#i don't think this is WHY basically the only stuff i consume now is non-fiction but i do think it's part of it

[soubiapologist]

did loveless ruin fiction for anyone else. like i can't enjoy anything cuz i'm always like augh but loveless was better...... 😒

[proshippers-against-censorship]

I hate the assumption that being into "problematic" content inherently involves something about children/minors in at least some kind of way. Basically all I see is arguments how proshipping is bad because of pedophilia and incest.

Ok, but, like, no? Actually ever since joining an 18+ shipping server, I've noticed how much of the content, especially in separately dedicated dark content channels, icks me and I cannot continue reading the conversation. But I still don't harass anyone about it. No, not even when I click on a fic out of curiosity and it ends up making me want to take my eyes out.

I don't want anything about kids or family members in my smut. I only really care for non-con/dub-con, violence and abusive/power imbalanced or yandere relationships (with adults). I'm not interested in experiencing anything like that irl, from neither side, I only like it because it's fiction. The characters I have in mind right now in this particular ship are also both serial killers, btw. Somehow that doesn't seem to be a problem for the majority of people though, because we all know all that "video games cause violence" is nothing but bs.

Or someone could genuinely only read fics about the most wholesome, non-toxic characters in fluffy relationships where they genuinely love each other, and they could still be a proshipper. Because being proship has nothing to do with your own personal preferences, it's a moral stance, not a short way of saying you have socially unacceptable kinks

Yeah. I have it written in SO MANY PLACES on my account that I do not consume incest content (though some of these antis have me tempted to spite ship), and that I don't consume any content with explicitly underage characters...though I do like stuff with babyface femmes because it gives me a bit more body confidence. Its just not my vibe. So its really weird to be accused of being a pedo when I don't want anything to do with kids, whether real or fictional.

But yeah, no, the only servers I've seen, including nsfw and 18+ servers, have been fully separated out. Because part of being respectful is understanding that not everyone wants to see your dick when they open up the channel to talk about hot pockets. And you'd think the folks who don't want to see those things would...just mute/block/ignore those channels instead of commenting like, 'put your tits away' on the nudes channel and shit like that. Those are incredibly light examples, but yeah...if it isn't your favor just walk away? Don't know why that's that hard?

"Ohohhohoho but this dark porn is going to make them want to SA some gal on the streets" You play CoD. Do you want to headshot your neighbor?

You're 100% right, anon. Sorry it took me a long ramble to get to this point, I'm a rambly and kinda nonsensical person, yikes. But yeah, proship is 100% a moral stance. What you personally consume and write doesn't matter. What makes you proship is minding your own business and curating your own online experience instead of expecting the world to cater to you.

[femmesandhoney]

I hope this doesn't send off anon because that'd be embarrassing but as an ex-bookworm trying to get back into reading I wanted to ask you; do you have any advice for getting back into it? my problem is that I used to read a lot when I was a teenager and had a lot of free time so I could get in the mood for it and relax with a book. now I'm a grown woman with a 9 to 5 and because of that I just end up doing nothing but scrolling when I have free time, I feel like there's no point in reading if I can't actually relax... realistically I know that's not true though so I wondered if you might have some tips or tricks for me 😭 you seem like you have a busy life (uni, friends, projects) too and yet you don't seem to struggle with that. what's your secret?

i read literally any enjoyable book i can get my hands on. don't think because you're an adult woman you have to only read non-fiction or something "serious" or something dense and long. it's okay to pick up stuff that's really light-hearted and easy to read (like mdzs) or something fiction that's enthralling (cormorman strike). sometimes i press myself to only read super purposeful books that even though i love the topics, can make you feel a bit sick of reading bc of mental fatigue (so i have to take breaks from my sociology or feminist lit). gives me more breathing room between heavy serious topics with light hearted and fun and engaging fiction.

i would advise trying to find a book that is just. devour-able. even if it's not "high brow" or even adult, if you like YA read a YA, a lot of those books are usually very consumable and can help relight the spark but are also "easy" reads that you can zoom through. we can knock the idea of "tik tok books" and "booktok" but in one respect they got one thing right about motivating people to read: people love a devour-able book. something fun and engaging, whether that be romance or fantasy or whatever the girlies are reading over there lol. there is a benefit to sharing stuff that while on the surface may seem silly, can actually just be a fun read, and reading should be fun. if you're not having fun, why the heck would you sit down again with a more challenging book later on?

basically, i always return to what made me love reading in the first place. when i was little, i sucked at reading and was in remedial classes all through elementary. the summer before 6th grade, my friend let me borrow his sea of monsters book. both he and another girl i knew were voracious readers. and i quickly learned why. when you have the right books and learn what genres and "voices" you like reading, suddenly it's the most fun thing in the world to get sucked into a story. i love fantasy and sci-fi, so i always return home to them when i'm in a slump bc it's what i can consume all night without a care in the world. i always just try to find ways to connect back to those feelings towards reading :)

[cqlfeels]

Wow! You read so much! Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've always thought I should read more, and I'm wondering... How does one get started?

