#I say this as an avid fan of the saw series

[callsign-bunnie]

For horror night, probably in the red, but how would the whole 141/Los Vaqueros react to the movie Tusk? Fair warning if you haven't seen it/seen clips it is SUPER fucked up

I watched the synopsis for this movie and I am begging for no more movies. No more movies are allowed to be made. That's it. Yeah no this is in the red. I'm gonna put it as Yellow because I'm not describing anything, oh my god, please do not look this movie. This is for Horror Night... And I am horrified

--

Soap: More just irritated because what motivates someone to make that

Ghost: Unfazed, laughed with Price because of how dumb it was

Rodolfo: Is not allowed to watch this movie, does not complain about it.

Alejandro: Somehow experienced all five stages of grief at once and will never be the same

Price: Laughs with Ghost about how dumb it is

Gaz: Also not allowed to watch it, reads the synopsis and decides that's just fine.

Graves: Refuses, calls it gore porn

Valeria: Experiencing the exact same feelings as Alejandro but mixed with the want to murder whoever made it

Farah: "Why would they put him in a zoo? SHOOT THE POOR BASTARD!"

Alex: Throws up. A lot.

Laswell: Also refuses to watch it and takes Roach, Graves, Rodolfo, and Gaz out. Makes fun of them when she gets back because WHAT DID YOU EXPECT?!

Roach: Not allowed to watch it, complains at first, but Laswell showed him the end result and he said "nevermind"

[david-talks-sw]

The OTHER type of Star Wars fan

We've already covered (through this longer post and this addendum) that research shows George wasn't that involved or interested in the derivative material of the Star Wars franchise, also known as the Expanded Universe (EU). Aside from approving a few points, he let Howard Roffman and Lucasfilm Licensing handle it.

He is the first to say that he ain't as knowledgeable about Star Wars lore as we fans are.

Thing is... he's also not as passionate as we are.

Recently, I was watching some Q&A videos of George R.R. Martin, the author of Game of Thrones... and it occurred to me:

Martin is what most Star Wars fans wish Lucas was.

Think about it.

He's a talented writer who likes to focus on morally "gray" characters and complex political plotlines,

who created a series of novels for a mature audience in which his narrative merely asks questions and lets the reader draw their own conclusions,

knows and engages in the lore behind his creation and will often respond to those lore-heavy questions, and has gone on record stating that canon is the glue that holds a story together and keeps it coherent.

Contrast that with George "continuity is for wimps" Lucas, who:

Wrote a movie franchise which is also, partially, political... but he makes it for kids, and he's explicit about how this is thematically a clear-cut story about how the conflict of "good vs evil" is really about "compassion vs greed",

with flat dialogue, boring cinematography,

and whose approach to lore and canon can be summed up in his answer to how Anakin got his scar:

"I don't know. Ask Howard [Roffman]. That’s one of those things that happens in the novels between the movies. I just put it there. He has to explain how it got there. I think Anakin got it slipping in the bathtub, but of course, he's not going to tell anybody that." - Pablo Hidalgo’s set diary, August 2003

And as a Star Wars fan, I will admit that some of his casual retcons felt disrespectful, growing up.

"Boba Fett is NOT Mandalorian?!"

I had the same reaction when I saw an interview of Kathleen Kennedy stating she was a fan of Star Wars... from a filmmaking perspective. That seemed like such a finagling cop-out for me, at the time.

"Just say you're not a real fan, God!"

And it's easy to divide it in two camps, like that. You have 1) the fans, who will delve into deep lore, and you have 2) the average moviegoer.

But looking back on it... holy shit, that is actually a completely valid way of being a Star Wars fan.

Yes, Star Wars is a transmedia franchise, it's books, it's video-games, it's deep lore, it's lightsabers and Jedi and Sith and bounty hunters and Ewoks and Jabba and High Republics and Tython and Revan etc.

But before it was that, Star Wars was a filmmaking revolution. A juggernaut of innovation for the silver screen that inspired most of today's filmmakers.

So, sure, George Lucas isn't an avid lore-loving Star Wars fan like you and me. But he is a movie fan.

"I'm not that passionate about this story. I like it, it's fun and I enjoy doing it. But it's definitely not my life. I'm a bigger movie fan than I am Star Wars fan. I like making movies. At the end of nine years of making Star Wars, I was not ready to continue it. I was completely burned out on it. I was more passionate about raising my kids than making movies and especially making Star Wars. So I made other kinds of movies and TV shows and advanced the technology I needed. It's not a matter of passion. My passion is for filmmaking. I'll go and do filmmaking that is easier to do, where you can realise your ideas better. And nine years is a big part of your life, and to commit to another nine years, I didn't wanna do that right away." - EMPIRE, 1999

And you can tell this, when you watch the Star Wars films.

There are honestly so many homages and interesting filmmaking techniques, peppered throughout the six films, which only a nerd for cinema history like George would know how to implement.

C3-PO being based on the droid from Metropolis (1927) is a perfect example of this.

And that's interesting.

Because there's essentially this entire other dimension to the films, where it's not just the story unfolding, but to filmmakers it's also a series of techniques that make them go "I wonder how they did that!" or homages that make them go "OH! I know where that's from!" like we do when an comics characters appears in live-action.

Here's other examples:

CINEMA HOMAGES

All of Star Wars is absolutely littered with homages to cinema history.

I mean, you may already know this, but Flash Gordon is what George originally wanted to shoot, but the copyright holders said they only wanted Fellini to direct it (ironically, George wasn't artsy-fart enough for them). So he decided to write Star Wars instead.

As such, the inspiration from Flash Gordon is also present visually and spiritually throughout the two trilogies.

"It was like a Republic serial, a 1930s-style matinee adventure. The idea was that you came in, saw Episode IV, had missed the first three episodes, and wouldn't get to see the rest of it." - Starlog Magazine #300, 2002

The dialogue that a lot of people refer to as "campy" and "flat" is actually a mix of George being an experimental filmmaker who doesn't give much of a fuck about dialogue (and is by his own admission, not the best at it)...

"I'd be the first person to say I can't write dialogue. My dialogue is very utilitarian and is designed to move things forward. I'm not Shakespeare. It's not designed to be poetic. It's not designed to have a clever turn of phrase. [...] I just wanted to get from point A to point B. This film doesn't lend itself to that sort of thing because it's not about snappy one-liners.  I think that Lethal Weapon-style dialogue is overused, it's a necessary aspect of high action films where you have to have the smart retort. You have to say "I'll be back baby" and stuff. It's not my style. It takes away from the integrity of the movie. [...] I'm aware that dialogue isn't my strength. I use it as a device. I don't particularly like dialogue which is part of the problem." - EMPIRE, 1999

... which is convenient, because it helped him simulate the dialogue of 1930s matinee serials, such as Flash Gordon.

"Let’s face it, their dialogue in that scene is pretty corny. It is presented very honestly, it isn’t tongue in cheek at all, and it’s played to the hilt. But it is consistent, not only with the rest of the movie, but with the overall Star Wars style. Most people don’t understand the style of Star Wars. They don’t get that there is an underlying motif that is very much like a 1930s Western or Saturday matinee serial. It’s in the more romantic period of making movies and adventure films. And this film is even more of a melodrama than the others." - Mythmaking: Behind the Scenes of Attack of the Clones, 2002

But beyond that, literally it's everywhere.

The scene where Palpatine ascends to being Emperor as Anakin slaughters his political rivals parallels the final scene in The Godfather, where Michael becomes the Don while his goons do the same thing.

This video compiles all the tributes beautifully. Check it out.

Even The Clone Wars has whole episodes that are direct homages to cult classics. The Zillo Beast episode is a clear reference to Godzilla, the episode The Wrong Jedi is inspired by The Wrong Man, etc.

"CINEMA VÉRITÉ" CINEMATOGRAPHY

I've already written a whole post (one of my favourites) showing how his fascination with cinéma vérité documentaries is reflected in the cinematography of all six Star Wars films, and it's part of what makes the entire franchise feel so immersive.

You can check it out here:

KUROSAWA

We've gone over how he's a big fan of Akira Kurosawa, and how big an influence Hidden Fortress was on both the Star Wars trilogies...

... but so is the mise-en-scène and the way George approaches production design. The reason Star Wars feels so "lived in" is also a lesson George learned from Kurosawa, which is that by making everything just a bit off-kilter, a bit dirtied-up and imperfect...

... and yet keeping it all consistent, in a way, you manage to make the film feel grounded and immersive, no matter how alien it is.

"[It] may sound odd in a movie like this, but credibility and realism, even in the most unrealistic situation… to sorta create that sense of realism is very important to making the story work and making you feel like you’re actually in the environment that transports you and gives you the suspension of disbelief that you need in order to enjoy a movie. [...] Kurosawa used to call it “immaculate realism” which is to make it slightly off-kilter, slightly eccentric, like things are in real life. Even if it’s a very predictable situation, give it that little funny edge that takes it away from that and makes it realistic. And I had to struggle very hard, in the Star Wars films, to make them appear to be realistic, even though they’re totally fantasy." - The Phantom Menace, Commentary Track #2, 1999

POST-PRODUCTION & VFX

Another one of the more impressive aspects of the first Star Wars was the dogfights and the trench raid of the Death Star. The camera pans with the spaceship, the dynamism of the cuts. The space battles is what made George creat ILM in the first place.

He was determined to do the opposite of what 2001: A Space Odyssey had done with that opening scene where the space ship moves into frame slooooowly...

... so he gave the team a collection of WWII dogfight footage to give them ideas.

(note: this was the same approach he would take years later with Dave Filoni, when teaching the latter how to edit and craft dogfights in The Clone Wars)

The attempt to film the trench run eventually led to the creation of the first motion control camera dolly.

Best analogy I can think of, when describing George's approach to Star Wars, is the following:

An avant-garde esoteric contemporary artist - y'know, the type who puts a blue dot on a white canvas and calls it art - creates a comic.

Why? Because he wants to make this one art installment for a gallery exhibition. After that, he intends to move on to other things.

But the comic is really good! And like, its audience quickly expands beyond just gallery visitors, no, everyone likes it.

Suddenly, the comic develops a cult following, and the entirety of comic book geek culture has zeroed-in on the artist and they're all asking him to make more art! And he makes more! And more!

Then he stops for two decades, moves on to other art projects, raises his kids. Years later, he discovers new ways of drawing, and he's like "I'm making a Prequel to the comic, y'all wanna see it?"

Everyone cries out gleefully: "Oh God, yes! Finally! Show us!"

But this motherfucker makes a manga.

Why? Because he feels like it.

