#wanted to go for the comic book vibe but its still my style too kinda

[marcell-arts]

this fight stick is... INVINCIBLE!

designed an Invincible-themed arcade stick for my bro over the past few weeks!! illustrated the faceplate art and then chose the colours for the buttons and ball top. really pleased with how it turned out!  Twitter | Reddit

#invincible #arcade stick #fight stick #mark grayson #atom eve #nolan grayson #omni man #debbie grayson #robot #allen #its all my bros favourite characters from the comics/show #he was very specific about alan poking out the corner and saying Hey #anyway i did lineart for this for the first time in years and i swear it took me 3x longer than it would have if i hadnt #forgot how time consuimng it was #thats why i dropped it #but it makes sense for invincible #wanted to go for the comic book vibe but its still my style too kinda

[carriagelamp]

Art of Aardman

I found myself a cheap copy of the Shaun the Sheep movie, so I was rewatching a bunch of Aardman films earlier this month and decided to hunt down some books too. For anyone that doesn’t know, Aardman is a British stop-motion studio that does fantastic work like Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, Early Man… tons of cool stuff. They’re always quirky and funny and warm-hearted. This was just a very nice art book for anyone that’s a fan of Aardman stop motion and wants to see a bit extra; it shows some cool concept art and blows up the neat details in Aardman work, especially in their intricate stuff like The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!

Asterix and the Picts (Asterix and the Chariot Race, and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion)

I decided to try a couple of the new Asterix comics that were done by the new team, just to see if they stand up to the old ones (that and How Obelix Fell Into The Magic Potion cause I’d never read that one before). They were pretty decent! Asterix and the Picts was my favourite of the two though I wouldn’t say either are going to contest for my favourite Asterix comic... but still! The art looks good and the stories felt like what I would expect, they made for a pleasant couple evenings of reading especially since it’s been so long since I’ve read a new Asterix comic. If you’ve never read Asterix it’s one of the biggest name French comic series in North America, as far as I know and very worth the read. It’s about a single Gaulish village that’s holding out against the invading Romans through sheer force of will, slapstick hijinks, and a magical super-strength potion brewed by their druid. Lots of fantastic visuals and cute wordplay, even in the English translations.

Bear

I found out about this bastion of Canadian literature via tumblr post that was losing its collective mind over the fact that some bizarre bear-based erotica novella somehow won the most prestigious literary prize available in Canada. Since I too found this hilarious and unspeakably bizarre I had to give it a read, obviously. And yes, the flat surface level summary is... a librarian moves out into rural Ontario and falls in love with a literal for-real not-supernatural-not-a-joke bear. And I have to say… it is actually worthy of an award, which I was not expecting given that I was there for a laugh. It has beautiful writing, and the subtextual story is pretty interesting… it kind of makes me think of The Haunting of Hill House actually in terms of themes. (Womanhood, personhood, independence, autonomy partially achieved through escaping the male gaze by claiming non-human lovers... listen if I were still in university I would right a paper comparing the two novels).

I dunno man, it’s fucking weird. Actually a well-written book, but sure is about a woman falling in love with a literal bear. Give it a read if you want something bonkers but like… high-brow bonkers.

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites

Best book I have read in like… a while. A long while. I am not a fast reader, and I consumed 90% of this book over a weekend. It’s not at all like Terry Pratchett, but at the same time it scratched an itch for me that I haven’t had satisfied since Pratchett’s death. A very clever, hilariously funny poly romance between a disabled werewolf, an anxious vampire lord, and an incredibly powerful woman, with heaps of social satire, political commentary, and sinister undertones. The whole thing reads a bit like fanfiction and I say that in the most flattering way possible -- it is so easy to jump right in and be immediately taken over by the characters and the world and the plot, you never feel like you’re fighting to engage even though the world-building is fascinating and expansive. It welcomes you in right away, it was the book equivalent of a quilt and a hug which is something I sorely needed with all this pandemic bullshit. If you read any of the books on this list, go read that one while I sit here in pain waiting for the sequel.

Kid Paddle

I watched the cartoon of Kid Paddle as a kid and was thinking about it recently, so I decided to hunt down some of the original comics online. They’re fun and weird, with a cute art style and fantastic monsters designs. (My favourites are always about Kid either daydreaming or playing games that involve Midam’s weird warty troll creatures. It’s like a cross between Calvin and Hobbes and Foxtrot with the fun sort of quirks that I love in Belgian comics. Unfortunately, unlike Asterix, I’ve only come across these ones in French, but if you can read French it’s totally worth popping over to The Internet Archive and reading the ones they have available.

The Last Firehawk: The Golden Temple

The lastest Firehawk book. Despite being written for quite young readers, I did enjoy the early books in this series quite a bit. They’re about a young owl and squirrel who found an egg for a magical species that was believed to be extinct. With the newly hatched firehawk, the three of them head off on a mission to find an ancient firehawk magic that could save the entire forest. Very basic adventure story but a good intro to the tropes for children. Unfortunately the quality really feels like it drops with each subsequent book; this will probably be the last one I bother reading.

Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up

I honestly think I enjoy these Lumberjanes novels even more than the comics just because it really gives time to delve into each story and examine how the camper are really thinking and feeling about everything. (Also I’m always weak for novelizations of anything.) The Moon Is Up is a book that focuses more on Jo, and takes place during the camp’s much anticipated Galaxy Wars, a competition between cabins that goes over several days. While the campers prepare for these challenges though, they also run into a strange little creature with a penchant for cheese and theft. Roanoke cabin needs to keep ahead in Galaxy Wars and somehow deal with the fearsome Moon Pirates that a closing in...

Lumberjanes v4 (Out Of Time)

One of the Lumberjanes comics, a cool, girl-focused, queer comic series. Honestly, this is just a fun series that I never got as into as I should have. My advice is honestly to skip book one because it gets better as it continues, and I’ve really been enjoying the later books now that I’ve given it another go. It follows five campers at Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types (Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley) as they handle all sorts of challenges, from friendship to crushes, camp activities to supernatural horrors, getting badges to not being brutally killed. Great if you liked the vibe of Gravity Falls but want it to be queer-er.

Mooncakes

Another queer graphic novel, but unfortunately not a very good one. It really looked appealing and I had high hopes, but the book itself really didn’t hold up… I actually couldn’t even finish it, the plot was just too… non-existent. The art is fairly mediocre once you actually look at it, especially backgrounds, and it feels very… placid. Not much conflict or excitement or even a very compelling reason to keep reading. If you just want a soft queer supernatural you may get more mileage out of it than me, but it didn’t really do it for me. There’s better queer graphic novels out there.

New Boy In Town

One of the worst books I have ever read. My girlfriend had ordered a very different book online but through a frankly stupendous error was sent this 1980s pulp romance instead. Absolutely nauseating on levels I couldn’t even begin to enumerate here. Naturally we read the whole thing out loud. Probably took us 10 times longer to finish than it warranted because I had to stop every two sentences to lose my mind. If you like bad decisions, baffling hetero courting rituals, built-in cultural Christianity without actually calling it that, and gold panning then boy howdy is this the book for you.

(seriously, you better have patience for gold-panning if you attempt this one, because I sure learn that I don’t)

Piggies

This was a picture book I enjoyed as a kid and had a reason to reread recently. Honestly it’s just very cute and simple, and the art is completely mesmerizing. Wonderful if you know a young child that would enjoy a simple goofy boardbook.

Shaun the Sheep: Tales From Mossy Bottom

Related to my Aardman fascination earlier this month. I tried reading a varieties of Shaun the Sheep books — most of which are mediocre at best — but the Tales From Mossy Bottom Farm series is genuinely good. Just chapter books, of course, but the illustrations match the series’ concept art and each story feels like it could have jumped directly out of an episode. They’re just cute and feel-good! Kinda like Footrot Flats but more for kids, and from the sheep’s perspective moreso than the dog’s.

#aardman animation #shaun the sheep #lumberjanes #kid paddle #asterix #the last firehawk #hunger pangs: true love bites #marian engel #bear #canadian literature #canlit #queer lit #book review #book reviews #chatter

[bogkeep]

theo’s tarot collection

hi hello i suffer from a terrible ailment called I Keep Acquiring New Tarot Decks Even Though I Am A Tarot Newbie.... so i figured i could do a little writeup about my decks if anyone is interested in that :’) basically i started doing tarot in 2019 because i couldn’t get a hold of a therapist (i was put on a year long waitlist WAHOO) so i basically. self-medicated with tarot readings hahaha. i had a friend who gave me a lot of really good advice and had done some readings for me before who felt immensely comforting. the way i read them is like... it allows you to confront your situation and your emotions through a new angle, but you gotta be brave enough to do it - or ask someone to do it for you. it can be a really intense but also cathartic experience. it’s not for everyone! but i like it. i still consider myself a novice and still learning so i am not in ANY way trying to paint myself as a Knowledgabl Tarot Witch - in a perfect timeline that’s who i wish i was, but i’m ultimately just some guy with a solid appreciation for art and personal growth.

ANYWAY... onto my DECKS (the tumblr post will probably squish the quality outta my photos so i’m gonna link the URLs for Full View)

Children of Litha by Alexandria Huntington

i consider this my main and first deck (i am NOT counting the official homestuck deck i bought as a teen just because i wanted to look at the art. no offense to the homestuck deck i’m just not gonna use fandom decks)! i picked it out but my Tarot Friend gifted it to me... i think it’s a very good starter deck for me personally, and it’s the deck i’ve bonded with and used the most. i even put a fancy sticker on the box as part of the bonding process. i always feel so bad for all of my other decks because i haven’t been able to dedicate as much time for them as i have this one... so it’s definitely the deck i go to for the most accurate readings for myself. Vibes and Thematic Coherence: the art in this is so beautiful and elegant. the symbolism more or less draws on the classic smith-waite deck, but redrawn for its theme. i like that it has a very consistent imagery! out of the major arcana, the fool is the only fully human character - every other character is part animal in some way or other. then the suit of swords depicts birds, winged insects and the air element, coins depict ungulates and equines and earth, wands has felines and canines and fiery imagery, and cups has fish and creatures of and in the sea. the court cards have humans. the suit symbols are always depicted consistently, as white silhouettes. there are also two extra cards: the all and the void. Pamphlet: the reason i think this was a good starter deck is because both because the art feels very intuitive about what it depicts (to me, at least), the descriptions in the pamphlet describe what is happening and why the artist chose this motif for this card. it has honestly helped me remember the meanings a lot, because i’ll be reading the other decks and be like “oh that’s the octopus card i know what the octopus card is about”. there are also little poems next to the main descriptions that work as a pretty solid tl;dr for the core meanings. i also like that the court cards are referred to in the sense of like... a knight is “a young person with masculine energy” rather than “a young man”. it feels more fluid and vibe-y about gender than traditional decks ya feel. on a range from Abstract to Directness this one feels like it sits pretty comfortable in the middle, maybe leaning on Abstractness. it has always given me gentle instructions and advice.

Cardfeel: the cards are very smooth and nice with gold edges. the cards are not NOT solid, but i wish they had been a little thicker because i’m always afraid i’m going to accidentally damage them - but that’s probably a feeling i have about most of my possessions tbh!! i think they’re a good size, too, at least for my small hands. they’re more on the long/slender side so they are good for me to shuffle. i also like the box, it’s a hard flip box with a magnet. i think u can’t go wrong with that. this is the deck i’ve travelled with the most (did u know hotel beds are the best tarot reading spaces. for some reason they just Work). The Spacious Tarot by Annie Ruygt and Carrie Mallon

this is one i really like a lot and want to use more! i absolutely adore the concept of it, but it’s a little harder for me to read than the Litha one. Vibes and Thematic Coherence: this one is like!!! it’s about the open space and the quietness. the vibes are IMMACULATE. the cards aren’t filled to the brim with happenstance and symbolism, but they each feel like a little refuge. very meditative. i also like that the court cards are not gendered at all - there is no page, knight, queen and king, but rather child, explorer, guardian and elder. i am really into that, especially as steps of mastery of their suit. i do think that this deck is probably easier to read if you’re more experienced with tarot meanings and symbolisms, because the illustrations aren’t necessarily that intuitive. Pamphlet: i haven’t read through this one very much, but i think it’s more on the abstract side of the Abstract to Direct scale. it might just feel like that because it describes what the card symbolizes without drawing much on what the card depicts - it is generally a pretty abstract and meditative deck. i like it for what it is! but it’s harder for me to read than my main Litha deck. Cardfeel: there’s something about the cardfeel i wish was different. they’re perfectly ok cards, they’re smooth and not too thin, but i still wish they had had more heft or something. while the cards fit very well into my hands i think maybe they could’ve been Larger to emphasize their motifs of openness and space. or texture. or gilded edges. i really don’t know what i want. the box however is very good and easy to open and use!! never underestimate a good box.

Tarot of the Divine by Yoshi Toshitani

this is a deck i Had To Get because i knew the artist was working on it and i was always Planning To... it is not a deck i use very often but i absolutey adore it. you can also get it with an accompanying fairytale book, i thought i had ordered that but i was Wronge. Vibes and Thematic Coherency: it depicts motifs and characters from stories, myths, and fairytales from a vast variety of cultures. it’s AMAZING. the art is so clean and crisp and i was VERY EXCITED to find a card drawing on a sami story (page of coins)! i don’t have a lot to say except that yoshi yoshitani has done some incredible work on this. Pamphlet: while i do not have the Fairytale Book edition, the pamphlet is really super nice because it shows pictures of the cards, lists what story it depicts and where the story is from, gives a short description for how this scene or character embodies the card. it then lists some of the Card Characteristics beneath. very simple but very nice. i really like pamphlets that explain Why the artist picked the motifs they did - for me personally it really helps me connect to the deck and their symbols. it’s probably more on the Direct side of the scale thanks to this. Cardfeel: these are textured!! they feel like the playing card deck my grandmother has, which feels apt to me. textures make the cards feel solid to me. they’re also a very nice size to hold. the edges are not guilded, but with the white frames it looks good and nice. the box is nice but also Large, possibly to fit with the book? might not be ideal for travel, but there’s nothing stopping you from getting a different box or pouch.

