plentyghosts

[plentyghosts]

“never kill yourself” is such a funny phrase to me that i think it’s accidently started working. its like an affrimation. say ‘never kill yourself’ enough times as a joke and maybe you won’t try to kill yourself over minor inconviences anymore

[plentyghosts]

The Terror – s1 e10: We Are Gone // The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex by Tamsyn Muir

[plentyghosts]

imposter

[plentyghosts]

You could call out any famous woman for doing something problematic and somehow the conversation will always turn into people calling her "mid" or generally poking fun at her looks and saying they never actually liked her and that she's annoying and stupid instead of a genuine conversation and critique about what she did wrong. As if her attractiveness was ever a factor in this scenario. As if her being unattractive to them is a worse crime than anything else she might have done. And then you can't say anything because then it looks like you're defending her problematic behavior. I'm going to start biting people.

[plentyghosts]

Sooooo has anyone told the Ten Men that using their briefcases, in which they carry powerful explosives, to block projectiles isn’t the brightest idea. They’re literally one misplaced dart or laser pointer away from dissolving into a cologne scented mist

[plentyghosts]

the amount of butches who felt the need to defend long hair to me because i included "your hair looks so much nicer longer" as an example of the things people have said to me that made me feel like they'd prefer it if i presented more femininely EVEN though that is an extremely common experience to the point where "backhanded compliment about hair length" is almost a meme in dykespace at this point... one long-haired butch to another if acknowledging that there absolutely exists pressure on women to keep our hair whatever cut and length the culture around us considers feminine (and often that length is "long") is all it takes to get you on the defensive... maybe you just need to grow up a bit. have slightly thicker skin than this maybe

[plentyghosts]

"No one cares about how long your run was"

"No one cares if you baked something"

Wrong bitch - I'm locked in. Post the little map thingy from the app, I won't even know what it means and I'll like it. Post your first upside down cake or homemade pizza crust attempt, I'm in there and I'm smashing the like button.

[plentyghosts]

help why is he like this

[plentyghosts]

ianthe & corona

[plentyghosts]

2. favorite fic to reread

5. an ongoing fic you’d recommend

11. a platonic fic

Any of these you would like to answer, I would be so happy to hear!! I hope you are having a fabulous day, as you deserve, and that you get some really good tea next time you want some :)

YAY thank you Sophie!

2. Favorite fic to reread - whenever I'm in a mood for Season Two of the show I go to "Leave a light on when you go" and "Kid, be my son (what I've done to you is rotten" by @plentyghosts! Both are heartbreaking but such beautiful small moments and so well written.

5. an ongoing fic - "Stay 'Til the End" by @heyitsthatonesmolgay! The Sticky and Reynie friendship is lovely and I can't wait for more.

11. a platonic fic - Gert got me thinking about Mr. Benedict and Ms. Perumal so I'm going to recommend "the teacher's tale" by @bi-demon-ium because I feel like it fills a missing conversation in that I really wanted to see!

[plentyghosts]

Little Reynie, inspired by this post: https://www.tumblr.com/mashpotatoequeen/756410242466709504/babies

[plentyghosts]

It's easy for me to give Trenton Lee Stewart more credit than he warrants in his writing sometimes I don't think he put nearly as much thought into his portrayal of his Black characters as their complexity implies

But it's fascinating to me to think about the themes of antiblack racism and also colonialism that are shown plainly im the books without ever giving them that label

Sticky, one of the main child protagonists, goes by that nickname because he's named after george washington (including surname) and he is uncomfortable with his name. The reason given textually is because that's a lot of expectation placed upon him and I don't think that isn't a factor.

But also Sticky is incredibly well read, getting his nickname due to an excellent memory for what he reads (everything "sticks" in his head) so I think it's incredibly likely that he's read about george washington pretty extensively. A lot of what's available to him is going to be propaganda this was 2007 and it's very unclear how much access he had to the internet limiting him to his local library and on books he could have been gifted by supporters (he's a popular quiz champion for a few years).

But we can definitely assume that he's read criticisms about washington and his rampant racism. And I don't think he can really put his thoughts on that into words yet (he's 11 years old) but this is part of his baseline knowledge of the world and likely a huge factor into him going by his nickname exclusively.

