#“i'm. nimona." iconic

[mbrainspaz]

ok where can I get gifs of the entire nimona movie stat

[gay-otlc]

Nimona comic 🤝 Nimona movie

Having a top tier Nimona-impresonates-Ballister scene

The movie had the whole "I'm evil and I hate everybody!" (plays freestyle jazz) which was iconic and then the comic had this:

[walrus150915]

cw: discussions of nonsexual grooming

There is one thing that has been spinning on my mind ever since I watched the movie. This conversation isn't that popular in the fandom, probably due to its uncomfortable subject matter, but it needs to be discussed. I'll be the one to start

The Director has groomed Ambrosius and it affected him far into adulthood

(A really long analysis post)

Warning: I'm not a psychologist neither am I really educated in this sphere, and I never was a victim of grooming, so don't take my words as 100% truth. However, I'm a literature student, so I can analyse a few scenes and make a conclusion lol

So, to start off, let's share the definition of grooming, shall we?

"Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them."

Now, of course Ambrosius is an adult in the movie, and we can't exactly know his entire history with the Director. So this analysis will take a few things as truth despite them not being confirmed

- the Director has been by Ambrosius's side throughout most of his life. Considering the fact that she's been around even when Ballister was a child, the same can be assumed about Ambrosius

- we as viewers do not see Ambrosius's parents (because this is quite unnecessary to the narrative, maybe we'll see them in a sequel Quane and Bruno were teasing buttt¯\_(ツ)_/¯), and he's been in the Institute since childhood, so it seems like the Director was the most reliable adult in Ambrosius's life

Despite Ambrosius being a grown man, the effect the Director has on him cannot be denied. His relationship to the Director is like half his character arc, the man being torn between his loyalty to the kingdom and his lover

I will take a few scenes from the movie where Ambrosius and the Director interact and try to analyse them

Starting off strong, we've got the "acting like common children" scene. I could point out the obvious bias the Director puts in her words (villainizing an oppressed group of people as a rich white woman in power how nice of her) but we ain't coming to her throat for classism today. Pay attention to her praising Ambrosius and singling him out. "Thankfully, we have a descendant of Gloreth to lead us"

Are other knights happy to be around Ambrosius tho? The answer is no

(Text below is taken from the screenplay. The scene is after Nimona's and Bal's escape)

***

Knights: I knew we never should have trusted Ballister./If Goldenloin hadn't trusted him.../Well, if Goldenloin hadn't helped him...

***

Todd: This is his fault!

Knights: Yeah!/Tell him, Todd!

Goldenloin realizes all eyes are on him

***

I think it wouldn't be wrong to assume Ambrosius's colleagues dislike him at best and outcast him at worst. Compared to Todd, who seems to be the more liked one amongst their peers (bro really is a jock bully high school stereotype in his 20s isn't that embarrassing), Ambrosius is isolated. He doesn't have anybody except Ballister and the Director. And as you all know Ballister and Ambrosius are separated for the most of the movie. So it leaves him with the Director as the closest person to interact with. Yeah...

Also in this scene she displays TWO tactics groomers use to manipulate their victims: isolation and favouritism

Another scene I'd like to pay attention to is Ambrosius's ✨iconic✨ freak out

"What's on your mind, Ambrosius? You can talk to me"

"...I'm fine, Director"

This scene actually left me confused on the first watch because it looks like a perfect moment for the Director to seem at least somewhat sympathetic. It truly seems like she cares about him

Honestly it's pretty hard for me to surely say whether or not she's being sincere or not but her goal is definitely to win over Ambrosius's trust, to make him believe she's a safe person (now that his real safe person is away ajdjdjj). That is also another tactic for groomers to manipulate their victims

And I think it would be fair to mention Director's attitude towards Ballister's and Ambrosius's relationship. It's obvious she knows about them (...not like it's rocket science have you seen these lovebirds) and disapproves. She doesn't outright state it but it's really clear

"Sir Goldenloin, is your loyalty to this Kingdom or to the knight who consorts with a monster?"

