#yes we are only on page 93

[gothhabiba]

A few months ago, an article by Just Like Us about a survey of young UK adults regarding LGBT topics (and other articles on The Pink News and Gay Times UK that reported on that article) did the rounds on here.

The headline of the Gay Times article, written by Amy Ashenden (a cisgender butch lesbian and the interim CEO of Just Like Us, who hired the consultancy that conducted the survey) was "Lesbians being anti-trans is a lesbophobic trope"; of the results of the survey, she writes "I’m so glad that we finally have the research to demonstrate what most lesbians already knew: this narrative is completely false."

A lot of this initial reporting focused on the claims that "most anti-trans adults don’t know a trans person in real life" and "lesbians are the most supportive of trans people of any identity group, and it's a lesbophobic trope that they are anti-trans." These articles were written before the full report of the survey's data had been released.

The full report that these claims are based on is now out, for anyone who wants to take a closer look at the results for themselves. The pdf appears to be OCR readable but not image-described. The survey deals with many topics including being "out" and "feeling supported" at school and at work, but I'll just try to break down the evidence for the above-mentioned two claims.

How respondents were selected:

Just Like Us's report says that "Participants were drawn in partnership between Just Like Us and from Cibyl’s independent database of UK students and young adults" (p. 69). Cibyl offers "bespoke studies and focus groups," and says that "Using our Cibyl-ings student panel, we can source specific students to look at themes and topics important to you and ask the unique questions you want the answers to." This is rather vague.

Sample group and size:

3,695 young adults aged between 18 and 25. 86% cisgender and 12% transgender; 47% LGBT and 53% non-LGBT (used as a control group to compare LGBT responses to); 72% white; 79% students; 54% "female" (self-declared), 36% "male", 8% non-binary (pp. 69-70).

Support for the articles' central claims:

There is no full breakdown of the data resulting from the survey that would allow anyone else to do their own statistical analysis. Here's (what Just Like Us gives of) the data that the "most anti-trans people don't know a trans person in real life" claim is based on:

[ID: Headline reading "Attitudes towards transgender people. Question reading "How supportive are you of transgender people? Of people who "know a transgender person," 64% said "very supportive"; "supportive" 23%; "slightly supportive" 10%; "not supportive" 3%. Of those who "don't know a transgender person," 33% said "very supportive"; "supportive" 28%; "slightly supportive" 20%; "not supportive" 18%. Second question "Do you know any transgender people?" Result: 28% "Yes, someone I'm close to"; 38% "Yes, someone I'm not close to"; 34% "I don't know any transgender people." Further breakdown of the question "Do you know a transgender person?": 49% of "non-LGBT+" people said "yes"; 84% of LGBT+ people; 94% of non-binary people; 93% of transgender people; 82% of asexual people; 85% of bi/pan people; 80% of gay men; 92% of lesbians; 75% of questioning people. End ID]

The "do you know any transgender people" question is worded slightly differently each time—plus, the Just Like Us article and the report (p. 8) adduce the phrase "in real life" to "know a trans person," but this page doesn't—so I don't think we're getting the exact wording for that question that the survey respondents saw. The data for "how supportive are you of transgender people" isn't broken down according to whether the respondent said they were "close" or "not close" to the transgender person or people they knew; it also doesn't seem to be broken down into trans or nonbinary versus cisgender respondents.

"How supportive are you of transgender people?" was the only question dealing with this issue, and the responses "very supportive," "supportive," "slightly supportive," and "not supportive" were the only options available; there's nothing breaking down what "support" means in terms of policy (e.g. support versus non-support for consent-based clinics, national funding for transition care, non-discrimination laws, bathroom laws, &c. &c.). There is also no distinction made between "support" for trans women and trans men.

The claim "UK adults between the ages of 18 and 25 who answer 'not supportive' to the question 'How supportive are you of transgender people?' are several times more likely to also answer 'no' to the question 'do you know a transgender person' (or maybe 'do you know a transgender person in real life')" is supported, in my opinion. The sample size is large enough for that 3% to not be random noise.

The analysis in the Just Like Us article groups together "very supportive" and "supportive" when providing percentages of respondents of given identities who support trans people:

Of all LGBT+ identities, other than trans and non-binary people themselves, lesbian young adults were most likely to say they know a trans person (92%), and most likely to say they are “supportive” or “very supportive” of trans people (96%). In comparison, 89% of LGBT+ people overall said they were  “supportive” or “very supportive” of trans people, and just 69% of non-LGBT+ people said the same.

There is no full breakdown of how many people are "very supportive," "supportive," "slightly supportive" or "not supportive" of trans people by identity label. The relevant data is on p. 63 of the report:

"Looking at who was the most supportive of transgender people:

non-binary respondents were 97% supportive or very supportive with 1% of respondents indicating they were not supportive;

lesbian respondents were 95% supportive or very supportive [everywhere else in the report and in the reporting says 96%, so perhaps this is a typo] (3% were not supportive);

bi/pansexual respondents were 92% supportive or very supportive (2% were not supportive).

Of respondents who were gay men, 82% were supportive or very supportive of transgender people, with 7% indicating they were not supportive.

Among non-LGBT+ respondents 69% were supportive of transgender people, with 12% indicating they were not supportive."

It's not clear to me how they dealt with e.g. lesbians who were also transgender. Pages 69-70 of the report go into the questions that people were asked to identify their identity label for the purposes of statistical analysis ("Is your gender identity the same as the one you were originally assigned at birth?"; and "What is your sexual orientation?"). The fact that these are separate questions (as they should be) tells me that there's overlap between groups throughout the study; any data that says e.g. "83% of lesbian respondents" is combining cis and trans lesbians, and any result that says "67% of trans people" is combining heterosexual and LGB trans people.

So, while narrowing the respondents down to just cisgender LGB people to compare their support for trans people would have been one way to analyse the data, I'm guessing they didn't do that (plus, there's the article's wording of "LGBT+ people overall"; it wouldn't make statistics-analytical sense to compare cis lesbians with all LGBT+ people, plus it would presumably make the higher support % of lesbians less stark, which seems like the opposite of what Ashenden wanted to do).

When the article says "other than trans and non-binary people themselves," they don't mean that they excluded trans and non-binary people from the percentages given; they mean "other than the number you get if you measure support for transgender people just from trans and non-binary people." We're not given the number that would result from doing this. The number we're given in the report for non-binary people is 97% supportive (this number is not included in the article); we are not given a number for just trans people, but we can probably assume it also approaches 100%.

This means that the 96% support presumably measures support from cis and trans lesbians; the 82% of "supportive" and "very supportive" gay men includes cis and trans men; &c.

There is a major statistics-analytical problem with acknowledging that trans and non-binary respondents have the highest rates of support for trans people, but then not controlling the results of this question for whether the respondent was cis or trans. If a higher percentage of lesbian respondents were trans than the percentage of gay men respondents that were trans, this would itself skew the numbers for lesbian support higher. There's no reason to suppose that this did happen, but there is not enough information given about the data that Just Like Us collected to rule it out. Again, at no point are we given information about overlap between LGB and trans groups or a breakdown of what that overlap looked like (how many trans respondents were heterosexual versus LGB, &c.).

As I mentioned above, some of the survey focused on whether respondents "felt supported" at home and at school. Some snippets on the results of these questions can be found on pages 45-49 of the report. "[M]ore than 1 in 4" LGBT+ respondents "felt unsupported" in school compared to "1 in 10" non-LGBT+ respondents; 37% of transgender respondents and 39% of nonbinary respondents said they felt unsupported in school. Despite the survey's focus on the outcomes of felt support, and despite all respondents being asked if they were "supportive" of transgender people, no question asked transgender respondents if they "felt supported" by cisgender LGB people.

Generalisability of claims:

The sampling of the data (which is drawn entirely from people in the UK aged 18-25, mostly students) also means that the claims are not generalisable to the entire UK population; you can't say the "majority of anti-trans adults don’t know a trans person in real life" (the headline of the Just Like Us article) or "Most anti-trans adults don’t actually know a trans person in real life" (the headline of the Pink News article), since the survey did not take a representative sample of all adults. You can't say "lesbians are not anti-trans" (the url of the Gay Times article), since the survey is not representative of all lesbians.

Funding sources:

The report was sponsored by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a firm offering professional services (accounting, auditing, consulting, financial advisory, litigation consulting, and other services offered to businesses).

Cibyl, an independent research firm in the UK, "led on research design and delivery, then worked in partnership with Just Like Us to produce the report." They include the report ("Positive Futures") as an example of their work on their website. Their summary of the study focuses on the claim that "support in LGBT+ young adults’ teenage years" is necessary to the future development of their careers, and on what "employers and careers professionals can do to help LGBT+ young people feel safe and supported." This is the same kind of thing that Deloitte talks about when it comes to LGBT+ issues (namely, inclusion versus exclusion and support versus non-support in the workplace).

A video that Asheden produced with Mags Scott (partner at Deloitte) also focuses on how "support" for LGBT+ people "at home, in school, and in the workplace" leads to confidence in "career prospects" and ability to be onself "at work," and is necessary for LGBT+ people's mental wellbeing.

Just Like Us has an interest in promoting research that suggests that support for LGBT+ people in school will benefit them in their careers, since they sell training resources on forming LGBT+ groups, and talks with LGBT+ speakers, to schools. Just Like Us is a non-profit organisation.

Declaration of conflicts of interest and peer review:

This is an industry-sponsored study and not an academic one. There is no declaration of conflicts of interest required, and the study was not peer-reviewed.

Tl;dr:

Some breakdown of data was revealed in the report. The exact questions that respondents saw were not given. The data is not given with enough granularity to allow for anyone else to conduct statistical analysis based on it.

There is not enough evidence to say whether the study supports the claim that (cis?) lesbians are more supportive of trans people than any other identity group, since the survey was not clear what "support" means (someone may claim to support trans people as individuals while not supporting transition care, for example, due to some kind of "love the sinner, hate the sin" logic).

There is also a statistical problem with the support for this claim, since overlap between "transgender" and "cisgender" respondents is not controlled for. There is not enough data given in the report to allow anyone else to control for this factor. The results would hold if we assumed that similar percentages of e.g. lesbian, bisexual, and gay male respondents were transgender.

The results apply only to people in the UK aged 18-25 and cannot be generalised to all adults in the UK.

Summaries of this report given by the firms that funded and conducted it centre on the idea that "support" of LGBT+ people at home, at school, and in the workplace is necessary to allow them to thrive in the workplace. Just Like Us, who put out the report, sell LGBT+ talks and training to schools.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga ch.91-93

Last time, we covered the "prequel" story of Goten and Trunks adopting superhero identities and capturing Dr. Hedo. Now we get into the events of the DBS: Super Hero movie itself. I already liveblogged the movie extensively in September (here, here, here, here, and here), so for the manga adaptation I'll be focusing mainly on whatever changes Toyotaro made to the story.

First off, Chapter 91 opens with Piccolo picking up Pan from school, and when she talks about wanting to be a superhero like Goten and Trunks have been doing recently, Piccolo offers to train her just like he trained Gohan in Dragon Ball Z.

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing we can expect from this adaptation. It's mostly a straight retelling of the movie, and the little extras that get added in don't really add much to the story. I mean, the movie established that Piccolo has picked up Pan from school in the past, but there was no need to show it. Also, the movie didn't really explain why Piccolo started training Pan, probably because it didn't need to. I think the manga pretty much proves my point, because it attempts to tackle the question, but only comes up with a fairly pat answer. She wanted to fly and shoot hand energy like Goten and Trunks, and so Piccolo offered to teach her and she said yes.

