#this animation is stellar too omg

[sealnami]

you guys need to look at this right now

[falmerbrook]

(Mild flashing/eyestrain warning for the second half! I'll post a slower version below that's less flashy and let's you see the details)

A short Morrowind animation for a MAP (Multi-Animator Project).

It was fun trying different methods of animation (no reference for Nerevar, rotoscoping a 3D model for the ring, and a video reference for the hand) and letting myself use a loose sketchy style!

YouTube Link

Version with the second half slowed down (link because Tumblr is dumb about having more than one video in a post):

[alkalinefrog]

I’ve always been curious about other people’s take on this but—

If Hiccup was thrown into the future, what do you think Jamie and/or the other kids try to show him? What kind of modern music would he like? Or other things like that? Would he like coffee? There are so many questions and things he could be exposed to—

I just love the idea of Hiccup being thrown into the future and I’d love to hear your take on it.

Thanks!!

Jamie would be adamant about teaching Hiccup internet meme culture LMFAO the better question is which memes oh my god wait, would Jamie be on tiktok 😭😭😭 gen z KING LMAO

This post is gonna age so poorly but I gotta list some internet stuff he'd try to educate him on:

"here, read this brief summary of the last 1000 yrs of history to get caught up" rickrolls him

YOUR CLASSIC VINES like road work ahead, fresh ava ca do, oh my god they were roommates

"whatup I'm Hiccup I'm 18 and I never fucking learned how to read" "wtf I can read Norse runes dick"--- does google translate offer a Norse option LMFAO

Idk FNAF but I feel like Jamie is a FNAF kid just from vibes alone and he'd force Hiccup to play it

Creepy pastas

This is tiktok specific, I want Jamie to teach Hiccup how to get sturdy and forces him to do other dance trends together LMFAO

Minecraft, again based on vibes

Unfortunately I'm 50/50 on whether or not Jamie would like anime but that's a whole other can of worms I don't wanna go into kashalsbakvabfbsk

Essentially Jamie latches on to him like "omg new big brother"

Otherwise I haven't given too much thought to Hiccup in the future! In answer to your other examples, I feel like he'd have a soft spot for Nordic folk music but would be into modern indie rock, and he's more of a mead guy than coffee guy and drinks coffee more for the energy boost but gets jittery fast. I also think he'd get into motorcycles when he finds out there aren't dragons around anymore and misses the adrenaline rush from flying!

If you want a really fun Hiccup-gets-isekai'd-into-the-future au then I'd highly recommend checking out @midoristeashop's take on it!! Stellar art and au by a stellar artist!!!

Thanks for the fun ask dude!!

[jjtheresidentbaby]

OOOUUUUGH JJ!!! you write for fnaf now?? TOTALLY STELLAR!

i just watched the movie recently and although i had my doubts at first i actually enjoyed it a lot looking back lol.

i see you’ve written for regressor vanessa, and idk if you’d write for regressor Mike but if do you and your requests are open could i request a fic like that?

totally fine if you don’t wanna!!

— 🐝 (old anon lol)

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Better with You ໒꒱ ⋆ﾟ⊹

|| mike schmidt x vanessa shelly

a/n: omg 🐝 ahh I’ve missed you!!! hope you’ve been good and thank you for blessing me with a little!mike ask <3 I couldn’t find a solid date for when the movie takes place but the late 90s-2000s is the most common answer so I went with that when choosing the movie they watch (it’s Balto 2)

warnings: little!mike, cg!vanessa, mike’s a lil insecure about regressing but it’s v brief, mentions of little!vanessa, mentions of nightmares & canon events, pet names

-

“I still don’t know about this Vanessa.” Mike says with hesitation clear as day on his face, sitting across from Vanessa on the couch, the remote sitting untouched between them. Vanessa had suggested maybe Mike try regressing for a bit while Abby is off at Ness’ for the night, they’ve talked about it before with Vanessa’s own regression as a jumping point, but Mike’s still nervous.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’m still putting this kids movie on.” A smile breaks across Mikes face as Vanessa plucks the remote from the empty cushion and hits play.

He isn’t sure what movie this is but Abby made Vanessa take her to see it in theaters and both girls fell in love with it, Mike would’ve gone but Abby had deemed it a “girls trip” so tonight will be the first time he’s seeing it. It’s an animated movie with dogs, or maybe they’re wolves, Mike can’t really tell but he also doesn’t really care, he likes it either way. And he likes it even more when Vanessa coaxes him to lay down with his head in her lap.

“Where are they?” He asks and is a little taken back by how wobbly and pitchy his voice sounds. It sounds similar to how Vanessa sounds when she’s regressed— oh.

“Alaska, that’s why there’s so much snow.” That makes sense. Vanessa’s hand threads into Mikes hair, her fingers lightly brushing back and forth, he gets kind of lost in the feeling.

The sound coming from the tv is still there but he can’t quite focus on it, almost feeling sleepy as he curls up closer to Vanessa. She murmurs something he doesn’t catch and smiles softly down at him, he likes how safe she feels. It’s not a new feeling by any means, since the first night they met Mike had felt an odd security around her, but it’s different tonight, stronger in a way. There’s some layer of trust that he’s letting her in on, the same one that comes out when she shushes his nightmares away or holds his hand extra tight when they walk past woods with Abby.

“You tired bud?” Vanessa’s voice is gentle and honey like, pulling Mike from his thoughts as he turns to look up at her.

“No, wanna finish the movie.” She gives a small laugh and moves her thumb across Mikes forehead to brush his messy hair away.

“I’m sure Balto will still be there in the morning.” Something akin to a groan leaves Mikes throat, it’s more of a whine, not that he’ll ever admit it.

“Five more minutes? Please ‘Nessa?” Her lips twist up and eyes lift to the ceiling for a moment, the longest moment of Mike’s life if you ask him, before she’s nodding shortly in agreement.

