#how to create an appendix

[crownstar]

It felt good today to tell someone, "This isn't going to be routed today. I am leaving for the day. It will be routed in the morning." And then I went and did a paint/glaze pottery event thing, that was for work so I was paid to just paint pottery for 2 hours.

These documents are A) needed to be released by THURSDAY this week. B) Were due to me last Friday to route at the latest. C) Not given to me until 3:30PM yesterday (Monday) (I stayed late 2 hours to deal with that - which is a whole other issue) and finally D) she has known that these were due last Friday for over 3 weeks prior to that date. In fact, she is the one who needs these documents and kept asking people about the status of documents they were responsible for but she didn't submit her own on time.

I informed her of updates needed at 9AM this morning. And I didn't get the updated documents until 1:40PM when I needed to leave at 2PM. (She knew I was leaving early I had mentioned it during our Monday meeting and during our morning meeting today). Also in the course of updating the documents she reverted all the fixes I had made to the numbering so I had to go back in an re-number a bunch of stuff. Which when I was done checking and fixing that in all the docs... it was time for me to leave.

Also talked to the guy who was working with her to review and create/update these documents needed and he was like, these were all done last week. Did she not send them to you? No. She didn't. She sent them to me on Monday afternoon when she was the one who kept bugging people to get their documents submitted by Friday.

She needs these released for an Audit on Thursday.... Girl, I'm Hourly and I have been staying late EVERY DAY for THREE WEEKS STRAIGHT dealing with everyone else's documents that needed to be done for your audit, and then you just don't submit your own documents for your own audit.

Like no. Actually I COULD take my laptop home and get this done for you afterwards but I don't want to. I don't care anymore I am going to go paint.

[mask131]

I am re-reading the Silmarillion, and something strikes me. The women of Tolkien's world have been talked about TO DEATH especially with all the recurring debates surrounding the Rings of Power series.

As we all know, Tolkien was not a "feminist" in the modern sense of the word. He had a very male-centric point of view and appreciation of the world, he had male-driven and male-centered stories, and actual women characters were sparse and rare. There are only five really big female characters in "The Lord of the Rings" - the quintet of Galadriel, Eowyn, Goldberry, Lobelia and Shelob. [No, don't talk to me about Arwen, she only really was a character in the movies, in the book she's just there in the appendix and she was literaly an afterthought of Tolkien to act as Eowyn's romantic double...]

Consider this. Galadriel, Eowyn, Goldberry, Lobelia and Shelob. This tells you everything you need to know about Tolkien's women, in good and bad.

The Silmarillion has the same motif of having a lot of female characters, only for most of them to be just footnotes, secondary characters with no lines, under-developped one-liners... with in a contrast a handful of super-cool, super-badass, complex and developed heroines at the center of the plot.

Aka, on the bad side, when listing the Valar, while Tolkien gives an interesting personality, great domains and cool attributes to all the male ones, half of the female ones are just... there. And do one stuff. And never appear again. I mean come on... Vana and Nessa? Estë and Vairë were done dirty... That's the actual type of "non-feminism" Tolkien has. It isn't about him hating women or trying to be offensive in his depictions - it is about him just, not putting as much thought, effort and care into his female characters as his male ones, a bit the same way he creates the vast expanses of the East and South of Middle-Earth and then never bothers actually developing more of it or seeking to tell tales of it - but that's for another discussion about Tolkien's "racism". Here we talk about women.

But here's the thing, aka the good side... When Tolkien does find the time and care to develop and flesh out a female character, by Iluvatar he goes all out! Again, we are back on what I said earlier: the women of Lord of the Rings can be counted on one hand... but these fingers are Galadriel, Eowyn and Shelob, so you can't claim he isnt writing powerful, important or uninterestng female characters. Which leads me to my original remark - as usual I get driven away in digressions of all sorts and kinds.

Have you ever noticed that Melkor's greatest enemies, the ones he fears the most, and his most effective foes... are women? Tolkien might not like to put them front and center of his tales, and he might have been a man of the early 20th century England in culture and mind, but boy does he has something to say about how women are actually the first enemies of the literal embodiment of evil and destruction! I mean think about it. Varda of the Stars, and Yavanna of the trees. Nienna has her ambiguous relationship to him - her tears work against him, and yet without her plea for him he likely would not have been released from the dungeons of Mandos. You have Melian with her Girdle, and Luthien with her Hound. And of course most of all Arien, guardian of the Sun, not only one of the rare fire spirits that Melkor couldn't corrupt (despite him basically ruling over all fire), but that frightens him so much he keeps hiding away and doesn't even dare to attack her... [I also reblogged some times ago a post praising the brilliance of Tolkien keeping the old European sun-moon motifs but switching the genders. The weaker, inconsistant, lustful, whimsical, disorderly, untrustworthy Moon is now a male principle, while the steady, dangerous, strong, powerful and beautiful Sun is a woman.]

It is actually REALLY easy to do a feminist retelling of Tolkien's work. Melkor doesn't fear Manwë as much as Varda. Aulë's works and servants get corrupted by Melkor, while Yavanna's do not. Melian and Luthien actively works against him. He friggin' pisses himself when the Woman of the Sun shows up. Sure, there are some evil female characters that serve him down the line and are relegated to the "obscure footnotes and undescribed secondary characters" zone - Thuringwethil the vampire or queen Beruthiel. I coul also dropped deleted characters from early drafts, like the ogress Fluithuin. But among them stands Ungoliant... THE only true female big bad on the dark side of Arda. THE badass, nightmarish, creepy eldritch abomination. And who ends up double-crossing Melkor, almost KILLING him, and again making him basically shit in his pants - as Varda and Arien do.

The first enemies of Morgoth are not the Valar, or the Maiar, or the Elves... It's women.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

OK, the absence of female Rohirrim political leaders and warriors from the Middle Earth historical record…let’s get into it.

There’s a reason this remains a significant point of debate in the fandom, and it’s because the source material is confusing. Clearly, there is/was a role for women in public life in Rohan that is unlike anything we see in the other realms of Men (or hobbits or dwarves!). The concept of shieldmaidens has obviously been in their culture for a long time. Éowyn is one. Someone thought it worth their time to train her to fight, and the people (speaking through the voice of Háma) know her to be “fearless” and trust her to be their leader. The men of Elfhelm’s éored have no problem with her presence among them in Gondor, and though people are shocked to find her injured on the field, no one is scandalized by the very idea that she was there. So there are Rohirrim all over this story who are behaving in ways that suggest female leadership and female martial ability are not inherently surprising or objectionable to them.

And yet…there is not a single named female Rohirrim either before or after Éowyn in any part of the text of LOTR that we know to have wielded any actual political authority or who fought in battle. If those women existed, why/how are they not in the historical record?

The most satisfying answer TO ME is tied up in which historical records we’re looking at. By the framing device of LOTR, the text that we’re reading is ostensibly the story as documented in the Red Book of Westmarch. The appendices, where we find histories and legends of Rohan, were meant to have been written by the hobbits with some contributions by Aragorn, Gimli and others — but NONE OF THE AUTHORS WERE ROHIRRIM. Yes, they surely spoke to Éomer and Éowyn as the sections on the House of Eorl were written, but the sibs didn’t write the text themselves. Outsiders did. So the text does not represent a direct Rohirrim version of Rohan history. THAT version doesn’t exist in writing anywhere, because that’s not how the Rohirrim operate. They preserve their histories and legends through song, poetry and storytelling. Which brings me to this line from Appendix A:

”Many lords and warriors, and many fair and valiant women, are named in the songs of Rohan that still remember the north.” [emphasis added]

That’s confirmation right there that Rohan history as the Rohirrim practice it DOES include “many” women. And if they have songs that remember many women of the north (i.e., their direct ancestors among the Northmen) then surely their more recent songs, poems and stories would also cover the women of more recent times. So the problem is not that the Rohirrim don’t remember women in their (oral) historical record. The book tells us that they do. Maybe the problem is that the men of outside cultures who wrote the book — those who notably came from societies where women had no comparable roles — didn’t choose to include those parts when they created this written historical record. They noted that the Rohirrim name many women in their histories, and then they proceeded to only tell us about some of the men. That’s a skill issue for the authors, not for Rohan.

So in my mind, an average Rohirrim could talk to you about great warrior heroines of the Northmen or the exploits of some of Rohan’s powerful queens and princesses.* That’s not to say that Rohan was drowning in such figures, but they existed and people knew about them. It means there was enough of them and enough awareness of them to create space in their culture to have those views that we see in the main story (i.e., a willingness to accept both a woman as a leader of the people and a woman as a rider in the army when those things were presented to them). It reconciles the strange contradiction between the apparent culture in Rohan and their history as it was given to us as readers. Make of that what you will, but I like it for me!

