#that is a tearjerker in a good way

[mzannthropy]

Kindred spirits appear when you least expect them (geddit?).

Normally it wouldn't be a massive deal hating something popular, bc inevitably, everyone's gonna hate something popular at some point in their lives. But what do you do when you hate Me Before You and LOVE Sam Claflin, what do you do then? What do you do, when you see an article about him and get that dreaded feeling in your stomach as you click to open it, bc you know that film will be mentioned? (I want to hug every journalist who doesn't bring it up. Nicely done work, Men's Health.) What do you do when you see all the comments from people who love that film saying how much they cried? (Why? WHY???? What is there to cry about? How easily impressed people are by a cheap tearjerker?) What do you do when that film is sold as the best thing in romance, a True Love (how?), a "doomed love story" (how????? Romeo and Juliet is a doomed love story, not this trash). What do you do when you know there are much, much better, more quality films with Sam to watch, with better developed female characters AND love interests--but everyone ignores them? What do you do?

Will: You're the only thing that makes me wake up in the morning.

Also Will: kills himself.

How truly inspirational! /s

[idledee]

jilings jilings....they are simultaneously heartbreaking and just incredibly absurd to me

[marsixm]

saw everything everywhere all at once. i Def see why people are calling it the best movie ever. its really. A Lot like i need to watch it minimum 3 times to process all of that. its really in its own category. but im so so so glad i avoided learning anything about the plot so hard like i enjoyed the shit out of the ride. also david byrne sings in the end credits and i had no idea it was coming and it was the nicest surprise

[neo-shitty]

🍊.

[imblocking-you]

I'M GOING TO READ INCORRIGIBLE MANHWA FINALLY, I'M READY

[sweetheart-dot-jpeg]

the turtles made me cryyyyyy

[harmonictechnicality]

Eddie’s Memory Log Day 1:

part 2 here | part 3 here | part 4 here | part 5 here | part 6 here

(ao3 link here)

The only reason Steve volunteers to keep a journal to track Eddie Munson’s skim-milk memories, is because of the twerps.

They have school, they can’t commute to the government-protected hospital that’s all the way in the city. That, and they gave Steve this well-rehearsed, tearjerker performance about how grateful they would be.

About how grateful Eddie would be.

Pfft like shit on a stick, he’ll be grateful. The dude doesn’t even remember how old he is, how the hell is supposed to be grateful for Steve Harrington jotting down notes in binder?

But those kids have been through Spielberg-level disaster shit. Steve has too, but they’re just kids.

So he’ll do it. He’ll do it for them and only them.

Eddie knows his name today.

He’s pissy - he’s always pissy cause Eddie is battered up beyond belief. But still, he’s extra pissy today because Dustin is his favorite visitor and he hasn’t stopped by in almost a week.

Eddie knows Dustin’s name today too.

And guess who’s his least favorite visitor?

“Harrington.” Eddie grumbles, mouth full of lime jello. “Who paid you to be here today?”

Remembers Steve’s name… last name.

“No one.” Steve makes himself comfy in the vinyl armchair. “Call me crazy, but I’m not too big on taking lunch money from sophomores.”

Speaking of which…

“Do you know you know how old you are?”

Eddie crumples the plastic jello container. “You’re a patronizing sack of shit.”

Steve rolls his eyes, starts to write down:

Eddie doesn’t know his age.

“Twenty.”

Eddie does know his age (20).

“Swell.” Steve fakes his amusement. The kids are much better at cheerleading Eddie along in this process. But Steve’s poker face is nonexistent. Sarcasm and assholery occupy every seat in his brain these days.

They go through a few more questions before Eddie begins to get tired. He’s tired a lot, even though the coma knocked him out for almost four months.

Guess holding hands with Death really takes it out of a person.

Eddie doesn’t know his birthday.

But Eddie does remember it’s in the winter (has a memory of seeing leafless trees from an early childhood birthday party).

Eddie remembers his uncle’s name.

Eddie doesn’t remember which street he lives on.

Eddie has a headache (that’s not a memory thing - he’s just told Steve a thousand times now).

“I’ll let you rest.” Steve folds the binder shut, sort of desperate to do anything to get Eddie to stop whining. Seriously, he thought this guy was funnier pre-bat attack.

Eddie doesn’t remember he has a sense of humor.

“You don’t have to stay, you know.” Eddie settles into his pillows.

Steve shrugs, puts his hands behind his head. “I took the bus from Hawkins today. The next one doesn’t leave for another few hours.”

“Still… it’s a city, right? You can go explore or whatever. Be a tourist.”

Yeah Eddie’s persuasive skills aren’t completely back either, it’s all very half-assed.

“Been here before.” Steve lounges deeper into the squeaky chair material. “I’m good.”

“Probably haven’t seen everything is all I’m saying -”

“Do you want me to leave that bad?”

Steve doesn’t shout, but his tone takes up space. Makes the room feel crowded with accusations and cutthroat honesty.

Eddie stares back hard. Sometimes, he doesn’t look like Eddie Munson - he looks like this war victim with knotted-up hair and sulky brown eyes.

Like a John Doe cadaver - tagging his foot with the possibility of Eddie Munson.

Anyways, that’s how he looks right now as he stares at Steve. Barely Eddie.

“Just. I don’t know you.” That’s a shitty ass comeback for someone with a memory-tank that’s perpetually blinking with the low-engine light on. 

Eddie continues with his weak argument. “Were we close enough back home that you’d stay here while I sleep?”

Eddie doesn’t remember Steve ignoring him in high school for four years.

Steve finds no reason to lie. “No. We weren’t close at all.”

“Right.” Eddie nods once. “So why do this? What are you getting out of this?”

This is a complicated situation to explain to anyone, let alone to someone with fuzzy comprehension abilities. But Steve gives it a whirl:

“Look, we have mutual friends that are… younger. Dustin’s age. And whether I like it or not, they’re like siblings to me now - I’d do anything for them. But they’re in school, they can’t be here every day like I can.”

“Why can you be here?” Eddie asks.

“I lost my job.”

Eddie attempts sympathy. “Sorry.”

Eh, Steve gives him a B-minus.

“Didn’t like it anyways.” Steve reassure him plainly. “The point, I’m doing this for them. For you too, but they’re the anchors in this.”

Eddie thinks for a moment - readjusts to laying on his side, facing Steve. “Won’t you need a new job eventually?”

“Nah. Trust Fund Baby.” Steve points both thumbs at his chest.

