#Librarian Blabs

[just-some-friendly-fun]

Pokemon Trainers AU!!

Droppin another AU idea fellas, and again! It'll be with my transformer OCs, Ace, Quartzstreak, and Titania.

It could work as both a human or cybertronian au. Had to also specify that it was a trainers AU since the bots as pokemon are completely different as a Pokemon! Au

Plus, it'd be an interesting idea to mess with the idea that cybertronians also know what pokemon are or eventually learned what they are and utilized them for the advantages of battle/war and what-not.

Anyhow, I'm just going to start off with Quartzstreak for this AU!!

Her team consists of:

1. Lugia - The Diving Pokemon

Quartzstreak has both an extremely close bond with Lugia yet a distant one at that too. She's rescued and helped it before and it has arrived whenever she needs critical help. Quartzstreak caught the legendary a while back in her youth but since then has kept it out of its master ball ever since because she does believe that the guardian of the sea should be free to be capable of maintaining its role as the Guardian of The Sea. It knows when Quartzstreak is in trouble and will always wind up finding its way back to her no matter how far it's traveled. She refuses to ever use Lugia for the purpose of battling since she feels guilty for using an entity with such great power for something so violent as wiping out enemies or other pokemon. It never stays with her for long and it travels far away so she doesn't necessarily have too much time to bond with it but the connection is still there of whence Quartzstreak would still keep them somewhat close to her in her earlier days of continuing to confine and retrieve it back into its pokeball. Her Lugia is incredibly adamant and knows the moves, Ice Beam, Hyper Beam, Dragon Pulse, and Psychic.

2. Flareon - The Flame Pokemon

Originally, this was Sundrive's pokemon that Quartzstreak decided to take into her party after... Y'know... Her passing. It took a lot of time for Flareon to bond with quartzstreak since it had such a Timid nature and with their trainer's passing. It took a toll on both Quartzstreak and her sister's pokemon. She could still recall from when Sundrive first got them as an eevee and evolved them after some time. It was a painfully slow process but Flareon and Quartzstreak are still recuperating and have a stronger connection after it. They both miss Sundrive dearly and keeping Flareon was the only thing that kept reminding Quartzstreak about her sister. The moves that Flareon knows are Flare Blitz, Flamethrower, Double Kick, and Smog.

3. ★ Leafeon - The Verdant Pokemon

(Not shiny in the gif but you get it)

Thunderstep's first shiny, and now Quartzstreak's first shiny. When the two had the experience of finding a shiny eevee, Thunderstep caught it on a whim before finding out it had been a shiny. The two (playfully) argued about it being a shiny or not and after Quartzstreak submitted defeat. The two watched it grow with their time spent together and upon a mistake of unintentionally allowing the eevee to touch a moss stone, Thunderstep decided to transfer it to Quartzstreak since he was hoping to get a shiny jolteon instead but- mistakes happen. He was still proud of having the leafeon and his own jolteon got along well with them but after some time. Thunderstep went-- offline along with his own Jolteon and other party members. Leaving the Leafeon in complete care of Quartzstreak. She still finds a twinge of reminiscence when looking at Leafeon, they had the same personality as Thunderstep. Always so-- strangely Jolly without reason. Quartzstreak never minded it. It was like having a second Thunderstep around. Its moves consist of Shadow Ball, Gigadrain, Leaf Blade, and Iron Tail.

4. Inteleon - The Secret Agent Pokemon

A really convienent choice for Quartzstreak, considering her role and her reliance on using a weapon that's a sniper. There wasn't too much thought put behind this besides the fact that it matches the weapon she uses as the most iconic move it uses is "Snipe Shot". It never hurts to have two snipers. She mostly found Inteleon as a Sobble during an escort mission long ago. Like herself, Quartzstreak's Inteleon maintains a Calm nature and knows the moves, Liquidation, Snipe Shot, U-Turn, and Sucker-Punch.

5. Absol (Mega) - The Disaster Pokemon

Absol had only arrived to Quartzstreak when she had lost all her family members, Magnochrome, Crasher, and lastly her split-spark Sundrive. When she had been roaming the desolate remains of a battle field, almost drained by nights of mourning and whence she was at her lowest. There they were, an Absol arrived and it sat to comfort her despite the rain-fall that came after. She took Absol as her own as it had brought her comfort and because she felt a connection between herself and the pokemon that practically foresaw natural disasters. Ever since then, Absol has been her first pokemon (well aside from Lugia), second being Inteleon. Absol has remained Quiet ever since they met with only the occassional and definitely surprising vocal warnings. At some point, Quartzstreak got an Absolite during a promotion up the Reforme Ranks when Skypeak was in command and has used it to her advantage since. Absol knows Night Slash, Shadow Ball, Fire Blast, and Psycho Cut.

6. Aegislash - The Royal Sword Pokemon

Despite her carrying two swords, this was originally a doublade. When Sundrive was still around, it had been a doublade as to signify whence the two split-sparks would wield one sword each. Yet since her passing, her doublade evolved into an Aegislash when Quartzstreak had to inherit not only Sundrive's Flareon but her sword too, symbolizing the change she had to take. As she was now on her own and no longer partnered up with her twin. Aegislash's ghostly presence fascinated Quartzstreak since she first found them as a Honedge and the palette they had was certainly pleasing to her. Her Aegislash has a Serious nature and knows Sacred Sword, King's Shield, Solar Blade, and Air Slash.

