#I didn't like either book

[burins]

I know this is the Take Personal Responsibility for Systemic Issues website, but I keep seeing weirdly guilt trippy posts about libraries and ebook licenses, which are a labyrinth from hell and not actually something you personally need to feel guilty about. here are a few facts about ebook licenses you may not know:

in Libby/Overdrive, which currently operates in most US public libraries, ebook licenses vary widely in how much they cost and what their terms are. some ebooks get charged per use, some have a set number of uses before the license runs out, and others have a period of time they're good for (usually 1-2 years) with unlimited checkouts during that period before they expire. these terms are set by the publisher and can also vary from book to book (for instance, a publisher might offer two types of licenses for a book, and we might buy one copy of a book with a set number of uses we want to have but know won't move as much, and another copy with a one year unlimited license for a new bestseller we know will be really moving this year.)

you as a patron have NO way of knowing which is which.

ebook licenses are very expensive compared to physical books! on average they run about 60 bucks a pop, where the same physical book would cost us $10-15 and last us five to ten years (or much longer, if it's a hardcover that doesn't get read a lot.)

if your library uses Hoopla instead, those are all pay per use, which is why many libraries cap checkouts at anywhere between 2-10 per month.

however.

this doesn't mean you shouldn't use ebooks. this doesn't mean you should feel guilty about checking things out! we buy ebook licenses for people to use them, because we know that ebook formats are easier for a lot of people (more accessible, more convenient, easier for people with schedules that don't let them get into the library.) these are resources the library buys for you. this is why we exist. you don't need to feel guilty about using them!

things that are responsible for libraries being underfunded and having to stretch their resources:

government priorities and systemic underfunding of social services that don't turn a profit and aren't easily quantified

our society's failure to value learning and pleasure reading for their own sake

predatory ebook licensing models

things that are not responsible for libraries being underfunded:

individual patron behavior

I promise promise promise that your personal library use is not making or breaking your library's budget. your local politicians are doing that. capitalism is doing that. you are fine.

(if you want to help your local library, the number one thing you can do is to advocate for us! talk to your city or county government about how much you like the library. or call or write emails or letters. advocate for us locally. make sure your state reps know how important the library is to you. there are local advocacy groups in pretty much every state pushing for library priorities. or just ask your local librarian. we like to answer questions!

also, if you're in Massachusetts, bill h3239 would make a huge difference in letting us negotiate ebook prices more fairly. tell your rep to vote for it!)

#like. the nypl budget is getting cut bc Adams doesnt think the library matters! #your checking out a book a few times bc you didn't get to it in time is not actually affecting Mr. Cops Not Books #library haint #if you like the library and you like free stuff come use the library. you might be surprised about what we have! #but it's not a moral act either way. #libraries are a public good! i love the library! but so is the post office. we don't moralize about the post office. #ANYWAY. #local librarian with tendencies towards scrupulosity gets frustrated online more news at 10

[lotus-pear]

i think you guys are onto smth..

i unironically got invested in this HELP

#WHERES THE FIC AT IF SOMEONE WRITES THIS I WILL PAY THEM A HUNDRED DOLLARS😭😭 #kunikida serving the country while dazai's serving cunt😔 #dazai was born to malewife but forced to manipulate and i think that's the greatest tragedy of bsd #anyway some facts i would like to share abt this au thay i came up w while drawing!! #takes place in 1939 (start of wwii) and there was a mandatory draft that required one male over eighteen from each house to serve #both of them are still twenty two and had been engaged for abt two years before getting married that year #newlyweds! unfortunately kuni had to go fight and they were seperated :( #before the war kunikida was a math teacher at the local high school and dazai obviously managed the household and didn't work #he's hopeless at cooking and meal prep even w recipie books so they either get those prepackaged meals or kuni makes dinner when he gets ba #so like when he's making lunch for kunikida he normally just packs a basic sandwich w raw fruit #kunikida always appreciates the effort even tho hes probably sick of having the same thing everyday but he won't complain abt it #when kunikida joined the army he was relieved that the mess hall had better food than dazai #he was the only one in his platoon that never complained abt the food so his fellow soldiers assumed it was bc he came from a tough bg #when in reality he was just used to being poisoned on a daily basis from his dumbass husbands cooking and was hardly fazed from army ration #they write to each other although its more dazai sending and kuni receiving bc hes off fighting and doesnt have time to write back #dazai talks abt life on the homefront and how he has to grow a victory garden (everything is DYING HE CANT EVEN RAISE TOMATOES) #and kuni writes abt his fellow soldiers and how the war is going and when he thinks he'll be home and how he misses sleeping in a bed #ANYWAY yea thought i'd share sry for infodumping in the tags again #this post is for like the four ppl that care abt this specific flavor of knkdz so hopefully this gets four notes at least #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #dazai osamu #osamu dazai #kunikida doppo #doppo kunikida #kunikidazai #knkdz #lotus draws #bro sry for posting at two in the morning i couldnt sleep until i got this out of my head they have infested my brain

