#i have like 15 books i want to get from the library and it’s stressing me out bc i want to read them all right now but im trying to pace

[pepprs]

reading is awesome 😎

[365granitegirlx]

i would like to request VesselxReader librarian and the reader/librarian reccomends books that vessel would really like unironically!!!!! send post

💛I luv u💛 also I’m glad you said “unironically” because you know I’d say some weird stuff. The story is goofy silly but I stand by these recs.

Vessel x Librarian!Reader, annoyances to lovers

Informational fluffy crack with links to the books

It was nearly closing time and the staff was feeling silly. You being the manager on duty thought, “who would care if I locked the library doors at 15 till? Who’s going to come in here at 8:45 o’clock pm?!” Just as you unethically lock the library doors, you turn around…and there he is… you gawp at him.

“Hey friend, I do have to let you know that we’re closed…and you need a shirt on here…you see…we’re technically in…”

He puts his large, paint smudged hand up to stop you. “There’s still 15 minutes before you close.”

You sigh as you realize you’re standing right by the sign with the library hours. “You can see through that thing?” You ask referencing his mask.

He doesn’t respond. “Can you help me?”

You flip your hair and say “depends” because despite him ruining you eff-off time at work he’s pretty cute.

“I just need some reading recommendations.”

“AHAHHA RIGHT! We ARE at a library! Heh. And I’m the librarian. And. Yeah. Hehe…”

If you could see his eyes you’d imagine he was blinking and staring blankly at you. “Anyways…”

*cue a montage of reader and vessel running around a 10k sq ft library as co-workers stare in confusion and concern*

You sigh, cheeks flushed pink from grabbing books and learning more about your new favorite patron, Vessel.

“Alright, let’s take a look at your impressive stack…”

“Excuse me?” Vessel says quizzically.

“OF BOOKS!! Hehhehe.” This masked shirtless man has made you such a giggly mess you almost forget to check out his books.

First, chosen for its lush atmospheric tone, themes of oral fixations, religious/metaphysical fervor, and devotion is Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda.

Also following the themes of devotion, obsession, along with body horror and feeling insane is Bunny by Mona Awad.

And it was a bit of a hard sell, but you convinced him to try the Shades of Magic series, starting of course with A Darker Shade of Magic, because the male lead has a neat jacket…like him. You both looked down after you said that. Was that the wrong thing? I mean…he was wearing a cloak. Maybe he thinks you’re just being nice. Or…too silly.

“I hope you have enough time to read these,” you say shyly but super cutely (let’s be real you do the radio rebel hair-behind-the-ear).

You like to think he winks at you but, you know, you can’t see his eyes…does he actually have six? He chuckles softly. “I’ll be fine. But…just for fun…how about a graphic novel?”

You bite your lip and smile shyly. “You know…and…stop me if this is weird. But, we’re doing a buddy read of the Warriors graphic novel…like the cats…and I don’t know maybe…you’d want to…no it’s silly…”

He puts his hand up again and shakes his head. “It would be an honor.”

And so, Vessel joined the Warriors read-along and contributed in such a way that he started leading the discussions, which made you very happy because the cat drama was starting to stress you out. At the end of one read-along party, Vessel strides up to you and sheepishly puts his hands in his pockets. “So…I actually have a recommendation for you.”

You blush. “Oh yeah?”

Vessels hands you a piece of paper. Gasp. His phone number. He’s already gone by the time you look up.

“Nice! Now you don’t have to resort to looking him up in the patron database to get his number!” Your darling coworker says with a grin that screams ‘BOYLIKER!’

You roll your eyes and start daydreaming about your first kiss at the Panda Express, feeling like you’re in a cheesy rom-com.

THE END

[skyler10fic]

Public journaling because I need to get this out:

I'm having reflux/GERD induced by my anxiety disorder among other stress related things.

This anxiety is often triggered by spending time engaging with how awful the world is.

I do want to help raise awareness, make the world a better place, be a more informed voter, and do my duty to give everyone resources to do the same.

I cannot keep engaging with this reality at the current rate.

I struggle to set boundaries with my scrolling because it's my highest level/easiest accessible connection point with other people and something for my ADHD brain to focus on.

I cannot simply stay focused because of the ADHD. It is an inability.

At home, I do other things, like household tasks.

But I'm required to be in the office three days a week. Half days are an unofficial/coincidental accomodation.

When I'm at the office, I don't have little tasks to do. Everything is (honestly quite boring) deep thinking, high concentration work.

I cannot "just get a new, more interesting job" in a field that was always highly competitive and has been dying for 20 years. My job is very good for pay and benefits in comparison to others in my field.

So the key is I need a way to engage with people and work with my brain that isn't working against it: neither doomscrolling nor shaming myself into just staring at the screen and forcing myself to work at a slower pace so I don't have so much extra time. I can't just tell my brain not to be bored or not to need distractions.

If I get up from my desk at the office, I'm supposed to count it as break time. So I can't go on walks on the clock. If I take lots of breaks, that adds to the amount of time I'm physically at the office and cuts down on free time. (I do take 30 minute lunch and occasionally 15 minutes here and there.)

My group chats are great, but my friends have busy lives with lots of other things going on so it's not the frequency and volume of Twitter and Threads.

Almost all of my friends are far away, and the people physically close to me have resisted my efforts to increase emotional closeness and depth. They are all in for hanging out, but uncomfortable with emotions or vulnerability or friendship beyond "people I do preorganized activities with."

I can't eliminate the brain need through ADHD meds because of my liver problems (thanks for that, Strattera extremely rare side effects) and other medical risks the doc is not willing to take. Psych doc also says I need to show a positive result on the computerized ADHD $5k test my insurance doesn't pay for (created for hyperactive boys, not high achieving adult women who perform well on tests) to really consider my "attention issues" as for sure ADHD despite EVERY other medical professional verbally diagnosing me. I definitely have ADHD. This is not a question. But there doesn't seem to be a med solution anyway.

Possible solutions I'm working on:

1. More library books I can sneak glances at or listen to on my phone

2. Lists, curated social media experiences, joining more happy/low-stress groups

3. Boundaries, muting words, blocking abundantly

4. Under desk bike helps a lot when I'm not too tired

5. Standard GERD reduction tips and other physical health care

6. Mental health care

7. Listen to soothing ASMR at night

8. Physical self care (food, exercise, hydration, sleep, etc)

I think if I didn't have the ADHD creating a need that the doom sites solve (and by solve, I mean meet the immediate need by creating different problems), this would be easier. It isn't simple "addiction." It's higher up the logical food chain than that.

Today this came to a head with some emotional dysregulation: there is a big personal issue with someone I trusted potentially being a bad guy, and I can't talk about it with my local friends because they won't understand OR they are his coworkers, who can't discuss the situation with me for understandable HR reasons.

Add that stress on to the national / global doom written on the wall for political reality and history and life as we know it, and then there are Oppression Olympics competitors yelling at us that we're privileged , spoiled brats if we're upset because THEY have been marginalized worse than us and THEY aren't fazed or distressed because they are so morally superior to us BABIES who are apparently new here....

Blah blah blah

Anyway. I would very much like to get rid of this stress response in my digestive system so I can eat normal food.

[punishing-eden]

Yours Truly, Your Senior...

Human Au

Langston Smith (Human! Chrome) x Reader

Summary:

Whatever the cost maybe, you cannot fail. Perfection is a must, even if you don't have the ability to achieve it, he will do it for you. Because, he's truly your senior.

