#buying a very cute vintage dragon made me think of this

[waterlullaby]

idk if this is just me or not but i bet vintage plushies that have been adopted secondhand appreciate being loved and doted on like they’re young again… just nice to be snuggled i think :)

[andreawetzels]

Andrea's guide to Barcelona

I spent the past 5 months living and working in the beautiful and vibrant city that is Barcelona. I have written all my favourite spots in a small notebook, but I thought it would be a good idea to write it down once more. This time in the online world of Tumblr (so I can find it too in the future).

Favourite neighbourhoods:

El Born (lots of cool shops, think of concept stores and gift shops)

El Raval (a bit alternative, you can find various graffiti paintings)

Barrio Gótico (basically the heart of the centre)

Touristic Things:

La Rambla (not very special to me, but it’s nice to have seen it)

Placa de Catalunya (if you want to see the busiest square and shopping streets of Barcelona, then definitely go here!)

La Sagrada Familia (the most famous church in Barcelona of course, if you are under 30 and go on a Sunday after 16:00, you’ll get a discount, which means you can visit the church, go up on one of the towers ánd get the audio guide for 15 euros)

Park Güel (there’s a free nature park, which is great to walk around, but also make sure you visit Park Güel and take a photo on the famous bench)

Placa d’Espanya (walk up the stairs for a view of Barcelona)

Magic fountain (near Placa d’Espanya, fountain show with lights and music)

Camp Nou, FC Barcelona game (even if you don’t like football, it still is cool to watch a FC Barcelona game and experience the atmosphere)

Do the Gaudi houses tour (on your own, for free, look it up on the web and give yourself a tour!)

Swim & Chill

Favourite beach: Playa del Bogatell (bit more quiet, more locals there, less annoying people who want to sell stuff and a cleaner sea)

Piscines municipales Montjuïc (the olympic swimming pools of Barcelona, great way to cool off and get an amazing view of the city. Make sure to bring your own drinks and food because there aren’t really food places nearby. It’s also a good idea to bring a hat because there aren’t many shadow places.)

Parc de la Creueta del Coll (beautiful parc with small pool/lake, a lot of locals with small kids go there)

Vintage shops and markets:

Lost & Found Market (basically a big flea market, I wasn’t a big fan of it)

Two Market (everything only costs 1 euro, but the entrance fee is also 1 euro, if you go early you can definitely find something cool and cheap)

You will find most vintage shops on Carrer Tallers, like: Holala vintage, Flamingo, Flamingos vintage kilo, etc.

If you’re looking for new and second hand vinyl or cds, go to Revolver Records on Carrer dels Tallers 11. They also sell band shirts.

Palo Alto Market (great market every Saturday and Sunday with food trucks, clothing, lifestyle goods, live music and much more!)

Nature & Sights

Ciutadella park (a lot of green, also a lot of people who do work-outs there)

The Montjuïc (one of the most famous hills in Barcelona, there are also a lot of touristic things to visit there, my recommendation is to go to the Teleferico Barceloneta and take the cable car to the Montjuïc)

Tibidabo (visit the Basílica and go up on the tower for a fantastic view)

Bunker El Carmel (it is quite a walk, bring some food and drinks, go in the late afternoon and have a nice picnic while watching the sunset)

Parc del Laberint d’Horta (nature park to walk around, which also features a maze!)

Food & Drinks

En Ville (very fancy menu del dia, if you’re into that)

La Tagliatella (good and cheap chain Italian food)

UDON (cheap fast food, asian style, go for their variation of the menu del dia)

Spice cafe (best carrot cake in town, seriously!!! Also try their homemade raspberry lemonade, it’s very refreshing)

Federal café (great for brunch, nice poached eggs, also a good place to work at)

Surf House (especially great in summer, after an afternoon at the beach, have the burger, fries and mayo-mango sauce or the phi phi salad!)

Eyescream and friends (very cute shaved ice cream with little eyes on them, you can choose the ice cream flavour and two toppings. It’s super yummy, they have cute branding and it’s very instagrammable!)

Bacoa (if you like eating burgers, this is the place to go to!)

