#(And still waiting on that new Adventure series movie at that so you know I'm Here Forever apparently!!1!)

[set-wingedwarrior]

My most important sapphic ships post before Pride Month ends

What the title says, studying kept (and still keeps me) busy so we gotta go fast lol

Bumbleby (RWBY)

to the surprise of absolutely no one, they get first place (despite me not going in a particular order) because of reasons. They're perfect. Soulmates. Slowburn of all time. Yin and Yang. Eyes the color of each other's souls. Truest OTP to ever OTP in my book. ∞/10

Konosetsu (Negima!)

I already talked about them in their own post, this scene changed my life leading to my self-discovery and it still lives rent-free in my mind.

Kyosaya (Madoka Magica)

I'd also add MadoHomu but I'm trying to keep it to just one for each fandom. That said, they still make me mentally unwell. I love them, and I did for a long time now. I can't wait for the next movie to come out and suffer.

Ruby and Sapphire (Steven Universe)

These bitches had the first cartoon gay wedding and kiss DO I NEED TO SAY MORE???

Korrsami (Avatar)

Still down the queer cartoons making history path, these two made me insane back in the day because I still didn't understand I was queer and lots of sapphic couple were starting to appear in media, and I remember jokingly say how "lesbian ships were hauting me". All I can say now is "Thank you" lol. Anyway, they were incredibly important and all the people criticizing how little queerness there's in the show will never understand just how massive this scene was.

Catradora (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Friends to Enemies to back to Friends to Lovers. Iconic. I still want a movie with their adventures bringing magic back to the universe.

Hollstein (Carmilla)

My third beloved blonde with a cat gf ship. I miss this web-series every day. Also, Natasha Negovanlis played an immense role in my gay awakening.

Ellie and Riley (The Last of Us: Left Behind)

Ellie and Dina are adorable and I love them, BUT I just will never get over these two. That dlc fucked me up. (also, they're in the same category with Korrasami as "gay ships that hauted me before I realized I was queer" lol)

Lumity (The Owl House)

I remember starting this show feeling it as the successor of Steven Universe, at least to me. We could say that at level of mistreatment from its parent company, it defenitely surpassed it, but at least I'm glad I was right and we got Luz and Amity becoming canon. I love these two and not a day passes without me yelling at Disney for what it did to them.

Bubbline (Adventure Time)

I actually watched Adventure Time fully only recently, but I always loved them even when I watched the show randomly when it appeared in tv back in the day. Getting to see the progression properly just made me love them even more.

Yasammy (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory)

Incredibly recent addition, but I am so glad that I checked out Camp Cretaceous and got into it. It's a nice show and these two are a really cute couple, their confession and especially Yaz's internal turmoil were just so on point. I was really happy to see them go still strong in Chaos Theory, and I can't wait for next season.

Pricefield (Life is Strange)

These two caused me pain in the best possible way. I felt literal heartbreak at the Bay Ending, and I was just as emotional at the Bae one (Bae > Bay Forever) I hope the new game will respect their relationship OR ELSE.

Wow, this is quite the list. I do have an amazing taste, if I do say so myself, ahah!

Well, I guess this is it for now, glad I could make it before Pride Month was over! Knowing myself I might have actually forgotten some though, so keep an eye out for possible updates (what makes me even think that you'd care? lol).

That would be all, be gay and do crimes! Bye!

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Hey, psst. Want to hear about one of my more meaningless pet peeves?

You know the Moomins, right? A few years ago the answer might've been no, but after the popularity of Moominvalley (2019) the Moomin franchise seems to have gained popularity outside of Europe and Japan. In any case, Moomins follows the adventures of hippo-like "trolls" in book, comic, TV show and movie form, animated, stop motion and live action alike. One of my very favourite characters from the Moomins is Edward the Booble.

(First image from here, the rest pulled from the episode Adventures of Moominpappa: Part 1)

My first introduction to him was in the animated Moomin (1990) series, and wow!!! What a creature, I'm sure you can assume why I immediately took a liking! A gigantic, reptilian beast, magnificently suited for aquatic living with his long body and finned tail! In this series it's even implied that he might be a dragon or related to dragons (this is not a feature of other Moomin series or books though) which made him infinitely cooler to me. Despite being the second largest creature on Earth he's always described to be a very friendly guy, if he ever steps on a person by accident he always pays for the funeral costs, they say.

Edward has other interpretations of himself, naturally, given the long lifespan of the Moomins as a franchise and the fact that he made his actual debut in the book Moominpappa's Memoirs. This is him as illustrated in the book:

(Image from here)

In the stop motion show The Moomins (1977) he looks like this:

(Image from The Moomins episode Edward the Booble)

The comics take perhaps the greatest divergence, as in those he looks like this:

(Image taken from here)

...Still pretty similar, usually.

Fortunately for me, despite his rather few appearances in any Moomin property, he gets his own spotlight in the Moomin World park! ...There's a theme park, by the way. Two parks, one in Naantali, Finland, one in Hanno, Japan. I'm talking about the Naantali park in this case, a place I've gone to significantly more than the average person. ^^' As you saw, certain characters (and places) look extremely different interpretation to interpretation, so Moomin World most closely sticks to the 90's animated show if there's any conflicting designs. This is Edward at the park, he floats near the Moomins' "bathing hut":

(Image from here)

Now look at that! Naturally they couldn't have made him a gigantic looming beast, but this is really darn close to how he is in the 90's series. He looks a lot like a long-necked dinosaur, I really enjoy his individually molded scales and hair strands, and his sort of claylike texture. It makes him look like he was brought into the real world straight from a cartoon: a look that's just right for the Moomin World! Just look at his face!!!

(Image from here)

A real big sweetie!!!! He's obviously fake, yet he feels real anyway. It's the way that he's shaped so naturally, how his raised neck and tail and arched back create a shape that flows from body part to part. It’s the way each part of him is textured, even in the parts of him where he lacks scales there’s a subtle unevenness to his surface, and certain features are raised. Despite being a purple yellow-haired reptilian creature he's very much like a real animal! All in all an excellent adaptation.

“Wait,” you might be thinking. “This is all good things. You like the Edward at the park. Where’s the pet peeve?”

You’d be quite right! All of this is indeed well and good, but that’s because I’ve withheld one crucial detail.

That is not Edward the Booble at the Moomin Park.

Not anymore. He was replaced some time ago, with an all new design.

Currently, Edward looks like this:

(Top image from here, bottom image from here)

......

What in the world. Do you see that??? Edward looks like his spine was mangled. I presented you with several different versions of Edward before so you could compare: does he look like any of his adaptations? Certainly not. He has never been a sea serpent!! Nevermind this ridiculously long snake torso, he's always depicted as having a long neck and tail but a normal, plump body. See those things shittily painted on his side? Those are fins! When did he ever have fins!!!?????

All of those wonderful sculpted scales have been replaced with an all smooth surface. His body's surface texture is instead communicated through paint. I do think the paint job is quite pretty as his colouration gets some variation (reminds me of a story book illustration, likely they were going for that look), but see how much the light reflects off of his plastic surface? When his scales were actually there, you'd see their shadows, but now that they went for an all smooth design he looks cheap, like any other theme park plastic statue out there. He looks factory-made. It makes his newly added fins appear like an afterthought, nevermind his hair that shifts from three-dimensional to painted on halfway down his neck. I suppose they just didn't feel like painting his hair all the way down his back like it is in Moomin...

I suppose his quizzical look is pretty cute, but yeeeouch that neck!!!! It has that weird bend right in the middle, and it's so skinny and short compared to his body. It widens so much at the bottom, he's like a watering can, man! His head is far too small and a real weird shape, though I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps his weird bulging teeth? They're awfully big in his mouth when previously they were more in proportion.

They insisted on this weird long noodle body and yet he doesn't even flow nicely anymore. There's an awkward hump between the neck and the body, and at the end of his body where logically his form would rise up, it instead straightens out for a bit, then his tail raises.

Now, obviously this is extremely minor in the grand scheme of things. I seldom bother myself with thoughts of the new Edward the Booble — only now did I get the idea of making a Tumblr post about this, lmao. This is just another case of “man, now why would they do that >:(“ rather than anything big. Because, really… man, now why would they do that!! Had a perfectly good Booble before. Perfect down to every last detail. Now he’s been replaced by some imposter! >:(

[quasi-normalcy]

Why Deep Space Nine wasn't as popular as the other 90s Star Treks when it aired

So I keep seeing this one kind of conspiratorial text post circulating around which asserts that Deep Space Nine wasn't as popular as the other Star Trek series from the 90s because Rick Berman hated it and deliberately sabotaged it, and also (somehow) marginalized references to it in canon even decades after he stopped having absolutely anything to do with the franchise and just...no. Like, I have no idea how Rick Berman personally felt about Deep Space Nine, but what I do know is that he co-created it and executive produced it and basically ran the entire Star Trek franchise during the 90s, so if he *really* hated what it was doing, he could have just put his foot down and stopped it. Moreover, he didn't marginalize references to Deep Space Nine in canon; Voyager getting into contact with the Alpha Quadrant and learning that the Maquis had been exterminated by the Dominion (something that happened on Deep Space Nine) was one of the very few plot points on that series to have repercussions for more than an episode; First Contact featured the Defiant; both Insurrection and Nemesis have references to the Dominion War. The post is reacting against a problem that doesn't really exist.

But it does raise the question: why *wasn't* Deep Space Nine popular when it aired? And I think that the answer might be difficult for people who weren't alive and conscious during the 1990s to understand, so I'm going to try to lay out the reasons:

Serialization was only just becoming a thing on adult American television: I know that this might sound a bit difficult to believe now, but there was a time when networks really hated serialization and, with context, it's not too hard to understand why. In the 1990s, there was no streaming; there weren't even any DVD sets. Any given episode aired once at a designated time. If you missed that time, then your options were to wait until it was rerun a few weeks later, or again during the summer (and the networks would often air reruns out of order, so good fucking luck with that), or to hope that one of your friends had recorded it on a VHS tape. Otherwise, you just couldn't see it. Even worse than that, networks could arbitrarily pre-empt their own programming. Like, "Oh, you wanted to watch Star Trek? Well a baseball game just went into overtime and it brings in ten times as many viewers. Hopefully you won't find it too jarring if we just begin half an hour into the episode." So you can understand why this would have a knock-on effect on serialised storytelling; if you've missed one episode, and the subsequent stories depend on plot points from the episode, then you're just going to be confused. But even beyond that, if you're not used to serialization as an audience, then you're not going to be on the look-out for context clues. "Oh, that alien just told Quark about something called 'the Dominion'? Oh that sounds important--oh, wait, no, they got to the end of the episode and nothing happened with it. I guess it wasn't important after all."