*And yes, this could presumably explain the omission of Héra from WOTR in the telling of Helm Hammerhand’s story, though that gets complicated by the fact that WOTR contradicts the published Helm story in a few significant ways. (Which, for the record, I am fine with, but it means I view WOTR as more of an AU than a literal extension of the source text!)

[valyrfia]

The Sainz Effect on Media: What the Hell is Going On?

Last weekend, Carlos Sainz Jr. won the 2024 Australian GP, and subsequently, almost every single F1 media outlet has seemingly lost their minds. From the aramco power rankings giving him a perfect score (despite Max not getting one for a grand slam last weekend), to motorsport.com acting like a fan account, everyone is tripping over themselves to sing his praises.

F1 is a complex sport, it requires several different aspects to even get a car moving, even more to make it competitive, and even more to enable a championship fight. From driver line-up, to aero, from international politics, to tyre deg. There's no other sport like it. To truly be an expert in Formula 1, you have to have knowledge of how a track works, an understanding of combustion engines and aerodynamics, a grasp of interpersonal and sports psychologies, and a sense of international relations. This is why, even more so than any other sport, good journalism is vital to the sport's ecosystem. No one person can be expected to be an expert in all these areas, you need a team of people who are willing to pool their knowledge and resources before coming up with conclusions to disseminate to their audience.

But media also likes narrative, and media likes an underdog, that is undeniable. And you can create an excellent underdog narrative with Carlos. From losing his seat despite his teammate keeping his, to him having to get his appendix out in Jeddah, the circumstances are there to set up an underdog narrative. But the crux of the issue is this: anyone with any sort of F1 wheel knowledge understands why Charles was kept over Carlos (a better driver even in a car built away from his driving style, who is revered almost as a messiah figure amongst the traditional fans of the team), why Sir Lewis Hamilton is a much more desirable asset to a top team than Carlos (7x world champion, who brings in a massive draw for talent that will far outlast his stint with Ferrari). So what do you do with these characters who don't match the narrative that you want to push?

Simple. You discredit them.

Make no mistake, this is what we're seeing across every major F1 news outlet in the past week. A plain journalistic choice to choose narrative over integrity. There's all sorts of rumours whizzing around as to why that could be: from possible covert payouts from Sainz Sr, to possible misogyny towards Leclerc fans to pundits simply not being bothered to do their research. But the why of it, although important, doesn't matter nearly as much as the fact that however you look at it, these journalists are failing the sport they claim to love. What's even worse, is that it takes a simple glance at numbers to tell us that these media outlets are digging themselves a hole, and are going to have to backtrack or try and excuse their belief in this narrative in the coming months.

Let's take a common line that Sky Sports like to use as an example, "Carlos Sainz is driving for himself. How incredible would it be if Carlos could compete for the championship this year." Max Verstappen will likely win the championship this year, there are no ifs and buts about it. Red Bull are still developmentally leaps ahead of their rivals, and even if Ferrari were to catch them, Max is still at the wheel. And if Ferrari were to catch them, why would Ferrari prioritise Carlos over Charles? The only driver who has been proven to be able to beat Max in his current form at Red Bull on pure pace is Charles Leclerc, which he achieved in Las Vegas last year, and would've gone on to take the win at that same race if not for the safety car. The most likely championship fight this year is Max Verstappen vs. Charles Leclerc, and that's hinging on Ferrari matching Red Bull development. This outcome is blindingly obvious to anyone who knows how this sport works, and yet the current media angle seems to not be to explain how the sport works to the general public, but rather to double down on narratives that are certainly going to be proven incorrect in a manner of months, if not weeks.

Let's look at another common angle the media seem to like to take, "You have to ask, did Ferrari make a mistake swapping out Carlos Sainz for Lewis Hamilton?". Now, if you've been even near a TV showing F1 in the past ten years, it's pretty obvious this answer is of course not. Lewis Hamilton is likely the greatest driver of all time, his name in a lot of cases outshines the sport itself. No other driver on this grid even comes close to his level of acclaim. This reason alone is enough for Ferrari to sign him. Ferrari has not won a championship in close to two decades, the best and brightest engineers want to be working where they know the results are going to come from, and right now, as a stellar engineer, Red Bull or Mercedes or even McLaren would be a choice over Ferrari, which has the added hurdle of moving to Maranello (considering nearly all the other teams are located in the Midlands in the United Kingdom). Acclaim aside, Lewis Hamilton is still a very impressive driver. P3 in the championship last year to a Red Bull 1-2 is not something to be taken lightly, considering his teammate finished in P8 in the same car with only one more retirement. It does make pure racing sense to sign him over Carlos, who finished in P7, especially since Ferrari have an up and coming talent in Ollie Bearman, and what they need is someone with experience to fill that gap until Ollie can make it to Ferrari, and will likely happily step aside when that time comes at some point in the next five years.

However, has there been a single major F1 news outlet calmly and rationally explaining this thought process for those who may enjoy the sport but are not experts? No. Instead, what we get is Sainz sensationalism, and bias so explicit it tips right over into unprofessional. From The Race saying that a Sainz/Leclerc civil war is Leclerc fan hysteria, despite their own outlet running an article just months ago about tensions in Ferrari, to motorsport.com creating a CV for Carlos, and then proceeding to harass fans who ask why they are so keen to ignore facts. Every single F1 outlet seems to have lost their minds.

The sad thing is this will only backfire massively on Carlos himself. Charles will outperform Carlos, every metric from the past year indicates so. Ferrari may be in the running for the WCC by the midpoint of the season, but Carlos's win will fade into distant memory long before we reach Spa, and the average enjoyer will look back on all this crazy media hype and go "hm, well he didn't live up to expectations did he? He was massively overrated." And this too, will be the fault of F1 media.

In conclusion, F1 media sensationalism has failed Charles, Lewis, and Max, it will fail Carlos in the coming months, but most of all, it has failed the fans of the sport, by choosing to focus on far-fetched narratives, rather than deliver proper journalism and build equally compelling narratives out of the data on the table. It highlights a lack of skill and awareness, which threatens the entire ecosystem of the sport that we all know and love.

[sits-bound]

Bound: A bunch of fics by @cricketnationrise

These two binds were created for the @fandomtrumpshate auction that @cricketnationrise won. (Technically, the first was for the auction, the second was just a bonus.)

Collected Cricklets (aka "Cricket's Ficlets")

This bind is a collection of over 100 ficlets in four collections representing four different fandoms. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to typeset this, it was a fun challenge. Here's what I did:

Each fandom got a different font

The page header (?sider?) had the collection name and fandom name and page number.

The time or date (all fics had a place and a time and/or date) were in a digital clock font.

Each collection opens with a title page foiled in gold (should have been silver, alas.)

I wanted to include the summaries and tags and other metadata for each ficlet, but I didn't want to clutter the pages too much, so I put them in the back as an appendix.

The cover design includes symbols from all of the fandoms (Check Please!, Red, White & Royal Blue, Tortall, and Parasol Protectorate.)

Defining Expectations

I learned how to make a hardcover pamphlet bound book recently, and I decided as a bonus I was going to bind this wonderful fic as one. It's a little long for a single signature bind (27 sheets!), but it worked in the end. I used this tutorial from DAS.

This one was fun for a few reasons. First, there were texts and support tickets and emails and definitions, and I had to figure out how to typeset them all to make them stand out in the text. Then, I decided it should look like a dictionary, so I used faux leather (from Dollar Tree, it's great for binding) and took inspiration from a few dictionaries for the cover and title page.

And, okay, I may have had too much fun with the photo shoot for this one.

Thanks again Cricket for bidding on my auctions! I very much enjoyed putting these together.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Editorial Vocabulary

definitions of terms during the writing, editing and publishing process

Acknowledgements: Text in which the author thanks those who’ve supported them.

Action beat: Short description that comes before, between or just after dialogue.

Adjective: A word that describes a noun.

Adverb: A word that describes a verb.

Adverbial phrase: A group of words that describe a verb.

Afterword: A concluding section, often reflecting on the book’s creation or providing additional context.

Anaphora: The deliberate repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive clauses for artistic effect.

Antagonist: An adversary. The character who creates obstacles and challenges for the protagonist, or behaves in a hostile fashion towards the protagonist.