Again, amazing case of manipulation. She doesn't say Institute, nor "me" or whatever. She says kingdom. And she clearly knows that it works on Ambrosius, because he is, after all, Gloreth's descendant. Gloreth was the original protector, and Ambrosius is supposed to be the protector now. By choosing Ballister he betrays the kingdom, his bloodline and Gloreth

Now, I know this scene is not Ambrosius & the Director because it's Nimona in disguise but considering how good Nimona was in playing her part we might as well assume real Ambrosius would act the same.

Look at these eyes. He's afraid of her. She has the complete power over him. And Ballister is aware of this (if that's how he told Nimona to act)

Off-topic but I watched Nimona with two of my buddies yesterday and during this scene they both went like "Wait, who is she to Ambrosius again? Is she his mother? Because she acts like she one" and they are so damn right???

Now remember the fact that during one of the interviews Eugene Lee Yang said that the Director is Ambrosius's parental figure. Do with this information whatever you wanna do

I'm still not over her audacity in this scene. Her lip didn't even twitch and she's killing a person whom she praised for his bloodline. Saying "May Gloreth forgive you" while DRIVING A SWORD THROUGH HIM is beyond evil like??? Chill out Nancy Reagan???

I could say that this is the scene that debacles the American model minority myth (with East Asians being put on a pedestal and used to further reinforce white supremacy). A white woman killing an East Asian man while using a Christ-like figure to justify her actions (Gloreth is literally mentioned to be a Christ figure in the art book), and, if we take into account the theory that she wanted to set Ballister up so that it looks like he killed Ambrosius, BLAMING IT ON A BROWN ASIAN MAN was really a choice huh

The Director killed Ambrosius the second he questioned her, the second he wasn't useful to her

And how was he being useful to her? Allow me to introduce you to the scene which made me SUPER uncomfortable once I realized what was going on

During most of the movie Ambrosius acts rather impulsively, reflexes play a big part in his body language. And what does he do? He protects her with his body

"We need to get you to safety!"

Ambrosius was trained in a way that he needed to protect the Director with his body and his life.

Even in scenes where Ambrosius and the Director don't interact you can see how much Ambrosius is brainwashed.

"She manipulated you. She manipulated both of us. But together we'll take her down, you'll be a knight again"

"Thank you. The Director can't-"

"The Director? Oh, no, Bal. I'm talking about your sidekick"

Ambrosius refuses to even think about the effect the Director has on him. He's insisting on Nimona being the manipulator despite him being manipulated

Finally, when Ambrosius realizes something is CLEARLY wrong, he still tries to talk some sense into her

"But what if we're wrong? What if we've always been wrong?"

Despite him being a constant witness to Director's misdeeds he tries to do everything peacefully. Look at his face. This is a face of a man who doesn't want to harm. He gives the Director a chance to improve herself. I think he would forgive her after everything she's done

...but being a conservative she'd rather explode than admit she's wrong. So she attempts to kill Ambrosius again

This, again, says that no matter how much mercy you show to hateful people, they'll continue to be horrible to you. Just because they think they have a right to

Analysing Ambrosius's and the Director's relationship I think it'd be more than valid to state that she has, indeed, groomed Ambrosius to exploit and use him for her own (political and other) benefits. Other knights were brainwashed and groomed too, but something about her attitude towards Ambrosius really bugged me the wrong way

She is an excellent manipulator and Ambrosius fell victim to that, which is no surprise

Thank you for reading this! It took so long to make😭 If you want to add on anything in the reblogs please do, because the discussion HAS to happen at some point

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Nico di Angelo the guy that you are <3

^Link is every identity at once. The personification of "This character is LGBT. What, all of them?" meme.

I'm so glad iconic sword lesbian Utena got so many submissions, she deserves it!

Okay listen, that was an accident. Ambrosius didn't mean to (at least the movie version of him, Nimona comic gets much darker)

...I don't know what this means but Friends at the table sounds fun

This is about Leonardo from TMNT- I barely go there but his gay vibes must be strong, he got 5 submissions after all.

I love how the fandom agrees Zoro is a sword himbo jock.

Ending this round of funny propaganda with Zhou Zishu, favourite problematic bisexual (watch Word of Honor btw)

[starburstsobsessions]

Look if Disney actually DID end up releasing Nimona as they intended it to be, we wouldve gotten Raya and the Last Dragon.

So many nuances and plot points in Nimona would've gotten translated into what became RATLD.