And of course he does, he's just creating art, right? He discovered the graphic tablet, so he's having fun with it, because he's always innovating and pushing the envelope with his art.

And the movies are fine, by manga standards. But by comic book standards, they obviously suck! The comic book audience is mad. They wanted another comic book, not a manga. Why is it in black and white? Why is read right-to-left? This comic sucks!

(And arguably, they have a point... as a savvy businessman, he's made a whole lot of money off this comic, he built a media empire out of it, and instead of giving them what they want, he made something else)

But again... this guy isn't a comic book illustrator, and has been very explicit about saying this.

He's an artist who - for a very specific project - drew a comic.

Many things can be true at once:

the fact that these creative decisions didn't always hit their mark for the average moviegoer, or fans of "Star Wars, the space fantasy movies and expanded universe" (usually the lore-loving geeks like myself)...

... and the fact that they were meticulously and carefully crafted in a way that fans of "Star Wars, the revolutionary film" (aka fans of cinema and filmmaking) can appreciate.

There's a spectrum of the fandom, and there is a spectrum in the way we can appreciate Star Wars. Which kinda reminds me of that scene in Chef (2014) where Carl goes on a rant explaining the intricacies of making his chocolate lava cake to a food critic.

It's not just undercooked chocolate.

It's molten.

Conversely, it's not just flat, campy dialogue. It's an homage to the 1930s matinee serials à la Flash Gordon.

It's not just boring cinematography. It's a reproduction of cinéma vérité documentary-style camera work which effectively grounds the film.

Having considered all this, when I hear that Tony Gilroy or Kathleen Kennedy were more in the latter camp, I go "fair enough".

First of all, because like it or not, so was George. He clearly didn't give a single crap about the comics and books, besides signing off on minor plot points. He's not a "sci-fi movie director", he's an experimental filmmaker who makes movies set in space.

But secondly, because - aside from children - it's clear the audience he was targeting was these cinema-savvy folks who'd get his references and would be inspired by the filmmaking techniques.

Not the fans or the critics.

[aspenaspenaspenaspenaspen]

I don’t like how the Sokeefe confession went down, because it felt so abrupt compared to the build up of the series.

I think this because the whole series it’s Keefe who’s loved Sophie since the beginning, Keefe who hinted his feelings and flirted with her, and Keefe who couldn’t confess. And it was Sophie who couldn’t figure out her feelings and was oblivious to his. So it felt strange that though Keefe technically confessed first in the letter he left, it was Sophie who initiated the actual confession.

I understand that all the build up for Sophie confessing was in Stellarlune, but it just didn’t fit with the rest of the series, and honestly, felt unfair to Keefe (from a readers stand point, I’m sure he’s very happy in cannon). He should have been the one to confess.

I’ve heard people complaining that Chapter 42 was written like a fan fiction, and I disagree with this statement for two reasons, one that I think this is supposed to be insulting the actual writing of the scene, and I would never insult Shannon Messangers writing, and two because I don’t like to spread that fanfic writing is bad because fan fiction can have some amazing writing.

However I can see the similarities to Chapter 42 and fanfiction. As an avid reader of fanfiction, a reader can tell when the fanfic author is just writing a confession as a way to get the characters to kiss, the confession may be abrupt without a lot of build up, but also may just be very easy and quick. And that’s sort of how I felt reading the Sokeefe confession. It felt too easy for all the build up and angst and unrequited but eventually requited love that is Sokeefe.

Keefe should have been the one to confess, and Sophie should of had a harder time accepting feelings instead of pining for Keefe the entirety (?) or Stellarlune, and it should have been more difficult. Also Ro shouldn’t have been peer pressuring Sophie….

….And that’s the real controversial take here. Because, I do genuinely believe Sophie likes Keefe in cannon. I’m not a big Sokeefe shipper but I saw where this was going throughout the series. However in cannon, to the reader, it looks like Ro had to convince Sophie that she liked Keefe, and even if I think she does, it still feels like peer pressure when reading it. And I think Keefe would also be disappointed if he heard that it was Ro who convinced Sophie that she like him, because it should have been Sophie battling with her own feelings, not Ro telling her how she feels (regardless of if she was correct).

If I were to rewrite the Sokeefe part of Stellarlune, I would’ve have Sophie understanding that part of the letter, but pushing down her feelings and choosing to be oblivious in order to avoid facing her feelings when she already has so much going on. Have her think about Keefe while he’s gone, and be jealous of Biana (or suspicious whatever you’d call it) in that one scene but have her obviously be falsely justifying it in order to push down those romantic feelings.

Then when she does find Keefe, make her avoid mentioning the letter at all costs. Have it hang over their heads at every moment their alone together, have it be awkward. Then, on accident have her mention the letter. Let there be a pause.

Let Keefe be a bit bitter about Sophie refusing to acknowledge anything. Have him be all like “oh so you did see the letter.”

Have Sophie still refuse to talk about it. “yeah, I guess I was so distracted with trying to find you I didn’t really think about it (lying). was there anything important in there?”

Have Keefe’s eyes turn dark “no, I guess not. (lying)” and have him rudely stalk of.

Then later have them doing something for the black swan with their friends, looking over scrolls, idk research or something.

Have Sophie be frustrated after the scrolls don’t tell them anything important. “why can’t the author of these just tell us what this means?” She should grumble

And Keefe should say “well maybe you should read between the lines to figure out what they mean.”

Sophie throws down the scroll in her hands “well maybe people should just say what they mean instead of writing it down in a way that can mean anything!!” Keefe sets down his scroll, walking off outside. No one else knows what’s going on but Sophie sighs and follows him out.

“Keefe! Wait!” She shouts. Keefe would whirl around, tears in his eyes.

“Don’t you think I’ve waited long enough?”

Sophie stares at him, surprised that he’s crying.

“I’ve waited this whole time to because I didn’t want to pressure you. But you can’t even acknowledge it.”

“Because I don’t know what “it” is! You left, and you leave me this note, and I’m just supposed to understand what it means?”

“You know what it means! Why else would I write it?”

“You wrote it because you were leaving-“

“I WROTE IT BECAUSE I LOVE YOU”

“YOU WROTE IT BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER SEE ME AGAIN!”

Suddenly there are tears in Sophie’s eyes too. “You’re accusing me of avoiding all this but you were just as willing to! You didn’t want to confront me with your feelings so you wrote down your confession, but now you’re back and all you can do is shout it at me.”

Keefe takes a step closer, his eyes wide.

“How am I supposed to know you mean it if you don’t say it?” Sophie looks down, tugging at an eyelash.

Keefe takes another step closer, taking her hand in his. His voice is croaky and wet but each word is clear.

“Sophie Foster…I love you.”

And that’s when it all hits Sophie, because that’s everything she needed to hear and all the things she’s been stuffing down comes up and hits her all at once, and she physically stumbles into Keefe.

“Foster?” Keefe asks, catching her. Sophie looks up and makes eye contact with him.

“I think I’ve just fallen for you.” (The joke is that she actually fell over. In case it wasn’t clear.)

[bread-tab]

okay random 4am rant time, don't take it too seriously, but: people need to recognize there's a difference between "bad worldbuilding" and "worldbuilding styles you personally don't like."

bad worldbuilding is, for example: internally inconsistent, bigoted, or something else that messes up the plot or characterization of the story itself. sloppy. careless.

things that are *not* bad worldbuilding:

minimalism.

i've been thinking about this in the first place because i saw a post about the Murderbot Diaries a while back (don't know who made it, don't care; this ain't personal) saying the worldbuilding in those books is bad and lazy. to me, as an avid sci-fi reader and writer, that is clearly not true. but i understood why they thought this. the series uses extremely minimalist worldbuilding which intentionally withholds a lot of detail, in a way that is consistent with the (nonhuman, robot, depressed robot) first-person POV. this could also be a feature of the author's writing style in general—i haven't read her other works—but i wouldn't bet too much on it.

the signature of intentional minimalism is that there *are* details about the speculative setting—they're just doled out very thoughtfully and sparingly. the intent is to leave you a little hungry for more. it's to make you think very carefully about the details you do have. this is best suited to stories that already have elements of psychological and/or mystery plot types. the worldbuilding you do see should still be believable, internally consistent, and have interesting implications if you think about it a bit. but you are for sure going to have to think harder to get it.

if you're not in the mood, i will concede, a minimalist style definitely comes off as a bit dry. if you are in the mood, it's relaxing.

whimsy.

this is a big one for sci-fi fans in particular. see: the constant debate about whether any particular story is "hard" or "soft" sci-fi, and whether soft sci-fi is bad, etc etc. but worldbuilding doesn't have to be realistic to be good. you're allowed to have Jedi and humanoid aliens and time travel in your sci-fi. you're allowed to have historical anachronisms and astrology and po-ta-toes in your fantasy. whether or not they're silly isn't the deciding factor on how "good" these worldbuilding elements really are.

the key thing is tonal consistency. you've got a serious high-fantasy setting with its own strict, un-Earth-like theology and magic system, and you throw Santa Claus in there? yeah, that's not gonna land well. but C.S. Lewis can get away with that in Narnia just fine. why? because the Chronicles of Narnia are whimsical children's stories with a strong Christian/Western mythological influence already, and their central conceit is a crossover between the mundane world and the magical world. of course Santa can cross over too. it's whimsical, but it's not actually random. (and if you ventured into straight-up comedy, you could get away with random too. as long as it's funny.)

the unreliable narrator.

i don't have a good example for this off the top of my head (maybe Murderbot again? idk, i'm sleepy, fill in your own) but i'll tell you how to recognize when this is done well.

by definition, an unreliable narrator has some key misconceptions about their own world. so how do you tell what's going on as a reader? how do you know the writer isn't equally confused?

you connect the dots. solve the puzzle. in practice this is similar to reading a minimalist setting—but instead of just sparse clues, you also have a boatload of red herrings. you can catch some of these misleading details by comparing them to your real-world knowledge and saying "wait, this doesn't add up." other times, the false clues intentionally trick you by subverting those real world expectations.

the trick is in the consequences. regardless of what the narrator says, their actions should still have logical consequences. there should be things going on that the POV character doesn't know about. the character will be forced to learn and adapt their narrative because of these shifting circumstances. you can catch them in a lie. the inconsistencies themselves tell a story.

...

i'm gonna stop myself there because this post is long and i oughtta be sleeping. just. this is a distinction worth making. is it really bad worldbuilding, or is it simply not the genre you're craving today? learn the difference for your own sake. you'll have an easier time realizing if a story is something you'll find enjoyable to read, regardless of its actual quality.