Anti-protagonist: A protagonist whose own actions create opposition and conflict, often within themselves or against their own goals.

Apostrophe: A punctuation mark used to indicate possession, omission and, occasionally, a plural.

Appendix: Space in a book for material that doesn’t fit comfortably in the main text.

Asyndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A, B, C.

B-C

Back matter: Also end matter. Elements reserved for the back of a book, including appendix, glossary, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Beta reader: Test-reader who provides feedback on book.

Bibliography: List of all works cited in book, and any other work of interest to the reader.

Chapter drop: The space above and below the chapter title.

Character arc: Narrative that shows how a character changes and develops.

Characterization: The process of revealing a character's personality, traits and motives through actions and dialogue.

Colon: Punctuation mark that introduces additional/qualifying information about the clause it follows.

Comma splice: Two independent clauses joined by a comma rather than a conjunction or an alternative punctuation mark.

Conjunction: A word that connects clauses or sentences (e.g. ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘if’, ‘then’)

Copyediting: A review of grammar, punctuation, and spelling, ensuring consistency and accuracy in the manuscript's language.

Critique: Also manuscript evaluation. Report analysing a book’s strengths and weaknesses.

D

Denouement: The final part of the book in which all the plot strands are brought together and resolved.

Deuteragonist: A sidekick or confidante character who has the most influence on the protagonist, often helping them solve problems and overcome obstacles. Can be critical to driving the plot.

Developmental editing: Also structural editing. The improvement of a manuscript's structure, content, and overall narrative, focusing on big-picture elements. Attends to plot, characterisation, narration and pacing.

Dialogue tag: Also speech tag. Words that indicate which character is speaking (e.g. John said).

Dialogue: The lines characters speak in a book.

Diversity reader: Also sensitivity reader. Test-reader who checks for misrepresentation in books.

Double-page spread: Also DPS. The view of a printed book or PDF when opened so that the left- and right-hand pages are both visible.

Drama: The conflicts, emotional intensity, and impactful events that drive the plot and engage readers emotionally. The focus is on character relationships, motivations, and the consequences of their actions.

Dropped capital: Decorative first letter of the first word on the first line in a chapter. Larger than the rest of the text and drops down two lines or more.

E-F

Ellipsis: Punctuation mark that indicates a trailing-off or a pause.

End matter: Also back matter. Elements reserved for the back of a book, including appendix, glossary, endnotes, bibliography and index.

Endnote: Additional useful information at the end of a chapter or book.

Filter word: Verb that tells rather than shows (e.g. ‘noticed’, ‘seemed’, ‘spotted’, ‘saw’).

Folio: Somewhat old-fashioned term for page number. Also used to refer to a page.

Footnote: Additional useful information at the bottom of a page.

Foreword: A recommendation of the work written by someone other than the author.

Fourth wall: In books, the conceptual space between the characters and the readers.

Free indirect speech: Also free indirect style and free indirect discourse. Third-person narrative that holds the essence of first person thought or dialogue.

Front matter: Also prelims. Includes part title and title pages, foreword, preface and acknowledgements.

Full point: Period or full stop.

Full stop: Period or full point.

G-L

Glossary: Alphabetical list of important terms with explanations or definitions.

Habitual past tense: Uses ‘would’ or ‘used to’ with a verb to indicate events that happened routinely in a time past.

Half-title page: The first page of a book with any text on it; in a printed book, always a right-hand page. Contains only the main title of the book.

Head-hopping: Jumping from one character’s thoughts and internal experiences to another’s. Indicates viewpoint has been dropped.

Imprint: Publisher’s name.

Independent clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.

Index: Alphabetical list of all topics, themes, key terms and cited author names covered in the book, and the corresponding page numbers.

Information dump: Also word dump. Information that’s necessary to the story but isn’t artfully delivered, or weaved creatively into the narrative and dialogue.

Line editing: Also stylistic editing. The refining of a manuscript's language, focusing on consistency, clarity, flow and style at sentence level.

M-O

Maid-and-butler dialogue: Dialogue in which one character tells another something they already know so the reader can access backstory.

Manuscript evaluation: Also critique. Report analysing a book’s strengths and weaknesses.

Narrative arc: Also story arc. The structure and shape of a story.

Narrative authenticity: The believability and truthfulness of a story so that the characters and events feel real within the framework of the novel’s world.

Narrative distance: Also psychic distance. How close the reader feels to a character’s thoughts, emotions and experiences within a story.

Narrative: Story. The part of the book that’s narrated, excluding the dialogue.

Narrative style: The author's unique manner of storytelling, encompassing language, tone, viewpoint and other structural choices.

Narrative voice: The style, tone, and personality through which a narrator or character tells a story to readers.

Numerals, Arabic: 1, 2, 3 etc.

Numerals, Roman: i, ii, iii etc.

Omniscient: All-knowing. Refers to a viewpoint style in fiction writing.

Overwriting: Using too many words on the page. Often characterized by repetition and redundancy.

P

Page proofs: A file that’s reached a stage in the publishing process where the text and images of a manuscript have been laid out in their final format.

Pantser: A writer who doesn’t outline or plan story structure, but flies by the seat of their pants.

Period: Full stop or full point.

Perspective character: Also viewpoint character. The character through whose eyes the story is primarily told. The narrative lens through which readers experience events, thoughts, and emotions within the story.

Plot: The sequence of events in a novel.

Point of view: Also viewpoint and POV. Describes whose head we’re in when we read a book, or whose perspective we experience the story from.

Polysyndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A and B and C.

Predicate: The part of a sentence that contains a verb and that tells us something about what the subject’s doing or what they are.

Preface: An explanation of the purpose, scope and content of a book, and written by the author.

Prelims: Also front matter. Includes part title and title pages, foreword, preface and acknowledgements.

Pronoun: A word that replaces a noun (e.g. I, you, he, she, we, me, it, this, that, them those, myself, who, whom). Pronouns can act and be acted upon like any noun.

Proofreading: The final pre-publication quality-control stage of editing where any final literal errors and layout problems are flagged up. Comes after developmental editing, stylistic line editing and copyediting.

Proper noun: A named person, place or organization. Always takes an initial capital letter.

Protagonist: The leading character in a novel, often facing central conflicts and driving action.

Psychic distance: Also narrative distance. How close the reader feels to a character’s thoughts, emotions and experiences within a story.

Purple prose: Overblown, poorly structured writing with strings of extraneous and often multisyllabic adjectives and adverbs.

Q-R

Quotation mark: Also speech mark. Punctuation that indicates the spoken word. Singles or doubles are acceptable.

Recto: The right-hand page of a book.

References: List of all the works cited in your book.

Roman typeface: Not italic.

Running head: Text that runs across the top of a page (e.g. title of the book, chapter title, author’s name).

S

Scene: a distinct segment or building block where specific actions and events unfold in a setting.

Scene technique: The use of dialogue, action, setting, and tension to craft compelling moments in the story.

Semi-colon: A punctuation mark that indicates a stronger pause than a comma between two main clauses.

Sensitivity reader: Also diversity reader. Test-reader who checks for misrepresentation in books.

Speech mark: Also quotation mark. Punctuation that indicates the spoken word. Singles or doubles are acceptable.

Speech tag: Also dialogue tag. Words that indicate which character is speaking (e.g. John said).

Story arc: Also narrative arc. The structure and shape of a story.

Structural editing: Also developmental editing. The improvement of a manuscript's structure, content, and overall narrative, focusing on big-picture elements. Attends to plot, characterisation, narration and pacing.

Style sheet: In which an author or editor records stylistic and language preferences, and tracks who’s who, what’s where, and when X, Y and Z happens.

Stylistic editing: Also line editing. The refining of a manuscript's language, focusing on consistency, clarity, flow and style at sentence level.

Subject: The thing in a sentence that’s doing or being something.

Subplot: A secondary storyline that supports and enhances the main plot of a narrative.

Suspense: The tension, uncertainty and anticipation created by withholding information, raising stakes or placing characters in imminent danger. Readers are kept guessing or forced to ask questions.

Syndeton: Literary device through which a sentence’s structure follows the following pattern: A, B and C (or A, B, and C).

T

Talking-heads syndrome: Dialogue that isn’t grounded in the environment or the characters’ responses to that environment.

Tense: The form a verb takes to indicate when an action happened in relation to the telling of it.

Tension: The emotional strain or suspense created by unresolved conflicts, stakes or uncertainties that keep readers engaged.

