#towb

[andipxndy-writes]

I saw that you read The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix this year and you enjoyed it. I've seen a number of people saying that its racist and antisemitic, but I noticed that a lot of those reviews are based on a twitter review that came out quite a while before the book itself. I've also seen more recent reviews (after the book was released) from both Black and Jewish readers stating those claims are false. Did you find anything like that during your read through?

Not gonna lie, as soon as I mentioned that I'd read The Ones We Burn I know someone was going to come into my ask box and ask this question so I've been waiting for something like this.

In short: No. I did not find anything like this. I am a black woman, and I did not find anything racist towards black people in this book (and I've read the HP books, I have a good idea of what racism looks and feels like in writing lmao).

Not gonna lie, this book was on my TBR list for ages and I pre-ordered, and when everything came out I was ridiculously disappointed by the number of people who would go out and slander/cancel a book without reading it simply because someone lied. And I was especially disappointed in the black people who went online and started rallying to cancel the book. The whole "reverse racism" claim was a lie, the two main characters are black because, spoiler, their mother is black and their mother was a witch from another coven (so not a white people in power constantly thing; I'm due a reread to confirm this, though). Not only that, but they're surrounded by rich white people the whole time, and there are witches with different ethnicities/skin tones throughout the whole book. I could not find ANYTHING suggesting racism or reverse racism in this book and for someone to imply that without having read the book is absolutely obtuse. (I also absolutely HATE cancel culture because some of the people I've seen get cancelled by people spreading rumours and lies. Absolutely ridiculous.)

As for the antisemitism claim, I didn't spot any of that in the book either but I actually went to research that because I wanted to know exactly what people not on twitter were saying, and I found this review which was pretty long and has links. I didn't find any, and neither did this Jewish reviewer.

Honestly, there were a lot of reviews about the book before it even came out, and even though ARCs were sent out I get the vibe that not many (if any) of the readers actually posted any of those reviews attacking the book. All those reviews came from people who were talking about another review and basically saying "this was on my tbr but because xxx said racism and antisemitism I'm taking it off bye", which isn't how reviews work but go off I guess. It got tanked on goodreads for what I believe was a couple of lying or jealous reviews that everyone jumped on as true. And people actually thought it was okay to bully someone off the Internet and send them death threats? And don't sensitivity readers usually get called in to prevent this happening when the book comes out? Sensitivity readers were called in on this book. It just baffles me that so many people cancelled the book so quickly based on a couple of pre-release reviews and probably aren't even looking at the post-release reviews because they think they've done their job or some dumb shit like that.

Anyway tl;dr: No, I didn't find any racism in the book, and any claims of racism in the book from before the release should be taken with a pinch of salt, imo. Or a load of it. The affected communities need to actually look to reviewers from their communities post-release and see what they're saying before attacking, and they certainly shouldn't be attacking before having the chance to form their own opinions.

Anyway, people are gonna come after me for this but I've said what I've said and I believe it. I've stayed away from making comments online mostly because I 1) would probably not be heard online because I tend to stay in my little corner for the sake of my own mental health; and 2) know that people are stubborn once they've formed their own opinions and didn't want to say anything before reading the book myself.

#asks #anon #the controversy surrounding this book gives me a lot of feelings #mostly anger and disappointment #i even saw a black blog on tumblr basically say #yo that had me shook #they full on disregarded the one thing people are fighting for #because they think a book they haven't read is racist #anyway happy new year!! #and thanks for the ask anon!! #i would recommend reading the book for yourself with critical eyes #before making any sort of judgement #the ones we burn #rebecca mix #towb #the ones we burn rebecca mix

[the-word-of-lizzy]

Disclaimer: I’m a white omnist, and this is a throwaway account because I don’t wanna get dogpiled on.

The career assassination, cancel culture, and virtue signaling surrounding TOWB is literally insane, especially because the book isn’t even out yet, and the majority of negative reviews are basing their review...on someone else’s review. And some of y’all haven’t heard and/or read about Derek Black, and it shows.

