lot of kids books on this list...! Another that I read over and over again, so much that the cover fell off. I think it was actually my sister's, but I commandeered it early on and never gave it back, and last re-read only a couple of years ago. As I got old enough to cook, I would fry bacon and cut thick slices of white bread, with a mug of tea, to mirror Willie's first meal at Tom's.

7. 'All Creatures Great and Small' by James Herriot (the whole series)

As a child I gave up on the idea of wanting to be a vet pretty quickly (too many distressed animals), but still devoured book after book about animals (special mention for the 'Animal Ark' books by Lucy Daniels, which I would get off the shelf and mix-up so they could sit next to other 'friends' for a while... I was a weird kid 😄), and discovering this series hidden away in my family's garage was a goldmine. I later got an 'all volumes in one' massive hardback edition. It led on to reading Gervase Phinn's school series and Gerard Durrell's 'My Family and Other Animals' series.

8. 'Strange Weather in Tokyo' by Hiromo Kawakami

A bit of an outlier in that I've only read this once, but it seemed worth including as it really stuck with me. Not the story so much, not a whole lot happens, but the vibe. It inspired me to read much more Japanese literature.

9. 'Past Mistakes' by David Mountain

I'm a bit of a social history magpie (love a BBC documentary), and this book was so readable and full of titbits - all those things you think you know about history, turned on their head. Just what I want out of a non-fiction book.

10. 'Hogfather' by Terry Pratchett

Another Pratchett?! Yes. This one is seasonal.

Wow, wordy. I could have mentioned many others, such as Wild Horses by Dick Francis (see how I snuck this one in 😛). I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but it was the first 'grown-up' book I read. (My mum gave it to me because it was about horses and I loved horses... possibly I was a bit too young for the sexual content and rampant misogyny she must have forgotten it contained, but there we go.) I'll tag @lemonistas, @londonfoginacup, @incognito-insomniac, @astridcontramundum and anyone else who wants to!

#tag game #books

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toothpuulp · 5 months

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joe bob on men, women, and chain saws -- possibly my favorite book review ever. love his ass <33

transcript under the cut

"Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In" for 12/18/92

cutline: Berkeley professor Carol Clover, author of "Men, Women and Chain Saws," may be the first person with a Ph.D. ever to watch 200 slasher flicks BY CHOICE.

By Joe Bob Briggs

Drive-In Movie Critic of Grapevine, Texas

For about ten years now, I've been getting flack from various organizations of feminists, fundamentalists, mad mamas and psycho college professors, claiming that the movies I write about--that is, the three B's, Blood, Breasts and Beasts--are sick and demeaning and twisted and perverted.

Of COURSE they are. Why do you think I watch em?

But there's other stuff they say that is NOT true. For example:

1. Slasher movies are demeaning because they celebrate violence against women.

I never understood this one, because I never noticed a single movie in which more women were killed than men, AND in 99 per cent of them, the ONLY person who survives is a woman.

2. Hard-core horror flicks cause crime.

If this is true, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Department should have a posse stationed outside my trailer house 24 hours a day, because NOBODY has watched more hard-core horror flicks than I have. Any day now I could go off the deep end and start flinging hatchets at old ladies.

3. Horror flicks are a way for rednecks (like me) to act out weird violent fantasies.

In other words, all of us out here in the boonies are like the cannibal family in "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre." We really WOULD like to be munching on tourists. Otherwise, why would we laugh and hoot at the screen when Leatherface's family does it?

Anyhoo, I've talked till I'm blue in the face about this stuff. I've gone to seminars, challenged the president of the National Organization of Women to a nude mud-wrestling match, faced off against that shrewd fundamentalist, Dr. Thomas Radecki, head of the National Coalition Against TV Violence. But nobody ever listens, because it's "just Joe Bob."

In other words, I'm too pitiful.

So I wanna say something here, and I want you to listen REAL carefully. I'm about to tell you about a book written by a Berkeley professor. This is hard for me. Large parts of my identity depend on HATING everything that comes out of Berkeley. But I like this book so much that I almost don't even wanna review it, because what if everybody says "Oh, don't read THAT. JOE BOB LIKES IT!"

But it gets lonely out here. So here goes.

"Men, Women and Chain Saws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film" is written by Carol J. Clover, Professor of Scandinavian and Comparative Literature at the University of California at Berkeley.

Whew! I'm already exhausted. Carol, next time, when you write a book, study titles like "Jaws" and "It." It's easier on all of us.

Anyhow, I'm not gonna try to analyze this whole book, because a lot of it, frankly, is over my head. (You scoff?) But it's basically about three kinds of flicks--slasher movies, possession films like "The Exorcist," and rape-revenge films like "I Spit On Your Grave." In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the first serious book in the history of the world to do a complete analysis of the PLOT of "I Spit On Your Grave."

But, from my selfish point of view, I want you to know a few things Professor Carol decided after watching about 200 of these movies:

1. Slasher movies are told FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE WOMAN! In fact, the "Final Girl"--or, as I call her, the Jamie Lee Curtis Girl--is so much a part of the slasher film that the writer doesn't have any choice. You've GOT to have a Final Girl, and the Final Girl HAS TO BE A GIRL.

2. Since 99 per cent of the audience at slasher movies is MALE, this means that all those men are IDENTIFYING WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF THE WOMAN! They're experiencing the movie THROUGH A WOMAN'S BODY! ... In other words, the OPPOSITE of what the feminist censors have been saying for umpteen jillion years now.

3. Jason and Leatherface are actually FEMALES DISGUISED AS MALES. Kind of a transvestite deal. Think about it. Aren't these guys always real screwed up sexually? Don't they always have trouble DECIDING what they are? It's a tradition that continues right up through Jame Crumb, the psycho killer in "Silence of the Lambs." So the original criticism of these movies--that the killers are always male, and the principal victims always female--is turned upside down.

3. The real villains in horror movies are MALE REDNECKS. "The rednecks have replaced the redskins," she says. In the old westerns, any Indian who came on screen was ASSUMED TO BE VIOLENT AND HATEFUL AND SAVAGE. Today, any redneck who comes on the screen is assumed to be violent and hateful and savage.

4. "I Spit On Your Grave," which has been called the most disgusting film ever made (by Eggbert and Siskel), and which has been banned from cable TV for 15 years, is actually told from a female point of view, so that the audience identifies with the ultimate triumph of the woman over the leering rapists. (As I've always said, what male could ever watch the bathtub scene and think the movie is in FAVOR of violence against women? When I see that scene, I can't walk straight for a week.)

5. "The Accused" and "Thelma & Louise" are both watered-down versions of "I Spit On Your Grave." And "Silence of the Lambs" is just another version of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

You think I'm oversimplifying this deal?

Yeah, okay, sure. Probly. I'm probly gonna get a letter from the whole goldang Berkeley faculty, saying "You ignorant yahoo, that's NOT what it means."

But right now, today, after reading this book, I feel pretty good about it. Makes me think there's some hope. Makes me think some smart people will get their hands on it and become dumb like me.

Hundreds of dead bodies. No breasts. Academic Fu. "Men, Women and Chain Saws," published by--oh my God!--Princeton University Press.

Four stars.

Joe Bob says check it out.

#something about his very un-pretentious hick persona perfectly summarizing such a dense text rlly tickles me.#love u carol but some of ur sentences get real thesaurus-y #joe bob ur so much smarter than you’d like anyone to think <33 #joe bob briggs #carol clover #men women and chain saws #joe bob’s drive-in

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