#the windup girl

[blkgrlsread2]

If she were to scrub for a thousand years she would not be clean, but she is too tired to care and she has grown accustomed to scars she cannot scour away.

Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl

[razreads]

There are times when he thinks he understands how the world works, and then, every so often, he lifts the lid of some new part of the divine city and finds roaches scuttling where he never expected.

Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl

[psybrepunk]

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is one of the best books I've read in a while. I'll be thinking about this one for a while, I believe.

It's the first time I've ever read a cyberpunk book that wasn't set in a "cyberpunk setting," and instead this post-modern setting has significantly lesser technoloy than modern day (with the exception of the lasting genetic technology existant in this universe).

This book is a perfect example of what I mean when I say that cyberpunk media isn't so much about a setting, but about having a cyberpunk story. It's not about neon lights and cyberspace and cyborgs, though don't get me wrong, I love that shit too. It's about the story formula, it's about marginalized and impoverished people fighting a system, it's about mega corporations and their dehumanizing practices and monopolies on things that should be a human right.

[lunatic-harness]

cold drinks are a luxury because ice is hard to come by in the kingdom of thailand, i get that, but have they (or perhaps even bacigalupi himself) never heard of evaporative cooling

[zegalba]

Takato Yamamoto: Windup Girl Dolls in a Box (2004)

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (April 15th)

Wilhelm (Pop’n Music)

Chara-O (Pop’n Music)

Cosine (Pop’n Music)

Butterflytchi (Tamagotchi)

Asumi Amakura (World Trigger)

Icardi (Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE)

Fossa (One Piece)

Hiro Kitazoe (World Trigger)

Kawara (Log Horizon)

Haruto Higurashi (Zanki Zero: Last Beginning)

Kozaru (Log Horizon)

Kota Kiyomiya (I-Chu)

Kouta Hasegawa (Sanrio Boys)

Koharu Nanakura (Aikatsu Stars!)

Maoto Tsujido (UniteUp!)

Shou Onoda (TSUKIPRO)

Sayaka Mayuzumi (Majikoi!)

Minami Hinata (Battle Girl High School)

Satoshi Shudo (Prince of Tennis)

Tomonari Yoshida (Big Windup!)

Gray Edwards (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within)

Taichi Kawanishi (Haikyuu!!)

Yuuko Yoshikawa (Hibike! Euphonium)

Patrasche (Re:Zero)

Grams (Animal Crossing)

[turtlycute]

2023 Anime Watch List

August:

This post is part of my ongoing record for the new (to me) anime I watch in 2023. I'm excited to see what new shows and films I discover as this list grows through the year.

I guess it's time for another theme month. I rewatched Haikyuu the last week of July and got pumped up to watch more sports anime. So, this month I'm focused on anime about sports. There are some new shows listed but, I also rewatched some of my favorites.

* indicates shows that are rewatches

Salaryman's Club (2022) episodes: 12 started: 7-31-23 finished: 8-1-23 rating: 7/10

Blue Lock (2022) episodes: 24 started: 8-1-23 finished: 8-3-23 rating: 8/10

Ahiru no Sora (2019-2020) episodes: 50 started: 8-3-23 finished: 8-8-23 rating: 9/10

The Gymnastics Samurai (2020) episodes: 11 started: 8-9-23 finished: 8-10-23 rating: 7.5/10

Re-Main (2021) episodes: 12 started: 8-10-23 finished: 8-11-23 rating: 8/10

Number24 (2020) episodes: 12 started: 8-11-23 finished: 8-12-23 rating: 7/10 note: I knew very little about rugby before watching this show, that's still the case after watching it too.