The Star Spinner Tarot by Trung Le Nguyen

my most recent deck... i KNEW about the artist and the deck from before, but wasn’t PLANNING to get it, but then i saw it in the comic book store and i wasn’t able to pass it by. no regrets, it’s a wonderful deck. Vibes and Thematic Coherence: absolutely lovely art and style. it’s another deck drawing on fairytale themed motifs. i’m loving the use of colors and circles. it also has four different cards for the Lovers so you can choose which one(s) speak to you the most, something i think is just wonderful. i think the only thing i found a little... odd? was that the suit of Wands looks kinda same-y, which isn’t a bad thing, but it was the only suit that looked that way to me. they’re still very very nice. ALSO THE BACK OF THE CARDS ARE SHINY. I JUST THINK THAT’S VERY LOVELY. as a Physical Product these are chef’s kiss. Pamphlet: on the Abstract to Directness scale, these are VERY DIRECT. the pamphlet doesn’t say a lot about why the cards depict what they do, but go straight into card meaning, and in a very unambiguous way. i think it can both work very well, leaving you little room to avoid your feelings, but it also has a higher margin to miss completely. for being such a cutesy deck full of fairies the pamphlet is definitely giving you a smack at the side of your head. i haven’t used this deck a lot yet due to its newness, but i definitely want to try it out more to see what it does to me.

Cardfeel: out of all of my decks i think this has the best cardfeel... the cards feel really solid, and have a very good size that feel just right for them. like i sort of fell in love with the deck when i actually started shuffling it and browsing the cards. buying cards - especially on the internet - can be a gamble because you Can’t Know The Cardfeel. with decks like the Spacious Tarot i got a little dissappointed, but this one was a very pleasant surprise. also the box is very good and look like a work of art. The Fyodor Pavlov Tarot

honestly one of my new favourite decks that i ABSOLUTELY am going to use more and become more familiar with. also a deck that i knew the artist was working on, and supported the kickstarter the moment it was announced. my deck also came with two Magician cards and i don’t know why. extra wizard for me??? Vibes and Thematic Coherence: the look and feel of this deck is Immaculate. it looks very classical and traditional (and absolutely gorgeous), it is grounded in the classical smith-waite imagery but Expands Upon It, draws on the diversity of human culture and experiences... also loving the energy of “THIS CARD IS TRANS NOW AND THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT” many cards have (most famously the Lovers, but i don’t want to post pics of any of the cards depicting nudity or risqué themes on tumblr). i absolutely adore the knight of coins card (THE HORSE IS HIS FRIEND AND SERVICE ANIMAL!!). it’s just Really Very Good. also the backside has pretty Shiny stars and i like it. Pamphlet: i really like this one. it is a deeply personal pamphlet, where fyodor pavlov directly discusses his relationship to the cards and why he chose the motifs he did. it feels really grounded in the world we live in, and also such a vulnerable thing to share with us all. it’s on the Direct side of the scale without necessarily telling you “the card is definitely this one thing”. my only wish is that it was easier to navigate at a glance. Cardfeel: THEY ARE TEXTURED!!! these cards are definitely long and slender and benefit someone with larger hands than mine, but i still like them a lot. i do wish they had been a smidge heavier just so i wouldn’t worry so much about damaging them... but i don’t want to be ungrateful. the deck and the box are wonderfully crafted. The Botanica Tarot by Kevin Jay Stanton

oh boy did i support the kickstarter for this one... i had actually bought the major arcana when it was the only version available, and then the artist decided to make a full deck. it’s an absolute work of art. Vibes and Thematic Coherence: oh boy oh boy does it serve vibes and thematic coherence. it’s Plants all the way down, OBVIOUSLY, but also like... every card in the minor arcana depicts their suit in its own way. like the range of coins/currency from various times and cultures?? AMAZING. looking at the art of this deck is a DELIGHT. every card manages to be beautiful and interesting despite there not being a single living creature depicted on any of them. i WILL say they, same as the spacious tarot, are not the most intuitive to read if you’re not super familiar with either the Plants or the meanings of the cards. Pamphlet: you can fit so much plant knowledge in this one. i got a version of the deck with a beautiful little book, but there’s also a small pamphlet that follows the deck itself (which i admittedly have not looked too closely at yet). there’s descriptions for why this specific plant has been chosen for each card, and then some Card Meaning Keywords. so definitely on the Abstract side of my imaginary tarot pamphlet scale, because you mostly have plant symbolism to go on. i haven’t done a lot of readings with this deck, i’ll be honest - but it’s a beautiful treasure that i adore. Cardfeel: they’re Smoothe and Guilded edges. they can feel a little wide for my hands, but not so much that i cannot shuffle. i think maybe a smidge of texture wouldve been good with this deck since it would fit the look of the painted art. i also did get like... a big kickstarter reward version of this deck. it came in a tin box with extra treasures and a cloth and pins... the actual card box itself is beautiful to look at, but i have to say that the one i got is VERY HARD TO OPEN. i might transfer the cards into a pouch if i want to be reading them more often. IKEA deck

yes this is a meme deck and i don’t really use it but I WANTED TO SHARE... i think the major arcana is very cool and funny, but i was dissappointed to find that the suit cards are just “ikea part but Multiple Times”. it also does not come with a pamphlet. also yes yes it’s funny that the names of the cards are spelled in a “silly ikea word language” BUT IKEA NAMES ARE JUST SWEDISH....... IT’S NOT A SECRET LANGUAGE IT’S JUST SWEDISH............ it’s a funny deck to have and it doesn’t take up much space so eh! shrugs!!! The Lubanko Tarot by Emily Lubanko

another kickstarter deck... it’s gorgeous but there is a chance i might gift it to someone else. not because i regret getting it or don’t like it, but because i already have so many decks that speak to me, while this one gives me vibes of serving someone else better. does that make any sense? i admittedly haven’t looked at the pamplet so much so i think i’m going to skip that description for this one. Vibes and Thematic Coherency: the MOVEMENT and the COLORS... it’s Capturing Feelings in a really good way. i mean. i got it for the vibes and it’s serving vibes. Cardfeel: Smoothe Cards. shiny silver edges, like a slippery fish in a rapid river. it feels good and right for this deck. also good box. i know most of these decks have Good Box, it’s just the botanica one that let me down by being difficult. The Oriens Tarot by AmbiSun

i don’t have this deck anymore, i gifted it to my boyfriend... i found these pics on my twitter. it’s one of the first decks i supported on kickstarter and it’s VERY pretty, and it has HOLOGRAPHIC RAINBOW EDGES HOT DAMN. it’s another one of those instances where i Yearned for it and then found that it didn’t fit me as well as i had hoped. tarot is just one of those things where you have to find what Works for you. at this time the children of litha was working so well for me and i really liked the depiction of animals in it, i wasn’t able to connect to another animal deck in the same way... and it was before my tarot collection snowballed into what i have now. C’EST LA VIE ... i don’t have a smith-waite deck. i’m a fake tarot fan. i am however familiarizing myself by following Jessica Dore on twitter and subscribing to her monthly newsletters. i really love how she talks about these cards and how she interprets them.

#tarot #i have also backed the alleymans tarot on kickstarter because of course i have. #i'll get back to you when i have it.

[hoyaanae]

My thoughts and all the things I love about Lovely Us (2020)

This drama really surprised me with how good it was written and made despite already knowing that this is highly rated by my cdrama mutuals. First ep right off the bat made me laugh and cry. The following eps kept the flow really well and established the characters and their relations. Before I know it, I'm already in love and attached to the characters and everything about this drama. It's very charming, calming and heartwarming to watch. The acting, writing, execution, ost, and production are well-done.

Set in 2007, this is another drama with nostalgic vibe that will remind you of your childhood and probably teenage years as well of your old neighborhood and the people you used to hang out with when you're younger. Even though I'm kinda fed up with childhood friends to lovers trope by now, this one did it the right way. Romance is slowburn but the buildup isn't slow at all. The main cp are so cute despite the daily bickerings that you just can't help but root for them to be together. It also have unrequited love trope where you'll see the character continuously root for that person and not expecting anything in return. There's no antagonist/evil characters in this story, just your feel-good slice-of-life drama with a touch of teenage romance in it.

Another strong point this drama have is the friendship and family dynamics. The five main leads have such amazing and solid friendship and their chemistry with each other is very natural to watch you'll wish you have the kind of friendship they have. It's endearing how their respective families are friends with one another and the parents have absolute trust with their children even allowing them to stay in closed room, have overnight at their house without adult supervision and even go to outdoor camping sharing one tent. It's refreshing to see how they showcased different parenting styles in each household and the parents aren't portrayed as someone controlling, instead they understand and communicate with their children. There's even one case wherein a parent realized he's doing it wrong so he asked for advice and help from his son's friend in order to get closer with his son.

Unlike other dramas, this one never drags out misunderstandings and touches the issue in the most heartwarming way that it never felt annoying or frustrating to watch, instead I became emotional at those moments that I can't help but shed a tear or ugly cry.

The characters are funny, full of mischief but sweet and thoughtful on the inside. It's a delight to watch them get together and have their little meetings, bicker and help each other out.

The ost will surely stay on repeat in my playlist for the next few days or weeks even. The song choices fit the mood so well and I find myself heavily lss-ed with the opening song. The song "Can I See You Tomorrow?" gives off the ultimate nostalgic vibe and reminds me of one ISWAK ost.

What really stood out to me the most are the moments in each ep wherein a certain character will narrate his/her thoughts about love, life, and family. They're beautifully and oftentimes poetically written matching with flashback scenes that made the dialogue even more heartfelt.

Here are some of the lines that are deeply engraved in my heart because they are beautifully written and will really go well as book passages:

"Once people become parents, their memory begins to become biased. They always remember they are their children's most reliable parents, but often forget that they are also children loved by their own parents. When they are waiting for their children to come back home, they forget that their own parents are also waiting for their return in a similar mood."

"The audio frequency of the sound when a snowflake falls on the water surface is over 50,000 Hz. Because it falls beyond human being's hearing range, this snowy day is still so quiet that it seems I can only hear my own heartbeat and that it seems there is only me and the person in front of me on this planet with a population of 6.6 Billion. I hope this world can be noiser so that I can pretend that I've never discovered this secret."

"They think that the probability is just 0.01, so they put on the emperor's new clothes, trying to hide their affections with magic. But affections are not that easy to hide. Even if the probability is pretty low, it will be revealed at a certain moment. So on that rainy night, while looking at her back, he found that the most obvious evidence of falling in love with her was the feeling of easement in his heart and the smile on his face when he looked at her."

"You think nothing will change as time flies by. But this time, the moment you let go and turn around, some things completely changed. The sun went down and before it rises again, some people will leave you forever. We always thought that there would be a big ceremony to say goodbye, so we keep waiting for a warm hug, a refreshing drink, and a heartfelt goodbye, but in the end, we realized that most goodbyes in our lives are all silent."

"At that silent corner in my mind, there are a number of weird illusions. For example, can I become Alice who enters the wonderland with White Rabbit? For example, can I become the little girl who enters the forest with Totoro? For example, is there some special switch in this box which can teleport me? No, none of them exist. There's no flying dragons or knights, and I'm not the heroine of some comics for girls, either. However, the only thing I'm sure about is that this escape greatly shocks my world. My palms would sweat, and my sight would be indistinct. Then my view becomes narrower and narrower until there's room for only one person in my eyes. After a long time, I know such a moment is named adventure, in which the one in your eyes is irreplaceable."

"The familiar chirping of cicadas on summer nights, the familiar bear doll who must lean by the lamb, the familiar lovely girl who frowns even when she sleeps, and the 17-yr-old time wrapped by the sense of familiarity never seem to have changed. The only difference is that when I look at the familiar him, I feel a flurry and uneasiness that I have never expected."

"There are many new days like today. Today, he holds my hand. Today, he holds me in his arms. Today, he carries me on his back and runs in the street in the early morning. Many days with him like today will eventually become my unforgettable past days. I'll remember days like today for a long time."

"Friendship means so much to us. It brings us close, and makes me flinch, so sometimes we just tell ourselves that as long as we're together, I can be just a friend of hers. But the taxi that I failed to catch, the phone calls that have been hung up, the time that's flying and my restless heart are telling me eagerly that in this world, both love and friendship are important. Every detail related to you is reminding me that we can't be just friends. So when it's still not too late, I have to tell you the things that I want to tell you as soon as possible. Huang Chengzi, I like you."

"In this world, it seems like all wishes have a guardian. Wishing wells, shooting stars, the aquarium's white whale. They're all hiding in the corners of the universe caressing the sorrow of loving someone alone. It's just that the god of happiness can't bless everyone out there. They let some people be happy and their wishes come true, and let some be sad, but they can't admit how sad they really are. The feeling of being in love is like a butterfly gently flapping its wings, that stirs up a hurricane in people's hearts. The second you realize it, then there's no escape."

#如此可爱的我们 #Lovely Us #Cdrama #Lovely Us cdrama #cdrama review

[venusluvrr]

True Beauty (Webtoon): Why I Ship Seojun x Jugyeong

True Beauty (Webtoon): Why I Ship Seojun x Jugyeong

The whole Team Suho vs. Team Seojun war all began even when I started reading the “True Beauty” Webtoon by Yaongyi during its early weekly updates on the platform in English. I was only on Team Suho for a hot second before switching to ship Seojun and Jugyeong (I can’t remember exactly which chapter, but it was early on.) 

My brother on the other hand is a hardcore Suho x Jugyeong shipper -- which I have no problem with -- but whenever I ask him why, his answers are always pretty vague and in summary it’s just because he likes Suho better and that's that. 

In all honesty, I haven’t read many comments on those that ship Suho with Jugyeong in amount to the ones I’ve read about Seojun -- which is one reason I’m not exactly fit right now to be writing this blog yet -- but I mainly just wanted to share why I’ve been on Team Seojun all the way to Chapter 125 where I have currently left off. 

