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fryofthefrench · 23 days

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answer some or all I wanna know more about you 👁️👁️

Do you have freckles?

Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it?

What was the last song you listened to?

Do you sleep on your back, stomach or side?

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

Do you prefer drawing or writing?

What’s your ideal number of blankets to sleep with?

What’s your favorite band/artist?

When is your birthday?

How tall are you?

What color are your eyes?

Who are five (or more) people you want to hug right now?

Fears?

What’s your favorite color?

What’s your favorite season?

Want any tattoos? What of?

Want any piercings? Where?

Who is the last person you texted?

Do you have a best friend? How long have you been friends?

What/who do you miss?

How was your day today?

How much sleep did you get last night?

Do you believe in aliens?

When was the last time you cried? Why?

What’s your favorite decade?

What are some seemingly childish things you like?

What’s your favorite book? Or just one you’ve read a few times?

How are you, really?

Does it take you a long time to make decisions?

What are you looking forward to in the near future?

What are you looking forward to in the distant future?

If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

Do you sleep with your door open or closed?

What’s your favorite flower?

Do you currently have a squish?

Do you like your middle name?

Do you prefer dogs or cats?

Do you have any phobias?

Do you stay up late?

Do you like the beach? Do you prefer it sunny or cloudy?

What’s your favorite cartoon?

Tag 5 of your favorite blogs

Do you have siblings? How many?

Who was the last person you said “I love you” to?

Is there anyone you would die for?

What do you need when you’re sad?

Have you memorized your phone number?

Who’s someone you can trust with your life?

What does your last text say?

Wild Card. Any question, ask away.

GOD DAMN THAT'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS??? gonna answer probably all of them though. I only ask that you also answer some of them too please 😭

Do you have freckles?

No! I do have just a few birthmarks tho, most notable one is on my hand

Do you drink tea or coffee? How do you take it?

I drink both! I really like hot tea, almost any blend (although I'm not a fan of particularly Earl Grey tea, it tastes gross) and sometimes sweet tea. As for coffee I like it pretty sweet, a med to light roast with some sugar and creamer! My mom only makes dark roast though :((

What was the last song you listened to?

Risk, Risk, Risk! By Jhariah

Do you sleep on your back, stomach, it side?

Stomach and side! Sometimes on the couch I make an exception for my back, but otherwise I physically cannot fall asleep laying on my back

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?

Absolutely!! And if I can't get one to sleep with I'll usually bunch up a bit of my blanket and pretend it's one.

Do you prefer drawing or writing?

Usually I prefer writing, I'm a very word oriented person if that makes sense? Which is why even when watching TV shows in English I still use the captions because it makes things more comprehensive in my mind. But sometimes I like to draw! Especially if it's something that I don't know how to put into words that make sense, y'know?

What's your ideal number of blankets to sleep with?

Depends on how big each blanket is but usually 2!! Although I absolutely CANNOT tolerate a comforter/the big blanket that most people use over their sheets. I use throw blankets almost always.

What's your favorite band/artist?

I'd say right now it's Jack Starbur! Although earlier this year it was Destroy Boys, and I almost convinced my brother to take me to the concert with them, Mother Mother, and Cavetown because I love all of them but alas we had no money 😭

When is your birthday?

March 5th! I just turned 17 last month as well lol (EDIE GOT ME A RUGGIE KEY CHAIN FOR MY BIRTHDAY I NEED TO MAKE A POST ABOUT THAT I LOVE IT SO MUCH)

How tall are you?

5'5 ½ ft or 166cm!

What color are your eyes?

Shit brown 😁

Who are 5 (or more) people you want to hug right now?

Uhhhh Edie, 2 of my teachers, Toby, Edd, and Jackie (I haven't talked to Edd or Jackie in a very long time but they're still on the list). Ooo and Kage and Vio!!

Fears?

ROACHES.

What's your favorite color?

Probably purple or something

What's your favorite season?

Fall!! It's a really beautiful time of year and it's the only time that the weather is actually tolerable in the whole year, and also marching band!

Want any tattoos? What of?

Oooo, I really want a few tattoos, mostly silly little ones of a few things, but I really want a big tattoo on my forearm of an anatomically correct heart!! Maybe on my shoulder instead but I can't decide!

Want any piercings? Where?

YES. I've been wanting a tongue piercing called Frog Eyes for years!!!! It's 2 vertical piercings on each side of your tongue!! I might also want a nose piercing or something but mostly frog eyes!!!

Who is the last person you texted?

Constance!

Do you have a best friend? How long have you been friends.

I think the most obvious answer is Edie (who I've been friends with for a little over a year now) but it's actually my bed. his name is Bertha and we've been friends for 6ish years!

Who/what do you miss?

I miss my old home! I used to live in California a long time ago and I just really miss the air around their, the general sense of existence there as well. Our apartment was in Joshua Tree so there wasn't a lot of people around very often! It was nice out there.

How was your day today?

Pretty good I think! I got Dr. Pepper spilled on my pants at lunch but that was actually pretty funny! I also went and spent time at my friend's house! I always love going there even if I'm scared to ask to go 😭 but it's genuinely one of my favorite places to exist in besides my bed.

How much sleep did you get last night?

I took my melatonin and fell asleep around 11, so about 6 hours if you subtract the time I was awake at 3 with an ATROCIOUS cramp in my calf 😔. Shit hurt man, had me crying and everything 😭 it still kinda hurt today but it wasn't anything I couldn't ignore lmao (yes this was answered with the purpose of going on a rant about the cramp last night even though ive had them before more times than i can count)

Do you believe in aliens?

Dawg the universe is way to big for aliens NOT to exist. So yeah I guess lol

When was the last time you cried? Why?

