#i am heavily biased

[emissary-of-the-moon]

I have a midwestern country Twilight agenda to push so heres my list of things Twi does/experienced from a certified midwesterner

- goes and stands on the deck as soon as there's talk of severe weather rolling in

- "ya know it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the wind chill (winter) / humidity (summer)"

- very large bonfires (like we're talkin doesn't fully go out for days)

- long ass goodbyes (bonus points if it ends with Twi slapping his knee and say "welp 'spose i better get going")

- "ope", "don't cha know", "smells like rain" (not for the wolf reasons)

- any variation of talking about the weather

- way too many miscellaneous story about the hometown (like "oh those trees are in front of the school cause some kids died")

- complaining about the cities™ (bonus points if one city is the 'cake-eater' city)

- complaining about construction season

- complaining about people not knowing how to drive "we get snow every year how do you forget how to drive in it"

- bring your tractor to school day

- everything is a 20-30 minute drive away

- "jeet" (did ya eat), "jever" (did ya ever)

- nosy as hell

- really fast walker

-calls mosquitoes 'skeeters'

[bonojour]

[x]

[blushouyo]

to the people begging larian for a gortash romance... I get it. I truly truly do. no one else could get it as much as I do.

BUT.

you really need to either switch to a dark urge playthrough or look a little harder. there IS romance there... yes. its all implied and nothing is explicit but COME ON. man wants nothing more than to rule the world BY YOUR SIDE. AS PARTNERS. NOT ALONE.

[my-current-obsession]

My hyper-specific type when it comes to otome guys:

- Absolutely pathetic - Cannot speak to a girl normally to save his life - Tries to be calm/aloof, but turns tsundere when flustered enough - A good and pure man at heart, yet does some questionable things - ...Little Red Riding Hood???

[meyerlansky]

I'm not sure if you've spoken about this before but could u explain your beef with hbomberguy's patho video?

and so my irrepressible need to be a hater comes back to bite me >_> NO UH it's fine i can explain without being a dick about it. i can. definitely. do that. <_<

it basically boils down to there being a lot of people nominally in the fandom who take his interpretations as gospel, which would be annoying enough for me because i find his read of "artemy=right daniil=wrong clara=rightest" superficial and boring in the first two and deeply, DEEPLY uncomfortable for me personally on the last one.

and then compounding that,

patho fandom also has a historical problem of people insisting certain fanon interpretations are the Only Right Ones and getting aggressive when other people interpret things differently—don't get me fucking started on the blacklist and whisper campaigns and fancop bullshit; and

a big chunk of the people who take harris' fanon as gospel haven't... actually played the game[s]. and imho someone who hasn't meaningfully interacted with the source material themselves doesn't get to act like an authority about it, especially not to people who HAVE actually played the goddamn games.

so. yeah. he's fine, he's a good dude from what i can tell, but i do consider his video's fans the source of a looot of the bad parts of patho fandom, and it puts a sour taste in my mouth pretty much always

[batrachised]

Behold, my fat bear week cookies!!

[lee-hakhyun]

my current favoured ships for lee hakhyun being lhh/jhw and lhh/yjh... bisexual king

[shamera]

top manhwa reccs this month

So this month I seem to have thrown myself into manhwa, and oh boy I sure read a lot to calm myself down through the holidays. I find that my favourite stories are always the ones that really immerse you, and make you love the characters a lot. So here's the top 3 stories I could not put down until I got to the latest update!

A Stepmother's Märchen

The story of a 16 year old girl who finds herself a widowed stepmother of four with a story spanning across two timelines. In one timeline Shuri von Neuschwanstein grows and struggles to connect with her stepchildren for a decade and ultimately thinks herself a failure when she's told her eldest son doesn't want her at his wedding, only for her to be murdered on the celebratory day. She wakes to find herself eight years in the past newly widowed, determined to this time connect with the children so they won't exclude her from their lives.

Top of the list because I genuinely could not put this down while reading. It's beautiful and emotional and really delves into how family is what you make of it. The characters are all so good and genuinely feel like kids who are struggling on their path to growing up. They are imperfect, immature, make all the wrong decisions, but so very wise at random moments and the misunderstandings (that break my heart) all feel realistic and not at all forced. Gave me Fruits Basket vibes!

