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Notes -
Incredibly, just after I read this I saw a tweet with 200 likes chastising fellow left-genre-fiction-tuber ManCarryingThing for his apology just... saying this out loud.
https://x.com/RhuladSengar/status/1891629671789330513
Of course I jokingly mention Malazan Book of the Fallen in my post as the type of thing a sexless dork would read and this person’s bio is:
He/Him | Fiction enjoyer | anime, manga, movies and books | Malazan Book of the Fallen #1 series
Can people try not to confirm every stereotype this week? For the record I read the first three books and was somewhat entertained but turned off by the frivolous use of literal God-tier magic.
Be careful, I think the overlap between people who read MBotF and Motteposters/Rationalists is pretty high. I greatly enjoyed the series, definitely in my top 5. Definitely not some sexless dork. MBotF itself isn't particularly progressive, though the most recent Witness books had some cringe immigrant/refugee moments. I think this is far more explainable by influencers being highly fake; people who seek out fame are not normal. Clout chasers like the above are seeking to exploit their niche and in this case their only skill is being able to read/enjoy dense literature.
I think this maps cleany to the progressive impulse to want to be special, the pronouns, the celebration of different lived experiences. It all tracks that some nerd desiring to me special/famous, uses their love of deep fantasy to be different and then, because they are immersed in the the zoomer zeitgeist, then tries to become some niche influencer.
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