Tags: Canon divergent, age change (Chrome is 25), Human Au, reader is still a student in F. O. S Military Command College, Bullying to some extent.

Dear Candidates of F.O.S,

Do you feel stressed from your studies? Unmotivated and losing spirits as your final years are approaching? Or you need help in getting through the semesters?

We are happy to announce the F.O.S is hosting an Alumni Seminar for this semester to offer insight and help with our student’s worries. We have invited top graduated alumnus of great esteem to be role models for our candidates.

Esteemed guests:

Commandant Viktor of Babylonia

Dr Marsha of Babylonia Engineering Team

Commandant Langston Smith of Strike Hawk

We are very grateful to have our guest to help lead our candidates towards a brighter future.

There are limited seats for the event, please RSVP at the administration office for a seat.

Hope to see you there!

-Student Council Team

********************************************

Dear Commandant Smith,

We are very grateful for your attendance and participation in our annual Alumni Seminar. The feedback from our students in regards to your seminar was overly positive.

On behalf of the F.O.S body, I sincerely thank you for being the perfect role model for all of our students at the F.O.S. It was a pleasure and we would love to have you back again.

Most sincerely,

-XXXXXXXX

Dean of F.O.S Military Command College

********************************************

Feedback Fourm:

"The seminar is super helpful! I learned a lot from the alumnus. Hopefully, I can be a top graduate!"

-Candidate 1

"I am so excited to see the Commandant of Strike Hawk! He's so smart and cool! When I join Babylonia, I want to work with him!"

-Candidate 2

"Very informative seminar. Thanks to the alumnus' insight and tips, finals don't seems too daunting. Would attend again if Commandant of Strike Hawk is there again."

-Candidate 3

"The seminar is helpful in some way. I am grateful for the Student Council to host this event. However, I feel I could benefited more if the talks tackle about practical study advice to enhance our understanding of the learning material."

- [Y/n]

********************************************

Package delivery to: [Y/n]

Address: Domotriy no. 15, F.O.S Military Command College, XXXXXXXXXXXXXX,XXXXXXXXXXXXXX,XXXXXXXXXXXX

Parcel type: Documents/ Books

Sender: —

Return Address: —

Message:

I heard you have trouble with your studies. I would like to give this to you, something I also used during my time in F.O.S. Hopefully, it can bring you much help.

Yours Truly,

Your Senior

****************************************

Warning Letter!

Addressed to: Langston Smith

Reason: We have noticed your absences in our headquarters. Please request an On-Leave ticket before leaving Babylonia's premises.

****************************************

Library Check out log:

"Anatomy of the Human Brain" - check out time 10:43am, 20/xx/21xx, [y/n]

"Recreational M. I. N. D" - check out time 09:25am, 18/xx/21xx, [y/n]

"Bioengineering basics" - check out time 10:24am, 16/xx/21xx, [y/n]

"Art of war" - check out time 10:30am, 13/xx/21xx, [y/n]

- -

Lecture Hall no. 8 record:

20/xx/21xx: 11:00am- [Guest Card], [y/n]

18/xx/21xx: 11:00am - [Guest Card], [y/n]

16/xx/21xx: 11:00am - [Guest Card], [y/n]

13/xx/21xx: 11:00am - [Guest Card], [y/n]

- -

****************************************

EXAM SCORE BOARD [Sophmore]

1. [Y/N]

2. XXXXXX

3. XXXXXX

.......

****************************************

Comments:

'I hate the finals!' - Candidate 7

'The exam is too hard, who on earth can score a 4.79?! Must be cheating.' - Candidate 10

'Someone got a 4.79... I smell cheating.' - Candidate 34

'Having a rich family must be nice. Buy your way to the top, am I right?' - Candidate 54

>reply:'Really, they are that rich?'

>op reply: IDK, there has to be one explanation right?

'No. 1 = Cheater :)' - Candidate 5

****************************************

Dear Commandant Smith,

Your appeal has been approved.

After a thorough investigation, no violation of academic ingetriy was found. Therefore the case will be dismissed as you requested.

Best,

XXXXXXXXX

F. O. S Examination borad Director

****************************************

CASE REPORT:

Candidate no. XXXXXXXXX

Name: [Y/n]

Status: Third Year

Overall Score: 4.79

Comments:

-Display a massive improvement in academic work.

-Suspicions in Academic Integrity.

CASE RESOLVED

[Dismissed]

***************************************

Standing by a section in the library, you kept your head down as you read the content from the book in your hand. The small whispers behind you had caught your attention for quite some time now.

The gossip and jealous snickering followed you around since you entered your third year in F.O.S Military Command College. During last year’s exam season, your score ranking shot through the top, subsequently taking the spot of “Top Graduate”.

This surprised you greatly, your friends and family all were happy for you. At the same time, this resulted in the inevitable animosity and jealousy of a few classmates around you. Which, in your perspective, you don’t see the reason behind it, other than the rumored new Commandant and Construct team from Babylonia : Grey Raven. News spread through the college like wildfire, a position, that a lot of students in the F. O. S aspire to achieve.

An elite teams comes with an excellent candidate. One has to be perfect. Thus, all eyes were on you, the perfect candidate.

Yet, you are not.

You still make marginal errors. You still need help from time to time. You are just a human like everyone else.

One by one, you picked up the books from the shelves, and went to the automatic scanner to check the materials out. The library was a good place to study, but nowadays you couldn’t help but feel a little isolated by your peers.

However, being liked wasn’t your top priority right now. Your military training was soon coming to an end. After handing in your thesis, exam season came in full swing. It was test after test, and given the timetable of exams, there was a small gap between the lesser exams and the grand final.

Last week, there was a mock final. Much to your dismay, your score made you felt like you were falling short. Were you too proud of yourself? Did you not study enough? Or was you at your best during that day?

Others chose to take a break from the gap, you on the other hand, didn’t want to stop. You need to work harder. Walking out of the campus building, you made your way towards the lecture building, where in one of designated classrooms, your senior, an alumni of the F.O.S, Langston Smith was waiting.

His posture upright, his suit in pristine condition, Langston waited patiently for you to arrive at the designated time. From the window, he can see you jogging your way towards the lecture hall, carrying a number of books from the library. Without a word, he opened the door for you to rush in.

Entering the lecture hall, you tried to catch your breath. The books were hastily placed on one of the desks. It scattered out a little from the friction, and Langston peered over to see which books you got. Involuntarily, his lips curved a little upwards. His heart filled with happiness and pride. He was proud that you managed to get all the necessary study materials he told you to get.

“Just right on time.” He said with a cool yet gentle voice. His attitude should have remained stern, like the Great Commandant of Strike Hawk of Babylonia, Langston Smith. However, with you, he couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to be this cold and demanding Langston Smith.

He wanted to be the reliable, earnest and diligent alumni of perfection. With you, he is not Commandant Smith, nor is he the ‘pedigree’ Langston Smith. With you, he is Langston Smith, your senior.

Your senior, who wants the best for you and will do anything to make you perfect.

“So, shall we begin?” He asked.

You settle down and open your note taking device and other reading material. Diligently looking at your senior, you nodded.

---------------------------------------------------

Author's note:

Got ambitious with this one.

I just thought I it would be interesting to write human constructs.