[spielzeugkaiser]

[MASTERPOST]

Eskel is like "I WILL read this book about... A wolf and all his friends? Dancing and being. happy... 🥺"

#the witcher netflix #geraskier lovechild #eskel #soft eskel #geraskier #(no jeskel I am sorry but honestly I can see it at times) #omegaverse #listen retrospectively Eskel will slap his face (repeatedly) because it is at times pretty obvious (but only if you know!!) #did Milek accidentally call Eskel 'daddy' a few times? ofc he did. (how should Eskel know that he didn't just mixed it up in excitement.) #'oh he clearly meant his omega father' WELL #Roach should have been an indicator! but it's either that that name is in one of jaskiers songs (probable) and jaskier is like #'oh yeah he likes that one bard song about the horse - I swear he loves horses' #(that isn't even a lie and it's very Jaskier to compose an ode for Roach) #or he just goes 'We heard stories about a witcher crossing our town-' #and now wolf themed kids book. it's- #oh well #a lot of things are obvious when you look back to them #and I think Eskel could have made the connection! if Jaskier still had a lute. he would have gone at least once '... geralts omega bard??' #(who Geralt didn't really talk about but who they always could still smell traces of on him - bad thing that scents change after pregnancy) #but no lute?? connection not made. #that's the one jaskier thing Eskel knows of. always has a lute. #and retrospectively he can see that Milek and Geralt really look alike - it's at this age more obvious than later - because that is the age #that Eskel remembers. In which he still has a mental picture of what Geralt looked like? but it's been SO LONG #over a century #and Eskel was a traumatized child too. Things are. Very muddy. #the only ones who have a chance to recognize Milek are Visenna and Vesemir and that's it.

[uncanny-tranny]

Quick fiber arts tip: if you're knitting or crocheting or anything, get a book light. I've got one set up right behind me when I crochet, and it's so bright in a way that my lamp never is. It's made crocheting on darker yarns much easier, and I find that it strains my eyes less because I don't have to focus so hard on what I'm doing because I can actually see what I'm doing.

#art #fiber art #crochet #knitting #i got my book light from barnes and noble ngl and i love it so much #i would recommend a book light like mine where you can use either a battery power source or a plug-in power souce so that you have options #i just clipped mine behind me where my bedframe has a divet and it's really secure #i know this might seem like a common sense thing but i didn't really think about it until i tried it out for myself #and i personally prefer white or cool light versus warm light like my lamp so that's a bonus #these type of book lights can be expensive but i think it's well-worth the price (mine was about $25USD i think?)

[stevethehairington]

really fucking sick and tired of people who really fucking love the eddie book jumping on people who don't like or are even remotely critical of it's posts and like crusading their opinions around from the top of their high horses and shoving it down our throats.

if you like the book, great! that's awesome! love that for you! i am genuinely glad that you were able to find good in it and enjoy it!!

but not everyone did, and not everyone is going to agree with you. so, instead of going on some grand crusade where you find every single post that includes anything even remotely negative or negative adjacent or even neutrally critical and spending ALL this time and effort trying to provide unwanted rebuttals to every single thing, maybe you should just stay in your lane and find people who DO like the book and chat about it with them.

because i can PROMISE YOU, none of us appreciate it when you come onto our posts and start accusing us of "hating on" the author or "being rude" about her and her work and RIDICULOUS shit like that.

being critical of something and pointing out it's flaws is NOT inherently hating on it. i, frankly, do not know where people got that notion, but it's not fucking true so can we fucking quit assuming it is? and, critiquing something is also NOT the same as saying this is shit and it sucks and the author is a piece of garbage. again, where the fuck that came from is beyond me. you can be critical of something and still enjoy it. as soooo many of you love to point out, it's not perfect, why should it be perfect? so D U H. of course that means criticism can and should arise???

also. hot take (by which i mean ice fucking cold because it's NOT a fucking hot take), but going around toting FALSE facts as part of your "defense" does not make you or your argument look good. you, like the author, should maybe do a basic fact check first. 🙃

tldr, if you like the book, that's genuinely great, but stay in your fucking lane and stop seeking out posts from people who didn't like it to start shit in the notes.