[demisexual-in-distress]

Any *SHNIFFFFF* helluva and/or hazbin headcanons??? o-o

*AHEHEHEHEM* I CAN RANT YES UR SUMMONING MY INNER NERD (LONG) (SORRY THIS HAS BEEN ROTTING IN MY ASK BOX IVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE NOW)

pls dont flop i spent way too many hours on this lol only doing 6 (six) from the main casts!!! And, sadly, no, Fizzarolli is not included, though I do love him dearly.

Helluva Headcanons:

Blitz:

frickin loves spirit

(saw this somewhere else not sure where) huge-ass horns scratch up his couch, hence the shitty tears

Makes sure to cherish Loona as much as possible on her bday bc of trauma from his childhood

Wants to be the parent possible to her also due to trauma (daddy issues :\)

Insecure about his scars :(

Lost Verosika because he adopted Loona in a last-ditch effort to save their relationship, but refused to get rid of her when V wasn't a fan

Eats anything and everything Brandon Rogers does (canon??) (such as cheese and hotsauce)

Told Barbie about his crush on Fizz before trying to tell Fizz himself

never grew out of bands he liked as a teen

Undiagnosed learning disabilites (dyslexia? he tries his best)

Poor education

(TW, S.A.) Stolas:

WATCHES EVERY TELENOVELA IN THE GODDAMN BOOK

Also enjoys musicals and constantly sings soundtracks while alone (projecting a bit)

Genuinely wants Via and Loona to hang out; wants some sort of father-daughter bond? with Loona, but isn't sure how to approach her

was verbally, physically, and sexually abused by Stella in their "relationship"

GREY'S ANATOMY

I think we all know this by now... Eyeliner.

Black sheep (canon?)

plays some sort of classical instrument idk (piano?)

PAINTS (happy little trees)

Big fan of Cruel Prince series yk

Big fan of fantasy in general

Nerds abt astronomy to Via

Adelle. No other words.

Wattpad user u can't convince me otherwise

Definitely neurodivergent

Millie:

Dyed Sallie Mae's hair when she transitioned, was a makeshift hairdresser for a little while (till Sal figured out how to do it herself)

Had a lot of pets as a child

Tries to stay in contact with all her siblings. Emphasis on tries.

Used to get homesick A LOT

Homeschooled

Ik it's a common one now, but babysat Loona while Blitz was in prison, leading to her and Moxxie meeting

THIS GURL CAN HANDLE HER DAMN DRINKS ‼️

Best homemade recipes by far

Has and will not hesitate to eat a bug once more

Very organized

Moxxie:

Likes to write

MUSICALS (canon) he loves phantom, les mis, and a gentleman's guide to love and murder (ahahhaem Bryce pinkham)

Has many hyperfixations! AUDHD

Loves kids, but gets overstimulated/overwhelmed when taking care of them

In severe need of validation due to trauma

Cat person

Out on a limb here but likes pottery

Bouncy leg stim yk

Panic! At the Disco led to his bi realization

Violinist just trust me

Loves mice for some odd reason

Gullible? Is that canon?

Can sketch pretty good!

Overwhelmed by loud noises and crowded spaces

Loona:

ACE SPECTRUM!!!!

Watches movies with blitz late at night as a tradition

Taught Blitz makeup tips for when he does his weird drag human disguise thing

follows 666 News on the hotel's strange journey

percussionistcore idk how else to say that

Knows EXACTLY how to deal with a hangover (ty blitz)

Social anxiety (might break this down in a seperate post cuz im in a ranty mood)

Has seen the show daria (or at least the hell version) (yall better kno wut im talking about)

Tries not to spend too much / is gentle with Blitz's bank account

Octavia:

Deep down, a sanrio girl is born

Nightcore bitches u already know

Very polarized when it comes to her relationship with stolas (canon?)

Has attempted to bring Stolas into her world - definitely shares her special interests with him, he tries his best to support

Plays at least ONE classical instrument bc she wanted to make Stolas proud :,) (never said she was good at it)

Very sheltered when it comes to Stolas and Stella's actual relationship toward each other

avid collector of taxidermy and other creepy things

She definitely knows those OG goth dances

Photography!!

Dr Martens do i have to say more

Hazbin Headcanons:

TW for Angel Dust and Niffty's (of all people), S.A. mentions.

Charlie:

YA sapphic romances!!!

Webtoon freak

Pinterest whore

Listens to Katy Perry + Hayley Kiyoko

Sanrio again!! Aggretsuko or Chococat r her favs

Can genuinely help people through tough times

Autism spectrum? a little out on a limb here, but she seems to have a hard time breaking down the psychology of sinning/sinners

Paints Vaggie's nails all the time

Vaggie was so her bi awakening; Seviathan and Vaggie were her only two relationships

CATS!!

LOVES Pixy Stix yk they're just straight up sugar

has a diary lol

ADHD

Vaggie:

feels so indebted to Charlie because of how much she took care of her after Falling

girl in red kind of sapphic

Struggles with self-worth

Definitely best exorcist girl on Adam's team

Lute was searching for a reason to get rid of her

brushes Charlie's hair idk

Candles. I don't know why

OPENS/CLOSES DOORS WITH THOSE HUGE ASS HIPS IDK ITS JUST RIGHT TO ME

Doesn't have the heart to tell Charlie when she's not fully correct on something

Origami

Wakes up at ungodly hours due to nightmares and anxiety, lock checks the hotel ALL THE TIME

honestly, tumblr user, silent reblogs

Alastor (sorry, most deal with his time alive):

Genuinely beginning to care for the hotel-- it scares him.

DADDY ISSUES + MOMMY ISSUES HE'S COLLECTED THEM ALL!!!!

Follow up: traumatic childhood

Mauled by dogs (is this still canon? Was this ever canon? DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER THAT???)

Knows the basics of technology, refuses to acknowledge it

Constantly playing jazz music from his radio in his room

Has a very vivid memory of his past, will not let himself forget it

Needs fucking glasses but that monocle don't do shit

Tea > coffee

Was convinced his asexuality was a flaw after being told so

Held onto Mimzy for the sake of nostalgia and memories of time alive

Insomniac

Nerd for jazz

Spoke some French as a child, though he isn't fluent

Husk's and Angel's get a bit detailed... I'm a slut for characters with such a vast possibility of headcanons

Husk (yeah I realize this won't make as much sense if you don't know all of his lore because of my obsession with him, I'll clarify what's already canon):

BLEEDS INTO ALASTOR, ALSO STRANGELY DETAILED: While alive, Husk played the saxophone professionally (canon). In his afterlife, as an overlord, he had one and continued to play bc us musicians r weird fucks who love to torture ourselves. Alastor knew he could play, and, being a jazz lover, LOVES that aspect of Husk. Just about the only thing he likes about him. Now, at the hotel, while he no longer plays, Alastor still brought his saxophone, which rots in Husk's closet.

Niffty's in his room ALL THE FUCKING TIME, it can't possibly get dirty

Doesn't make a mess to begin with--- husk hasn't personalized his room at all since he arrived, he doesn't know when Alastor will pull him out

Is used to that kind of travel anyways, since he did so much when he was alive (canon!!)

Never was that close to his parents-- they were busy with the (canon->) casino

Is (surprisingly) educated on LGBTQIA+ terms, labels, and knows about the most important landmark events in the community's history, he just prefers not to use labels for himself

Close to Niffty, has had conversations with her in Japanese (canonically speaks it) to prevent Alastor from understanding

Always wanted kids, knew he didn't have a stable enough life to have them and didn't want them to have a repeat of his own parents' absence in his childhood

MIXED RACE!! A bit of everything, I'd like to say

Had glasses when he was alive, where the fuck did they go in the afterlife

ACE SPECTRUM (previous post)!!! Demisexual & demiromantic (can u tell I'm projecting a lil???)

Hates KeeKee

Hates large crowds + loud noises, idk it speaks to me, especially with those big ass ears

I don't fully lean towards him being neurodivergent, though I do believe that Husk likes to have something to do with his hands as a form of stimming, if that makes sense

Alone most of his life

(TW, S.A.) Angel Dust (a lot of when he was alive):

Lived with Molly while alive

Was disowned when he got the courage to come out to his dad, fell out of the mafia and had to make a living for the first time ever

Wanted to be an actor, never got casted (while alive) due to being queer

Valentino romanticized his career, making him believe that he wouldn't always be the actor that he is

Career was also romanticized by the fact that he was finally accepted as gay

Performed in drag at gay bars

Borrowed dresses, makeup, other "feminine" things/accesories from Molly, who had a similar style

Isn't as up-to-date with technology and modern things as he seems to be

Tries to cover up both (slight) italian and New York(er?) accent, fails miserably

Had fish while alive (canonically loves fish lol)

Brother + father didn't attend his funeral

Met Cherri very close to when she arrived in Hell

learns more about media and pop culture from Cherri

Originally was in something like a relationship with Val, but it was more of S.A. than consenting sex after a while. When he began to disagree, this showed more prominently.

I don't have anything for Niffty except for one thing, so trigger warning once more. I believe that Niffty came from an immigrant family from Japan—half white. In the 50s, housewives got a bit stir-crazy from all the work they did, leading to hysteria, anxiety, depression, and other issues. In some situation where leaving the house was necessary, I believe one or multiple guys, possibly older, attempted to sexually assault Niffty. Asian girls, such as myself, that look like that "stereotypical" East Asian, young, small, etc., are fetishized. Niffty must've been little, judging by her form, and she was also an immigrant, and also a WOMAN—seen as lesser. In self-defense, she killed him (or all of them? I'm leaning toward it being multiple), having had enough. She was soon diagnosed with the housewife syndrome and lobotomized, meaning they gave her SEVERE brain damage, hence her twisted mind in the afterlife.

Overall, Niffty is a character that we don't know much about yet. Of course I'll write my own story over that. Playing with fandoms is just what I do. :) While I do genuinely believe the part about her being lobotomized will become canon, the rest is, again, just something that's been brewing in my head for a while. Maybe I'll incorporate it in my own writing, who knows?

I wanna see other headcanons in the reblogs and replies :D If this does well, I always have more!

[hwaightme]

Your fan, Jongho (part 1)

(part 2) (your fan ml)

⚽pairing: jongho x footballer!gn!reader ⚽summary: a bulletpoint-style drabble of what it would be like to have jongho stanning you. part two here ⚽wordcount: 1.4k ⚽warnings/tags: unedited, jongho falling fast, you are a football prodigy, hongjoong lowkey is a wingman, jongho hiding feelings, sports, football, cute romance, overall wholesome vibes (lmk if anything isn't here) ⚽a/n: thank you so much for all the support and kindness <3 here is a bit of a brainwave I had, which may or may not turn into a series for all members (think "Your fan, _____)~

An avid football fan, he was proud to know the names of any new players who were making the rounds as rising stars

While casually viewing highlights of the team that won the national championship not long ago, he took note of you.

Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, you were a fresh face on the field for him.

Recently you took the sports world by storm, having qualified for major championships an really moving up in the ranks to become a renowned forward.

Jongho, along with many of your team's fans, could not help but be captivated by you.

For him, it was your perseverance that did it. And the way the uniform looked on you but that is BESIDES THE POINT

He would never say that. Only hard work, professionalism and... oh no did he have a celebrity crush?

Was this how ATINY felt????

He was in a blur while he went down the YouTube spiral, starting by watching one of your most recent post-match interviews, and never quite finishing his deep dive because there were always more videos to watch.

Probably nobody would ever know that he was indifferent to you; as in, he was more than watching you and your team play.

He was cheering YOU on, knowing the training you did and the tough challenges you overcame. Cheering YOU on because he knew unlike any other what it was like to have the world scrutinizing you.

Cheering YOU on because that was what his heart felt inclined to do. Jongho had a separate football account, and even though he did not really interact with other fans, it gave him exactly what he wanted - the ability to live out his fanboy dreams, be it football overall or to learn more about you.

Actually went to see the matches you have been announced to play in, if time allowed.

Though either way he knew he would enjoy it because, well, he likes the sport, if you weren't playing since first half-time he hated to admit but he'd pay a little less attention.

This man had learned your club's songs and fanchants, hands down. Easy as pie.

Okay so he was still a tiny bit in denial about having a full-blown crush on you because "why would he experience any sort of affection towards someone he has never met"

Almost got caught by the other members when he was smiling proudly at his phone screen, rewatching an advertisement you recently starred in, kind of in the fashion: "look at my bias go, they are so amazing I cannot believe that I have the opportunity to watch!!!!!"

But he was prepared - so he quickly switched to some ATINY edit from one of their shows as soon as he saw someone attempting to creep up behind him; deception 100

Then came the fateful day, one during which his heart actually flip-flopped, did a spin and soared like his high notes.

A video interview with you for a magazine had been released, and for some reason or other ATEEZ kept on being bombarded with it on twitter. It got to the point where even the totally ‘football indifferent’ members were curious.

The next few minutes were excruciating for Jongho – squeezed between San and Yeosang, the group gathered around to check what the fuss was about, or whether it was just ATINY going a tad... enthusiastic after the comeback, for fun.

The adrenaline rush that accompanied trying not to reveal his excitement was eating Jongho from the inside. You were literally going into depth about your childhood dreams and motivations, how you trained and what you were hoping for in the future.

So far so… normal? Only Jongho was hyped (even though he had a poker face on)

BUT THEN

The interview moved in a musical direction. The magazine enjoyed presenting what celebrities listen to in their free time or when going about their day, so they always asked what the top tracks of their interviewees were.

And you being the legend you are, after thinking about “what song has been playing on repeat recently when you are in the gym?”, said “Well, Guerrilla by ATEEZ is fantastic. I have been listening to that quite a bit.”

It was at this moment all members lost their minds

Woop-wooping, screaming and hollering, they were punching each other’s shoulders

You, an internationally sought-after player, rising star in football, completely unrelated their world just so happened to listen to their music?

Jongho was on cloud nine

But seeing as you were continuing to talk, aggressively shushed at the rest of his members

“The power and passion in their music in general is unreal. Like take this song. That high note, on ‘flashing light’, going into the chorus… makes me run double-speed.”

“Have you been to their concerts?”

“Not yet, unfortunately, but hopefully stars will align.” And that was that. Jongho was offered congratulatory pats on the back for having his part be mentioned. No wonder ATINY were spamming their social media accounts.

Jongho waited until everyone is back to chaotic neutral to slink away into his dorm room and rewatch the video again. And again. A gummy smile not leaving his face.

That was when he got a thousand lightbulbs flashing above his head – rushing, he asked his manager if it was okay for ATEEZ to follow you on social media, talking some nonsense about ‘possibly adding more popularity and going with the trend’… the details did not matter, he got what he wanted and was really giddy about it.

Soon enough, your official account was also following them back. (the crowd goes wild)

If only he could see you, in the backseat of a car with your agent, squealing in excitement when you saw THE notification pop up. You shook the living daylights out of them, continuously pointing at your screen and repeating “OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH DO YOU SEE WHO IS FOLLOWING ME ATEEZ IS FOLLOWING ME OHMYGOSHICANNOTHOWISTHISREAL”

Unbeknownst to you, your agent was already liaising with the right people at KQ to potentially arrange an informal meeting – yes, you were lucky you had them working with you. You down-played just how much you listened to ATEEZ while preparing for matches but could not help mentioning your respect for the idols.

It worked out well because suddenly ticket sales for your next match went up? And generally, publicity was looking good? Agents were not mad at all.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks, and after a brilliant match with you scoring the winning goal on the 91st minute, you had the chance to meet your number one fan.

Jongho had no idea how he was fortunate enough to have this arranged for him – apparently he was almost not allowed to go, with some staff stating that Hongjoong should be the one to do the networking, but Hongjoong, being the captain, and having caught on that Jongho was a lot more ‘involved’ with your activities than anybody else, demanded the maknae to represent ATEEZ.

The man was over the moon when greeting you in person for the first time. Though you did not have much time to talk, nor could you dive into anything that would reveal your mutual pining seeing as you had whole armies of staff floating around you, photographers and videographers around every corners… both of you had a great time.

You felt as though he understood you without any extensive explanations needed. Not only was he knowledgeable about the sport, but he was just… so attentive and gentlemanly.

As more people were leaving the stadium and the changing rooms, finally you had a moment of quiet to yourselves. And in that exact moment, Jongho sharply inhaled and produced, seemingly OUT OF NOWHERE, the most recent ATEEZ album.

He was not sure whether to gift you the album or a Lightiny, but chose the former to be less ‘imposing’ and risking to force fandomship upon you or something. Pretty much went full rumination-station, which was quite unlike him.

Either way you would have been incredibly grateful and would have displayed the present on one of your shelves. The fact that someone you admired and who you felt admired you was thoughtful enough to bring anything made you soft.

Grinning wide, you wished each other success for the future and hoped to meet again soon.

Which was MUCH sooner than you would have imagined. Since once you got home and opened the album, a neatly folded piece of paper fell out with a cute note from Jongho and his personal number.

Now that is a clean goal.

a/n: thank you for reading! Here is part 2

[needlesandnilbogs]

Known Facts About City Spies Book 6 and Beyond

collated at the Avid Reader bookstore event/signing in Davis, CA, on 6/23/24

On future books:

City Spies book 6 is finished and in the proofreading stage. It will probably be released in February 2025, he's allowed to share the title and cover as of this week.

City Spies 6 is called "London Calling" and the cover (which I briefly saw on his phone screen) is predominantly yellow and green

Robert is the protagonist and the Mother/Clementine/Robert/Annie larger plot will be completely resolved in book 6

There will be at least 8 total city spies books, likely 10

Sherlock society 1 is coming out in September

He's going to be on a two book a year release schedule -- February city spies and September Sherlock society

On research/past books/writing

he writes the first draft then goes to the places to research them

he talks to a lot of experts -- for city spies this includes a bookseller's husband who's ex-cia and planned the mission in forbidden city for him, for Sherlock society he got to go on a Miami marine patrol police boat

the city spies books work best with three cities they go to, boat being hostage in the first paragraph of golden gate is based on kid saying plot took ages to get to Big Thing in book 1 so now every book starts with a big thing happening. The middle city is the city of adventure and city alluded to in the title.

He did not get to physically go to Russia or China or Egypt but he did go to Venice after first draft of mission manhattan, went to every location in the book, then used pictures he took there

Washington he got a friend to show him the abandoned spots very unsafely, including embassy row and the empty Iranian embassy which fascinated him

He walked around Iranian embassy and the United Kingdom and Brazil embassies are actually across from it, the security didn't like him taking those pictures as much but it inspired him

If he could choose one song that best represents mission manhattan/city spies: We are family

when he writes a series he's trying to answer a single question and the books are all different variants on the answer. For city spies it's "what is a family"

he puts his life into the books, especially with a parent being missing and trying to find that connection

Middle grade advice: Write from the pain of when you're thirteen

"As a consumer of art we still believe in magic, but there is no magic […] we're faking the magic, it's just sweat. You forget what they're doing is sweat too."

he and his writing friends all feel like imposters. He talks to ppl who've won newberries and still feel like imposters and then they finally have little clicks that say maybe they can do this, like when his publisher said maybe he didn't need blurbs on his books anymore

Research is for accuracy and he hates being wrong and sometimes he hand waves but it gives him inspiration

real life is better than fiction

On Clementine, Mother, their kids:

book 6 resolves all the issues with clemmie and mother and the kids but not all the series's problems

"In the end as I wrote Clementine I wasn't sure how she was going to end up," he "wrestled writing her every time"

"Clementine is a puzzle" kat says, based on a thing a fan said

Good or bad, accidental or not, Clementine is the most interesting character bc you don't know what side she's on

On public libraries and independent bookstores:

About the nypl: "it's the most fascinating thing to me, this library. It's the Vatican of American books."

There aren't easy answers to the problem of cutting funding for libraries, there's a reason independent bookstores and libraries are valuable and it's bc this type of event matters and they have so many services

"Public libraries are one of the greatest things, as far as altruism, our society has ever created"

When it becomes an issue of books being banned it's not good, it's not okay

These are important issues and it's not simple but access to books written by "not just middle aged white guys like me" is really important

what gets lost is book recs and new authors

"the power we have in the exchange of ideas is valuable"

it's stuff that's been sitting there for a while and failed miserably and then gets popular, libraries and independent bookstores are part of that

TikTok is the single largest driving force in youth literature and it may not exist in a year

On the potential City Spies movie:

MGM studios bought the right to city spies film series before they were bought by Amazon

This happened because there's a Guatemalan woman who's the head of development at mgm, and she has twelve year old twin brothers who are reading city spies, she hears the story and says that sounds like a movie, reads the first page and is hooked, reached out and acquired the rights and then he heard nothing for ages

Amazon bought mgm and he thought it was done but they liked city spies, they hired a producer and then writers strike blocked any development but they now have a writer

He's staying out of the writing process, his background in film is making a lot of connections but also means he knows to stay out of it (though if he's asked he'd be enthusiastic to help)

he gets on set one day and gets two tickets to premiere

Movie in theaters not tv show

doesn't really believe it will happen yet because spy school was gonna be a movie then it wasn't

"I would wait to start worrying about following it till later", he doesn't talk about it really even to friends

MGM made an announcement to variety and so everyone found out

He and his wife hope it will happen (cause it's cutting down time till she can retire), she's his health insurance and it's why it seems a lot of writers end up married to teachers and have insurance through them

tagging @fishyupmywishy also

[simplyclary]

Fan-Casting You As My Favorites

(Photo credits to Mekhi Turner)

As an avid reader and movie geek, there's always a point in time when I cast my favorite actor/actress as a character. It's just inevitable to do. And recently, I have imagined Taylor Zakhar Perez as many characters he can play in the future from books and animated movies alike.