The Star Trek name: This one seems a bit counterintuitive, because of course the name should be a draw to fans of the other series, but you have to remember that, at the time in question, the franchise consisted only of the original series and movies and the first six and a half seasons of TNG. Now, these differed in several ways, but what they had in common is that they were all about a bunch of moral paragons who flew around in space in shiny starships, having episodic adventures. That was what Star Trek was. And then you got a new series about a bunch of morally compromised characters who sat still in space on a gungy old space station having serialised adventures. It's not the same thing, and so a lot of people who wanted the first thing tuned out (which was, in fact, why Voyager had to be created), whereas a lot of people who wanted the second thing might not have tuned in because they figured it would be the first thing. And this of course brings us to the third reason:

Babylon 5: So stop me if you've heard this one before: it's a serialized drama from the 1990s all about a bunch of humans and aliens having to coexist on a space station as they navigate diplomatic crises and gradually become enmeshed in an elaborate space opera story arc. It features a race of aliens who can be called "highly spiritual", a race of aliens who have recently overthrown a decades-long brutal occupation of their homeworld by a crumbling and overstretched empire, a race of aliens who are often mistaken for gods (and who cultivate this misconception), and a mysterious new threat emerging onto the galactic scene, eventually culminating in a seasons-long war arc. I am of course describing J. Michael Straczynski's science fiction masterpiece Bablyon 5, which he, and a great many of his fans, regarded (and not without reason) as having been ripped off and pre-empted by Paramount in the form of Deep Space Nine. Now, looking at the evidence, I personally think that most of the similarities between these series are a sort of convergent evolution; but, whatever your opinion on the matter, the fact remains that these two fandoms hated each other during the 1990s. And the net effect of this was that a bunch of SF nerds who would probably have really liked DS9 if they had gotten to see it never watched it at all as a matter of principle because as far as they were concerned, its very existence was a corporate ploy to bully an upstart rival out of business.

Anyways, for all of these reasons, it's not remarkable to me that Deep Space Nine never became as popular as TNG and Voyager; and because it wasn't as popular, it makes sense that Paramount would be more circumspect about greenlighting Picard-style sequels or Lower Decks or Prodigy-style spinoffs to it (and indeed, I'm not convinced that all of the writers have even seen it). But I think that it is a testament to just how good DS9 was that it still managed to get the same seven seasons, even if it never drew in the same audience

[astroprompts]

✧ —𝐁𝐎𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 [𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝟸]

“Why do we even have saucers? We don't drink tea!”

“Do you have a thousand dollars? Because each minute I spend talking to you, that's how much money I'm wasting.”

“You're the only one in this building who isn't a total snooze-cooze.”

“No one watches this show to feel feelings. Life is depressing enough already!”

“All this time, I assumed there was more to me than everyone thought. But maybe there isn't.”

“I don't care if you are happy or not. You have a job to do.”

“Look who finally decided to pick up the phone.”

“You must think I'm a real monster.”

“You were born broken, that's your birthright.”

“Can't say I'll miss it, but we did have some crazy adventures together these last few weeks.”

“Sometimes you wanna go where no one knows your name.”

“Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”

“I want to do things with you. Fully clothed, sober, in daylight hours.”

“Look, you obviously really care about this girl and that scares you, so you sabotage yourself.”

“How about you just stop sulking and go win her back, dummy?”

“I'm cynical, and I'm possessive, and I can sometimes fly off the handle. I'm not always the best at being not terrible. But I want to be better, I'm trying to be better.”

“Why do I always do this? I push away everyone I care about.”

“No matter what, we're going to stick together.”

“I'm no good with funerals. When I cry, it messes up my makeup and then I get really bummed out.”

“Okay, you're clearly in one of your moods.”

“Why serve dates and not have a place to put the pits? You know, some people just have no class.”

“There's so much to hate about what you just said.”

“Shove it up your ass with a spoonful of sugar, you supercalifragilisticexpiali-bitch!”

“You know, maybe it's for the best we don't get together that often. We'd most likely drive each other mad.”

“No one knows how to get under your skin like family.”

“You wanna check out this cool new game I got?”

“I know there's no accounting for taste, but come on.”

“There is no shame in dying for nothing. That's why most people die.”

“Quick, jump out the window, shimmy down the drainpipe and wait in the car.”

“When you don't regret the tattoo in the morning, that's how you know it's love.”

“I guess I was just foolish enough to believe this dumb world still had a little spark of romance in it.”

“Look, what happened back there is not your fault.”

“If you wanna go for a walk in the woods at night, go crazy, but I'm not going anywhere.”

“Look, pal, I'll pay the bill, just-- Just let us get you to a damn hospital.”

“Um, do you wanna talk about what happened?”

“Any time someone tries to love you, you shove them away.”

“I was this badass overachiever that had these big plans to change the world.”

“So, now you're just gonna do whatever a teenage girl says?”

“I don't need you to like me. It would be fun if you liked me, because I'd prove my parents were wrong to never support me, because I earned the admiration of an authority figure, proving I have intrinsic worth, but it's not a big deal or anything. Jeez.”

“You know, sometimes I feel like my whole life is just a series of loosely-related wacky misadventures.”

“When you think something isn't about you, you find a way to save the day and realize that it was, all along, all about you.”

“Oh, is that that thing where you strangle yourself in an attempt to heighten sexual arousal?”

“So, noose-wise, what are we talking? You use a standard sailor's knot or more like your average birthday-present bow?”

“I don't know if I want your jack-off kit at my house.”

“This is the part of the movie where you get your heart broken. Where the world tests you, and people treat you like shit. But it has to happen this way. Otherwise, the end of the movie, when you get everything you want, won't feel as rewarding.”

“Jesus, why does cantaloupe think every time it gets invited to a party, it can bring along its dumb friend honeydew?”

“When we know what we know about a monster like that and we still put him on TV every week, we're teaching a generation of young boys and girls that a man's reputation is more important than the lives of the women he's ruined.”

“I don't understand why you can't be on my side about this.”

“I asked you, really nicely, not to make a big thing out of this.”

“Why does it suddenly matter what I want?”

“All I ever wanted was to be your friend.”

“Stop kidding yourself. If you really wanted the simple life, you'd have a simple life.”

“Love is an illusion, and happiness is fleeting, no such thing as God, and all your favorite musicians beat their wives.”

“Well, I'm sorry that things have been so hard for you, but that doesn't give you the right to be shitty to me.”

“I can't be around someone who's just fueled by bitterness and negativity.”

“You know, it's funny. When you look at someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags.”

“I wish I could just go home right now and crawl into bed and not have to talk about anything or explain anything.”

“I'm sorry I'm not the person I thought I was.”

“Hey, you wanna climb up on the water tower?”

“I'm really glad we left that stupid prom, but I'm kind of bummed we didn't get to dance.”

“Look, sometimes when you're an adult, the right thing isn't always the best thing.”

“You're the first grown-up I've ever met who actually treats me like... You know, a person.”

“I said so many things when I was young. I thought I was so deep.”

“It doesn't matter where you are, it's who you are.”

“So many times in my life I've done the wrong thing, but this is the right thing, and I have never been more sure of anything.”

“I've wasted so much time sitting on my hands and imagining what could have been.”

“If you are not out of my driveway in 30 minutes, I will call the police.”

“If you ever try to contact me or my family again, I will fucking kill you.”

“Wake up, captain dumbshit.”

“Now let's get out there and tell all those garbage rat bastard sons of bastards what we really think of them, once and for all.”

“If you're holding out for something better, well, I hate to break it to you, but you're gonna be alone for a long time.”

“Every day, it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day, that's the hard part.”

[wheels-of-despair]

Enough | A Make Up Story | Tom Grant x You | Series Masterlist

Epilogue: Are You Fucking Kidding Me? Words: 2k

WINTER

Just as you feared, your life had been waiting for you back home.

It had taken five awful hours of driving to get there. You'd collapsed on your bed as soon as you walked in, still in your clothes that smelled slightly of him, and stayed there until morning.

The temp you'd trained had proven to be useless, and your work had piled up during your week away. It took you a month to get caught up again. You'd never exactly been fond of your job, but after your week with Tom, it had reached a new level of joylessness.

You sent out several resumes, but never heard back from anyone. So you kept plodding along, performing tasks you disliked and taking orders from people you hated. What else could you do?

You went on a few dates, each one worse than the last. You accepted invitations to events with people you barely tolerated, hoping it might spark something inside of you. Maybe you'd find something you enjoyed. Maybe you'd find someone you liked. Maybe you'd stop going home and thinking about things that weren't meant to be.

One night, several drinks deep on a dance floor so crowded it felt like you were fighting the bodies around you for air, you realized… here, in this crowded room, surrounded by people, was the loneliest you'd ever been in your entire life. You froze. The excessively loud music became a dull roar, bodies knocked into you, and all you could do was stand there feeling like a shell of a person.

You're not neon lights and wild adventures and meaningless hookups with people who won't bother to learn your name. You're talking 'til sunrise and listening to the rain and goofing on crappy movies.

You don't belong here.

You battled your way to the exit and walked home, head ducked so no one could see the tears streaming down your face.

You spent your nights watching stupid movies alone in bed after that. Why force yourself to do things that only made you feel worse?

Your mind always drifted to a curly-haired beauty in Cornwall. What would Tom think of this movie? Or the state you're in? What was he doing? Had he found someone who deserves him? Was he still angry with you for leaving? Did he understand that it was for his own good?

You thought of Jade, too. Did Ruth take care of her? Were they still together? Would she show up on your doorstep in a few months like nothing ever happened? Would you drop everything for her if she did?

Thinking of them was painful, but it was better than feeling nothing.

One cold and drizzly day that winter, after a long and dull day at the office, you were looking down and fumbling for your keys in front of your building when you ran into something solid.