1. I personally like Seojun’s character more than I do Suho’s. 

Don’t get me wrong, the two of them are generally well-rounded characters with stunning looks and wholesome personalities, and I don't ever base ships off of how much I like one character (like my brother) but to me Suho has that typical K-drama male lead vibe, attitude and dressing, while Seojun is just a bit more attractive to me. He has sort of a model, street style with the slightest e-boy aesthetic, with a strong attitude when he wants to -- he has swag. In the beginning of the series I never knew he would become my favourite character next to Aiden, but I from the moment Suho left for Japan (and I feel kinda bad for saying this) I was rooting for Seojun to shoot his shot and get with Jugyeong while he had the chance... 

I’m the kind of person that tends likes to extra unnecessary drama if it makes the plot more interesting, so when Seojun finally kissed Jugyeong -- I was thrilled. 

2. Seojun and Jugyeong’s friendship bond was more playful than her and Suho’s. 

Maybe my point of view has changed from when I first started reading the webcomic, but with my thoughts all recollected, I recalled moments when Jugyeong and Seojun would tease and hit each other, etc. which I admired because I believe that only decently close friends can get to that point. On the other hand, I recalled the scene where Jugyeong and Suho reached for the same comic book, the fact that they’re both little nerds on the inside who both share a few similar hobbies. Their interactions were casual, yes, but it was a bit too cliche and expecting for me, especially after Suho saw and accepted her bare face. 

Mostly, I prefer to read fast-paced stories with serious plots and characters with a variety of definitive, unique personalities and looks. But “True Beauty” still got me hooked somehow -- maybe its the cliffhangers or the hanging questions that I’m waiting to be answered -- but my point is, I assumed that Suho and Jugyeong together would be plain, while her and Seojun’s relationship outcome would be something I would keep coming back to read about, and I know that I could be very wrong about that. I could imagine Suho and Jugyeong going on cute dates where they would watch horror movies together or go shopping for comic books or something like that, just having a blast (they can do that stuff while being best friends too.)

If I were the one writing the book I would have probably had Seojun and Jugyeong’s dates be more interesting than going to get food or meeting at the park every once in a while, but that's not how it is and its one area where I would ship her and Suho over her and Seojun to be honest. 

 3. Seojun and Jugyeong seem to love each other a lot. 

Near the beginning of their relationship I began to have my doubts about the ship -- does Seojun care more about looks than the person themselves? Is Seojun selfish and puts himself before Jugyeong? Does Seojun not trust Jugeyeong at all? Is Jugyeong just with Seojun to get over Suho?

But I feel like every time they reassure their love for each other or apologize or think about ways they can improve their relationship, all of my questions have been answered already. From where I’ve read up to, I’m strongly convinced that the two of them are in love -- okay maybe not Jugyeong this girl be swaying left and right about her feelings -- but Seojun for sure is trying his best to make their relationship work and everything they’ve done for each other is just adorable and I don’t want to see them broken apart. 

But of course something’s gonna happen cause Suho’s male lead material and Seojun is probably the second lead and us K-drama lovers all know that the second lead doesn’t end up with the girl in the end. 

Anyways, one thing I’d let to add to wrap up is that I do feel bad for Suho. This isn’t a Suho hate post, I love him and know that he deserves love just as much as Seojun. It wasn’t his fault he had to go on a trip and leave everything behind him. If he stayed, things probably would’ve been different, but that’s just how the story went. 

I really hope this blog doesn't age badly lmfao. 

#truebeauty #truebeautywebtoon #team seojun #teamsuho #webtoon #fyp #analysis #seojun x jugyeong #suho x jugyeong #yaongyi

[jcmorrigan]

How was your element of harmony fic gonna end?

OOH NOW THIS ONE HAS BEEN SUCH A WHILE THAT THIS ACTUALLY SOUNDS FUN TO TALK ABOUT

Context for those unaware: EoH was one of my many attempts at a multicrossover. A predecessor to TBTC. It was my goal at being an EVERYTHING CROSSOVER and taking forever to highlight every little thing that could be explored in the canon of each work used. And I was in a difficult relationship with KH at the time, even though it was obviously a KH derivative, so I didn't want to actually use Sora and co. as the main cast. MLPFIM was a comfort show for me, and I was already used to the br0n135 using the Mane Six in crossovers with everything you could imagine, so I was like, hey, let's do this, Mane Six are now multi-world travelers and Discord is assembling every villain ever to stand in their way. (KH then ended up in the mythos anyway!) This is also where I was playing the infamous Twilight Sparkle/Mozenrath ship that is now very very dead.

To explain exactly what all was going on with the lore and politics of it to make this last bit make sense would take too long, so from there, please just...roll with it. I'm about to detail you THE FINALE ARC

The original idea was actually, at some point, to begin work on the Finale Arc when most of the main players were introduced. Then go back in time and keep editing the middle of the story to go on indefinitely. A bad business plan for many reasons, first of all being that I didn't even get to introduce the players that would've made it possible to begin the arc. That's how long I took to explore EVERY FRICKIN THING.

Over the course of the story, Discord has been interfering on every crossover world you can imagine, to the point of sometimes altering their canons into "fix fic." The story is aware of this. It's kinda like in the Loki series (of which I've only watched episode 1) where there's a "sacred timeline" and Discord's crossover actions are deliberate attempts by him to break it. We learn at some point that paradoxes and timeline changes are what broke the Age of Fairy Tales into the KH worlds we know today. So Discord rounds up his Old Ones (the Lovecraftian monstrosities that are more powerful than gods) and they all band together to strike at all the cracks he's put in the structure of the multiverse, and it all just falls APART. Worlds are destroyed, time has no meaning, suddenly everything is shards floating in void. The main players survive, mostly. Countless civilians die. Some named characters are given tragic deaths.

I've actually written one little snippet from this arc because I wanted to. It details two particular characters, who at the time were side villains I enjoyed and was just digging the vibe of, going down defending a stronghold from the creatures of Darkness (oni, yokai, Heartless, Grimm) that emerged from the void when everything broke. By the way do you want to take a guess who these characters IT WAS ARCHIBALD SNATCHER AND ROMAN TORCHWICK. GOD, THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN THE SIGN RIGHT THEN AND THERE THAT THEY WERE WHO I WANTED TO BE WRITING ABOUT FULL-TIME

But! I had a friend who'd lent me the book "Haroun and the Sea of Stories," and I was REALLY into that book's whole concept of "all stories in existence are threatened to end." So I lifted Khattam-Shud, a personification of The End (and I have since heard is also a political caricature), as the ACTUAL final boss. Discord wanted to blow up the multiverse because of the CHAOS that would ensue! KS, however, wanted to end EVERYTHING. (If I were doing this today, he'd just flat-out be Ansem, Seeker of Darkness instead.) Discord would realize he'd been played as KS makes a bid to line up one more cataclysm that will reduce everything to dust.

Heroes and villains alike, Discord included, find each other across the wastelands and amass into one last survivors' army led by the Mane Six. They approach the final field standing between them and KS and they charge. KS unleashes Dark creatures (Echthroi, as I had it) to gun them down. Pretty much everyone dies in this battle except the Mane Six themselves. (Which should give you a hint as to how this REALLY ends, but let's keep going.) The Mane Six fight their way to KS (and I'm REALLY gonna date myself here - the final line of defense before him was gonna be Paige the freaking Notebook from DHMIS as a personification of creative control). He shatters the Elements and then un-exists the Mane Six, but they don't die.

Instead, they end up in a sort of...white realm, inspired by the development rooms in The Stanley Parable (I was into even weirder fandoms back then than I am now apparently?). At one point it was gonna be "inside the author's laptop" and they could see doors to other timelines (i.e. crossover fanfics my friends were doing). They can also see all the files here for all the worlds they visited on their way and all the friends they made. Y'know, everything that's now DEAD.

The memories of everyone and everything they loved, however, allows them to forge one (1) new Element stone. This is...wait for it...THE ELEMENT OF HARMONY. Its surface shimmers with a rainbow of all colors! But wait! When it's flipped over, there's another side to the same gem, with colors dissonantly swirled around in an ugly way. Our heroines realize that the Element of Harmony also serves a dual purpose as the Element of Chaos, since you can't have one without the other!

The Mane Six find a way back to KS' battlefield, where he's about to finally UN-EXIST EVERYTHING. Twilight gets to say the one and only "FUCK" she's allowed to say in the whole story (I really...want to use this same joke on Mozenrath in TBTC...I know I've said he curses inaudibly to keep him IC but just imagine in the finale arc he gets the one and only FUCK he's ever allowed in his life). The six huddle around their Element of Harmony and activate its magic, casting a rainbow aura that begins to heal the broken multiverse. KS then tells them there's no way that will ever work because he and the other Old Ones caused so many paradoxes that it'll fall back apart again. To build a multiverse that's stable under these conditions would make no sense. And Twilight goes "WHAT FUN IS THERE IN MAKING SENSE" and flips the Element over to the Chaos side! Now the Chaos energy basically...fixes all the plot holes and physical impossibilities of the multiverse, allowing it to rebuild everything that had broken without a single issue!

Discord petrifies Khattam-Shud and it was fairly badass but I can't remember exactly what one-liner I gave him to end it.

Lights up on a rebuilt multiverse. Everyone's alive again and nothing's broken! YAY! And everyone in the survivor army (though they're not "survivors" anymore since EVERYONE is alive again) has come to Equestria to give the Mane Six a celebration for saving literally everything! AND THEY'RE ALL PONIES OR OTHERWISE MAGICAL CREATURES BECAUSE OF MY RULES OF FORM CHANGING IN THAT FIC. HAHAHAHAHA IT WAS A VERY COMICAL MENTAL IMAGE AND STILL IS.

The Six get their ships (Twilight/Mozenrath, Pinkie Pie/Megavolt, Fluttershy/Sakuya from Okami, Rarity/Stork, Rainbow Dash/I would really rather not say this one because it was taboo in a way I don't wanna touch again, Applejack/I don't even know anymore because it was gonna be Emma Swan and then it wasn't and then I just got confused). And everyone just has a good time.

The Six then take off in the ship again for THE ADVENTURE CONTINUING, EVEN THOUGH AFTER THIS I WOULD JUST GO WRITE ETERNAL ADVENTURE LEADING UP TO THIS MOMENT

Also I heard the song "We Come Running" by Youngblood Hawke on the radio once and I was like "This would go great over a credits sequence" so I used it for a while as my inspo for a KH-style "credits montage" where you see each of the most major worlds and the factions that live on them, and an early concept for the WHAM ARMY was one of these factions and this cracks me up so much because they graduated from a shot in the KH montage to WE ARE THE PROTAGS OF THE NEXT FIC

And that's pretty much it!

#eoh #elements of harmony #i hope you enjoyed this fucking crack shitshow #anyway. watch me pretend this is old news and then #DO THIS EXACT SAME ARC WITH ANSEM IN TBTC - #don't worry it can't supercede the eraqus shit

[chaos-of-my-mind]

Mini rant below, you’ve been warned

I’m going to try and keep spoilers out of this so I don’t ruin anything for you if you have not finished the show yet as I am wont to forget to put the spoilers tag (or any tags) on a post. I might make very specific references but keep them as vague as I can but spoiler warning just in case.  But also, apologies if my ranting sounds nonsensical or vague.

I don’t wish to offend anyone, I just want to voice my thoughts.  Overall, I enjoy the show and likely will watch a second season if they make one but there’s just some things I want to get off my chest.

Okay, so I just watched The Letter for the King and I have a lot of thoughts.

I’m just gonna talk about the first four episodes because I have a lot of thoughts on these episodes and it gonna be reeeeeaaaaaaalllllllyyyyyy long as is.

First of all, right off the bat, this is a seriously loose adaption of a Dutch novel that I looked at the wiki page for and sounds a fair sight better than this show.

The show as a concept is fascinating and the diversity is a welcome change from the usual primarily white cast we tend to see. Certain plot lines were wonderful.

Tiuri is an amazing and refreshing main character.  I was kind of expecting him to be angsty or something but he wasn’t. He has a good heart and caring spirit.  He believes strongly in doing what is right and is unwavering in his belief.  He is also... just about the only character I like.

I liked the Abbott and Ristridin and Ardanwen but Tiuri was really the only character I cared what happened to them.

Costume design is absolutely incredible, I’ve always had a soft spot for this style, especially the dresses.  The intricate details of the clothing is fascinating to me, especially now after having taken a class in costume design.

Sets and locations? Wonderful.  Some of the locations they shot at for these first four episodes are beautiful.  The monastery in the third episode is almost delightfully unsettling with its flickering shadows and the raging storm outside.

Out of the first four episodes, third is my favorite.  Mostly because of the scenes in the monastery, particularly the one with Tiuri and the Abbott.

I don’t have much to say regarding the Queen, I appreciate that she rules on her own without question but she didn’t really have much of a presence (at least IMO) in the first few episodes.

The score is absolutely beautiful.  I love the score for this show. I really wish it was on Spotify. Anyone else listen to movie and TV scores while studying or is that just a me thing?

No offense to anyone else, this is simply my opinion and since none of my friends watch the show and ranting to my wall offers little catharsis, I’m venting here. We’re getting into my issues now.

Anyway, I CANNOT stand Lavinia.  She’s absolutely, one hundred percent my least favorite character.  Yes I understand and acknowledge that this is a loose adaptation from the book but though she shows up in the book, she is nowhere near as prominent a character.

I don’t want to be mean and I am all for powerful female roles but Lavinia, in my mind at least, really didn’t add much to the story.

She kind of felt like when shows add a character just for comic relief and they offer nothing else to the show, you know?

I think it’s her greed that bothers me the most.  Yes, I understand her not wanting to be forced to marry but her plans and actions feel a little too selfish for me.

Tiuri is trying to fulfill the Black Knight’s last request even when it means great personal loss for him and all Lavinia talks about money.  Maybe this changes in later episodes, but right now she’s wearing on my last nerve.