This morning when I woke up at 3am with that fucking cramp. If you don't count that then I think probably a week or 2 ago because I thought my friend was mad at me

What's your favorite decade?

Probably the 2000's ngl, that or 170 BC

What are some seemingly childish things that you like?

WARRIOR CATS. and people I love coming to support me at things!! It's not really a childish thing but for me it's something I wanted so badly as a kid and eventually grew out of the need for people I care about to come to things like performances that are important to me (but I still wanted it to happen). But one of my friends has been coming sometimes when I ask them too and it's the best!!!

What's your favorite book? Or just one you've read a few times?

CLAWS BY MIKE GRINTI. I LOVE THAT BOOK SO MUCH. I had a copy a few years ago that I read about 7 times but I lost it on a school trip somewhere a few years back.

How are you, really?

At this very moment I am chillin 😎 I just got home recently and my stepdad bribed me to run errands for him with a pretzel. I got 2 of my books back from someone who's had them for a year and I was reading it earlier, it's a good book and I was gonna go back to reading it later tonight as well. It's Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer. My mom hasn't woken up for work yet and my stepdad is on his computer, my brother's at work, so it's pretty quiet in the house and nice and calm.

Does it take you a long time to make decisions?

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. It really just depends! But lately it's been a lot easier for me to just make a decision on a whim and go with it so decisions come a bit faster for me now

What are you looking forward to in the near future?

The eclipse! Don't tell my friend or my mom yet but I'm planning on asking if I can stay the night with my friend on Sunday and we can watch the eclipse together on Monday.

I'm also looking forward to getting a job, I've applied to a bunch of places and no one has really gotten back to me but I'm still trying!!

What are you looking forward to in the distant future?

Hmmm, I'd say college. But not starting college in general. I plan to get my bachelor's in psychology here nearby the town I live in but after that I plan on going to New York!! There's a college up there that I really wanna go to and I'm super excited to go there! Although I probably won't apply for another 10ish years, college is expensive and I need to save up

If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

Either to one of my friend's house or wherever in my dream last night that I got the hoodie I had in said dream

Do you sleep with your door open or closed?

Open! I was never allowed to close it when I was younger and the habit stuck with me. That and I'm still not really allowed to close it very much ༎ຶ⁠‿⁠༎ຶ

What's your favorite flower?

Lilly of the Valley and wild Geranium :D

Do you currently have a squish?

Yeah! It's a little owl and it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, I got it last year or so from someone

Do you like your middle name?

Yeah! It's Lyn, so pretty gender neutral!

Do you prefer dogs or cats?

Cats!

Do you have any phobias?

ROACHES. just roaches tho, any other bug is fine

Do you stay up late?

Sometimes! I'm not allowed to have my phone at night anymore on school nights so it's really boring but sometimes I do stuff to keep me entertained like read or go for a walk. I try to go to sleep tho (which is why I take melatonin) because it makes waking up in the mornings just a little easier

Do you like the beach? Do you prefer it sunny or cloudy?

I've only been to the beach once when I was a little kid but it was still pretty mediocre. Maybe it'd be more fun now but I'm still not really gonna go out of my way to go to one, especially not by myself. If I do ever go to one again it'd be to have fun with whoever I'm with!

What's your favorite cartoon?

Too many good ones to choose from ༼⁠;⁠´⁠༎ຶ⁠ ⁠۝ ⁠༎ຶ⁠༽

Do you have siblings? How many?

I have 1 brother 😁 he's 19

Although sometimes if I think for long enough I could probably say that Toby is my brother as well and get away with it. Someone actually thought he was my cousin or something one time

Who was the last person you said "I love you" too?

My friend 😭 the same friend I keep talking about lmao. Although idk if I actually said it or not but like body language??? Y'know? Not words but with actions and stuff. I count that as saying it tho sooo :D

Is there anyone you would die for?

MY CAT. and Cinnamon. And yes like half my friends but mainly the cats.

What do you need when you're sad?

Emotional support hot cocoa™. And a stuffed animal. And my hoodie. But mainly a nap or something. Sob my eyes out and then depersonalize and no longer be sad about it and just go to sleep lol

Do you have your phone number memorized?

Yes but I don't trust myself that I have it memorized so I always check it to make sure

Who's someone you can trust with your life?

Toby and Edie probably. maybe Constance.

What does your last text say?

"I like bananas because they have no bones" that song is almost always playing in my head somewhere i SWEAR

Wild card

What's your favorite philosophical idea??????

HUZZAH. I ANSWERED ALL OF THEM. IT TOOK HOURS BUT IT HAPPENED ‼️‼️

hopefully this isn't far too much to read 😭

I exposed myself quite a bit for this too without thinking but I'm too lazy to go back and read it and change it so I apologize if shit gets weird or something up there.

#THAT WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS #IT WAS FUN THO #yippee

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writersstareoutwindows · 7 months

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You'll never see the reasons I had For keeping my claws away when they were close enough to hurt you

get your Victoria theories in while you still can, mine is that she's completely sincere in her intentions and has simply neglected to mention that she used to be the leader of the Red Hand Gang who's going to use the souls of the friends who betrayed her to perform a spot of light necromancy on her family.

image description below the cut

[image I.D.: A three-page comic in black pen on lined notebook paper. The first page has two panels. In the first Victoria McClary stands with her back to the viewer. Simple silhouettes representing Delacy, Nate, Garnet, Silas, and Edie are facing her. Victoira is holding her hands behind her back to hide the bright red ring she is holding. The panel reads "It's a secret I keep tucked inside my chest." The next four panels are wanted posters depicting simplified side profiles of Ben Bellows, Daisy Ducrow, M.T. Budreau, and Aunt Hildy. Beneath them is a fifth wanted poster depicting a young Victoria McClary. The panel reads "with this heart of mine that's guilty, NOT REMORSEFUL."