You jumped back, realizing it was a person.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't…" You looked up and froze.

"At least it wasn't a car this time, I suppose."

Tom.

"Is this an 'I missed you' stare, or an 'oh God I thought I got rid of him' stare?"

"First one," you croaked, not quite believing your eyes.

Tom opened his arms, and you stepped into them instinctively. You didn't think you'd ever get to feel this embrace again.

"What are you doing here?" you ask, trying not to melt into his chest.

"Kind of a long story."

"Will you come inside and tell me?"

"Mhm," he hums, not moving.

"C'mon," you whisper, wondering if this was a dream. He felt real enough. You reluctantly pull away and lead him inside by the hand, fighting the urge to glance back every few steps to make sure he's still there. But he's right there with you when you unlock your door.

You shed your jackets and retreat to your bedroom, not knowing when your flatmate would come home and ruin everything. You sat on the bed while Tom wandered around, looking at the pictures cluttering your walls. You wonder if he'd notice the Cornish sunset that looked suspiciously like the one you'd seen on your last night together. You'd found it on Google and printed it at work in a particularly intense moment of weakness.

"How've you been?" you ask.

"Miserable, and you?"

You laugh. "Same, actually."

Tom focuses on your bookshelf. "Seeing anyone?"

"Ha," you chuckle dryly. "No. You?"

"No. Found someone great a while back, but she ran away from me."

You feel your heart sink as he sits next to you on the bed.

"Jade came to see me."

"Yeah?" This should be interesting.

"Yeah. She's sold her gran's van. She and Ruth are going to go see the world."

"Really? Where are they going?"

Tom shrugs. "Said they were going to pack their bags, go to the airport, and get on the first cheap flight to somewhere hot."

"Sounds like Jade."

"Sounds like a fucking nightmare."

"I know!" You laugh incredulously. "Where are they going to stay? What if no one speaks English? What if they get lost? What if they run out of money?"

"My thoughts exactly," Tom grins. "Said they'd figure it out as they go."

You thought about it for a moment. "Can't decide if that's brilliant, or insane."

"Insane, definitely." His smile fades. "We talked about you, too."

You drop your gaze and begin tracing the pattern on your blanket. You don't know what Jade told him, but it stings like a betrayal.

"What are you doing here, Tom?" You pick at a loose thread, unable to meet his eye.

"I'm here for work, actually," he says, getting up to inspect the knick-knacks on your desk. You're suddenly self-conscious about the seashells from the day you watched him scramble his brains in the sea. You'd forgotten all about them until you finally made yourself unpack, finding them scattered in the bottom of your bag. You spent nearly an hour sobbing over them that day. They were the only pieces of Tom you had.

"Oh yeah?" Of course he's not here for you. "Shirley expanding her empire?"

"I wouldn't know. She fired me."

"What?!" Your jaw drops in surprise.

"Yeah, about a week after you left. Not exactly a great time for ol' Tom Grant." He picks up a shell and runs his thumb across the smooth surface. You wonder if he knows where it's from.

"Tom, I'm so sorry. I know you loved it there."

"A blessing in disguise, really. You did me a favor."

"I did?"

"Yup." He puts down the shell and picks up another. "You left, I moped… then I beat the shit out of Kai. Fucker's really gotta stop running his mouth. Anyway, that was my third strike, so she sent me packing. But they broke ground on a new caravan park a few minutes up the coast last autumn, so I dropped by to see if they needed any help. Talk about perfect timing. Their handy-man had just gotten a better offer and bailed. Owner hired me on the spot. I'm head of maintenance."

"Tom, that's amazing!" He puffs out his chest and grins.

"It comes with a lot of perks, too." He puts the shell back and leans against your desk, crossing his arms and waiting for you to ask.

"What kind of perks?"

"I've got my own truck. Get paid more than double what Shirley was giving me. Got my own caravan. Brand new, too, but it has a few flaws." He pauses.

"Such as?" you prompt.

"It's twice the size of my old one. Got a bloody bathtub in it. And the bed? Way too big for one person."

Is this going where you think it is?

"Anyway, I'm here on a recruiting mission. We got the big stuff set up, but we're opening in the spring. Gonna need a full staff. Lots of openings to fill, in everything from housekeeping to the office. So if you know anyone dependable who's willing to relocate for a job… and maybe a handsome lad who makes great pancakes…"

You shake your head, trying to make your brain process everything he's just said to you. He grins in a way that does not help you get your thoughts in order.

"Jade said to always tell you what I want and how I feel, so here it is," he says, dropping back onto the bed next to you. "I want to give this a shot. I want you to come back to Cornwall with me, and I want you to stay. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up, and the last thing I see before I go to sleep. I want you. Because I love you."

You stare at him in disbelief, head spinning, tears threatening to spill.

Tom suddenly looks nervous. "I mean, if that's what you want too…?"

Of course it's what you want. You've never wanted anything more in your entire life. Not even her.

"Are you sure?" You have to ask.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

You tears spill as you rush at each other, desperately needing to make up for several months of lost kisses.

"I'm guessing that was a yes?" he asks when you break for air. His curls are out of control, thanks to your roaming hands, and most of your clothes have somehow disappeared. A devilish smirk decorates his face. He's the most beautiful person you've ever known.

You nod, unable to find your words.

"You don't have to work there, by the way. But I think you'd like it. Owner's rich and clueless, but he's a good guy. You and me could fucking run this place. Make it better than Shirley's ever was. Teamwork, love."

You take a moment to imagine what your life might be like, living with Tom and working in a place you actually liked. A place that Tom helped build, even. You imagine welcoming guests and watching sunsets and cooking together and playing in the sea and putting up a Christmas tree and trying out that bathtub… and maybe squeezing into a rental shower every once in a while for old time's sake.

"This is what you want, right?" he asks nervously.

Tom has mistaken your fantasies for hesitation. You smile and cup his face. You've had so much time to think about what you want… and this is better than anything you could have possibly imagined. But at the center of every fantasy lies one little thing.

"You said something to me one night…" you begin quietly, as if it might shatter the illusion. "I think it was the night we had dinner at April's. But you said 'if you love a person, they should be enough.'"

Tom nods his head in your hands.

"That's what I want, Tom. I want to be enough." You hold your breath.

"You are," he whispers, eyes wide and genuine. And you believe him. You really do.

"So are you," you whisper back. "You're everything to me."

"C'mere," he smiles, reaching out and pulling you to him before you can start crying again. You lift your head and meet his lips in a sweet kiss that soon turns needy and desperate. You do have a lot of lost time to make up for, after all.

An hour later, you lie on your backs in your twisted sheets, staring up at your ceiling and trying to catch your breath.

"Was that my sign-on bonus?" you joke.

"Don't tell anyone else, or they'll all expect it."

You laugh together and reach for his hand.

"We really doing this? You and me?" you ask.

"Absolutely," he says.

"Guess I get to live out my job-quitting fantasy tomorrow," you grin. "How long do you think it'll take us to pack?"

"As a team? With our motivation? Sunrise."

You laugh, feeling happy and whole again for the first time in months. You get to quit your job tomorrow and come home with boxes so you can start packing. You get to leave this place and all the people in it behind, and start a new life with someone you love. Someone who loves you back. Someone who wants to keep you.

"I love you."

His words make your heart soar, and you have no doubt that he means them. He means them as much as you do.

"I love you too, Tom."

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Loki spin-off ideas

I'm going to preface this by saying, I do not think we will ever get a Loki spin-off. But that doesn't mean I can't think about all the great possibilities there could be. And also I am quickly running out of ideas again.

Spoilers for Loki.

TVA workplace comedy, featuring B-15 Verity, Casey, OB, on occasion Sylvie and Mobius, and introducing new (queer) characters. Casey and OB stumble their way into a relationship, Verity once and for all establishes that she can detect lies, Mobius is sad until in the season finale (with special guest star Tom Hiddleston!) someone figures out how to get him to Loki. And we get Lokius in the last ten seconds, because they pull a Will Shatner and purposely ruin every other take that isn't them making the fuck out.

TVA training shorts, featuring Miss Minutes (ugh), reminiscent of those high school PSAs they made Cap do ("So you got detention," etc.), but animated in the style of the introductory video Loki watched in the first episode. You could also have a second season of them as an updated version following the dissolution of the Sacred Timeline and how the branches are seen as good things now. Maybe the new ones are narrated by members of the Time Revengers, since Miss Minutes is still being rehabilitated. (I'm still deciding if the idea of listening to Mobius tell the story of how the multiversal tree was created would be heartbreaking even if he managed to remain professional and not break down in tears, or if it would be really sweet that he gets assigned that video.)

Lokis in the void, following mainly Kid Loki and (if we retcon it, set this before the show, or he somehow survived) Classic Loki, but also ridiculous schemes of President Loki (yuck, no thank you) that constantly get thwarted. The B-plot is Alligator Loki sneaking off and getting up to some shit in an anti-Perry the Platypus running gag. (Wait, maybe I just want a Phineas and Ferb parody where every character is a Loki and it takes place in the void. That could be so stupid it's hilarious.)

Classic Loki in Valhalla please I need it. Like we start similarly to the events of my fic After, where Classic Loki arrives in Valhalla and reunites at long last with Thor (don't ask me how, I know technically his timeline was reset). Then the show continues with Classic Loki and Thor getting up to hijinks in Valhalla, maybe scheming to break out of Valhalla (a storyline for Loki in various contexts I've played around with a few times). We could have different characters from the Thor movies and comics in Valhalla, but since they're all dead, they're all played by older actors. You could make some easy, low-hanging old jokes (back pain every time they use their weapon, etc.), but they're gods and they're dead, so technically they should be fine. They're just old and dead. (But like, Tony Stark is for sure in Valhalla, too. You could have some frostiron going on. Or Fandral. He's there, too, Ewing.)

Mobius's adventures in the multiverse, just episodes of him traveling through time and experiencing it (I'm realizing now that this is basically just the premise for Doctor Who...). Also going on in this series is obviously Mobius missing Loki and looking for a way to get to him. Of course (because this is my show and I say so), the series would end with them reuniting and confessing and staying together, either in the tree if need be or in the wider multiverse if Loki is able to leave the tree. And there would certainly be episodes throughout the show featuring the other members of our Time Revengers. Maybe the workplace comedy and this show are occurring simultaneously. (Like one episode of TVA someone's like "Where's Verity?" "Oh she's on a mission." And you're like oh the actor has a break or is filming something else, and then later that week the episode of Mobius airs and THERE'S VERITY!)