I get being cautious and skeptical but then there’s being obnoxious.  She’s introduced as someone who will do whatever to get what they want with little regard for what happens to others.  There are six episodes in the season, I’m 3/4s of the way done and I still can’t stand this character.

The other would be knights have their faults but they’ve still grown on me to some degree. Except Arman, he’s a snot. But I still like him better than Lavinia.

I feel like I need to say this has nothing to do with her gender and everything to do with the way she is written. 

I get that by taking the basic plot of the book and the character names from the book means you have to say it’s an adaptation but seriously? I don’t really understand why they chose to take a (from what I gathered from the wiki page as this is based off a Dutch novel I have no access to) very minor character and have them be a main character.

Honestly, I feel like all she does so far is complain, talk about money and snark.  She has some interesting storylines that are brought up briefly but none of them have been fleshed out or furthered yet.  Maybe if they went into these plot points, I’d be more okay with her but as it stands, she just doesn’t seem essential to the plot.

Now onto the would be soldiers.  I don’t really understand why Piak is with them or how he managed to get away to follow them (not really a spoiler, happens within like the first or second episode).  I know it’s medieval or middle ages but you’re telling me no one is at all watching this ten year old boy even slightly? Also, why isn’t anyone concerned about whether his parents know where he is?

This may seem nitpicky but other shows, movies or books have been based on the plot of a kid going missing.

I don’t find their plot wholely necessary, feels kinda like filler fodder to me but I also have ADHD and get distracted/bored rather fast.  Foldo, I like. Jussipo, I like. Piak, I like. Arman, meh. Iona, definitely the most competent of the group, don’t know if I trust her.

She feels like she’d be an interesting villain.  She has that vibe, especially when they were with the Red Riders, kind of reminded me of that seagull meme/picture:

this one?  She seems very cutthroat, tough.  She’s a really interesting character but I don’t feel like she’s being given the time or character development she deserves (again only four episodes in but six episodes total so I’m not optimistic).

She’s clever and I like her fine, I just think they’re wasting time that could be spent on giving her more depth on filler scenes or Lavinia talking about money (again). I really don’t like Lavinia. Sorry.

Also, is Viridian the villain? I don’t think saying that’s a spoiler (it’s mentioned in the trailer or the first episode I think) but sorry if it is. He literally does nothing.

He does something horrible in maybe the first ten minutes of the show and then nothing.  He stands in a tent and talks about prophecy and whatever, his soldiers are better villains than he is, at least they’re actively doing something!

Also, he looks just enough like some other actor that it’s all I can think about when he’s onscreen, it’s very distracting.  I think it’s Max Lloyd-Jones he looks like but I’m not completely sure.

Hopefully he actually does something in the next two episodes because so far, I don’t see the point in showing him onscreen at all.

The thing that bugs me most is that while I know the plot is progressing and things are happening, it feels like nothing’s happening.  The plot feels kinda aimless and vague and it’s just slower than I would prefer it to be progressing.  The trailer I watched made it seem action packed and all that but it really... isn’t.

It gets so close to something happening and then the show’s like ‘Just kidding, they’re an ally’ or ‘Nevermind, it’s someone else’ or ‘Ooo, coincidental thing happened and we got away!’

It’s super annoying.  That’s about everything I can think of. *sigh* I feel better now.

Thanks for reading.

#the letter for the king #letter for the king #tlftk #netflix

[vampdeathbystereo]

Match-up please? (Preferably which male vamp) I am pansexual, female, and 5.3. I have brown shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes with glasses. I am shy and quiet at first and may come off as rude, but the more I know a person the more I open up. I am protective, sassy, emotionally guarded, stubborn, clumsy, tough, touch starved, and introverted. I like the paranormal (even tho I am a skeptic), the 80's, superheroes, videogames, horror movies and true crime. I like any metal, rock, punk or alternative band. I am a major bookworm, collector of anything. I do embroidery, baking, painting, and I am a self taught SFX artist. I have an anger issue, I make stupid jokes at wrong times. I am a tomboy, a farm kid and I have huge wanderlust. Aspiring horror writer.

Thanks I appreciate it. Sorry that I am kinda all over the place

Ahhh no worries homie! I can get like that too so I feel you, Plus nothing’s bad about being all over the place, Just means you wanna give me the best explanation you can and I wholeheartedly appreciate it! <3 :) ALSOO: You sound like a really cool person to vibe with, So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise bud ;D 

I match you with: Paul!! 

Lucky you! Paul’s a great guy and would absolutely adore you! Head over heels!!

He’s 0.7’’ taller than you, Expect him to fiddle with your hair and MAYBE lean down and steal your glasses. He’ll give you them back, don’t worry. But not without a kiss 👀 ( not that he would force you. It’s just the quickest option )

Enjoys your sassy remarks a lot, Gonna maybe expect a lot thanks to his flirtatious remarks but he enjoys them a lot, they add spice! Your rebuttals are always humorous to him! 

Touch starved? o h that will not do. Paul is gonna give you all the physical affection you could ask for! Probably goes to hold your hand a lot, slink his arm around your shoulder or waist. 

Did I mention this guy is like??? THE BEST FUCKING SNUGGLER?? He’s going to snuggle you for the rest of his unlife so if you don’t suffocate between his chest then uh, Yeah your living the life. 

Out of all the vampires, Paul is the friendliest. So being emotionally guarded or introverted won’t stop him from getting to know you. Do what you want but if Paul loves you, He’s not going anywhere anytime soon, even if you don’t feel the same. He’ll put in the effort because in the end, He knows you're worth getting to know, even if it's just as a friend. He wouldn’t be infatuated if you weren’t.

Your into Paranormal things? You're very lucky to have a vampire boyfriend right? ( Vampires are kinda paranormal right?? I mean they do stupid mind tricks?? Look I don’t know but Paul would probably say that ). He’d probably use this to try and convince you to become a vampire and join him in the wondrous party of the undead. 

He’s not one for comics, let alone books, But if you like it. He’ll try to get into it. He wants to be genuinely engaged in your stuff so he can have a conversation about it with you. He just really struggles with focusing and staying still for prolonged periods of time. 

You and him and the rock box? He’s here for it. Please listen to the rock box with him. He’ll let you pick the song just please listen and dance with him, p l e a s e 

Probably goes through all the bands you enjoy just to find a song you guys can call your song. Then proceed to play that hit 24/7 because he thinks it’s very romantic

Loves all your creative creations. Paintings, Embroideries, They’re all amazing to him. Your so talented and he loves it!!! Gonna try put your creations all over the cave, fuck what the others say, He’s going to flex on how cool and creative you are! 

Though I wouldn’t use him as a model because he probably couldn���t sit still long enough

Please don’t freak him out too bad with your SFX, Especially if it’s gorey. He’s a little drama queen and will probably scream in a mix of fear and confusion.

How the fuck did he not smell the blo- oh its fake!

Then proceeds to ask you if you could do some for him because he wants to freak out the rest of the boys with your talent and basically flex like: HI YEAH, MY STUNNING PARTNER CAN DO THIS LOOKIE. Probably gave the others a heart attack because it’s not everyday a vampire is harmed but as soon as they understand it’s fake. Marko is next on the list of “ please make me look gorey “. You're gonna be getting a lot of practice that week. 

Sadly, Paul is kinda sensitive / a drama queen. He might upset you, and if your anger issues come into it he might get hurt emotionally. He loves you genuinely and when you are angry, He does try his best to calm you down and make sure your okay. But he knows that showing emotion and getting your anger out is important so he encourages you to come talk to him.

He makes stupid jokes at wrong times too, what a coincidence. You two probably upset so many people without meaning too but that’s okay, You never have the ill intent to after all. 

He really enjoys your tomboy style and finds it very flattering to your physique. Farm kid?? That’s awesome! Paul is constantly asking questions about farm stuff because he’s genuinely never been too one and since he can’t really go out during the day, It’s not like he could go visit one. 

You sadly can’t travel with him however for the same reason. Unless you're really careful. Like, it can be done but if you're taking him, you're taking them all. At this point the lost boys are all conjoined at the hip.

Your a horror writer? Well good to see you have all the inspiration you’d need from good ol’ Paul. Need to get some gritty descriptions for a book? Better yet images. Paul would never say any of this regularly but if you want him to talk about it, You came to the right guy. He gives very in depth and fun descriptions of things. Whether they actually help with your book? Eh. However he swells with pride when you ask him because if he can, He wants to help you with everything he can! :)

All in all, he loves you dearly and will do his best to make it known your loved and appreciated. He won’t have anything other than that 

I did a lot of thinking on this one, especially since this is one of the first matchups I’ve written and I hope you like it! If not, let me know why. I tried to go over everything. Remember this is just my opinion. You can date / ship yourself with whoever you want. This is just my opinion! :)

Also don’t mind some stuff about Paul, I just kinda hc him to have undiagnosed Adhd because we act very similar in some regards ,so like, Yeah relatability.

#The Lost boys match up #The lost boys match ups #Angelo match ups #Paul The lost boys

[terramythos]

TerraMythos' 2020 Reading Challenge - Book 28 of 26

Title: The Only Good Indians (2020) 

Author: Stephen Graham Jones 

Genre/Tags: Horror, Fiction, Third-Person, Second-Person, Female Protagonist (kinda).

Rating: 6/10

Date Began: 10/5/2020

Date Finished: 10/11/2020

Almost a decade ago, four Blackfeet Indian men went on a hunting trip. They did something terrible on that day, which they now call the Thanksgiving Classic. As the ten-year anniversary of the event approaches, the three remaining men have moved on with their lives -- but the past has come back to haunt them in a disturbing and vengeful way. 

First, though, one of their calves is sitting in eighth-grade geography-- girl, girl girl girl, not “calf”. And this girl has this certain father you remember, and that father, he has a friend you remember well, from looking up a long snowy slope, their monstrous forms black against the sky. 

For them, ten years ago, that’s another lifetime. 

For you it’s yesterday. 

Some spoilers under the cut. 

This is the first full novel I’ve ready by Stephen Graham Jones, but I did actually read a short story by him in The Devil and the Deep, a collection I read earlier this year. “Broken Record” is a horror story about a man trapped on a desert island, but with an interesting premise/twist that I don’t want to spoil. So I had one of his novels, Mongrels, on my TBR, but decided to go with this one when I saw it making the rounds. 

I feel kinda bad giving The Only Good Indians a 6, because there are some things I really, really like about this novel. But as a whole, I have to be honest with myself and how I feel about it, and that’s a pretty accurate score. There are certain elements that don’t work for me. While some of this is due to personal taste, several of my issues are with the execution. 

To start off, things I love about the novel. The Only Good Indians is separated into three parts, each of which is a distinct story connected to the others. The first part, “The House that Ran Red” knocks it out of the park. It’s a creepy and self-contained psychological horror story about a man named Lewis (one of the four) who is especially haunted by the hunting trip of ten years ago. Specifically, he remembers killing a young, pregnant female elk. His guilt and shame about what he did to her torment him to this day. As the decade anniversary approaches, he begins to see things around his home in Great Falls, Montana, and descends into paranoia and anxiety that overwhelms his otherwise happy home life. Things get more disturbing and surreal the further into this part one gets, and I really dig it; especially the shocking and fucked up ending. (Side bar: I love that there’s an “ordinary” explanation for everything that happens, except for one little detail at the end that proves supernatural shit was going on. I eat that kind of stuff right up). 

One criticism I’ve seen of this novel is that it really toes the line between horror and literary fiction. However, I think that’s a huge credit in this first part. Jones does an excellent job playing with tension; he makes me juuust feel comfortable with these characters and their ordinary lives before suddenly introducing something weird and fucked up. While tension is a hallmark of horror, Jones masters it so well here that I have to admire the execution. In addition, there’s something totally cinematic about this part (and, to be fair, many parts later on). It’s hard to describe, but there’s a lot of visuals that I’d love to see adapted to a comic book or video form because I can just picture the shots. 

At its heart, The Only Good Indians becomes more slasher horror than anything else. But the monster at the core of this, Elk Head Woman, is really well-written and interesting. Convincingly making an elk mother a creepy, violent avatar of vengeance and death is fucking impressive. It’s pretty rare that the monster gets a point of view, but Elk Head Woman is a full-fledged perspective character with her own motivations for what she’s doing. I think second-person was a great choice for her narration. Paradoxically, it manages to be both jarring and smooth with the rest of the story (”wow, ‘you’? we’re doing that?” vs “that second-person snippet really blends with the third-person narration, huh?”). I find these flairs really cool, and Jones totally nails a challenging style.  

So, high praise for the above, but unfortunately I just didn’t vibe with the second part of the novel, “Sweat Lodge Massacre”. For story reasons, it stars a totally different cast of characters than the first part. Unfortunately, this means much of the page is concerned with introducing these new characters and giving them backstories and motivations. So horror gets cast aside, and the pacing just tanks at this part. Sure, there are periodic slips into second-person to remind the reader the horror element is still in the story, but this doesn’t pay off until the very end. And when it does, it’s just not worth all the setup and wait. 

I think my main issue comes down to personal taste in horror. “The House that Ran Red” primed me for psychological horror with gory asides. That’s just not the case in “Sweat Lodge Massacre”, in which the horror is largely absent until the end, then is pretty much just violence and gore. Thematically, it doesn’t make sense to me that Elk Head Woman is the monster in this part. Lewis’ part, sure -- he’s haunted by what he did to her, specifically. But Gabe and Cass, the leads in part two, lack this. They aren’t haunted by the Thanksgiving Classic, at least not in a way that’s explored in the novel. So to have Elk Head Woman commit vengeance on men who barely even remember why is just disappointing. It comes off as senseless violence and death without the symbolic punch of “The House that Ran Red”. It’s a shame because Elk Head Woman is such an interesting monster/character and she feels wasted here. 

Part three, “It Came From The Rez” is fine-- mostly an extended chase scene that manages to be engaging all the way through. I love how everything loops back and ties together at the end, but honestly don’t have much to say about the part other than that; it’s pretty short. 