Tertiary character: A functional character who gives the story realism and depth, but doesn’t significantly impact on or influence the plot or the development of the other characters.

Theme: The novel’s central idea or message about life, society, or human nature.

Title page: Includes full title (and subtitle if there is one), author’s name, publisher’s name, logo, volume number, and edition.

Transgressor: A character who commits morally, socially, or legally questionable acts.

Tritagonist: Third most important character, who often provide regular emotional or physical support, but don’t determine how the story develops.

U-W

Unreliable dialogue: Dialogue that doesn’t match a character’s true voice, mood or intent.

Unreliable narrator: A character whose telling of the story cannot be taken at face value. They may be naïve, confused, or deliberately manipulative.

Verb, intransitive: A verb that doesn’t have a direct object (e.g. ‘I giggled’).

Verb, transitive: A verb that has a direct object (e.g. ‘wrote’ in ‘I wrote a book’).

Verb: A word that describes doing. Can refer to a physical action (e.g. to dig), a mental action (e.g. to wonder) or a state of being (e.g. to be).

Verso: The left-hand page of a book.

Viewpoint: Also point of view or POV. Describes whose head we’re in when we read a book.

Viewpoint character: Also perspective character. The character through whose eyes the story is primarily told, and the narrative lens through which readers experience events, thoughts, and emotions within the story.

Vocative: The form of address for a character directly referred to in dialogue.

Word dump: Also information dump. Information that’s necessary to the story but isn’t artfully delivered, or weaved creatively into the narrative and dialogue.

Source More: On Editing ⚜ Word Lists

[kanmom51]

Please help 😅 I think there is something or some conversation l have missed in JIKOOK’s timeline. Something about our Jimin getting so upset that he left the members and went home to heal from some trauma caused by V & Jk ?? The next we heard about him was when he was hospitalised suffering from covid?? Please fill in the blanks for me if you know any deets.. l would be grateful. No pressure though😂🫶🏽

Idk what fan fiction this is from, but WOW.

JM healing from trauma caused by V and JK?

The next was when he was hospitalized with covid?

Bull bloody shit is what I can tell you.

But let's look at the timeline why don't we?

At least what we know of it.

JM was hospitalized end of January 2022. Not because of covid but because of his appendix, and when in hospital tested positive for covid.

This followed the group going on a break after their 4 concerts in LA in November 2021.

Last time we had all three together was in their live on 28 November 2021. That was a chaotic super happy live. Only bullying I can think of, jokingly, would be Tae constantly mentioning brand names he wasn't supposed to, lol.

You can find many links to posts I wrote about that live here:

Then JK and JM returned to Korea with Jin. Just the three of them. They were supposed to go into quarantine as they returned, separately, as the government rules stated, and yet JK waited for JM at the airport upon their arrival thinking that they will be sharing a car only for the two to be separated.

There is absolutely, and I repeat absolutely NOTHING to show that there was anything wrong between JM and JK at that place and time!!!

JM and JK were fine, and there was no bullying going on from Tae and JK. What AO3 fanfic is that even?

As for the stupidity I've been hearing of since Ep. 3 of Are you sure? JK and V bullying JM, like wtf is wrong with people?

Every time I think people have reached the limit of being the worst they just prove that they can surpass themselves.

I think people lack basic ideas of human interactions if they claim that the playfulness we saw in that episode can be called bullying. If that's bullying then every single time those three played throughout the years would also be. These are 3 young men who grew up together and at times roughhouse. Like men do.

I've kind of lost hope in trying to explain to these people, who love to see JM as a victim, and therefore think they are his knights in shining armour, that JM is a grown ass man who knows exactly how to put both JK and Tae in their places if he wanted to!!! He's got the physical strength to do so, not to mention the personality too. He's known to have done both, when he wanted. And here's the news flash. Maybe he didn't want to! JM knows how to be assertive. Being such a nice human being doesn't make him a weak human being. I think that many of those that claim to love him and want to protect him either don't know him at all or want him to be weak so they can show up as his great protectors against the big bad JK, whom they would love to get rid of, cause he's just not good enough for JM, in their warped reality. Perhaps because they want JM for themselves.

JK is the person that JM loves most in this world.

The person that stood by JM's side and supported him when he was going through the turmoil he was experiencing during the pandemic.

The person that JM wanted to go on these trips with and came up with the idea to create this show so that they can go on these trips together.

The person that he flew from Korea to NY to be with for his solo debut.

The person that he can't stop talking about and bringing up in conversations that have really nothing to do with him, like during the Minimoni album exchange.

The man he chose to write a song for and write these lines to:

Baby, don't leave Just stay by my side, yeah To you, who see me bigger than what my little self is (to you) So that I can give as much as I’ve received (oh-oh) So that I can keep my word (oh-oh) Don't worry, just stay by my side, yeah (Yeah) We don’t know what the future holds (holds, yeah) And that’s scary and makes us afraid (oh-oh) But don’t forget that we’re always together (don't forget)

The person he chose to enlist with and be with for the 18 months of their military service, even though it meant a more difficult placement, even though it would raise eyebrows and questions marks seeing that the two are the first ever idols, both in their late 20s to do this!!

I've said this once I've said this a thousand times. People need to go live their lives and stop looking for drama where it doesn't exist in JM and JK's life.

They are together.

They are good.

Even if they are idols and public figures.

Even if they are two gorgeous young men who happen to love each other and are, god forbid, in a queer relationship.

Even if being in a queer relationship in their industry and society is frowned upon.

All those don't mean that their relationship isn't just a normal stable long term relationship with everything that such a loving relationship entails, including the struggles.

Enough with trying to insert drama where there is none.

[ryin-silverfish]

Masterlist 2

(Because new links can't be added to my original post for some reason, here's a new one.)

FSYY:

A side-by-side comparison of Nezha's backstory in JTTW and FSYY

Who is Jiang Ziya?

Taboo-breaking in FSYY folk opera

Some diggings into the Chan 12's inspirations

More diggings into the Chan 12 and their disciples

Why is Huang Feihu made the Lord of Mt. Tai?

The Chaos Origin Golden Vessel

Nezha the Demon Child: oh god not the discourse

Nezha's Power Catalog: FSYY 

On Lingzhu Zi, Nezha's previous incarnation

Ao Bing's deification as the Huagai Star: What's his new job like?

Princess Longji and the Red Luan Star

Nezha's white hair: a mistranslation

The origin of said mistranslation

How does Nezha being soulless work in FSYY?

What exactly is the thing Gu Zhizhong translates as "Traps"?

Are the victims of the Great Fox Massacre related to Daji?

Thoughts on the Chan Junior Dynamics 

Does FSYY Nezha show romantic interest in anyone?

The FSYY Body Count List

Is Ao Bing created by JE? (Or, Gu Zhizhong fucks up again)

Familiarity between Li Jing & Ao Guang

Reblog: FSYY

3 Dajis from the premodern Fengshen story cycle

Reblog: FSYY Nezha vs. Pop Culture Nezha

The Population Makeup of the Investiture

Chinese Mythos and Religions in General

SWK's species

A brief explanation of the Six Paths and how reincarnation works

Enlightenment (very surface-level, please go ask an actual Buddhist or check out more academic sources!)

So you want to read more about Chinese mythos

What are (Buddhist) monks and how do you become one in imperial China?

Ghost Month Special: the Heibai Wuchang + Appendix

Instances of Chinese deities having children with humans

Yellow Emperor and Mirrors

Yellow Emperor in the Qinghua Bamboo Slips

Yi in the Heavenly Questions

Wood Jackal (?) Star

Sha Wujing's Punishment and Heavenly Laws

Silly HC: What's Fuxi doing while Nvwa was making humans?

The Placement of Yi's Mythos in Warring States Sources

No, Nezha does not spit rainbows.

Godhood in Folk Religions

Why is Nezha sometimes translated as 'Nata'? 

Notable iconography of fox spirits 

What happens to gods that have their temples destroyed/abandoned?

Another question on fox spirits' powers: do Fox Wives = Fortune?

Significance of the number 72

Are there any important tigers from mythology and JTTW/FSYY?

Auspicious Beasts and QMoW's animal friends

28 Lunar Mansions: Water Ape and Fire Monkey

JE's Personality and Role

Battle between Nezha & SWK

More on the Huagai Star

Trivia collection: Nezha in the Tang-Song period

Daji and Fox Immortal Statues

Fox Spirit Book Recs

Reblog: Erlang and his third eye

Reblog: Dragon Kings

Difference between JE and "Heavenly Emperor"

Magical paintings and living paintings in Zhiguai stories

Musing on Chinese Religion and Respect 2: Electric Boogaloo

Fox spirits transforming their tails

Media and Novel Analysis

JTTW Conspiracy Theory and You

More on JCT, and satire in JTTW

Is JTTW Buddhist Propaganda?

