#here is a story about the laziest i have ever been at the library in recent years:

[moregraceful]

As someone in library school who also wants to be a reference librarian, I love a research tangent!! And hearing about it!

omg I'm so sorry I just called our profession cringe. That was not directed at you, I promise. New librarians are our future!! If you're interested in reference in public libraries, feel free to ask me questions! I've been working in public libraries in various capacities for the past ten years and have spent about half of that working either partially or fully in reference positions so I for better or worse am great at research tangents and overthinking every reference question I have ever had. (Prior to that worked in an academic library, but in a conservation lab as a student assistant so have zero real world knowledge of how academic libraries work lol.)

[elenajohansenreads]

Books I Read in 2023

#7 - House of Earth and Blood, by Sarah J. Maas

Rating: 1/5 stars

I didn't have any real intention of reading this when it came out, as I'd already gone through a love-hate cycle with Maas over ACOTAR. Which I loved when I first read, then hated for a while when I engaged with the fandom some and realized I'd been had by pretty faces, easily digestible prose, and excessive melodrama.

But last summer, a few years after reading the trilogy the first time, I reread them, and they were neither as good as I remember nor as bad as I'd feared.

When I was at the library, I saw this on the shelf, and said, "Why not? Maybe the writing's improved."

It hasn't. Ages ago I glimpsed a review on Tumblr that suggested this was Maas writing fan fiction for her own body of work, and I have to say, I agree. These are the same stock characters of hers with different names, the same "everyone is just so hot and powerful and amazing" attitude, the same style of convoluted plot based on an ever-increasing mountain of secrets and lies, so that there can constantly be big reveals between characters to fuel the angst.

But it gets worse, because Maas' success apparently has put her above editorial criticism. The length of the novel is bloated far past what the plot actually requires. We have to constantly be reminded what everyone looks like and how attractive everyone is and rehash conversations over and over again so that Maas can repeat the Arc Words (and there's like, five sets of Arc Words that are Oh So Important to the story) and because the world-building is so slapdash that it makes no sense we have to constantly explain the interactions between our high fantasy magic and the pseudo-real-world technology like cell phones and security systems...it's endless and exhausting. Underneath all of that, there might be a story worth saving, maybe, but it sure isn't 800 pages long.

The world is the weakest, laziest mishmash of borrowed mythological words and good ole Latin, pasted on to a bland city environment with no sense of the world around it beyond "there's this other distant continent at war and it's Very Important but you'll never see it." Beyond that, it's the most generic paranormal fantasy, let's make yet another world where every creature you've ever heard of can coexist but not really do much to explain why they're all here at once.

Just about the only thing I can praise in this book is that the romance arc really, truly, undoubtedly is based on friendship first, for those who value that. InstaLove is a trope I don't care for, and Hunt and Bryce, even if they start out as simple palette switches for other characters from other Maas stories, do slowly develop their own relationship that isn't an obvious retread of Feyre/Rhysand, the only one I have to compare it to because I only read the first book of the Throne of Glass series. I believe that they both carry the dark weight of their own histories and find comfort and support in each other. I believe that their forced-intimacy-style working relationship could become a true friendship even without the promise of romance shining in the distance.

But if I want good enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance, I can find that in better stories; it's not worth wading through everything else in this book that's bad.

[trixcuomo]

Basically Bridgerton but Warcraft

Trixany: Okay. Back on the topic of Gnomish lube-rary porn, since I just caught you out.

Sharpen: It's library--LIBRARY gnomish porn, okay?

Trixany: Fine. Be defensive as you like. You need to be.

Sharpen: *he tries to get up* I wanna go outside. Crossfaction questing is a thing now--

Trixany: *she grabs his shoulder* It's glitchy.

Sharpen: And we're even on the same btag, so...

Trixany: Should work in theory because nothing would prove to Blizz more that we know each other, even though you're Alliance and I'm Horde, than us being alts on the same character screen. But somehow? I bet that would only make it even more glitchy.

Sharpen: Har har. So let's just go out and do actual gameplay instead of constantly breaking the fourth wall at your house and embarrassing me.

Trixany: No. You're a Night Elf and I'm a Blood Elf. We're both lying here on the floor comfortable and I get to make fun of you. This is like the laziest pvp ever, it's awesome.

Sharpen: *grumbles* Fine, ask your damn abusive Horde question. You're just judging Gnomes, but they have always been a noble race among the Alliance.

Trixany: Sharpen. We are talking about you watching people get it on in a library. Among the stacks of books. Gnomes are stacking ontop of each other between the book stacks. Gnomes are stacking between the stacks.

Sharpen: Are you done, yet?

Trixany: Gnomes that are stacked are stacking up between the stacks.

Sharpen: Okay, that crit. *rolls his eyes* Horde wins. Again. Can we leave the battleground now?

Trixany: How did you get into watching people doing it in libraries anyway--

Sharpen: Look, I was bored and switching channels, okay! One moment, someone is doing this monologue and reading aloud the story of the creation of the dragonflights--

Trixany: Oh, I really love that one. I loved when I came across that book by chance in Dalaran. Aww in the Purple Parlor?

Sharpen: Then, suddenly they're on the couches, and the lady roleplaying Alexstrasza did sound pretty hot.

Trixany: What. They roleplay?

Sharpen: It's top quality. Like, it's the kind of posh where you'd have to apply to be in their guild, then try to get the event invite, and then maybe you'd see D20 on that level. But, lucky us, it's all on the scrying orb. Once, they did a smutty, regency-era Silvermoon scene.

Trixany: What. That's like... that's like Bridgerton. But Warcraft.

Sharpen: Yeah, it's basically Bridgerton, but the Gnomes only roleplay in fancy libraries.

Trixany: Aww! When is it on? And when are they going to go crossfaction with that? I wanna dress up in fancy slutmog and go!

Sharpen: I know, right?!!

[ordinaryschmuck]

Starkid Musicals Ranked from Worst to Best

Salutations to you, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Welp. I finally did it. I've watched the entire Starkid musical library, and I must say, most of these plays fit my writing style perfectly:

Humor that is cynical yet random

Leaning in with comedy while sprinkling in some well-executed drama

An understanding that any type of story works as long as the cast of varying personalities of characters is dynamic enough to result in some phenomenal chemistry.

This is in almost all of their plays, excelled through fantastic writing and stellar performances driving the overall quality. And it inspired me not only to review each musical, but also ranking them all from worst to best. Or, more accurately, least good to most good. Because even at their "worst," Starkid still provides a funny, enjoyable experience that will keep you laughing with its comedy and your toes tapping with its catchy music. So strap in as I go in-depth into how Starkid proves how they are the masters of humor and melody.

(I'll also provide links to each musical, which is all for free on YouTube, so you can check them out yourselves. Just know that their early work is impossible to enjoy without subtitles, so you might want to have Closed Captions on when watching.)

#12-Holy Musical B@man-Everything about this play makes it seem like it's the weakest to me. The jokes, songs, and characters in Holy Musical B@tman just don't hit as hard as Starkid's other plays. It's still good, but compared to their best, the cracks show a lot more. That is, except for the ending. Not only is there a great speech that shows what makes superheroes so beloved, but "Super Friends" might just be my favorite finale song Starkid has ever put out. Holy Musical B@tman may not be the best, but it's at least worth the time.

#11-Firebringer-This was stupid. Really stupid. Funny as f**k, but still pretty stupid. Although I will give credit to one of the central pairings being LGBTQA+...Even though it makes little to no sense based on the characters' previous interactions. But in fairness, Starkid really sucks at writing good romantic relationships, so at least Firebringer has the benefit of being gay. And as we all know: The gayer, the better. The play is still stupid, though.

#10-Me and My Dick-The world in this musical makes little to no sense. Penises and vaginas are sentient and can communicate with their humans. And yet the penises and vaginas can also talk with each other, form relationships, leave their humans, and reinsert themselves into others--Yeah, it makes no sense...But, DAMN, is it funny! Every joke and innuendo Me and My Dick has about human anatomy works, and I could not stop laughing at each of them. Especially the names that were given to the vaginas, which are just...I mean, I'm laughing just by thinking about them. That should tell you how funny they are. This play might be illogical in every way, but if you turn your brain off and watch it for the humor, you'll definitely be in for something fun.

#9-ANI: A Parody-What's weird about ANI is that its best qualities are also weaknesses. A good chunk of the jokes are hilarious and expertly delivered. The issue is that most of them are about taking potshots at the Star Wars prequels, which might be the laziest jokes to make in a Star Wars parody. Then there's the soundtrack, having several songs that are a bop to listen to. The problem is that ANI suffers from the same issues as Tarzan and Brother Bear: Yes, technically, it is a musical, but it's one where none of the characters sing, and some people in the background do all the singing instead. It's all an odd balancing act of quality content made through questionable choices. ANI is still an entertaining play, but the force isn't as strong with this one.

#8-Black Friday-This might be the least funny play that Starkid has ever put out. Not just because it leans extra hard into drama, which was pretty effective during certain scenes. It's just when there are jokes in Black Friday, they tend to fall flatter more here than they did in other plays. Also, the plot of Black Friday might not be the best one to play straight. The serious moments work best when focusing on the characters and their personal struggles, but through the big bad that's supposed to be threatening? Not so much. Even if it was meant to be funny, well, I wasn't laughing. And believe it or not, I consider that to be the best judge of whether or not something is funny. That being said, while Black Friday isn't the most humorous Starkid musical, it's still pretty good. The characters are excellent, the songs are awesome, and the story is somewhat easy to follow. I would have appreciated a few more laughs, but I can respect these talented people wanting to challenge their strengths.

#7-Starship-This play feels very...Disney. It follows a familiar formula we've seen several times: The main character wants more than what he has in his crappy life, miraculously gets the exact thing he wants, falls in love with a girl in a short amount of time, faces off against a campy/over the top villain, realizes the hand he's been dealt isn't so bad, and in the end, gets what he wants anyway. Starship is still pretty entertaining through its jokes, characters, and songs, but it also feels weird that Starkid leans into these tropes when they would eventually make a much better play by making fun of them. The end result is not bad in the slightest, but it's also nowhere near their best.