The second page has three panels, staggered in the shape of a staircase. The drawing style is simplified and lacks facial features. In the first panel, a man is raising a younger Victoria's hand to his lips for a kiss. A cartoon heart hovers between them. In the second panel, the same man holds Victoria while she holds their baby. A heart hovers above them. In the third panel, Victoria kneels in despair in front of two gravestones. A broken heart hovers beside her. Together the panels read "There is love that doesn't have a place to rest."

The second page has two panels. In the first, Edie Valentine and Victoria stand in profile. Edie is holding one of Victoria's hand in both of hers, while Victoria keeps one hand hidden behind her back. In tiny script, Edie says, "You may say you're not strong, but to have gone through this!" The panel reads "but it would have buried you" In the second panel, a younger Victoria stands in the same position, but Edie is gone and Victoria is now holding a bright red ring in her raised hand. She is surrounded by fire. One bright red eye stares without expression. The panel reads "if it had settled on your shoulders." end I.D.]

#oxventure #my art #in the taz balance reunion tour days i was a good guy lucretia truther to the end and guess what. i was right.#well okay my thought was 'she's a good woman doing the best she can with the information she has' and that WAS right. she just had. a lot #more information than i thought she had.#cannot believe i got this done in time it is just a scribbly doodly thing but i could not stop thinking about it. justice for victoria.#welcome back to emma's drawing corner where we only know how to do black ballpoint sketches with pops of ominous red #welcome back also to oxventure crane wives lyrics

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romnianistan · 5 months

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Obsessed with the lore of The Ink Black Heart and the glimpses we got into the cartoon. Paperwhite dwelling on her grave and sighing 'sad, so very sad' because she didn't want to die, Drek as an allegory of death and how absurd it is and how awful people turn it into a game, and the catch phrases 'borkled and lonelik'. It paints such a sad image of Edie's mental state. She had no friends, her family hated her and she went through so many hardships and all her 'fans' started bullying the hell out of her. In a way you can really feel how her loneliness is cemented in the book. It's so depressing. Definitely one of deaths that impacted me the most, with Margot's

#Cormoran Strike #the ink black heart #The ink black heart spoilers #Troubled blood spoilers

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edienotsedgwick · 1 year

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Introduction again

It’s been a while since my last pinned post and a lot has changed. I deleted it cause I decided I wanted a new one.

The basics

My name is Edie

I’m from Aotearoa/New Zealand.

I’m 20

She/her

I’m autistic (likely autHD actually but the ADHD hasn’t been diagnosed yet)

I’m a lesbian

I’m an animation student on the weekdays, a musician and a essay writer on the weekends.

Aquarius sun, Capricorn moon, Aries rising

INFJ

A witch who’s extremely lazy with her craft.

I’ve been on Tumblr since 2014! You may have known me from…

Many cartoon fandoms. Too many to count. (Spanning from 2014-16)

Emo bandom tumblr circa 2017-18. Particularly the Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance bandom.

Early Scenecore tumblr in 2018. (I still have a few selfies and hit posts from then gaining notes).

Britpop/early alternative music bandom 2019-2021

And since then I’ve just kind of been doing my own thing and mainly using this blog as a personal moodboard and an outlet to post ideas I don’t want to share anywhere else. I do post about a lot of things I like, but I’m not tied heavily to fandoms anymore - I mostly just lurk. That being said though, don’t be afraid to talk if you share a particular interest with me. I always need to infodump!

What I post

Stuff I find pretty. This blog is mainly a moodboard. I keep wanting to expand out of it but I always give up at some point.

Stuff that makes my brain go brrrrr! Mainly bands + shows.

Music stuff! I mainly like to post lyrics from songs I’m writing that are a work in progress, and sloppy covers/demos that I feel aren’t polished enough for my other socials. I also do cheeky self promo of my songs that you can already listen to. You guys should stream my E.P ‘Thing Is Me’.

I’ve been aspiring to write long form essays about things I’ve been passionate about for ages. I don’t think I’ll directly post them here, but once I get my Substack up and running you’ll be able to see them getting crossposted here.

Stuff I like

Feel free to talk to me about any of these things cause they’re my main special interests!

Music history from the 60s-2000s. In terms of what specific period I’ve jumped to at the moment, I’m fixated on mid-late 2000s indie music, twee pop of any era (mid 80s-present tbh), + some of my old favourite scene bands lmao. I’ve been nostalgic for them lately.

Skins UK (yes I know how 2014 and sad of me). I’m a Cassie apologist so leave me alone if you think she sucks lmao. That’s my Blorbina and my adopted little sister who’s currently got a song + a Substack essay series being written about her. In all seriousness though, I find this show to be very misunderstood in general.

Sighthounds! I love all dogs in general but the pointy ones are my favourites. I have a Greyhound, he’s my best friend :,) When I move into my own home one day I want to have another Greyhound + a Borzoi!

This is a very casual one of mine but (in case you can’t tell from what I mostly reblog here) I love fashion! My fashion tastes span the same general group of decades that my music history knowledge does. Much like my current music fixations I’ve been inspired by the late 2000s, but what I actually wear on a day to day basis is never one particular style. I mix and match a lot.

bla bla bla DNI time

Don’t follow if…

You meet the typical DNI criteria (no ists or phobes of any kind please! Just basic bare minimum human decency)

No pro ana (one of my special interests being skins + me seeing myself in a disordered character you made the face of your little circle does not give you a pro ana free pass around me. I’m not disordered myself + I ask you don’t follow me because I don’t want to accidentally trigger anyone by letting people of your group in my space.)

Same goes for general S/H blogs!

That being said, if you are already vulnerable seeing me potentially reference any of these sensitive topics in anything I post/talk about don’t follow me for the sake of your own well-being if you know it will be triggering to you. Stay safe ILY. I do try and tag though and you can always ask me to do that if you wish.

