#Chronicles of Mo's Life

[inlovewithquotes]

"I think your husband's been tested," Mo Ye said brightly to Magnus. "Good news! He passed."

Magnus looked at Alec with concern.

Alec felt himself blush. "We're not married," he said apologetically as he strapped the sword to his back.

"You're not married yet," Isabelle piped up.

Gan Jiang laughed. "Do you see rings on our hands? And yet Mo Ye and I have been married since before the sea was salt." He leaned into Alec. "Stay with him," he said in a confidential tone.

"I plan to," said Alec.

-The Lost Book Of The White

[cookiesandbiscuits]

Oh my god, same!!!

So first of all, nakagradweyt na ang ate mo sa SHS! Hehe (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

Then the announcement for the college entrance exam passers arrived and I passed PUP! Currently here at Manila taking BS Civil Engineering (ik I said I'd be taking Architecture but a lot of things happened and I ended up taking Civil Engineering)

↑ blurred bc my ID photo is ugly 🥹

OMG, Calira! Hi!! It's so nice to see you here again :D

COOKIE COOKIE I MISSED YOU COOKIE ILY COOKIE THANKYOU FOR ALWAYS GREETING ME RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

so as for your other asks, ayam working on them!!! why am i working on greet asks? secrettttt :3

but rn my phone be broken so i can't answer yet but i'll answer someday!!!

how are you bbb!!!?

[book--brackets]

Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson (2022-present)

Hidden among us is a secret coven of witches. They are Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. They protect crown and country from magical forces and otherworldly evil. But their greatest enemy will come from within.

There are whisperings of a prophecy that will bring the coven to its knees, and five best friends are about to be caught at the centre. Life as a modern witch was never simple … but now it’s about to get apocalyptic.

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (1946-1959)

Starts with the birth and ends with the first birthday celebrations of the heir to the grand, tradition-bound castle of Gormenghast. A grand miasma of doom and foreboding weaves over the sterile rituals of the castle. Villainous Steerpike seeks to exploit the gaps between the formal rituals and the emotional needs of the ruling family for his own profit.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (2021)

The dead of Loraille do not rest.

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.

When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.

As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

The Unwritten by Mike Carey (2010-2015)

Tom Taylor's life was screwed from go. His father created the Tommy Taylor fantasy series, boy-wizard novels with popularity on par with Harry Potter. The problem is Dad modeled the fictional epic so closely to Tom's real life that fans are constantly comparing him to his counterpart, turning him into the lamest variety of Z-level celebrity. In the final novel, it's even implied that the fictional Tommy will crossover into the real world, giving delusional fans more excuses to harass Tom.

When an enormous scandal reveals that Tom might really be a boy-wizard made flesh, Tom comes into contact with a very mysterious, very deadly group that's secretly kept tabs on him all his life. Now, to protect his own life and discover the truth behind his origins, Tom will travel the world, eventually finding himself at locations all featured on a very special map -- one kept by the deadly group that charts places throughout world history where fictions have impacted and tangibly shaped reality, those stories ranging from famous literary works to folktales to pop culture. And in the process of figuring out what it all means, Tom will find himself having to figure out a huge conspiracy mystery that spans the entirety of the history of fiction.

Leven Thumps by Obert Skye (2005-2009)

Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps (a.k.a. Lev) lives a wretched life in Burnt Culvert, Oklahoma. But his life is about to change and his destiny be fulfilled as he learns about a secret gateway that bridges two worlds -- the real world and Foo, a place created at the at the beginning of time in the folds of the mind that makes it possible for mankind to dream and hope, aspire and imagine. But Foo is in chaos, and three transplants from that dreamworld have been sent to retrieve Lev, who alone has the power to save Foo.Enter Clover, a wisecracking, foot-high sidekick; Winter, a girl with a special power of her own; and Geth, the rightful heir to Foo. Their mission: to convince Lev that he has the power to save Foo. Can this unique band of travelers help Lev overcome his doubt? Will Lev find the gateway in time? Or will Sabine and his dark shadows find the gateway first and destroy mankind?

By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey (1991)

Granddaughter of the sorceress Kethry, daughter of a noble house, Kerowyn had been forced to run the family keep since her mother's untimely death. Yet now at last her brother was preparing to wed, and when his bride became the lady of the keep, Kerowyn could return to her true enjoyments - training horses and hunting.

But all Kerowyn's hopes and plans were shattered when her anscestral home was attacked, her father slain, her brother wounded, and his fiancee kidnapped. Drive by desperation and the knowledge that a scorcerer had led the journey which would prove but he first step on the road to the fulfillment of her destiny.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (2020-present)

It's the most-watched game show in the galaxy!

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth--from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds to all the trucks and cars--collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground. 

The buildings and all the people inside, they've all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your views and your followers. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game, with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy. 

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Dao Zu Shi) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (2016)

Wei Wuxian was once one of the most outstanding men of his generation, a talented and clever young cultivator who harnessed martial arts, knowledge, and spirituality into powerful abilities. But when the horrors of war led him to seek a new power through demonic cultivation, the world’s respect for his skills turned to fear, and his eventual death was celebrated throughout the land.

Years later, he awakens in the body of an aggrieved young man who sacrifices his soul so that Wei Wuxian can exact revenge on his behalf. Though granted a second life, Wei Wuxian is not free from his first, nor the mysteries that appear before him now. Yet this time, he’ll face it all with the righteous and esteemed Lan Wangji at his side, another powerful cultivator whose unwavering dedication and shared memories of their past will help shine a light on the dark truths that surround them.

The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville (1994-2010)

As each chime sounds, Cara climbs faster up the steep bell tower. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. Twelve! With a deep breath, and only half believing she will survive, Cara jumps off the church roof and into Luster, land of the unicorns.

In Luster, Cara meets many wonderful creatures, but the most magnificent of all is Lightfoot, a rebellious young unicorn. Cara's band of friends comes to include a hairy creature named the Dimblethum and the monekey-like Squijim. Together, they set out to reach the Unicorn Queen before the mysterious man who is following them does - to prevent the destruction of all unicorns forever.

The Saint of Steel by T. Kingfisher (2020-2023)

Stephen's god died on the longest day of the year...Three years later, Stephen is a broken paladin, living only for the chance to be useful before he dies. But all that changes when he encounters a fugitive named Grace in an alley and witnesses an assassination attempt gone wrong. Now the pair must navigate a web of treachery, beset on all sides by spies and poisoners, while a cryptic killer stalks one step behind...

[tzipporahs-well]

I just found out about “Other Covenants,” (a sci fi anthology featuring alternate scenarios for Jews; e.g. what if pharaoh’s daughter killed Moshe and Miryam became the prophetess of Egypt; what if the promised land was in Scotland; what if Baruch Spinoza reconciled to the Jewish community and reintegrated in Lithuania) and I’m wondering: what would be your writing ideas, jumblr?

Mine are these based on rabbinic commentary and centered around the following midrash:

Context: David is composing a song thanking Hashem for his deliverance from his enemies. Hashem is not pleased about David being happy over Shaul’s demise.

“Had you been Saul and he were David, then I would have destroyed many Davids before him. Although I decreed that Saul’s kingdom would not continue, as an individual he was far greater and more important than you.” — Moed Katan 16b:17

1. Shaul, Vanquisher of Amalek: Shaul killed all Amalek like he was supposed to but his dynasty wouldn’t last forever because of Sh’muel’s prophecy in chapter 13. Meaning his sons will still die and that the famine of David’s era gets transplanted to his reign.

Rabbinic commentary basis: Yoma 22b:10; Bereshit Rabbah 25:3/Ruth Rabbah 1:4

Yoma 22b:10 Summary: The Gemara questions why Shaul was punished for his one error with Amalek but David failed with two sins (killing Uriah and conducting a census) but kept his crown. It asks about Nov massacre, but then they recall that Hashem regretted making Shaul king before the Nov incident.

