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sleepy-seal · 8 months

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Welcome back to another week of: TMAGP & Treats!

This week's treat: Blood Lemon Poundcake

A fitting name for the subject of the 4th episode. Ingredients were baking mix, water, one egg, and melted butter.

And without further ado, here is my notes and thoughts that I have for this episode:

- started preheating the oven to 350 degrees

- i'll be using baking mix this time so the quality may not be the greatest

- SAM BUDDY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

- ACCESSING RESTRICTED FILES????? STOP PLEASE THAT'S WHAT THE NARRATIVE WANTS

- ahhhhh "the magnus protocol" it all makes sense

- I FUCKING KNEW ITTTTTTTTTTTT AGUSTUS WOULD FINALLY TALK IN THIS

- ALSO WAIT WHO THE FUCK IS AGUSTUS

- PETER LUKAS?????????,

- WAIT JONAH

- JONAH JONAH JONAH JONAH

- is this a will?

- violin violin violin

- OH THANK GOD WE HAVE EGGS I WAS WORRIED THEY DIDN'T BUY ANY

- UH OHHHHHHHHH

- WEEWOO WEEWOO WE HAVE A MURDER LETTER MURDER UP AHEAD I CAN FEEL IT

- i'm gonna be honest i wish i sifted the baking mix beforehand so maybe there would be less lumps in it

- you don't control me

- batter is pretty stiff so i'll shovel it into the pan and put it iDEATH???????

- DUDE WHAT???????

- OH MY GOD

- OH HE'S FUCKING DEAD

- OH HE'S FUCKING DEAD TOO

- what is it with these people and describing their life stories to strangers

- put in the pound cake for 40 minutes! should be enough time to listen And relisten if needed

- OUCH OUCH OUCH

- pain violin. violin that bites you and hates you so so much

- thank you so much agustus we really needed a symphonic performance

- violin wants blood mmmmm yummy yummy yum

- I KNEWWW ITTTTTTTTTT

- VIOLIN NEEDS BLOOD

- KILL MAIM DESTROY VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE

- ohhhh so the violin makes you kill other people by music alone

- HEY LENA????? WHAT DID YOU DO

- GWEN WHAT DID YOU SEEEEEEEEEEE

- GWEN

- GWENN

- GWEENNNNNNNNNN

OKAY FINAL THOUGHTS:

one:

i was so right in my assumption that agustus would start speaking in this episode. i was surprised though with the fact that it was not elias' voice actor this time. for a bit i was convinced that it might've been peter lukas for a little bit, but it didn't make sense at the moment. it then hit me in a moment of brilliance and subsequent horror that it was most likely jonah's voice. not elias' voice, jonah's. it also fits well with the usual magpod formula. jon/martin usually read more statements, with jonah/elias occasionally reading something of his own, likely something very old and historic. very fun, i like it.

two:

Guys I Am So Worried For Sam. he is poking into places he shouldn't already, and it's only been the 4th episode. we've all seen someone who keeps digging further than they're meant to, and we've seen what happens to them. nothing good. it's a good thing that alice is trying to dissuade sam from prying further. i trust her when she says that he should stay out of it and stop looking into the magnus institute and "the protocol". as the saying goes, canaries should stay above ground.

three:

what was in that video holy shit???????? what did gwen see???? i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around what might've happened. whatever it was, it was enough to put gwendolyn off. possibly something violent, maybe even worse? it sounds like, what Did happen, either involved lena trying to hurt klaus, or hurting someone else. maybe she was even trying to destroy something else, something that would disturb ms. bouchard. and what was that about klaus disappearing again? who is klaus? just some food for thought to chew on until all is revealed later.

it just dawned on me that the video may be correlated with what lena said in ep 1. "Unfortunately, I know what climbing this particular ladder entails, and you don’t have what it takes." perhaps this is tied to the video. maybe what she had to do was much uglier and grim than expected.

four:

lastly, and the most important thing i feel is, i have a feeling our good pals chester, norris, and agustus have a bigger hand on things than i initially thought. i'm sure people have said this already (which i have yet to see), however i feel like people have a point in saying that freddie is doing things on purpose. even colin said that the computer was doing things On Purpose. it might be a little crazy but hear me out.

