#this looks like one my fave children's book illustration

[kyurochurro]

patchy patchy who has stars in her eyes!!!

[suddenly-frankenstein]

WELL

just decided to share with y'all my not-so-big but not-so-small Frankenstein editions collection 👁️👁️

I have 14 books for now! most of them are English-language editions, but I also have several books in Ukrainian, as well as one in German and one in French – really hope to find an opportunity to collect more editions in other languages in the future.

details are under the cut!

1. one of my latest thing! Frankenstein (Deluxe Edition) 2023, with absolutely stunning illustrations. Damn, it was quite expensive for me, but ahhhhh this is so beautiful I can't-

2. another beaty! Macmillan Collector's Library's edition, small but so pretty under the supercover, and THIS blue colour!! and inside design!!

3. this one is one of my ultimate faves ahhhhh. Signet Classics's edition, and I'm absolutely IN LOVE WITH THIS COVER, HEELLLL!! it also is very pleasant to touch

4-5. German and French (with McAvoy on the cover jkjdkdjdkd) editions! they were the gift from my friend and I really love to have them in collection – also really love the choice of colours in the German edition, just YES

6-8. three Ukrainian editions – first 2 in Ukrainian, the 3rd is in English and has a very silly cover :)

the first one is my favorite, because I really like this format, and I also leave notes in it during the process of re-reading the book

9. also my latest purchase – Frankenstein: Junji Ito Story Collection. I haven't read it yet, but heeeellll so gorgeous wtf

10. Usborn Young Reading's edition of Frankenstein. More like retelling for children, but oh, it has really cute illustrations on each page :3

11-13. few more editions in English!

first one – Penguin Clothbound Classics's edition, and of course I NEEDED to have it, because it's really looking and feeling so damn good. This also was the gift from my friend (the same one with the German and French editions) and god, SHE IS THE BEST.

second – Collins Classics's edition, I just like its cover – laconic, but kinda expressive??? idk. but well, this one has very small font of text just uhhh impossible to read.

third – idk what it really is lol, but the cover looks pretty but also kinda funny because of this photoshopped heart lol

14. my very first edition, it's in russian and I don't have much to say about it, but it was cheap and has some of my notes so I keep it.

[polish-art-tournament]

between the tournaments minigame 3

hello and welcome to another minigame designed to make you think back with nostalgia to your childhood. (or at least my childhood). today we are looking at some iconic children's books illustrators!

you can vote either for the most iconic one (ok we know thats butenko), or your fave from when you were a kid, or the one most aesthetically pleasing to you currently, or whatever criteria you deem right

i know butenko and grabiański are the most iconic ones but i hope we can get some appreciation for the others too <3

Bohdan Butenko:

Joanna Olech:

Janusz Grabiański:

Teresa Zalewska-Hoya:

there are many many more amazing children's books illustrators. from me personally honorable mention shoutouts go to paweł pawlak and piotr rychel. share your own faves who didn't make it to the minigame in the tags!

[omaano]

I guess you've already got a dozen of these BUT

💕 self-love time! talk about which ones of YOUR creations (edits, artworks, fanfics) you like the most then send to other creators to do the same 💕

That is a rather flattering assumption, my dear, but I believe I've proven to have a horrible track record in answering asks, and where is the fun in sending such nice asks to someone who will just hoard them and then feel too ashamed to answer months late? ^^; Anyway, thank you very much for this askl! ❤️ And while it is a bit mean to make me pick favourite(s) from my children, I'm only gonna pick one here (not even my biggest recent fave), because I want to talk about it and show off some details.

I thought about picking my recent cowboys DTIYS redraw, because that would illustrate pretty well the direction where my art inevitably seems to be going (and the one time where Cobb's face didn't fight me like it was his job - and returned to the old normal of Din giving me grief lol) BUT, then I remembered that I filled my (so far) last Desert Witch!Cobb AU drawing with quite a few details, and I want to show them off and talk about them a little. So here we go:

I wanted to showcase the colour palette I predominantly used in all my pieces for the Monster Mash drawings - I'll admit that I'm not very confident in my colours, so Procreate's feature of generating colour palettes for me from already existing photos is an absolute godsend, otherwise I'd be stuck with my purples and pink-oranges for eternity. I had to add the blue for a bit of contrast though, but by the third drawing I really enjoyed the warmth of these bright oranges and reddish browns. They added to a nice and cozy feeling while I was freezing and huddling close to my little electric heater.

Plus this is a good shot to point out all the shinies dangling from Cobb (he's now got a mythosaur pendant with dangling beads for the teeth(?)), and the tattoo on his arm I had an awful lot of fun with! Something's clicked in my brain and now it's permanently stuck on pairing Cobb with suns and moons imagery (mostly the moons, because A) Din is the one who is shiny and blinding and hurtful to look at when he's fully decked out in his armour, and B) I find the dichotomy of the deadly sharp points and curve of a crescent moon vs the gentle face of a full moon very fitting for our Marshal here). So he's got two crescent moons on the underside of his forearm and elbow, and a third one on the right side of his neck. And there is also a sun on the curve of his shoulder, behind the sharp-toothed skull (because I gave in and finally put a sun on him after you all somehow kept seeing it on him - although it still eludes me how you managed that ^^;). He had another one on his right shoulder as well, but well. Glass doesn't take all that well to tattooing, does it? He's also got a lot of swooping cloud and smoke shapes to match his eternally billowing robes and the sand-storms that hide in his pockets.

And now to the fun part of the chaos that the background was:

I really wanted to put an absolute mess of a workbench behind Cobb, and I tried my best to deliver it - then forgot to take into consideration how much of it he'd block out with his shoulders XD and so I filled it with books, datapads and candles, little notes and jars and vials and a real fancy scale that I tried to model after the krayt dragon. And then once I realized how many of those details got covered up, in my infinite wisdom I erased everything instead of just masking them out so that I wouldn't even be tempted to somehow work them back into the picture... so I had to take these snapshots from my process video (hence the poor screenshot quality, sorry ^^;) but this way you can also see how I used those box shapes to try and keep even the otherwise circular/organic shapes of the flowers and pots (and cauldrons omg, were those a struggle!) in perspective. I think that was a neat little trick.