“Yeesh.” Eddie rolls to the other side, away from Steve. Disgusted by his comment, yet still chuckling very quietly.

Okay… Eddie does remember he has a sense of humor (just a teensy bit).

His breathing becomes long and hard - sleep heavy breathing. It doesn’t take long, sleep seems more natural to Eddie right now than being awake.

Steve watches him for a moment. There’s always the ghostly-distant fear that Eddie might stop breathing. He’s done it before - four months ago and once more while he was still at the hospital in Hawkins.

Max is still asleep. Steve hates thinking about that detail because it’s cruel. This twisted game that the universe is playing is truly unjust. 

Like an Almighty Asshole rolled Eddie’s stupid dice and decided, ‘I’ll let one of your friends wake up, but he won’t remember that he battled along side you in the trenches of darkness. Take it or leave it, douchebag.’

Steve will take it.

Eddie is still sleeping when Steve decides to head out - the bus will be arriving soon and he’s gotta get a window seat. Needs control over the window cause he gets carsick way too fucking easily these days.

“Heading out?” Eddie mumbles, eyes not even open.

“Yeah - sorry.” Steve doesn’t know why he whispered that. “Didn’t think I should wake you.”

“I gotcha. I’m assuming you’ll be back tomorrow?”

Huh… Steve thinks there might be a hint of implication that Eddie wants him to come back tomorrow. Interesting.

“Your memory isn’t as shitty as you think it is.” He’s overly smug when he says it. 

Eddie gives him a closed-lip smile. Only Dustin and Wayne receive those.

“Want me to pick up some food on my way in?”  Steve decides to give generosity a try, since Eddie is tolerable enough to give him a smile. “Get you off of this lousy hospital meal-plan temporarily?”

The smile is gone. “Nah, you don’t have to do that.”

Right.

Eddie definitely remembers how to be Stubborn with a capital ‘S’

But Steve is a Trust Fund Baby, so he’s unfazed with difficult behaviors. He can match difficulties all damn day if he wanted to.

Which he does.

“Suit yourself, Munson.” Steve acts so uncaring. Very uppity and douchey. “I’m thinking Chinese takeout for me personally.”

“Cool.”

“Cool. See you tomorrow then.”

There’s a pause, so Steve takes that as his sign to turn the handle, get the hell out of here.

“Steve?” Eddie calls weakly just before he shuts the door behind him.

He cracks it open, peeks his face back in. “Yeah?”

Eddie sighs. “Kung Pao Chicken.”

“Excellent choice.”

Eddie gives him another closed-lip smile.

Steve grins wildly, with all of his teeth. “In fact, I think I’ll do the same.”

And as Steve claims his middle seat on the bus, he pulls the binder back out of his backpack to add one more note for the day:

Eddie remembers that he likes Kung Pao Chicken.

[drmaddict]

Epiphany

Summary: Eddie finds one of (y/n)s special books. His imagination is fired, but that alone is not enough.

Wordcount: 1.434

Warnings: smutty but not explicit, mommy!kink, lots of fluff, clingy eddie munson, sub!eddie

Eddie came whimpering into his pillow.

Sweat stood on his forehead. His breath raced. His heart was pounding. He laid slain in his bed.

What the fuck?

He patted the small paperback on his nightstand. Holy shit. (Y/n) owed him big time for keeping this a secret from him.

But from the top.

Eddie and (y/n) had been dating for six months. He was happy and would probably steal the moon for her if he could.

Last week she had stayed over at the trailer for a few days. They hadn't gotten out of bed much, but neither of them had cared. Wayne may have cared.

It had been there goodbye before she would travel to visit relatives for two weeks over the summer vacations.

It wasn't until she was already gone and on the plane that Eddie had found the little book. It had probably fallen out of her bag.

He knew by now that she liked tearjerkers as well as fantasy. But he had never read any of them.

The little book was very thin, so he had decided it would be quick to read through. After a few pages, it became clear that this was a different kind of.... romance.

A respected nineteenth century businessman was married to the daughter of one of his partners.

So far so unspectacular, until he got to the halfway point.

'"What do you say?" purred Elizabeth, leaning down to him.

"Thank you.", groaned John.

Elizabeth buried her fingers in his hair and pulled forcefully. "Thank you what?"

"Thank you mommy. Thank you."

"Good boy.", she purred, kissing him on the forehead. "Are you Mommy's good boy?"

"Yes. Yes, Mommy. Please." John broke out in a sweat. His head went light. His thoughts clouded over. For over an hour now, his wife had been torturing him in the sweetest way possible.

"Please what?"

"Please may I come? Mommy? Please? Please?"

She stroked his chest. "You've been a good boy.... You have thirty seconds. Otherwise, I guess I'll have to wait... Until you get another thirty."

John whimpered and threw his head back.

"Thanks Mommy."

It didn't take fifteen seconds for John's thoughts to completely dissolve into air and clouds and he seemed to float through time with a blissful ease.'

Eddie had had an epiphany. Not just the sex... What came after. The baths and the cuddling. The tenderness. The caring... The love.

He wanted all of that with (y/n). He wanted (y/n) to be his mommy. He blushed at the thought.

The two weeks dragged on like chewing gum for Eddie. His pillow probably hated him by now and he was getting crankier with each passing day. His imagination was on full blast, but afterwards there was never anyone to hold him and stroke his back.

He waited jitterily at the front of the trailer until (y/n)s car pulled up and came to a stop.

He jumped up and immediately ran to her. He wrapped his arms around her before she could even say anything and buried his face against her neck. She put her arms around his shoulders as well and gently stroked up and down his back. Eddie melted away. A whimper escaped his throat.

"I missed you," he sighed.

"I missed you too." she replied softly.

She patted him on the back encouragingly. "Shall we go inside, or do you want to put down roots here?"

Eddie reluctantly let go of her but immediately grabbed her hand before heading to the trailer.

As soon as the door closed behind them, he wrapped his arms around her again. He had always enjoyed touching, especially with (y/n), but he had never been this extreme.

"What's up with you?" she laughed.

He just grumbled and buried himself against her neck again. "Found something," he muttered.

"What is it?"

"A book."

"A book."

"Your... book... about... About John and Elizabeth."

His cheeks turned bright red.

(Y/n) pushed him slightly away from him. Which was not easy. He was like a baby koala.

"THE book?"

He nodded. He didn't know if it was good that (y/n) was blushing too or not. He just knew he wanted to be back in her arms.