with the security notification, it's a weird thing that it got directed to alice and not the IT guy, right? well, what if the programs intentionally redirected the notification to alice and not colin? i'm sure that chester and norris are familiar with someone going down a rabbit hole and went too deep to turn back. i think they might have sent it to alice because they want sam to stop looking, and he needs to hear it from someone he trusted.

another thing that points to me believing that freddie may be more in the know than we initially thought is the video sent to gwen at the end. but the real reason i have is not if they're doing it, but why. why would they send her this video? what kind of message are they trying to send? could it be that they're trying to warn her? that lena kelly is not someone to be trusted? or maybe they're giving her an answer to a question she had in her head, the reason as to why she hasn't been promoted yet and still the subordinate of mrs. kelly. or maybe, just maybe, they're telling her what it takes for her to get what she wants. maybe it's giving her the key to a position she's wanted for years.

overall, this episode is very good and got my thinking cap on real good. the blood lemon poundcake was also a real treat. have a good day, cheers!

#tmagp & treats #tmagp spoilers #tmagp

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shrinking-slowly234 · 12 days

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9/12

Come on, man. Like, I know there's no way I actually gained that weight, but it doesn't change the fact that seeing it on the scale is like a knife in my chest.

I fucked up today. I ate. I have 203 calories of food after my 350 liquid calories this morning and then ate some spaghetti and a piece of homemade garlic bread. No ideathe calories in it. Probably didn't go over the daily calorie limit I'm supposed to follow, but still. I'm kind of afraid to weigh tomorrow now.

#need to lose more weight #starv1ng #st4rv1ng #low cal restriction #intermittent fasti #@nor3×14

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rachthepoet · 4 months

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Watermelon Sugar Analysis

It's the month of June, and her peak season, perfectly ripe for exquisite tasting and ecstasy. Naturally, this song gets residency in my mind once the sun radiates warmth back down to the earth and all colors grow in saturation. Sadly though, this song remains vastly underappreciated, though one of his most popular. Ain't that just a crying shame? Because Watermelon Sugar is sharing fruit-laced kisses with a lover, breathing in each other's lips, a silent communication that neither wants to be the one to leave first. Lips went suckling strawberry red, and all one could hear is song. Thoughts spinning like sweet, sweet sugar. Tasty imagery leans into double entendres in this song of visceral want.

Here's a deep dive into Harry Styles' Watermelon Sugar, from a poet. And, no, it's not about the fruit. (And, I beg of you, block Urban Dictionary from your consciousness before it wrecks indisputable and irreversible damage).

Richard Brautigan

The song title is undoubtedly pulled from Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar, a surrealist science fiction book put out to print in June of 1968. 60's influences are a reoccurrence in the sophomore album. End of June, too, btw. Throughout this book, there's this concept of ego death, a psychedelic experience where one achieves a sense of selflessness and oneness with the universe. The main character in Brautigan's story resides in the iDeath (ego death) commune where they farm watermelons — watermelons that vary based on the color of the sun that day of the week.

"We have an interesting thing with the sun here. It shines a different color every day. No one knows why this is, not even Charley. We grow the watermelons in different colors the best we can. [...] It is really very simple. The colors of the days and the watermelons go like this — Monday: red watermelons. Tuesday: golden watermelons. Wednesday: gray watermelons. Thursday: black, soundless watermelons. Friday: white watermelons. Saturday: blue watermelons. Sunday: brown watermelons."

How intriguing, yes? Brautigan's good at capturing the surreal, something I've noticed in my own deep dive of his works. But I digress. The term in watermelon sugar is used repeatedly within the story, but all seem to circle back to the representation of the ephemeral nature of pleasure. And, told with the repetition found in varying contexts, this pleasure can be discovered in many things once you achieve harmony alluded within ego death.

"Watermelon sugar is not just a flavor, it's a way of life."

Now, I feel you. I can sense it. You're staring back at me right through these textboxes, wondering where the hell I must be going with all of this surrealistic philosophical chitter chatter, wondering if you got tricked into a book report. I'm getting somewhere, I promise you.