Sylvie in Broxton. That's it, that's the show. Just Sylvie living her best life in the small town, working at McDonald's, hanging out at Lyle's record store, ignoring 90% of the calls on her TemPad (unless it's Mobius, because in spite of herself, she's a little worried about him).

[medusapelagia]

My own 2023 fic rec

This year I got back to writing after almost 15 years, and even if my real life had some bad moments that haven't come to an end... writing gave me a lot of satisfaction and many new friends I'm grateful for.

Here is a list of some fics I wrote that I love for one reason or another and that I want to celebrate.

If you have a favorite fic of mine you would like to share feel free to write it to me (as an ask, a message, or a comment), I will be glad to read it!

The restless sea calls back to you - Harringrove Mermaid AU - Explicit  I'm totally in love with my mermaid AU and I'm proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and finally writing it (and there is a special person I must thank for it, so thank you!)

08 AU-gust: Robots and Androids - Steddie - Mature This fic started as a 1k drabble and ended as a 23k words fic I'm particularly in love with.

It can't rain all the time - Steddie, The Crow AU - Explicit I love the movie The Crow, it meant and still means a lot to me and I love this fic so much.

I'm so good at telling lies - Steddie, Omegaverse - Explicit This is my first omegaverse and I waited for ages before posting it because I was terrified... and it's the first fic someone recommended!!! And I'm still astonished and happy that it happened!

Adventure Movie: Jurassic Park + Kinktober Day 4 [NSFW] - Metal Sandwich - Explicit This is the most absurd series I have written, and this story in particular it's absolutely crazy, but I laughed so hard when I wrote it that is one of my favorites!

31 AU-gust: Two of 2022 prompts (Hanahaki Disease + Surfing) - Harringrove - Mature This is a fic I love because I'm a big fan of Hanahaki Disease!

Would you love me more (If I killed someone for you?) - Geraskier - Explicit Last but not least my only The Witcher fic, hoping to write more next year!

I won’t tag anyone, but if you want to share your personal favorite fics of this year please tag me! I want to know which ones of your own stories you like the most!

I wish you all a great New Year full of ideas!

[fanz-y]

So now that I've actually watched 10 anime I wanted to rank them from best to worst

1. MSG: the Witch from Mercury; I have not seen any other Gundam show but I don't think this one is leaving #1 spot ever, and Bandai were cowards and homophobic for not showing us either a kiss or the wedding even though they got married, also I'm so mad that I episode 11 during the hug they didn't even say "I love you". The robots became the least interesting part of the robot show (8th I watched)

2. Bocchi the Rock!; probably what I want most anime to be, can't wait for the movie('s), this, G-Witch and Your Name might as well both be #1, also I want a cute Bocchi plush but I can't find one that's affordable without a high delivery :< (7th I watched)

3. Your Name; A movie that I found on a trans subreddit about a year ago, I didn't think it'd be as good as it was or that it'd affect me as much as it did, but I was left in tears when the credits came on, the story went somewhere completely than I thought it would, 10/10. also tied for first place, it deserves to be watched in a movie theater so much (10th I watched)

4. Cowboy Bebop; twink and his bear friend go on space adventures oh and the twink has his own shadow the hedgehog (6th one I watched)

5. BNA: Brand New Animal; the one of 2 studio Trigger show I've seen but from what I've read and heard they have a pretty mid reputation, I really liked it tho, I watched it around the time I came out and it's a pretty good trans allegory (still feel a tad weird about the ending) (4th one I watched)

6. Neon Genesis Evangelion (and the 1st movie); (don't)Get in the robot Shinji, I had been interested in it a bunch, big robots and all that, but only just got to it. The self perpetuating loop of abuse and trauma that Shinji and everyone gets put through because Genduo can't get over the death of his wife is horrible and I can't think of a more despicable antagonist than him, the movie was so fucked up. I still struggle to get what Seele was supposed to represent. I loved every scene where the Eva's get shown as demons, those looked real cool (9th I watched) (watched it entirely cuz of Signalis)

7. Cyberpunk Edgerunners; watched this before I played the game, the abuse that David went through combined with the end that I miss interpreted put me a bit off and I missed the point, but I got it after a rewatch (3rd one I watched)

8. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure; now that I've grown as a person I can safely say that it deserved to drift from spot 1, part 4 is still my fave. And it's still really really good in spite of how low it is (1st I watched)

9. Guilty Gear Xrd & Strive story mode; I am both counting and lumping them together, I liked the oversized Smurf with a gun, also Elphelt bby girl, still would've preferred an actual game tho(5th one I watched)

100000000000. Future Diary; I've watch this in a trade to get someone else to watch JoJo's, they came out better off with that deal, I am also no longer friends with that person (not because of the show but it's funny to mention) (2nd I watched) I still think it's missing some zeros, just add however many you believe it needs

Honorable mentions:

- Signalis; I know it's not an anime but it's anime adjacent and it's the best story I've ever played through, I don't even like horror games or gore at all that much but I will 100% this game and get all the endings, I wish I could talk about it more but spoiling ANYTHING about it feels wrong and making posts where half the words are censored just so fans get it isn't gonna work

- Pokemon; I loved the XYZ and B&W runs but I haven't watched it all and only remember catching it on TV

-Scott Pilgrim takes off, I watched the first few episodes, I don't particularly care for it, but it looks pretty good

Dishonorable mentions:

- Attack on Titan; I've had a run in with the series back when season 1 came out, back when I thought gore was cool, now I have negative interest in the series, I literally couldn't care less and I'm only putting it here to be fair

Conclusion:

After the Witch from Mercury and Evangelion, I don't care for big robots as much as I used to.

Oh and I'm watching some more soon-ish gimme recommendations

[elie-draloup]

Aaaalright, Aslante Legacy, final game (until the new one comes out) of the serie, thoughts and theories ! Once again, spoilers for the entirety of the two trilogies and the movie. Probably some swearing too, here and there.

-Gotta love how every game starts with the Professor receiving some letter and immediately deciding without further thoughts or plan or questions : OK let's go, screw my job, screw Luke's parents (screw Flora), we're going on a new possibly deadly dangerous adventure !

-... Sycamore is actually Descole, isn't he ? I mean... Look at the hair.

-Excuse me, a million years old ?!

- Luke, meet your new big sister, she can make magic with her brain.

- OK but how are they going to explain this *opens door with incantation* thing.

-Oh wait it's easy : Vocal password. Aslante civilisation wasn't more advanced than us, they were just super overdramatic about it. Mystery solved.

- And Aurora can make a ship crash because she has a super magnet transplanted in her head.

-Kidding. This is a Layton game. Maybe the girl isn't even real and is an induced hallucination given by an old toxic gas freed from the ice and Targent is just a cellphones company harassing us to sell things.

-This or there was a big misunderstanding about a ridiculously ambitious escape game that went really wrong.

-Last option is that Aslantes indeed used to be technologically advanced and Aurora is indeed 1 million years old, but there has to be something else because I need the final dramatic reveal where Layton points.

-random person ; Oh so you're a little family on vacation! What a beautiful couple you make with beautiful children !

Luke : Actually, we're not related.

Layton : I don't have kids.

Emmy : And I'm single.

Aurora : What's a family again ?

-That scene were Grosky almost got killed by a bunch of mafia guys was brutal.

-Corruption, violence, attempted murder, terrorism, intimidation, mafia-like organisation, kidnapping, art theft, spying... And then there's Descole. I just love how you have so many "action-movie" kind of threats, and then you have that one middle-aged theater kid in a carnival suit.

-Well, now I can add human sacrifices.

-Mushroom people

-Egg people

-What's next, cactus people ?

-Oh no, the actual Far West.

-BIG DOGGO

-is that were the "Layton and the very large dog" thing comes from or...?

-Forgot to write things, but basically people poisened themselves with drugs AGAIN but with the help of a kid, a bird and a library they're okay. So now we have a bunch of eggs but I'll make a tour to do all the puzzles I might have missed. Sorry guys, archeology can wait, I've got some puzzles to do.

-Aurora is still politely waiting for me to talk to her in order to move the plot. The answer is still no.

-Since Sycamore is Descole (I dunno, the hair. Only Descole would have that kind of haircut.), I'm starting to wonder if maybe... Emmy works for him ? Because.. I dunno, some PNJ just told Sycamore how he seemed to care a lot about Emmy, and Sycamore never striked me as the kind of person to look (or even be) caring so yeah I just... Am I reading too much into that ? Emmy does know martial arts and kinda came out of nowhere. But also... She's Emmy. Or maybe it's just a way to say "Sycamore may be Descole, who did tried to kill the protagonists on several occasions, but hey, he can be a nice guy too when he's not maniacally laughing out of madness !". Or just a dumb pnj saying nonsense.

-A fake egg huh. Who did it. It HAS to be someone travelling with us. Sycamore could be an obvious suspect but...Targent has the egg and Descole hate them. Hm.

-Yes, bring the kids to the evil mafia's lair surrounded by people with guns. Then don't let Flora take the train for her safety.

-Ah well one dude got shoot off screen apparently. Probably bleeding as hell. Wonderful sight for Luke's nightmares, a guy covered in blood, barely managing to escape from the people still running after him to end his life. Let's follow him.

-Yes quit your mafia job, take some vaccations, get married or whatever, wish you luck guys. We really hope that you're genuine otherwise that guy we left behind will be very dead huh.

-Sycamore looks way too familiar with Targent's methods. So that what happened to your wife and daughter, huh ? But Kornev seems disinterested in him now, despite his Aslante knowledge. Is the "Legacy" just a method to bring people to life ? That would explain why Descole is so eager to find it. Also can't wait to see Layton's reaction to the reveal of him being Descole. I mean, yes it's just a theory but.... Common it's just so obvious.

-I'm sorry but this girl attempted suicide, we should listen to her and IMMEDIATELY stop this whole thing like she said. I don't know what the azran legacy do but it seems like it's a bad idea to find out, after all.

