#man. I'm so beat. don't ever ask me to write an essay again or I'll strangle you personally

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

MAY 6TH, 2023, 2:37 AM: FREEDOM

*for a week, yay for summer classes

[xitty]

Hello.... If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them...Thanks if you want to answer....

Ohohoh, I don't mind at all! I've been fujoshi since forever (and I mean it, one of the very first anime I watched was Gravitation), so this is dominated by m/m couples, of various states of canon... Warning: long post.

My OTPs are Wataru/Eichi from Ensemble Stars and Yuki/Momo from IDOLiSH7. I could write essays (and sort of have done) about Wataru and Eichi, I sometimes joke I don't need romance novels because Wataru and Eichi provide all the twists, from graduation rooftop "proposal" to flirting in front of their unitmates to jealous fits to bragging about their relationship to others. There's almost 9 years of lore here so I'll just say here that their story is superb and they are my jam.

Yuki and Momo are just the most married and cute and funny couple. And funnily have some similar beats as Wataru and Eichi, where one (Yuki, Eichi) was devastated by something to point they didn't really see any reason to continue and the other (Momo, Wataru) came to drag them out of their gloom.

I have other Ensemble Stars ships I enjoy too: Tatsumi/Mayoi, Nagisa/Hiyori, Izumi/Leo, Rinne/Niki... I usually go for ships that have fair amount of canon material and these do.

I have one more OTP: Shizuma and Minato from Therapy Game. Aaa, their relationship is great because Minato *knows* all his own faults and tries to be rational but it's so hard, and Shizuma understands that and has patience of a saint. But Shizuma also doesn't always understand how some of his innocent actions towards other people look to Minato. But they are really cute and hot too. And I bow to Meguru Hinohara for her storytelling and art, her other series, The Dragon's Betrothed is good too.

Other manga couples I like are Hirano & Kagiura from Sasaki & Miyano, and their own spin-off series of course. I like Sasamiya a lot too, they are really sweet but I find myself being more invested in Hirano and Kagi's thing.

Ok, what next... I just finished The Case Files of Jeweler Richard novel vol. 7, so Seigi and Richard. If there ever was what's-actually-gonna-happen?? slowburn, it's here. Seigi is damn slow and Richard communicates in riddles but man I'm invested. I also bow to Nanako Tsujimura for these books, love them.

Speaking of slowburns and slow realizations and dumb communication (/affectionate), the danmei royalty of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian and Lang Wangji and Wei Wuxian. Both are very good. I love the trope of love transcending time and all that, so Hua Cheng waiting for 800 years for Xie Lian ticks this box so hard.

I'm also basic, so of course Viktor and Yuuri from Yuri On Ice are on my list. Same also for Ash and Eiji from Banana Fish. Touya and Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura. Oh, I quite like Cherry blossom and Joe from Sk8 too.

I have a bunch of Genshin Impact ships I enjoy. I'm most invested in Alhaitham/Kaveh and Diluc/Kaeya. I like ships that have a past, I'm sure you noticed.

Ok, should I mentioned relationship that nobody probably knows about... But I keep thinking it a lot. There's this BL visual novel called Tokyo Onmyoji, the main character Rei is dealing with all kinds of supernatural problems as onmyoji. One of the routes is with his childhood friend Suguru and that route is beeeest. It's so good, deals with trauma and family trouble and their past and aaa now I'd like to read it again.

Also, Dramatical Murder is my least favourite Nitro+Chiral visual novel but damn, Koujaku and Aoba are so good couple, it ticks again so many boxes for me. (why oh whyyyyy that gorgeous figure of them is so expensive?! I can't justify myself to get pieces of plastic that cost two month's rent...)

Alright, let's pretend for a moment I'm not completely rotten woman... One of my favourite game couples is Eirika and Seth from Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones. It again gives me the "I've always liked you but I have kept my distance for reasons". I'm also in the Cloud/Tifa (minority?) camp for FFVII ships.

Kiyoka and Miyo from My Happy Marriage are het couple I'm really behind. I like how they are in the "so good for each other" category and how they've had to work on their relationship. The anime didn't show Kiyoka's thoughts that much but in the books he's also still learning how to be a good boyfriend/husband.

Shin and Lena from 86. Often I'm just "ok" about obvious couples like these but they are the exception. I think maybe it helped that they were separated soon after they got to know each other and then had to sort of got to know each other again.

