#This was cruel btw cassandra

[clockwork-carstairs]

friendly reminder that the only thing will would’ve changed about his life was to have more jem in it

just going to go tear my hair out and sob violently into my hands :)

[yourlocalbadgerscales]

Cassandra - Taylor Swift

Cassandra - Florence + The Machine

Parallells

[hello-god-its-me-sara]

Sara’s miscellaneous complaints about TDI over the years

anti cassandra clare and anti will herondale

[from 2021]

I think we should've gotten more insight into how abusive and manipulative Benedict was to his kids, not just bc I'm a Gabriel Lightwood apologist but because maybe if we saw just how horribly Tatiana was treated instead of the one incident where she's a sobbing mess, she'd be a bit more tragic instead of another villain. Like, she went insane and wasn't offered any help via the enclave or her family. But I also think the Lightwood boys were underdeveloped in TID bc Gabriel was a brat and Gideon was never shown to like be racist and stuff and grow out of it he's just a good cinnamon roll. Gabriel was traumatized by the abandonment of his brother and the transformation of his father into a demon worm. But we're just going to casually ignore that

Like I know Tessa's the pov but I'm not asking for a lot. You think Will wouldn't be the person dropping small things like "we couldn't get away with this if Gideon were here" or "Gabriel tries so hard to be like his brother, but he's just annoying" and then later holding it over Gideon's head "ah remember when Gideon thought [insert something racist]" or "I miss when you were the mean one". And Jem offering small commentary to clarify what Will's talking about. Like what would really be funny is if when Cecily arrives Will jokes that he'd rather she marry Gabriel then even be around Gideon (because it's so unfathomable to him that something like that would happen) so it's funnier in the epilogue when he trashes Gabriel at their wedding with a reverse comment. And Charlotte knows Benedict. She might only be 3 years older than Gideon but she's still an adult. She would've seen the shit Benedict was pulling. She's supposed to be motherly and empathetic to all. Where's the side chastactions to Will for being cruel to Gideon or Gabriel bc she knows what they've grown up with and what Benedict does to them? OR where she vehemently defends Tatiana bc the poor thing's grown up sheltered and controlled her whole life. Where's Gabriel's mental breakdown after finding out his mother killed herself bc of his father, being abandoned by his brother, and then watching the deterioration of his father before having to fight the demonic remains? (all in like what? a week? a month maybe?) I think Gideon's this very black and white person, meaning he's quick to strongly switch positions on things. Like I think he probably adapted very quickly to the idea that Benedict soiled the Lightwood name and he has to fix it and thus attempts to disassociate everything his father ever did. While Gabriel is a very grey person and mildly clouded by his own feelings. I think even after he accepts that his father is horrible he struggles to disavow everything. I think Gideon fully disowned his sister while Gabriel constantly got into hot water attempting to reach out to her (he tried to fight Will for reading her diary publicly, you think after traumatically losing both his parents he would just casually let go of his baby sister?).

...

basically nothing happened to Tatiana and that's my point, Cassie just pulls it out of nowhere. in CP2 demon benedict eats Robert and Tatiana isn't trained so she can't do anything but scream (btw she's like the same age as Cecily so she's married off at ~15-16, btw she was already pregnant with Jesse). Tess just drags her off to safety, mentally berates her for being useless and pathetic and that's basically all (I think she's handed off to the Blackthorns to deal with?). In Bane Chonicles she attempts to higher Magnus to kill.... Will? I forgot but he says no. That's where we learn about Grace and that Tatiana basically went insane bc she was ostracized. She's mad she did everything she was told i.e. sit still, look pretty, and be a good wife, and she was punished for it. This poor neglected and abused girl was then traumatized and ostracized by her entire family and community and no on, no one tried to help her? she was a child, she was a fucking child and no one tried to help her. Cassie tries to make her selfish and manipulative but that's because it's the only way she knows how to try to help herself. She wasn't brought back to the Institute with her brothers, she was carted off to her parents in law. I refuse to believe that Charlotte Branwell in all her motherly clairvoyant glory didn't take one look at this hysterical mess of a child and burn down heaven to try to help her. I refuse to believe that Gabriel Lightwood didn't fight tooth and nail to continuously reach out and try to support his baby sister. The lightwoods had a huge chance to be a wonderful exploration of abuse, trauma, betrayal, and found family but they were completely wasted. All of them are 2 dimensional as hell and no one appreciates them. and it pisses me off.

