#well. maybe I didn’t explain myself very well. but this IS a really interesting movie as it is

[hogoflight]

on the topic of people wondering What The Fuck Is Up with This Guy my friend knows (TOA Apollo), Asclepius having to explain his father to anyone is. Oh boy.

You could say Asclepius lives on Earth / visits Earth much more than he does Olympus because his domain is completely and wholly centred around serving people and helping medical research come through. Additionally because he still finds Olympus and all of its posturing jarring, and maybe finds comfort in helping people like he used to and has done since ancient times.

THIS COULD ALSO MEAN that he has. Mortal friends. Which also means he’s had to have told them about his dad at some point.

Asclepius’s friend: How come we haven’t met your dad yet? Is he a prick? Asclepius: NO, no, my father was and is very kind and gentle to me, the problem is more that he can be rather… a bit much. He sometimes tends to be very… protective (VERY protective) of me (As in, the police get called). The problem is more that he can get a bit. Uppity? sometimes? He’s certainly been… cruel. More than his, or anyone’s, fair share of cruelty. But he’s improving? Asclepius’s friend: Oh wow. That sounds really complicated. Well what about your mother? Asclepius: WELL. YOU SEE. AH. OH GODS UHHHHHH-

They would make a conspiracy board for him being a gang leader (or something)! Because:

Had Asclepius’ mother killed (?!?! THAT’S HORRIBLE WHAT!)

Expressed deep, deep regrets and remorse about having Asclepius’ mother killed in a very “I was young, foolish and failed to think of anyone other than myself… I have worked with violence for a long, long time and have made many horrible, cruel decisions… I fear I am too long gone… but I wish to work with myself to be a better person, for my son whom I love dearly…” kind of way (in a mafia movie way).

Asclepius says he is in exile from his supposedly-infamously murderous family because they tried to kill him (and succeeded but SHHHHHH). And the one to order his death being his grandfather. Because he (vague conclusion through Asclepius being vague about his life) didn’t want someone to die -> didn’t want to kill someone? (“The pipeline is there!!” They say.)

Apollo going “ah yes I too share a great interest in medicine, like my dear son! Although my son is (proudly!) better at so than I am. Well, admittedly, I can sometimes tend to be, less focused on - y’know, helping someone injuries hurt less, you could say.” LIKE THAT’S VERY SUSPICIOUS.

(Ok but don’t worry Asclepius’ friends aren’t actually concerned about his dad being a mafia member at all because that would be actually Awful and Terrifying. This is an inside joke after Asclepius awkwardly explained his complicated relationship w his dad his friend was jokingly like “woah… that sounds like the backstory of a main character from a mafia movie…” and Apollo heard about his from the grapevine and immediately summoned like 20 identical cats for him to intimidatingly stroke. 

The tone of the last section is making a fake BuzzFeed Unsolved / general conspiracy theory video w your friends about one of your friends. No one ever feels like they are in any danger and I imagine most probably know who and what Asclepius and Apollo actually are but tease them with this. BASICALLY THE JOKE IS THAT THEY’RE MAKING FUN OF MAFIA MOVIE STEREOTYPES AND THE WAY THE MAFIA IS DEPICTED IN MOVIES. WHICH IS VERY ROMANTICISED, OVERDRAMATIC AND SILLY.)

[vmpiires]

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐎

„𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃”

: ̗̀➛ GENERAL CONTENT!!!

: ̗̀➛ afab!reader, possible gore, blood, death (?). not proofread so i apologize in advance for any mistakes if they’re made.

: ̗̀➛ art creds by;; currently unknown. dividers are not mine, if you own these, you may claim them in comments.

: ̗̀➛ WORD COUNT;; 1.40K

* dark mode recommended

* do not copy this plot. i’m perfectly fine with inspirations but give creds. if this plot his stolen in any way, the post will be taken down and you will be blocked.

𝐃𝐀𝐊𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ✉️🖇️;; imma switch it up a lil. i been going through writers block cuz i can barely think of plots for myself. sum scary cuz why not??

REBLOG TO SUPPORT MEEEEE AND IF YOU WANT MORE :D

what a night. an incredible amount of men and women died this particular night. interesting. why? how? who would’ve done such a thing? a pure red dagger cut through the flesh of these people. now, these cuts weren’t quite deep at first…but they began to get more deep and the deaths were more brutal than the last.

bleeding through the mask, a red substance peered out of the fabric of the eyeholes. a 5’11 figure, wearing an all black robe looked down at their victim. they bend down before stabbing into their victim repeatedly.

the deed was done. “that was easy…” they thought. they would remove the mask to give themself some air. they took a breath. a pair of dead eyes fluttered, adjusting to the dark room that was lit with dim lights. eyes narrowed, staring at the blood that was splattered across the floor and the wall before a sinister smile stretched across their lips.

a beautiful night it was…for him, that is.

“that’s so sad…all those poor people.” your mother said as she looked at the tv, explaining the incidents. you sucked on your bottom lip, feeling the unsettling energy kick into your system. finding all those bodies around the shibuya station. you heard a name being tossed around called the “shibuya slasher”.

it felt like a horror movie. hearing this made your stomach turn. your mother placed your dinner down in front of you and smiled softly. “you eat good, okay? and don’t waste it. put it in the refrigerator or the microwave if you don’t want it.”

you nod at your mother’s simple request and begin to eat after thanking her. you turn the channel to something more happy. you didn’t wanna be depressed and scared while you ate your favorite meal.

later that evening, you make your mother aware that you would be hanging out with your boyfriend for a couple hours. though, she agreed that this was fine, she’d warn you about the shibuya slasher one final time. you assure her that you’d be fine and you leave in a hurry.

two twintails bounced lightly as the owner’s head turned to look at you. their lips stretched into a smile as you entered the car.

“hey,” the deep voice says, sounding slightly excited at the sight of you. it was definitely a change compared to how he usually sounded. his voice was low adverb and it would catch you off guard if you never heard it or if the room was filled with silence and he began to speak.

“hi, cho!” you beam at the male, leaning over to kiss his cheek, to which his pale cheeks flushed a reddish color.

“did you hear the news? that slasher case is…interesting.” choso queries as he begins to drive away from your home, on the way to your next destination, wherever it may be. you sigh and nod, not feeling up to talk about the case. you didn’t like it. it made you sick actually.

“yes, i heard,” you reply, “but it’s…not something i wanna talk about now. we should just enjoy our time together…and maybe do our thing.” a smirk is plastered onto your face and choso has that usual dull expression on his face but he nods.