Bereshit Rabbah Summary (midrash): The rabbis discuss the famines that occurred in Jewish history. Some rabbis say the famine during David’s era should have occurred during Shaul’s instead. They reason the famine technically came because of Shaul (lack of burial in the mainland and breaking the contract with the Gibeonites), but Hashem knew that Shaul was “too frail” to withstand it and transplanted it to David’s kingdom instead because David was sturdy.

2. Shaul, United of Kingdoms: Shaul succeeds in waiting for Sh’muel and is rewarded with a dynasty that lasts forever. However, his descendants become haughty and things need to be reset again. Basically, transplanting messianic prophecies about David’s line to Shaul’s line.

Rabbinic commentary basis: Yoma 22b:19-20

Summary: The rabbis ask why Shaul’s dynasty did not continue for later generations: there were no skeletons in the closet for Shaul’s line, so future leaders could not be rebuked effectively. Also according to some, because Shaul forwent his royal honor when he was first crowned by lot.

3. Shaul HaNavi: The Israelites ask for a king at the proper time and David is crowned. Shaul ben Kish is a student of Sh’muel and prophet to David. But his life gets endangered when he prophecies against the king’s love life. Ie a full on role reversal.

Rabbinic Commentary: Bereshit Rabbah 98:15; Zohar Terumah 47:510-511

Bereshit Rabbah (midrash) Summary: The rabbis are analyzing Ya’akov’s prophecy on Gad and they claim a verse from Chronicles I that Shaul waged war with the Hagrites that supports the stance. However, one rabbi says that this Shaul listed is actually yehoshua, but yehoshua is called Shaul here because kingship was borrowed for both of them. That is both served as temporary guardians for the kingdom until the true king David could take it.

Zohar Terumah (Kabbalah) Summary: The rabbis are looking on why the people would be astonished that Shaul prophecied. They claim it’s because only Moshe combined the prophet and king functions and that Shaul was chosen as king. Sh’muel was chosen to be prophet. Shaul was chosen as king so they did not expect him to prophecy.

[griseldagimpel]

Media Recommendations for Harry Potter Fans

Alright. So you’re a Harry Potter fan. You’re a Harry Potter fan because you love Harry Potter and you love the community you’ve built with your fellow fans, but J. K. Rowling is using her vast fortune to harm people and she says asinine shit about how anyone who likes Harry Potter agrees with her transphobia, and you know that’s not true, but maybe you’re wondering if there’s a different fandom you and your friends could go to, where if nothing else the creator isn’t using a massive platform and massive amounts of money to harm transgender people. This is a guide for you.

You really wish you could have a Harry Potter that’s just not Harry Potter. You want a magical school and aerial sports games and fighting a tyrant and the equivalent of Hogwarts Houses.

Check out The Owl House. It’s about a girl named Luz who wanders into another world and attends a magic school.

You can watch it on YouTube: Link.

You like the idea of a modern-ish fantasy book series (British, pre-Smart Phone technology age) with a big, rambling world to play around in.

Check out The Chronicles of Chestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s set across a multiverse and follows the lives and trials of young magicians.

Start with Charmed Life, which can be purchased on Amazon: Link.

You want a fantasy series with chosen ones, suffering, and sacrifice where anyone can die. Also, you like magical animal companions.

Check out The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, which is part of the broader Valdemar series. It’s about the life of Valdemar’s greatest – and last – Herald-mage.

You can find it on Amazon: Link.

You love Harry Potter for the mysteries. You’d be fine with something for a bit of an older demographic, and you love supernatural horror and angst. You want to see the protagonist go through it. But you’d also love it if there was something akin to the Hogwarts Houses that you could define yourself by.

Check out The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir or The Magnus Archives. The Locked Tomb series is science-fantasy set in the far-flung future and has necromancy. The Magnus Archives is a podcast about an institute in London that takes down statements from people who have had encounters with the paranormal.

The Locked Tomb series begins with Gideon the Ninth: Link.

The Magnus Archives can be listened to on YouTube: Link.

Your favorite part of the Harry Potter series is the wizarding war, and your favorite house is Slytherin.

Check out The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It’s about a necromancer who’s been resurrected. The necromancer in question is like 95% brat-turned-cool-uncle and 5% evil-necromancer.

The volumes are numbered and can be found on Amazon: Link.

There is also an adaptation entitled The Untamed that I have not watched yet, but it can be found on Netflix.

You really enjoy the social satire aspect of Harry Potter and think Hermione was right about House Elf liberation. Also, you’re okay with science fiction instead of fantasy.

Check out The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It’s about an enslaved cyborg finding freedom, making friends, and healing from trauma.

The first book is All Systems Red: Link.

You like Harry Potter because it’s comfort media. Life is rough, and you want a piece of media that’s engaging but gentle.

Check out the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. It’s presented as the community radio broadcast out of a small, deeply weird town in the American southwest.

You can listen to it on YouTube: Link.

If you want something in print form, there’s The Lord of the Rings: Link.

If you like movies, there’s Jupiter Ascending: Link.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you want more information (such as content warnings) for any of the above.

[spontaneousglitterbees]

Video description under the cut!

Hey there! If this is your first encounter with Synthesizer V (SynthV), welcome to the world of vocal synthesis. These guys ('voicebanks') are ethically-sourced with full knowledge and consent by their voice providers. I'll spare you the full details, but they are much more akin to cousins of Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid than AI music. Voicebanks take human effort to input and tune, just like an instrument. The purpose of these voices is not to replace humans, but instead to enable creativity by letting artists for whom it would be impractical to hire a vocalist still create vocal music. I made this cover not to substitute or replace the original, but for the same reasons you might want to play the song on any other instrument- it's fun!

Also some of them have fun anime representations. Kevin, our Very Normal Man Paul Matthews, does not (officially, at least). He is represented by a letter 'K', in contrast to almost everyone else in this cover.

Speaking of, if you are on the other side of this equation and are here for my vocalsynth stuff but haven't seen this musical before: Welcome to the weird world of Hatchetfield, a small island town in Michigan where things go spectacularly wrong with alarming frequency. This song is my favorite from the first musical in a trilogy, "The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals". It's about Paul Matthews, the titular Guy, as he finds himself at the mercy of an instrument of the end of the world. The proshot is free on YouTube, and well worth the watch, even if only for the context here.

… Also, many (including me) headcanon Paul is autistic and the musical can be read as about his experience as an autistic adult. If that sweetens the pot for anyone.

Credits, and that sweet SVP link:

Footage from The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals- https://youtu.be/IrxKX44qBJ0 Music and Lyrics by Jeff Blim SVP by Glitterbees- tinyurl.com/4ns3v3e8

If you enjoyed, please support the original release!

Starring, in order of appearance: Mr. Davidson - JUN Nora (Emma's Boss) - Eleanor Forte Prof. Hidgens - ASTERIAN Greenpeace Girl - SOLARIA Bill (Chorus) - Mo Chen Hatchetfield Bee (Chorus) - Stardust Infinity Paul Matthews - Kevin

I can't believe this is the first time I've used Stardust on the channel,, I did just get her, though. Plus, I didn't know who to make Ted. It's more balanced this way.

(Psst, if you're a vsynth newbie and interested in song-based storytelling, might I interest you in the Evillious Chronicles? I have a big playlist on my channel, and can give some recs on where else to start if you leave a comment)

What's in your soul? Is your heart so damp and bleak that you won’t give us a peek of your soul?

Just let it out! There's a voice inside of you on the edge of coming through. What's it about?

And I know it's a singular voice, Paul. You've just got to give up your choice!

Just let it out, let it out, let it out! Let it out, let it out, let it out! Just let it out, let it out, let it out! Let it out, let it out—

Never!