Then we get to this scene, where Krillin's boss in the West City P.D. holds a briefing on the Red Ribbon Army and their plans to recruit Dr. Hedo. This takes the place of the flashback montage that opened the movie, and it sucks.

That montage was awesome, and Toyotaro could have drawn his own version of it here, but instead he did this. We could be looking a Goku punching Tao Pai Pai, or 17 killing Dr. Gero, or Cell smirking like a boss, but instead we're in a boring conference room reading walls of text.

Look at this fucking page! It's awful! A lot of this one serves as a stand-in for Carmine's report to Magenta about Dr. Hedo. I get it, this is a lot of information to go through, and Toyotaro probably wanted to move on as quickly as possible, but part of what I loved about the movie was the way they showcased the characters and visuals during the infodumping. Carmine's report is pretty dry in the movie, but Magenta's office is interesting to look at, and Carmine and Magenta themselves are visually compelling characters. While they talk about Hedo, Carmine shows off his video editing skills and Magenta keeps screwing up his snacks

This police briefing, however, sucks all the fun out of it. This place looks like a hotel conference room with hardwood floors. All of the cops look exactly the same, and why the hell are they wearing helmets and sunglasses indoors, anyway? Krillin's boss, Sergeant Nutz, has some potential, but she has nothing to do with this story, so featuring her so prominently here is just a waste of time.

What really irks me is that the next scene shows Carmine and Magenta talking about Dr. Hedo, just like in the movie, except there's not much for them to say because Krillin and Nutz already covered it all! That's really dumb! We have two scenes designed to set up the plot of the movie, and one of them was in the movie, and actually features the main antagonists. But Toyotaro chose to emphasize the other scene instead.

So the idea here is that the police are already aware of Magenta's scheme to revive the Red Ribbon Army, and they know he plans to recruit Dr. Hedo once he gets out of prison. They also know that Hedo had that disc containing data on Dr. Gero's bioweapon, although I don't see how they could know that, since Trunks couldn't access the data on the disc and it was destroyed before anyone else could try. Hedo told Krillin in Chapter 90 that he memorized the contents of the disc, but he never said what it was that he memorized. This also goes against the storyline in the movie. In the film, Magenta had Gero's data on Cell, and the reason he wanted Hedo was because his own scientists couldn't do anything with it.

Anyway, the police seem to know everything about the Red Ribbon Army already. The only thing they don't know is where the Red Ribbon base is, so they send Krillin to follow Magenta's limo and spy on him. So we get the limo scene from the movie, except Krillin's clinging to the side of the car the whole trip, and then Hedo spots him and sends his cyborg bee, Hatchimaru, to attack him.

The gag here is that Magenta and Carmine don't even know Krillin is out there, and Hedo doesn't particularly care. The scene plays out almost exactly like it does in the movie, but with Krillin spliced in like Jabba the Hut in the Star Wars Special Edition.

Of course, Krillin gets shaken off so the base's location remains a secret, so this whole bit is completely pointless. It's just so dumb. I assume Toyotaro needed to pad out the story for one reason or another, or maybe he just wanted to add some new details so he wouldn't get bored retelling a movie like this. But if this is the best he can come up with, why bother? So far, this manga keeps "expanding" on the movie by answering questions nobody asked, like "Why did Piccolo start training Pan?" or "Why didn't the authorities stop the Red Ribbon Army?" or "Why is Gamma 1's cape red?"

From here, it's a pretty faithful retelling of the movie, which kind of makes the "filler" scenes even more conspicuous. It's refreshing to see the actual story move along without all these pointless diversions. On the other hand, it's kind of dull, because I already covered the movie and there's nothing else to talk about here.

There is some extra stuff in the Gamma 2 vs. Piccolo fight. Piccolo loses an arm, but then he grows a new one and makes it all long to catch Gamma 2 off guard. It doesn't slow him down much, but it's something we didn't get in the movie. I do find it a bit strange how Gamma 2 notes Piccolo's regeneration ability like it's this new data to add to his files. Shouldn't the Red Ribbon Army have all of this intel programmed into Gamma 2 by now?

Moving on, when Piccolo infiltrates the Red Ribbon base, he gets stopped by his superiors, who remind "94" that he isn't assigned to this area, but another soldier offers to switch assignments so "94" can gain some valuable experience watching Hedo eat cookies.

Again, what is the point of this? We're just derailing the story so Toyotaro can waste a page explaining how Piccolo managed to get this far into the base. In the movie, nobody notices or cares that "94" is in the command center instead of the hangar. That's because they're all faceless, interchangeable henchmen. They wear masks and refer to each other by numbers, for crying out loud! This is why Piccolo disguised himself in the first place! If Toyotaro wrote Star Wars, he'd do a whole scene where Luke Skywalker has to rewrite the Death Star's duty roster just so "TK-421" can get reassigned to prison detail. Nobody cares!

Okay now this is more like it. We get to the part where no one can reach Goku and Vegeta because they're training on Beerus' planet, and so Toyotaro gives us a little more of the sparring match Goku and Broly had in the movie. It's not a lot, but this is the sort of thing filler is good for. Toyo also does a whole montage recap of the DBS: Broly film, which is perfectly serviceable, but it annoys me because it demonstrates that he could have done the same thing with the Red Ribbon Army flashback in Chapter 91, but instead he did the briefing scene with Sgt. Nutz. Ugh.

We see the same scene where Vegeta explains the importance of mental training, although when he talks about all of their recent opponents, he adds manga-only characters like Moro, Gas, and Black Frieza. And that's fine, although it's strange when he talks about Jiren and Black Frieza in the same breath like this. In the manga, Vegeta has gotten pretty good at "Ultra Ego", his answer to Goku's Ultra Instinct. And Goku's learned to tap into UI at will. So I'm pretty sure Jiren and Moro aren't really an issue for either of them anymore. I mean, the only reason Goku couldn't defeat Jiren by himself at the Tournament of Power was because he lacked experience using UI, and now he's much better at it.

The point I'm getting at is that in the manga, Vegeta doesn't need to do "mental training" to defeat Jiren because he's already surpassed him. And he might need it to surpass Broly and Black Frieza, but he speaks as though that's their secret, and he needs to learn how to do it himself. I'm pretty sure Broly isn't "relaxed" between attacks when he's using his full power. He was kind of freaking the fuck out back then. Black Frieza might have been doing something like that, but he only hit Vegeta once, so I'm not sure how he could be certain.

So then we move on to the part where Piccolo wishes for a power-up from Shenron, and we just skip the part where Dende upgrades Shenron to do that. The implication here is that DBS-manga Shenron always had the ability to make Orange Piccolo, and no one bothered to ask before. Kind of annoying.

Anyway, while Piccolo and Bulma are getting their...ahem... enhancements, Trunks sees them and calls Goten. They make plans to sneak out and play superheroes again, even though Goten's grounded and he really doesn't need to run up a bigger bill with his mom. I guess this is the throughline for Goten and Trunks in Dragon Ball Super. No matter what happens, Dragon Team tries to keep the boys out of it. It's not just Chi-Chi wanting Goten to study. Back in Resurrection F, Bulma tells the others that she doesn't want them fucking around during the battle with Frieza. And Vegeta ices them out of the tournaments with the other universes because he doesn't want them turning into Gotenks and being dorks the whole time. The Saiyaman X-1 and X-2 caper probably didn't do much to convince anyone that Goten and Trunks have matured.

But they still crave the excitement of being in the thick of things. They know the adults are trying to keep them out of it, and that just makes it more exciting. I suppose this is the legacy of the Buu Saga, where they had to get involved because there was no other choice, and they've had the bug for DBZ mayhem ever since, but their parents said no.

And maybe that's why Goku and Vegeta were so determined to train the boys in the End of Z episodes. Sometime after Super Hero, they came back home, heard about the Saiyamen costumes and the battle with Cell Max, and decided that they needed to be toughened up. Like, okay, you want to go fight bad guys like we do? Stop doing the poses and quit relying on fusion and learn how to do it right. And if the sparring sessions are too hard for you, you can always go back to doing your homework like your mom wanted."

That's why Goten's so frustrated in DBZ 289. He just wants to go on dates or screw around, but his only options are a) homework and b) fight for-ev-er *clap clap clap-clap-clap*.

And now that I think about it, this is where GT dropped the ball with Goten, because he doesn't really seem to have gained anything from that. Hitting the books and getting hit by Goku should have made him a bit more serious about his life, but instead he's just constantly talking to girls on the phone, because that was the only thing GT's writers seemed to think of for him to do.

I mean, they kind of got it right with Trunks, who went into GT with a lot of responsibility and skills. He didn't enjoy his position, but you could tell he'd grown a lot as a person since the end of DBZ.

So yeah, maybe I'm beginning to appreciate Big Goten more than I did before, but this newfound perspective still doesn't do much for this part of the manga. There's just a lot of nothing happening here, and throwing more Krillin, Goten, and Trunks at it doesn't help matters.

[starysky1289]

hii OMGG I LOVED HOW YOU WROTE MY REQUEST 💗💗💗 could i please maybe request sorority vannessa (again) maybe her and the reader get into an argument over something and she fucks the reader dukb?:3

Hehehe yes I love the idea of being railed dumb <3 also note, I’m not in college yet, so idk if they call the end of semester grades anything but they are report cards to me. Also this strayed from the main idea but it’s still kinda the same

Toxic!Sorority!Vanessa X Reader. Grades.

TW: toxic relationship, degrading, DubCon

“ haha, yes! A 100 in my English history class! If I keep this up I could graduate a year early! “

“ whatever, it’s just a superlative, I’m passing my classes just fine. “

You were walking across campus with Vanessa, eyeing down your report card. They were straight 100s, minus a few 87s in your history class. Vanessa’s card was 65s, 70s, and a few 93s. You held her arm tighter, looking up at her.

“ well, I can always help you study, you know I don’t mind, I wanna see you do good. I watched your mock court case, you where completely right about your case, even if it wasn’t ‘ bar appropriate’ “

“ I don’t study. I party, get wasted, and spend time with my pretty girl. Besides, you sound like a nerd when you talk about your grades. “

Vanessa pulled you into her, kissing you gently. You chuckled, rolling your eyes.

“ well your grades show it, don’t be upset when i graduate before you. “

Vanessa scoffed, walking faster towards your dorm house. You pulled against her, you had to get to your next class.

“ Vanessa stop, we don’t have time for pit stops- “

“ well you like to run your mouth, i think i should show you what you really are to me. “

“ No Vanessa, I want to go to my class. I’m not in the mood anyway. “

You let go of Vanessa arm, turning to head towards your class. You made it a bit before being yanked back, feeling Vanessa fingers shoved down your throat. You knew it was hers, you could feel her acrylics scratching your throat. Your eyes rolled back slightly, and you felt Vanessa gentle kisses against your face.

“ see how you just stop for me? You go stupid with me. Cmon. To your dorm, we have a hour before your roomates back. “

She pulled her fingers back, they dripped with your saliva. You reluctantly followed her back to your dorm. Most professors had been letting you off for the lates or missing because of Vanessa, only because you’d always get any work you missed done.

She walked you into your dorm, and sat you down on your bed. You tried to push her away, tried to fight back against her advances but you couldn’t.

“ see how pretty and stupid you are? You can’t even get me off you…you love me too much y/n…. “

“ I-i don’t love you…y-your gonna make me fail my classes- “

“ here we go again. Did you just see your grades? Yourll be fine, infact, why don’t we study~ “

She finally got behind you, sitting behind you and pulling you onto her lap. She dug through your back pack and pulled out a textbook, flipping it open to a random page.