Big Windup (2007) episodes: 26 started: 8-13-23 finished: 8-15-23 rating: 9/10

PuraOre! Pride of Orange (2021) episodes: 12 started: 8-16-23 finished: 8-17-23 rating: 6.5/10

Sk8 the Infinity (2021)* episodes: 12 started: 8-18-23 finished: 8-19-23 rating: 9/10

Taisho Baseball Girls (2009) episodes: 12 started: 8-21-23 finished: 8-22-23 rating: 8/10

Run with the Wind (2018)* episodes: 23 started: 8-22-23 finished: 8-24-23 rating: 9/10

Dive!! (2017) episodes: 12 started: 8-28-23 finished: 8-29-23 rating: 7.5/10

Yuri On Ice (2016)* episodes: 12 started: 8-28-23 finished: 8-31-23 rating: 10/10

Previous Months:

January Watch List

February Watch List

March Watch List

April Watch List

May Watch List

June Watch List

July Watch List

[automatisma]

Sometimes I still think about The Water Knife’s ending. Yeah, it was that good.

Maria shooting Lucy over the rights is such a surprising moment, and yet a perfectly logical choice considering all that she has learned so far about the world she lives in; few twists manage to balance shock and narrative coherence so well. The bittersweetness of it all is just the cherry on top of a great novel about climate change and ecodisasters.

[blkgrlsread2]

Suffering. Pain is the only truth. But it is better for young ones to laugh a while and feel the softness, and if this desire to coddle a child ties a parent to the wheel of existence so be it. A child should be indulged.

Paolo Bacigalupi, The Windup Girl

[punningway]

Wind-up Lura Luna, Garlond Ironworks Attire Edition!

[redrum-alice]

ABA x Paracelsus HCs that live in my mind rent-free, even though I haven't played the game--

Some of these HCs include other characters involved in their arcade mode.

ABA is no stranger to stalking people. So when she came across a lookout point, she saw many couples, mostly teenagers, making out and going on romantic dates. She wonders what it would feel like to be young and in love, rather than just declaring someone whom she met first glance as a "husband"

ABA's collection of keys were hidden somewhere in the pocket dimension. She sometimes uses them as accessories to adorn herself, despite the like of knowledge in fashion (the girl wears pants as a top--)

There are many shades of blue that ABA can pick from. Since Paracelsus turned himself blue, the shiny surface reflected more colors than just blue, inspiring her to try and appreciate other colors near the blue gradient.

Added to the color stuff, she eventually tries variation of outfits with other colors, but with blue as the base.

Paracelsus knows when she's feeling fatigued. When she's at her limit, he opens the pocket dimension and lets her rest there until she wakes up. ABA sees this as his love language, but unintentional on his part

Both ABA and Paracelsus have no clue on how homonculi biology works, and Paracelsus hates to admit he feels bad that ABA may be at risk of getting herself hurt without him knowing what to do

Paracelsus wishes he knows more about human anatomy because its the closest one to ABA's physiology.

Since ABA is clairvoyant, she often hears the spirits of their victims which she tries to ignore, and probably because she doesnt know the correct response to a wailing dead person wanting justice. When its too much, she asks Paracelsus if what theyre doing was justified and that she begins to regret her rage filled jealousy directed at those that dont even bother them.

Paracelsus keeps telling ABA that she needn't to worry because it was a necessity for the both of them-- something he deeply regrets to say because he knows she has strong principles that she live by despite not being a human

Paracelsus, deep down, is ashamed of himself for tainting ABA for the purpose of tending to his bloodlust. He saw how genuine and pure hearted she is, but it turned into malice because of his demonic origin. He begins to wonder what ABA would be like if she found someone else years ago.

Just like ABA, Paracelsus has an unspoken fear of abandonment, but since he lacks capacity to feel other emotions, he doesnt notice this.

Ever since Elphelt and Testament approached her with good intentions, ABA wanted to make more friends like them, but is scared that others have ill intentions toward her and Paracelsus.