What was that?

You let it out….

Was that a note, or just a sound? Am I finally coming 'round to rhyming scheme? Oh god! Just stop it! I’m split in two! Is this me, or is this you? Am I dead? I’m coming apart at the seams! La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. No! No-no-no-no-no-no-no!

Just let it out, let it out, let it out! Let it out, let it out, let it out! Just let it out, let it out, let it out! Let it out, let it out, let it—

I’ve never been happy. Wouldn’t that be nice? Is this the secret? Singing and dancing through life? Is my integrity worth anything at all? … But happiness can’t come before its fall.

Am I crazy? Maybe I’ve always been. Become what I’ve hated? Or maybe I never did…. It’s awful freeing now, to share the hate I've felt. But what will I let in if I let it out?

Let it out, let it out.

Am I crazy? I don't think so.

Let it out, let it out, let it out!

Maybe I've always been…

Just let it out, let it out, let it out!

God help me out!

Let it out, let it out—

If I let it out!

We will not be resisted!

I don't like musicals!

[livsoulsecrets]

Tessa&Kit Fic - You were an angel in the shape of my mom

Written for @fandombingo Martian Bingo prompt: “The longer we wait, the worse it’s going to get.”

Fandom: The Shadowhunters Chronicles.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences.

Summary: In the day of Rosemary’s death anniversary, Tessa and Kit talk about loss, guilt and survival.

“I must be the worst son in the world,” he whispered. “Rosemary’s lucky she never had to deal with me.”

Tessa winced as if she had been slapped. The down tilt of her lips was such an unnatural sight he had to double check before he truly believed her distaste was being directed at him.

“Don’t you ever say that again.” Tessa told him.

Read on AO3.

The sun had already begun to set when Kit heard Tessa stepping into the porch of their backyard.

He spent most of the afternoon tucked into the recliner Jem bought as a gift for Tessa, lost in thought.

He had good memories of countless afternoons spent chasing Mina around the green expanse of their garden as Tessa settled in to watch them, a book in hand.

He also found it was as good a place as any for sulking.

His mom settled into the less comfortable wood chair by his side and turned her body to face him. He very deliberately avoided her gaze.

She seemed determined not to push him, if her quietness and smooth movements were any indicators. It reminded him of his first weeks living there.

Tessa and Jem had been painstakingly careful around him, mindful of their words and postures, easygoing and kind, trying their hardest not to scare him away. It made Kit feel like a ticking bomb about to go off half the time. The other half, it made him feel oddly wanted.

Kit wished she would just tell him what to do, only this once. He was good at following a parent’s orders, most of the time. He tended to Johnny Rook’s every whim for years, after all.

But Tessa wouldn’t. She always had good advice to offer and time to hear him out, should he ask for it, but no orders to be followed blindly ever came out of her lips.

If only Kit didn’t hate the idea of asking for help so badly, he would appreciate her patience some more.

“I’m fine,” he said, breaking the silence once it became clear Tessa wouldn’t.

“That’s good to hear,” she replied, unconvinced.

He tapped his feet against the floor impatiently. “It‘s just a bad day. Nothing to worry about.”

Tessa hummed noncommittally and nodded. “I see.”

Kit huffed an annoyed breath and immediately regretted it when his mom’s eyebrows knitted together in a pained expression.

He hated to be the one causing her so much distress. Still, the attentive way her eyes tracked his every movement made his skin crawl.

It reminded him of nights spent sneaking his way through the Shadow Market, his father’s eyes seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once, watching and waiting for his next mistake.

Tessa wasn’t looking for a reason to punish him, but he feared that his skin would always crawl at the feeling of being watched closely, regardless of whose eyes were laid on him.

“Do you need some time alone? I can leave,” she offered, even though the idea clearly displeased her.

Why couldn’t he stop screwing everything up?

He already had two dead parents and a whole lineage of tragedy to account for. Did he really need to make life harder for Tessa, too?

“No, that’s not it,” he hurried to say, pulling his legs up to tuck his knees under his chin.

Tessa went very still, intelligent gray eyes narrowed. Her silence spelled out the questions she wouldn’t ask out loud.

“What’s it, then?” He could almost make out in the curious glint of her eyes.

“Tell me,” The tense line of her jaw nearly let out.

“Let me help,” Her hands said as they drew patterns over her sweater.

“I think I liked it better when I didn’t know anything about Rosemary,” he muttered finally, rocking the chair back and forth.

Tessa hummed. If the statement surprised her, she didn’t show it at all.

“Now that I do know some things, as small as they are, it hurts more. I thought it would make everything better if I knew what she was like or why she left.”

Kit played with a loose strand of fabric on his shorts, pulling on it with more force than needed as he spoke.

“It doesn’t really help,” he confessed. “Now I know the exact day she died—and what for? So I can have one day every year for the rest of my life to feel miserable?”

He gestured broadly to himself, still avoiding his mom’s sharp gaze.

When it became clear he had nothing else to say, Tessa gently reached for his hand, stilling his attack on the worn-out fabric of his clothes. “I can understand why days like today can weigh you down. I’m afraid there’s not much to be done about that.”

Kit tensed immediately, realizing how pathetic it was for him to whine about Rosemary’s death anniversary in front of Tessa, of all people.

She had experienced more grief than almost anyone else he knew, except for Jem. They had lost everything but each other. The weight of so much loss became so heavy some days that Kit could almost touch it in the air of their home, tucked away in the corners of the house and hidden behind the echoing sound of Mina’s giggles.

Tessa sensed his regret and rushed to reassure him, “I’m not saying this because I want us to compare our losses. It’s a pointless game to play, believe me.”

She laid a hand on his knee, stopping his shaking leg. Kit hadn’t even realized it was moving that much.

“What I can tell you is that we honor those we lost by living.”

It was a beautiful sentiment, he could admit, but it felt too out of reach for himself.

“I didn’t lose her,” he mumbled in response. Tessa startled, titling her head in clear confusion. “I never had her in the first place.”

Tessa said nothing, just waited as he worked through the lump in his throat.

“Sometimes I feel so angry at her for leaving me behind,” he confessed. “For dying before I had a chance to really know her.”

He laughed a hollowed sound, devoid of any joy. Tessa’s eyebrows scrunched together in a painful twist of her serene expression.

“Isn’t that ridiculous?” He huffed. “Rosemary gave everything up to protect me. She died for me, and I’m still angry because… Because I didn’t have anyone to draw a Mother’s Day card for? Because she didn’t tuck me into bed and read me a story every night?”

To his horror, his breathing grew heavier alongside the tears dropping from his cheeks. He forcefully rubbed at his face to dry them.

“I must be the worst son in the world,” he whispered. “Rosemary’s lucky she never had to deal with me.”

Tessa winced as if she had been slapped. The downtilt of her lips was such an unnatural sight he had to take a double check before he truly believed her distaste was being directed at him.

“Don’t you ever say that again.” Tessa told him.

She had never spoken to him like that before—so hurt and fierce, like someone had reached inside her chest and broken her heart in two.

“Kit,” she whispered, propping his face up with two of her fingers against his chin. “Don’t you ever repeat that, do you understand? Never again.”

He nodded, still taken aback by her reaction. Then, Tessa softly ran her fingers through his hair, soothing him gently.

“It’s not stupid to feel angry at our parents for the choices they made that impacted our lives,” Tessa said, her own eyes watery. “I didn’t have a chance to know Rosemary, but I’m sure she wouldn’t blame you for what you feel now or for how you felt growing up.”

Had anyone ever held him the way Tessa did now? Had any other person in the world looked at him with so much sorrow in their eyes and managed not to make him squirm under their gaze?