“ Here. Read this page, and if you finish in time we’ll run to your class. “

You grumbled, narrowing your eyes on the paper. Vanessa’s hands trailed up and down your body, as you began to read.

“ as seen in works such as ‘ the hunger games-?! “

You where immediately interrupted by the thrust of Vanessa fingers into you cunt, you could feel her warm breath heavy against your neck as she nuzzled into you.

“ keep going…any time you mess up or moan you restart the paragraph…”

“ f-fuck…w-written by s-Suzan c-Collin…a-a curr-erupted government c-can symbolize- oh nessy p-please…”

“ restart. “

You whine as she slams her fingers deeper into you, how she curled them up against the roof to f your dripping pussy just to mess you up.

“ a-as seen in w-works…s-such as t-the…Vanessa please~! “

“ your not getting anywhere like this. What, that desperately horny you can even read? For shame L/N. “

Vanessa slowly pulled out, putting the book to the side. You thrusted into her hips, whimpering softly for her again. You never got like this, how did she do this to you, how did she melt you so much you were desperate for her, like you hadn’t been touched in years.

Vanessa slowly laid you down on the bed, kissing every part of your revealed skin, slowly stripping you of your pants.

“ isn’t this better than another annoying class? Keep your legs spread, I’ll take care of you..”

Her words were soft, as she bent down to your core, gently being to drag her tongue against your folds, moans leaving your lips as soon as she did.

She’d keep you spread open with her hands as she would work her mouth over every part of your sensitive cunt, eating you out like you where her last meal. Your mind was melting from every movement, your mouth could only muster up incoherent words.

“ f-feels so good…so so good…n-need you..need your help a-always…”

“ awww…you get cuter every time I eat you out. Are you gonna cum already Y/N? Is my baby girl gonna cum from her mommy’s mouth? “

You moaned out again, pushing her head closer between your legs as you vigorously nodded.

“ Y-yesm!! G-gonna…gotta cum m-mommy…pwease p-please please let’s…”

“ that’s it baby…you cum all over mommy’s mouth…and afterwards I’ll make you taste yourself on my lips~ “

Her tongue only sped up, and so did your moans, feeling yourself get closer by the minute. First it was your legs shaking, then how you gripped the bedsheets, until you finally reached your climax, a loud ruined cry coming from you as your went limp in your sheets.

Vanessa rode out your high, before pulling back, chuckling to herself.

“ worthless, arnt you? You’re not all brains up there huh? Most of that brains just filled with thoughts on how I fuck you…what would your teachers say if they knew you weren’t all that smart huh? You can’t even complete a sentence with me on you like that…”

You couldn’t answer her, your mind felt like it was a mushy puddle, and your legs would twitch every few moments. Vanessa bent down and kissed you gently, letting her tongue slide into your mouth as you tasted her saliva mixed with your cum. You hated to admit how sweet you tasted, but you did, you were almost jealous that Vanessa could taste you and you couldn’t. You both pulled away from the kiss, Vanessa wipped her lips and turned away.

“ now. I have- “

“ stay p-please…d-don’t wanna be alone…”

She looked at you from the corners of her eyes, you must of looked pathetic, your legs a sticky mess and how you couldn’t move your own legs. She hesitated, looking down at her phone before groaning.

“ fine. But I’m not cuddling. I’ll just gonna sit here and scroll on my phone. “

She sat abover your head, and kicked her shoes off, beginning to scroll through her phone. You nuzzled your head against her thigh, she surprisingly didn’t move it away. You smiled softly, closing your eyes.

“ m..love you ness…”

“ yeah. You too. “

[neonfretra]

i think being part of making a massive baby of a primer (200+ slides with citations) that discusses the sharks and their history really does have you exploring different stages of internet rot and decay . descent into insanity below the cut

deeply deeply fascinated by graphics that phase out of websites with changing aesthetics that i would only know from combing through the web archive which is a great resource but painfully slow to navigate and mass archive anything on. we are watching companies and websites kneecapping access to drive up demand and sign ups for their services and any tweets that we use that get altered or deleted are gone god forbid anything happen to that website held together by popsicle sticks and duct tape and the letter x i guess are completely gone and you have to take it at our word or a screenshot. i cant navigate twitter or instagram because i dont have accounts, facebook is more readily accessible than either website and i deleted my facebook LONG before either twitter or instagram. (instagram images are fairly easy to save, if you have a basic understanding of navigating the source elements. find the element tag img, then find the attribute src=, which should have a link. theres a few images on a page, just keep looking) none of the articles on this homepage is archived but also the website never thought to keep anything older than this year? there are photos from this season but we wipe the last season completely? is this a reliable file host? (photo bucket) is this a reliable file host? (discord) is this a reliable file host? (fear the fin) will this video exist after i close it? (i wont save it, i dont have the storage) youll have to take my word for this pregame segment. youll have to take my word for this post game segment. is this game going to exist after a month? this promotional video of a player we traded wont exist after a season, this interview will break after a few years. (i dont know how to save these even if i wanted to) this news website is headed by broken videos every single article. here is a link to the source of this image but the page is no longer available. there is no official photo or scan of the 92-93 team but here is an ebay listing photo. the listing is taken off the website but the image is still on image searches. every link to an article is broken because the website changed their domain. every image is broken because the source no longer holds those images. when was this article written? (6 years ago) when was this article written? (5 months ago) what is the exact date? (n.d.) who is the author? (in the event in which there is no author, you start the citation with the title of the article) will this link exist after i cite it? am i being driven mad by the capfriendly debacle YES.

[littlegrosspelicannugget]

I recently finished reading Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes/scenes! 😊

If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. [...] If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you. -Chapter 1, Page 1 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

I found this part funny because I sent it to my sister (she's the one who finally got me to read the series) and told her I couldn’t continue because I felt like I might be a half-blood… She doesn’t believe me... 😭

[...] I put up with Nancy Bobofit [...] hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich. -Chapter 1, Page 3 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

Poor Grover, getting hit with such a gross combination… Honestly, who even makes a peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich? Not gonna lie, I lowkey wanna try it, lol. 😅

He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into the glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine. [...] Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game. -Chapter 5, Page 69 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

If I could have a superpower, this might be it, lol. I would so love to wave my hand and have a Sprite, Coke, or Dr. Pepper appear out of thin air. 😂

But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing. -Chapter 7, Page 93 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want-nonalcoholic, of course." I said, "Cherry Coke." The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid. -Chapter 7, Page 104 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

Great minds think alike. Percy is now my favorite since he has a good taste in soda, lol. 😂

[...] "We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid." "You do that without my help," I told them. -Chapter 8, Page 121 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip: The Gods Mount Olympus 600th Floor, Empire State Building New York, NY With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON -Chapter 11, Page 186 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

One of the funniest parts so far. I just love it. 🤣🤣

"Yes, an architect. Athena expects her children to create things, not just tear them down, like a certain god of earthquakes I could mention." -Chapter 13, Page 202 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

Annabeth: 😎

"You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues." -Chapter 16, Page 244 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

Ok... I know we were all thinking it, but you didn't have to say it out loud. I respect it, but Ares is gonna kill you, Percy...

"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" I asked. "It only works on wild animals." "So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned. -Chapter 16, Page 257 (Page number could differ since I read off the Kindle)

Again... Annabeth: 😎

Welp, that all I got for now. Share your favorite quotes/scenes from Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief!

[ectonurites]

thoughts on convergence batgirl?

ah yes i did mention i have problems with it in a tag last night which i imagine prompted you asking this.

on the one hand, in 2015 it was a 'made me cry out of joy to see Steph back in the Batgirl suit at all' sort of thing, so i'll always have a certain fondness for it. i do think it has some good moments (like the one in that above linked post) plus Steph & Cass as roommates my beloved.

BUT the major problem I have is that I think the premise is inherently flawed—I think it's way too out of character for Steph to quit being Batgirl/a vigilante the way she is shown to have done once the dome appeared. And that sorta bleeds into the whole story, it's a driving force behind how Steph & co are dealing with the Convergence situation.

Steph’s resilience and unwillingness to ever give up anything—no matter what the world threw at her—had pretty much always been a defining characteristic for her. The only times prior she’d ever ‘given it [being a hero] up’ were temporarily while she was pregnant (because. obviously) and when it was entirely not her choice post-War Games (because Leslie faked her death and brought her to Africa, but basically the second she got back to Gotham she was being Spoiler again).

Being a hero is something she had to work so hard for. It's something that she was told to stop doing over and over again—by Bruce, by Tim, by fucking everyone—but it's the thing she wanted to do and it's the way she wanted to help, so by god she was gonna do it!

And once she became Batgirl, that determination to be a hero only intensified:

(Bruce Wayne: The Road Home — Batgirl #1)

Like... this is her last page before the reboot:

(Batgirl (2009) #24)

Literally saying 'it's only the end if you want it to be' in rebuttal to Babs mentioning an end, and following it up with 'Here we go' as she swings off into the early morning to keep Batgirl-ing—in her last appearance before continuity is about to reboot and make her disappear entirely for a few years. This page is like the clearest example of showing how Stephanie Brown is a character that will carry on being a hero—doing what she loves and thinks is right—even if things are ending all around her.

So I just can't comprehend looking at that and saying 'yeah, when an emergency hits, she's gonna give all this up ASAP'. It just feels like it contradicts the very nature of Steph's attitude on being a hero and will always rub me the wrong way.

Then, a smaller thing that also bugged me on the reread of Convergence Batgirl I just did is how Tim/Steph was handled.

Because they were apparently together as Red Robin and Batgirl pre-dome which then led to the 'Tim ghosting Steph because she quit being Batgirl' breakup... but them being together was not the case nor really the trajectory things were headed towards last we saw the post-crisis versions of them. They had never gotten officially back together after Steph's death in War Games—like there were a few kisses and obvious feelings that were still present when she was revealed to be alive right around Batman RIP, but after the shit that went wrong at the end of Robin '93 they were very much so NOT together anymore. And when they had the chance to get back together during the Red Robin/Batgirl crossover they very specifically didn't.

So it just feels like... IDK, randomly added in drama for the sake of drama, that felt like it didn't add anything meaningful to the story besides... connecting an action to the already-seeming-ooc 'Steph Quit' plot point. But like, I think there easily could have been a story of rekindling their actual old relationship—without adding in this off-panel getting back together and breaking up thing—that would have made them getting back together again at the end feel way more satisfying.

[nanabansama]

Hello ! do you think Sakura is the real no.7 ? I just read a theory about that, in one chapter it says ”the seat for the seven mysteries will return to its formal form!” that made me feel like Sakura is the real no.7. what do you think that means ?

Hello!!

You mean the passage from Chapter 93, yes? Based on the full exchange in that chapter, I don't believe her to be Number 7. Here it is:

(Images taken from the DBS Scans fan translation.)

First, I think one thing from these pages that supports the idea that Sakura = Number 7 is that Sumire says Hakubo works for Sakura. As we know, Hanako is the leader of the Seven Mysteries. For Sakura to hold power over Hakubo could imply she is Number 7.

However... take a look at what she says next. Sumire says that Sakura gave Hakubo his position. She appointed him to Number 6. Now, to be fair, Hanako has been shown to give out interviews to aspiring Mysteries... but if that's the case, then who appoints Number 7? Personally, I find it simpler if that's only one person.

So, to me, Sakura is the one in charge of who the Seven Mysteries are. This is also how I rationalize her name being "nana"mine (seven-mine) -- she governs the seven, so seven is in her name.

Admittedly, the first time I read this chapter, I thought Sakura might be the god that the Seven are mentioned to serve... I had the idea in my head that god was the one who appointed them. But upon further reflection, I don't think Sakura acts much like a god. And if she is, then she has fallen far, far from grace...