#flight of icarus #stranger things #this has happened to me and to so many of my friends and im fucking SICK of it #i didn't even hate the book either!! i thought it was just okay #and yet i STILL get all these book lovers jumping down my throat about things i say about the book #things that - HONESTLY are not even like that scathing!!!!! #like god damn all im asking for is a little BASIC effort from the author and they all think thats me asking for her head on a platter #its NOT #i have no problem with the author #she's whatever to me honestly just a vessel through which the book was given to us #ALSO she is some nebulous blob way outside my orbit. AS IN any critiques i have of her and her work are NOT direct assaults on her??? #like i dont fucking KNOW her #im not saying any of this to her face #she is a published writer she should KNOW the risks she is taking when she publishes her writing #not everyone is going to like it! there are going to be people who are critical of it! there are going to be people who hate it! #critiques and pointing out mistakes and wishing for things to have been different is not a fucking direct attack #those things are actually pretty fucking common responses to ANYTHING #and a lot of times theyre actually meant as useful helpful things geared towards improvement and not something to tear someone down with #some people on the internet need to go touch grass and learn how to CRITICALLY THINK again #the world is not as black and white as you think #n e ways. rant over. if you stuck around through all of that kudos to you. i am just. at the end of my rope with this bullshit.

[burning-academia-if]

Hello, I blinked and March was over. Another busy/hectic month in regards to Real Life things + I got pretty sick at the end of it (because being sick in February wasn't enough lol). With that being said, here's what I did get done:

Wrote 16.1k words (Chapter 2 total word count: 27.4k )

Started editing/coding in the start of Chapter 2

Did some more coding/tweaking for stat pages

Fixed some variables in Chapter 1 + added piercings and facial hair options to character customization (these will all be added when Chap 2 releases)

Posted Rhea's bday art

With that being said, I thought Chapter 2 would be a max of 30k words, but all the small branching and flavor text in this chapter is really adding up lol. Of those words written, most of it went towards the Lars/Student Warden path. I did however write one of the three endings, and one of two of the RO pov ending scene variants.

With that said the Rhea/Student Government path should be a lot shorter since it's more straight forward, and once that's done, all that's left is a handful of smaller scenes/variants to finish up and then Chapter 2 will be done! I'm guessing it'll end up being between 40k to 50k words in total. I'm hoping to finish up the writing in April and then code everything in to release it by late May! This is obviously very tentative, but unless the universe decides to cause mayhem once more, that's what I'm aiming for!

Lastly, here's another little preview for the confrontational MCs this month (ft Lars):

#BA: updates #didn't hit my word count goal either but I did lose an entire week of writing to a fever in my defense asjkflas #health>>>>>>writing #also if you're reading the tags random off topic request lmfaO #but I like to read during my hour break at work and I need book recs #I read pretty much everything in all genres and age demographics #non fiction and comics/mangas included #anyways I read a lot but I think my issue lately is I've read so much in my comfort zone and now nothing looks interesting #I've read 33 books this year and only a handful weren't fantasy (I know that sounds like a lot but like 19 of those were manga asfaklj) #the only limit is it can't be self published since it would need to be available at my library and they never carry indies

[bumblingbabooshka]

Thinking about Vulcans prizing “calm” over “happiness”. 

