#there was no planning for this post i really binged the entire series yesterday

[sixthwater]

Just a short piece but this scene reminds me a little bit of the difference between someone who simply has a planet within the first house and someone who has it as their chart ruler / dominated by it.

The difference is that the person who holds the planet within their first house has a bit more trouble adjusting to it's influence. It tints their view of reality while also giving outsiders a blocked view of them. It gives them a slightly immature mentality compared to the other when dealing with life, because they can't process this energy as fluidly.

Here, Morpheus/Dream (the one in black) would be someone who simply holds a planet within their first. Depending on the planet here, the effects are either immediately seen or take a bit longer to come to light. Venus for example; it starts off extremely beneficial. The native will usually have a celebratory approach to most things, and others will see the native as beautiful in their eyes (because beauty is subjective). However as time goes on, the native might start to doubt a lot of people's motives, or compliments, and overindulge to make up for a lack of, for them, authenticity in their lives. So they grow to resent that first house Venusian influence, but it's constantly enforced on them and their view of the world, so someone may grow to see people as superficial, moments to be short-lived, and life as a Ke$ha hit single. Whereas Saturn will hit the native immediately. They see the world from a bleaker point of view and feel like they're constantly getting beat on. Others will view them as someone who is quite serious or damn near boring, but who can take whatever shitty thing is said to them, so they won't think twice before insulting them because the native "can handle it". This in turn makes the native become their own worst enemy because it makes them believe they should be completely hard on themselves with no reward when that's not the case, but they feel like that's a true reality. So on and so forth etcetc--

Gault would be representative of someone who is holding that chart ruler, or the dominance. There is an understanding of the benefits and detriments of that planet, but how it can help us grow, learn, and become stronger people while we walk this earth. I am not going to spoil the story but just know that I love her but I think her 'arc' is a great visual of someone who was dealt a malefic, and learns how to deal with it as they grow. Let's choose Moon, very fitting for the show. Gault's chart ruler would be the Moon, so on top of wherever it resides in their chart, all of the topics related to that planet itself are always making itself prevalent in their life. Then whatever planets are aspecting their moon as well, are going to give it a run for it's money! Let's hope it is because god if it's unaspected. All of that, are constantly running the show in Gault's life because everything in their chart answer to their moon at the end of the day, or it's the loudest thing they will notice. So having to grow up and deal with a planet regarding your emotions, family, roots--aspecting god knows what and having to figure out how to deal with that--and then let's hope the rest of your chart is compatible with what it's doing and is okay with that planet as well-----You will slowly start to understand the lessons it wants to teach you and begin to understand that this is a process. You don't have to be trapped in a cage because you can mold this into what you need to, and you can rely on other things in your chart to help you, and strengthen whatever resources you have. You can change however you need to. You are learning as you go.

The main difference here is that:

Chart Rulers / Dominance: deals with it constantly, therefore they have time to grow and fully understand how it's operating and separate it from it's deeply set negative connotations

1H Placements: only deals with that planet subconsciously or when others inflict their perspective onto the person. So it doesn't give them as much patience with the planet and gives more leeway for the native to grow resentment or act out to protect themselves from that placement

[my-lunaberg]

I went on a TftSMP binge yesterday before watching The Maze for the first time and I thought it would be fun to rank them :D Thats it, lets start !!

The Beach Episode: Ive only watched this one once when it first came out and it was so boring and I disliked it so much that when it came time to watch it again as part of my rewatch(es), I just didnt. The premise is fun enough but the execution is really lacking and I really hate how it breaks continuity, I know its petty but that kinda stuff is really important to me. I dont have much else to say, I didnt like it very much and if it were up to me, it wouldnt be canon but it clearly is so. whatever

The Haunted Mansion: Again, the premise is fun and I like the idea of a tale taking place in like, the near future and still featuring some characters we know from the present day mixed in with original characters, but again, I thought the execution was lacking. TftSMP lives and dies by its characters imo and I didnt particularly like any of them. The twins were pretty cute and I always enjoy Schlatt's performance but idk it just wasnt enough for me

The Town That Never Was: Honestly, I keep forgetting this one and I wasnt sure if I should even watch it since I didnt watch it the first time around but I watched it now and I cant say I regret it. It does feel very disconnected and it does feel weird to count it as part of TftSMP but its a neat little episode 0-type thing (even if it does feel pretty out of character for Karl ngl lol)

The Village That Went Mad: Ah, the one that started it all. Im so glad the fandom looked at this one and collectively decided that Karl was a time traveller because without it we probably wouldnt have gotten the rest of the series without it! Its pretty neat, although I do wish they did a bit more roleplaying because the most entertaining parts were definitely the in-charcter interactions

The Lost City of Mizu: This is where TftSMP starts getting really good imo. Its kind of an interesting how it almost acts as a transition of sorts, from the more gamified format to more traditional roleplay. Ive already made a post about this, but I think itd be neat if they would remake this one, because the concept is so good and I really enjoyed the interactions between Cleetus, Benjamin and Ranboos character (I forgot his name sry) but the format and the need to rush through the story felt really restricting. I also really enjoyed the details about the lack of food and stuff going wrong with the oxygen system which I never really noticed on my previous watches but really came to appreciate this time. I also liked how clueless Ranbob seemed, I honestly dont think that was an acting choice I think cc!Dream was just actually inexplicably unprepared but I thought it was really funny. Like, it seemed like he wasnt given a name or didnt have one prepared so he just made it up on the spot lol

The Pit: The premise of this one was really fun! I am a little upset that we didnt get the Ran lore that was apparently planned but it worked fine without it. Honestly, I dont have much to say, the characters were fun, I do wish we couldve seen them interact among each other a bit more but I still liked it.

The Wild West: Full disclosure, The Masquerade has been a long time favorite of mine and I was very sure it was gonna be my top one and while I ended up being right, this one is still very high up the ranking and it is the funniest one for sure. There were so many funny and dare I say iconic moments, I dont think I could list them all but my top three moments were: "This is where I keep my mail and. wife", Percy's introduction and exchange with John John, any moment with Jack Kanoff. I also appreciate the reference to The Masquerade :D

The Maze: I was soooooo excited when I read the premise and I'd be a lying if I wasnt a little bit dissapointed at the execution. However, Slimecicle absolutely carried this entire thing on his back, I absolutely adored his performance. That ending twist was also just great, idk why it got me the way it did but it elevated the entire episode for sure. The lore it ended on was also really interesting, although a bit disappointing in retrospect now thats basically over. I hope they integrated some of the lore from TftSMP into the main storyline as well because I do think its very interesting

The Masquerade: MY FAVORITE :DDDDD I adore murder mysteries in fancy mansions and I adore masquerades so yeah, ofc I love this one. I loved everyones fancy outfits, I loved Techno as Sir Billiam III, I loved Karl flirting with Mason, I loved the twist UGHHH. I also thought this episode was really funny, even if not as funny as The Wild West. My standards for humor arent that high tbh, I just liked how they made fun of rich people lmao. I think my favorite moment was probably the one where Karl was hiding in that closet with Sebastian and he was getting murdered right next to him, it was surprisingly tense. All around great, I loved it

[karazor--el]

The Beat

INTERVIEW: Nicole Maines on bringing trans issues to SUPERGIRL

Cori McCreery Cori McCreery

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On March 15, 2020, an episode of Supergirl titled “Reality Bytes” aired on The CW, focused on the harrowing topic of violence against trans women. Actress Nicole Maines, a trans woman who portrays Nia Nal (aka Dreamer) on the series, led the way in the episode with an emotional and raw performance and with contributions in the writer’s room. On March 31st’s Trans Day of Visibility, The Beat got to sit down with Maines to discuss bringing trans issues to primetime television.

The Beat: Happy Trans Day of Visibility.

Nicole Maines: Happy Trans Day of Visibility to you too! Thank you very much.

The Beat: As one of the most prominent trans voices out there today, what does today mean to you?

Nicole Maines: Well it kinda feels like a double-edged sword for me. I feel like, on the one hand, it’s a victory lap for all of us because we’ve made so much progress. You know, we have reached all these milestones but then at the same time you know we have to take a moment and recognize, why our visibility is so radical and you have to remember everyone else who we’ve lost along the way and you have to keep in mind all the new legislation that’s being introduced amidst all this so there’s a lot of emotions, but I think it should first and foremost, be a happy day for us to celebrate that we can even be visible.

The Beat: Yeah. As someone who also has a history of activism in the trans community, I feel that very close to my heart. I’m from South Dakota, which has made news in recent years for all of the really vile anti-trans legislation that they have tried to pass. And I feel a little guilty because it all started coming out after I won a court case in South Dakota.

Maines: Well first of all, congratulations. Second of all, you know, I think we shouldn’t feel guilty about that because it’s kind of like, you know, how a “hit dog will holler,” that old saying? It’s kind of like that. I feel like that’s kind of the final thrashing for that kind of bigotry and way of thinking, they feel they feel threatened, which, you know, they should.

The Beat: So I know we’re all cooped up right now. Do you have any plans to celebrate today online at all with friends?

Maines: Yeah! So I did my social media posts and I did a really, I thought, cool video of like me transitioning from me when I was younger and I was still rocking a bowl cut to now as Dreamer to kind of show, you know, it gets better and look how again just looking how far we’ve come. And then also, I took a moment to kind of give a shout out to, there’s a lot of us who can’t post selfies for trans day of visibility, because you know we’re living at home with parents who aren’t supportive or we’re not in a safe school environment, we’d be facing harassment online from peers. So, I wanted to take a moment, also and kind of recognize, hey, y’all are just as much a part of this community and even if you can’t participate in Trans Day of Visibility, you’re still valid.

The Beat: Speaking of being stuck at home, what are you doing to pass all of your free time now?

Maines: Well, I finally broke down and I got Disney Plus. So lots of that. I binged the Mandalorian and now I’m doing an entire rewatch of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I’m starting at season one, then I’m going to go right into the new season that just got released so I’m really excited about that. Lots of Disney movies. I tried to teach myself how to sew. Turns out that’s not in my skill set. And then lots of video games. Just yesterday I ate Ritz crackers, in the dark.

The Beat: I too ate Ritz crackers in the dark yesterday, so solidarity. What video games are you playing right now?

Maines: Right now my main one has been Warframe on Xbox. I have some friends who’ve been playing, so I’ve been playing that and then also League of Legends Teamfight Tactics because of course, they released a new mobile version, so I can sit in the dark, eat Ritz crackers and play that on my phone, so that’s great.

The Beat: All right, so let’s get to the matter at hand. You’re on your second season of playing Nia Nal on Supergirl. How has this season been different from your first?

Maines: This season feels a lot more of Dreamer, as she’s become her own force, I think. I mean, for the most part, season four was really kind of showing us who Nia Nal was and kind of showing us her growth and her transformation into Dreamer. And so season five has been more, you know, we’ve had Dreamer, from the season premiere, and so now we’ve kind of gotten to see Dreamer’s struggle as opposed to Nia’s struggle, I think. And we’ve gotten to see her come even more into her powers. And then, of course, also struggle with her relationship with Brainiac so it’s been, I think, it’s been a lot heavier of a season for Nia than season four, I think. Season four was kind of like her really coming into her own. and then season five has just been her getting like hit after hit after hit.

The Beat: Yeah, although it wasn’t all roses in season four either. You had the really impactful episode of the show, “Blood Memory”, that talked about the rejection of trans people by their family, which is an issue that affects so many of us. How involved were you in the planning of that episode? I know you were heavily involved in “Reality Bytes,” but how heavily were you involved in that one?