Oh btw, I do read yuri too but I'm usually more into the series as a whole or one character's personal growth rather than their relationship. Like Sayaka from Bloom Into You. She's my favourite character from the series and I like her spin-off light novel series but I'm most into her finding peace with herself and love in general, if you understand what I mean. But! Hanako and Alice from Goodbye, My Rose Garden manga are my favourite yuri couple! Escaping relationship/marriage that people expect for you but you don't want, to unite with your true love is a trope I'm really fond of.

But Xitty, do you have any Western media couples you like? Well, murder husbands aka Hannibal and Will Graham I think of fondly and love forever. I was very very big Sherlock and John shipper (BBC ver.) and you can't take that away really. I'm also basic when it comes to Doctor Who, so Tenth Doctor and Rose make my heart flutter and eyes cry for their doomed (kinda) story. I just find myself watching less and less Western shows, so I don't even know what's happening there nowadays.

Umm... maybe that's it for now? Thank you everyone who read till the end. :D

[donotpercieveme123]

Hello, I saw your post about wanting to have friends who are fans of the Naruto founders era, mood.

Rank the characters of the founders era from your least favorite to your most favorite and why

Hey thx for the ask, you and mira were actually the first two people I followed on here. I love ur blog!

I'll just do the uchiha and senju brothers, because the others don't get any screen time and I haven't seen much of them in fanon either.

4. Hashirama

I love him, he has the potential to be such an interesting character, thematically. But I haven't really seen it done well. He's either characterised as a completely goofy idiot, as a prop or foil for other characters (often madara), or if they try to make him darker it's just the bad brother trope for madatobi fics. And it drives me up the wall. My personal take on him is that he's a kind person through and through, he puts his dream before everything else but I don't think that makes him as callous as he's made out to be sometimes. I think his reasons for what he does are very valid. And he would be very interesting to explore the weight of power and responsibility through, and how despite best intentions dreams can go sideways. Man didn't even expect the village to survive lmao, says a lot. He's more of a typical shonen protagonist, which I'm usually not a fan of, but I loved every second of screen time he got.

3. Madara

If I were talking solely about canon he's definitely my favourite. Completely iconic! I'm still salty about how they dealt with him towards the end of the war arc. But yah he is such an interesting character, I could write essays about him and his philosophies and his actions and how much more potential he could have had if Kishimoto wasn't sus. I loved every second he was on screen, especially his interactions with Hashirama! He's completely obsessively unhinged and I love that for him. This man tried to become God and force world peace lmao, what else needs to be said. And I can appreciate his nihilistic take on dependent origination, enlightened King lmao. Absolutely insane. Also I love torturing him.

2. Tobirama

I just think he's neat. I instantly get obsessed with any character who is remotely autistic coded, what can I say. He's low key an asshole and completely insane, even if he tries to rationalise everything he does. But he's also loyal and self sacrificial when it comes to the people and things he cares about. In the sense that everything he's cultivated himself into has been in service of something bigger than himself. Second heirs am I right. This is also very true, more so, for Izuna too. I think he's also very misunderstood, and very polarising lmao. It's kind of funny to watch when it's not frustrating. Yes he's morally grey, yes he's capable of doing fucked up shit, no I don't think he hated the uchiha, and no he'snot some unredeemable monster. Let the man have nuance. I haven't seen many fics of him I like, but that's probably mostly because 90% are madatobi (if I could completely block and never see this ship again I would in a heart beat lmao). But yh I haven't seen a lot of him so he's been living rent free in my head because of it, more so than hashi or madara, so now I'm completely attached to him lol. Also aroace King, love that.

1. Izuna

Yh I'm obsessed with everything about him. He's my little guy. I saw a character who was insanely important to the plot but got no screen time, and who is only ever mentioned in relation to Madara (he didn't even get a personality lol), and said this is free real estate. I like maybe two or three fics with him in (and a few that are just pwp cuz they don't get the chance to mess up his characterisation lol; I blame WASS for being so picky). So he lives completely in my brain, he's mine. I characterise him as completely insane lmao, he's just a cocktail of mental disorders, and I love torturing him.

He's also very capable though, he was Madara's right hand man, and based off how Madara handles the 4th war... he definitely needed all the help he could get. In this way I think Izuna and Tobirama are parallels of each other.