#6-A Very Potter Musical-Starkid's first production, and boy, what a start to something wonderful. Every one of their gimmicks and motifs is present in A Very Potter Musical. The use of parody to playfully mock characters and stories they love, making songs that are as funny as they are emotional, and creating characters that work because of their lines and the actors' performances. Oh, and also, it's funny. And it’s not just through a parody angle, like making Cedric be a perfect boy who's always smiling. It's also funny through its jokes that work, even if you ignore the fact that it’s a parody altogether. Case in point, there are these two bits, one involving Voldemort and Beatrix with the other involving Ron and Hermoine, that are written and delivered so well that I was in tears much more than with any other Starkid play. When watching A Very Potter Musical, you'll not only understand how parody works, but you'll also gain an understanding of why Starkid turned out as successful as they did.

#5-The Trail to Oregon-What can I say? I'm a sucker for comedic dysfunctional families. And seeing a family of idiots make their way to Oregon via The Oregon Trail parody? Yeah, that's a win for me. The play may be another family road trip narrative, which some people might get sick of at this point. But because the dynamics and comedic chemistry everyone has with each other are on point, the end result proves that you don't need an original story to tell an entertaining one. Although I will say that out of all of Starkid's productions, The Trail to Oregon has by far the worst ending. Without giving anything away, the play spends way too much time on this one stupid joke that any of the characters could make. Comedy is defined by personalities, as are most things, so making the joke work for anyone is a bad move when this one, in particular, doesn't fit as well for some characters as it would for others. Plus, the finale song "Naked in a Lake" is a really poor choice to cap off this musical. It's catchy, but to me, a finale song should encapsulate everything about the story, characters, and themes. Not paying off a joke that I honestly wouldn't want the payoff for. So while the ending could have used a lot more polish, that doesn't change how The Trail to Oregon is a pretty funny play that I won't mind revisiting when I have the chance.

#4-A Very Potter Sequel-Hey, sometimes a sequel is better than the original. Sure some jokes don't land, and some story beats aren't as impactful as they thought they were (Serious Black's introduction, for example), but there are far more improvements to this play than the last one. The performances are stronger, the jokes are funnier, the music is catchier, and the characters are much more entertaining in this play than in A Very Potter Musical. Especially new additions like Lupin and Lucious Malfoy, who provide great comedy and sublime drama at times. And Umbridge. Sweet Mother of all that is holy, Umbridge. While A Very Potter Sequel never made me laugh to tears as the first play did, twice, Professor Umbridge carries the comedy so well that she surpasses all of that. Plus, on top of it all, this play nails its ending through a bittersweet note that really captures what makes Hogwarts so special to these characters. I always feel like Starkid's plays tend to lose steam during the last few minutes, but A Very Potter Sequel is one of the few instances that it just builds and builds to a perfect ending. A Very Potter Sequel might not always hit the right marks, but the results are just magical when it does get it right.

#3-The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals-This one is pretty clever. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is one of those stories that manages to be explicitly hilarious yet implicitly disturbing. For instance, people suddenly bursting into perfectly choreographed musical numbers in a world where songs are exclusively diegetic is pretty funny (especially through the characters' reactions to it). However, knowing what happens to these people and why they sing and dance so expertly helps make the whole situation pretty dire. It's an excellent balancing act that not many stories can accomplish. And while The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals leans one way or the other at times, it's still all handled really well. Oh, and also, you know how most people say the villain song is the best one in any musical? Well, technically speaking, nearly every song in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is the villain song. Including the finale, which is just too brilliant for me not to give a round of applause. If you're a person who unfortunately doesn't like musicals either, I'd say be more than willing to give this one a chance. It's funny, catchy, and if you think of the implications, pretty damn disturbing.

#2-A Very Potter Senior Year-...You know how Avengers: Endgame is a bit of a mess, yet people still love it for how much of a perfect (sort of) finale it is? It's the same regard with A Very Potter Senior Year in my eyes. It's far from a masterpiece, but the many, many solid scenes that cap off this series help make me willing to overlook the mistakes. The characters, callbacks, and overall message about how things end was done so expertly well that I physically can’t hate this one. I can understand how it's more of an ok play when compared to the rest of Starkid's productions, but sometimes, ok is wonderful.

#1-Twisted: An Untold Story of a Royal Vizier-...It's Twisted. Everyone loves Twisted! And how could they not? Everything about this play just screams Starkid at their best. The comedy is uproarious, added with the fantastic delivery of the actors and the characters' personalities. Everyone feels as though they have one step in reality and the other in insanity. This, to me, seems like the best type of character work when going for the parody angle. Parody is about giving slight yet snide remarks toward the work you're mocking, which I feel works best when characters drop the suspension of disbelief audiences have when enjoying such a story. And Twisted definitely nails its satire in not only poking fun at Aladdin but also making jokes towards Disney as a brand. From their movies to their inside jokes to their formulas to even their corporate dealings with Pixar, nothing about Disney is sacred in Twisted. But on top of being funny, Twisted might just be the most successful Starkid has been with telling some really compelling drama. The jokes allow themselves to take a back seat to let serious moments play out, and even comedy is added, it provides more for the experience rather than taking anything away. You see this not only through the actors giving it their all but even through some really gorgeous and heart wrenching musical numbers. Oh, and also, Twisted has the best Starkid soundtrack, featuring songs that are epic, funny, and, as I said, heartbreaking. You cannot get better than this and, if you want to get a friend interested in Starkid as a whole, this might be the play for them. Scheherazade may have a thousand tales, but his one is a tale I wouldn't mind hearing for a thousand nights.

And that's about how I feel about Starkid and each and every one of their plays. Odds are your ranking would be much different from mine, and I'm all for that differing opinions. Feel free to make your own ranking if you want because I'm honestly curious where fans would place these plays above or below others. I'm relatively new to enjoying their work, so I have no idea what the consensus is. I do know one thing, though: If Starkid can still be incredibly entertaining through over ten years of content, then I am excited to see what they can accomplish next in another ten years.

[artnerd1123]

A Familiar World

Pen Pals (pt 1) ——————————————

Just a bit of book exchange and small talk between a couple sorcerers. 

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

——————————————

whattup belle n @vaaloirr are back at it again with another joint chapter, ft alex n journ!!! vaal wrote the letters by alex, and i wrote the ones by journ! these were rlly fun to write, so y’all will prolly see more in the future :>

hope y’all enjoy!!! 

Dear Journal

I hope you’re having a good week, over there, hope life’s treating you well. I’m here with my book recommendation, as usual. I hope you like this one. It’s an intriguing little piece called “Forgotten Shoals”, a story about a small group of people, mostly mercenaries I think, getting shipwrecked and separated on a very strange island. I was a little lost? About halfway through? The story’s kind of too vague for its own good at certain points, but overall it was pretty good. It’s in a pretty old time period, when there were still kings and stuff, so that’s pretty interesting, how they handle that. It’s only two books, but they’re long ones. They make for fun animated book nights, especially if you’re watching in a dark room. It really helps the atmosphere, so there’s that to keep in mind.

Sincerely, Alex

-

Dear Alex,

Thanks so much for the rec! It came at a great time, I’d just finished with the last series. I’ll be sure to let you know what I think of this one. I’ll work them into my schedule sometime. Probably at midnight. That’s the best time to read, haha. Maybe we’ll both get confused, and we can compare notes. Life’s ok over here. I finally decided to get better acquainted with my roommate. My book rec for you comes from him, actually. It’s a book of really old questor legends- maybe you’ve read it before? Sorry if you have! He called it “Legenday legacies.” There’s a whole series of them. They don’t really go in any order, but the oldest are marked first. I’ve only read a couple, but they’re really cool. It’s best to have them animated, too. My roommate said they were old oral stories that someone finally decided to write down, so the animation has some really neat extra details. This letter got a little long, haha. Hope you’re doing ok over in your town!

Signed, Journal Drapht

-

Dear Journal

Yeah, midnight’s the best time for a spooky book, haha. And thank you for the rec! I actually had the first book when I was a kid, but I forgot it when I left home. I would love to read it again, and to read the other books too… I’ll definitely try to snag them the next time I’m over there. I always meant to go back to them, so thanks for the reminder. And I’m glad you’re getting along with your roommate, it wouldn’t be very fun if you weren’t, haha. I couldn’t really picture myself with a roommate, me and Lucy is just fine. And I’m doing fine, though things are a little hectic over here right now. Someone says they saw a monster nearby recently, which… I’m pretty certain was just a random wolf they got spooked by? It was late. But you know. Rumors are a hard snowball to stop once they get rolling. Hopefully it’ll all get sorted out. Anyway, I’m running out of room on the paper, so I gotta call it here, haha. Have a good one.

Sincerely, Alex

-

Dear Alex,

Oh, nice! Hopefully the next ones are a good read. And I get leaving books at home on accident. I had to leave a bunch of mine when I left home, too. I got the important stuff! But you can’t quite replace a lifetime of books overnight, haha. At least we have libraries and book merchants, right? Roommate life isn’t for everyone. I’m glad you and Lucy are getting along well at your place. Though the rumors sound rough. It’s hard when a whole town is going off about something. Sorry you’re dealing with those. Hopefully they’ll quit when they catch whatever the critter is, haha. Could make for a town legend, right? I’ve heard plenty of those. They’re certainly something. Before I run out of paper, I actually have one somewhat unrelated question. Does Lucy ever run around the apartment at 3am for no reason? My roommate’s familiar is a cat, and he does that. I’m not sure if it’s a familiar thing or a cat thing. We didn’t have any cats in the house growing up. Hope this letter finds you well.

Signed, Journal Drapht

-

Dear Journal

Yeah, a lifetime of books is not the easiest thing to replace, haha. And the rumors aren’t really rough, so much as annoying. It’s a merchant town, so once monster rumors start, everybody’s gotta hold up while some people go out and find whatever it was. They’re very on edge when the topic of monsters is brought up. But hey, what can you do. Hopefully it’ll be a boring town legend at the end of the day, haha. And as far as the 3am thing, yes. All the damn time, every night. Without fail. My mom had a few cats when I was growing up, and I can confirm that it’s a cat thing. They just do that. I don’t know why, you can have the laziest cat in the world and they’ll still sprint around at full speed at 3am. It’s actually kind of hilarious. Also, if we’re gonna be trading questions, I actually had one… Your roommate is a questor, right? I was wondering if you could maybe ask for a few questor tips from him for me, if that's alright. Have a good one.