"I want...that," Eddie mumbled shyly. Eddie Munson and shy.

"What exactly?" asked (y/n), who was starting to understand what was probably going on with him.

He sat down on the couch that was in the main area of the trailer. "I want Mommy." He had thought it would be embarrassing, but not that embarrassing. The word had been running through his head over and over for two weeks. Had been the center of his imagination. But actually saying it was something else.

"You want me to be Mommy?"

Eddie nodded.

"And what do you want Mommy to do?"

Eddie kneaded his hands. "What... What they do in the book. I want Mommy to... Tell me what to do.... I want to be good. I want to make Mommy happy." Tears stood in Eddie's eyes. What was going on now?

(Y/n) immediately sat down on his lap and put her arms around him. "Okay." she sighed.

Eddie sobbed. "What's wrong with me?"

(Y/n) stroked the back of his head. Rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you imagine what it would be like to do all that?... To make Mommy happy?"

Eddie nodded.

"Were you euphoric? Like you could completely turn your head off for a second?"

Eddie nodded again.

"And then there was no one there, was there?"

"No... I was alone.", he sobbed.

"Poor baby." she sighed again, squeezing her arms tighter around him. "It's like drugs Eddie after the high comes the fall. That's why it's important that you come down safely after. You've been psyching yourself up for days and now you need someone to catch you."

Eddie let out the next sob. "Are you going to stay here?"

"Of course. Mommy's staying." She was still stroking his hair. "But we should move this to a more comfortable place. So you're a good boy and you're going to bed? Mommy's just getting water and snacks."

Everything in Eddie resisted letting her go, but he also wanted to prove to her that he was good. No matter how stupid that sounded. No matter how embarrassing it was going to be.

He slowly got up and went to his room. He lay down on his abused pillow and waited.

(Y/n) came a little later and lay down with him. She practically pulled him on top of her and just held him.

"We need to talk about some things first Eddie."

"Like what?"

"About everything, actually," she began. "What we want to do meanwhile. Where our boundaries are. How we're going to show each other we want to stop. What you need after that. What I need after."

He breathed in her scent. "Okay... I have time right now."

(Y/n) laughed lightly and Eddie was jolted. "Alright. Safe words? Any word so I know you want to stop right now. Preferably something you'd never say during sex," she explained.

"Jason." said Eddie immediately.

(Y/n) laughed again. "Good, Jason. Mine's Ruby."

Eddie nodded. "Ruby." he repeated.

"Anything you don't want at all?"

"There's a scene where she hits him.", he said, gesturing weakly in the book's direction. "I don't want that. Ever."

"Okay. I don't want that either. Do you like it when she praises him?"

Eddie blushed again. "Yeah... Very much."

"I can bring you some more books. So you'll get... more inspiration.", she grinned.

"How many of those do you have?", he asked curiously.

She smiled. "About the subject itself.... Some." she confessed. "But normally the woman is not actually the leading part. I only have four of those... When I first read this dynamic... Something made me understand it."

"Are you bringing them."

She nodded, and he felt it more than he saw it.

"And after that?" she asked further. "What do you imagine after that?"

"This is nice.", he said an cuddled more into her.

"Does talking help?"

"I like talking... I just don't know if I'll even be able to after it." he chuckled boisterously. He was starting to feel calmer. More relaxed.

"Do you want me to talk? I could read something to you."

"Lord of the Rings?" he asked euphorically, like a child.

(Y/n) laughed. "Sure. Lord of the Rings."

Eddie nodded.

"Feeling better?"

Eddie buried himself further against her chest. Almost curled up on top of her and closed his eyes. "Yes Mommy."

[satoruin]

alhaitham + being a bookworm couple

(having major haitham brainrot and i don’t even like him that much. now i need a bookworm boyfriend to cuddle and read with 💔)

while you and alhaitham were both book lovers you never anticipated that love would be the driving force behind your relationship with him.

time spent with each other is normally you spread across his lap with your book and his hand playing with your hair while he enjoys his book. sometimes it’s laying in bed, head on his chest while he reads aloud his informative akademiya book to lull you to sleep.

dates with him are occasionally to the bookstore, he lets you pick out any book(s) AND pays. he’ll take you to the cafe cracking open the new book he selected. other times you’ll visit him at the grand sage office with dinner and a leisure (to him) book, not overtly romantic but the two of you know that any time spent together is good enough.

he takes your book recommendations very seriously. it doesn’t matter if it’s a cheesy romance, tearjerker, or text book outside his expertise he’ll read it earnestly and tell you his thoughts on it. will also sometimes read over your shoulder as he rests his chin there and wraps his arms around you from behind.

it’s almost a guilty pleasure of his to write you notes within his annotations. more of his sappy stuff is in books he knows you’ll almost never touch and as such he doesn’t exactly want to let others borrow them. when he does know you’ll read it after him, he highlights parts and writes little notes like “i bet you laughed at that” “you read it like that too right?” “this reminds me of you” “we should try this”.

should you read it before him and lend him your copy, the notes can be similar, though yours tend to focus a lot more on the actual text. “AH the callback to chapter one!” “he just stated the same thing like three different times….” “you would absolutely say that unironically” “this guy is so pretentious, you should revoke his study funds” and even more cheesy notes like “you’re my ideal male lead” “please do the door frame lean?” “i want to kiss you in the rain now”.

probably asked you out through a series of notes placed in different books, the last one placed in a favorite of yours and the line reading: “i think i like you, a lot.”

alhaitham is just a perfect bookworm boyfriend. he carries your books, pays for them and loves them in the same way you do. your mutual love for books just fuels his adoration and affection.

[mysticheathenn]

How Are You Outgrowing Your Oldself?

Hi, Hexlings!

This pick-a-card reading is about who are you becoming by releasing your old self and the many blessings that come with releasing your old self. This is a Patreon Reading for all tiers.

Remember to take what resonates and leave what does not. This reading does not supplement your need to seek professional help and is for entertainment purposes.

Take your time when choosing your pile. Ask yourself the question and choose the picture that you can’t stop looking at. Listen to your intuition.

Extended Patreon Includes:

How are you outgrowing your old self?

What changes will occur from releasing your old self?