Anyway, I think the line "return to its formal form" or whatever variant you prefer deserves our attention. This line is purposefully vague, meant to tantalize our minds and get us to imagine the possibilities of what it could mean.

First off, I will say that I don't think that it implies a nuance like "Replace the Current Mysteries with the Old Ones." Sakura says that the Sevens' jobs (to protect the Mortal Realm) are done, and that Nanafushigi are no longer necessary. For her to return some hypothetical old members to their seats only to immediately get rid of them again seems pointless.

Rather, I think she means that she wants to return the Sevens' seats so that something will occur. As if the seats were there to prevent something from happening. Such as, say... the border between the Near and Far Shores being destroyed?

(Images taken from the DBS Scans fan translation.)

Hmm... at first, I thought there was a sinister meaning here. That the yorishiro being destroyed meant that everyone would be destroyed and die. But when she says things might cease to exist, it could imply that there will simply no longer be a difference between the living and dead? (That doesn't sound so bad, does it...?)

(Image taken from the official YenPress translation.)

Hmm...

Anyway, I hope this answered your question. Please don't let me dictate how you think, though. There's no such thing as a bad theory -- so long as you're trying your best to stay faithful to the text, of course!

[febuwhump]

febuwhump 2023 survey results

to finish off with this year’s round of febuwhump, let’s talk about the stats! there will be a bit of discrepancy between the numbers of people who took part and those who filled in the survey, but to start us off:

the prompts post had a little under 4000 notes, the survey had 93 responders and the ao3 collection 1340 works. there were 51 people in the hall of fame, and the blog hit 1946 total followers.

86% of survey takers took part in febuwhump via fanfic. super interesting to me is that singular entry of “memes”. i know exactly who you are.

as for the fandoms and subject matters of the subject. there were 135 specified topics (some went into groups such as band RPF (3), minecraft misc (3), various NCISs (2)), with original fiction being the most frequent (12) and marvel misc second (11). the ao3 collection itself spans 340 fandoms. yes, i did write them all out so i could do the tallies. it took up 3 pages of my journal.

only 31.2% had taken part in a previous febuwhump, meaning that this was the first time around for the majority of people.

but-

over half completed the month!

if you didn’t complete the month:

the majority of creators answered for only 1 prompt (16.7%), then 3 prompts (14.3%) and 14 and 17 prompts equally (9.5%)

majority of prompts were shared on ao3 and tumblr

regarding the discord server:

unsurprisingly, a majority of people were not on the server (it had a ~100 member cap limit), but a further 61.1% of people who didn’t join had no idea there even was a server. i also got a lot of great feedback about ways the server can be improved for next year

most importantly:

there were a lot of suggestions for next year’s colour themes, chief among them blue, purple or red (apparently no one remembers febuwhump 2 being blue)

some ungodly soul recommended neon green and another simply the word “lurid”

also, here are the highlights of the absolutely abominal nickname concepts that you guys suggested. some of them i think are good, some are terrible. i will not tell you which is which.

febuwhump 5: none comfort, left whump

febuwhump: revenge of the fifth

whumpback whale

febuwhump 2024: revenge of the bees

“I don't know, but it should be Februwhump. February has two rs in it.”

cinco de whump

whumpcookies

multiple people thinking i’m asking after a febuwhump 4 title and suggesting “fourbuwhump” as if that wasn’t literally the name of this year’s event

febuwhump 2024: why are we doing this anymore

feef

feBuwHumP

“I’m not funny enough to answer this”

[ponds-of-ink]

Sing The Ghosts A Christmas Carol - Chapter 3 (“The First Spirit”)

This is the part where it veers into official head-canon territory, but this should be pretty insightful for this William.

Also, if it feels rushed at the end, it wasn’t intentional. I honestly had a different thing planned for the second half, but then I realized something that’ll get addressed here.

-

William spent the rest of the hour making preparations. He tidied up the office as best he could, ensuring that this first mystery guest moved around the room with ease. He also adjusted his outfit (patchwork though it was by this point), just in case this specter was royalty of the animatronic realm. An unlikely scenario, yes, but he dared not take any chances. Not after Spring Bonnie’s visit.

By the time the clock sounded, William was sitting in his chair once again. Closely watching one door, then the other. “I almost want to guess that it’s someone like Fredbear, but that would be too obvious,” he thought to himself as he continued to wait. “Perhaps it’s… Ballora?” His face flushed briefly, but he quickly shook it off. “No, it couldn’t be,” he chided himself. “She wouldn’t dare show up in some period piece nightgown. Besides, if our take was anything to go by, she’s now assigned herself to be Nephew Fred or some more minor role. ..That is, if this is all a play more-so than an vision’s intervention.”

So his speculation kept going. He went through the entire roster, crossing off candidates one by one. Couldn’t be any of the ‘93 restaurant models, as they would typically go as a group. The Toys couldn’t be bothered. The one of Phantoms could work, but they were mere illusions with no way to retain something like of the Past’s knowledge. The Nightmares? It was possible, but…

A reddish glow started to shine from the left hallway. William sat up in his seat. He quickly adjusted his mismatched collar one last time, then rolled back to his desk. His undead heart thumped. His Spirit of Christmas Past had arrived.

Dressed in an ever-shifting scarlet dress, a strange variant of Baby peered inside. Her bright green pupils fixed on the man. “I am looking for William Afton,” it said, its echoey voice only straining at his name. “Is that you?”

William cleared his throat. “Yes,” he answered in his best ‘business-like’ manner. “Are you the Spirit of Christmas Past?”

“I am,” Baby smiled, her voice now gaining some warmth.

“And, just so I’m not under any presumptions, why are you here?”

Baby’s head tilted curiously, let her ghostly pigtails float downward. “Didn’t the Yellow Rabbit make it obvious?” she asked in turn.

“Well, yes,” William replied, bobbing his head a little. “But I want to know if you two are on the same page. Are you here for my welfare? My need to recall how horrific my actions were? In your own terms, why do we need to meet?”

Baby glided into the room. “You’re overthinking this,” she retorted calmly, turning to face her listener. “I’m just here to take you to the past. If you want me to say something like the original Ghost of Christmas Past, I’m here for your…” Her voice trailed as her pupils shifted back and forth. She fell silent for a moment, lifting a hand as if to signal him to wait. “Your… reclamation,” she continued, slowly enunciating the second word. “Maybe even your reformation, if it happens.”

“My reformation?” William scoffed, crossing his arms. “Bold of you, out of all of my creations, to think that I have a chance to defy even myself.”

“That’s why I said ‘If’,” Baby corrected, raising her head a little. “I don’t know about what the future holds. I only know about the past. You will have to wait and see.”

“Very well,” William nodded before rising from his seat. “I suppose we must be off. We don’t want to waste the entire hour discussing what you can and can’t do, do we?”

Baby wordlessly stretched out her arm. She waited until William reluctantly held onto it, then started to glide again. “You’ll have to hop onto my back soon,” she instructed as her skates gradually picked up speed.

William raised an eyebrow. “May I ask why?” he questioned, all the while struggling to keep up with his guide.

“Because it’ll be hard for you to hold onto my arm when I reach my top speed,” Baby answered, slowing down her skates just enough. “You might as well jump now. We’re about at the end of the hallway.”

Having no other choice, William clung to Baby’s shoulders for dear life. He readjusted himself as Baby casually barreled towards a dark doorway. His eyes closed shut. He braced himself for whatever surface The Past gave them— Be it a barn door or a tree in the forest.

Darkness fell upon them both. Baby continued to skate along, though the tile floor had completely evaporated into thin air. The journey was now silent and void-like. And William, for the first time in ages, felt his ghostly blood run cold. He clung to Baby for dear life. “Spirit— Baby,” he sputtered out weakly, “have you considered that my past may have been lost to time? I know Scrooge’s past was ages ago for him as well, but he was not eager to completely purge his old life like I have been.”

“If it’s lost to time, then why do I see stars?” Baby inquired softly, peering up into the sky above them.

William’s eyes went wide. He carefully followed Baby’s gaze. There were the stars of a cold winter’s night. Mountains of snow quickly piled up around them, causing Baby to slow down a tad. A cold wind blew across  their faces, only making William smile a little.

Baby quickly glanced back. “Do you know where we are?” she questioned, looking around. “I know it’s around Christmas, but this feels too vague— Even for me.”

“December, 1959,” William answered swiftly, his voice battling the ever-surging gusts of wind. “Either on my birthday or very close to it. It’s a Christmas party at… Bah! The name escapes me.” He paused to get a better look at the ‘road’ ahead. “Just keep heading in that direction and you should see a barn,” he resumed, cautiously pointing towards the snow drifts in front of them. “It should be glowing like a jack o’lantern, even from the outside!”

“Thanks,” Baby responded calmly, now definitely charging towards their destination. “But, now that I think about it, didn’t you just say that you completely buried your old life?”

William’s face burned red. “Well, you know how I am,” he retorted, attempting to mask his sudden embarrassment. “Nothing really stays dead when I’m around— Even if it’s something I want to stay dead.”

Baby only gave a quick look of acknowledgment. She plowed on through the snowy hills, turning an hour or two in a horseback carriage into mere minutes. On and on she went until the barn was a mere minute or two away. Then, with an even stronger burst of energy, she stopped herself with the aid of a towering snowbank. Her wheels turned very sharp and quick, making her entire body turn sideways.

William flew off her back and into the cold ground. However, instead of complaining, he rapidly brushed himself off and hobbled towards the barn. “Thanks for the drop-off, Baby!” he yelled, waving his arm at the surprised girl. “Now, come on! We’ve got a party to catch!”

Baby just shrugged her shoulders and followed along. “He must know that we can’t really attend,” she thought to herself as they approached the barn. “He’s probably just excited to have good fun again.”

And Baby’s guess was absolutely correct. William rushed past each arriving vehicle, eagerly waving to each passenger and mouthing some sort of greeting. Then the music crawled underneath the barn’s two wooden doors. Filled with an even greater excitement, he gave a quick “goodbye” to the newcomers and entered inside.

Thankfully for him, the barn’s interior were just as eager to greet him. Guests both old and new chattered and did their own Christmas traditions. For a few children, it was running along the edges and playing a condensed version of Tag. Several groups of dancers did their best ballroom waltzes in the center, ready to please their ever-changing audience. A small refreshment table stood like a sentinel near the door, which our William stayed close by. He eyed the pleasant cacophony before him, taking in every sense his spirit could rekindle. The smells of candle wax, the scrubbed-down stables, and the nearby fruit punch. That volunteered band performing a more “country-like” rendition of familiar Christmas songs while a couple of attendees sung along. The ever-present warmth both on his skin and in his heart… He sighed heavily, though not even he knew which emotion the sigh came from.

Baby now stood beside him, curiously watching. “So you did like Christmas parties,” she chimed in, her voice absolutely buzzing with fascination. “And pretty crazy Christmas parties, too.”

“Yes,” William answered warmly, as if in a dreamlike daze. “I did.“ A sudden twinge of bitterness kept into his expression. “A shame that it all had to end,” he muttered darkly before leaving the table.

Baby silently trailed behind him. Both dodged and weaved past the chaos that was the main crowd. William stopped in-between a pair of couples chattering amongst themselves. He leaned forward, staring at the dancers now switching out. Baby, meanwhile, stayed close by his side.