Maines: Yeah. I was still really involved. A little less so than in “Reality Bytes”, because of course “Reality Bytes” was kind of all about transness, whereas “Blood Memory” it was just a blip, it was much more about her relationship with her powers and with her family rather than about her transness. But as far as that conversation between Maive and Nia went, I sat in my trailer with the writer and with Jessica and we just talked kind of about what language should Maeve be using, what feels appropriate to say, and feels like it is accurate how that conversation would go but also not so overindulgent in transphobic verbiage that it would become triggering you know what I mean?

The Beat: Yeah.

Maines: Yeah, so we didn’t want to like lean too heavily into it but we also didn’t want to like, totally pull the punches, because that’s not really, you know, how those conversations go. So, when we eventually settled on just having Maeve say what, to her, made the most sense, which was “How did Nia get these powers if she’s not even a real woman?”

The Beat: Yeah, it was so important, and likewise this year’s “Reality Bytes” got to tackle violence against trans people and especially violence against trans women of color. How did it feel knowing that you’d be so involved in something so monumentally groundbreaking on network television?

Maines: It was really exciting, and also a little nerve-wracking. I have to give credit to our director Armen (Kevorkian) for his Saint-like patience with me. Looking back now, I’m like, oh my gosh, I was so overbearing. But I felt so protective of this episode. Just because they’d given me so much involvement in the writing of it and I knew how important this episode was to me, and how important it would be to everybody else watching it, so I wanted to have my hands in everything. I wanted to know what was going on, what we were doing. And I didn’t need to do that, they knew what they were doing and they were so fantastic. And so incredible and everyone on set just got it and they just knew what we were doing and they knew how important this episode was. And everyone was so excited and so proud to be part of it.

So getting to be involved in the writing process was really great. And then finally seeing it on television was so so rewarding because of course part of the conversation we’ve had leading up to that was that so much ends up on the cutting room floor. “What do we absolutely need to keep?” And seeing that a lot of it was actually kept. Because talking about it is one thing, and then going on and turning on the television and seeing them talk about the trans mortality rate. Giving accurate, statistics, having Yvette talk about her situation as a trans woman of color, addressing that very often trans violence is swept under the rug by law enforcement. Seeing all that talked about was so affirming.

The Beat: Yeah, it absolutely was, and you talked about how you worked hard to keep triggering language, out of “Blood Memory” and that’s something that I felt happened in “Reality Bytes” too, like it would have been perfectly in character for the villain of the episode use the T slur, but the fact that that didn’t come out of his mouth felt so important to me because that is such a triggering word.

Maines: I feel like using those kinds of slurs might have been a crutch, because that’s not what we were trying to do we didn’t want to have this character just throwing out hurtful words just for the sake of it, and realistically, that’s probably what he would have done, but we kind of wanted to show more of what his thought process was. And we wanted to see more, you know where this dude is. What is his motivation in trying to take down a superhero? And so we really want to use that screen time to more highlight this idea of “gay panic”. It’s just so much easier to just have someone come up, tell a slur, and then have a superhero beat him up. I think it’s much more important and impactful to show why that kind of thinking is dangerous. And to highlight those arguments that are being made, because a lot of people really didn’t believe that trans violence was an issue and they didn’t understand why people would attack trans people.

The Beat: So you talked about the statistics that you brought up in the episode, and a big point of debate online after the episode was the choice of having William being more knowledgeable about these issues than Kara, what drove that decision?

Maines: I saw those too. And I saw people talking, “Kara doesn’t need that explained to her, she doesn’t need that.” And I think it was good that William was the one to say and show her because one: he was a reporter, he was reporting that so it would make sense that he kind of had those statistics and he had those numbers, because he would have looked them up. And a lot of people thought that, because Kara was Nia’s friend, that she would have researched trans stuff and she would have… And I think no, you could go up to my best friend in the world, we’ve been inseparable since high school. If you asked him what the trans mortality rate is off the top of his head he wouldn’t know! Cis people, regardless of how supportive they are, I can ask my mother in the other room right now, she wouldn’t know. Because it’s not something that’s talked about, it’s not something that a lot of people think about and really if you’re not in the trenches, doing this kind of work. I think most trans people are unaware of exactly what the mortality rate is at any given time.

And so I think, for Kara, it was important to show that you can be very very supportive and not have all the answers and you can still learn. It was never a question of whether or not Kara was supportive of Nia. We’ve known that from the beginning and we really saw that in “Blood Memory”. We know how important Kara is to Nia and we know how important Nia is to Kara. But that doesn’t mean that Kara has magically become a trans activist and that she has all of this information that she would just know off the top of her head, because why would she? Why is it something she would have looked up? She just wanted Nia to know that she was supportive and that she had somebody. And that’s where that support was coming from it wasn’t coming from a place of “let me look up all these statistics and let’s go lobby together” that’s not what it was about.

The Beat: How did it feel to act out the anger and powerlessness that so many of us feel in the face of this violence. It was so cathartic watching you take action against the bigot. I can only imagine how it felt to portray it.

Maines: Part of it was, of course, exciting, because we’ve never really gotten to see Nia or Dreamer angry. You’ve never really got to see her vengeful. So that was exciting just from a character point of view. And then, acting it out. I really really wanted to show just how deep-rooted a lot of this frustration and anger is. And so, I don’t know if it read, I don’t know if it really played, but while we were actually fighting, we adjusted the choreography of the fight a little bit. Because Dreamer, of course, has been trained by Brainiac and by Supergirl and she knows, and she’s technical, she knows what to do with her hands and with her body when she fights. I wanted to kind of strip that away and I kind of wanted to give it this schoolyard fight feel where she’s not really throwing right hook, left hook, jab, jab, and it’s more just like she’s just going to slug him, like one punch just thrown after the other and really kind of physically show all of that frustration. And then when Supergirl arrives she kind of has this moment where she looks, and she kind of recognizes “What am I really doing?” Because she got so caught up in it that she just completely lost track of her situation. But it was really, it was really exciting to get to show that side of Nia. And it was really I mean cathartic for me to kind of, as he was, you know, listing off all his talking points, to just say like, “Oh yeah your fragile ego was shattered wasn’t it?” That felt really good and I was like “Yes, Nia, read him! Drag him!”.

The Beat: So I’ve got one last question. And that’s about the future of the show. Melissa recently announced her pregnancy and I’m so happy for her. Any idea if we’re going to see more of Dreamer to kind of fill that role to give her more time off?

Maines: I really have no idea what the plan is moving into it, because we kind of had a little bit of a plan. And then it was just kind of, you know, everything was thrown up in the air with the virus. Now we’re kind of unsure what’s gonna happen and when. I mean, I’m on call. Whenever they call me, beep me, I’ll be there. I don’t really know what is in store for season six, I just, I know kind of what we’re going to be doing but I’m not sure of any of the details.

Supergirl is currently on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New episodes will return on April 26 starring Melissa Benoist, Nicole Maines, and the rest of the team.

Comicsbeat.

[calliopesquill]

A Year in the Life - Chapter 4

Okay, I couldn’t resist. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post the next chapter but I have been going so hard working on later chapters today I had to post it early.

Thank you all so much for your support and all of your wonderful comments. Talking with you and getting your feedback has really made my week. I know a lot of readers are leery about oc-inserts so I really want to thank you for giving Nell a chance. One of the most comments I have gotten is how much you like her and how well she fits in the canon world. That is something I work really hard to achieve in my characters so I am so glad that you all like what I have done with her.

And now without further delay, on with the story!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4: Once Upon a Time

         Miguel spent his lunch hour that monday in the library. After discovering that they didn’t have a particularly wide selection of graphic novels he turned to the internet. Nell had said that she’d done a webcomic as well. Maybe her website would help him figure out who he was dealing with.  Just because Nell seemed decent so far didn’t mean she actually was. His experience with Ernesto De la Cruz had taught him that. Hadn’t De la Cruz been kind at first? Hadn’t he saved him from drowning? But behind the smiles and dramatic persona was a selfish, self-absorbed creature who was more than willing to kill to get what he wanted.

         Not that Miguel thought that Nell would be anywhere as bad as De la Cruz had been, but he wanted to get a little more background on her before he decided to tell her anything else.

         A quick Google search had given him the basics. Penelope Rey. (Miguel snorted at that. Penelope? No wonder she went by Nell.) Twenty-five years old. Born in Kelowna, Canada. (Okay, so she wasn’t American, but he’d been close.) Published her first stand-alone graphic novel at twenty-two and recently released the last volume of the trilogy she’d been working on. Most of her books were of the urban-fantasy sort, or contained some hints of “other”. The webcomic, which she’d started while she was in university, was about a magical girl who discovers that she has inadvertently been working for an evil power the whole time, and sets about on a quest of redemption to make things right.

         Not really his thing (he was more into the masked-crusader/folk-hero/luchador genre) but the splash pages and banners on the website intrigued him enough that he clicked the link that would take him to the first page of the comic. Right away he was hooked. The art-style was dramatic but not cluttered or overdone, and her heroine spoke like someone he would meet on the street, with only a minimum of cliche comic book-style dialogue. Her characters were diverse and compelling and her villain…. Miguel shuddered. Oh she was so creepy! Sly and manipulative and calculating under a veneer of support and encouragement. You didn’t even get the hint that there was something wrong about her until you were over a year into the plotline.

         He had just gotten to the part of the story where the main character discovered she’d been played when the five-minute warning bell rang.

         Miguel jumped, almost falling out of his chair. How had the lunch hour gone by so fast? Quickly he closed the browser, logging off of the computer as he grabbed his book bag, then took off out of the library to get to class.

         Miguel’s talk of alebrijes stuck with Nell, and after a few days of independent research she decided to approach approach one of the craftsmen from the plaza.

         Sebastien Berardo had been in the business for many years. Some of his earliest memories were of sitting with his father in his workshop, watching him work. He learned the craft at his father’s side, how to shape and sand the wood to bring out the fantastic creatures inside, and the types of paints and glazes that brought out the best color. He also learned how to deal with the public, from the closest of neighbors to the loudest of tourists.

         When Nell first started asking questions he started with the basic history of the craft.

         Alebrijes had first been created by the artist Pedro Linares in the early 1930’s. The story went that he had become very ill, and had dreamed of a beautiful forest populated by incredible, colorful hybrid creates that called themselves alebrijes. Horned roosters, winged snakes and donkeys, a thousand creatures of infinite strange and wonderful combinations. Inspired, he began to create carnival masks and religious figures of these creatures to sell in the markets of Mexico City. His unique pieces had attracted the attention of a prominent gallery owner who wanted to showcase the pieces, and even Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo sought him out for commissions. Now most alebrije figures were carved from copal wood, in the pre-Hispanic woodcarving tradition of the local Zapotec culture.

         “And you still make all of these by hand?” Nell asked, crouching to take a closer look at the delicately articulated figure of a winged snake that was coiled upon the table.

         Sebastien nodded proudly. “Each piece is crafted in our family workshop. My son Filipe, he is studying art in university. He painted many of these.”

         “They’re beautiful. I love the colors.” It was like seeing an entire summer’s worth of color condensed into a single small figure. “At what point did they started becoming associated with spirit guides? By some of the descriptions they are kind of similar to the Aztec nagual.”

         “It is possible,” Sebastien conceded with an uncertain shrug. He’d never really considered that, but there were certainly some similarities.