(C) Punishing Eden

[broughtandborn]

I tell people that my grandma taught me to knit, but it's only kind of true. What really happened was that I was 15 and we were visiting my grandparents in rural Maine and my grandmother (a negative, self-absorbed person who is happiest when she's complaining) had absolutely no idea what to do with me now that I was no longer her "little angel" -- by which I mean my behavior hadn't changed and I was exactly the same person but now my hair was blue so she never called me that again -- so she planned to just spend the day watching talk shows. I was bored out of my mind so I asked if she would teach me to knit.

I don't think she had actually knit anything in several years at that point, and she is very much not a natural teacher, so what followed was a very frustrating several hours where she'd vaguely wave her hands with needles in them and go "see? Like that." Through sheer determination I managed to sort of pick up the knit stitch, and then we all went and had seafood for dinner.

After we got home from that trip, I decided I wanted to actually know how to knit, so I got a bunch of books from the library (this was 20+ years ago, YouTube didn't exist) and studied diagrams and tried and ripped back and tried again until I could sort of do it, and then kept practicing.

My grandparents are old now. They still live independently in rural Maine, although both of their sons have been trying for years to get them to move closer. They're stubborn New Englanders and won't, so their sons (and their wives) have been taking turns to go visit, more frequently as my grandpa starts to decline. My grandma sent some handknit sweaters for the grandkids last time my parents visited, but she'd bought them for a few dollars at a yard sale and they didn't fit anyone.

My parents are going up again to visit in a few weeks, and I'm sending a pair of handknit socks for my grandma, and I'll send a pair for my grandpa for Christmas. Knitting has brought me a lot of joy over the last few decades and it will being me happiness to send them as a thank you for that weird, stressful afternoon so long ago.

[pushingmylimit]

I'm still running, anywhere from 6 miles to 15 miles most days.

But to be honest, I've been a mess. I generally have a great deal of stress in my life most days, it goes with the territory of my profession and having kids... but this particular point in my life has proven especially difficult.

A few weeks ago I dropped my oldest son off at college. Even before he left, my heart felt ripped in two. My world is off its axis. It's no surprise that I've fallen into a functioning depression. I'm not super productive like usual, but passably so. It's been so long since I've been in a depression but I haven't forgotten how it works. I know that no amount of talking it through will help. It's not the time to pick up a new hobby. My body and mind physically reject all of that anyway. It's just a time thing. And I need to keep pushing through my day-to-day stuff and try to stay busy.

So I have been running, although some days I have to forcibly push myself out the front door, only to have some kind of anxiety attack while running, to the point where I have to give up and come home because I can't breathe. I still get out the next day and try it all over again.

Some have suggested I have some gummies or see the doctor for medication. No thanks. I am certain I can get this anxiety under control without supplements. And if I can't, I'm not so stubborn that I won't seek help. I just want to give my body and mind time to sort this out. I have faith in myself.

I went to the library the other day for a pick-me-up. It always amazes me how empty the libraries are. I mean, you can check out books for free. There is so much knowledge and creativity there, so many ideas... is that not intoxicating to you? Anyway, the picture shows part of my latest haul (yeah, only part haha).

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

[izzy-b-hands]

12, 15, 34, 46?

Ella!! Thank u for asking 🫂🫂❤️❤️

(also apologies i am stoned and wordy aksndkfgn)

12. Your favourite book

I have a few answers for this one, but narrowed it down to the one I'm saving up to buy a new copy of eventually: Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan.

It's fairly short, and the story subjects/setting are modern and mundane (or at least that's the critique i see leveled at it a lot, tho to me like. That's part of the punch of the entire book, but they can have their opinions, incorrect tho they may be lol), but like. the first time i read it, it just Did Something to me lmao. Part of it was the customer service experience thing, tho different industries (library at the time for me compared to restaurant in the book), and the experience in it of feeling like/having it confirmed that you, as an employee, are continually being handed more and more stress and responsibility for less reward, but you can't just drop it bc you like/tolerate your coworkers, and even on the days they piss you off, you want the best for them. And then the fallout of when a decision comes down from above your level that's shit for everyone, but you're left bearing the brunt of it from coworkers and customers alike. Very relatable, very realistically written to the point it almost makes you squirm.

The characters are all well written and realistic too; you wind up feeling like you could walk into this Lobster right now and talk to all these ppl irl, easily. That makes it just as hard at the ending to say goodbye tbh, and that's given it massive reread value for me (i think since i first read it end of HS I've since managed a reread every year to every other year. I actually accidentally packed away my copy when moving and it's been killing me not being able to do a reread rn, but i want to wait until i can have my own copy to keep again.)

Anyway i think most libraries should have it, and it's not a horribly expensive ebook, so if ur looking for a sign to read Last Night at the Lobster, this is it 🙌❤️🦞

15. Do you remember your last dream

Kind of? Tbh I passed out really hard earlier (still not sleeping amazingly with the back lol) and vaguely recall the weird, fever dreamish stuff my brain was throwing at me. That consisted of what i believe to be, ongoing all at once in the same room:

-a Tom Waits concert, with him holding but not playing an accordion

-a Bob Geldof interview, except it was Bob as he looked in the 90s

-a fire, which everyone who wasn't listening to Tom or Bob were attempting to put out by passing exactly one bucket back and forth to the inexplicable bar sink that sort of appeared and disappeared at will

Everything else was too much of a blur, but those bits really stuck out lmao 😂

34. Something old

I like this question, weirdly enough, bc I'm not one hundred percent sure how to answer it. It's vague, so i think I'm safe to interpret it kinda.. however?

(if i have that wrong tho do pls lemme know, I won't be offended and will re-answer this one if that's the case lol)

In terms of something old, I keep thinking abt my grandparents old house, even tho it's silly to do so (the thing has been sold for months now.)

Thing of it is, as of the last rare phone convo i had with my grandparents, it sounds like they really regret selling. The lack of stairs at the new place is better for their joints but like. They clearly miss the old one, the unique things that made it theirs and familiar.

Grandpa in particular mentioned a few things specific to the house that he misses, but the one that took me out was abt a bit of painted wood in the front doorway. When i was like. 6? 7? old enough to know better but still stupid enough to do it, i wrote my (dead) name on that bit of doorway, in pencil. For whatever reason, they couldn't ever get it to erase much at all, and never painted over it despite talking abt it a lot (they were soooo pissed at me the day i did it and the months after lmao), so it was still there when they sold the house.

And Grandpa tells me he wishes he would have bought some wood scraps, torn out just that bit of the doorway, and then fixed it and repainted it. Says he would have had someone reframe the whole door if needed. He even has a little shelf where he's been putting grandkid related knick knacks, that he'd put it on, apparently.

Couldn't tell him bc emotions and being that vulnerable are difficult for him, so i never want to push when he's opening up to me like that, but goddamn if he didn't make me cry with that, and i wanted to tell him how sweet it was, and that i miss the house too.

I miss that whenever Housemate and i make it back to visit ND, i won't be able to show aer the house i basically grew up in. I won't be able to show off the shed my grandpa built, say hi to Sally (mum's passed on cat from years ago, buried in the backyard with her name carved by grandpa into the wood barrier between the rock/gravel area and the bottom of the shed), lay in the backyard together under the huge tree while we snack and sip drinks (bc grandma doesn't let anyone leave the house without being fed if she can help it.) I won't get to show that spot by the front door, or show all the other million little quirky things that made the house so lovely.