2. The Player Who Can't Level Up

Kim Gigyu thought he finally had the chance to give his mother and sister a better life when he became a player with a unique ability... only to spend the next five years struggling to take down the simplest of dungeon monsters, unable to get above lvl1. He chose instead to guide other players so they can get strong, until one day he steps to take the first test of the tower and encounters an Ego for the first time: a sentient sword who will be his partner and level in his stead. With his unique ability 'partner of Egos', he sets out to find other pieces of Ego and unravel the mystery of the tower and just why it appeared in the world.

Normally for this genre I have to read over 100 chapters before they start hinting at the mystery of the world. This one started in chapter 12. It's also refreshing as it has a good balance between fighting and building character relationships as there are plenty of chapters where Gigyu spends time with his family and friends. Also there are great positive male friendships! There are lots of badass girls! The main character talks to other people about his traumas and his worries!! The growth feels plausible and I-- I have a weak spot for the Egos. They are now part of his family, I don't make the rules.

3. Dungeon Reset

Jung Daeun was thought dead after he fell into a death trap, and when others cleared the dungeon floor and moved on to the next, he was still stuck when the floor reset to respawn all the defeated monsters. He had no fighting skills, and instead decided to survive by building a shelter and figuring out a food source. He soon figures out that because players are all moved out of the dungeon when it reset, he's now a glitch in the system with partial immunity to the worst things, but also without the benefits that other players get. After accidentally affiliating with the Dragon of Life, Daeun starts running the dungeon his own way-- by building and farming and learning how to not just survive in a dungeon, but live in it.

aka the one where a Minecraft player is hacking a dungeon Death Game? So fun. It's a pinch of Dr. Stone mixed into a good food anime and dropped onto the dangerous dungeon trope. It's got characters who all end up so human and a main character who is absolutely a little shit doing what he wants aka sure he wants to pass the Dungeon Game and go home, but he's not going to live like an animal while he's doing so. He's going to make good food and have a good bed and take baths and develop hobbies while he's at it. He's going to make friends and learn new things and show that winning isn't all about fighting, but about perseverance and adaptability. Sometimes you don't have to win the fight-- you just have to survive it.

Honorary Mentions (aka I read through it! It was pretty good!):

Trash of the Count's Family

SSS-Class Suicide Hunter

Solo Farming in the Tower

The Lone Necromancer

Return of the Frozen Player

Solo Max-Level Newbie

And then there are series I've read but didn't finish as it didn't appeal to me personally:

My Daughter Is the Final Boss

Leviathan

SSS-Class Gacha Hunter

Tomb Raider King

The World After the Fall

The Beginning After the End

[cyanove]

All in good fun. I’m curious to know what this poll’s results yield :D

All the life series’ have their own unique brilliant qualities I love.

[hella1975]

Best ethel cain songs to send your English teacher

any self-respecting english teacher would find a literary feast within any ethel song but i think if we’re going for both on the nose ‘this is good lyricism’ and something palatable enough for a teacher id go for famous last words

[smileymaste]

Barbie Movie Tier List

My opinions are fact and I will not take constructive criticism (lol jk this is all subjective don’t hate me if I hate your fave)

Also this is a work in progress because I decided to keep watching the movies beyond where I stopped watching as a kid so I will add more as I get to them

Here we go (below the cut)

Nutcracker- D+

It was the first movie, it was 2001,, It’s okay. The music really did it for me but I can’t give points for that because that’s all Tchaikovsky. The dizzying camera pans did not help. The plus is for the Sugarplum Fairy reveal because I had the doll and relived my childhood in that moment.

Rapunzel- A-

She’s an artist, she’s willful, she references modern art centuries ahead of its time, what more can I say. I know it’s still rough as the second movie but as someone with hair past my knees I’m legally obligated to love this movie. Minus for the ugly ferret, bonus points because I had the Rapunzel doll as a kid.

Swan Lake- C

Odette doesn’t... Do anything. I haven’t watched any other adaptation of Swan Lake so I’m not saying this is a Barbie thing in particular, but she just isn’t as cool as Rapunzel (but who is tbh) Loved the music again, but that’s Tchaikovsky. I enjoyed the little hedgehog guy and skunk girl.

(P.S. Does anyone else remember a Swan Lake computer game? Because that was all I could recall about the movie before I rewatched it)

Princess and Pauper- A

I’m just like you, you’re just like me. Phenomenal. I’m a sucker for a good musical and I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish. I will be rewatching it again because I liked it just that much. Serafina and Wolfie are amazing (bonus points because I had a Serafina toy), and even though Preminger is gross, his song is kind of a bop. How could I refuse to give this movie an A?