[from 2022]

I keep thinking about it and I'm really pissed off Cassie cowardly backed off from making Gideon a massive dick because she has some vendetta against Gabriel, like there are really weird moments when he seems more consistent, like when they get back to the institute from the club and he slams Gabriel up against a wall

like damn Gideon you didn't even try to talk it out first and overall he's kind of controlling over Gabriel, very condescending and patronizing but then Cassie's like "oop but he can't be mean to anyone else or how will everyone root for him to end up with Sophie?" but it's never pointed out as a contradiction of his personality

[except from clockwork princess] “I said be quiet.” Gideon slammed his brother’s shoulders back against the wall, hard enough for Gabriel to let out a gasp of pain.

Jesus Fucking Christ Gideon you just assault your brother like that like it's normal, and look at Gabriel he gets slammed up against a wall and doesn't think twice about it, I'd say it is normal based on that reaction, oh Gabriel why are you so oblivious

and then Gabriel explains himself and suddenly Gideon is hugging him and cooing that everything will be fine

[another except] “Would you believe me,” he said bitterly, “if I told you it was? Because it is the truth.” Gideon was still for a long moment. Then Gabriel found himself hauled forward, his face mashed into the wet wool of Gideon’s overcoat while his brother held him tightly, murmuring, “All right, little brother. It’s going to be all right,” as he rocked them both back and forth in the rain.

Gideon that's abuse, that like literally gaslighting or something

[different excerpt] “It is not in my brother’s nature, though, to expect to be forgiven. For anything. He understands only the strictest discipline. He may think Charlotte is trying to play a trick on him, or that she is mad. She showed him to a room he could have, but I think the entire business frightened him. He came to speak to me about it, and fell asleep.” Gideon sighed, looking at his brother with a mixture of fondness, exasperation, and sorrow that made Sophie’s heart beat in sympathy.

that right there is the description of growing up with an abusive parent

Cassie just drops these things and then never brings them up again

…

Herondales are massive dicks and they give me cocky pretty boi complex. Will was nearly insufferable, tho low key I kinda ship him and Gabriel enemies to lovers never fully recognized

Will's whole being a dick on purpose thing never worked for me because he was still a massive dick to people he didn't like even though he caused them to dislike him in the first place. Also his friendship with Jem was like really condescending and pitying? "oh I guess I have to be friends with the dying boy"

I don't understand why Cassie hated him [Gabriel] so much I think he was based off of someone she hated

…

remember how Will fucking read Tatiana's diary in front of everyone and Gabriel tried to beat his ass (like he should) and instead Will broke his arm 1. Tatiana never should've been a character 2. Will then broke Gabriel's arm after Will was purposefully being provoking, if you start a fight you deserve to get your face punched. Also, I know that Gabriel tried to start a fight but like how did it end in his arm getting broke? like what the fuck did Will do? they were 12? 13? I know they're training to be shadwohunters but like it had to have been just a small little fist fight right? what was Will doing that he broke Gabriel's arm?

I mean I never expected for Tatiana to get justice because Cassie hates her but like Will violated her privacy in front of a whole party of people. Cassie originally described it as 'taking her honor' or something, I remember people asking Cassie about Will taking her virginity and Cassie was like 'whoa, not that bad I promise' and then she changed it from what she probably had planned. still mad the Lightwood children were obviously abused by Benedict and Cassie decided they get to be the antagonists

…

Will didn’t deserve such an easy redemption. He should’ve had his ass handed to him several times and actually earn a redemption. The way we were supposed to forgive him. He finds out his curse is fake and suddenly he’s all nice and everyone is like “wow that was really hard for you you’re forgiven” Bitch no! A dick is a dick is a dick is a dick. And he never apologizes to anyone either? Like he just explains and then everyone is like I forgive you that’s a valid reason. He’s fucking been antagonizing several people particularly the lightwoods for years but somehow will isn’t the one at fault for the sour relationship they have. Will is so fucking stupid and at the heart of it he’s disrespectful too.

Spoiled little shit. His mom was like a duchess or something he had money growing up. Jen’s parents were literally killed, Will chose to run away. The lightwood boys had their mom commit suicide and their dad turn into a demon worm they had to kill. Jessamine’s parents also died and she was forced to live in [the equivalent of] a military institute against her will. Tessa’s aunt died and she was betrayed by her brother. WILL HAS BOTH PARENTS AND HALF OF HIS SISTERS I REALLY DONT KNOW WHY WE’RE SUPPOSED TO BE CRYING OVER HIM IN PARTICULAR

I cannot stress how much will giving up his family because he was stupid is not the same thing as losing your family to actual fucking death. Will just surrounded by literal orphans all like “oh whoa is me” Bitch I ain’t cared for you since day one!