Maka Maka (also a great burger place, with a very nice looking exterior)

La Boqueria Market (thé food market in Barcelona, definitely worth a visit, buy a cup of fruit or a smoothie or try a macaron ice cream sandwich from MIMA Ice Cream)

Brunch & Cake (delicious and extremely good looking brunch food! They have two locations, one by the sea and one in the city. Be sure to come early, because it gets very busy and you’ll have to wait in line to get a table)

FOC BCN (great latin food and cocktails, but make sure to tell the staff if you don’t like coriander)

Cosmo bar (very hip and trendy looking bar with great food, amazing cakes and nice coffee & juices)

Café Cometa (same owners as Cosmo bar, same hip-trendy-quirky restaurant, but with more light and it’s a bit more relaxed. Try the munch brunch, you can assemble your own brunch plate)

Chök the Chocolate Kitchen (amazing donuts and cronuts, they have two locations, but not a lot of seats, mainly focused on take-away, try the Kinder bueno donut)

Trópico (healthy and tropical foods and AMAZING juices and smoothies, try the smoothie with pink dragon fruit!)

Ice Wave (they take cream, add your toppings and create it into ice-cream rolls, which is already a show to watch on its own, they also sell fantastic ice-cream crepes)

Gaudí Bakery (incredible cakes, also great to take-away, try the Red Velvet!)

Can Dendê (Very cute little brunch/lunch place, try the pink lemonade, bagel with salmon and waffle fries)

El Nacional BCN (bit more expensive, but definitely the most beautiful eating place with multiple restaurants inside, especially magical around Christmas time)

Granja Petitbo (restaurant with a vintage and hip looking decor, try the waffle with cheese, chicken, spinach and strawberries)

Syra Coffee (brilliant coffee, kind baristas and amazing sweet goods from Lukumas)

Flax & Kale (worth a visit for the healthy food lovers, try the pink salmon burgers, coconut yoghurt with fruit and granola or the banana bread, or ALL OF THEM)

Tapas tour (book yourself a tapas tour and learn more about the history and culture of Barcelona, while eating tapas at various places)

Museums and Art

MACBA Museu d’Art Contemporani (Keith Haring mural

Museu Picasso (

Disseny Hub Barcelona (if you’re into design, then go here! From graphic design to furniture, there often also are cool exhibitions)

Google online for a free street art tour (or find a tour yourself and go explore the city!)

CCCB (museum with contemporary art, last time I was there, they had three exhibitions going on, very interesting!)

On Placa d’Isidre Nonell, there’s a mural of two lips kissing each other, made out of small photos: “The sound of a kiss is not as loud as that of a canon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.”

Clubs, bars and parties

Brunch in the park/Brunch in the city (in the summer, there’s brunch in the park on the Montjuïc, which is really cool, in the winter it’s in the city, most of the time in Poble de Espanyol)

Sala Apolo (a lot of events, but especially concerts, I went to Allah-Las for example, very authentic venue)

Paradiso (if you go through the vintage fridge doors, you’ll find yourself a secret bar with amazing cocktails! Try the pineapple one)

Shôko (club which often has R&B, hiphop and classics playing)

The Lime House (cheap and strong mojitos)

The George Payne (Irish bar for a night of karaoke, they also sell a cheap black-out tray for 20 euros you’ll get: 2x Sex on the Beach, 2x Sangria, 1 caraffe of Vodka + Redbull, 2 shots Jäeger, 2 shots Tequila and 2 shots Sambucca)

Pacha (club if you’re more into techno/deep house)

[bogglebabbles]

mango, passion fruit, pomegranate, tangelo, cranberry

Thank you so much, Fish!

mango: what is your trademark?

I’m not really sure what’s meant by ‘trademark’ but I’m going to take it to mean as ‘something about me that is very recognizably associated with me’ and say probably dried flowers. I actually just made some resin coasters with pressed flowers in them and I love the design but my dumb ass pulled them from the moulds too soon so they’re all distorted (i had them in the garage and the cold made them firmer so i thought they’d set).

Still cute though, will get pictures in a while.

passion fruit: how would you describe your style?

At the moment, I’d say ‘messily bisexual’. Flannels and dyed hair and cheap tattoos (some of which need cover-ups), leggings and jeans, plain t-shirts in the colours I like, mismatched sneakers (I didn’t mean to buy them mismatched but here we are).

