Author | Lightnews

Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5h

I can't tell you how much it means to me to be part of a community where people care about each other so much. I love you all, and I don't know where I'd be without you. As hard as this current moment is, it would be so much harder otherwise... Thank you for caring. ❤️

Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5h

And on the other hand, we got Sherlock Monthly today, and it was great! Ed, Max, and Erica were wonderful. ❤️

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5h

Thought y'all might appreciate hearing from whimsical Madeline again, rather than depressive Madeline like you've been getting lately. 😂 In all seriousness, I am sorry I keep going on about stuff. I'm just... exhausted... and scared...

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5h

I think I'm just going to have to put up nails for the purpose of hanging these lights, lol, because I'm going to have to switch out the maple leaves for something Christmassy in a few weeks, and then switch out Christmas for winter after that.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5h

The days are darker now, so I needed (emotionally) a little more light in my workspace. (The window directly faces my neighbor's house, lol, and I'm also not right in front of it like I have been right in front of windows for the past few years.)

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 8h

BIG mood.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 8h

I beat Giovanni in three tries! The first time I had to go up against him, I think it took me MONTHS. I guess I know better what I'm doing now? #PokemonGo

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Reposted by Madeline Quiñones

The God of Cities @thegodofcities.bsky.social · 2d

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 4d

Secondly, The West Wing. I'm halfway through the first season, & I love it SO MUCH already. I love all of the main cast. There is something so uplifting about watching a group of people who all really want to do the right thing, & struggle, & make mistakes, but they're still all doing their best. ❤️

Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 4d

First off, HOUN. I think I haven't read the story in... 14 years? But... I genuinely don't reread the Canon as much as some Sherlockians do. And now I'm starting to think that's a mistake, lol. I think I kind of took HOUN for granted? But, like... omg, it's REALLY GOOD. 😂 I'm enjoying it so much. ❤️

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 4d

So I do, in fact, have a couple of things that I'm doing that are helping me stay sane right now. (Shocker if you're paying attention to my personal tweets, I know. 😅) 1. I'm rereading #TheHoundoftheBaskervilles for the first time in... AGES. 2. I'm watching #TheWestWing for the first time.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

I know there are things to be much more upset about, and I am. But this still breaks my heart.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

I don't actually wanna die, I promise you I really don't, but I also really don't want my life anymore because it's a fucking nightmare.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

Well, today has been and is continuing to be a real fucking day. And the worst of it is that the biggest part of what's making it such a fucking day is not getting better, it's getting worse.

I recently mentioned to a couple of people that I'm feeling passively suicidal again. This is why.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

Kitchen window view # 2

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

Kitchen window view # 1

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

Now the ubiquity of gen AI just gives people another tool in the toolkit for bashing things they don't like. And I just think that we're all the worse off for it.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

And it seems to me that most people have a HUGE blind spot when it comes to that bias. We could be saying "this just isn't for me" and moving on. Instead, we tend to say, "this is bad, & that's why I hate it, and here's why." And that just... doesn't make any of us smarter or wiser or better.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 5d

OR, & this is my most controversial take, it could be that you JUST DON'T LIKE THE WRITING. 'Cos after 2 decades of observing & participating in fandom, what I've found is that we humans really like to JUSTIFY our tastes.
We can't simply dislike something — there HAS to be something WRONG with it.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

It could be that the writer is on the autism spectrum. It could be the writer LIKES EM DASHES (hi, it's me, I'm the problem, it's me). It could be that what the writer wrote makes perfect sense to them but not to you (have literally had this happen before with my own best friend).

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

It could be that the writer's first language is not the one they're writing in. It could be that the writer is dyslexic. It could be that the writer was not especially well-educated, and that's still no reason to mock them.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

Sounding too dumb? AI. Sounding too smart? AI. You didn't understand it? AI.

STOP IT. Large language models are NOT the source of every piece of writing you dislike or disagree with, or even every piece that sounds weird to you!

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

I hate generative AI as much as the next reasonably intelligent creative person, but while it's making pro-AI people dumber, there's a way in which it's making anti-AI people dumber, too. Because now, any writing that sounds wrong to you, or any writing that you dislike, can be dismissed as AI.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

I really hope that everybody stretching hard to claim that Taylor Swift is a Nazi is putting that much effort into fighting real Nazis.

But it sounds way too much like keyboard warrior BS for me to have much hope that they're getting out there and making a difference in real life.

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Madeline Quiñones @studyinimagination.bsky.social · 6d

Finally, we can share this!

Dynamics of a Podcast @dynamicsofapodcast.bsky.social · 6d

NEW episode! It's a long-overdue Live & Local from @221bcon.bsky.social this past April in Atlanta, Georgia! Joining us on this podcast panel is @sherlockphd.bsky.social, to help us talk about bad guys in the Canon and a few in real life as well.

dynamicsofapodcast.com/2025/10/19/e...

Episode 38: Live & Local — Taking Down the Bad Guys

Note: Please mind the explicit tag. “Villains get all the good press — in real life! They’re cool, they’re awesome, they’re — no, wait, they’re not, they’re actu…

dynamicsofapodcast.com

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