No creeps of any kind! Please do not send me anything sexual, or talk to me about anything sexual unsolicited you will be blocked immediately.

Okay that’s everything! If you’re cool I hope you enjoy following me. Please listen to my music. ‘Edie VC’ on every platform if you want to. You’ll like it if you like twee/folk/dream pop Xx

All the tags below are for my interests, aesthetics that people could say match my vibe, as well as my face tag (if you want to know what I look like) and my text tag. Hopefully I can make some cool new mutuals.

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yahoo201027 · 1 year

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Day in Fandom History: January 29…

Archer agrees to be Pam’s plus one for her sister Edie’s upcoming wedding in Wisconsin, but if dealing with Edie isn’t enough, Barry decides to follow the duo along in his continuing quest to take out Archer. “Edie’s Wedding” premiered on this day, 8 Years Ago.

#Day in Fandom History #8 Years Ago #Archer #Archer FX #Season 6 #Episode 4 #Edie's Wedding #Cartoon #Animation

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romancomicsnews · 10 months

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What the new "Heroes" of Superman Legacy can tell us about the DCU

To somehow everyone's surprise, it seems DC has jumped the Gunn. (See what I did there?)

While many were convinced the antagonists of the 2025's Superman Legacy would be The Authority, The Elite, or even a mixture of the two, it appears for now it may be a prototype version of the Justice League.

James Gunn has casted three JLA members including Isabela Mercad as Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern AKA Guy Gardner.

While the Authority, the Elite, or even another major Superman villain can play a part, I believe the spot of heroes who "do what they have to" may have been taken.

While this is a shocking turn of events, and one that may be regretful as over world building was the death of the DCEU, I do think these castings and choice of characters tells a good deal about Gunns priorities.

You see, unlike Black Adam, which brought together a team Justice Society members who it seemed Warner Bros said The Rock could have, this team seems purposeful.

So let's go through the characters and see their potential for the DCU:

Starting with the one I'm most excited for:

Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl

You thought I was gonna say Green Lantern, didn't you?

Isabela Merced is a fairly young actress, known for roles like Juliet in Hulu's Rosalind, The Widow Queen in Maya and the Queen, and most famously....

Dora Dora Dora the Explorer.

Merced is a bright young talent, who has been consistently working since 2014 and landed decent roles in big projects. Whether she continues on to be a great character actress or a leading actor, adding Merced in the DCU early almost guarantees having a star down the line.

But even more importantly than any of that, Hawkgirl is a great choice to begin a DCU.

Like Clark, she is an alien, a young hero, and a brawler. The two can find common footing and begin a very heartfelt friendship that can last throughout the DCU.

Unlike her counterpart Hawkman who isn't really any interesting, Hawkgirl was a founding member of the team for many peoples introduction to DC, The Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons.

More than that, her betrayal for her home race of Thanagarians is one of the most iconic parts of the show.

If that is part of the larger narrative Gunn is trying to tell, that tells me Gunn is honoring what fans actually love.

Plus having a Peruvian woman play Hawkgirl just makes my Latinx/Hispanic heart happy.

Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific

I'm glad Darwin is getting another shot at this superhero thing.

Known for his roles in X-Men First Class, Twilight, The Blacklist, and The Harder They Fall, Edi Gathegi has also had a rather impressive career.

I like this trend Gunn has currently with Gathegi, Merced and Corenswet of actors you may recognize but not know.

What's more interesting than the cast is the character.

Mister Terrific is considered the third smartest person in the DC Universe. While he is known to use T-Spheres as a weapon, he also is an extremely skilled hand to hand combatant, a Renaissance man if you will.

To put him in perspective, he often has a friendly rivalry with Batman.

Terrific is a fan favorite character, and one we haven't seen before in film. He can bring a dynamic fighting style, and a perspective of advanced intellect that can challenge Clark. Gunn clearly wants to bring in the characters people love, in a way they don't expect.

Which leads me to:

Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern

Just not the one you're thinking.

I could go into Fillion's history, but you know him. Castle. Firefly. The Rookie. He's an icon.

While he was famously fan casted and even voiced Green Lantern Hal Jordan in several pieces of animated media, Nathan Fillion is now the DCU's Guy Gardner.

Which is, bizarre.

While Fillion is more than a capable enough actor, and has the comedic timing to play the role, I never would've expected a Green Lantern in the first Superman movie, let alone THIS one.

For those not in the know, Guy Gardner is the asshole Green Lantern. He was a football star who suffered a career ending injury in college, and kind of lives in his glory days. He's a more aggressive, often more obnoxious Lantern. Definitely the least heroic of the bunch.

Introducing Guy as the first Green Lantern, and likely leader of the JL that lost their way, makes a lot of sense. It could tempt Clark to be more like Guy, and even better, remind Guy what it means to be a hero.

In any case, character shows me Gunn is not following a specific playbook. There is no order to which Lantern comes first, nor Flash, nor any character.

Which is kind of exciting.

James Gunn has hit us with a huge curveball, basically telling us to expect the unexpected.

Which to me is a breath of fresh air.

If you'd like to support me you can:

Follow me at www.facebook.com/romancomicsnews

Follow me on Twitter @diegoleonroman

Follow me on Threads @romanleondiego

Help me pay my student loans by donating!

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gemslittlelibrary · 2 years

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You Really Don't Need to Read "The Ink Black Heart"

Hi Joanne,

You’ll never read this, of course. I wouldn’t send this to you, nor would I send any author a review of their work. Since you seem to have a habit of looking for yourself online (including in spaces for the disabled, perhaps?) I suppose there’s a small chance, so I’ll warn you now: This is not a positive review. Nor is it an attack, but, since it contains criticism, I’m sure you’d take it that way regardless.