#rebecca mix #the ones we burn #towb #i'm so tired

[ihave3frigs]

i just want @rebeccamix to know that i loved the ones we burn very very much i literally forgot to eat bc i was so busy squealing and kicking my feet. i have now recommended it to my mom (who taught me witchcraft) and she is very excited :) anyways everyone go read it this was exactly the queer fantasy i needed in my life

#towb #the ones we burn #rebecca mix

[saintkey]

most heartbreaking sacrifice by squeem in the history of all dimension 20

#dimension 20 #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high #fhjy #move over lapin . squeem is in towb #rainposting

[thebirdandhersong]

for single friends: what do you do/do you do anything to celebrate valentine's day? (Or galentine's day for that matter)

#my friends and i want to do something together so that we're not all sitting in our rooms being alone and sad #all of us having gone through some romantic disappointment or other recently #would appreciate ideas!! we dont have any #since all the nice cafes and bakeries around here WILL be overrun by couples #that's just how it is in this towb #town

[smokygluvs]

Harry Towb - 1925 to 2009

Sticking with a Northern Irish theme, a man who was no fool was actor Harry Towb.

He was usually clean-shaven, but I like him with a moustache (here, The Blue Max - 1966)

Handsome, beautiful eyes.

Looked good bearded, as well.

#Harry Towb #The Blue Max

[transjohnnycash]

TIPS FOR DRIVING IN THE SNOW:

GET AS CLOSE TO THE CAR IN FRONT OF YOU AS POSSIBLE. LIKE REALLY CLOSE SO THEY CANT EVEN SEE YOUR HEADLIGHTS. SO CLOSE THAT IF THEY EVEN TAP THE BREAKS YOU'LL GET INTO A WRECK INSTANTLY

NO LIGHTS. LEAVE YOUR LIGHTS OFF. NO ONE NEEDS TO SEE YOU ITS FINE

IF YOU'RE DRIVING ANYTHING BIGGER THAN A MIDSIZE SUV, MAKE SURE TO DRIVE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE AND PASS ALL THE SMALLER CARS THAT ARE GOING WAY TOO SLOW!

GO SO FAST. SO FAST. TAKE TURNS GOING AT LEAST 40MPH TRUST ME

that's all you need to know!

#I HATE THIS TOWN I HATE THIS TOWN I HATE THIS TOWB #also i just watched the plow hit a brick pillar in our parking lot

[mariocki]

The Saint: The High Fence (2.23, ITC, 1964)

"Why should I co-operate? Give me one good reason."

"Withholding information is a serious offence!"

"Then arrest me. Go ahead. Put me in jail, hound me the way you did Johnny! Six arrests..."

"Johnny was a confirmed criminal -"

"He was sick and he was frightened, he needed help! All he got was persecution."

#the saint #the high fence #1964 #leslie charteris #itc #harry w. junkin #james hill #roger moore #james villiers #suzanne lloyd #ivor dean #reginald beckwith #stanley meadows #harry towb #dyson lovell #clare kelly #peter jeffrey #hazel hughes #richard poore #one of the episodes i most clearly remember from previous viewings‚ probably because of a twist that for once i didn't see coming #(i was young and naive!). Teal is back‚ peppermints in tow‚ and facing off against an unusually uptight James Villiers as one of the most #antagonistic policemen the series has seen so far. actually this whole episode is surprisingly critical of the police; where they're often #depicted as less able than Simon‚ here they're downright negligent and display a complete lack of grace or tact when talking to the #innocents (or at least only mildly guilty) caught up in the case. Harry Towb's nervous safecracker is notably shown in a more sympathetic #light than the officers who arrest him. this one also benefits from a great cast of perhaps lesser known Brit tv royalty; Jeffreys would go #on to bigger and better‚ as would Meadows‚ but actors like Towb and Lovell were great character players who never seemed to hit the big #time in the way they deserved. Suzanne Lloyd was a repeat guest star for the series (6 eps in all!) but this is one of her best outings #as she actually gets quite a bit to do‚ including some undercover work‚ and has one of the more developed characterisations of Simon's many #lady friends. Clare Kelly was often in comic work but here she gives a wonderful performance as a grieving widow full of rage