Extra Messages

MasterList

Patreon Link

Ko-Fi Donations

Sidenote: Love reading will be posted tomorrow

Who are you now? Tarot: 4 of Cups, Death, 8 of Swords, Queen of Wands (reversed), 5 of Wands, Ace of Swords (reversed)

This is my mental pile and when I mean mental I am not speaking crazy...unless you feel that way then carry on. When I say mental I mean you are constantly always in your head and not for the better. The phrase "I'm thinking" as someone says "That can't be good" may refer to you whenever you think because it's never a good thing. You're either dealing with imposter syndrome, self-doubt, low self-esteem, lack mentality, or just a doubt in your overall being as if you were placed on this earth to just exist and die. That's not true pile l. Some of you probably resist change because you fear success or failure. Some of this may have been residing in you since childhood/adolescence. While others of you this has been developing constantly over time as an adult just festering waiting to pop. Waiting for you to break. But then some of you are just comfortable in your little corner...Cinderella may have been your favorite movie or you probably resonate with her a lot, growing up in a "Be seen and not heard" household. The Song "In My Own Little Corner - Brandy (Cinderella) song is playing in my head Link to Song. The thing is I feel a lot of you have amazing dreams, ideas, and goals that you want to achieve but won't go after it because of what others or worse yourself have implanted in your head. You were meant for change,. You are not meant to be hidden in a corner because "No one puts baby in the corner" - Dirty Dancing (1987 Link to clip) If you haven't seen the original you are missing out. I feel the movie will speak to you, especially the main female character. Patreon Post Link

Pile ll:

Who are you now? Tarot: 10 of Pentacles, 9 of Pentacles, The Magician (reversed), Page of Cups, 4 of Wands, 5 of Cups (reversed)

Two different energies in this group...first one is "All About the Benjamins Baby" (Song Clip) is the phrase I heard in my head. Some of you possibly could have gone through a breakup or at least someone betrayed you whether it's your trust, or just hurt you in general that you closed yourself off to love and happiness and started chasing money instead. IF this isn't you then you are part of the very few who believe that they can't have it all. Similar to pile one but with different energy. Believing that the house with the picket fence dog and kids is not in your future, financial abundance is not in your future and etc. But overall I am getting the vibe that this pile is trying to get their money up. Fuck love and happiness, you can cry in a Ferrari or private jet later when you get your money up. I feel you pile ll I definitely feel you on that. Yea some of you something or someone betrayed you because the quote from Moulin Rouge movie "Betrayal. When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there can be no love." just played in my head (Link to clip) (Sidenote: Amazing movie, be warned it is a musical and a tearjerker). Overall you don't know how and who to trust. Whichever side you are on if you are all about the benjamins you don't know how to trust others anymore and on your "demon time" , city girls, hot girl summer, era or those who agree more on not believing good things will happen for them you don't know how to trust yourself, god, the divine, universe, etc. You are operating in an energy that you truly don't believe or is who you are. Some of you probably listen to the music but don't fully resonate with the lyrics because you are a lover and giver at heart. Patreon Post Link

Pile lll:

Who are you now? Tarot: King of Swords, Ace of Swords, Page of Swords, 5 of Swords, 3 of Swords (reversed), Ace of Pentacles (reversed)

"It's all in my head. I think about it over and over again" - Over and Over by Nelly Ft Time McGraw (Song Link). Omg pile lll I hate being in your energy right now because I feel anxious, depressed, and just so many other mental things. You literally have nothing but swords in your deck and one pentacle. In case you aren't into tarot swords is all about the mental (beliefs, attitude, consciousness, etc). It's like you are constantly thinking a mile a minute. You never shut off your brain it's one thing or another. Either way, you are your own enemy. No one else. You remind me of another reading I did recently so this message may still be for some of you who didn't hear the first time this message came around. You are causing your depression, anxiety, etc. You are your own competition and nobody else is even though you believe that you have competition. You really don't you might be the type of person who hates going to public places like the gym or grocery shopping because you feel everyone is judging you or thinking about you when in reality they are thinking about what are they going to do later on or if they need to take a poop. Social anxiety is definitely here in this pile (remember I'm not a doctor so take head to any mental disorders or illness I mention). I See perfectionism as well. This may stem from parents growing up not accepting anything less than 100% on anything you did. Storytime: I had a friend who made a 95 on a test and his dad asked where is the other 5 points. You may have grown up in that kind of environment that led to this or this could have developed over time once you joined the workforce and had bosses and etc in your face constantly telling you horrible things, etc. I am going to say this to you pile lll. Do the thing. Do it scared. Do it unprepared. Do it with no experience. Do it. Do it. Do it. Nike that hoe. It will bring you abundance but you will never know because you are constantly overthinking everything and dealing with perfectionism. Patreon Post Link

I hope you enjoyed this reading. Thanks to everyone who likes, reblogs my posts, and joins my Patreon. I always appreciate you <3.

Until Next time stay blessed and be safe.

[strawbbella]

Helloo~ I was bored in class one day so I thought "why not do an art study of the artists I like" except it incredibly scuffed and I really just looked at a bunch of art on their page and i tried my best to replicate one of em

So these are the 2 'studies' i did that day

1st:

My ver:

(Art by @izuke-the-zombie )

ref pic:

What I noticed first while sketching is ofc the super gorgeous cute style. Though not long into the sketching phase noticed her lines are quite sharp and pronouced, for most of her works she keeps her sketch lines making it seem more mmm hazy is the right word? Or effortless, but with every sharp line a rounded(?) line contrasts it, giving it that signature fluffiness. I absolutely adore how well this all mixes together, i dunno just sonethin bout her lines bro

I love the expression, really gives off absolutely love sick, I didn't capture the eyes quite well (I blame my chonk pen because all good artists blames their materials/j) Macaque looks more scared than breath taken and I put the eyes too far apart. I basically deprived the eyes of its soul lmao note for next time I do a study.

Ok this part has not much to do with the ref pic but her art in general and that includes her writing. I adore the cute HCs and little stories/AUs she would post, just so much creativity and its always so comforting to read as theyre so wholesome and cute. Im so sure one of my first posts here were a drawing of one of her HCs LIKE SRSLY SO CREATIVE. I was also surprised as I saw in some artworks she's able to draw structures and environments that draws your into the scene, its fits the universe so well, just adding to that little wonderment of awe. Shes amazing at coloring too, real soft, but still makes the characters pop, i'd say more but my brain is short-circuiting from all this analyzing. Shes just all round incredibly talented and creative honestly. Her style is exactly what i wanted to have as a kid and what im striving to have now. So cuteee

So far 11/10 art style, love the chibiness, cuteness, expressions, the pure and pastel feel and colors, and details. Just love her in general<3 check out her page lol

2nd:

My ver:

(Art by @clatteringbats )

ref pic:

Ok so immediately off the bat I knew I was gonna have some trouble here since I've been drawing chibis from the very start.