It was really challenging, and I cursed myself a lot for the angle I picked for this picture, but in the end it was very rewarding to see that while I never thought I'd ever be able to pull off a detailed background, I still managed to do this here!

[asteraws]

7, 9, 21 for the art asks

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate

RISOGRAPH PRINTING IS COOL AS FUCK i really hope to go to a riso workshop someday and learn abt it.. also modern japanese woodblock prints are so banger... i went to a museum a couple months ago and found an illustration book filled with them and it was so awe inspiring. Paper collage art is also one of my faves, i see a lot of it in childrens book illustrations and its really something!!!!!

9. What are your file name conventions

Yall uhh everything is literally just "untitled" or "stack" 😭 LMFAOO ever since i started regularly using procreate i never name my work in-app 🤪 when i used to use photoshop itd be whatever i nicknamed the character + maybe whatever the subject was (eg. bedebert school au, hikart slayin, izzay combyuter) OR SOMEHTING

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways

Recently ive really been into kingdom hearts and sonic art styles basically the look where the lineart is super thick and pointed and varying in line weights?? it look sooo good but personally i hate lineart im more of a quick sketcher/painter so maybe one day ill try it to experiment but, i just do not work that way LOL

[mywillbedone]

I'm probs too late for the chat to distract thing (as of now it was like, posted 2hrs ago) but if you feel like it, here's some rando questions I always like getting, myself! What are your fave... 1. Animals 2. Environments 3. Music Genres 4. Childhood Books 5. Games (video or otherwise) 6. Wildcard Choice! Best of wishes!

Thank u for sending this to me in my time of need, it did indeed come after the danger had passed and I calmed down. But I saved it bc I knew I would need it sometime and here we are 💗

Let's see, for animals

coyotes, black bears, cougars (there is a pattern here lol) but also. i'm really vibing with pygmy anteaters, they look so kind and wise like a tiny friendly wizard

environments: high desert and the rocky mountains 🥰 i feel more at home in the mountains and plains of new mexico and colorado than i ever have anywhere else. something about it is so special to me. also just. anything in true autumn. rainy and golden and crisp

music genres: i hesitate to say metal bc while the metal i do like is probably my Most favorite kind of music, im absurdly picky lmao, i do not as a whole like just anything in the genre. i also love new wave and what i call 'dad rock', stuff your hypothetical 50-60 yr old stoner dad would listen to. classics ranging like. fleetwood mac, tom petty, deep purple, grateful dead, led zeppelin, but also harder stuff like zz top, sammy hagar, black sabbath

childhood books: gonna be honest with you, my memory is real bad especially regarding my childhood and i read a LOT back then so i probably don't even remember my favorites. i did read watership down quite young, and that's a big fav. i really enjoyed the first two series of warrior cats, but i do not care for them now (but i can still get riled up about these ridiculous fictional cats lmao). a couple i remember reading and really liked that i don't remember well now was the dark portal series and the egypt game. i remember the dark portal books being pretty intense horror for a children's series, which i liked. i also enjoyed what i read of the redwall books, mossflower was my favorite and i have a lovely illustrated edition of it 😍

games:

i am. so so bad at video games, i am only good at 2 dimensional button masher type fighting games, but i kick ass at those lol. dead or alive was my series of choice. also a big fan of silent hill 2

but board games, oh man. i Love board games. extremely partial to clue bc it plays to my strengths, especially my IT (2017) special version. survive is one of my all time favs too. CAH is always a winner. i can usually be suckered into playing life or scrabble, and the 2001 or older editions of blokus are good too. recently tried a more basic version of the game evolution, and im really excited to get the full version and play it someday. just never monopoly, fuck that game.

wildcard:

uhmmmm how about current favorite snacks? im very into peanut butter cups atm, and fancy cheese with crackers. also those churro kitkats....they dont taste like churro i think but theyre divine

[ilikereadingactually]

Picturebook roundup: November 2023

since leaving children's bookselling i have missed, and felt woefully out of touch with, the picturebook scene! so i keep a list of books i want to take a look at, and this week i requested a stack from my public library. below are some casual reviews in the order the books appear in the photo above, which is to say no particular order, just how they came to hand. also age recommendations, which are only that--recommendations! i strongly believe that there are picturebooks for every age, including adults, and the age ranges i give are just where i think the most likely interest is. ymmv as far as your own interest or that of your loved ones!

Evergreen by Matthew Cordell

an extremely charming story about a young squirrel learning how to go out into her world and feel safe. i LOVE the art, no surprise because Cordell is a fave of mine, and i love the way this book is separated into (very short) chapters, it gives the progression and repetition of the story some extra sophistication. it's a view of the world outside the home as a community, where the unknown might feel frightening but requires a second look, a little understanding and openness, and a little trust. there's also a little bit of a Red Riding Hood thing going on, with fun mishaps instead of tragedy.

age rec: i'd put this in the 4-8 range. There's more text than a lot of picturebooks, so it's great for a kid who can sit and listen to a longer story, and also great for kids who are reading early readers and simple chapter books on their own.

a bit i really liked: the expressions here really delight me, that little frog omg O_O

more under the cut!