I’d really like to get a haircut and get some more men’s suits, especially if I could afford vintage. Still want tattoos, though maybe some higher quality ones.

pomegranate: when do you feel the most confident?

It’s a tie between fresh after a tattoo, and when I’m wearing nice dress clothes. Especially if it involves a waistcoat and tie.

tangelo: if you could be any mythical creature, which would you be?

DRAGON. I have long since faded out of my middle-school dragon phase but it’s always there, sleeping, waiting to strike again. I will always choose dragons.

Plus considering how much collecting of random things I do, I think it’d be appropriate for me to viciously and sleepily guard a hoard.

cranberry: favorite time of the day; morning, afternoon, dusk, or night?

I’ve been starting to get to the point where I appreciate the mornings more, especially when it’s very early and no one else is awake. Unfortunately, my internal clock doesn’t agree with me so I usually can’t get to sleep until something like 1-2AM (though I’ve had someone giving me stern talking-to’s if I’m up past 3 these days). Still, I’d really like to get more into the habit of waking up early, but I can’t seem to make it through a day long enough to reset my internal clock.

[bentchcreates]

Beyond Light and Darkness, A Kathbute Anthology (Part 2)

Let me begin 2018 with an awesome review of our awesome book! I’m very proud of this – I was part of the new writer judging, the editing, and I wrote the preface! – and if you want to know this book’s journey from conception to publishing I wrote a lengthy blog on that last year.

In this second part of the #BLaD blog posts, I’ll be reviewing it as a reader and I’ll try to review it as objectively as I can. ;) Here’s what I think of the 11 stories by the Kathbute Authors, because while a general review of the book is appreciated, it always feels great for anthology authors to read about their works individually.

I. Love Bits

1. The Watch Repairman’s Son – H. Bentham Prompts: A broken wristwatch, peppermints, and a hug that goes too far.

LOL at reviewing this objectively! XD This is my work and for me it’s the best! Hahaha!

Anyway, a trivia about this story: This is actually my first Sancho de Guerra story. I finished writing this almost a full year before “Guide for A Day” appeared in Summer Feels but this took a while to see the light of day. The town I envisioned here is a wee bit different from the one I imagined for the later story, but you wouldn’t really notice. All the bits that got published can go together, and as of this writing, I declare it as canon. ;)

2. Can I Stay? – Nigel Libranages Prompts: Tarot Cards, the coming winter, a pair of old leather boots

This is more of a romantic fiction than romance but the feels, especially the melancholy, is on point. The tone seems levelheaded, but there’s something subtle in how it’s presented that tugs at the heartstrings just right. I must commend both the clever interpretation of the given prompts and the vivid visualization of the settings. Sandra’s characterization is also well fleshed out, justifying her decisions through the end of this short story.

II. Spell Crafts

3. Potion Lunacy – Irina Jean Prompts: The first day of school, a love note, a recipe with a significant mistake

The YA Fantasy theme in this one is cute and reminds me so much of quirky 2000’s anime. Feisty Portia is stubborn but also a bit insecure and her love interest, Gelen, is just the right amount of clumsy and torpe to be endearing. The fun and fast-paced banter depicts the youthfulness of the characters accurately. And the magic parts, though light, are solid and well thought of.

4. Etienne and Amelie – Johanna Lee Prompts: A supporting fairytale character, a lake, pretenses

This retelling of your favorite fairytales retains the fantastical magic of our childhood reads. I’m not going to say which tales get beautifully mashed-up because I think the figuring out is part of the story’s charm. The visualization and choice of words are commendable, as well as the surprising twist at the very end. You have to read this carefully. Blink, and you’ll miss it.

5. Man in Between – Trix Luna Prompts: old train, jewels, an inconvenient truth

This story wasn’t in the original manuscript I got to read in the editing phase so reading it for the first time in the book is quite an experience. It is told in the second person POV, something I rarely get to read and the spec fic theme is also somewhat fresh to me. I don’t know how best to describe it without spoilers except that I thought it felt transcendental. The choice of words really got to me and it was…unsettling, in the way good fiction affects readers even after the story ends.