[from 2023]

Cassie really hated them, she did them wrong several times, she specifically hated Gabriel and Tatiana but she just dropped the ball with the entire family. I've said this to my friend before, like she had this problem with Jessamine too, is that Cassie just really hates domesticity like within the canon of her books. Like the way she punishes it is just so bizarre. Like Jessamine was made this nasty awful girl. She's like barely 18 her parents  were killed and she just she just wants to be a mundane right? She just wants to be a wife she wants to escape and yeah she's spoiled and everything but like what's wrong with her not wanting to be a shadowhunter? And you know, we know how Jasmine ends up. Tatiana was specifically not trained, like Benedict did not train her on purpose. We learned that later in the Bane Chronicles. And yet she's made the villain of  the last hours?

Anyway, can we talk about how Will was purposely and antagonizing dick to everyone around him? And yeah I know he had an excuse but still. Like I don't remember when Gabriel found out about it. Also everyone acts like Gabriel was in the wrong for being mad at Will for things that Will specifically did on purpose to be mean. And don't even get me started on the fact that the Lightwoods were very much abused. Like canonically.

First of all we have Tatiana getting married at like 15. But also Gabriel is  just completely normalized to violence and neglect. When Charlotte offers him a room at the Institute and he's like expecting something from her and she's like, “no, you just you, you get a room. You're a child who had like, his parents die, you know, I guess we can't turn you out.” And he later he goes to Gideon and has to break down about it because he's not used to kindness without something in return.Or the fact that like after he agrees to the Console and agrees to spy on Charlotte, Gideon fucking hauls him around the side of the institute, shoves him up against the wall, hard enough that that hurts. And it's from Gabriel's point of view. He does not comment on it at all. He's just like “okay, this is normal.” 

Meanwhile, I don't ever remember Gabriel finding out, nor do I remember Will apologizing for being as ass, and in fact, like he just continues to bully him relentlessly. Another thing that annoyed me is that Gideon was never mean? A lot of people get confused when I say that but remember that before Gideon was introduced Jem described him as ‘making Gabriel look sweet as gingerbread.’ But then we meet him and he’s all fixed which is absolutely ridiculous. Like one of the things people hold over Gabriel’s head is that he didn’t leave Benedict to go with his brother but Gideon literally had months away from his father while Gabriel had everything dumped on his all at once. He was confronted with the information that Benedict gave Barbra a demon STD and that’s what drove her to kill herself and then it’s like “okay Gabriel stay with the only parent you have left or abandon him” with no nuance given to him for the situation. And then he has to fight demon worm Benedict and does pretty good at not letting his feelings get in the way of fighting it. (Even Will comments on it, it’s like one of the rare times Cassie is onto something. Gideon is screaming at Gabriel for being reckless or something or holding back and Will thinks ‘well Gabriel did just shoot the thing in the eye’)

Gideon was only mean to Gabriel with okay, yeah I like that actually but follow through??? It’s never called on, it's just there. It’s not a character flaw, it's never mentioned by like any other character. You could interpret this as Gideon still holding onto his more toxic habits from his father (which would be realistic) but it’s not character development it’s just there for Cassie to continue to shit on Gabriel.

[apollothesunrat]

It occured to me that I should probably post a picture of the goobers I entered in the goober comp. So have my babies, the siblings ever. The are in the same au btw, I just don't have an official name for it so they're labeled by their defining factors.

Raised by the Foot Casey Jones:

Casey has been in the Foot as long as he can remember, training along side the Master's daughter. Raised as Cassandra, he trained at the same time as Oroku Karai due them being similar ages though he only saw her occasionally as he was in the New York lair and Karai lived in Japan with her Father. As he grew up, he realized he just wanted to be Casey, but no one accepted that. The Lieutenant told him he was confused, he was girl and that's what he'd always be. At 15 he had grown to hate it, the Foot's motives, the way he was forced to wear the female uniform, all of it. So he started leaving, seeking time away. He finds an empty watertower on a roof miles away from the Foot's lair After about year of doing he starts hearing whispers throughout the Foot of strange men in suits roaming the streets. One day in the midst of April he goes out, and meets a girl, shorter than him but close to his age none the less. She introduces her in broken English as "Experiment A". Finding this "name" horrible Casey offers to give her a better one amd be her friend. She agrees.