I don’t know, I think this novel just needed more time in the oven to really refine certain things. There are lots of ideas I wish were explored further -- parenthood, the whole elk/train thing, and so on. I’m also a little confused about the timeline. Ricky, one of the four, gets killed off in the prologue. But his death doesn’t really track with the book’s explanation on why everything is happening ten years after the Thanksgiving Classic. I don’t know, I could be digging too deep. But I can see the potential in this novel through its excellent first part and wish I felt that way about the rest of it. 

If you’re interested in reading The Only Good Indians, please be advised there’s a lot of graphic violence, gore, and death-- both animal and human. If you’re into slasher horror this might be more up your alley than it was mine. Stephen Graham Jones is a good writer, don’t get me wrong, so if this story sounds like your kind of thing, give it a shot. 

#2020 reading challenge #BONUS ROUND #taylor reads #6/10

[spongebob-connoisseur]

i know this is mainly a spongebob blog but just curious what’s your other interests? 🙂

Oh I wasn't expecting this 👀 you've opened a can of worms anon!

Hmm spongebob consumes my thoughts a lot of the time but I do like anime. My favorite genre is the magical girl genre which I can't explain why but it's a lot of fun. My favorite magical girl anime was/is cardcaptor Sakura. I adored it as a kid. It got on Netflix during the summer and uhh it changed my opinion. Watching the original dub was shit, it cut out all sorts of details and stuff of the show but watching the true og show. Its messed up. It's weird because I'm between both liking it and hating it. There are still things I like about it but also left a sour taste in my mouth. If there could be a redub where they take out the weird shit would be nice. So anyways futari wa pretty cure is now my new absolutely favorite😔

Other anime I watched was soul eater, I recently finished it. I've been wanting to see it since I missed out seeing it back in middle school and well I adoooore lord death. Also I'm currently watching the 3rd season of Osomatsu-san. The show has been my favorite for years now. It's so rewatchable. My favorite trio of the matsuno boys is Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, and Choromatsu.

I also really like Jojo's bizzare adventure. I remember in high school finishing up rose of versailles. The ending was so sad and I wasn't over it yet. I was still attached to all the characters and my friend was like "you know what you should watch? Jojo" she now admits that was terrible advice and that she doesn't know what she was thinking but I think it was a good idea. Rose of versailles takes place in 18th century France I think? And Jojo begins in late 19th century England. The themes kinda felt close so it was easy to transition into except Jojo was really comedic and enjoyable. Speedwagon is best waifu.

I do recommend Rose of Versailles. It's so dramatic and extra. The sheer drama of avoiding talking to someone for weeks but then being forced to wish someone a happy new year and then having a mental breakdown?? Good shit.

I enjoyed cartoons a lot for a time. Like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Adventure Time and Infinity Train, over the garden wall. I've sort of fell out of love with cartoons? The fandoms are so toxic that it makes it hard to enjoy. I know that fandoms don't ruin the show itself but definitely takes away from the experience. I enjoy discussions of shows and the vibe gets killed by the sheer bitterness and fake woke hot takes of people. I can talk a lot about this but I don't really want to.

I still kinda want to watch owl house. Maybe when it gets added to Disney+.

Some cartoons I liked a lot is Ruby Gloom and the 90s spiderman cartoon.

The 90s spiderman cartoon is crazy. I recommend watching. It has better continuity than most anime with the most craziest plot lines?? I can't believe it. The 90s marvel cartoons was the original MCU. The 90s spiderman finale episode is the original Into the spiderverse. I looove this show. It was my first favorite show before Spongebob.

I enjoy music, I've mentioned before my favorite genre is horror rock. I like the ghastly ones but I really adore creature feature. They're my favorite band of all time. I can go on talking about them or their side project Rufus rex. I also like oingo boingo. I like to draw Danny elfman in his oingo boingo days or his cool demon costumes. I also like Alesana? Each album is like a story that goes together so its fun to put them together and figure out the whole overarching story though I think they already published a book about it but I never came around to reading it yet. I also like Siouxie and the banshees, Leslie Gore, lemon demon, Cab Calloway, dead or alive. There are some bands I do like that are a bit problematic that I wouldn't recommend. I'm not paying for it but I feel like it would still contribute to them if I said I liked them or something.

I've mentioned before I liked a lot of Tim Burton movies which is true. I don't like him though as an individual. It kinda hurts how he said people like me don't fit the aesthetic of his movies and I grew up adoring his movies and aesthetic and everything. I think it's crazy. Anyways if you want to watch some for free just type "x movie name google drive" now you can enjoy all his movies without paying for it.

Anyways Danny Elfman made all his movies 💅 💅

My favorite movie from him was the live action Alice in Wonderland movie which I know isn't the best quality but nostalgia?? This movie hits different and I can't explain why. I also liked batman returns.

I like other movies like Coraline, and other movies.

Persepolis is one of my most favorite movie of all time. I also enjoy the persepolis comics. Idk it just hits so hard, its a biography of the author in comic form but her experiences was so relatable. I very much recommend.

I like studio ghibli movies, and anything under the genre of horror comedy. I'm a huge softie who likes soft cute things like I watched beetlejuice movie and I latched onto Adam and Barbara hard. Partially because I crushed on both but also because they were too cute. A couple that doesn't follow usual marriage stereotypes and genuinely loved each other? And how much they love their daughter Lydia?? How much they protect her like she was their own? My heaaart. I don't like the musical specifically because of how hard they nerfed them. I also watched the fly because Geena Davis was in it and she's just super pretty.

I like watching the Lupin the third movies.

I like vintage movies like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. My friend joked about how your parents introduce these movies to you because vintage movies were things they watched in their home country. Yeah that's pretty much it.

Also vintage horror movies. Have you ever seen the 1930s Dracula with Bela Lagosi? Its more funny than scary. Renfield got yeeted down the stairs.

I also like fashion. Some styles I like are from the early 90s, the 80s and 40s. I like the big shoulder look. I actually got my mom's leather trenchcoat from the early 90s with shoulderpads and I really love it. It's so extra but fun.

I also love cats, rats and corvids. Cats are free serotonin. Rats are super cute. Crows, ravens and magpies are all cuties. Its hard to pick a favorite from them. If you're friends with me then expect to be spammed with videos of crows, cats, and rats.

These are things I could think of off the top of my head. Its pretty much rambling but I hope you enjoy💜😜

#I went ooooon #Its a bit much but mmm yeah #Still it was a sweet ask and its fun #the spongebob connoisseur #Ask #Not spongebob #about the spongebob connoisseur

[mikenewtonhateblog]

My oc’s aka too long of a gd post

The “BL” Crew (does not stand for boys love I’m just a moron who made that abbreviation before knowing what it stands for). My main crew and main series, a lot is a big WIP right now as I’m slowly redoing the first book and all the lore. Why? I love torture. Book is fantasy type but I won’t specify what.

Lacie, the protagonist. God tier idiot, bisexual bipolar depressed MESS, insomniac, former theater kid, doesn’t know what she wants out of life but currently it is not This(plot of book). Hot headed, impulsive, crude, rude, Mommy IssuesTM, would rather be taking a nap right now, rules are made to be broken, absolutely fucking FERAL, more bags under her eyes than the airport lost and found. 5’5, 130lbs, Aries, age 18, white as shit like literally the whitest human you have ever seen, strawberry blonde hair in a 2011 Hayley Willaims haircut with long bangs, the darkest brown eyes you’ve ever seen that stare directly into your soul. Lanky, no curves, body of a 12 year old boy but works out so she can and will kick your ass and thats a threat. Not human?

Josh. Soft boy, smart, Lacie’s cousin and only friend for like the first 18 years of her life, autistic anxious mess who’s special interest is anchient egyptian history, is in honors classes, despises math, passes out when his girlfriend looks too cute, just needs a hug. Can eat a whole carton of easy mac if left alone, whole wardobe is the same outfit just different colors/hoodies, sensory issues, seriously can someone give this guy a hug. 5’9, 150lbs, Pisces, age 18, mixed (half whatever flavor of white Lacie’s family is [they don’t even know its just some scandanavian shit and irish], and half mexican on his mom’s side), medium olive skin with freckles and moles, dark chocolate brown hair that’s a bit of a 2009 Beiber cut, warm brown eyes, not beefy, a lil thicc and self concious about it but squishy boys are GOOD. Gets bit by a werewolf so now he is one his mood on it is “thats a lot to unpack but let’s just throw the whole suitcase away”.

Zander. There is not one braincell in this man, himbo KING, pansexual dumbass with undiagnosed ADHD, no impulse control, head empty and full at the same time, PTSD, his fashion sense should be an actual crime, gets in fights to feel something, basic requirements for him to be attracted to you: kick his ass. Drinks his respect women juice, sees a folding table and must immediately launch himself on it, chaotic, cannot drive a car and will not, food aggression and eats enough for 3 people but never gains weight which is ILLEGAL, him and Lacie may be a couple.....but in this house we stan slow burn, he talks in caps and every sentence either ends with a question mark or exclaimation point, likes romcoms. 6’2, 190lbs, Sagittarius, age 19, austrailian roots and has the accent but is from [REDACTED FOR STORY REASONS], white, dorito shaped with long legs, blueish black hair that’s long and messy, dark navy eyes that match his hair, bigass neck scar from [REDACTED]. Not human

Peter. Gay dad friend who is TIRED of having to be in charge of a bunch of teenagers, only one with full functioning braincells, lowkey a genius who loves engineering, mixes magical technology with human technology because he likes to play god, is he ever sober? No one knows, will kill for a bottle of single malt, his fashion sense? Tastefully expensive suits perfectly tailored. Likes building his own weapons that no one else knows how to even use, generally non-threatening but can get scary if needed. 6’4, 140lbs string bean man, Scorpio, age 179 but looks early 30s, I know I said Lacie is the whitest human but he’s even paler like a literal sheet of paper with scandanavian roots/ancestors were vikings or some shit, blonde hair styled like 2013 Brendon Urie lmfao, light crystal blue eyes. He’s a vampire and was born one.

Danielle. Tiny, sweet, queen of girls supporting girls, comments on all her friends instagram posts with 20 emojis, LOVES fashion and has a wardrobe that would make anyone jealous, oozes feminine energy, only child and parents are in love still, gets exactly 8 hours of sleep each night and wakes up looking like a disney princess. Just because she is small and cute doesn’t mean you should underestimate her she WILL fuck your shit up. Quiet when angey which is terrifying. Josh is her bf and she loves him so much but also loves teashing the shit out of him. Legally cannot cuss, polite, used her high heels as a weapon once, speaks like 5 languages because studying them is her hobby, gardens, hugs everyone. 5’0, 110, Taurus, age 18, mixed (half french-american, half Korean-american), glowy skin always, PETITE frame aka the friend everyone can pick up when they hug, long past her waist curly brown hair, bright green eyes. She’s not fully human as she has fae blood in her and this gives her the ability to talk to and control plants. Flower crowns for everyone

Becca. Theater kid who would die to sing in Wicked and has the vocal range to do so, cannot wait to graduate and go to her dream college which she got into and a scholarship, closeted lesbian bc her whole giant family is extremely catholic and she feels like not dealing with it, “no boys allowed in bedroom” rule is her favorite joke, chill, middle child of 5 siblings and just wants some peace and quiet for ONCE. Her fashion sense is “I’m dropping subtle hints I’m gay but only to other gays”, has a black belt and took self defense classes. 5’6, 145lbs, Virgo, age 18, Latina (cuban and mexican mix), darker brown skin with light freckles over her nose, athletic build, eyebrows on POINT, bright caramel eyes, short light brown hair cut in a bob, has a tiny nose stud, always wears a blue friendship bracelet her gf made her. Human

Anika. Calling her a bitch/slut is a compliment, bisexual, a bit of a mean girl but she grows out of it give her time!!! Is always Too Much, the horny friend, favorite color is red so thats almost all of her outfits, loves to show off her body as much as she can because she’s hot and knows it and thrives in her own confidence. Her mom is literally like Regina George’s mom from Mean Girls but married a rich man 20 years older than her, Anika doesn’t know her bio dad but thats fine neither does her mom and her step dad is nice and does his best to be a dad. Becca’s gf, always hanging out at her home so Becca can get some quiet because Anika’s an only child and has a pool. 5’9, 135lbs, Gemini, age 18, white, long layered dark reddish brown hair, teal-blue eyes, swimmers body type (I normally do not mention bust size but she would want the internet to know she was blessed with big bahoogles so there you go), can sprint in heels. Half mermaid (boy was that a surprise considering her mom doesn’t know who her father is LOL)

Rex. Nb uses they/them he/him pronouns but honestly will respond to any, goth lite, only attracted to men and ace, can read minds so knows all your secrets, mischevious little shit, great friends with Zander and enjoys his dumbass thoughts and that he’s basically a human version of Jackass, wears too many rings, goth boots for kicking and fashion babey, always has the freshest memes and will not hesitate to roast in the group chat, hangs with the girls most of the time. Chaos god who loves making art, be gay do crime, skateboard and spraypaint. 5’8”, 165lbs, Leo, age 18, Native American, masculine frame, dark brown skin, blue eyes, firetruck red shoulder length hair that’s usually in a ponytail, knock-off gucci sunglasses just for judging their friends. Has magic in their blood so not entirely human and can cast spells and shit (don’t roast me its a wip and I’m doing my research)

Sam. Boho goddess, aromantic, makeup and nails are always instagram worthy, quiet and stoic type but losens up around close friends, Rex is her best friend, has some trauma and doesn’t want to talk about it, emotionally numbed out a bit and wants to purely vibe. Has seen some of the worst parts of humanity and wishes she hadn’t, finds no point in being bitter or resentful though because that won’t change anything, loves cats and once she moves out shes adopting one or three. Has wine aunt energy. 5’4, 200lbs PLUS SIZE QUEEN, Scorpio, age 18, Filipino (her parents are immigrants fun fact!), really olive skin sometimes has a grey/green tinge to it, dark brown almost black shoulder length hair, gold-hazel eyes. Sam’s the victim of a family curse that requires her to consume human hearts to survive, she can transform into a pretty scary looking being and uses this curse to hunt down pedoph*les, r*pists, murderers, and abusers. The less often she feeds the less human she looks, hence the constant grey/green tinge to her skin. 