“very well…”

the two of you spent your evening at a fair, playing the games, eating…even though choso wasn’t really eating. he was just enjoying his time with you. before the night was over, the male had gone do the bathroom, washing the blood from his hands after he had finished another deed. just the sight of seeing you talking to another man drove him up the wall.

it was a bit hard for him to kill in a social setting like this but his body reacted before he could even think. choso came back to you and took your hand and led you back to you car. as you sat in the passenger seat, you noticed a small red stain on his neck. it looked fresh too.

“um…choso, you got something red on your neck.” you spoke up. you wanted to touch it but you didn’t want to distract choso from driving either.

“nothing.” he answered bluntly.

as the weeks passed on, the shibuya slasher was still on their killing spree. your mother would drill it into your brain to watch your surroundings and be careful to not get kidnapped or anything. as annoying as you thought it was, you know your mother was just looking out for you…so of course you take her advice.

out of curiosity, you and a male friend of yours make your way to shibuya station. because it was a bit late at night, the station was empty. you and your friend would have conversations about anything you could possibly think of. completely ignoring the fact that a killer would be nearby.

this is where the murders took place, after all…

amongst your talking between the two of you, there was a sound. it sounded like footsteps and something dragging. you were pretty sure no one was here…maybe you just assumed and didn’t think that maybe some janitors would be here. even the night security guards would probably be here….but there was no one.

your friend wanders off to go check the sound and tells you to wait…but your anxiety was starting to kick in and you didn’t wanna be left alone in a station where you could get kidnapped or murdered. you and your friend go towards the sound, you trailing behind because you were that nervous.

the two of you tread lightly and slowly as if you were attempting to sneak around and locate the noise and confront the person…if there is one. but that’s when you saw it…such speed and power. you saw nothing like it….but you did. it was familiar. that red arrow piercing through the flesh and the skull and eventually the brain, drilling a hole into its victims.

you scream and jump back when you see a 5’11 figure wearing a ghostface mask and a black robe, holding a pure red blade. there was a crimson substance staining the mask…but you were guilty. you couldn’t be scared when you were guilty of a killing yourself.

staring down at the body beneath you, you suddenly feel your tense body relax. blood travels over to the drain and you glance up at the figure in front of you who had been in the middle of removing their mask. revealing their true face.

in front of you was a pale face with blood streaming down its nose and cheeks. even on the side of the owner’s head. you also noticed a little bit of blood coming from their ear but it didn’t concern you as much as their dead eyes that had black rings around them and their brown hair sticking to their face.

“there you are, princess,” choso smirked at you, lifting his bloodstained glove to place under your chin, staining your soft brown skin. his eyes traveled down to your outfit.

“did you wear this for me?”

you put your hands around his arm gently and looked up at him. the two of you were smiling at each other as if death was your favorite thing to bond over. well, the both of you had the same game. killing for each other. that was the goal.

“i do everything for you.” you reply. this only made choso’s existing smile grow. it was sinister but there was also something about it that you liked. you couldn’t place a finger on it.

“good girl…”

despite the blood the was covering the both of you, choso smashed his lips against yours, biting and sucking on your lip whenever he got the chance to. you felt his tongue slip into your mouth, making you moan in between the kiss.

he pulled away from you and took a glance down at his mess, then at you. “did i overdo it?”

any normal person would tell him yes but you were obviously just as unhinged as he was. you shake your head no as your answer.

“no…you didn’t do anything wrong.” you answered. “you just wanted to keep me safe, right?”

“that’s right. i just wanted to keep you safe.” choso dropped the mask down and pushed a lot of pressure against his blade, making it shatter.

“and nobody will ever get near you again.”

𝐄𝐍𝐃.

⋆｡࿇ ·࣭࣪̇˖ 𖦹°༅༚

[erinarigby]

What I find interesting about those sketches is that Paul isn't necessarily enjoying the sexual encounter/cigarette kiss or being in John's lap but he is clearly enjoying being held and kissed by John, he's leaning into it and his eyes are closed so he can enjoy how good it feels more fully. John's eyes are also closed and he's blushing a little. The implied sexual intimacy of the cigarette kiss doesn't move Paul over much and he's already distracted by something in the 3rd sketch despite cradling John's head. but in the 2nd sketch Paul is greatly enjoys being kissed and held while they're nude together, even pressing his chest to John's while they do it.

The sketches seem to me to tell a brief story where maybe Paul is putting up with John's sexual needs so that he can get a flicker of romance from him where John kisses and holds him, and somehow he enjoys that more than cigarettes touching.

Another interesting tidbit is the implied power differential between them. Paul can supply what John wants but he can also pick up and leave (the third sketch where he seems to be already on his way out the door, at least in his mind) whenever he wants. Except Paul's expression in the lapsitting sketch strikes me as "inspired" he's seen a fresh truth or received a new chord progression from the Collective Unconscious. John inspired many people in artistic ways with sexual contact, there's a post on thedissenters of a young woman's testimonial about how spending a night with John opened her creativity, thru conversation as well as sex. Paul as the driving force of the Beatles may have received a new artistic message. Meanwhile John looks up with some resignation and longing and digs his fingers into Paul's ribcage. He's less interested in the Inspiration and wants to stay in bed with Paul to touch cigarette ends again.

It's a little 💔 because John may be receiving more emotionally from their romantic encounters than Paul does and the gap isn't closed easily. 2/2

part 1 of the ask

first off, you’re spoiling me anon. i’ve never gotten this detailed of an analysis on my art work this is making me giddy because i can explain some of my thought process behind my drawings!

your interpretation of the cigarette kiss as a sexual act, super eye opening. strangely enough i didn’t really catch onto that while i drew myself, unintentional sexual allegory there on my part? after all i do use references for my artwork and this was based on a vintage cigarette ad i found.

onto the other sketches, your interpretation is on point with how i viewed it. i mentioned in the notes and reblogs of the post my very intentional usage of stills from a brigitte bardot movie as reference.

john’s attraction and near obsession with brigitte was projected onto people he loved, like cynthia and making her dye her hair blonde. i wanted to make it seem like john was putting paul into a role of being his object of sexual desire, and i thought it would be perfect to use bardot as that symbol. (plus i really liked these poses.) bardot plays that archetype of sexually aggressive hedonistic women, so there’s the part of the power imbalance. though in your interpretation, subverted by paul craving the romantic intimacy more than the sexual. also there’s the importance of paul in that female role (this is not meant as me the artist trying to feminize paul or anything) but rather commenting on john’s objectification of paul. i was mainly thinking of his comments about paul’s only good trait and the only reason he got so far being his “pretty face” in hdys.

important to note, this isn’t commentary on lenmac irl it’s just a fictional narrative in my art inspired a bit on things in reality! this is a disclaimer for everyone that this is not an analysis on the real people, just my silly drawings :)

for anyone else who wants to let me know their interpretation on my art, the drawings are here and here

[peculiarbob]

Here’s a list of all the Kdramas/Korean movies that I watched in 2023 + some of my thoughts (spoiler free)

The Glory

-Gonna be honest, I only started watching because Kim Hieora and Jung Sung Il are in this show.