Okay so I've got a cold and am only semi-coherent because cold meds are fun. But basically

There's no moral superiority in reading, so if you only want to read because you feel like you should, then don't worry! It's fine! It's literally just a hobby, you don't have to read any more than you have to sew or play the guitar or collect stamps

I feel like reading is a lot like watching movies or listening to music. I think everybody can find something they like if they try enough things! Also: some people will get really into technical analysis and some people will consume a lot of content all the time, while others just casually consume stuff every now and then. These are all valid approaches

If you can, try and find a local library! I'm sure the staff will be happy to give you recommendations based on what you like! If that's not an option, try to find the book version of a movie you like or something of that sort. Or pick up non-fiction that appeals to your interests

If you want to read and you know you like to read but you just never get around doing it... A book club might help (nothing formal, just grab a friend or two and say "hey let's read a chapter of this book every week" or something like that - and yes, tumblr friends count) or you can tie reading to something you always do, like reading after you brush your teeth before bed, or reading on your lunch break, or reading every weekend as soon as you wake up. On the other hand, it's a-okay to have a chaotic reading schedule if that works for you! Read for 10h one day and then spend two months not touching a book, live dangerously, nobody can stop you

Try different formats! I absolutely cannot stand ebooks because I get distracted way too often (which is why I don't really read fic!) I only rarely like audiobooks (and when I do listen to them, I Must have something to do with my hands) and I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers because they feel comfier. For every single one of these preferences, I can think of at least one friend of mine who has the exact opposite opinion. So do mix things up to find what you like best!

Personally, I like picking a few different books and reading them all at once. This makes things move slooooowly but it also means I can pick something I'm in the mood for rather than forcing myself to read something I'm just not into on a particular day. That may or may not work for you! Some people swear by reading one book from cover to cover because #immersion

Have fun. That's literally the whole point! This doesn't mean you can never read something challenging, but if it's a chore rather than something you want to do, stop and reevaluate!

I'm sure cleverer people than me have written better posts on the subject but that's what I've got for you :3

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 2 of 26

Title: Authority (The Southern Reach #2) (2014) - REREAD

Author: Jeff VanderMeer

Genre/Tags: Horror, Science Fiction, Ecological Horror, Cosmic Horror, Mystery, Weird, Third-Person, Unreliable Narrator

Rating: 8/10

Date Began: 1/05/2021

Date Finished: 1/10/2021

John "Control" Rodriguez, a disgraced former spy, is given an opportunity to redeem himself at the Southern Reach, the clandestine organization that oversees the mysterious and horrifying Area X. The director has gone missing following the disastrous "twelfth" expedition in Annihilation. Control is brought in to take over her job and fix the Southern Reach... and perhaps find a way to combat the insidious, paranormal effects of Area X.

But Control soon discovers just how deep Area X's corruption infects the place. Even worse, failures of the past-- both his own and those of the Southern Reach-- return to haunt him in disturbing ways. Badly outmatched within and without, Control will need to do everything he can to save not only the organization, but himself.

The last fragment of video remained in its own category: "Unassigned." Everyone was dead by then, except for an injured Lowry, already halfway back to the border.

Yet for a good twenty seconds the camera flew above the glimmering marsh reeds, the deep blue lakes, the ragged white cusp of the sea, toward the lighthouse.

Dipped and rose, fell again and soared again.

With what seemed like a horrifying enthusiasm.

An all-consuming joy.  

Full review, some spoilers, and content warning(s) under the cut.

Content warnings for the book: some body horror but way toned down compared to Annihilation. Mind control/hypnotic suggestion is still a thing. Non graphic sexual content. Disturbing images. Without spoiling the entire book, there are several scenes that come off as gaslighting, but do have an alternate explanation. As before, a pervasive sense of unreality.  