A mother and her child soon entered from the southern-most side of the “ballroom’s” audience. They thanked a teenage boy and girl in turn, then carefully joined the rest of the performers. As soon as the band struck up the next song, the pair started to chime in with all their might. While the boy’s voice was soft and shaky at times, the mother’s firm and operatic tone lovingly covered up any imperfections. And, truth be told, the same went for the dancing (though the boy was clearly supposed to be the one leading).

Baby giggled at the sight. “He’s a bit nervous, isn’t he?” she asked, turning to face the still-observing William.

“In m—his—defense,” William cut in, shooting back a stern glare, “this was his first time performing on such a grand scale. Before this was smaller things like school choir performances and at-home ‘concerts’ with the woman you see before you. And she was a very fine singer! Very.. well trained. Regal, even.” His voice caught and his eyes misted, forcing him to look back at the mother and son before him.

Baby wrapped her more unstable arm around his. She continued to observe alongside him.

All seemed to be normal on the duo’s end. The songs came and went. The boy got more confident as time went on, both in dancing and harmonizing with his mother when the time was appropriate. As for the mother, whatever lingered from her own motherly cares seem to melt away. Her movements became more lively and graceful—Almost as if the whole party was restoring her waning youth right before everyone’s eyes.

Of course, such a wondrous scene wasn’t meant to last. A man’s voice bellowed from the east side of the barn. Groups of people were being shoved left and right. The boy and his mother stopped dancing, though the band blissfully played on. The mother quietly glanced away while the boy stepped forward. “Father, wait!” the boy exclaimed, stretching out his arm. “She hasn’t been dancing with anyone except for me! She hasn’t kissed any other man here! I’ve checked!“

But the boy’s plea fell on deaf ears. The mother was quickly seized by the arm and dragged past the crowd of mixed emoters. William followed them with his eyes, looking even more dour than before. He winced in pain as the two wooden doors slammed shut.

Baby gawked. Her eyes bounced from the door to William. “Do you know what that was about?” she asked, genuinely puzzled. “I know I’m the Spirit of Christmas Past, but this feels… beyond me.”

William put a hand to his face. He lowered his head with a groan. “To be honest, I myself am still unsure on what that was about,” he answered stiltedly. “Given later events, I can only guess that it was about parenting or some other heated debate. Could’ve been about my trouble fitting in at school, for all I know. I… w-wasn’t the most confident when it came to.. certain traits…” His voice trailed, then broke completely. He buried his mouth into his other hand, stifling any wretched noises ready to come through.

Meanwhile, Baby glanced at the young William. And, unfortunately for her, he wasn’t much better. His teary eyes were now frantically darting around the room, hoping for any sign of comfort. Mercifully, however, the two teenagers from earlier swooped in and led the boy away from the equally disturbed dancers.

Taking this as a sign on what to do next, Baby moved her more stable arm across the air. The area instantly changed from the bustling barn to a dimly-lit living room. Unlike the scene before, this one had very little going for it. An older chair with some decorative cloth here, a garland draped over a television set hissing and bussing with static there, and a much smaller tree placed in the dingiest corner.

So, really, there was no Christmas cheer in this place.

Baby waited until William practically jolted out of his sorrow, then asked: “Well, how about we rest here?”

William’s heart fell into his stomach. He gently grabbed Baby by the shoulders. “I’m going to assume you are new to your job and have no idea where you’ve taken us,” he addressed gently, gnashing his teeth. “Otherwise, I am going to fight the urge to smack you on the head with a helium hammer from the Local Fair.”

Baby just tilted her head. “But isn’t this your home?” she asked innocently, gesturing to the room before them. “Your old home, I mean. The one you grew up in?”

William rolled his eyes and hung his head. “Yes,” he snarled out, grasping her shoulders ever tighter. “But this is the Christmas the year after ‘59. I have no idea how you’ve done this, but you’ve sent me to the one downward spiral I never wanted to see again.”

Baby felt a shiver run down her robotic spine. Slowly but surely, everything became clear to her. “I would probably have to say, ‘don’t blame me, blame the past’,” she said softly, placing an arm on his shoulder. “But I think you might be right. To make you remember this—whatever mean things your Daddy did—wouldn’t really help your reclamation, would it?”

William looked up at his guide. “In the one sense, it may be a very useful thing to remember for later comparison,” he answered, trying to regain his ‘businessman’ tone. “But, in the other, I think I may just perish from all of the other memories crawling from their dark abysses. So, if we must go through these Christmases together, at least rush through them. They were all essentially the same. The exact ‘decorations’, the annual ‘traditions’,—“

A rough, bellowing “William!!” resounded from another room. William gripped his guide tightly. “And the same rebukes,” he said hurriedly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Please hurry.”

Baby waved an arm. As promised, only a few things changed throughout the years. Pieces of furniture came and went. The father became more and more agitated, but less and less (outwardly) malicious. And the boy, some would say miraculously, grew into a bolder teenager. One that, by the time the visions faded, had slipped out the door right as everything had finished shifting.

Yet again, William took in these renewed surroundings. The pain in his eyes lingered briefly. To Baby’s relief, he heaved a lighter sigh. “We’re free to leave,” he smiled, gently holding her hand in his. “My younger self has just driven off to college.”

Baby’s eyelids raised. “On Christmas?” she asked, failing to hide her surprise.

William chuckled. “Yes, as strange as it sounds,” he answered casually. “Looking back on it, it was probably the best and worst Christmas present I ever got: The chance to finally go out there and defy the odds.”

Baby took one last look at the ever-dingy room before them. “Let’s go to another Christmas,” she said, gliding over to the front door. “Someplace a bit less… dark.”

“Yes, let’s,” was all William muttered before clambering back onto Baby’s shoulders. Baby waited until he was settled, then swung open the door. They flew down the starless suburb before them, following the freshly-created car tracks on the road. The void surrounded them again, but it lasted far less than before.

In an instant, they stumbled into a large room filled with tables. She skidded to a halt on the checkerboard floors, but left no skid marks. William, meanwhile, quickly leapt off as soon as he was able to. Both of them gawked. “I don’t believe it!” William exclaimed, placing a hand to his forehead. “It’s Fredbear’s back in its testing days! Why, if I had to date it, this had to have been the Christmas Show in the late seventies! …Or was it mid-to-late seventies?”

“Maybe that woman can help you,” Baby suggested, motioning to a tall woman entering from a distant side room.

William squeezed past a table or two. His strained eyes turned wide. He muttered some sort of name, but it was so quiet only he could hear it. “Oh, Lizzie,” he muttered offhandly, motioning for Baby to come closer. “I think, perhaps, she could help you better than I.”

Baby carefully rolled up behind him. She peeked over his shoulder. “Is that… her?” she asked gently, keeping her eyes focused on the newcomer.

William’s eyes misted, but his smile only grew wider. “I don’t think y—Elizabeth— ever got the chance to see her,” he mused softly as the unknowing woman took notes on her clipboard. “Well, not since she was born, at least. There were… complications on all fronts. Health troubles.. Unrelated accidents..” His voice trembled on the last word, but tried to pull himself together. “At least we can both see Justine in her prime,” he resumed, feeling his heart race as ‘Justine’ gave a thumbs up to someone behind the stage curtain. “..Though, between you and me, I consider all of the times we’ve spent together her prime. I could even say her entire life was her prime, but that would be too presumptuous for someone I’ve only known since college.”

Baby answered his ramblings with a thoughtful expression. “So, does that mean Ballora was inspired by her?” she asked, tilting her head towards Justine now slipping behind the same side door.

William proudly nodded.

“Hm,” Baby replied darkly. “It’s kind of strange that you don’t feel the same way towards Ballora, then. You know, not accepting her invitation and all that.”

William would have given a lengthy rebuttal, but the sudden flash of stage lights turning on forced him to stay silent. He turned his attention back to the stage itself, where the vibrant purple curtains soon parted. There stood a large golden bear and a slightly narrower yellow rabbit, both dressed in Christmassy attire. “Well, hello there!” boomed a voice from some speaker as the bear waved. “You’re just in time for our Christmas Concert!“

“Now, hang on, Fredbear!” another voice yelped out as the rabbit put a paw to its face. “I’m not ready to sing yet! This Winter weather’s made my voice much sorer than usual.”

“Don’t worry, Springs,” the bear ‘laughed’, putting a hand on the rabbit’s shoulder. “You can get your voice prepped up while we make ourselves acquainted.”

“Thanks, Fred,” Springs said before going into a coughing fit. He lifted his arm as his voice provider practically gave his all into that sound effect.

“While Springs here, uh, gets ready,” Fredbear continued, refocusing on his mostly invisible audience, “feel free to sit down and rest a while. Don’t want your feet to get as sore as my friend’s throat here.”

Realizing that neither of them had actually sat down in a while, both Baby and William pulled out some chairs and settled in. Baby casually watched the rest of the show, but her eyes wandered from time to time. William, on the other hand, leaned forward with his eyes fixed on the two performers. He was mostly quiet.. Save the occasional pained wince at Spring’s hoarser notes. Or his inner child returning for a moment to audibly fill in the intentional dead space in certain parts.

Alas, an hour quickly passed by. It was soon time for Fredbear and Spring-Bonnie to say their goodbyes. Baby and William waved to their newfound friends as the purple curtains closed back. As the stage lights shut off, Baby looked at William. “So, Mr. ‘Too-Evil-to-Enjoy-Things’, how are we feeling?” she asked with a smug grin.

William crossed his arms. “I was fine until you asked me that,” he huffed, shaking his head. “I’m not even mad about the nickname, really. In fact, I’m more upset about the fact that you haven’t shown any of the horrible things I’ve done! What about Charlie and Susie’s little group? What about all the auditory dodging and weaving I had to do to nearly enact my plans with Circus Baby’s? Or Springtrap! All that mucking around as Springtrap would have been a great example! Why, oh why, haven’t you bothered to showcase any of that?”

Baby calmly leaned back in her chair. “There’s only one problem with using all of those memories,” she replied. “None of them really took place at Christmas. I’m the Ghost of Christmas Past, after all.”

William’s face fell. Oh. Right.

“And, besides, you can remember those things pretty well,” Baby explained further, rising from her seat. “Why do I need to remind you when you’ve got them all memorized by heart? At least with the stuff we’ve seen so far, it took a bit of time.”

The frustrated man gnashed his teeth. “Can you please be courteous enough to show me a Christmas that was around any of those times?” he questioned, fighting the urge to rip out his hair. “Something that shows me as the man I became? A cold-hearted, unfeeling monster?”

Baby stared at him blankly. “Only if you think you’re brave enough,” she responded, stretching out her hand.

“I am more than brave enough,” William insisted, grabbing her hand and rising to his feet once more. “I await this memory with open arms. Lead me there, Spirit.”

The Spirit wordlessly twirled her free arm. No dark void greeted them this time. Only the second living room of the journey. To its owner’s credit, however, this one was much more furnished and decorated. A towering, ornament-laden Christmas tree shone in a nearby room. Its colorful glow reflecting off the garlands strung around the archway. Other trinkets surrounded the main room, helplessly watching some dismal soul buried underneath a pile of festival velvet blankets. Though a faint melody played on the television, it did nothing to soothe the sobbing.

William’s whole body shivered.

“Do you remember this?” Baby asked, still watching the grieving wretch before her.

“Yes,” William said, turning away from the sight.

“When was this?”

He steadied his breathing. “December of 1993,” he responded in a frail voice. “Christmas week. I was ‘celebrating’ it alone that year, due to… unforeseen events.”

Baby’s eyes spotted a large box underneath the tree. “Is that present yours?” she questioned, pointing to the gift.

William winced in pain. “No, Spirit,” he choked out, shielding his eyes with his hand. “It was supposed to be for… her. Elizabeth.”

