#net book

[cloudvisualspew07x]

[benevolenterrancy]

@fluffypurpleglitterdemon hey. hey. i just want to talk.

[javert]

i have the soul of a disaffected young man who's really into the iliad and clausewitz or whatever. i am an engineer at a tech startup. i own a sword and wear a leather jacket. but what you have to understand is i'm just me... i'm just me, noodle...

[jannacalendar]

I've fished out a load of old Buffy novels from the attic and have stumbled across a bit of a Calendiles goldmine in How I Survived My Summer Vacation. It's a series of short stories set between the first and second seasons about the gang spending the summer slaying while Buffy is visiting her dad. I don't know how many of you own or have read these books, so the highlights include:

« Giles' heart skipped a beat when Jenny glided into the courtyard. »

Upon seeing Jenny, Giles starts reciting Byron’s She Walks in Beauty to himself. This goes: She walks in beauty, like the night / Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright / Meet in her aspect and her eyes…

Xander and Willow, across the short stories, taking it in turn to make little comments of varying degrees of discreetness about whether something is going on between the two of them. Willow enquires about whether Giles needs two tickets for an event because he's taking Ms. Calendar, while Xander is more blunt: « You two have been busy. Alone. Teacher’s in lust, I think. »

Giles being greatful Jenny hasn't disappeared on her « New Age be-in or whatever they were called these days » because he's enjoying getting closer to her.

« Her nearness was intoxicating and distracting. »

Giles gets injured and Jenny refuses to leave him despite all the vampires and the fire around them: « Her dark eyes were all he saw as thick smoke swirled around them both. ‘I love her… I cannot let her die.' »

Despite the Master's bones being stolen, Jenny's first priority is going to Giles in the hospital. She's also taking care of repairs and insurance claims at his apartment while he's admitted. When he's finally discharged they're holding hands.

Jenny and Giles decide to keep Willow and Xander out of harms way over the summer and take over slaying duties for themselves.

Giles has mixed feelings about this because, for as brave as Jenny may be, she's inexperienced and he is distracted by his feelings towards her. He wants to patrol alone to keep her out of danger, which Jenny does not take kindly too: « The macho look does not become you. »

Something appears. Jenny wants to split up and investigate. Giles doesn't. Jenny does anyway: « His brain said he should go left, complementing her action. His gut said he should protect Jenny at all costs. His brain never even stood a chance. »

They are dealing with a shapeshifter and Jenny, Giles, and Angel cannot trust each other. When a second Angel appears? « Instantly, Giles and Jenny moved closer together. »

Jenny tries (and succeeds) to get Giles to go to a fourth of July celebration with her.

« A corner of Jenny’s mouth lifted in a pretty smile, and despite himself, Rupert felt his resolve weakening. »

Giles is being cranky but is simultaneously unable to hide how happy he is to be spending the day with her.

Giles is so used to the Scoobies not caring about his research and ramblings that he is shocked that Jenny actually cares to listen to him.

« She was just so… delightful that sometimes he actually became speechless. »

Jenny calls Giles a stick in the mud then kisses him on the cheek. She later calls him handsome and kisses him.

Also the final story focuses on a travelling theatre troupe that go on murder sprees to match the plays they are putting on and I love that concept, what a fun idea to play with.

[utilitycaster]

I put this in the tags of a post but I think one aspect of cultural Christianity that is the hardest to shake is that people raised Christian (and particularly Protestant), especially people who have since left, will interpret depictions of religion that are actually drawing on practices/imagery common across multiple world religions as specifically a reference to Christianity.

[momentomori24]

Nah, what do you MEAN they charged the alleged assassin of a corrupt rich business guy with terrorism and are keeping him in the same detention centre as fucking Diddy? Why didn't the CEO ever get charged with murder for denying countless of his clients, who had to fork over their hard earned money to his company, life saving treatment? Why didn't the goddamn rapist, predator and convicted felon proven guilty on 34 charges face any consequences and got to not only run for but win presidency? You're keeping this dude in the same detention centre as the serial abuser and rapist who ran a sex trafficking ring? Did I get that right? Bro, he only allegedly smoked ONE guy--

Like, literally Boeing very not-so-subtly assassinated not one, but TWO whistleblowers with ZERO repercussions not even that long ago (and that's not even bringing up all the other shady shit they've done that's killed hundreds of people before e.g The Boeing 737 MAX crashes), but assassinating a single CEO is where you draw the line and start relentlessly hunting down culprits? It really do be "when the rich kill poor people it's called business, but when the average joe kills one rich guy it's called terrorism". What even is the legal system, man.

[tojisun]

leafs and canucks against each other tomorrow !!

[not-poignant]

Asking as someone who looooved Falling Falling Stars (ffs Efnisien has so many of my favorite character traits all together that I was actually in disbelief. And as I have OCD I always love seeing a character that has it. And I have a very similar kind to Efnisien. It was very nice to see portrayed) I was wondering. Have you ever read The Emotional Incest Syndrome? By Patricia Love and Jo Robinson. Your descriptions of parental enmeshment rang so true I was thinking maybe you’d find this book interesting if you haven’t read it.

Hi anon,

I haven't read that book before (I hadn't heard of it until your message) but it does look interesting!

Tbh that kind of enmeshment I find really interesting in general, I mean broadly anything around interpersonal trauma is interesting to me, but especially between caregivers and vulnerable people, whether that's adults and children, royalty and subjects, psychologists/doctors and patients etc.

It's funny in a way because quite a few people have been like 'I relate to Efnisien so much but I haven't done what he's done!' and it's like, it's not what he's done in a way that makes him who he is. It's what he's experienced and suffered through, and the way his brain chemistry works, and his formative experiences around conception of self. And those things are very relatable to many of us, because many of us have been made to feel small, or dismissed, or like we don't matter, or aren't seen, to someone who is supposed to care for us and love us unconditionally. Unfortunately many of us have experienced abuse, and many of us have a family history of mental illness and/or neurodivergence.

It's been really humbling how many folks actually went on to realise they had OCD and/or the Pure O subtype through Efnisien, I've gotten some extremely touching messages about it from folks, where I just kind of have to sit there like 'oh, sometimes my silly little stories can do some cool stuff if the timing is right.'

But there's something really magical about the way that characters can kind of show exaggerated examples (or straight up non-exaggerated examples) of what we're going through, and in hurt/comfort and trauma recovery stories, it means we get to gently roleplay the experience of recovering through that!

It's honestly my favourite thing about writing these themes and why I can't imagine writing anything else.

[rita-lashette]

Did some sketching today. I'm feeling a bit rusty, but I feel quite a bit better after doing these.