Ruby Granger #30 A warm milky mug of applestoodle tea

[TheLadyTea]

“Not tepid, still cold. Cold like lemonade, not too intense…….in a necessary sort of way” - Ruby Granger, the brightest writer of her generation.

 

[Cornbread2]

She very much reminds me of Jack Edwards nowadays. They both built their whole personality on how ‘super intelligent’ they were in secondary school. The ego boost from doing YouTube made them delusional and thought it was certain they would get into Oxford. They don’t, it’s a massive kick in the teeth, and instead of addressing the unhealthy thought patterns and the pain of rejection they spend the next three years convincing their audience that they’re ‘SO much HAPPIER at DURHAM/EXETER and it was OBVIOUS that Oxford would NOT have been as good.’ However, they completely go back on that when they apply to Oxford for a masters, and surprise surprise, get rejected again. This second public face plant causes even more hurt but instead of ever really addressing it they crawl back to the legions of 14 year olds on YouTube who actually believe they study for 20 hours a day and read 300 books a week or whatever.

 

[figgypud]

what is she saying? I don't understand anything

She's not saying anything! Writing is all well and good but if you have nothing to say, what's the point? Sharing "random" writing is fine but it's not sharing random bits that she needs to work on, it's finding a point. Ruby has nothing to say because she lives in a tiny, cotton-wool box.

 

[Ilaariaa]

so she's now got her typing desk and also a handwriting desk...could she not just idk move the iMac whenever she wants to write and have the vintage desk in another room (like the 'snug') or something? She's going to be smacking into the chair every time she opens her bedroom door
Also she just invented a new word "antiques and vintages and things like that"
"I always fall in love with things from Europe" omg I haven't watched the news today as been on a train for most of it but I wasn't aware the UK had changed continents

As if Europe isn't a whole continent with lots and lots of completely different countries

 

[emmer_moans]

“We had LANCH at PRAT”

PRONOUNCE YOUR OTHER VOWELS, RUBY! THERE ARE FIVE, ‘A’ IS JUST ONE OF THEM. ARGH.

 

[gossip_guy]

I disagree if I'm honest. I think she'll apply to Oxford and actually be successful this time round.

You need a strong academic showing at undergrad, which she has; Oxford requires a first-class or a strong 2:1 and she has a strong first from a very good RG university. With some modules at 80 and I don't think a single one being below a 74, that definitely satisfies that requirement. There is also no interview for postgrad English at Oxford. If there was, I wouldn't be surprised at all if she failed to get in, as interviewers will quickly realise she isn't as smart as her grades perhaps indicate.

While I think she'll get in, I certainly don't think it'll be the right choice for her and Oxford will swallow her alive. Doing a Masters in general is difficult with the additional pressure of doing much more individualised study, but to do it at an intense environment like Oxford will be far too much for her. She'll stick at it as it's "been her dream", but I expect a train wreck.

Ultimately, she'll want to go to Oxford to try and vindicate her previous rejection and prove the nasty bullies who didn't let her in the first time round, while giving up some spiel to not give up on your dreams and it being destiny/fate or whatever. You can add in the extra bonus of being able to put "Oxford" in every single video title, whether that's "7am Morning Routine for an Oxford Student" or "How I Manage to be Productive as an Oxford Student".

All in all, it's to do with what other people think, which she cares far too much about. She should really get out of the safety net of education and into the real world. Ah well, at least it'll provide us with entertainment.

She'll escape an interview, but she'll still have to submit a statement of intent/proposal and a selection of essays, which will kill her chances pretty quickly, I think.

Her sample essays will be judged with much closer scrutiny by Oxford admissions than Exeter. Factor in the grade inflation and most of her Exeter work would likely be a 2:2 by Oxford's standards. They're much less likely to overlook Ruby's sheer overreliance on other people's ideas and writing essays that are 85% supporting quotes.

And the statement of intent/proposal will kill her chances immediately. She's never once been able to explain why she wants to study English at Masters, or why she wants to go to Oxford outside of it being "the BASST". They're not going to be remotely impressed by her waffling purple prose romanticising of Oxford as the Dark Academia dream which she's wanted since she was 6, or by her using her high school teachers as references, which she's bound to do.