-Eh, told ya. He had to reveal himself with his signature laugh, didn't he. Also... Yes ! Swordfight! (I feel like Layton will never respect him enough to fight him with an actual sword. This feels like a "You're the loser yet I'm the one with a broken pipe, you pathetic fake swordsman." vibe.

-Can we talk about how heartbroken Aurora must be right now ?

Aurora : You're my friend ? You mean it ?

Desmound: Of course !

Also Desmound : I'm stealing this from y'a, I used you all as a bunch of tools mouwhaha bye !

Aurora : =(

-PROFESSOR YOU CAN'T BRING FOUR PEOPLE TO FLY ON ONE SINGLE DEAD DINOSAUR was what I thought during the cutscene. Until I saw it was just Layton to catch up Descole. It's just... Layton has a HISTORY with hand-made flying devices.

-Also Kornev didn't seem to care that much about losing so they'll just follow them on the finale temple with a bunch of guns I guess. I got spoiled that Luke is going to die and I'm starting to worry a little. Hence why I think they're going to unlock the power of bringing people back to life. But I also guess such power comes with disastrous consequences. Though by the look of Aurora behaviour, it seems like the whole world is doomed.

-Oh hey Descole. Need a hand opening that door ?

-And here they are with the guns.

-Hehe, gun proof ceiling.

-EMMY. YOU. HOW COULD YOU. LUKE HE TRUSTED YOU. THE FUCK. EMMY WHY. AND FOR THIS BASTARD ?! YOU KNOW HE'S A BASTARD RIGHT ? YOU THREATENED LUKE. YOUR LITTLE PAL. WITH A FREAKIN STALACTITE TO HIS NECK. THAT'S A KILLING MOVE EMMY. WOULD YOU HAVE THE GUTS FOR IT. WOULD YOU.

-OK I'm fine, it's ok, alright, good, let's keep going. It's not like I wasn't used to betrayals in video games. But still. What the heck.

-Heeeey, Descole, pal. Guess we're a team now, if you're not in the mood of trying to kill me today ! And you know I would destroy the entire world and then myself if anything had to happen to Luke, riiiight?

-The guy asked for a team up himself, I don't even get to laugh at him.

-Oh thank stars Luke is okay. But for how long.

-I'm sorry Emmy, but you still lied and spied on us. Also threatened Luke. It sucks because you're awesome but still a traitor. I suppose that explains why she won't be around for the next games.

-Luke and Descole being salty at eachother is SO fun to watch.

-what the heck.

-Descole took a bullet for Luke. First of all : Can you PLEASE stop giving this kid near-death experiences, I heard he's supposed to die at some point and it makes these situations even more intense. Even if I know he'll come back thanks to the other games but still. Also... What the actual heck ?

-.... Brothers ?!

-.... Father ?!!

-Wat

-Well, that was... a lot. Guess I'll let you die there, I have to save the world so uh, not the greatest time for a family reunion.

-Everything has gotten 1000 times more awkward between these two. I mean imagine if Descole make it alive:

Des : uh...Little brother.

Layton: Let's not.

Des : Yeah, sounded wrong when I said it too.

-You....You're telling me that all the grunts died on the way here ? Well good thing we haven't met with any of the corpses I guess.

- See Emmy ? This guy would rather see you die on a puzzle than try it himself. I hate him so much. Now I get why Emmy seemed so taken aback after her first meeting with the Professor. That's why she was surprised to be shown some consideration, after years spent with this guy.

-He just... ran the sword through her heart with NO second thought.

-Wait, EVERYONE dies ?!

-And in a very painful and disturbing way ?!!

-They were on the ground. They were dead dead.

-End of the world : Successfully avoided! At the price of ☆trauma☆

-Luke watching his adopted sister disintegrate. Ouch.

-Descole being like : SEE YA ASSHOLES. If he stayed he was sooooo going to jail.

-Fffffffriend ? With him ? Hershel.... I get that it's your biological father, but he also proved himself to be some crazy heartless jerk. On the behalf of "good intentions", but the end doesn't justify the ways. Loved how he made it clear that his parents are his ACTUAL parents and nothing, not even a biological father will ever changr that though. And that HE IS Hershel Layton.

- So let me get this straight. Layton lost his family at 6 because of the mafia of science(was this close to my random "seven curse" theory.). Then lost his best friend at 17 and grieved him for 18 years while blaming himself before he got back from the dead. Then lost his fiancee at 27 and almost got killed by trying to discover the circumstances of her death. Then lost a kid he had to take care of when he was 35 right after being revived by said kid. And witnessed the death of his fiancee AGAIN at 37. And all this with no therapy. I think I get why he has such a harsh time expressing his emotions.

-At least Emmy got to live a REAL independent life. I think she couldn't stay after all that since the trust has been broken, but she still get to have the opportunity to grow on her own to choose who SHE wants to be, not some fake uncle. Wonder if we'll have some news from her in the next game, since now they can acknowledge both of the trilogies.

-Luke and Layton after getting home:

Layton : Not a word to your parents about the whole... dying and stuff ?

Luke : Nope. Definitely not.

-I wonder if one of the reasons Hershel is more protective of Flora is because he's projecting Aurora on her. I mean it's hinted that she got reincarnated, but to him she's still very dead.

-I hope we'll have at least some cameos or references to all those characters in the new game. And a hint that they all went to therapy because heck do they need it. Do something of these coins, professor.

-Wait a second, something's wrong.

LAYTON HASN'T DONE THE DRAMATIC FINGER REVEAL THING

- Probably because he was as confused by everything for this one.

-Besides it's hard to be more overdramatic than Descole. Desmound? Descole?

-Des.

-Wait wait wait... It's implied that Desmound's wife and daughter got killed by Targent, right ? Did it happened under the command of his joke of a father? Did that happened or did I forgot something ?! Like what.

- Hershel please don't call this shithead a friend. He's not. Why am I more angry at Bronev than you are.

-Silly idea of Layton and Descole attempting a talk like normal brothers :

Des : So remember that time we died ?

Layton: Oh yes. Yes. And, uh, saved the world.

Des : And that one kid really died.

Layton : I can still kill you in a swordfight you know, that's gentleman's approved.

Des : *sips tea*

And this was the final one. I would have done Mysterious Village and Pandora's Box too but I already played those before I began to write my thoughts while playing so there would be no point now that I know the plots. Anyway, I absolutely loved these games and can't wait to play the new one on Switch, after going through both trilogies, I'm ready for the new wave of angst !

[carriagelamp]

I don't know what to say here this month. February, eh? Hate February, the Thursday of months, I'm just clinging to sanity while I wait for spring. Here are the books that helped me through what is basically a month of overcast skies and fucking winter rain.

Candy Color Paradox v6

Candy Color Paradox is a series I’ve been reading for years now and I’ve really enjoyed how the relationship in this one has progressed over that time. It started somewhat similar to how you’d expect a yaoi manga to start — lots of tension, drama, smut, and some light antagonism between the two main characters who both work at the same weekly magazine. But it’s eased into something that’s really quite genuine. This most recent volume focused entirely on moving in together and all the little complications and insecurities that arise because of that.

Circus of Fear

A 1980s D&D choose your own adventure novel so the quality is exactly what you would expect, but at the very least it was a fun little diversion. Doing a CYOA book with a friend can honestly be a blast, they just feel so silly, and the setting of a magical, vaguely sinister circus is always an enjoyable backdrop. We managed to get a good ending on the second try! So yay! I'd honestly like to read it again and try some of the other routes that also sounding intriguing.

Dungeon Meshi // Delicious in Dungeon v1

Me and my girlfriend started watching Dungeon Meshi because we’d seen so much about it on tumblr lately and wow. Just wow. It really is doing something special and we’re completely enamoured. Since we’re waiting for new episodes, I picked up the first book so we could compare it and the show — it’s really impressive how closely they align! And the art is really lovely, it stands out and not just for it's food glamour shots.

For those who haven't been seduced into watching the anime yet: Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon is a DND-style parody in which the adventuring party needs to enter the monster-filled dungeon to save one of their companions who got eaten by a red dragon. They need to get to her and revive her before she entirely digested. However, to hasten their quest (and indulge one of their member’s strange obsessions) they begin to hunt and eat the monsters that fill the dungeon instead of trying to bring food in from the outside. This is 80% a cooking anime and 20% a comedic adventure anime. Book or show, doesn’t matter which, you should give it a try if you haven’t.

Down Among the Sticks and Bones

I really enjoyed the first book of the series, Every Heart A Doorway, and was excited when I found out there was a prequel about Jack and Jill and the world they visited. This can either be read as a prequel or it works fairly well as a stand-alone novella; the story is about twin sisters who have always been forced to fill very precise societal roles by their parents. One afternoon, they stumble across a magical door in the bottom of a chest and venture down into the sinister world of the moors where one sister is taken in by a vampire lord and the other by a mad scientist. The story looks at how the sisters grow and change when apart from each other and their controlling parents. Excellent story, the language is just so enticing.

Midnight Sun

My brother has been watching all the Twilight movies with a couple of his friends. Listening to him bitch about Jacob like it was 2007 reawakened something in me, so after laughing myself sick I had to go and relisten to Midnight Sun. Still genuinely and unironically love this book, it’s pure trash but by god it's my trash. I’m a simple soul.

Odder

I’ve been hearing great things about this book, and it’s hard to go wrong with Katherine Applegate so I was excited to finally read it. This is a book written entirely in free verse poetry about an orphaned otter and her experiences being rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s inspired by a true story (several true stories, actually!) and it's very worth picking up even if you don't usually go for poetry. It's charming and reads very easily.

Old-Fashioned Cupcake

A middle-aged salaryman is feeling worn down by the humdrum nature of his life, which is filled mostly with work these days. This manga kicks off with his coworker suggests that if he wants to deal with the feelings of boredom and aging, then he needs to do something to shake up his life: so he suggests that they “act like a pair of teenage girls” and go to a fancy new pancake shop just because it seems fun, never mind that it’s not something grown men are supposed to do. This manga ended up being pretty darn cute -- it was slow and compassionate and loving -- and it managed to convince me to buy its sequel.