If i have my way, age of the house and my own age at the time be damned, whenever I've made enough money to do it and have plenty left over, I'd love to buy the house myself. Not to live in all the time (jfc absolutely NOT i love the house but not ND lol), but to have for like. Maybe summer trips? there's enough room we could pick up friends in the area and have them come stay in the house too, tbh. I don't like the idea of it sitting empty whenever i wouldn't be there, so maybe I'd offer it to the cousins rent free to share? Take turns staying there, maybe help grandma and grandpa back to see it now and again. Idk. I just always dreamed of buying the dang thing, even if i never wanted to permanently stay in ND (and still v much do not want that, I like CT far better.)

46. Are you excited for anything

A few things rn! Housemate helped me save up enough and is going with me to see Avatar this month, and it'll be my first full show of theirs, and Housemate's first time seeing them at all!! (my first time seeing them they were just opening for Trivium lmao, so it was amazing!! but a bit of a cut down set list/overall thing, u know? didn't stay for Trivium's entire set but they were lovely too!)

We've also got several little weekend trips partially planned out: Mystic, a local flea market, a couple different beaches, getting up to York and over to Newport, plus maybe the big E and the ren faire in the fall!! I don't know if we'll manage all of it over the next few months, but I'm excited for whatever we get to!

Apologies I'm quite toasty so I'm feeling overwhelming positive for once, so i do have more! I sent a job app in to an OD office in the local costco, for a fairly chill seeming reception role, and I'm really hoping they'll want me. It seems a small enough office to be calmer than my old one, and that it's OD only and not an MD/OD office makes me feel a lot better abt it too (eye surgeons are amazing, they can do amazing wonderful things, i am grateful for them all. however. im also 97% sure 5 out of the 10 i know personally could hit me with their car and not blink, the god complex thing some surgeons have gets SO amped with this speciality in my experience, it's WILD, but I digress.)

My back is slowly getting better too (tho I've been humbled again the last few days in the nights and early mornings, it's still very angry at those times), so I'm also just looking forward to like. Being able to move more again. Standing up to do the dishes without my back spasming. Maybe even leaving the house again and doing one of the fun things noted above, tho i know i shouldn't rush it or my back will humble me again without a second thought lmaoooo 😅)

[katatedge1]

Hello ! If it's fine to you could you please write a platonic Poe taking a young friend (13-15 y.o) reader to his library ? With Karl because i love raccoon

Tell me if i had to be more specfic

You don't need to be more specific! The request you made was just enough! Hope you enjoy!!❤️❤️ although I'm not sure what type of personality you want for reader, so I'll just make them energetic

Reading is stress relief, You know?

Poe x Reader (Platonic)

Poe was not the extroverted type, especially around kids or people that are younger than him.

But you were different, he wasn't ashamed to talk to you about his new novels that he was planning on giving to ranpo, you always cheered him up when he was at his lowest, a.k.a not having any motivation to write.

Today he wanted to get some inspiration at a library, since you always caught up with him, he decided he can go with you, he saw you as a little Sibling, of course he would take you everywhere, for your safety, and also so that you can give him moral support when he has to talk to someone.

"Uhh,Y/N?"

"Yeahh??"

"D-Do you mind going to library with me and Karl? I totally u-understand if you can't!"

You raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he thinks you wouldn't be able to, Of course, you always had free time on your hands, well not always but you get the point

"Of course! I have so much free time, I'm getting bored, it's finally time to do something!"

Karl jumped on your shoulder, trying to recognize, he immediately recognised you by your smell, and laid on your shoulders.

"Let's go then!"

"A-alright.." Poe stuttered at the sudden energetic outburst from you, of course it was normal from someone like you, but it still surprises him.

The two of you finally arrived at the library, keeping quiet since these ARE the rules of every library around the world.

"This library is beatiful isn't it?" You whispered into his ear in a child like tone, for example, a child in a candy store.

"Of course I got here regularly.." he whispered back, wanting to keep quiet so he doesn't get told off by the librarian.

"Soo why are we here??" You whispered again, as you two started walking further into the library, Poe looked REALLY focused looking at the shelves full of books, he was currently looking at mystery novels.

"O-Oh, well I just needed inspiration for a new mystery novel I'm writing for Ranpo.."

"Hmmm, how about these series of Novels? They are probably the hardest to solve."

You got four books, all about the same size, as you put them on a table. Looking proud a always of your new founding.

"I have never seen these series, do you think it will work?"

"Well, Ranpo is the best Detective on the world, but it may get him a bit stuck, we can borrow these books from here and read them at home."

Poe nodded as you walk to the librarian, signing all the things so that you can get books.

You both walk out of the library, ready to start reading when you get home.

Reposts are always appreciated!

[the-untamed-mind-pdf]

Queer rep in Indian media

I want to talk about queer representation here. I will start with my introduction to queer media. My first introduction to queer people in India would be the newspaper coverages of Pride marches in big cities. When section 377 was decriminalised in 2018, I had never given thoughts to my sexuality. Being an avid book reader, sometimes books with queer characters would accidently reach my hand. I say accidently because my primary source of books before Covid was my school library. Not a great place to find queer books. I had never liked Bollywood movies because of their blatant sexism, and my love for Bollywood songs  was fading. So when I found myself questioning my sexuality, I had to specifically look up queer media on youtube and chrome. That was in 2020.

In the summer of 2023, I discovered the gold mine/hell-hole of BL webtoons. I don’t remember my first BL webtoon. Was it Hearstopper? Its creator Alice Oseman will say it’s not BL (more on that later). What I do remember is binging on BL webtoons day and night for many days, until I started feeling guilty of consuming mostly BL in the name of queer stories, and that too mostly the ones written by women. So I actively searched for GL webtoons, and found them, but sadly not as many as BLs. And to top it, they storyline in many of them weren’t great either. GLs were lacking a lot in both quantity and quality as compared to BLs. But I didn’t break my resolve and started watching anime for the first time. I watched Bloom Into You, a GL, and Yuri on Ice, a BL. Then I started watching Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF), and god knows I still haven’t recovered from it. I read the whole book series in 4 days, and wanted to read more MXTX novels but put off reading them because I knew I would be gone for if her other works were half as interesting as TGCF. A year later I finally gave in and read Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS). And then I started watching The Untamed. The boon and bane of my existence right now.

My exams were also going on, which meant added stress. But there were nights I cried myself to sleep after watching youtube shorts of The Untamed. There were so many questions I asked myself while watching those 10-15 second videos. How come the Chinese have censorship, but they get to make and see such a great series with queer characters and the actors are also famous ones? In case anybody mistakes it for jealousy, I want to clarify that what I felt was anger and frustration. Why don’t we have such a series in India? Why don’t we have mainstream actors playing queer characters? Why don’t we have a good queer series or movie? So much heterosexual and sexist garbage gets passed by the Indian film censorship board but no one dares to make what is actually needed. I know there are some movies produced in recent times which don’t depict queer people as a joke, but why are there only a handful of them?

In India we have so many mythological tales relating to queerness, we have queer Gods and Goddesses, we have trans Deities, we have ancient temples dedicated to love depicting non heterosexual relationships, we have queer characters in our great epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. But very few poeople are ready to talk about it.

I hope this changes one day, and one day soon.

I had wanted to talk about many other things but they will have to wait for another day I guess.

P.S. I feel this piece was over a lot of places. I will learn to structure it better if there is a next time.

[oncexinxmyxdreams]

Encanto OC Event Week 1: Francisca Cordova

Moodboard for Francisca ♟️

(Major spoilers for Miracles Come in Pairs, but I can't hold them back anymore.😅 )

Full Name: Francisca Valencia Salazar Cordova.

