Forrest > Recent Status Updates

The descent of all life through evolutionary processes is not a 'theory' in the sense that the creationists would have us believe. So overwhelming is the evidence for evolution by descent that one could say that it is as secure as the fact that the Earth goes around the Sun and not the other way around.

... oh I hate to tell you this but those types don't believe in the solar system either

"I just don't understand," his mother said. "How could this have even happened between you? Weren't there any nice men in Montreal, Shane?"

jesus, Mama Hollander, you didn't have to straight-up murder poor Ilya like that (but I am cackling as she does, sorry Rozanov)

noting my appreciation for the running gag of Hayden's kids' names. The jewel theme for the girls is actually nice imo, but why you'd pick Amber when the brother's name is Arthur I do not know - sound far too similar, especially if you're calling for one of them from a different room or suchlike.

"You wanna kiss me on television?"
"Yes. After I win the Stanley Cup."
"Oh, so in this romantic scenario, you've just defeated me?"
"Yes. Sorry."
"I'm not going to be in the mood to kiss you if I've just lost the Stanley Cup, Rozanov."
"But you would be so proud of me!"

yr honour I lub them

- so the hospital receptionist is gonna out them, 99% sure

- I'm getting reeeaaaallll sick of both of them being in this "I have to break up with him, I'm going to break up with him, I'm ending it next time" thought cycle. It's been hundreds of pages. If you were going to, you would've. Just bloody have a conversation already - in a language you both speak, Ilya, confessing in Russian isn't slick.

pffff, okay, the "I think I'm gay" / "Oh yeah? What gave you that idea?" bit is kind of a cheap joke but it did get me

They're great when they're taking the mickey out of each other.

- they keep crashing into each other while kissing and slamming each other into walls. Y'all are going to hurt yourselves.

- I sort of wish the narrative would stop reminding me that they're only 19 at this point, because I (from the great height of a decade and small change older) immediately jump into weirdly protective "AWW KIDDO" mode, and it's not at all the vibe when the smut is going on

there seems, hm, a certain amount of emphasis on Shane being shorter and babyfaced and a "pretty boy" vs Ilya being Big and Rugged and Manly and I am a bit wary of that. Very common bit of stereotyping, again crops up a lot in the fanfic world, tends to go to not-great places.

on the other hand my inner 12-year-old is having a big ol' tee-hee at the phrase "fancy stickhandling". 🤦 it's not a euphemism...

... well you can definitely tell that Rachel Reid is (was?) an Ao3 author. Which is not at all a complaint! But that prologue was literally a completely textbook PWP oneshot. Had significantly less buildup than most of those fics do, actually.

Elisabet's portrayal feels a bit Rain Man to me, hopefully I'll be proven wrong

Rubenhold showcases a selection of the grossest comments about Belle from nearer-the-time books about Crippen and whewww, emphasis on ew...
Someone named Leonard Gribble portrays her as an "overweight and overbearing female" who "spent money recklessly on clothes" for "her gross body". Obviously, clothing is a privilege intended only for the slim and attractive. Rest of us gotta go nude.

For my entire existence, at least the parts I could remember, I had done nothing but accept the inevitable. I was tired of it.

heh, the detective using "Doyle" as a cover identity's surname... that's a nice touch

- where tf are all her bones then??!

- I do wish there was a timeline in the back, I've lost track of what month events are taking place in. References to "Thursday the 14th" and "Monday the 18th", but no clarification on the 14th and 18th of what

okay. so Ethel has been Crippen's secretary and mistress for abt 8 years. He started "courting" her when she was ~19. He just murdered his wife in order to have Ethel take her place and live openly as a couple.

Ethel, promptly, during their honeymoon, goes out of her way to hire a 17-yr-old French maid.

... I... Where do you think this is gonna go?! THIS DOESN'T END WELL FOR YOU HONEY.

[...] but ultimately, Walter would never escape the shame of knowing that he and his dependants were a 'charity case', at a time when 'receiving handouts', whether from the workhouse or in the form of private philanthropy, was seen as a mark of failure.

"At a time when"? Phrased like those attitudes have changed? Have you seen any media that mentions benefits in the last 2 decades?!

Really enjoying this. Interesting but a light read, never lingers too long on one thing.

was not expecting to run into the inventor of vibrators, a couple dozen pages into Edwardian England murder book, but uhhh here we are

At home, I unpack the books of the last twelve days and it is a pile more than three feet tall.

been there m'dude, been there

Glasgow and Edinburgh have always seemed smarter to me than the average city. I imagine they have fist-fights over Dadaism, Diderot and David Hume.

(noting this one down purely out of Scottish vanity)