Raised by the Kraang April O'Neil:

Experiment A doesn't remember the horrible day when the Kraang took her and killed her parents but she remembers everything afterwards. She was taken to the head, Kraang Prime, he was so cruel. The Kraang never respected her, always sticking needles in her and making her use her powers to the point she was pass out. At one point, after being trained for many years, they took her to a facility on Earth. It was apparently her home planet. She didn't like what her superiors were planning, so she started escaping. The Kraang scientists in the lab never paid her any attention so snuck out and watched the humans. They didn't have a pink tinge to their akin of tendrils on their head like she did. Nor did they have teeth or nails as sharp as her. Experiment A didn't understand them, everytime she tried to say hello they screamed, called her a freak. So she stayed away, just watching and learning. Then one particularly chilly day, she met a human boy. He didn't scream at her, or call her a freak. He offered to take care of her, and give her a real name like his. His name was Casey, she thought it suited him.

~~

After their meeting both began meeting up on the same rooftop they met. Casey found a new name for Experiment A. "April", after the month he met her and it started with an A, so it wasn't too much of an adjustment for her.

They've only known eachother for about five months now. Casey gives April all his old feminine clothes to wear(she insists his are better than new clothes, they smell like him apparently and scent is important to her) and April helps him steal masculine clothes. Casey teaches April English, though getting her to spell correctly is difficult, and he showed her around New York City and gave her anything he could afford. April was never needed at the lab(Kraang Prime would make it known if he needed her) so she was always at the water tower, filling it with old blankets and pillows, stolen clothes and books. She makes it feel like home.

They have yet to officially meet their version of the turtles so the Hamatos aren't important right now. But they meet them soon.

Thanks for reading! I appreciate reblogs and thoughts on this!

(I'll go ahead and tag the comp since I posted this cause of it. @goobersforlife)

[goodoldfashionednerd]

THE CRUEL PRINCE JAMES, SON OF KING WILLIAM ??

[historicalsgnificance]

060720 | hi friends ! i figured it wasn’t too late to post my goals for this month :)

→ use my journal more actively

i’ve been really bad at using my bullet journal recently and i wanna get back into using it everyday !!! so far it’s going quite well

→ get outside once a day

i walk my dog everyday, but i want to find other way to get out of my house even if it’s just sitting on my deck instead of inside

→ paint something :)

→ do the 30dol challenge + start 100 days of productivity

i’ve tried to do 100 days of productivity before, but it’s never worked out. the 30dol challenge (which i talk about + outline my goals here – i’m learning japanese) seems like a good way to start it off !

→ read 5 books

my tbr for this month is:

the raven boys by maggie stiefvater (2nd reread ,,)

a darker shade of magic by v.e. schwab

ghosts of the shadow market by cassandra clare (i have been reading it since septmeber, it’s time i finished it)

the cruel prince by holly black

finish rereading prisoner of azakban

btw i’m a fairly new studyblr and i wanna get to know people !! i might make an intro post soon, but in the meantime if you’re a studyblr (esp. if you post about english lit./reading, french, japanese, and/or dark academia) like/rb this post and i’ll check you out. the studyblr community is so nice and i wanna make friends -w-

♫ rollin’ - twice ♫

[junqkook]

do you have any book recommendations?? thank u!!

omg yes i have so many!! i’ll stick to some of my favs to rec tho (these aren’t in order btw):

the giver by lois lowry

of mice and men by john steinback

the night world series by l.j. smith

cruel beauty by rosamund hodge

the captive prince trilogy by c.s. pacat (WARNING: this one deals with triggering topics)

the cruel prince series by holly black

the infernal devices trilogy by cassandra clare

percy jackson and the olympians by rick riordan

the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky

the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald

caraval by stephanie garber

to kill a kingdom by alexandra christo

zodiac by romina russel (plot and worldbuilding is phenomenal, characters and romance are kinda meh imo, but stil worth the read)

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

Many people talk about how Cassandra Clare & SJM are damaging. That they are into abusive relationships, homophobic, racist, etc. So how do you write about real issues: people treating gays poorly - some will grow others will cling to their hate, just like reality. How do I write real issues without being the next CC or SJM? Where's the line?

Hoo boy there’s a lot to unpack here.

For one, if you’re not a part of the community then probably don’t refer to queer ppl as “gays”. That’s a good start.

