@hellolovelyscientist / hellolovelyscientist.tumblr.com
I put together a digital PDF zine of my short fiction and poetry. The stories lean heavily into dark folklore, horror, and historical fiction, so if any of those subjects interest you, please check out the zine!
$5 is all it costs for 38 pages of stuff :)
Check it out:
Succession (2018 - present) // Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Have I watched the movie in the last decade or more? No. Do I have iron clad evidence to support my argument? Yes.
1. She’s the most knowledgeable about candy. She’s committed to it, and knows her stuff. When Wonka holds up a little yellow piece across the room, she recognizes it immediately. She was able to switch to candy bars for the sake of the contest, so we know she has personal discipline and is goal oriented. Also, two major projects play directly into her strong suits: the 3-course-meal gum that Wonka failed to make safe (gum) and the neverending gobstopper (longevity).
2. She’s the most fit to run a business. Violet is competitive, determined, hard working, and willing to take risks. Her father is a small town car salesman and politician, so she could easily pick up knowledge and support from him. (Veruca’s dad is also a business man, and in a compatible market (nuts), but it’s made very clear that Veruca has no respect or knowledge of business practices or hard work.)
3. She’s the most sympathetic to the Oompa Loompas. She critiques Veruca when Veruca demands to buy one. More importantly, Wonka has been testing the 3-course-meal gum that ‘always goes wrong’ on Oompa Loompas while he presumably just watches. Violet is ready to put herself on the front line, instead of treating the Oompa Loompas as disposable, and would therefore be a better boss.
4. Her personality ‘flaw’ is the most fitting for the company. In the moralizing Oompa Loompa song, they just say ‘gum is pretty cool, but it’s not socially acceptable to chew it all day‘. The thing is, we already know that she can stop if she wants, because she already did that to win the golden ticket. And yeah, she is defensive about the perceived impoliteness of her hobby (like when her mother tries to shame her about her habit during a televised interview) but the obsession with candy and neglect of social norms is EXACTLY what Wonka is all about. This is on brand.
5. Her misstep in the factory is reasonable. Wonka shows everyone a candy he’s very proud of. Violet is like “oh sick, that’s gum, my special interest.” Wonka then pulls a “WRONG! It’s amazing gum!” In the very moments before she takes the gum Wonka has mislead her just to belittle her. So when he’s like “I wouldn’t do that” why should she give a shit what he has to say? She’s not like Charlie over here who’s all “Sure Gramps, let’s stay behind while the tour leaves and secretly drink this thing that has been explicitly stated to fill you with gas and is too powerful for safe consumption, oh and also I just saw what happened to Violet so I actually KNOW what this stuff can be capable of” Also, Violet is not selfish about her experience, she tells everyone what she’s tasting and feeling, and everyone is eager to hear it. Taking a personal risk to share knowledge with everyone. Violet is Prometheus: fact.
So Augustus contaminates the chocolate river. Charlie sneaks around and contaminates the vent walls. Veruca destroys and disrupts the workspace. Mike knows exactly what will happen to him and transports/shrinks himself deliberately. Violet had no idea what the gum could potentially do to her, and caused no harm to anyone or anything but herself.
Lastly: Can you imagine Charlie filling Wonka’s shoes? That passive, naive boy? Violet is already basically Wonka. She’s passionate, sarcastic, candy-obsessed, free thinking, and a total firecracker. She’s even better than Wonka, because she doesn’t endanger others.
Violet should’ve been picked to inherit the chocolate factory.
just wanted to say that i really love the way that you write. amber skies hit my brain in every right way, and all the little shorts you post do the exact same. there's something about the way that you select details and craft an atmosphere that i've been trying to crack for a while because it's an aspect i want to be able to imitate a lot - it actually reminds me some of how toni morrison made these little packets of unreality in song of solomon, the way that something so unreal feels so tangible. you just do something with the words where i can feel the layers of them even if i can't consciously point them out. felt the need to let you know that your prose has inspired me a lot, thanks for writing :)
Hey I really appreciate it!
I find myself returning to the Shirley Temple mug at the beginning of Bluest Eye. It's such a simple object, a mug with a picture of Shirley Temple on it, but within the story it becomes this deeply symbolic vessel emblazoned with a symbol of white beauty that Pecola literally attempts to consume whiteness out of to the point that it makes her sick. But its also just a mug.
Look, I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for this but this show was all about breaking cycles.
Rebecca could have become another wealthy owner, utterly embittered, much more interested in hurting those around them to keep themselves up than to actually finding any happiness in the world. Instead she became her own person, found several families, embraced them all, and gave back in a way that helped most of them.
Nate could have learned that lashing out and repression were at least an outlet for his frustrations, he could have followed in Rupert's footsteps and become a miserable jackass. Instead by accepting the kindness and Grace of other people he started over, found love, and came home.
Keeley could have become a lot like her friend, never recognizing her inherent talents, slowly panicking as she aged, abandoned by the Machine by the time she was 30. She could have seen other women as enemies or at least combatants, but instead she found better friendship and mentorship and began to pass it on to others as she bettered her own life.
Roy's endless cycle of rage and hurting himself and pushing himself too hard to return could have literally killed him. He could have been like any number of Aging athletes whose life ends at 35. Instead he has a new career in a place that he loves, and he is finding ways to improve his mental health and open up.
Jamie could have been just another celebrity douchebag, possibly even sinking into the alcoholism that was taking his father. Just as much as keely, he was often seen as only as good as his physical fitness and his body, but he went back and read the books, he learned tactics, he learned to accept help and to give help and he became 10 times the man and 10 times the player that he was at the beginning. his career could have flamed out young but he got his second chance and he gave his father a second chance in turn.