         Nell liked the idea. After Miguel had first brought up the idea of spirit guides she’d ended up going on a bit of a research binge on the topic, compiling a series of notes about guardian spirits in world mythology. She’d been particularly intrigued by the the concept of the nagual, the Mesoamerican spirit guide or spiritual double. Depending on the myth, the nagual functioned as either a reflection of the self, or as a separate spiritual advisor. According to some of the myths that she’d found, a person’s nagual could even go wandering while they slept.

         Or in other words, they could astral project.

         There were also stories about shapeshifters but Nell was reasonably sure that wasn’t going to end up as part of her skill set.

         After a little more discussion on the history and process behind the art and history of the alebrije figures Nell decided to leave Sebastien to his work, but as she turned to leave one of the figures caught her eye. A small, brightly-painted bird.

         She couldn’t have stopped the grin that spread over her face if she tried. “Señor, how much is the crow?”

         Over the next few weeks Mariachi Plaza became the unofficial meeting spot for astral hang-outs. By this point Miguel had learned to successfully project while awake, and was confident enough in this new ability that their occasional late-night chat was often more friendly than lesson-like. Honestly it was nice just to be able to talk to someone and not worry about letting something slip and having them think he was crazy. He’d already made that mistake once with friends at school, and had had to play it off as a weird dream.

         At least will Nell he didn't have to worry about that.

         He grinned when she appeared across the plaza. "What, you couldn't sleep either?"

         "Nah. Finished some book planning and wanted to go for a walk. Then I saw what time it was and thought.... yeah this way is better."

         Miguel chuckled. He knew what it was like to get wrapped up in a project and lose all sense of time. How many times had he stayed up late working on a new song, forgetting entirely that he had class in the morning?

         “How was school?”

         “Fine,” he shrugged. “Annetta came to visit my music class yesterday. That was pretty cool.”

         “She’s the trumpet player, right? The one the violinist has that debilitating crush on.”

         “That’s the one. She played for us during class, then did sort of a tutorial session with the other trumpets.” God willing, they’d actually be able to stay in tune from now on. “You get any farther on your book?”

         "A bit, yeah. Started doing research on alebrijes and I found some really cool stuff.” She answered excitedly, eager to share what she’d found. “You know the Mayans and Aztecs had stories about spirit guides too? And some of the magic users in the old myths could astral project, just like us! So of course that turned into a crazy research binge. I swear I filled up an entire flash drive just with ideas for character alebrijes."

         "Sweet!" He grinned. "You'll have to show me later. I can tell you how they compare to the real thing."

         "The real -- Man, you've been holding out on me," she groaned, dropping onto the step of the gazebo to sit next to him. "You see alebrijes too?"

         Miguel shrugged. "You probably have too. They just look different this side of the bridge."

         "Different how?"

         "Different like.... You know, normal."

         That was interesting. She hadn't considered that guides could take different forms between worlds. That was something she'd have to think about later. "So there's a lot of alebrijes on the other side of the bridge?"

         "Loads," Miguel told her. "And they're huge! Well, some of them. I used to think they were just a myth, like vitamins--"

         "Vitamins are real, Miguel."

         "People keep saying that but I really don't think they are. Anyway," he continued. "They're, like, everywhere! Some people have them as, well not exactly pets, but they have ones that stay with them. There might be some wild ones but I didn't really see any."

         Oh God the curiosity was killing her. She wanted to respect his boundaries and not ask questions that he wouldn’t be comfortable answering, but she also really wanted to know what had happened. But just asking how the bridge worked wouldn’t hurt, would it? "So you just found the bridge and walked over?"

         Miguel gave a sheepish smile, rubbing one hand over his forearm in a nervous gesture. "Not exactly... It was an accident. Well, the first time was. I kind of....stole something."

         Nell stared. "You what? Damn, kid, what did you steal? Some cursed ancient idol or something?"

         "HA! No!" He laughed. "No, no, no. Nothing like that. It was a guitar."

         “A cursed guitar?”

         “No! The guitar wasn’t cursed. Nothing was cursed. I mean I thought I was for a while, and then I actually was for a while, but no.”

         Now she just blinked at him. “What… What? Okay. I am officially confused. You stole the guitar and it took you across the bridge. And then you got cursed?”

         “No. Taking the guitar got me cursed, but I crossed the bridge after. It’s… kind of a long story.” But maybe it was about time he told someone the truth. Miguel sighed, brushing one hand distractedly thought his hair as he hunched forward, bracing his arms across his knees. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about what happened, someone who would actually believe him.

         “I didn’t mean to steal it,” he told her. “Well, I did. But I was going to bring it back. I just wanted to play it once, here in the plaza.”

         It all came pouring out, the reason for the Rivera family’s ban on music and the events that led to him believing that Ernesto De la Cruz was his ancestor, trying to steal the guitar, and the curse that resulted.

         “Hold up, hold up,” Nell interrupted, holding up her hands in a ‘stop now’ gesture. “Your great-great-grandmother told you that if you didn’t give up music that she was going to let you die?”

         “She didn’t mean it that way,” Miguel said defensively. “She thought she was doing it to protect me. That music was dangerous. And I kind of did almost die three times that night.”

         “What?!”

         “Anyway, so I thought, fine, if the rest of my family refused to give me the blessing, I’d track down the one family member who might understand.”

         “Ernesto De la Cruz.”

         Miguel nodded.

         “Except he wasn’t your grandfather.”

         “Gracias a Dios.” Now that would truly be a nightmare, now that he knew what De la Cruz truly was. “But I didn’t know that at the time. So I ran off and tried to find him.”

         He told her how he met a shabby-looking skeleton who claimed to know De la Cruz, and how he disguised himself with shoe-polish so he wouldn’t stand out. Their attempts to find the man, which took them all over the city (and he met FRIDA KAHLO! HOLY CRAP!), and their quest for a guitar that took them to Shantytown. Nell listened raptly as Miguel continued his story, snickering to herself when he told her about Hector singing “Everyone Knows Juanita”. She wasn’t familiar with the song but she could certainly guess what word “knuckles” might have been meant to replace. And even though she knew full well what kind of awful human being De la Cruz was, hearing first-hand how he’d murdered Hector back in 1921, and then tossed both him and Miguel into a cenote to rot in the Land of the Dead, had her clenching her fists in helpless anger. She wished she could cross the bridge herself so she could punch that creature in his stupid face.

         “And then Mama Imelda and Pepita showed up and pulled us out! Dante had found them and helped track us down. Turns out he’s an alebrije too.”

         “Wait a sec. You are telling me that you were being followed around what is quite literally the afterlife by a dog who turned out to be your alebrije, and you named him Dante.”

         “Yeah?”

         Nell snorted with laughter. “Oh, that is perfect. Absolutely beautiful. I love it.”

         “Um...why?”

         “Look up Dante’s Inferno at school when you get the chance. Let’s just say your dog is really appropriately named.”

         “Um… ‘kay. Anyway…”

         He took her through their infiltration of the Sunrise Spectacular with the entire family in Frida Kahlo cosplay, right up to their final confrontation with De la Cruz when he threw Miguel off the top of the building. Thank god for alebrijes that were large enough to ride on. Pepita had earned her chin-scritches for eternity that night.

         “And then...they sent me back,” Miguel finished. “I ran back home. Mama Coco… I couldn’t let her forget him. She’d had problems with her memory for so long but I had to try. But when I played their song, it was like it all came back somehow. She’d kept everything hidden in her drawer. Hector’s letters, some of his song drafts. And the corner of the picture that had been torn away. We taped it back on and put it in a new frame. It’s on the ofrenda now but… I don’t know if I made it in time.”

         Tears stung at his eyes but he wiped them away stubbornly.

         “And you’ve never tried to go back, just to see?”

         Miguel shook his head, giving a watery chuckle. “I think Mama Imelda would have killed me for real if I tried. I thought… For a moment last year I thought I felt him, like he was playing right next to me but…”

         “Then I’m sure he made it,” Nell told him, resting one hand reassuringly on his shoulder. “You would know best, right? My great-grandma passed away when I was ten and I will swear on whatever you want that I still feel her in my grandparents’ house, so if you say you felt Hector playing next to you that night, then you did.”

         He let out a shaky sigh as a feeling of relief washed over him. He didn’t know how badly he needed to hear that until that moment, for someone else to have such absolute faith that what he felt was real. Hector had become one of his best friends even before they’d found out they were related. The fear that he had been too late had been eating at him for so long…

         They sat in silence for a moment as Miguel collected himself. Then he sighed again. “Thank you.”

         “Any time,” Nell smiled. “Seriously. And hey, we could always try an experiment this year.”

         “What kind of experiment?”

         “Projecting during Dia de los Muertos. I’ve never tried it before but who knows, maybe you’ll be able to see them.”

         Miguel’s face lit up like a christmas tree. “En serio? We can do that?”

         “We can try,” Nell promised. “All the old stories say that the veil is thinnest that time of year, so if there’s any time it would work, well it’s worth a shot right?”

         The boy jumped to his feet, letting out an enthusiastic grito that would have woken the entire town if he’d been in his physical body.

         “I take that as a ‘yes’ then?”

         “Yes! Absolutely yes!”

         Nell didn’t sleep well that night. She wanted to, oh how she wanted to, but one thought kept circling in her mind. There was something about that guitar. She couldn’t help but feel that there was more to the story. Miguel had said that it wasn’t the guitar that was cursed, but if it was nothing more than a harmless musical instrument, Nell was a fire-breathing monkey. There was just something way too coincidental about it.

         Annoyed with herself, she rolled over to scribble a reminder to herself on the notepad she kept on her bedside table in case of midnight bursts of inspiration. She would look into it in the morning. Surely somewhere on the internet was stories of haunted instruments.

         Apparently, as Nell found the next morning over breakfast, stories of haunted or possessed musical instruments were not uncommon. There were even long-standing legends cultural legends related to the phenomena, and when Nell came across the myth of the Japanese tsukumogami, she knew she’d found what she was looking for. Though there was no cultural crossover of this type of legend the correlation of events was just too close.

         Immediately she opened up a new document on her laptop and started to take notes.

         In old Japanese culture there was a belief that if an object was owned for over a hundred years, it would develop a soul of its own and become self-aware. Musical instruments were particularly common tsukumogami because they were often crafted with great care and carried great monetary value, so they usually ended up passed down through generations. But the descendants of the masters who once owned these instruments were not always musically inclined themselves, causing the instruments to fall into disuse and become resentful. And Hector Rivera would definitely be classified as a “master”. Between what Miguel had told her and her own research, Nell could see that this was a man who put his heart and soul into every note he played. That was a lot of emotion for an instrument to absorb in the approximately three years that he had owned it. A lot of love. And for him to be betrayed, murdered for his music, and the instrument stolen and paraded around by the murderer? Someone who only played for fame and attention? Nell figured that would result in a pretty pissed-off guitar.

         And the guitar itself was a freaking showpiece. Hand-made and perfect to the last detail. That kind of love and care being put into its creation had to leave a mark as well. Nell wondered how Imelda had been able to afford it.

         The writer sat back in her chair, biting absently at her lip as she contemplated. Another quick google search had her frowning. Hector had died in November of 1921, at the age of twenty-one. Ernesto De la Cruz had been crushed by a falling bell during a performance in 1942, almost exactly twenty-one years later. No way in hell was that a coincidence.

         And according to the date stamp on the video taken that night, the date of the concert was… the second of November. Dia de los Muertos.

         “Well… holy shit.”