[banishingsigils]

i could really tell which of my coworkers don’t worry about money/salary based on their takeaway from the university president’s town hall today. i had to school my face when a coworker said, “it wasn’t all bad news!” even though we were told point blank there will be no cost living increase this year. dunno, seems pretty bad to me!! my salary hasn’t changed in several years and stuff keeps getting more expensive so something would be nice!!!!

[i-luvsang]

hi marimoon ^^ saw your post from four days ago, and i hooe i'm not too late for this? ateez req incoming.

in honor of october (based off smth that happened this friday for me), teacher/employee reader and the guys preparing for kindergartners up til third graders going trick or treating tomorrow!! they probably planned matching outfits, some of them. hwa as toothless and somebody as light fury, for example. surprisingly i cant think of a specific member to pair this with? i just think its cute,,

just imagine these guys playing bits of the characters they're dressed up as,, aughh

pls take care of yourself!! missing u lots, marimoon

; 🌂

HELLOOOO you are absolutely not too late, though i am late to the whole october and halloween thing here lmao. was struggling with this request and i thought maybe my thoughts would flow better if i wasn't thinking of it as a formal request and just blabbed about it right here. but i adore this concept so i still wanted to write something about it and get something to you even if it's messy and possibly ends up incoherent :))

nonetheless, i hope you enjoy my word vomit because i truly do love this idea and you for planting it in my head <3 (only cw is alcohol mention, which has nothing to do with the children i promise lmao)

first of all i love this idea of this au where they're all teachers. given the kindergarten through third graders it's kinda perfect because each grade can have two teachers and they're like teacher pairs and it's cute and fun. and to add reader into this i thought it would be super cute if reader was like the school librarian and gets to interact with all the teachers and their classes. i was thinking about san and woo as the kindergarten teachers just because of how well they played with little arin and ayun. and then yeosang and jjong with the first graders just cuz i think they'd be so cute with younger kids but first graders are slightly less insane than kindergartners maybe ?? plus i think they'd be the funniest pair of teachers like i just adore they're dynamic and i'm just thinking about jongho turning all the children against yeosang and they just relentlessly tease him forever <3333 next up in second grade i put yunho and mingi and idk this is such a horrible idea like they would never get anywhere that classroom is just screaming and more screaming and the quiet kids are just like save us please :D and last but not least, we have seongjoong as the third grade teachers because i think they'd be the only one's who can discipline older kids and that hongjoong might die if the kids were even less mature that the third graders already are.

and then yeah, you are the school librarian (or some other staff member that frequently works with the classes but i'm just saying librarian bc i work at my school's library and what's fanfic without it being a self insert <3). and yeah you get to be besties with all of them because they're a whole big squad that kinda scares the other teachers but they kidnapped you into their group because you're just so cool and awesome and they love you and the things you do for their students <3

what they also love about you is that you love halloween and always help them prepare for taking the students trick or treating. i like the idea that all the pairs of teachers have a tradition of matching their costumes. and this year, it goes (mostly) great for (almost) all of them. the night before the event, the nine of you have a halloween party amongst yourselves, a tradition that started a few years ago. obviously, you all show up to seonghwa's apartment in costume.

this year, san and wooyoung have defaulted on onesie costumes, explaining that before, they had attempted to diy complicated anime character costumes. it was going well (or so they say) until yesterday when they realized they had neither the skills or time to finish the costumes. they are very pleased when you tell them you're a big fan of their matching kuromi and my melody onesies, and that you think the kids will also enjoy these far more than whatever elaborate plan they had before. jongho, on the other hand, is having a blast making fun of them.

and while woosan are stunning in their hello kitty costumes, yeosang and jongho are really vying for your favorite pair this year. though, it looks like yeosang’s thick biceps are struggling against the sleeves of his snow white dress despite his lovely features being complimented by the femininity of the outfit. jongho looks as charming (completely unfunny pun intended) as always in his prince charming outfit, ready to unknowingly continue stealing the hearts of all of his student’s parents.

yet, these costumes, along with yunho and mingi's, are causing a lot of noise because the tall pair of best friends showed up as a princess and his knight in shining armor. jongho is indignant, convinced that he and yeosang's costumes are far better. yeosang is drowning a bit in the shouting, but doing his best to defend himself when he gets the chance. wooyoung has told yeosang that he's a costume repeater because he played snow white in a play in middle school, but san thinks it looks cooler this time because of yeo's far bigger muscles. mingi says he looks prettier because his dress his pink and yunho won't really defend him on it, but insists that the costumes are different enough because he's a knight, not a prince (and that he's cooler for that same reason).

this time, seonghwa has chosen neither to be a part of the chaos nor to attempt to stop it, and is instead happily perched on the couch with a glass of wine because he is finally satisfied with his costume this year.

time and time again, seonghwa insists on dressing as toothless, convinced that it's the perfect costume for him. and time and time again, he begs hongjoong to be a matching light fury with him. and, you know it... time and time again, hongjoong has refused. he's offered to dress as hiccup, and maybe a different dragon, but he refuses to complete seonghwa's request. secretly, you think it's just hongjoong's way of getting back at seonghwa for the printer incident. but finally, seonghwa found a solution to make his dreams come true and just completely ditched hongjoong as his costume partner.

that is where you come in, sitting next to seonghwa in a matching light fury costume. hongjoong is actually still a part of this costume, dressed as hiccup so that the kids don't question him, but his part in this plan a bit irrelevant to seonghwa. he's just so happy to finally have completed this costume, and will not stop bragging about it to everyone in the room. he's told you that he won't allow you to be anywhere but at his side tomorrow so that he can show off your costumes, and you just nod along despite knowing that your job and large groups of children will certainly take you else where.

but aside from the fighting regarding jongsang and yungi's costumes, the night was lots of fun in which you all exercising your very special crafty skills that come with being elementary school workers. so there are so very adorable decorations that you'll set up in the morning tomorrow and another lovely set of halloween memories with your favorite people <33

[cardsagainstthelibrarians]

who would you trust to keep your secrets/confide in out of all the librarians characters?