And Ted, oh god Ted. his father made the ultimate selfish choice. He decided if he couldn't be perfect and he couldn't be everything he would be nothing. He would rather absent himself from his son's life then be there for him in whatever ways he could. Ted could have been happy in england. Ted could have had an incredible career. But Henry would not have had a father. How many times did people remind us that parents are responsible for the ways they fuck up their children during this show? Every other fucking episode, another way to point out that there are cycles of failure and frustration and psychological damage that get passed down from generation to generation. He broke that cycle, over and over. He didn't pin Michelle down into an unhappy marriage. They split up, and were both happier for it. He chose to put his son first, to not abandon him. He can have an incredible career anywhere in the world with a season like that. But he can't be in Henry's life the way he wants to be from six time zones away.
This isn't denigrating people who by necessity are long distance parents. But I would be willing to bet that if you asked any of those long distance parents if, given the choice, they would move back to be close to their kids? I'm willing to bet you pretty much every single one of them would say fuck yes, I want to hug them in the morning and tuck them in bed at night. I want to go to their soccer games and see their art shows.
Ted chose to be sincerely and honestly present in Henry's life. I don't think he's getting back with Michelle, he's not going back for a marriage. He's going home to be a father and I think his father would be proud.
1) thank you for your thorough explanation of my earlier question, here is a cat tax in thanks:
2) this is 99% a joke, but: do you just get the impression this dude looked at shows like NCIS and Bull and people saying “oh, that’s so unrealistic” and went “HOLD MY BEER”? Like realistically I know that’s not what happened but I can’t help feeling like we’re gonna see this whole thing on Leverage next year.
OMG
[Image ID in ask: A sweet looking orange cat standing and looking at the camera /End ID]
1) You are welcome!
2) No, your Leverage villain is this fucker:
This shithead is the founder and CEO of DoNotPay, which advertises itself as "The World's First Robot Lawyer." For more on them, I highly recommend these articles to start:
alright so i absolutely hate doing this, but, i need money, i am moving to a different city in a month, have a massive bill to pay and potentially have some legal costs coming up soon. and i currently don't even have enough to cover that one invoice :/ i am glad about any money i can get via ko-fi or merch sales (profit margins are temporarily raised a bit) to help through this significantly more expensive coming month
Postcard from the artist collective project THINK AGAIN
How do they scare people straight?
threaten rejection from family and society, justify hate in the name of god, spread myths about perverts and molesters, incite fear about disease, spread lies about human sexuality, threaten rejection from work and community, propagate lies about sin, publicly humiliate queers, withhold information about sex, erase queers from history, allow homophobia on television, deny queers equal protection under the law, promote family values, promise happiness to those who conform.
THEY ALL KEPT A PIECE OF THE SIGN. BEHIND THE PHOTO OF HIS DREAM. IN HIS CAPTAINS ARMBAND. IN HIS SHIN GUARD. IN THE BOOK HE DIDNT READ. SOMEWHERE SAFE. SOMEWHERE SPECIAL. FOR LUCK. FOR LOVE. FOR BELIEVE. AFC RICHMOND YOU BEAUTIFUL BOYS.
the good news is it's not covid, but my brother & nephew were just in the hospital for over three days so he hasn't been able to get ANY cash coming in.
he was literally homeless hardly a few months ago, we can't afford to have it happen again. anything at all helps massively. please only donate if you're able.
(kofis fucked n i cant change my goal. dont worry about that i found out a way to get my hrt 4 free)
(COUNTING AFTER FEES LMAO)
AVAILABLE NOW: Dead Motel inspired soft-enamel pins, custom designed by me! They are for sale in my newly opened Etsy shop. You can purchase each one individually or all 3 for a discounted rate.
i’m not going to elaborate but i think that big positive effects are harder to co-ordinate and see the results of and even agree on than big negative effects, like it is soooo easy to cause harm and so difficult to do good, not personally but logistically speaking. small acts of goodness are easy and important because the big acts cannot happen by accident.
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO | となりのトトロ (1988) — dir. Hayao Miyazaki.
Maurice Sand, Werewolves leaning against the wall of a cemetery at night, 1858
Lads night out, their pretending their not shit faced
they’re waiting their turn :)
Groups of two are great when it's black cat/yellow lab energy but the BEST groups of 4 have orange cat/black lab as well am I making sense
Can we just get an exact identity on black labs ienergy?
Okay okay okay I'm thinking about this a lot now as a writing tool for my own private purposes SO
BLACK CAT ENERGY: Controlled and composed appearance, chaotic and turbulent inner world. Highly skilled at navigating society with diplomacy and etiquette, but falls apart at the seams when confronted with their own emotions and unstructured or unexpected displays of sincere emotion. Clings to appearances, suppressing emotion to project their desired image. Outsider.
YELLOW LAB ENERGY: Deeply loving and positive, loyal to their own detriment. Genuine and kind, open and supportive, but at times confined by their own dedication to uplifting others. Comfortable with positivity feelings, needs support when they're low. Family oriented.
ORANGE CAT ENERGY: Outwardly a big dumb stupid goober, but with a disarming dignity and depth. Emotionally intelligent and full of love and affection, but at a surface level- inwardly uncertain, uncomfortable, and reluctant to confront negative feelings. Explodes outwards. Clings to appearances, exaggerating emotion to project their desired image. Outsider.
BLACK LAB ENERGY: Dedicated and loyal like yellow lab, and with that good good doggie heart, but inexorably tied to a stigma of tragedy and death that is undeserved. Less of a literal back dog and more of a symbolic one. Comfortable with negativite feelings, difficulty with positivity. Family oriented.
(Obviously not real or meaningful but I like thinking about dumb dynamic algebra like this so I'm doing it)