“Being left behind leaves a scar. It doesn’t matter what the reasons were. As noble as they may be, they still hurt. It doesn’t make you a bad son to still carry this hurt with you. You must feel it. In fact, the longer you wait to feel it, the worse it gets.”

He shook his head in denial, the feel of Tessa’s hand against his nape like hot iron for a moment as Kit felt the familiar grief taking over.

“I was just a baby when she left. I can’t miss someone I didn’t know,” he countered.

Tessa smiled sadly, larger and older than life. “Oh, dear, I wish that was true.”

Kit suddenly felt very small and young, as Tessa’s voice became sadder and more ominous.

“Our hearts and bodies carry pain far past what our minds can see. All it takes is one moment for it to be brought forward. Yes, you were too young to remember what it was like to have Rosemary as a mother. It doesn’t change the fact you lost her. It doesn’t mean you can’t mourn what could have been.”

Kit wasn’t sure he believed in that completely. His father had taught him that it was stupid to dwell on the past, especially if it involved his mother.

Tessa was a far smarter and kinder person than Johnny, but Kit had learned that such deeply ingrained lessons were hard to unlearn.

“Any mother would be lucky to have you as a son, Kit,” Tessa said, holding his face delicately, her thumb caressing the slope of his cheek. “I know I am.”

Kit looked at his mom—really, properly looked at her. Her face, preserved by time. Her gray eyes, kinder than he deserved them to be. Her smile, small and sincere and heavy with loss.

He loved her so much more than his heart could bear. He loved her and trusted her and couldn’t imagine a world where she didn’t love him too.

Kit wasn’t used to believing he had earned his place in anyone’s life, but Tessa made it feel so easy—like he didn’t need to earn anything in the first place.

“Do you mean that?” He asked, sounding like a scared boy searching for dry land in a revolting sea.

And Tessa threw him a lifeline as easily as she had undone each of his defenses. “I do. Of course I do.”

She laid a kiss on his temple. His eyes closed, and he instinctively leaned into the touch.

Kit felt far younger than he truly was as Tessa held him and pressed kisses to his forehead. He was certain, then, that the steadfastness of her love would never cease to amaze him.

When Tessa pulled back to look into his eyes again, she ruffled his hair before saying, “I’ll never try to replace her, Kit. She’s your mother too and will always be. You don’t need to be scared of talking about her.”

He nodded. His throat felt too tight for him to try and say anything at all.

“But since the day I laid my eyes on you, I’ve loved you. I knew that feeling, deep in my gut. I had felt it three times before, and I felt it again when I met you.”

His treacherous, already swollen, eyes watered once more against his will. Tessa’s gray ones mirrored his, if kinder and wiser.

“My sweet, brave boy,” she whispered, pulling him to her chest again. “I love you. So much more than you know.”

Kit laced his arms around her, slotting his face in the crook of Tessa’s neck.

For once, he didn’t doubt her.

[sloshed-cinema]

The Fountain (2006)

Few filmmakers approach life’s great questions with less humility than Darren Aronofsky. Whether it’s the Honors Freshman English Earth metaphor and Biblical allegory of mother! or the boundless pedantry of The Whale, Aronofsky moves forward with a misplaced tenacity and self-assurance not befitting of the subject matter. Existentialism isn’t exactly groundbreaking in art, be it on film or across other media, and there’s healing and engagement to be found both in creating art that questions the nature of life and in dissecting those works. It can take many forms. The quiet introspection of Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light or the bombastic annihilation of Lars von Trier’s Melancholia each have a staying power in their own right. Aronofsky’s fable of the persistence of love across oceans of time in The Fountain does something different: it feels adjacent to parody, or at the very least smacks of insincerity. Despite its trifold structure, the basic thesis isn’t too difficult to untangle. Dying is a strange journey of grace that not all can accept, but it is something that must be. There are other forms of eternity, perhaps, or of persistence. Tomás/Tommy/Tom’s quest to preserve his love’s life is always a fruitless one, and this chronicles his journey to understanding that. Interweaving the stories, finding visual motifs throughout, on paper sounds like an interesting narrative structure. And in points it achieves a modicum of success: Tom using the pen gifted to him by his deceased wife to tattoo a wedding ring on his finger to replace his lost one, uniting his blood with her ink, has a genuine poignancy to it. But Aronofsky is so declarative about his statements, so bombastic in their execution, as to both seem on some level like he’s the first person to ever make such statements, and to almost mock them in this discordance between intellectualism and spiritualism. Superficially silly imagery like Tom achieving galaxy brain status could be forgiven—lord only knows half the shit David Lynch cooks up looks corny as hell, but it just works with his vibe, for instance—but to go from zero to nirvana undermines an emotionally honest inner journey. It’s less irritating than Darren Aronofsky has proven himself to be capable of elsewhere, to be sure. But in its execution it comes across more as a middling exercise in narrative structure masquerading as existential pondering and healing.

Using colonial Spain during the Inquisition was certainly a move. On an aesthetic level, it feels like a mashup of The Lord of the Rings’ Elf Music Video Scenes (looking at you, Aragorn floating down the river in Two Towers) and Apocalypto, though of course the release timeline wouldn’t work out for Aronofsky to have been ripping that off. Bafflingly, though, perhaps JJ Abrams stole this film’s silly map-knife idea for his own epic sci-fi catastrophe in Rise of Skywalker. Mid-00s vibes aside, building some kind of National Treasure situation out of the Maya leaves me scratching my head. The indigenous people are presented at once as savages to these conquistadores, but also demonstrate their practices to be rooted in blood, the priest immediately baring his throat once Tomás goes Super Saiyan. Izzi has an almost fetishistic fascination with their beliefs, also inadvertently espousing their notion that death is a path to awe, and the nebula Xibalba is… the nexus of all of it or something. So these Maya got it all figured out and are woke to accepting death, but also fuck ‘em.

THE RULES

PICK ONE

Select either DEATH or LIFE and sip whenever it is mentioned.

SIP

A time jump happens.

The ring motif appears in some form.

Slo mo running.

BIG DRINK

Someone says 'Xibalba'.

Nebula imagery.

[most-tragic-character-tournament]

To tide y’all over until the bracket is finished, here’s a list of every fandom in the tournament! Sorted by when each got its first submission.

It takes time to make the bracket cuz I gotta arrange all of these to be at least semi-equal in popularity to each other, and then make all the edited photos. I’ve been rather busy lately, but it should be up by tomorrow night :)

Minecraft Diaries

The Outsiders

God of War

Ace Attorney

Bungou Stray Dogs

Murdoch Mysteries

Yu-Gi-Oh!

The Raven Cycle

Lego Star Wars

Sanders Sides

Kamen Rider

Castle Swimmer

QSMP

The Magnus Archives

Lego Ninjago

FNAF

Half Life VR But The AI Is Self-Aware

Pokémon

DC Comics

Critical Role

Romeo & Juliet

Macbeth

Witch Hat Atelier

Final Fantasy

One Piece

Warrior Cats

Sonic

Chicory: A Colorful Tale

Trigun Stampede

The Owl House

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Fallout: New Vegas

MCU

Arthuriana

Tokyo Ghoul

Total Drama Island

Nimona

The Cable Guy

Paranatural

Marble Hornets

Marvel Comics

The Umbrella Academy

Life Series SMP

Fire Emblem

Julie and the Phantoms

Persona 5

Star Wars

Young Justice

Fullmetal Alchemist

Hamlet

The Shadowhunter Chronicles

The Young and the Restless

The Untamed // Mo Dao Zu Shi

Cooking Companions

Demon Slayer

John Wick

Pit People

Battleblock Theater

Star Trek

LittleBigPlanet 2

KinnPorsche

Midnight Museum

The Witcher

Teen Wolf

Beast Wars: Transformers

Lost

The Stormlight Archive

The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

The Arcana

Jujutsu Kaisen

Ultraman Nexus

Antigone

Angel

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Edward Scissorhands

The Mechanisms

91 Days

Assassination Classroom

Death Note

Repo! The Genetic Opera

Pluto

Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

Bokura

Mabinogi

Battle for Dream Island

Leverage

Twisted Wonderland

The Iliad

Call of Duty

Tangled: The Series

Team Fortress 2

The Goes Wrong Universe

Harry Potter

Bendy and the Ink Machine

DSMP

Live A Live

Real Life

Stranger Things

Malevolent

Red Dead Redemption 2

Ib (2012)