My theory is that Harry pulled this association between watermelon sugar and pleasure from Brautigan, and utilized it in order to describe his own experiences with captivating sensuality and desire. But also the pleasure of losing one's self to love, which ties back to the phenomenon of ego death, but also fits right within the narrative arc of his sophomore album thematically. Much of Fine Line explores the interwoven nature of love, sense of self, and the stages of grief. In songs like Cherry, he explores the detriment to losing your sense of self in sacrifice to love. But, in Watermelon Sugar, he explores the pleasure of losing your sense of self in sacrifice to love, or rather lust and sensuality. There's this all-consuming nature wading under every song of the album, and this sensory-rich song is no exception.

There's no sense trying to dismiss the erotic connotation the song has, as it's hard to ignore. But, with the addition of Brautigan, we flesh it out in nuance. To understand that in Watermelon Sugar, all boundaries have dissolved as everything melts into the other like sugar melts on the tongue with ripe watermelon juice. The boundaries between himself and his lover and the universe have combined. The boundaries between what a strawberry is and what sex is. So on and so forth. Creating an enthralling experience in surrealism that goes beyond just a simple euphemism for sex.

"In watermelon sugar, the past and the present merged into a single, timeless moment."

To conclude the Brautigan discussion, I'll pull some favorite quotes from the novel, ones I've annotated frantically myself, that apply to the song. Just so it's solidified in your mind before the lyric pull apart.

"In watermelon sugar" is emphasized as a metaphor that can transcend, merging past and present to an eternal instant, any sense of separation lost. In this idyllic and psychedelic post-apocalyptic world Brautigan painted, all exist in a perpetual tapestry of harmony and interconnectedness, and lines get blurred. Between feelings, between experiences, and between the division of time itself.

"She was a watermelon sugar girl, pure and sweet, like the taste of summer."

This description of one of the characters, interwoven with the known metaphor, exudes charm like the exciting taste of summer, one that evokes memories of warmth and succulence. Much like the song does, if I might interject. The character invigorates those around her with radiance, much like a fresh watermelon on a warm sunny day satisfying all the senses at once. One sentence paints an indelible impression, and I find this parallels.

"She tasted like watermelon sugar, sweet and addictive, leaving me longing for more."

I just wanna taste it. One of my weaknesses is when writers draw on sensory imagery to depict something alluring, and right now we're in the thick of it. The comparison drawn between the woman and the established watermelon sugar metaphor for pleasure pushes forward the idea of bewitching attraction and oh-so-mesmerizing sweetness. And the notion of addiction pushes it even further, as one encounter leaves the protagonist yearning for more, eternizing a desire that will be difficult to thoroughly satiate — delving into the complexities lying in the natural human desire for pleasure.

Lyric Pull Apart

[VERSE 1] Tastes like strawberries on a summer evening And it sounds just like a song

Tastes like strawberries on a summer evening: Hey, tell me, have you admired a strawberry today? I mean it. They are some of the prettiest fruits nature could've graced us with. Red and naturally heart-shaped, creating the perfect symbol for passion and love. And, a strawberry itself is succulent and soft and juicy when biting into it, an irresistible indulgent treat to yourself. God, I could go for a strawberry from my garden right now. It all aids to the connotations of sensuality. Sweet yet tangy, alluring and intoxicating.

Therefore, to say that someone or something or somewhere — maybe a grand combination of all — tastes like strawberries comes off the highest compliment. Add in the summer evening, and the narrowing down to June to come, and we find ourselves investigating June-bearing strawberries. Yes, they're a thing indeed.

As the name implies, these strawberry plants bear fruit and are harvested in June, with a very short growth period — setting their buds when days are short, and fruit bears when days warm and lengthen. They produce a larger harvest than other variations of the strawberry plant, and the berries are intensely flavorful.

I don't know. Just find it a bit interesting, you know. That the strawberries bore in June (even with harvests centered around the end of June) are the most flavorful and decadent. Which, you know, feels kinda reminiscent of the decadence of watermelon sugar. What can I say? I love playing around with things.