“Five more minutes then teeth and bed.” It earns her another groan but it’s only halfhearted, Mike’s too busy turning back towards the tv to really be annoyed about the prospect of having to go to bed. He thinks he’ll actually get some good sleep tonight, he feels relaxed in a way he hasn’t felt in years, even better than back when he was taking those sleeping meds; and Vanessa’s also here. He always sleeps better when Vanessa’s there with him.

“I sleep better with you too sweetheart.” Oh did he say that aloud?

“Mhm, someone’s tired.” It’s said with a sing-song tone that Mike pouts at.

“Am not.”

[thewideawakechronicles]

(6/?)

Then, Smith has the stellar idea to pretend he's gonna hurt Hoppy. (So many things wrong with that omg)

Congratulations, you got Bobby's attention. In the worst way possible.

(Now this is the part that might really ruin future interactions with them for us, because.. don't aggravate the two girls?) Hoppy is just having a terrible time, fearing for her life, neither she nor Bobby know you're faking it, and now Bobby is put on a spot where she feels like if anything happens to her (girl)friend, then it'll be her fault. The “I have your friend hostage, let go of my friend” plan is kind of evil to two people who live in a fight or flight situation (where Hoppy isn't strong enough to fight and physically can't flight, which leaves Bobby to fight for both of them) (they're basically cornered. What is Bobby gonna do, let go of Frankie? Then you say sike and don't let go of Hoppy? Or everyone else jumps them? Of course that wouldn't happen, but how would they know?)

(Great speech /s)

you don't force other people to allow you to help them. Ever. They didn't need help beforehand. It might not be ideal in our eyes, but things worked just fine for them in their little arrangements.

They're panicking, they will not listen to reasoning (especially reasoning from a guy who's making himself physically scarier and more threatening) saying “we’re here to help, not to fight” and then immediately landing a threat (even if empty) won't help your case. Yeah, it's been 10 years, things aren't the same, except food is dwindling and so is sanity

(Oh hey, I just remembered that song from the Lorax. Y'know, How bad can I be? It's a very specific part, too:

“Well there's a principle of nature

That almost every creature knows

Called survival of the fittest

And check it this is how it goes

The animal that eats gotta scratch

And fight and claw and bite and punch

And the animal that doesn't

Well the animal that doesn't

Winds up someone else's lu-lu-lu-lu-lunch”

Cool, right? Imagine living like that for 10 years. There is no “you should be better”.) (they're not listening to that final explanation, by the way)

(Oh, great, Hoppy’s sobbing. Just what we wanted. Hooray. Good job, Smith /s)

( :) )

[starleska]

Heya! I am sorry if you aren't looking for f/o's now or anything, or if I accidently like... Submit this wrong or something. But uhh... I saw that you like scientists, and although this character isn't a scientist, he IS a doctor so it might be in the same range?

He's this weird, creepy goober from a game/manga/anime called Angels of Death, and his name is Dr. Daniel Dickens. He's like, REALLY obsessed with eyes and a specific type, to the point of killing people to collect them. It all comes from his backstory and such. Without spoiling too much, he was born with only one eye, and he was bullied relentlessly for it. A lot more happened, but I believe that was a big part in creating his eye obsession, at least in the manga. He's a creepy dude, but I LOVE HIM SO MUCH FOR IT OMG- He's so like... skrunkly imo. He can be very sweet looking one moment, then terrifying the next! I think his eyes look beautiful, too, and I have always wondered what his life would've been like if he was shown so much more love and affection in the past, which I wholeheartedly believe he deserved! He was such a sweet child from what I have seen, so far, but nobody could really look past his appearance.

I don't have a picture of him, plus, he looks slightly different in each iteration of Angels of Death, but I love him SO MUCH and I want to know what you think of him (if you know enough about him, that is). Again, sorry if I maybe formatted this wrong, or you already had him suggested and made a post about him, but I just love him so much! I love my creepy doctor goober! ❤️

hello lovely!!! i hope you're having a stellar day 🥰💖 thank you so much for sending this fascinating fella in, aaa!!!! i absolutely love getting long gushing asks about characters i know nothing about - it's just so wonderful getting to share in your love!! and it's clear you have a great deal of love for this doctor 😉

wow!!!!! okay okay i went and did some reading and watching and oh man this guy is a freak 🥴💖 i am genuinely so disturbed but in a great way - fella's got a real fixation, doesn't he? i've gotta say, i adore his aesthetic - you're right, doctors are well up my alley 😖 but oh my god the glass eye with the double irises and pupils??? that's sick as hell!!!!

i see what you mean about him being sweet one second and creepy the next…i adore the disturbing yandere types, so thank you very much 😳😳 i used to be a big fan of Conway from Pokémon, and he's giving those vibes!!! 🔥🔥

what do i think of him? i want to know more!!! i don't want to go reading too much in case i get spoiled for any iteration, but Dr. Daniel Dickens is - and i hope you'll forgive the pun - eye-catching 😉💖 i am sure he would just love to gaze deep into your beautiful eyes, hm? :3c

[diagonal-queen]

HELLO AGAIN! ITS ME, NIGHTGOWN ANON (IG)! Poe ideas omg. I don't know the man well, but I LOVE HIS DESIGN and i see you love him too! I'm more of a ranpo fan but POEEE these are just general headcannons/ideas for gn/fem s/o 🤷‍♀️ if you want you can add on! i'm just sharing my thoughts :)

- You guys spend hours together talking and browsing dress magazines. not only that, but you guys talk about old fairytales and their dresses :) OR ITS JUST HIM AND HE SPENDS HOURS SPENDING TIME ON WHICH DRESS WOULD FIT YOU BEST

- I heard you mention sugar baby? YOU ARE DEF HIS SUGAR BABY OMG. Him on the first date: ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡ Look i bought you [insert expensive crap]! You: ( ꩜ ᯅ ꩜;)