         Nell scrubbed her hands over her face, almost dislodging her glasses. That was a hell of a kick for an instrument that hadn’t even hit twenty-five years yet. It didn’t hit one hundred until 2017. Displayed like a trophy in the tomb of the man who murdered its master until some kid breaks in and steals it. A kid whose motivations might not have been entirely pure, but who had a musician’s heart, and who happened to be a direct descendant of Hector Rivera, its original owner.

         Most stories of cursed objects just dealt with bad luck and deadly accidents. She’d never heard of people being shoved into astral planes and being taken to the Land of the Dead. She could only concluded that the guitar wanted Miguel to meet Hector, wanted him to find out the truth. Had it known that Hector was being forgotten?

         When Miguel returned at sunrise the first thing he did was run to his grandmother. The guitar would have known her too. This was the child that Hector had loved so dearly, who he had played for every night. It had held onto that love, those powerful memories for all those years, and Miguel said that when he played for her she came back somehow. Nell’s own grandfather had passed away when she was in university. Over the last few years of his life, dementia had robbed him of most of his memories. The last time she had seen him, he thought she was her mother. To bring someone back from that was nothing short of a miracle.

         “Okay. So. The guitar might be sentient.”

         After some thought she found she kind of liked the idea. It was reassuring in a way to feel that treasured things could love people in return. And if they developed spirits of their own, could they be considered alebrije too?

         Nell grinned, reaching for her tablet and plugging it into her laptop, breakfast entirely forgotten. A sentient, haunted guitar. It looked like she finally had a real plot for her new book.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so ends Chapter 4!

Researching for this fic has been really educational for me. I've tried to stick as close to the known facts about the history and culture that I reference as possible, though I may have had to use a bit of creative license to get everything to mesh properly with my plot. One of those details was the date of Ernesto's last concert. It was never really specified in canon, but based on the stage design and how when the scene was originally planned for the opening number and how the introductory song was about Dia de los Muertos, I went with that being the date.

One of the most fun things about writing Nell for me is getting to play with all of the meta storylines and fan theories that I can't get to fit within the regular plot. I want to give a special shout out to @im-fairly-whitty​, whose incredible discussion of the sentient guitar theory (found here) has inspired the basis of Nell's novel.

Thanks so much for reading! If you want to see any more fun content or fanart, please follow me! Send me your asks, your fun theories, or any comments you have! I can't wait to connect with you!

[wordsinwinters]

Then Again P12  Peter Parker x Reader

Author’s Note:

Hello, everyone! 

First: Thank you so much to everyone who’s reblogged this fic, commented on it, and sent me such lovely messages! It means so much more than I can ever say 🌷🌷🌷

Second: I’m almost at 300 followers! Thank you so much to everyone following this blog, whether you’ve been here since Part 1 or only yesterday :) You guys are wonderful and I love you 💞💞💞

Third: Enormous thank you to the absolutely wonderful people who helped me with this chapter! Of course, @fanboyswhereare-you, my incredible baeta who prevented this chapter from collapsing in on itself (and constantly puts up with me); @hi-mishamigos who listened to all of my rambling (which was a lot) and calmed me down; @beardedsteveslut who literally binged this entire series to help me with less than two pages and then gave me tons of pitch-perfect advice while I ran a thousand ideas past her; and @rainyreplays who, I believe is an actual angel, wrote out a full analysis of this fic and then explained how to balance everything I wanted this chapter to say with everything I had built up for the last 40 pages. Thank all of you to the moon and to the sun and back to earth again. You guys are the best. 💛💛💛

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 13, Part 14

Without further ado, a testament to my favorite trope:

Then Again, Part 12:

(Word count: 1,439)

The whole idea of being honest seems like a bad one. I’ve been telling Aunt May and Ned this since they tried to push it on me. The thought of following their advice is uncomfortable enough that I want to resist it - and MJ’s idea - a smidge (minimum).

I’ll just wear one of Y/N’s shirts. She and MJ wear each other’s clothes all the time.

Back in the bathroom, I brush my teeth, pop in my retainers, and open her bag. Under a pair of jeans is a plain black t-shirt. Perfect. I have to yank the collar down to get my head through… and it is definitely tight… but it’s better than nothing.

What has my time in the suit trained me for, if I can’t wear a girl’s shirt?

I look in the mirror. Shit. The collar has turned my hair into a mess and underneath, it’s like I’ve tried on a child’s shirt. This is ridiculous.

As I attempt to maneuver my arm out of the left shoulder sleeve, I tug a bit too forcefully and hear a tear, suddenly losing balance and hitting the wall with the entire right side of my body. Shit. There’s a clear crack in the yellow paint. My head stings. I scramble to my feet and try again.

It takes what feels like ten minutes to get the shirt off without ripping it. I fold it and put it back. Never again.

I turn off the bathroom light and pad through the room as quietly as I can. I open the closet door near the window and reach for the blankets stored on the top shelf. Nothing. I check again with the light of my phone. Nothing at all. I’m going to strangle Ned and MJ tomorrow. What were they thinking? It’s way too cold for this.

I’ll still sleep on the floor, I decide. I’ll use my towel as a blanket… once it’s dry.

My heart is pounding. It’s chilly and the only blanket in the room is attached to Y/N, on the bed.

What would Aunt May say?

For once, I don’t know. I mean, Y/N and I just had a fight that I haven’t had the chance to make right yet. The competition is tomorrow. It’s late and she’s asleep. The situation between us is… stalled.

What’s the logical thing to do?

Get in the bed. Shift some of the blanket over. Get warm while the towel gets dry. Get out of the bed. Sleep on the floor with the towel.

It’s not the best plan, but I like it more than I need to.

Gingerly, I tiptoe to the bed and climb in. I stay as still as possible while I drag a corner of the comforter toward myself. It’s so warm. For the sake of body heat, I inch a smidge closer. I scrunch up part of the blanket to wrinkle a mini wall of fabric between us. That’s as much personal space as I can make, given the size of the bed. I’m so close that even if my senses weren’t hyped up, I’d be able to smell her hair across the pillow. God, I love her shampoo.

Dude, knock it off.

Like I’ve told myself a million times, I need to not make things so weird. At least she can’t hear my thoughts. Thank God.

I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling. Even though I wanted her to be awake when I got back, maybe this is better. There’s so much I have to say tomorrow, this extra time is probably for the best.

I turn my head toward her - or rather, the mountain of blanket with a face. I don’t come up with stupid scenarios about why we’re sleeping beside one another in a hotel bed or any other What If questions my brain is aching to invent. Instead, I go over all the shit she’s gone through this week because of me. I go over everything I need to own up to and everything I need to say to her in the morning. Maybe it’s selfish or pathetic, but I let myself hope that tonight was stupid and wrong and mostly my fault, but not irreparable. I imagine that forgiveness is on the table. That’s it. That’s all I have a right to consider anymore.

Maybe I can’t be with her the way I want to. Not now, maybe not ever. And yeah, it sucks. I mean, since the start, and I’m ready to admit now that it started way before October, it’s been so different with her. It’s almost terrifying. It’s not the same kind of crush I’ve had before, like with Liz or anybody else. I know her, I really know her and I care about her like crazy. And I think about her all the time, too.

But none of this matters. It’s not happening. I can’t be with her like that and it’s obvious now more than ever. The vital part is how I can be with her, and with Ned and MJ, almost every day for the foreseeable future. I can just enjoy her- their presence without any strings. If things only go back to normal, that’s enough. It has to be.

What if she really doesn’t forgive me, though? What if I’ve really crossed the last line this time?

The same heaviness is pressing into my chest like before, a pressure that reminds me of swimming too deep underwater.

I need to remember what Aunt May said. If anybody is willing to give second chances, it’s almost always her. Then again, which chance was I even on tonight? I’ve run through too many to count.

I close my eyes. God, I wish I could turn brain off.

Why didn’t I just talk to her when she came here earlier? It seems impossible that fewer than twelve hours ago she hugged me and I shrugged her off. I can’t believe I actually let myself think of her like I did, as if she would do any of those things or, more importantly, as if any of it was even my business to begin with.

I’m such an idiot. I should’ve -

A twisting sound snaps my eyes open.

Y/N starts moving beside me. She awkwardly shifts positions with slow and mechanical movements until she’s lying on her back, her arm thrown over her eyes.

The red light from the alarm clock allows me to just barely trace the faint outline of her hand a few inches from my face. It reminds me of the first time we met, a memory that would usually make me laugh, and of the fact that handshakes are our main form of physical contact. And that it’s not exactly as if we shake hands all that often. 

It suddenly reminds me of all the tiny distances and boundaries that exist within our friendship, the ones that keep us from being as close to each other as we are the Ned and MJ. Just the shadow of her hand reminds me of how badly I wish everything could be different.

None of this matters right now. Let it go.

I breathe out. Try to clear my head. I think of that counting exercise Mr. Stark told me about. One. Two. Three. Four. Four, three, two, one. One. Two. Three. Four. Four, three, two, one.

One thought refuses to stop though. The same one as all week.

Despite everything, Y/N is still the only person I want to be around right now, the only person I actually want to talk to about this stuff, the only person I know would listen and really, really understand it all. But then again, after everything, maybe not… even if I could tell her.

Fear and anxiety churn in my stomach.

For a split-second, I stop thinking and let myself do a stupid thing.

I reach out, slowly, and trace her fingers with my own. I’m about to take her hand in mine, just for a moment, before I think better of it. I draw my hand back to my chest, the sudden absence of her skin making my own fingers itch. 

God, why am I constantly so weird around her?

“I’m serious about what I said before,” I whisper, needing to confess one final time tonight. “I’m really, really sorry. Anything you decide is suitable, I’ll do whatever you want if it helps you forgive me. I swear, I never meant to be such a jerk and I’ll never act like that again. Please, just tell me what you want me to do.”

I exhale and push my palms into my eyes. I need to turn my brain off.

But then a warm hand touches my shoulder.

Y/N?

Part 13

Part 13 spoilers (since the next chapter isn’t for another week 😉)

Next Update: November 17

It will be a shorter chapter (only 2 pages), but I have a little guess that you guys may enjoy it anyway :)

Tag List: If you’d like to be tagged, reply to this post or send me a(n) ask/message! 

If you want to reblog this fic, but don’t want to reblog whole chapters (I know they’re rather long posts), you can find my short Then Again Masterlist in my bio 😉

As always, I apologize for the typos that are probably everywhere in this chapter.

Tagged: @jriles124 @avzuzu @5-seconds-of-sarcasmm @britdiandra @gotnotfeature @theconscientiouswriter @happysynonym @the-redthread @strangerwesley @i-love-superhero @livluvspiderboy @ohgloryy @nicunt @pxrrished @shugr12110629 @realitykilledtheteen @look-how-far-i-come @beardedsteveslut @abigail-1998 @thehanneloner @lionfart @tmrhollandkay @evanhansenisahufflepuff @tryn25 @slythergirlimagines @twentyjuanpancakes @peterparkerismybeing @littlekay15 @caitlyn-blackwell @hi-mishamigos @anxiousteengeek @twentychemicalpanics @profmmcgonagall @eversweet-imagines @tom-newsie-holland  @melonmochi

If I missed anyone, let me know! 

[diospyros-kaki]

????

(Fair warning: long kind-of-stressed-out post ahead, as usual.)