DOB: May 24th, 1920.

POB: Villavicencio, Colombia.

Likes/Hobbies: Books, coffee, chess, organizing, piano and solving mind games.

Dislikes: Social interactions, overly emotional people, migraines, vomiting and concepts she can’t understand. Always annoyed when Alejandra’s mice get in her stuff. Also dislikes avocados due to a bad experience.

MBTI: INTJ

Height: 5'7"

Hair Color/Style: Black hair, shaggy pixie cut. Partially covers her ears. Has natural curls which are Type 3C. It used to be past her shoulders, but she cut it too short and it's growing out.

Eye color: Forest green with warm brown encircling the pupils. She has central heterochromia.

Sexual Orientation: Asexual/Aromantic.

Voice: Natalia Reyes.

Positive Traits:  Intelligent, logical, confident, astute, faithful and caring.

Negative Traits: Insensitive, combative, judgmental and arrogant.

Habits: She's done her best to avoid smoking because she did it often as a teen. She only has a cigarette now and then if stressed.

Talents: Sharp memory, keen eye for detail and sketching. Can imitate voices well and skilled with piano. Linguist.

Pets:  A brown cat named Litzy. Francisca rescued her from drowning and nursed her to health. Litzy was only a couple weeks old then. Francisca wanted to sell her since she didn't care for another pet. (Alejandra's got her mice and steeds.) However, when she had a bad migraine, Litzy snuggled against her and somehow made brought comfort. Litzy stayed ever since. Not necessarily a pet but also has a mule for travel named Vendaval. She trusts him more than Alejandra's horse and he's bigger than a common mule.

Favorite Food: She'd say coffee, but she likes Almojábana or Arepa Boyacanese.

Career: The town doctor's assistant.

Family: Fraternal twin to Alejandra. (Francisca's the firstborn by 15 minutes.) Only close to her mom Mercedes Reyes and never was with her dad Pablo Salazar. Had her maternal grandma, Perla, not died when she was little, she'd have another close family member. Honestly, don't bother asking her about her other family. She has no interest in them.

Backstory: Despite seeming a little slow with learning to crawl and walk, Francisca became an intelligent child. She learned to read on her own and play chess. She quickly learned piano and understood mathematics. It wasn't really appreciated. Francisca was (and still is) antisocial. She's never been good with interactions. She can be arrogant and even sardonic. Pablo tried to bond with her, but always found it difficult. Honestly, he tried doing things a normal child would like, not see what his daughter enjoyed. Most of her family thought she was too strange and unpleasant. That and she as she grew older, she wasn't afraid to call out...um, BS... when she saw it. This made her the black sheep. Family would say that despite being smart, she was heartless. Anyone who knew the family saw her that way. There was gossip. The only ones Francisca gets along with best is Mercedes and her own twin Alejandra. They never saw her as a problem. 

Francisca started getting migraines at 5 years old. Her family figured it was genetic. Mercedes's father was reported to have these often. It included the symptoms of light sensitivity, nausea and vomiting. Even with the pain, Francisca's never been afraid of a hard day's work. She's never been intimidated by learning and built up so much knowledge which has helped her. Work smart and work hard.

After her parents' separation and living in Cali, near the rural parts, she was a farm hand tending big fields. She spent any free time at the libraries learning about languages and science. She researched every medical book she could find to cure Malaria while Mercedes was slowly dying. Only 15, Francisca was heartbroken losing her dear mother and concerned for the future. She couldn't let grief and worry overcome. They needed someone to lead and provide. She'd do it. Having to survive on their own and being fired over her behaviors, Francisca found herself desperate. She used her wits as a con artist. She could talk her way out of anything when she analyzed a person's weakness. She had developed no qualms of breaking up relationships, sowing distrust etc. You do what you have to do right?

She was noticed by a group of brothers who were impressed and offered to let her join their con artist team. It worked for a couple years, until things went awry, and they offered a deal Francisca despised. It was asking for Alejandra to spend a night with one of the brothers even if it meant by force. Francisca refused and threatened even when they threatened her. They wouldn't take no for an answer. Francisca managed to trick them into getting arrested. One of them was killed in a fight. Though she didn't kill him, Francisca was arrested. She reassured Alejandra she'd get out soon by convincing the courts. Her confidence got the best of her. 

Francisca wasn't able to fool anyone, and she was angry her tactics failed. AOn top of it all, she became terribly ill in prison and grew frail. What ailed her, the prison didn't know and sent her off to another place. She was in a whirl of nonstop pain as her migraines grew worse: the worst pain of her life. Alejandra wasn't allowed to visit or even told the new location! It was a minister who stepped in and helped her slowly recover. He believed her story and encouraged her to find a new calling than tricking others. It took a long time, but they finally got Francisca free. She was overcome with joy to reunite with her twin. Those 6 months was the longest time they'd ever been apart.

Now to the movie's timeline. Some things haven't changed for Francisca now that she's 30. Migraines still persist, she can still be insensitive to others, but she still lives with Alejandra. Francisca continues working hard but found her new calling as the town doctor's assistant. Impressed by her medical knowledge, he offered the job, and she gained many experiences. She's helped save lives, deliver babies and fix broken bones. It doesn't change the town's opinion of her. She's been nicknamed, the Green-Eyed Viper, Heartless and Perra. They'll joke about her. "You know where Francisca Cordova will go when she dies? Nowhere. She's soulless!" "Ay Cordova, have you sold your soul? Oh wait. You couldn't have! You never had one!"

Francisca knows all of that but doesn't let it get to her. She won't let anything get to her. Not even a magical place with a sentient house and people with powers! Not even an old friend of her mom who just may understand her so well!

@encanto-extended-edition

[scattered-winter]

I JUST REAliZed ThEre ARE QUESTIONS IN THE THING I CAN ASK YOU HERE GO HAM

13, 15, 27, 39 <3

YAY YIPPIE

13. What is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you write about? What is easy?

so thing about me is fiction/writing is my way to explore things. right. i write whump because those thoughts and feelings are fascinating to think about and explore in a context where nobody is actually getting hurt. but there are a few things that i don't really like writing about because they hit a little too close to home yk. don't wanna go exploring shit i've already lived through bc i know what that shit feels like and it sucked. so stuff like terminal illness, bad car accidents, suicide stuff, and religious cults (i'll happily write something Similar to a cult like w adam in the werewolf au, but bring religion into the mix and its a no from me). and rape/noncon. i'd write most of these under the right circumstances (like shiro's illness in qs) but Overall its usually a no and something that's always been easy for me to write about is found family! i feel like it just comes to mind easily and its also very fun to write

15. Do you write in the margins of your books? Dog-ear your pages? Read in the bath? Why or why not? Do you judge people who do these things? Can we still be friends?

i write in the margins of books sometimes! only if i own them ofc but for a while i was working on annotating my copies of the six of crows duology. that was fun i should pick that back up tbh. i generally don't dog ear pages just bc i dont like how the pages lay when they have a crease in them, but i'll do it if i don't have a bookmark around. and i literally don't care what people do with their books like. if someone's defacing library books i have a problem with that but if they own them????? WHO GIVE A SHIT and funny story i've actually dropped books in the bathtub before when i was younger. needless to say i do not read in the tub anymore because someone as uncoordinated as me should not be doing shit like that

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

qs is on the mind so tbh probably shiro. i feel like his whole character got completely steamrolled (maybe even more so than some of the others) and i want so badly to do him justice that it stresses me out lmfao. outside of qs its literally fine its just when im trying to fix an unfixable show LMAO

39. What keeps you writing when you feel like giving up?

i think just. interacting with friends and commenters who remind me why i started sharing my writing with people in the first place. the community of it all yk. i've been writing since i can remember but the MOST fun i've ever had with it has been when i'm sharing it with people and they're giving feedback on it or yes and-ing with someone in dms. genuinely one of the best things ever im so fr

writer ask game

[pbandjesse]

I really worked myself up last night about anxiety and I knew it was going to be for no reason and I knew everything would be fine but that still did not stop me from being incredibly anxious today. And obviously today was great. And a wonderful time. And I even let myself just be a couch potato for a few hours this afternoon. It was a really nice day.