Andy. Baby of the group, must be protected at all costs, 100% didn’t sign up to be in a friendgroup of 90% monsters but highkey loves it, trans, bi, anxiety MAXED, just wants to draw comics and cosplay spiderman, has to babysit his two younger sisters a lot because his parents are....not great, and as a result now knows all the lines to Tangled and The Little Mermaid. Big nerd energy, has to draw on everything including homework, gets inspiration for comics from his friends, awkward and socially anxious, drinks way too much tea and will accidentally steal your pens. Fears include: crowds, thunder, tall angry men, tiny spaces. Just trying his best. 5’2, 100lbs BEANPOLE BOY, Leo, age 16, white (irish and scottish roots), freckles absolutely EVERYWHERE, orangey red hair thats in desperate need of a haircut, chocolate brown eyes, braces, chronic nail biter. Human and kinda wishes he wasn’t.

That’s it for now if you read all this bless u thank u here is my whole heart. Please no discourse, literally these are fictional people I’ll never publish the books they go to.

#no i am not looking for critiques on them #i get my critiques elsewhere lmao #my ocs

[seijch]

hi im about to spam u (so sorry) but ive been too scared to read doomsday until now and im so glad i finally did becasue dude. Dude. its so much. "It’s as the sky bleeds from orange to pale blue that it hits." i loveeee how you incorperated such small moments like the hot chocolate and the ily + i know... be even here just the thought of your Last Sunrise is heartbreaking, but to /realize/ your own end coming in that moment, especially watching the soft sunrise... oof.

HI!!! omg when you sent this i was like . abt to sleep but i read this before i did and went irl 🥺🥺 and then also passed out before i could formulate a response sjfksdfds

anyway!! my response to your asks (i hope i got them all but!!) will be under the cut bc i dont know how to shut up ❤

a lot of the way the interactions in doomsday unfold are honestly BECAUSE tsukki and the reader are (i mean first of all, theyre tsukki and the reader with all that comes with) fully aware that:

they have abt a full day of life left

theres nothing that can be done to elongate that time or avoid death altogether

its not like some young adult novel where a group of ragtag teenagers save the world; its the tale of two adults who have had time to come to terms with the fact that their lives and the lives of everyone they know will end soon (and once again everything that THAT comes with). its why i rlly enjoyed juxtaposing the nice weather w the crippling realization of their own mortality 🕺🏻🕺🏻🕺🏻

"you try to stress your words, make it absolutely clear that you’ve never meant anything like you mean this" this is HEARTBREAKING in a whole miryad of different ways - for a realtionship u establish as one with so many things unsaid but still understood, but here to have her say this so desperately?? like she feels this its too big to leave between the lines? it doesnt matter that he knows, she needs to say it and needs him to hear it UGH IM SAD AGAIN

IM SO GLAD YOU POINTED THIS ONE OUT!! this is EASILY one of my favorite parts of the whole fic mostly bc its something i go thru a lot? like im the definition of that tweet abt never making any damn sense but ESP when it comes to my i love yous or other serious things...i say it a lot and yes i mean it every time! but sometimes i MEAN it and i never quite know how to properly express that kinda thing. 

i think its especially big for the reader in the context of the world ending and in the context of their relationship with tsukishima to have that moment of transparency and complete sincerity for the EXACT reasons you described!!!

"It’s hollow; neither of you have been under the delusion that this was anything but." u said u werent sure about his characterisation but this screams tsukki to me. cuz hes blunt and i dont think he would lie to himself about something like this especially. and even when she tries just for a moment to pretend, he just shows her /no, its ok, this is the truth and we have to die with it/... nah it vibes dude. hes such a interesting character for this idea too? because hes not sappy or anything +

so his tears hurt so much more... oof. "This is my goodbye, he says with more than words." this just... i have so many feelings about this. cuz to me hes totally someone who shows affection through small actions when he cant find the words to match his emotions? so this is like a 4-book-saga laying out his emotions cuz he doesnt quite have the words to say it out loud and theyre out of time. its desperate, but not sad desperate? like its the end but its just him making sure shes knows everything 

ok first of all THANK YOU for saying that bc i wrote him being more vulnerable than i think we rlly see in any tsukki not like ... in junior high LMAO and immediately after i felt my characterization alarms ringing ... like yk those natural disaster alarms? thats the vibe...

but i had one of those Moments where i was no longer the one writing and it was the characters themselves just telling me what to say and how to say it nsfsfsd so im rlly glad it worked! and tbh when the concept first grabbed me by the collar i was juggling a few different characters around in my head but i think i made the right choice in the end. its like you said -- hes not a particularly sappy type and hes always been more grounded in reality imo than some of the other characters (another contender for this fic was akaashi but i realized i do NOT have any solid grasp of his character that isnt from fandom interpretation which is a double edged sword tbh)

and honetly i was ok until "If you’re going to take me out, do it in style, you’d said to him, once. So he does." and then i was all of a sudden crying. and the "stripped down to your bare selves" like theyre just being incinerated together and IM- NO WRODS JUST FEELINGS. i think the best thing about this is how unrushed it feels? and it hurts and its aching but they Know. +

and theyve come to some form of peace with it so when it does come, they can focus on eachother and not the end oh im gonna cry again. this was so gracefully put together, thank u for this. i might reread it and cry again, amazing work 😭💕

i didnt touch on it above bc i wanted to do it here but yes!!!! the absolute fucking DESPERATION felt by both parties in that last minute (which idk if you read my tags on the fic proper but 11:59 was originally one segment before i took those last couple paragraphs and made them the very last second ... i think i made the right choice? it rlly does scream FINAL to me) is SO poignant. all of the walls and hidden meanings fall away because in the end theyre all they have left, dying in each others arms at the very end of it all.

this full REVIEW honestly made me so happy to hear esp on a piece i wasnt quite sure how to feel about at first,, thank you 🤝🏻🤝🏻 i hope you have/had a wonderful day!!!!

OK EDIT BC I JUST SAW THIS COMIC SOMEONE MADE ON IG AND ITS NOT THE MOST RELEVANT BUT ANSWERING THIS PUT ME IN A TSUKISHIMA MOOD SO HERE

#fave #man seeing this in my inbox had me go irl keyboard smash i was like HUH #you literally read my damn mind every step of the way and all i gotta say (coherently) is THANK YOU #i feel SEEN and HEARD mndfdsf #💌 love letters #doughnuts-5ever

[carriagelamp]

A Bear Called Paddington

One of those childhood classics I had never gotten around to reading, though I definitely grew up very aware of Paddington. For those who somehow haven’t heard of him, A Bear Called Paddington is about a little bear from Darkest Peru who is forced to immigrate to England. The Brown family runs into this little bear at the Paddington train station (where he gets his name) and decide to take him in since he had no where else to go. The rest of the story follows Paddington’s various well-meaning hijinks. It has a similar feel to the novels of Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins. Definitely a slower book than a lot of children’s novels these days, but still super charming; this would make a great bedtime sort of story.

Battle Bunny

One of the funniest picture books I’ve seen in ages. It’s made to look like someone took an old Golden Book (“The Birthday Bunny”) and rewrote it as The Battle Bunny. You can read the “original” wholesome story about a little Bunny visiting his friends around the forest on his birthday, and then the relentlessly goofy, violent version of the Battle Bunny on his quest to conquer the forest.

Black Clover

...Okay but this is just Naruto. It’s about a spiky pale-haired boy in a headband with a dark-haired rival. Said spiky-haired boy is absolutely talentless but makes up for it with relentless determination and despite this complete lack of skill is convinced he will become the hokage- I mean, the Wizard King. He takes a ninja- wizard test, and when he passes he gets a new headband and joins a small team where he goes on missions for the community. His first mission involves him going to a mist-covered island where the village people are being tormented by a mercenary with ice magic...

Despite all this, it was an okay read and was kind of charming. If you liked Naruto, it wouldn’t hurt to check out Black Clover. On a more serious note, it’s about a world where everyone has magic abilities, to greater or lesser degrees, and when they come of age they receive a magical grimoire that gives them access to more abilities. The main character, however, has absolutely no magical potential and receives a grimoire that, instead of casting magic, has the ability to cancel out other people’s magic.

Bug Boys

A very charming graphic novel about a pair of beetles (Rhino-B and Stag-B). These stories are episodic little adventures of this pair as they meet other bugs and explore the land around the Bug Village. The tone is kinda wild because it goes from very simplistic goofy comic stories, to shockingly deep and metaphoric. Kind of has an Adventure Time like vibe?

Emily of New Moon

A Canadian classic. This is a second series written by L. M. Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables and it has the exact same style as Anne. In some ways one might argue that it’s repetitive of the last series, but honestly it’s exactly what I want. While I love Anne of Green Gables I never cared as much for the rest of the series, all I wanted was more Anne as a child, not Anne as an adult, and that is exactly what Emily of New Moon delivers.

It’s the story of Emily Starr, an imaginative, sensitive child, who is orphaned when her sickly father passes away from TB. Rather than leave her to an orphanage, her late-mother’s estranged family, the Murrays, adopt her out of familial duty and bring her to live on the strange, old-fashioned New Moon farm. There Emily learns to contend with the Murray pride, starting school, making new friends, and blossoming into an avid writer.

I’ve read this book plenty of times, and listening to an audiobook of it again was such a relaxing experience. I would recommend this to anyone that likes period pieces about whimsical childhoods and strongly written young girl characters.

Minecraft: The Island

This was my Completely Shocking Book Of The Month because I started it as a joke and, to my total amazement, kinda fell in love with it. But then again it is written by Max Brooks, author of World War Z. This ended up being a survival-horror isekai that actually sticks the landing, and this is coming from someone with zero interest in a) Minecraft and b) isekai. It’s like Hatchet, if Hatchet took place in a video game world and involved amnesia. I love stories that involve needing to learn a new set natural laws to navigate a world and this book has that coming out its ears.

It’s about a main character (with no specified gender) who wakes up and finds themself in a strange, cubed world, with a baffling array of rules. The MC needs to come to terms with being in complete isolation, surrounded by monsters, and constantly contending with starvation, fear, and confusion as they try to learn how to survive and understand this strange world they’re trapped in.

The Nameless City

Written by someone who worked on the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics, which isn’t surprising because this series has a very strong Avatar vibe, in all the right ways. It takes place in a politically volatile city. As it’s the only pass through the mountains, this city is constantly conquered and reconquered by neighbouring powers. This book is about Kaidu, a child of the Dao empire, the current occupying force. He was sent to the City to meet his father, one of the local generals, and in the meantime meets Rat, one of the city children who is actually affected by the constant violence and control of the occupiers. If you liked Avatar you should give this trilogy a go because the characters are very endearing and the art is beautiful.

Peter & Ernesto

Years back I enjoyed the weird little cartoons made by this fellow, when he was using the name The Grickle; I didn’t realize he was now making graphic novels. These graphic novels very much have his humour and art style all over it. These books are about two sloths: adventurous, optimistic Ernesto, and anxious, fretful Peter. Despite their differences, they’re best friends and are there to pull each other out of scrapes.

Rick

I’ve read Alex Gino’s other middle grade novel, George, which was about a transgirl coming to terms with her identity in grade four. This new book, Rick, takes place in the same world, though you don’t need to have read George first. Rick is about a boy who was best friends with the bully of the first book, and, now in middle school, is coming to realize that not only is his friend not the sort of person he’d always believed he was, but that his own sexuality might not be so clear cut either. On a positive note, this is the first time I’ve read a middle grade novel that deals with asexuality, and Gino creates rich, warmhearted, living worlds in their books. However, it also felt like it was trying to take the past ten years of tumblr queer discourse and cram it almost verbatim into one book which was… a lot to deal with. It felt rather preachy and repetitive of debates I’ve already been forced to live through, and I don’t always appreciate the conclusions the author draws on those debates.

Honestly, more than anything I would say read George instead, it felt like the much stronger book of the two to me.

The Rock From The Sky

Fascinating children’s book. Jon Klassen’s books are always bizarre and strangely toned for children’s books, and this one is no exception (this is the author who wrote Where Is My Hat and the like). I don’t know how to explain it without spoiling it, so honestly if you want a deranged children’s book, give it a read. All I can say is that, yes, a rock comes from the sky. Does it ever.

Sweep: A Story of a Girl and her Monster

An amazing novel! This takes place during the Industrial Revolution, about a chimney sweep named Nan Sparrow. After being abandoned by The Sweep, the only guardian she can ever remember having, she’s been scraping a living under the cruel thumb of the master sweep to whom she’s indentured. However, when she gets stuck in a chimney fire, certainly about to die, she finds that the char she’s kept in her pocket, the only thing left to her by The Sweep, has woken up and is, in fact, a tiny soot golem there to protect her. Nan and her tiny monster now have a chance to escape Nan’s servitude, and carve out a life for themselves in the grimy London streets — and more importantly, hidden up on the grimy London rooftops.

You Should See Me In A Crown

I decided to read this because I’ve always heard rave reviews for it, but honestly, it wasn’t for me. I can see why people do like it, it’s very much a cottoncandy sort of read, but it’s also very much not my genre. I didn’t love high school slice of life stories even when I was in high school, and it’s only become less appealing as I’ve grown up. And this high school in particular feels like it was lifted directly from a Disney Channel original movie. Way too much American prom culture. So yeah, if you’re into that sort of story, then it lets you experience that genre with a queer protagonist, but personally I didn’t bother finishing it.