I think probably Eve or Jenkins...although I feel Jenkins would judge weird secrets, but he wouldn't blab them.

[stormears]

When Women Were Dragons...

I wanted to blab about a wonderful book I read...spoilers all over...Wikipedia summary engage

In this book, in the year 1955, over 700,000 American women spontaneously transformed into dragons and flew away. It was the largest such event in history, but there were many isolated incidents of women "dragoning" before that. But you don't talk about it. It's a feminine thing that is profane and obscene, like talking about sex or menstruation. Dragoning is SILENCED. By culture, by the authorities, by the news.

In this book, the protag's cool WW2 fighter pilot lesbian aunt "dragons" but her mother does not (out of choice, to stay with her children) Her mother could have been an accomplished mathematician, and could have been a dragon. But instead she remains a dour, unhappy housewife who also silences talk of dragoning and gives her protag daughter no answers or context throughout her childhood. Her mother eventually dies of cancer and her horrible 1950s stereotype father kicks her and her baby sister (actually cousin) out to a dingy apartment so he can move in his pregnant secretary. That heartlessness...well, broke my heart.

The girl raises her cousin-sister-child and becomes a strict adherent to never talking about dragoning, same as her mother, while her sister-cousin is a bundle of unladylike energy and clearly gravitates to the idea. But dragoning is becoming slightly more common as the girl gets close to high school graduation. At senior prom, she ignores her date and is invited to dance in an intense, almost primal circle of teenage girls. Almost all of them dragon in that moment...but not the protag, Alex. She feels a bit of the dragon call, but stays human.

The aunt returns. Most dragons who flew off in 1955 return, in 1964, from lives of absolute freedom they didn't have as human women (living on mountains, jungles, even in space) choosing to return in their old communities, ask to rejoin their families, demand a seat at schools and workplaces, etc. All while there are PROTESTS refusing them and also welcoming them...the girl and her happy sister end up living a happy life in a little commune with the dragon aunt and the aunt's dragon gf and their various...queerplatonic dragon pals. The mass appearance of dragons changes history, and women aren't silent anymore.

-

Anyway. I was fascinated by this metaphor of dragoning to express both female joy and female rage. In this book, the ability to become a dragon is seemingly a uniquely FEMALE power ( though there's a small mention of some LA drag queens dragoning, felt very tacked on lol) and that power lies dormant for so long because it is shamed, silenced and suppressed by all cultures, all people. It made me enraged and anguished to see women stepped on and used in this world, knowing what they were being held back from.

Alex becomes begrudgingly used to ignorance and shame about dragons, internalizing misogyny and anger for reasons she could never explain to herself but was terrified to question or change. I understand why she came to embody the oppressive culture that made her. But it was kind of infuriating to read about her sometimes.

I also could not understand her frequent longing for her passed-away mother, when most of the mother's scenes in the story featured her telling protag to please shut up and be a good little girl. Just not many...positive memories of her. And protag also states that she loves her cool aunt, allegedly, but 95% of the time thought/acted in a dismissive and cold way to her, imo. Pissed me off sometimes. There was also a wealthy, well-connected librarian and progressive college professor who supported Alex here and there, and she acted generally dismissive, snappy or just straight up stupid to them too >:/

But its writing was pretty phenomenal. I ended up dog-earing a lot of pages because I wanted to go back to certain passages or lines to enjoy them again. The story ends with several pages of dragon history, how dragons are granted citizenship and educational rights, how their unstoppable physical might can right injustices and halt war crimes around the world and how Nixon and Reagan didn't like them lmao.

The dragons are women's compassion and anger and potential given blatant, deserved form. I fucking wish I could dragon, and step out of my skin, step out of my life, like Aunt Marla, and be this powerful. I guess I have this power, but only metaphorically.

Kelly Barnhill, you knocked it out of the park with this one.

((EDIT: I also have a bone to pick with whoever chose to put a certain review quote on the front of my paperback copy...somebody saying the book is "fierce...feminist...funny" WHAT WERE U SMOKING, THIS BOOK IS NOT "FUNNY"??? WTF GET OUT OF HERE

I might buy a second copy, without that quote, because it honest to god pisses me off. Ruining the utterly serious atmosphere. And I would love to give Ms Barnhill 20 more dollars))

[burnwater13]

Grogu was doing a lesson with his dad and frankly it was pretty boring. It was all about learning to recognize the various types of people and critters you might find yourself trailing by looking at their footprints. Footprints! Some critters had footprints that were bigger than him and others, like the ones that tiny tickle mice leave were so small, Grogu had a hard time seeing them and he was pretty darn close to them compared to the Mandalorian. 

So, as his dad continued to drone on about the variation in temperature and humidity and how that affected the aging of a footprint, depending on soil make up and speed of travel, Grogu thought back to the time he spent in actual school. And he didn’t mean that crazy pirate school on Nevarro either with the droid teacher and the kids who were pretty selfish. No, he was thinking about the classes he took at the Jedi temple and the various classrooms they used for them. 