Those listed below is just the most popular ones I have casted him as. Also note that other than the first one, the last three are just my personal fan-casts. So without further ado, here's the first one and by far the most popular one even TZP himself knows about this.

First Fan-Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez as Flynn Rider (Eugene Fitzherbert) in the upcoming live-action Tangled.

(Photos credits to London Fashion Week on Twitter/X and Disney)

I mean, what else can I say? As a Disney fan since the age of 3, I approve of this fancast. Like it's going to be so good to see Taylor play a scoundrel turned prince. Something like Han Solo vibes. He's got the looks, the voice (I'm also manifesting a solo song for him considering that the other princes in the other live-action remakes get a solo song).

To note at a lot of people also had a crush on Flynn Rider so why not cast one of the most handsome men alive to play him. I will definitely be seated for this movie if ever he is casted.

I also want to mention I have a lot of people whom I want to play Rapunzel (Florence Pugh, Sabrina Carpenter and Dove Cameron are among my candidates) but there's only one Flynn Rider for me and that is Taylor Zakhar Perez.

Here's a link to mycast.io where people can vote on their faves about a role: TZP as Flynn Rider Fancast. Good to see that TZP is the top choice for the role, as he should be.

Onto the next roles....I would again like to reiterate that these are just my personal fan-casts, especially as of recent times, when TZP decided to emotionally kill me by wearing all-black ensembles.

Second Fan-Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez as Rhysand, the High Lord of the Night Court

(Photo credits from TZP's Instagram; artwork credits from artworks-by-rokii from Instagram)

Ahhh, my High Lord of the Night Court and the most beautiful man I (and the main character Feyre) have ever seen.

For those who are unfamiliar with Rhysand's character, he is the High Lord of the Night Court in the A Court of Thorns and Roses book series by Sarah J. Maas. Physicality-wise, he is a tanned-tall and chiseled Fae man with black-blue hair and eyes that are so blue that they are the color of violets. Manner-wise, he is kind and is always willing to defend those he loves. He would rather let himself suffer than let his loved ones suffer. He may look so evil at first but once you get to know him, you'll see that underneath that dark exterior is a heart of gold.

Why am I fan-casting TZP as Rhysand, you ask? The answer is simple. Coz I love both of them! Also, I am not the first one to fancast Taylor as Rhysand. I merely saw a tweet and that one tweet was enough to end my fantasies afloat.

Also, to see him play a morally grey character would be a treat. It would be a good opportunity to cast him because Hulu is adapting ACOTAR into a TV series so at this point, I'm just hoping for the best.

He's also one of the many actors that people want to see play Rhysand. TZP as Rhysand fan-cast.

Third Fan-Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez as Azriel from A Court of Mist and Fury

(TZP Photo from Pinterest; Artwork credits by artworks-by-rokii on Instagram)

Another character from the ACOTAR series. Azriel is one of my most favorite characters in the story. Physicality, he is also tall and has black wings protruding from his back. Azriel is also known to be one of Rhysand's best friends. He is still a mysterious character to me and I have yet to read a book where he is the central character.

Getting Taylor to play a mysterious character like Azriel would be a joy because you will spend the whole time figuring out his goals.

I would also like to be honest here and say that TZP is not the first choice to play Azriel but I'm okay with that because Matthew Daddario is the main choice to play Azriel. Matt is also one of my favorite actors because of his amazing portrayal of Alec Lightwood in Shadowhunters.

This is the last of the fan-casts for the ACOTAR series but I would like to share another one.

Fourth Fan-Cast: Taylor Zakhar Perez as Xaden Riorson from Fourth Wing.

(TZP photo credits to Mekhi Turner; Artwork credits from booknuts_ on Instagram)

Xaden Riorson. One of the most exquisite men I (and Violet Sorrengail) have ever seen.

For those who are unaware, Xaden is the wingleader of the Fourth Wing. He has a dragon named Sgaeyl and is Violet's love interest. He is handsome and has dark eyes and dark hair.

I personally consider Xaden as the "Rhysand" of the Fourth Wing series but considering that the second book just came out, I'm a little scared for his future.

Similar to Rhysand, I'm not the first to cast TZP as Xaden because the media platform enews posted a TikTok not long ago that Taylor is their dream guy to play Xaden. Personally, I'm not mad about that because knowing that Taylor is a big fan of Harry Potter and this series has a Harry Potter mixed with Hunger Games vibe to it, so playing Xaden would be like entering a Harry Potter-esque world.

Taylor is one of the many actors people want as Xaden and here's a link for further proof: TZP as Xaden Riorson.

A Conclusion of a Fantasy

I'm a lover of the fantasy genre and these characters are just a selected few that are honestly, my personal favorites. I love these characters and to see Taylor play one of them in the future is a dream to see unfold on the big screen. Of course, I have also fan-casted him as some Marvel superheroes here and there and some rich billionaire CEO. My fancasts is honestly endless.

Feel free to share who you fan-casted Taylor as because now that the strike is over, productions are back in full swing. I would love to see TZP as any character and I would love for him to explore characters and genres. I will be watching every movie and series that will come out. That's a promise.

[vynnysvalley]

꒰୨୧ Project Sekai - Fragment SEKAI Analysis; Yoisaki Kanade 

Yo! To make this introduction quick, I’m a huge fan of Project Sekai, especially when it comes to the characters. Project Sekai’s has some of the most realistic characters I’ve ever seen in a rhythm game, and I often find myself identifying with many of the trials and tribulations they're put through.

That being said, I’ve always thought that the Fragment SEKAIs were a beautifully artistic way of visually representing these characters' inner consciousness, so I thought I’d start a little series where I analyze them! Since all the Fragment SEKAIS haven’t been revealed, I’m going to be going in order of release date. 

Note: I only play on the EN server, and while I do try to keep up with what’s going on in the JP server, I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on the recent content. For this reason, there will be little to no discussion of globally unreleased storylines in these posts unless they are absolutely crucial for the analysis.

ˏ°•⁀➷・A First Look At Kanade’s Fragment SEKAI

Kanade's Fragment Sekai

Debuting during the Half Anniversary Celebration Colorful Festival Gacha, Kanade’s Fragment SEKAI first appeared in her The Dream I Saw Will One Day Card. It consists of a night sky lit by dozens of floating lanterns that breeze through the air. There is a vast field of white carnations that stretch on for a seemingly infinite distance. 

ˏ°•⁀➷・The Night Sky

Faintly Glowing Elpis, Untrained

If you’re familiar with kanji (or are just an avid Project SEKAI fan who likes to scroll through the wiki in their free time), then you’ll most likely have noticed the connection between the night sky and Kanade’s surname. Her surname, Yoisaki (宵崎), uses the kanji Yoi (宵), which means “night.” Easy, right?

Additionally, this is the time of day when Kanade becomes her unfiltered self. It’s when we get to see her at her most productive, her most vulnerable, her most selfless, etc.. Since Fragment SEKAIs are manifested from an individual’s strong feelings, it makes sense for Kanade’s Fragment SEKAI to have a night-time appearance, since that’s when she seems to feel her emotions the strongest. 

ˏ°•⁀➷・The Lanterns

The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Untrained

Many cultures use floating lanterns as a symbol of good luck and prosperity, welcoming good fortune by releasing past misfortune. They are also used to mourn deceased loved ones, acting as a guide for ancestral spirits. 

The presence of the floating lanterns makes sense given Kanade’s backstory. As we all know, Kanade lost her mother after she succumbed to an illness. Sometime after, Kanade’s father overworked himself to the point of hospitalization. Though he is alive, he has sustained severe psychological damage, rendering it difficult to remember things properly, including Kanade herself. 

Kanade is still mourning the loss of her parents and the death of her childhood as she must now carry the burden of living alone at such a young age. At the same time, she is trying to push through her trauma so that she can focus on making music that will save people. Whether she’s able to completely let go of her past is debatable, but she is at least willing to come to terms with it and move forward for the sake of Nightcord. 

In a more literal manner, floating lanterns are objects that Kanade holds dear to her memories. In Side Story 1 of The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Kanade mentions that the song played by her mother’s music box was written by Kanade’s father after he went on a trip with her mother. 

The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Side Story 1

Later, when Kanade winds up in her Fragment SEKAI. She notices several lights twinkling in the sky. Upon closer inspection, she realizes that they’re lanterns, sparking a memory of a moment shared between her and her mother when her mother was hospitalized. We view a brief flashback of Kanade’s mother showing Kanade a photo of the trip mentioned above, which happened to contain floating lanterns. 

The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Side Story 2

This single moment meant so much to Kanade that it took shape in her Fragment SEKAI. While never explicitly stated, the presence of the lanterns implies that Kanade may have wished to visit the lanterns with her parents and is saddened that that day never came. It also shows how deeply Kanade treasures the time she spent with her parents, even if they were small instances like the one displayed here.

ˏ°•⁀➷・The Carnations 

Flowerbed of Memories, Untrained

Carnations are flowers with many meanings, varying further depending on their color. White carnations are often associated with a mother’s love since they represent purity, affection, and a prosperous life. They are sometimes given to mothers on special occasions for good fortune. Additionally, white carnations are used as funeral flowers representing remembrance and sympathy for deceased loved ones and new beginnings. 

Similar to the lanterns, the carnations are a reference to Kanade’s mother. Her mother loved Kanade deeply, often smiling during her time in the hospital so she wouldn’t make Kanade worried about her. The carnations are a symbol of the pure and unconditional love between Kanade and her mother, a love so strong that Kanade can still feel it after her passing. 

Carnations are also a part of Kanade’s background in a physical sense. They are first mentioned in Side Story 2 of The Dream I Saw Will One Day, where we learn that carnations were flowers that Kanade’s mother loved dearly, helping her feel at peace during her time at the hospital. 