He's also such a fun character. He's pretty, and he knows it, he's confident and he knows what he wants. He's also a bit of an asshole, a pretentious art hoe, definitely judgemental and a complete drama queen at times lol. Also morally grey, in a similar way to Tobirama actually (god I'm obsessed with the dynamic they could have). He's also a bit of a control freak, and definitely insanely nihilistic and paranoid (I actually think Madara only got that paranoid after Izuna died, despite the peace, or maybe because of it). He HAUNTS the narrative and I love that. Madara actually develops Izuna's worst traits after his death.

He's also my favourite to write. Especially his internal monologues. I also think he's obsessive and insanely possessive. Deranged. I love it! But he also puts his duty and everyone he cares about before his own needs and wants. So yh jts just so interesting to explore. I get obsessed over characters with shit loads of wasted potential lol. Also he has big aro energy, completely repulsed by romance and I definitely support that lmao.

Jesus this was long. Definitely got a bit ranty towards the end.

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Marlene

Ali: Hey babe, sorry I missed rehearsal, know you rocked it regardless  💋 Marlene: Kind of need our lead singer to do that. Instrumental wasn't the vision for the track, babygirl Marlene: Where did you have to be? We could've rescheduled Ali: I know, I know, my bad! Make it up to you Ali: Ugh, got detention, didn't I Ali: don't even get me started on that Marlene: Make it up to me alone or me and the band? Marlene: Little rebel Marlene: Can't have you getting in more trouble by ditching, can we? Marlene: I'll add in another rehearsal, the girls won't mind Ali: Why not both? Ali: Come over and I'll record the vocals for you Ali: You know it boo 👩🏼‍🎤 Ali: Exactly, even though I'm fully staging a protest tomorrow Marlene: That's my girl Marlene: I'll be there front and centre, lending my voice to the movement Ali: Aww, so supportive Ali: cute 😉 Ali: I've rallied all the usual suspects so it shouldn't be a flop Ali: we have the allotted hours, like, if they fail to control us in 'em, why add more, yeah? pointless, where's the logic Marlene: Making me so proud to have you on my arm Ali: As you should be Ali: Though that arms not bad 💪 Marlene: I wouldn't be the best bassist in this shithole if it was Ali: One track mind 😏 SUCH a bassist Ali: don't you ever break that focus? Marlene: It has been known Marlene: For the right girl Ali: Introduce me to her some time, yeah? Ali: Get some tips Marlene: You know her pretty well Marlene: The name's Alison, like the song Ali: So soft Ali: Still say we do a Elvis Costello and Dolly mashup Ali: idc what you say, Jolene is a bop and you need to own it Marlene: If I can hear you do an original Elvis cover, I'll think about it Ali: Fine, I'll happily sing about myself all day Ali: can even get the accent down, thanks Ma Marlene: I'll be waiting for that Marlene: The girls are asking if you need posters or anything else for the protest? Anything to stick around and drink more Ali: Patience, babe Ali: Gotta save these pipes for the protest Ali: Feel free to go for their lives, like Ali: Bear in mind if they use too many expletives, the School ain't gonna listen tho Ali: creative language, not colourful, ladies Marlene: No promises on getting them to dial back the reclaimed slurs Marlene: But we'll leave off calling the teachers the cunts they are Marlene: For you, our glorious leader Ali: 🙇 down Ali: I'll take it, they're not going to go anywhere near hate speech vibes, too risky Marlene: Tempting offer Marlene: I'll take you up on it when we're alone Ali: Yeah? Gonna skip rehearsal more often then Marlene: For revolution and no less, babe Marlene: But I have missed you Ali: The revolution's always rolling, babe Ali: I can't stop the wheels of change, you know Marlene: I know you want me to make a rock and roll pun Marlene: But I refuse Ali: Boooooo 👎 Ali: too punk for me now? Marlene: Not gonna quote a dead white man either, not even Lennon Marlene: You're still my little punk princess, you know Ali: Throw some Yoko craziness at me Ali: 👑 Marlene: Keeping it back so the protest won't flop. Can't let it Ali: Sure, you just don't wanna get on the rooftop with your mates Ali: someone'd fall, or get pushed 😂 Marlene: Not me or you Marlene: With these arms we're safe Ali: 🔫 pew pew Ali: they wanna try me, bitch Marlene: We should fill up supersoakers for those who are anti our