Spies Are Forever

Madoka Magica

Magia Record

My Hero Academia

Ravenous (1999)

Lifesteal SMP S4

Outsiders SMP

Phineas and Ferb

Empires SMP

Ruse of the TMNT

Origins SMP

Frankenstein

The Otterverse RP

GenLoss

Woe.begone

Danganronpa

Witch’s Heart

Project Sekai

The Silmarillion

The Lord of the Rings

Spider-Verse

Helluva Boss

Greek Myth

Percy Jackson

Limbus Company

Rain World

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Homestuck

Markiplier

Mob Psycho 100

Lord of the Flies

Good Omens

Word of Honor

Just Roll With It

Subnautica

Witchcraft SMP

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

Realm of the Underlings

Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint

Clangen

Hadestown

Rats SMP

Steven Universe

The Hunger Games

Fate Grand Order

Arcane

Everymanhybrid

Nashville

Welcome to Dreamworld

The Dolls of New Albion

Pact Web Series

Brandon Rogers

Ghost Quartet

The Dragon Prince

Steam-Powered Giraffe

Six of Crows

Torchwood

Deltarune

Bojack Horseman

Epithet Erased

Steins;Gate

Casualty

Tale of the Nine Tailed

Cookie Run

Succession

Purple Hyacinth

The Wicked + The Divine

Outer Wilds

Carnosaur

Miraculous Ladybug

Transformers Comics

Legend of Zelda

Breaking Bad

Devil May Cry

Castlevania

Dragon Age

Smallville

RWBY

Undertale

The Locked Tomb

Mystic Messenger

Black Butler

Interview With a Vampire

Death By Dying

Higurashi When They Cry

Transformers Animated

Pirates SMP

All The Bright Places

Chulip

Ride the Cyclone

Grey’s Anatomy

Empire of Exiles

Octopath Traveler 2

Hello from the Hallowoods

The Burning Sands of Ma’ssob RP

[attapullman]

Everyone say happy thoughts, I may have found somewhere to live that isn't my currently half-burnt down hellhole of suburbia apartment

[justforbooks]

Eleanor Coppola

Chronicler of the making of her husband’s Apocalypse Now whose footage and recordings were the basis for a documentary and book

In March 1976, Eleanor Coppola arrived in the Philippines, her three young children in tow, to film behind-the-scenes footage on the set of her husband Francis Ford Coppola’s new movie Apocalypse Now, which transposed the plot of Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness to late-1960s Vietnam.

No one could have known then that production on this war epic would stretch on for more than a year, delayed by catastrophic weather, medical emergencies, military conflict, an incomplete script and plain old creative differences, making it one of the most infamously turbulent shoots in cinema history. As it rumbled on, newspaper headlines plaintively asked: “Apocalypse When?”

Principal photography added up to a staggering 238 days in total. Eleanor, who has died aged 87, was there for every one of them. As well as documenting the chaos as it unfolded, she secretly recorded conversations with Francis for the purposes of her diary.

He can be heard confiding gravely: “The film will not be good … This film is a $20m disaster. Why won’t anyone believe me? I’m thinking of shooting myself … This is one crisis I can’t pull myself out of.” He nicknamed the project “The Idiodyssey”.

The material Eleanor gathered – amounting to 60 hours of film and 40 hours of audio – was put into storage after squabbles over the point of view that her film (originally shot for promotional purposes) should take. Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper’s documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) later drew heavily on her extraordinary footage and tape recordings. Highlights included Francis frantically typing new scenes moments before shooting; arguing with Dennis Hopper, who had not learned his lines; and conferring at length with Marlon Brando, who arrived on set hugely overweight, not having read Heart of Darkness and seemingly intent on dragging his heels in the hope of reaping multimillion-dollar overtime bonuses.

Hearts of Darkness showed belatedly that Eleanor was not merely an observer on set, but also a facilitator. It was she, for instance, who convinced Francis to watch the sacrificial culling of a carabao, a water buffalo, by the Ifugao tribespeople, a gruesome spectacle that he eventually incorporated into his film’s climax.

The documentary was also narrated by Eleanor, incorporating parts of her book Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now (1979; updated in 1995). She is heard reflecting that “it’s scary to watch someone you love go into the centre of himself and confront his fears – fear of failure, fear of death, fear of going insane. You have to fail a little, die a little, go insane a little, to come out the other side.”

She was invested in Apocalypse Now in more ways than one: Francis had put up their home as collateral. A fortnight into production, he sacked his lead actor, Harvey Keitel, replacing him with Martin Sheen, who later suffered a near-fatal heart attack.

Actors would turn up to set with no idea what they were shooting; the phrase “scenes unknown” was a regular fixture on the daily call-sheets. Helicopters loaned to the production by Ferdinand Marcos, the country’s strongman president, were abruptly recalled for his war on communism. During a typhoon that destroyed sets and halted filming, Francis cooked pasta and played Puccini’s La Bohème at high volume.

He took what Eleanor later called “an Italian approach” to life: “Very theatrical, throwing stuff up in the air and screaming.” Through it all, she was undaunted, even sanguine, no matter how high the stakes. “What’s the worst that can happen?” she asks in Hearts of Darkness, looking back on the mounting threats to the family’s home and finances. “They take away your big house, they take away your car, so what? … I really wasn’t frightened by it.”

Born in Los Angeles, California, she was raised in Huntington Beach by her mother, Delphine (nee Lougheed); her father, Clifford Neil, a political cartoonist for the Los Angeles Examiner, died when Eleanor was 10. She was educated at Huntington Beach high school, and graduated from UCLA in 1959 with a degree in applied design, going on to do freelance work at architectural installations.

Eleanor and Francis met in Ireland in 1962 on the set of the Roger Corman-produced horror film Dementia 13, which Francis directed; Eleanor was the assistant art director. They married a year later and had three children: Gian-Carlo, who died in a speedboat accident in 1986 at the age of 22; and Roman and Sofia, who both became film-makers.

In 1971,��Francis rushed from the set of The Godfather to film Eleanor giving birth to Sofia. Eleanor later used the footage as part of an art installation. She also created an artwork in response to Gian-Carlo’s death, Circle of Memory, a chamber of straw bales that she installed in several sites over the years.

Even after the children were born, it was rare for the family not to leave its Napa Valley estate (which the Coppolas had bought after the success in 1972 of The Godfather) to accompany Francis wherever he happened to be working. After the Philippines, Eleanor and the children moved to Los Angeles to be with him during production on his musical One from the Heart (1982). They then decamped to Tulsa, Oklahoma, while he directed his back-to-back teen movies The Outsiders and Rumble Fish (both 1983). On the set of The Godfather Part III (1990), Eleanor recalled how Francis claimed to “[hate] the process of making movies … he talked about his family and complained about me. I sat there while he ran it all out, not agreeing, and not yielding to the temptation to give my point of view. I just tried to be present and listen.”

Nevertheless, Eleanor confessed in her 2008 memoir Notes on a Life that she sometimes regretted not having pursued fully her own artistic ambitions. In 2023, she told the New Yorker that Francis “made it very clear that my role was to be the wife and mother”.

The Coppolas’ wine and hotel businesses occupied some of her time in later life. She also returned to textiles, one of her great passions, as well as designing costumes for the dance company ODC San Francisco.