ABA's favorite book would be Alice in Wonderland when she was still in Frasco, specifically the part where Alice was trapped in a room or multiple doors with the smallest door being the exit. ABA admires this because of the concept of escaping, especially that there's a key involved. (Im biased bc my name's Alice and i like this story--)

Besides door keys, she also collects windup key and smaller keys for chests and compartments. She sees this as a symbol for discovering new things, especially music when she came across a music box that needed a key

Speaking of music boxes, she associates this object with Elphelt bc of her musical talent (and that she may as well look like the ballerina spinning on the music box)

Other than doors, music boxes, and compartments, she also came across a small doll that needed a key. After she winds it up, it began walking and talking towards her and freaks her out. But when it said "mama" in a robotic voice, ABA contemplates and wonders if she was ready to become a parent somewhere in the near future when Paracelsus has a body. An impossible thought, but one could never be sure, and it scares her.

Butterfly Pea tea with brown sugar, or sparkling butterfly pea lemonade with honey would probably her favorite drink because of its color. She shares this with her hubby 🥰😋

There comes a time that her bandanges would get uncomfortable and smell bad from blood stains and wounds, so Paracelsus tells her she needs to change them before she gets an infection. He does stop her midway because he realizes she isnt wearing any undergarments and proceeds to take her in the pocket dimension.

Elphelt offers ABA to shop with her to pick clothes suited for her. The first thing she sees at the boutique display was a wedding dress and begins to day dream a wedding with Paracelsus. Without her looking, Elphelt happily buys the wedding dress with matching tuxedo and gives it to ABA, despite Paracelsus' protests (the fact that he hears them chatting about setting up the wedding next day had him ded on the spot :P)

ABA watches home video tapes left in houses unoccupied by their owners (abandoned or they went on vacation; ABA is a home intruder lol). She finds a tape labeled "Happy Day" and it plays a recording of a newly wed couple dancing at their reception. The way the couple moved gracefully tickled an idea in her brain and insisted she and Paracelsus should dance. But since the large key doesnt have any legs, her attempts in waltzing with him went nowhere 😅 (and this gave more reason for ABA to find a body for Paracelsus)

At late nights when ABA is asleep, Paracelsus wonders that if he had a body, would ABA still be shorter or they would be in the same height? Either way, he was impressed that she can keep herself up with that low weight despite her tall stature, more so on how she was able to carry him around without much muscle mass.

When he sleeps beside her, her hair unwittingly falls on his bow and feels how soft it is. A very pleasant feeling he won't admit.

Everyday, Paracelsus keeps reminding ABA that she needed to eat to gather strength. ABA often forgets to eat because its not hard wired in hr system, nor that it was even natural for her to eat in the first place.

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

Ran over here as soon as i could!

Imagine Tan with his baby girl (4 years) and shes playing with his hair, putting clips and bows and ties in his hair or making tiny braids? Mum an Lem are trying not to laugh out loud when they see them, Lem asks his niece if she wants make-up which she finds a such a great idea! Mum has to stop Lemon. Tan trying his best not to upset his baby girl. And so on and so forth...

Have fun with it🍊❤️🫶🏻

this is the cutest!!! I forever love dad tan!! and with all dad tan stuff, mandy is his daughter (it’s like mandarin, another baby orange) thank you for requesting, hope you like it 💌

BOWS AND BRAIDS.

dad tangerine x fem!reader — fluff

word count. 532

Lemon and Tangerine often acted like they were twelve - the everlasting phase of wanting to annoy each other, joining them into adulthood. They were the others' biggest windup, and now Lemon was having the fun poking at Tan, knowing there was nothing he could do to retaliate. 

Uncle Lem had popped by to see you all - to spend time with his family during the week off. All gathered in the living room: you on the sofa beside Lemon, Mandy, your daughter, sitting on the coffee table with Tangerine cross-legged on the floor facing her. 

Mandy had her tiny hands in Tan's hair, placing accessories and ties in his curls - cutesy pink and purple clips attached in clumps around the front of his face, messily placed bows at the back of his head and knotted half-braids starting midway through his hair. It was admirable, really.

"Don't daddy look pretty," Lemon teases, crouching beside the coffee table to get closer to Mandy. "He'd make a pretty girl, won't he?"

"No," she shakes her head, shoving her finger into Tan's moustache. "He has a hairy face."

You resist the temptation to laugh, instead leaning closer, resting your elbow on your knee to cover your mouth. 