Friends to sword fighting enemies to friends again, with homosexual undertones? Raya. Found family in inconvenient circumstances? Raya. Cheesy animal based humor and changing forms from animal to human? Still Raya.

But here's the thing. One of these movies is amazing and stunning and conveys such a beautiful and heartfelt story and the other one is Raya. You forget Raya a couple days after watching it at max.

Raya, or just Disney themselves, were cowardly. While two female strong POC leads should've been insanely revolutionary, it was cowardly. The most liberty Disney was ACTUALLY willing to take with these characters is make them a little mean and throw out some jokes, cashing out on that reputation rather than exploring it or making it mean... anything. Stakes were low despite seeming high, the movie left you with little feeling. Like you've seen it before and you will again and nothing is really that revolutionary.

If Disney had released Nimona, we would've just gotten RATLD. Ballister and Ambrosius wouldn't have said "I love you" or forgiven each other and absolutely wouldn't have kissed, because Raya and Namaari hardly came close to ANY of that. Nimona wouldn't have said "But i'm not a girl, i'm a Shark" or any of her iconic lines, because there was absolutely no way Disney would've let Sisu say "But im not a girl, im a dragon."

[randomalistic]

🎬 MY 2023 MOVIE LIST

THIS YEAR I WATCHED:

44 DIFFERENT MOVIES

30 NEW MOVIES 17 REWATCHES

28 ANIMATED MOVIES 16 LIVE ACTION MOVIES

I’ve also linked a few posts with my initial reactions/discussions

MUST-WATCH LIST: at least imo. teehee.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)

Labyrinth (1986)

ParaNorman (2012)

The Last Unicorn (1982)

Nimona (2023)

Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)

Wreck-it Ralph (2012)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Megamind (2010)

Coraline (2009)

Kung-Fu Panda (2008)

The Book of Life (2014)

Corpse Bride (2005)

Isle of Dogs (2018)

Tangled (2010)

I hope I keep this up !!! Maybe I can watch more TV shows or play more games next year :)

+ SOMETHING COOL TO TRY: Watch 2 similar movies back to back more often. You’ll be able to make interesting connections between them and it's fun!

-- Extended list below --

———————

ABSOLUTE FAVORITE

Watch it!!

Good but had some problems

———————

1-12-23: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) ACTUALLY PEAK FILM. AMAZING VISUALS, EPIC FIGHT SEQUENCES AND VERY HEARTFELT . I love piss in boots. MUST WATCH.

3-9-23: The Steven Universe Movie (2018) (rewatch) Spinel is in this. The songs are amazing. Fun to revisit !!!

3-24-23: Labyrinth (1986) DAVID BOWIE AND INTRICATE PUPPET CREATURES 80s FANTASY MOVIE I AM IN LOVE. Must watch

4-8-23: ParaNorman (2012) hit me harder than I was expecting, really subverts your expectations. AMAZING. MUST WATCH.

4-28-23: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) I watched this on my birthday :) It made the child in me so happy

5-8-23: Tinker Bell (2008) (old rewatch) Pixie hollow is a legitimately communist society. Fun to revisit !!

6-18-23: The Little Mermaid (2023) ew live action remake lol. But it’s one of the better ones. ok honestly i'm mad that i sorta liked it upon initial viewing. maybe its just cuz i havent seen the original (WHAT ARE YOU DOING!????? oh mygod please watch the original one OK FINE I WILL........)

7-17-23: The Last Unicorn (1982) really a product of its time. So beautiful and unique in its own way. Must watch

7-28-23 Run Lola Run (1998) Indie german crime/thriller film that was fun and experimental, I loved the late 90s trance soundtrack and had a good time, it went by quick!

8-3-23 Barbie (2023) ITS BARBIE !

8-19-23 (Most of) Aladdin (1992) (old rewatch) gGenie………. The animation is GODLY. the early CG is a bit rough but hey it was 1992

8-25-23 Nimona (2023) MOST QUEEREST COOLIEST MOVIE I SEEN HITS VERY HARD AND ITS SUPER GOOD OHHHH…. PLEASE MUST WATCH!!!