- Wait what if it was you dating him for his BANK but you just started falling in love with the baby boy?? OR REVERSE (which idk how that would work)

- Poe being frusterated at his desk, writing stories to outwit Ranpo at 1AM and sleepy you just nodding along while petting Karl

- Okay hear me out: You have a pet and Karl and your pet get along so they have playdates. Poe uses this as an excuse to get closer to you, and then like you start dating OVER YOUR PETS <3

- Haha you know the song "popipo" imagine you just start calling poe that and hes just like: man wtf

- Head empty only Poe.

haha ill let you know if i have any more bsd ideas because your writing is AMAZING! VERY GOOD 10/10 <3 AGAIN MY LOVE STAY HYDRATED AND HAVE FUN!! ❤️

HELLO NIGHTGOWN ANON (that name is so funny to me skjsksjsjs) AAAAAAAA I LOVE ALL OF THESE!!!! ALSO YES ALWAYS PLEASE DO COME STRAIGHT BACK HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE IDEAS BECAUSE THESE ARE STELLAR

okay so now i really wanna write a fic where you start dating poe for his money (or for a mission or something, maybe agent!reader who's investigating remnants of the guild idk lol) but then you fall in love with him and it's gonna be fluffy but also angsty okay. i need to make an ao3 account. i've read some stuff there but i've never actually posted, so if i ever post stuff there i'll link it here <3 but yeah either way, he would absolutely spend WAYYY too much on the first date.

as for the dress thing, if you're like me and think old fashioned fancy dresses are just gorgeous, he would get some tailored for you and write you a scenario where you could wear them, like an old ball or something. when it comes to poe's 'i must destroy ranpo' agenda you're gonna have to be the mother of the couple. Give him a bedtime and make him shower and give him a time limit for writing because he will not stop otherwise.

i have unfortunately come to learn that it is illegal to own a raccoon where i'm from. however i do have a puppy who would square up against karl for absolutely no reason because she's just silly like that <3 also they would become partners in crime for sure. poe WILL use this as a reason to hang out with you more. he sees the animals getting along as some kind of foreshadowing because writer

change your ringtone to popipo and be like 'hey edgar call my phone rq' and watch his face just 😦 when that song starts playing on your phone he's like 'wh. what is this music' asjkjdaskkhsfhh bonus points if you show ranpo this exact thing because he would find it HILARIOUS

okay this got too long too quick. i am very inspired at this moment. i shall start mass producing poe wips immediately

[kkoraki]

Top 10+, Bottom 4+, & Wackiest Books of 2022

Out of the 80+ books I read in 2022, the following distinguished themselves in special ways.

I am only including new reads, not rereads. I put the little kneejerk blurb/reaction I wrote immediately after finishing the book below it. If I had extra thoughts on a book while making this list I put that in a second paragraph or in [square brackets].

If you have read any of these I would love to hear your thoughts. If you haven’t read any of these but have questions or opinions, have at it.

Top 10!

I read so many books I liked this year that it was hard narrowing these down. This ended up being more of a top 15+. The top 10 are listed in chronological order of when I read them.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver 

I think I want to buy this one! Entertaining, informative, and she’s a great writer (...I need to read some of her actual books). The story of a family only eating local for 1 year while living on an Appalachian farm. Loved it. (02/22)

Soul Lanterns - Shaw Kuzki

Really beautiful children’s chapter book about the lasting effects of the atom bomb in Hiroshima (but not tragedy p/orn). This is a book I want to read to my kids. It made me tear up. (03/22)

Zora Neale Hurston (Tell My Horse; Every Tongue Got To Confess; Their Eyes Were Watching God)

TEWWG: I LOVE the way this woman writes. Wow. (03/22)

TMH: I loved her novel but I almost feel she shines even more when relating anecdotes & folk practices. Beauty incomparable. (03/22)

ETGTC: Hurston is wonderful at capturing the way different people sound. Not because of funetik aksent - it’s the rhythm and word choice. (04/22)

My Favorite Thing is Monsters - Emil Ferris

INTENSE, pretty fucked up graphic novel - all drawn in ballpoint pen! - about a girl in Chicago in the 6s, her Casanova artist brother, her weird neighbors & classmates, & her Holocaust survivor upstairs neighbor with a FUCKED UP backstory who gets murdered. Also the girl loves monsters (obviously). Ends on a total cliffhanger. (04/22)

Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians; Mongrels; My Heart Is a Chainsaw) 

TOGI: GOOD STUFF. That great Alien-style horror where it starts out with awful scary suspense, people start to die, then it ends all action-movie. I will say the ending was almost too nice and pat but that is such a minor complaint. It’s about 4 Blackfeet men who illegally hunted elk when they were younger, and the repercussions 10 years later. (06/22)

Mongrels: Really baller book about werewolves. Kickass worldbuilding & storytelling. Great stuff. (07/22)

MHIAC: BEST BOOK OF HIS YET. Dude! More people need to be wiling to write feral sad fucked up female protagonists like this one! The ending definitely felt like a slasher homage so it wasn’t as fulfilling as I would’ve wanted, but I think that was a genre constraint. This should get adapted into a movie. (08/22)

CW (character spoiler so rot13): pfn onpxfgbel erirny sbe n znwbe punenpgre

The Tiger & the Wolf - Adrian Tchaikovsky

omg Adrian Tchaikovsky strikes again! This book is a 10/10, what Kiesha’ra would be if it weren’t trash [IYKYK]. I loved both protagonists & the supporting cast development was stellar. It did feel like a parent reveal was being set up for 1 character that didn’t end up playing out but maybe I just read it wrong. Good stuff. (07/22)

Ancillary Justice, Sword, & Mercy - Ann Leckie

Can’t believe I waited so long to read these... they 100% lived up to the hype. Sword + Mercy felt like bonuses/unnecessary but I liked that. This is how to do great SF! (09/22)

The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas

ANOTHER one that WAY lived up to the hype! The characters were so real in this. Loved the family relationships. Amazing book, in my top 10 for sure. [and it was! lol] (09/22)

Jesse Bullington - (The Folly of the World; A Crown For Cold Silver)

TFOTW: Amazing book, this guy has wack ideas and can really write! Loved how dark and clever it was. (10/22)

I was pressed for time and didn’t do a whole summary in my initial note but the publisher’s summary does TFOTW as much justice as a summary can. It contains vErY interesting canon gay and an incredibly scrungly scrappy female protagonist.