It also sets up an interesting dynamic with his parents who named him after george washington in hopes he would be taken more seriously, be seen as more legitimate by a racist society.

And like there ARE themes of assimilation and how dangerous it can be in this book, just textually in the sense of neurodivergence rather than race. The main antagonist is using subliminal messaging to brainwash the world into supporting him and Sticky is inherently avoidant to this messaging, it's the reason he (and the other main characters) are apart of the plot in the first place.

We learn from a passing scene in book 3 where the villain explains why he thinks his actions are justified (they're not ever portrayed as such) that he accomplishes what he does by utilizing problems and prejudices that already exist with society.

Structural racism is definitely something he takes advantage of too. The school he builds is on an island he bought and created a mining town on initially, knowingly participating in colonization. The school itself brings in children who are needed to learn his brainwashing and then broadcast it, and he mainly focuses on vulnerable children because it's easier to get them there. Sometimes this includes traditional kidnapping but it also is shown to include pressuring industry's like the foster care system, schools, etc. inti sending children to the institute pretending that it's a great opportunity to them.

Sticky is primed by his (explicitly well meaning) parents to assimilate into a predominantly white culture/society and he's fed into capitalism (they initially pressure him into becoming a quiz champion for money because they're struggling financially and want to secure his future) and he's well read enough to know at least a little bit what all of that means for him and what it says about society as a whole.

Eventually, before the story starts, he decides to run away from home due to a mix of legitimate concerns and a pretty huge misunderstanding (he initially only pretends to runaway and mishears his parents saying they're "better off without him" except this is not what they said or believed.)

So we have this 11 year old kid trying to escape capitalism and stop assimilating but becoming a homeless child and when he is brought to safety he finds out that the world is in danger and that children are needed to infletrate the institute and gather information for the rebel cause.

Textually, Sticky takes the longest to decide whether ir not to go on this mission (one thing I like about this series is that the adults in it are specifically trying NOT to endanger these children and while they minimize risks for their mission they STILL make it very clear that there is no shame in refusing and in Sticky's case they promise financial support even if he refuses to participate) and that makes a lot of sense because moreso than the other children he understands he's agreeing to go back into the same thing he ran away from but much worse.

Throughout the course of the book, Sticky is subtly but noticeably treated differently than his friends (who are white or at least white passing.) He's suspected more and singled out often and he faces the most overt danger for much (but not all of) the book.

In addition to this his character arc rellies really heavily on the fact that, much like when he was a quiz champion, Sticky is good at assimilating. He sees how much easier his life would be if he stopped trying to spy on and resist the school and instead just joined it in earnest. Except he knows this is colonization and it terrifies him that he's tempted to just give up but it's made very clear that it is external factors that have consistently been wearing him down.

In the end he chooses not to ever assimilate and this choice is a major factor of the first book's climax and eventual happy ending.

When the first book concludes, he's back in safety with his friends and found family, and he's happy but there's an emptiness there too because he knows he had to sacrifice so much to make it this far. He realizes that not assimilating is going to have a continuous price even if it's the right decision.

I think this is why it's so impactful that he then finds out that his parents spent all of their time and resource looking for him, even though they're afraid he doesn't need them, because they need him and miss him and more importantly because they need to tell him that he was right. And we get to see him reconcile with his parents in a safe environment where they talk about how they were able to break through their own assimilation because of his example and because of their love for him and it's just really powerful.

In the remaining books his parents remain a present and protective unit that he can rely on and specifically that tell him how wrongly he's been treated and help him work through that trauma and it means a lot to me.

When he's an adult, he goes by George again and tbh I don't like this decision very much on the writer's part. Mainly this is done because Sticky sounds too childish and he wants to be taken more seriously but tbh if I could I would make it so Sticky changed his name with his parents help. I'm not sure which name he'd choose, probably still an important namesake, but probably of a predominant public figure who's Black or at least associated with the civil right's movement.

[plentyghosts]

did we ever actually find out how constance solved the floor puzzle with the tiles. i feel like she just walked across bc she's defiant not bc she bothered to figure out the puzzle (she could have if she wanted she just didn't bother) but it counted so she got through

[plentyghosts]

*Gives u this*

[plentyghosts]

A payneland for today!

[plentyghosts]

I like to think that Santos is introducing Whitaker to reality TV and internet culture + text posts