Like how humans look back on their childhood and remember how happy it was - joyful days spent running around in the sun, getting into a bit of trouble, laughing with peers and family - that’s how they know it was a good one. Meanwhile Vulcans might look back on their childhood and remember how peaceful it was. Quiet days spent studying, the warm glow of candlelit lessons in caves, getting along smoothly with ones peers - that’s how they know it was a good one. Humans typically chose their friends and romantic partners based on if this person makes them feel happy above all. The question of “Do you like being with them?” is interpreted to mean “Does being with them make you feel happy?” But since Vulcans don’t experience (or strive for) happiness there would have to be some other parameter. So I was thinking about like, what is a good relationship to a Vulcan? There’s obviously a big emphasis on ‘togetherness’ in Vulcan unions. The Pon Farr ritual Tuvok does with his [hologram] wife involves them committing to becoming “Two bodies one mind” and it’s stated that they give and receive from each other all that they are. There’s also of course the iconic “Never and always touching and touched”. This is all (as was said during T’Pol & Koss’ wedding) “The Vulcan heart, the Vulcan soul, this is our way.” Vulcans are also (ENT) expected to live together for at least a year after being married - I imagine so that they can bond with and get to know one another. In SNW T’Pring wants for Spock to honor the commitments he makes to her so in that case T’Pring values Spock keeping his word to her and placing her above other things. I see a bit of Tuvok in that, where he prizes his commitment to T’Pel over anything else to the point where he’d nearly rather die than break it: (Even though he eventually agrees to having sex with a hologram it MUST be of his wife and he lets Tom/The Audience know that he will NOT be making a habit of it. There’s no ironclad logical reason for him to react this way as a hologram is not a person but his commitment to T’Pel seems to take precedence and I believe that’s his reasoning. His bond with T’Pel is logical, sustaining and important to him and he’s loath to break it over some bodily need. some desire that will pass even if it kills him.) <- By this way of thinking, betraying T’Pel would be the emotional choice while remaining loyal to her is remaining loyal to his logical self. A strong emphasis on loyalty to one’s mate seems to be a common Vulcan trait. In the beginning this seems to be rooted in tradition but later on its probably assumed that the couple will be loyal to one another out of some sort of actual connection between two people as opposed to pure obligation. In ENT T’Pol says that a certain degree of “affection” is eventually expected to happen within a marriage (though the way she says it makes me think this doesn’t always occur and isn’t necessarily The Goal) and her mother says that she and her husband developed a “deep connection” to one another. All this makes me think that a connection and a sense of ‘togetherness’ or ‘compatibility’ would also be prized over more emotional things like a passion for one another. It’s a partnership above all and that would be prized over a romantic union.  It makes me think of Vulcans’ roots in violence and war. Maybe this commitment to a steady togetherness, two people who don’t know each other being able to work together so seamlessly they nearly become one, is a way to show they’ve moved beyond that despite the pon farr remaining. Vulcans are a naturally very emotional species. Someone who incites that would probably not be seen as someone you should spend your time with. Someone who makes your heart pound, sets you ablaze, fills you with passion - that sounds like a bad Vulcan time v_v  Tuvok says as much when he talks about how he was struck with “shon-ha’lock”. Humans wouldn’t see anything wrong with having a crush on someone (and indeed in that episode Tom only comes to the conclusion that it’s a shame Tuvok couldn’t act on these emotions) but it’s obvious that even a teenaged crush when uncontrolled can become a very big problem to a Vulcan. In one of the Star Trek Novels Tuvok even stops being friends with and talking to a girl because she tearfully admits she has feelings for him and he sees that her feelings for him cause her pain.  Instead of thinking “Oh, she really likes me, good! We’re close friends so maybe we can make this work.” or even “I don’t like her romantically but since we’re close friends we can work through it.”  Tuvok thinks “Oh, she really likes me. That must be causing her to become very emotional and I can see she’s clearly upset. I’ll remove myself from her life so my presence doesn’t incite those emotions anymore.” And while him flat out just cutting himself out of her life might seem weird and kind of cruel and a frankly hilarious reaction to someone confessing their love to you - I also think it’s something he thought of as a kindness. If his presence harms her (stirs up emotions in her) then he will remove himself to keep from harming her. Along that vein, calmness or the absence of strong emotions would be a good relationship and one worth staying in. Not that there can’t be any emotions (Tuvok and T’Les obviously care[d] deeply for their respective spouses) but that they must be controllable and able to be cast aside in the face of logic.  I also think that “knowing” the other person would be considered very important (after marriage of course). If you’re to operate as a partnership, a team, and especially if you’re both telepaths you should be able to know your spouse pretty damn well. I see T’Pring attempt to do this in SNW where she is constantly fighting to get to know Spock which Spock self-consciously discourages since he’s been told/shown that his human side is unappealing to Vulcans.  But yeah man idk...just picturing a Vulcan and a human talking for hours...walking along the beach...sleeping side by side...getting to know one another...and at the end of it all one says “You make me feel happy” and the other says “Your presence calms me” and it means, essentially, the same thing.