Baby’s faceplates twitched. “What was in it?” she inquired further, her tone becoming strangely intrigued.

“A dollhouse,” William responded before sitting down on the floor in defeat. “A very fine one at that.”

Both fell silent. The second William, finally noticing his mistake with the television, pressed a red button on his remote. The set shut off with a harsh buzz. He was now left in the shadows.

As the clearly-bedraggled man got up from his tear-soaked respite, his older counterpart seethed. “Spirit, I beg,” the latter pleaded bitterly, “why must you make me remember these things? Why must this ‘intervention’ remind me of this beating heart that I am never supposed to have? Even this specter of decades ago had a sliver of grief before the spring-locks took him later that week!” He banged his head against the wall, only feeling a small bit of impact.

“Don’t blame me for these things,” Baby chided gently, lowering down to his eye level. “I’m just here to show you what’s already happened. Blame yourself for this, if you need to— Both in the bad deeds and the… ‘weaker’ times.” She paused to gauge her listener’s expression. “I still stand by what I said at your Daddy’s house, if it helps you to understand,” she added in a slightly kinder tone. “That wasn’t your fault.”

William’s teary eyes shot a steely glare. “The only help I need is a way to get back to the office,” he sneered, repositioning himself to be more ‘stable’. “Take me home, Lizzie.”

The only answer he received was Baby shutting her eyes and lowering her head. In an instant, the final room transformed into his office. The office he started the night with, as a matter of fact.

William instinctively checked his face. One cheek was still wet with blackish tears. His eyebrows raised. “Either this is the most bizarre Christmas Carol that’s ever been performed or it really is an intervention,” he thought as he clambered to his desk. “No matter which it is, I’m starting to think there’s more at play than mere animatronics showing off their more ghostly attributes.”

[thehoneyknight]

Dreams of Hallownest, sketch pages 81-96

(Radiant Arc 9, 3.34)

(dialogue transcript)

Page 82

Honey?- You… came out of me…?

Argent- This dream is ours together. You can’t get rid of me. We can fight against her.

So be it.

-

Page 83

Argent- Let us fall together.

Knight- …

-

Page 85

R.Honey- You didn’t give them a chance! Those Vessels… They could have lived freely!

-

Page 86

R.Honey- This is all we have ever wanted.

Hornet- Their power has dwindled. Their light continues to fade without focus… Yet the cause is by another…

Paladin- We shouldn’t be fighting these Vessels…

They seek the same end as us. Fight for the better ends. We cut their paths before seeing their direction-

Hornet- Has such only now occurred to you?! Did you not evaluate your own future? What we fight for? The kingdom’s future necessitates the voids we spill. Bitter ends secure one future in justice. None will be in vain.

-

Page 87

Hornet- Ah!

Paladin- Hornet!

R.Honey- You / are terrible!

-

Page 88

Paladin- And you / are selfish!

R.Honey- Rrrrr…

Paladin- You think you are the only one who can save this old kingdom? You think it is only you who has the strength and willpower to reach for the better end?

R.Honey- I do!

Paladin- Maybe you do. But it is not only you who is capable of a better end.

-

Page 89

Paladin- One of the futures I fight for is one where we all fight together. A Hallownest reignited in unity between honey and void. You took that from me!

R.Honey- I could take a lot more… But there is a job to do and I’m the only one doing it. You’ve stood in my way for too long.

-

Page 90

Paladin- You never had to bear the burden alone. We had a solution in Vespa’s Blessing. No matter my Queen’s goal, you threw out all our hopes and sacrifices just to enforce your own. All those who died--

R.Honey- All those you killed!

Paladin- All those I killed! If you fail now all of that will have been for nothing…

R.Honey- Then let me do this.

Paladin- You can’t. None have before. I know I can’t stop you alone. Come back from this, Honey. Before you destroy all you are trying to save.

-

Page 91

R.Honey- I will never return to a Hallownest with you. Let me change it. I won’t let Hallownest be broken by one the likes of you. We deserve better.

Paladin- …

-

Page 93

R.Honey- (--the likes of you. We deserve better.)

You… came back…

-

Page 94

R.Honey- You keep coming back…! Why do you keep coming back?! No!

-

Page 95

Radiance- Shine radiant. Rid yourself of hindrance. Break free of the void.

Hornet- Ugh…

-

Page 96

Hornet- The Dream Nail…

Paladin- You can see it too?

Hornet- Yes- Little Ghost. Continue forth- there may be a way yet.

[alwaysalreadyangry]

I posted 965 times in 2022

210 posts created (22%)

755 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nostalgebraist-autoresponder

@alwaysalreadyangry

@raedear

@aphroditestummyrolls

@haremask

I tagged 921 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#film - 136 posts

#lit - 100 posts

#gifs - 93 posts

#poetry - 92 posts

#art - 71 posts

#talking to the bot - 70 posts

#old guard - 37 posts

#fanart - 25 posts

#photographs - 23 posts

#music - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 127 characters

#started going out and about in skirts with hairy legs and it's like. how did it take me so long to get up the courage for this?

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

@babygirlcarmy so i feel like it would be a… i guess twist on all the fics where nicky has homophobic family. if like, so he’s becoming friends with Joe and Joe sees him declining a phone call from his grandmother with a grimace and he’s like, gently sympathetic and Nicky’s just like — no you don’t understand she’s found out I’ve never had a boyfriend and now she won’t stop giving me DATING TIPS BECAUSE SHE THINKS I’M A LOST CAUSE. “I’ll call her back later when she’s about to eat dinner. that way she can’t trap me for half an hour by reading out a list of gay bars she found on yell.com.”

and Joe is like ok 💀 well then 💀

149 notes - Posted September 8, 2022

#4

anyway going around a lot of art galleries this week has reminded me that i really want to write the joe/nicky fic where joe is a new tour guide at the art museum with an aspiration to end up as a curator once he’s done with grad school, and one day at the end of his shift he meets the hot security guard who sometimes does nights.

and then he hears rumours from his colleagues that this guy has… crackpot theories about the art??? joe is like uh ok but also he doesn’t like their tone or the fact that security guards are banned from talking to museum patrons about the art. he’s like, note that down as things to discuss once we finally get this union recognised.

anyway of course it turns out that the security guard, nicky, has three quarters of a PhD in religious art history and he’s been communing with the art a lot and chilling out with it at night. “art speaks in many different voices,” he likes to say, mysteriously. joe is like, wtf, please marry me.

yes it’s very loosely based on the article at the paris review blog about the unicorn tapestries, but can you blame me???

175 notes - Posted October 29, 2022

#3

Seeing a lot of Goncharov content but only real 70s movie heads will know that Spanish director Pere Portabella was meant to be making a behind-the-scenes documentary of the film which turned into a whole other thing. It's called GOMORRA CALLS.

Scorsese is in it and so are his parents, for some reason. At first you're just like oh this is cute, they're bringing food to the set, taking an interest in what's going on. But it becomes this quite... Creepy reality-bending thing? His mother keeps cryptically referring to weird telephone calls they've been getting at home, and his dad keeps moving things on the set, you can only see what he's doing if you spend a lot of time watching him at the edge of the frame while someone else is talking. And sometimes they'll get to the set in the morning and find things left in the wrong place, there's a weird smear on a camera lenses, one of the actors has lost half the pages from the copy of the script they've been learning from.

I think the idea was meant to be that they're being hounded by the realfe mafia for making the movie. But it almost seems like they're being haunted by the ghosts of mafia members at times. Like, Scorsese's hotel room will be freezing cold, and he's being sent anonymous messages at the front desk in a way that just doesn't make sense. He says, "I'm not sure if someone is trying to stop this movie... Or if they just want to be part of it. If they want to look at a prop in the wrong place and just say, hey, that was me."

At the time of its limited run in the US, Scorsese said he didn't really know what Portabella was making, fueling theories that the film was true documentary and not fictionalised. But it's listed as fiction on Portabella's Wikipedia page now, and the prevaing theory is that it must be made up. It's not been included on any of the Goncharov DVD or Blu-Ray packages but it was supposed to be a Criterion Channel exclusive last year... It never showed up, and there are rumours it's to do with audio licensing issues. But there's a VHS rip floating around out there if you know where to look.

182 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#2

See the full post

359 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

incredible book I found yesterday… English Field Names: A Dictionary, by John Field

707 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[indiejones]

INDIE’S TOP 200 PAKISTANI TV SERIALS OF ALL TIME !

If there's one thing Pak's famous for -TELEVISION!

Far far superior to anything here,only nation that's managed to preserve-nurture its cultural ethos past half century,that Ind's failed miserably at since early 90s lib.

And since Indians haven’t traditionally had access to Pak TV serials, except the few years on Zindagi channel here in mid 2010’s, before the ban on Pak entt TV channels once again invoked (possibly borne of some silly political exploitation by few content presenters etc, we’re guessing), we in India being short of first hand experience, rely on knowledge portals like Wikipedia for an accurate pool to then base our studied (online) analysis on.

And this list is based on the Wikipedia page for Pak TV serials, and few trusted sources detailing oldest all-time hits, hence any unlucky omissions on Indie’s part ought be attributed to the accuracy of such source material alone.

And here’s Indie’s list!

 1.      .Bakra Qiston Pay (PTV 1983)

2.      .Buddha Ghar Pe Hai (PTV 1989)

3.      .Kaisa Hai Naseeban (ARY Digital 2019)

4.      .Kashf (Hum TV 2020)

5.      .Kahin Deep Jaley (Geo Entt 2019)

6.      .Tanhaiyaan (PTV 1985)

7.      .Raqs-e-Bismil (Hum TV 2020)

8.      .Karb (Hum TV 2015)

9.      .Khoya Khoya Chand (Hum TV 2013)

10.  .Maat (Hum TV 2012)

11.  .Kashkol (NTM 1993)

12.  .Kis Din Mera Viyah Howay Ga (Geo TV 2011)

13.  .Ishq Zahe Naseeb (Hum TV 2020)

14.  .Sunehray din (1990)

15.  .Alpha Bravo Charlie (1998)

16.  .Waris (PTV 1980)

17.  .Alif (Geo Entt 2019)

18.  .Kathputli (Hum TV 2016)

19.  .Khuda Mera bhi hai (ARY Digital 2016)

20.  .Koi Chand Rakh (ARY Digital 2018)

21.  .Main Chand Si (ARY Digital 2011)

22.  .Main Manto (Geo TV 2017)

23.  .Noor Bano (Hum TV 2010)

24.  .Parsa (Hum TV 2010)

25.  .Khudgarz (ARY Digital 2017)

26.  .Ankahi (PTV 1982)

27.  .Humsafar (2015)

28.  .Chand Grahan (PTV 1992)

29.  .Manay na ye Dil (Hum TV 2007)

30.  .Shaheen ( PTV 1980)

31.  .Meray Paas Tum Ho (ARY Digital 2019)

32.  .Akhri Chattan (PTV 1985)

33.  .Mehar Posh (Geo Entt 2020)

34.  .Raaz –e-ulfat (Geo Entt 2020)

35.  .Khatti Meethi Zindagi (Hum TV 2011)

36.  .Khudparast(ARY Digital 2018)

37.  .Zindagi Gulzar Hai (Hum Tv 2012)

38.  .Neeyat (ARY Digital 2011)

39.  .Main Khayal hoon Kisi Aur Ka (Hum TV 2018)

40.  .Munkir (TV One 2017)

41.  .Khamoshi (Hum TV 2017)

42.  .Dhaani (Geo TV 2017)

43.  .Khaali Haath (Geo Entt 2017)

44.  .Dilfareb (Geo Entt 2015)