Just from observing her art I alr saw it has a lot of movement in em, lots of dynamic poses, and LOTS of embraces, really just pouring with that fluff/angst energy. At first I tried the anime body guidelines and boom instant error. Though not all that noticable the heads have sum chonk in em, especially the cheeks, giving that cute factor despite not being a chibi style. Im all for it. The lines are very soft, not a lot of sharp edges and if there are theyre placed in a very subtle way. The expressions are wonderful: from a subtle hopeless smile from an overwhelming roar of grief and anger, she's mastered the the art of slight details that give these effects their magic. Her lines are sketchy but not messy (does that make sense) they clump together neatly, giving the illustration clarity.

AND OMG HAVE YOU SEEN HER ANIMATICS? THE MOVEMENT, THE PACING, THE SMOOTHNESS, THE INTERACTIONS, THE EMOTIONS, THE EVERYTHING. THEYRE SO AAAA ITS LIKE A PROFESSIONAL STORYBOARD FOR A TV SHOW.

The way she uses color too— just o h m y g o d .

Her colors are so bright and clear, so nicely blended together, so bold, but not in the way that burns your eyes, she keeps them neutral in a way, that envokes that sense of harmony; like a sunset. (I legit have one of her colored artworks as my wallpaper) I have lots more to observe, but so far this is all I have to say. The skill of overflowing

Anways, back to the task at hand. I made the heads bigger than i shoulda , cause well chibi artist ehe. Again, I blame my chonk pencil. I didn't get the embrace quite right, but Ion think I could level with the queen of LITERALLY DRAWING TEARJERKING HUGS LIKE? I tried with the hands, I swear. I knew they were a little small but only now am I realizing its that way cause I made the heads too big. I wanna try drawing more in her style as its really just full of movement and flowiness, I wanna try mastering the way she draws perspectives too. I noticed for perspective shots theres this grid for the sky and ground (which is genius) will try that out when I actually pick up digital art again.

Check out her page, theres lots to see shes amazing 11/10 artstyle<3

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Megamind

So surprisingly, this is one movie I've never actually seen before outside of all of the memes and all of the love people tend to shower upon it, and after finally seeing it for myself... yeah, I totally get why. Megamind is based as fuck, ya'll.

We focus on, of course, Megamind, who is a supervillain who terrorizes Metro City and is opposed by the heroic Metro Man. At least until Megamind seems to successfully defeat Metro Man, leaving Metro City in his hands and quickly leading him into wanting more than just power alone. While in disguse, he ends up striking up a romance with Roxanne, a local reporter, and at the same time, he ends up creating a new opponent for him to fight to curb his growing boredum in the nerdy (incel) Hal, who quickly becomes more of a villain himself than the hero Megamind wanted him to be. So of course, this leads to all sorts of chaos and hijinks, and while you might think that plot sounds too complicated for its own good, I can surprisingly say, it really isn't!

Yeah, all of the moving pieces here work so well together, interwoven into a really compelling story with some pretty solid emotions and some great character moments. It helps that our cast itself is fantastic; Megamind is such a good lead, he's a genuis, but he's also totally socially graceless and is an absolute lovable goober as a result, one who comes to realize that he can be more than the "villain" stereotype he believed he was forced into being from childhood. Roxanne is also a really good leading lady; she's funny and snarky and has really great chemistry with Megamind throughout.

Metro Man doesn't get a ton of screentime, but he's a great parody on the usual superhero tropes, while Minion is the perfect right hand man (fish?) to Megamind in every way. Even our villain, Hal, or as he comes to be called, Titan, works really well here; he's the kind of asshole who just doesn't take no for an answer that we can all justifably hate (but he's also hilarious in his own right).

The animation is also really great here. I find that Dreamworks movies tend to look their best when their characters are highly stylized, and that's what we get a lot of here. We get a lot of really fun action scenes, both in terms of fighting and Megamind's tech. and strangely enough the special effects here (things like fabric and particle effects, etc) really stood out to me, they were all super well done.

The humor is absolutely fantastic here. It's not as adult as some of Dreamworks earlier days, but instead it relies more on who these characters are and how they interact with each other. I think one of my favorite running gags is Megamind obliviously mispronouncing various words (like school and Metro City). There's a bunch of small bits just like that throughout the movie, and they're all so fast paced and well delivered by a really stellar voice cast. The emotions also strike a cord here; there aren't any tearjerker moments, but you really do feel Megamind's growth here as he falls in love and eventually decides to become the hero he never thought he could be.

So yeah, I really enjoyed this one! It's a shame it took me this long to watch it, because it was super enjoyable all the way through. Also amazing that it never really spawned any legit sequels, but I heard its getting a show next year, so idk. I am probs not gonna watch it. Movie good tho, give it a watch if ya haven't.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Verdict: There is no Queen of England

Previous Review (Shrek Forever After)

Next Review (Kung Fu Panda 2)

[toxicanonymity]

raider analysis

Warnings: angst, references to violence, captivity, references to past assault/abuse, warnings from the related posts this is analyzing.

A/N: this is about the hypothetical from today, plus some about the 🐶 (goes into Hunger). Keep in mind I share these because some people enjoy it, not because i want you to read it like AP Lit, lol. 🫣

------

Ok, the kinda tearjerking exchange (not my favorite kind of jerking, but it happened, sorry) starts off

“‘Member what I said after ya ran?” You nod. “that you only want me if I'm good?” A tear runs down your cheek.

I have to admit I'm sad for both of you in this moment. You especially, sweet pea. But also, Joel regrets how he treated you in the aftermath of your escape, and he can't undo it. He's mostly thought about the physical part of it (glimpse of this in the yoga drabble). Now hearing you paraphrase his words, he's faced with the fact that it's even worse than he's been beating himself up over (deservedly, tbf). 

As far as you running away, the main thing that reassured Joel was how you said it wasn't about him, it was the other guys, to which he said you gotta talk to him when something's bothering you. So in his eyes that was his main point. But before he calmed down enough to express that, he was angry and it made a real impression on you. Your main takeaway was that his interest in you (and your safety) was conditional.  You don't think about it a lot these days, and in the big picture it's outweighed by his extreme possessiveness, but it's a thread of insecurity and the first thing that comes to mind when he asks if you remember what he said.

For Joel, there's a whole other conversation happening here (with himself) under the surface.