Sincerely, Alex

-

Dear Alex,

I mean, a legend’s a legend, right? But I do hope whatever it is doesn’t bother the townsfolk much. We used to have some problems with woodsy critters back at home. I don’t know if they’re still having issues now, but sometimes wolves can get pretty bold, haha. And that’s good to know. It is pretty funny to just hear my roommate’s familiar sprinting around outside my door at Revaew awful hours of the night. I just have to make sure he doesn’t wiggle his way into my room. He’ll go curl up on my bed to claim it and not move until 6am. Usually that’s not a problem because I stay up late, but it means I crash later during the day. Not so great when I'm in the middle of magic training, haha. I went and asked my roommate about questor tips for you. I didn’t know questors were actually a separate class of sorcerer, so that made for an interesting conversation! He told me that you should keep an eye on the questing board- you have one in town, right?- and to keep some sort of compass/map on you among your supplies. Make sure to pack a snack and water if you don’t already. If it’s a fetch quest, make sure to find the quest giver beforehand to check for any special conditions. He said a bunch of other stuff, too, but half of it sounded like he was trying to be a mother hen. The guy’s a bit of a softie. I could send you my notes with my next letter if you’d like to see all of them.

Signed, Journal Drapht

-

Dear Journal

Yeah, yeah… I still think it’s just a wolf. Or maybe a bear. Who knows. Honestly, I would be more shocked if people weren’t bothered by this, merchants are just such uppity people. At least the ones around here. You definitely don’t wanna crash during magic training, yeah. I remember when I was training with my uncle, when I used to live with him, I was not good at keeping myself in check at all. Most of the time not spent practicing was spent napping because I would use all my energy trying to get this one spell, and then just pass out. I was young and excited, to be fair. He got me out of that habit. And maybe you should let the little familiar claim your bed sometime, there’s probably room for both of you, haha. Y’know, the more you talk about him, the more I think he and Lucy would get along great. You didn’t know questors were another class of sorcerers? I mean, I guess the distinction isn’t exactly obvious, now that I think about it. And we do actually have a questing board! Though it’s a little bare lately. Mostly just odd jobs, not much else. Any nearby dungeons have apparently decided to be quite shy, haha. Be sure to tell your roommate that the advice is appreciated, he sounds like a nice guy. And I would love to see your notes! If you’re good with it, that is.

Sincerely, Alex

-

Dear Alex,

Haha, maybe I will. It’s sort of weird sleeping in a room by myself right now. I have had a lot of siblings. Maybe the company will do me some good. And maybe we can have them meet up the next time you’re in town. I’m sure my roommate would let me take his familiar out. His name is Roo. He’s a shy little guy, but the library is quiet enough that he’d do ok. Just have to find him a fairy tale book and he’s all set, haha. As for magic training, that sounds so cool! Having your uncle train you sounds so exciting. My old mentor sort of took me under her wing because I was trespassing on her woods. She’s a strict teacher, but I’m really grateful to her. She taught me a lot, and gave me an amplifier a while ago. We still exchange letters and I still try my best to stick to what she told me. Learning magic is hard work, but I’m willing to reach for it. Guy’s got a dream, you know? And, for the record, I didn’t grow up in a very magical place. I think my magic mentor was the only sorceress in the entire area of my hometown, haha. Totally different story in this town. There’s lots of sorcerers- my roommate included. He’s pretty cool. Buys me coffee and gives me training tips sometimes. Anyways, all this to say I’ve attached a copy of the notes. Sorry if the ink is a little faded. I wanted to try out a duplication spell I’ve been practicing, and I don’t know if it took all the way. Simple spells can be hard for me, but I’m working on it, haha. Hope you and Lucy are doing well.

Signed, Journal Drapht

-

Dear Journal

Yeah, I bet the change from “a lot of siblings” to “one roommate and his familiar” is a bit jarring. I wouldn’t really know? I was an only child. To be honest, I always wondered what having siblings was like, maybe you could tell me sometime? If that’s good with you? Maybe when we introduce Roo and Lucy to each other. Roo is such a cute name by the way, I hope the little guy knows that, haha. As far as my uncle goes, he was a very good teacher! He knew a whole lot of spells, and still tried to learn even more. He was a show sorcerer, so he knew so much neat stuff… I kinda miss him, but you know. He’s got his career, and I wanted to be a questor. At least it helped me get used to travelling a lot, haha. Your teacher sounds super cool too, like? Meeting a sorcerer in the middle of the woods and getting taken under their wing? That’s some legend stuff, man. Awesome. My town wasn’t very magical either, but it wasn’t super unmagical? There were sorcerers here and there. Not enough to really call the town magical, though. It wasn’t a hotspot, I guess is what I’m trying to say. I heard it’s become even less so since I left, but I digress. Oh! And the notes were really great by the way! Thank you so much! And don’t worry about the faded ink, I’ve read more illegible, haha. I think you did a fine job. You’ll get better with practice! I believe in you! And we’re doing fine, though Lucy is getting a bit claustrophobic. I hope you guys are doing well too.

Sincerely, Alex

-

Dear Alex,

I apologize in advance if my handwriting gets messy. I’ve rewritten this letter at least three times now. My hand just tends to make absolute chicken scratch if I get too excited. That being said, you mentioned your uncle being a show sorcerer? How long has he been performing? How did he start? What category is he? Are all his shows the same or does he switch it up every time? What does he travel in? Sorry for all the questions, I’ll stop myself there. Show sorcerers are sort of an interest of mine. An aspiration, if you will, haha. Hearing that you worked with one sent my mind into overdrive. That’s so cool! Maybe we could practice spells together sometime. And a legend? Maybe. My mentor tells a lot of those. Sometimes I swear she’s telling an actual story that happened to her. She never confirms, though. I don’t know how much of legend material I am yet. I have to work on my magic some more. One day, though. It’ll happen. Especially if the notes weren’t as bad as I thought, haha. It’s progress! Also, we’ve got solidarity on non magic towns, haha. Glad we’ve both got somewhere that has more pizazz. Just a couple magic guys trying to make their way in the world, ammirite? Anyways, sorry about Lucy. Maybe taking her on a walk would help? We’re doing ok over here. My roommate has been painting scenes from the books we’ve animated. It’s pretty cool. And Roo seemed to like the idea of meeting Lucy! He was a tad nervous, but that’s the norm for him. I think he’d like having another cat friend. Maybe we can get together soon? I might have some sibling stories. Depends how much I remember that day, haha.

Signed, Journal Drapht

-

Dear Journal

Your handwriting’s fine, don’t worry. I’ve read worse. As for all your questions, uh… since he was a teenager, I never asked, I can’t remember the categories but he does a lot of stuff with legends, dragons, and dragon legends, they have the same themes, but he has a bunch of different shows, if that makes sense, and he travels in a little caravan with his familiar and a couple of his friends. I get being excited, it’s all good. Maybe we could have a Q&A the next time we see each other, haha. And I’m sure uncle Leo would love to meet and practice magic with you, but he’s really busy nowadays, so you might have to hold that thought for a bit. He’d have to find a gap in his schedule. You really need to introduce me to your mentor eventually, she sounds awesome. And I’m sure you’ll get a legend or two for yourself one day. I mean, nobody was born the star of one, am I right? And I wouldn’t really say my current town has more “pizazz”, but it’s definitely more tolerable than my old town, I guess. Some people were very opinionated there. Especi Yeah I took her on a quick walk through town before writing this letter, actually, and she’s feeling a lot better! Sometimes she just needs a little bit of fresh air like everybody else. I bet your roommate's paintings look great, I can’t paint to save my life, haha. Lucy’s a little nervous too about the meeting too, so I guess the feeling’s mutual. Hopefully we can all get together soon!

Sincerely, Alex

[trishmilburn]

An Exploration of The Untamed’s Romance & Mystery, Episode 5

Disclaimer: This post and others in this series will be filled with loads of spoilers if you haven’t seen The Untamed, the Chinese drama based on Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s novel, Mo Dao Zu Shi (The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation). My chief interest in doing this series as I re-watch the drama is to chronicle the development of the romance between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, but I also highlight the progression of the mystery that helps bring them together. Keep in mind that I’m writing these posts with the knowledge of what’s going to happen throughout the series and having read the novel. If you’d like to read my examinations of previous episodes, links are provided at the end of this post.

On to Episode 5…

We pick up where we left off at the end of Episode 4, with Wei Ying and Lan Zhan fighting at the back of the Cloud Recesses. Wei Ying tells Lan Zhan he thought he heard something and thinks someone might have snuck in. Lan Zhan grabs him and hauls him off to the library to serve out his punishment for being a bad boy.

Once in the library, we see bad boy Wei Ying copying the oh so many Lan Clan rules, and being very bored while doing it, so he starts to watch good boy Lan Zhan as he reads a book. Of course, “WangXian” is playing on the soundtrack and Wei Ying, even unknown to himself, looks smitten. But honestly, who wouldn’t be? Have you seen Wang Yibo as Lan Zhan? But I digress.

When Wei Ying compliments Lan Zhan’s calligraphy, he gets no response. After saying “Lan Wangji” a couple of times, he says “Lan Zhan” louder and finally draws his future love’s attention. But when he asks why Lan Zhan finds him so annoying, he once again gets no answer. (Here, I’ll answer for Lan Zhan: It’s because he’s drawn to you, and it annoys the fire out of him because you’re so not his type – or so he thinks.) Though Wei Ying apologizes for everything he’s done wrong so far, he points out that it’s not all his fault. After all, Lan Zhan hit him first the night Wei Ying snuck into the Cloud Recesses, bringing alcohol with him. He then gives us some more foreshadowing for when the story turns darker by saying, “I’m that kind of person who wouldn’t raise his hand against others unless they strike first.”