I barely slept tonight due to a long and stubborn bout of anxiety that hasn’t completely died down yet (it started probably around four or five in the morning, since I had been rolling around in my bed for a good while before I got up to use the bathroom, and by then daylight was only starting to come up, which happens around six  -- and it was 1pm when I started writing this post, so I do mean a long and stubborn bout). Since my parents asked and I felt telling at least some of it could help, I explained how it probably has to do in part with the strike in my uni that left me kind of drifting and how classes returned as normal yesterday almost out of the blue, leaving no room for me to readjust to the schedule.

However... it’s all mostly from fucking Voltron.

I can’t recall ever touching on the series on my blog, but I somehow found myself as a closeted VLD fan and the latest season seems to have impacted me a lot. At the time of watching I acknowledged there was some intense material, but I thought it hadn’t affected me so much. I should have learned by now that I often have a delayed reaction.

I think I dindn’t explain very well to my parents since I’d have to go through a lot of context, and mom specially seems to have taken that the strike was the biggest problem (I mean, on the long run it certainly is, but... well). And I’m just kind of left wtf-ing at how a cartoon could have given me what was by far my longest brawl with this sort of thing yet. 

(Before all this raises concerns, I do feel much better now that I’ve told it twice and am writting it out, and it wasn’t really so much of a full-blown thing as it just wouldn’t cease whenever I thought it was tipping off. Like I mentioned to my mother, it was kind of like the river spirit in Spirited Away when they pull out the trash and that last little cap releases the rest, except said little cap refused to budge for me. Not sure how this metaphor plays out for other people but whatever, I’m sleep deprived.)

Anyway, I also ended up going to bed late because I was checking out reactions and stuff, so the prolongued exposure might have had a part in it, as well as having thrown off my sleep cycle -- which was already disturbed from the strike and particularly the last night before its end.

(About the strike, no one was sure how long it would last, so it was kind of suspenseful every time they made a reunion and I wasn’t sure what I should do in the meantime; on top of it, whether or not classes will take over part of the mid-year break to compensate remains to be seen, although it’s been said that past strikes decided against it and grades ended up being either the partial evaluation done so far or a democratic ten for everyone; or it could so happen that we will have to make do with the remaining two weeks or so and follow each classe’s original grading plan, in which case I’m probably kind of screwed because all my projects are late).

One other factor that played into this whole thing -- and that I forgot to mention to my parents, welp -- was that the entire time I had one single song stuck in my head and it was driving me crazy. I had been listening to it on repeat for about two days, and given that it was featured in a scene from Sense8 that had me on the edge of my seat I guess this morning resulted in a bit of an overload. I couldn’t even listen to it to end my misery for fear of associating it with said scene and making myself feel worse. And now that I think about it, having finally watched the series just in time for the finale a few days before this mess could also be one of the causes, since I got in love and then found myself tragically orphaned of it. 

Apparently the takeaway is to be careful with binging and mind the themes and possible attachment; I was considering watching Trollhunters because of all the talk and now I think it’s better to give it some time. Also it just occurs to me that I spent the last week watching the last half of LoK season 4 -- I rewatched the whole series between season 5 and 6 of VLD --, which brought some nostalgia and feels to the surface, and yeah, maybe it’s better to give it a rest.

As for Voltron itself, well... I don’t really have anyone to talk about it? I don’t know of anyone in my social circles who watches it, and since I didn’t openly join the fandom -- and probably won’t do it now given how messy it has become -- and haven’t made friends in it I have nowhere to turn to for discussions (read confusedly yell at). So I’m just gonna go ahead and post this rant and be done with it because holy shit, this morning was something.

[lafiyahenry]

How Money Heist Uses Music

SEASON FOUR SPOILER ALERT! 

I have watched Money Heist religiously since season one. It’s one of the most amazing pieces of art I’ve witnessed. It’s written beautifully, the cinematography is clean, crisp and aesthetically pleasing at all times, the characters are portrayed in such a raw way; we see their flaws and love them nonetheless. After four seasons, they feel like our family too. But yesterday as I sat down to binge watch the latest season, from the first episode I could tell that something was different... and it all began when Berlin opened his mouth and sang. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3xtWk9VJ5s

For those of you who live under a rock, or simply don’t appreciate the finer things in life, Money Heist or La Casa De Papel is a Spanish television heist crime drama series. It’s told from the perspective of our badass female protagonist, Tokyo. A man called The Professor has assembled a team of eight people, all code-named after various cities, to rob the Royal Mint of Spain. The plan is well thought out and we see things progress in real time. What’s even more amazing is that we are on their side. We want them to get away! The heist is a heist for the people, a revolt against the government. There are allusions to Robin Hood where the gang gives money to the poor and so they’re supported by the public. The themes that we see are  anti-fascism, anti-capitalism, and just plain resistance. We also see themes of passion like love, friendship and betrayal. If you’ve seen the show, you know how important music was in the first seasons. Case in Point: Bella Ciao. 

Everybody who has seen this show, knows this song. Bella Ciao encompasses everything that the show is about. It is an Italian protest song that  was modified and adopted as an anthem of the anti-fascist resistance by the Italian partisans between 1943 and 1945 during the Italian Resistance. One of the first times we hear it is in a scene between The Professor and his brother, Berlin, while discussing the plan for the heist. The song feels like hope. It rings of freedom. It quickly became a fan favorite and an “anthem” of sorts. It is simple, catchy and the feeling that rises in you when you sing, becomes infectious. So, the story has always been connected to music but this season was done differently. Let me explain. 

Everybody loves Latin music. Show me someone that doesn’t want to gyrate their hips and take shots of tequila when they hear Latin music and I’ll show you a psychopath. Just the fact that Money Heist is a Spanish television show, they were destined to greatness where any soundtrack was concerned. The theme song “My Life is Going On” by Cecilia Krull is sung in English which is interesting because the music used in Seasons 1 and 2 are Primarily Spanish.  Don’t get me wrong, there are English songs  mixed in there but it predominately is Spanish sung. In Seasons 1 and 2 the music is also scarce compared to 3 and 4. In this article is shows exactly what music was used. But the question is about how the music is being used. 

In the earlier seasons they used music mostly to set the mood and color of the scenes. When using the song Bella Ciao, it was personal to the Professor and Berlin who had learned it from a grandparent. From then, it was adapted to the whole gang who now use it as their personal anthem for resistance. I believe that the soundtrack is developing with the characters as the seasons go by. It’s becoming more personal to them through the use of diegetic music. 

Diegetic Music is a big term that literally means that the music  is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters.

 Diegetic = heard by the characters, for example Bella Ciao & Ti Amo (the song Berlin sings for his wife) 

Non- diegetic= My Life is Going On (Theme Song), the music that the characters do not hear. 

For Seasons 3 & 4 there was definitely a bigger budget and more attention paid to the musical selections but there was definitely increased use in diegetic music. We hear Van Morrison’s Days Like This in S4 E2 with Palermo getting ready and we know that the music is heard by him because he sings along (making it diegetic). This song choice is abnormal for the Money Heist that we knew in seasons 1 and 2. It’s not sung in Spanish and it’s not Latin either but it gives the scene a depth to it. Music itself is a Universal language and no matter race, ethnicity or nationality we all understand what the scene is saying, through the music. The tool of irony is being used as well. The music in itself is hopeful and Van Morrison sings about better days but the team isn’t in the best place. One of their own is captured and being questioned by the police . It weirdly makes the scene feel nostalgic and it’s just one of the scenes that really stood out to me while watching it. 

Another great example of diegetic music in Season 4 is when in Episode 5, Nairobi goes to encourage the workers in the forge that are melting the gold and we hear “Fuego by Bomba Estereo”.  She has the music played in speakers while the workers work and we see her sing  the beat of the song. The song sounds personal to Nairobi and her character. It sounds like her. The choice of music in this scene represents Nairobi and her presence in the Forge, how she motivates and takes charge of the men. She asks them to perform their tasks with rhythm! The music has now represented the character.

There are many more examples of how the music is used brilliantly but the real prime moment of awe for me was Nairobi’s death in S4 E6. Damian Rice’s Delicate? It smashed me to pieces emotionally. This is non-diegetic music, the characters themselves have no idea the music is playing. Just like with Days Like This, the song is neither Latin nor sung in Spanish but because of the universality of music, most people understand what is going on subconsciously. Rice’s woeful voice, the slow tempo of the song and heavy use of strings? We know instantly that this is painful. We are visually seeing a beloved character dead and audibly we hear a musical expression of the team’s pain. We see them crying and bawling but we actually don’t hear them. The song that is playing is expressing everything the Director wants us to feel in that moment. 

I could go on and give infinite more examples of when Money Heist had made the right choices regarding music, but then this blog post would be entirely too long. I was born into a family of musicians and have played music for most of my life. So, when a film or television show has done amazing work and placed thought into the creation of an audible landscape that keeps audiences engaged and interested, I have to stan! Hats off to the composers Manel SantistebanIván and Martínez Lacámara for a job well done especially the evolutions from season to season, which they have handled well. 

WE’RE READY FOR SEASON FIVE, NETFLIX! 

Love, Lafiya. 

[imsarabum]

Responses to {Part 19} I Won’t Stop You // Jeon Jungkook, Vampire!AU Asks~

Please ‘Keep Reading’ to find my response to your ask ^^ As always, I have copied and pasted all asks into this post in regards to last night’s chapter to avoid clogging up people’s dashboards and to avoid spoilers for those who may still wish to read the chapter. Thank you ^^ 

@jynxy24 said: I CANNOT WAIT FOR YOONGI'S AND READER'S INTERACTION OMG THE ANGTS WILL BE COMING! Will there be gore tho? @-@

Although there wasn’t an interaction between Yoongi and the reader last night...there will be blood!

Anonymous said: I feel like Jungkook's mum will laugh at her saying 'its dracula'

It more so bothered her because it gave her an incline that the reader knows something or has a preconceived idea^^

Anonymous said: A small part of me hopes the series never ever end (even tho i am shit at suspense) because currently , tuesday is the highlight of my entire week

Well it won’t be ending soon! I can promise you that ^^ There is still a LOT to happen ^^ hehe, thank you so much my dear :)

Anonymous said: IT IS TUESDAY AND IM READY!!! I have my tissues just incase!! I also have some alcohol just incase 😐

Yay I hope you enjoyed the update! :D

Anonymous said: What to do when your crush lives your friend?:'-' I'll die. Anyway, sooo looking forward to tonight's chapter like omgggggggg in what time will u update?

I’m probably the worst person to ask for advice on that because I would just cry haha >< I always update between 9-10pm UK time ^^ I hope you enjoyed the update if you read it! Thank you so much :D

@kamcia12323 said: Omg can't wait for today's chapter. I have been waiting the whole week wanting to know what's lext! Thank you for the wonderful story, i have been following it from chapter 1 and love it. Hope you have a lovely evening.

I hope you enjoyed it if you got a chance to read it! Thank you for following since the beginning :) I hope you have a lovely evening/day too!

@pineapple-in-a-dress said: Im so excited for the new Junkook vampire au chapter, I love the story so damn much! it sucks so much that im in CET time, I'll think its time at 10pm but its 9pm at your place--

I hope you enjoyed the update if you read it! Thank you for loving it and staying up so late to read it! ^^

Anonymous said: Mom it's gonna be party lit af tonight with this update. Like my body is ready. I'm so excited 😊. I can't wait. DID YOU LIKE NOT TODAY? The video was so goooodd. And we best the record! I'm so excited. My albums are coming and it's just a BTS party this week. I'll be back later tonight with my thoughts on your lovely writings. ~LilKookie Anon

Litty titty party yay! haha I hope you enjoyed it Lilkookie :D And yes I LOVE Not Today! I’m listening to it right now actually ^^ I got my BTS albums yesterday and I got Jin and Hobi yay!!! Their cards are so cute :3 Both photos in the pink and blue albums are so wonderful, I’m really glad I got both now! (and yes - I have answered your second ask below so I hope you can find it!!)