Lemon snickers before continuing, watching the displeased expression grow on his brother's face. "That's right. You should shave it off, Mands. Make him all pretty looking."

Your eyes widen. "No, no, absolutely not. We're not doing that."

"Boo, mummy. Mandy boo her," Lemon eggs your daughter on, lovingly brushing over her face.

"Why can't we shave him, mama?" Mandy asks, turning around to look at you, her face sweet and innocent. 

"It makes him look pretty. You know how it doesn't make him a pretty girl? Well, it's the same thing. He's not a pretty boy without it," you tease, looking over at Tan. Your words are harsh, but nothing like the soft, loving expression on your face. 

"Do I not get a say?" Tangerine adds, looking between you all with lightly furrowed brows. 

"No. You're a mannequin. Mannequins can't talk," Lemon pipes in, immediately dismissing his twin. "How about some make-up instead, Mand? That'll make him pretty."

"Yeah," she smiles, her grin wide and genuine. "Mama has some," she adds, climbing off the coffee table. 

"What a great idea," Lemon encourages, standing up to follow after his niece.

You look over to Tan, noticing the 'help me' face he is giving you - silently asking you to stop it.

"I think daddy's had enough for now, no? He looks so pretty, and you did such a good job," you pick your daughter up, placing her on your lap - kissing her cheek. 

"Mands," Tangerine calls, dragging out her name. "I just had the best idea," he looks between you and Lem knowingly, a small smile forming. "We should give Uncle Lem a makeover, too. Wouldn't that be fun?" 

She gasps, her face lit up in excitement, grinning as she climbs off your lap. Tangerine stands, following his daughter. 

"I'll help you, poppet. We'll get all your mum's make-up, yeah?" he chuckles, hitting his brother on the way out. "He's gonna look so pretty when we're done."

[shorkbrian]

Based off of "Chaos Walking"

The Noise from Johnny was frightening.

"Pretty" "Fuckable little thing" "She's got great fuckin' tits" "I just wanna fuckin' bury my face in them" "Little lass has the pretties' eyes too" "Would look so cute 'n bonnie lookin' up a' me while she's suckin' me off"

It was incessant, ceaseless, neverending.

Johnny apologized again and again, face tinged red, his words spluttered after each thought reverberated out from his skull into the air around his head. You weren't from this place, not used to this planet that turned men's thoughts into actual verbalizations, dancing around next to them for anyone to hear.

Johnny sometimes thought sweet things about you too, his mind's chatter conjuring up domestic scenarios, wondering if you knew how to cook, if you'd ever be sweet and make him a fine meal. How cute you look while you're sleeping, how badly Johnny wants to care for you and wipe away your tears whenever you cry about missing home.

It's hard being stuck on a strange planet, monsters and men, the same thing chasing after you.

But no matter how scary Johnny's Noise can get sometimes, Simon's Noise is terrifying. It's terrifying because he hardly has any.

If Johnny's brain was a windup toy, always chattering away as if someone had pulled his string, Simon's was a broken doll, silent and eery, creaking only on occasion.

You had thought he was normal at first, like one of the men from back home. You quickly realized he was the abnormality of this world, a freak, feared by others.

"Pretty girl" Had been the first Noise you heard from him, even before he had opened his mouth to bark at you to ask your name and what you were doing stealing food. Since then there had been relative silence, only an occasional "Clumsy" whenever you'd trip over a log, or a low chuckle followed by the biting comment of "Slow" if he thought your walking pace was such.

Rarely would you hear a quiet stream of unintelligible Noise late at night, when the fire had died down and Johnny was on watch. Simon would sleep with his back to the fire, arms crossed. The Noise that emanated from his shaved skull made you uneasy, only able to make out a word every now and then, things like "Fuck" "Cute" and "Goddamn".

You had peeked over at him once, walking past him to use the restroom, and noticed the front of his pants were tented, protruding out from his body. It made you blanch, worried about his subtle nighttime Noise.