I slept okay last night. I went to bed really late. Like 2:00 a.m. And I woke up at 9:00. And I felt pretty good. I got up but it did take me a little while. And I got washed I got dressed and I felt really cute and I was in a really good mood even if I was still worried about the day and my plans. The goal was to leave the house around 10:15 to meet Meghan for brunch. And I had to open up all the curtains and check on all the animals. I fed sweet pea. I had a Rice krispie and a little soda and things were good. I made sure I grabbed my art with a heart apron before I left and it was a beautiful day so even though it was chilly it was really nice out.

I got over to Hamden at 10:25 and I found a parking space really close to where we were going so that was great. I beat Megan there by a couple minutes because she literally lives two blocks away so she hadn't left quite yet. So I waited inside the very cute cafe for an open set of seats and once there was some I grabbed them for us and she came in a minute later.

While I was waiting the less than 5 minutes that I was there I read over the menu and I decided to get their avocado toast with a paprika egg. And it was a little pricey but like not crazy. It was like restaurant prices but I was prepared. And I got a strawberry lemonade. She got a sandwich and an iced coffee. And we went to sit down.

And it was so nice talking to her. She has ADHD in a very similar way that I probably have ADHD. And we were just ripping and talking about everything and I was telling her all about last night and cutting the legs off the sofa. And just laughing and talking about institutional issues with nonprofits and how they all seem to have the same problems. And job stuff and just gossip and she's just really fun. She's a really good person.

We were eating and talking and just enjoying the company until a little after 11:00 when we were like we should probably give up this table. And so we dipped out and our tables were snatched up right away.

It was nice enough that we decided to walk around Hamden. We went up and down the block and went in a couple vintage shops and just enjoyed talking and telling stories and looking at things. I love walking around Hamden because there's always excellent stickers on everything. And we had some very good laughs over some of those. It was just really nice.

Once we had gone around most of the block she has to if I wanted to go on a tour of the free libraries at her neighborhood. The little tiny boxes were people leave books. And while I didn't find anything that I wanted it was really fun to just kind of have that goal and we walked around for about a half an hour just looking in the boxes and I told her a story about a con man and she told me a story and it was just a lot of fun. I'm really glad that we were able to make that happen. Even if I was a very stressed about it beforehand.

I even told her that I was stressed about it and I told her it was just because I have been so busy and I have made myself very anxious over nothing. Even over things that I enjoy doing. We just haven't had much time that was unstructured I guess. Which has been hard. But I'm doing my best and I'm really glad that we made time today.

It was almost 12:15 when we said goodbye. And I went back to my car. And I was parked so well because I just was able to drive down the street around the corner and I was at art with a heart. Didn't even have to get back on the highway. And I was very pleased to see that the parking lot is finally fixed so I did not have to park on the hill. And I unlocked the lockbox and I got inside.

I was nervous. I was nervous how I was going to explain to everyone while I why I wasn't teaching the class and was nervous to hear how the new teacher is leading the class. Because obviously she's not going to do it the same way that I do it and I'm afraid that a more neurotypical person isn't going to understand the needs of the class and I had just been vibing with them for so long that I don't know I was just really worried.

And of course none of them knew I was coming. Even the bas leader was not aware that I was going to be there. Apparently at the very last class last semester they had written thank you cards for me and she's like oh if I knew you're going to be here I would have brought them. But instead she's going to mail them to her house and I really appreciate that. And then I got to see Naomi and she's as much of a goofball as always. And we just talked and caught up and it was so nice. And then our students start coming in and it was mostly people I already knew. There was like two new ones and everyone was big smiles. And asking why I wasn't with them and wondering what was going on and how I was and it was just really nice and I told them I would definitely do my best to come back in the fall because I really missed being with them and it was just a really really nice day.

We were doing watercolor paintings and I read through the description of the artist and it talked about the art of killing himself so I left that part out. And just talked about making pictures that tell stories about your favorite places and they really seem to like that so I just continued on what that conversation and just got them rolling and overall it went great. The only real issue we had was in the second hour when the adults came in and one of them was really upset that the clay pieces they apparently have been working on for the last 2 weeks we're not done being fired yet and there's literally nothing I can do about it except for make a fuss in the email because some of them were particularly upset because like they don't deal well with change and giving up their art and I totally get it but I think awah needs to be a little bit more specific about what they're giving this group. Wordly setting up the expectations about getting pieces back. I don't know if this group should really be doing things that have to be taken away or done over multiple weeks. But I was able to diffuse some situations and everything was fine in the end and I really had a wonderful time. Me and Naomi would work on our own watercolors while everyone was set and working and I had some nice conversations with people and it was just really good. I felt really happy.

I was getting tired about by the end and very hungry. Even though I had had a very excellent brunch I think just the teaching for a few hours just kind of took it out of me and I decided I would go over to the rotunda and get something to eat.

So after I said goodbye to everyone and I locked down the building I sat in my car for a few minutes and wrote up my little report for the class and then I drove to get my food.

James had texted me and they were going to be going golfing today. Last night they got very drunk with their friends and I got some very funny texts about them missing me and apparently James also called Evan and left a very sweet but very drunk voicemail. And I really want to hear it. So that was very funny and I'm just glad that everyone seems to be having a really good time out there and I get to have my husband back tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to hearing all about their trip.

But right at the end of class as I was like getting ready to go James texted me that Will wanted to come over and for some reason I just absolutely could not deal with that. I was so stressed out all of a sudden and I think it was because it was like I was getting a task all of a sudden when I thought I was finally done my tasks and that just really made me upset but James was like no no I will handle that it was Will don't worry do go to your thing. I really appreciated that. Because I don't know why it sent me off but I just could not deal.

I got over the rotunda though and I got a parking space right away. Excellent. And I went to mod Pizza and they put too much garlic on the pizza but it was still good. And I had a new podcast to listen to. Creepcast put a new episode out so I was really enjoying that. And when I was done it was time to go home.

When I got back here I parked on the correct side so I don't have to worry about moving it in the morning. Even though I'm still convinced I didn't park on the correct side but I double checked right now and I am. And then I put some stuff away and made outfits for the week. And then I tried to play a video game but the one I wanted wasn't download on the switch and I didn't know which one to remove so I just didn't play much. Like I turned on stardew Valley but then it wasn't feeling it. I had bought a little cupcake so I was eating a cupcake and then I just decided I was going to lay on the couch. And that is what I did. For like multiple hours I just laid on the couch and I watched videos and I scroll down Tumblr and I watch TikToks and just let myself let the sun go down around me.