Last Thought on JCT in BM:W

In an imaginary scenario, could SWK fall prey to Daji?

Obscure Vernacular Novel Spotlight

Ping Jinchuan: A 19th century Sci-fi Shenmo Novel 

Keisei Suikoden: Genderbent Water Margins 

Just For Fun

Journey to the South, but it's My Immortal

Join the FSYY Discord Server!

Out of context FSYY memes

More Out of Context FSYY memes

[queersatanic]

Anton LaVey plagiarized* "Might Is Right" for "The Satanic Bible" — here's the proof

Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, directly lifted passages from the 19th century proto-fascist book "Might Is Right" by “Ragnar Redbeard” (Arthur Desmond) and did so extensively and without credit to produce a substantial part of LaVey’s most famous and popular work "The Satanic Bible".

This has been known for a very long while, although most Satanists tend not to be aware of just how shamelessly and thoroughly this work was done.

In fact, the Church of Satan sometimes tweets out passages from Might Is Right while supposedly praising LaVey.

To have quoted LaVey there, the Church of Satan would have had to tweet just "on the other".

And this is not a stray, incidental unattributed line that LaVey could have argued his readers ought to have immediately been familiar with as a sort of homage.

This was part of a wholesale, uncredited and unacknowledged ransacking of another person’s writing in order to create another, ostensibly-original book and sell it for profit. For example, here is how much from one particular section of Might Is Right ended up making it into LaVey’s book:

This is what LaVey and his partner Diane Hegarty, who also served as his typist an editor, used to introduce people to The Satanic Bible in its opening section the "Book of Satan". This isn't in some appendix or footnote; this is the first thing people reading the book were shown.

The "Book of Satan" portion of The Satanic Bible is essentially identical to parallel lines in Might Is Right: www.diffchecker.com/ppXjtPGV/

If you strip out differences in punctuation(!) and Capitalization and compare them, it's even more shameful: www.diffchecker.com/td0vLevN/

Depending on how you want to count, about 85 percent of this opening can be identified as directly copied, which still includes Americanization of spellings, leaving words out from the original, and a handful of words substituted within much larger phrases and ideas that were retained fully intact.

Only two of the 53 statements of the “Book of Satan” appear to be original creations of LaVey and Hegarty: Book III No. 5 and Book V No. 13. Feel free to check out the full comparison for yourself here:

[writing-whump]

Feverish part 2

Everything was hurting.

The world was a mess, his skin felt fragile and itchy at every touch—even the blanket was too rough, too much.

His brain was sluggish and slow and Hector welcomed the relief and oblivion of sleep.

Until Olive asked about calling Isaiah.

Hector could not imagine a worse thing happening. He also desperately yearned for him since the idea came up.

The fever and the pain and this haze...it reminded him of the time he came back from the appendix operation. Isaiah held him through the rest of the day and the night, tolerated his bity remarks, shushed him and reassured him.

Despite managing to say something terrible at the wrong time back then as well, Hector felt so close to him. All three of them back together, like they could count on each other against the world, like their bond was back to being unconditional and unbreakable.

He didn't want Isaiah there now and the realization pained him just as much as the anxiety. Because Isaiah would come, surely he would. He would pick up an emergency call at night even if he didn't pick up any during the day.

Dutiful, responsible and moral, he would rush over, all obligated concern and softness. Hector could fall apart knowing Isaiah wouldn't bring up anything difficult until he felt better.

Cause that's how it's always been. Isaiah, seething quietly with that ridiculous childhood obligation, this need to suffer for them and at their presence. Created by their father, the impossible circumstances and Hector's incompetence.

Hector couldn't take one more day, hour or even a second of that ever again.

His shadow had been still during the fever, but it was stirring at the turmoil at his chest. His stomach hurt, his chest hurt, his lungs collapsing into themselves. The air was too thick, his skin prickled, his throat was rough and burning.

Hector rolled over to the side, retching over the floor. It was dark, a mess, he couldn't tell up from down. Like drowning in the sea all over again.

He coughed and gagged empty. His shadow rose up like a wave, disturbed by the claustrophobic sensation. Trying to help. Hector needed a second to remember why that was a bad idea.

This wasn't his bed or his room. He was at Olive's. Hector didn't pull up his shadow at Olive's. He had never pulled up his shadow around her at all.

The panic increased, making him woozy and horrified. He stumbled down from the bed, more like rolling onto the ground. There was a hole in his chest, a chasm, consuming him along the heat. His shadow was a giant whirlpool of black around the room.

Hector went by taste, on his knees and hands, into the farthest corner in the room. There was a spot between the bed and the wall he could fit right in, curled into a ball. Clawing at his shadow to step down, to fall back, to not scare the softest person in his life.

The thought of Olive finding him like this—his shadow raging, fever-driven and unhinged—made his stomach flip. Even if it was just a fear in his head, the idea of her being scared of him was unbearable.

Hector gagged, then heaved, whole body rolling with the force. A productive wave of vomit rushed out this time, hot as boiling water against his throat. It covered his front and his jeans in the remnants of his lunch and breakfast. Once he started, he couldn’t stop—more vomit surged up, watery and bitter, burning his throat.

Hector shivered in the corner, curled up into a ball over the stinking mess of his clothes, whimpering softly as his shadow slowly faded back.

...

Whose brilliant idea was it to call Matthew Blackwell to anything involving upset shadows and Hector fucking Wolfson?

That was so Isaiah's job. It was made for him, in fact. Matthew wasn't to be trusted with shadows—or his shadow around shadows, for that matter—nor scared crying girls with huge deer eyes on the phone.

But they were asking for him, as rare as that was. And Matthew had never not answered when called.

Olive was crying her eyes out at the kitchen, when he arrived. "Thank you so much for coming," she managed between sobs, hanging herself on his shirt.

Matthew stepped back in shock at the contact, shadow curling at the back of his head with the touch. He knew her, but not well enough for this closeness.

"He is so sick and he can't stand and I can't lift him up and he is throwing up from the fever-"

"Alright," Matthew said, gently pulling her wrists away from his shirt. "Get the water started. I'll go get him."

Olive nodded, too distracted to notice or too kind to take offense at the gesture and ran off.

Matthew shook himself off into concentration, following the smell of vomit through the short hall to the only other room.

The room was a mess. Hector was curled up in the corner instead of on the bed, which was strange. There was vomit covering his front and lap, but he was basically limp against the wall.

The biggest problem was his swirling shadow. Matt rubbed the back of his head, considering what to do. His shadow liked fights and it liked Hector, but he wasn't sure it would understand the nuance and not attack on sight.

He pushed it further to be sure, slowly stepping closer. Hector's shadow had his carrier's temper—it turned towards him, suspicious, snarling,...protective.

Matt could relate to that. "Hey, Hex. I'm gonna...I'm gonna help you with the fever, okay? The shower is running and I'm going to lift you up and get you cooled off and then you can sleep. Sounds good?"

He talked as if the wolf was conscious, which seemed to be the right move. Something of Hector was aware, was alive, his shadow moving and watching...then slowly retreating. It didn't disappear completely, but it evaded Matthew's feet, when he came closer.

Matt kept his voice quiet and steady, describing everything he was doing. Hector's shoulder over his neck, dragging him up, moving them both towards the shower. It was a shame there was no buthrub in that mini-bathroom, the toilet cramped right next to the shower area.

The two large wolves barely fit in. Olive had to step out to leave them space.

The shower head was running, when Matthew came closer, his clothes sticking to the vomit on Hector's side. The blond was still scarily out of it, though his eyelids moved and he whined here and there. Not completely unconscious then. Small wins.

Matthew contemplated the shower for a couple of seconds before deciding, fuck it, stepping inside with Hector. He put the stream to the max, letting the mild water wash over them both.

When the water touched his skin, Hector jumped up with a yell.

"Okay, hold on, cowboy. You are okay. I'm helping," Matt emphasized so Hector wouldn't reach for his shadow and break the tiles.

Hector jerked in his hold, the water running down his back and shoulder. A sudden heave jolted them both, Hector projectile-vomiting between their feet. The wave was impressive and thick, followed by a burp and another large gush.