He asks Lan Zhan if he’ll give him the honor of looking at him (yes, this is totally a bro thing to ask), but Lan Zhan just tells him to copy the rules one more time because although Wei Ying has apologized, he feels no remorse. And then he uses the muting spell on Wei Ying yet again.

Next we see the brother-sister duo of Wen Ning and Wen Qing talking, and we get another reference to there being something wrong with Wen Ning. Wen Qing laments that though their family has practiced medicine for generations, she can’t even treat her own brother beyond the medicine he already takes. Then she promises him that she’ll take him away from Heavenly Nightless soon. We get another clue that he’s in danger there, that he’s being used or abused so that Wen Qing will do what Wen Ruohan wants her to.

Now back to the library, where this time it’s Lan Zhan looking up from his book to glance at Wei Ying working. But Wei Ying isn’t actually copying rules; he’s drawing Lan Zhan because, again, that’s totally a bro thing to do. No, Wei Ying is totally crushing on Lan Zhan but is just too dense to realize it yet. All those stares and grins and need to get closer to Lan Zhan, ostensibly to be the friend of this guy who isn’t giving him the time of day, are giving it away to anyone with a single clue. But, to give Wei Ying a bit of an out, who would have expected him to crush at first sight and on a guy when he’s always flirted with girls? When Wei Ying shows Lan Zhan the picture he’s drawn of him, Lan Zhan pronounces him “extremely childish.” What I think is really going on here is that Lan Zhan is wondering why someone would want to draw him. Perhaps he’s even touched somewhere deep inside, but he’s not self-aware enough to acknowledge that. But when he re-opens his book, any goodwill toward Wei Ying that might have been beginning to flicker is doused when he sees not the text he expects but a pornographic drawing. And that brings about the biggest expression change in Lan Zhan so far. His eyes go wide, and he leaps to his feet with an indignant “Wei Ying!” This all amuses Wei Ying mightily, and he tells Lan Zhan that he doesn’t believe he’s never seen anything like that before. Lan Zhan responds by telling him to get out of the library so they can fight, but Wei Ying says that fighting is prohibited in the Cloud Recesses, which just makes Lan Zhan angrier. So angry that he shreds the naughty book, much to Wei Ying’s anguish.

Next we see Wei Ying by the creek telling Nie Huiasang and Jiang Cheng about what happened in the library and how he thinks it calls for a celebration that he was the first one to cause Lan Zhan to lose control that way. Jiang Cheng, predictably, says that it’s nothing to be proud of and, “Our family’s reputation is gone because of you.” Wei Ying tells him that he already apologized to Lan Zhan but that he didn’t accept it and muted him. “What’s wrong with me teasing him?” Nothing, sweetie.

They suddenly become aware that something odd is in the nearby trees, and Wei Ying throws a paper talisman that direction. One of the Wens’ spying birds, which looks like it’s made up of black smoke, takes flight. They wonder why it’s there. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

Lan Zhan is telling Xichen that the energy barrier at the back of the mountain keeps getting disturbed. Xichen asks if he’s been able to determine who has been back there, and after a telling hesitation he admits it’s Wei Ying. Again we see one of those knowing grins from big brother Lan when he sees how much this information bothers little brother Lan. I think Xichen has been shipping WangXian since he first saw those two in the same room together. Lan Zhan asks if he should strengthen the barrier, but Xichen says it was set up by their ancestors and should be fine as long as “she” doesn’t go there. Lan Zhan asks, “She?” But Xichen says they’ll talk about that later. The she is a big reveal later down the road.

A Lan disciple, Su She (hate that guy, you’ll understand why later), shows up and tells the Lan brothers that a villager from Colorful Robes Town (also known as Caiyi) reported evil water spirits causing trouble in a nearby lake.

Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng go to see Yanli at her lodgings but are surprised when Wen Qing is the one who opens the door. You can tell Jiang Cheng is harboring a crush of his own when he grins like a fool upon seeing her. I don’t blame him. She’s beautiful. This crush makes me sad though because I know what lies ahead for them – sacrifice for her and betrayal for him. Despite the fact that I’m eventually going to want to knock Jiang Cheng into next week for being such a damn, self-centered fool, even fully hating him for a while, there’s this other part that harbors the fantasy that if things had just gone a different way he and Wen Qing might have found happiness and made beautiful babies together.

They learn that Wen Qing is there because Yanli hasn’t been feeling well. When Wen Qing sees the close, affectionate bond between Yanli and Wei Ying, it reminds her of her own bond with Wen Ning.

Next we see Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing catching up with the Lan brothers, asking to go along with them to deal with the water monsters for the experience since they don’t have classes for the next few days. Lan Zhan says no, that it’s against the rules and there’s no need, but Xichen overrules him to Lan Zhan’s well-contained but obvious surprise. (Shippers gotta do what shippers gotta do.) When Wen Ning shows up, wanting to go as well, Wen Qing tries to get him to go back and rest like she told him to, but Wei Ying speaks up for his archery skill and that he should be allowed to come along. Xichen agrees to let him accompany them as well.

While on the road to Caiyi, Lan Zhan asks Xichen why he’s allowing the others to go with them. Xichen replies he could tell Lan Zhan wanted the two young lords of the Jiang Clan to come along. He asks his little brother, “Isn’t that so?” Lan Zhan says nothing in reply. The fact that he doesn’t disagree with his brother shows that Xichen can read what he’s thinking despite what he says.

When we see Lan Zhan and Wei Ying shown to their room at an inn along the way, I wondered why exactly these two are sharing a room. Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to share with their brothers? But maybe  Xichen and Jiang Cheng get private rooms since Xichen is his clan leader and Jiang Cheng is next in line to be his. It won’t be the last time – or the most memorable one – that Lan Zhan and Wei Ying share a room at an inn. (This is an even truer statement when referring to the book, which includes a scene that had to be left out of the drama unless they wanted to be shut down by the government censors immediately and perhaps even locked up.) They are shown to their present room by perhaps the laziest innkeeper ever. Despite the fact that he says they’re the first guests he’s had since the lake started eating people, and thus he’s had plenty of time to clean the room, he hasn’t done so and tells them to do it themselves. Rude!

Meanwhile, another fisherman is taken under by the mysterious lake monster. Dude, why are you night fishing on a lake that’s eating people?! I guess Nessie was hungry.

The next day, Wei Ying asks Xichen if he thinks the evil water spirits and the spiritual absorption issues are connected, but he doesn’t really get a satisfactory answer. So after offering Lan Zhan a drink while Xichen walks ahead, he asks Lan Zhan if there’s been any progress with the spiritual absorption issue. Lan Zhan responds simply, “None.” Oh, Lan Zhan, man of few words. Wei Ying says he feels as if Xichen knows something that he’s keeping from them, and he sees something in Lan Zhan’s expression that says he thinks the same. But when he presses Lan Zhan on this point, Lan Zhan simply takes his jug of wine and pours it out on the road, saying, “Drinking alcohol is prohibited when monster hunting.”

They arrive at Blue Spiritual Lake and board boats, typically one or two people per boat. Xichen is in the front, and there are four people in his boat, Su She among them. But I had to laugh at the last boat filled with seven people. I imagined the director saying, “Okay, all you unnamed Lan extras, in this boat.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if they ended up being eaten, the redshirts of Gusu.

So we’re on a foggy lake looking for man-eating monsters, and still Wei Ying looks over at Lan Zhan wearing that “I like him” smile. Then he notices Lan Zhan’s boat is displacing too much water, meaning that one of the monsters is hanging onto the bottom. So that the creature doesn’t catch on and either get away or endanger Lan Zhan, Wei Ying pretends to goof off by using his paddle to fling water at Lan Zhan. As soon as Lan Zhan leaps from his boat toward Wei Ying’s, the creature flips his boat. Wei Ying walks forward to be next to Lan Zhan and says that he wasn’t purposefully splashing water at him and that they can be even now. Lan Zhan moves away and says for Wei Ying to stay farther away from him. Xichen’s little knowing grin comes out again at this interchange. It really is like Wei Ying is flirting and Lan Zhan is determined not to return his feelings. This distance he puts between them is more evidence that Lan Zhan deliberately puts up a barrier around himself, physically and emotionally.

After Wei Ying kills one of the monsters, which I have to say looks like sentient seaweed, with his sword, Lan Zhan looks reluctantly impressed and asks him the name of his sword. When Wei Ying replies that it’s Subian (translated as “Whatever”), he has to explain that it is indeed the sword’s name, not that he’s just saying, “Whatever” in a flippant way.

One of the weedy monsters attacks and injures Jiang Cheng’s leg, and Wen Qing leaps over to his boat to treat him. Cue more crushing by Jiang Cheng. Pretty cultivator girl has healing skills. What’s not to like, right? Well, other than her kinfolk back at Heavenly Nightless.

When the creatures start gathering together, trying to lead all the boats to the middle of the lake, Lan Zhan says all the cultivators should immediately return to shore. Then Wei Ying figures out that the creatures are forming a waterborne abyss that will suck all the boats under, so Lan Zhan says they should abandon the boats and ride their swords. Everyone leaps up into the air to board their swords except Su She, who sends his sword into the abyss, trying to kill the creatures. (Oh, why couldn’t he have gone with that sword?) When he’s unable to recall his sword to escape, Wen Ning moves forward to help him. Seeing this, Wei Ying dives down to save Wen Ning. But when Wen Ning turns around and his eyes are completely white right before he faints, this shocks Wei Ying. Lan Zhan realizes the danger all three men are in and dives down to bring them all up into the air. That Lan Zhan, he’s handy to have around. But Wei Ying, being Wei Ying, has to tease a bit and asks why Lan Zhan is holding him by his collar when he can hold his hand instead. But Lan Zhan replies, “I don’t like touching strangers.” Well, that’s nonsense, Wei Ying basically says because they are well-acquainted. However, Lan Zhan disagrees.

Xichen plays his magical xiao and sends a spell toward the abyss. Right after, we see another of those freaky Wen smoke birds flying away. Yeah, that’s not suspicious at all.

Back at the inn later, Wen Ning is still unconscious and Wei Ying is checking his eyes, which are back to normal. When Wen Qing enters the room, he asks if Wen Ning had any past experiences that make him so easily affected by evil spirits. When she doesn’t answer, he figures he’s hit close to the truth. He gives her a protective amulet for Wen Ning and leaves.