Anonymous said: Omg life.  I'm going out tonight and I won't be able to read I won't stop u until I get back.  Pray for me. I don't have a lot of patience either. Luv ur work xx (and u xx)

Ahhh that’s okay you can always just catch up when you get home my love! I hope you enjoy it when you get a spare moment to read it, thank you and I love you too!

Anonymous said: Serrena has zero chill and I love her for it. Also Yoongi is my bias but honestly he might need some ice.😂 The only reason I can think of as to why Yoongi would need y/n is that he plans to turn random (or not so random) people and have her mature them quickly so he can make an army but I just remembered that he was surprised that Jimin was not a natum lamia anymore so he can't have known about that so I have no other theories😪

Ahh thank you so much for loving her character! *giggles* what an interesting theory though, I like that! muahaha~ Thank you for reading it and I hope it didn’t disappoint ^^

@omelys-space said: The new update was bomb ❤ Serrena is such a bad ass and I love her for it 😍😍😍 The way she handled Yoongi was gold I am so excited to see some more backstory on Jin, Hobi and especially Joonie as he seemed so different from the other two and what kind of human or whatever y/n is and how she will react upon hearing that her lover is a vampire  Looking foreward to next week 😊 Thank you for your hard and amazing work ❤

Thank you so much for liking it and Serrena’s character! And yes, I really loved the way she handled Yoongi too - it truly was a silent battle haha ^^ In future chapters, there will be more backstory on the other Rogues, but it will go MORE in depth with Namjoon I suppose ^^ Those three are truly side-characters in this series, but Namjoon is the more dominant character of the three I think ^^ Thank you so much for reading and I hope you’ll enjoy the next one too!

@kookies-hoe said: ASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM DAYUM THAT CHAPTER MADE ME STAY AT THE EDGE OF MY SEAT, I LOVE YOUR WRITING SO MUCH!!!

I’m glad it kept you on the edge of your seat yay! Thank you so much for reading it, it means a lot to me! ^^

Anonymous said: MAMA SERENA FTW!! Also if Yoongi DOES know what I am (which I can't to find out next week hopefully), wouldn't he know ALL my powers, like how I turned Chimchim into a full vampire? And I love how Yoongi legit walked in there without a plan. XD ME

It appears that EVERYONE seems to know SOMETHING about her. The question is; are they all correct? Is each person missing a vital piece of information? Will Serrena be able to provide answers? Who knows :3 hehe AND HONESTLY SAME THAT’S SOMETHING I’D DO haha. He didn’t plan on the reader recognising him - that was the flaw in his plan. ^^ Thank you so much for reading it dear!

Anonymous said: How long are u gonna keep me waiting author nim?:( I need to know what she is!Your weiting gives me chills... I feel so frustrated I WANNA KNKWWWW

I will keep teasing you until you can’t take it any more ;D Hehe~~ Thank you for reading the new chapter!

@deangetoutofmyspleen said: it's tUESDAY I DABBED

*dabs with you*

Anonymous said: I FORGOT IT WAS A TUESDAY WOW HOW COULD I OMG OK I'M READY - silent anon

Hello silent Anon! I hope you enjoyed the chapter :3

@idilnuur said: OMG THE UPDATE KILLED ME!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GIRL

Thank you so much my darling!

@jimiinie-cricket said: Hello! I just wanted to say that I've been having quite a hard time recently with stress, among many other things, and how much your Vampire Jungkook fic has helped me take my mind off of them. Once I found the first chapter I binged on everything you had published. Today was exceptionally difficult and I nearly started crying when I got home, but then I got a notif saying you updated!!!! I love this story & your writing. I get so excited for Tuesdays!! Keep up the magnificent work 💕💕

Ahh your message made me tear up a lot >< I’m feel so grateful to be able to provide a source of happiness for you in times that you feel that life is too much for you or things become a little too unbearable. I’m really sorry that you cried >< I wish I could give you a big hug and tell you that you are beautiful and everything will be alright ^^ Thank you for reading and thank you for sending me this message and remember that you are strong and you can accomplish anything. ^^

@noceurash said: I clicked on it as soon as the notification for I won't stop you popped up haha,, I'm excited for the next part!! Thank you for always updating!! I really enjoy your writing ily!! <3

Thank you so much for having notifs on and for reading the chapter my dear! You’re so welcome for the updates and I hope you enjoy the next chapter too :D I love you as well!

Anonymous said: SLAY SERRENA SLAY LOVE HER SO MUCH~ also hi mom how have you been? I hope you're not as stressed anymore *infinite amount of kisses* -panda anon

Truly the definition of ‘Slay Queen’ haha given the circumstances :D lolol Thank you panda anon - I’ve been ok ^^ Just continuing on with life and trying my best I suppose :D I hope you’re doing well too panda and thank you for reading the chapter :D

Anonymous said: Ok I'm finished! Absolutely amazing as usual 💝 and I'm so happy now that we're finally going to find out what the OC actually 'is'. Also that scene between Yoongi and Serrena was just fabulous 👌👌👌 and I love the way you're writing Namjoon so much wow 😄 thank you so much and I can't wait for next week !! - silent anon

Hello again silent anon! Thank you so much for loving the scene between Yoongi and Serrena, and for loving Namjoon’s character too! I’m happy to know that you liked the chapter and thank you so much for taking the time to read it! ^^

@koreaisanaddiction said: SARA OH MY GOD!!!! i though i knew what reader was but now im questioning! like fuck and now im really worried about namjoon!!!! like sara!!!! oh my God!!!!

Hehehe did I cause doubt for you? c: GOOD! ^^ And I know right? Poor Namjoon >< Altho, the thought of Namjoon calling Yoongi ‘master’ does things to me hahaha c: I’m dirty, sorry :P Thank you so much for reading lovely!

Anonymous said: Ohmaigawsh... Serrena in IWST part 19.... #momgoals... Usually, I'm a faithful jungkook stan, but gurl after this part, Namjoon's becoming a bias wrecker. That was beautiful. I hope you can hear my applause all the way from the US. <3

She is mum goals for sure! She actually reminds me a lot of my mum - that’s exactly her personality sometimes lol UH OH HIDE YOUR KIDS HDE YOUR WIFE NAMJOON’S COMING TO WRECK YAAA~ lolol ^^ Thank you so much my love, I’m really happy that you enjoyed the update ^^

@audreymv said: I am so freking like what?? Yoongi knows something and poor Namjoon, i hope he doesnt get hurt. Such a sweetheart. Dayumm Mom got sass, the queen i bow down to. Amazing as always. This is just too much and i love this so much. I hope we can see who (y/n) really is like what is the specialness. Gosh like i am getting answers but im not. Sara you are a art piece in itself

I think everyone thinks they know a little bit about her (as in, the characters in the story), but ultimately, they are all missing pieces of information. But with Serrena’s knowledge, hopefully she can set the record straight! As always, thank you so much for your amazing words, you really made me smile so much with that ^^ haha thank you for reading and I hope you’ll look forward to next week!

@mysr3 said: Saraaa!! what have you done! You just dragged me and left me hanging craving for more again! But this time the craving is so strong OMG! Breathtaking the whole chapter 19! Serrena is a badass Queen; Love Jungkook and Taehyung protectivness >< so heartwarming; Yoongi's smart ass character supposed to be hated but I just fell for it with a sympathy for him somehow ><, but tons of sympathy for Namjoon. Ahh so many feeling! Cant wait!! Sara well written and well detailed! Thank you Love ღღღ (cont.) PS Love the way you carried on the story even if it torture me to wait to know all the secrets. Its just so hard to guess or pin point what is the real reason behind the whole things. I just feel there will be big reveal of some sorts that will surprised everyone! Right??

I think there is an element of sadness for both Yoongi and Namjoon, because it’s kind of like the souls who lost their way a little? At least that’s what I feel sometimes ^^ And you’re 100% right! There will be a big reveal, but even at that - more will be revealed as time goes on because....well, you’ll see ;D hehe! Thank you so much for reading and I’m really happy you enjoyed it!

@fashionkilla124 said: Honestly Serrena is the most savage female vampire I have ever read about and I LOVE IT . I'm ready just to die and be revived for the next chapter because this is some next level shit going on and Im not ready . I had a stroke mid story and I had to collect myself. You are a really great writer and if you ever published a book and had a fan signing I would be first in line cuz yo stories be LITTT AF☺️☺️☺️😏👌😘😘

Ahhh thank you so much for loving her character! I’m sorry you experienced such health issues while reading hehe :P Thank you so much for your amazing compliments, they really make me smile and make me feel very happy ^^ Omg fan signing IN MY DREAMS lol but thank you for reading and I’m happy that you enjoyed the chapter :3

Anonymous said: AHHHH FUCK THIS CHAPTER WAS SO GOOD I'M CRYING???? SERENA IS AN ACTUAL BAD ASS OMG SHE'S ONE OF MY FAVE CHARACTERS NOW I LOVE IT SO MUCH GOOD JOB ON WRITING OMG

Ahhh thank you so much my dear!^^ I’m so happy that you love her character :3 Thank you for reading and enjoying it so much!!

@theninjachan said: Your updates for "I Won't Stop You" are always on time and the latest update was amazing as always. You are now my favorite Tumblr writer. 💘

Thank you so much for that, I feel honoured that you think that about me and I hope to continue making stuff that you find exciting and enjoyable to read my love ^^

@pandafish said: I loved the pettiness between Serrena and Yoongi!  Poor Namjoon is an intelligent stuck with the wrong crowd :(  I wonder if he'll be able to get away from Yoongi.  Your Tuesday story updates always make me excited for Tuesdays!  Like, I'll suddenly realize it's Tuesday which means IWSY update!!!

(I tried to tag you in this but I wasn’t able to, so I sent you a private answer as well in case you can’t see this!) Thank you for loving the petty scene between them both! And yes - the sympathy for Namjoon is real :c Thank you so much for reading the new chapter and I’m so happy that you get excited for Tuesdays!!

@jynxy24 said: SARA YOU ARE SO GREAT HONESTLY! IWSY was angsty bit it didn't make me feel mixed like I usually do😂😂 THE CHAPTER WAS GREAT LOVE KEEP IT UP PLEASEEEE :3 Stay Awesome, Sara😇😇

Awh thank you so much Jynxy :3 Thank you so much for reading and I’m glad you thought it was great! *hugs*

Anonymous said: When you wrote that Yoongi wanted the reader, like COMPLETELY, did you mean he also wanted to..."mate" with her too 😳 that is a really scary thought 😅 also will it be explained how yoongi knows about the reader and her abilities? Also, ALL HAIL SERRENA DAMN SHE IS THE QUEEN!!! So badass!

Hehe, you can take that whatever way you wish, but as with everything - all will be explained in due course! Everything will be revealed in time :3 And she is a badass queen! I wanna meet her in real life hehe =D Thank you so much for reading!