While Annihilation is a deep dive into the horrors of Area X, Authority takes a step back. It examines the situation from the perspective of the Southern Reach, the organization that oversees the expeditions we got to know so intimately in the last book. Control is a newcomer, so he functions as a natural outsider perspective. However, he's far from naïve due to his past experience in what I have to assume is the CIA (just called "Central" in the book). It's clear from the get-go that the Southern Reach is falling apart with its ancient buildings, circular and helpless theories, dwindling funding, and bizarre office politics. While Annihilation frames the Southern Reach as shady and possibly complicit in Area X's existence, Authority demonstrates the government would be predictably bad at handling an unknowable cosmic horror zone over any length of time.

Though I noted in my Annihilation review that most of the mystery surrounding Area X remains just that, Authority casually drops two major revelations in the first few chapters. First is... it's definitely aliens, right? Like, that's the only explanation that tracks-- why everything about the place is anathema to humanity, why it's impossible for characters to fully understand it, why mimicry is such a major aspect, etc. If you didn't suspect this already, it explains a lot. In particular, the "colonization" terminology and imagery in Annihilation hits different in that context. I have a lot of feelings about how this series approaches the extraterrestrial, but I'll save that for my Acceptance review.

The second reveal is that Control is taking over for the former director of the Southern Reach, who is MIA following Annihilation's "twelfth" expedition. Who is the director? The psychologist-- the pseudo antagonist of the last book, who we know got Super Killed Off. Turns out she's important and probably not actually evil? The biologist is also inexplicably back, but something is off about her, and she insists on being called Ghost Bird now. Did the biologist truly return (counter to the ending of the last book) or is this one of the shells Area X sometimes spits back out into the real world? If she's the latter, Ghost Bird seems to have much more personality and self awareness than the others. It is interesting to consider an entity of Area X would willingly name herself.

So, Authority is a weird book. The horror element is still present, but toned down. Instead, there's a lot of focus on the new character Control, his past, and the workings of the Southern Reach. In some ways this is refreshing. Annihilation (and the finale Acceptance) are so deeply entwined with Area X it's hard to see what "normal" looks like, and Authority brings that perspective. Relatively speaking. Second, and this is a spoiler, much of that normalcy is a facade. Control is basically mind controlled (heh) by a faction in Central, and is unaware of it for most of the book. It comes across in little ways, like the anachronistic storytelling and Control's confusion/disorientation at times.

We also learn that Area X doesn't just contaminate things inside it, but things outside it as well... and it's been doing this for some time. As a result, there's always a sense of Area X lurking in the periphery, manifesting in strange and unexpected ways. Something I like is the background chatter Control overhears being lines from Annihilation, which he isn't aware of, but the reader sure is.

I've read this book a few times, and while there are things I really like about it, it's probably my least favorite of the trilogy. I think the slower pacing and different narrative approach have merits, but just aren't as interesting to me as the rest of the series. It's noteworthy that my favorite bits in Authority are the disturbing video of the first expedition and the sudden End of Evangelion-esque return of Area X near the end-- not the espionage and philosophical tangents that comprise most of the book.  There are several ideas that seem interesting but don't go anywhere, and those feel like a waste of space. I think Authority could be pared down to half its page count and still get across the same feelings and general concept.

Control is also not the most interesting protagonist, especially compared to previous and later characters. He's not terrible, but he spends most of his time just thinking in circles and observing mundane office politics. While this is fine at first it starts to drag as the story goes on. As I said, a lot of tangents go nowhere, and there's not much going on beyond those until well over halfway into the book. Control does have a hidden tragic backstory, and it's interesting enough, but it barely factors into the overarching Area X storyline outside some symbolic comparisons. He feels out of place, perhaps intentionally.

I do like the dry humor and observations Control brings and how they contrast with the intense tone of Annihilation. I can also see the appeal of having a more ordinary character, if only to bring context to the extraordinary. But the problem is Control isn't ordinary. He's the youngest member of a dynasty of professional spies! Yet somehow I just don't find him exciting compared to an antisocial biologist. I dunno. Ultimately Control is a pawn in the story, used and manipulated by other people, and (spoilers) this doesn't change in Acceptance.

I had similar dilemmas with VanderMeer's Ambergris books, particularly book two, so perhaps it's a fact about his writing. When it's good it's GOOD, but sometimes the things I like get lost in rambling narrative fluff. The question is whether getting through the less interesting parts is worth it for the really good parts. With The Southern Reach trilogy, I'd argue the latter. I have no issues with the style or pacing in Annihilation or Acceptance, and the overarching story is fascinating.

I've mentioned many times before that I usually struggle with book twos in trilogies, and this one isn't an exception. However, I do appreciate what Authority is going for on a meta and lore level when viewing the series as a whole. It does establish a lot of things that either explain earlier stuff or pay off later; it just takes a while to get to them. The context of everything else bumps this to an 8.