Second thing you need to realize is that there is no line.

You just have to do your best and take great care in researching the people you’re writing about. If your heart is truly in it, it will show. But if you’re including it just because you feel like you “have” to or else the ESSJOOS will come for you, then that will show as well. (That’s how SJM rolls, btw. Casserole Clam at least actually seems to genuinely try at times.)

Some people say that you don’t have to include representation if it makes you uncomfortable, or if you’re scared you’ll get it “wrong”. 

Two problems with that: 

1) If writing about people who aren’t like you makes you uncomfortable, what kind of shitty-ass writer are you? You can write about magic and flying dragons but you can’t imagine a single Gay? Maybe take a step back and look at yourself.

2) Thing is, you will get it wrong. Someone out there will always find fault with the things you write, whether it be your take on physics or your portrayal of trans people. That doesn’t mean you get to take the easy way out and just write about cishet, able-bodied, neurotypical white people all the time. I mean, you can do it, but people will be rightfully upset with you. 

People will criticize you if you don’t include diversity, and they will criticize you if you do. That’s just life. So do you want to be an author that tries to be inclusive but doesn’t always succeed, or do you want to be an author that ignores all criticism just because they’re too lazy or too scared to step outside their comfort zone?

My tip? Just try. Do your best. Do your research. If your heart is in the right place, you’ll be able to write an empathetic portrayal of a person, not a label. Some will find fault with their portrayal, but others will see themselves in it. 

As for portraying “problematic” things? Just ... don’t romanticize it? It’s not very hard. You don’t even need to point at it and say that THIS IS BAD, most people will get that anyway. What ends up hurting people is when you write characters doing terrible things and then glorify or justify their behavior and throw all their cruel, abusive deeds under the rug because they’re hot or “damaged” or what-the-fuck-ever. What ends up hurting is when someone treats someone else with hatred and cruelty and you point at the abuser and go “sympathise with this one, this one is the one you should love!”

Because that happens in real life, where victims are blamed for their abuse and the abuser is either shown to be someone who deserves pity or whose abuse is just ignored for one reason or another. We don’t need more of that in fiction, because all it does is reinforce that victim-blamey garbage.

So how do you write about real issues: people treating gays poorly - some will grow others will cling to their hate, just like reality.

Sure, but are you intending to show those that cling to their hate in a sympathetic light? Because if you are, then maybe try to examine your reasons for doing that. I can’t imagine that they’re good in any way. 

If you’re not gay and you want to write about homophobia (this is an example but applies to any type of bigotry), my first tip is “don’t”, my second is, again, “do your research”, and examine why you’ve decided to write about a struggle that isn’t yours. I’m not saying you can’t do it, I’m saying that you need to know your reasons for doing it, because that will help you figure out if it’s even necessary and how to approach it if you think it is. 

You can write about abusive relationships without portraying them as the romantic ideal. You can write about real issues without throwing people experiencing those issues under the bus. 

You say that some will cling to their hate, “just like reality”. Sure, prejudice is “realistic”, but fiction? Fiction doesn’t have to reflect reality. It will, inevitably, but that doesn’t mean that you have to include terrible things happening because that makes your work more “real”. It doesn’t mean that you have to include characters who refuse to change and choose to stay bigoted just because that’s how some people are in real life.

If you choose to include it, you should probably have good reasons for it, and if you’re writing about a struggle that you haven’t experienced, then you better do your research. 

I’m also of the belief that you should write about people, and people are not their oppression. Worry about creating good characters first, and see how they deal with the shit thrown at them later. 

You shouldn’t write about “realistic issues” if you’re only focusing on the issues themselves with only token mentions of how they impact the people actually experiencing them. Because that will end up looking like you’re only including these things because it makes your work more “gritty” and “real”, like you don’t actually care how they hurt people, and that’s not good. 

Tl;dr: If your heart’s in the right place and you genuinely want to write about people who aren’t like you, then you’re already on the right track and bit of research will take you much much further than both Casserole Clam and SJM. 

[one-of-us-must-be-crazy]

Master Post of Human/Synth Novels & Stories

As requested 

Defy the Stars by Claudia Grey: 

A YA space opera  with Noemi, a young woman of color as the main character. She enlists in what is essentially a suicide mission as she struggles with her faith on a distant planet trying to free itself from the grasps of tyranny. When she ends up trapped on a ship with an damaged android named Abel, the slow burn starts. While slow-burn romance is there from the start, it also explores themes of faith, loyalty, belonging, and political autonomy while still foremost being an action/adventure story. At the end of the day its probably the most light-hearted novel on this list, and is also the opening of a trilogy. There’s moments of heart and humor and hope, and its just the most delightful YA sci-fi I’ve ever read.

Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee: 

If read as a fairytale/wish-fulfillment romance novel written in the early 1980′s, its a very bittersweet and enjoyable little book. Defiantly something I personally would have better enjoyed reading in scret as a 16 year old in the back of the library between classes, it feels like its aimed at mature, but still teenage readers. Despite the weirdness of it and the oddness of the characters, Tanith Lee was a true master of her craft. Genuine Cult-Classic ........Also he fantasy elements of it would make for a GREAT a/u backdrop for any fanfic writers btw; send a link my way if you should try that. 

Alpha by Taylor Hohulin: 

I have yet to read this one myself, but it keeps turning up on indie sci-fi lists and on lists of book of AI. Still I feel morally obligated to mention it as it’s android is pining after a female engineer/mechanic and boy oh boy do I think a few of us are lighting up at that.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Merissa Meyer: 

Technically this is about a cyborg, but I can think of 12 people that would murder me if I didn’t include this. Cinder’s cyborg components have made her the best mechanic in New Beijing, and its a position that lets her meet the prince one day on fluke. The love story takes a back seat however when her youngest stepsister takes ill with a strange plague and the real technical intrigue begins. It’s loosely based off of Cinderella, but don’t let the book cover full you it is REALLY loosely based off of Cinderella. The entire series is a scifi/action update of fairytales, which might appeal to some of you more than the purer sci-fi out there.

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz 

Not everyone’s cup of tea, I will say that first and foremost. Its brutal, and the love story in it is nearly painfully cruel at the start. However it looks like an opener to a series that will be increasingly better as it goes on, and has garnered some STELLAR critical reviews.

Aliens: Defiance, volumes one and two by Brian Wood: 

Do yourselves a favor as fans of the Alien universe and give these a read. You don’t need to know anything about the other comics or films really; these make for a very solid story on their own. Zula Hendricks, a wounded Colonial Marine who’s still trying to prove that a five-foot-two 23 year old black woman can be valuable as a soldier, goes on a failed mission from her base at Luna. Without too many spoilers, I’ll say that the following plot and premise is that she and a rogue Marine Synthetic named Davis01 go on their own mission to hunt xenomorphs in wreckage of old ships to prevent the company from getting their hands on one. BONUS: Amanda Ripley has a couple cameos in volume one.

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke: 

A young woman emotionally hollowed out by a childhood of isolation capped off by grief of a deceased parent,  grows increasingly attached to her father’s mysterious assistant, an android named Finn. Its a dark story despite being a love story; and most complaints of the novel are about how Cat, the main character, is weak and just goes in whatever direction she’s pushed--her surface selfishness comes from her own inability to see meaning at all in life, which becomes more obvious as the story goes on. She’s a severely emotionally damaged character who tries to suppress most of her feelings and force herself to want normalcy--but this makes the moments later on  when she does let herself lash out, and begin acting on her own all the more powerful. Clarke has also written another (and much more grandly fantastic) novel involving advanced AI, Our Lady of the Ice but the primary love stories in it are human/human.

Glitch by N. M. Lombardi: 

By our very own, and sadly deleted, blog many-storied, author of the fanfic “Noble Heart” that I have suggested to anyone in this fandom with a soul. Glitch is a long short story/novella about the damaged Gabriel, an android used by a sadistic wealthy owner, and Marguerite, who’s used to androids (actually called synthetics in the story) who can’t feel pain or fear trying to help him reach reality again. As she works with him she begins to question the possibility that he’s sentient, and he starts to learn the rest of the spectrum of emotions. 

UPCOMING

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: 

Ana has grown up with her closest friend--and now love interest-- the sentient android, D09. Rescued with him as a child, by a rough crew of space pirates she now calls her family, issues begin to arise in the galactic kingdom threatening their lives. And on top of that D09 has begun to glitch...and since the banning of androids, there are precious few ways to help him.... I for one am SUPER HYPED FOR ITS RELEASE and will keep you updated as I find more information on it.

Notes: 

Links go to GoodReads and I make zero dollars and zero cents off these titles if you choose purchase one or all of them. 

Please use GoodReads at your own discretion becuase readers are not required to rate novels based anything more than “i don’t like scifi, one star.” Please use it as a guide and not for making the final choice to read it or not.

