howtotrainyouragents

[howtotrainyouragents]

dsquared2 "skate moss" ice skating boots fw11

[howtotrainyouragents]

when i say i got that dog in me this is the dog i’m talking about

[howtotrainyouragents]

At the risk of sounding anti-intellectual, I think that college should be free and also not a requirement for employment outside of highly specialized career fields

[howtotrainyouragents]

I don't really need author's notes, oh, excuse me, storyteller notes after almost every chapter.

[howtotrainyouragents]

addicted to sending this clip from twilight to my friends whenever they are in a situation where i think they should lie

[howtotrainyouragents]

Spy x Family miscellaneous collab scans - part 9

I'm back with the remaining set of shikishi boards that I started last post. This set includes adorable illustrations of the characters with old-school corded phones 📞

(you can't tell me that Loid and Yor aren't talking to each other ❤️)

(Yuri is talking to Yor here obviously - no way he would look this pleasant otherwise 😅)

Kind of a missed opportunity for the illustrators to make the characters sitting on the same chairs as their manga volumes. But it's fine, these are still nice designs, and besides Loid's doctor uniform, they're all wearing unique outfits.

Those are all the shikishi boards I have for now, but I'll make sure to scan any others I get in the future. I should have more things to scan in April when my Jump Festa merch arrives!

<- Return to Part 8

[howtotrainyouragents]

"And he gave it to me for free, Bob!"

I saw this on bsky last night and had to draw the guy

[howtotrainyouragents]

it’s also fucked up that fat people literally fear going to the doctor for anything because they know the first thing out of their dr’s mouth no matter what their ailment is, is gonna be “lose weight lol” broken leg? lose weight. rash? lose weight. whooping cough? lose weight binch!!!!! like we get it. but can you just write my prescription you bitch so i can go eat a salad and not call you again until im about to die of the plague????

[howtotrainyouragents]

honestly a bit mad this scene was nowhere to be found :l

[howtotrainyouragents]

The cousin of "he would not say that:" he would not keep saying that. It was a one off funny line for one particular situation. Every memorable line does not need to become a running gag.

[howtotrainyouragents]

「I jast want to talk…about everything.」

[howtotrainyouragents]

The Decameron starting with an anguished man clutching his wife's body and shouting that he doesn't know what to do with her. Tell foreshadowing to meet me in the parking lot, he can't keep getting away with this.

[howtotrainyouragents]

Goose Girl Retellings Rated by Geese (metaphorical geese that is)

because apparently I haven't made one??? spoilers for most of these books but nothing too detailed.

From the princess's perspective:

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

The most classic and straightforward adaptation that changes the least from the structure of the Grimm Brothers' version. This reads in many ways like a fairy tale and has a very whimsical style to it. I really enjoyed how her connection to birds was established when she was a child before she worked as a goose girl. The romance was sweet and I liked that her maid didn't use magic to steal her identity but rather had the guards' loyalty instead.

8 out of 10 geese

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Initially, this was not one of my favorites as I read it near the start of all my goose girls but has actually stuck with me really well and engaged with the older version of the story in such an interesting way, so now is one of my favorites! I liked how identity was handled and the discomfort of living in a body other than your own. I liked how religion was incorporated. It was an important aspect of Thorn's character and not didactic in terms of ideology. I don't love the addition of the sorceress but the tension and relationship between Thorn and the handmaiden was really well done. A little too much going on, but definitely worth reading!

9 out of 10 geese

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

This adaptation read like a typical (but enjoyable) YA fantasy. There was a lot of romance in this one, which was nice but not very memorable. There was actually both a maid and a handmaiden who impersonated the princess for different reasons, which was cool, but there was very little focus on them. I really enjoyed how the handkerchief was adapted, it was one drop of blood from three different people who would all die before the princess (like her mother and her bodyguard).

6.5 out of 10 geese

Secret Princess by Melanie Cellier

Honestly, pretty standard YA fantasy retelling, nothing special but fun to read. Even less subversive than Bloodleaf. An annoying aspect is how this is part of a larger series so there were a lot of references to characters I didn't know. The maid's plot and reasoning for switching was really well done. I liked the romance enough. It was decent and cute.

5 out of 10 geese

The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson

So this is a Christian fiction book, and it was not subtle with the story's morals. It was like being hit over the head with morality. I read the beginning and skipped to the end after like 4 chapters. Unfortunately, the didactic nature of the book made me unable to enjoy any other aspects of the story. I liked the concept of the prince being in disguise as a lower class citizen/servant, but unfortunately, I was unable to appreciate the execution.

0 out of 10 geese

From the maid's perspective

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

My favorite of all the retellings!! As a goose girl retelling, it is also awesome. I love that Vanja is a maid and emphasizes the issues of class and abuse of power. The inciting incident is revealed in a flashback and allows both Vanja and Giselle to be established as how this event has changed them before the reader sees it take place. I like that not only does the protagonist is changed from princess to maid, but the prince is changed to a villain as well. Vanja and Giselle also work really well as foil characters, with distinct character arcs. Vanja's reasoning for taking over is also easily understandable and the magic object that allows her to do so makes sense in allowing her. Also, interesting how many goose girl retellings exist as the first installment of a series, isn't it?