And it sounds just like a song: Whenever he speaks of music within a piece of his own music, I assume he's referring to his own song. Yeah? It sounds just like which song? Well, honey, this one's got to be high in the contenders. And with the music's brass-infused spirit, it definitely captures this sense of joy and pleasure. The music that he's hearing in the back of his mind, even.

[VERSE 1] I want more berries and that summer feelin' It's so wonderful and warm

I want more berries and that summer feelin': Continuing on from my personification of the strawberry, he admits his craving for more. There's a desire to hold onto this feeling, this euphoria, experienced with a singular taste. He wants more passion, more succulence, more abundance. And this sets the table for the progression into the second verse to come.

It's so wonderful and warm: In this line, and in the first verse itself, we have this intention framing of summer radiance, with summer as an ultimate metaphor. A metaphor for infatuation and beauty, but also a time of prosperity and jubilance. To Harry, I believe, summer's synonymous with a feeling of abundance, and his feeling toward the song's subject mirrors that. The listener is set in the mindset of abundant affection and what almost seems like a prayer to the subject, a praise to them for how euphoric he's feeling. How they make him feel like he's always in a warm summer with a full basket of harvested fruits to quench his thirst and cravings, no matter how broad that need for satiation extends.

[PRE-CHORUS] Breathe me in, breathe me out I don't know if I could ever go without

Breathe me in, breathe me out: The first association that popped into my head was meditation, something Harry has been vocal about before, so I guess it's not that far of a stretch. Plus, meditation ties to mindfulness, and mindfulness ties to savoring the present moment — therefore, he wants to truly savor the feeling of his succulence right now.

But, yes, of course! there's also the more sensual option, I could never forget. I think of an intimate moment between two, barely any distance between them, and as they inhale and exhale, it's like taking each other in. It's like another way to frame intimacy, and I find that to melt me like a chocolate bar in summer. Maybe to dip those June-bearing strawberries in. Anyway!

I don't know if I could ever go without: A big theme in this song is desire, now with an added admittance of not knowing if he could go on without. An addiction motif, a motif that can also be seen as a loss of sense of self, which ties back into the ego death concept. He doesn't know if he can experience the unpleasant withdrawal from this addictive summer feeling — he doesn't want to go without it, for he knows he'll be even more desperate to get it back.

Once again, we’re met with desire, with an added admittance of not knowing if he could go on without. He doesn’t know if he can experience withdrawal from this addictive summer feeling – he doesn’t want to go without it, for he knows he’ll be even more desperate to get it back. Surpassing the desperate desire laid out in the moment.

[PRE-CHORUS] I'm just thinking out loud I don't know if I could ever go without

I don't know how to quite explain this thing that's done within Harry's lyricism, but I've got this fascination with it. It makes his songs more conversational, the use of words like just. How he admits straight in the song that he's thinking about the subject or writing about the subject. Like, baby, we know! And we love you for it!

Then, the last line of the pre-chorus is a line repeated, one that shows the addictive nature of this watermelon sugar phenomenon. And, one thing about me, I will assume that repetition is intentional, and push that repetition is a device utilized, not a weak point. This loss of self, melting away into the other, fuels the hunger felt due to desire and sensuality that lingers in all lyrics of the song.

[CHORUS] Watermelon sugar high! (x4) Watermelon sugar!

For the chorus, we pull back in the Brautigan context — watermelon sugar is synonymous with pleasure, and that meaning carries over to the extended variation of watermelon sugar high as well. Each reiteration of this chorus relishes in a burst of euphoria and joy, and, though the repetition is often criticized, I believe it to be used to an advantage. It only emphasizes this overwhelming feeling. Nothing else can enter his mind outside of this summer feeling — and, nothing else matters in this idyllic vision created. If anything, the repetition of the same phrase aids in the song's experience.

And, do you know what the other complementary choice is to this song? One that I feel isn't talked about enough? The instrumentals — but, specifically, the horns, which can be heard in the choruses and prominently at the end. A bursting of horns. An explosion of euphoria and joy. The horns used this way are an important seed to plant, because they're used with the same symbolism later in the sophomore album. (Spoiler alert: It's in the final track.)