His favorite classes had been taught in the arboretum. It was a light and airy space and the trees, shrubs, and flowers were beautiful and generally smelled nice. Basic biology and life cycles were taught in that space, along with food systems, foraging, and healing techniques, new and ancient. Considering that food and healing were pretty high on the list of life’s necessities, it made sense to him that this was the space his masters used to explain the systems, elements, and  outcomes of each area of study. 

His least favorite class was data analysis and research techniques because of course that class was taught in the great library and while he loved the space itself, he didn’t actually love the one librarian who used to pinch his cheeks and talk to him like he was a baby. You can make that mistake once, honestly, but after that you were just being stubborn.

There were some outdoor areas that they used for courses on astronomy and astronavigation, but Coruscant rarely had clear skies at night and it was pretty hard to learn anything staring up at that sky. Of course that didn’t stop the masters from teaching the classes, but it did create an environment that the younglings could take advantage of to do something completely different. 

Typically, they moved into small groups and then into trios and then pairs. Then one pair would sneak off to the main temple and bring back something to share with everyone who was still there. Once in a while a pair failed to return and the younglings who remained took pride in coming up with more and more implausible reasons the missing pair were gone. 

But one night, just as they were walking out, Ian picked Grogu up and ran the other way. Grogu didn’t say anything. He’d learned not to ask questions when Ian did stuff like that. They finally arrived at the back door to the kitchen and just waited a moment. 

The door opened and a cart was pushed out. Ian said ‘thank you’ and they were off again. Grogu hopped onto the cart because Ian couldn’t hold him and push it. They went all the way back to the access door to the astronomy garden and quietly rejoined the group.

Grogu had no idea what Ian had set up. It was the one time Ian hadn’t blabbed his whole plan while they were running to implement the plan or running away from the aftermath of implementing the plan. He was just along for the ride. 

They waited there in silence and Grogu wasn’t sure why. He’d hopped off the cart because whatever Ian was going to do was going to be spectacular. He remembered how long that class lasted and they waited by the cart the whole time. Grogu had started counting random things he could see because he was so bored. 

Finally the class was over, but instead of everyone leaving, Master Quallish limped over to where Grogu and Ian were standing. 

“Well, youngling, what do you have here?”

“The staff from the kitchen wanted me to deliver this to you master. They said that you would understand.” Ian spoke calmly and quietly.

“Ahh. Very good. I had a conversation with the head of food services and they were of the opinion that this class needed something special. Apparently, two of you leave class every week and descend upon the food hall and capture all the cakes and cookies you can hold and bring them back here to distribute to your class mates.”

Master Quallish paused. 

Grogu wondered if they were about to be lectured and then realized they probably deserved it for not paying attention to the actual lesson. He sighed, ready for whatever discipline the old Jedi Master decided to place upon their shoulders.

“This week I decided that I would instead bring those items to class and see what you would do. I very much appreciate that you all stayed here and waited so long. Here. Have a treat. Next time, remember to grab a couple of cookies for me. I prefer the blue ones.”

And that’s what they did. They ate the cookies and cakes and made sure that Master Quallish had all the blue cookies he might want. 

Grogu wondered if Din Djarin would like a blue cookie… he would have to ask, once the Mandalorian stopped talking about how to determine the weight of a person you were tracking based on the depth of the footprint they left. 

“Master Yoda. Did Master Quallish really allow the younglings to do all that?” Master Kenobi asked his teacher and friend, as they observed Grogu from a certain perspective.

“Quallish wise was. Younglings rely upon each other learned. Negotiating skills also. Stealth. Trust. Patience.” The ancient Jedi replied.

“I see. Those things have served young Grogu well.”

“They have. Still needs them he does.”

[fantomcomics]

What’s Out This Week? 4/26

Please, trees, free us from the pollen!

BLAB! Vol 1 TP - Monte Beauchamp, Noah Van Sciver & Ryan Heshka

BLAB!-the Harvey Award-winning anthology of cutting-edge comics, art, and culture-has returned to its comics roots with a stellar lineup of contributors. Noah Van Sciver depicts the tragic demise of Crime Does Not Pay editor Robert Wood. Ryan Heshka recounts the rise and fall of Superman creators Siegel and Shuster. Sasha Velour portrays the making of film director F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Children's book illustrator Giselle Potter examines Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter's passion as a naturalist. Illustrated articles include the history of the gorilla and a report on UFOs. All this and much more in Comics and Stories That Will Make You BLAB!

Black Cat Social Club TP -  Christopher Painter & Bob Quinn

The story of three punk rock witches, Alice, Hazel, and Maggie, who cast spells with their songs to battle corporate demon jerks, defeat rival witch bands, save the world, and get to the next gig. Black Cat Social Club have been at this "band thing" for quite a while, with limited success. (Bummer.) Despite their kick-ass punk rock skills (and a little songcasting magic), these witchy women have been struggling to reach their big break. Discouraged, bassist Hazel sells her soul to a demon for more magical power, prompting singer/lead guitarist Alice to step in and assume the debt herself! Plus side, the band is killing it at their shows now. Downside? They may literally be killing the entire world by fueling these corporate demons' evil plans, which for sure involve brimstone, monsters... you know, the works! Can the band stop the apocalypse? Is drummer Maggie's songwriting, uh, "technique" the key? Will the demon Stan ever shut up?! If you've ever wished Josie and the Pussycats had more demons, or Buffy was fronting a three-piece rock band, you've found your next favorite book in Black Cat Social Club!