ACFCS (as Marshall): I really liked this because it was a classic adult sprawling fantasy, but with none of the sexual violence or ethnic/gender baggage endemic to that genre. It was bloated as hell but the bloat was thoroughly enjoyable. (11/22)

The only thing I was disappointed in/nervous of in ACFCS, early on, was that the androgynous character described gender neutrally was revealed to be 100% woman in a way that pinged a slight alarm for me because I wasn’t sure where it was going, but then she turned out to be an adorable woman-chasing baby butch with absolutely 0 sexual tension with the older male POV character whose chapters she stars in so I was fine with it again. Also this book had one of the most interesting and tragic evil/morally ambiguous female characters I’ve read about in a WHILE and I’m still thinking about her. Oh lol it also has a 16 year old annoying fantasy pope but to shake things up a bit this one is a girl who wears black and she’s not important. The whole thing is just full of fun obviously. If you love way too long fantasy go read it!

When I’m Gone, Look For Me in the East - Quan Barry

Late fave of the year?? An elegantly written book about twin brothers in modern Mongolia seeking the reincarnation of a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual figure. The narration was entirely in present tense. I didn’t feel the ending had much impact or value but the rest of the book was so artfully done I don’t care. [And it made it to my top 10!] (12/22) 

For the top 15:

Night Theater - Vikram Paralkar

The Fortune Men - Nadifa Mohamed

The Language of the Night - Ursula K. Le Guin essay collection

Patience & Sarah - Isabel Miller

Conversations with Octavia Butler - Octavia Butler interview collection

Bottom 4 Plus 3

Bottom 4, plus 3 I liked overall but had different issues/strong negative discussion points with. I read so many books this year that I wanted to sit back and think about exactly why I disliked some of them or what I disliked about the ones that didn’t work for me.

Revival Season - West

So bad & offensive. (03/22)

This woman grew up in urban Cali and wrote this entire book at a writing seminar in urban Ohio. Enough said. Except no. This book is enragingly bad and offensive on so many levels to every single character depicted in the book but especially the protagonist, her disabled sister, the mom, and even the antagonist preacher dad. I get that statistically not everyone grew up as a fundie PK or whatever but just based on the narrative treatment of the disabled sister, I’m shocked that the Goodreads reviews are so positive. Totally insulting shitty book. And the writing sucks too. That sounds so juvenile but it pretty much does just... suck.

Out of Darkness - Perez

I hated what this book did and how it did it so much that I didn’t even write it down in my book journal after finishing it in June/July, so these notes are current. A ton of gratuitous plot unnecessary/irrelevant CSA of the protagonist and that isn’t even why I hated it. I will only say that as great and interesting as the summary and setting might sound, do not be deceived. This book is the greatest argument in favor of #OwnVoices I’ve ever read due to how awful it is.

The Unbroken - Clark

Should have been better than what it was... great ideas but the plot (+ consistent characterization) was in shambles. (09/22)

OK. So. We’re talking longass ~diverse~ fantasy. Marshall’s A Crown For Cold Silver, on my Top 10 list, is a way too long brick of fantasy and I was delighted by it, but Clark’s The Unbroken is a way too long brick of fantasy that should have been eviscerated by its editor. You absolutely feel the length in both of these but in one of them you’re happy about it like a nine course feast you can savor and in one of them you feel like you’re dragging yourself through the desert waiting to die. The reason for this is that ACFCS coheres beautifully on a plot level and is filled with interesting characters whose actions cohere with who the character is as a person and lead toward an epic conclusion, as well as characters’ relationships being consistent and developing -- positively or negatively -- in ways that make sense. The Unbroken... has none of that. Plot and character development were in shambles and it suffered from similar (though not quite as shocking) moral event horizon problems as Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (further down this list).  Also I fully assumed the author was white because of how sympathetically the white-coded colonist princess girl and her European noble friends were written in comparison to literally everyone else but I guess that’s just how the book was. Anyway, read this book if you want to gain an intimate understanding of Dorothy Jones Heydt’s eight deadly words.

Pet - Emezi

This was unfortunately a mess. Great ideas but a mess. Did not like the writing, plot was boring and the fridge horror of the utopia was hinted at but never explored or engaged with. (10/22)

I may have been too hard on it in my kneejerk reaction but it is not good. It suffered from similar issues to Cloud Cuckoo Land (below) except not only is this author a career modern litfic writer she was also trying to write a kids book for the first time apparently. This explained a lot of the... weirdness about how it was written. On a character and theme level it was a very surface level, slightly confused book, which would be OK if the plot was comprehensible or the world was interesting and well thought out but neither of those things was true.