[VERSE 2] Strawberries on a summer evenin' Baby, you're the end of June

Ah, our beautiful strawberries reappear, paired with the summer metaphor still, and back to the June-bearing strawberries coming to mind. Most popular, harvested at the end of June and a favorite because of the intense flavor profile during this sweet spot of a month. Anyway, the end of June (in the Northern Hemisphere) marks the middle of summer, calming and soothing with the sun shining for the day's majority. And he feels the song's subject has a comparable effect on him.

As he sings Baby, you're the end of June, I take it as a moment of excitement — in detail, the type felt at initial infatuation and attraction, building a companionship at the early level. Maybe daydreaming, peeking into the future where one can only see bright smiles and warm hugs. A honeymoon phase, you could say, like a perfect summer's day.

[VERSE 2] I want your belly and that summer feelin' Getting washed away in you

I want your belly and that summer feelin': One of the most attractive things you can say to a person is I want you, for it's simple, direct, and undeniably effective. But this song gives a bit of a spin on this, phrasing it as I want your belly. I want the most intimate, the most vulnerable, the softest parts of you — and I want to taste them, I want to devour them. And, this second verse, alongside pretty much everything in this song, lands on the ears so easily — and direct, and confident. He's not questioning his desire, he's unapologetic for his hunger for the subject of his desire (and, whew, that's kinda hot).

Getting washed away in you: Could you have guessed? Here's come Brautigan again. Ego death. Losing your sense of self to love, sensuality, and desire. All the boundaries dissolved like sugar on the tongue, whether it's boundaries heard and seen in his words, or boundaries between him and the person doused in all his affection. He's losing himself to his desire, as he'll always go all in or nothing. Harry, the fool in love.

[REPETITION OF PRE-CHORUS AND CHORUS]

[BRIDGE] Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin' And it sounds just like a song I want your belly and that summer feelin' I don't know if I could ever go without

The bridge is a perfect mix of the two verses that precede it, which creates an exquisite flow. The first two lines pull from the first, the third line from the second, and the last line pulls from the pre-chorus. I really love it when songs do this, as it feels cohesive to the ear. Plus, it puts further emphasis on this euphoric feeling, as we encounter the device of repetition again. Again, repetition is not a weakness, but rather a strength when utilized correctly, and I get so tired seeing people not quite grasp that concept.

In this song, we are witnesses to an explosion of euphoria, of pleasure, of washing yourself (losing yourself) away in another, of not being able to survive without the sweetness of quote-en-quote watermelon sugar. The use of repetition only aids in this and helps illustrate the consuming nature of it all on a grander scale. As if nothing else can infiltrate the mind, for all senses and all emotions are completely submerged.

[OUTRO] I just wanna taste it, I just wanna taste it Watermelon sugar high! I just wanna taste it, I just wanna taste it Watermelon sugar high! Watermelon sugar!

My goodness, here's some repetition again — a repetition of repetition, if you will. More all-consuming ecstasy and desire. The addictive nature of this watermelon sugar high, in these exclamations. Begging for a taste, eternizing a desire that will never be truly satiate, just one of the complexities in the natural human ache for pleasure.

In conclusion, Watermelon Sugar is a song riddled with joy, painting a summery picture of the euphoric pleasure-filled feeling experienced when meeting someone you're very keen on. Someone who excites you. And I think that's why this song has grabbed many people's hearts — for it's an experience that one has either been in the midst of or one that creates an aching to be consumed by. And, it definitely deserved to be his first Grammy win. I sincerely hope people stop doing this song a disservice. Writing off a song as bad just because it's gotten traction, because it got popular, is a disrespect to the artist. For this song is way more than just an elaborate euphemism for sex — though yes, the erotic connotations are hard to ignore — and the added nuance flies under the radar.

But, baby, that's why I'm here, calling out to you, trying to get you to see the fleshed-out ecstasy of a Watermelon Sugar High. Now, go hit play on that song of the summer. And cut yourself some fresh watermelon and strawberries to balance on your tongue. 🍉🍓

Thank you for reading, you're absolutely incredible! If there are any songs you'd like me to make an analysis of, please send your request to my inbox! Along with any questions or insights you might have yourself!