Boy’s Abyss GN Vol 1 -  Ryo Minenami

Reiji's life is as miserable as the small town he can't escape. The most interesting thing that's ever happened there is a double suicide down by the river. Does Reiji have any power over his fate, or will he too fall into the abyss?

Charisma’s Turn GN -  Monique Couvson & Amanda Jones

From the award-winning author of Pushout, an inspiring graphic novel about what can happen when Black girls are given the opportunity to find their genuine power. Charisma's Turn is a graphic novel that follows the dynamic story of Charisma, a Black high school student who is grappling with mounting pressures from home and school. When frustrations with her family intersect with a conflict at school, she reaches a crossroads, facing a choice that could change her future. Featuring vibrantly illustrated art from Amanda Jones and a foreword by poet, artist, and arts educator Susan Arauz Barnes, this book will appeal to teens, parents, educators, librarians, and more. Charisma's Turn exemplifies how Black girls can be truly empowered to reach their full potential when they have supportive educators and community members in their corner.

Cut-Over Criteria GN -  Koala Omugi

A fresh new boys' love office romance in which opposites attract! Recent graduate Jin has been assigned to help out his upperclassman Seto, a highly competent but somewhat standoffish systems engineer. Though Jin is good at his job, he does seem to have his head in the clouds more often than not... and Seto's eyes always seem to linger on him more than they should!

Deep Cuts #1 (of 6) -  Kyle Higgins, Joe Clark, Danilo Beyruth & Chris Brunner

New Orleans, 1917. In the city's bustling red-light district, a young clarinet player lands a job with his hero-but he'll soon discover there's more to the music business than playing the right notes.

Join writers KYLE HIGGINS & JOE CLARK (RADIANT BLACK) and an ALL-STAR CAST OF ARTISTS for SIX DOUBLE-LENGTH ISSUES that weave stories of struggle, joy, and hope through the history of jazz!

Disney & Pixar’s Turning Red: 4*TOWN 4 Real GN -  Dirchansky & KAlfee

4*Town 4 Ever! 4*Townies are hyped to see 4*Town performing their favorite hits live, but how will Canada's greatest boy band spend the day leading up to their epic Toronto concert? Hang with Robaire, Jesse, Tae Young, Aaron T, and Aaron Z as they enjoy a rare break in their busy schedules! Jesse and Tae Young embrace their artistic side and visit a ceramics museum, Aaron T gets his fashion on at the mall, and Aaron Z and Robaire stay in the dance studio to master their moves before the sold-out show. Only the realest fans deserve to get this up close and personal with Tween Beat Magazine's Hottest Band of the Year!

Fashion Illustration: Outfit Of The Day GN -  Pie International 

Fashion Illustration is a new genre in the Japanese illustration scene, offering the most up-to-date, modern and practical styles for everyday. This book introduces 40 up-and-coming illustrators from Japan who are becoming popular on social media, including Daisuke Richard the author of Kikanetsu published in June 2019. Filled with loads of cool, stylish coordinates and color patterns, this guide offers a whole new way for discovering new trends in fashion. Find your own outfit of the day!

Jujutsu Kaisen: Thorny Road At Dawn GN -  Gege Akutami & Ballad Kitaguni

A modeling scout approaches Kugisaki, but he turns out to be a cursed speech user with an ulterior motive, and when Inumaki tries to rescue her, things don't quite turn out as planned. Mechamaru goes on a solo mission, Gojo and friends try to host a party, and more chilling and charming adventures ensue in these five short stories set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen!

Money Shot Comes Again #1 -  Tim Seeley & Gisele Lagace

The XXX-plorers are back on their hands and knees for the good of humanity! When the giant ass space jellyfish who run the ordered universe arrive on earth, the porn-stars-cum-science explorers must put away grudges, crushes, and side-hustles to once again take one (or two! or three!) for the team. An epicly sexy new arc begins, which takes aim at dumb billionaires and bad optics, and guest stars a LEGENDARY underground comix heroine! NEW ARTIST Gisele Lagace puts her sexy spin on the book!

New Retro Illustration Bilingual Edition GN -  PIE INTERNATIONAL

Retro but modern. This is the new trend, the new way, the new form of illustration created by the new generation. "New retro," a combination of the word "New" and "Retrospective," is a phrase meaning "appreciating and enjoying something old while reimagining it into something modern." This book introduces 40 up-and-coming illustrators working in this "new retro" style. Through the 300 illustrations showcased in this one book, readers can appreciate and enjoy retro culture, items and motifs reimagined and transformed into something new.

Platinum Blood GN -  Mor Ichigaya

Alucard, known by "Al" for short, is a vampire who has been raised by a priest, You. Providing Al the fluids he needs to survive has created an unusually close relationship between the two, but what will become of their partnership as You's mortality catches up to him? This book contains explicit content and mature themes, including incest and violence. It is not intended for anyone under 18 years of age.

QUEEN In Comics GN -  Emmanuel Marie & Sophie Blitman

Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Freddie Mercury form one of the greatest rock bands in the world. Under the leadership of its charismatic singer, Queen is a planetary success for each hit with its decadent shows, inimitable aesthetics and style. "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are the Champions", "Don't Stop Me Now" or even "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" are just some of the hits! Discover the great stories and little secrets surrounding the legend!