I tried not to include any cyborgs, other than where noted, since cyborgs are still born human, and also avoided books that are strictly erotica. 

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

star trek discovery

i avoided posting anything spoilery earlier to spare @actuallylukedanes so it’s time for a more detailed review. 

confession #1: i wouldn’t have watched the pilot if i hadn’t seen that jason isaacs was going to be starring in the show. i adore him. i’m not ashamed. i didn’t expect to like the space exploration elements, i barely remember watching star trek a lot when i was a kid, but it was jason isaacs. so it was required of me.

confession #2: i therefore spent all of the pilot waiting for him to show up, and found the show very confusing right up until the pilot’s end, since he was still missing and i didn’t see the story matching up with the show i’d been told to expect. 

that being said, the pilot left me conflicted, because i spent all of it wondering how jason isaac’s captain was going to play in, and once i understood--i only half wanted him to!! 

so here’s the only problem i have with the show: it was too good in the setup. i fell in love with the crew and the captain and the dynamic between her and the main character. i was fully on board and thrilled to watch her lead her ship for the rest of the show. ‘yay!’ i thought, ‘an asian actress captaining star trek--awesome.’ 

i was nearly done with the pilot before i started wondering how exactly jason isaacs could possibly fit in as a captain too...which makes me naive and easily bruised by the ending, tbh. now i know, and i love him, but i want more of what we saw during the first 30 minutes: cptn. georgiou and michael being awesome and bonded and intense and two badass woc running a crew.

i am looking forward to the show going forward though. i love michael as the main character; she’s cassandra, trying to sound alarms while nobody listens and she loses people she loves. my heart hurt for her, especially because her backstory adds an interesting layer to everything that happens and her captain and friend flung it in her face like a cruel sort of weapon. 

also, as someone who has never seen the original star trek and barely remembers anything about next gen and voyager, i really enjoyed the klingon storyline. supposedly they plan to place a heavier emphasis on the klingon backstory, with a more balanced viewpoint (i wouldn’t know the difference) but either way, i was pulled in immediately. 

seeing both sides of the escalation up to a war, and the way they use the klingon language rather than just subtitles, makes klingons more than just the ‘other’ that our ‘heroes’ need to fight. also i found it very affecting to start out by seeing humans via the perspective of the klingons--a blunt but effective nod to historically colonized people offscreen. 

it’s a gorgeous show, i have to say. most of my faves have bland settings and i can’t say beautiful locations/colors are my first concern when i watch a show, but this one is very aesthetically pleasing.

anyway, clearly i loved it bc i had a lot to say. i feel like i’m forgetting other things, tbh. if you have questions or want to chat about any of the shows i’m watching, btw, feel free! my list for the season is only just beginning.

[the-slut-verses]

[ID: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it’s dated August 17th, 2020. It states “you're absolutely right about sophie's loyalty!! because that's how we get her reaching out to jane in the first episode despite "despising everything she stands for" but she also only despised her because of her patriotism, because going public with pasithea made cassandra look bad.” End ID]

YEAH!! THAT EXACTLY! Y’know it’s very good you provided me an opportunity to reflect and talk more about this podcast cuz I actually didn’t realize that until you started sending me asks and it added another layer to this show and I enjoy it a whole lot more now.

[ID: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it’s dated August 17th, 2020. It states “sophie, before knowing she had used pasithea: oh my god jane, just do it | sophie after learning that: *takes days to decide whether to tell jane to help make more*” End ID]

The whole show overall has been a very Not Fun Time for her but at the very least her experiences should teach her not to jump her gun so hastily.

[ID: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it’s dated August 17th, 2020. It states “ tbh i'm much more forgiving of her threatening the children, because characters threatening other people happens in other media as well and i guess i'm kind of used to it? granted, threatening *children* is usually only something villains do, but ” End ID]

That’s fair and I know how that feels. Like, SAYER should probably be on trial for multiple accounts of murder, cruel and unusual punishment, and other assorted human rights violations and war crimes, but I’m still very gay for it and I’d make out with it given the chance adjkfahsd. I just didn’t think that Sophie would Do That. Also the older I get, the more protective I find myself of characters younger than me. I mean like, when I was like 12 and reading books like pjo, I was like YEAHHH WISH FULFILLMENT I WANNA GO ON ADVENTURE. But when I’m reading those books now I find myself just /stressed/ like, these people are /children/ and they should not be doing that where are the adults in this?!?! If that makes sense.