Jiang Cheng is walking through the village when he passes a vendor hawking hair accessories. When she tells him hairbrushes symbolize yearning, he pauses. He’s certainly been yearning. We’re going to see the comb he buys again.

Once Wen Ning is awake, they all go out on boats in the canal that runs through the town. The way they don’t have to paddle and the slow pace at which they are moving reminds me of the It’s a Small World ride at Disney World. Wei Ying is reclining eating loquats like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Xichen, who is in the boat in front of Wei Ying’s along with Lan Zhan, asks his brother what he’s thinking about. Lan Zhan replies the waterborne abyss. Xichen wears another one of those tiny knowing smiles right before Lan Zhan admits that what Wei Ying said about there possibly being a connection between the lake monsters and the spirit absorption isn’t unreasonable. He asks Xichen if there are any clues about a connection, and his brother replies that he isn’t sure but hopes there isn’t. Because if it’s what he thinks then it’s possible they might not be able to stop it.

Meanwhile, Wei Ying gets that flirty mischief in his eyes again and calls out to Lan Zhan, who is standing ramrod straight (as opposed to Wei Ying’s reclining), to have a loquat and tosses it at him. Lan Zhan catches it, says no thanks, and tosses it back, all without looking at Wei Ying. Xichen says that if Lan Zhan wants a loquat, he can buy a basket full. Lan Zhan says he doesn’t want it. Yeah, I feel like we’re talking about more than fruit here.

The parting shot is Wei Ying grabbing a couple of jugs of Emperor’s Smile and tossing down payment as he passes. Considering the fact that Lan Zhan poured out the wine he had earlier in their trip and the Lans are right in front of him, I can imagine the look of mischief, sneaky satisfaction and barely contained laughter on his face as he does this. It’s also both sad and sweet when I think about how much Lan Zhan’s view of Wei Ying’s love for this particular alcohol will change as the story progresses. But for now, we’ll just enjoy the gradual development of their feelings for each other.

Previous posts in this series:

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

[trash64]

N64 Switch Online Wishlist

I wrote a N64 Switch Online Wishlist some time ago on a personal blog. Since I’m sorta fitting this as my N64 fan blog. I feel the listicle translates here even if N64 Switch Online has since been announced. Check out how right or wrong I was.

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I see enough of these online; it’s the laziest engagement grabbing commentary possible. What’s your hypothetical “hit list” for a N64 mini or Switch Online. For the insatiable gamers it’s heroin to talk down a Nintendo Switch Online release like Jelly Boy and then immediately turn around and say “Why release this when there are countless other titles under Nintendo’s ownership given the shaft?!” Namely, Super Mario RPG or Earthbound.

Fandom is a vast complexity and presently my entire mood is to not engage and just move on. As sure as the sky is blue, passionate fans will log-on and complain or barrack behind a company in an ongoing war where nobody really wins in the end.

Anyways, lest I digress here’s my list based on previous releases on Virtual Consoles and just whatever I think fits based on current trends.

Super Mario 64 – Goes without saying. Mario’s first foray into 3D brought the imagination out in players, modelling the N64 controller on the breadth of movement the aerobatic plumber can produce is an incredible feature. It’s just as bright and enjoyable to play through today – and its inclusion on the Super Mario 3D All Stars says it is possible.

F-Zero X – A fully 3D interpretation of F-Zero without the Mode 7 trickery of yore. A lightning speed racer built to handle a whopping 60 fps. People have been clamouring for an F-Zero continuation for years, whilst Fast Racing Neo has been unofficially handed the mantle F-Zero X is still impressive today.

Mario Kart 64 – The emergence of Mario Kart it its finalised form, filled with expressive tracks, items and being 4-player multiplayer. Mario Kart 64 is a title I played most of all racers. 4 player online would be a very sweet treat, however as good as I think an online time trials leadership would be… it’s not a real possibility.

Yoshi’s Story – What the original Yoshi Island did, Yoshi’s Story handled differently to say the least. Away with the typical level progression, players are placed in a 6 world storybook where dependant on how many hearts players collected (0, 1, 2 or 3) determines what levels will be available to players on the next world. Levels are completed when a number of fruit is eaten, rather than reaching the conclusion or end to a level. Unfortunately it was perceived as too easy and simple – missing some of the magic Yoshi’s Island on the SNES had.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards – All Kirby titles have this whimsical quality and while many other titles jumped to 3D, Kirby stuck to the 2.5D side-scroller format, I’ll say it’s fun in small bursts and includes Kirby abilities you can merge together for some additional experimentation and fun.

Star Fox 64 – Upgraded the wireframe form of the SNES title to full 3D models of the N64. Full branching paths that followed the trend of “fully realised” titles in 3D space. It’s an awesome 3D shooter that I haven’t spent enough time with.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Basically set the mould for all future 3D Zelda titles, immaculate storytelling with the return of some set-pieces of A Link to the Past in an expressive 3D world. Included amazing dungeons and lively townships as well as introduced the Z-Targeting system. Short of being one of Nintendo’s greatest, it is a sure inclusion.

Sin and Punishment – An arcade on-rails shooter that doesn’t get the given praise of earlier Treasure titles that appeared on the Mega Drive. The game uses almost a twin-stick design on an N64 controller, handling player movement and the shooting cursor simultaneously to take out enemies – both through shooting and through close combat physical fighting. Stylistically awesome and honestly the more people with access to this the better!

Super Smash Bros – Choose your Nintendo favourite and fight it out with your friends! The first in a huge series, everything can be tracked back to the original – the base characters here perform similarly in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and of course all the stages feature in Ultimate too.

Paper Mario – Spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG on the SNES. This falls into the “unsure” category, we are yet to see Super Mario RPG on Switch so far. But we have seen Paper Mario Origami King – and this is very similar. Learning the weaknesses of each character and the timing of moves is key to winning encounters handily. Definitely a fun game with ounces of charm. At a time when the Mario characters weren’t super expressive Paper Mario really rounded out the edges of series personalities.

Pokemon Snap – Get snap happy with your friends, a cult classic release which has since spanned its own “New” sequel. It’s an on rails shooter meets Pokemon photography, you’re scored based on Pokemon’s activity and placement in frame. This game encourages replaying levels to find hidden secrets. I feel this is a good nostalgia grab that encourages fans to check out the new title.

1080(degrees sign) Snowboarding – Nintendo pulled back a little to their classic “Black Box” style of sporting games from NES with a little more 90’s flare. What I mean to say is, this is a realistic take on Snowboarding showcasing great snow textures that set the formula for the genre on N64.

Wave Race 64 – Much like 1080 Snowboarding, Wave Race showcases the realistic water rippling effects of the N64 and demonstrates a more arcade inspired realistic take. There are passionate fans of the series.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask – This I place on a “later down the line” release, not a launch N64 Switch Online title. It’s the oddball sequel to Ocarina of Time, explore the land of Termina to retrieve a lost friend in a harrowing dooms day scenario where within 3 days the moon will destroy the world. The game has its own 3 day clock with events occurring in real time, rote memorisation of time is necessary to progression and in terms of supporting cast this houses some of the best. If I could wipe any game from my memory it would be this just so I could play it again blind.

Mario Tennis – It’s Mario, it’s Tennis. Introduction of the great Waluigi! Plays like an action tennis game with many zany power-ups and antics. Great fun.

Mario Golf – It’s Mario, it’s Golf. Game developers Camelot of Shining series and Golden Sun games were involved, I hear it’s fairly RPG orientated… But who knows it could be the more action orientated counterpart to the Game Boy Colours RPG leanings.

Donkey Kong 64 – This is debatable but people love the Saturday Morning antics of the DK Crew. Possibly taking the formula set by Super Mario 64 a step too far. With 5 characters to change between to use in many situational circumstances and too many collectables to even count. It’s hit and miss.

Ogre Battle 64: Persons of Lordly Calibre – A real-time strategy RPG which in part is almost a parallel to Final Fantasy Tactics. I can honestly say I haven’t given this series the time. While these have in past been readily available on Virtual Console, the first title Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen is yet to be available on the Super Nintendo service.

Mario Party 2 – It’s Mario, it’s a party. Arguably the best of the series. This is a 4-player board game/mini-game extravaganza. Which introduced themed costumes and a set of items for each character in each map – which is the stand-out feature honestly. Screw your friends over in the ongoing quest to beat a series of Bowsers.

Please note: I wrote this “listicle” back in 2020; since then some things have changed. Such as Mario Party Superstars being a remaster of previous maps and games means Mario Party 2 becomes a less likely candidate. Nintendo has generally been good with keeping the N64 spirit alive with Stages from Super Smash Bros. in Ultimate and new releases for basically every franchise. 5/10/21: The N64 doesn’t have a huge library but I managed to guess... 13 of the 16 coming to the Western service. I would not have ever guessed Banjo-Kazooie would ever arrive being a Rare property (even if it is on Smash Bros.) - I listed Donkey Kong 64 as an aspirational choice. Didn’t really know about Dr. Mario 64 (and neither did Japan). Operation WinBack is an odd third party option and I’m looking forward to the potential for more obscure options like Hybrid Heaven or Body Harvest and further Japanese titles. The first addendum discounts Mario Party 2 and Super Smash Bros. somewhat. Whereas Wave Racer 64, 1080 Snowboarding and Pilotwings 64 may be later additions.

[imaginekpoplikethis]

Mixing It Up - Troubkemaker! Min Yoongi X Reader - Part 9

Hi so I’m going to leave this here cause I’m so tired and writers block is my worst enemy

Sorry guys 😭

I think I’m going to wrap this up in the next few parts (possibility two)

Preview  Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  Part 4  Part 5  Part 6  Part 7  Part 8  Part 9 - Here  Part 10  Part 11 - Final

Yoongi had successfully followed you home that night to your dismay. When your mother stopped her task at hand to greet you, the shock on her face caused you to groan. Yoongi’s introduction didn’t help the situation at all. Thinking about what he said and how calmly he said it still brought heat to your face.

-

“Hello, my name’s Min Yoongi and I’m your daughters soon to be boyfriend. Nice to meet you.”