#star trek #vulcans #Flipside to humans seeing Vulcan relationships as frighteningly cold and formal: where's the choice? the autonomy? the love! #Vulcans seeing Human relationships as exhaustingly turbulent meandering and estranged: where's the union? the commitment? the connection! #In the star trek universe my only contribution is that I write a book titled 'Vulcan-Human Relationships: Peace & Love' #and it's never important to any story it's just a background gag #Vulcan: Is that your husband? / Human: HUSBAND?? Haha we've only been dating like a year or two. / Vulcan: I can't with this. I have to go. #I don't ever know what to call these things #ummmmmmmmmmm I hope I'm making any sense #alien affections and value systems my beloved.... #people who earnestly 100% do NOT desire human concepts of 'love' or 'happiness' - INTERESTING!!!!! #I like Tuvok a lot when i think about this bc he has a Vulcan spouse whom he cherishes while every other main Vulcan has either: #A human love interest and/or A vulcan spouse they don't want to marry #WHICH IS WHY I WISH. THEY HAD EXPLORED TUVOK'S RELATIONSHIP W ITH HIS WIFE. EVEN A ///LITTLE//// BIT. #-chewing at the walls- BUT ITS FINE. IT'S FINE THAT THEY DIDN'T AT ALL. /lie

[coquelicoq]

actually natori has some kind of tracking talisman on matoba at all times. that's how he knew where to abduct matoba from for Operation: Kitty Cat City. matoba fully knows about it; it's why he wasn't at all surprised to find a paper doll in natsume's hair after the mask youkai debacle (matoba internally as he watched it fly away: classic mother hen shuuichi-san momence 🥰). because this is matoba "boundaries? what are those? can you eat them?" seiji we're talking about, he's not bothered by this "violation" of his "privacy"; rather, he finds it fittingly clingy (it is, after all, only right that natori should be keeping tabs on him obsessively). sometimes the talisman gets confused and sticks to yesterday's outfit, so he always checks to make sure he has it on the way out the door (his pocket patdown is "keys, lighter, wallet, exorcism supplies, shuuichi-san's cute lil tracker he thinks i don't know about <3"). i wouldn't be surprised if he's figured out how to uno reverse it and now uses it to track natori's location as well. this may not technically be canon but it is probably all 100% true in an important way that transcends canon, we just never hear about it because it isn't relevant to natsume's journey 😌

#matoba: a natori talisman. sure wish i had one of those 😇 #<-knows that he has one on him at that very moment and also that natori doesn't know that he knows #convince me that he didn't say this on purpose to make natori sweat. you can't! #in response to him saying that natori side-eyes him and has a dot dot dot speech bubble (my favorite vol. 26 ellipsis btw) #which is exactly how he would react if he had secretly planted a talisman on matoba #and was trying to figure out if matoba knew and was alluding to it!! #check and mate. game set match. QED. i rest my case. #i've connected the dots i've connected them but also i feel like it wasn't that hard. the truth is out there you just have to believe #natsume's book of friends #natsume yuujinchou #horrible exorcists #matoba seiji #f #homura cats arc #my posts #btw i do not think the head of the matoba clan actually does anything so base as to carry keys on his person #he has people for that. he has a driver. he has servants who open the door when they see him coming. what possible need could he have #for such an object #he also may not need to carry a wallet (or equivalent) for similar reasons #but it was the best shorthand i could think of to make what i meant by 'pocket patdown' readily apparent #especially since 'cell phone' isn't an option either since this is set in the 80s #i figure he must have some kind of lighter or firestarter bc he uses smoke to find the source of the locked-room curse #he also seems to carry a brush & ink and various & sundry tools of the trade that i decided to call 'exorcism supplies' #matoba-san drop the 'what's in my purse' youtube video 👀

[moghedien]

like ready to be proven wrong, but I don't think that Cadsuane is necessarily gonna appear any earlier than she did in the books. I think they're just setting her up better than in the books (ie not introducing her as an important player like right before she shows up and expecting us to be impressed by that)

#this isnt something specific to Cadsuane #this happens a lot especially with the Forsaken and whatnot #but Cadsuane is like a big moment where RJ clearly didn't have her laid out when he started the series (which is fine) #and we were just expected to accept that she's been very important this entire time even though she was never brought up once #in all the time we spent in the White Tower #so it just kinda felt weird #and you can claim 'well the characters didn't know about her either' #but like I absolutely don't buy that as an excuse #especially as mentioned before #we spent a lot of time in the White Tower and among Aes Sedai #if she's been this important the entire time she should have come up before now #which i think the show sees and is correcting #wheel of time #cadsuane melaidhrin #wot on prime #wot show spoilers #wot book spoilers