Sacred Lamb GN - Tim Seeley & Jelena Dordevic

Online celebrity Kellyn West, who just recently dispatched "her" own stalker-slash-serial killer Clay Coogan on a live stream, finds herself the newest resident of a secluded town known as Sacred Lamb. This is where the government hides "endemic victims" under witness protection in hopes of preventing innocents from being murdered when, inevitably, psycho slashers return from the dead. But when the body count starts rising inside the barbed wire fences, Kellyn must team up with the original survivor girl, known only as "The Babysitter," to rally the E.V.s and withstand an army of slashers at their door, seemingly back from the dead, and definitely back for blood.

Sap Hunters HC -  Laurent Genefort & Alexandre Ristorcelli

Through the branches of the gigantic World Tree, Pierig searches for the source of the malevolence that poisons the sap. The colossal branches of the World Tree are home to many diverse clans of people, each living among their tier. When Pierig, a Sap Diviner, is captured by the Bellicose clan for his rare skills, he learns that the World Tree is dying and its nourishing sap, the fuel for each of these communities, is being poisoned... Accompanied by three warriors, Pierig is forced to trace the origin of the evil that is eating away at the plant titan through each of its levels, and down to the very base if necessary. But along his journey, issues deeper than the root of this sickness begin to surface, putting everything Pierig knew to be true into question.

Silence #1 (of 5) -  Devin Kraft

In this extraordinary Rock'n'Roll/Mythology mashup, Johanna Jones returns to her hometown of Anthem, a down-on-its-luck shipping town, to discover the ship her father sailed on has gone missing. She ends up aboard a yellow submarine named the Heart of Gold, headed directly into Hades' Hexagon to find the missing crew, accompanied by her childhood best friend, a rich young addict, and a punk legend.

Star Wars The High Republic Adventures: Quest Of The Jedi One-Shot -  Claudia Gray, Fico Ossio & Tom Fowler

On the ancient world of Angcord, the Force works in unforeseen ways. When legendary Jedi Knight Barnabus Vim and his intrepid Padawan Bly arrive on this mysterious world, seeking an ancient artifact of the Force, they quickly find more than they were bargaining for. But just what is the mysterious Echo Stone, and what does its existence mean for the continued survival of all those who call Angcord home?

Souls Of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation GN -  W E B Du Bois, Paul Buhle & Paul Peart-Smith

Peart-Smith's graphic adaptation provide historical and cultural contexts that bring to life the world behind Du Bois' words. Readers will get a deeper understanding of the cultural debates The Souls of Black Folk was engaging in, with more background on figures like Booker T. Washington, the advocate of black economic uplift, and the Pan-Africanist minister Alexander Crummell. This beautifully illustrated book vividly conveys the continuing legacy of The Souls of Black Folk, effectively updating it for the era of The 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter.

W0RLDTR33 #1 -  James Tynion IV, Fernando Blanco, & Jordie Bellaire 

In 1999, Gabriel and his friends discovered the Undernet, a secret architecture to the Internet. They charted their exploration on a message board called W0RLDTR33.

Then they lost control. Someone broke into W0RLDTR33-someone who welcomed the violent hold the Undernet had on them. At great personal cost, Gabriel and the others thought they sealed the Undernet away for good. They were wrong. And now they will know the meaning of PH34R.

The Witches Of World War II GN -  Paul Cornell & Valeria Burzo

In the darkest hours of World War II, Doreen Valiente (then known as Doreen Dominy), an expert on British folklore and the occult, is approached by British intelligence at Bletchley Park who tell her they know she's a witch... and that's how she can best serve her country. Together with the "most evil man in the world," a hard-nosed white witch, the grizzled founder of Wicca, and a professional exorcist and con man, Valiente will travel deep into the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe and gamble her life, her belief, and her powers on a mission to help capture Rudolf Hess, second in command to Adolf Hitler himself.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantom Fam? 

[blizziedoodles]

I'm again posting drama here instead of twitter because my brother doesn't follow me here and won't blab to the family.

I'm not happy in my day to day life. I am NOT doing okay. I had to go off my ADHD meds because of a national shortage which made it so I can't afford what my pharmacy can offer.

My mom got herself a puppy that she gave up on less than two days into having her and pushed her on me and I love her, but she's a full time fucking job. She gives me AT MOST 4 hours a day to get everything done, and I can only take advantage of those 4 hours on Monday. I have shit to do every other day during the time she's tired. I feel so bad because I just CAN'T give her all of my attention. I can't give her the life I feel like she deserves. I know what I can do for her is hella better than what my mom would do, but I feel like such a shitty dog mom and I physically can't do anything about it. I'm ALWAYS IN PAIN.

I was pressured into getting a part time job to cover basic bills, which seems like a great idea on paper, but apparently the job I snagged is convinced that I can offer every hour of my goddamn life to them when I honestly can't. You hired me on for 25 hours a week; that's what I can give you. (Legit, as I was typing this I got an email for my work that I absolutely had to answer. I am not supposed to be working on Mondays.) Not only that, but I'm basically doing two jobs for the pay of one. I'm supposed to be a librarian, but I'm mostly a babysitter. I don't mind, I love being there for the kids. What I hate is having to juggle my "important library tasks" with taking care of the kids, and also the adults because honestly the adults are way more annoying and shitty than the kids.

Now my roommate is talking about moving out to live closer to his parents because his mom offered out a trailer for him to rent near her, which is great. He's also in the process of getting a better job, so I'm happy for him, but...This whole time it was framed as him getting a better job to be less stressed about bills and rent here. Now it's...he's moving out, getting a better job, and ...we can't handle the rent on our own here. I'm genuinely terrified, but I can't tell him because he apparently waited months to tell me because he didn't want to stress me out. I don't know what to do!!!!!!