9-8-23 Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022) finally got around to this one, what a special experience. MUST WATCH

9-15-23 The Road to El Dorado (2000) White savior movie but otherwise fun characters. Tulio and Miguel are the gayest straight guys I’ve ever seen

9-15-23 The Emperor’s New Groove (2000) GENUINELY HILARIOUS AND SO GOOFY. It was fun seeing this right after el dorado.

9-21-23 Wreck-it Ralph (2012) (old rewatch) brooooo this moviie sucs I hate it so much i. please watch

9-22-23 How to Train Your Dragon (2010) very powerful music and showcases a very touching relationship between humans and nature/the unknown, must see !!!!!

9-29-23 Little Miss Sunshine (2006) dysfunctional family road trip with chaotic/dark humor. ITS FUNNY I LIKED IT

10-1-23 Elemental (2023) REALLY didn’t deserve the hate, it’s a sweet romance/immigration story. A little cheesy but it’s charming. The visuals are a feat to behold

10-4-23 Napoleon Dynamite (2004) some outdated language/humor but otherwise a Very specific brand of silly/charming

10-5-23 Marcel The Shell (2021) unexpectedly touching and unique movie presentation style - I may have cried

10-7-23 Megamind (2010) (old rewatch) ICONIC and hilarious supervillain film and aged very well. MUST WATCH!!??

10-21-23 Coraline (2009) (rewatch) this movie has such a distinct, creepy identity and it’s enthralling each time. MUST WATCH

10-27-23 Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) has tonal problems and it wasn’t confident enough to go all out all the way through, which is so unfortunate… But AMAZING otherwise. The architecture ??! And Frollo. Evil priest characters you are so cool

10-27-23 Kung-Fu Panda (2008) (old rewatch) Legitimately amazing animated martial arts movie and embraces self love. we all know this. It’s even better on rewatch. MUST WATCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10-27-23 Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) (old rewatch) SURPRISINGLY POWERFUL AND A REALLY GOOD SEQUEL. Hi shen blushes

11-4-23 The Book of Life (2014) this film is such an UNDERRATED TREAT. Absolutely gorgeous celebration of Mexican culture. Incredible world and characters and the style is so distinct. Must WATCH !!!???

11-5-23 Five Nights At Freddy’s (2023) :) I’ve been waiting for this ever since I was 13 and I had so much fun watching it. This was a highlight of my year!

11-12-23 Corpse Bride (2005) Really really good Tim Burton Halloween movie with so much stylization. So much fun to watch!!!! And so ethereal at times. MUST WATCH

11-12-23 Frankenweenie (2012) Very cute but disappointing ending, too safe. It could have been more impactful if they pushed it further. Watched this after corpse bride and the parallels were FUNNY.

11-18-23 The Wizard Of Oz (1939) (old rewatch). The real life abusive filming process makes this movie Hard to Enjoy with peace of mind- but the finished product is truly groundbreaking and whimsical

11-20-23 The Bourne Identity (2002) AWESOME THRILLER ACTION MOVIE EHEHE

11-21-23 Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) unpopular opinion - the movie suffers when you don’t see it in its original intended form (in a movie theater . In 1977.) I SWEAR. I STILL ENJOYED IT THOUGH. ….

11-22-23 Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me (1998) SO SILLY but mean spirited/offensive humor at times. ITS AUSTIN POWERS…

11-23-23 Monsters University (2013) (rewatch) MOST UNDERRATED DISNEY SEQUEL/PREQUEL. FUN AND IMPACTFUL COLLEGE FRIENDSHIP MOVIE

11-25-23 Wreck-it Ralph (2012) (rewatch AGAIN.) haha

12-1–23 Isle of Dogs (2018) Incredibly unique/distinct presentation style. My friend who’s a Japanese major loves this movie. MUST WATCH

12-1-23 Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) another silly goofy little dysfunctional family unit, a bit yikes at some parts but overall pretty lighthearted. It was cool seeing this immediately after isle of dogs cuz you could see the inspiration in the visuals between the two

12-8-23 The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines (2021) silly robot apocalypse family road trip movie with AMAZING visuals (everyone in the family is autistic)

12-17-23 Prancer (1989) Unexpectedly heartwarming movie about a little girl helping an injured reindeer. VERY SWEET and great message about the impact of kindness and the wonders of being a child. MADE ME CRY.