message Marlene: Piss on their negativity in a literal sense Ali: not with actual piss, right? Marlene: You have to start thinking punk rock, babe Ali: I am not pissing into a supersoaker Ali: not dying to prove my aim is as good as a man's like Ali: you do you, babe but I'll leave it at good old fashioned water Marlene: Now who's deserving the boos and jeers Marlene: So regal of you Ali: what can i say? my idea of a good time isn't pissing on my own hands Ali: crazy, i know 😉 Marlene: How true my love is Marlene: Any time's a good time with my baby Ali: 💙 Ali: forreal tho, what are we doing this weekend Marlene: There are a few parties Ali: where Ali: i wanna go as far away as poss Marlene: They're local, usual suspects Marlene: We can do something else Ali: Think of something better, yeah Ali: I'm sick of the locals at the mo Marlene: I'll come back to you with a plan Ali: 💋 Ali: that's my girl Marlene: What am I good for if I can't take you away from this shithole? Marlene: Not like it's that hard Ali: You got your license, 'til I got mine I'm at your beck and call, like Ali: Your Ma will be cool, yeah? Doesn't need to be long, just long enough to breathe Marlene: I'll make a deal with her Marlene: Name drop you since she's a fan Ali: Such a parent pleaser 😇 Marlene: If you sang it she'd do anything you say Marlene: Thinks you've got the voice of an angel for sure Ali: Aww, what a babe Ali: like mother like daughter 😏 Marlene: She had her moments of hell raising Marlene: Would to this day if it was possible Ali: Imma ask her all about it when I see her Ali: fo'sho Marlene: That'd make her happy Ali: Who doesn't love being scandalous? Marlene: Whoever gave you detention Ali: Give you three guesses 😑 Marlene: I don't need them Marlene: Most are in your fan club too Ali: Exactly Ali: Don't teach R.S. if you can't handle healthy debate Marlene: Yeah. We live in Dublin not a dictatorship Ali: Honestly Ali: Some people really wanna take it back to the troubles Ali: Shouldn't have said as much but chill, dude Marlene: Freedom of speech, babe Marlene: I've lost count of how many teachers I've called homophobes Marlene: Gotta speak up Ali: True Ali: you are a bit quick on the draw sometimes, like Marlene: I'm not letting them get away with it Ali: Just sayin', plenty of reasons to give you dirty looks, babe, not all of 'em that you're gay 😜 Marlene: I'm a perfect gentleman and you know it Ali: True Ali: You don't look it tho Marlene: You don't look like a rebel queen Marlene: And yet Ali: I know looks are deceiving, tell it to the homophobes, babe 😏 Ali: also you gotta stop with the compliments 😾 Marlene: But everyone's clearing out. It's the perfect time to shower you with them Marlene: Where do you wanna be? Here or there Ali: When bae only sweet talks you when their mates aren't about Ali: SUCH a fuckboy, darling 💋 Marlene: You know what I was getting at, darling Marlene: We can be alone finally Marlene: But only if you're in the mood Ali: I'll come over Ali: as much as my Ma is also a fan, just yours like, not so much mine Marlene: Let me pick you up Marlene: It's too dark for that shit Ali: Nah, I wanna walk Ali: gotta burn off the energy I didn't get to rock out Marlene: Hold your keys since you won't take my knife off me Ali: Don't worry Ali: My Da beat you to the self-defense lesson, like Ali: I'm sweet Marlene: If I'm not there to protect you, I'm bound to worry Ali: You worry too much, baby Ali: Good thing I'm coming to take all your cares away Ali: and I've got bud, naturally 🚬 Marlene: And I hid some drinks from the vultures Ali: Party of two 😘 Marlene: When you get here. Until you do I'm sitting on the floor alone writing shitty songs about you Ali: Try and write a good one, will ya? Not having it bandied about that I'm a shit muse 😉 Ali: you could never Ali: gonna play for me when I get there? Marlene: Been trying since I met you, babygirl Marlene: It's not you, it's me Ali: Nah Ali: there's a hit in there, I just gotta try harder Ali: as you're so anti-establishment, your brain is noping on writing a bop that everyone will love Marlene: I want you to love it Marlene: You're the one it's for Ali: I'm excited to hear Ali: assuming I don't get shanked on the way by the big bad wolf Marlene: Your tragic early death isn't the inspiration I want or need Ali: Tell it to the TV writers, hun Ali: angry protest song #765 Marlene: I'll sing you my shitty song and you can die laughing Ali: Never Ali: cross my heart Marlene: And fingers that I can patch together a chorus that doesn't