#book review #book reviews #jonathan auxier #jon klassen #alex gino #peter and ernesto #the grickle #the nameless city #faith erin hicks #minecraft #black clover #max brooks #emily of new moon #anne of green gables #paddington #canlit #canadian literature #kidlit #children's literature #picture books #queer lit #queer books #though admittedly this time the queer books didn't really wow me

[dumbledoom]

Love, Death + Robots Opinion

So this show popped up on Netflix not too long ago and I was enticed by the trailers and the fact that they were all animated shorts. I truly love animation and I think it is such an incredible platform for creativity and art and it truly is limitless. I often wish animation was more appreciated and taken more seriously, as I feel like a fair amount of people usually think of children's movies when they hear the word animation. Now, there is nothing wrong with that association, but the platform is not limited to children's movies or shows and I wish more people understood that. It can be utilized for very serious and complex stories, yet people often overlook it because, "oh its animation, must be for kids", like no...fuck off with that attitude. Animation is for everyone and can be used for anything and it's beautiful and painstaking work and it should be appreciated as such. This collection is the perfect example of that! I decided to give it a go and watch the anthology (which is just a fancy word for a collection of short stories).

This collection is so...unique...its not really like anything I've ever watched before. Each story is different, none of them are connected (which is the point of an anthology), they all have different kinds of animation, and they all vary in length.

Let me just start off with the simple statement that this show has several sexual/nude scenes (yes animated nudity and sex, almost to the point of softcore porn maybe? depending on your perception of it), so it is definitely NSFW, depending on the episode. Also shoutout to the creators for including both full-frontal male and female nudity and not keeping it onesided, respect dude, cuz a lot of the time it's just women you see fully nude and its refreshing to see men included now. Also the show has quite a bit (and by this, I mean a lot) of graphic gore and (as the title would suggest) very graphic scenes of death. If you don't respond well to that kind of stuff, maybe this isn't your cup of tea (cuz seriously some of it is brutal, even for me and I'm pretty desensitized to it for the most part).

The animation styles are beautiful. They had quite a few episodes that were motion-capture animation over actors and it was super cool to see the style and creativity. (Episodes: Sonnie's Edge, The Witness, Beyond the Aquila Rift, Shape-Shifters, Helping Hand, Lucky 13, and The Secret War) These were by far my favorite episodes out of the collection just because of how well done they were with the animation. Sonnie's Edge is the first episode and you dive right in to the blood and gore and graphicness of it, and it also introduces you to the nudity you'll see throughout the different episodes. Beyond the Aquila Rift is probably one of my favorite episodes because of how intense the motion-capture animation is. It's really good, the story is good too, kinda like a Passengers-vibe to it, but different. Also probably one of the more softcore porn episodes, but it's nothing crazy. I thought it was tasteful for the maturity of it, no full-frontal male nudity like in other episodes, but it does have a sex scene. Shape-Shifters was really good too. I liked it a lot, it is quite graphic with blood and gore, but it works really well. I liked the story idea behind it too, so go check it out. Either way these episodes were truly just incredible, almost like the animation for the cutscenes of new videogames these days, but even better. It was also super hard to tell if it was live action or not and honestly I love that kind of animation because it just invites future creativity.

(I'm getting sidetracked, but like think about it as a filmmaker, if you wanted to create some crazy sci-fi or bring a fantasy book to the screen, you could do this kind of animation and not be limited to the limitations live-action films face and still be taken seriously and not as kids movie just cuz its animated).

The motion-capture animation is beautiful, I love it. They had a few episodes that were like a mix of motion-cap and 3-D computer animation. (Episodes: Three Robots, The Dump, Blindspot, Fish Night) These episodes were fun and reminded me a lot of the new Disney and Pixar animation styles, but some were even more elevated in quality. Each story was super different, but they were kind of like wandering soul-type themes. They had some really good humor, especially Three Robots, those guys were really funny and the end of it has a fun twist.

Then they have some episodes that are kind of like a comic-book style animation and it's really fun to watch. (Episodes: Suits and Zima Blue) Suits reminds me a lot of Into the Spiderverse for its animation, but its story reminds me of A Quiet Place. Zima Blue is kind of 2-D-ish and its retro which is a lot of fun, the color and story of it is really deep.

You have a few episodes that seem kind of like anime, but they're not. (Episodes: Sucker of Souls and Good Hunting) These episodes were really unique because they did have a very strong anime-feel to them, but they were still different. They weren't the over-the-top dramatic fashion that like normal Japanese anime has, but almost kinda like Avatar: The Last Airbender anime, if you know what I'm talking about. I really enjoyed them, they were really artistic. Sucker of Souls was a bit graphic and dark, while Good Hunting was graphic in it's own sense with nudity both male and female. It was definitely steampunk inspired to my eye, which I liked.

Then there is one or two episodes that are straight-up 2-D animation, which was fun for the episode it covered. (Episodes: Alternate Histories and When The Yogurt Took Over) These episodes were really funny and reminded me a lot of like the quickdraw animated style you see in YouTube videos or on Snapchat. They were pretty funny and light-hearted for the most part, but definitely strange and weird in a fun way. Super quirky.

Then they had a single episode that had live action in it. Topher Grace and a fellow actress were responding to an ever changing civilization stuck in this old antique freezer that came with the house they were moving into. I really enjoyed this episode cuz it was just funny and set apart from the others (plus I love Topher Grace cuz of That's 70's Show).

So overall the collection was just really quirky. I wasn't really sure how to feel about it all once I finished it. It was kinda like, "what the hell did I just watch" but at the same time, "they were all really good and I kinda wanna watch it all again." If you're into weird and quirky shows that are different, go for it. Its definitely strange and not something I personally was used to, but I enjoyed it either way. I really appreciate the animation styles the most out of it all and the fact that Netflix was ballsy enough to put something so unique, graphic, and sexual on their platform. Way to go, Netflix.

Soooo...yeah...that's all I got to say about that.

#love death and robots #quirky and weird #but still pretty good #adult animation #animation appreciation #check it out maybe?

[ichigopanhpff]

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 5

Read Ch. 4 | Masterlist

SPOILER ALERT: This chapter will begin the spoilers for those who haven’t read the manga. Season 4 will cover what will happen from here on. This chapter is basically a filler to the main storyline.

--

The long awaited weekend came about. While a certain two begun their provisional classes, a few other students of 1-A were interviewing for internships even though a unanimous ‘no’ came from the staff. Some were engrossed in group study sessions.

As much as Ren wanted to sleep in, a few students took her up on the one-on-one stamina and quirk training sessions in the morning. After that, it was off to her internship interview. Hawks recently became much busier with the Hero Billboard Ranking coming up soon, so he was out of the running.

In the end, she relied on her senpais for recommendations; Tamaki-senpai threw her name into the ring for Fat Gum. Sir Nighteye was her first choice having caught wind of an interesting investigation; unfortunately, Midoriya got the jump on her before she could even ask Mirio-senpai. And even if she did, she was sure he’d say no for a variety of reasons.

Nejire-senpai was all gung-ho in introducing her to Ryuukyuu, but ended up giving her spot to Uraraka and Asui instead.

Feeling the rush of regret for putting this off for so long, she tugged at her own hair lightly. Checking her bag to make sure she got everything she needed, Ren headed out to the elevator and saw a spiky redhead waiting by it.

“Oh, Ren-senpai! Mornin’!” Kirishima greeted. “You headin’ out too?”

“Yeah. I have an interview in Kansai...”

“Really?! Me too!”

The elevator door dinged open and the two entered.

“I’m surprised you guys are still going for it, even though the school said no to first years,” Ren remarked and hit the close button.

“Well, y’know a lot of us are just antsy and wanna get stronger...” Kirishima said and clenched his fist. 

“That’s… a very noble response, Kirishima-kun.” She gave the boy a small, sympathetic smile. “Yours… is a hardening quirk, right?”

“Yep!”

“Can you shoot anything out of your body like an arrow?”

The spiky redheaded boy chuckled at the thought and replied, “Nah. Can’t do anythin’ like that. I’m just focusing on retaining my hardened form so I can fight longer right now.”

The door to the elevator slid open and the two made their way out of the dorms, continuing their conversation en route to the train station.

“A hardening quirk is certainly a good one for defense and offense, but if you can manipulate it where you can shoot projectiles out of your arms or something, it’d definitely increase your attack mobility,” Ren suggested. “You can also use it as a diversion and make the fight a close quarter to use your power to its full potential.”

“Whoa, I never thought of that. That’s amazin’, senpai,” Kirishima praised. “Never in a million years would I even think that far.”

“I am here to help you all draw out everyone’s maximum power, after all,” the pink haired girl pointed out. “By the way, who are you interviewing with in Kansai?”

“Oh, I asked Amajiki-senpai to recommend me to Fat Gum,” he replied, prompting Ren to turn her head. “What ‘bout you, Ren-senpai?”

“What a small world,” she chuckled with a curve of her lips. “We’re going to the same place.”

“Alright!” he cheered. “I can’t wait to see your quirk in action!”

“It’s really not that interesting...” she confessed sheepishly. “I just go from point A to point B like Nightcrawler.”

“Eh? Naito-what*? Is he a hero from America?”

“A-ah.” Ren stuttered out with a small blush forming on her cheeks from embarrassment. “He’s… a comic book hero from America I used to read about. He really left an impression on me since we have a similar quirk. My costume at one point was modeled after his.”

“Whoa, that’s so cool!” he admired with a wide smile. “Mine is Crimson Riot!”

“That… explains so much about you,” Ren deadpanned.

“Was that supposed to be an insult?! Hey!”

The two reached the train station and bought their tickets to transfer to the bullet train down. The duration of the trip allowed the two to talk and know one another better over bento boxes and bottled tea.

“So what made you wanna be friends with Bakugou?” Ren wondered. “He’s… brash.”

“Yeah, he really is. No matter how many times I tell him he needs to tone it down...” he chuckled loosely. “As a matter of why… Because he’s strong. And even though he doesn’t look like it, he’s a reliable guy to have your back up against when you’re in a pinch.”

The look on Kirishima’s face was one that radiated respect and brotherly love for the explosive blond.

“So let me ask you: out of everyone in 1-A, who do you think pushes everyone to be a better version of themselves?”

“It’s hard to say. Everyone has their own qualities, but if I had to choose…” The roaring redhead thought long and hard about his answer. “Probably Midoriya, Bakugou and Todoroki.”

“Why those three?”

“Well, Todoroki’s the strongest in our class ‘cus of his duality in power, but Bakugou and Midoriya work the hardest in bettering their quirks. They push the rest of us to be better heroes.”

Ren let out an interested hum and sipped her drink.

“Better keep a closer eye,” Ren thought aloud half-jokingly. “Those three have the scent of trouble on them. I feel bad for Aizawa-sensei having to deal with all of their stuff.”

Her travel companion could only laugh.

“They do kinda give off that vibe, don’t they?”

A short silence broke between the two.

“Senpai… can I ask you a serious question?”

“Go for it.”

The mood around the two began to shift ever so slightly. Kirishima tightly clasped his hands and took a breath.

“I trust you’ll be honest with me, senpai,” he began, sensing the anxiety build up in his chest. “Do you think...I’ll make a good hero?”

“Why do you ask?”

He loosened his intertwined fingers and bent over, wearing a wistful face.

“With all the things that’s happened recently with our class, I feel like all I’ve done is stand on the sidelines while everyone else did what they could with their powers. I just... I wanna close the gap on our levels so I can be more helpful.” 

She turned and faced him with a solemn expression.

“If you want strength to just protect and be on equal footing with your peers, then no...” she quietly answered, making him audibly hitch a breath in his throat. “You’ll be a great hero.”

Tears began forming from the corner of Kirishima’s eyes, urging him to turn away to wipe them away with his right arm and sniffled.

“Sure, you’re a bit rough around the edges when it comes to your fighting style,” Ren continued. “But you work hard at improving it. You also have a big heart to go with your head-strong tenacity and determination that’ll push you to be the hero you aspire to be.”

Her words devolved the boy into a crying and blubbering mess, throwing his R.A. into a tight and awkward sideways embrace. She was trying to quickly comfort him as curious eyes from other passengers began looking in their direction. Her eyes darted back and forth.

“Kirishima...” she quickly hissed in his ear and slapped his back. “Stuff your emotions back in! People are staring.”

“But-but-but–” he stammered out as tears continued pouring out.

“Miss, is everything okay?” one of the train attendants came by.

“Y-yes! He’s fine,” Ren answered a lot quicker and louder than she expected. Nervous sweat began pooling at the crown of her head. “He was telling me about one of his pets that recently passed away and well...” Her hand gestured to the current bawling version of her travel companion and let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“Ah… I’m sorry to hear that,” the attendant sympathized.

“I’ll get him to calm down soon. Promise. We didn’t mean to disturb the passengers.”

The attendant left the two alone and the redhead was able to calm down soon after. Ren handed him a tissue to clean himself up in the bathroom and sat in her seat, covering her face in exhaustion. The tips of her ears cascaded red from embarrassment. They’re still about an hour out to Kansai and she already wants to go back. Feeling his presence nearby, she sat up to let the redhead back into his seat.

“S-sorry ‘bout before, senpai.” He shyly looked away and scratched the back of his head, still sniffling. “That wasn’t very manly of me.”

“It’s fine,” she disregarded with a wave of her hand, her face showing weariness. “Just… Try not to do it in a public setting. I think onlookers thought I was breaking up with you,” she jested.

“You? Break up with me? But I’m perfect,” he returned the joke.

“Okay, now you’re starting to sound like Bakugou.”

The two chuckled to ease the tension.

“Ren-senpai?”

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

Giving him a smirk, Ren raised the back of her left fist to bump with his. Another hour later, they finally landed in Kansai, the land of food. Making their way through the local commuters around Shin-Osaka Station, they finally found the connecting train to get to Fat Gum’s office. Amajiki met them at the front entrance.

“You’re late,” the brooding indigo haired boy blurted out.

“We got a bit lost and grabbed some takoyakis on the way,” Ren huffed out from running, holding up the clear plastic container of food. “The line was stupid long and I heard Fat Gum likes it.”

“Bribery’s not gonna get you the internship,” Amajiki replied and turned toward the entrance. “Let’s get this over with.”