My sister is trying to get a better job, which is great. But the job she's really going for is going to require us to move. 3 hours away from my mom, which honestly scares me. Because even though my mom has done some stupid shit and put me in some really frustrating situations recently, she's still someone I can turn to and I've never lived more than 20 minutes away from her. It's SCARY. I HATE change. All of this stuff is just piling on and piling up and I'm...possibly at my breaking point. I don't know if I will...mentally make it to next year.

[world-hopping-traveler]

Alright, after that (admittedly tiring) post about some mythologies of Zedrathu and what's it like, I want to be selfish and talk about me :)

I think I did alright at mastering the other tongue, there's still tons to learn, but I'm doing okay so far. I need to show the art soon to the townspeople, so I'm hastily putting together items to make it appear like a presentation, like trying to find a smooth wall that I can hang a bit of slate on. I also need to finish up learning about the history of this country. It doesn't help that they are expecting it by Monday, and that I blabbed about it to a librarian. Now she wants me to publish it.

Yikes.

Other than that, I'm doing pretty good!

I took a look at some stuff on this website, and maybe like 500-1000 people are left on here, but only about 200 are really the stars. Even then, they all interact in their own bubbles, so to them, this website is maybe filled with 100-200 people, not to mention that there are older posts, some from nearly 1000 years ago! Some of the posts still hit home, which, in my opinion, proves that life-forms do share similar humour and problems existing then, remains as it were today, just in smaller quantities.

[professorllayton]

i want to be a librarian so bad !!!!! :'/

[unimatronic]

Are you ready for a MAJOR INFODUMP about The Librarian? Yes? Good.

In ENDGAME, one can ascend to godhood no matter your background or species so long as you meet certain conditions. Likewise, anyone can become a god’s angel, as becoming an angel is literally just being picked by a god to either become or Ascend to the status of Divine Servant or something similar:

transcript: Angels = Divine servants of a particular god who serve them as right/left hands, helpers, warriors, and messengers between the various realms and were strictly created for said work. Angels are usually created by their god, but may also be Ascended Humans as well (re: the god forcibly Ascended them, which is taboo amongst most). In the case of deities, angels are often a reference to their particular body part that helps their work (eyes, ears, hands, ect) and are usually numerous. Angels that belong to a deity are always parts of the deity at least 85%, meaning vessels may be possessed but will always inevitably be, serve, and host the deity without qualm. Any angel type may have a charge. God eaters may be commissioned to hunt angels or may find them pests that get in the way of their endeavors.

Angels can, however, “fall” and become demons for a variety of reasons, including forsaking their gods, questioning their gods motives, or straight up participating in the God War against the gods:

transcript: Demons = Divine servants who have lost their way or forsaken their god. They no longer seek to serve the purpose they were made for and/or have cast off their charge. Ascended Humans and Deities may be called Demons if they rebel against their god or given purpose. Deity angels (aka those that are not living beings (and thus are a part of the deity)) cannot rebel as they often do not possess sentience outside of their deity. Vessels strong enough may overcome a deity’s control, however, and expel the deity from them with enough work. This usually leads to them becoming an outlier, or an individual with no real purpose/place in the cosmos that can exist outside the Game and the realms they live within. Many Ascended Human, Vessel, and Deity demons are expelled from their reality and forced nomads/wanderers, and aren’t welcome anywhere due to the supernatural “taint" or “warble” to their aura (deities and gods are very protective over their realities). God eaters don’t often bother with demons (as many of them are demons themselves), but there are always exceptions to the rule. A particularly powerful and intrusive demon may be seen as a target due to their meddling in the universe, or any wrongs they’ve committed against a certain god eater.

Becoming a demon can be simple and less symptomatic, or it can be incredibly trying and life threatening. It all depends on the god/deity betrayed by the angel, and their crimes committed against said god/deity. Not many get the book thrown at them even if they are rejected outright (which is a major punishment to most all its own), but others get physical and magical mutations in conjunction to their rejection. Those of particularly vindictive gods/deities may get cursed, such as the Rebirthing curse The Fearmonger suffers that won’t let him die, but "erases” his memory and powers upon each death due to forcing him to “start over” as a child (which is unnatural for Chimera and thus an excruciating process in its own right).

The Librarian, or Lib, is a human demon that once served a particularly powerful god before and during the God War. (For context, the God War was a war that turned the universe and humankind against gods/deities as a whole and caused a whole shitmess of problems, including the universe condemning gods/deities to mortality (forcing them within the veil) where those who hated/were betrayed/scorned by gods/deities, called the God Eaters, could kill them easily). Lib in particular was never quite a follower of his particular god, being rared up by his parents and their cultural pressures as an offering for the god in question, who took angels in young and essentially ruled with them as a tyrant. When old enough, he realized he felt the mantra of his god was bullshit and decided to speak up about it, especially given the terrible treatment of his own people during the God War. When this happened, he was outcast by his god and fell from angel to demon status, where he joined the God Eaters in their fight against gods and deities and consumed godflesh once before becoming a self-proclaimed vampire and consuming godblud/godblood exclusively.