3 more that I couldn’t call bad but had critical things to say about that I wanted to make sure everyone saw 🤪

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire

Romeo & Juliet retelling that would have been GREAT if the ending hadn’t included 1 protagonist sprinting across the moral event horizon at light speed and the implied gay character having his male love interest turn out to be a crossdressing girl. Literally devastated bc the beginning was SO GOOD (this is the one where Juliet & Paris are baby homeschoolers) (and Juliet swordfights) (04/22)

The other huge criticism I have for this book other than the two things above which were already bizarre and book-ruining is that it wasn’t a self contained story. It feels like it could and should have been, to the point where the last third and even last half of the book felt off in the pacing as the plot was, oddly, stretched artificially out for the purpose of coming to less of a conclusion than it would have if the story were allowed to be fully resolved by the end of the book.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Oh boy... one of my first encounters with a contemporary Lit Fic (TM) writer in a long time. The parts of the book set in historical Turkey + Constantinope I enjoyed. The rest I liked the idea of but it just felt SO... pure extruded litfic product. [There was a topically relevant school shooter and a topically relevant evil tech company and a topically relevant elderly gay man whose whole life was sad because of homophobia and then he died sacrificing himself. All written in that tasty pure extruded litfic voice. The Turkish boy and Byzantine girl were good but they should’ve been their own book.] (08/22)

Wake of Vultures

Loved the concept and the protagonist, loved the setting, loved the magic/myth system, loved the story. Did not love how the entire thing was written like YA except for the multiple extremely graphic and plot unnecessary sexual assaults on the transmasc protagonist in the last third of the book (while misgendering them because of course). It didn’t make me DNF the book because I was invested and wanted to see how it ended but I won’t be reading more of this series. [...In keeping with the theme introduced by my #2 Worst, this book was not #OwnVoices either. In retrospect, I knew that going in and should have been wary about how many people said it was an OMG Awesome Trans Protagonist Book.] (12/22)

Wackiest because I needed this section

This mostly exists because I’m still not over the funniest, weirdest summary vs. plot bait and switch I’ve ever experienced in a (decently written) book in a long time, but it also exists so I can praise one of my top 10 again.

The Night Tiger - Yangsze Choo

Crouching (were)tiger, hidden sibling incest romance. Yes. That is what it is. You will read the summary and the reviews and come away expecting a dark, adult, slightly creepy Malaysian historical fantasy about weretigers. Do not be misled, as I was. There are no weretigers. There is no fantasy. This book is a 1930s Malaysia period piece framing a lovingly written heterosexual incest romance. For any of you who enjoy this kind of thing... have at it! The book is good and the setting was gorgeous. I was just baffled. I’m still cracking up about the whole experience of reading this book and finally realizing more than 2/3 of the way through that 1) it was romance genre; 2) between the siblings; and 3) there weren’t going to be any weretigers. Tragic!

Anyway, I want to read more books set in 1930s Malaysia/British Malaya so if you have ‘em send recs.

My Favorite Thing Is Monsters - Emil Ferris

OK just read this. CW for everything fucked up though. 

[onyx-roses]

Aight so this is little overdue since I finished the game awhile ago but I need somewhere to vent lol. So...Bayonetta 3...where to start??

Ok so for starters, even by Bayonetta standards I feel this game's story is a clusterfuck. Like the Bayo series story has always felt confusing to me due to there being time travel and whatnot (or maybe im just a dumb dumb who doesn't get it) but at least I feel Bayo 1 and 2 attempted to have a cohesive story. This one feels because of the whole multiverse thing, they must've felt like they could just retcon shit and do whatever they wanted Idk. I get that with this series, gameplay is the initial concern for the devs, and story is an afterthought but c'mon. The final boss is the wackest by far. Not only design but everything in general. And I felt the other multiverse bayos were wasted potential. They all got done so dirty. The multiverse was built up so much and then you rarely to get to see them and then they all die...like wtf. I'm especially still gagged at how chinese bayo died. In such a stupid fashion. She had more than enough time to react but no she stands there a few seconds too long and dies. This is Bayonetta we're talking about!! Her reaction time and reflexes are pretty much always flawless and she has witch time for fuck's sake! At least kill her in a more believable manner! And then Jeanne....my poor girl Jeanne. I feel killing her was so unnecessary. For what?? For fucking what?? Instead what I would have done was keep her alive and have her mentor Viola.

Now the ending....I admittedly didn't hate it like everyone else but it wasn't really stellar either. The final act of the game was overall pretty sus. Tbh, what I hated more than the ending itself was the fact that it is insinuated that Bayo 1 and Bayo 2 are two separate Bayos. That to me, not only makes things more confusing but makes the journey you take with Bayo 2 a little less meaningful? This whole time I thought we all played the sequel thinking we were seeing more of OG Bayo and her character development and what she had been up to but no. It was a different Bayo the whole time? Idk, I feel that lessens and cheapens everything we saw in Bayo 2. To think there was a direct connection between the two and nope. I will admit tho, it was pretty dope from a gameplay perspective, teaming up with the other two bayos was amazing. Not to mention when you take control over bayo 1, omg the feels. The fact that mysterious destiny is playing and her lifebar and magic mimic that of the first game.....just ugh amazing. I wish they would have let us switch between bayo 1 and 2 in that fight but oh well. At least at the end of the game, I was pleasantly surprised to see they brought back the 'let's dance boys' dance sequence. I rly missed it back in Bayo 2.

Ok so now admittedly imma nitpick some more minor things but they bugged me enough to mention them lol. First off why THE FUCK can't you play as Jeanne in the main story???? Y'all did it in the last two games! Just treat her as a skin/costume like in the previous games! I get her not being playable in Viola chapters but Bayo's? Nah son. Wtf. And they didn't giver her costumes either. Not. One. Like, the egyptian one is right fudging there. I'm not asking for 10 different outfits but c'mon. Or bare minimum they should have let us change her colors. Was also upset Viola got the same treatment too. Would have loved to have seen in her some different outfits or colors. Them getting rid of Umbran elegances made me sad. Nintendo costumes were also absent this time around which is a damn shame since those were a blast to use. This might be dumb but the lack of different taunts was a bit disappointing too. I would always look forward to choosing different weapons and seeing what taunt she had. I guess those got traded in for idle animations this time around. Now moving on to enemies, fights and bosses are bombastic as ever but man, the enemy design in this game is seriously lacking. The angels and demons are so memorable, they have character, they are brimming with originality. These white/green blobs ain't cuttin' it. I felt like I was fighting the same enemy over and over again. I think they may have exhausted all creativity into the demon slaves and masquerades. This next complaint is me being whiny bitch I get it lol but I REALLY don't understand why they changed the sounds for the platinum and pure platinum medals. Those are iconic sounds for the Bayonetta series. So why change them? Like, I'm seriously asking. Cause it seems like a random change to make? Now they are barely noticeable and sound like generic forgettable ass chimes. The camera in this game could get god awful at times too, which considering the high action pace of this game is a big problem.

