I Was Told There Would Be Sabotage

Man. It sucks that several people I liked and respected are proving to be ghoulish ethnonationalists.

Some random blog you've followed for years: "Arabs are just subhuman, I don't see what's wrong with saying that."

Many people have pointed out that in The Locked Tomb books Gideon's conception parallels that of Jesus. However, I've noticed that many people also conflate "The Virgin Birth" with "The Immaculate Conception" when these actually refer to two different biblical events/concepts that have different implications for TLT. The Virgin Birth refers to the conception/incarnation and subsequent birth of Jesus without intercourse. The Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary without original sin, making her an appropriate "vessel" to later become pregnant with Jesus.

Following the parallels in The Locked Tomb universe, The Virgin Birth still tracks with the conception and birth of Gideon (despite Wake being most def not a virgin, the conception didn't involve intercourse). We would then expect The Immaculate Conception to parallel Wake's conception.

Given the lack of information around Wake's origin, this distinction is super interesting to me. Was Wake somehow born without the BOE original sin of the billionaires who abandoned the rest of the earth? What could that mean for her origin? How would that fit with what bits we do know about her? Did that somehow enable her to conceive and carry Gideon when the dolls failed?

Personally, I think it would be interesting if Wake were descended from someone that was on the ships as a crew member or other non-billionaire. Maybe she was even on a ship herself, given the potential time-weirdness of FTL travel. Alternatively, maybe she was actually house-born, or descended from a house making her exempt from BOE's original sin (but the product of a whole host of others...). It seems like there might be a few things hinting at that option (eye color, hair color), but if so, how'd she end up leading BOE?

Lots of interesting questions! No answers of course, but I'm sure that Tamsyn is familiar with these two concepts, and I'm so curious to see if she weaves in aspects of the immaculate conception if we learn more about Wake's backstory in Alecto.

tragic. they found an angel stcuk tangled in the telephone wires outsside your house. sorruy. yeah we dont know how to get it out cus anyone who approached the divine light of their holy aura got obliterated. yeah we forgot their names. it'll probably get free sooner or later. dont go outside

*thunder crackling*

THOU ART LISTENING TO

*fireball explosion*

102.3

*bubbling cauldron*

REAL WIZARDS FM

*shimmering mana crystal*

WHERE WE PLAYETH NOTHING BUT CHANTS, CHANTS, AND MORE CHANTS

*wololo*

THIS ART NOT THINE ELDER MATRIARCH'S STATION

*Imagine Dragons - Radioactive starts playing*

[ you meet god and she is mostly dead fish. ]

a comic based on this post:

So the other thing that happened today was that in my Introduction to Professional Writing lecture we had in a guest - he teaches two upper year classes in the program but he’s also a book editor and he had advice on how to sell your book. And took questions. He also announced that a future guest was to be a Martha Bells and I react---

 Here I must inform you that this class is held both in person and on Zoom, but the camera that’s supposed to focus on in-person people wasn’t working and I am the only damn person in the lecture call with my camera on because it’s just polite goddamit. So the only people on camera are our guest, and me.

 …and I react with UNDISGUISED GLEE. Which is of course noticed. Because I’m the only on with their camera on. And then I realized I was thinking of Martha Wells. 

I got to ask a question so I prefaced it with “I’m sorry I just want you to know that I reacted when you said Martha Bells because I thought you said Martha Wells the author of the Murderbot books and there’s a new one out and she’s amazing I love her.”

To which he replied “Oh.  Well… good news then.  I’m bringing in Martha Wells in a few weeks.”

"Kill them with kindness" WRONG. drop the opera house chandelier on them.

leonide listening to murderbot talk to ART (who is, at least by her assumption, a human captain or something) and MB being like "fuck you" vehemently and ART being like "you haven't spoken to me like that in weeks. i've missed it" ... like this woman is listening to a robot (well, construct, one that presumably isnt a rogue because it's still protecting humans) swear at a presumed human, and yet no one else—NO ONE ELSE AT ALL—is acting like this is odd. it's odd!!! from her perspective, it's fucking weird!!!! and then later she's like "is that really a secunit?" because people are being kind to it, iris repaired its environmental suit, and it's talking back and snapping at people and behaving so unlike a secunit one can't help but think it sounds like a person. she's already in an extremely distressing situation, and her life is in the hands of crazy people who treat their bot-human construct like it's just some other guy. i do not feel any genuine sympathy for her, but just imagine what that must feel like. i'd be silently losing my mind.

coming into the locked tomb fandom the funniest thing i’ve seen is when people will content warning tag ianthe. it’s actually a necessity.

Wow

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i went nonverbal, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

sitting in chair backwards, youth pastor voice Hey, I get it, sometimes you love someone so much you feel like you could die. But you know who else died for love? That’s right, Gideon Nav

Boycott scream

Also to add

Screen shot says "Talent agency UTA has reportedly dropped Susan Sarandon as a client for showing support for Palestine. (https://deadline.com/2023/11/susan-sarandon-pro-palestinian-remarks-uta-dropped-1235632398/)

Hollywood has made it clear they are in favour of those who support genocide

So glad we all helped actors secure their jobs and paychecks so they can immediately turn around and throw their support and money behind a genocide. Leftist/labor movements in the imperial core are always the weakest fucking links. I wish everyone in sag had lost their jobs to crude AI puppets of themselves if they are just going to let this happen.

okay but the flashback scene

with Three and the armour

and Murderbot refusing to take it

Murderbot is so indignant and frustrated and unwilling to address why in its narrative. it doesn't understand why it didn't take the armour if Three was offering them.

honestly i'm not entirely sure why either. so i guess this rambly excuse for meta is my attempt to work through the possible reasons?

and i think the answer is, all of these above. a big complex jumble that Murderbot doesn't want to look at and pick apart because it's too painful right now.

but it's confusing. because before it wanted armour. armour kept it safe. physically, in battle. emotionally, hiding itself from the humans.

in All System's Red it says, "I love you armour, and I'm never leaving you again."

But it did leave that armour. and it's grown beyond it.

it couldn't fit back inside if it tried.