His consumption of godblud led to him eventually possessing powers he hadn’t previously and caused him to go a bit hysterical (as godblud does). In this hysteria, he managed to make a pact with Linduru, the third Player of the Game, and became a Child of Linduru. Under her will, he went out and began destroying villages and humankind en mass and eventually drew the attention of his fellow God Eaters when he proclaimed himself a god who would “make things right” by “carrying out Decay’s will” on the universe. He has a particular beef with Artem, given the man has an incredible hatred for anyone tied to Linduru (for good reason) and Lib may have been part of Linduru’s plan to kidnap his daughter and forcibly turn her into a mushroom child (aka Linduru’s “lesser” children who are forced to live in her forest for the rest of their lives). Also, we all know Lib just can’t shut his fucking gob for five minutes and loves taunting people, so there’s that.

He’s been forcibly imprisoned in a Hell Bubble by Melancholy before (Hell Bubbles are miniature “prison cell-like worlds” that force you to live in a personal hell you cannot escape from; they often erase your memories of your previous life as well), as well as forced to exist in the Nothingness (aka exist within a space that should be tearing him apart, but cannot, leading to an incredibly painful and emotionally destructive experience) for a long while by the God Eaters. As of late, he has escaped and possessed an animatronic from Unimatronic Daycare (The Librarian, a bearded vulture animatronic) as a Vessel to disguise himself from the God Eaters in hopes they’ll finally leave him alone even though he has no plans to change his behavior now or ever. He cannot remember his old name, but is unbothered by it for the most part, simply living his days on impulse and personal desire instead of planning something for the future. The future is so short-lived for him, he figures it’s better this way (a symptom of the PTSD his experiences have most likely given him).

Most of Lib’s powers consist over decay and death, though aren’t quite necromancy. Due to the godblud he has in his system (and keeps via hunting the divine), he has the power to forcibly assimilate himself to whatever vessel he possesses and cause them to become a physical part of his body. Because he needs godflesh and godblood to survive, however, this power is unstable and can lead to him physically meshing with anything he enters in such a way that he’d suffer incredible pain were he to separate himself again. As it is now, Lib has a very low supply of godblud in his system and cannot unmerge with his animatronic suit without serious self injury. However, due to his curse (thanks to the God Eaters shoving him in the Nothingness), he also cannot die, meaning were he to actually separate from it without godblud, he would become a mesh of flesh and absolute agony until he could manage to pull himself together again.

[just-some-friendly-fun]

Wow thanks—

New York Times.

[banishingsigils]

i do realize that i miss being more public-facing at work because i’ve been away from customer service for a while. but i honestly miss helping people directly, and i just. . .like people? i enjoyed those small moments i got with patrons and gradually that small talk/patter would become more conversational. after working at my previous library for almost four years, i had patrons come up to me in my last week and tell me how much they’d miss me. like?? even almost four years into being at a different library, i get emotional thinking about that.

the deeper i get into tech services/behind-the-scenes jobs, the more i realize i do like being front-line, even if some days are bad and exhausting. maybe i’ll finally own the fact that i’m pretty extroverted - at least when it comes to how i feel after social interaction of any kind. hopefully i figure it out before i start and complete my library degree, yikes.

[kingofthewilderwest]

I recommend you read a little book called How To Train Your Dragon. It is quite good! :)

But!!! I don’t live on Berk and I don’t want to deal with the Hairy Scary Librarian’s potential wrath!!!

[authortobenamedlater]

A nap and two content children later, here I am again.

I mentioned awhile back that I have issues with rampant Cortana because my grandmother died of Alzheimer’s. Turns out it’s hard to ignore that when assessing Halo 4, but I will do my best.

An aside, I really really REALLY hope the show decides to leave out rampancy because I’m not sure I could handle it. Not like that’s going to stop me from headcanoning and writing some fic about it because my imagination has already run away with me on that.

I had this feeling early on and didn’t want to blab it before finishing the game: Halo 4 feels like 343 said “We have all the men we’re going to get; now we need their wives and girlfriends.” NOT saying this is a bad thing, speaking as one of those wives. But the shift from “Master Chief destroys any and all bad guys in his path” to “Master Chief destroys any and all bad guys in his path while also worrying over his AI lady friend” very much seems designed to appeal to a female audience. We don’t even get to a Halo until the final level, I think? I can see how someone who’s been playing 1-3 + Reach + ODST for 10 years by the time 4 came out would find the change in mood off-putting. @mrtobenamedlater can talk more about this being an original fanboy.

I’m not going to go on too much about “Emo Chief” as Mr says. I’ll just say that while it’s not bad, the change is rather abrupt. It might have worked better to have a game or two in so the Chief-Cortana relationship could ramp up to what we see in 4. But you know, Chief was frozen and Cortana was busy changing her appearance (and his, from the looks of it), and he never even said she looked nice. 😂

I did, however, love the terminals in 4. They were probably my favorite in any of the games. And the next time I think Mr and I are well and truly pissed at each other I’ll remind myself that life could be worse, we could be the Didact and the Librarian.

I’m a little sad my run through the MCC is over, because I really did enjoy finally seeing what the hoopla is about. I suppose I should publicly thank Mr for patiently guiding me through six games, six more than I ever thought I’d play, and only getting legitimately mad at me once (I don’t even remember why anymore LOL). I hope one day the opportunity comes about for us to play 5 and Infinite and anything else that comes out without dropping ridiculous amounts of cash.

I’m sure more opinions will make themselves known as time goes on.

[proudtoehaver]

On a much happier note.

Idk if any of you recall me mentioning that Star Wars thing my library is doing for the schools’ autumn vacation and thst I was asked to lend them some stuff for it?

Anyway it’s happened and I saw the exhibit today. Well, the 501st’s stuff doesn’t arrive until tomorrow, but mine is up. I have some really nice pics to share with you of it later once I can get the critters off my phone.