-But I ended up really liking it. The bullying scenes were horrifying, the characters were memorable, and overall it was very well made.

Stranger

-HWANG SIMOK! I love him so much! BAE DOONA! I love her so much!

-I loved all the characters and all the twists

Stranger 2

-This season was good too. Seeing the dynamics and relationships between all the characters change was so interesting

Unlocked

-IM SIWAN! The reason why I watched this movie <3

-Is it the best and most unique movie? No. Was it pretty good and entertaining? Yeah!

All Of Us Are Dead

-Even in the zombie apocalypse they’re not free of bullying.

-My heart broke many times. Those poor kids didn’t deserve to go through all of that! (Except Na Yeon. I still don’t like her.)

The Glory Part 2

-Not the typical type of revenge. But I think it’s a very fitting ending.

Physical 100

-This show inspired me to start taking better care of myself.

-Watching everyone hype up this show so much then watching all the controversies come out in real time was crazy. Looking forward to season 2

Kingdom

-This show was on my radar because that zombie dude from Physical 100 said he did the choreography

-I love all of the characters and the zombies were so freaky

Kingdom 2

-The Queen might’ve been the scariest part of this show

-I love this show, season 3? Maybe?

Kingdom: Ashin of the North

-Han Ho Yeol from DP?!?!

-It was really interesting seeing another side to this story

Silent Sea

-BAE DOONA! GONG YOO!

-I don’t understand why this flopped. I really liked this show!

Siren: Survive The Island

-I was team athlete til the end! (I thought Kim Seong Yeon was hot)

-If there isn’t a season 2 I’m going to fight Netflix

Misaeng

-Im Siwan <3

-I really like this show. It really gave me hope and it honestly inspired me to work harder. I’m also trying to learn to play baduk

D.P. 2

-So many emotions. The ending left me feeling a bit empty. I’ve grown so attached to these characters and now it’s just over.

The Wailing

-I think I need to watch this a second time to really analyze it.

-I really like the sfx makeup

Monster

-Accurate representation of neurodivergent people/mentally disabled people? No.

-Interesting villain and fight scenes? Yes

Hide and Seek

-I really liked the twist and how eerie the vibes were

Memoir of a Murder

-I love unreliable narrators. Not knowing what’s real and what isn’t really puts you on the end he of your seat

-Also I didn’t even realize that was Kim Nam Gil

The Policeman’s Lineage

-I only watched this for Kwon Yul

-Decent story but I feel like it fell short of its potential

Hansel and Gretel

-Solid start but I didn’t realize that it was going in the direction that it did

-Not the ending that I expected but I’m satisfied with it

Ballerina

-Honestly, they were so over dramatic when it came to the bdsm stuff. Like okay, he’s kinky. That’s the least concerning thing about him.

-My mom got me to watch this because she likes Kim Ji Hoon

The Mimic

-Interesting concept with interesting characters

-The ending was so fitting, I’m very satisfied with it

Champion

-Another movie I watched for Kwon Yul

-I really like this movie, it’s very comforting and funny

Mother

-This is a cautionary tale, you cannot tell me otherwise!

-I was SHOCKED! It was just so sudden. I don’t know how to explain it without spoiling what happened.

Sweet Home 2

-Interesting. I’m not sure what I expected from this season but this wasn’t it.

-I found it entertaining but I’m not quite sure if I like how they’re approaching this new thing that they’re doing.

[hanasnx]

some updates while i’m here. i miss you! whether you’re a casual enjoyer of my blog & i see you in my notes, or my mutuals, or my followers, i’ve been thinking of you :) rare vulnerable moment i do cherish this blog and all your well wishes. thank you very much. i was right, typing is a huge strain and taking a break has been very good for my hands, so i’m going to keep at it.

some things:

don’t be afraid to keep sending me asks! they’re a great joy to me, i love seeing a notif in the inbox. i’ve gotten a fair few already that i’m excited to respond to when i can come back.

i did post a fred weasley drabble and not that i have to explain myself but i wanted to say i’ve been watching the harry potter movies. i’ve never seen them in their entirety, and the earlier ones have always been christmas movies in my house so to speak so i figured id give them a fair shot. i did read the books, and i’ve seen bits and pieces of the movies (hence my interest in fred weasley when i was a tween, but seeing him again made me wanna write for him for the first time in years)

also! a very kind anon told me earlier that my response to someone wrongfully making an ai chat bot of my content was an overreaction. it was “not that deep,” i believe was the colloquial term used. so the inherent content theft of ai invading free creative spaces is solved everyone! well done! very special thanks to the anon that let me know i was overreacting towards something i am passionate about and had a strong feeling towards! wow :) i never would’ve seen it like that. genuinely i am sorry anon that you’re ugly irl and your mommy doesn’t love you, which is why you feel like you can’t have a backbone over certain things. maybe you should stop consuming the free content creators provide on tumblr because you feel so secure in criticizing the selfless service <3 it’s giving: “im an old bigot that thinks ppl must be talentless and stupid when they work at mcdonald’s, but i’m still going to eat the food from there.” you’ve been blocked btw so you’re not offended by my use of free will when making free content on the internet for your grubby little hands to get a hold of and your smooth brain to criticize my right to share my personal opinions.

because the internet is the way it is, getting “hate” online has never really bothered me since i’ve always been a person with a large enough platform for years. it’s very easy for me to ignore and block and never answer whoever has decided to send some worthless hate message. which is probably why i almost never get hate anymore but it does happen occasionally. this was different since it wasn’t an attack on me per se, more so someone trying to admonish me for having a fair reaction towards something offensive. so i’m here to tell you it’s alright to treat strangers on the internet as strangers. you’re allowed to reinforce boundaries. you’re allowed to tell people you do not appreciate their actions towards you, and don’t leave room for argument. i am a very direct person, which means i told that person firmly that they needed to delete that ai chat bot they made of my au without my consent. and i did it without remorse. and i was told “it wasn’t that deep.” well it was. and it is. it is that deep because it’s deep to me, and i know it’s something that happens to others and it is that deep to them too. so what’s the problem in it being that deep? there is none :) let things be deep. be sincere. it is very important.

also if you make ai chat bots without creator’s consent when using their content you’re a piece of shit and doing a disservice to the very person you’re trying to exalt. take a step back and reevaluate how ai harms your interests rather than progresses them as well as the creators you claim your respect and cherish. you’re a victim of propaganda, my friend! and i prolly wouldn’t have made this post if anon hadn’t said anything. so maybe they should’ve kept their mouth shut since they didn’t wanna see shit like this so bad lmfao

now that that’s out of the way, i am sending wet fat sloppy kisses to everyone’s lips tell me when you receive them

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

Making You Proud

For Ghosts Bingo @cbsghostsdaily

Prompt Trevor and Episode

AO3

All Trevor ever wanted was to make his parents proud, when the conversation at the end of Trevor's Body goes a little differently, he finds the answer to getting sucked off and peace at last.