12-18-23 Wreck-it Ralph (2012) (3rd REWATCH) get a hold of yourself oh my god ‼️

12-19-23 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) (rewatch) classic muppet Christmas movie :)

12-22-23 The Muppets (2011) (old rewatch) SURPRISINGLY CATCHY SONGS and a silly muppet movie. Fun to revisit. Tex Richman my beloved

12-23-23 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) Mediocre writing and mean spirited at times <3 BUT ITS A CLASSIC. so ofc i liked it

12-24-23 Tangled (2010) (old rewatch) I forgot how good this movie was. ACTUALLY PEAK and so fun to revisit. Such a fresh take on a fairytale story, great songs, amazing romance, and also empowering about overcoming an abusive parent … MUST WATCH!!!

12-26-23 Klaus (2019) (rewatch) it’s so great to see a new 2D animated movie come out, and such a great story too. Cute origin story of Christmas and POSTAL WORKER APPRECIATION!!!!!

12-31-23 Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) (rewatch) started off the year with this movie and then ended with it! What a treat!! I even wrote a short essay about it 1 semester ago :)

———————

In conclusion, I love movies !!! But my favorite movies are those that are confident in their identities and don’t hold back. Like share your message to the fullest !!!!

I watched a lot of stop-motion movies this year. I wanna watch more studio ghibli movies next year

And maybe I should purposefully try watching bad movies… it might make me appreciate good ones more and easier see what they do right. But also. I really dont wanna watch ralph breaks the internet.

[filipinosamflynn]

RED RISING BOOK 1 CHARACTER TIER LIST + FULL THOUGHTS! >:D

Below is my review of book 1, I'll go into spoilers. After this, I'm either gonna move onto a different book or try to find golden son. Not sure which one will happen.

But yeah, great book, 4 stars, or 8/10! Definitely just set up for things to come in the trilogy, but also a really good setup & story.

PREFACE: This is from the perspective from somebody who DOESN'T read books for fun too often. Red Rising was the first book in a long while I chose to read for fun since Harry Potter in 1st year high school (I didn't even finish the series, I stopped at the start of Half Blood Prince). So you're dealing with one of the most casual guys who went into the series. Another thing: I came into the series thinking it would be similar to Nimona (2023) or Sylas's story from League, since I brought up these two things when I first asked for book recs, so my expectations were HORRIBLY wrong (kind of, sylas's lore is pretty similar and the only difference is that sylas gets STRAIGHT into action but also his characterization sucks). So my perspective is strange, is what I'm saying, and I am far from the most valid person to be seriously reviewing this book. I'm just sharing this for fun lmao :P

I'm just writing the first few things that come to my mind, so stick with me people! These are messy, unfiltered thoughts.

This book is rough, really whumpy at the start of the book, but it's good whump. It's just setting up and establishing what's to come and to make all the payoffs feel better by showing us the insane suffering Darrow goes through. But also? Damn. That was rough. it felt like grimdark (this is coming from the perspective of a guy who actively avoids all things grimdark - with the exception of whump fanfics on ao3).

And then we get into the institution, and I just went, "oh. This is hunger games harry potter." I was a bit disappointed to be honest, I know the book is called "red rising" and it literally means "the slow rise of a red" so he still needs to prepare himself for what's to come, but also... eh?????? Someone in Reddit called this segment "pierce brown kidnapping fans of the hunger games when it was at the peak of its popularity", which ✨️iconic behavior✨️ but I was a bit confused as we took this academy stuff seriously. But slowly, I grew into it when the characters started interacting. I liked it when Darrow was interacting with others since the first half of the book felt so isolating. I liked every single scene Sevro shows up since he brings so much chaos and fun to a story that had so much downtrodden underlying sadness. The chapter 9 reveal is still hitting me, like "damn FUCK THESE GUYS BRO, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS PLANET HAS ALREADY BEEN TERRAFORMED???" Also because sevro's fucking awesome, but that's besides the point. The same goes for Darrow's scenes with Virginia and pre-sword fight Cassius, but they aren't as iconic as Sevro.

Darrow is a super compelling protagonist for the story he's in. Making him this power fantasy fulfillment guy makes things feel all the more liberating when he beats the shit out of a guy, it's sort of like a shonen anime protagonist, I guess (i don't watch anime btw). Bro talks about Eo a bit too much though 💀 it got to the point where it got a bit funny, but some moments do hit... before virginia came into the picture as the better love interest since she's girlboss and eo is seraphine from league of legends.