[ihophashbrowns]

Going through a mutual's blog when they're always on queue feels like walking through a haunted and abandoned house where you swear you just saw an apparition in of the corner of ur eye and you're certain you just heard a noise down the hall but you can never be too sure

#🧁.txt #always feels like a ghost towb

[kwebtv]

Home James! - ITV - July 1, 1987 - July 23, 1990

Sitcom (25 Episodes)

Running Time: 30 minutes

Stars:

Jim Davidson as Jim London

George Sewell as Robert Palmer

Harry Towb as Henry Compton

Vanessa Knox-Mawer as Sarah Palmer

Sherrie Hewson as Paula

Cecilia-Marie Carreon as Connie

Owen Whittaker as Terry

#Home James! #TV #Sitcom #ITV #1980's #Jim Davidson #George Sewell #Harry Towb #Vanessa Know-Mawer #Sherrie Hewson

[percontaion-points]

TOWB chapters 77-80

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 77

And then Ranka pulled the woman who’d raised her against her chest and tipped over the cliff.

Chapter 77 summary: Ranka engages Ongrum in a fight. Except that the disease has ravaged both mind and body; Ongrum isn’t in there anymore, only a monster who only cares about death and destruction. 

Right as the fight is tipping in Ranka’s favour, the plague starts to affect her too much. She knows that she’s dying, and faster than anticipated. So she grabs Ongrum and falls over backwards off the cliff and into the sea. 

Chapter 78

Overhead, the skies opened up, and the rain came down in one great sheet, putting out the fires at last.

Chapter 78 summary: Yes, Ranka did do a dive into the sea. But in case you forgot (I know I did), but the sea-bearing witches had come into the harbour for the coup of the coup. They fished Ranka out of the water.

Except as she lies on a bed on one of the ships, the plague still fights inside of her. Aramis shows up then (not even going to question how she got there so goddamned fast), and doses Ranka up with the sole surviving vial of vaccination from the lab Ranka destroyed. 

Chapter 79

“Your Grace,” someone said. “I’m sorry, but your sister has no magic.” 

“So?” “It is the law—” 

“Then I will take the throne as king,” Galen said, and for the first time his smile was cold. “I will change the law—and resign.”

Once again reminding these fuckwits that the entire reason why there was even a coup in the first place was because of their shitty laws!

The first and future queen of Isodal regarded them all with a weary smile. “Now I suppose we ought to get back to work.”

Chapter 79 summary: After Ranka’s first dose of the vaccination, she fell into a coma. When she woke up, her skin would sometimes bubble up with the sores, but then the healers would inject her again, and they’d go away for a while. With each injection, the flare-ups got less and with more time between them. Also, her magic has completely disappeared.

Meanwhile, the city is struggling to clean up and rebuild. Ranka is a little upset that she hasn’t seen Aramis for the two weeks after that. But she also heard that Aramis is leading the researchers towards helping the poor victims who were infected but survived. 

One day, Ranka goes to the palace grounds for a meeting. Galen and Aramis finally show up. Galen announces that he’s not going to accept the crown, and that Aramis has been groomed since she was little to take it anyway. He goes on to remind everybody that Aramis was the one who was struggling to come up with a cure, who was crawling through the tunnels under the city this entire time… Not Galen. 

Aramis reminds everybody that it’s time for the proverbial changing of the guard. Despite how terrible Ongrum was, she had a point. She invites the witch covens to have a seat at the table. But only somebody that they felt was worthy of being the voice of the tribe, and not simply because they were the most powerful witch. And that the bloodwin will no longer be forced into marriage. 

Ranka then gets down on her knees and swears an oath to always remain loyal to Queen Aramis. Everybody else follows suit, including the witches, until only Aramis is standing. She then orders everybody up and to get back to cleaning. 

Chapter 80

She had all she needed right here. Ranka tilted her face to the sun. The colors had never been brighter.

Chapter 80 summary: This is labelled as the epilogue, and takes place 3 months later. Ranka is going to leave, since she’s not exactly needed in the city anymore. In that time, Aramis was crowned queen, and created a huge council of ordinary folk who are helping to make the laws better for everybody, and not simply the 1%. 

