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I'm told that sometimes, life goes places.

@longsightmyth / longsightmyth.tumblr.com

Call me Myth. 34 year old nerd, she/her, Queer of the bi flavoring just so we're all clear, I'd use Saraneth if I had to pick. book commentary tagged 'myth reads', less complimentary commentary tagged 'myth rags on[insert book title here]'. I don't post in the anti tags because I'm contrary, but have no problem with reblogs there. Spoilers are inevitable.
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The Linkening

Does that title make sense no will I use it absolutely

I have some new followers recently so TO BE CLEAR if you rock up into the inboxes of people disagreeing with me or discussing things in good faith (or even bad faith) to leave harassment, threats, or general unpleasantness and I find out about it, I block you. Everybody fucks up sometimes and everybody has been misinterpreted on the internet, and even if they aren't in good faith or being misinterpreted, blocking and moving on is more efficient. Do not harass in my name. Don't harass in anyone's name.

For new would-be followers: look I have too many trans friends and followers, many of whom are teens, to take the chance that somebody who still has a hogwarts house in their profile isn't a dick. It's time. Just ditch it if you decide to follow me.

Or get blocked. It's no skin off my nose.

The Saraneth thing? I've decided to sort myself via free magic death bells frankly it makes more sense than the bad wizard books

The Pellinor/Throne of Glass comparison chapters

My Goodreads

My Ao3

Immunity Dog

I do not have a patreon or a ko-fi, but if you would like to have something or someone to support:

Quileute Move To Higher Ground Project

Planned Parenthood

Help Erase Medical Debt

There are too many to link, but please also consider scrolling through and donating to any number of those suffering in the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza against the Palestinian people. I usually reblog several in a chunk on a daily basis.

(more may be added as I go through life)(as a note, I am not in any way professionally affiliated with any of these)

#myth talks
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My feelings about prologues and epilogues are almost the same as my feelings about first person pov: I used to think I hated them, and then I realized I had just read a lot of books where the authors just did them badly as-written or in a way that I felt undermined the point the writer was trying to convey.

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Reblogged
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Prologues and epilogues seem to be a writing convention that has gone by the wayside, at least in some genres, though I've seen a minor resurgence in their use. Are there specific books you feel have noteworthy prologues and epilogues? Tell me in the comments.

#ALMOST without exception I don't care for prologues#usually I feel the information contained within them can be woven into the rest of the text to better effect#but there are I must admit a couple of prologues that do slap#and are used to best effect#epilogues are also very case dependent#usually not a huge fan but like. sometimes. sometimes that thang just needs an epilogue
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Reblogged mankillercalledbunny
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batmanisagatewaydrug-deactivate

just once I want to see a good post critiquing makeup culture that doesn’t turn out to be made by some janky radfem blog

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batmanisagatewaydrug

oh hey!! I’m not a janky radfem I can do it myself!

makeup culture is wack and normalizes a ludicrously high bar as the bare minimum women can do. I saw a “lazy"makeup tutorial the other day that listed 22 separate goddamn products. you’re supposed to buy and know how to use 22 different things on your face just for the privilege of being considered lazy and that’s uuuuuuh what’s the word? bullshit.

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karstenharrington

Really, five products could work, even 3. Just frame the face, eyes, lips, and you’re done.

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batmanisagatewaydrug

0 products also works great

because I’m gonna be real here, the idea that 22 products is a minimum sucks but it’s really upsetting that any amount of makeup is the bare minimum at all

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trashytwenties

I would really just suggest some powder foundation, concealer, mascara and lipgloss/lipstick, or tbh just mascara works too, but that’s up to you

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batmanisagatewaydrug

I’m sorry if I didn’t express this clearly enough in the original post but I’m not really looking for more concise makeup regiments. my intention was to point out how it’s Bad that makeup is considered a bare minimum at all, regardless of individual feelings on the matter

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sev-elbows

no face should be “required” to have “a minimum” of makeup. makeup has no health benefits and does nothing but fill the pockets of companies that prey on women and our insecurities.

makeup should not be seen as hygiene because it isnt. get that shit out of your head.