10 out of 10 geese

Identity by Camille Peters

I really enjoyed the idea of this but the execution did not take full advantage of the concept. I love that the princess forces the maid to take her place, making her the villian, although I didn't love the slut shaming the narrative put her through. I wish she had been more present as a character. Would have made the story more interesting. This is definitely more of a romance than the other books, although romance is often present. The magical artifact was not great and used poorly throughout. I thought identity was talked about a lot but ultimately, the maid didn't have to sacrifice her personality as much as she claimed it did. I would have focused on the dynamic between princess and maid more and made it a dual pov but alas. An interesting installment in my little journey, albeit unsatisfactory.

6 out of 10 geese

The Tale of the Handkerchief by Emma Donoghue

From a collection of short stories that are fairy tale adaptations, this story evoked a fairy tale feel. I like the switches without magic because I think it shows the power in privilege and position, and how regular lies can destroy lives. I also liked that the princess didn't want to come back, I liked how tedious the maid's position was as a princess. It was great commentary on class and royalty. A short read but a worthy installement in my journey.

7 out of 10 geese

Other perspectives

Stolen Legacy by Cathleen Townsend

This is a free novella I received for signing up to the author's newsletter and I did not do a wrap up or review of this one so I barely remember this one except Falada told it and I didn't really care for this version. According to the summary, Falada is a kelpie and the princess is a siren. . .It was not great.

2 out of 10 geese

The Goose Girl from Black Thorn, White Rose by Tim Wynne-Jones

The prince tells this story years later, after the events take place and he really cared about the maid. I believe it was implied or outright stated that the princess was attracted to women and the change between maid and princess was not forced. Interesting from a new perspective.

5 out of 10 geese

Falada: The Goose Girl's Horse from A Wolf at the Door by Nancy Farmer

Falada is the narrator and he is a fae horse who needs to complete a task in the human world to go back to the fae world. The maid is actually a fae who steals the princess' identity to help build her confidence. It was pretty short, interesting concept but not much happened.

4 out of 10 geese

The Grimrose Girls by Lauren Pohl

SPOILERS AHEAD but I actually hated this book, BUT I really liked how the goose girl was involved. The villain of the whole story (which was a boarding school of fairy tale characters) was the maid from the goose girl, except she was a modern day version AND she killed the "princess" to take over her life which is a great dark twist on an already dark story. Despite hating this book, I was very impressed with how the goose girl story was used in the story. It was the only good aspect of a very disappointing book.

2 out of 10 geese

Imposters

I was told these books were goose girl adaptations. I was lied to.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

This was well written, enjoyable, and only Goose Girl in the aesthetics. As a book, I had a great time with it, great emotional turmoil and a light horror in this fairy tale inspired fantasy. However, as a Goose Girl retelling, there was no identity swap. And with no identity swap, unfortunately, this does not qualify as a Goose Girl retelling for me. There may be a horse named Falada and geese, which are always fun, and while there is an attempt to change social classes (the most Goose Girl aspect of this story), the fact that this is marketed as a retelling, is absolutely wrong.

3 out of 10 geese

Dearest by Althea Kontis

I was told this was Goose Girl. After reading a few chapters, this was proven to be more of a Six Swans retelling. I did not read it after this realization as it was super boring.

0 out of 10 geese

Goose Chase by Patrice Kindl

Same as Dearest, except the prose was actively awful.

0 out of 10 geese

The Goose Girl from Other Ever After by Melanie Gillman

Maybe this is because it was a short story, but I didn’t mind that this was called Goose Girl but was not anything like the story structure I expected. It was also in a anthology of other queer fairy tales, so my expectations of being a loyal adaptation were low. I liked that this was queer, I liked the comic format, I liked that the characters were portayed having dark skin. I loved the commentary on social class, a key question at the center of a good goose girl in my opinion. One of my two favorite short stories, despite being an In Name Only adaptation.

7 out of 10 geese

[howtotrainyouragents]

i will just never get over how explicit aos became with showing daisys trauma in season 4. they basically wrote canonical hurt/comfort fic, even if they kinda smeared the landing in the end.

this is one of the things that elevates the show above everything else ive ever seen. it is so rare, and so important for any media to showcase struggles with mental health in this way, to not present people as victims, but as active participants in their own life that are using the wrong mechanisms to deal with their problems because they are completely overwhelmed and are reacting the only way they can.

this is not meant to belittle people who have different patterns or might not be in a situation where being active is an option for them. this just breaks the stereotype and that had a huge impact on me. i still think about daisy whenever im going through a dark time myself.

[howtotrainyouragents]

the flirting -tears up-

[howtotrainyouragents]

nanami mhm mhm yeah yes mhm mhm

[howtotrainyouragents]

Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them. 

Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.” 

“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”

“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”

It’s just. 

50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job.