[idaaadivock]

not to talk about dune on main but like. lisan al-gaib became an instant meme in the theater i was at. like great acting amazing music (thank you hans zimmer you're a real one) phenomenal photography and setting and fight choreography

but stilgar's LISAN AL-GAIB in every circumstance possible was so funny it made the whole theater erupt into laughter directly after the fight with feyd-rautha which is supposed to be like. poignant ig and powerful and an overall vibe

y'all hit the wrong vibe besties 😭😭

#dune #dune two #dune 2 #dune part 2 #dune part two #sawry besties it was a riot #unironically the movie was kinda fire though #my mum was clapping and cheering #so wild #father didn't even fall asleep this time #that's a real compliment #i love you zendaya #i love you florence pugh #timmy did great i gotta say #why do i see him as a child he's a whole guy #i think it's the french in him #also my mum was like #what are thanos and drax doing here #she has not watched the first dune #or read anything abt it #a true icon #no i didn't leave out austin butler #my mum just made a comment abt him being some sort of evil model and i– #why is she so funny #TO TUMBLR USER CAFFEINEECOLD #thank you for telling me his name i was so not looking forward to going through the book again #searching it up didn't even compute it is very late and my brain defaults to bbc merlin's look in a book doctrine #i'm sorry i took the s/o out of the actual post but my mum said it didn't make sense and i should put it in the tags #either way you're amazing thank you

[mattodore]

kiss me till you bite ♪

#river dipping #ts4 #ts4 edit #theodore doe #matthias evanoff #a burning house to live in #echthroi #🦇 #these are from an animation not a pose so if you wanna see this in motion just go to my video tag <3 #and that gnarly ass bite on theo's throat prompted me to use this song from their playlist as the caption #anyway. more editing practice :3c there were actually six screenshots but i decided to just do the first three... #also i didn't actually end up finishing these while jerma was streaming last night bc i got too distracted watching him play #instead i finished them like riiiiight before i went to sleep as i was listening to his sorcery streams #normally i just hop between jerma videos or listening to something #really my editing go-tos are jerma / mattodore playlists / podcasts / khadija mbowe or tee noir #i don't listen to a ton of podcasts tho. it's either relistening to i am in eskew / the magnus archives / wolf 359 #or listening to behind the bastards / if books could kill / pick me up i'm scared / you're wrong about / or maintenance phase #...once again making a post where the tags have nothing to do with the actual post. well. <3 #uh. say something abt this post river. um. i like when mattodore kiss but you can't actually see it :) #they only ever kiss in private so... i think it's fitting :)<3 #something abt mattodore being so physical in public but having this line where they almost never kiss around others... brain buzzes #it's bc of theo... kissing is too personal to him. and with matthias he's never cared about it before but... kissing theo... woof. #the way theo melts when he gets kissed... matthias likes to keep that for himself. #now that this is finished i need to get to that ask in my inbox... which i definitely should have started answering by now... 🧘

[mastersoftheair]

So just to clear the air (and I guess my massive confusion) Harry never slept with Sandra, correct? I gotta say I need to read his memoir at this point as he is so intriguing to me, as well as masters of the air book, but like you said it’s a “blink and miss it” thing. I didn’t interpret it as anything more than having a few friendly conversations. It was more about emotional infidelity to me than physical, but given the circumstances and that exact heartbreaking point in time for Harry I can’t find it in me to blame either of them.

for me, ig i'm coming at my position from a place of bias. i'd read crosby's "a wing and a prayer" sometime in either 2021 or 2022 (those years blend together tbh), so i've had a lot of time to think about those 2 and their relationship and i lean towards "yeah, it likely happened" (this is a long response btw bc i'm quoting from the memoir):

crosby introduces his new friend, alexandra "landra" wingate (aka sandra westgate), in the chapter "learning about americans from the british" (this chapter was basically what we see in episode 6). moving on from this tho–

in the chapter "with landra in london", he expands on their growing relationship and the reader learns more about landra (she is genuinely Such an interesting person, and probably a spy). crosby writes about her with such admiration, regularly bringing up how smart she is. also, she's a captain!

this chapter's pretty important in how i formed my opinion on the matter. i understand the argument that the closeness of their relationship was intentionally left vague, but this chapter reads in a way that makes it feel Heavily implied despite not saying a lot (especially alongside crosby's emphasis on his wife jean being "four thousand miles away", as well as his own loneliness and despair wrt to all the missing and dead). there are some standout lines here:

-"I had Jean at home and Landra in England." (not a red flag, but it's a flag) -"I started seeing Landra every time I could." (cool) -"All I knew was that [Landra] was making my life much more endurable." (also cool) -"I did not tell Jean about Landra." (the last sentence of the chapter. it gave me pause and almost instantly reshaped the way i viewed that whole chapter)

the next chapter, "r&r with jean", crosby recalls how much the war took a toll on both him and his relationships. for a time, jean wrote more letters to croby than the other way around ("I began to skip writing to her."). i assume crosby must've been radiating Exceptionally negative energy bc he gets told this: "Croz, we can't stand to have you around. We want you back, but we want you to go home for a while." (i found the phrasing here really funny tbh. your vibes Suck! just Get Out of here!!)

so, crosby contemplates seeing jean again, wondering how both of them may have changed. he also brings up landra, for Some Reason: "What would I think of her? Protected in the States as she was, how would she compare to Landra? Now that I had grown so much, had such experiences, how would Jean and I fit together?"

the rest of the chapter Is about meeting and catching up with jean, however, and you can tell that he loves her a Ton. it's very sweetly written (he also basically ends the chapter saying "btw, we conceived our first child ;) ")

the final chapter about landra is "london junket" which begins with "When I returned from the United States and my idyll with Jean, I knew I had to do something about Landra." i think that sentence alone is pretty damning. if landra was just a friend, why would you be anxious about calling a friendship off? is it a guilt thing?

the context here is that crosby feels Far less lonely and depressed. he's met up with jean, life in london is finally "a delight". i found that important bc it gives me the impression that crosby desperately wanted companionship (possibly of two kinds), and he found that in landra– a friend and a maybe a [REDACTED]. now that he's having a great time with his friends in the 100th And he's met up with his wife, that itch's been scratched (that's just my opinion tho). bc of that, he decides to say goodbye to landra. they have this exchange:

"When a month passed after you were to return, and you did not phone me," she said, "I suspected that it was over. You found things good with Jean?" I told her about R&R in the U.S. I told her more about Jean. I told her about Stephen Patrick, Jeffrey Allen, or Evalyn. "When I realized you were gone," she said, "I no longer said no to a nice American at my office. I have been with him several times. I like him." (interesting) "I’m glad." (also interesting) "He is not married, He is not so dashing as you, but we have good times together." Me "dashing"? That was not my self-image. So much for Landra."

all put together (and with over 2 years to think about it), i Really kinda saw That Scene coming. but, like i said, i had that bias. and since i'd had a good amount of time to think about them, i came out the other end still excited to see them on screen. i found (and still find) landra a fascinating woman who must've had an exciting life (crosby's okay too ig lol). i also see them as a couple of imperfect, even selfish, 20somethings (speaking as an imperfect and selfish 20something). not to be corny, but "it takes 2 to tango". landra is Very intelligent, and crosby recounts how that aspect of hers left him in awe. she'd've 100% known the guy was married. and if signs point to her having had sex with the man, then she either made peace with it or simply didn't care (a lot of women are like that). plus, they're real people and real people contain multitudes idk. maybe some wife somewhere across the atlantic is hard to care about if you've never met her and never will. maybe it's hard to consider your wife's feelings in the midst of your own misery. a female character doesn't have to be wholesome and pure to be considered well-written. that certainly doesn't apply to most male characters. like you said, no one is perfect!

maybe, crosby left it vague out of respect to his wife. maybe it's vague bc nothing happened anyway (funny way to write it tho). maybe the wingate family wanted to avoid association with MotA bc it Literally didn't happen. or maybe they know it happened, but want to keep her name clean out of respect (who wants one brief relationship that happened 80 yrs ago to define you/your loved one decades later? that's 100% understandable). whichever the case, even crosby's kids are in a 50/50 split. i still lean towards "it happened", but it doesn't make me dislike either of them. they're flawed and i can respect that more than the show portraying either as picture perfect.

NONE of this is to say that i'm cool with cheating (or giving a "world war cheating pass", so to speak). while i find it realistic, it still wouldn't have been fair to jean, whether she knew about it or not (being a woman in the 1940s wasn't easy by any stretch). this Also isn't to dismiss anyone else's opinion on the matter, bc cheating on your partner is still a shitty thing to do. this whole spiel of mine is bc i like to share my opinions and i'm allergic to being concise. i write like i talk and on all levels except physical, anon, i'm giving you a long-winded rant over coffee and croissants lol

thanks for the ask!