I was texting Jess a lot too. She was on a date today and I hope that she had fun. I think it's hard when dates don't live up to like what people think butterflies are in media but I hope that she still had a good time and even if it doesn't work out maybe she made a friend.

eventually the sun would go down and I would have to get up again. I had already fed sweet pea but I made sure I fed everybody else and then I would finally put away the tools on the table in my studio. Well I didn't put all of them away I did put the box of tools downstairs and I will either sort that tomorrow or get James to help me. I mostly didn't want to do it because we don't have a light bulb on that side of the basement and it's dark. It's not like dark dark but it's not good to see in. So I will get a light bulb soon. And then I spend a little time fixing the table because part of the piece that holds up the leg when it's open was missing. But I didn't do it exactly correct. So I'll have to do that again but at least it is usable right now.

And once that was done I had a snack and I put the dishes away and loaded the dishwasher again and then I came upstairs to wash my hair.

I know I'm just sitting at my desk and texting James. Apparently they just finished the game and it went okay for not really ever golfing before. And I'm going to go blow dry my hair and probably get in bed and just relax for the evening.

James comes home tomorrow. But not till the afternoon so I'm hoping to spend the day just kind of having a good time maybe going to get some materials maybe not. Maybe I'll clean. Not that the house is particularly dirty but I just feel like it needs to be vacuumed all the time. The carpet kills me. But it's fine. And then I will pick up James and maybe we'll go have a late lunch and they can tell me all about their trip. It won't be so nice to have them home.

I hope you all have an excellent night. Take care of yourself and take care of each other. Until next time.

[lucero-is-here]

Headcanons: mandy Pregodich

Requested by:

I don’t know much about this lovely lady…but let’s go.

1 - most of her outfits are have floral prints. Usually pairs them with jeans or some skirts.

2 - her hair is really smooth- like it’s silky smooth and it’s easy to brush through.

3 - she can somehow sleep really still? She barely moves on her sleep- which is impressive.

4 - her favourite colour is peach.

5 - she paints in her freetime. It’s usually landscapes or flowers.

6 - introverted, she doesn’t really like people that much.

7 - she gardens. She plants roses of all colours, and really likes them too.

8 - she has a succulent in her bedroom. She likes succulents due to how easy they are to care for. Although she loves her roses she has to admit caring for them gets tedious at times.

9 - she isn’t a fan of nail polish. She hates how it can be so hard to clean off sometimes.

10 - she’s barely home. She’s usually outside at work, but when she has freetime she rarely stays at home to. She’s always outside whether she’s at the park or the library.

11 - she has tried dry pressing flowers before, in hopes of making them last as long as possible. She dry pressed some flower petals and turned them into a bookmark. She quite likes them.

12 - she has a fake rose lamp she made herself. She was inspired from “beauty and the beast”, and tried it out. She had a lot of fun making the lamp.

13 - she braids her hair sometimes. Aside from letting her hair down, she also braids her hair. She looks good with braids so, it’s a win.

14 - she reads a lot. She has read about how to dry press flowers, how to colk, how to take care of plants…But aside from those, she also reads novels, though she prefers audio books compared to reading novels sometimes, since she can listen to them on her way to work.

15 - gets a minimum of 6 hours of sleep everyday.

16 - keeps her nails short since it’s more convenient and comfortable for her.

17 - she has those earrings that you clip them on, since she doesn’t have piercings, but she still wants to wear earrings. Her favourite pair of clip on earrings are these small, pink rose earrings she wears a lot.

18 - wakes up really early whether it’s a weekday or weekend. She usually wakes up at 6-8am daily. Even if she has a day off or free time in the morning, she rarely sleeps in.

19 - has eye bags but they aren’t really dark, and usually covers them with makeup.

20 - she used to learn how to play the flute. She still has a flute and occasionally practices, but she isn’t learning how to play the flute anymore.

21 - she’s good at wrapping gifts/presents. She knows how to tie ribbons really well, and if you get a present from her it’s going to be really well wrapped.

22 - she likes eating peaches. Like how she likes the colour peach, she also enjoys the fruit. Sometimes she even makes fruit tarts with peaches in them.

23 - yoga. She does yoga sometimes change my mind.

24 - can stay really calm and collected in stressful situations. She can cope well under pressure and it doesn’t affect how she works.

25 - earphones over headphones. She thinks headphones are bulk, and find earphones easier to carry around.

26 - her workspace is always really neat. Books she has are organised in alphabetical order, and she rarely makes any kind of mess. And if she does, she usually cleans it as quickly as possible.

27 - overachiever. Tries to achieve the best of the best in everything, and is really competitive.

28 - she is really good at debating with people. She usually knows a lot of points, and can easily win a debate if she wanted too. Unless you find a way to convince her otherwise, you are almost guaranteed going to loose a debate with her.

29 - she has a pair of reading glasses at home. Does she always need them? No. Does she need them sometimes? Yeah. She usually brings them to work as well.

30 - she has a journal with her schedule for the day planned out fully and packed with notes. She follows this accordingly unless anything comes up and disrupts her schedule, and she’ll act accordingly.

That’s all I can think of. If I think of anymore I’ll make a second post.

[archesa]

have anwen and/or galaed for the ask game, if you’d like! :D (and hope you feel better soon! <3) @kerra-and-company

Thank you 🥰 It's already better than this morning but i'm not out of the woods yet 😅

Anwen, my beloved:

01. Full name: Vicountess Anwen Evergreen (if Snargle is to be believed, Faren would be a Duke... Anwen's bloodline is nowhere as prominent and influent as the Farens but her parents did bestow upon her a title – mostly honorific – to go with her estate in the Reach)

02. Best friend: Meryw 🌲💙 (though one could argue that Meryw is her sister and Canach is her best friend 😅)

03. Sexuality: Quarterly bi! (courtesy of @lilypixy) Demi but so slow to work out her attraction that she only gets half of that label 🤣 !

04. Favorite color : Sapphire blue

05. Relationship status: Taken (by Trahearne)

06. Ideal mate: clever, thoughtful, gentle, supportive... Trahearne.

07. Turn-ons: Neck kisses, being swept off her feet

08. Favorite food: Orrian truffle risotto, New Kaineng Noodles (the extra spicy ones), white chocolate and raspberry cake 🍰

09. Crushes: Sieran, Trahearne (insert 'not sure if' meme : not sure if bi, pan, or just really into sylvari)

10. Favorite music: Balade, sung poems and festive music (she particularly loves the bell choirs of Wintersday because the crystalline sounds remind her of Aurene)

11. Biggest fear: "That one day through my actions I'd condemn someone to suffer in agony." - Her worst fear comes true both with Apatia and Trahearne. In a broader sense, she's terrified of failing to protect her loved ones, of outliving them...

12. Biggest fantasy: The dragon cycle has ended, Aurene is happy and at peace, her friends and family are safe from all harm and she's living her life alongside with her loved ones. There's a library with more books, scrolls and tablets that could be read in a dozen lifetimes, and the more they read the more volumes appear. Running out of time is not something either of them has to worry about, though. There's a garden that needs tending, and a plum tree with a blanket underneath and fairy lights in it, and always a glass of wine or a cup of tea at hand. — a little sneak peek of their "after" 😌

13. Bad habits: Takes more than she can shoulder and hides it till she breaks ; inadvertently ghosts people because she has time blindness and picks up relationships where they left out

14. Biggest regret: Being unable to save Sieran and Blish... there were other deaths she wish she could go back in time and do things differently to avert, but none feel more unfair than these two..

