As someone who has done both, I’d highly recommend the audio AFTER reading. The audio is great, but during my read through I was constantly flipping back to the dramatis personae and various bits of foreshadowing. That’s a lot harder with audio. And I’d especially say this for Harrow the Ninth. If I hadn’t already known the major reveals from reading, I personally would have found trying to piece it together from the audio very confusing.

If you haven't finished the series, pick the way you are reading it for the first two books.

Currently sighing loudly in Alexander J Newall’s general direction.

they really named the episode that huh

the coffee motif was so strong this episode, the current question I'm asking myself is whether it's just a thematic symbolism thing or it's going to be real and relevant to the plot in a "the coffee keeps your soul bonded to the building" kind of way. thoughts from the crowd?

Ok now do NYT columnists

I do think they are fairly different situations. I'm all for dunking on Peter, but it actually makes a lot of sense that one would bother Jon and the other would feel justifiable.

Peter was being an active threat. He was keeping Jon from rescuing Martin and refusing to share Jonah's evil plan. Killing someone in those circumstances is very different from killing someone just because you disapprove of them or want revenge, especially after it was established that killing the avatars did nothing to help their victims.

Killing Peter was a struggle for Jon, and it wasn't even what he was intending (he was just trying to fight for information). Peter and Jon were in a mental battle on Peter's home turf, and Jon wasn't as powerful as he was in season 5. But all the s5 smitings were completely one-sided. No one had a chance against Jon, and he didn't even have to put much effort in. Again, to me that feels completely different.

I still can't get over how in s5 jon was having such a horrible moral battle with himself over smiting avatars, but also they don't so much as Mention Peter Lukas again. Jon exploded his head with his mind pre-apocalypse but that was fair and justified and he doesn't feel conflicted about it at all (which he shouldn't that was fair)

Cesium-133, let it be. Cesium-134, let it be even more.

Periodic Table Regions [Explained]

Transcript

[A periodic table with regions labeled.]

[Hydrogen:] Slightly fancy protons [Lithium and Beryllium:] Weird dirt [Group 1 & 2 metals, Periods 3-4:] Regular dirt [Group 1 & 2 metals, Periods 5-7:] Ends in a number, let it slumber ends in a letter, not much better [Left side of the transition metals group:] Boring alloy metals Probably critical to the spark plug industry or something (but one of them is radioactive so stay on your toes) [Most of the top row of the transition metals + aluminum:] Regular metals [Below the rightmost "regular metals" - the "ordinary metals" and some transition metals:] Weird metals [The platinum group:] $$$$ [Boron:] Boron (fool's carbon) [Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus:] You are here [The Halogens:] Safety goggles required [Noble Gases:] Lawful neutral [Iodine and Radon:] Very specific health problems [Ordinary metals and metalloids - Arsenic, Antimony, Tellurium, Thallium, Lead, Bismuth, Polonium] Murder weapons [Astatine and Period 7 from Rutherfordium onwards:] Don't bother learning their names - they're not staying long [Lanthanides and Actinides:] Whoever figures out a better way to fit these up there gets the next Nobel Prize

hey. what do a selkie and a ziploc bag have in common

That line in S5 where Jon tells Martin they probably don't even like each other in other universes and it took 5 season of trauma to get to that point made me sad

disturbed by how little ppl acknowledge the secondary health risks of vampire bites. if your vampire lover is drinking your blood you MUST be up to date on your tetanus shot. puncture wounds are at especially high risk for tetanus infections. just because your partner was born in 1312 doesn’t mean you have to die like it.

moreover they should be prepping the bite point with an alcohol wipe.

and while I’m at it, I’ve noticed a blithe disregard for health & safety when it comes to blood pacts. can’t believe I have to say this but you should absolutely NOT be cutting your palm open with the pocket knife from your belt holster (??????)

if you’re expecting to be in a blood pact/oath situation please just pick up some sterile finger lancets from the pharmacy. cannot stress this all enough.

full offense but none of you would have ever survived fanfiction.net in 2009

This is such a skill

I think it's really nice you thought you could create an unfuckable and untwinkifiable monster, and I always think people should dream big, but I think it might be time to put this one away.

I am endlessly fascinated by this version of me that exists in the head of some fans, of this naive yet stern-faced Writer(tm) desperately trying to make them take my work seriously; frantically trying to stop them being horny for my creations. Like, mate, cmon. Ive been doing this for a long time now, and I made my peace with the monsterfuckers years ago. Am I trying to make an unfuckable monster? No. Cause I'm not an idiot.

I just make my messed-up grotesqueries for my little horror stories and assume someone out there probably wants to fuck them and that's fine. Me trying to stop them would be just be a waste of everybody's time, so I just wish them godspeed and go add some more pus to Mr Bonzo's stitches.

It does make me laugh that none of you know what a twink is, though.

Honestly not feeling like stabbing Caesar today, and I think I know why.

You know how stores start putting out Christmas decorations in October so even if you celebrate you are over it weeks before Christmas.

Tumblr did that this year with the Ides of March. The memes started March 1st.

So now that the day is here, I’m already all stabbed out.

NO sfx has ANY RIGHT to have this effect on me. and yet [CLICK]

Mr Bonzo being a hitman for the O.I.A.R. was actually NOT on my magnus protocol bingo card