#quite contrary

[writerfae]

Not to ruin anyone’s book lover aesthetic dreams but old books really don’t smell that great.

[alaina-the-bard]

Quite Contrary - Part 2

Go in, she's desperate for the money

Mary's eyes dart between the pinging phone, her one source of livelihood and in desperate need for an upgrade, and the dark foyer, the place where she might just be murdered by a "Jake." She can't afford to give up the money, and if she doesn't survive this delivery, well, no more worries about her debt, her mother, or anything else ever again.

She extends her arm, holding the bundle of burgers like a bag of garbage. Then, Mary walks to the foyer and shines her phone's flashlight. The door is ajar, and all it reveals are shoes and coats.

Oh. Nothing dangerous. As far as she can see, which is not very far.

Mary just needs to put the food in and skedaddle. Easy. Safe. Yeah.

The burgers (and her hand) cross the threshold. The green door creaks near her right shoulder.

Mary blinks, almost expecting an attack, but nothing happens. She lowers the package and intends to back away and laugh at her own silliness, maybe tweet about her being a big chicken, get a couple of likes out of it. She deposits the burgers on the floor and is about to retreat when movement blinks in the far side of the hallway, among the dark.

Run, run, run NOW!

Something clasps her wrist and yanks her whole body forward, and Mary loses her footing.

She barely has time to think, and then the floor is there, very soft, very wet. Mary dashes up, ready to fight or, better, flee through the door and leave a bad review on the app.

But there is nowhere to flee and nobody to fight.

Mary stands in a clearing. The burgers are gone. The house is gone. The city is also not there.

There are a lot of trees. She doesn't know any tree names, but even if she did, it would not make things easier.

Her phone has no signal.

Well, fuck.

The green door is there behind her, alone and out of place. No house attached, either. Mary pulls, pushes, kicks, and shoves. The lion knocker mocks her with a wide grin that might not have been there before.

Mary collapses on the mossy ground, on top of a small package. The place is everything a forest should be, but it shouldn't be, and that's the issue. Her mind spins and swirls. Is she dead?

This idea doesn't take hold. She is quite warm here in her leather jacket and needs a snack. If Mary is in Narnia, she has to start moving.

She is loath to leave the door, so she decides to walk a little to the front and see what she can spot.

As Mary advances, she glances at the door. It remains in place, but things can no longer be trusted.

She wanders around, tries to keep eyes on the door, but it blends into the green all around a few steps in. Her breath catches. Mary runs across the trees. Find it, find it now. She was walking up, no, down, it's hard to keep track. Mary darts around like a little girl lost in a mall, stifling tears of horror.

She keeps going until something else knocks her down. A red door, new and shiny, out of place. This one is red, but the knocker is also a lion, eyes closed, slumbering. Mary yanks on the knob.

The lion head opens its eyes and looks at Mary. She screams, but the forest drowns it out.

"You wish for gold," the lion says. "Do your work, and you shall be rewarded."

There is really nothing Mary can say to the lion. She gapes until the knocker opens its jaws and bites down. Her blood flows between the teeth, and she really doesn't know her hand got to its mouth. She yanks it down out of instinct and cradles the limb, now much heavier than it was moments ago. Blood drips on the grass, on her company-issued shoes and uniform.

"You can walk through the doors unassisted now," says the lion. "And through doors you shall walk."

"I don't understand what's happening!"

"Understanding is not required of you, human child. But you will have to pay your debt in full."

There are a lot of things Mary wants to ask, scream, demand. They crowd her mouth and get stuck on the way out. However, the lion closes its eyes, back to its slumber, and the red door moves slightly ajar.

Mary yanks it open. Behind, she recognizes the alley! She walks through, whimpering, hot tears burning her cheeks.

She is back where she started. On the other side of the street, there is a man who is looking at her with genuine shock. He looks from behind a green door, a small hallway with shoes and coats, and in his hand, he holds a knife.

There is only one way to get away, and Mary runs out of the alley. The man's footsteps begin pounding behind seconds later. She dashes to the street, empty. There was a subway to the right.

On the left, there is an even bigger street, with shops and cafés. Her hand is bleeding. She has to run to safety and then process the whole thing with the forest and the lion.

The man shouts for her to stop, and his voice radiates red fury.

[notmuchtoconceal]

don't matter if it's the football team. don't matter if it's the bodytype. don't matter if it's the totem animal. i do not like fucking bears.

they hold zero appeal for me. i see the appeal they hold for you. i don't much care for it.

don't matter if it's my gram, the gay community, dark spiritual forces, or the intersection between the three i am fucking sick of gettin bears forced on me.

other day a good friend of mine got me to start this show called the bear about lip from shameless being a professional chef with big boy art dreams for a struggling italian beef place and the biggest obstacle to admission was the fucking bear.