Anonymous said: GURLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL O. M. F. G. IM SO JUNGSHOOK. LIKE CAN SERRENA BE MY MOM? Like I'm so in love with her cuz she is the baddest bitch around. Omg. I'm shook. I love it. BUT THIS ANTICIPATION IS KILLING ME. MY LIL HEARTU 💜 Another wonderful chapter from a wonderful person. I love you. 💕 ~LilKookie Anon P.s. I have a routine dedicated to just this story. I wait until I'm in bed at 9 or 10 my time to make sure I can read uninterrupted can't have my mom talking while VampKook is stealin my 💜

She would make such a badass Mum! (well, she is in the story :P) hehe ^^I love you too lilKookie ^^ AWH YOUR ROUTINE IS SO CUTE c: And yes, we need as little distraction as possible to let VampKook make you Jungshook :3 lolol Thank you very much for reading it cutie ^^

@lostheretics said: to use her in wHAT WAAAYYY *silently cries, throwin myself into the fire* tbh queen Serrena is the best queen ever tho she's badass i love her<3<3 I CANT WAIT WHAT'S Y/N'S REAL IDENTITY? metaphorically i'm dying technically im dead while having a heart attack istg im waitin ily u da best bc u mixed up my feelings well<3

Nooo do not throw yourself into any fires! *pulls you back* hehe ^^ Thank you so much for reading and enjoying the chapter and I love you too! I’m glad I could mix your feelings up nice and good heh c:

@ananyak26 said: "Checkmate"xD ah.. Serena's sass nearly killed me! It was awesome!!!

Yes, checkmate indeed! She did a good job at roasting him lolol :3 Thank you so much my dear!

Anonymous said: tuesdays are my downfall thanks to you ㅇㅅㅇ thank you thank you thank you

Hopefully this downfall is a good thing! Hehe, thank you for reading my love ^^

@animeimmortal said: WHYYY DOES IT END LIKE THAT I WANT MOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Because...it does :P YOU SHOULD KNOW ME BY NOW THIS ISN’T SURPRISING ANYMORE i’M AN ASSHOLE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS LOL c: ily tho ^^ :3

Anonymous said: It gets better and better lmao and Guess who's 1004% stanning got7 now 😏 -eggyook anon

Thank you for reading eggyook! AND YAY I’M SO HAPPY TO HEAR THIS! Thank you for stanning GOT7 now :3 ahh I’m smiling so much!

Anonymous said: Damn it Sara 😂 I thought you were finally going to reveal what y/n is and what yoongi wants with her LOL. Uggghhh gotta wait another week now 😖 STILL GREAT AS USUAL THO 💕💕💕  -7:45 anon

You thought wrong! You’ll just have to be a little more patient my dear :3 Hehe, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!

Anonymous said: On a level of 0 to serrena how savage are you?

LITERALLY lol she has no chill whatsoever but hey, she’s the Queen. She can pretty much for whatever the heck she wants :P

@doubletroublesince1994 said: OMG WHY DO YOU ALWAYS LEAVE US WITH A CLIFFHANGER 😭😭😭😭😭

The chapter has to end at some stage! lolol Would you prefer it if I left the chapter off during some mid-sentence? xD It’s better to leave it on some kind of a cliff hanger to gauge curiosity and elicit desire for more ;) Hope you enjoyed it anyway! Thank you very much for reading :D

@aogintsu said: Omg. I completley forgot about tumblr for a while and youve reached chapter 20 already, i must read them all now

Ahhh welcome back lovely! And yes c: Chapter 20 will be out next week! :3 I hope you will have fun while catching up on the story! :3

@rachelsmusicallife said: I completely binged "I Won't Stop You" last night until 5am. And it was just so amazing I had to tell you.  Your writing a so beautifully done, some parts honestly make me wanna cry.  It is so well written and gripping it amazes me.  Keep going girl. I look forward to so much more 😊

Ahh I’m so happy that you’re enjoying it! I’m so happy that you think it’s beautifully written, that makes me so incredibly happy and you made me smile a lot. I hope you’ll enjoy the future chapters and thank you very much for reading it and messaging me to let me know ^^ I hope you have a great day!

[tigerlover16-uk]

Anime I Need to Watch (March 2017 update)

I was debating whether I should do these list updates at the start or end of each month, and whether it was worth updating it right now since I only made that list a week ago. But, I did want to add some things I forgot, and I’m too impatient to wait until tomorrow or the end of April. So, screw it, I’ll do this now and update these lists at the end of each month.

There’s not a lot of stuff that needs updating, but so far I did manage to watch a few things. I’ll describe what anime I’ve watched this month and how I felt about them briefly down below.

First off, I finished Trigun. And honestly, I really enjoyed it... but I’m not sure if I’d put it in my top 10 anime just yet.

I dunno, I enjoyed the series and it was really good, but something about it just kinda felt like it was really good, but not great. But I think this is a me thing, I’ll admit I’m not really a big fan of westerns and there wasn’t much wrong with Trigun, it’s a really good show with a lot of heart, good action, okay comedy and some good writing. There’s some stuff that made me pretty emotional too, and I really like Vash and Wolfwood’s characters (Meryl and Milly were just kinda okay to me). I really don’t know, maybe I just need to re-watch it again when I’m in just the right mood. I enjoyed Trigun a lot, don’t get me wrong and I’d gladly re-watch it again sometime. I’m just a little confused that I feel I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I should have, but I can’t really describe why I feel that. Maybe it’s just hype backlash or something.

I also got a chance to watch the Fist of the North Star movie from 1986, since Linkara recently got around to reviewing a chapter of the manga through patreon request I thought I might as well watch something from this franchise. Aaaand...

It was alright.

Yeah, the movie was firmly in the realm of okay for me. It’s pretty clearly dated and with the way a lot of it’s written you can definitely tell it was a very condensed version of the manga story, a lot of stuff could have been fleshed out and explained better, and the fights were really nothing to write home about. And that ending felt so forced and out of nowhere.

But that said, the movie does have it’s charms as an 80′s action flick. I liked the heroic characters well enough, and while I don’t usually like ultra violent and gory stuff, this film did make it’s gory action kinda fun in how over the top it got. And while the production values haven’t aged well, there is something charming about the film’s animation, there were plenty of cool moments and some good music.

So, yeah, nothing special and the film has some problems and could be kinda dull, and a tad stupid and confusing at parts, but I enjoyed it. I also decided to watch the first episode of the Toei anime adaption of Fist of The North Star and I enjoyed that a bit more, so I’ll probably watch the whole anime at some point soon after I get through the next two shows I’m watching. However long that takes.

Most notably, I decided to start watching Yu Yu Hakusho, which my buddy @dbzebra considers his second favourite anime after Dragon Ball. Seeing how we share a lot of the same interests and I trust his judgement, I decided to give it a watch. I just finished the whole first season, and so far, I’m LOVING it!

Honestly the show got me hooked by the end of the first episode, and it’s only gotten better since. I’ll probably go more into detail on my thoughts on this one in next months progress report, since it’ll probably take me most of April to finish the show considering it’s over a hundred episodes, but honestly if it keeps being as good as it’s been so far, it’ll easily make my top 5 favourite anime by the time I’m done, maybe top 3. I really love the characters, the story and just the general feel of the show. So yeah, thanks DBZebra, I probably wouldn’t have watched this if I didn’t know you liked it so much.

So, yeah. That’s my anime bingeing progress for the end of March. So far my plan for April is to finish Yu Yu Hakusho and also get back to Shokugeki No Soma (Food Wars!), an anime I was watching on the suggestion of my friend Hayley566 and I was really enjoying, but I got distracted after watching episode 9 and I haven’t got back to it. I hope I’ll finish it by the end of the month. After those shows I’ll probably go with something shorter, like Yuri on Ice or One Punch Man.

I also just got the Ghibli movie Only Yesterday in the post today, so I’m going to watch that right now. I’ve also ordered the dvd’s for Akira, Pokémon Destiny Deoxys and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, so I’ll have watched those movies soon, and hopefully more before the end of the month.

And again, I welcome any recommendations I get from people. Not that anyone’s really interested in hearing me ramble on about my stupid viewing habits, but oh well.

One Punch Man (Seen four episodes a while back, looks good)

Mobile Suit Gundam

Outlaw Star

Cowboy Bebop

Digimon Frontier

Digimon Data Squad

Digimon Fusion

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V

Sailor Moon (Watched the entire first season and was about halfway through season 2. Should really get back to watching the full series)

Sailor Moon Crystal

Yu Yu Hakusho

Ranma 1 ½

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (2012-onwards series)

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Fullmetal Alchemist

One Piece

Astro Boy (Any series. I just want to be able to say I’ve watched something from this franchise).

Kill La Kill

Gurren Lagann

Fairy Tail (What? Why’re you looking at me like that? I like cheesy stuff like this, alright!)

Little Witch Academia

Tenchi Muyo!

Death Note

Yuri On Ice

Fist of the North Star

Soul Eater

Code Geass

The Devil is a Part Timer

Food Wars: Shokugeki No Soma (I watched about 9 episode, need to catch up)

Your Lie in April

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Mob Psycho 100

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Phoenix Wright anime

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Movies:

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Your Name

Garden of Words

Paprika

Tokyo Godfathers

The Boy and the Beast

5 Centimeters per second

Millenium Actress

Only Yesterday

Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro

The Digimon Adventure Tri Movies

Yu-Gi-Oh: Bonds Beyond Time

Yu-Gi-Oh: The Dark Side of Dimensions

Half of the Pokémon movies

Akira

Ghost In The Shell

Memories

Perfect Blue

Naruto: Ninja clash in the Land of Snow

Naruto: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

Naruto Shippuden The Movie

Naruto Shuppuden: Bonds

Naruto Shippuden: The Will of Fire

Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower

Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison

Naruto: Road to Ninja

The Last Naruto Movie

Boruto Movie

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome back to the blog. I don’t know how long this post is going to be, because I’m sort of writing it in a hurry. I have a bunch of stuff that I need to do after work a few days a week now and I’m still scrambling to figure out my new life schedule.

I guess that sort of leads into the awesome news that I mentioned vaguely yesterday? Monday? My days are completely blurring together at this point. Anyway, I have accepted a position working with Colorworld Books, and I am now their Community Manager. Basically I get to spend my time covering all the social medias and talking about the books and the brand, which is stuff I pretty much already did, but now I’ll get paid to do that. It’s only part-time right now, but who knows. This is a sort-of work from home opportunity that I really need to consider. There is a lot to weigh on if we are in a good enough position for either Damian or I to walk away from our factory jobs. But still, I’m super excited to get to work for a company that I love. So yay.

Watches: Well, we’ve watched a few things over the last week, like finishing the eleventh season of “The Big Bang Theory,” which means we only have one season left. We also did a binge re-watch of “LARPs: the Series” seasons one and two, and honestly that is an amazing web series, and you should check it out if you haven’t because it is a beautifully crafted geek show. And then we finally jumped back into our “Doctor Who” watch and finished season ten, so we’ve finished with Peter Capaldi’s run as the Doctor and it is time to introduce Damian to Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor.

Still playing Animal Crossing. I feel like I need to pick up another game for a bit, but then I think about how much other stuff I still need to do, so I just do a 20-30 minute chore list for my island.