In this convo when Joel says “that was real bad,” it all was, including what he did in response.  When he asks “we’re past that, right?” he means all of it. He wishes that day would just go away. It's also kind of an empty hope related to what he's done to you. He doesn't think he deserves forgiveness or love, but at this point he also doesn't want you to live in fear of him or only stay for that reason. 

You answer as if he just wants to know you wont run away again, and that's still nice to hear. He latches onto that answer as a momentary "out" from feeling the weight of what he's done, reminding himself what's supposed to really matter to him–that you're "his"--like your answer assumed he was thinking.

—--

Also, a word about the dog. Not everything with the dog is profound. I like doggos and think they should have one. But, the initial interaction/freeing him from the collar is meaningful if you consider who else has been chained in this story (but not lately).  And there's more parallels you can draw if you want to, but I also support just enjoying the little guy.

In the same chapter, it's the first time we see Joel take you out with him as a capable person (armed). Then he even lets you go into the forest alone. The reason he ultimately goes in after you is because he's worried about you. In general, Joel wants to keep you for his own sake but is also scared of what could happen to you on your own (he's almost seen it). You're legitimately worried about the dog’s well-being and think he needs you, but you also just want him around.

Joel despises the addict and the way he treated his own dog. Joel hates himself, too. His thoughts coming out of the forest reveal he’s coming for the junkie as a stand-in and what he really wants is to hurt everyone who ever hurt you. He knows he's one of those people. I'm not saying he wants to hurt himself but some of the aggression he takes out on other men (when a simple bullet would suffice) is from his own self hatred. Normally these men have something in common with him. 

Joel initially rejects the dog, not wanting another someone to take care of distracting him from protecting you. But later the dog demonstrates he's more than meets the eye and has a lot to offer and for good reason Joel seems to come around, even if he won't say it. Despite that progress, in the hypothetical from today we still want more for the dog.  The dog deserves more. We still want more for sweet pea who is emotionally starving and has been subjected to Joel's coldness in her previous attempts to get closer to him. She deserves more. Like maybe a kiss at least (when she's awake). In night air we see why Joel struggles with that, but he keeps making progress. At least he's kissing your other lips.

-----

----

Thank you for reading and being invested <3. Joel's a bad guy but tbh I identify with and pour myself into both these characters in different ways.

I'm tired but this isn't exhaustive 😅 your thoughts and interpretation are valid, too.

[cuubism]

[[[I fanficced your fanfic, I hope you don't mind 😅 was craving soft/sad cryptid Dream. Feel free to post, delete, modify, ignore, whatever, as you will, it's your universe! And thank you for creating such a compelling one💜]]]

It’s an unremarkable day, meandering into an unremarkable night, when there’s a stiff, solitary knock at the coffee shop door. This, in and of itself, is still unremarkable. That’s how Dream knocks, and Dream comes by almost as many days as he doesn’t; but when Hob goes to let him in, he finds his friend looking— well. Remarkable, in a different way than usual.

Dream looks, in a word, frazzled. In fact, it takes his eyes full, near-comical seconds to focus, before he peers around the empty shop interior. “You are closed?”

“To the public,” Hob assures him, and just in case that isn’t a clear enough answer, he gets a hand on Dream’s elbow and steers him inside and to a clean table. “What can I make you?”

“Nothing,” Dream huffs. “Thank you. There is— a book I must read. I only sought somewhere safe to do so.”

“Okay, well.” Hob smiles. “I’ve got some cleaning up to do down here that should take a while. And if I finish before you do, I’ll come join you. Or we can go up to my flat.”

“Thank you,” Dream repeats. His breathing has calmed, but his eyes have not. He’ll definitely need some cheering up, or calming down— or both— before too long. But for now Hob’s got a shop that needs tidying. And Dream, apparently, has a book that needs reading.

Hob leaves him to it. About half the tables still need wiping-down, not to mention the counters; the syrups need refilling, and tomorrow’s specials menu needs writing, and—

That’s as far as he gets before deciding that he deserves a break and a kiss, thanks. Assuming Dream’s up for that—

—which, it seems, he isn’t.

Sat quietly at the table where Hob left him, Dream is buried in his book’s yellowed pages; tears are streaming silently, though plentifully, down his cheeks.

“Hey.”

Dream’s voice is a croak. “Hob Gadling.”

“Good book?”

It’s a bit of a tease, but Hob’s got a reason for it: if Dream wants the chance to shrug this off, explain that he’s just lost himself in a tearjerker, he deserves that chance. But even as he offers it up, Hob knows it won’t be taken. Dream has not been moved to tender tears by a lovely story; he is properly crying, properly upset.

Hob gentles his voice, squeezes lightly at Dream’s shoulder. “Let me make you some tea.”

“Thank you,” Dream whispers, after a tired pause. His eyes finally move from the text before him; but they sink to the floor, instead of raising to meet Hob’s gaze.

Hob gives another shoulder squeeze, then jogs back to the counter.

Three minutes later he sets before Dream a mug of hot tea and a stack of paper napkins, one of which his friend seizes to wipe his now-dribbling nose. He’s reading again. Hob lets him be.

Hob’s calmer than he might have expected, as the evening progresses. His stomach, sunk at the first sight of Dream’s tears, hasn’t made it back to its proper place yet; and still his mind is steady. Level. Dream needed a safe place; and he came here.

He trusts Hob so much that Hob is starting to trust himself.

When the last of the chores have been completed, Hob settles in the chair opposite Dream. “Finished cleaning,” he tells him, and offers a smile.

“I will leave you.”

“Don’t be daft,” Hob replies, covering Dream’s free hand with his own. “I only wanted to ask if you’d rather stay down here, or go up to the flat? Got stronger stuff than tea up there. And proper tissues, and such.”

(The napkins, which had seemed a good idea at the time, have left the edges of his nostrils red and sore. Combined with his now-puffy eyes, Dream looks a great deal less ethereal than usual— though no less beautiful.)

“Come on,” Hob continues, encircling Dream’s hand now.

“You needn’t worry—”

“You need,” Hob replies, “a drink, and tissues, and maybe a nice blanket.”

Dream blinks. A fresh tear slips free; and he stands.

In his flat, Hob sets Dream up on the sofa, with a blanket across his lap and a glass of whiskey and box of tissues close at hand. Dream reads, and cries, entirely without sound. He’s such a quiet companion, in fact, that Hob must drift off for a while; because when he wakes, Dream has set the book aside, and poured himself a glass of wine from a bottle Hob’s sure wasn’t in his flat.