[adarkrainbow]

Two books to compare today. 

I recently finished reading “The Book of Lost Things”, which has been on my reading list for quite some times - and I have no regrets. This was a wonderful and beautiful read. I already knew John Connolly and his talent through his Samuel Johnson series - but this other fantasy book of his does not disappoint. I definitively recommend it as a great “fairytale read” - though with the warning that it is a very mature story. 

And at a total contrast is a book called “Quite Contrary”, which was also in my reading list due to having seen some good reviews for it... and after a few pages in I decided to quit. Well not “quit” per se, I will still read a bit more of it - but I won’t read it with any care or expectations. “The Book of Lost Things” is a beautiful and dark tale wonderfully crafted. Quite Contrary comes off as a lazy copy of “I hate Fairyland” (a great comic book by the way). This book is filled with a misplaced violence and sexuality that feels quite disturbing when projected on such a young child ; there is no real style to the text as everything is bluntly described (sometimes it felt like reading an Internet post) ; and everything is so rushed, the transitions by gosh, everything just happens so fast with the main character just jumping blindly into the supernatural, no question asked, no actual normal human reaction, or even acting extremely stupid just for the sake of the plot... And so far I haven’t seen much, but the story itself feels very derivative. I could see the influence and nods to many other similar stories, and while it doesn’t belong to one specific or defined “genre”, it still managed to feel like it was filled with cliches and “genre stereotypes”. And I felt all that IN A FEW PAGES. I will read a bit more, but just out of curiosity. 

If you want a good, dark fairytale book, go for “The Book of Lost Things”.

[messiahzzz]

assorted morena dekarios headcanons:

she possesses a sharp wit and is very perceptive, but is also incredibly kind and gentle

strong presence & really eclectic taste. she loves bright colors, extravagant patterns, collecting paintings, and all kinds of knick-knacks. her house is a reflection of her personality: warm, welcoming, and cluttered with ✨precision✨

has a penchant for big jewelry (especially necklaces)

gale deems her “unavoidable” because she has a way of seeing right through him, sometimes even going beyond motherly intuition (and because you’d spot her everywhere)

she always strongly supported gale’s individuality and wanted to give him every opportunity to grow into the person he wants to be

this often clashes cause she does worry about his safety constantly

on that note: would do absolutely everything for her son

her ex-husband had little interest in raising gale and deemed him too exhausting/high maintenance. morena eventually encouraged his decision to split, knowing his presence would do more harm than good

loves books but doesn’t bother to keep them in good condition (much to gale’s horror)

as he got older their dynamic grew to resemble a friendship, which is also why he refers to her by her first name

they banter a lot and it is very entertaining to watch/makes their similarities even more obvious

surprisingly strict whenever the situation calls for it. it’s a sudden 180. don’t mess with morena dekarios

claims she’s not interested in gossip, but is very curious nonetheless

possesses extensive mixology knowledge, but hates being drunk. life needs to be experienced to the fullest with all senses at all times

she’s a natural dancer despite not having a whole lot of practice

very welcoming to a romanced!tav and the rest of gale’s new friends. she has already been filled in by tara and withers. naturally, as long as her prince is happy she is as well

almost rivals gale in the duration of his crying during his own wedding. once he begins to read his vows she’s immediately brought to tears

actively tries to get to know a romanced!tav and makes sure they feel included in their family whenever possible, but will also respect if there’s no interest/some apprehension

she is very respectful of gale’s privacy and knows when to step back, albeit no less worried

she has dark, long, curly and thick hair that is hard to tame. (the envy of all her neighbors her age) she usually puts it up in a claw

tara has her own corner in morena’s sitting room, including her very own cozy armchair. no one else is allowed to use it.

[carlyraejepsans]

*just remembered that people are actually touched and moved by my art and look forward to seeing it and it's not just something that affects me and me alone which i throw into the internet's jaws sometimes resulting in Number Go Up* Huh.

[the-golden-dragoness]

I hate that so many authors reduce the “new adult” genre into “young adult but explicitly horny” NO!!!! I want characters of a similar age as me with much more depth into the themes and ethics and morals and a more engaging style of writing!