III. Distortions

6. The Time Banker – Raine Rillera Prompts: A name, a prison cell, music

The sci-fi/spec fic concept for this one has been wonderfully executed, and the interpretation of the prompts, though subtle and downplayed, were key elements in the advancement plot. This is one of the stories chosen after our writing contest and I remembered that even the rough draft of this one was solid so the edited version in the print made for an awesome reread.

7. The Trial of the Tainted – Trix Luna Prompts: A heroic villain, an old parchment, an unforgivable sin

Space and time-travelling were the themes of this interesting short story. I loved the world-building in this one and the twist and turns it took to get to that ‘heroic villain’ bit. There is also an underlying subtheme of a familiar story that everyone knows by now so the marriage of sci-fi elements to that story kind of updated the mysterious plot.

8. Word Wisp – AlaraChan IDA Prompts: aerobics, a secret diary, something unpleasant under the bed

With prompts like those, familiar stories immediately come to mind about monsters and inner demons, yada, yada…but this interpretation of the boogeyman trope is fresh and brilliant. The monster here isn’t a thing, more of a concept, and it doesn’t kill, but rather consumes something everyone often takes for granted. I especially loved the world apocalypse scenes and the people’s reactions to it in this story’s universe.

IV. Penumbra

9. Allegro – RK Sanchez Prompts: A name, a prison cell, music

Our cover artist also contributed a story here, and it is one on the darker themes. This time the mystery is more psychological and less fantastical but is just as interesting as all the other stories.  The author takes a different turn with the interpretation of the prompts and offers a sweet twist toward the end.

10. Thirty-Seven – Yelle Felicenny Prompts: A stolen ring, fear of spiders, a sinister stranger

This was one of my anticipated reads in this book because I only got to read the first part during the editing phase. There’s a bit of action, adventure and mystery here but what really got me was the dark turn of events at about the final quarter of the story.

11. Darker Than Night- AlaraChan IDA Prompts: a campfire, a scream, a small lie that gets bigger and bigger

This is uniquely written in epistolary style/journal entries, and is a dark but captivating read. I don’t read a lot of horror stories (everyone knows I’m a coward, lol) but I couldn’t put this down! I wanted to know what happens to the aswang and the military party that’s pursuing it!

5 of 5 Stars. Because I’m super proud of our work, and it is an honor to have worked on this with awesome writers and awesome people!

Blurb: The 11 stories in this anthology showcase the interpretations of the Kathbute writers to the theme of light and darkness in the genres of Romance, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Mystery.

Buy Links:

Right now it’s only available in print here: bit.ly/BLADBatch2

I’ll update this when the Kindle version is released. J

For the meantime, put it in your GoodReads TBR shelf? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36995364-beyond-light-and-darkness-a-kathbute-anthology

About the authors:

Nigel Libranages Nigel Libranages is a licensed chemist but dreams of becoming a marine biologist and take care of sea turtles. Born as a genuine sinker, the closest that he can do about his dream is own an aquarium. He has pitcher plants for pets, and he loves reading about myths and folklore. He writes before he forgets. Dedication: To those who are strong enough to hold on, and brave enough to let go.

Wattpad: @libranages

Raine Rillera Born and raised in Baguio City, Raine has a natural affinity to cold weather and “vintage” clothing (i.e. ukay). Her first paying job was as a puppeteer, when at 8 years old she staged her own puppet show at a birthday party. Since then, she has been telling stories through whatever medium was available.

Wattpad: @purple_porpoise

H. Bentham H. Bentham was born and raised in the Philippines but now resides 1,481 miles away from home. He battles homesickness with his various hobbies and (mostly) procrastinating on the internet. When he's done being bored, he writes stories; and when he's feeling particularly profound, poems. He adores turtles and bettas, enjoying the slow, quiet companionship they provide.

Wattpad: @bentchbites|Facebook: H Bentham Writes | Twitter: @bentchbites| Instagram: @bentchbites

Irina Jean Irina Jean is an elusive mushroom who indulges in anime, manga, video games, and most of all, art. She believes that writing is a unique form of art too, for she can express herself with words as her paint and her laptop as her canvas. When she's not writing, she's usually binge-gaming with friends. She dreams of being a webcomic artist and, if possible, a space witch. (Actually, any kind of witch would do.)