So I could keep going but this is long enough lmao. Overall, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy playing through Bayonetta 3. It's just as over the top and chaotic as previous titles. I genuinely had so much fun with this game. I don't really have any complaints of the gameplay mechanics off the top of my head. But everything else...my god, platinum has some 'splaining to do.

[lunetic-pinecone]

For the fanfic ask game! 💌🤩🎁

thanks quil!!

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

i had to think about this for a while - there are so many tropes that i like and it kind of depends. mutual pining is a big one; found family too. also, for non-romance, (reasonably) overpowered characters…!

🤩 What led to your interest in the fandom?

i pretty much fell headfirst into the persona fandom, lol. i was doing a bit of research for a game idea i had, persona 4 was a big one. i can’t remember exactly but i think it was youtube clips that made me think woah, these characters are so cool, and i loved the story themes as well. then there was the persona 4 animation scene with the group date cafe, yu being the girl and yosuke getting all flustered, i was like omg wtf that’s hilarious. thus began my descent

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

oh yes! i wrote a scene for a medieval isekai persona fic! (note that the uncle yu is talking to here isn’t dojima ryotaro, but another unmentioned uncle because Story)

Yu entered the royal court where the King awaited. His figure was as proper and as elegant as it had been the first time, this time an element of excitement now tempered into a calm gaze.

Yu kneeled and bowed his head.

“Your Majesty.”

The King smiled at him; it offered him a modicum of ease. “You seem well, my nephew. I’ve heard you’ve done well for yourself this time.”

“It is by Your Majesty’s grace that I was given such an opportunity to prove my worth.”

He chuckled. “Please, there’s no need for such formalities amongst family."

Yu kept quiet as he nodded. In the back of his mind, there was a vague memory of himself standing beside his mother, who spoke warmly to the King in a way that made his own heart feel cold.

He remembered the King patting his head, reminding him to smile more.

Still, he remembered a distant world, where that same uncle would pat his shoulder, congratulate him for his stellar academics, and give him a little extra pocket money for it.

The King suddenly laughed.

“Such a fastidious and polite young man you are. You remind me very much of my father.”

Yu bowed his head again, further this time. “I cannot accept such high praise.”

“But it’s true. Father was a great king. Of course, you weren’t even born yet when he was on the throne, but if you’d met him, you’d know. He had the heart of a true king.”

The King rubbed at his temple.

“There’s an old story. A man builds a successful business with his own two hands, becoming wealthy through his merit and his blood, sweat and tears. His son, having seen how hard his father worked, worked equally as hard to maintain his father’s wealth. His grandson, taking his wealth for granted, squanders it all away.”

Yu had indeed heard of the saying before. What it meant was very apparent to him.

“Father was a sovereign that saw his kingdom and his people not just as subjects, but as extensions of himself. He wielded great bolts to light the skies, never to strike fear, but to bring hope to the people of Caerulea."

The King lamented. “My children… I cannot say I have not spoiled them, but I have tried my best to inculcate the heroic spirit that Lord Izanagi so favours. Though it seems that one’s natural temperament cannot be changed so easily. Noriko was always such a bossy child, and Mitsuo is… I suppose that’s the trouble with being born with such a weighty birthright. Sometimes, I wonder if he isn’t living in his own world.”

The King sighed. Yu understood exactly what he meant. His eldest two children, fighting for the throne; it wasn’t that they didn’t have the ability. But Yu could not see a shred of benevolent rule from Noriko, and Mitsuo was blind to the people's needs. They weren’t serious issues on their own, but it was natural for the pious king, who looked up to his father, to harbour some disappointment.

“Well. Lord Izanagi has blessed my two children as they are, so… Ah, in the end, I’ve just become a sentimental old man, clinging onto boyish dreams. Could you blame me for that?"

“Of course not, Your Majesty.”

“Please, just call me uncle.”

“…of course, uncle.”

The King seemed very pleased.

“What a blessing to our kingdom that Lord Izanagi has blessed you, my nephew.”

A chill ran up Yu’s spine.

[inkykeiji]

OMGOMOG!! HII BBY!! ITS CLOVER!! I MISSED YOU!! Life’s been so crazy I haven’t been on tumbler for like ages!! I don’t even remember the last thing I’ve ever sent:(. GOODNEWS!! I do remember telling you about the work guy…GIRLL HE ASKED ME OUT!! Very very happy!! I also got a dog😭, i wasn’t lying when I said life was crazy. I’m back in uni now since summer break ended, missed all my friends!! I think the last ask/update I sent to you was like….during spring and now it’s fall (well almost!). Im more of a winter or christmas girl but…I LOVE FALL VIBES AND HORROR MOVIES. Imagine watching horror movies with touya-nii 😣. I watch the barbie movie (10/10)!! But, what’s up with you?! I have to check up and look at ur posts!! UPDATE ME!!

-☘️

(Sorry for spelling, walking home😭 Not the best at walking and typing!!)

clover!!!!! hi!! i missed u too!

AAAAAH YAY such happy news!!!! so you guys are official now!? <3 A DOGGIEEE omg what kind!? what's its name!? animals are such a joy to care for <33

i hope uni has been treating you well so far!! i'm sure it's lovely to see all your friends again! c: my favourite seasons are autumn and winter so i am super happy we're finally arriving at that time of the year again!!!