The upperclassman led the two travelers into the elevator and presented them to Fat Gum, who was currently sitting at his desk looking over something important on his computer.

“Fat Gum, these are the two juniors I was telling you about the other day,” he announced.

“Oh, right, right. ‘Bout the internships, yeah?”

His friendly demeanor caught both Ren and Kirishima off guard, as they were both expecting to be greeted much more harshly from a pro.

“Alright, little hatchlings, take a seat,” Fat Gum happily said and noticed the plastic container in Ren’s hands. “Could that be–”

She immediately took notice of his line of sight staring at her gift.

“O-Oh, right! These are for you.”

She handed the food item to the BMI Hero with both hands, lightly bowing her head. “I remember reading in your profile report takoyakis are your favorite food and we happened to pass by a stall in Dotonbori on the way here.”

He graciously accepted the gift and looked on top of the container, where a sticker with the store logo was stuck on top. It was from his favorite stand.

“Young lady…” he began in a serious voice. “What is your name?”

“I’m Takahiro Ren, currently a second year at U.A. My quirk is Flicker, where I can teleport to and from a certain distance.”

“And you, young man,” he gestured to the redhead, who was currently shaking out of nervousness. “What about you?”

“I-I’m Kirishima Eijirou, a first year at U.A.,” he introduced. “I have a hardening quirk.”

“Both defense types huh...” He rubbed his chin and popped open the container to partake in the spherical food item. “Tamaki, you brought some interestin’ hatchlings.”

“It’s more like… they cornered me to,” he gasped out from the back and slouched. “I wanna go home...”

“So tell me, hatchlin’s: How many ultimates do you have?”

“I currently have four at my disposal and am working on two more. They’re near completion,” Ren answered with clarity and no drop of hesitation.

Kirishima quickly glanced at his senior and thought how amazingly focused she was. To already have so many moves under her belt while creating more… If he were being honest with himself, he couldn’t help but feel insecure. But now wasn’t the time or the place for it.

“I… I currently have three,” the redhead replied. “And am currently exploring other options in expanding my battle skills.”

“It’s good you continue to expand your skill sets,” he commended. “So tell me, why would you like to intern here?”

“Truth be told, I’ve been hesitating to apply because I don’t think I’m strong enough. But, a senpai of mine scolded me recently and made me realize I was only making excuses for myself.”

Ren let out an unsteady breath and nervously glanced at Tamaki-senpai in the corner, knowing she wouldn’t be able to lie here.

“And out of all the pro heroes in the circuit, you’re the most well known for using defensive tactics in subduing villains,” she explained. “I’d like to learn from your experience as to how I’d be able to better use my own and double it as offense. As for what I can offer to your firm, I believe my quirk would be a strong asset in scouting if we’re to locate various villains.”

“I’d… like to build up my defense so I can better protect others,” Kirishima got to the point. “My quirk isn’t the fastest or flashiest, but I’m sturdy. And while we’re gettin’ everythin’ out in the open here...”

He looked at a random spot on the floor, a flash of uncertainly graced his expression before he looked up again.

“I wanna intern here not because Fourth Kind couldn’t take me, but I wanna get strong quick. Comparing myself to my classmates, I feel like I’m falling behind. I wanna get closer to those at the top in my class! As for what I can contribute to your office, I really don’t know but I’m willing to do the work.”

The rotund hero leaned back in his seat, analyzing and absorbing both of their answers with an understanding hum. He grabbed a couple of papers from his desk and casually glanced at the information written on there as the two U.A. students waited for his response with baited breath.

“Tamaki...” Fat Gum addressed. “What do you think of these two?”

“Ren-kun’s abilities are as solid as they come since she trained with us last year,” Amajiki calmly answered. “And from what I saw of Kirishima’s quirk during 1-A’s spar with Mirio, he has potential.”

Kirishima widened his eyes in shock. Did he just hear that right?

“Senpai, you trained with the Big Three?!” he whispered within an earshot.

“We can hear you,” Amajiki pointed out. “And yes, she did. For an entire summer.”

“I barely survived it,” she groaned out with a grimace on her face. “And this is something I rather not let anyone else know, Kiri-kun. So please keep this between us.”

“But why?!” he argued. “You’re, like, super strong! It’s a huge deal! You trained with the friggin Big Three!”

“Think about it: word gets out, I’m gonna have everyone and their moms asking me to train or spar with them,” she reasoned. “It’s bad enough your hot-headed brother from another mother already wants a piece of me. Also, I don’t like that kind of attention.”

“She doesn’t like confrontation,” Amajiki translated.

“Neither do you!” Ren turned and snapped at her senior. “You’re always saying how much you wanna go home while facing a wall!”

“While that’s true, I still do what needs to be done without hesitation,” he argued back and crossed his arms. “So what about you? What will you do when we come across a villain? Will you freeze up like you did when–”

A sudden bang could be heard from his side of the office. He couldn’t finish the rest of his sentence as Ren teleported straight at him with her left hand slammed onto the wall, trapping Amajiki in on one side. Her green-hazel eyes glared into his indigo ones dangerously.

“Tamaki-senpai...” she spoke with a low, warning voice. “With all due respect, choose your next words carefully.”

“Now, now. Let’s not get all worked up,” Fat Gum’s booming voice interjected to break the tension. “We’re here for your internships, not to bring up the past.”

The pink haired girl huffed a breath through her nose, closed her eyes and removed her hand from the wall. As she walked back, Kirishima could see her melancholic face. Just what was it that got her so worked up like that in an instant? It was then he realized how much he didn’t know.

“As much as I wanna hire you two, I’ll have to run it by U.A. first and make sure it doesn’t interfere with your studies. You should hear from me in about a week. Sound good?”

The two underclassmen nodded in understanding. Thanking Fat Gum for the opportunity again, they made their way out of the office.

“Tamaki...” Fat Gum called, prompting the boy to turn. “You took it too far.”

His intern stood stationary. The boy then scratched his face and let a breath out from his nose.

“Because I’m frustrated with her. She has so much potential and she’s just… playing it safe with everything. It annoys the hell out of me.”

“While I understand how you feel, that’s not how you should go about encouraging her,” he lectured. “Everyone goes at their own pace and impatience will only undo the work you and your friends did.”

Amajiki nodded in silence. The large hero leaned back in his chair again and sighed aloud.

“That girl, Ren… she’s Rennosuke’s daughter?”

“… Yes.”

“I can see the resemblance.”

“So will you hire her?”

“I’ll hire them both and take them under my wing. We need all the people we can get.”

“Are you referring to...” the boy suggested, with Fat Gum nodding and making direct eye contact with his.

“Sir Nighteye’s team up request.”

--

*If you’re to say ‘Nightcrawler’ in Japanese, it’d be ‘Naitokuroolaa.’ Aren’t phonetics fun?!

#boku no hero fanfic #bnha #my hero academia #mha fanfiction #tamaki amajiki #kirishima eijirou #bnha oc #mha oc #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #boku no hero academia #ichigo bnha-fics #mha fat gum #bnha season 4 #mha season 4

[dillydedalus]

books i read in october

will i even read anything this month? MAYBE NOT (i did.)

der gang vor die hunde (going to the dogs), erich kästner  the restored full text of kästner’s fabian, a satirical novel about late weimar berlin and how it is.... going to the dogs. it’s witty, everyone is dancing (and uh, fucking) on the edge of the abyss, fabian sees the end of europe everywhere he looks, but my favourite bits were honestly kästner’s incredibly sharp & funny postscripts (one to the moral censors, one to the art critics - ‘this book is not for confirmees, no matter how old they are’), and the blurb calling berlin ‘der zärtliche moloch der moderne’/’the tender moloch of modernity’. 3.5/5

hier ist noch alles möglich, gianna molinari longlisted for german book prize. a short novel about a woman who decides to become a nightguard at a rundown factory where a wolf has been seen (maybe). mostly, it’s ramblings about borders/boundaries, intrusions and separations of space (the wolf coming into the factory, the fence of the factory, islands etc). it’s interesting, but it’s a bit too long for what it did. 2.5/5

when hitler stole pink rabbit, judith kerr i’ve had this book for like. probably 15 years? god. anyway, somehow i never read it and picked it up now to get it off the unread shelf. it’s a fictionalised account of kerr’s childhood as a refugee after her jewish family leaves germany just before the nazis come into power, and their struggle to make a living and find their place in the countries they escape to. it was really well-done, not overly didactic or sentimental & i should have read it as a kid i guess! 3/5 

die liebe unter aliens, terézia mora short story collection. i listened to the audio book, which only has 5 of the 10 stories (which i didn’t know before), so that’s a bit disappointing. anyway, the title means ‘love among aliens’, but sadly there were no aliens :(. just alienated people trying to find something/themselves/etc. i liked mora’s style, but the only story i rly liked was one about a japanese prof who falls in love with a goddess. 2.5/5, gave it 3/5 on goodreads bc i only heard half the stories 

buried in the sky, peter zuckerman & amanda padoan i find mountaineering disasters morbidly fascinating & am kinda obsessed with them (throwback to last year when i read into thin air & told everyone who’d listen not to climb everest & they were all like.... wasn’t planning to but okay??). k2 is only slightly less high than everest but much more difficult technically (all the climbers r like.... oh everest is so easy i wanted a real challenge like.... k). anyway this book is focused on a particular disaster on k2 during which 11 people died, as well as on the position, history, culture etc. of the indigenous ethnic groups that live in these regions & work for mountaineering expeditions (Sherpas being the most well-known but there are others as well!). since the authors weren’t on this expedition, it’s not quite as harrowing and immersive as into thin air  but it’s still plenty harrowing! horrible deaths! the deaths of the high altitude workers were incredibly tragic & while obvi the mountaineers’ deaths are sad too, i feel like they know what they’re getting into & they’re not doing it out of economic necessity but for like... fun? the rush? pride? idk. but anyway if you don’t wanna die... don’t go into the DEATH ZONE. it’s literally called the DEATH ZONE DON’T GO THERE. anyway yeah i find everything about extreme mountaineering super fascinating & terrifying & this is a good one, tho into thin air would be still my #1 rec. 4/5

wenn es nur licht gäbe, bevor es dunkel wird, iunona guruli tbh i mainly got this on overdrive bc i hadn’t really read anything from georgia (the country in the caucasus, not the american state). it’s a short story collection (mostly about/set in georgia but written in german) on themes like drug abuse, gendered, sexual & domestic violence and depression, so... not much fun here! there is a dreamlike quality to some of the stories which i think contrasted well with the quite dark themes, but overall the stories were too similar & blended together too much for me, and sometimes the style seemed a bit too laboured. 2.5/5 

unter weißen, mohamed amjahid really good, persuasive & engaging examination of racism in germany, accessible without being basic. i haven’t really read a book like this about specifically german racism and its particularities, especially one so recent (it was published in 2017 & the context of the ‘refugee crisis’ is rly important). amjahid (who’s a journalist with die zeit currently) works w/ a lot of personal anecdotes and they are uh. horrible. like, one chapter is about the paternalistic side of willkommenskultur, where he goes to munich train station to interview volunteers welcoming refugees and some of them immediately cast him as ‘helpless ignorant refugee in need of our benevolence’ & dehumanise him to the point that they don’t even register that he’s speaking to them in german like. fuck. 4/5

desintegriert euch!, max czollek (actually finished this a bit later but it goes well with the amjahid book) while amjahid discusses racism in germany both in general terms and specifically islamophobia, czollek focuses on german antisemitism and advocates for disassimilation & alliances between different marginalised groups in rejection of german ‘leitkultur’. also he talks about daniel kahn in a chapter on jewish revenge & i love daniel kahn. 4/5

the white guard, mikhail bulgakov (tr. from russian) look, the situation in kiev after the russian revolution and the multiple military take-overs of the city is interesting and all (tho incredibly confusing if like me you don’t know who any of the factions are or what they want), but where’s the devil? where are the witchy vibes? where is the demonic talking cat? 3/5

der vogelgott, susanne röckel so this was shortlisted for this year’s german book prize and i can totally see why. it’s disturbing, compelling, has a lot of conceptually interesting weird stuff going on and it almost really worked for me. it’s a story about three siblings haunted by a strange & horrible birdgod after their father, a hobby ornithologist and taxidermist, kills a bird he shouldn’t have. while the siblings live very different lives - one goes to a fictional african (?) country to work for an ngo, one is working on her doctoral thesis on a medieval german painter, the third is a journalist researching strange fears and dreams that are troubling the city’s children - all of them become entwined with this birdgod and the cult(s) surrounding it. my problem is mainly that the book uses the ‘too horrible to describe/comprehend’ trope way too much, which is effective the first few times but eventually wears off & just becomes annoying and like.... so what?? also, the first sibling’s chapter uses some very colonialist tropes about the savage religions and customs of the uncivilised natives, and while there is an attempt at subversion here (e.g. the same cult being present in medieval germany apparently), it didn’t feel like enough for me. but overall this is a really interesting, disturbing little book. 3.5/5

king lear, shakespeare (for uni) honestly... i expected more from this, tho to be fair reading it in a rush for a seminar (that ended up getting cancelled anyway) probably wasn’t ideal. overall i just.... didn’t feel anything about anyone (except the YAAAS BITCH vibes for regan/goneril/edmond’s shenanigans), many characters’ choices & actions didn’t make sense to me & i was disappointed that cordelia wasn’t a character as much as a ~pure selfless angel for lear to have feelings about. 2/5

currently reading: the bloody chamber by angela carter which i’m high-key loving, white dancing elephants by chaya bhuvaneswar, also two comics/graphic novels: john lewis’ march series and saga book one

#the books i read #in which i have a lot of feelings about mountaineering disasters #long post #der vogelgott frustrated me so much there were several scenes were something is being revealed to the siblings #and they are like 'what i heard/saw was so horrible that i literally almost fainted & have almost no memory of it' #which..... okay so why should i be scared then #i didn't even want more answers/certainty just more.... pay-off??