***

Trevor’s furious at Tara Reid after she interrupted his memorial and ruined the closeness that he worked so hard for to get his parents back together. 

“You haven't changed one bit.  Same old Lenny with the work calls and the wandering eye,” Esther says before taking off for the kitchen. 

Lenny chases after her and Trevor looks pleadingly to Sam. “Sam, you got to do something.  Get in there.”

Sam sighs before they follow his parents into the kitchen. 

“Maybe there's an innocent explanation for the whole business card thing,” Sam offers, feebly.  “Maybe Tara Reid is interested in wholesale lighting.”

Sam elbows Jay, who adds, “Yes, I... 'Cause I think she's a producer on those Sharknado movies, and they may have lighting needs.”

“Sharknado?” Esther questions clearly confused.  “What are you two talking about?”

Sam sighs.  “I saw you guys last night.  There was still a spark there.”

The look on his mom’s face says it all.  She doesn’t get what’s going on here because she doesn’t know he’s here.  “Why do you even care?  Who are you?”

Sam glances at him and he gives her a pleading look.  “Please, Sam…”

“Look, I know you said you felt Trevor's presence in that room,” Sam states and he wonders what she’s doing here.  She’s never suggested that one of the ghosts are actually around.  Was she going to reveal his presence?  “And what if you were right?  What if Trevor is here with us today?”  

Trevor can’t help the look he gives Sam, who gives him a little glance before adding, “My parents also got divorced, and I know I blame myself.  Maybe Trevor blames his death for your divorce, you know – if he was here, maybe he would want to make up for that by getting you back together.”

He’s in utter shock that Sam is basically telling his parents he’s here and explaining everything that he’s been feeling the entire weekend. 

Esther looks confused.  “Well, why would he do that?”

“Because you got divorced right after I died,” Trevor states, even though she can’t hear him. 

Sam repeats, “Maybe because of the timing.  You divorced right after he disappeared on you – well, died.”

Esther shakes her head.  “No, no.  Trevor's death had nothing to do with us splitting up.”  She glances at Lenny, which makes Trevor feel a bit nervous.  What had his father done?  “The-the truth is, our problems were there long before that.  I caught Lenny cheating when the boys were still in junior high.”

It’s crushing to hear that his father cheated on his mother long before Trevor died.  “I didn't know that.”

“And we decided to stay together until they were out of the house.  But Jeremy never left the house.  He-he was still living there when he was 30,” Esther explains.  “So, we eventually figured, it was time – Jeremy was never going to leave and with Trevor gone, we just didn’t want to keep the lie up.”

“So, it wasn't T-Money's fault?  They were just waiting for J-Dog to grow up?” Trevor questions, feeling both better and worse at the same time.  His mother had put up with staying married to someone that cheated on her just for him and Jeremy.  She deserved better than that.

“It's very hard to take this story seriously with you using those monikers,” Hetty comments, but Trevor hears Alberta shush her.

“So, it wasn't Trevor's fault?” Sam questions.

Esther gives her a small smile.  “Divorce isn't about the kids.  It's about the parents.  We couldn’t make it work, and that was never on our boys.”  She pauses and looks around.  “Trevor, if you're really here, we want you to know that.  You were the best thing to come out of our marriage.  We’re – we were so proud of you, and we loved you... still do…”

“The point is, Trevor, we miss you every day, and we're so glad you were our son,” Lenny adds.  “We just hope that you know that, and that you’re at peace because now we can be … knowing what happened to you.”

Trevor feels so much love from his parents, and he feels so much better.  All he ever wanted was to make his parents proud.  It didn’t matter that he was stupid with the pills, it didn’t matter that he never got married or had a family, it didn’t matter that he didn’t take life seriously… all that mattered was that his parents knew the truth, they still loved him, they were proud of him, and they wanted him to be peace… he didn’t need to worry anymore. 

It's that moment that suddenly, he feels a warmth and a light. 

“Oh my god,” Sam says from besides him.  She’s looking from his parents, who were hugging, to him. 

Alberta and Hetty are both yelling from all of the ghosts to come to the kitchen because Trevor’s getting sucked off.  He doesn’t even know what to say or how to react, they all wanted it but had no idea how to achieve this … but it’s time. 

He can go now. 

“Sam, please tell my parents that I love them and that I am sorry that they had to wait so long to find out what happened to me, but that I’m glad that they were here this weekend.”

“Of course,” Sam says before turning to tell his parents what’s happening as he turns to his fellow ghosts – all of whom are staring at him disbelievingly, but he smiles. 

“I’m going to miss you guys, but thanks for making my afterlife better,” Trevor states.

They all rush to say different things about how they’re going to miss him, how grateful they are to have had him, etc.  

Alberta says something about missing watching movies with him.

Isaac says something about missing learning about new things from him.

Thor says something about Trevor’s wisdom.

Pete says something about missing his friendship.

Flower says that she’ll miss chasing butterflies with him.

Sass says he’ll miss messing with each other and him trying to make things fun. 

Then, there’s Hetty, who thanks him for helping her figure things out and that she’ll miss him. 

Everyone’s all a mess until Flower rushes forward to hug him and everyone piles on.  Luckily, it doesn’t seem to affect what’s happening because once they let him go, he says, “Goodbye,” and is taken up away to the place where everything peaceful and perfect all the time. 

At peace, at last.

[moviemunchies]

I saw Death on the Nile with my parents in theaters. When this movie started to release trailers, I was very surprised; it was advertised as a horror film, and that is very much Not My Thing. This didn’t stop my dad from suggesting it would be a good film to watch as a family. I disagreed; I thought we’d given it the slip after it left theaters, but it quickly showed up on Hulu. Dad was very interested in seeing it.

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I agreed to watch it, as despite myself, I did want to know what happened in it.

Poirot has retired. After the last movie, and a lifetime of solving crimes of human depravity, he wants to be alone, chilling in Venice with only a bodyguard for company. Then his old friend, a mystery novelist named Ariadne Oliver, comes to his home asking for his help. There’s a spiritual medium that Oliver’s convinced is really talking to the dead, and insists that he attends the seance in a local haunted house to test this theory. Of course, things don’t go as planned, and when a body drops, Poirot locks the gates and goes back into Detective Mode to solve the case.

