Great visit with Michael! So much fun and laughter packed into 3 days! Steven Drew how dare you come down with Covid and miss the fun! We may have to do a full girls weekend in Jan before Mick leaves for Barcelona! #bestfriends #oneofthegirls #happytimes @SalonTruPalmDesert? (at Palm Desert, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CmADnq9viqo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
If you’re looking for a great new thriller writer, why don’t you try Lucy Clarke? I read her last novel The Castaways as a buddy read with my sister @chrissireads and then she picked up One Of The Girls, the author’s latest novel and immediately passed it onto me after a holiday we had together. I never hesitate to read a book my sister recommends and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s fast-paced, intriguing and a real page-turner, basically everything you’d want in a book from this genre. This is the story of a group of women who go on a bachelorette/hen party to a villa on one of the Greek islands to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming marriage and each of the women is harbouring a secret. However (in true thriller style), there is a member of the party who does not ever want Lexi’s marriage to take place and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive. I really do love unreliable characters. Especially when there are so many to choose from! It certainly makes any perpetrators harder to predict and as a regular thriller reader, I’m always a fan of anything that’s going to surprise me. The more unpredictable, the better! I’d recommend this writer for readers who enjoy C.L. Taylor and Lisa Jewell’s novels and am certainly looking forward to the next Lucy Clarke book I have on my shelves, You Let Me In. Four solid stars 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 #bookstagram #scottishbookstagrammer #reviewingbooksonthegram #britishthrillers #oneofthegirls #lucyclarke #thrillernovelstoread #recommendedreads👍 #booksthathelpyouescape #booksrecommendedbymysister https://www.instagram.com/p/CljwE9bLWZR/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
In BG3, it really is not controversial to say that Act 3 drags, but...it does. So many quests that I never intend to do again, so many artificially difficult boss battles, so many *fucking githyanki EVERYWHERE* ALL SAYING THINGS LIKE "IN VLAAKITH'S NAME" like shut UP, all building up to you grinding up the last few levels that you need to FINALLY. FINALLY. Get into the endgame. From the point I killed Orin onward, the game ran smoothly, for a very intense five hour or so finale, between killing Orin, destroying the Steel Watch, killing Gortash, and then going into the confrontation with the Elder Brain.
But getting up to that point...
Oh, boy.
FUCK the Cazador boss fight in particular. And the Viconia one. Fuck them, fuck them, fuck them.
21. part of canon you think is overhyped
I am once again on my hands and knees begging the BG3 fandom to remember that @_starion is not the main character of the game. There are many other Origin Characters in BG3 who are not @_starion. They are very good. Their stories touch on similar themes around bodily autonomy and abuse, he is *not* the only one. People are allowed to like him, they're allowed to see themselves in him, but you'd think he was the ONLY ONE when....no. (Also he is SO whittled down from his canon characterization -- like he was an actual cunt to my first Tav.)
25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing
Honestly, at this point, I see more people complaining about Ascended! @_starion fans than actual fans and it feels quite performative at this point. I don't know what the situation is like on Twitter or Tiktok -- I don't particularly *care* to find out, especially since he's probably....my least favorite of the Origin Characters, not my least favorite companion in general. And there's this slight air of sexism about the whole thing given that it's always "those stupid women don't know what they're doing/they're romanticizing vampires/they're sexualizing the poor 200 year old baby", like. Bruh. *Bruh*. If you don't play your cards right during that final confrontation, he will *leave your party if you don't ascend him*. I've considered doing it with a Tav that ascends him out of love, wanting to give him what he wants, only to realize they've created a monster, because THAT'S narratively compelling to me.
...I don't know, part of the joy of RPGs for me is that every player character is different. My first Tav had a very different relationship with him (worsties) than my second Tav (who is banging him) and my third Tav (who is platonic besties with him since she's a lesbian and considers him #OneOfTheGirls). I don't like applying a broad "if you do this, you are MORALLY WRONG" or "If you do this, you don't understand the character", since the character reactivity can be insane. In three main runs of BG3, each of my PCs had different dynamics with each of the companions because of the decisions they made and the conversations they had. I've unfollowed long-term mutuals over @_starion discourse because I just. Did not enjoy it. He's not a real sexual abuse survivor, he is pixels, and the way we react to him...it can be telling, yes, but any time you have a character who appeals to so many people with varying types of traumas, it's bound to get very heated, and a lot of people get hurt, and I'm not interested in seeing that.
...so I stay in Devil Daddy Land. Yaaaaaayyyyyy.
Since I've been very harsh on @_starion, I also see a lot of G@le fans say that he isn't REALLY mansplaining, if you think he's mansplaining or you think he's annoying, you're ableist and...with respect to my fellow autistic people in fandom, who see themselves in him.....I can both sympathize with him and ALSO remind them, very gently, that autistic men can be sexist. And it can remind autistic women who have had to smile through the sexism in favor of solidarity of real experiences they've had. I don't HATE him, I like him, I hated sacrificing him in my first run, I think the creators HAVE done him wrong, one day I do want to do a run romancing him....but I will say, as an autistic woman (?) in academia, that he does kind of remind me of sexist male colleagues I've had and the way that they tend to be catered to and respected and the way that they tend to put themselves over their female autistic colleagues. I'm not saying that the CHARACTER is sexist or that if you LIKE HIM you're sexist -- he has a LOT of really, really attractive qualities, but I'm saying that people also aren't inherently WRONG to interpret it as mansplaining, either. Again, player reactivity. For me, he is always one step away from telling me "now, are you SURE about that?" when I talk about a topic that I've spent the last year working on.