***

Big by Vashti Harrison

i think this book is really delicately done, given the target age! about a little girl who likes to dance, and is consistently told that she's too big (meaning too fat, and the ways this is implied but never said rang painfully true to me). the imagery is especially powerful; in comparison to the other people in the story, this little girl starts out very bright, chubby and a little taller than other kids, and the more she is told she's too big, the larger and more faded she becomes, until she's so big she can't fit in a single page of the book anymore, and has to break out and confront everything that's hurt her. it's the kind of thing that could go too far in a number of different directions and be trite, or insulting, or just too subtle, but instead it's very lovely and made me pretty weepy. there's a quiet racial element here too--the little girl is Black, and as far as i remember everyone who offers hurtful commentary on her body appears white (sepia, because of what the art is doing, but with thin and white-seeming features and hair).

age rec: the text is very simple, so this one could go as young as 2 or 3, and as old as the message--that fat people are good as we are--is relevant.

a bit i really liked: the way this image drives home how oversized and unwieldy this child has been made to feel, and also how totally ignored! her vibrance has faded! MOOD

***

Ancestory: The Mystery and Majesty of Ancient Cave Art by Hannah Salyer

a very cool book, with beautiful art! this one does what it says on the tin and presents ancient cave art for a young audience, with basic facts and interesting questions that don't have any answers. i particularly appreciated the details about what kinds of materials would have been used to create cave art, and the time and effort that would have been put into these works, being added to over time. artistically, i loved the way the style of the illustrations matched the various kinds of cave art being discussed, and the way these unknown ancestors were portrayed in almost smoky-looking silhouette, shadowy and hard to pin down the details of, because they are so long gone that we don't have that many details. and the back matter is great, including a very cool map of the locations of known cave art! i wish there was a little more back matter, actually, but for a child reader i think it's just right.

age rec: i would put this one around the 4-8 range. not as much text as Evergreen, but a little more complex conceptually, and i think given the back matter it could easily be enjoyed by slightly older kids too if they have a particular interest.

a bit i really liked: this page made me cry. i ALSO take the time to create!!!

***

Mr. S: A First Day of School Book by Monica Arnaldo

DELIGHTFUL! a class of kids arrive for the first day of school to find a classroom without a teacher--until they notice "Mr. S" written on the board, and a charming sandwich with olive eyes and a ham slice tongue. they have a great first day of school under the eyes of Mr. S, while subtly outside the window the human who wrote "Mr. S" on the board before the kids arrived is dealing with a continuing series of disasters befalling his car. the ending was a perfect twist, i laughed a ton, and the art is very cute.

age rec: ideal for 4-6 imo, but can definitely go younger if the kid is in preschool and so understands some of the concepts of what school is, and can go older as a very fun read for teachers and educators.

a bit i really liked: their expressions T^T

***

Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith

a beautiful, quiet book. a mother and son curled together in bed share memories, the room growing lighter each time we return to them. the memories include a father, and a move, but don't make it explicit what has happened to separate them. The memories themselves are displayed in a series of snapshots, the perspectives changing depending on whether the mother or the child is recalling it, and the art style is very dreamy and soft and beautiful. in the end, the child shows us the view outside their window, and suggests they create new memories in their new home. i ADORE dreamy, emotional, subtle books like this, i feel like more than half the picturebooks in my home library have these qualities.

age rec: i'd say 4-8, younger for particularly emotionally aware kids, older as a comfort to any kid or adult going through a separation, a move, or some other bittersweet and difficult life change.

a bit i really liked: this memory struck me as particularly visually lovely

***

The Truth About Max by Alice and Martin Provensen

this is one of those meandering kind of books. very simple, a pleasant ride, and of course very charming and loose and clever artwork, because it's the Provensens, whose work i have loved for a long time. they're both gone now, and this is a story dug out from their archives, which is a thing that i always have kind of mixed feelings about--on the one hand, it is exciting to suddenly have "new" work from people you never expected to see work from again; on the other hand, often posthumously published works were not published in the creators' lifetime because they were fine, pleasant, but not amazing. this book has charm! it has Max, who appears in other books of theirs! it's quiet and a bit funny and does nothing more stressful than follow a mischievous cat around a farm. i enjoyed the experience of it, and it's already slipping from my memory.

age rec: maybe 3-6 ish, depending on the temperament of the kid! this is a slow and quiet kind of book, which can be great for one kid and not attention grabbing enough for another. it's also pretty pragmatic--Max is a farm cat, a hunter, who spends some time considering whether the baby chicks could be his lunch. it's also definitely a read-aloud, because the text is handwritten in cursive, which is a beautiful overall look but would be difficult for kids who are learning to read on their own.

a bit i really liked: this cat is so shaped

***

Ancient Night by David Álvarez and David Bowles

i love the art in this, it's so luminous! a lovely, simple book that twists and combines a number of Mesoamerican stories, in which a rabbit fills up the jug of the moon every night with precious glowing aguamiel, and a possum cracks a hole in the jug to taste the aguamiel himself. in the end, they solve the problem of the now-moonless night together, and become the guardians of night and day. it would be a lovely read aloud, and there's a Spanish language version too, and some nice back matter about the stories this is drawing from! definitely a great way to diversify any collection of creation myths or fables.

age rec: i'd put this one around 2-7; the text is sparse enough for a toddler who can sit still for a story, but it has that timelessness of myths explaining how the natural world works that I think holds appeal for kids and grownups both.

a bit i really liked: just look at that glow!!

[televinita]

Library Triage! kinda?

I have soooo many library items checked out right now and I’m making progress on returning none of them; between working overtime and spending way more of my downtime than usual just incessantly watching the same clips on YouTube, I am not reading very much. But I can’t seem to let anything go. So this (even more than usual) is just me trying to make sense of everything so I don’t lose any items this time...

Part 1: DVDs

No Escape: I have watched this already (twice now in this checkout period, including the one with commentary!) so really I should be done with it, but I’m not. I want it close at hand. It’s too good.

The Hollow Crown: Complete Series: the gifs have been promising so we’re gonna have fun with this. Eventually. Right now my ability to handle it is taking one look at a still from any of them and immediately turning into a cartoon with eyes/heart ballooning out of my body, so I am not yet calm enough for that.

The Night Manager: I’m pretty sure this is actually the project I’m going to target next. I know what I gotta shield my eyes about but I also think I can manage the rest of it, and I’m finally interested in the larger story.

Thor 1-3 + The Avengers: for when I’m ready to continue my Loki journey.

(And yet, I’m still over here like, “I gotta go check out those other two movies I want to see. I gotta.”)

================

Part 2: Books

After Perfect -  Maan Gabriel: 2 months ago, I pulled several titles off my Goodreads TBR that I thought I might like to try soon. And then...Hiddleston Spiral. Library is already down to 1 copy of this small-press 2021 release (they started with 3 or 4), and I’m genuinely afraid it’s gonna get weeded entirely very soon. But still, I think I’m too far off course now to be in the right mood for this particular romance, which is rare (age-appropriate student/creative writing professor, except the professor is the younger one), so I want to save it.

Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix (illustrated): I’ve decided not to reread this one yet, I’m just looking at the pictures, but even that I can’t commit to doing. I have been waiting more than a year for this release to get into my hands; I have to be ready to appreciate them. Block out an hour or so to observe/maybe reread select passages/jot notes on my faves.

The Hungry Place - Jessie Haas: a children’s pony book by an author I like that I really thought I would be more excited about/devour quickly, but instead I’m kind of blocked up about it. Like. There is some sadness here before the happy parts, IDK if I’m ready for it!

Just Gus - McCall Hoyle: speaking of children’s books, a cute one about a dog, companion novel to Stella. It really won’t take me more than 90 minutes to read. Why do I keep putting it off.  [edit: go me, I actually started this one in the brief interim between queuing this post and its appearance]

The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry: still haven’t even opened it, but I WILL whether I fully read it or not.

(Meanwhile: those 20+ books I just bought and was kinda planning to read at least some of soon...) (p.s. I actually have my latest sale post written up! I just wanted to take photos)

+ 5 books I’ve technically read but don’t wanna give back because I love them and love paging through them

+ 3 Taylor Swift CDs -- Reputation for Getaway Car (I don’t think I’m ready to explore further yet, but I have as yet been too lazy to rip it); and Folklore and Lover to play in the car, the former’ cause I don’t own it and the latter ‘cause IDK where I put my copy and am frankly too lazy to look. :P

[murshmallauw]

"A good number of people told me they pictured Astra with purple hair" So it's like the Nikki Maxwell-thing all over again. If you don't know about the character, she is the protagonist a children's book diary-series and multiple people, including myself thought she was blonde (probably because all of the books had a yellow sticker-like thingy in the cover with doodles of her, although I am not sure), but I found the original creators' blog not long ago and she is actually a brunette. I found it interesting how most of us didn't know that, so I asked my mother (just by looking at the covers), and siblings (they also read the series) to guess her hair-color. Only one of them get it right.

With Astra I actually know it was black. I just simply figured she'd more likely inherit Dib's hair-color. And for why a lot of people thought it was purple, I have a tip/theory: The fandom seems to associate purple hair with Gaz's mom and therefore Gaz, so maybe they came to the conclusion that in their family, purple is more common with females. Interestingly enough the comics debunked that popular headcanon by Gaz having his grandpa's hair, but I don't blame people for not keeping up with the issues or remembering every single detail. It's still an adorable headcanon, I read fanfics that used that to stregthen the connection beetween Gaz and her mother even more, and it was wholesome.

By the way I saw your drawings about it and she looks cute with both purple and black hair. They both oddly suit her. That made me imagine something "beetween", for example: black hair with some purple stripes...

THE FIRST TIME I SAW A COLORED ILLUSTRATION OF NIKKI I WAS WTF, glad I was not the only one lol. Mackenzie with black hair would look sassier like that in my opinion btw

I read the issue and it's one of my faves but the designs are kinda lame tbh, it really shows that it was intended to be used solely once, which is fair. But not canon here. I like the headcanon of their mother having purple hair better.

I could make both colors canon I guess since most of her is in black and white drawings. New interpretations and headcanons are super cool and I love it. (pst if you have any of them I'll be haby to read them)

[songbirdstew]

Between family, work, and parenting, I spent a collective 14+ years reading out loud to the under-8s crowd. Here are a few books I read over and over and never got tired of:

Dragons Love Tacos and Secret Pizza Party, by Adam Rubin

Really all of Sandra Boynton, but especially Snuggle Puppy, Hippos Go Berserk!, Moo, Baa, La la la, and One, Two, Three!

Where the Wild Things Are, Maurice Sendak

Horton Hears a Who and The Cat in the Hat, Dr Seuss

Go, Dog, Go!, PD Eastman

The Pigeon Books (and The Duckling book), Mo Willems

In a Dark Dark Room, Alvin Schwartz

Goodnight, Gorilla, Peggy Rathmann

These selections all meet the following criteria: repeatedly (R E P E A T E D L Y) requested by children, often multiple times a day; made me laugh out loud; enable the use of several silly voices or dynamic tones; kids looove to join in, and then will recite lines throughout the day, which is hilarious. These stand out because the kids loved them, and more importantly, I also loved them.

The first story which In A Dark Dark Room takes its name from is especially great if you can whip it out from memory. The kids get hypnotized watching your face and listening to you gradually get down to a barely audible whisper; if you slightly lean toward them as you get quiet, they’ll lean toward you; the payoff when you blurt out “A GHOST!” is gales of shrieks and then hysterical giggles and rolling around on the floor, and then, “DO IT AGAIN!” 

Snuggle Puppy can be adapted to any and all musical styles. Curtis went with death metal; I favored a Paul McCartney “Oh Darling” style bellow. Sid loved BOTH and would ask us one after the other to read it. 

Of all the many, many Seuss books out there, those two are the two that got requested time and time again. Our personal copy of Horton is falling apart, we read it so much, and I NEVER got bored of it. It’s fun to read, and it’s sweet and important. I personally love Green Eggs and Ham, but I found the kids kind of sense there’s ~a lesson~ in it and they resent it lol.

You may think there is some glaring oversight in here. “No Richard Scarry? What about Goodnight Moon? What about [favorite artsy book from the last ten years here]?” My fellow adults. Your favorite kids books are boring as fuck and everyone knows it. Get that Pat the Bunny shit outta here. Richard Scarry is super super great for kids who want to look at books on their own; I myself was fascinated by his illustrations as a youngster. But I do not recommend them for read alouds, because they are sooooooo loooonnnnnnnng, and because kids love them, they will ask for them Every. Damn. Day. You will have to spend an hour of your life every day reading about the Pig Family’s Misadventures, and I’m sorry to say, that shit gets old. If you DO get roped into it, I strongly suggest you start by skipping pages or paragraphs from the get go. It will be over sooner, and you can vary it every time you reread it, so it will be less tedious for you and you can avoid the “Ms Treva, you forgot a page!!!” a little longer.