Wattpad: @Cygneux|Facebook: Irina Jean

Trix Luna Trix is the self-proclaimed duchess of the East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a place where there is always light when you need it. She’s still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter even though she is already sorted to Ravenclaw. She’s not adept at any game ending in –ball (basketball, football, volleyball, etc.) other than Quidditch and Scrabble. She has a one-sided relationship with music and strongly opposes to divorce with it, believing that music will learn to love her singing voice…eventually.

Wattpad: @lunatrix|Facebook: Trix Luna | Twitter: @3xLuna

AlaraChan IDA AlaraChan IDA is a kabute who like books, cats, and hot chocolate. She takes long quiet walks, bike rides, and binge-watching a number of TV series to keep her muse alive and kicking. She dreams of becoming a pod racer, a dragon-tamer, and a space pirate. She recently took up watercolor painting and is now torn between writing and the arts.

Wattpad: @AlaraChan| Instagram: @alara_arts

Johanna Lee Johanna Lee is a Filipino writer based in Western Australia who writes poetry, and fictional stories in the genre of Chicklit, Romance, and Paranormal. A published Tagalog Romance author, Radish Fiction writer, and a Children’s-storyteller-wannabe. She finds joy in her collection of toys, books, stationery, and old-fashioned writing tools.

Twitter: @ilivewritenow| Instagram: @ilivewritenow

Yelle Felicenny Felicenny is an awkward melange of multiple extremes: an artist hemmed in a thriving tycoon’s body. While business is her field of study and training remote communities is her passion in public service, her heart belongs to art, poetry and travelling. Bus rides, sunsets and coffee shops are among her favorite things, for the untamed muse beckons the most - inked on bus tickets, receipts and table napkins.

Wattpad: @Felicenny| Facebook: Yelle Felicenny

R.K. Sanchez R.K. Sanchez is a teacher by profession, but is fond of learning a lot of things from her students. Her hands are often dirty as she is a right-handed artist and guitarist, often having guitar string marks on her left hand fingertips and paint stains all over her right hand. She is an introvert who has always been afraid of meeting and approaching new people, but never afraid of approaching stray cats and dogs.

Wattpad : @PrivateHeroine| | Facebook: Skribsinner | Instagram: @skribsinner

[secretbookclub]

Books I read in 2016

I wanted to make this list sooner but had no time because of finals. It’s all the books I added to Goodreads this year. I actually read a ton of comic and added like %0.5 of them haha. Also I didn’t add books I skip-read. Here we go.

1. Goblin Emperor

It was the first book I read in 2016. I read it in my shitty phone and on a laptop. I really really love this book. I reread it a lot and it became a kind of comfort book for me. I really love Maia and sometimes get teared eye when I think about him.

2. Seraphina

Kinda meh. I think author could make a better book. It was very average.

3-4-5. Captive Prince Series

I gave the first book 3 stars, to second book 4 stars and to the last book 5 stars. I love this series. I had doubts about it when I was reading the first book but as Laurent and Damen begin to be in more equal footing I fell in love with it. The last book is absolute perfection, I loved everything about it. I think it’s the best end of series book I ever read.

6. Beautiful Darkness

Writing is meh but art was stellar. I love love Kerascoet’s art.

7. Ms Marvel Volume 1

I usually don’t like superhero comics but this was an exception.

8-9-10. Graceling, Fire, Butterblue

I can’t decide which one them is my favorite: Graceling or Butterblue? I love them because of different reasons. I didn’t care much about Fire. Graceling is a happy book. I love Katsa and Po, and their relationship was a pleasant suprise. Them may be my favorite fantasy YA couple. Butterblue is a sad book. It made me cry several times. It’s about abuse, ptsd and recovery. I love this subject but if you don’t like I think you might not like this book.

11. The Raven Boys

Oh god I’m a terrible reader and I’m still in second book of this series(for 8 months.....) I liked it. And I will continue it. Writing style was interesting.

12. Smile

Cute comic. But the target audience was middle graders so.

13. Anya’s Ghost

Another cute comic. It was average?