Happy reading.

Where to begin? The Ink Black Heart by “Robert Gailbraith” (the irony of the author using a pseudonym for this book, which despises those who use different names online, is not lost on me) is a ridiculously long brick that is less of a mystery and more of the author’s attempts to paint herself as a victim.

In the Kindle edition, at a whopping 1462 pages long, the main mystery isn’t actually introduced until page 50. The previous pages consist of the drawn out “will they/won’t they” romance between the two detectives, something that has been an annoying side story for the past four books as well, and is continued throughout this novel in torturous passages of two people assuming the other’s thoughts, never being honest, and pretending everything is absolutely fine.

If that doesn’t sound like a decent subplot, there’s no need to worry. Besides the case for which the book is named, readers are given no less than four other cases taken on by the agency, with two more romantic side plots. After all, why be succinct when you can devote hundreds of pages to the prolonged child abuse of two young girls–something that the detective is more than happy to let slide until it’s been filmed– instead?

I’m afraid I’ve gotten a bit ahead of myself. If you haven’t read any other books in the Cormoran Strike series, you’re probably quite confused, so let me give you a quick overview: Our titular character, Cormoran Strike, is a disabled war veteran, illegitimate son of a rock star, and irresistible to women (something I will be discussing later on). He initially hires Robin Ellacot as his secretary, but after learning how useful she can be, he eventually promotes her to fellow detective, and later to business partner. Robin, initially engaged to be married, quickly finds her feelings for Strike and the job to be an issue between herself and her partner, culminating in a short-lived marriage that quickly ends in divorce.

So, now that our heroes have been introduced, we can move onto this installment of the series. To sum up all of the superfluous content: Stark tries to kiss Robin, she backs away, he starts messing with another woman to make her jealous (a common theme), and they both stew with their sexual tension. The agency, which has grown from the two of them, is booked solid with cases (a son stealing expensive things from his father, a mother whose daughter is being groomed by her ex, cheating husbands, and so on), so when the “scruffy” Edie Ledwell arrives at the office, Robin is forced to turn her away, though not before listening to her story. Edie is the co-creator of a popular web cartoon, and has been on the receiving end of vicious online harassment. When she’s found stabbed to death in the graveyard where the story is set, along with her injured co-creator, Robin and Strike are on the case.

As with previous Strike books, Rowling’s main tactic of creating a tricky mystery is to simply throw so many characters and side plots at the reader until they’re completely befuddled, unable to have a coherent thought and therefore unable to solve the case. This book is perhaps the best example of that, with suspects using various internet handles along with their real names. If there were fewer suspects, connecting the handles to their legal names might have been fun to figure out, but with throwaway accounts, a huge fandom, the cast of the show, and more peripheral figures to suspect, it’s a bit much. Pro tip: If one (or several) of your big reveals are characters that haven’t been introduced to the reader, you’ve failed at writing a good mystery.

It quickly becomes apparent that this entire mass of bound pages is simply a self-insert fanfic. The implication being that, if/when she leaves the internet for good (I highly doubt she believes someone would murder her), everyone will regret their treatment of one Joanne K. Rowling.

Edie’s cartoon, which is also titled The Ink Black Heart, has apparently been the target of criticism by some fans, with accusations of racism, transphobia, and ableism. Infuriatingly, readers don’t learn enough about the cartoon to see what exactly is being criticized in the book’s universe. There are a few throwaway examples, mostly accusations by a blog called The Pen of Justice, but since its author is simply pretending to be progressive while simultaneously using the platform to find underage girls to groom, it’s safe to say that these accusations are more or less meant to be baseless. This is further confirmed when it’s revealed that Edie was the target of a Neo-Nazi group that specialized in spreading misinformation about prominent left-leaning women with the hopes of driving them to suicide. Interestingly, Rowling shows her hand here, with one of the targets being called Maya Sattherwaite. Her crime? Misgendering a trans woman in a private text message. Readers familiar with Rowling’s antics on Twitter may recognize that this is a poorly-disguised nod to Maya Forstater, someone who, according to CNN, “brought a claim against the Center for Global Development and CGD Europe, an international development think tank, after she lost her job as a researcher following comments on Twitter criticizing UK government plans to allow people to self-identify their gender.” Rowling subsequently defended her on Twitter. I can’t prove that the character is in any way connected to Forstater, but it’s an interesting point nonetheless.

So, to recap: Neo-Nazi trolls manipulate vulnerable fans into hating the creator of something they loved. A different person, apparently indifferent to this, ends up murdering Edie because he’s an incel. Another huge coincidence, but, ok, sure, there are lots of hateful people in the world. Besides the main plot, which genuinely seems like a very, very long-winded attempt to convince readers that any criticism directed towards Rowling herself is simply hate and trolling, due to her position as a prominent female left-leaning writer, there are other things, hidden throughout this monstrosity, that are extremely hurtful.

When the book was released, a few particular quotes started circulating the internet. The one I saw the most was a description of a suspect’s tumblr blog, through the eyes of Strike, who, in case you’ve forgotten, is a disabled man. The passage reads: “At the top was a picture of many silver spoons and the legend: Disabled artist - fashion, music, and bird lover - life right now is mostly about being sick. CF- fibromyalgia - POTs - allodynia - I need more spoons…”(Rowling, p. 419). For those unaware, the Spoon Theory is an analogy for fluctuating energy levels, commonly used in disabled online communities. The abbreviated conditions are Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalitis/ME) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. All four conditions are invisible illnesses, meaning that they may not be visible upon first glance. A few more examples of posts are given, all of which are dramatic or about disabilities, such as how life is for more than working, or that using a mobility aid if needed is fine, even if that’s despite medical advice. Stark, our disabled hero, finds her blog to be “unattractively mawkish,” (Rowling, p.421) detests using a cane, and usually puts himself into far more risky situations to avoid being perceived as disabled. Although this isn’t totally portrayed as the correct thing to do, as his stump (as he calls it) eventually starts exhibiting symptoms of nerve damage due to lack of care, but it isn’t entirely shown as a negative thing either. This trait of his is constant throughout the series, usually including at least one moment where his “weakness” is exposed to the public in a humiliating fashion. I understand preferring to complete tasks unaided to avoid pity. I struggle with it, and I’m sure other disabled people do too. As the novel progresses, though, it’s clear Stark and Robin (and, I presume, the author), rank disabilities differently, as well as the people who have them.