As long as the boys kept their hands to themselves and their Noise in their heads, you'd be fine.

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy Birthday! (March 4th)

Lorna McNessie (Monster High)

Anchovy (Animal Crossing)

Creamy (Pop’n Music)

Momoko Takamachi (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha)

Koyuki (Servamp)

Urara (Gintama)

Kancho (Gintama)

Choe Neng Poww (Bleach)

Kunio Fushikawa (I-Chu)

Keita Fukuhara (Big Windup!)

Masira (One Piece)

Minotaurus (One Piece)

[absolutebl]

Hii I've seen in your weekly windup that you're watching For Him, I had a linguistic question where i think i keep hearing Him say 'kha' when he ends a sentence. Is it just me or is that just the way he says khrab or is he actually saying kha? Please help i didn't know who else to ask about linguistics! Thank you!!

He's using the "ha" particle.

It's a version of kha, but also something a bit different. It's a softening of politeness, household intimate but not rude, warm. It's also a touch feminine, straight men flirting with their girlfriends or at home with wives may use the ha. Brothers with younger sisters. For example Phun uses ha with his beloved little sister in Love Sick.

It's also used by... gay men with each other. (So is ja, but ja is more camp and harsh.)

There's a kind of pulling back on tough masculinity with the use of ha. It's also pretty linguistically modern. So it's more common with younger generations. In Bangkok you'll hear it paired with borrowed words, especially English ones. For example: okay ha.

What's interesting about Him, is that he used ha with Nail RIGHT away. He didn't start polite, he jumped right into ha. This told Nail instantly that Him was a probubly a player and that he was gay. Note Him has never gone back? He always uses ha with Nail, he's the only character I've ever heard do this in a BL. Usually ha is situational and circumstantial. For special occasions not everyday wear.

I love it. It's a very telling characteristic and personality trait. It says a lot about Him and how hard he is trying to make this second relationship work.

It also makes him very very slightly... sleazy.

Incidentally, Nail avoided polite particles all together, he's rude and curt, as a kind of flirtation.

FYI. Men will also use kha on women, especially when flirting or with MUCH younger girls. For example when Pete (very VERY polite character) meets Ae's toddler niece he uses kha in Love By Chance.

(source)

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Round 1 Matchups!

Side A

L Lawliet (Death Note) VS Muichirou Tokito (Demon Slayer)

Gohan (Dragon Ball Z) VS Kiibo/K1-B0 Idabashi (Danganronpa)

Haruka Sakurai (Milgram) VS Seishirou Nagi (Blue Lock)

Satoru Gojou (Jujutsu Kaisen) VS Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Umetarou Nozaki (Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun) VS Tamaki Suoh (Ouran High School Host Club)

Gin Gagamaru (Blue Lock) VS Taisei Yoshida (Assassination Classroom)

Itona Horibe (Assassination Classroom) VS Souichi Tanuma (Those Snow White Notes)

Light Yagami (Death Note) VS Tenma Matsukaze (Inazuma Eleven)

Shouto Todoroki (My Hero Academia) VS Sunny (Omori)

Broly (Dragon Ball Super) VS Kaworu Nagisa (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Yu Narukami/Souji Seta (Persona 4) VS Sechs (XBlaze)

Kiyotaka Ishimaru (Danganronpa) VS Kento Nanami (Jujutsu Kaisen)

Nate River/Near (Death Note) VS Kyouya Ootori (Ouran High School Host Club)

Mash Burnedead (Mashle: Magic and Muscles) VS Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder)

Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) VS Kabuto Yakushi (Naruto)

Lan Wangji (Mo Dao Zu Shi) VS Rui Kamishiro (Project Sekai)

James (Pokémon) VS Monkey D. Luffy (One Piece)

Yuusuke Kitagawa (Persona 5) VS Tsubasa Yuunagi (Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure)

Hitoshi-san (Nyan~ Neko Sugar Girls) VS Illumi Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

Mikazuki Augus (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans) VS Wakatoshi Ushijima (Haikyuu!!)