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oldroots

this post: makeup culture is ridiculous and 22 products should not be considered a minimum requirement for someones face. no one should have to do that

the notes: so like……. what youre saying is……. we need to make the minimum about 5 or 6 instead… i gotcha

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a-fatal-errxr

Really the only makeup you need is eyeliner but that’s just my personal opinion

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batmanisagatewaydrug

okay

where did we lose you

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amnestylodge

why are people like this

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There are comparatively few members of the bookening who possess a penis, which does make them by default experts for everyone to consult when trying to work out how wackily written smut scenes are working

A coiled erection? How?

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Reblogged
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Phew. I had a Very Busy Month. Just, in general. So I didn't read a whole lot. Officially started a Big Embroidery Job which is SO exciting! I'm doing my best to manage my time well so I get everything done by the deadline. I'm also watching Severance and really enjoying that so far. Reading wise we did NOT start of strong, but ended with a few bangers so I will allow it.

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White ⭐ - What a load of wet garbage. If your main character and narrator is going to be insufferable and stupid, they need to have redeeming qualities. Ganymedes had none. ALLEGEDLY it's that he's a Good Person, but that's such a low bar when "good person" means "I don't want to kill a six year old". It's yet another story about People With Power Oppressing Others, but only because the Wrong Person is in power. No, see, with Ganymedes in power everything will be okay! It's different this time! Because he's a Good Person!!!! I figured out the killer early on (before everyone was dead) and yeah sure I didn't see the Twist that there were actually four (4) killers because I'm not stupid enough to consider that.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Mostly good and cute, and makes me want to watch Spirited Away again. Another case of I Don't Understand The Romance but that's turning into a Me Problem. Love the focus on family and friends and how she doesn't choose love at first, she does go back and help her family before making a decision.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Have yet to be let down by T Kingfisher. It's not a goose girl retelling, though you can clearly see the influences, but reminded me of What Moves the Dead (yeah I know shocker but it's true) and Matilda of all things. Delightfully dark, but mind the content warnings.

He Who Drowned the World by Sheller Parker-Chan ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I feel like I struggled with this one more than the first, but it was still enjoyable. My problem was that I didn't care about some of the new POVs, even when they all came together. The ended slogged for me until the last ten or so pages where it really finished strong so my overall impression of this is Good. Absolutely heartbreaking. And while it's not really about gender and being trans, it also absolutely is. A lot of really good words in here.

Favorite of the month was absolutely Sorceress. T Kingfisher at it again. In April I'd like to utilise audiobooks more so I can read while I'm sewing. I did place a hold or Legendborn audio, but that's still a few weeks (months?) out. Book club is late this month, but I"m excited to reread Godkiller in time for book three, AND that's right around my birthday so I'm going to bring cupcakes to the next meeting. There are still a lot of crafts I want to do, and I'm woefully behind on birthdays, but once I get through the cutting phase of this project I think I'll have more time for pleasure crafts. I'm excited for spring, I'm excited for the warmth and sunshine and wildflowers. There are so many things to look forward to. Things will be okay.

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Reblogged qqueenofhades
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ahhhh finally the weekend is beautiful and wide open ahead of me. surely this will be the weekend I finally get my whole life in order and do the twenty-seven things I've been putting off and fix my sleep schedule and make memories with friends and discover my purpose in this world. surely

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Reblogged radley-rambles
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"How could you do this" with the help of the demon blade "this isn't you" well yeah it's me and the demon blade "I know you're a good person" yeah that wasn't in question "please come home" not if you're gonna be a dick to the demon blade "we need to destroy the demon blade" listen I don't come to family gatherings and say we Need To Destroy aunt cassie and she's genuinely evil, unlike the demon blade

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Reblogged batmanisagatewaydrug
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i think when it comes to knowledge gaps (especially on tumblr) its easy to get insecure about not knowing everything. but the real secret is that you can get away with not knowing everything if you just dont insert yourself into conversations you dont understand with blind confidence. the internet also gives you the privilege of 1) googling/wikipediaing shit before you say it, and 2) not volunteering how little you know. you dont actually have to enter the conversation just to say how little you know. part of the stereotype of dipshit stupid american on here is that americans will say full chestedly that they dont know which continent tchad is in and then go out of their way to justify it with their lack of education. when no one asked them to say either thing. and even if someone did ask, you are never under any obligation to actually answer.

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Reblogged andhumanslovedstories
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In my first ever article for a print magazine, I'm analyzing Elon Musk's DOGE from the perspective of contractor capture: the notion that for-profit contractors like Musk desire not only money from the government, but also control over government itself.