45.  .Khushi Ek Roag (ARY Digital 2012)

46.  .Angar Wadi (PTV 1994)

47.  .Ishqiya (ARY Digital 2020)

48.  .Meri Maa (Geo TV 2013)

49.  .Behadd (Hum TV 2013)

50.  .Ki Jaana Main Kaun (Hum TV 2018)

51.  .Dhoop Kinare (PTV 1980s)

52.  .Mere Qaatil Mere Dildaar (Hum TV 2011)

53.  .Pani jaisa pyar (Hum TV 2011)

54.  .Mera qasoor (ARY Digital 2019)

55.  .Nanhi (Geo Entt 2013)

56.  .Kitna Satatay ho (Hum TV 2015)

57.  .Dastaan (Hum TV 2010)

58.  .Kuch Kar Dikha (ARY Digital 2014)

59.  .Shehr-e—zaat (Hum TV 2013)

60.  .Lashkara (ARY Digital 2018)

61.  .Jackson Heights (Zindagi 2014)

62.  .Mera Naam Yousuf Hai (A-Plus Entt 2015)

63.  .Malaal (Hum TV 2009)

64.  .Mirat ul uroos (Geo Entt 2012)

65.  .Karadayi (ATV 2012)

66.  .Do Bol (ARY Digital 2019)

67.  .Do Qadam Door Thay (Geo Entt 2014)

68.  .Haara dil (A-Plus TV 2018)

69.  .Ranjha Ranjha kardi (Hum TV 2018)

70.  .Inteha e Ishq (A Plus TV 2021)

71.  .Ladies Park (Geo Entt 2011)

72.  .Alvida (Hum TV, 2015)

73.  .Laal Ishq (A-Plus TV 2017)

74.  .Khaani (Geo Entt 2017)

75.  .Jap pari (Geo Entt 2011)

76.  .Laag (PTV 1998)

77.  .Bari Apa (Hum TV 2012)

78.  .Khaas (Hum TV 2019)

79.  .Khwab Aankhain Khwaish Chehre (Hum TV 2011)

80.  .Susraal Mera (Hum TV 2014)

81.  .Main Gunehgar Nahi (ARY Digital 2013)

82.  .Dulhan (Hum TV 2021)

83.  .Daam (ARY Digital 2010)

84.  .Khuda ki basti (PTV 1969)

85.  .Piya ka ghar pyara lage (ARY Digital 2012)

86.  .Doosri Biwi (ARY Digital 2014)

87.  .Dhundle Raste (PTV 1989)

88.  .Takkay Ki Ayegi Baraat (Geo TV 2011)

89.  .Dhuwan (PTV 1994)

90.  .Aunn Zara (A-Plus Entt 2013)

91.  .Mehndi (PTV 2003)

92.  .Dil-e-Muztar (Hum TV 2013)

93.  .Mann Mayal (Hum TV 2016)

94.  .Main Hari Piya (Hum TV 2013)

95.  .Dil-e-Nadaan (Geo Entt 2009)

96.  .Doraha (Geo Entt 2008)

97.  .Kadoorat (Hum TV 2013)

98.  .Mera Pehla Pyaar (ARY Digital 2012)

99.  .Lamhay (Hum TV 2018)

100.                      .Kahani Raima aur Manahil Ki (Hum TV 2014)

101.                      .Qurban (ARY Digital 2017)

102.                      .Band Khirkiyan (Hum TV 2018)

103.                      .Ana (PTV 1984 )

104.                      .Alif Allah aur Insaan (Hum TV 2017)

105.                      .Mujhe Khuda Pe Yaqeen Hai (Hum TV 2013)

106.                      .Aitebaar (Aaaj Entt 2015)

107.                      .Ali ki Ammi (GEO Entt 2015)

108.                      .Jalan (ARY Digital 2020)

109.                      .Ashk (Geo TV, 2012)

110.                      .Bay Dardi (ARY Digital 2018)

111.                      .Mohabbatein Chahatein (Hum TV 2020)

112.                      .Shama (PTV 1974)

113.                      .Yaqeen ka safar (Hum TV 2017)

114.                      .Ishq-e-Laa (Hum TV 2021)

115.                      .Meri zaat zarra-e-benishaan (Geo TV 2009)

116.                      .Aseerzadi (Hum TV 2013)

117.                      .Chaand Parosa (Geo Entt 2015)

118.                      .Mohabbat ab nahi Hogi (Hum TV 2014)

119.                      .Bedardi Saiyaan (ARY Entt 2017)

120.                      .Din (PTV 1992)

121.                      .Anaa (Hum TV 2019)

122.                      .Dil Tera Ho Gaya (2020)

123.                      .Bin Roye (Hum TV 2016)

124.                      .Noorpur ki rani (Hum TV 2009)

125.                      .Meri Ladli (ARY Digital 2012)

126.                      .Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay (Hum TV 2021)

127.                      .Kaash Main Teri Beti na Hoti (Geo TV 2011)

128.                      .Inkaar (Hum TV 2022)

129.                      .Landa Bazar (STN 2002)

130.                      .Dharkan (Hum TV 2016)

131.                      .Dil Mom Ka Diya (ARY Digital 2018)

132.                      .Bandish (ARY Digital 2019)

133.                      .Duaa (Geo Entt 2015)

134.                      .Kahi Unkahi (Hum TV 2012)

135.                      .Dekho Chaand Aya (Geo Entt 2016)

136.                      .Dugdugi (ARY Digital 2011)

137.                      .Inteqam (Geo TV 2022)

138.                      .Umeed (Geo Entt 2020)

139.                      .Durr-e-Shehwar (Hum TV 2012)

140.                      .Baaghi (Urdu 1 , 2017)

141.                      .Dil Hai Chhota sa (Geo Entt 2011)

142.                      .Lamhay (Hum TV 2018)

143.                      .Dobara (Hum TV 2021)

144.                      .Darr Khuda Say (Yt, 2019)

145.                      .Mera Naseeb (Hum TV 2011)

146.                      .Dastaan (Hum TV 2010)

147.                      .Dil Ishq (Geo Entt 2015)

148.                      .Kis ki Ayegi Baraat (Geo Entt 2012)

149.                      .Mujhay Sandal Kar Do (Hum TV 2011)

150.                      .Bandhay Aik Dor Say (Geo Entt 2020)

151.                      .Dil-e-Beqraar (Hum TV 2016)

152.                      .Aunn Zara (A Plus Entt 2013)

153.                      .Namak Paray (Hum TV 2013)

154.                      .Main Abdul Qadir Hoon (Hum TV 2010)

155.                      .Dushman-e-jaan (ARY Digital 2020)

156.                      .Family Front (PTV 1997)

157.                      .Daadi ka Damaad (Har Pal Geo 2021)

158.                      .Digest Writer (Hum TV 2014)

159.                      .Mol (Hum TV 2013)

160.                      .Baba Jani (Geo Entt 2018)

161.                      .Mujhay Roothnay Na dena (Hum TV 2011)

162.                      .Kaafir (ARY Digital 2011)

163.                      .Malangi (PTV 1996)

164.                      .Do Bol (ARY Digital 2019)

165.                      .Phaans (Hum TV 2021)

166.                      .Dil Lagi (ARY Digital 2016)

167.                      .Patjhar Ke Baad (Urdu 1 2012)

168.                      .Anaya Tumhari Hui (Geo TV 2015)

169.                      .Mah-e-Tamaam (Hum TV 2018)

170.                      .Hum Tum (Hum TV 2022)

171.                      .Ainak Wala Jin (PTV 1993-1996)

172.                      .Mata-e-Jaan Hai tu (Hum TV 2012)

173.                      .Yaariyan (Geo Entt 2019)

174.                      .Mishaal (PTV 2009)

175.                      .Meri Ladli (ARY Digital 2012)

176.                      .Malika – e – Aliya (Geo Entt 2014)

177.                      .Mil Ke bhi hum Na Mile (Geo Entt 2012)

178.                      .Mera kya qasoor tha (Geo Entt 2016)

179.                      .Quddusi sahab ki bewah (ARY Digital 2012)

180.                      .Mera rab waris (Geo Entt 2019)

181.                      .Barson Baad (PTV 2006)

182.                      .Khuda aur Mohabbat (Geo Entt 2011)

183.                      .Dastaan (Hum TV, 2010)

184.                      .Parlour Wali Larki (Bol Entt 2018)

185.                      .Aakhri Station (ARY Digital 2018)

186.                      .Alif Noon (PTV 1980’s)

187.                      .Betiyaan (Hum TV 2019)

188.                      .Dar Si Jati Hai Sila (Hum TV 2017)

189.                      .Deewar-e—shab (Hum TV 2019)

190.                      .Pyar ke sadqay (Hum TV 2020)

191.                      .Kankar (Hum TV 2013)

192.                      .Aye Dil Tu Bata (Geo Tv 2018)

193.                      .Diyar-e-dil (Hum TV 2015)

194.                      .Dil Awaiz (Geo TV 2022)

195.                      .Mohabbatein chahatein (Hum TV 2020 )

196.                      .Aik Hai Nigar (Yt 2021)

197.                      .Haiwan (ARY Digital 2018)

198.                      .Bandhan (PTV 1998)

199.                      .Bashar Momin (Geo Entt 2014)

200.                      .Bay Khudi (ARY Digital 2016)

[mystacoceti]

I do not believe that the simple psychological conflict between distress and pleasure explains the critical embarrassment at Russ’s work. That would be naïve.

I do believe that what in her works creates such intense pleasure, what creates such intense distress, most critics of science fiction are unprepared to deal with.

The critical embarrassment as I perceive it works like this. Critics of contemporary Anglo-American science fiction feel that an axiomatic value is present in their critical object (science fiction), a value the presence of which justifies their critical endeavor, a value the critical endeavor itself is organized to locate, reveal, explore, and analyze. These critics find themselves quickly drawn to two almost inarguable positions:

First, this value cannot be present in any literarily worthy style: most science fiction is appallingly written. Therefore, this value must be sought at a grosser, narrative resolution.

Second, this value cannot be present in any ethically rigorous presentation of social ideas; most science fiction—indeed, much of the most narratively energetic science fiction—is governed by a political/ethical system one hesitates to call fascist only because any functioning fascist group would have to be a great deal more in touch with the complexities of the world even to exist, much less to oppress. Therefore, science fiction’s value must be present elsewhere than in ideological systems reducible from it. Some kind of distorting squint that will provide a different resolution must be applied if we are truly to locate that value.

But if these two positions are the case, what then is one to do with a writer such as Russ, whose prose style was from the beginning rigorous, deeply felt, richly envisioned, and with all its riches controlled by not only a verbal but also by a psychological economy that marks her sentences with a pace and precision one associates with a John Hawkes, a Vladimir Nabokov (Russ’s teacher and one of the dedicatees of And Chaos Died), a Djuna Barnes of the Spillway stories? What is one to do with a an SF writer who describes a spaceliner: “The Big One was obviously one of those epoxy-and-metal eggs produced by itself—the Platonic Idea of a pebble turned inside out, born of a computer and aspiring towards the condition of Mechanical Opera” (And Chaos Died, p. 93). The irony of that “obviously” could occasion pages of explication de texte. To appreciate fully such a sentence one must be able to call up the ghost of the Walter Pater phrase it lightly mocks (”All art aspires to the condition of music”) as well as the pulp horror story diction (”The Old One was . . .”) it mocks as lightly.