His eyes are dry now, albeit raw. When he senses Hob stirring, he looks up with a painful expression that's maybe supposed to be a smile.

“Finished your book?” Hob prompts.

“For now.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“No. Thank you. Wine?”

“Sure,” Hob replies, taking the opportunity to come and sit at Dream’s side. Their arms brush, and Dream lets go a shuddering breath.

“I’m tired, Hob.”

“Yeah? Rest a bit. And you know you’re welcome to spend the night.”

“Only welcome?”

“Okay. You know I’d lose my mind if you spent the night. Although truth be told I wonder if you couldn’t use a good cuddle more than anything right now.”

Hob’s not sure if that was the wrong thing to say— or maybe the perfect thing to say— but in that instant fresh tears gather in Dream’s eyes.

“Come here,” Hob murmurs, setting his wine on the coffee table and then plucking Dream’s from his hand and doing the same. “Come here. Let me hold you.”

Contrary to his usual reserve, Dream comes easily, wilting into Hob’s arms the moment they are opened to him. In small, uncertain motions, he snuggles close to cry.

It takes a minute for him to settle. At first he tosses about, leaving wet patches in four or five spots on Hob’s shirt; but eventually he makes himself comfortable. Sets about the business of properly weeping— no longer quite silently— and Hob rubs his back as he sniffles and sighs.

“You’re kinder to me than I deserve,” Dream murmurs, after a while of this. Hob spends another moment formulating his reply.

“Whether or not that’s true from your perspective,” Hob replies, eventually, “it isn’t true from mine. I think you deserve a lot of kindness.”

“I really don’t.” Low as it is, Dream’s voice still cracks. “But I thank you for saying so.”

When his tears seem to have run their course (for the second time), Dream lifts his head and regards Hob fondly. His eyes look all the bluer against the red around their edges. He captures Hob’s lips in a soft kiss, mouth barely open; he tastes like salt and chardonnay.

“Thank you,” Dream whispers, when they part.

“I’m just glad you came over, okay?”

He nods.

“Can I get you anything?” Hob asks, then quickly answers his own question. “I’m going to get you a washcloth. Your eyes look like they hurt.”

Dream does not agree aloud; but when Hob returns and dabs the dampened cloth against his eyes, he groans softly. “That feels good.”

“Yeah? Good. Crying helps. But, fuck, it takes it out of you, dunnit?”

“It— does.”

“Please stay the night,” Hob whispers, and lowers his hand so Dream can open his eyes. “My bed’s lovely. And you can borrow some pyjamas. It just kills me to think of you going and being alone right now.”

“I. Have no desire, to be alone tonight, either.”

“Good,” Hob says again, and presses another kiss to Dream’s lips. “We can do whatever you like. If that’s just cuddling up, hey, I’m all for it.”

The inflammation is beginning to fade, just a touch; but the exhaustion in those blue eyes is only growing. “Can we,” Dream asks, “just go to bed now. And decide in a little while?”

“Of course,” Hob cooes; but before he lets Dream stand he cannot help himself from reaching out and touching his face one more time. He forgoes the washcloth. Smooths the pad of one thumb along Dream’s salt-clumpy lower lashes; and Dream, though tiredly, smiles.

FANFIC OF FANFIC!! :D how delightful! and how flattering!

I love fic-of-fic, inspirations and interconnected fics, it reminds me of something Michael Sheen said once on twitter (I saved it) about fanfic being an infinitely branching tree of stories dreaming itself.

Cryptic book lore... cuddles... the cafe is open only to Dream... perfect 🥰 thank you for sharing it! <3

[bisexualoftheopera]

Movies/Series to watch with the Obey me! Boys on date nights

Lucifer:

Probably a comedy, he needs a good laugh and to relax after a long day. I suggest Brooklyn Nine Nine for a series (Jake reminds him of a certain white haired scumbag) or, for a movie, Rango (the comedic genius of Johnny Depp and the fact that a lizard is doing all this because he got lost)

Mammon:

A romance or a action comedy. I feel like he'd enjoy Glass Onion: a knives out mystery (especially the end scenes) or Red Notice (he'd enjoy the story and the action and the comedic moments)

Levi:

Hard to imagine what he'd like, I'm 100% sure he'd like way of the househusband tho. Maybe he'd get into marvel and binge all of those movies (I feel like he'd like Tony a lot and maybe Peter Quill too?)

Satan:

I don't know why but I definitely see him liking baking impossible (the combo of engineering and baking? He'd want to see everything) or liking iZombie (zombie solves people's deaths by gaining their memories from eating their brains? Cool!) I see him watching Love and Monsters and snuggling you, thinking about what he'd do if that happened

Asmo:

Definitely watching next in fashion together or glow up. I feel like he'd watch horror movies just to hold you close but if it's a psychological horror then you're the one holding him. I see him watching the school for good and evil as well. I do think he'd enjoy Shadowhunters as well, Magnus would be his favorite.

Beel:

He would watch anything with you honestly. I do see him really enjoying the Johnny English movies and watching them with you and Belphie. A nice comedy is good but let's add some variety to it. A good romcom, maybe an action comedy or a horror comedy. No tearjerker movies though, he'd get so upset if the love interests don't get together or one dies.

Belphie: (the inaccuracies part in this only applies to the devildom and the game not actual inaccuracies in the movie and/or actual religion)

If you do get him to stay awake for a movie or even an episode, he would be the worst movie buddy (always talking, guessing what happens next and spoiling it if he's already seen it) but he'd love mystery stuff, they keep him on edge and he can't fall asleep until he knows what happens. He'd love Glass Onion as well and enjoy Constantine a lot (the inaccuracies in it slightly ticks him off because hello? Mammon is not Lucifer's son?? What???)

[welcometothejianghu]

Hey, you! You should watch Hikaru no Go!

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: Hikaru no Go/Qi Hun/棋魂.

Based on the manga of the same name, this drama is the Chinese live-action adaptation of a story about a boy who plays Go, the spirit only he can see who teaches him how to play Go, and all the friends and enemies he meets along his journey to become a good Go player.

...Wait, no, come back. I swear it's more interesting than that makes it sound.

What it is, is a character-driven tale of a charming young boy who, among a bunch of weird and wonderful people who love him, grows up to be a charming young man.

(You see how his shirt says SWEETIE CUTIE? That is because he is a sweetie cutie.)