15. Best kept secrets: A generous and totally anonymous donation she made to the Shining Blade, in hope to commute some of a certain sylvari's service time.

16. Last thought: as in... her last thought, or the last thought I had about her? For the latter I was wondering which Aurene legendary to give her before the new content drops... whether to finish Aurene's Insight – that I could use on a LOT of my characters – or finish the shield or get her the greatsword... I love her wielding Caladbolg and I don't want that to change but a branded Caladbolg would be... somewhat bittersweetly fitting. I don't really know how to explain 😅

17. Worst romantic experience: The amount of stress she was under when she realised she was in love with Trahearne, the fear of losing him and the dark relief she felt when the many deaths they encountered were, at least, not his.

18. Biggest insecurity: She wonders if she could have done more to protect Aurene from the crushing weight of her destiny... to buy her some time, some peace, some safety...

19. Weapon of choice: Greatsword and shield

20. Role Model: The people she loves have shaped her throughout her life and keep shaping her as she journeys forth. Violet and Conrad Faren, with their kind heart and sharp spirits ; the memory of her parents, a legacy she wanted to honour ; Logan Thackeray, with all the dumb courage and chaotic energy of a golden retriever; Sieran, for her unbridled joy in discovery and for being the first person Anwen could really infodump to without seeming to tire her; Meryw, for the constance of her heart, the brilliance of her mind and the valiance of her soul ; Trahearne, for his openness, his dedication and the brightness of his hope.

Both @dumb-dumb-mander and you requested some insight on Galaëd so I'll make an Autumn Birch centric post tomorrow and tag you both, if that's okay 🥰🍂 gonna hit the hay, now!

[daydreamerdrew]

3, 8, 12, 15!!❣️

3. Any poetry on your TBR?

Oh gosh, my poetry reading is always so random and inconsistent. I should probably make it a goal in 2023 to read more poetry.

The poetry books that I currently have checked out from the library are:

Crush by Richard Siken

The Deleted World by Tomas Tranströmer

Later Poems: Selected and New, 1971-2012 by Adrienne Rich

Too Bright to See by Linda Gregg

Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest by David Guterson

The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded by Molly McCully Brown

I’m not committed to fully reading all of these, but I plan on going through them and either reading them or returning them to the library in January so that I can slim down my pile of checked out library books.

8. Are there any reading challenges you want to try?

I’ve found in the past that setting a goal of reading a certain high amount of books in a year has made me read less. I felt less productive when reading things that wouldn’t count for it like short stories and articles and discouraged when I spent a lot of time reading a long book or multiple books at the same time but the number of books I’d read wasn’t going up to reflect that effort.

However, I’m not really happy with the amount of books that I’m reading now. It would be one thing if I just wasn’t that interested but there are a lot of books that I genuinely want to read and think I would enjoy. I think part of the issue is that I don’t have a structure like my weekly round-ups for the comics I read that helps me schedule reading books into my daily life. Posting a list of the books I’ve read every month isn’t enough to fulfill that role apparently.

So I’m thinking of setting the goal of reading at least 1 book a week in 2023 for a total of at least 52 books.

12. What's your 2023 stance on rating/reviewing books?

I really don’t like rating books or comics with a number. It’s not how I think about them as I’m reading them and then it feels weird to try to fit my experience into that format afterwards.

I’m pretty happy with the format of my weekly comics round-ups for now. I do feel that they’ve become ‘better’ over time as I’ve been consistently writing them and I’m satisfied with how that process is going. With those I’m just going to continue as I’ve been doing and let the writing of them and how they function as reviews get stronger with practice without stressing about it.

But for books, I haven’t really talked about my responses to what I read on here, partially because I don’t feel as confident in those thoughts and I guess also because I don’t always have something to say like I do with comics. But improvement comes with practice so I do think it’ll be good for me to talk about books a little more on here, though this will likely always be a prominently comics-focused blog.

15. Any other reading you'll do in 2023 that you want to recommend to folks? Newspapers, substack, favorite blog, etc?

I want to read to read more comics in 2023 and I want to read more books in 2023 and part of that is that I want to read more books about comics in 2023. I’ve actually got a long list of books about comics to work through cause I checked and my library system has a lot of cool-looking stuff. But another thing is that I want to take the dive into magazines about comics too.

I never actually finished reading Fawcett Companion: The Best of the FCA edited by P.C. Hamerlinck so that’s also a goal for January. And once I’m done with that I want to start going through the FCA sections of Alter Ego (1999) and see what interesting stuff is in there and then while I’m doing that I’ll also be checking out the rest of the issue and see if there’s anything else that’s relevant to me. I’m not really sure if there’s a way to search for which issues of Alter Ego (1999) and Back Issue! (2003) discuss certain characters or creators so just starting from issue #1 and going from there is the strat for now.

I also plan on reading through Alter Ego (1961) #1-10 all the way through at some point just cause of my love for the era but not yet cause I know it covers some stuff that I intend to read but haven’t gotten to yet and I’d rather read the comics first before I read about them.

A bummer is that because I’m trying to read all of the Hulk’s comics in order while avoiding spoilers I don’t think that I’m gonna be able to safely engage in anything about his comics for a long time.

[3rdrainbow]

hehe my spouse tagged me in dis

1. Are you named after anyone?

not actively 🤔

2. When was the last time you cried?

this past weekend when i was spending time w my spouse and i jus got all soft emotional sdkjlfdsjlfk

3. Do you have kids?

technically one i suppose 😭

4. Do you use sarcasm?

i try to be honest and true but the sarcasm is still natural in my bones

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

i dont rly kno, def their appearance but i guess it depends on what of theirs really sticks out to me, aside from appearances, definitely a person's voice and how they talk

6. What's your eye color?

dark brown

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

this question is a bit weird bc like you can have a happy ending in a scary movie, or a not scary movie with a bad ending you know?

in a general sense, i guess i prefer happy endings, mostly because i get stressed out easily and id like for the people who went thru stuff to chill after its all done

but i also enjoy some scary movies, most i find really hard to watch because of jumpscares or the gore might be a bit much for me, but im def a fan of jordan peeles works

8. Any special talents?

i dont really kno dksjfklasdlkj bc like in my mind i dont understand what i do that others cant do that would then thus make my talent special

9. Where were you born?

in da philippines

10. What are your hobbies?

legitimately? jus sitting and listening to music while conjuring images in my mind jklsdfjlksdf but i do draw a lot, i used to write more often, and i used to do a lot more photography

11. Do you have any pets?

yeth! i have two dogs :3

12. What sports do you/have you played?

i hate sports kjsldfjksldf i am not a team player nor am i one to enjoy doing athletics, and also i dont have a competitive nature

13. How tall are you?

5'1? maybe 5'2? i havent checked my height in a very long time but i havent grown so

14. Favorite subject in school?

science! but very very specifically biology, i was always very good at it and it just came to me more naturally than other subjects

i also really liked ceramics bc of the really fun hands on work and the fulfillment from each piece, but not the other art classes i took

15. Dream job?

working in a library or a bookstore! truly the simplicity of it all and being able to organize books and being surrounded by them, ive had this dream ever since i was a TA in my middle school library, so chill and not very likely to be overstimulated, the best

um, tagging some of my mewchuals 🥺🥺 if yall wanna do it @irradiatedclown, @tetrissyndromes, @bikerboyfriend, @butchlinkle, @jellyfishgay, @jkgaycf, and anyone else who wants to