The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Side Story 2

Their significance is brought up once more in the Carnation Recollection event storyline, this time with more context. In Chapter 5, The Flower Garden of Distant Memories, it is mentioned again that Kanade’s mother adored carnations. 

Carnation Recollection 5, The Flower Garden of Distant Memories

As the conversation progresses, Kanade mentions that her father once took her to see a field of flowers. Carnations to be specific. 

Carnation Recollection 5, The Flower Garden of Distant Memories

Sound familiar, huh? Exactly like the field of carnations we see in Kanade’s Fragment SEKAI. 

After their discussion, Mizuki and Kanade decide to search for the field, giving us another crucial piece of information. In Chapter 6, Forgotten Happiness, we find out that the reason carnations are so important to Kanade isn’t solely because they’re her mother’s favorite, but because they remind her of an outing she had with her parents. 

Carnation Recollection 6, Forgotten Happiness

Just like the floating lanterns, her Fragment SEKAI took inspiration from a treasured childhood memory, staying consistent with Kanade’s theme of refusing to let her memories of her parents (especially her mother) disappear. She can’t win back her childhood, but she can keep her memories of it alive by appreciating the moments she was able to experience.

Also, I know that later in the story we find out that the field of carnations was just a flower bed of carnations, but up until that point Kanade had remembered it to be a field, thus it manifested as her child self’s vision of the flower bed.

ˏ°•⁀➷・Interpreting Kanade’s Fragment SEKAI 

The Dream I Saw Will One Day, Trained

Kanade’s past has always been a primary aspect of her character, serving as one of her biggest driving forces for creating music, so it makes sense that her Fragment SEKAI would be tailored to her childhood memories, especially with her tendency to cling to the past due to the trauma she experienced from her mother’s death and her father’s ailment. 

With the many references to her childhood, one way that I interpret her Fragment SEKAI is that it’s a literal and metaphorical representation of how Kanade is constantly trapping herself in her memories. Kanade is a very guilt-ridden character, feeling as if she doesn’t deserve a moment of peace after (in her own eyes) causing her father to fall into a depression. The pain of losing the two most important people in her life combined with her growing sense of guilt caused her to develop a savior complex, overworking herself to the point of neglecting basic needs and viewing the personal problems of her group members as her own.

On the other hand, it can also represent the "rebirthing" of Kanade's motivations. Carnation Recollection is where she begins to go through some major character development. Originally, it seemed like Kanade was creating music as a punishment for herself, a price she had to pay for her father's hospitalization. She unintentionally viewed Mafuyu as a crux for her goal, feeling that if she saved her, she would be able to make up for what she had done. As she struggles to create a song that will resonate with Mafuyu, she realizes that she hadn't considered what Mafuyu needed to feel most, instead focusing on stopping Mafuyu from disappearing to prevent herself from going through the trauma of losing people in her life all over again.

Carnation Recollection 7, What Lies Beyond The Maze

Kanade realizes that she doesn't want to save Mafuyu so she can feel like she saved someone and alleviate her guilt. She wants to save Mafuyu out of a genuine desire to help her. Kanade truly cares about her and wants her to feel warmth when listening to her music. The carnations and floating lanterns could be seen as representations of the subtle death of her old motive and the birth of her new, authentic one.

The final way I view her Fragment SEKAI is that, in some weird supernatural way, it's trying to comfort Kanade. Whether that means Fragment SEKAIs has some form of sentience or there just so happens to be a little but powerful voice in the back of Kanade's head that's telling her to be kinder toward herself, I don't know, SEKAI lore is weird, but it makes sense given that this was a rare time where we got to see Kanade look so peaceful.

Carnations were flowers that gave Kanade's mother a sense of serenity, making her feel as if Kanade and Kanade's father were in the hospital with her when they weren't physically there. I'd like to think that they serve the same purpose here by reminding Kanade that she isn't alone. She has Nightcord now, along with her parents. Though they can't physically be with her, in her heart, they are still standing by her side.

ˏ°•⁀➷・Final Words 

Flowerbed of Memories, Trained

Doing this little analysis gave me a whole new level of respect for Kanade and the delicate approach the writers have when dealing with her depression and trauma. I hate to admit that when I started playing the game two years ago, I thought she was your typical surface-level sad, slightly quirky shut-in character. I immediately dropped that assumption as I progressed through Nightcord’s main story, but I still hadn’t realized the amount of love and care that was put into her character arc until now. Kanade is a genuinely tragic character whom I deeply sympathize with, and hopefully one day she’ll realize that she deserves to be saved as well (or maybe she already did, idk again I play EN lol). 

If you’re still reading, thank you for sticking around for this long! I appreciate it. I hope I did a decent enough job (even though I feel like I was just mindlessly yapping for most of it). It’s my first time writing out a fully coherent analysis that isn’t just me spamming the first few sentences that pop into my head in my “brainrot channel” on my friend’s Discord server, so feel free to let me know if I missed anything or if you have any other interpretations. I’m always open to hearing different perspectives. 

Up next will be Mafuyu Asahina, who happens to be my favorite character in the entire game! No idea when I’ll be popping it out, but hopefully it’ll be soon. Anywho, I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!

[ted-calling-orson]

LONG ASK IM SO SORRY

ok im sorry to enter ur askbox but i cant just contain this to tags and like. you are SOOOO right for liking kermit !!! sad mf. love him. also can i just say- WHY is there NOT more fanfic im SORRY but. if we have so much crackfic of modern presidents or even actual fic/oneshots of other presidents, PLEASE give us TR / TR fam fic !!!! id eat that shit UP. i got so tired of it i published my own tr kiddos fic istg its either anon or on my acc i can find it

and im so confused on why NATM teddy aint got more fics that at least mention the kids OR siblings. sorry this is gonna be a long ask. but really !! like. theres maybe 5(?) max fics ive seen mention them. a few in the Treasured Collection NATM fic series, and maybe one or two loose ones around. im SOOOO close to writing a self indulgent fic for it. again srry for how long this is. but i never come across tr fans. rlly i swear. also so right for liking the muppets (Fozzie my beloved <3)

oh !! and the cartoon network idea??? YES. absolutely. id watch it. 10000%. i think presidential cartoons should exist more, beyond episodes in preexisting shows. itd be so cool!! ive watched possibly every documentary i can find on TR/show that features him (like The Alienist) i need some lighthearted stuff.

finally idk if youre big on reading books or trilogies but if you can id recommend reading Edmund Morris' trilogy on TR if you haven't yet. the final book ending had me crying at 7am december 2022 like 10 times.

p.s the erb rap battle was so silly and im so surprised i saw nobody in the comments mention quentin with the line churchill shot of TR's family dying prematurely. sorry for the length of this ask--and dino au is so cool and i wanna hear all abt it !!

-🦆

OH MY GOSH THIS IS LIKE A DREAM WHEUSHSUWJWKEKWKWKWJNWJWIXJWBWIDJISJEBDISJSISJSIS oooo we should be best friends ooooooo. Also dw about this being too long you are literally one of my favorite people of all time😭‼️🙏

on the Kermit thing: YIPPEEE‼️‼️‼️ finally another Kermit fan😭 the only other recognition he’d get was from some Indiana jones mini series. Id love to write Roosevelt fan fiction but I don’t like posting my stuff on tumblr (usually my fics are for me and my friends⁉️) but ey, maybe I’ll post something🙏

ALSO MUPPET FAN‼️‼️‼️ my favs are Dr. Teeth and Kermit

on the natm thing: YIPPEE- I wanna write about my au so bad cuz I’ve got so many ideas for it especially for Elliot and Theo’s relationship bc their rivalry was so bad it extended into their daughters. Evil Elliott seemed like an awesome concept and what if he dragged Corinne into it??? Wieihdjehsjs

the tv show: OK OK SO I had a HUGE concept of this show. First off: it’s like your avid 2000s sitcom but with art‼️ The Taft’s (and in later seasons, the Wilson’s) are their neighbors and T.R and W.H.T would have silly angry dad neighbor hijinks (and they both hate the Wilsons together), Alice is the popular girl and there was gonna be a whole episode on her affair with William Borah, Kermit is the shy kid that gets into scuffles with Ted jr, Quentin and Archibald are the spoiled younger sibs, Ethel is the neutral younger sister and Edith is the mostly annoyed mom. Also Quentin and Charles Taft are best friends and I’ll prolly write more ideas for it but I do have designs for Kermit, Ethel and Alice:

anyway, you don’t know how excited I got when I saw this in my inbox😭 but yeah I love your stuff man! Pls post more Teddy stuff I thrive off it im literally one of 5 Theodore Roosevelt fans

ALSO IM GLAD YOU MENTIONED THE RAP BATTLE CUZ- I think that line is about most of his family dying fairly young (Theodore sr., Quentin, Elliott etc) and not just his kids but I could be wrong the fandom wiki of erb is so 50/50

[apparently-artless]

oh my god WAAAAAAAA THANK YOU SO MUCH ART!!!! the gifset is SO so so beautiful you have no idea!!!!!!!!! i cannot stop watching it over and over again. the colours are absolutely perfect, and the gif transitions are so smooth!!!!!! i'm so so happy aaaaa i can't believe something so beautiful was made for my request 😭😭😭 i really appreciate it, thank you soo much!!!! the bokuyaba fandom is truly lucky to have you in it, your edits are always so spectacular and i always enjoy looking at them. im so glad you had fun making it too!!!! thanks a million and i hope you have a wonderful day, week, month and year <333 !!!!!!!! 💛💛💛

hi, willow!! thank you so much for sending me another message to let me know of your thoughts!! this message really made me happy. ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

i also noticed that you pinned my post on your blog, i was practically blushing when i saw the label on top. (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄)

in all honesty, i was very aware of the scene that you were referring to when i saw your request. i was also thinking of making a set for that scene but it got buried in all the current series i am watching. the scene itself was already beautiful and to be honest i am not good at scenes with sunset gradient. and i guess that's another reason why i didn't made this set until you requested it. and so i took it both as a challenge and an opportunity. who knows, i might end up gif-baiting other people to watch it?? lol

and yes!! i did have fun making the set. i had to combine some gradients with different blending modes and i had to manipulate the level adjustment layer a lot for each gif. i was very concerned that i might end up ruining an already beautiful scene so i tried not to deviate too much from the original colors but at the same time still incorporate my own coloring style.

i hope you don't mind me putting the comparison of the original vs my coloring. this is just to show you how much i had fun making this edit. i am also very satisfied with the result if i do say so myself. hehehe. ^^

anyways, it doesn't matter if other people don't appreciate it as long as the person who requested the set liked it, is what i thought. so i'm very happy when i saw your message and your tags in the post when you reblogged it.

bokuyaba is a dark horse anime series for me. it's something i watched simply because i wanted to explore different genre every season. i was thinking of dropping it after 1-2 episodes but i'm glad that i didn't. i am not an avid fan of romance, especially if the main characters are young but this series has something special to offer. it's one of my favourite romance anime now with school setting.