There are also plenty of books that aren’t terrible, but also didn’t wind up our faves. They’re just, fine. A lot of Eric Carle and Jan Brett falls into this category. Approximately one million board books about trucks fall into this category.

If the kiddos in your world are between 3-8, they are also at the perfect age for comics, especially if they aren’t reading on their own yet. Calvin and Hobbes is what inspired baby Sid to teach himself to read, and is probably the top tier best choice for kids of all ages. The art is vibrant, the scenarios are highly varied, and Sid loved any comic that was about, quote, “a kid just like me.” They relate to Calvin even before they can read what he’s saying. At about 6-8, he got into Lumberjanes, Bad Machinery, Foxtrot, and Garfield.

Please pay attention to which books your kids actually like. If you insist on reading a book because your grandma read it to you, but kiddo never actually asks for it unprompted, that means they don’t like it. Respect that. And make peace with the fact that you will indeed end up rereading the same boring story every single day, because kids are dumb and they like dumb things. Don’t @ me, the Berenstain Bears suck.

[tawneybel]

Gobblin’

The Jareth imagines were getting notes again like two weeks ago. Coincidentally, I was reading The Sisters of the Winter Wood, which put me in a goblin-ish/wintry mood. So I decided to read Wintersong and A Wild Winter Swan next. Out of Oz is my between-borrowed-books right now. Also coincidentally, The Brides of Maracoor is out! 

The Wicked Years are my favorite fantasy series because Wicked was a tenth birthday present. It was the first adult-demographic book I ever read and it’s based on my childhood fave, L. Frank Baum’s Oz. Unfortunately, there were the caricatures (which even appeared on official merchandise) in the source material, but Baum passed in 1919 and Maguire’s revisionist series generally denounces racism. 

Harry Potter has a special place in my heart, but it hurts knowing the author is openly bigoted. Good thing I already own the original book/movie series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch through the Ages, and Tales of Beedle the Bard. If want to own HP merch but feel guilty, just buy used. I’ve been reading eBay for Dummies. Okay, back to fun goblinning:

Goblin Market by Christina Rosetti: I first read this in an anthology of fairy stories for children. My copy is around somewhere. I loved the illustrations (which weren’t the original ones by Rosetti’s brother) because of the abundant looks the goblins had. Cats, monkeys, rodents, bats, birds, and so forth. In little motley outfits. 

Outside over There by Maurice Sendak: Where the modern goblin bride trend originated? The goblins start off as creepy figures in grayish purple robes, then are revealed to be babies themselves. Sendak is one of my favorite illustrators of all time, btw. 

Labyrinth: I like when minions are just a gathering of little guys. 

Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black: This post discusses Spiderwick hobgoblins and gremlins. Tony DiTerlizzi made the goblins look simultaneously froggy and bat-like. 

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner: Liba is literally a Bear Jew. Not sure if that was intentional on Rossner’s part. This novel was inspired by “Goblin Market,” as well as shapeshifter fairy tales. Sisters’s goblins are anti-Semitic. They’re not caricatures. The goblins are anti-Semitic in the sense they stir up hatred against the protagonists’ community because they want humans to wipe each other out. Using Jews as scapegoats. 

Cheddar Goblin from Mandy: Seriously underrated movie. I choose to believe the mac and cheese doesn’t contain calf rennet. 

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: Labyrinthine, in the sense it was inspired by Labyrinth. It’s like A Court of Thorns and Roses, The Host, and Wicked Lovely where I like the world building, but don’t really care about the romance. Like, the setting and monsters made me not care that I wasn’t really into the love interests. 

A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire: The protagonist’s name is Laura, rounding this post back to “Goblin Market” despite having no goblinery. There’s a cool half-winged swan boy, though, because it’s based on “The Wild Swans.” Which also inspired Rossner’s book. This is like Maguire’s fourth Christmas story. 

[unimportant-ramblings]

17 and 20 for the book asks, please!

Thank you!!!!

17. Top 5 Children's books?

You know how difficult this is for me man. This is a mix of faves from my childhood and things I read to the nibs

The simply unbeatable Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone. Maybe the foundation for my entire sense of humor

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. Hi Mum 👋 the pictures in this book are still so vivid to me, makes me cry

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield. Just a beautifully illustrated book that one of my kiddos was really enamored with, has a special part in my heart for that

The Worrysaurus by Rachel Bright. Baby I wish they had books about having anxiety when I was a kid oh boy. Also I love books about dinosaurs. What if here comes a thought from Steven universe was a book about a lil guy trying his best?

Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. I have read this book more than I have seen several people I love. I can and will recite this book from memory at parties. Word to parents: as far as I can tell, only the first one is worth reading, but alas you ARE going to have to read them all. Second best is goes to school. come at me Jill mcelmurry purists, what are you gonna read? Goes to town? Get outta here.

20. What are things you look for in a book?

First, is it at my library? Huge step in the right direction there. For non fiction, I'd prefer it under 500 pages and broken into manageable bits because otherwise it's going to take me a very long time to read it. like I'll read it, but I'll get distracted. (@sonofcarnelian I will get back on the Bret Hart-horse!)

For fiction, I prefer female main characters, hopefully some strong family relationships (sisters and parents being an additional plus). I like my sci fi best with either time travel or space travel or both, rather than earth bound. I'm more likely to pick up a book if there's a princess in it. My audiobooks need have a good and consistent narrator. Aside from that last one though (if you swap narrators half way through a series, unless they fucking died, don't speak to me) these are not hard and fast rules, I'll read pretty much everything

[roaroar-dino]

For the character headcanon game 👀✨:

Ungalo ^w^! Or Donatello, if you're more comfy with him

Why not both? X3 and sorry for spelling mistakes I'm On my phone 😅

For Ungalo

1: sexuality headcanon

I kinda think he is Bi, but mostly preferes woman personality wise

2: otp

Idk tbh xD i think he is someone who could be cute with anyone eho loves him <3

3: brotp

He and his bros being bros!