#harry styles lyrics #harry styles lyric analysis #fine line album #watermelon sugar #watermelon sugar analysis #fine line album analysis #lyric analysis #harry styles #lyrical analysis #watermelon sugar lyric analysis #my posts #opinion #commentary #discussion #theory #music #this is the song of the summer every summer #sunshine in a bottle #sensuality and ecstasy squeezed in there too

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madam-libraaarian · 2 years

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Developing a new character and decided to do a piece of her as the classic Rosie the Riveter "We Can Do It!" poster. This is Cheryl. She's a character in my most recent story ideaThe Goldwing Girl where she's my main character's secretary and work wife. She's part of my effort to write more POC characters, and I have high hopes for her. She's just so cool lol. I love her with my whole heart.

#my art #traditional art #my ocs #cheryl #poc characters #black history month

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officialralsei · 2 years

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Doctor gaster I am madly in love with you, you are so fucking funny when you aren’t wallowing in self-pity

I havest No Ideath who this "Dr. Gaster" Guye is! Mine humor ist, Obvuouslye, of yon Highesteth Caliber, however! Of course thoust cannot helpe but fall to mine Overwhelminge Appeal!

#halloweene eventst #officialralsei

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razorsadness · 1 year

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Perhaps it was around midnight and the fire tolled like a bell inside the stove. That is my name. Or you felt bad when she said that thing to you. She could have told it to someone else: Somebody who was more familiar with her problems. That is my name. Perhaps the trout swam in the pool but the river was only eight inches wide and the moon shone on iDEATH and the watermelon fields glowed out of proportion, dark and the moon seemed to rise from every plant. That is my name.

—Richard Brautigan, from In Watermelon Sugar (Houghton Mifflin, 1968)

#quotations #typography #richard brautigan #in watermelon sugar #fiction #that is my name

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nuadox · 2 years

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Could ‘Peer Community In’ be the revolution in scientific publishing we’ve all been waiting for?

- By Denis Bourguet , Etienne Rouzies , Thomas Guillemaud , The Conversation -

In 2017, three researchers from the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), Denis Bourguet, Benoit Facon and Thomas Guillemaud, founded Peer Community In (PCI), a peer-review-based service for recommending preprints (referring to the version of an article that a scientist submits to a review committee).

The service greenlights articles and makes them and their reviews, data, codes and scripts available on an open-access basis. Out of this concept, PCI paved the way for researchers to regain control of their review and publishing system in an effort to increase transparency in the knowledge production chain.

Birth of an idea

The idea for the project emerged in 2016 following an examination of several failings in the science publishing system. Two major problems are the lack of open access for most publications, and the exorbitant publishing and subscription fees placed on institutions.

Even in France, where the movement for open science has been gaining momentum, half of publications are still protected by access rights. This means that they are not freely accessible to citizens, journalists, or any scientists affiliated with institutions that cannot afford to pay scientific journal subscriptions. These restrictions on the free circulation of scientific information are a hindrance to the sharing of scientific knowledge and ideas at large.

Moreover, the global turnover for the academic publishing industry in science, technology and medicine is estimated at US$10 billion for every 3 million articles published. This is a hefty sum, especially given that profit margins enjoyed by major publishing houses have averaged at 35-40% in recent years. Mindful of these costs and margins, the PCI founders wanted scientists and institutions to take back control of their own publishing. And so, in 2017, the Peer Community In initiative was born.

By science communities for science communities

PCI sets up communities of scientists who publicly review and approve pre-prints in their respective fields, while applying the same methods as those used for conventional scientific journals. Under this peer-review system, editors (known as ‘recommenders’) carry out one or more review rounds before deciding whether to reject or approve the preprint submitted to the PCI. Unlike virtually all traditional journals, if an article is approved, the editor must write a recommendation outlining its content and merits.

This recommendation is then published along with all other elements involved in the editorial process (including reviews, editorial decisions, authors’ responses, etc.) on the site of the PCI responsible for organising the preprint review. This level of transparency is what makes PCI unique within the current academic publishing system.