He didn’t bother with a smile, just his neutral straight face. That didn’t seem to phase your mother who all but sprinted to the door, analysing your guest.

“Soon to be? Boyfriend?! Y/N, why have you not told me about this sooner?! Were you waiting until you started dating to tell me? I thought we were closer than that!”

At this exact moment, your older brother happened to make his way down the stairs clad in a similar tracksuit to Yoongi.

“Hey, do you know where the toilet plunger is? I kind of clogged up the toil...et.”

You wanted to smack his head against the wall. How embarrassing can one individual be? Scratch that. Why is he even here?

“Oh my gosh, shut up B/N! Why the heck are you here!? You’re supposed to be in college!”

He looked offended, even going as far as to place a hand to his chest and make a shocked face.

“Hey, you punk... who do you think you’re talking to? Your older brother happens to be really sick, you shouldn’t be treating me like this.”

He made his way towards you and wrapped an arm around your neck, effectively trapping you in a headlock.

“And who is this kid?”

He nodded his head in Yoongi’s direction, causing said boy to raise an eyebrow.

“I’m your sisters boyfriend.” You had been scratching at your brothers arms, attempting to free yourself when his words made you cease your actions. You and your brother simultaneously shrieked, you in horror and your brother in disbelief. Forcefully ripping his arm off of you, you turned to Yoongi with wide eyes.

“Yoongi, what the fu-“

“You’re dating my sister?! Are you out of your mind!?”

You snapped your head back towards your brother, shooting a dark glare at him.

“What is that supposed to mean!?”

A hand suddenly gripped your forearm, pulling you towards a body. Looking up, you came face to face with none other than Yoongi and his smirk.

He proceeded to wrap an arm around your shoulders, forcing you to turn and face your mother and brother.

“I’ll take care of her, don’t worry.”

Your mother had no expression on her face. Your brother on the other hand looked as if he had received all the answers to the worlds secrets.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just kidding.”

“Okay, maybe not yet but I do want to be. I’m not going to deny that.”

“I approve.”

Your eyes grew as wide as saucers at the words that rolled of your mothers tongue.

“Aren’t you supposed to be against this!?”

“Yoongi seems like a nice boy and you two definitely go well together. If anything, the only one who has a problem with this seems to be you.”

You couldn’t believe your ears. Was this really your mother? The same strict mother you had grown up with? Surely not.

“Is dating me really that bad?”

Yoongi had an eyebrow raised, anticipating your answer and you stuttered over your words.

“N-No! Yes! I- uh... maybe?”

He simply grinned at you, understanding how you actually felt.

-

It was now exactly a week after said incident and you had not visited Yoongi since. It wasn’t so much that you didn’t want to, you just happened to be so absorbed with your task of catching Mi-Rae.

“I know Yoongi knows something about this whole thing...”

Mumbling to yourself, you groaned and dropped your head to your desk, moaning in pain straight after.

“You’ll lose more brain cells if you do that and you need to save them. You lost enough as a kid.”

Your brothers deep voice travelled from your bedrooms doorway and your head snapped up to glare at him.

“What do you want? When are you going back to college?”

He entered your room fully and sat himself down on your bed, leaning against the wall.

“Soon. Anyway, I’m doing my job as an older brother. I’m here to talk about your boyfriend.”

Your straight face remained on your face at his words and he took this as his cue to go on.

“Listen, it’s cute that you got a boyfriend and all but don’t let him make you cry.”

You rolled your eyes, having some kind of idea where he was going with the conversation.

“Let me guess... or you’ll beat him up?”

His eyes widened and he blinked twice in confusion.

“What? No way! That’s way too much effort and time wasted. You’re my sister but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give my precious time just because you can’t handle yourself.”

You should have known better. Your brother was the laziest person you had ever encountered. It was a wonder how he had gotten this far in life.

“Wow... how lucky am I to have a brother like you.”

The fact that you said this in monotone should have given away the fact that this was sarcasm but your brother had lived with you long enough to know how deal with it.

“I know right. Gosh, it’s a wonder why I don’t have a girlfriend right now. I’m so caring and handsome and smart and-“ As he began to list off all the traits he was not, he stood from your bed and exited the room, counting his fingers with each trait as he did so.

“He’s not blood related. That’s got to be the answer...”

How were you related to such a person?

-

The next day you entered school, you were approached by Yura during break. She had a small smile present on her face as she joined you and Suhyun.

“Hey Y/N. Hello... Suhyun?” At Suhyun’s smile she introduced herself before bringing up the topic of Mi-Rae.

“I heard you got Mi-Rae excluded. Honestly, I’m glad. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. It’s about Yoongi’s past with Mi-Rae.”

Your eyes almost fell out of their sockets at Yura’s words and your heart suddenly clenched. Trying to disguise your sudden pain, you picked up your water bottle, nodding and taking a big gulp from it.

“It’s not what you think it is. Yoongi didn’t always attend our school. He only transferred almost three years ago. The thing is, Mi-Rae also attended his first school. I heard she managed to get him into serious trouble to the point where he was expelled and forced to move to another school. Our school.”

To think Yoongi and Mi-Rae had known each other for that long. You never would have guessed.

“Around a year later, her father became the principal and so she transferred to our school too. It was well known that Mi-Rae liked Yoongi despite what she put him through. Obviously, she tried to befriend him and Yoongi rejected her. This all happened in the lunch hall and so almost everyone had witnessed it. Mi-Rae must have been really humiliated since she stormed out and began to abuse her fathers power, probably trying to replace her ruined reputation with one of intimidation.”

Well, that certainly wasn’t a story you expected to hear today.

“Oh, but why are you telling me this?” Yura cast her gaze down towards the table.

“You’ve probably figured out that Yoongi isn’t telling you anything that might help you.”

You made eye contact with Suhyun, who nodded slowly and commented for you.

“Yeah, he seems to know a lot but doesn’t really say anything.”

Yura lifted her gaze up, sighing.

“It’s because he can’t. If he does, one word from Mi-Rae to her father and Yoongi’s kicked out of our school. With his reputation, I can guarantee you no other school will accept him. Basically, Mi-Rae can end Yoongi’s school life with a click of her fingers.”

Anger enveloped your body and you clenched your fists, glaring at nothing in particular.

“No wonder Yoongi is acting like that...”

Just as Yura opened her mouth to ask what you were talking about, the bell signalling the end of break rang and you jumped up fro your seat.

“I’ll see you later.”

Offering a tense smile to both girls, you headed straight for your classroom, Suhyun jogging to catch up.

Yoongi has been urging you to catch Mi-Rae because he himself can’t get involved. In other words, he wants you to help him get out of the situation Mi-Rae has put him in.

-

“You failed to tell me that you can’t get involved with this whole situation.”

You were currently walking home after school with Yoongi who had decided to wait at the gates for you. Suhyun had made the decision to stay behind in the library and work on an essay leaving you to walk alone with Yoongi. Surprisingly, he wasn’t wearing one of his many tracksuits and instead opted for some skinny jeans, a black t-shirt and a giant parka jacket.

“I didn’t need to. You were taking care of it anyway.” He shrugged his shoulders, an apathetic look on his face.

“What if I made one wrong choice? Then you would be out of school for good.”

You had reached the café you were so fond of and found yourself following Yoongi inside.

“I know you won’t. Besides, it’s almost over.”

That you could agree upon. With Mi-Rae consistently lying about her whereabouts on the day of the fire, you were sure to find some way to prove Yoongi innocent.

“Yeah but in all honesty I don’t know how to end this...”

Standing beside Yoongi in the line, you scanned the menu for today’s drink.

“What do you mean?”

At this point you had both reached the till and ordered your drinks, both being hot chocolates. Making your way over to the window seat you found yourself occupying quite a bit, you continued your conversation.

“I’ve managed to catch Mi-Rae in her lies but that’s about it. I don’t have any evidence tying her to the incident. In other words, I don’t know where to go from here.”

Yoongi sipped his drink, humming in understanding.

“I can’t really help you there either. I guess it’s all down to luck now...”

You hoped that wasn’t the case. You were not exactly the luckiest person.

“Yeah...”

After finishing your drinks and making small talk here and there, you parted ways with Yoongi and made your own way home.

Upon entering your house, you were immediately greeted with the sight of your older brother carrying an armful of snacks up the stairs. He was halfway up when your entrance stopped him, a look of shock flashing on his face.

“What are yo- is that my food!? I swear if you don’t get back down here I’m going to shove those crisps up your ass!”

Needless to say, you spent the next ten minutes wrestling your brother for food.

-

Another week flew by and you began to feel anxious. As usual, you had hit another dead end and no new progress had been made. If anything you were beginning to get fed up of feeling useless. Little did you know that that was all about to change.

It was when you were seated on your usual lunch table that everything took a sudden u-turn for the best. Suhyun came sprinting towards you, a grin present on her face.

“Someone stepped forward as a witness! They said Mi-Rae was the cause of the fire!”

You shot up out of your seat so fast you almost tumbled back onto the floor. The news was so sudden it almost seemed unrealistic.

“Who?!”

Suhyun waved her hand in dismissal.

“Some boy named Choi Beom. No one we know. Apparently, he’s one of those quiet kids, you know... the ones that just do work and don’t really bother with socialising. He said he couldn’t study properly in our school and wanted to return to his own. I guess he thinks the faster the culprit is caught, the faster they return back to their own school.”

A giant grin broke out onto your face and you had to refrain from shouting out in the lunch hall. No matter how happy you were you did not need everyone staring at you.

“That means-“

You were cut off when the vibration of your phone caught your attention. Right after, someone else’s phone went off along with another until the lunch hall was filled with phones buzzing.

“What’s going on?”

Suhyun’s eyebrows furrowed together when she too received a message and you both opened your phones, the unknown id piquing your curiosity.

Inside the message was a video that made your jaw, along with Suhyuns, drop.

“That’s Mi-Rae...”

Obviously, the fact that Mi-Rae was in the video wasn’t the reason for your shock but rather the fact that she was quite boldly setting alight fireworks in a classroom.

“That’s classroom 2-c!” The random shout from somewhere within the hall made you snap your head up.