Jack Edwards had the exact same issue: He graduated with a First, had the grades for Oxford Masters and was an easy sell from his academic history, but was quickly rejected because he approached his application from that route of superficial entitlement. He could never articulate why he wanted to go to Oxford or what he hoped to get there which he couldn't learn elsewhere (or independently). He just wanted to go to Oxford because it's socially viewed as "the best" and he felt entitled to it (and cited his vanity book and that vapid Sixteenth podcast as reasons why he should've gotten in), but had zero actual interest in studying.

Plus Ruby has a consistent pattern of trying to recycle all her old work, so I'm sure she'd try reusing the entirety of her undergrad dissertation as her Masters thesis. They'd toss her application immediately.

I totally agree, whether she gets in or not, a Masters would be the worst idea possible for her. She'll be completely out of her depth, she won't learn anything and she won't use the degree for anything after, so if she has any sense she'll just quietly abandon it.

This just in: Ruby's had some very disappointing raspberries, but they're *okay*.

Translation: They weren't gifted.

If they were, those exact same disappointing raspberries would be "SYO GOOD!" and her "FAVOURITE RASPBARRIES AVVER!"

 

[Ilaariaa]

Also, I disagree with the last sentence. A lot of the time, shopping from small, independent retailers is more expensive than buying mass-produced items. It's hard for smaller shops to compete price-wise with larger stores. It's easy for someone like Ruby to say 'don't buy clothes from Primark' for example, but the truth is, people buy from Primark because the clothes are really cheap and lots of people don't have the money to shop around in different places. If anything, the economic crisis will make it harder for consumers to be selective about their buying habits because they'll be forced to opt for whatever option's cheapest. I don't think she understands that a lot of people won't be doing that much shopping, full stop.

My boyfriend has been tutoring the son of a couple who owns a little local store, one of those bougie stores that only sell organic foodstuff, fair trade, high-quality produce, etc. So every now and then they gift him some products from the store and he brings them home and we get to try this stuff that's completely out of our budget. And of course the quality is great, it tastes good, it's good for you, you know people were supposedly treated fairly during the process...but it's just so expensive. I mean, 15 euros for 50g of chocolate is way too expensive. There's no way we could afford to regularly shop at a place like that, even though I'd love to support a small local business and buy high-quality stuff.
So yes, Ruby's remark about people supporting Etsy stationery shops during an economic crisis comes off very "let them eat cake"-esque. I don't think she realizes that washi tapes are already a treat for a lot of people and will likely fall down to the bottom of many people's priorities in the near future.

 

[lizzie2707]

I don't think it's a general principle that you can't / shouldn't be friends with 17-year-olds when you're 22. There are a lot of people who at 17 are already very mature. The problem is that Ruby is so immature that no real friendship with another 22-year-old (unless they have issues like herself) could ever work out, so she clings to younger people which look up to her since being a rolemodel is her ultimate booster for self-confidence.

Yup, there's also a difference between just being friends with 17-year-olds as someone in your early 20s and actively seeking out teenagers to befriend. This is often a lazy comparison, but imagine if a 22 year old man was obsessively seeking out teenagers (especially teenage girls) to be friends with. Because of who Ruby is it's seen as non threatening (although I would argue she could potentially have a really bad impact on these girls if they don't realise she's mentally ill), but it really is an odd thing to do. I don't agree with the whole '17 year olds are children' thing, because I have met plenty of people in their late teens who were definitely adults - and plenty of people in their 20s who weren't! - but the deliberate desire to only spend time around people in their teens is borderline sinister.

 

[hermionewannabe123]

Wake up guys new bookshelf tour just dropped

Roobee's showing us a REALISTIC view of her bookcase, as opposed to when she tidies it, whatever that means. Dusting off the books to look like she's reading? Putting away the felt mouse?

Her books are organized into Classics, "Special Books", Children's, More Classics, Series, and Harry Potter. Truly a well-rounded bookshelf reflective of an avid reader with a literature degree.

 

[newbie2020]

I hope this beautiful day she hopes we all have time to notice is beautiful, includes time spent checking her room isn't burning to the ground given that obvious fire hazard of the jaunty angled candle about to fall onto the window sill ..oh dreamy victoriana house fire also loved how she had to say that the book she's reading isn't available to normal plebs until January!!!! Gosh!! January?!

 

[Cady1954]

She's going to be an embryo soon if she doesn't stop regressing. She is not okay mentally.