Several of our murder suspects are disabled characters. Now, I don’t mind a disabled villain, as long as the disability isn’t the cause and sole reason for the villainous behavior. And, to be fair, the murderer does not have a disability (he does, however, have a serious skin condition requiring regular hospital visit, which I’ll return to later). The issue here isn’t that readers are meant to suspect disabled characters along with their able-bodied counterparts. The issue comes from the fact that nearly every disabled character is written to be extremely manipulative and unlikeable.

The disabled characters can be divided neatly into two groups, which I’ll be referring to as “good” and “bad.” The “good” disabled characters are Strike himself, Josh Blay, and Dr. Vikas Bhardwaj. Strike, as I mentioned, lost part of his leg saving the life of a fellow military man abroad. Josh Blay is the co-creator of The Ink Black Heart and is attacked alongside Edie. Although he survives, he’s paralyzed on one side of his body and left without feeling in the other. Interestingly, Strike dislikes Josh (a stoner artist) until meeting the now disabled man, with whom he forms a camaraderie of the unfairly attacked. Dr. Bhardwaj, though not injured, had speech and motor issues due to cerebral palsy. He’s also a child genius and a doctor of astrophysics. In his obituary, his family has “spoken of their immense and lasting pride in the genius who’d never let his disability stand in his way,”(Rowling, p.1232). “Never letting his disability stand in his way” is a classic line in inspiration porn. Inspiration porn is when the story of a disabled person who is painted as a hero for simply existing, or a success story like Dr. Bhardwaj’s or Strike’s. The model disabled person, it is implied, should not complain or admit that their disability has prevented them from doing anything.

This point is glaringly obvious when we look at the “bad” disabled characters. The owner of the tumblr referenced above is Kea Niven, a very pretty young disabled woman. When Strike goes to interview her, her mother cancels, saying Kea’s too ill to see anyone, and that she’s bedbound. Already having decided that Kea is a liar, he goes anyway, and readers are treated to scenes of Kea screaming at her mother and running from the house, before agreeing to meet with Strike, where she uses various symptoms as excuses to end the interview. It’s later revealed that she uses these symptoms to manipulate another “bad” disabled man, as well as weaponizing self-harm against her ex, who happens to be Josh. Knowing that her particular diagnoses often affect young women who are usually disbelieved, this was particularly difficult for me to read. I expected Strike to force her to run laps or something, gloating as he exposed a “faker” (a hobby that runs rampant on the internet).

The next “bad” disabled character is the aforementioned man, Inigo Upcott. Also diagnosed with ME, he uses a wheelchair and cane at different times. He’s also portrayed as an abusive, domineering, self-pitying tyrant. Our first introduction to him is at his home, where his daughter is home sick from school. As he condescends and terrifies his wife in front of the detectives, the girl comes into the room. This is his reaction: “‘Get BACK!’ roared Inigo with sudden ferocity, as though Flavia were a wild animal. ‘You are INFECTIOUS!’

Flavia stopped dead. ‘If you wish me to be bedbound for the next six weeks, by all means keep allowing her into

this fucking room!’”(Rowling, p.493).

In further conversations, we learn that Inigo had a promising career prior to his diagnosis, about which he is still, understandably bitter. At one point, while listening to his explanation, Strike contemplates how so many other people deserve pity more than this man. So, once again, the message is clear: You can be disabled, but it must be real and valid to me, a stranger. You mustn't complain or show signs of bitterness unless alone, and even then, do you really need that medication/mobility/accommodation? Why can’t you overcome it?

Even ignoring all of that, and the derision around the word “ableism”, our “heroes” are, quite frankly, rude, insufferable people. Stark has romantic relationships with women he quickly becomes annoyed with when they dare to ask for affection or that he, perhaps, not have so many outings with his beautiful blonde partner. He constantly thinks about the chest size of each woman we meet, and also decides if they’re pretty or ugly. It could be argued that Strike is simply an asshole, but our heroine describes people in the same way. Most women are described as plain, or drab, or overweight. If they’ve had plastic surgery, it will constantly be mentioned as a point to laugh about. Robin’s own “trim” figure, ample chest, and lack of plastic surgery is mentioned frequently as well. Both detectives constantly have members of the opposite sex waiting in line to, as the author would say, “bed” them. Robin, of course, has only been with one man, and Strike is actually quite aggravated when he hears her on a date with a suspect. She leads the suspect on, flirting and making out with him (which…I’m not sure is legal and is certainly morally questionable, but sure), recording all the while. Stark and Robin are equally possessive of one another, possibly codependent, with barely suppressed anger over the other being simply looked at by a potential partner.

There are other, subtler bits of hatred that stood out to me. The fans of this cartoon are consistently characterized as losers with no social life or proper job, having nothing better to do than attack innocents online. The female fans in particular have all been so pathetically alone that they’re easily manipulated by their male counterparts, doing their bidding, believing them, giving them alibis, and so on. Most receive no sympathy from the detectives, barring a minor and a young adult who had been groomed. Everyone else with even the slightest interest in the cartoon and its fandom, including the ex-girlfriend of a contractor at the agency, are chronically online dullards.