make me wanna die before you get here Ali: 🤞 Ali: I have faith enough for two Marlene: As an angel, you kind of have to bring it Ali: No pressure 😓 Marlene: I'm more than okay with you lacking it, stick it to your detention giver over again Marlene: And I love you, so forgiven most sins Ali: A benevolent Goddess you are Marlene: Modeled on the original lesbian in the sky Ali: Debated theology enough today to live and let live on that one babe Marlene: Promise I'll save the angry lesbian god essay recital for another night Ali: You're a doll 💋 Ali: Oh, hold up, I see my ex Ali: ready for this awkward convo in 3 2 Ali: brb Marlene: Bet you want me to pick you up now, don't you? Ali: [15 mins later] Ali: That was wild Marlene: What the fuck, Ali Marlene: I was about to start searching for you Ali: Soz, more chatty than I remember Ali: only gone at got someone pregnant hasn't he Marlene: Dodged a bullet Ali: Tell me about it Ali: Still out on the town tryna get some though Ali: is that the new come on? I'm fertile! Marlene: In this town, likely Marlene: Which ex is it? Ali: #4 good drugs, bad teeth Ali: the one who lowkey stalked me after and my brother had to smack him one Ali: good times, unexpected detour down memory lane there but got us some freebies so Marlene: It took 15 mins to get what you're owed, how long does he take over customers who aren't his stalked exes Marlene: bad business is what you should've called him Marlene: Or manners Ali: names are definitely open to workshopping Ali: he had to show me the scan pics, duh Marlene: Had to do the whole come on Marlene: fucking pig Ali: Bless Ali: have your fun whilst you still can, kid Marlene: not with my girlfriend Ali: don't worry babe, got the drugs for free free Ali: not suck my dick free Marlene: Are you gonna be here soon Marlene: I can still bring the car Ali: Yeah, I'll get a wriggle on Ali: 5 minutes if I run Marlene: If you don't run into any more exes first Ali: cities littered with 'em Marlene: If you didn't date men you could stay friends with them Ali: why would I wanna do that? Ali: I've seen your dyke drama, a no thank you Marlene: I don't have dyke drama Marlene: You're the one trying to avoid the awkward Ali: 😏 Ali: I don't care, its funny Ali: he wasn't that bad, really Ali: don't need to add every ex to my inner circle though, that's a madness Marlene: He stalked you Marlene: He's an asshole Ali: Not properly Ali: Just had issue letting go as fast as I did, who can blame him 😘 Marlene: It's not funny, Ali, it's fucked Ali: So serious 😾 Ali: It ain't like he locked me in his basement, I get to decide how fucked it was or wasn't Marlene: You get to brush it under the carpet too, doesn't make it right Ali: 🙄 you're as bad as my mother Marlene: maybe she's got a point Ali: Ugh, don't need to point score, she already likes ya, babe Ali: he's just a stupid kid, not fucking Bundy, yeah, let's chill Marlene: He doesn't have to be Bundy to be held accountable, babe Marlene: He's gonna be someone's dad Marlene: What the fuck Ali: for what? being a bit of a prick at 16 Ali: s'not a crime, last time I checked Marlene: it doesn't have to be Marlene: Lads think they can do whatever they want Marlene: They can't and shouldn't Ali: Nah, this isn't a soap box moment, babe Ali: we all do things we know are wrong, and ain't proud of Ali: 'cos of how we're feeling Ali: Honestly, not a big deal Ali: and not an exclusively male thing, that's a crock of shit Marlene: If I was heavy handed with one of my exes I'd get so much shit Marlene: He gets boys will be boys Marlene: It's not a big deal because you're making excuses for him Ali: From who? The lesbian mafia? Ali: Straight girls are INSANE Ali: way worse than #4 was ever Ali: I'm not gonna burn him at the stake for something I don't believe in Marlene: Straight girls are a whole other subject Marlene: Last I checked you didn't have any of them as exes so no really the point Ali: That you know of Marlene: I know about every one of your exes Ali: Okay, Liam Neeson Ali: can't be calling out stalkers when you're breathing down the phone like that 😂 Marlene: You're not funny Ali: I am though Ali: but I ain't coming over if you're gonna be such a downer Marlene: Are you serious? Marlene: Your jokes are so bad I can't tell Ali: Duh Ali: Killing my vibe, babe Marlene: You're basically here Ali: So? Ali: I can keep walking into this dark night Marlene: So come in Marlene: I'm sorry, baby Ali: You promise you're gonna stop being lame? Marlene: Cross my heart Ali: Okay, lemme in then