Most of the characters are well written or awesome! The proctors are real loveably hateable pieces of shit I wanted 200 feet below the dirt, and I loved seeing them get beat up. Except you Fitchner, you are iconic, and you gave us Sevro. I love you. Antonia, Cassius & Jackal are just set up here, and it's mildly disappointing? I am super happy the finale ended up being "FUCK THE PROCTORS" but also that stole time away from finishing off the inter-student conflicts. Yeah those will 100% be explored in the rest of the books with more time to do so, but damn :/ the last time we see Antonia, I think she just stands there at a castle to remind us she exists??? Whatever, watching the proctors get shit on was exactly what I needed to want to see more out of this series.

I was a bit disappointed when Darrow ended up being the only red we explore in this book. I was kind of disappointed when Darrow just speaks with a gold accent the entire time, I hope later in the series he speaks like a red again because I have a red bias and hate fancy ass shit. From a book called "red rising", there aren't too many reds after part 2 which I found odd for a revolution story about a red taking control over the system. Titus? Ohoh! FUCK HIM! why did they write him to be this rapist guy, and he just exists to let darrow know he isn't the only fake gold at the institute. I was mildly hoping we would get to see another red-turned-gold team up with darrow as a 100% trustworthy ally since I felt like we needed it after all the loneliness Darrow goes through, but sadly no :(

OH AND THE ACTION SCENES HELL YEAH!!! Reddit wasn't kidding when they talked about how bloodydamn GOOD the fight scenes are. I got spoiled that "Clang! Clang! Clang! Confess!" means something, and I don't even know who is fighting who, but I want to read the whole series just to get to that point because it sounds badass.

But uhhh this series came to me at a rough point in my life. It was hard to read some parts of it and I took a few breaks. Yeah, I read the whole thing in 2 weeks, but also just to fill myself with some sort of closure when I felt sad. I felt good coming out of it, but during? UHHHHHH-

These disorganized thoughts are getting messy, if you have any questions about specific things, comment them for me to answer. I might. 🥰

Story: 7/10, just set up but good set up

Characters: 9/10, bloodydamn good, almost all of them. I can tell, despite my initial disappointment for some of them since I know this is a book SERIES, so we will be seeing more of them soon.

Personal Enjoyment: ????/10, felt too sad at some points, absolutely adored this book in others.

Quality: 9/10, amazing writing, I want to buy all the books JUST to support Pierce Brown, I'm not even sure if I will be reading them, I just feel like throwing money at him.

Overall Score: 8/10, scared to continue, but damn I want to continue.

[agentstovring]

💛Smoshblr December Asks Day 23💙

What are your top 3 favourite books (/comics/manga/poems/etc...) and/or top 3 you would recommend to others?

Oh, here we go, we're in my house now! (Obligatory "I could never choose just three" disclaimer here)

Microserfs by Douglas Coupland - I love the way Coupland writes, and this is my favorite of his fiction novels. It follows a group of programmers who leave their safe jobs at Microsoft to risk at all for their own start-up. It's funny, sweet, and very nerdy. (Other gems by this author: Generation X; JPOD; The Gum Thief)

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - I'm obsessed with the story of Achilles and Patrocles, and this retelling still far exceeded my expectations. It's beautiful, epic, and impossibly tender. It's the first and only book that's ever made me audibly sob.

Nimona by ND Stevenson - Stevenson started Nimona right here on tumblr, when they were an art student! The comic follows Nimona who wishes to become a villain's henchman, and Ballister Blackheart, the "villain" in question. This comic is full of heart, it's hilarious, and I'm forever in love with Stevenson's art style.

And now, I hope you're warmed up, because I'm about to rec you. (I'm sorry, that's very sexual; forget that part.)

I put recommendations under the cut, please check them out!

ALSO, if you like quizzes, I have a uquiz where I recommend you books based on your answers! You can find it here; and my ask is open if you wanna talk about your result :)

Thank you for asking!