[ID: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it’s dated August 17th, 2020. It states “oh i didn't realize lopez and the narrator actually are the same person! i thought they sounded very similar, but because of the credits i assumed they were different people” End ID]

Yeah, I only put two and two together when I got to the season finale. [Spoiler Warning for TSCOSI btw]. The actor that plays Lopez also plays McCabe in TSCOSI, and I gotta say very impressive of this person to play a narrator framing device that’s revealed to actually be a character and part of the plot and the podcast suddenly got very meta twice.

[Spoiler Warning for Pasithea Powder Episode 10]

[ID: Three anonymous asks sent to chekhovs-harpoon, they’re dated August 17th, 2020. The first ask states “episode 10 is just. alegros not being able to do it because he couldn't handle his wife's pleading and jane stepping in because of that. her dosing the other and actually explaining this despite agent blanc trying to stop her. and at first she asked what the other's name was and did her best to ignore her "friend" but the other acting like evelyn so much that she wanted proof the others are actually people. and then after spending 24h, presumably without a break, with an alien looking like (1/2)”

The second ask states: “or pretending to be evelyn and she became convinced that this was a chance to actually get him back, so she *forcibly overwrote the other's personality*, which was. incredibly fucked up. and then it seems like it works an evelyn is actually back and she's so relieved and already making plans to introduce him to sophie, forgetting that the government likely wouldn't let her, and then agent blanc just fucking shoots him. (i thought they might want to run more tests but. nope.) and he made (2/3)“

The third ask states: “that comment about her losing herself in a fantasy (or something, i can't remember the exact wording), which, while true, was also a very upsetting reminder that he and reina valencia watched *everything*, which i really hate (3/3).” End ID]

YEAH! This podcast is just unbelievably good at making me feel so much and tearing me apart in all direction cuz of interpersonal character drama. it feels very real and raw and grounded despite the more fantastical circumstances. And this ep really made me mourn Evelyn’s death cuz he seemed like a really swell person to be around and his dynamic with Jane is just so interesting

*starts episode 8* *side-eyes sophie for saying making more pasithea is the easy choice* i like her! but i do think she's too trusting of the government

YEAH! One of the best things about this podcasts is just, how well rounded and flawed and real and human these characters are. They try to do good but they make mistakes and hurt people and they have to grapple with the consequences. Sophie’s very loyal and devoted and that’s both her greatest strength and flaw. She’s very loyal to her loved ones even if they disagree on a deep fundamental level on important things like morality, but that also means she’s a very good soldier and good soldiers follow orders despite who they’re coming from. honestly i still don’t forgive her for trying to coerce information out of a lady whose husband is a political prisoner by threatening their kids. i feel like that’s a war crime

[ Image Description: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it states “ sophie used pasithea!! and jane treated her!! what!! :o” End Image Description]

SHE DID! And it was very juicy cuz like, it’s such a great example of Sophie being dismissive of things that don’t directly affect her or her loved ones. It’s easy to say “just do it” until it directly affects you. Sophie and Jane’s friendship could be boiled down to “idk how to explain to you we should care about other people.”

[ Image Description: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it states “ me, confusing lopez for the narrator: wow, this episode is really meta.” End Image Description ]

I didn’t even realize at first that they shared the same voice, but the narrator is elinor lopez and this whole podcast in general is very meta. and that’s why the last episode actually just fucking blew my entire mind

[ Image Description: 2 anonymous asks sent to chekhovs-harpoon, the first one states “so... "evelyn"... god that was fucked up on so many levels.” The second one states, “i'm pretty tired right now so a more detailed response will have to wait until tomorrow but. what an episode.” End Image Description ]

[spoiler warning for ep 10]

RIGHT?? This episode fucked me up in ways i didn’t even realize were possible. imagine mourning a dear friend, being given the chance to see him again, but for a brutal price on your conscience and morality, only to mourn him again. this podcast has the best interpersonal drama. and it made this whole show retroactively a lot sadder now that we’ve actually met evelyn cuz now we really feel just how much he means to these people. like, evelyn is so different from sophie, the story of how they got together must be very interesting. I look forward to your more detailed response!!

[ Image Description: Anonymous ask sent to chekhovs-harpoon, it states “i low-key want caleb widogast to meet an other just for the angst of meeting (one of) his parents again :))” End Image Description ]

i haven’t gotten into critical role yet but yea i imagine that’d be deeply fucked up and there’ll be so much angst and drama