I think I put this disclaimer on the review for the last movie, but! I have not read the book this is based off of, though TV Tropes tells me it is only a loose adaptation anyway.

Again, this movie is meant to develop Poirot’s character. The mystery about whether or not there’s a ghost isn’t just about whether Poirot believes in ghosts, it’s tied into idea of whether he believes in an afterlife or in God. Which is… kind of interesting, but maybe a bit overwrought? I get what they’re going for, here, and I guess if they’re tying to the idea that he hasn’t been working as a detective because of his low view of the world and humanity, then I guess it kind of works, though it’s also not really a clear arc. “If ghosts, then a benevolent God” is not as clear an argument as the writers think, and so I’m not sure this works.

Also, does this character development work when his ending of the last movie apparently went nowhere? Death on the Nile implies that he’s about to start a romantic relationship, which has no reference in this movie. Relationships don’t always work out, true, but it’s difficult to get fully invested in a character if the major beats of his life aren’t always followed up. It’s compelling, though not all of it is lasting.

My dad noticed that Poirot’s scar, which is highlighted in the previous movie, and is meant to be the inspiration of him growing his mustache, isn’t in this movie. I didn’t pick up on that, though if true, it’s a little disappointing, though it’s understandable that they didn’t bother with it, given it’s not a huge part of the story. Most people are not going to think about it.

[Another fun observation: watching Poirot on his daily routine at the beginning of the movie, my dad was like, “Wow, this guy sounds anal retentive.” He hasn’t seen the Murder on the Orient Express film of this series, which has the scene with his specific egg preferences.]

As the trailers promised, the beginning of the mystery of this movie is quite creepy! I am not much for horror films, so all the screaming in the seance really bothered me and I was not having a good time. Luckily, after that things calmed down a bit. There are still deaths, and there is creepy stuff throughout, but it’s not as in-your-face horror. It’s more creepy and full of steadily-building dread, rather than overwhelming scares. Which works, because otherwise I would find the film unbearable (though I have no idea how horror fans feel about it; again, it’s not my genre).

Not everything is explained in the film, which definitely adds to the atmosphere. Your Mileage May Vary on whether that works, though I think with what the moviemakers are going for, with the story and with Poirot’s character, you kind of have to go with it. 

This movie was probably not for me; that doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, though. I ended up enjoying it more than I expected. I’m curious if they plan to do more; if not, that’s fine, but I had enough fun with this that I wouldn’t mind seeing another one of these Poirot movies. I’d prefer it to be less horror-themed, though.

[alicia-18]

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV REVIEW

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Before anyone says anything, I know. I have skipped another movie. But before you call upon Jason himself to turn me into a shish kebab, let me explain.

I am based in England and watch this franchise on Paramount Plus. For some reason which I can only assume is to annoy the fandom, both movies 1 and 3 aren’t on the platform but 2,4,5,6,7, and 8 are. I’m just as baffled as you but as we are broke bitches out here, I can’t afford to rent it currently. I am actually going to borrow the first movie from my sister-in-law’s girlfriend soon so I will post my review of that too!

But with that out of the way, let’s get into my thoughts and opinions on part 4.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie! I think I might have even enjoyed it more then the second, though I expected as much as I know the fandom view this one and maybe number 7 (?) in high regards. The characters conversations, although still super corny, we’re a lot more realistic sounding then in part 2. Like the way Ted and Jimbo (I’m assuming his name is Jim but all I have in my head is Ted shouting Jimbo) were talking about girls does feel very reminiscent of typical teenage boys, just obviously very 80s.

And the kills were also a lot more interesting typically. You can tell by this movie that they had more of an idea on how to use Jason and his strength, even if at times he still seemed quite goofy. Just seeing the way he killed Doug by squeezing his face until blood poured and then throwing him through the shower glass for the girl to see was so entertaining, as well as the seen with Jimmy getting the corkscrew through the hand. I even appreciated when Trish sliced through Jason’s hand slightly.

This movie also seems to lean slightly more into the goofiness it has. Like when Rob is being killed and he keeps shouting “he’s killing me!” just had me cackling in bed at the unseriousness at it all. The movie had the ability to create suspense whilst still being laughable - in a great way. I’ve stated before I truly do appreciate the cheesiness of older horror and this movie is the epitome of that.

It isn’t a perfect movie though. I find Trish to be a much weaker final girl in comparison to Ginny. Like how she just watched Rob get murdered, went to run away and then went back like she would have been able to stop death? It made such little sense. She also felt pretty useless overall. Because realistically, Tommy is the star of this show. All she does is find a body and scream “he’s here!” When it’s bloody obvious he is by how the front door has been hacked down. She also left Tommy with little choice but to kill Jason himself when he is literally a small child! He has to try fixing the car, he has to stay by himself at the house whilst there’s a masked killer. All that she did successfully was hit Jason when he grabbed Tommy and then distracting him long enough for Tommy to shave his head.

The way they killed off Mrs Jarvis was also jarring because it’s completely offscreen and you don’t actually get any definitive answer to if she is dead. They could have atleast had her body show up in the third act or something similar to that but no. This goes back to my grievance with the second movie surrounding the ambiguity of Paul. I hate not receiving an actual answer and just makes me think they didn’t know what to do with either of their characters so they’ve left it open ended.

All in all, despite my few negatives, I did genuinely really enjoy this movie! I think it has a lot more rewatch-ability then the second too. I’m hoping the fifth part has a couple answers regarding Mrs Jarvis and I hope Tommy does come back because the ending where he looks straight at the camera is chilling!

I also wrote this a couple of days after watching due to my children being crotch goblins and not giving me a second to myself so this isn’t as in depth as the Part 2 review. I’ll try adding more when I review Part 5!

RANKING SO FAR

1) Part IV : The Final Chapter

2) Part II

[localthumbcache]

Hi it’s me again! Honestly that’s cool I thought it may have been omegaverse related but in case it wasn’t I didn’t want to embarrass myself. 😭 I blame wattpad and the fact like I really liked werewolves. 😔

Anyways! Definitely if you do post anything related to your characters I would be happy to read! They’re really stunning!

Also I was curious how you gain inspiration for your characters. I know you mentioned you put parts of yourself into their stories and/or them, but are there usually any other factors that help you figure out how they may look or who they’re personalities will be? Whether it’s a songs, lyric(s), animals, aesthetics, shows/movies, or anything.