#you can see why this needed a 'keep reading' lol i have Thoughts on the matter #masters of the air #hbo war #asks #book #harry crosby #landra wingate #sandra westgate #it either happened or it didn't. it is what it is! #if i'm annoyed at anything it's at the thought that sandra's character has been diminished or ruined in any capacity #she's a captain and a possible spy during ww2! she's Easily one of the best characters on an hbo war show Periodt! #(i would've said 'one of the best female characters' but lmao that isn't saying much there's like less than 10 of note) #also- croz is an awkward navigator who vomits on the job. he's Good at his job but he's kind of loser-adjacent #in conclusion- i'm not broken up about it

[lemonhemlock]

not to be a hater on main but i just stumbled on a tik tok claiming that tsh both takes itself too seriously and could use more absurd comedy and it nearly made me punch a wall

#my quest to find agreeable creators on booktok and booktube leaves me v frustrated sometimes #!!! i accept no criticism of this book #but even without stan goggles on how can say with your entire chest that tsh takes itself too seriously #when it literally makes fun of 'dark academia' types TO YOUR FACE #which is ironic for the book that spawned the entire genre #it's a comedy of manners at the very least #'this book that contains copious amounts of absurdly comedic situations and makes fun of pretentious twits obsessed with aesthetics #could use more absurd comedy and is not satirical enough' #recognising those basic building blocks of the text does NOT even mean to have to like it?? #i hate to be bringing the Reading Comprehension debate again but good lord. and this person claims to have a phd in literature too 🤦‍♀️ #i am so over this pretense at criticism that basically boils down to 'i didn't like this thing so i can't be seen to admit it executes #anything well. so instead i'm going to pretend basic obvious techniques in the text don't exist and peddle it as groundbreaking critique' #stuff like recognising basic genre. what happened to that. #i don't like The Hangover either but it would be very strange to call it anything other than a comedy #the secret history #donna tartt #again you don't even have to like the book!!! #I'M SORRY BUT IT MADE ME WANT TO RANT SO BAD #livresque #booktok and booktube are satan's garden

[uncanny-tranny]

I know this is a very unoriginal observation (much like any other), but I'm finally reading The Great Gatsby, and even I wouldn't describe men the way Nick does.

#queer #lgbt #lgbtq #i did watch the 2013 film for my ap english class though (i think they didn't have enough time left for us to actually read it) #like the way he described tom was very. superfluous in my opinion. something you want to tell the class NICK (joking) #i find myself really partial to the general writing styles of that time though #i haven't even gotten that far in the book either i'm just barely past the part where daisy is introduced #so nick is just waffling about his family history and how he rents for $80/month #which is relatable when you consider inflation. nick i hope you eat you landlord #i can see why people don't like this writing but i am endlessly fascinated by the prose #maybe i should just free myself from the impulse to hide behind layers of self-censorship and live like nick does #tbh tho i still prefer non-fiction and textbooks BUT fiction is valuable and is useful #fiction is like play - it lets you explore different possibilities and thought in a safe environment

[rhaenin-time]

#I mean they also could have just made the Targaryens biracial but sOmEtHiNg tells me that was never on the table #asoiaf doesn't share our structure of “race” but it's CERTAINLY not colourblind #And it's a little disappointing that they spurned the chance to explore diversity in a world without our system of white supremacy #Like I'm sorry you can't pull the “colour-blind” card and proceed to reduce the roles of all the characters played by Black actors #just to make room for green characterization that didn't exist in the books #while simultaneously exaggerating the importance of the Velaryon boys' appearances #I'm begging HBO to just take the answer the fandom offered #and establish that Valyrian features are passed down regardless of our world's concept of race #and that either Corlys's mother or grandmother was Black. It's that easy. #hotd #hotd critical #asoiaf #hbo #hbo racism #hotd racism

[higgsbison]

haha what if I wrote a fic of them just interacting in truly horrific and unnecessary ways, what then?

#discworld #havelock vetinari #sam vimes #samuel vimes #lord vetinari #I'm in an art block kinda era rn so Im rotation some book freaks in my mind #this is only like 5% more unhinged than their canon relationship the least believable part is either of them admiting they're friends imo #dw Im still working on tar&tonic water #there's just a lot of weird text editing in this chapter and I didn't wanna #there's also a longer vv fic this was initially a part of before I decíded it was too much densely packed rituals #my art