The grooming victim, though appropriately seen as innocent in the whole mess, is possibly dyslexic and anorexic. The former can be assumed from her online interactions(this book contains many, many chat room threads and tweets, which is a logistical nightmare), and descriptions of her appearance. Well, the detectives assume she’s anorexic, while describing her as child-like with the face of Death or a skull. The physical description is repeated despite Robin forming a relationship with the woman, so it isn’t a one-off identifying characteristic (not that that would excuse the language used).

One of the bits that disturbed me the most was a throwaway line by a minor character. Ilsa, Stark’s childhood friend and new friend of Robin’s, has met Robin for dinner. She’s been stressed about her latest case as a defense lawyer, which is so unbelievable I’ll simply cite the whole thing: “...she told Robin about the teenage girl who’d stood trial for helping plan a terrorist attack. ‘...so the other four were found guilty,’...’and so they bloody well should have been, but I thought, she’s finished. I could hear her mother sobbing behind us. But thank Christ the judge believed the psychologist. Fifteen, profoundly autistic and convinced she’d found real friends online…of course she fell for it. And she was the one they were going to strap the blood explosives to,’”(Rowling, p.400). This is literally never mentioned again. Another character mentions going to babysit his autistic nieces. There are mentions of characters helping with an art class for “special needs kids'', but besides one of the adults being a pedophile, working with the class is seen as a wonderful, selfless thing to do. These are both used as points towards a character’s morality, but Ilsa, who isn’t a suspect and is barely in the story at all, has no reason to chat about such a case. If Rowling wanted to simply use this chat as a way to indicate Ilsa’s stress, there are plenty of more common legal issues to use. The anecdote could be an attempt at foreshadowing, but the Neo-Nazi group isn’t mentioned in connection with that incident, and doesn’t use a specifc autistic character to further their goals.

My personal theory is that JK Rowling sees herself as a protector of autistic girls and women. In her weird transphobic blog post, she states that she believes a lot of trans men are simply autistic girls who have been manipulated by the world to think they’re boys. Oddly specific, but based on the overall petty tone of the novel, it wouldn’t surprise me. (There’s also a throwaway line where, when confirming a suspect’s gender, Robin states that they are female, because they’re on their period, and Strike answers that that definitely confirms it. Rowling famously tweeted a snarky response to an article about bring period products to everyone, which had used the phrase “people with periods”, and Rowling, afraid her precious womanhood was being erased, essentially mocked the phrase, saying she was SURE there was another, better word for those people.

Anyway, the novel ends with the teenaged incel, who purposely exacerbated his skin condition for pity, going on a hate-fueled rampage with a machete, murdering his father, Inigo, wounding his mother, stabbing Strike and attempting to sexually assault Robin as he spouted incel rhetoric. The rampage, though triggered by Robin connecting him to his various online aliases, also connected to his long-buried hatred of his disabled father.

As usual, the climax of the book occured ridiculously quickly, shoved into a few chapters of this over 1000-page book. Rowling seems to enjoy planting so many false leads that by the time it’s time to confront the real criminal, it reads like a hastily penned afterthought. After the rushed fight scene, we get an epilogue of the two lovebirds angrily pining for one another, as Robin has accepted a date, and the book ends with Strike cursing himself for not revealing his true feelings. Their romantic troubles will, I’m sure, be solved in another three, or perhaps four novels.

I’d like to note here that I did go into this book with an open mind. I’d enjoyed some of the previous Strike novels, and Rowling still has a fantastic talent for describing scenery. The various fancy places Strike and Robin visit on their adventures are the best part of the series, hands down. I also wanted to read the whole thing myself before commenting on the ableism. To me, a few screenshots could have easily been taken out of context, and I suppose I had some small hope that the book was not quite as hideous as it seemed. Unfortunately for me, it was worse.

Don’t read this book. Don’t pay $15 for an ebook, or even more for a physical copy. It’s not worth a hate read, or a curiosity read, or anything of the sort. It feels clichéd to say “I read this so you don’t have to”, but seriously, I read it in the hopes of diminishing the harm it would cause. I hate to say how much it affected me, because it just makes me fit the SJW spoonie snowflake persona that Rowling created to dismiss criticism and soothe her ego, but I’m certainly not one of her model crips. So, Joanne, if you see this, please know that your book caused me to feel terrible, and that I was shaking terribly today as I read it, due to some part of my conditions you don’t take seriously.

Don’t worry, though. I know you don’t care.

#spoonie #The Ink Black Heart #Robert Galbraith #tw ableism #tw fatphobia #tw paedophilia #book review #booklr #bookworm #spoilers

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cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien · 10 months

Text

My Bio

Age: In my early twenties

Name: Can’t tell you

Birth Date: December 14, 2002

Favorite Adult Animation Shows: Solar Opposites, Robotomy, Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, South Park, Regular Show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Triptank, Lucy, Disenchantment, Futurama, The Simpsons, The Brak Show, Metalpacolypse, Soace Ghost Ciast to Coast, Central Park, Bob’s Burgers, American Dad, Clerks, Duncanville, Great North, Housebroken

Favorite Superhero Shows: Invincible, Villains of Valley View, Koala Man, Miraculous, Lab Rats, PPG ‘98, Hamster and Gretel, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Danny Phantom, Super Friends, Justice League ‘01, DC Super Girls ‘18, Static Shock, Horrorbots, Spider-Man ‘17, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Star Vs. The Forces of Evil, Kim Possible

Favorite Cartoon Network Shows: Amazing World of Gumball, Camp Lazlo, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Cow and Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Dexter’s Laboratory, Time Squad