I obviously recommend my three favorites listed in this ask, but I also recognize that they're not for everyone, so here are three others:

If you like comic books and feminist history, I recommend "Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World" by Pénélope Bagieu A collection of short comics about iconic women who have left their mark on the world throughout history. Gorgeous art style, factual history, and a lot of humor. (Translated into over a dozen languages, in case English is not your favorite; I read it in Danish myself)

If you like classics, but not the 'fancy ladies talking about marriage while needlepointing' kind of classic, I recommend "The Three Musketeers" by Alexandre Dumas You're probably at least somewhat familiar, but just in case: The young d'Artagnan goes to Paris to become a musketeer, joining forces with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in their efforts to take down the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu. The writing style is surprisingly modern, making it more readable than many classics of the time; and it's dramatic, swashbuckler-y, and fun.

If you think horror and comedy go hand in hand, I recommend "John Dies at the End" by Jason Pargin/David Wong John and Dave are slackers all but sleepwalking through life in their small town; until they do a mysterious drug at a house party and gain the ability to see the supernatural. Turns out their sleepy town is chockful of horrific creatures, and now that John and Dave can see them, they're putting up a fight. It's a genuinely funny read, but it also scares the shit out of me. And it's a series! There are 4 books in total, so far; in my opinion, each one is scarier than the one before.

[mysticdragon3md3]

OMG WHAT HAPPENED???????? ;O;

i just heard a superbutterbuns stream say there's Annapurna news.

No more Annapurna games????????????? ;O; They're like the A24 of indie games! ;O;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to see them make beautiful, poignant games forever! ;O;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just got into the Nimona fandom last year, and that movie was only saved because of Annapurna Pictures' Megan Ellison, so hearing that she couldn't come to an agreement with Annapurna Interactive's head, that went so bad, that everyone quit----Ugh. I'm so disheartened.

[proustianrevelry]

Listen I'm not going to lie, the TV series pickings are SLIM and the shows that does is gay look pretty dire (Watch Spec Ops: Lioness, a bw/bw love story that's mostly about the women's work as gritty brave dark tortured heroic US spies who are also The Troops, now streaming on Paramount+).

But film! Queer cinema!!!! There is so much good gay art! Some of it isn't even from the imperial core, that's how marginalized the queer voices you'll be hearing from are!

Incomplete List of Heterogeneous Queer Films from 2023:

Strange Way of Life (Latino lead, iconic gay director Pedro Almodovar)

Cassandro (Mexican film, biopic overwhelmingly Latino cast, also look up the real Cassandro and watch some highlights from his matches imo)

Mutt (trans man protagonist played by transmasc actor)

Nyad (old white lesbian swimmers)

Monica (trans woman protagonist played by a trans woman)

Joyland - Pakistani film about a trans woman Biba, her straight suitor Haider, and his wife Mumtaz

Frybread Face and Me - Diné kid who is lowkey shamed/punished for liking ~girl stuff~ too much is sent to live on a reservation with his grandmother and cousin. Instead of becoming "manlier" from the ranch chores he learns to do, he instead finds room to breathe, love and acceptance in Diné culture, whose gender concepts and roles are different enough from settlers' that he isn't bullied or "corrected" when he plays with dolls or talks about Fleetwood Mac or hangs out with his cousin Dawn instead of finding a male best friend or a girlfriend. (Is this queer? I don't know but I'm putting it on here because it's a film about the violence and coercion faced by anybody doing their assigned gender "wrong," and how it starts before sexuality, before puberty, at a point in childhood where "boys" and "girls" are differentiated mainly by their hair, clothes and friend group.)

Nimona (animated film adaptation of the beloved comic about a bitey shapeshifting genderfuck goblin and its new gay dad villainous mentor. Trans author.)

Bottoms (sex comedy starring 2 queer teens played by queer women - Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibiri)

[piratespencil]

2, 3, 4, 17 for the book ask!

2. Did you reread anything? What?

Several things, actually! I reread two of my favourite childhood French books, Amos Daragon: Porteur de masques by Bryan Perro and À cheval les filles! by Stéphanie Ledu, which were both super nostalgic.