Professor Calculus: Science’s Forgotten Genius

A ridiculous little book I bought on impulse that was nevertheless a lot of fun to read. It’s a tribute to Cuthbert Calculus, celebrating the 80th anniversary of his first appearance in Tintin. It dives into some of the inspirations that went into the character, and also lovingly and cheekily explores some "facts" we know about Calculus as a person… and wildly extrapolates more from there. It was a cute little read for anyone who’s a fan of the series and wants something a little extra.

Return to Oz

I recently rewatched this movie and maintain that I like it more than the original film, sorry. It made me decide to grab the novelization because I’m always a sucker for a novelization <3 This one was pretty solid too, it actually included details that were left out of the film and improve the stories overall cohesion which is always the marker of a good novelization.

Return to Oz takes place several months after the original film, when Aunty Em and Uncle Henry are trying to build a new house and get the farm back in order before winter. Concerned by Dorothy’s continued belief in Oz and her increased insomnia, Aunty Em decides to take her to a doctor who offers healing through electroshock therapy. Yeah, it’s exactly as fucking creepy as it sounds… You get a scary aslyum, a sinister head nurse, being strapped to a hospital gurney, and new baddies that scared the bejeezus out of me as a kid. Anyway, before she can be electrocuted, Dorothy manages to escape back to Oz where she discovers her friends are in dire need of help. It’s like Alice: Madness Returns but from Disney. Go watch this movie.

She Drives Me Crazy

I had very mixed feelings about this book. It’s about high school basketball player, Scottie, who has suffered a bad breakup with her girlfriend who moved schools to play on the opposing basketball team. Things go from bad to worse when she gets into a car accident with her arch-nemesis, the cheerleader Irene. One things lead to another and bada bing bada boom we have a fake dating scheme so that Scottie can get back at her ex.

This book had some genuinely fun moments (I’m always a sucker for a fake dating scheme, and the characters were reasonably fun) but it’s biggest failing is one that I’ve seen more than I like in current queer lit. It just tries so. fucking. hard. to be unproblematic. Like yeah, it’s great to see healthy relationships but it was SO explicit about it. So much therapy speak, way more than feels natural for a conversation or internal monolgue, especially when they’re in high emotions. The “banter” was very scripted. It was a book that felt like it had a laugh track. And while the ending was satisfying enough, it was also… I don’t know. Anticlimactic. We just spent so long tying everything up in a perfectly neat little bow that it really just strolled to an ending that was obvious from a mile away. 

Like look, I get it, we want this to be squeaky clean and beyond reproach, but I have NEVER entered a fake dating story hoping that everyone was going to be really sensible and respectful and level-headed. Fake dating is the slapstick of the romance world, I want some Shakespearean level bullshit, please don’t try to gussy it up for me. Gonna go and rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You or something just to feel things again. Or maybe pop over to AO3, your average fic writer at least understands that when I say fake dating I mean I want something absolutely fucking unhinged and filled to the gill with mutual pining.

So yeah, if you want a sports-based high school sapphic romance: it’s not a bad book. It went down easy, I liked listening to it in the mornings when I needed something light before work. Some bits I even quite enjoyed. But it’s not going to rock your world.

Shuna’s Journey

Well, if nothing else you can really, definitely tell this was done by Hayoa Miyazaki. I’m honestly not really sure how I felt about it. The art was beautiful, and the story was pure undiluted Miyazaki through and through. The narrative was very nice. The story and message was poignant. It was a nice book. I can’t say it’s stuck very heavily in my mind, but I enjoyed reading it. It felt like a precursor to Princess Monoke / Nausicaa, perhaps?

The Witches

The story of one child and his grandmother needing to contend with witches. Not fairytale witches. Real witches. And all their horrible, child-hating ways. One thing I will always love about Dahl is that when he wants to write about something Horrible, nothing will stop him. His villains are truly villainous and the witches are a prime example of that! I loved the description of the witches and their horrible, sinister deeds, especially in the first half of the book. This sure is Child Murder: The Novel! The ending was absolutely not what I was expecting, and I appreciate that. Such a bizarre book.

[rubykgrant]

Man, I wish I had dreams like that, all detailed and memorable. Though for.... different stuff (listen Am Gay want Hot Girl Dreams)

May you have pleasant dreams some day...

But I have a LOT of dreams that seem totally "normal" where I'm just in my room or the livingroom, watching TV, and I'll see a movie or a show... then I wake up, sometimes thinking it was a real memory of an actual thing I watched. Then I have to remember- no, wait. I DREAMED that.

One time in high school I dreamed about reading a Stephen King book, about a small town somewhere in Nevada that had a "cursed" garden that tried to grow back every year (like an evil version of the Garden of Eden), and it always began with a little sprout pushing up through a crack in the ground. It eventually grows into a pumpkin plant, that looks normal at first, but once it reaches it's full size, it turns from orange, to dark red, to black. Because it is "ripe" by the end of October, it has become like a weird Halloween tradition to wait for the pumpkin to die. Once it is November 1st, they set fire to it. On Halloween night, drunk guys and teenagers dare each other to go cut the stem to see what will happen if they pick the pumpkin. Nobody ever does, until some kids staying at a foster home come to the town, and one of them goes through with the dare, not realizing how serious it is. Horror ensues. I fully woke up thinking I had read a whole Stephen King book which I bout at Boarders (that's how long ago this was). Then I had to slowly figure out- NO. THAT WAS A DREAM

I had another dream where I saw a commercial for a new show, that started off seeming like it was an animated adult series, very emotional and heart-felt, about a guy who has only recently come out as gay, and he's missed out on so much in his life (besides not being out, he was always focused on school and getting a job. he barely has any friends and hasn't done anything especially fun). A lot of people he knows are getting married/in long-term relationships, which he wishes he had... but he's never even dated ANYBODY. Then he tries to go outside of his comfort-zone, visiting a karaoke place for a "singles mingle" night, and he sees SUCH an interesting guy performing; he's vibrant, confidant, full of passion for life... not bad looking either. The main character dude is instantly smitten. The audience is then given the reveal that this hunky heartthrob is, in fact- JOHNNY BRAVO. This dream was about a sequel series to Johnny freaking Bravo, where this new guy gets a helpless crush on him. Johnny has matured slightly, and has spent 10 years chugging Respect Women Juice, so he's less of a flirt but still a ham for attention. The new guy comes along for all the wacky adventures, like Johnny will be his party-bucket-list. Johnny is like "Yay, I made a new friend~". The implication being Johnny learns he's bisexual. I woke up thinking this was a REAL commercial I watched the night before, sat down on my computer to look up "When does the new Johny Bravo show air" then I stopped. Because I remembered. THIS WAS A DREAM

ANYWAY, I'll stop rambling now. My brain does this a lot

[pragmatic-optimist]

Thanks for tagging me @mistmarauder @rmd-writes and @marjansmarwani! I've had this in my drafts for weeeeks because life lol, but I finally got a chance to do it.

Bold all that apply:

*adding in some notes for context just because*

APPEARANCE: i’m under 5’5” // i wear glasses/contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // i have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i typically wear make-up // i don’t often smile // i am pleased with how i look // i prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backwards

(Notes: I’ve worn glasses since 6th grade—yup got them right at the start of middle school. Good times 😂. And I typically wear makeup during the work week or when I'm going out, mostly to hide the bags under my eyes from my shitty sleep pattern lol.)

HOBBIES AND TALENTS: i play a sport // i can play an instrument // i am artistic // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can cook or bake without a recipe // i know how to swim // i enjoy writing // i can do origami // i prefer movies to tv shows // i can execute a perfect somersault // i enjoy singing // i could survive in the wild on my own // i have read a new book series this year // i enjoy spending time with friends // i travel during school or work breaks (if i can afford it) // i can do a handstand

(Notes: When I say I am artistic, I mean that in the loosest definition of the word. One of the things I like to do is go to one of those pottery studios and sit there and paint. I'm not very good at it; all of my pieces end up kind of streaky lol, but I like the single-minded focus that comes from painting. It's one of the very few things I do that actually quiet my mind, otherwise, it's just going and going and going--always whirring and on to the next thing. It took me a while to learn that you can love something and embrace it as a hobby, even if you aren't the best at it. Who knew?! Certainly not the perfectionist in me lol. Also, I've won a few trophies from my very exciting adventures on the Scholastic Bowl team in high school (I was so cool, friends 🤓); I enjoy writing in the sense that I enjoy and admire the craft itself. I am not myself a writer unless all those years of journaling in my youth and presently writing endless work emails count?

RELATIONSHIP: i am in a relationship // i have been single for over a year // i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for (more than) ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

(Notes: I am very fortunate to still be friends with my two best friends from high school and my best friend from college. It's a privilege to have people in your life who have literally grown up with you and walked through various life stages with you. Along those same lines, it's been a privilege to make new friends, and I am grateful for those of you I've had the chance to get to know online and meet up with in person! 💕)

AESTHETICS: i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sun rise // i enjoy rainy days // i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colours // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season 🍂

(Notes: My daily commute involves a lot of waiting on train platforms, and sometimes, I pass the time by looking up at the sky and watching the clouds move, especially in the morning. Also, I am a city girl through and through, but I love hikes--especially in the fall.)

MISCELLANEOUS: i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // i am the mom friend// i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies // i am involved in extracurricular activities //i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least three dogs

Notes: I enjoy singing, but I'm not good at it, so I do most of my singing in the shower lol. I am definitely the mom friend in my group, always making sure I have snacks in my bag because my friends are known for getting hangry, and we are not the speediest at deciding where to eat when we are together, so I come prepared. I love quotes, I tend to buy greeting cards with quotes on them and pin them to my bulletin boards at work or at home.

I'd say there are two quotes that underline how I try to live my life, both from the phenomenal Maya Angelou:

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better." “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

***

I don't know who's already done this game because it has been almost a month since it was making the rounds, so no pressure: @sunshinestrand @nelsonnicholas @iboatedhere @first-kanaphan @scienter @celeritas2997 @cha-melodius @strandtk and anyone else who would like to participate, please tag me if you do!