Fairytopia- B-

The beginning of the iconic Bibble... The Fairytopia movies only get better, so to start with a B- isn’t bad. I wish they explained more about the rainbow in her eye? And Laverna’s end is confusing because she just... disappears, and her fate isn’t explained until the next movie. All in all though, a solid movie.

Magic of Pegasus- B

We love a figure skater, we love a girl who refuses marriage to a weird magician. We don’t love Shiver just causing problems and not even being that cute. Bonus points for Annika being sassy as hell.

Mermaidia- B

Gay mermaids gay mermaids gay mermaids you can’t convince me otherwise. How come the fungi could leave the wastes but Laverna couldn’t (until...)? Elina sacrificing her wings to become a mermaid was a great moment, as well as when both Elina and Laverna ate the berries that showed their true selves. Bonus points for mermaids because I love mermaids.

Diaries- F

Why. Completely insipid and vapid and shallow and stupid as hell. Barbie being a curve-wrecker should’ve been a crowning moment but it wasn’t and I just can’t abide by a movie teaching kids that being good in school is bad. I must have erased this movie from my childhood memory because I didn’t recognize it at first. Bad movie.

12 Dancing Princesses- A+

A breath of fresh air after Diaries. I LOVE the 12 Dancing Princesses and (as of the writing of this post) it is my Favorite. I had the Genevieve doll, I named both of my (male) betta fish after Genevieve, and I named at least a couple of my Webkinz after other princesses too. The music is amazing, the story is amazing, the princesses are amazing (I don’t wanna hear anything about them being under-developed, there’s fucking 12 of em and it’s only 81 minutes long). Great movie. Best movie. Love this movie.

Magic of the Rainbow- B+

The finale of the Fairytopia trilogy, and the best one at that. Gotta love a totally-in-your-face rainbow motif, and I do. I don’t totally get how Laverna was able to leave the wastes if her punishment was to be trapped there but okay. I also don’t get how the Flight of Spring succeeded if Elina and Sunburst weren’t even participating most of the time but okay. Laverna trapping and assuming Sunburst’s identity was great villainy right there. I like Glee’s design :3 Bonus points for rainbows.

Island Princess- B

Admittedly, the video I watched of this movie seems to have had some parts cut out cuz there were some weird cuts, but I will judge thusly. Love me a musical, love the talking (to) animals, love the knowledge of medicinal plants. Otherwise too colonialism for me. I originally watched this movie during my “learning to survive on a deserted island” phase, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Mariposa- B+

I watched this movie to death as a kid, but I think that was mostly because it was the only movie we had unpacked while we were moving. Interesting change of pace having someone other than Barbie be the main character. I like Mariposa. I like her interest in constellations. Rayna and Rayla were kind of annoying but okay by the end (character development). Why are Zinzie’s ears backwards. Bonus points for the scene with The Fairy in the Cave of Reflections.

Diamond Castle- A

This is the first Barbie movie that I haven’t watched as a kid, so I’m watching this with fresh eyes and no nostalgia points. As always, musicals get bonus points with me. Alexa and Liana are gay you can’t change my mind (they invented the bi and lesbian flags with those dresses at the end). The twin dudes are just their boy toys, and I’m glad nothing really happened with them besides a dance. I would die for Sparkles and Lily and their dance moves.

Christmas Carol- B-

Another change of pace with Barbie not being the main chara, though I guess she can’t all of a sudden be British lol I’m glad that Barbie is raising money for hospitals irl (Barbie is real don’t fight with me) and that the orphanage in the story got funded as well. Good message. But gonna be real I’m not the biggest Christmas Carol person, so this movie didn’t stand the greatest chance with me. I like Catherine.

[alastairstom]

How do people not like the ending of ChoT? It's just so hopeful and uplifting, and all our faves (besides sadly Kit) got wonderful endings... and the wonderful endings were perfect for their respective arcs? And now we can have more projects with them like--

[minzbins]

atzsource’s comeback countdown celebration

week 1 - theme: ateez members ↪  biases [3/3]  »  yunho

[deer-with-a-stick]

I'M SO SORRY BUT

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT VALORAN TOWN

I'm watching it now and I'm dying yeah its another league thing but its fucking hilarious and its got my two favorite windshitter brothers

[r-18g]

i do really enjoy the locked tomb series and i gotta say... it doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as people seem to think it does.

[lostlovepunk]

every once in a while i listen to classical music again and change my mind every ten to twenty seconds which wind instrument ia objectively the best instrument of them all