Aramis and Galen come down to the docks, where Ranka and Percy are about to get on a ship and leave. Aramis is like “I could do this without you, Ranka. But I don’t want to. I’m ordering you to stay!” But in like… a super flirtatious way. Ranka decides to stay, and Galen decides to go. Mainly so that he and Percy can finally hook up. I don’t care. 

The girls walk on the beach and watch as the ship gets further and further away. They talk about how glad they are that Ranka is staying, and what Galen and Percy will get up to. Ranka thinks about how she’s determined to make sure that Seaswept feels like her home, in a way that the Witchik never felt like, even after 17 years. 

She sits on the sand and thinks about how she doesn’t care that her magic is getting weaker by the day, so long as she can remain by Aramis’s side. The end. 

#The Ones We Burn #Chapter 77 #chapter 78 #chapter 79 #Chapter 80 #Ranka (TOWB) #Aramis (TOWB) #Percy (TOWB) #Galen (TOWB) #HEADDESKING #shitty leaders doing shitty things

[andipxndy-writes]

Hi! I sent the TOWB ask and accidentally switched on anon, lol. Thank you for your reply! I will definitely read it! I try to be very critical about the media I interact with, but this situation seemed very messy. I spent close to 2 hours sifting through reviews on goodreads and then I searched the book on tumblr (which was a mistake) trying to find people who actually read it. I do not discount the reviews from black and Jewish readers that I did find, I just wanted to hear as many relevant opinions as I could before I just went ahead and read the book. Thank you again! Would it be alright if I reblogged your reply to my previous ask?

No worries!! Sorry if my reply seemed aggressive or anything, I'm just tired of people who clearly haven't read the book wrecking it as though it was something the head terf herself had written. It was a very messy situation and I think it was handled incredibly poorly by book twitter (which is why I avoid it).

I... also made the mistake of looking in tumblr search for anyone who had read it (what I saw there only irritated me more tbh) so yeah, it's hard to find legitimate reviews in some places where all the drama was just needlessly spread.

If you want to read the book but are still hesitant, I would recommend seeing if you can get it in a library or finding somewhere you can borrow it until you're sure you want it. I loved the book (I'm a sucker for a lot of YA fantasy books), but I know there were people who didn't enjoy it for genuine reasons like plot of characterisation, and I know I have books that I regret buying because I didn't enjoy them due to characterisation or plot. I will always rec a book that I love, but I also know that the cost of living crisis is real and not everyone can afford a £16 hardback randomly. If you want to straight up buy it though, great!

Also, sure! You can absolutely reblog my reply! If it gets more people to think critically instead of having a knee-jerk reaction to the name of a book that they saw reviews based off someone else's flawed review, then that is important.

#towb #the ones we burn #the ones we burn rebecca mix #rebecca mix #asks #zelinkstan02 #zelink-stan02 #thanks for sending that ask!!! #i hadn't taken the chance to voice my opinions on socials #so that was a good way to push me #i kinda needed that

[the-dance-of-italy]

I'm genuinely afraid rn

#there's still altercations going around towb #a bus was set on fire #nobody is allowed outside for the next two days

[room-of-lies]

yuo are so nice to me . i am now following you around like a stray cat 🐈.BUT THABK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE KIND WORDS.. i never know what to do when peoepl are so nice to me in the tags AKDJS but ive seen your art around towb (tumblr) so i wanted to say . tank you boss 🫡 (you diont have to answer this i just wanted to say hai :])

bonks my head against urs like we're cats :3 SORRY FOR BEING INSANE IN UR NOTES HAIIII

#im a simple rabbit i see nao egokoro and i go unconcious for a brief period of time #meowdy! #ask

[leincendiaire]

normal guys in normal love at a normal towb

#welcome to night vale #wtnv #wtnv fanart #cecil gershwin palmer #cecil palmer #carlos the scientist #carlos wtnv #cecilos #fanart #my art

[silvercrane14]

Walking qcross towb in the rain thumps up rmoji

#crane screams