[sleepergeek42]

beyond the fact that the last thing anyone should be complaining about with the strike is "but what new shows will we watch?!".... literally TAKE YOUR PICK! maybe we won't get new shows and seasons while writers and actors are fighting for their livelihoods... deal with it?? yeah there's stuff i'm looking forward to as well. but y'know what?? there is so much media out there.

have your friends whip up lists of media you should watch!

watch all the star wars things! the movies, the shows!

how about you watch the ten star trek shows there are! it'll take a good long while. don't forget the movies as well!

rewatch your old favorites! the comfort media! rebinge that decade-long show you adore but have never found the time to sit through again beginning to end!

how about classic doctor who! twenty-six seasons! all camp and wonderful! haven't gotten in to doctor who yet? watch the thirteen seasons of the revival! already into doctor who? watch class, or the sarah jane adventures, or torchwood (although caution is advised).

hell, do you like media that isn't film or tv? READ A BOOK! READ SO MANY BOOKS! GET INTO AUDIO DRAMAS! OR PODCASTS!

doctor who has the most expansive media out there go crazy go nuts! listen to the magnus archives or welcome to night vale!

and that's just a fragment of the nerd shit i could think of let alone more mainstream stuff. go watch the stargate series or red dwarf. watch the different batman shows. i don't know!

there is literally *so much media* out there, no matter what your tastes and interests are. maybe ofmd is gonna get delayed, maybe we don't get marvel shows (beyond the things already filmed) for a while, THERE'S SO MUCH YOU CAN STILL ENGAGE WITH

i, personally, will be combing through the five-page-and-counting google doc of media i want to rewatch/reread and media i want to get around to (all while watching all the things still coming out like good omens and strange new worlds and wwdits). i've gotten through nine books in a seventy-three book series right now. yeah! it's the eighth doctor adventures (edas) from doctor who and they SLAP. and while i'm waiting for these brilliant and hard-working people to get an iota of what they're deserved, i will gladly be reading the remaining sixty-four.

(also idk who needs to tell you this but fucking pirate. media corporations don't deserve your money and ESPECIALLY don't while this travesty is happening)

[tea-stained-notes]

Steve Rogers x OFC - Waiting On a Miracle, Chapter 4

After catching an infamous serial killer in the act, Julie Castillo is in line for the witness protection program. She is sent to a temporary safe house with U.S. Marshal Steve Rogers to protect her. Both of them scarred by trauma and tragedy, they find solace in each other. But how far will they dare to go?

It's been ages, I'm sorry. At least I've been procrastinating this so long that it's once more cosy cabin fic season lol

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in the future!

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3

Series warnings: violence, death, angst, trauma, smut

Chapter warnings: anxiety, light trauma

Chapter word count: 2350

Song(s) referenced: Waiting In the Wings (Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure)

As the days passed it became increasingly impossible not to get to know each other. After all, we were all we had. Natasha had dropped by with new groceries and stayed to chat for a bit, but while Steve and I were in our own little world, she had a hundred things other than my safety on her plate. Staying in my small room all day wasn’t an inviting prospect and leaving the cabin proved too great a risk with only Steve there to protect me. What I hadn’t expected was that he would care for me in a way that must have been above his pay grade. When the nightmares finally caught up to me, forcing me awake with a scream and sending me to the door to escape the terrors seemingly living under my bed, he was already waiting in the hallway. Calmly talking me down from my panic and gently guiding me to the kitchen for some tea. And during the day his sheer presence kept my anxiety at bay with almost miraculous ease.

As the endless hours passed we grew more and more familiar with each other. We talked about anything and everything from our views on female reproductive rights (which were luckily the same) to our favourite Disney movies, mine being Moana and Steve’s Beauty and the Beast. “Really?” “Yeah, I prefer the old hand-animated movies. Plus, the songs? They’re timeless.” I nodded reluctantly while biting into one of the brownies Steve had just baked. “And like any sane person I’m obviously a sucker for that library scene,” he said with a smile so disarming I almost choked on my bite. “You do live up to that admission,” I croaked out. Steve had blazed through a whole stack of books over the past week. The shelves housed a pretty great collection and for the first few days I had been glad to have some time to read as well. But I found myself more and more distracted — by being cooped up inside while the surrounding nature looked so inviting through the windows, by the restlessness from the unfamiliar inactivity and wondering about the people I had left behind, and embarrassingly by Steve. His warmth and genuine interest in everything that went on inside my head still caught me off guard. “Great, now I wanna watch Disney movies.” I cast a disappointed look at the old TV that only offered a measly handful of channels. “How about we ask Natasha to get us some DVDs and a player up here?” I jumped up immediately, on the hunt for pen and paper. “Let’s make a list!” My enthusiasm earned a soft chuckle from Steve. “Honestly, how come we don’t have that here anyway? No Smart TV I understand but DVDs?” I made my way back to the couch, sinking into the cushions a few feet away from him. He shrugged. “This place is meant for short stays. We rehouse people if they have to go into long-term protection.” “Fine, but such little entertainment? What if you can’t stand the other person and don’t wanna talk to them?” “Well, luckily you and I don’t have that problem.” Steve’s gentle smile made my heart flutter. I quickly glued my eyes to the notepad in my lap and brandished the pencil. “Hit me then. Besides Belle shitting on the entire townsfolk, explaining the plot of her book to some random sheep, and not eating a single bite throughout a whole song about food.” He ignored my comment. “Hercules.” “God, that one’s a hot mess but you gotta love it.” “Baboom. Name is Hades, lord of the dead. Hi, howya doin'?” I stared at him in disbelief for a second, then broke out into laughter. “Okay, that was a seriously good impression.” “Don’t sound so surprised,” he retorted with mock offence, “Like I said, I did do theatre at school.” “I know, but…” “What?” I studied him. Lounging on the couch in jeans and a knitted sweater, relaxed and comfortable. “When I met you at the station… You seemed like a very different person.” “So did you.” He gave me a crooked grin. “Maybe we’re just very different people when we’re in the city.” “Maybe first impressions are just stupid.” “Also that.”

We worked on the list for a while, moving from animation to mini series, dramas and comedies. I wondered how many of these we would actually make it through, until this surreal bubble would finally burst. When I would lose this strangely wonderful companionship. Something pulled in my chest at the mere thought. I set the notepad down and let my eyes wander through the room until they landed on the piano. “You do that a lot,” Steve said quietly. “What?” “Look at the piano.” I swallowed hard, feeling his intent gaze on me. “I wouldn’t mind you playing. Whatever you want.” “No, thank you.” Silence fell over us for a while. Not the easy silence I had grown used to with him, this one was suffocating. When he spoke again his voice was even more tender. “That song you were singing the other day. About… waiting in the wings?” My throat went dry. “Was that from the show you’re working on?” “No. Uh, it’s from a spin-off TV show about Rapunzel, you know, from Tangled.” “Huh.” Steve raised his eyebrows. “I had no idea they write such good songs for cartoons.” “Well, they brought back Alan Menken and Glenn Slater for the show, those two don’t fuck around. And Eden Espinosa sings this one, she’s pretty famous for playing Elphaba in Wicked, so you know what she brings to the table. Jeremy Jordan sang a few songs for the show as well, you don’t tend to hire him for some shitty run-of-the-mill pop tunes.” He stared at me for a moment. “That was… a lot of names.” “Never mind,” I smiled. The tension had almost left my body when his next question brought it back in full force. “It means a lot to you though, right? That song?” I swallowed thickly, the paper crumpling in my clammy hands. “Let’s just say, it hits a little too close to home.” “Hmm.” Steve nodded. “I mean, it’s not actually about theatre of course,” I fumbled, “it’s just a metaphor.” “But it’s about theatre for you.” Another endless pause stretched between us. “I’m sorry,” he eventually murmured. “You don’t have to tell me.” “I think I want to.” My admission took us both by surprise. I had been keeping up my walls for so long, with Finn being the only one who actually knew my entire story. But now I was almost craving to tear them down for this man before me. He settled back into the cushions, giving me an encouraging smile. I cleared my throat a few times, my stomach and fingers in knots.

“My mom was from Mexico. She moved to New York all by herself at nineteen. She’d been obsessed with the stage all her life, starring in every school production and constantly putting on shows for her family at home. She put herself through AMDA on a scholarship—“ I stopped myself. “Sorry, that’s the American—“ “Musical and Dramatic Academy.” Steve smiled gently. “Some theatre kids from my high school applied.” “Right. She was gifted and relentless. Even when the industry kept putting spokes in her wheel, denying her roles with bullshit excuses and, well, very thinly-veiled racism. I wish I could say things are nothing like that today but… Anyway, she eventually got her foot in the door with some minor parts and then one day broke out as Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. And she was incredible. I mean, I only ever got to see some grainy footage from the time but… God, you should’ve seen her.” His eyes shone with light warmth. “Was she even better than you?” “Definitely.” It came out sounding more bitter than I had intended. “One day she met my dad through a school music program. He was teaching high school back then. And when I came along I didn’t really have a choice but to be into music. Something was always playing, either from the stereo or my parents’ instruments. I was into the guitar but my mom insisted I learn the piano as well. She always said, ‘I don’t care what else you learn to play, as soon as you’re decent at the piano. It’s the best basis.’” “Was she right?” “Unfortunately yes,” I smirked. “And learned to love the piano. But my real love was musical theatre. She never forced that, I simply fell for it, just like she had as a child. So both my parents taught me at home and I signed up for lessons in singing, acting, dancing. It was basically a full-time job outside of school.” “That sounds intense.” “It was. But I couldn’t get enough, I loved nothing more than learning new techniques and routines, running lines, hanging out with other theatre kids. For years it was heaven.” Steve’s smile faded. “What happened then?” “In my last year of high school I started auditioning for drama schools.” I took a deep breath. “And I choked. Every single time.” “Why?” The word came out as soft as the rain pattering against the windows. For a moment I could hardly breathe with the urge to fall into Steve, to bury my face in his chest and never come up for air. I roughly cleared my throat. “Pressure, I guess. I had been in countless productions, but as long as I’d been a kid, it had always been a game somehow. Now I was facing the big leagues, my entire future depended on those few minutes in front of the committee and—“ I sank my teeth into my bottom lip. “And they all knew my mother.” “So, they expected you to be perfect.” “Of course they did.” A strangled laugh escaped me. “She always bragged about how much promise I showed. And she wasn’t wrong. I was good for my age. The stage had been home all my life. But suddenly it became hell.” Steve’s hand found mine and my heart jumped at the gentle contact. I stared at his thumb as it caressed along my knuckles. Back and forth, just like the tug between panic and comfort in my chest. “That must have been incredibly difficult,” he finally murmured. I nodded, still choked up. “My dad was pretty relaxed about it. He kept saying I could just focus on something else for a while and return to theatre when I felt ready. But Mom… She tried so hard to hide it but her disappointment broke me. I can’t imagine how it felt for her. All those countless hours teaching me, watching me learn and perform, encouraging me, supporting me. She’d always believed that I would be a star. Had made me believe I would be.” Steve didn’t say a word, just looked at me with endless sympathy, his hand a warm tether to the world.