[duanecbrooks]

Gabby and Hodie: You're Number One     You may recall that, in a past article, I laid out what are my all-time favorite literary creations. You my also recall that I said that the books that I picked as my all-time etc. are those once and for all categorically and for all time. Well, what's happened is, upon further reflection--and upon my dear, warm, sweet,loving cousin Emily's words to me (surely I don't have to tell you what they were) further coming to fruition--I've come to realize my real and true all-time favorite literary offering. And it's a tie between the women's-beach-volleyball sex boat Gabrielle Reece's ("with" Karen Karbo) life-lessons guide My Foot Is Too Big For The Glass Slipper: A Guide to the Less-Than-Perfect Life and the Today-show's-Fourth-Hour gal Hoda Kotb's ("with" Jane Lorenzini) personal/professional memoir Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee.               Allow me to say here that in coming to said realization, I had to dump quite a lot of weight. At first I thought that the former television-morning-show host Rene Syler's ("with" Karen Moline) parenting guide Good-Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting deserved to make the aforementioned list. However, further pondering has caused me to realize that, as humorous and as charming as Syler's tome is, in the final analysis it has to do with the doings of children and with the raising of children--and as much as I love kids and love reading/seeing what it is kids have to say, an entire book centering on them is simply not my aesthetic. For a while I sincerely believed that How to Lose Everything In Politics (Except Massachusetts), the then-journalist Kristi Witker's inside-the-1972-McGovern-presidential-try memoir, merited making the cut. Yet in time I remembered that, ever since 1976, when Carter won the White House and kicked Ford and all those other Nixon-era Republican third-raters out on their asses, my consistent interest in politics has majorly decreased--indeed, in the main I've come to sympathize with what the master TV interviewer Dick Cavett once told the 1960s/1970s far-left activist Jerry Rubin: "Politics bores the ass off me." Thus I've arrived at the conclusion that Witker's book, while it's chock-full of lively wit and penetrating insight, when all is said and done involves an area, namely politics, that on the whole has long stopped being my thing.                       OK. Now I'll go into why Reece's and Kotb's tomes have seized my heart.             .The front and back covers of both books are damned enticing. Both the front and the back covers of Reece's tome picture her with her intensely attractive offspring, both times sporting an insanely appealing bathing suit and both times showing off an insanely appealing pair of bare feet (The back cover of Reece's book clearly shows that she has an equally alluring stepdaughter). The front cover of Kotb's tome displays her dressed in a quite stylish blue pullover blouse and adorned in the kind of slacks that fully exhibit what her Today cohort Kathie Lee called her "long Egyptian legs and toes." (The fact that Kotb is wearing red toenail polish slightly takes away from her dazzling visual appeal, but only slightly) And on both the front and back covers there are the sort of endorsements that easily pull you in. On the back cover of Reece's tome the former television Friend Courteney Cox is quoted as asserting: "I read My Foot Is Too Big For The Glass Slipper in one sitting...Everyone who is married--or thinking about getting married--should read this." On the front cover of Kotb's book there are words from People Magazine ("Bubbly and engaging, just like its author") and from the greatly-lauded novelist Adriana Trigiani ("This book is a manual for overcoming obstacles and living life with passion and purpose...Hoda is the working girl's Cleopatra. She rules!").               .The prose of both tomes is colorful and lively. Both Reece's and Kotb's books feature the kind of writing that, upon seeing it, immediately rivet your eyes to the page. Upon seeing any page, its wording has you absolutely hooked, positively pleased to be in the company of such charming, sprightly gals, gals who obviously love life and do not hesitate to embrace it entirely. And, again, that feeling comes no matter what page of theirs you're on (Kathie Lee in her super-bestselling compilation of essays Just When I Thought I'd Dropped My Last Egg at one point said: "I love my new co-host Hoda Kotb. She is an absolute doll and so much fun to work with." The writing style of Hoda causes you to fervently agree with KLG's every syllable).               .Both women in their tomes have greatly witty and greatly incisive things to say. In both Glass Slipper and Hoda there's sparkling humor and eye-opening observations, whether Reece in her book is discoursing on how cathartic it can be for a parent to swear ("[A] little bit of cussing does wonders. The later in the day it is, or the earlier in the morning, the more important this is for your sanity, and to help you feel less like an underpaid servant and more like the sassy teenager that is still lurking somewhere inside your bill-paying, car seat-purchasing, sleep-deprived self") or her regular almost-all-women's exercise class ("Sometimes someone comes up to me after class and wants to pay me, or otherwise do something lavish to show her gratitude. I tell her, she's already doing it, by inspiring me with her commitment...When my women show up, day in, day out, with their great attitudes and their great energy, they don't realize that that's their gift to me") or her parenting style ("[Excessively spending time with electronic pleasures] messes with your head, and I don't want it for my kids...So I say no. A lot. And tell me I don't feel like a shit mom when little Brody, who's been cooperative all day, has a meltdown in the afternoon and sobs miserably, 'I. Just. Want. My. Electronics'") or whether it's Kotb in her tome telling of her lifelong struggle to establish her own identity (I will always be asked [as this one "older black woman" did while Kotb was in a phone booth making a call during her early days as a television journalist, taking Kotb's face in both hands and looking into her eyes] 'What is you?' And while I'll proudly explain I'm Egyptian...again, the answer in my head will always be: I'm just me") or acknowledging her refreshingly non-high-minded, purely self-serving motivation for going into and staying in TV news ("Procrastinating to me is simply a way to create a time crunch...After I phone in a takeout food order, I'll stay at work as long as possible, then race home to my apartment to meet up with the delivery guy...[T]elevision news is the perfect career for me. I need to know that my work day has a start and a fight to the finish. I'm competitive, persistent, and not afraid to risk being the hero or the goat when airtime hits") or the near-overwhelming thrill she felt when the Today show's Fourth Hour hosted the always-and-forever-bootylicious Queen Bey ("When Beyonce walked into the room, [Kathie Lee and I] were blown away by her beauty and her presence. She's about 5 feet 7, but her red heels added several inches. She wore a gorgeous short dress, designed in her favorite color, red. She was a knockout. Her frame is sexy and solid and she carries herself with confidence around every curve...Her words were laced with a touch of Texas twang (Beyonce was born and raised in Houston). As her people began touching up her hair and makeup, all I could think was, There's absolutely nothing wrong with her! Bring that stuff over here!"). After reading these books, you effortlessly feel invigorated because you spent quality time with two insightful, funny, considerably observant ladies who have, to quote a line from the classic 1960s song, "looked at life from both sides now" and are bright enough and centered enough to retain the lessons such observing has taught them.             Also: Both Reece and Kotb conclude their tomes in grand style. The former closes by assuring her readers that should they choose to assume the role of "queens" of their household, "[y]ou will live interestingly ever after." And she ends her "Acknowledgements" section by lauding her hubby, the professional surfer Laird Hamilton: "I cherish the gift of knowing you, your love, and your partnership. Oh, and when our girls [their daughters] are difficult, I do blame you for those traits." The latter, for her part, ends her book with a forward that itself finishes with her naming her "special wooden box" inside of which is the "letter that lists the three most important traits in my man" and assures us readers that "there's a chance it will end up accidentally buried by books, an over-sized tote bag, a plaque, or other random crap." Kotb's own "Acknowledgements" portion winds up with a fond shout-out to her "co-author," Jane Lorenzini, "the most brilliant writer I have ever known...Your dad was right. It has been an adventure...Your name should be bigger on the [front] cover. Oh, well...next book."           During the 1980s, it was Barbra Streisand who famously crooned, concerning creativity:                                                     "The art of making art                                                     is putting it together, bit by bit,                                                      Beat by beat, part by part,                                                        Sheet by sheet, chart by chart,                                                              Track by track, bit by bit,                                                          Reel by reel, pout by pout,                                                      Stack by stack, snit by snit,                                                          Meal by meal, shout by shout,                                                              Deal by deal, spat by spat,                                                          Spiel by spiel, doubt by doubt.                                                      And that is the state of the art."           To read the books of Gabrielle Reece and Hoda Kotb is to bring about enormous gratitude that said authors--and their ghostwriters--took the time and the trouble to put them together, employing every "bit," "beat," "part," "sheet," "chart," "track," "bit," "reel," "pout," "stack," "snit," "meal," "shout," "deal," "spat," "spiel," and "doubt" so that "the state of their art" would make them such eminently satisfying reading experiences.