 

[Scapier88]

Pre autumn was is she going on about has she not realised there's a heat wave going on

 

[pineapplesandcheese]

I mean she's already gone to Italy and look at the content that came out of that, forced "candid" shots of her bringing books everywhere including reading Emily Dickinson on Mt Vesuvius because ??? not to mention poor attempts at educating us about Italy and shock that other tourists exist (and aren't using their vacation to cosplay as bookworms)

The reading on Vesuvius thing pissed me off irrationally. I went to Vesuvius earlier this month and it was incredible, why spend all that time and money getting there just to stick your head in a book

 

[berkeleymoon87]

She's contradicting herself so much because in two of her recent tiktoks she's saying that it's REALLY hot and can't stand the heat and is wearing lighter clothes but in her YouTube video she's talking about how she can feel autumn coming and wearing sweaters lmao. Which one is it Ruby?

 

[Griftwood]

Oh ffs, not this again! I was hoping it was a parody too. What does that even mean? 'Identify yourself as a reader'??

If you want to read books, how about picking up a book and reading it?
If you need to pep talk yourself into reading then you probably don't enjoy it and should find a different hobby.
Stop trying to make everything you do an identity. I eat food - does this make me an eater? Is that my identity?

If it’s not yet your identity, you need to make it your identity. Take the year and really work at it, eat as much as you can and as widely as you can, and don’t rely on your social media following to make it happen. YOU ARE AN EATER. MAKE IT YOUR IDENTITY. THAT IS YOUR IDENTITY.

 

[gisellejoly]

I have to wonder, does Ruby really think she's going to be able to live off her channel and whatever scant book earnings she makes forever? Can she really be that deluded? Or is she just biding her time until she can get into Oxford?

She will be able to live like this forever, easily. She has rental income from her cottage, she doesn’t pay rent or pay bills to her parents, and she earns money from YouTube. She literally has zero expenses, no food shop, no car. All her holidays are family holidays paid for by her parents (who own at least two properties).
Tbh, I would imagine Ruby’s actually saving a lot of money, even if she’s not making millions. She was able to afford a mortgage at 18 with her parents as a guarantor! She’s in a very lucky position.
The reason why so many authors, actors etc come from affluent backgrounds is because they’re given the luxury of having no expenses and not having to work in their 20s so they have time to chase the dream. These types of people will always land on their feet because they have that familial support.

If she continues getting sponsorships and producing content she can continue living as she does now for as long as she wants to. As long as her parents are willing to have her in the house, that is. And it doesn’t seem like they’re too bothered about her being there.

 

[teflonpanda]

As long as they don’t suggest that she donates any of her profit to those who can’t afford gas this winter

Yeah I sure hope she's looking out for her tenants in that cottage, too. Man imagine having your landlord (or landlady I suppose) happily posting about how much she loves cold cozy autumn nights while sitting in her parents' giant house, meanwhile you have to worry about heating the cottage you're renting from her

(Unless she's just renting it out as like, a summer vacation home? I genuinely don't know how the whole thing works tbh. But the general sentiment still applies lol)

 

[Lutxy]

what is funny to me is that she wants to be a child version of Hermione but on that Bird & Blend event she just resembles Dolores Umbridge

 

[StatusWoe]

Monster Munch packet on the way home and it was acksquisite - so ethereal and with such AXE-allant varbiage. I would rackomand it to ANYONE. I haven't read the Quavers packet yet, but I'm very excited for it as the yellow and oranges colours gives VARRY autominal vibes.

This whole post is an acksquisite piece of literary fiction. I would pay to see it in vlog form, if only for the incongruous outfit choice.

Spoiler: I designed your outfit. You're welcome

I'm picturing this ''boys' ruffle shirt'' from Etsy, paired with some Elizabethan men's clothing - only the rich Elizabethans, obviously. No commoners allowed.

Topped with un beret francais (a la jacques edouards)

Finally, to complete the look, some Hello Kitty flip flops. These are children's shoes of course.

This mermaid doll could also be pinned to the ruffle shirt to generate additional confusion.

P.S. I don't know your gender, but your username has 'guy' in it, so I've chosen men's clothes...but also mermaids because mermaids are for everyone.

 

[hermionewannabe123]

Oh God she's going the casual magic route