14-15-16-17. Lumberjanes first 4 Volumes

My favorite was second one. I liked Artemis and Apollo. It’s a cute kid’s comic but I can’t say the writings is the best. But I appreciate the queer characters etc. I don’t know why but a lot of mainstream american comics has weird pacing/writing. Maybe because I mainly read manga? idk

18. Lola and The Next Door Boy

NO. BAD. WHY IS THIS SUPER POPULAR ON TURKISH BOOKTUBE COMMUNITY

19. Ella Enchanted

I wasn’t target audience so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would do if i was in middle school:(

20. Amulet

I got bored.

21. Hellboy Volume 1

Art style is cool. But writing and pacing is giving me a headache. Like I said I can’t read american comics.

22. Rat Queens

I don’t like it.

23-24. Giany Days 1-2

Cute comic. But I hate when comics change their artists. Why?

25. This One Summer

This is amazing. Plot is not the greatest but pacing is so so soooo good. I want to buy the psychical version and cuddle it haha.

26. Maurice

The movie is one of my faves and I finally found the book. Book is amazing to. I love Maurice’s character evolution. I recommend this book to everybody. So good.

27. The Color Purple

Really really good. For some strange reason it was hard to find this book.

28. Öteki Erkekler

It consist interviews made with 6 trans men in turkey. Also some basic info about gender identity, legal, medical info etc. Only in turkish. 

29. Habibi

Bad. There was rape in nearly every page. Also very orientalist. No.

30. Understanding Comics

Well it’s like the title says haha. If it interests you read it.

31. Jughead Volume 1

It makes me so happy there’s one more canonicaly ace character. Also a protagonist. :,)

32. An Unattractive Vampire

It was funny. Also (not canonicaly) aro-are protag.

33. Twin Spica

Nice nice.

34-35-36. All for the Game Series

THIS SERIES. The writing is dramatic. A lot. But I really love how the author wrote characters. Andrew is one of my fave characters. I feel connected to him somehow. I’m so happy him and Neil finally got their happiness. I reread this series a lot too. Words can’t tell how much I love them.

37. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secret of Universe

Mega cute. The whole novel felt like a poetry. It makes me happy and warm.

38. Simon and The Homo Sapiens Agenda

Cute but average.

39. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Albus and Scorpius was so cute. Also Draco and Scorpius’ relationship. But otherwise it wasn’t that worthwhile to read. 

40. Bizim Büyük Çaresizliğimiz

Turkish book. Everyone seems to worship this book but I didn’t like it that much.

41. American Vampire

Art style was good(not the 20s one)

42. Dragons of Dorcastle

It was cute. (but the sequal was BAD.)

43. The Three Robbers

I like vintage art style.

44-45-46. Gotham Academy 1-2-3

Why did the writing got worse and worse? I really loved the first volume. Writing and pacing was weird and got weirder.

47. White Sand

I read it because -Brandon Sanderson. I think his writing doesn’t get translate to comics smoothly. 

48. Gwenpool

Cute and cool. Also art style <3

49. Hidden Masters of Marandur

Sequal of Dragons of Dorcastle. Bad. Why did they have to say they love each other could die for each other EVERY PAGE.

50. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

AA++ I love this book. The fairies was very classical(which I prefer). Footnotes were a delight. Really fun book overall.

51. Ladies of Grace Adiue 

Stories set in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell world. Very good.

52. Comics and Sequential Art

Again very specific book. It focused in pre 80s american comics, wasn’t very useful for me.

53-54. Luck in the Shadows - Stalking Darkness

I don’t know why I can’t read this books. Reading first to books fully was a drag. I skip read rest of the books in the series. I love some parts of it but I can’t read them. :(

55. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Read because of the movie. I found it a little bit too eurocentric.

56. The Gardener’s Year

I LOVE THIS. I don’t thing I ever laughed as much as reading a book. Even tho I had no interest in gardening I loved this book. Some parts reminded me my mom and dad so it was extra funny. 

57. Haydut Oğlu Haydut

I don’t know the english title. It’s a Karel Capek story.

58. R.U.R

It was really interesting.

59. Tournament of Losers

Cute cute. Also positive portrayal of sex worker character. No slut shaming or whatever.

60. The High King’s Golden Tongue

Ehh. Tournament of Losers was better. I liked there was trans characters. Also no queerphobia. Also tongue concept. But I think it was very unfinished. Also read the sequal but it was worse.