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The Ides of March hype just starts earlier and earlier each year. It's like, at *least* wait on sharpening your knives until Spurina's warning

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[helenosaurus]

I don't have much to say about the Neil Gaiman expose. The Vulture article was absolutely horrific, and it's very clear that this was a pattern of behavior with many, many women victimized over the years. I wish nothing but the worst for Gaiman and nothing but the best for his victims.

One important takeaway here, though, is the way that he (and his wife, she's not innocent in this) used their fandoms to identify and groom victims. The quote from the article that struck me most was the following:

People who flock to fantasy conventions and signings make up an “inherently vulnerable community,” one of Gaiman’s former friends, a fantasy writer, tells me. They “wrap themselves around a beloved text so it becomes their self-identity,” she says. They want to share their souls with the creators of these works. “And if you have morality around it, you say ‘no.’”

This is why parasocial relationships and hero worship are dangerous. There is an inherent power differential between fans and creators, especially when a work attracts a young and marginalized fanbase.

Responsible creators will take steps to enforce a bit of distance between themselves and their fans because they don't want to take advantage of people who look up to them. Creeps and predators will act like consuming their work creates a special and intimate connection between you, like doing unpaid labor for them is an act of charity.

If you really admire someone, if their work means a lot to you, it's easy to let down your guard and to say "yes" to requests that you'd say "no" to if anyone else asked them of you.

Fan worship, stan culture, and parasocial relationships place a huge burden on creators, but it can also transform fans into a ready-made army of potential victims.

Watch out for red flags and blurred boundaries from creators, whether they're authors, YouTubers, musicians, big name fans, whatever. Don't lower your standards and boundaries just because someone produced a work of art that's meaningful to you.

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If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

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[helenosaurus]

I don't fuck w nerds, the moment I can smell lore correction coming I'm like "Oh Neptune" and I gotta call my mom and ask her to pick me up

If I'm like "I really liked the scene where Gandalf learns the truth about the Ring in the first movie" and someone's like "Oh you mean when he was in Minas Tirith, originally known as Minas Anor when it was first built in the Third Age?" I am pulling the nearest fire alarm

[helenosaurus]

The Ides of March hype just starts earlier and earlier each year. It's like, at *least* wait on sharpening your knives until Spurina's warning

[helenosaurus]

its official: tumblr is selling our data to Midjourney

we'd been hearing rumors about this for a bit but now its open and out there. some details from this article

it goes without saying, but if @staff goes through with this its going to be an utter shitshow and im all but certain the website will not survive it.

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The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff is the book for you. It is exactly this (diseases, bugs etc exist actually, shitting in the woods is a godawful experience) but also beautiful in ways I'm still processing.

I want to write a book called “your character dies in the woods” that details all the pitfalls and dangers of being out on the road & in the wild for people without outdoors/wilderness experience bc I cannot keep reading narratives brush over life threatening conditions like nothing is happening.

I just read a book by one of my favorite authors whose plots are essentially airtight, but the MC was walking on a country road on a cold winter night and she was knocked down and fell into a drainage ditch covered in ice, broke through and got covered in icy mud and water.

Then she had a “miserable” 3 more miles to walk to the inn.

Babes she would not MAKE it to that inn.

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793054268863

Plz help me clear this challenge 😭

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My face when spooky szn is over 😟

[helenosaurus]

793054268863

Plz help me clear this challenge 😭

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Ginger do u still have the tiktok of the guy going « you’re crazy » and the sexy one who followed his beloved for blocks into the library goes : « I’m fucking stupid » in the sexiest way possible

Always

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... sorry, i had to

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Did someone mention... 🔪🔪🔪

The Ides of March hype just starts earlier and earlier each year. It's like, at *least* wait on sharpening your knives until Spurina's warning

[helenosaurus]

I need your help.

About a year and a half ago I, rather unexpectedly, contracted shingles. Being in my mid-thirties this was rather surprising, and doubly so due to it happening during a worldwide pandemic for an entirely different disease. I also had no idea what it was and was slow to go to a doctor, and only just got there in time before it reached my eye, which apparently could become extremely dangerous as that might lead it directly to the brain. My doctor outright told me that if it got worse I was to immediately to go the ER. It wiped my body out quite badly and I missed about two months of work. Even when I returned, I was still very low on energy and worn out easily. And then, about six months later, I contracted COVID and it utterly destroyed me. That was about a year ago now, and I have not been the same since. I continue to miss far more work than I have sick time for, and am potentially at risk of losing my job entirely, even though I have successfully applied for official medical leave with my doctor's approval. The point of all this is that I am deeply in debt, and I can barely cover bills and interest fees on my credit cards etc., let alone try to recover. So I am giving in and doing something I have long avoided, and made a ko-fi page. https://ko-fi.com/victoriansecret So that is one way that you can help me, if you are so inclined. And if not, that's fine too. I mostly just hope that I bring anyone who views my blog either some enjoyment or enrichment. But I also need your help in another way: to make me feel less guilty about this, and also just as an exercise to keep me occupied when I'm otherwise infirm, I want to make more original content on this blog. So please, if you have any suggestions or questions, I welcome them wholeheartedly. Feel free to ask about history, or what it's like to work in the museum field/living history, or social issues, or just personal stuff. Or just anything at all, really. And again, whether you get involved in any of this or not, I hope you get something out of my blog. And I hope you're well in general. Thank you.