It's a sports manga, so you've got Training Montages and The Big Game and all sorts of tense moments like that. But there's also lots of fun, gentle plotlines that are equal parts tearjerking and heartwarming. It is incredibly written, act, and produced, and I can't believe that it's not more popular, because it's so good.

Here are five reasons you should watch it:

1: GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY

Word of Honor is merely the second gayest thing I have ever seen a c-drama do. Hikaru no Go is gayer by an order of magnitude.

I think the way they got it past censorship was by saying, oh no, this isn't gay, it's just a sports rivalry! But come on, what do you mean sports rivalries aren't gay, have you seen how all those Canadian and US hockey players keep marrying one another? This is that. This is the tale of two boys who've been in love since they were seven figuring out that they've been in love since they were seven.

(And speaking of seven-year-olds, the kid casting is amazing.)

I mean:

This is an actual still from the show.

So is this.

So is this.

These are not taken out of context. The context would make them gayer. That's how gay they are for each other.

But you know what the best part is? They're not the only pairing. And I don't just mean this like, oh, here's two other cute boys, you can imagine the times they kiss -- I mean, the show itself has its own ships! Ships you wouldn't expect! Intergenerational gay Go solidarity!

Now here's the catch: You have to wait for it. But oh boy, the payoff had us clutching our heads and screaming as quietly as we could because it was after midnight and we were losing our minds.

That last episode!! You have to see it to believe it!!!

2: EMOTIONS!

Bring the tissues. There are parts where it was kinda hard for me to watch because I was sobbing.

Because it's a sports manga, there are lots of triumphs and tragedies. Not everybody can make it to The Big Game. Not everybody gets to live out their dreams. Sometimes you try your hardest and it's not good enough. Sometimes you play your best and you still lose. Some people have to give up on what they love. Some people who were there with us at the beginning don't get to make it with us to the end.

What really makes it is that the show sits with its emotions. Events will affect people's emotional states for multiple episodes to follow. People who have sadness don't just snap out of it. Loving someone doesn't automatically fix them. Shit's hard!

Of course, this contrast makes the triumphs even more wonderful. I will tell you that the show has a happy ending, but not always the ending you would expect would have been their happy ending. It is overall an incredibly uplifting show. You'll need tissues for that, too.

3: (Nearly) Everything Is Pretty Dang Normal

Part of what I mean by that is that while a lot of the actors are real pretty, they're also done up in ways where, like, if you met this person on the street, you would think, this person is pretty! and not, what the hell fancy-ass magazine cover did you just step off of?

Look at these normal goobers:

There are two exceptions to this. The first is Chu Ying, because he is a ghost energy being from the distant past, and ghosts energy beings from the distant past get astonishing eyeliner.

The second is Fang Xu, because his actor, Han Mubo, is an actual idol. Congratulations on your face, sir.

However, I also mean that the story is delightfully mundane. Sure, there's that one supernatural element to it, but everything else is just a regular story about regular people who have regular human problems. There are characters who disappoint their parents and mentors, struggle to pay their bills, try to balance school and extracurricular activities, have crushes, argue with teachers, flake on responsibilties, get lost in the woods, and do some pretty normal human things. Nobody's avenging anyone or trying to slay anything. It's just people being people.

It's even a bit of a period piece -- the show starts out in 1997, then jumps forward to the late '00s, so everything's just charmingly slightly outdated. Damn, I love everybody's flip phones.

4: Actually Good Television

Okay, if you like c-dramas, you know they can be ... janky. Episodes sometimes end practically in the middle of sentences. CG leaves much to be desired. Obvious cuts and last-minute overdubbing really stand out. You can tell where the censorship mandates got in there and started mucking around with things. That kind of jank.

This show feels different. It feels like someone thought out each episode, start to finish, and then created each piece to fit that vision. Every episode even has a title and beautiful title card. They start and end in dramatically logical places. The cinematography isn't anything particularly artful or experimental, but it's solid and clean and lovely. (And if you're sick of shows so dark you can't see them, you've got no worries here.)

The CG in the show is unobtrusive, and most of it is spent making Chu Ying subtly transparent.

There are a bunch of secondary characters, but to me that never felt overwhelming. Most of them are interesting, three-dimensional characters, no matter how short their screen time is. And while there definitely could have been more female characters, the show itself is pretty open about how sexism in the Go world means that it's mostly a boys' club -- and the ladies that are there are great.

In short, this is a show you can show to people who don't have c-drama brain and thus are less inclined to overlook some of the more cringeworthy aspects of their productions. I bet that your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles would have no trouble getting into the groove of it, which I imagine could be very useful for those of you who have people you'd like to watch c-dramas with, except you don't feel like stopping every five minutes to apologize for one thing or another.

5: Better Than The Source Material?

This is the point where I have to admit that I myself have never read the manga or seen the anime. I came into this with only the vaguest familiarity with the source material. I can only tell you that the live-action drama is good; I can't swear that it's better.

However, @jianghootinandhollerin can speak to this comparison more authoritatively than I:

When I was 20, Hikaru no Go (manga) was my favorite thing, the primary obsession, the source of multiple livejournal themes, custom winamp skins, and a fanfic where Hikaru got a go stone stuck up his nose. Because of this deep love in my history, I was dubious about a live action version and the changes it made, but hey, turns out, those changes were exactly what the 20 years older version of me needed. This version of the story benefits so much from having the full, completed story to work from from the outset. The manga didn't know where it was ending when it started, but this show got to, and the story gets to be richer and the characters' stories get to be deeper thanks to that. And also, very importantly: everyone is older and much, much gayer.

Look, I understand if "but it's not the original manga/anime" is a dealbreaker for you. There are adaptations of things I can't watch because no matter how good the end product may be, I'm going to hold it against it that it's not the source I'd rather be seeing, and that's not a fair standard. That's fine. It happens.

But if you can, give this a go (pun unintended). It does not replace the original thing; it is a different take on the same idea. And yeah, it's one that really speaks to me here, on the other side of forty as I am. Maybe I would have missed it at twenty, but the person I am now really respects its attitude that while Being The Best is all well and good, it is not the only thing, and it is absolutely not more important than being yourself and doing what you love with the people you love. Sometimes you peak and can't advance anymore, so you become a teacher, and you know what, that's better than okay, that's actually pretty great. (Do I overidentify with Bai Chuan? Listen: maybe.)

Have I convinced you to watch it yet?

You can watch it on iQiyi, or you can watch it on iQiyi's YouTube channel. I hope you love it as much as I do.