"Get it up, man. It's okay," Matthew patted his back awkwardly, stomach-turning queasily at the sight and smell. He had to balance Hector's weight with one arm, while steering him away from choking on the water.

...

Hector was much more awake after the shower experience. He and Matt were both sporting dry clothes and were back at the room. The problem was that Hector refused to get back in the bed, crawling back to his corner like a scared child.

"Keep her out of the room," Hector ordered Matthew. Weak as he was Matt felt the power and assurance behind a command that a pack leader would give. It had an interesting pull.

"No way," Olive said. Her eyes were red and puffy, but her lips were set like a warrior's. "I'm staying right here."

Hector hid his face in his hands. "I'm not in control of my shadow. Stay away from me. Please."

Matt could see the waver in Olive's resolve at the word.

Hector's shadow wasn't on full display like before, but it was certainly active, growling under the bed and covering the edges of the room as if to reinforce the walls.

"Matthew," Hector said meaningfully.

Understanding what he wanted was one thing, but Matthew wasn't about to touch a human girl without her consent. He had been scary and wolf-like enough in his life to go against someone's will.

Olive gave him an angry glare, watching if he would move. Matt was double her size and towering over her very much like Hector was. But he stepped aside, making room for her.

Hector curled even more into himself as if Olive was the scary one, whining at the proximity.

"Hex," Olive said, kneeling down next to him. Slowly. "Look at me. You are not going to hurt me."

"I can't gu-"

"You won't hurt me," she repeated, gaze drilling into his head until he lifted it hesitantly.

His eyes were shiny, his face so open and scared, Matthew suddenly felt very out of place. Like walking in on a prayer whispered in the dark—something too private, too sacred to be seen.

Olive took Hector's face in her hands, not looking away. There was absolute trust in her eyes.

Then Hector winced and crumbled towards her and suddenly she was wrapped around him like a coala, his face buried in her back.

Hector's shadow faded away that second, as if all danger passed.

Matthew watched that scene with wide eyes, heart in his throat. Nobody ever believed in him like that until Isaiah. The older wolf always told him he could do it and how much he trusted him to manage by himself until Matthew did. Was that the trick? Was believing you could solve the issue?

Thinking back about his sisters hiding behind doors from him, Matthew felt his eyes prickle, brushing something moist from his cheek.

...

Around dawn, Matt woke up to Hector putting sleeping Olive into the bed. His movements were wobbly and unsteady and he quickly shuffled back into his corner after.

But he was far more awake than before, amber eyes reflecting the sunrise in the dark room.

"Why are you still here?" The blond wolf growled.

Matthew shook his head, back against the opposite wall, copying Hector's position. "You called for me."

"Tsk. I didn't think you would actually show up. Just wanted her off my back."

"You were dying and had no one to call," Matt countered. He hesitated before continuing. "Why not Isaiah, though?"

Hector pressed his lips together, looking away.

"You know that he would come," Matt said softly.

"Yeah, I know," Hector said bitterly. "All eager to do the noble right thing."

"So what? Just because he feels obligated to do it lessens the work?" He gave Hector a critical side-eye. "This fight is on you. You should make the effort."

There was a thump as Hector slammed his fist against the floor. "What else am I supposed to do?! I stepped down the university territory, didn't I? I pulled back when I could have pushed it. Does that not count for something?"

Matthew took a deep breath as he realized what Hector meant.

"It doesn't work like that."

"What?!"

"Isaiah," Matthew said, pulling his knees closer to prop his chin against them. "He doesn't put those two things together. He is an Executioner outside and Isaiah inside. He can't be both all the time or he would go crazy from the clash of interests."

Hector tilted his head at that, listening.

"He would have insisted on the territories, whether you were best buddies or not. When he comes home, he never talks about the Executioner's dealings or meetings. He never asks for our opinions, so we never give it. At the events, he doesn't talk to us about private things. If you pay attention, he is like two different people."

Hector huffed in disbelief. "What kind of bullshit is that?"

"It's his way." Matthew shrugged. "You have to admit that he can't be your brother when he is dealing with other packs. Nobody would listen to him if he seemed biased in your favour."

A sharp intake of breath. Then silence.

"I was doing that for Arnie," Hector said after a long while, stirring Matthew out of the beginning slumber. "Didn't he realize?"

"Arnie is in the same building and faculty as the Executioner. Both studying law. If he isn't safe there and that close to him, we might as well let the system collapse and go wild at each other."

Hector curled up his lips, leaning his head back. "I keep ruining things with him. He won't talk to me. He won't let me fight him with shadows. The kid and you are fine, though!" The blond met Matthew's eyes over the room. "You have to admit that isn't normal."

Matt took his time with the answer, weaving together months of observations and guesses. Feelings more than anything he tried to put into words before.

"Isaiah is drawn to people in trouble. Unruly shadows, wolves at the edge of madness, strays, outcasts. That's why he let me in. That's why he is glued to Rip right now. That's why he will never leave Seline—as an unpracticing witch, she will always be a temptation to wolves." If she was to live a free life without pack obligations and magic protections, she needed wolves and Isaiah was willing to be that for her.

Hector was scowling so deeply the lines looked engraved into his face.

Matthew huffed out a laugh. "You should actually be happy. What he does to you is a sign of admiration."

"Admiration?"

"You are strong enough to not need him. He respects your strength and your abilities. And that's why he pushes you away. The more...independent, capable, the more equal to him you become, the more he distances himself." Matthew’s voice lowered, almost as if confessing to himself. "It’s what he’s doing to me right now. And I... I’m not sure how to stop it."

"I don't understand. He is much closer to you than me."

"True. But that's because I started out such a mess. He didn't mind me seeing him up close after that. But once he stops feeling needed, he feels like a burden. Like he should get off before infecting you with his presence. I don't know if this is his Executioner thing or a pattern from your childhood. Did he have any friends growing up?"

"I- yeah sure. Marek who could tell lies apart with his shadow...or Shawn Minz and Roy Stark...but they..."

"Grew apart?" Matthew guessed. "Pushed away? They were too strong, they could see too much into what he was hiding."

"So he is pushing you away, but he let you closer because he...didn't respect you?" Hector scoffed. "That doesn't offend you?"

"I don't think he is doing it on purpose." He smiled at Hector. "You and Arnie don't seem to realize, how broken and wrong he feels. He doesn't think highly of himself, but if he feels needed, he can keep going. But Isaiah can be wrong about things. He gets things wrong, in fact, he does things unintentionally, he messes up."

Matthew pushed his shoulders back, narrowing his eyes at Hector. "That's why you and Arnie storming over, ignoring when he asks for a break or when he feels off because of his heart, doesn't help. He can't be the same as he was before the operation."

Another tense pause. Hector squirmed uncomfortably, dragging his fingers through his hair. He clutched at the roots as if grounding himself. "That doesn’t make any damn sense. You’re saying he respects me, but also pushes me away because of it? What kind of logic is that?"

Matthew met his glare head-on. "It’s not about logic. It’s about how he sees himself. He doesn’t think he deserves to be around people who have their shit together."

"And in that worst time of need, when he had wanted and needed to be with you both the most, he left. To protect you, but still. It had broken him," Matthew realized as he spoke. "That was when his heart issues started when you put the timeline together."

This was why Hector saying Isaiah had done that for his own sake, felt like the worst kind of betrayal. Like blaming a soldier for abandoning his post when he’d been dragged away bleeding.

Hector seemed to have realized it too, cause he snapped his eyes open, looking horrified.

"Isaiah told me once the pain was so bad he couldn't get up from the bed," Matthew continued. "He would just get sick over and over. Wouldn't leave his room for days on end how sick he felt. It lessened a little after a few months, but the attacks kept coming. For six years until the heart attack last spring."

Matthew took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. Hector was still sitting in the corner, shoulders hunched, fingers digging into his hair as if the pressure could keep his mind from spiraling.

The room was quiet, except for the faint hum of the early morning outside the window and Olive's breathing.

Matthew watched Hector's pained grimace, eyes pooling with emotion.

You realize it now, you idiot? Do you realize what it means to him, so he doesn't have to tell you next time?

He relaxed against the wall, utterly exhausted. There was nothing more he could do right now.

[anneangel]

Tolkien said that one of the things he didn't like about LotR was that the book was too short.

In a way I agree with him, because I found the ending so rushed [others always say "that evil" is destroyed in the middle of the book and everything after is just an long epilogue] and yet I found it rushed. And I wanted a lot of the appendices to be narrated chapters, it was interesting to see what the lives of each member of the Fellowship were like in the appendices, but I wanted chapters about.