She directed two narrative films – Paris Can Wait (2016), starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin, and Love is Love is Love (2020), with Rosanna Arquette and Cybill Shepherd – and filmed documentary footage on the set of some of Sofia’s movies, including the irreverent costume drama Marie Antoinette (2006). Sofia dedicated her most recent film, Priscilla (2023), to her mother.

Eleanor is survived by Francis, Roman and Sofia, six grandchildren, Gia, Romy, Cosima, Alessandro, Marcello and Pascal, and a brother, William.

🔔 Eleanor Jessie Coppola, writer and film-maker, born 4 May 1936; died 12 April 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[sunshineandviolets]

Into the Unknown.

Happy (late) holidays to @yakov-vasilyev, I was your secret santa <3. Much enjoyed learning all about Devon, esp her relationship with Farah and Bobby! Hope I did your girl justice and this new year has been treating you well!! 🥰🤗💕 Fandom: The Wayhaven Chronicles Characters: Devon Kang x Farah Hauville (& Bobby Marks) @wayhavensecretsanta

The chill of the winter evening would be enough to make time slow down. From the small prickly hedgehogs curled up asleep within a pile of leaves till the warmth of spring was ready to greet them again, to the silent awes and faint twinkle in a young child’s eye as they witnessed their first snowflake. Jack frost nipped at their nose and in return heard the softest giggle as the confusion shifted to intrigue then finally pure wonder. 

It was just past 5pm and the sun had already started to set, however the crowds of townspeople on the street still remained as lively as before.- regardless of the loud honks from a vehicle that was on the verge of collapse. The night sky was lit up from the endless colourful string lights that decorated the streets. No order, just chaos spurred all over the surrounded homes. 

Devon squinted as she glanced up towards the car’s rear view mirror and grumbled once noticed the increased number of civilians that kept ‘mistaken’ the main road for a damn walkway. Her dark eyes ached with the continuous flash of lights directed towards her. The shine highlighted noticeable dark eye bags that had been one of the few consistent variables in her life thus far.  A child or even an naive adult would describe the first snowfall to commence the winter season as ‘magical’ but for someone whose car’s heating would not turn on - despite the amount of times she had punched the button to no reward - Devon was not feeling to share those same reactions as she pulled her coat furthered into herself.

 “Only a few more blocks to go”, she thought as she gripped the steering wheel tight and clenched her teeth to forcibly stop the chatter. A few more blocks till she would arrive back to a place that was once familiar and now is but a stranger. 

Devon never wanted to become an officer in the first place, that was a position forced upon her as punishment for acts of delinquency. Devon Kang - the woman who had a promising future laid out in front of her when she was growing up. She was meant to gain a successful career as a lawyer, being on top - exceeding far from other’s expectations of her. That was until he came into her life. Took her trust, her heart and had let her lay her armour down, only from him stabbed her from behind. The single revelation of the betrayal from someone she once could call hers, led to her eventual down spiral. A fallen angel , knocked off her pedestal and into a string of bad choices and decisions. Her downfall was his fault. She let him in, to drop her guard and only for him to - urgh. It was his fault.

“ So why can’t I - ? ”

Devon let out a low grunt at the nuisance of the thought of those strikingly blue eyes flashed before her, but it was another that they changed out for. Eyes as bright as the sun that rose up from the darkness, like an unexpected gift from under the tree - the reason why Devon cannot fully regret becoming the detective… if it had meant she got to meet the terrifying surprise that tipped her world upside down.

Thoughts of the sunshine vampire whirled into her mind. A bitter laugh left her as she reminiscenced their first kiss all those months ago. Strange yet needed, as through it’s what she had been missing despite never thinking to look. The vulnerable expression of Farah as she asked her for the kiss - did Farah expect her to say no? Should she have? Any doubt that remained was erased once Devon’s mind shifted to the taste of Farah’s candy scented lip gloss. It happened in almost an instant, yet remained gentle and soft like a touch of a sunny clear day.  Felt the sweetness of newly bloomed roses. After they both moved apart, that blissful kiss still lingered on her lips. The deeper she delved in thought about her new girlfriend, the increase of a chill crept along her back. This is new territory for her and one that Devon has yet to believe or understand that she even deserved. 

A few moments passed and Devon eventually arrived at the station. It was once a home away from home, but ever since her forced promotion at the agency she had found herself hesitant by the foot of the stone steps. She watched as the light shined brightly through the windows from the cold shadows. She never understood how her old co-workers could just easily stroll in a place and make conversation without a stumble. All it had taken was a single look from Devon and the others would avoid and cower like she had the plague. She certainly never smelt bad - always remained rather pristine and put together with style, she thought whilst she smoothed down her pressed shirt. 

A ping from her phone broke her chain of thought. Devon does not save people's numbers usually. A small contact list, less names to remember - only those that she actually cares about. 

Tina Poname, 5:12pm. Seen. 

“Dev! You coming to pick your things up or what?”

Tina Poname, 5:13pm. Seen.

“Don’t make me throw your shit in the trash - I will do it 😤”

Devon rolled her eyes, typed out a quick response then shoved the phone back into her coat pocket. Tina’s threats are not some to dismiss. 

Devon Kang, 5:13pm. Sent.

“Try it and I will break your plant.” 

She sighed whilst taking the steps back into a place that felt more as a distant memory. Devon brushed past individuals that made their way out of the building, ignorant of the pleasantries that were thrown her way. 

***

In and out. 

That was all it was supposed to be.

Get in, grab her stuff then leave. In and out. As easy as that. So, why was she stood in front of a bare naked pine tree with a box of cheap plastic ornaments in her hands. Devon wrinkled her nose when she remembered Tina’s big and bold pleading eyes. Devon was about to shrug her request off before Tina pulled out her trap card. 

“Well this could be a rather difficult task, if you think you won’t be able to handle it then I suppose I could have another - ”

Devon sneered at her past self’s foolishness to fall for such a low blow trick that had landed her to decorate a tree over twice her size. Devon dealt with worse, she knew she didn't need help to assist with such a mindless task. Anyone around her knew better to ask or dealt with the agent’s stone cold glare that could rival Adams. 

Like a blur, time sped up whilst Devon concentrated with the decorations. Volunteers, co workers, guests flew around and past her in all directions - but her focus remained on the tree. No time for pointless greetings or goodbyes, she had a system and it would be followed.

The moment she was unable to find the star topper, Devon decided it was a decent time for a break. That and her stomach betrayed her. She headed for the vending machine, typed out the number, tapped her card and waited for her chips.

And waited.  

… Still waited. 

Devon inched closer with anticipation whilst the bag started to tilt forward and … nothing. It just remained still, mocked her from behind the glass. She kicked at the machine, once or perhaps multiple times, but the chips still refused to budge. How was it that she could shove over an old powerful supernatural, but it was a single bag of chips that held its own against her? At least most people had already left for the day to not see a grown woman’s beef with a mechanical box.

“Oh angel, take it easy on the machine. You are going to leave a dent.” 

Devon groaned and the hairs on the back of her neck stiffened up at that dreadful name. Not even needed to glance away from her new inanimate enemy, she already knew exactly who arrived. She let out another low grunt as she gave the machine one last hard kick, yet the chips remained attached on the rack. 

“Need some assistance there, before you break company property - oh! I meant your ex - company’s property.” Devon made the fatal mistake and shifted her gaze to glance up at the taller man with his smug grin that pierced a burnt feeling in her chest. Bobby Marks leaned against the vending machine with a journalist pass displayed around his neck.

“Ah great. Just when my headache was thought to have gone” She rolled her eyes and spoke in a neutral tone, “the detective is not present, you have no business here.” “Who said I was here for business and not pleasure?” He winked and Devon just barely managed to hold in another groan. He already used that line once before in the past.