Hey hey anon!! ᵔદᵔ

Loll tbh I kinda judged the omegaverse at first until I watched coleydoesthings video on it. She gives a very good explanation and it even got me interested soo here we are! I was a tiny bit hesitant on sharing the smut here bc "cringe" but idrc!! (This is tumblr lol we're all weirdos)

And tysm!! 🩷 I'm glad to hear that 🥺 I might work some more on the doc since I'm pretty much gonna be in bed all day 😭 probably won't get to release it today but hopefully I'll be halfway done or smth

Also, since I don't actually play the game a lot (I've even removed some gameplay mods) I've been thinking about making short stories until maybe one day when I actually want to work on a full series - once i get the lore and all that jazz locked down that is. For now they'd just be little scenarios and things that happen in their lives ᵔદᵔ I don't rlly like the gameplay so might as well use the sims as a creative medium lol

I get most of my inspo off of pinterest and sometimes other people's sims! I have a simspo board which has faces, character concepts, and even style inspiration. I also have moodboards dedicated to them, which helps me put together their overall vibe. Music is kind of a factor too, although I associate a sim with a song I already know instead of making sims based off of it. Some sims I've based off of people I know irl

I also want to work on a mini music project as well as a voice canon one :> ohh and an incorrect quotes one too! Just a silly way to understand their characters a bit better :3

I take inspo for world building as well! I'm really focusing on vampires rn. I took some inspiration from dracula, the vampyre, interview with a vampire, and various yt videos on vampire lore/history. This video explains the biology of vampires (he even scientifically explains how crosses are harmful to them!!), and this one explains their history.

For example: before the pretty, well put-together person that we envision when we think of vampires, vampires before that were depicted as more animalistic than anything. So why not have the best of both worlds!! When in human form, my vampires have very little vampiric qualities (ex. Keith's eyes have a red glint to them, the vatores ears are slightly pointed, and all of them have larger canines than the average human), they're able to show up on camera and have reflections, and crosses are only harmful to them if they're blessed. When they turn into their dark form (or "true form" as hunters call it), however, they do not have a reflection, they cannot be caught on camera, and like the old vampires, they appear monstrous.

[oldbutnotyetwise]

Talking to Myself

Talking to Myself

          So the other day I was chatting with a wise and learned friend about movies worth watching.  She shared with me how sad she was to learn about Bruce Willis recently being diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia.  She then mentioned how much she loved an old Bruce Willis Movie called The Kid, and recommended that I watch it.  I had never heard of it.  I did pause and think to myself you want me to watch a Bruce Willis movie, and it’s not one of the Die Hards….and it’s on the Disney Channel?

     Well due to the deep respect I have for my friend I took a look at this movie and it was interesting.  The gist of the story is that a grown man meets up with his eight year old self.  Now I don’t think this was epic cinema, but what an interesting premise.  This got me thinking what would my eight year old self have to say to my present day self, and maybe more importantly what would my present day self have to say to my eight year old self.

     I expect the first thing my eight year old self would say is, How did you get so old?  I would answer back that I don’t know, that somehow when I wasn’t looking the years just evaporated.  That all that time I spent as a child wishing that I was grown up, was time poorly spent.  That my childhood wasn’t as bad as I thought it was at the time, and that the whole being grown up thing is highly over-rated.

     Then he would ask about my careers as a carpenter, an actor, a folk singer,  police officer, a player in the NHL, a baseball player in the major leagues and I would sadly tell him that I had to pick just one, that there just wasn’t enough time to do them all.  I would tell him that in the end I made the right choice for my career and that I did it well and maybe left the world a little better than I had found it when I started.  I would also tell him that I hadn’t played hockey or baseball in over 50 years.

     He would shyly ask me if I had a girlfriend and I would tell him that in my life I was fortunate to have had great love, and that at this time my life I had my greatest love of all.

     He would ask me about all the children that I had, and I would say that I only had one, an amazing daughter.  He would ask why I didn’t have more and I would have to explain about failed marriages and he would look at me with his arms crossed and shake his head disapprovingly.

     He would ask me about my dog and I would tell him about all the wonderful canine companions that had shared my company over the years.  I would also tell him how my dogs taught me about loyalty, love, optimism and most importantly how to start each day like it was about to be the best day of my life.  Although your parents won’t let you have a dog, when you grow up you will have many.

     He would ask me if I was famous, and I would tell him that as I had grown older I quickly recognized that fame came with too heavy a price tag and that I had come to enjoy my rather anonymous life instead.

     Then he would ask if he had turned out alright, and I would pause before answering.  I would tell him that there had been many very difficult and challenging times over the years but that as I got older I had managed to make it to a place where I liked and respected myself and that yes, I felt I had turned out alright.

     Now when it comes to my present day self talking to my eight year old self I would explain that life sometimes takes you to places that you didn’t expect to go.  I would advise him not to expend all that energy fighting it, but to rather trust life to take you where it knows you need to go.  That well worn quote “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” really does apply to life.  

     I would try to convince my young self to stop worrying about so much stuff, that about 98% of the stuff I spent all that time worrying about never happened.  When the things I was worrying about actually happened, most of the time they weren’t as bad as I had imagined they would be.  I guess I would just say trust in the journey, it will all work out, maybe not the way you thought, but it will be fine none the less.  

     I would try to instil in my young self that it is important to always do what is right, even when it’s unpopular and even when you are the only one doing it.  Life is just so much simpler when you live it ethically, with empathy and with kindness. It doesn’t matter if someone else thinks you’re a good person or not, what matters is that you know, not think, you know that you are a good person.

     When it comes to friends, pick them wisely and always remember quality is much more important than quantity.  It’s okay if friends drift in and out of your life, but always be the kind of friend that you are looking for.  Always stand by your friends, be there when they need you, and you are likely to find that they will be there when you need them.  When it comes to friendship we tend to reap what we sow, so if your friends aren’t nice people then maybe it’s time to look at yourself a little harder.

     Now about love and relationships, first I am highly unqualified to give advice in this area but I will try none the less.  First and foremost, the beauty on the inside is more important than the beauty on the outside, always, always remember that.  When every boy in the class is swooning over that one popular girl, step back and look around and you may very well find a diamond in the rough.  Always be honest, and never settle when it comes to love.  Finally, you will make mistakes, many of them but never give up, because a life lived without love is a life hardly worth living.

     Know what is important, and it is not fame or fortune.  Be like a good Buddhist and spend your life pursuing happiness.  Be a good husband or partner, and be a good parent - this is the foundation so work very hard at getting this right.  Your heart will get broken many times, and you will break some hearts but never give up, and never settle when it comes to love.

     Try very hard to be grateful, as grateful people tend to be happy people.  Even when you are surrounded by bad things or going through a rough patch, always look for the collateral beauty and the good people.  They are there but you will have to look hard to see them sometimes.