And I would also like to have seen, narrated chapters, of the Battle of Dale, with Brand (Son of Bain, son of Bard) and Dáin fighting three days against enemy armies and dying. I wish had read a narrative of Thranduill and Celeborn uniting in Mirkwood and destroying Dul Guldur once and for all, and then dividing the region between them. When LotR informs that the others would not come to battle because they already had war at their gates, I wanted the plot to split to show this in other parts.

A better development of the romance between some characters would also be interesting, the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen already makes me cry every time I read it, but I feel like it would be more interesting as a narrative than an appendix. If their marriage went on for another 100 pages I wouldn't mind. And I would like Arwen and Elrond's conversations not to be just subtext.

Faramir and Éowyn, I really love them as a couple, but I think more pages dedicated to their romance would also be interesting. Sam and Rose? I would have liked it more if we had more mentions of the girl throughout the journey, if Sam mentioned her more often throughout the plot, so maybe the end wouldn't seem so sudden. When I say that don't like the development of the "love pairings" in LotR, it's not that I don't like the characters or the ships, but that the narrative wasn't enough for me. Don't get me wrong, I love LotR. But I wanted there to be more to be "narrated" than "told" or "implied" or "pointed out in the appendices."

Yes, I also thought the book was too short. There is a lot between the lines that could come to light more. It could have been another thousand pages. And perhaps it still wasn't enough. How could anyone think that LotR is a very long book?

Maybe that's the problem with Tolkien creating such a complex Universe with such interesting characters: no matter how long the book was, it would never be enough. Because as a fan, I would always want more and more of it. More immersion at all points. Is it always like this with authors who create universes that seem so incredible to read? And when it's gone, it's not enough to fill the void.

And all the posthumous books, like The Silmarillion, or Unfinished Tales (and others), with the tone of "organized drafts" and "told" instead of narrated most of the time, weren't enough for me. I still wanted so much more. And I never will have it. Don't get me wrong, I liked the posthumous books, I think Christopher Tolkien did a good work. But still, when reading, I always asked myself "if this had been published by Tolkien during his lifetime, would it have been like this? What would he have changed yet? What would he have more refined?".

Because, as much as other fans like to see posthumous books as a "canonical" part of the work, like complements. I can only see as unfinished drafts, which it truly are. No matter how well organized are, even The Silmarillion is just a draft organized in the best way, Christopher T says this.

The letters don't count for me either, because Tolkien changed his mind about several things, just like in the drafts.

So I feel that, although the Tolkien Universe is vast, there are a lot of drafts and letters, and little work is actually completed. I liked the posthumous books and the fact that they expanded the universe even further and provided more information. But it becomes a “vicious cycle”, as the information contained there also brings more desire for it be narrated by Tolkien himself in an book he finished (but will never be! Unfortunately).

And that saddens me. Because I wanted so much more. And Tolkien didn't live long enough to give it. In the end, it's a mix of happiness for what Tolkien gave, and sadness for what he still could have given.

[phrogarmyinvasion]

Discord Info:

To those of you who are viewing my tumblr profile in order to get more info on the discord I’ve been advertising, I have a few key things to share with you:

First and foremost, the discord is intended to be a safe space, and I will tolerate absolutely no racism, anti-immigration rhetoric, transphobia and queerphobia in general, no ableism (a la RFK), no anti-feminist BS, etc. Basically, no bigotry.

Secondly, while the discord was and is intended to provide those seeking to leave America with the resources to do so, it has grown to be much more. It has become a space for everyone in need of systemic change, and it has become a space for all of us to help one another out. Even if you are not American or Canadian, you are welcome to join the server. This server was created as an emergency measure for people in need of an escape, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the whole world is ready for a collective change. If you are not Canadian, and if you are not American, but you are from the Ukraine, from Palestine, from the Congo, from Sudan, or literally anywhere else in the world fighting for change and survival, you are welcome in this server.

Some folks in the discord consider leaving to be a last resort and are only in the server to better prepare themselves for it, if and when they deem leaving to be necessary. Others are there to provide helpful information and resources, either as a Canadian or as an American who has information and advice for fellow Americans in need.

There is a full 97 page guide on how to seek asylum in Canada, and given that many folks in the server are looking to immigrate rather than become a refugee, there is also an extensive immigration guide underway. The asylum guide is intended to be accessible, with clear and readable fonts, no legalese, a clear index complete with in-document links, proper chapters and subsections for quick and easy access, and two appendixes, one for definitions and explanations on government phrases and acronyms, and another for all official links and resources behind the guide. The immigration guide, while incomplete, will be written according to the same accessible format as the asylum guide.

For anyone who just needs help surviving, we’ve got a great community underway whose focus is on uplifting each other. We’ve got folks growing their own gardens and doing what they can to be sustainable, and they’re giving great advice on how to grow things, what to grow, and where to grow them based on your situation. We’ve also got lots of people giving out resources on reading, libraries, and media that can help you stay engaged despite what’s going on. There’s also folks with medical knowledge who have given advice on what to do in an emergency if you can’t get medical help. Everyone in the server is here to help one another out, and whatever you’re dealing with, there’s someone in the server willing to help out.

On the topic of guides, like the asylum and immigration guides, there is also space for other guides to be made, such as general survival guides, medical guides, safety guides, etc.

The key to survival is community. It always has been, and it always will be. If you think that having a community capable of backing you up is something you need, then this discord is it. Even if you’re not really looking to leave the States, this discord is growing fast, and it’s got something in there for you.

Lastly, for those of you trying to join via the link I’ve put up on my blog, just be aware that the invite has expired. If you’d like to join, message me and I will send you the invite.

If you have any questions, feel free to DM me on Tumblr, I may not respond immediately but I will respond as soon as I am able.

Have a day y’all, I hope it’s a good one. Love ya!

[yorha-fangirl]

The Looping World of NieR

If you have any interest in NieR lore and have played either NieR (2010) or NieR Replicant Ver.1.22474487139... (2021), you've probably asked...

Question 1: "so... is Gestalt or Replicant canon to automata?"

Hi! Quick Side-note: I will refer to NieR Replicant Ver.1.22474487139... as Replicant (2021) occasionally because those numbers really take up a lot of space lol

For a while, and even somewhat now, the only answers you'd get are something along the lines of "they're both canon, just different branches" or "they're both canon and completely interchangeable." Both of which are half true, both are indeed canon, but they're also quite off the mark about how they're both canon.

"Replicant" and "Gestalt" are not parallel worlds, but one of the patterns of the repeated world, and the relationship between the main character and Yonah was sometimes a brother and sister, sometimes a parent and child, so there is a difference in the years in the settings of both works.

This is a machine translated snippet from a 2010 Famitsu interview with Yoko Taro(courtesy of the Accord's Library discord server). So the world of NieR is repeating and sometimes the main character is a dilf and sometimes hes a twink? That makes sense. Its a relatively straightforward statement, but like most things Yoko says, it just leaves more questions.

Question 2: "Is Replicant Ver.1.22474487139... the same as Replicant or is it a different loop?"

Good question! It's actually a separate iteration taking place after NieR: Automata. This explanation will be a little longer, so stick with me. After the events of NieR Replicant (2010) we have the short story The Lost World Ver.1.00 which is also known as ending e. This short story takes place after ending d and shows Kaine confronting k?K? Σ ?XH, an administrator who manages the quantum computer that oversees the gestalt project. In Replicant Ver.1.22474487139... this story is included in the game itself, however this time around we have a second administrator named Her. Both versions of the story show Kaine destroying the administrator(s) and bringing back a 16 year old protagonist.

The Lost World Appendix Ver.1.22474487139... is a short story included in Grimoire NieR Revised Edition that takes place after Ending E of Replicant (2021). It explains that the male administrator created his female counterpart after witnessing the same loop time and time again by himself. This, as well as the fact that Automata takes place after The Lost World Ver.1.00, means that the timeline should look something like this:

NieR Re[in]carnation also plays an important part in the discussion of world loops, but I'll leave most of that for another time.

Question 3: Where do the loops begin and end?

This one is... difficult to answer. So I'll hold off on attempting to explain that until a future post (maybe(no promises)). Until then, just know that there's a lot of unknown here and all we really have are theories.