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What I’ve finished reading in the last week: Warriors & Weapons by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler, Monsters & Creatures by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler, Dungeons & Tombs by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler, Wizards & Spells by Jim Zub with Stacy King and Andrew Wheeler, and All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

I am still currently reading Drums in Autumn. I’m having problems similar to what I had with the second book, where this one isn’t holding my interest as much as I would like. I’m hoping that will change soon enough, because I’m still not all that far into the massive tome, but we’ll see. I’m wondering if this is going to end up being a pattern of me loving the odd-numbered books and being just so-so with the even-numbered books. I don’t know. But I’ve also picked Shorefall back up and I’m hoping to power through it by the end of the month. It’s really interesting, and I’m reading it pretty quickly, so I don’t know why I kept hesitating on reading it before. And I’m also in the middle of reading a contemporary romance ARC I picked up on NetGalley that is an enemies-to-lovers geeky story, and so far I am really enjoying it.

As for what I’m hoping to read next…well there’s a lot of options. But I’m also heading into the final weekend of the month, so it would be nice to choose books that I’ll be able to finish in time for the monthly wrap-up. Especially since next month is a themed TBR and I’d love to start my month off ready to jump into my reading and blogging plans. So I’m thinking this fantasy novella and this geeky zombie convention story should make for a great end-of-month wrap-up. We’ll see.

Oh, I’m also thinking about binge-reading the entire Akame Ga Kill manga series this weekend. Because a few of the voice actresses from the anime are going to be on the next Colorworld Live, which is June 4, and I’ve already watched the entire anime series, but the manga apparently ends much differently, so I’m curious about that, and it would be nice to have it completed in time for the digital panels and such.

All right, that is all from me for today, but I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Weekly Wrap-Up (66) Hey all, Dani here. Welcome back to the blog. I don't know how long this post is going to be, because I'm sort of writing it in a hurry.

[averagemagicalgirl]

Monthly Media: May

Last month I shared my first ever Monthly Media post on my WordPress blog so I thought this month I’d share to both! 

MOVIES

I really wanted to see Infinity War which meant sitting down for some well deserved MCU entertainment. Note: I was VERY behind when this month started.

Spiderman: Homecoming ~ Coming from a place of never liking Spiderman I found this movie to be enjoyable, well paced, and interesting. I wish it had included more "backstory" but I think we all know how Spiderman came to be at this point. Looking forward to more character development in the future. Peter Parker is a treasure and needs to be protected at all costs.

Black Panther ~ Straight up loved this movie. I can see why a lot of people on my various social media feeds went crazy for it. A pure joy to watch and would definitely want to watch again/own in the future.

Thor Ragnarok ~ Thor has always been my favorite Avenger from this first movie. Despite his flaws he seems to be a genuinely good person who just wants to do the best he can. I laughed through this entire movie, everything was connected and nuanced in such a way that the comedy came from organic situations, none of it seemed contrived. I watched this at my friends house at least twice more.

Civil War ~ Rewatched to try and catch up a bit for Infinity War. Not my favorite movie in the MCU but tolerable. The problem is that everyone wants to be right or wrong about Captain America or Ironman that I think they miss the main message of "Life is never black and white", and therefore make the movie somewhat enjoyable for those of us who can see and appreciate the grey spaces between issues.

Ant Man ~ I like Scott Lang. He seems like an ok dude. I am looking forward to the "Ant Man and Wasp" movie that will be coming out shortly so this seemed like a good one to watch.

Infinity War ~ I HAVE LOTS OF FEELINGS. Lots of threads, little resolution, feelings everywhere. I know that a lot of people still haven't seen the movie so I'll be brief: I would recommend seeing it in a theater if you can BUT I wouldn't see it a second time until the 4th movie was ready to come out. That being said I am now also looking forward to several movies coming out in the next few years.

The Greatest Showman ~ Watched it 3 time, memorized all the songs, will buy it in the near future and turn up the volume so I can sing along without bothering anyone. The Honest Trailers dudes at YouTube did a pretty accurate job with this one. I watched it before the movie and found myself less moved by the actual story line and more by the secondary characters themselves. That being said, still loved it.

The Hobbit ~ I actually only watched the first one and not the extended edition when I was visiting my friend. Wish we'd watched the other two or at least the other edition but I still really enjoyed the movie as I did when I first saw it come out. It was nice to go back to Middle Earth even for a brief time and it reminded me that I really should download The Hobbit to my kindle to read it again since all my books are still packed away from my move.

Psych: The Movie ~ Overall disappointed. I was expecting something little more than an hour and a half-ish long episode. I'd like to watch it after finishing the series though, I think that might change my mind. Nothing against the characters or the actors, they were just the same with a little more years on them but I think the writing wasn't as good as it could have been.

TELEVISION

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Seasons 1-3) ~ This was a rewatch for my friend and I because she'd introduced me to Kimmy and her gaggle of pals a couple years ago. After watching the first two seasons together I watched the third one on my own last year. I'm looking forward to season 4 because last season was disappointing in a lot of ways narrative wise but I thought overall it was a great setup to what has already been announced as the last season. Sustainably I feel like that was the best choice. Had things worked out a bit differently in Season 2, this last season could have been the end. Anything beyond 4 would be a mistake in any case.

New Girl (Somewhere around Season 2) ~ I've been watching New Girl on and off for a while and I lost track of where I was so I just picked up where my friend had left off. Still find it cute in a lot of ways but I'm NOT thrilled about Nick and Jessica being together. Maybe my feelings will change, they literally just got together from what I saw but I feel like she could do so much better...fingers crossed though. Nick has a lot of potential as a character and as a person so hopefully Jessica can help bring that out in him.

Galavant (Seasons 1&2) ~ 4th time through watching it. Still love it. The characters have GREAT growth through 2 seasons and it all feels equal throughout the cast, even among the minor characters. The music is a treasure that I will sing forever. Favorite character continues to be Madalena with a dash of Cook/Jester thrown in. It's a great feel good show with lots of action and romance.

History's Greatest Hoaxes (Season 1) ~ I love all sorts of weird conspiracy theory/hoaxy stuff so this was naturally right up my alley and I binged the whole season in one day. It was quite fascinating all together and they did a good job of balancing those who were defending the so-called "hoax" and those that advocated for the reality of the situation.

BOOKS

As I mentioned a few times above I went to see a friend this month for a couple of weeks, I was planning to try and get some quiet reading time with her boys as part of their "summer routine". It didn't really turn out that way so I'm still stuck on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World". I did however, get to read a lot of different children's books and have realized they're a little more sassy than when I was a child. Some of my favorites included: "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", "The Book without Pictures", "Dragons Love Tacos 1 & 2", "The Interrupting Chicken", & "Robo-Sauce"

I also read a story to my 7-year-old Nephew as part of his homeschooling curriculum  called "The Toga Detectives" by Henry Winterfield. As a story book to read out loud to a child it was incredibly awkward. I often found myself shortening things so that the narrative sounded smoother than it actually was. I think part of the issue was that the books listed publish date was in 1953 and translated from the original German. That being said as a book for take-home reading in a classroom setting to then assign vocabulary words from I found it to be exceptional. There were a lot of great words to pull from in each chapter and the story really picks up after chapters 5/6. My nephew begged me to keep reading in certain points because it had gotten so exciting.

IN PROGRESS

GAMES ~ Pokemon Soul Silver (I need something but it's day specific and I keep missing it), Pokemon X, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (I LITERALLY JUST STARTED THIS YESTERDAY I AM STOKED)

TELEVISION ~ Just started watching the Netflix Lost in Space series so we'll see how that goes...

[daniellethamasa]

Hey all, Dani here.

It has been a pretty darn good start to the month of February. In the last five days I have managed to read almost 2,000 pages, which is pretty awesome. So it might be funny that I admit to feeling like I haven’t read enough yet. I had planned to do so much more reading over the weekend than I actually managed to accomplish. Like, actually, I have not yet read a single book that is on my February TBR, though every book I’ve read still qualifies for Fantastic February, so that works for me. What it also means is that if I manage to tackle my whole TBR for the month I will read something like 10,000 pages, which is a bit mind-blowing.

Speaking of focusing on fantasy in February and all that, my Weekend Writer posts this month will be focused on worldbuilding, which is sort of a staple of fantasy. Okay, specifically the book I’ll be re-reading and then referencing in my posts is technically focused on worldbuilding for role-playing games and such, but when I read it a couple years ago, I found that the information is equally valid for fiction writing, so I figured I would share that with all of you writers out there as well.

When it comes to my novel writing for this month I’m focusing on the fantasy story line over the contemporary romance story line for my book, just to keep the theme going and all that. LOL. I’m hoping that my February update will be much better than my January one.

Let’s see…have I done anything this past week? Well, we played Dungeons & Dragons for a bit on Sunday, just a fun little accidental side quest from the recent ending of a campaign. Two characters were teleported to Hades, and we decided to actually play through their time there, just because.

I didn’t get around to any video gaming this week, because I’ve just really been in a reading mood. Well that, and I’ve just been in the mood to watch a whole bunch of stuff. Maybe if I start to slump in my reading or something I’ll play a little bit of some games until the reading mood returns, but for right now I think my gaming systems will remain turned off.

Oh, we did get our hotel booked for Gen Con later this year, so now it’s just about saving up a little bit of spending money and such. Just under six months to go until one of my favorite gaming conventions (and my birthday).

Over the last week I finished the second season of “The Good Place” and started season 3.  I also did a binge re-watch of both seasons of “LARPs: the series,” which is one of my favorite shows, and I still hope that we’ll eventually get a continuation, whether in web-series or comics or something. Another re-watch I jumped into was “The Guild,” and I managed to complete the third season again. Oh, and yesterday I was having trouble going back to sleep after Damian went to work, so I put on some of “The Tudors,” hoping that it would help get me back to sleep. Sadly it didn’t, but I did manage to watch like four episodes, so that’s cool. Finally, yes, I have been continuing my catch-up of “Critical Role,” and I have another four episodes to go until I’m completely caught up, so I’m getting close.

Okay, let’s talk about books.

  The books I have finished reading in the last week include Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition Vol 3 by Natsuki Takaya, A Queen in Hiding by Sarah Kozloff, Infinity Son by Adam Silvera, and The Unwilling by Kelly Braffet. These have all been such different reads, and such different fantasy worlds and fantastic elements, and that’s probably one of my favorite parts about the genre of fantasy, just the wide array of possibilities and magic and creatures. It’s amazing.

  My current reads include Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Monster of Selkirk Book III: The Machines of Theda by C.E. Clayton, and The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. Obviously I am very much in a big Witcher mood, so I wanted to keep reading more of the stories, especially since I now own the entire series. I’ve also been meaning to continue with the Selkirk books for a bit, so it’s great to finally be reading this one, though now I know that I do need to buy the next ones, so I’m ready to read more in the future. Tallis is an interesting character. Finally, I’ve been wanting to read more N.K. Jemisin for a while, having read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms several years ago, and since there was an Orbit sale at Barnes & Noble, I was able to pick up The Dreamblood duology for $10 each, which was fantastic, because I wanted the single volumes over the omnibus version.

  For my next reads, I think I’ve got my eyes on more fantasy reads, obviously. That’s the whole point of participating in Fantastic February. I’m not entirely sure exactly which ones I want to read, but I do somewhat want to balance my adult fantasy with my YA fantasy, just because the writing style and writing pace is generally very different. Plus, many of the adult fantasy reads I have on my list are like 500-700 pages long, so mixing it up with 300-400 page YA fantasy reads is a welcome change of pace. Plus, there are a few fantasy re-reads I want to do this month, so the rereading will help with my overall reading accomplishments as well. I hope, anyway.

So…how has the start of your February been? Reading anything really cool right now? Let’s chat in the comments, and I’ll be back soon with more bookish content.

Weekly Wrap-Up (50) Hey all, Dani here. It has been a pretty darn good start to the month of February.