If you recalled correctly, classroom 2-c was...

“That’s the classroom where the fire started!”

Another shout from another student caused the hall to erupt into conversation.

There it is. There’s your evidence.

The question is who sent it?

[just-a-guy232]

Lyn - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Dream

Lyn’s’ dreams had been strange of late. As he lay there, mind deep into the void of darkness and thought, flashes of blue and yellow streaked across his vision. He saw rolling dark clouds, tumbling and growing ever larger. The distant boom of thunder grabbed Lyn’s attention, which were followed by crashes of lightning. The lightning grew closer and closer, and soon the space between the thunder and the flash of lightning was non-existent. Soon the lightning was all around Lyn, who was floating among the clouds. Lightning so bright it lit the entire sky. For that instant, the world was bright and clear. Colors seemed more vivid, and life seemed the flow through the air. And just as quickly as this clarity had come, it vanished. Only to reappear once more with the crash of lightning. This energy, this power emanating from the clouds did not strike fear into Lyn’s heart. No, only comfort and serenity. There was no fear, no anger, no negativity in the sky. Only power, peace and a sense of realism that came over Lyn.

As he watched this marvel unfold, he heard a voice calling to him. It was a person’s voice. Was someone else floating above the ground, also indulging in the wonder that was the storm.

“Lyn, Lyn,” the voice grew ever louder and hints of desperation entered the voice. “Lyn, Lyn!”

With a startled movement Lyn opened his eyes. The sunlight blinded him, and once he gained his composure he looked around. There were no powerful lightning strikes or awe-inspiring clouds. Only his sister, looking down at him with a smile on her face.

“You’re finally awake!” Melanie said. “If you don’t hurry we are gunna miss the match!”

Lyn had totally forgot about the fight that was happening today. Every month his town of Pallisen would hold a contest to test the fighting ability of two elementals. People came from all over to test their own abilities in the arena, or to claim the prize money. Although Pallisen was small and would be poor without the contests, the amount of tourism and business it brought in generated a solid economy for their little town. Lyn’s mother said that the contests were the only things keeping the town afloat, and many people agreed with the matches. The neighboring lands to Pallisen had mining, fishing, harvests, mines and forestry to generate income. But not Pallisen, the matches were the most important part of their economy.

Lyn sat up, sore form laying down in the grass for so long. Annoyed that Melanie had woken him up from such a pleasant dream, Lyn realized that he dozed off again while he was daydreaming.

“Alright I’m awake, you can stop bothering me now.” Lyn exclaimed.

“Well you would never forgive me if I had let you sleep all day,” Melanie said rudely. “And besides, I thought you had wanted to see Morgol fight today?”

“Of course I do!” Lyn snapped, “But I was having such a nice dream,” he said smiling.

“I bet you were dreaming about Layla,” Melanie sneered.

“Shut up! I was not,” Lyn said as he blushed. “Besides, she would never go for a builder like me.”

“Of course she wouldn’t,” said Melanie. “Not to mention you are one of the worst and laziest builders I have every met!”

Lyn opened his mouth to say something snarky, but he didn’t for he knew she was right. Lyn had never been good at building anything. From houses, to furniture, to anything simple a builder was supposed to be good at. He sucked at making anything it seemed, the only thing he enjoyed doing was daydreaming.

“Well we better get going,” Lyn said standing up. “We don’t wanna miss Morgol’s latest match. And besides, I wanna try out some of the sweets from the bakery that just opened up.” Melanie nodded her head with agreement, and the two of them set off towards their home. Lyn’s family was far from wealthy, but they got by without too much struggle. His mother and father were builders, just like their grandmother and grandfathers when they were alive. Houses, tables, basically anything that didn’t involve using a blacksmith his family excelled at. Although they frequently visited their family friend Kether, their family never got into blacksmithing themselves. They had their hands full with just usual builders’ duties.

 As Lyn and Melanie walked towards the house, they peered over the rolling hills and saw the steady creek that would lead them back home. The creek was clear and sparkling, and although it was only five feet deep it ran throughout the entire town. People say that’s why Pallisen was built here. The creek never stopped and never flooded, it just provided clean drinking water for the entire town. At one of the bends of the creek was Lyn’s house. The house was covered in wooden shingles, which were slick with moss and vegetation growing. A small but mostly refurbished chimney stuck out above the peak of the house. Dirty and weathered windows were to the one side, partially blocked by growing vines along the side of the house. With the house sitting two stories with a cellar, this small brownish house is what Lyn called home.

It seemed odd that a family of builders would let their own house become this rugged and have such an abandoned appearance. But his mother and father always said, “If we focus too much on fixing our own house, we won’t have time to fix anyone else’s!”

As Lyn and Melanie walked across the small bridge overtop of the creek, they could see their mother through the window. She was making dinner for the four of them, with Lyn’s father most likely working out in the shop. The shop was less than thirty feet away from the house and took an almost barn looking appearance to it.

“He must be working on the bookshelves for the major,” Lyn thought. The mayor had ordered Lyn’s family to build him a grand library. The bookshelves alone had taken weeks to do, for they were quite impressive in size. Lyn thought it funny that the mayor had insisted on larger chairs for the library. Maybe it was because the mayor’s family was so big that they could not sit in regular people chairs and had to get special chairs made for them.

As they approached the house Lyn’s mother Gertrude waved at them, beckoning them to come in.  Once they were within earshot of the house, Lyn’s father Lucas walked around the corner of the house.

“And where have you two been?” Lucas questioned. “I have been buried under bookshelves all day and my two apprentices were nowhere to be found!”

“I’m sorry father, Lyn was slacking off in the field so I had to go and rescue him!” Melanie said, shooting a playful glance at Lyn. “You know how he drifts off all the time.”

“Of course he was,” Lucas sighed. “Lyn when are you going to take what we do more seriously?” Lyn’s father had always been a strict man, with the belief that you were put in this world to work hard and help out anyone in need. That said, he was also extremely warm hearted and always quick to make a joke.

“I can’t keep up with all these orders you know, I need the whole family to come together so we can get this done.”

Lyn hung his head in shame. Although he tried his very best, he often slacked and ran off to go explore or be alone. Melanie smiled at their father, knowing that he was kidding. Although Lyn was older, Melanie quickly became the better builder of the two. She had a gift for carving patterns and intricate details into the wood that they made. She would often be the one to add the finishing touches to the orders they sent off. Although their family wasn’t the cheapest builders in Pallisen, everyone knew them for their hard work and detail-oriented style of crafting. Or that’s what their father always told them. Lyn thought it to be true, or else why would the mayor ask their family to add on the library to the already huge mansion.

Lyn’s mother opened the door and smiled at them. “Look at my beautiful children and my wonderful husband, I must be the luckiest mother alive to have this family. Now if only one of them would help me with dinner….”

Lucas laughed. “Well I guess that’s me!” Gertrude was always a great mother, but her heart was always full of worry Lyn thought. She never liked when they went into town themselves and always insisted that they be home at a certain time. Lyn was 15 years old and Melanie was 13, both old enough to know how to take care of themselves in their small town. But Gertrude always said, “Even if you guys are old and have families of your own, I will always worry about you.”

Lucas looked at Lyn and Melanie and asked, “I thought you guys were going to the match today?”

“We still are!” Lyn said. “I just hope we make it in time to see Morgol’s fight.”

“Well then you guys better get going,” Gertrude said. “They won’t hold the match for a couple of slowpokes like you!”

With a short Farwell, Lyn and Melanie started off down the road towards the heart of the Pallisen. Their house wasn’t on the outskirts of the town, but it was towards the outer region of the town. There was a good distance between their immediate neighbors and their house, about half a kilometer. As Lyn grew older, he started to noticed that the greater the wealth, the closer the families were to the center of the town. His family had been in this spot for as long as anyone could remember, and as the village grew it seemed to grow away from where their house. Builders, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen lived mostly in this area of Pallisen. Lyn thought it was because the wealthy kept buying peoples land to expand and it forced people towards the outer ring of Pallisen.

As Melanie and Lyn started walking towards the arena, they saw more and more people on the road. The space between the building became scarcer and the amount of people only continued to grow. There were more people than usual due to the fight, but even so the town was always quite busy.

The murmur of a crowd grew louder and louder, until Lyn and Melanie turned around the corner and saw the arena.

Hundreds of people were gathered outside of the gate. Vendors and merchants were talking and conducting business with foreigners. Usually there were just as many people outside of the arena as there was inside. Brightly colored booths and shops were set up temporarily so people could take in the tourist’s money how ever they could. Jewelers had trinkets and gemstones lined up on tables for the ladies to see, and blacksmiths had tools hanging up for with a group of men looking at them. Lyn and Melanie walked by the shops not bothering to look. The same families set up booths every month and Lyn always wondered how a builder could show off their craft simply in a booth. Lyn and Melanie pushed past some women looking at a jeweler’s fine wares bumping into her and apologizing. They walked past the crowds and pushed their way towards the arena’s gate. The gate was at least fifteen feet high and Lyn always caught himself staring at the gate, marveling at the sheer size of the arena. By the sounds of things, they had just made it in time, and Lyn’s felt his heart jumped with excitement as he and Melanie walked through the gates.

[ourspeakscity]

Auckland: Speaks National Poetry Day edition! First interview with Kyla Dela Cruz.

Auckland: Speaks will be happening in just under two weeks. Before the event we will be posting interviews with some of the performers. 

UP FIRST IS KYLA DELA CRUZ!!!

I’ve been a friend and fan of Kyla for a few years now, she will be working on a colab piece alongside Auckland: Speaks vet Roimata Prendergast.

Kyla Dela Cruz is a proud owner of the laziest/toughest little dog in the world. Is #1 at leaving everything to the last minute and has developed an unhealthy sleeping pattern because of it. She's been writing stories ever since her year 3 teacher told her she was good at it. From there, she's taken to performing her stories on stages like Word- The Front Line inter-high school poetry slam, was the runner up in the inaugural Justice Slam and won the Rising Voices 2016 Grand Slam. She is also a member of the super cool & super good looking Niu Wave poetry collective.