     And finally, enjoy the journey, life is an adventure to be lived, live it to the fullest.  Don’t put things off, do them while you still can because dying with regrets makes for a sad death.  The song lyric,”I’d rather have something to forget than nothing to remember” applies here.

     So now that I have let you eavesdrop on my conversation with my younger self I ask you, What would you say to your eight year old self, and perhaps more importantly, what would your eight year old self say to you?

[memzhay]

A story of how I gave something my all, and ended up crying in front of new friends who I really wanted to think well of me.

Boxing class #1: I’ve got the Eye of the Tiger

Boxing class #2: Sweet baby Bejesus, help me. I’ve been mauled by a tiger.

I love to take an interest in random ass things. The more far removed from other random ass things I’ve done, the better I like it. So, when I met an MMA fighter and his lovely wife who were very nice and fun to hang out with, and wanted to give me some classes, I figured it was worth a shot. 

I did so good the first time. Maybe it was because it took him longer to explain and we didn’t get to the punching as fast, but tonight, everything still kind of hurt from the other night, and just moving around was so hard. After the warm ups, I did 1 round of 3 minutes with the guy, and that was all I had in me. I could feel that I was about to start sobbing, and when I get really going, it just sort of has to run its course. So, I meeped a little, trying my best to explain, “Hey. I cry a lot. What’s a gal to do?” and then got out of there. 

I don’t feel like a failure per-se. Understand, I am a very large, very sedentary middle aged woman. Maybe twice a week is just too much for me right now. I’m posting this here because I’m still proud of myself for trying. I have a lot of heart. Like Rocky. If he was in much worse shape and didn’t know how to box. I figure, if I can get past how hard it is right now and keep going, maybe I’ll want to look back and remember the time I almost gave up and didn’t. Or maybe my cool new friends would be just as happy to go to a movie as to punch things with me, and that’s good too.

So, if you ever tried something hard and didn’t give up, tell me about it. 💕

[i-love-river-song]

chapter 4!!!

@pheonixed

“So, what did you do last night?” The Doctor asks, hands clasped together and leaning on the console. “Well I do know I got quite drunk. I was having a rough night and decided to get pissed by myself and watch a movie, which I started, but then I think I went to look something up about something in the movie, but I fell down a wikipedia rabbit hole, and was reading about the Roald Dahl Plass, you know the big oval area right outside here. I’m a bit of a sad drunk. I started crying about how Roald Dahl is dead, so I went to the oval to… well I don’t really know, mourn, or something? I was very drunk. That’s all I can remember really, then waking up in this.. tardis” You explain. “Interesting” The Doctor remarks.

“Are you gonna say what you did last night?” You question

“Well I already know what I did last night so what’s the point in saying it out loud?”

“Do you not think maybe I want to know? So that I can make sense of things?”

“Ok, nosy”

“I’m not being nosy! Plus I just told you what I did! So who’s the real nosy one?”

“Fine! Fine, I’ll tell you what I did last night.” She rolls her eyes. “Promise not to laugh”

“I was visiting an old friend, he runs a… thing here in Cardiff” she says.

“What is supposed to be funny about that? What would I be laughing at? You are so confusing, Doctor” The Doctor laughs.

“Let’s get back on track, now” She walks round the console to a screen. “That’s no good, we’ll have to wait”

“Wait for what?”

“For it to get dark, don’t want the police coming after us again”

“You. Coming after you. I didn’t do anything.”

“Alright, fine! Doesn’t change the fact that we have to wait for it to get dark! I hate waiting, it’s so boring having to experience time at a normal pace with nothing going on.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

 “Doesn’t matter, explain later, busy waiting”

“You make no sense, Doctor.”

“I get that a lot”

“UGH I’m so bored! What can I do to pass the time!” The Doctor complains after 2 minutes of waiting. “Well maybe we could get to know each other?” You suggest. “Nope! Even more boring than doing nothing, I hate talking about myself. That’s a lie actually, I love talking about myself, but I can’t be bothered right now, maybe later” You roll your eyes.

After a couple of hours of The Doctor fiddling with the console and you just standing around, it’s finally dark and the place is empty. “Alright! Let’s reenact what we did last night! Will jog our memories hopefully!” she says.

You both step out the TARDIS. You walk back into Roald Dahl Plass to where you had sat yourself the night before. The Doctor hovers outside the TARDIS doors waiting for you to move from your spot. You get up as you did before, walking towards the exit. And that was it, you just walked past her.

“Hang on, that’s not right” The Doctor says, frowning, she looks like she’s calculating a hard maths problem. “What’s not right?” You reply, dragging yourself to stand next to her. She stays silent still thinking and processing. “I’m not getting anything, let’s go again.”

“No! One of us is doing something wrong! We’re missing something!” The Doctor is starting to get restless. “Doctor, we’ve done this like a million times! There’s nothing we’re missing! It’s got to be some stupid coincidence!” You shrug your shoulders dramatically. “It’s never a coincidence with me. How about we switch places, since we’re in each other's bodies?” she suggests. You’ll do anything to get this over and done with.

You take The Doctor’s place at the TARDIS doors and she takes yours on the ground. She starts walking to the exit and you walk out the TARDIS, as she comes closer to you you remember something but from her perspective. “Doctor! I remembered something!”

“Me too! What was it?”

“We bumped into each other!”

“I’ve got that too! Right! Back in the TARDIS then, let’s do some digging”

She dashes around the console and holds the screen, moving it around to a keyboard. She mumbles to herself as she types in something. “Ah!” she calls you. “Come and see this!” You walk over and read what she’s found. ‘The mysterious ‘Mammoth Bee’ that has the ability to swap people's bodies’ It shows a diagram of an insect looking thing with antennas in the shape of tusks, that explains the name then. “This is a pretty cool creature! It’s so small and quick, it flies up through people's noses and into their brains and picks up information, memories, your consciousness and all that, and transfers it to the nearest person it can find, then does the whole process again backwards! And they do it to live, they feed off the days spent in the wrong body! Ooh I love that, creatures of the abstract, only ran into one other abstract species before, they’re pretty scary, those angels, these little fleas have nothing on them.” The Doctor is beaming with excitement, you’re sure she’s enjoying this way more than she should. “Brilliant!” You force out a piece of praise to keep her happy. “But how do we fix it?” Her expression quickly changes to a more thoughtful face. “Hmm. Never dealt with these before, I’ll have to come up with something. Oh well, I’m good at improvising!” She puts on a reassuring smile. And it is just that, she seems to know what she’s doing, even though you’re both learning at the same pace.