Hi! This is a bit of an afterword but this is my first blog post so I figured I should introduce myself! My name is Emily, and I'm a college student in her early 20s about to start studying Japanese with hopes of going into some form of localization or reporting. I'm a huge fan of JRPGs, visual novels, anime, and most relevant here: the Yokoverse (NieR, Drakengard, SINoALICE etc.) I'll probably be posting here really sporadically about lore and any new release information, so if you're interested in that kind of thing I hope you stick around lol

[thispersonistired]

Fic Idea #2 (Landoscar)

Deaf!Oscar AU

Oscar Piastri is Formula 1’s first ever deaf driver, and he’s spent his entire career proving that he belongs on the grid. He wins F3 and F2 back to back to silence any of his doubters. But F1 is a whole different ball game. He finally gets a seat in 2023 and so his adventure begins.

The biggest issue he has, most people imagine, is team radio but thats actually not a problem. he’s trained his whole life to interpret vibrations, from the rhythmic hum of the car beneath him to the custom haptic signals in his ear and on his steering wheel that his engineers designed just for him. It’s a system so intuitive that other teams start whispering about an "unfair advantage." McLaren responds with an entire appendix detailing every single vibration code, down to what "box, box" feels like on his steering wheel.

Lando Norris, his teammate, doesn’t think it’s cheating. He thinks it’s magic. He thinks Oscar is actually the coolest person ever. Which is refreshing to Oscar when he finds out since he only has a whole lot of bad experiences with other racers from some of his junior series.

Oscar feels racing in a way no one else does, and maybe that’s why he’s so damn fast. Lando, meanwhile, is utterly, hopelessly smitten. from the way Oscar’s eyes light up when he nails a perfect lap to the soft, lilting cadence of his voice when he speaks. And oh as if the aussie's voice isn't the root of all his struggles.

The problem it creates? He cannot act normal around him to save his life.

So, naturally, he decides the only solution is to learn sign language.

What starts as a clumsy, endearing effort at half-memorized phrases, accidental insults, the occasional disastrous attempt at flirting ultimately turns into something more when Oscar realizes what Lando is actually trying to express(that he likes him :3).

Lando reckons that Oscar knows how to feel things better than anyone because hes had his entire lifetime of just feeling. And if Lando isn’t careful, Oscar is going to feel every ridiculous, starry-eyed emotion he’s been trying (and failing) to hide.

Featuring the media and fans losing their minds over Lando’s increasing use of sign language mid-interviews. And perhaps Lando gets advice from Oscar on how to use Oscar’s vibration training system to help himself focus or calm down under presaure.

Basically, it’s soft, chaotic, and deeply unfair how attractive Oscar and especially his voice is. And Lando? He’s just trying (and failing) to cope.

(Kinda. Not really but i was reading this when i saw this idea like an epiphany) Inspired by "Sign", the bl manhwa by the wonderful angel of an artist "Ker". <3

Also also also maybe like Yohan from Sign, Osc also realllyyyyyy likes it when Lan uses sign sometimes ;]

[automatuck9]

Gideon the Ninth

@thoughtfulfangirling Sorry this is late and rambling if you have any specific questions feel free to ask

3/5 stars

Summary:

Overall a very fun read with an interesting world and magic system, dragged down somewhat by a lack of focus and the strange writing of the relationship between the main characters. I would be open to continuing since the 1st book in a series is often the roughest anyway.

Positives:

The magic system- I loved all the variety to the necromancy, and it explained just enough without getting too bogged down in details and the reveal of how people become Lyctors was so, so good, still thinking about it. I love possession stuff and the weird unending half life is perfectly nightmarish.

Harrow- She's such a horrible self hating weirdo who creates most of her own problems, love her and love how the ending can only add to her insane levels of self hatred going forward in a way that didn't seem possible

Vibes/Mystery- It's not a mystery proper and isn't trying to be, but the middle chunk had a lot of the good vibes of a closed circle mystery and that's my jam, so I was all over that. And the reveal made sense and was set up, I'm kicking myself for not catching the past tense of Dulcinea's "I didn't want to die" though I did guess that Protesilaus was the one of the ones in the furnace.

Camilla and Palamedes- I really enjoyed their dynamic and the moment where Gideon lies and says his last words were telling Cam he loved her and she just immediately goes "what no he didn't" made me laugh so much. Absolutely perfect

Good sword fights

Negatives:

I wish there had been a bit more worldbuilding for the Houses. I get the idea of the Ninth, but the whole thing is they're dying anyway, but I just can't quite envision how normal people are living elsewhere in this world, I felt it lessened some of the bite of the politicking between characters when I don't really get their general hierarchies or what the Empire generally wants or what anyone does with their time when they aren't in mystery trials or on a dead cult planet. I don't need a full on Tolkien appendix, but maybe just a couple exposition bits from Abigail, confirmed history nerd, before she gets murdered.

Gideon's relationship with Harrow and the Ninth House and her final sacrifice didn't come together for me in terms of her character (I enjoy how much it will presumably continue to fuck with Harrow though). She starts out quite openly hating Harrow, then with absolutely no extra interaction, she's constantly worried about her and giving her little teasing nicknames. I think the information she gives Palamedes late on how she and Harrow had a weird love/hate toxic thing going back to childhood should have been earlier, because that is just not the feeling I got from the opening chapters. But even with that reveal there doesn't seem to be any proper hate on Canaan House, irritation at best and she immediately no questions is all on board “horribly torture me to pass this test”. And beyond that I wish she had just died at the end to spite the villain or because there was no other way out (which there wasn’t) or something because the way it's framed as her letting go of her hate of the Ninth House? Why? What reason? I like the idea of someone fighting for something bigger despite being mistreated by it like African Americans in the army or something, but what is the greater thing the Ninth stands for? Even the book doesn't know, her last thoughts are dismissing all the things she hates about it but after that it just says "she was Drearbruh" Okay? What exactly is so great about Drearbruh, why are you dying for it? Gideon as a character never came together for me

Miscellaneous:

I mostly got used to the dialogue but some bits still took me out (bingo, they have bingo after 10,000 years?). It seems needlessly distracting, but I did mostly stop noticing and some parts did make me laugh, so I'll call it a net neutral

Okay I know I'm reading a story so seeing the name Gideon on a note is probably important, but I don't get why in universe Gideon immediately clings to it and goes all "why is my name here". Is her name that unique? There's so much writing in this 10,000 year old facility is it that crazy that you'd find your name written somewhere?

I know my negative bullet went on longer, but I did mostly enjoy it.

[fatphobiabusters]

Hank Green released a short about whether y'all people are more likely to get cancer. The answer is yes! Every 5 cm of height increases the risk of several cancers by 5-10%.

In the screenshot of the website explaining this he was showing, it said "unlike being ov*rweight or ob*se, height..." I assume that was followed by "cannot be modified." (Censorship mine). But of course weight cannot be modified either, and there's no proof it makes people healthier to force it. We certainly don't advocate for leg shortening surgeries or artificially halting growth hormonally when someone is tall.

Exactly, we don't encourage people to cut their shins in half "for health". I looked the youtube short up, basically bigger you are the more cells you have but fat cells don't actively divide like say, skin cells. You start with small cells, they get bigger and if needed will divide. So even loosing weight without lipo won't reduce your cells (weight loss basically changes density and size of the cell ? Is again my understanding i could be wrong) and it sounds like the cells aren't replicating like other cells. (My limited understanding is) Every time the DNA inside a cell is read to make a new cell it runs a risk of being read wrong which creates mutated cells (cancer) (iirc benign cancer is when it's read wrong but isn't spreading, it's made limited error copies and the other type of cancer is making nothing but the wrong copies) instead fat cells get big and split, there's no code reading.

I suppose it is correct that it is generally more accepted to perform liposuction on a person than one of those height altering surgeries (usually it's to make someone taller however).

This makes me wonder how much cancer rates change with appendix and gallbladder removal. Obviously without them you can't get those organ specific cancers but the thing about statistics is, there's always fine print.

"Your overall cancer rate drops 5% if you remove your appendix and gallblader" is a hilarious headline to imagine. When in reality your risk of appendix and gallbladder cancer goes to zero outside of like accidentally left behind pieces or something.

Anyway what a weird place for the article to go to. At most you can argue bigger bodies are at a higher risk of certain cancers related to hormones (I can't recall the exact phrasing) because fat cells can also store hormones (iirc) and could be problems for hormone sensitive organs like ovaries. So the website itself was being weirdly fatphobic for no reason if my grasp of things is accurate to the thesis.

But anyway, I'm 6 feet (182 cm) tall and come from a family of giants where I'm the shortest sibling so this is actually somewhat relevant to my personal life and something I'll be extra aware of!

-mod squirrel