Lastly, the authors upload the finalised, approved and recommended version of the article – free of charge and on an open access basis – to the preprint server or open archive.

A revolution unfolding in science publishing

PCI is making traditional journal publication obsolete. Due to its de facto peer-reviewed status, the finalised, recommended version of the preprint is already suitable for citation. In France, PCI-recommended preprints are recognised by several leading institutions, review committees and recruitment panels at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). At the Europe-wide level, the reviewed preprints are recognised by the European Commission and funding agencies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

PCI is also unique in its ability to separate peer review from publishing, given that approved and recommended preprints can still be submitted by authors for publication in scientific journals. Many journals even advertise themselves as ‘PCI-friendly’, meaning that when they receive submissions of PCI-recommended preprints, they take into account the reviews already completed by PCI in order to speed up their editorial decision-making.

New ground broken in 2021

This initiative was originally intended exclusively for PCIs to review and recommend preprints, but authors were sometimes frustrated to only see their recommended preprint on dedicated servers (despite being reviewed and recommended, preprints are still poorly indexed and not always recognised as genuine articles) or having to submit it for publication in a journal at the risk of being subjected to another round of review. However, since the creation of Peer Community Journal, scientists now have access to direct, unrestricted publishing of articles recommended by disciplinary PCIs.

Peer Community Journal is a diamond journal, meaning one that publishes articles with no fees charged to authors or readers. All content can be read free of charge without a pay-wall or other access restrictions. Designed as a general journal, Peer Community Journal currently comprises 16 sections (corresponding to the PCIs in operation) and is able to publish any preprint recommended by a disciplinary PCI.

An innovative model on the rise

Currently there are 16 disciplinary PCIs (including PCI Evolutionary Biology, PCI Ecology, PCI Neuroscience and PCI Registered Reports) and several more are on the way. Together, they boast 1,900 editors, 130 members in the editorial committees and more than 4,000 scientists-users overall. PCI and Peer Community Journal are recognised by 130 institutions worldwide, half of which (including the University of Perpignan Via Domitia) support the initiative financially. The number of French academics who are familiar with and/or who use PCI varies greatly between scientific communities. The percentage is very high among communities with a dedicated PCI (e.g., the ecology or evolutionary biology communities, with PCI Ecology and PCI Evol Biol, wherein an estimated half of scientists are now familiar with the system), but remains low among those without one.

To date, more than 600 articles have been reviewed through the system. Biology maintains a significant lead, but more and more fields are popping up, including archaeology and movement sciences. There is still plenty of scope for growth, in terms of greater investment from those familiar with the system and the creation of new PCIs by scientists from fields not yet represented by the current communities.

Other open-science initiatives have been set up across the globe, but none have quite managed to emulate the PCI model. Mostly limited to offers of peer-reviewed preprints (often directly or indirectly requiring a fee), these initiatives, such as Review Commons and PreReview, do not involve an editorial decision-making process and are therefore unable to effect change within the current publishing system.

While the PCI model is undeniably growing and now garners more than 10,000 unique visitors per month across all PCI websites, the creation of Peer Community Journal shows that the traditional academic publishing system is still intact. And it will doubtless endure into the near future, even though the preprint approval offered will hopefully become a sustainable model due to its cost-effectiveness and transparency across the board.

In the meantime, PCI and Peer Community Journal present a viable alternative for publishing diamond open access articles that are completely free of charge for authors and readers. In these changing times of unbridled, unjustifiable inflation placed on subscription and publishing prices, numerous institutions and universities are backing the rise of these diamond journals. PCI and Peer Community Journal embrace this dynamic by empowering all willing scientific communities to become agents of their own review and publishing process.

When science and society nurture each other, we reap the benefits of their mutual dialogue. Research can draw from citizens’ own contributions, improve their lives and even inform public decision-making. This is what we aim to show in the articles published in our series “Science and Society, A New Dialogue”, which is supported by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

Denis Bourguet, Directeur de recherches, Inrae; Etienne Rouzies, Conservateur des bibliothèques, Référent Science ouverte, Université de Perpignan, and Thomas Guillemaud, Directeur de recherches, Inrae

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.