(Also a lot of G@le VS @_starion discourse boils down to "Why are people focusing on this white dude when they could be focusing on MY white dude?" Which is rich coming from the Raphael fan, I know, but I'm not trying to guilt or shame people into liking my meow meow...and in fact prefer the small group we have.)
💬 What was the last book you added to your TBR? I stumbled upon ONE OF THE GIRLS by @lucyclarke_author and immediately added it to my list. This one sounds soooo good!! It releases in June 2022 so be sure to add it to your reading list! . . . s u m m a r y : From the international bestselling author comes a twisty psychological thriller set on a stunning Greek island, One of the Girls tells the delicious story of a bachelorette trip that ends in murder. Perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Lucy Foley. It was supposed to be the perfect weekend away. Six very different women travel to a sun-soaked Greek island for a bachelorette trip, to celebrate Lexi’s upcoming wedding. From the glorious ocean views to the quaint tavernas and whitewashed streets, the vacation seems too good to be true. But dangerous undercurrents run beneath the sunset swims and midnight cocktails – because each of the women is hiding a secret. Someone is determined to make sure that Lexi’s marriage never happens – and that one of them doesn’t leave the island alive. Gripping, twisty, and full of sun-soaked suspense, this timely thriller examines the joys of female friendship…as well as the deadly consequences when a relationship goes wrong. . . . h a s h t a g s : #oneofthegirls #lucyclarke #mysterybooks #psychologicalthriller #thrillerbooks #crimebooks #bookishflatlay #flatlayphotography #bookstagram #bookphotography #bookstagrammer #bookphoto #readersofig #readercommunity #bookcommunity #seekthesimplicity #pursuepretty #everysquareastory #smallmomentsofcalm #hyggelife #neutraldecor #sweaterweather https://www.instagram.com/p/CWTYaktpWBC/?utm_medium=tumblr
Living my most XX chromosome life right now #girlsday #americangirldoll #oneofthegirls 🤷🏻♀️🙋🏻♀️💁🏻♀️ (at American Girl) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsG9K1PhQwF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ysdzvrcyvxpt
Hello everyone! Happy Friday and welcome to the weekend. I’ve got an excellent weekend planned but am taking it easy tonight in bed with my books as it seems the week has caught up with me! Time for a book haul. Violent Phenomena is another addition to my @tiltedaxisbooks collection. I have a subscription with them and I’m always excited to find out what’s coming next. This is a book of essays in which 24 writers and translators from across the world share their ideas and practices for disrupting and decolonising translation. Coincidentally I’m about to start this second book today! I’m buddy reading this with a host of lovely bookstagrammers hosted by @pezzasclassicbooks and @celestes.bookshelf ☺️ This novel is the Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece and a powerful, triumphant portrayal of the American West as it really was. 🤠 Finally, my sister @chrissireads loaned me One Of The Girls to read after we read and enjoyed The Castaways together. This is the story of six friends enjoying a Greek holiday together. One is a liar, one is a stranger, one is a cheater, who is a killer? I’d love to know your thoughts on any of these books or authors. Let’s have a chat in the comments! #bookstagram #scottishbookstagrammer #bookhaul #paperbackhaul #violentphenomena #tiltedaxispress #booksintranslation #kavitabhanot #jeremytiang #lonesomedove #larrymcmurtry #oneofthegirls #lucyclarke #newbooksplease #cantstopwontstopbuyingbooks #westernnovels #thrillernovelsallday https://www.instagram.com/p/Cik2yhGLwxy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
okay so remember when jared had that incredibly homophobic moment at a con last year? like i remember it happened. i know it was terribly awful. but i cannot for the life of me remember what he actually said - only that it was horrible. meanwhile, i feel like i will always remember that misha consciously made jokes referring to his inferred queerness for 12 (!!) years all while being heterosexual. like i do believe jared is more maliciously anti-gay but like. i honestly don’t think misha can call himself an ally anymore like it’s just kinda fucked up he did that for so long. like at least i don’t remember wtf jared said. idk maybe this is just me thinking this way but i am miffed.
It’s not just you but i don’t agree. J2 gay jokes are like WOULDNT it be FUNNY if my coworker was GAY and EMASCULATED wouldn’t it be HILARIOUS if he was a gay man. But when someone’s like haha wouldn’t it be funny if you were gay Jared? He’s immediately like. No. It wouldn’t be. It’s fucked up to say that. Never joke about that again. And then turns around and is like haha misha chugs dick round of applause ! Vs misha who mostly makes gay jokes about himself I think and it’s like. In a very #oneofthegirls way. Like Jared and jensen would never be mistaken as a celebrity who is “queer” but hasn’t come out because he doesn’t see the need to. People legit thought misha had been out for years. And I mean. What material harm does he do by acting like he’s a part of the lgbt community? None. What material benefits are conferred to him by acting like he’s part of the lgbt community. None. But it IS very funny that he’s so verklempt over it. And it DOES make young gay teenagers feel safe in an environment (super natural) that was extremely hostile. So again. I think misha collins is the worlds first instance of a bisexual man only attracted to women. I’ll allow it
How do parents turn down their children? I came out to my mom as trans two years ago right after I joined the army. She will literally talk to me about anything except me being trans. It’s the most important thing to me and she tells me I need to focus on my future. I just don’t understand. I mean I guess I do a little. She raised a son for 20+ years. But how can she just deny me when I need her most?