I also reread two of Preston Norton's books, Where I End & You Begin (one of my favourite books of all time!) and Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe. Also This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (fantastic book), the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness (INCREDIBLE series), Nimona by N.D. Stevenson (iconic), the All for the Game series by Nora Sakavic (also super nostalgic), The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal comic by E.K. Weaver (ALSO incredibly nostalgic), AND on top of all that I started rereading both One Piece and Scott Pilgrim towards the end of the year.

This is wild actually because I don't think of myself as someone who rereads books a lot but when I looked at everything I'd read this year I was like huh... I did reread a lot of stuff. Anyways all of these were good enough to make me want to reread them, so check 'em out!

(Putting the rest under a read more so this doesn't get too long!)

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Ooh this is always such a tough question. Let's see...

5) The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julia Drake: Really loved this book. Romancy YA contemporary is not usually my genre but this one is just so beautifully written and interesting. It rewired my brain a little bit.

4) The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner: I read most of this series this year and I liked it a lot! The first book is by far my favourite, though. Love Gen's voice, love the plot twists, love that it's lowkey a fantasy roadtrip. Highly recommend.

3) Dungeon Meshi by Ryoko Kui: I started reading Dungeon Meshi this year and I'm loving it so much! Definitely the best new manga series I've gotten into in a long time.

2) Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: Very cool scifi! I love Rocky so much. There's some apocalyptic stuff happening in this book but it ends up being a surprisingly wholesome story about friendship beyond the stars...

1) To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers: Speaking of apocalyptic but oddly wholesome scifi... This book is kind of in a similar vein to Project Hail Mary, but more about human friendship than alien friendship. It's a weird little novella about making impossible choices in difficult situations but I loved it so so much. One of my top two Becky Chambers books, and I love all her books.

(I chose not to include rereads on this list, but if i did then Where I End & You Begin, This Is How You Lose the Time War, Chaos Walking, and TJ and Amal would absolutely have to be on this list, too.)

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Hm, I didn't really dig deep into any new authors this year... Though I enjoyed Project Hail Mary so much that I'll definitely be checking out Andy Weir's other books.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Project Hail Mary surprised me! I'd watched The Martian and enjoyed it, so I always thought maybe I'd check out the book, but I've only recently gotten into scifi and I wasn't sure if it was the kind of scifi I'd enjoy reading, you know? But multiple friends told me Project Hail Mary was really good and I'd really enjoy it, so I gave it a try, even though it wasn't something I think I would have picked up on my own. But I really loved it! Scifi in general is a genre that has surprised me with how much I enjoy it, actually.

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 3258

work was alright and i managed to successfully worm my way out of going on ops training for ANOTHER day by mentioning i have a bunch of computer training to do that i wanted to get out of the way. like there's like eight things i need to do on one website and more on another and it's silly tbh but i want to get it all done and checked through and everything before starting.

the visit to the doctor went well. my eye is healing well, even though my vision is distorted like it would be looking through water glass or at an impressionist painting of your current surroundings. but also good news, i can (1) drive, (2) sleep on my left, and (3) exist peacefully now that the STITCH IS GONE. the gritty thing that's hurting was a STITCH. it was supposed to be smaller but i'm really sensitive so i could feel it regardless. so she took it out.

also it was wicked hot today and the AC wasn't on at the house (joel's) so when i got back i put in my dinner order and immediately went downstairs and watched tv. i watched both charming (cute) and nimona (METAL). nimona was SO GOOD. easily like, too 15 favorite films of all time. i cried so hard that i had to keep the credits rolling to calm down. charming was sweet and had an all-star cast??? (to me, anyway.) fucking,,, AVRIL LAVIGNE????? WAS SNOW WHITE????? AND ONE OF THE GUYS FROM NCIS WAS THE PRINCE????????? fucking iconic.

excellent movies.

joel came down after his games were done and played some video games while i watched charming. i had a rough time with the volume because it wasn't really consistent, but the movie was so goddamn cute and the TWISTS were SILLY and SWEET and it was GREAT.

but nimona? did i see some spoilers? yep. did they go past the first like, ten minutes of the movie?? NOPE. i had NO IDEA what to expect. i cried SO HARD. i gasped SO LOUD and i had SO MANY FEELINGS. 100% queer, 100000% favorite. honestly, if you haven't watched it, go watch it. kidnap someone's netflix if you must. just watch it.

anyway, it's bedtime. it was bedtime two hours ago.