You can read the full piece below, or pick up the April 2025 edition of The American Prospect at a local bookstore once it's available!

Rule by Contractor
DOGE is not about waste and efficiency—it’s about privatization.
The American Prospect
DOGE has been marketed as an organization aimed at cutting wasteful spending and increasing government efficiency, but it has quickly become apparent that this is not its primary function. Instead, DOGE has spent the first weeks of Trump’s second presidential term haphazardly dismantling the civil service, politically targeting spending that Musk and Trump dislike, centralizing decision-making power in the White House, and causing major disruptions to government operations that will decrease their overall efficiency. Still, one important aspect of this strategy has gone largely unexamined: the elevation of government contractors like Musk into government policymakers... Musk has acquired much of his tremendous wealth from the government he is now dismantling. Tesla Motors relied on significant support from the Department of Energy, which was criticized as government waste by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. SpaceX continues to receive billions of dollars each year in contract awards from NASA and the Defense Department, representing one of the company’s largest streams of income. Overall, Musk’s business ventures have benefited from more than $38 billion in government support, not including a new contract from the Federal Aviation Administration to upgrade its information technology systems. To hear Musk describe it, he is part of the solution, not the problem. He has argued that “there’s a vast federal bureaucracy that is implacably opposed to the … president and the Cabinet,” and thus that there is a need for a “thrashing of the bureaucracy as we try to restore democracy and the will of the people.” In this understanding, Musk is not a money-motivated billionaire riddled with conflicts of interest, but rather a selfless entrepreneur bringing private-sector efficiency to a sclerotic, wasteful government and “the Parasite Class” that depends on it. This view of government efficiency is impressively backwards. The civil service that Musk is attacking consists of millions of regular workers doing their best to transform the complexities of government into positive outcomes for the American people. The only parasitic class benefiting from government inefficiency consists of for-profit government contractors like Musk, who grow rich off of taxpayer dollars by providing overpriced services to compensate for a lack of state capacity, all while using their billions to rig the system in their favor. Allowing contractors like him to decide how the government spends money is both an affront to democracy and an open invitation to further corruption.
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Reblogged radley-rambles
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Listen, folks, I also hate generative AI and do not think it is an effective accomodation, but if your argument against it is "Oh, you think [task] is hard? What a stupid idiot baby!" then I'm sorry to say that is Literally Just Ableism. Please think about what you are saying. The point should be that it doesn't actually work to solve the problems that people are struggling with, not that they're wrong for struggling in the first place.

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Points to replace "it's not that hard"

  • It is not a reliable information source (see: math examples, number of Rs in strawberry)
  • For scenarios with things like rewording stuff for papers/presentations, bring up reaching out to peers for editing help to both strengthen your professional network and to develop the writing skills to improve yourself
  • For "it's better than Google", bring up search engines that don't have that silly AI summary at the top of every search, like DuckDuckGo or Ecosia
  • For "it saves time": we don't actually have any metrics to support this beyond users reporting how much time they think it saves. This does not take into account the quality that's produced and extra time correcting errors later
  • (Per a Microsoft study) using it shifts your mindset from problem solving to information verification. This will be a detriment to your problem solving skills over time.
  • For "I use it for character AI": Back in my day, we had RP forums! There's probably a discord server for your fandom where you can roleplay as/with characters, and if there isn't, there's definitely people who would love for you to make one.
  • For "I use it to help me find ideas": If you're having trouble creating or finding ideas, you're probably burnt out or encountering a natural creative block. Using ChatGPT to push through the issue will not help. Take time time to rest and recuperate, it'll be healthier in the long run.
  • For "I use it as a therapist": ChatGPT does not have a therapist license. It cannot connect with you, understand you, and give personalized recommendations for coping mechanisms and growth strategies like a real therapist can. I know finding a therapist can be difficult and take time and money, but there are also guides and books out there created by therapists and psychologists for self help.
  • The lack of safety for your data (see: that tumblr post with the person whose brother was searching for personal information on ChatGPT)
  • The ethics surrounding the collection of training data against the wishes of the creators (see: Miyazaki with the new Ghibli filter)
  • The environmental impact of using GPT, from both energy costs and using water to cool servers
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