But I kinda see him and Rykiel as thr most chaotic duo of thr Branso brats. Like he alwaya drags Ry with him Into trouble.

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Good artist. Like really really good artist.

I can imagine him drawing later half autobiographic graphic novels rven rohan would read!

In the other hand i can imagine him illustrating childrens books 🤔

Perhaps he both? Just one with a pseudonym? (is this how its spelled in english? XD)

6: one way in which I relate to this character

His stans implies that he likes fiktional stuff. Just like me :3! Also he wears a branie and i also always cover my head with hats

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Using a scissor as a weapon. I mean... Boy why do you carry a scissor with u if u could also carry a knife or a gun?

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Hes ungalo, he is something high above, mightier then any cinnamon roll or problematic fave.

Donatello

1: sexuality headcanon

Gay

2: otp

Him and Pucci. I need some domestic AUs with them!!

3: brotp

Him ans his bros again. Especially he and Giorno would be an intresting hate-love broship

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Virgin. I kinda headcanon that he is a virgin, even tho he looks incredibly good he just had always bad luck when it came to relationship or just banging stuff

6: one way in which I relate to this character

Ehm... We both have blue eyes i guess?

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Snail transformation looked especially weird on him.

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Problrmatic fave

EXTRA

Rykiel

1: sexuality headcanon

BI - like papa, like son

2: otp

? Idk i dont have one tbh I have some joke ships with him, bur im to ebarrest to share them. XD Him and Hermes is one cute ship i feel comfortable to share!

3: brotp

He and his bros again. Also i think he would also get along with annasui id the circumstances where different

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

Likes cows a lot. Wold propably sell donatello for a Cow. (not really)

I think he has a plush coe collection 🤔

6: one way in which I relate to this character

Panic attacks

7: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

Idk? His outfit?

8: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Problematic cinnamon roll

[filliteapot]

I'm going to use this part of what you said in a previous answer that made me really curious "the way of the authors to tell the story is another matter" to know your top 5 (or ~10) of that :)

Ah :D I guess the easier way to put it would be “This time I chose my favourite styles basing on art style mostly, but if I were to choose my fav storytelling/mix of art and how authors tells it/what they want to transmit, the odrer/the list would be different” :”) So some authors/stories on the list of my fav storytelling (not sure if it's the right term for what i mean but let's use this) are the same I put in the previous list. The titles and authors won’t be surprise for you, but I’ll list them anyway. Warning: I love talking about such things a lot, so I suddenly wrote a lot.

(Ask me my top 5-10 anything)

1. Literally anything by Takaya Natsuki. You have no idea how #tired I am of all the discussions about both adaptations of her Furuba (which is better which is worse no listen to me bc I Have an Opinion of High Authority) when not a single adaptation quite got her style in storytelling, foreshadowing and especially presenting her characters’ personal drama. I think I espcially love her for not throwing it all in your face right away, being careful at hinting at things (so that you don’t quite get some parts of the characters’ thoughts and inner struggles until you learn the facts and it hits you) and for leaving you some space to use your own brain what you think about this or that storyline. (Tamura Yumi does it too which makes her my second fave author). Also, years after reading and rereading her works I see better how storylines are entwinted and unfolding, and it still makes me yell “HOW does she do it” every time I go back to Furuba and her other works and see something new. I love her Hoshi wa Utau (which hits hard and is painfully real in the matter of parents/children’s conflicts), and Liselotte to majo no mori (darkish fairytale with hopeful messages) and wish more people knew about them too, not only Furuba.

2. Kouno Fumiyo’s Yunagi no Machi Sakura no Kuni. I first read this manga a long time ago and was dying of happiness when it got published in my country bc oh my gosh. It’s a historical thing, it’s a heavy thing, she does have such unique style (my first thought was ”ah looks cute, like children books illustrations” and then it killed me) and approach to place panels on pages or transitions between scenes or past and present (I think some comic researcher or smth even called it innovative). The page that struck me the most was a spread near the end of this story, presenting a character in his older years sitting on the beach of a river in Hiroshima and him in the same place right after the war. Perhaps it doesn’t sound so original but this work and these two pages live rent free in my soul to this day.

3. Ando Yuki’s oneshots (and Machida-kun). She is my favourite short stories author, she just knows how to tell it so that I got tuned in from the start. Be it a school slice of life or basically Edith Piaf’s song Hymne à l'amour presented in the form of manga oneshot, they give me immense joy. And oh, there’s almost always a twist near the ending I can’t predict. Her characters act a bit weird and take weird decisions sometimes but I think it’s what makes them feel so real to me.

And it’s cheating, but while I’m talking about oneshots, I want to mention Midorikawa Yuki and her shorter-than-Natsume stories. Because they give me a similar feeling to Ando’s oneshots - the atmosphere is different, but the way they touch my heart is the same. Don’t get me wrong, I love Natsume and its structure (main characters and their personal jouney through unrelated stories of other people/not humans), but I love Midorikawa’s shorter stories much more.

4. Takamatsu Misaki’s Skip to Loafer. One of the best slice stories I’ve ever read. Right amount of drama and comedy, a cast of characters with different problems and motivations. I can’t help but think “Oh I wish I were able to create a story like this one day”. Also, someone wrote about it: “let me live the wholesome high school life i didnt have” and ugh I felt it :”))

5. Yazawa Ai’s stories: Nana and Gokinjo Monogatari. Did “Nee, Nana” moments kill my soul every time it was used in the story? Yes, absolutely. Did it make me cry? Don’t even ask.

6. Nishi Keiko’s stories: Otoko no Isshou, Koi to Gunkan. A person I know described her stories like this: “If life goes the wrong way, it’s better to go home”, and I think it sums it up. Both of the stories I listed are about ordinary life in small towns, they both me melancholic and somehow cozy feeling. Both stories have themes and characters that don’t really interest me much, but when I read them, I usually cry. It’s another A+ slice of life author imo.