She was tired, she had a very brief moment of weakness and it was late - way too late. Devon was usually quite pragmatic, but in that moment, her mind betrayed her when she held the door open for him. Without a second to process, she felt a rough wet collision between their lips. An overwhelming scent of his cologne scraped against her nose. The kiss itself is as she expected. A fight for control. Urgency or desperation? Doesn’t matter. It was over as quick as it had started. After the sounds of betrayal, almost used once again for nothing more than a scoop - she will not allow herself to fall for that same mistake again. 

“But really what a surprise to find you here after your sudden promotion, must be a christmas miracle - “ “It’s the fourth of December.”

Bobby continued as though she never interrupted, “and here I worried that agency of yours had kept you locked up and you’d tragically never see my handsome face again.” Devon noted the venom laced on his tongue at the slight mention of the agency. She managed to array Bobby’s suspicions of her new workplace and unordinary colleagues for the past couple of months, but how long will that secret last? Knowing Bobby for as long as she does, he won’t stop till he figured out the truth. 

Devon rolled her eyes again at his comment, but stopped at the sound of a bag drop. Her eyes darted towards the row ‘035’ and that very same chip bag had indeed fallen onto the tray. When her gaze moved towards the control panel, her surprise quickly shifted to a glare towards her conversation partner who was in the process of putting away his card.

“I did not need your help.” Bobby scoffed lightly, “Bold of you to assume these were for you.” He reached down faster enough to beat her for the winning prize. He opened her bag. He took out her chips. With the usual smirk drawn on his face, crunched down on each chip. One by one. However, it did not last as that nauseating smirk faded into a knowing grimace.

Bobby let out a loud cough and tossed the bag onto an empty desk, “Kale? Who on earth would choose to eat kale flavoured chips?” Devon scoffs with a small quirk of a smile “it’s called being healthy, why don’t you try it some time?” Bobby rubbed a hand on the corners of his mouth, “it’s called being pretentious, Kang.”

“Takes one to know one, Marks.”  

Bobby took a few steps closer towards Devon, leaned down to match her height “we always had much in common, hadn’t we? Shame truly we don’t spend nearly enough time together anymore to explore - “

Devon was about to snap back at him, if it wasn’t for her surprise wrapped up in all colours of the rainbow. 

“Dev!! Honey! I saw your car outside, are you in here?”

Farah’s booming voice echoed through the office, a pleasant chime to the ears. She had a peppy spring to her steps, with her poofy skirt bouncing along with her and colourful rainbow stockings proudly on display. She swung around a small woven tote bag, whilst she skipped with a beaming smile towards Devon. 

“You would not believe what I managed to score, and for free as well!” Farah’s excitement could radiate an entire room with how much twinkle would shine from her amber eyes. 

Bobby let out a loud cough and Farah’s bounce halted and finally realised his existence in the scene. He was not amused, “We were having a conversation here.” Farah threw him a disinterested gaze up and down with a shrug “emphasis on ‘were’. You are no longer needed - not when the real gift has arrived!” She gives a small twirl of the skirt and sent a wink at Devon. Devon snorted at the man’s insulted face. She hesitated at first but reached over for Farah’s hand and gave it a small squeeze. 

Bobby glanced between both women then at their joined hands, gave a slight roll of the eyes before he plastered a tight smile. “Oh! It seems I am getting a call,”  He whipped out his phone and very obviously typed out a number. He kept his gaze locked onto Devon as he spoke, “Hello there Harriet, did you miss me?” Devon just scoffed at his antics. 

Farah stuck her tongue out at the man when he headed out of the station, then shook her head and sighed, “What a total weirdo. Good thing you totally upgraded from that, right honey?” She glanced towards her with an anxious smile. Farah has always been rather open, going through life, her heart on her sleeve, even a hint of insecurity can easily slip past that smiley façade. However, without the necessity of words, Devon lifted their joined hands to press a faint kiss on her knuckles and those once anxious thoughts simply faded away. 

Farah’s cheeks darkened and sputtered out a soft laugh “oh gosh - wow. Gotta say babes, I'm never truly tired of finding these surprises of yours hidden within.” Devon showed a small inch of a smile and Farah’s grin widened, then blinked for a second “Wait, what was I going to say again?” Devon glanced at the tote bag and raised a single brow, Farah clapped her hands “Oh right! Check it.” She opened the bag and revealed a small box of freshly baked mince pies. “Some old human was selling a bunch on the street and she ended up giving me a box with no charge! Must have been hypnotised by my adorable face, haha!” Devon purses her lips in slight confusion, “firstly I am not going to argue about ‘adorableness’ of your face as that’s obviously true to a fact,” Farah blew her a kiss. “But you are a vampire, aren’t you not? You don’t need to eat actual foods.” Farah flapped her hand, “Need? No. But I heard these small pie things are a big deal this time of the year, so I was curious what all the hype was about.” Farah shuffled near, their hands still joined, the sudden closeness caused a warmth to bloom on Devon’s cheeks. “And I thought you might appreciate the snack.”

Devon hadn’t told anyone she was heading to the station. Hadn’t told anyone if she was eating out or staying in. But despite not knowing if they were going to meet, Farah still thought of her. She used her free hand to gently cup her girlfriend’s cheek. Examined her for any possible ulterior motives, tricks or tomfoolery - but what she deduced was nothing but the earnest truth, as she has always been.

“You are forever on my mind, honey. I hope you know that. If not, I do not mind getting to remind you every second of every day.” Left speechless, Devon responded with a slow nod. She leaned up slightly for a gentle kiss with a short breath of relief that escaped her lips. Farah’s leg propped up with her arms around Devon’s waist, kept her close and near. A picturesque portrait with the newly decorated tree behind the blossoming couple and seemingly Devon finally found the star. 

All she wishes for this Christmas season is not to lose her shooting star anytime soon. 

The End.

[coochiequeens]

When some women have the means to give up marriage and kids men will turn to women with less options. In the meantime they attack women for rejecting them.

In South Korea, many single men in search of a wife are turning to Vietnam, using marriage agencies in their search for a soulmate. Over there, many young women dream of a better life in a South Korea, even if they don’t speak the language and only know the country through boy bands and hit TV series. 

These men don't just want wives

https://www.ft.com/content/444a637b-9712-475b-8c14-9b147f4ff244

South Korea’s birth rate has become a national emergency

The country’s twin expenses of education and housing is putting young couples off having children

By JAEMIN LE The writer is a professor of law at Seoul National University

South Korea has beaten its own record once again. The country has registered a new low in its already faltering birth rate. The rate for 2023 was just 0.72. This is an unprecedented number in the global community (the average for OECD countries was 1.58 in 2021).

[bettydice]

10 characters/10 fandoms (in no particular order) tagged by @jadesabre301 (and now I don't remember any media I've ever enjoyed in my life, this will be tough, let me rapidly look around my room, also since you didn't include video games I'LL TRY TOO, TO MAKE IT EVEN HARDER)

Xie Lian (Heaven Official's Blessing/Tian Guan Ci Fu by MXTX)

since Jade went with Healer, I'll go with Chae Young Shin (Healer)

Alanna (Song of the Lioness books by Tamora Pierce)

Lucy Pevensie (Chronicles of Narnia)

Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans)

Jiang Cheng (Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation/Mo Dao Zu Shi by MXTX)

Rosalind (As You Like It)

Momo (Momo by Michael Ende)

Ronja (Ronja The Robber's Daugher by Astrid Lindgren)

Haruka Tenou (Sailor Moon)

tagging! @eponymous-rose @asaara-writes @nelsynoo @theherocomplex @fistfulofgammarays @thisonelikesaliens @thievinghippo @crownsnbirds @wasdplz @mystery-moose

[insanepoll]

WELCOME TO THE INSANE CHARACTER TOURNAMENT: REVIVAL ROUND, ELIMINATION!