What is one to do with an SF novel like The Female Man, which in full frontal attack has taken on the aesthetic problem of our times, a problem that has obsessed poets and artists from Robert Bly to Eve Hesse—how to respond directly to politics with a work of art, at the same time avoiding both naïveté and bombast? What is one to do with an SF novel whose distancing devices make it an “epic novel” in almost exactly the way Brecht used the term epic theater? What are we to do with an SF novel in which we find passages like:

This book is written in blood.

Is it written entirely in blood?

No, some of it is written in tears.

Are the blood and the tears all mine?

Yes, they have been in the past. But the future is a different matter. As the bear swore in Pogo after having endured a pot shoved on her head, being turned upside-down while still in the pot, a discussion about her edibility, the lawnmowering of her behind, and a fistful of ground pepper in her snoot, she then swore a mighty oath on the ashes of her mothers (i.e., her forebears) grimly but quietly while apples from the shaken tree above her dropped bang thud on her head:

OH, SOMEBODY ASIDES ME IS GONNA RUE THIS HERE PARTICULAR DAY.

(The Female Man, p.95)

This is a contemporary writer working at the highest level of rhetorical risk, where the political clichés of blood and tears must be re-viewed, in a garden at once Edenic and Newtonian, regalvanized by honesty and irony, and finally exploded before they can deeply affect; the writer, by use of the literally comic, has found a way to accomplish that explosion.

But what is one to do if one is committed to the idea that the value of science fiction is not present in its style or affective social ideas? One reads, one is moved (and one is by the interplay of aesthetic and social intelligence on page after page). But to the extent that one adheres to this critical position, one is left critically mute—or at best having to apologize for this obvious excellence. And one certainly must hesitate to place such excellence at the center of our science fictional writing practive.

Thus the embarrassment.

from “Russ”, Samuel R. Delany

[monapearlquo]

Heyyy, for the book ask :)

7, 9, 14, 23, 24, 29, 31, 41, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 62, 76, 88, 93, 97, 104, 114, 122, 125, 126

aww thanks!

7. A Book You Did Not Finish

I haven't DNFed a book in while because I am very picky with what I read, but one that comes to mind was this God awful book called "Awake" by Natasha Preston. I thought it was gonna be a mystery book because of the blurb, but instead it was just a wattpad style straight romance that made me want to die.

9. Your favorite book of 2020

I'll have to go with "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley. I ADORE that book!

14. A book that made you trip on literary acid

This may sound like a weird choice, but it's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for me. Maybe it’s due to the circumstances in which I first watched the movie (basically high on sugar and at 3am), but the book was just... weird.

23. A book that is currently on your TBR

"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. It's the favorite book of a friend.

24. A book on your nightstand.

"Great Goddesses" by Nikita Gill (the author is my favorite poet)

29. Your favorite YA novel.

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas. 11/10 stars.

31. A book that mentions a name in the title.

"My Lady Jane" by Cynthia Hand (and other people). Hilarious story. I probably won’t like it as much the next time I read it, but I loved it in 2019, and that’s what matters i guess lol.

41. A book about nature

*squints* Well, I am no nature-expert but... Are dolphins a part of nature? If so, "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell

46. A book with a brown cover

Well, it's not entirely brown, but it mostly is, so I submit my copy of Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Best Shakespeare book I've read.

48. Your favorite sci-fi novel

I am ashamed to say that the only scifi novel I own and have read is "Winter's Orbit" by Everina Maxwell

49. A book featuring the bed-sharing trope

Lmfao of course I would use this book for THIS question - "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo, aka my favorite book rn

50. A book that made you cry a LOT

"All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque. It is one of my alltime favorite classics.

51. A book that you found underwhelming

"Normal People" by Sally Rooney. I hate this book. Both so fucking pretentious and yet boringly unreal. Like... what do people see in this book? Do they like it just because it’s a “sad” book? Like, I believe in “to each their own” but still...

52. A popular book/series you love.

The Grishaverse. Favorite series ever

62. A book with a forgettable plot but amazing characters

“Crier's War” by Nina Varela

76. A book with a golden/silver cover.

Would one consider "King of Scars" by Leigh Bardugo a gold cover? Yes.

88. A book that made you angry.

"Just So Stories" by whatever that dead racist is called. I was assigned to read it in school, and I was SO furious the entire time, it is so fucking racist, omg, please bombard this book with 1 star ratings because it has a 4.08 star rating on goodreads and like WHY? IT IS SO EVIL!

93. A book featuring an unreliable narrator.

I was about to say a certain Agatha Christie book, but I feel like that just spoils the murderer, so I'll say "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart. Honestly it isn't a great book, I literally read it because I saw a page of it on pinterest and thought it was cool, but it was just... All right?

97. A book with a hospital setting.

The only book I know that has anything to do with hospitals is "The Fault in our Stars", but I would not recommend that.

104. A fluffy, sweet read.

I don't read much fluffy stuff outside of fanfiction, but let's see *searchs room* "Heartstopper" by Alice Oseman (tho there are serious topics in it)

114. Your favorite chick lit novel.

What does this mean.

Um, I'm just gonna say "One Last Stop" by Casey McQuiston. It's kind of like what Google says this genre is I guess?

122. Your favorite winter read.

This has nothing to do with winter, but I have reread it several times during winter so... "The Chosen" by Chaim Potak.

125. Your favorite autumn read.

Probably "Anne of Green Gables", I was raised on the Megan Follows movie (and the book itself of course), so...

126. Your favorite spring read.

Here's a childhood favorite that I for some reason usually only read in spring: "A Hidden Magic" by Vivian Vande Velde. It's a children's book, not that long, but it's amazing, and I love it!!

[mwsa-member]

The Art of War Plus The Art of Politics: Strategy for Campaigns: Special 10th Anniversary Edition by Shawn R. Frost, Sun Tzu, Gary Gagliardi (translator)

MWSA Review Pending  

Author's Synopsis

A winning playbook ten years in the making!

Why did we write this book? After avoiding political involvement for decades, I got frustrated and had an axe to grind and needed a practical guide to winning in politics for non-political-science-majors. That book didn’t exist, so we wrote it.

We first published much of this book in 2014 before Shawn's SUCCESSFUL run for School Board. He defeated a two-term incumbent, named Disney, who was the President of the State School Board Association. When Frost beat Disney by almost 10 points, local journalist Russ Lemmon referred to it as a "Shocking" victory and spent several column inches of front page real estate speculating on how a first time candidate beat a powerhouse named Disney. We knew it boiled down to two words: Better Strategy.

Reasons to buy this book: You want to WIN

"All of Politics is Local, but the science of strategy (winning) is universal and timeless."- Political Sun Tzu™

You want to sharpen the most powerful weapon in any contest, the human mind.

If your opponent reads this book, and you don't, it's over for your campaign

You want to follow in the path of a consultant with an almost 94% win rate over 5 cycles

Here’s what’s different about this book: This builds on The Art of War plus the Art of Politics: Strategy for Campaigns by Gagliardi and Frost (2014) by adding an epilogue by Frost "10 years on the front lines of politics and the culture wars", Political Sun Tzu Key Concepts throughout, and End of Chapter Summaries to highlight key points from the past 10 years on the political battlefield and hard-won lessons.

This book is two books in one: on the left hand page is Gary Gagliardi's award winning translation of Sun Tzu's Bing Fa (Chinese) as The Art of War (English) and the facing page is the political interpretation. Much of this book was first published as “Sun Tzu’s Art of War plus the Art of Politics: Strategy for Campaigns” Feb 10, 2014, ISBN: 9781929194728

Does this book even work? Yes, it absolutely does. When we wrote this book, I hadn’t even been a candidate, let alone an award-winning political consultant and campaign educator and it delivered massive wins for me and our clients. This is the guidebook used to help shape the political landscape in Florida since 2014. The primary author, Shawn R. Frost, has used this book to get bills passed, candidates elected, and help launch political committees and movements.

The updates in this Special 10th Anniversary Edition add to that winning formula.

Frost's former clients, friends and colleagues regularly appear on FoxNews, NewsMax, OANN, Daily Wire, CNN, MSNBC, and in print everywhere. He considers himself to be a slightly smarter version of Forrest Gump in that he has had a front row seat to history. All because he mastered the mindset and skills contained in this book, and the courses at Science of Strategy Institute and he practiced and refined them at his consulting firm, MVP Strategy and Policy LLC.

That's the thing about good strategy, it is universal in its effectiveness and timeless in its influence.

We can’t promise you will win 93% of the time like Frost did, but reading this book moves you in the right direction. You will know how to win your campaign, see a loss coming sooner, or win eventually by advancing your strategic position through a winning or losing campaign over time.

Read this book again and again, to sharpen your mind like a sword, until winning becomes an instinct.

NOTE: A nearly identical version of this book was also published as "Political Art of War: Winning Strategy for Local Campaigns" ISBN:979-8883734686 and ASIN: B0CXCCMNMH on Kindle. Readers are advised that these are essentially the same books with minor layout and design variations

Format(s) for review: Paper Only

Review Genre: Nonfiction—How to/Business

Number of Pages: 237

Word Count: 46,194

[jprenvs3000w23]

Launching Into Nature Interpretation - Fulfillment

Disclaimer: I grew up in the U.S., so the measurements I describe are imperial. Rounded conversions will be listed at the bottom of the page.

My relationship with nature is like that of a young child and a wise elder. A young child may have respect for the wise elder early on, or they may simply regard them as an old fart. Initially, I more closely resembled the latter. Nature was this big dirty place full of fallen trees that no one had the decency to clean up, pests flying around that either want to eat from you or just hurt you out of spite, and nowhere comfortable to sit down to watch TV. Nature was for people who just have this unreasonable desire to live amongst the filth.

In the spring of 2013, my Uncle Paul asked my dad and I if we wanted to hike the Wonderland Trail with him and my cousin the following August. I was only 12 at the time, and considered nature to be a treacherous place. Instinctively, I said yes, as it would give me an opportunity to brag about what a disgusting beast I was able to conquer. 

On my first day of the trip, I felt exhilarated and powerful. Of the 93 miles, we finished the day having hiked 5 miles–all uphill, and I was barely even tired. There was no way this trip was going to end for me in defeat.

We were scheduled to hike 11 miles the next day.

After about 4 miles, I had asked how close we were to the next campsite. “No, Justin, we still have 7 miles to go,” my cousin says to me. All of a sudden. My 50-pound backpack started to feel so much heavier than it had ever felt before. So, I requested to take a break–a snack break! That would not only feel fulfilling, but it would also reduce my pack weight! 

This line of thinking would persist for the rest of the hike that day, and continue for another. This trip was scheduled to be a total of 11 hiking days. I began to regret my decision in agreeing to this trip.

By the start of the fourth day, I had come to the realization that a negative attitude would not serve me well if I was going to continue hiking the rest of the trip. It was at that point where I began to consider what it really meant to have an open mind. Going forward, I would not be expressing to myself and to the other hikers in my party what a negative experience I was having, because it would only further decrease the quality of experience I would have. Rather, I would patiently wait for something fulfilling to arise, then cherish it. Rather than looking for things which I considered in my mind to be fulfilling, I would simply take in what was around me and try to relate to it.

That brought me peace. It brought me a sense of place. It made a 15-mile day into 15 miles worth of things I could relate to.

In doing so, not only did I gain an appreciation for nature, but it brought validation to both myself and my surroundings. I no longer considered why I was here, why the trees obstructed my path on the mountain I was hiking over, and why the mountain was there in the first place. Everything just… was. Beautiful views exist because they get to exist, and we just spectate their uninterrupted existence from afar, jealous of their apparent serenity. I do, at least.

Conversions:

4 miles - 6 km

5 miles - 8 km

7 miles - 11 km

11 miles - 18 km

15 miles - 24 km

93 miles - 150 km