I’ve been a friend and fan of Kyla for a few years now, she will be working on a colab piece alongside Auckland: Speaks vet Roimata Prendergast.

Do you consider Auckland home? It’s one of my homes. Some other homes include Manila and Bangkok. Sometimes I catch myself homesick af for those places. Sometimes I can’t imagine myself being anywhere but Auckland… mainly because of the people I love here and the memories I’ve made in this city that would make it hard to leave.

What is the future of Auckland? The dope young people working at it to bring about change. Last May I was at the ‘Count Our Voices! Our Voices Count!’ event hosted by the Manurewa Youth Council. I met some truly golden people who really care about their community and are actively doing things to empower the people in it. That’s just one of many though. I’ve got heart eyes for the youth of this generation who are ripping it up for the future.

What is the biggest issue currently facing Tamaki Makaurau? This city not being as liveable for a lot of people/families.

Do you feel as though this city which respects the arts? In some ways yes. In a lot of ways, it could do better. I think this city needs to understand how necessary and important the arts and its artists are. It’s as important and necessary as other fields of work, but I feel like some people just brush it off like some mere side hobby thing. But there are people who do respect it and create these spaces for artists to do their thing. They’re the real gems.

Who is an artist or group of artists that are doing something especially awesome right now. Honestly, the students at the faculty of creative arts at MIT. Not just because I go there lol, but I see how talented those artists are. Whether it’s through their stories, paintings, dances etc. they’re just slaying art. A lot of good gets created in that little building everyday.

What is your favourite part of Auckland, a space that is especially important to you? Onehunga library. I used to always go there after school in 2015, which was a challenging year for me. it was my final year of high school, a lot of relationships cut, a lot of work to be done. But in that library, I always felt the breath of stillness. Like, I didn’t have to touch and go so much. And I felt really protected in that space. I don’t go there much anymore but I hold the feeling of being in it close to me.

Without giving away too much about the piece, why does your specific topic speak to you? I spend a lot of time in the place this topic is about. The place has a lot of attitude and I have a love/hate relationship with that attitude. I’m working with the badass Roimata Prendergast on this one, who is an absolute blessing... which makes this process such a great ‘ride’ (that may or may not have anything to do with the piece).

Outside of Auckland: Speaks, what are you working on right now? I’m in my second year of Creative Writing at MIT so you can always find me working on an assignment I’ve procrastinated from that.

What do you think about the spoken word scene in Auckland? I have so much love and warmth for it. The first time I saw spoken word in real life was in Clendon Library, where a few members of the South Auckland Poets Collective performed. Words came alive for me in that moment and I wanted to keep creating that moment for myself. The way the scene enriches and challenges me has contributed a lot to my growth- in poetry and as a person. I met some of my best friends through the spoken word scene. And I’m all for the way it continues to do that to more young people who are starting to get into spoken word poetry.

Auckland: Speaks is a multi-media performance event in which local poets, storytellers, rappers and dancers create original works of art from the voice of their own home. It’s a series of love letters from Auckland to itself. Imagine if Ponsonby wrote a letter to K’rd or if Rangitoto challenged the Sky tower to a rap battle. Performers include Jess Holly Bates, Jahra Rager, The South Auckland Poets Collective, Members of the Niu Wave Collective and more! 

Entry Details: Free. All Ages. Date/Times: Friday, August 25th 6:00 – 8:00PM Location: Central City Library 44/46 Lorne St, Auckland, 1010

Check out our Facebook Event

[fyrapartnersearch]

Talking to Tom

About Me; I'm Charlie, I'm 22, prefer they/them pronouns and I'm the laziest art student you ever did meet. I live in England, and I've been roleplaying on and off with this blog for the last five years. I'd like to think I'm a somewhat experienced writer, I've dealt with and written with a lot of characters and story lines over the years, and I'm looking for some new people to roleplay with - short-term, or long term. 

Character; If you haven't already guessed, I roleplay as the wonderful actor Tom Hiddleston. I have never met him, I do not know him, I simply interpret him as he presents himself to the public. I don't not claim to be him or have any affiliation with the real person. If you're uncomfortable roleplaying with 'real-life' characters, I am not the partner for you, however - if you are, let me elaborate; 

Tom is gentle, sweet & kind hearted. He'd do anything for anyone, is unwaveringly polite, has a passion for books, reading, Shakespeare, cups of tea, and has a terrible smoking habit on the side. He owns a house that was given to him by his parents, (you can find more about that here) and has a collection of pets that he loves dearly (you can read about Tom's likes, dislikes and pets here) - he's always open to trying new things, and loves meeting pretty much anyone, supernatural or otherwise and is genuine soul. 

Timezone: GMT

Types of Roleplay; Honestly? I'm pretty much down for anything. Romance, drama, adventures, travel - storylines involving libraries, coffee shops & acting work are my favourite. I'm not opposed to NSFW content either, sex, relationships, pregnancy, familIes, marriage, even some kink/BDSM - Tom is pansexual, so everybody is welcome! I'm fond of AUs - historical mostly, princes and princesses, even a little bit of fantasy! 

Things I want to avoid; My list of topics and rules about roleplaying can be found here - but to summarise, anything to do with drug abuse, sexual assault, violence, excessive gore (Vampire/blood play is fine!) & eating disorders (other mental health problems aren't an issue) Tom isn't violent by nature, never has been and never will be, so fights and violence are something I actively try and avoid. 

Style; Multiple paragraphs, always. I've never been able to write in one liners or dialogue, I like to flesh out what's happening with my character, and I will always try and avoid controlling my partner's character, and if I do so, please tell me! 

Methods of contact;  - Roleplay Blog; talktotwhiddlestondarling - Personal Blog; whenthe-darknesscomes {has autoplay music}

Other things; I have a chronic health condition, and I'm also a full-time University student, so this dictates how active I am and how quick I am to reply. I usually try and dedicate a few hours of my evening to my roleplaying, but I ask that you're not impatient with me, I'm often bed ridden and asleep, or working - but I will try my hardest. If you've got any issues or concerns, don't hesitate to message and ask me. 

I really hope I can find some new people, I'm excited to start this blog back up again, my love and relationship with my character is deep, the blog has been running for over five years now - it's my baby. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I can't wait to meet some new faces! 

[tryintolivelifetothefullest]

I was nominated a few days ago for the Sunshine blogger award by the fabulous, nicest blogger ever, BookBum (Zuky) so make sure to go check out her blog for a lot of great content. (HOW does she keep up with everything, I’ll never know!)

Rules:

Thank the person(s) who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.

Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write then 11 new questions.

List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or on your blog.

Questions & Answers:

1. What’s your favourite book/movie of all time and why did it speak to you so much?

My favourite book of all time is definitely “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult! It just has everything I’m looking for in a book – different POV each chapter, inspiring story, heartfelt, surprising ending, and makes me feel like I can understand what someone else is going through.

2. What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you?

People always think I’m just the shy kid who doesn’t have much to say. But in reality, once I get comfortable with my surroundings, I’m probably one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet, always ready for a laugh, and can show you the best memes of the week.

3. If you could bring one musician back to life, who would it be and why?

I would really like to bring Michael Jackson back to life. He was literally the King of Pop, and I’m so sorry that his chance to preform that tour he was preparing for was taken from him. He could’ve done great things through charity work, it would’ve been amazing to see how his life would’ve turned out.

4. If you have to live without one of your senses, which would you give up?

What a question! No word of a lie, I’ve often thought about this, because I used to be on the bus route that carried a lot of deaf and blind people. I think I would give up my hearing, because the world is scary enough as it is, but imagine not being able to see?

5. How would you spend 1 million pounds / dollars?

Haha 1 million dollars! I wish! I wouldn’t spend it right away…I’ll keep it in the bank, work super hard until I have enough money, and then spend it all on a house. I refuse to buy a single-detached family home here in Toronto for 1 million dollars. I’ll wait until I can buy something newer.

6. What was your childhood dream job?

I’m actually SUPER close to achieving my childhood dream job! Sort of. I wanted to be an author when I was a kid. But now, I’m on my way to land an internship at a publishing company, so yay me for (kind of) sticking to my childhood dream!

7. If you could change one law, what would it be, and what would you change it to?

One law I would change…. can there not be a land transfer tax? I mean, what if I had my 1 million dollars, bought my house, and then found a better one on the market!? Why do I have to pay a tax just to transfer my name onto a piece of paper? Bruh.

8. Do you have any heroes? Who are they?

I’ve honestly never thought about this. I’ll say Jodi Picoult, and all the amazing minds behind Twitter.

9. Other than books, what are you passionate about?

I’m very passionate about blogging. I find it therapeutic to just write down my thoughts (even though they are book related). But I love it, it’s never felt like a chore to me.

10. What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear has always been death. Never want to talk about it!

11. (I’m being a copy cat) Do you have any pets? PICS PLEASE!!!!

I have ONE pet. His name is Domi (after Tie Domi the hockey player) and he’s turning 9 years old on March 16th! He’s the laziest dog ever, but he’s taken over my heart! Here are some of my favourite pictures:

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Thank you so much again to BookBum for the nomination! It really means a lot, you have NO idea how much answering your questions have helped me prepare for an interview I have!

I nominate these great blogs:

YA and Wine

Lu’s Library

Deanna Writes About…

Red Lips and Bibliomaniacs

Kelly’s Book Blog

Kids Fiction Blog

Book Club Mom

The Ultimate Fangirl

Real Tasty Pages

The Book Raven

SERENDIPITY (Laurel-Rain Snow)

My questions to all of you are:

What is your dream job?

Have you ever been in an awkward position while at an interview?

What is/was your favourite subject in school?

What does your morning routine look like?

What was the last book you read OR movie you saw? What did you think?

Where would you go for your dream vacation?

I will also copy-cat the pet question! Do you have any pets? OR if you don’t, what would be your dream pet? Pictures please!

What are your hobbies?

What has been a big milestone for you in your life so far?

What would your dream home consist of?

Where can I find you on social media?

I can’t wait to read all of your answers! Happy blogging!

You can find me on Twitter, Goodreads, and 50BookPledge

The Sunshine Blogger I was nominated a few days ago for the Sunshine blogger award by the fabulous, nicest blogger ever, …