HEHE it's funny you say that because touya's favourite genre of film is the slasher genre!!! he'd totally force you to watch all of the classic slashers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and then he'd force you to marathon a bunch of giallo all'italiana films n the video nasties. he'd get super into it, too, curating mini film festivals for the two of you to have in your living room in the safety of a meticulously constructed blanket fort <33 touya is definitely the type to condescendingly spew out movie facts, so expect a bunch of obscure tidbits of information, especially surrounding the video nasties <3 (he's v pretentious, idk if you can tell HEHE) <3

i saw the barbie movies too!!! i loved it so much! i went to see it with my best friend + her lil sister n their mom and we had such a blast!

not too much is up with me! i'm suuuper hyperfixated on tokyo revengers right now, and i'm working really hard at continuing to create content for my little chatplots game, but other than that there isn't too much going on! i'm so happy to hear that you're doing well, sweet clover! <3 i hope ur man and ur puppy and ur university program all continue to go stellar <3 sending u so so so much love!!!

[thingsofimportanceanddelight]

Lmao medical misogyny isnt just “getting ignored” in fact most of it isnt that at all. It is that there is literally a sex data gap. 80% of medicines are tested on only male animals. 80% of clinical trials only use men. No women at all. 13% are mixed men and women and 7% are just women. In the 70s, the FDA literally banned all women ages 12-60 from participating in trials. Every piece of medicine is tested on bodies like yours. 20% of medicine is tested on bodies like mine. Women died from being prescribed asprin to help with heart conditions because it has no effect on women compared to men, but the doctors literally didnt have that data and assumed they would react the same until enough women died!

The body you have, the male body, is the only one tested and researched in 4 out of 5 cases.

You have no right to claim youve experienced medical misogyny. Even the hormones you take to simulate a female experience were tested on males before females.

OMG, my first anon hate comment! This is so thrilling! Literally no one has ever cared about this dinky little virtually-zero-engagement blog enough to bother sending *anon hate* before, so it's amazing that apparently I somehow managed to get under your skin enough (with what I can only assume was a throwaway comment on someone else's post, since this blog is mainly reblogs, not original posts) to warrant the effort. Coupla things, though:

A) I don't know what post you're so angry about, so this is hilariously out of context. To the best of my knowledge, I haven't posted anything on this subject for weeks, if not months (lately I've mainly just been letting the queue spit out posts on car culture and city planning, in fact, so that makes this feel even more like it's coming out of the dead middle of nowhere). Have you been lurking for ages before you worked up the courage to actually send this, or do you not know how to enable post dates/times, or are you AI, or what?

B) I extra don't know what you're talking about with this "bodies like yours" and "the hormones you take" stuff. Pretty sure I've never claimed to take hormones of any kind or have anything other than an AFAB body. Did you assume that, because I support trans women, I must be a trans woman myself, because you simply cannot conceive of a world in which your hate-filled gender essentialist views aren't the default, and you fundamentally cannot grasp what it is like to care about groups that you are not personally a part of? Filing under "TERFS yet again misgendering and marginalizing cis women in their fervor to attack trans women out of nowhere and for literally no reason." Truly, a classic. (Stellar work on that "defending women" bit y'all claim to care about so much, too. I obviously feel very defended by this comment of yours. A+ top of the line "feminism".)

C) I absolutely have experienced medical misogyny, actually, and I would still be able to make that claim even if I were trans, because trans women are women, and transmisogyny is still misogyny. It's literally all there in the names. Hope this helps!

D) TERFS are ridiculous, and Nazi-adjacent *at best*, and make the world a fundamentally worse place for everyone, and you can go right ahead and die frothing mad about it.

Cheers, thanks, byyyyyeeeee!!!!

[josukkes]

hi hii again !!!!! (*・ω・)ﾉ i'm glad to hear you're feeling better and finally done with placements !!!! :D omg that happened to me actually, right when i got over my cold last week i came down with a fever a day later and i was sick all over again with something else. (*ﾉωﾉ) i'm good now though!!! magenta is such a pretty color!! soo for this week, what are some things you're enjoying about the animes you're currently watching now?? (=^ ◡ ^=) ~ your animanga secret santa 🎅

Hey there santa! The ones I'm watching are those currently in my description, csm, sxf, and mp100, but there's also a few others I am not giffing weekly, like urusei yatsura and cool doji danshi!

Csm: it was hype as hell, I actually meant to read it but then Uni work hit me like a truck and put it on hold indefinitely. It's funny, its characters are awesome and their dynamics are chef's kiss. It's got a similar worldbuilding vibe to dorohedoro, only the latter has...significantly less death and depression. Give it a read/watch if you'd like!

Sxf: Bond. Borf sweep. It's also hilarious

Mp100: OH BOY I JUST WATCHED THE FINAL EPISODE, I'M NOT OKAY. I had actually read the manga beforehand so I knew what would happen but that didn't stop me from almost crying. When 99 started playing, UGH, poetic cinema.

Cool doji danshi: sometimes, you just want a show about cute guys doing cute things. It has free! vibes, its artstyle is so Comfy

Urusei yatsura: it's also funny. A lot. Its animation style scratches the brain just right and the voice cast is stellar. And the op SLAPS

I hope I didn't send this off too late, I wouldn't want to impede you in making my gift. Have yourself happy holidays and I can'f wait to see what you have in store for me!

[absolutebl]

Read your reply to my ask and damn you are so well versed in BL I would think you are in the film industry yourself! Also so nice to see someone else love Seven Days! Everyone keeps complaining it's ToO SlOw but so much Japanese media does that anyway...the long stares...the pining...the silent yearning...the drawn out confessions... Japanese BL, regular anime...even just straight Japanese drama... I believe in Seven Days supremacy anyway idc.