7. Tsukuba Sakura’s Mekakushi no Kuni. It’s dear to me for special reasons. There a girl who sometimes sees future when touches other people, there is a boy who sees the past all the time he does the same, there’s another boy... And NO evil organizations chasing them for their superpowers, NO global plots or problems or author’s will to condemn society, no deep philosophy questions about time and so on. Just normal slice of life of not so normal peoplewho try to cope with this particularity they have and fit the world they live in. (I wish authors realized the potential of such slice of life centered urban fantasy but they keep failing me aiming at the Global, sigh)

8. Torino Nanko’s Toripan. It’s basically authors essays on her daily life and mostly birdwatching, but ugh it’s so good. Peak comedy about birds and heartfelt pages for when she speaks about her memories or remarks on nature, it’s so full of love towards this world and life. After I read Toripan I feel like I become kinder and better :DD

(author’s A+ faces and haiku about sparrows in the winter)

9. Watanuki Yoshiko’s Manatsu no Delta. I read it some time ago and my first thought was “Wow, this IS how you touch an unpleasant yet existing problem”. I’ll certainly be waiting for this author’s other works.

10. Ikuemi Ryo’s stories, especially the ones featuring metaphorical ghosts (Kiyoku Yawaku, Torch Song Ecology) and Taiyou ga Mite Iru. Joseis with ghosts are my fave thing on earth, and Ikuemi’s great at it. But she can make any theme totally worth digging into, be it school life or cheating and complicated family relationships. I think TGM is her work that left the deepest trace in my soul because I was reading it when it was ongoing, for three years, and it’s basically just something that makes you die slowly looking at how not so bad people fk up their life decisions bc of their unresolved traumas and issues but you can’t take your eyes of it and then need several years of therapy after reading such manga. And she doesn’t even preech or say you should not live like this. She’s like “this is a life story I want to tell, take whatever you want from it” and I’m like “gooosh this is so painful and looks so real and makes me feel things, I love it”. Ikuemi Power as it is. (Life teaches me nothing, I lowkey want to read something like TGM again and Akaneda Yuki’s Saraba Yoki Hi fulfills this wish of mine, but uh I’m so glad it’s rarely updated)

(text: Nire is here to kill me)

Thanks for such ask, it was fun :D

[havocmadden]

My fave fairy is Rosetta and I think I'd be a garden talent fairy like her 🌷🌻🌹 I also have a special place in my heart for Terence. We're getting closer to Christmas! What are some traditions you have? And are there any movies/episodes that you watch every year? 🐭🎅

OH! we are, and i totally didn't see this ask for ages bc i didn't get a notification for it (we love a functioning website) but my favorite holiday traditions are the fact that my family always decorates the tree with ornaments on christmas eve together and watches the year without a santa claus that night too <3 but my other holiday favorites that i watch every year are elf and olive the other reindeer (underrated animated holiday special of all time). i also really love the life and adventures of santa claus but specifically the animated one that's not the rankin/bass version, though i don't watch this one every year bc it's. really hard to find. like REALLY hard to find.

we also do this thing that no one else i knew did where on christmas eve we'd always get new pajamas delivered by mrs claus and a christmas themed storybook, which we used to read after we'd finished decorating, and we'd all sit on the couch and read christmas books but we don't really do that anymore bc my sister and i are 18 and 21 respectively (we do still get new pajamas every year tho). my favorite holiday book is this gorgeous illustrated children's book called holly claus: the christmas princess and if you can find a copy i really recommend it for the illustrations alone, bc seriously, look at this

[laughingpinecone]

ToT letter 2021

I am laughingpineapple on AO3

Hello dear author! I hope you’ll have fun with our match. Feel free to draw from general or fandom-specific likes, past letters, and/or follow your heart.

Art likes: characters doing something, even something very simple, illustrating a moment rather than abstractly posing. I also enjoy seeing them wear different clothes, getting a feel of what their fashion sense is like beyond their canon outfit(s). Or dressing them up for some outlandish AU!

Likes: worldbuilding, slice of life (especially if the event the fic focuses on is made up but canon-specific), missing moments, 5+1 and similar formats, bonding and emotional support/intimacy, physical intimacy, lingering touches, loyalty, casefic, surrealism, magical realism, established relationships, future fic, hurt/comfort or just comfort from the ample canon hurt, throwing characters into non-canon environments, banter, functional relationships between dysfunctional individuals, unexplained mysteries, bittersweet moods, journal/epistolary fic, dreams and memories and identities, canon-adjacent tropey plots, outsider POV, UST, resolved UST, exploration of secondary bits of canon, leaning on the uniqueness of the canon setting/mood, found families, characters reuniting after a long and/or harrowing time, friends-to-lovers, road trips, maps, mutual pining, cuddling, wintry moods, the feeling of flannel and other fabrics, ridiculous concepts played straight, sensory details, sickfic, places being haunted, people being haunted, the mystery of the woods, small hopes in bleak worlds, electricity, places that don’t quite add up, mismatched memories, caves and deep places, distant city lights at night, emphasis on non-human traits of non-human characters (gen-wise, but also a hearty yes xeno for applicable ships), emphasis on inhuman traits of characters who were human once and have sort of shed it all behind

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents are okay!), canon retellings

All requests are for both fic and art!

Death Crown: Death, trick

(I haven't played the DLC yet so, alas, no demons, or no spoilers for the demons, at least) I am absolutely charmed by the overall mood of this game and would like to see something more in that vein! Anything! Got more sacred (or unholy?) geometrical architecture for Death to interact with, maybe in greater detail than just wrecking it? What else feels like a contemporary take on a Bosch painting? Can Death get lost?

Ghost Trick: Jowd, Cabanela, trick, treat

Anything focused on Cabanela being an unstoppable force (confident, untiring, sparkling, stubborn, dexterous, loyal to the bitter end, legs) and/or Jowd being an immovable object (sarcastic, strong, depressed, self-deprecating but knowing he's hot stuff, also stubborn, clever but an emotional dumbass, round). Figuring out stuff? Something in the new timeline is linked to the old timeline? Coat? Dancing? Scarves? Halloween costumes?