[ratatatastic]

ohhhhh hes being cheeky after a 7 goal differential scf game and making sure everyone knows it wasnt either bobby or stolies fault

florida panthers @ edmonton oilers game 4 postgame interview | 6.15.24 (x)

[maximura]

[thebreakfastgenie]

I think a lot of analyses of Hawkeye Pierce miss that self-loathing and generally high self-esteem are not mutually exclusive. Hawkeye has moments of self-hatred, but he has a reason for them. He hates the army, he hates the war, and he is part of both of those things. The fact that it's against his will doesn't make it go away. Every time he talks about hating himself, he directly connects it to the war. He sums it up pretty well in Letters, "I'm also in weapons repair." In Preventative Medicine he says "I hate me and I hate you and I hate this whole life here." He hates what the war is turning him into.

[renthony]

Seed packets are very easy to find this time of year at big box stores like Walmart and Target. They are also very, very, very easy to steal. Do with this information what you will.

[alaina-the-bard]

Quite Contrary - Part 3

Mary stumbles onto the big street. There are a couple of closed shops and an open café. She dashes towards it; her feet slip on the cold asphalt. The man might be about to catch her hand, her clothing, her delivery bag, yank her back, use his knife. She recoils from the imaginary touch.

She runs into the café, and the barista looks at her as if she were a wandering cockroach, eyeing her huge bag that doesn't quite fit into the tiny space. Mary tries to put together her case and turns to point out the man with the knife.

He is not there. He is not behind her.

"Hey, so, um, the delivery window is, like, back. If you can just, like, go there, please?" says the barista.

"Oh, I am not. There is..."

Someone chasing me? Another magical reality? Doors between worlds? The barista doesn't seem sympathetic to either and, though the street has not become less dangerous, Mary can't force herself to say anything to his not-sneering face.

"Like, now, please?"

She turns and walks out. Her face is sore, red with shame, fear, and exertion.

Mary doesn't see the man on the street outside.

However, she has to go somewhere.

There is a cheap 24-hours convenience store. Yes, that will work. She needs to be inside right now, with people, cameras, and normal things. Normal things are very much needed right now.

Mary pushes the door open and steps into the...

Not convenience store. It's too dark to tell much of anything, but one thing is painfully clear.

She is face-to-face with a tall man wearing a lion mask; it appears to be made of wood. He is covered in dark fabrics from head to toe, and his mask grins at her. Mary means to scream, but she is exhausted with the whiplash of the last hour and can only whimper.

The man places a package in her hands. His mask's mouth opens to reveal a set of yellowed teeth, stained with tea and tobacco; he reeks of both and something else, maybe cinnamon.

"This is for the woman in the basement. Great for your first job."

Mary feels the significant weight of the package, a smallish box with a black silk ribbon, and stops screaming, internally.

"What job?"

"I saved your life, darling. The job I am giving you."

"Does it pay?"

Dumb question.

"I mean, what the hell?"

Infuriatingly, the lion mask closes in place. The man turns away and walks away.

"I believe in learning on the job, my child. Oh, the basement, you already have the address, same one you just ran from. Just make sure she gets it in the next 48 hours, and do be careful; the magic door is not always available on demand."

Mary is about to explode with unanswered questions. She wants to understand the magic, the lion, the ridiculous things happening to her since she decided to deliver the hamburgers. But the lion man is walking away, already into the darkness.

[notmoreflippingelves]

Me walking up to the HBO Velma’s writer’s room:

[innitmarvellous]

Finally reading in the Lyrics books and why are we even still debating whether McLennon was real when Paul literally says he wrote a love song for John?

[bosooka]

whenever people say that satine made a huge critical mistake/moral failure by not "compromising" with militant mandalorians i wonder if i was the only person who heard satine say the words "even extremists can be reasoned with" or "concordia is under independent rule and we need to talk to the governor" or "there was a time we weren't enemies, perhaps that time has come again" or "there will be no bloodshed" when she literally surrenders to death watch (a terrorist group btw) because she knows she's lost popular support to them

idk i think there's sort of a satine horseshoe theory going on where people who hate her and people who Nuance Like(TM) her both have selective amnesia about how compassionate, observant, and willing to compromise satine actually is so they can paint her as either a genocidal dictator or an overly-idealistic stubborn bitch #GirlBoss with good intentions and in the end they're 3 centimeters away from each other in terms of how rancid i find their opinion to be

[stardestroyer81]

With the recently announced Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX, I figured there's no time like the present to bring an old favorite back into the spotlight... hey, Yacht Club Games! How about another character to play through the first campaign as? I have just the girl for the job...

Making her first appearance on this blog since 2020, witness the return of the Fated Acolyte, now sporting a brand-new look! 💜🖤💜🖤💜