Favorite Nickelodeon Shows: SpongeBob SquarePants, Santo Bugito, Invader Zim, My Life as a Teenage Robot, El Tigre, Wonder Park, Modern Life, ICarly, Victorious, Kenan and Kel, All That

Favorite Disney Shows: Amphibia, Owl House, Ghost and Molly McGee, Hailey’s On It, Kiff, Star Darlings, Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy’s Law, Hannah Montana, Good Luck Charlie, Kickin It, Lab Rats

Favorite Discovery Family Shows: MLP ‘10, Aquabats Super Show

Favorite Streaming Shows: Centuarworld, Glitter Force Doki Doki

Favorite Food: Steak, Fries, Burgers, Chicken fingers, doughnuts, pancakes, bacon, fruit pastries, French toasts, fried chicken, turkey, duck, baked potatoes, hash browns, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, pork chops, ribs, Korean BBQ, Japanese chicken, steak fillet, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, CC’s Chips, banana bread, Cheez-It’s Snaps, Goldfish

Favorite Sweets: Ice Cream, Hershey’s Chocolate, Reese’s, KitKat, Toffee, Cake, Cupcakes, Ice Cream Cakes, Skittles, Starburst, Cookies, Crumble, Cookie sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream pops, animation character ice cream pops, sundaes, Nestle’s chocolate, Oreos

Favorite Fruits and Veggies: Asparagus, Carrots, broccoli, potatoes, strawberry, raspberry, lemon, like, grapes, apples, lettuce, cherry, bananas, coconut

Favorite drinks: Mountain Dew, Water, milk, root beer, coca-cola, tab’s, Mr. Pibbs, Pepsi, Dole’s juice brand, Fanta, Crush, Dr. Pepper, soda floats, Nesquick, smoothies

Favorite Actors: Patton Oswalt, Dan Stevens, Thomas Middleditch, John Gemberling, Will Forte, Charlie Day, Mike Sinterniklaass, Roger Craig Smith, Dan Mintz, Josh Gad, Dee Bradley Baker, Rob Schrab, Nate Corddry, Rob Corddry, Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Brian O’Halloran, Justin Feilbinger, John DiMaggio, Billy West, Oded Fehr, Michael Cusack, Zach Hadel, Phil LaMarr, Robbie Daymond, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Matthew Lillard, Kevin Michael Richardson, John Mulaney, Antanio Banderas, Richard Steven Horvitz, Brandon Rogers, Sam Riegel, Jon Heder, Andy Daly, Zeno Robinson, James Marsden, Dana Snyder, Fred Tatasciore, Rob Paulsen

Favorite Actresses: Felicia Day, Mary Mack, Lacey Chabert, Brenda Song, Stephanie Sheh, Kate MiCucci, Riki Lindhome, Kari Wahlgren, Grey DeLisle, Jenny McCarthy, Melissa Fahn, Cristina Vee, Lana Condor, Sandra Oh, Odette Anaboe, Edie Mirman, Cathy Cavadini, Tara Strong, EG Daily, Olivia Olsen, Hynden Walch, Christina Hendricks, Libe Barer, Marieve Harrington, Sarah Nicole Robles, Kimberly Brooks, Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Vannessa Hudgens, Tika Sumpter, Reba Buhr, Erica Lindbeck, Vivian Nixon

Favorite Music Genres: Rock, Classic, Pop, orchestra, country, funk, techno, dubstep, heavy metal, Christian

Favorite Band: Ice Nine Kills, Adelitas Way, Bowling For Soup, Hansen, Disturbed, Slipknot, System of a Down, Hollywood Undead, Kiss, Queen, A Day to Remember, Thousand Foot Krunch, Nightwish, Evanescence, Seether, Imagine Dragons, Skillet, Newsboys, Simple Plan, Play, Nickelback, BTS, Blackpink, aespa, Black Eyes Peas

Favorite Singer: Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, P!nk, Katy Perry, David Quetta, Jennifer Lopez, Sia, Halsey, Kelsey Belleriny, AJ Michalka, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, China Ann McClain, Ashley Tisdale, Avicci, Kelly Prickler, Aloe Blaccc, Lil Naxx, Post Malone, Eminem, Kelli Monologue, Paul Simon

Favorite Tv Genres: Animation Drama, dramedy, slapstick, comedy, animation, sci-if, romance, buddy, superhero animation, manga, anime

Favorite Movies: Hulk ‘03, Sky High, Kim Possible: So The Drama, Clerks, Incredibles, Ruby Gillman, Boy Who Cried Werewolf, Ratatouille, Alvin and the Chipmunk ‘07, Muppets in Space, Kickass, Belle, Elemental, Madagascar, Rugrats Go Wild, Wild Thorn Berrys Movie, Peanuts Franchise, Turning Red, Encanto, Emoji Movie, Ice Age Franchise (but not the Buck Wild one), G-Force, PPG Movie, Ben 10 2008 movie live action, South Park The Movie, PeeWee’s Big Adventure, Captain Underpants, Napoleon Dynamite, Jay and Silent Bob, Mallrats, Finding Nemo, Frozen, Super Mario Bros. Movie, Mitchells vs. Machines, Veggietales, Cars, 102 Dalmations, Romeo + Juliet, Small Soldiers, Godzilla vs King Kong, Godzilla: World of Monsters, Van Helsing, Hotel Transylvania, Secret Life of Pets, Sing 2

Favorite Wen Series: Annoying Orange, SMG4, Sunset Paradise, Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Meta Runner, Amazing Digital Circus, Eddsworld, Murder Drones, Most Popular Girls in School, Summer Camp, Summer Camp Island, Villanos

My Skills: Typing

My Weakness: I can’t draw

Favorite Monsters: Aliens, Kaijus, wereanimals, Kaijus weremonsters, robots, werewolves, vampires, mutants, giant beasts

#my bio #favorite things

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