I like Cabanela/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma/Jowd and Cabanela/Alma in scenarios where Jowd isn't around and Alma/Jowd in general (REALLY like all these, okay. like this is the one request where I'd love the most self-indulgent shippy takes as well), and dig Lynne/Memry. Yomiel/fianSissel and Emma/JM also cool!

Hylics: any, trick, treat

(I have only played the first game so far so please no overt spoilers for Hylics 2. Feel free to include stuff from it but... stealthily, I guess?) This is an "anything that feels somewhat like canon, please" sort of request! Love the mood, love the cast, love the little added details in their menu screen. Those can be prompts? Or the oddball stats? How do ToT's trick and treat freeforms apply to Hylics' overall... hylicsness, what would those guys think constitutes a "creepy" moment or a "fluffy" one?

Not into ships for this one, however I WILL say that Dedusmuln has all the proverbial curves in the right places. mostly their face.

Kentucky Route Zero: Weaver

Math, debt, the liminal state of almost being a ghost, seeing the world with a strange clarity... just anything Weaver, please! How'd she make her way to the town? What was it like for her to be working on Xanadu for a time? What about the community broadcast! Does she have an opinion on Carrington's oeuvre? You know... things... stuff. Weaver things. and stuff.

I love the whole cast and Weaver... wove... her story through most of them so feel free to bring in whomever. Not interested in ships here though.

Paradise Killer: Lady Love Dies, trick

A post-canon glimpse of life on '''''perfect''''' 25? That's not QUITE enough class consciousness to make the whole thing work, you guys. What does 'normal' life feel like to LD now? After following Henry's case and talking to Shinji so much, can she see that it's doomed to fail again, and then what? What IS Island 25 like, anyway? (what comes after Island 25, even?)

I liked the choice of canon romances - if it has to be just one I'd prefer it to be Crimson, but I'd also be interested in seeing what a V or triad with Doom Jazz would look like. They're all so chill about stuff

Pyre: Volfred, trick, treat

Pragmatic idealist, charismatic and bad at people, pacifist, activist, physiologically incapable of shutting up for a hot second, what's there not to love... I am very into either of the following: C. Volfred Sandalwood has a fantastic day; C. Volfred Sandalwood has a terrible no good day. Everything is great! Pre-exile antiestablishmentarian antics, maybe with Bertrude? Political gambits? The very physical dangers of the Downside which may or may not catch a scholar by surprise (who saves him?)? Tree problems? Meeting Oralech for the first time and Volfred thinks he himself is hot stuff but out of the two, Oralech is clearly the VIP? Feeling like he should live up to Lu Sclorian's legacy but he feels much closer to other Scribes (and what does Lu have to say about it, one way or another?)? The thrilling intimacy of Reading? The thrilling intimacy of lowercase reading also, maybe reading old manuscripts found in the Downside?

I very much ship him with Tariq and/or Oralech. The only canon ship I like is Hedwyn/Fikani. I also like Soliam/Gol, Bertrude/Pamitha and Celeste/Jodariel. Love all the Nightwings + Dalbert (+Deluge...?); love to dunk on Manley, Brighton and Lendel (I don't enjoy flat-out bashing, more like... I enjoy the way they are portrayed as horrible gremlins in canon and if they turn up in fic I'm not interested in more positive portrayals)

Signs of the Sojourner: Rhea, Elias, trick, treat

Once again pretty much an "anything in the style of canon" request. I love this setting, its themes and all the little lives that fill it. I am interested in a wide range of postcanon scenarios and love the whole cast - does Rhea come back to $town any number of years down the line and find $character? How'd their storyline end up in the medium-long term? What the hell is up with the Stranger (seriously, three runs and I never managed to speak with them, I have no idea)? What's life like for Elias back home, or in a new home if they can't keep the store, or if Rhea landed the Oscar ending or whatever (just, please, not dead Rhea. I love that ending but can't stand to consider what it'd do to Elias)? Or does he join the caravan just once? Who did Rhea grow to really like and can't wait to see every time? Any ghost stories or creepy encounters on the caravan's route? Does Thunder help?

I'm neutral on ships here - good with Rhea&Elias, good with background Rhea/Elias but I wouldn't like a romantic focus.

Totally Normal Wizard Apprentice: apprentice, wizard, master, trick, treat

(conflict of interest disclaimer, I illustrated this but didn't write nor nominate it) What awaits the apprentice outside the wizard's tower? It sounds like a pretty wild moon out there, I loved all the worldbuilding hints of the bigger setting. Does the wizard keep track of the apprentice, with her telescope or otherwise, and how does she take care of her ruined parlor? Was this all some sort of 5d chess on the master's part, and if so to what end? And what kind of otherworldly patience does this man possess, anyway, to handle the apprentice on a daily basis?

Twin Peaks: Margaret, Diane, Lucy, Tammy, trick, treat

(bass-boosted ethereal whooshing) For tricks, I would like to see any of these characters face the woods, the mystery of the woods, and/or a new symbol of your liking. Or: Margaret in the city, Diane and the moon, Lucy and the color blue, Tammy incognito.

For treats, a happy meeting. I love the whole cast and I'm always thrilled by gonzo "&" pairings, bring in whomever! Coffee and pie? The Bookhouse Boys? A kinder aspect of the woods?

Fandom-specific notes: love s3, love the books too. I like Lucy/Andy, Margaret/Sam fwiw, and rarepairs Tammy/Cynthia and Diane/Constance. Please no Fireman's-house-is-the-white-lodge, no Twin Perfect, no Judy-was-destroyed (nor is destroyable).

Arcade Spirits: Percy, Teo, treat

More than anything, I love the sense of group and camaraderie among the arcade's staff and regulars, and I'd love to see some more of it. I picked Percy and Teo 'cause they're my faves but anyone you may want to add, up to and including Sue, is very very welcome. Is there any aspect of gaming that feels like it could be adapted to this strange world of contemporary arcades? Cosplay shenanigans for everyone courtesy of Ashley? Any other activity that could show how Percy and/or Teo get along with the others, like they were all forming little groups during the beach chapter? It's such a feel-good canon, any feel-good situation would be great!

My Ari is with Percy but I'm not really interested in shipping here. All sorts of friendships though!