Haha anyway I forgot to add that I did watch We Best Loved and I really loved that one. I have watched HIStory Trapped too I totally forgot that I have seen BL from Taiwan.

Thank you so much for the recs! Going to watch them all and work my way up on getting a BL award from you too lmao.

(Also funny note I forced my mom to watch KinnPorsche with me... Her dialogue the whole time was practically "damn Porsche is so sexy I want to slap him - omg Kinn is so sexy I want to grab that ass - Vegas is so sexy - wait why is everyone gay? Yuki why is everyone gay? Pete is straight tho - Oh...he's gay too."

And here's a question for you! Out of Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean BL which do you generally enjoy more?

HAHAHAHAHA! I love your mom.

Yay! I am so excited you're gonna give some of those a go!

Out of Thai, Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean BL which do you generally enjoy more?

OOOOO what a doozie.

Japan is killing it these days, some GREAT stuff. It’s like they woke up in 2021 and were all ... “wait a minute, we started this, let’s show ‘em how it’s done, boys!” AND THEY HAVE. 

I’m nothing if not made loyal (Seven Days is my one true love). 

And when Japan is good it is really really good and when Japan is bad, it is sexy. But when Japan is really bad it is kissless or cockless, and that’s a rollercoaster that makes me scream. 

Japan just can’t be depended upon. Good for flings only. (Here’s me being silly about this: If You Dated BL) 

Korean BL is the most consistent, good production, great casting, and decent story (high concept for the win). It tends to earn over 7/10s from me, and also occupies the most 10/10 spots on my list. 

But the lack of high heat and any kind of queer rep makes me sad, and the treatments are, without question, too goddamn short. It’s past time they started giving us full length Kdramas. 

Taiwan is all over the place but for pairings and acting they tend to win hands down. 

They are the most queer friendly and have the most consistent chemistry, and if they only made MORE with better high concept stories, they'd be top of my list. 

But Thailand, they tend to produce the most and I have grown to really love the language. 

So if you FORCED me to choose, I’d probubly go back to my original obsession and chose them on the basis of quantity and range of offering, general rewatchability and those stellar kisses. We all got spoiled by Thai kissing.  

I did a country by country compare contrast thing here. 

(Meta post where i casually mention what I do IRL ;)

[lifeofkaze]

2, 5 & 8 for Lizzie and Selene please <3

Thank you so much for your ask 💛

2) Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Lizzie: She is very good with animals, goodish with plants but she tends to leave those in Orion's care, who actually enjoys plucking weeds (pun so intended omg). She thought child care was a charm when she only had to take of Dylan. She had a proper rethink about that once Reva was there.

Selene: It's not her fault that every stupid plant has different stupid needs. Animals are a lot easier. Her Highland cows her darling Ethel gifted her @the-al-chemist are thriving and if Alan hadn't thought as whiskey barrel was a stellar place to swim, he'd probably be not only as well as he is, but alive, too. As for children.... let's say, there was a learning curve.

5) Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

Lizzie: Even though she learns to deal with them in her time as a professional Quidditch player, Lizzie's nerves always were and always will be extreme. Public speeches are the worst for her, but when they're in front of a small group that means something to her (like her team) and in the spur of the moment, she's actually a pretty good speaker.

Selene: Selly has a talent for dramatic performances and doesn't mind the attention being on her one bit. The best and most heartfelt speech she ever gave was at Ethel's and Lysander's (@the-al-chemist @slytherindisaster ) wedding. The speech she most wanted to give was the one she wrote for Caitlin's wedding. She didn't, however, when Caitlin asked her in the forefront to please not make everything about herself and embarrass her, just this one time. She keeps the three scrolls of parchment locked away at the bottom of the chest in her bedroom, right next to a crumpled bouquet of wildflowers.

@kc-and-co because I know you love to cry about this mess of a mother-daughter duo as much as I do

8) Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Lizzie: Arithmancy was her favourite subject and she still enjoys a good number puzzle but also gets bored of them pretty easily. Because of obvious reasons she's gotten incredibly skilled at finding hidden meanings/deciphering imagery and wordplay.

Selene: Dear Sels has no patience for dilly-dallying with riddles, bless her little heart. If she wants to do something, she wants to do it NOW and thus prefers the more direct way. And if there ain't a direct way, she's gonna make one.

[official-tuabangevent]

I know what it’s like to love dangerous people.

via: @circumstellars ➜ TUA fandom bang 2020 | Prompt: family, broken

[I cannot begin to describe the 15-20 hours of work this took. I was way too lucky when taako rolled such a clean and classic prompt for me, but once I finally imagined in my head what I wanted to do, executing it was a giant obstacle. It’s the most elaborate gif set I’ve made, in terms of number of effects and animation in one set. Photoshop puked on me halfway through this set, in my 3rd draft, glitching and bugging out for anything more than 100 frames long or so. I was so stubborn though. On my fifth(?) draft, here we are. It was most difficult because I had to figure this out never having done it, but also not seeing it done often, and not knowing any kind of related tutorials either. Really knocking around blindly. By the end, loading this in PS was pushing my laptop to the limits, omg it took PS 20 mins to open the document each time I started a fresh session. I do love that in all these processes, I’m recovering old tricks I used to know, and learning some new things I’ve never done in my graphic arts pursuits. It’s not perfect, but I wanted to make something worthy of this event, and to be worthy next to the mind-blowing entries by the others. 

Thank you all who participated in this event, flooding our feeds with beautiful creations for us to enjoy. Fandom creators are so precious to me, I appreciate you all - and all of you who in turn consume and feedback with love! Let’s do this again soon, guys, what a treat it has been. We have shown that we are a better fandom when we’re all together. -Stellar (I tried to upload via submit like everyone else, but sadly, the submit function doesn't work for gifsets! wtf man.) ps. if it's out of sync - its not, refresh your browser! :D]