SO TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DROPPED THIS ANIME, GIVE IT A TRY AGAIN. AND THEN SCREAM AT ME IN MY INBOX FOR WASTING YOUR TIME IF YOU STILL WOULD NOT LIKE IT AFTER WATCHING AT LEAST THE FIRST SEASON. XD

[manawari]

*slams table* CELEBRITY/ACTORS AU!

inspired by those panels heh~

Basically, Cha Hae-in is an actress (got recruited by her manager after witnessing her fame at the athlete field when she was a teenager) and her image grew when she entered the art of filmmaking.

She appeared in various movies and shows, even making a few close friends along the way. However, she was often given the role of a background character — not that she was complaining, she thought it was better that way since she could still continue her passion for running.

Regardless, many people adored her every time she was on screen and Hae-in, being the sweet woman she was, returned their love as much as she could — which Han Song-yi, her manager, speculated it was the reason why she was still popular in spite of never getting the main lead role.

Many fans kept asking her when would she become a star lead in a movie. Cha Hae-in just chuckled and said she was content with being a second lead or just a background character. "But if the opportunity is up, will you take it, Ms. Cha?" "I wouldn't mind at all!"

A few months later, Han Song-yi called her and announced that a director wanted her to star as a main lead in a show that was primarily in an action genre. Of course, Hae-in screamed.

Fun fact: action was her favorite genre, thanks to Baek Yoon-ho and Kanae Tawata's influences after working with them, and wouldn't say no once she was offered. But to star in a main role? Hae-in thought she was dreaming at first.

Who is the male lead? Sung Jin-woo, of course.

Sung Jin-woo had been known for starring in a famous fantasy-dystopian show called "Solo Leveling" which debuted when he was fifteen and had went on for over five years (he started as a minor character to the main character of the series). Since then, his fame had been going on incessantly even when he had taken a break for two years to spend time with his family.

And once again, he would be starring in an action show. This time, he won't be the main character alone.

He was familiar with Cha Hae-in. He had seen a couple of her films before and was his sister's favorite actress.

Woo Jin-chul, his manager, decided set up a dinner with Cha Hae-in and her manager so they could get to know each other.

Hae-in hardly paid attention to him throughout the dinner, only would when Jin-woo began a topic for her to discuss with. He didn't know how far she would go as a female lead in an action show, but he hoped everything would turn out fine.

Jin-woo always did his stunts alone, even when he was just starting his career. And surprisingly, Hae-in was the same as well. She had been preparing for her role by training with Baek Yoon-ho ever since she received the part.

The show was entitled as "Avid" which featured the male lead (Sung Jin-woo) fighting against the people who were after him while protecting his village from getting wrecked, and along the way, he met (Cha Hae-in) who would soon become an immense help as she knew secrets about the enemy he did not know of.

Working with her was great. Jin-woo was impressed by her skills and how easily she got into character when she was actually shy behind cameras. He was amazed whenever he saw her fight and how well she swung her body to take her opponents down as if she was dancing.

On the other hand, Hae-in still couldn't believe she had gotten to work with Jin-woo, one of the best actors in the action genre.

Little did they both know, it was just the beginning.

Hae-in knew Jin-woo was popular because of his looks, charisma, and talent, so hearing a bunch of girls squealing at the sight of him was no surprise. Meanwhile, Jin-woo dealt with them the best way he could until Jin-chul came to his rescue.

"Tough luck for an actor, huh?" Hae-in teased him when he returned to the set exhausted.

"I just wanted to grab some coffee." Jin-woo grumbled.

The show's debut on its first five episodes had been a success. Many fans called it as "Sung Jin-woo's comeback" and "Cha Hae-in's peak performance". Of course, with all the love the show had been getting, the director got motivated to extend the storyline.

Hae-in's co-actors/friends publicly showed their support in the media, along with Jin-woo's, whom tagged her in their posts to send their felicitations. Choi Jong-in even joked about that she would soon steal his spotlight and Baek Yoon-ho expressed how he was crying in joy to see their training being paid off onscreen.

Everything was a success and people throughout the world loved the show.

. . . But that was until the audience began to get attached to the characters.

Many fans began to post in the media of how they "shipped" Jin-woo and Hae-in's characters due to the chemistry both on and off screen.

"Congrats! The fans think you and Jin-woo will make an amazing couple!" Jong-in exclaimed when he came to visit the set.

"It's just our characters." Hae-in scoffed. "Let them have their fun as long as it keeps the show running."

Jong-in smirked. "So if they asked for you two to kiss, would you do it?"

She spit out her drink. "ABSOLUTELY NOT! The show has been focusing on the action and protecting one's loved ones since the beginning. Romance would be a little too much."

"Well, that's too bad. I think they are already discussing it in the writer's room."

The production team was on full support on building the two lead's relationship. Thankfully, it won't happen already, but they were officially going for that route.

Cha Hae-in was no stranger to doing romance — she did some during the movies she starred in with Choi Jong-in (which led some fans to think they were dating behind the doors, but the speculation was debunked when the two admitted that they only see each other as siblings). But Jin-woo. . . It was his first time.

They had become close friends throughout the shooting and Hae-in was almost worried about seeing her co-actor become awkward with the new route. But Jin-woo handled it like a professional and managed to satisfy the director in his scenes where he would be looking longingly at her and smiling in awe. The director even said it felt raw.

The next scenes were spent with them holding hands and hugging a lot more than the previous episodes. As expected, it made the fans go insane.

"JINHAE NATION ARISE" — was in all platforms created by the fans of the show, Hae-in, and Jin-woo. The tag contained posts about the characters and the actors themselves. At some point, it was hard to tell which one they were referring to.

Hae-in had never felt so afraid opening her socials. Meanwhile, Jin-woo decided to make a joke about all of the posts to distract her mind.

"Hey! Look at this one!" Jin-woo leaned toward her while she covered her eyes in embarrassment. "It said that our characters are going to confess next episode."

"Isn't that the same person who posted it since, I don't know, seven episodes ago?" Hae-in rolled her eyes. She did not understand these so-called 'shippers' sometimes. "And besides, how are they going to confess when the director keeps killing off characters? I thought Esil was going to stay longer."

"Same." Jin-woo agreed. "But hey, let these people hope. Who knows the writers might change their minds and not continue with the development."

"You're right." Hae-in chuckled.

"Hae-in?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering—" Jin-woo bit his cheek, albeit in hesitation. "Do you want to go to the amusement part with me?"

"Amusement park?" Hae-in blinked. "Isn't that too crowded? We could get recognize and who knows what else can get into people's minds!"

"Who cares? We're humans. We need to take some breaks." Jin-woo huffed. "So, what do you say?"

In the end, Hae-in agreed.

Thankfully, their managers were kind enough to help them. Song-yi gave them wigs and hats as disguises while Jin-chul called for some guards to act as civilians to keep an eye on the two.

Hae-in wore a brown wig that was long and wavy while Jin-woo wore a black one that swept down to his chest. Even with his appearance, Hae-in made him put on a mask since his face was still distinguishable.

Their time in the amusement park was a success. Hae-in realized how she had never taken a complete break ever since she started the show. But she was thankful for Jin-woo. He was truly different than the actors she had worked with.

He was fun, compassionate, and clearly knew what he was doing.

"I love you." He said to her when they were filming a scene where their characters had reunited.

"CUT!" The director yelled. "Mr. Sung, you were supposed to say 'I am glad to see you', not 'I love you'!"

"Oh." Jin-woo became dumfounded. "Right, sorry!"

"Take two!"

On the other hand, Hae-in couldn't help but feel flustered. Fortunately, she managed to get through the shoots without letting that moment slide into her mind.

Things had gotten a bit awkward between her and her co-star. . .

Once the day ended, Jin-woo had approached her and told her the truth. He let those words slip out of his mouth because he did love her and it had been going on for almost a year.

Perhaps most of those scenes where he was looking at her in awe were not acting at all. . .

But in the end, rather than voicing her feelings out, Hae-in rose on her toes and wrapped her arms around Jin-woo's neck to kiss him.

They had begun dating after that day.

Even if it was only in secret, and since they were not ready for an uproar, the two stars were happy and had spent their breaks cuddling with each other and planning their dates once the shooting was over.

Jin-woo had taken her to his family when Christmas came and Hae-in did not expect how welcomed she would be, especially Jin-ah.

Even though they forbid their friends from ever sharing their personal lives, it did not stop them from expressing it low-key in their posts about the show. All the couple did was shake their heads and just ignore those people

After all, what mattered was they love each other and that was it.

[theivydorms]

here is my Kind Brave Unstoppable Pillar from @rosewoodconch ‘sRosewood POP in Feb that i thought i’d share on here! okay have fun !

CW: mention of ED and hospital (very light)

I’ve been an avid fan of the Rosewood Chronicles since I was about eleven or twelve. I'm pretty sure I remember the moment I first saw Undercover Princess on a display shelf at a waterstones that has since closed, and asking my dad to buy me the “boarding school princess” book - two of my most favourite things in literature mixed together.

I immediately fell in love with Undercover Princess and pre ordered Princess in Practice as soon as I could. I screamed when it arrived a day early. And, to be honest, I’ve screamed each time a new Rosewood Chronicles book has been delivered to my house.

I felt like Lottie was me; a bookish, dark blonde, blue-eyed girl obsessed with princesses and dreaming of boarding school. I’ve tried to make my bedroom look like Lottie’s old room mixed with her dorm room with white wood, cosy blankets and many, many books and candles. I’m still searching for a purple persian rug, like the one in the ivy dorm. I’m always on the lookout for a purple tartan pinafore to go with my ivy jumper. My friend gave me a necklace with a silver animal on it for my fifteenth birthday which made me ecstatic since Lottie got her wolf pendant for her fifteenth! I know that having a character to relate to at such an extent is a privilege and one that I’m very grateful for.

Her mantra instantaneously became my own. For about five years now I’ve said to myself those three precious words nearly every day. I say it each night before I go to sleep, searching through my day to find the ways I’ve been the attributes Lottie holds so dear. I said it to myself during my drama performance exam because I thought that’s what my character would do, and it brought a little bit of me and my favourite book series into my exam.