“After a while I couldn’t even try anymore. I had panic attacks on the way to auditions, I barely slept, I almost failed my finals. So, I gave up. I worked some odd jobs for a while, trying to flush that dream out of my system, to find something else I could be good at. But as much as it hurt, I couldn’t stay away. I trained as a deputy stage manager and in some ironic way made it to Broadway after all.” “And what about your mom?” I shrugged. “She tried to be happy for me. But I think she could never really see past the waste of my education.” “Julie—“ “And then she died.” The room feel silent. I could feel Steve’s eyes on my as I tried to blink away the tears in mine. “Heart attack. Everyone said it was just stress, she had been extremely busy with work while doing all sorts of charity work and giving lessons. But I wondered… I just couldn’t help but think that my failure—“ “Julie, no.” Steve took my hand in both of his, his grip as urgent as his tone. “Don’t you dare believe something like that.” I inhaled deeply, wiping at the tears that had spilled over at last. “Sometimes I wonder whether I should just leave New York behind. Whether the joy the theatre still brings me sometimes is worth the constant reminders that I'm not really part of that world. Not in the way I want to be. The way she wanted me to be. Most of the time it all just hurts.” “I get that part,” Steven said quietly, half-lost in his own thoughts. I studied him for a moment. “You left Chicago for a good reason, huh?” He swallowed, then nodded almost imperceptibly. “The thing is: The pain doesn’t leave you, it leaves with you. You’ll just keep carrying it everywhere.” Once more, silence fell upon us. I was caught somewhere between the relief of finally having opened up and the wondering about Steve’s past which was still mostly a mystery to me. “Have you ever auditioned again?”, he suddenly asked. “I’ve tried a couple more times. But I never made it to the actual stage. I probably never will.” “Is it even possible to fully give up on something that feels like your life’s purpose?” He seemed to direct the question at the room more than me. We both stared out the window for a while, following the raindrops’ paths down the pane. Eventually he withdrew his hand from mine to stand up and an instant chill ran through my body. I had grown dangerously used to his touch. “I’m gonna make coffee. Would you like some more tea with those brownies?” “That would be great,” I said, still slightly off kilter. On his way to the kitchen he turned to face me once more. “Julie?” I looked up at him expectantly. “Thank you for trusting me with your story.” He said it as if I’d ever really had a choice.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

MASTERLIST

[clemsimunch]

I watched TLOU last week with some friends, and they told me how much they loved Pedro Pascal and how they were very excited for The Mandalorian season 3.

I was never blind to the hype around that series, and it always intrigued me. It looked very cool, but the Star Wars legacy that came with it was scary to me.

I have never seen a single Star Wars movie. I had never seen anything Star Wars related before ! Sure, I've been on the Internet. I've seen the memes the reference. I know what a lightsaber is, but I never truly felt the need to actually watch the movies. They felt old and boring to me.

Then The Mandalorian came and won the Internet heart, and I felt left out. I wanted to see it, but I had no friends or family members who were fans of the universe, and I didn't want to tackle the journey of 9 movies all alone.

So I didn't.

That's how I came to tell my friends. " I'd love to watch The Mandalorian, but I have zero Star Wars knowledge, so I wouldn't understand anything."

This was the reason I stubbornly waited 3 years to start this series, and I hate and love myself for it. I hate that it took me so long, but I loved being able to watch 2 seasons in one go, and being this close to season 3 is a blessing.

As a non star wars fan, I had no expectation and no attachment to the world, and it still won my heart. I knew of "baby yoda," but I didn't know he would appear in the 1rst episode and would be the main character of the series !

I didn't know the main trope was badass. Man finds a child and fights to protect it ! I love that trope ! I loved it in the whitcher, in the last of us and now I love it in mandalorian.

I didn't expect how much I'd like the other character and the adventure aspect of the show. I love D&D and book adventure, and it really felt like you were discovering planet after planet and doing fun side quests to contribute to the main quest.

I also found so much fun in watching Star Wars fan reactions to the show and comparing it to my viewing experience. I had no reaction to the reference or iconic characters. HELL, when Luke appears in the last episode, I wasn't even sure who that man was. I was like "damn that an old haircut who's this. Why is he stuck in the'70s?" Also, I learned a lot by watching those reactions, and it gave me a new appreciation for the series.

I also watched episode 5 6 7 of Boba fett (I watched the first one as well, but I was bored, and I dont care about boba 😔 sorry) so I could be up to speed for season 3. I personally like where the story is going and am very excited for the new season!!

Still, I have no plans to watch the main Star Wars movies ... I'm not against the idea, but I can't be bothered to do it these days.

The next Star Wars series I'd be most likely to watch is the animated Clone Wars series, but it's not in my priority watch list right now.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Lotta Stuff

The Annecy cool-news train keeps a-rollin', while I'm still reeling in from the delight that is ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE.

Speaking of SPIDER-VERSE, more on Sony Animation's 2D animated Genndy Tartakovsky adult comedy FIXED was unleashed, though still no release date or how it'll be released - despite strong implication that it's bound for... The big screen! It's going to be completed in September, too. Right around the corner. I wouldn't be surprised if this dog takes BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE's 3/29/2024 release date, giving the crew the time they need to perfect the closer to this multiverse-spanning spider trilogy.

We got some of the major cast (such as Adam Devine, Idris Elba, and Olivia "Liv" Octavius herself, Kathryn Hahn), and Tartakovsky continues to describe it as more classic-like, an R-rated LADY AND THE TRAMP and ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS. "A very sweet, charming, sincere story of friendship and romance.” Basically, everything they revealed and everything they've been saying make this sound like a winner. Plus it's Tartakovsky, you can't go wrong. We get this - and possibly his action movie BLACK KNIGHT later on down the line - instead of his POPEYE... It's been hinted that some legendary animators have been brought to this project, too. Ones that the crew didn't think they'd get... Intriguing...

Also, it could be the first major-release theatrical 2D animated movie that isn't based on a beloved property or a sequel since... THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG? Because since then... It's been films like WINNIE THE POOH, TV series-based fare like SPONGE OUT OF WATER (mixed media) and MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE. KLAUS was a Netflix film, though it did have a few screenings in theaters.

If it goes to theaters, and does pretty well relative to the budget (I'd imagine this didn't cost more than, say, $30m to make?)... Well, I don't know if it'd move the needle on more 2D films being made, let alone more adult 2D films being made... But it'd be notable and quite nice for this type of film.

In the world of streaming comes a Netflix-exclusive DreamWorks animated film written by Charlie Kaufman, of all people! (He did do uncredited rewrites on KUNG FU PANDA 2, to be fair, one of my all-time favorites.) Directed by Sean Charmatz, in his feature directorial debut, ORION AND THE DARK (based on the book of the same name) sounds like - seemingly - a whole-hog meditation on fear and the dark and the beauty the night can be... Wait why is this a streaming movie, then? I get that it's being produced up at Mikros, like the studio's CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS was, but I feel it should be a theatrical release. Sounds every bit as worthy of big screens as RUBY GILLMAN is. Either way, it's interesting to see DreamWorks having two theatrical titles a year (a sequel and a non-sequel), and also beefing up the slate with smaller, quirkier Netflix pictures. As expected, the look of the film is stylized and cartoony.

The teaser for Pixar's ELIO is finally here, from COCO co-director Adrian Molina. Just in time for ELEMENTAL's release. It looks like the colorful and fun-looking space adventure that was promised at this past D23, with neat environment and creature design, and alien humor to spare. I'm here for more space adventure animated movies. There's something rather amusing about this trailer debuting when virtually everything else on Disney's whole slate of live-action/VFX-heavy pictures got shuffled... Like almost aggressively so. AVATAR 5 pushed all the way back to 2031 (what the hell are our lives gonna look like at the end of this year alone??), STAR WARS here, Marvel there... Meanwhile, the animated pictures remain in place... Pixars in March and June, WDASes in November... Quite something.

Elsewhere, Jorge Gutierrez expands on MAYA AND THE THREE and, surprisingly, his THE BOOK OF LIFE... A new story set in the same universe, perhaps a new dynamic way of doing a shared universe that won't feel as complicated and tried-and-true as other ones out there? Good to see him getting to play around with that world of his, in addition to other projects he has lined up, including an adult dog cartoon of his own: I, CHIHUAHUA!

THE SPIDER WITHIN also sounds great: Horror and an abstract portrayal of anxiety attacks by way of the SPIDER-VERSE series, and one that I - an anxiety-sufferer - am game to check out. I'm guessing they'll put this on the Blu-ray/4K set of ACROSS... I mean I hope. That they didn't say where it'll be released colors me skeptical.

New WDAS short ONCE UPON A TIME UPON A STUDIO could either be a fun tribute to the studio's 100-year legacy, or just a cynical self-congratulatory cameo stew. I like that they're using hand-drawn for this, but there's something kind of... I don't know... Off-putting? About a studio celebrating its legacy in hand-drawn animation while... Actively not pursuing hand-drawn animation for feature films in the foreseeable future... It's only used for maybe shorts and Disney+ projects. I know they keep saying "We're gonna do 2D!" or "The director chooses CG or 2D", but I also know that that's bunk... Until an actual 2D feature is greenlit and is actually in production, then I'll believe it. Also... Making use of previously-unused audio of Robin Williams recorded during production of ALADDIN... Given what hell Disney put Williams through with that film, and since it's been almost a decade since Williams' death... I'm also a bit struck by that. I like the premise of this short fine, and it's cool to see characters spanning over 60 films and a plethora of shorts, but... given how Disney can be a little excessive in their self-congratulations and such, on their centennial year? We'll see. What I want to hear about is what WDAS is releasing Thanksgiving 2024... That's where my mind's at.