[ID: Photos of all the 111 characters competing on this round in a graveyard. /End ID.]

Upset your favourite character lost? Here they'll battle for the chance to be one of the four to come back! The goal of this round is to eliminate as many characters as possible. Each group will have two polls who will later battle against each other to be the sole survivor of their group. ROUND ELIMINATION PART 1 will begin on MONDAY 14TH OF AUGUST.

Groups below the "keep reading" line.

GROUP 1:

Micolash, Host of the Nightmare (Bloodborne) VS Tuco Salamanca (Better Call Saul) VS Renfield (Dracula)

The Master (Doctor Who) VS Cheryl Tunt (Archer) VS Morgana Pendragon (BBC Merlin) VS Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)

GROUP 2:

Delirium (Sandman) VS Alexander Hilbert (Wolf 359) VS Roman Roy (Succession)

Doomguy (Doom) VS Dr. Franken Stein (Soul Eater) VS Jack (The Shinning)

GROUP 3:

Sasuke Uchiha (Naruto Shippuden) VS Light Yagami (Death Note) VS Pinkie Pie (My Little Pony)

Mahito (Jujutsu Kaisen) VS Dabi (My Hero Academia) VS Seo Moon-jo (Strangers from Hell) VS Jinx (Arcane)

GROUP 4:

Aerion Targaryen (A Song of Ice and Fire) VS Goro Akechi (Persona 5) VS Bubby (Half Life: VR but the AI is Self Aware) VS Sebastian Morgenstern (The Shadowhunter Chronicles)

The Narrator (Fight Club) VS Opal Koboi (Artemis Fowl) VS Orochimaru (Naruto)

GROUP 5:

Dottore (Genshin Impact) VS Ice King (Adventure Time) VS Millions Knives (Trigun) VS Trexel Geistman (Stellar Firma)

Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) VS Eliot Cardale / Eli Ever (Villains Duology) VS Donatello Hamato (ROTTMNT)

GROUP 6:

Hisoka (Hunter X Hunter) VS Vegas Theerapanyakul (Kinnporsche) VS Dennis Reynolds (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) VS Max (Sam and Max)

Eren Jaeger (Attack on Titan) VS Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) VS The entire cast of Blaseball (Blaseball)

GROUP 7:

Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) VS Spinel (Steven Universe) VS Midori (Your Turn To Die)

Chat Blanc (Miraculous) VS Leopold Fitz (Marvel) VS Tsukishima Hajime (Golden Kamuy) VS Alucard (Hellsing Ultimate)

GROUP 8:

Tokishige Usami (Golden Kamuy) VS Jīn Guāngyáo (Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Untamed)) VS Roberto (Futurama) VS Sammy Lawrence (Bendy and the Ink Machine)

Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein) VS Dr. Baxter Stockman (TMNT 2003) VS Cicero (Skyrim)

GROUP 9:

Spamton G. Spamton (Deltarune) VS Denji (Chainsaw Man) VS Kira Yoshikage (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) VS Magic Man (Adventure Time)

Jevil (Deltarune) VS Helena (Orphan Black) VS Starscream (Transformers)

GROUP 10:

Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader (Star Wars) VS Enerjak (Sonic the Hedgehog) VS Niki Sanders / Jessica Sanders (Heroes)

Alfred Drevis (Mad Father) VS Loki (The Mechanisms) VS Tyrian Callows (RWBY) VS The Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland)

GROUP 11:

Evan (EverymanHYBRID) VS Eric Cartman (South Park) VS Simon Keyes (Ace Attorney Investigations 2)

Alex Kralie (Marble Hornets) VS Fintan Pyren (Keeper of the Lost Cities) VS Darcy (Amphibia) VS Hamlet (The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark)

GROUP 12:

Will Graham (NBC Hannibal) VS Simon Laurent (Infinity Train) VS John Kramer (Saw) VS Bibble (Barbie Fairytopia)

Ryuki (AI: The Somnium Files) VS The Observer (TribeTwelve) VS Galahad (The Mechanisms)

GROUP 13:

Nikolai Gogol (Bungo Stray Dogs) VS Castiel (Supernatural) VS Ben Chang (Community)

Shinobu Sensui (Yu Yu Hakusho) VS Xue Yang (Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Untamed)) VS Kristoph Gavin (Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney)

GROUP 14:

Knock Knock (Phantom Spirits (2002)) VS Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) VS Pugsley Addams (The Addams Family) VS Billy Lenz (Black Christmas (1974))

Shou Tucker (FMA) VS The Antagonist (Hatred (2015)) VS Gabriel Agreste (Miraculous)

GROUP 15:

Tim Drake (DC) VS Rebecca Bunch (Crazy Ex-girlfriend) VS Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul)

Fëanor (The Silmarillion) VS Himiko Toga (My Hero Academia) VS Lee Dongsik (Beyond Evil) VS Ultra Violet (Lego Ninjago)

GROUP 16:

Professor Henry Hidgens (Hatchetfield) VS Lestat de Lioncourt (Interview with the Vampire) VS Wade Wilson / Deadpool (Marvel) VS Samarie (Fear and Hunger 2: Termina)

Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow (DC) VS Komaeda Nagito (Danganronpa 2) VS Volo (Pokemon Legends Arceus)

[fleurknows]

♡﹒ ׄ ೀ⠀⠀SEEKING RP PARTNERS⠀.ᐟ ɞ

HI ! i'm tomie ! i am 23 , use she / they pronouns , & reside in the pst timezone . ♡ i desperately miss writing & am in search of some long - term writing partners , either on here or on discord !

i have been writing for 12+ years & prefer to write in a literate style ( at least a few hundred words & no single lines or script formats :3 ) ; i would be happy to provide a sample or two of my writing & characters , if desired !

i would prefer to writing with partners 20+ , but am open to 18+ .

i am open to doing 1 x 1 threads or even having a little mumu together , where we can worldbuild and such !

i love to talk about our muses & headcanon , as well as to make pinterest boards for muses & ships ( platonic & romantic ) !

i write all sorts of pairings ( m / f , m / m , w / w , & non - binary muses are always welcome , no matter what ) , but prefer to write muses between the ages of 20 - 30 , but am willing to venture outside of this age range .

i also loveee to assign faceclaims to my characters !

i'm honestly open to most dynamics ! i won't write any heavy dead dove stuff ( non-con , underage , etc. ) , but am okay with these topics being mentioned in backstories & am willing to write some more intense stuff with partners 20+ , but we can discuss those topics if we get to that bridge .

i prefer writing ocs , especially ocs in canon verses , but i'm open to canon characters as well ! i'm into a lot of media & adore writing in many settings . some fandoms that i often take inspiration from are :

♡ the owl house ♡ gravity falls ♡ genshin impact / honkai : star rail ( i know </3 ) ♡ mo dao zu shi / grandmaster of demonic cultivation ♡ avatar : the last airbender ♡ winx club ♡ monster high ♡ ever after high / disney's descendants ♡ pixie hollow ♡ harvest moon / stardew valley / rune factory ♡ the chronicles of narnia ♡ toilet bound hanako - kun

& some faceclaims that i would love to use are :

♡ jang wonyoung <3 ♡ park sunghoon ♡ olivia rodrigo ♡ sabrina carpenter ♡ literally any member of txt ♡ any member of loona ♡ sang heon lee ♡ chandler kinney ♡ kathryn newton ♡ jonathan daviss ♡ milo manheim

please lmk if any of these faceclaims , however , are overtly problematic ! i don't keep up with celebrities a ton , but would love to be informed if needed . :') that being said , i am more than willing to write in completely original settings too ! i prefer settings with some type of fantasy aspect ( magic of sorts ) , but also love a good slice of life .

please , like this & / or send me a message if you're interested !