During my darkest times, that little saying helped me through them. When I was in hospital for a month two years ago due to an eating disorder, saying Lottie’s motto helped me get to sleep; it gave me some normality and so much comfort during a time and place that was lacking such things. One of my main reasons to recover and get out of hospital was so I could get to my house in time for my delivery of Princess at Heart. The Rosewood Chronicles gave me hope, and for that, I cherish them endlessly.

For my birthday a few years ago, my sister made me a poster of the mantra. I’d said around that time that I’d been struggling to see myself as considerate or courageous or positively stubborn, so she made a gigantic poster out of four a4 sheets of paper with Lottie’s saying scrawled in gold pen. She blu-tacked it to the wall opposite my door so that way it was the first thing I saw when I got up on my birthday. I then put it above my headboard, surrounded by glowing fairy lights, and I’d read it most nights before going to sleep, reminding myself I was and could be those things.

The poeticness of Lottie’s saying warms my heart; it's so simple and yet so beautiful. Connie’s writing is gorgeous and spell binding - it captivated me from the first line of Undercover Princess’s prologue and has helped me see the beauty in small things. Helped me find those places where wondrous and whimsical things are more capable of happening and those people who are powerful enough to change or achieve anything.

Saying Lottie’s mantra has helped me go down dark streets at night and get me through my first cat calling experience. As a woman and a very feminine presenting person, the world can be a scary place, with thugs scarier than those teenage boys who tormented Lottie near the end of Princess at Heart, looking to make others feel uncomfy and scared with their crude comments. Mantras like Lottie’s can really help pull one through those scary, horrible moments. After I’d seen people make others uncomfortable, Lottie helped me be sympathetic and check if they were alright. After being told to “calm down” by a boy in my PE class, Lottie helped me be bold. After a binman had whistled at me, Lottie helped me be inexorable and continue running.

The three words can sometimes seem simple and plain, but if you look to the words used in the Rosewood Chronicles’ foreign language editions, they sound exciting and majestic; there’s bienveillante, courageuse, determinee in French; freundlich, mutig, gib niemals auf (unstoppable, here, meaning never give up) in German; bondosa, corajosa, imparável in Portuguese; bună, curajoasă, de neoprit in Romanian; życzliwa, odważna, niepowstrzymana in Polish; אדיבה, אמיצה ובלתי ניתנת לעצירנ in Hebrew. They all sound so beautiful - words I’d like to have as endless earworms, chanting for me throughout my day. I hope to read all the editions of the Rosewood Chronicles of the languages that I study - French, Spanish and maybe one day Japanese, although I’ll need to learn a lot more first!

I saw a tumblr post from @rosewoodconch the other day, saying how Lottie stuck to even the more negative sides of her mantra. It helped me come to terms with my stubbornness and selfishness and stupidity, as Lo had said it had helped their’s. I know I’m not so benevolent or courageous or resourceful all the time, and being reminded in Lo’s post that Lottie is also not perfect helped me too, to realise that perfection in morals and actions is not an achievable goal.

I may sound silly, like a girl who’s obsessed with princesses or something, but I’m so grateful for this mantra for helping me through for the past five years and forevermore.

I only have one more thing to say to you guys ( btw, if you got this far, I love you so much ! )

be kind, be brave and be unstoppable.

Jane from the.ivy.dorms

[steely-eyedmissileman]

The Vampire Diaries, Ep. 1x03

Friday Night Bites

this is the best episode title we've had thus far. i mean, the first episode was essentially untitled, so it's not like we're fighting a real uphill battle on this one. friday night bites is not only my favorite episode title thus far. it's my favorite episode.

there's something about sports in high school supernatural shows that will forever enthrall me. it's the teen wolf of it all. for those not familiar, teen wolf is a show that premiered two years after tvd. it is about a teenage werewolf (not that deep). it is also, for the first twoish seasons, about lacrosse. in late seasons teen wolf, i always wanted to go back to those early seasons. i wanted the major problems in their lives to stop being an increasingly ridiculous series of monsters and implausible scenarios for teenagers and go back to the days where their most pressing problems were, to paraphrase a famous meme, 'the epic highs and lows of high school lacrosse.'

tvd is brushing up against the space that teen wolf occupies here. it is, briefly, setting its sights on those epic highs and lows. and it looks damn good doing it. stefan looks good playing football. he is good at football, i gather. for a moment, this seems like a different show, one where a vampire must avoid the reveal of his identity in increasingly ridiculous farces. i loved this brush at a show. however, we are in a much darker world.

there's blood all over this episode. this should not seem strange, given that's it's a show about vampires, but, as an avid buffy fan, blood always pulls me in. there were strict rules about how much blood buffy could show (see the infamous ice skate decapitation scene—there's very little blood, despite the fact that a man has been decapitated by an ice skate.) tvd is not fighting the same restrictions. instead, we can revel in the blood. we can bathe in it (countess elisabeth bathory!) mr. tanner's death is a spurting of it, followed by a pool. stefan bleeds after the fight. caroline awakens in blood, bites on her neck, the remnants of blood. (she's wearing a baby blue bra now, which is very different from the bright pink of the last episode.) elena cuts herself, almost revealing stefan (vampires have reflections in this universe!) there's blood everywhere, tying the characters together. pulling them apart.

(i found mr. tanner's death somewhat sad, despite the fact that he was an asshole. i was hoping he would be like coach from teen wolf, who was by far the best teen wolf character. and absolutely fucking nuts. in fact, he was the best teen wolf character because he was absolutely fucking nuts.)

in other news, elena organizes a dinner with just her, stefan, and bonnie. because that is the best possible way to make bonnie like stefan. this is what normal people do. the dinner is very awkward until stefan starts talking about how cool he thinks witches are. as he should! and then damon and caroline show up and ruin the party. not caroline's fault though! she is simply being swept along on the tides of damon's desire. damon, meanwhile, is an asshole. he corners elena and tries, again, to cast blame on stefan for past events. he wants her to be uncertain and self-conscious. he wants her to doubt everything stefan says. he wants to poison the waters. he also wants to blatantly flirt with her. he is annoying.

at the end of the episode, stefan resolves to deal with damon, who he now realizes is 'only a monster... who must be stopped.' of course, i disagree. damon is not only a monster. he has emotions. he is trying to find them, but he was clearly affected by what stefan said earlier. he killed mr. tanner because he saw himself through his brother's eyes—a broken man who deserves pity. damon salvatore doesn't want pity, so he made sure he wouldn't get it. however, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it or need it. and it sure as hell doesn't mean he's a monster. it means he's a man.

[scotianostra]

Happy Birthday former Grand Prix racing driver David Coulthard.

Coulthard was born 1971 in Twynholm, Galloway, south west Scotland. His parents are Duncan and Joyce Coulthard, his father was partner of the haulage firm Coulthard/Hayton. He was educated in Kirkcudbright Academy where, in-between travelling for karting races, he achieved 8 O-Levels, 1 Higher and 6 Detentions, apparently!

David Coulthard’s father Duncan gave him an unorthodox introduction to motor racing. He bought his 12-year-old son a go-kart as a surprise and entered him for a race just three days later.

Those who saw Coulthard’s kart flipped upside down at the very first corner of his racing career might not have tipped him to become a grand prix race winner. But anyone who followed his subsequent karting career, which included a trio of Scottish championship titles between 1983 and 1985, might have figured he was on his way to better things.

Nickname DC he is now a commentator, presenter and journalist. After outgrowing karting he progressed to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the Formula 3000 series.

He made his Formula One debut for Williams during the 1994 Spanish Grand Prix and fetched his first Formula One win at the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix. In 1996 he joined McLaren and moving on won two races in 1997, five races throughout 1999 and 2000, and finished as runner-up in the 2001 Formula One World Drivers’ Championship. He secured his last win at the 2003 Australian Grand Prix, left McLaren after 2004 season and joined Red Bull in 2005. He made his last Formula One entry at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix before retiring from the race later that year.

Thereafter he worked with Red Bull as a consultant and joined the BBC as a commentator and analyst for their Formula One coverage. He also participated in the Race of Champions and won the 2014 and 2018 competitions. Starting from 2016, he has worked for Channel 4 as an analyst and commentator.

He comes across as a likeable guy and has been described as warm, genuine and funny, I wouldn’t say I am an avid fan of motorsport, but I sometimes watch it and his interviews before the races and practice rounds In October 2018 Coulthard was announced as a spokesperson and advisory board member of the forthcoming W Series, a racing championship for women based on Formula 3. The helmet with a saltire that Coulthard wore in his driving days was originally in honour of fellow Scot and friend Colin McRae who died when he crashed his helicopter near his home in 2007.

Now I quite like David, but, in my opinion he did a rather silly thing in 1999, he tried to patent his racing helmet, the one in the pic, stopping people having the saltire on their own ones!

Coulthard's plans were also greeted with dismay by Scottish football fans, famed for dressing up in Saltires. Racing drivers, David Franchetti and John Cleland were both dismayed at the attempt, at the time Franchetti, who also used a saltire on his lid commented

"I don't want to fall out with David so maybe we should sit down and talk about it."

Galashiels Cleland a former touring car champion said

"I was the first to use the St Andrew's Cross and I would never try to stop another Scot from doing the same."

Coulthards manager at the time said The design on David's helmet is not the Scottish flag, it is a blue and white logo which he has used for years. It is also a darker shade of blue.

[faytelumos]

Any recommendations on what to list on reviews? haven't been on Tumblr that long so I'm not sure on what the biggest issues are, also I'm not sure on who to ask so I thought I'd try with you :')

(also: LOVE the pf, Jason is one of the Boys of all time ♥️ funny AND hot? I'll take two to go, please. saying this as an avid Riddler fan, who is such a loser)

No worries, friendo!

For review bombing Tumblr, issues that I know of are:

•The new photo viewer does not allow people to zoom in. This makes it harder for people with poor eyesight to read text and see details.

•There are flashing/eyestraining ads that users now have to allow to take up their entire screen in order to pass and continue scrolling.

•There are some people saying you can't listen to videos unless you have push notifications on. (I haven't experienced this, but I saw someone mention it.)

•Americans cannot turn off Tumblr Live for more than a week at a time. (It's incredibly annoying and an invasion of internet privacy.)

•It is much harder to report abuse and hate speech than it is to report sexual content and spam.

And that's about what I know of; honestly, I used the main blackout proposal post for most of these because they did list a series of demands. I also don't know where else to go to find a more complete list, but I think this can at least get you started.

(Also, yes, thank you, Jay is My Boi, I love him so much, he's terrible and amazing and I love him. And don't worry; Jason's a loser, too, haha!)