Homare Arisugawa (A3!) VS Kamille Bidan (Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam)

Subaru Mikazuki (My Roommate is a Cat) VS Atsushi Murasakibara (Kuroko no Basket)

Tanaka (Tanaka-kun is Always Listless) VS Natural Harmonia Gropius (Pokémon)

Haru (Tsuritama) VS Giorno Giovanna (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Floyd Leech (Twisted Wonderland) VS Laios Touden (Dungeon Meshi)

Touma Akechi (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.) VS Trafalgar D. Water Law (One Piece)

Lotte “Roy” Carmine (BlazBlue) VS Gon Freecss (Hunter x Hunter)

Nahoya “Smiley” Kawata (Tokyo Revengers) VS Senkuu Ishigami (Dr. Stone)

Ash Ketchum (Pokémon) VS Mafuyu Satou (Given)

Alhaitham (Genshin Impact) VS Shichirou Balam (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun)

Shintarou Kisaragi (Kagerou Project) VS Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)

Toshinari Seki (Tonari no Seki-kun) VS Takashi Natsume (Natsume’s Book of Friends)

Side B

Haruka Nanase (Free!) VS Tsukasa Tenma (Project Sekai)

Takeo Gouda (My Love Story!!) VS Karna (Fate)

Shintarou Midorima (Kuroko no Basket) VS Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint)

Roronoa Zoro (One Piece) VS Junpei Tenmyouji (Zero Escape)

Sig (Puyo Puyo) VS Kanata Shinkai (Ensemble Stars)

Kyoujurou Rengoku (Demon Slayer) VS Yugi Mutou (Yu-Gi-Oh!)

Legoshi (Beastars) VS Gaien "Enkidu" Enkidou (Under Night In-birth)

Doppo Kunikida (Bungou Stray Dogs) VS Hiroshi Odokawa (Odd Taxi)

Kusuo Saiki (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.) VS Katsuya Serizawa (Mob Psycho 100)

Nagito Komaeda (Danganronpa) VS Haruhito Yano (Odd Taxi)

Yotasuke Takahashi (Blue Period) VS Manjirou "Mikey" Sano (Tokyo Revengers)

Kyouya Onodera (Talentless Nana) VS Misumi Ikaruga (A3!)

Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) VS Shu Itsuki (Ensemble Stars)

Meguru Bachira (Blue Lock) VS Ren Mihashi (Big Windup!)

Ranpo Edogawa (Bungou Stray Dogs) VS Kaito (Vocaloid)

Zero (Puyo Puyo) VS Masayoshi Hazama (Samurai Flamenco)

Genos (One Punch Man) VS Jotaro Kujo (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure)

Vivia Twilight (Master Detective Archives: Raincode) VS Sora Harukawa (Ensemble Stars)

Satori Tendou (Haikyuu!!) VS Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic X)

Houtarou Oreki (Hyouka) VS Kabane Kusaka (Kemono Jihen)

Ghiaccio (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) VS Tenya Iida (My Hero Academia)

Malleus Draconia (Twisted Wonderland) VS Tetsuya Kuroko (Kuroko no Basket)

Kensuke Aida (Neon Genesis Evangelion) VS Goku (Dragon Ball)

Shinichi Kudou/Conan Edogawa (Detective Conan) VS Toya Aoyagi (Project Sekai)

Rei Suwa (Buddy Daddies) VS Gin Ibushi (Your Turn to Die)

Jade Leech (Twisted Wonderland) VS Akihiko Sanada (Persona 3)

Xiao (Genshin Impact) VS Loid Forger (Spy x Family)

Souya "Angry" Kawata (Tokyo Revengers) VS Sabro Sabnock (Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun)

Apollo Justice (Ace Attorney) VS Tobio Kageyama (Haikyuu!!)

Kurapika (Hunter x Hunter) VS Saitama (One Punch Man)

Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear) VS Langa Hasegawa (Sk8 the Infinity)

Subaru Natsuki (Re: Zero) VS Yusei Fudo (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)