The Doctor yawns. “You humans can’t stay awake very long, can you? I guess being in a human body means I have smaller tolerance for being awake so long, so annoying. I hate you humans, so little time for anything with you lot.” She yawns again. “I can’t sleep, we have to sort this out, so I can get you back home.” Her eyes are half open and her shoulders slumped as she walks round the console and jots in some numbers with great sloth. “Doctor, I think you should get some rest. I can wait a bit longer, it’s ok.” You assure. “Ok, g’night” she speaks drowsily as she shuffles her way to the bedroom you woke up in. “Night, Doctor.” you whisper half to yourself.

Being in her, apparently not human, body, you’re not tired at all. You think about what to do for a minute. You find yourself walking to the library. Some research wouldn’t hurt, in fact it would probably help. You walk for ages looking for the ‘M’ non fiction section; it takes you just as long to find a book on mammoth bees. You wander to the sofa by the fireplace and plop yourself down. You open the book and start reading until every background noise fades away.

[frothingatthemaw]

oh for sure i definitely see what you mean with the bpd thing now that you explain it. suspected bpd myself also :). stevo seems like he's ripe for character studies, especially if you employ the bpd headcannon, i feel like you could explore a lot of different emotions and themes using that as a jumping off point. especially with the way he's trying to figure out his own internal logic and personal philosophies and how the change and stuff, i feel like that narration style could lend itself super well to some first-person stuff with a strong character voice, like fight club (the book) or something. & that counselor thing is so cool, i hadn't heard of that! makes me think that maybe he went into lawyerism and stayed there for a few years before having another .. 'reset' like at the end of slc punk and changed his whole situation and ended up as a counselor lol.

have you seen slc punk 2? i haven't, i've heard about it and stuff, but the reviews turned me off a bit. i recall the director said about making slc punk, something to the effect of, "everyone in my life was saying, 'thank god you're over that punk thing now'. and this movie is me showing that i'm not!' or something like that which is a philosophy i can get behind! writing about character studies above reminded me of this other movie which is actually kind of not like slc punk at all, apart from it's tragic and about a couple of punks. it's called green room, it's a pretty cool horror movie :D it's pretty gory & heavy though. but very cool & very much ripe for character studies of the surviving characters, which is why i thought of it. i guess that's something of movie recommendation if you're into that kind of movie :)

yeah!!!! i’ve wanted to write some things but i don’t think i could do him justice at all. i feel like i’m not well enough equipped to write him in the beautiful way he deserves, despite my writing style being more dependent on things like internal turmoil rather than body language or dialogue. i’d love to do it but the fear… and i honestly wouldn’t know where to begin. maybe just a study on his whole process of realizing life in the way he knew was was ending and he really didn’t want to let that go, but knowing he was eventually going to have to do so. not to shove content in your face, but i threaded together a post of discord messages between me and my partner slash best friend that was a rant on stevo but also stevo and bob’s relationship together (if you haven’t already seen it). i’ll come back and link it here after i post this just in case!

YES!!! exactly exactly!!! i think he done it for a couple years and really hated himself for doing the same thing as his dad. maybe this is projecting something because i love the trope of guys not wanting to turn into anything similar to their fathers, but i feel like still part of stevo has some punk morals that he doesn’t ever quite let go of. and especially the whole government and law part of everything. i feel like he feels strongly about that for his entire life. simple stevo morals. i also have many things to add upon counselor stevo, but i shall bite back that whole ramble. i get really emotional about it, he’s so special to me. makes me all soft and gooey yk?

i have not! i have it on my watchlist! i was also kind of turned against it because of the reviews, but my partner slash best friend told me the movie description follows bob’s son (?) and that made me a bit more inclined to watch it because that seems interesting enough for me

AND OOOOOO!!! oh my god that sounds so good. i love character tragedy and horror and i love some good old fashioned gore. gore my baby! i will absolutely add this to my watchlist on letterboxd after i post this!!! thank you for telling me about it, seems really cool and something that i’d like! <3

[silkiemae]

The Serpents and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

There will be spoilers in this review.>

The Serpent and the Wings of Night was far more enjoyable than I expected it to be. It’s advertised as being like From Blood and Ash and A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I was honestly reminded more of the first Underworld movie. At the very beginning of the book, the vampire king Vincent finds a little girl called Oraya in a burning building and decides to adopt her and raise her as his own daughter in a world full of vampires. Much like Viktor and Selene in Underworld. I thought the dynamic between Vincent and Oraya was interesting and well done. I felt really bad for Oraya that she couldn’t see the way Vincent was manipulating her and I’m still wondering if his feelings for her were ever genuine. I want to believe that they were because there were moments where he seemed to truly care for Oraya but abusive relationships like that are always complicated and I feel like Carissa Broadbent did a good job capturing that. I almost wish there was more of it though so that I could have a clearer picture of their relationship. But I do think that based on Oraya’s behavior and defensiveness in Vincent’s favor do a good job conveying what’s left unwritten. 

When it comes to the White Pantheon that make up the gods in this series, I almost wish there was like an Odyssey-type retelling of Nyaxia’s story and that it was at the very beginning of the book. While bits of her story is revealed throughout the story, I always found myself confused regardless and wished that there was better exposition at the beginning of the book. I’d love to read a whole book on the White Pantheon alone tbh, I’m very curious. 

I liked the slow-burn relationship between Oraya and Raihn a lot. I found myself really rooting for them to get together even though I knew it would be idiotic of Oraya to let herself get attached to him when she’d have to kill him. More than anything, I am just so glad that the sex scene didn’t make me cringe out of my skin. Plated Prisoner is probably my favorite dark romance series at this point, but the sex scenes were the most uncomfortable things ever to me. But shockingly, I didn’t feel that way at all here. So, THANK YOU CARISSA. 

I loved reading Oraya kick everyone’s ass. I love that she gets her ass kicked constantly but never gives up. Like that girl gets her shit wrecked throughout this book but gives as good as she gets. 

Now for the things that I didn’t like. As fun as I found reading about Oraya competing in the vampire competition, it was sort of ridiculous that she was allowed to compete at all. Everyone believes her to be human and while at the end of the book it’s revealed she’s half-vampire, nobody but Vincent even knew that. Maybe Nyaxia realized when she made her blood vow, idk. What about the defanging vampire children because the parents don’t want them to rise up and seize power until they’re ready? Do their fangs grow back? Ibrihim was hobbled and it seems like his leg never heals. I thought vampires could heal if they drank enough blood? Why is Oraya allowed to leave the Moon Palace to meet her dad and get special poisoned weapons? If the Moon Palace is supposed to provide for its contestants why doesn’t it provide these weapons for her? Why doesn’t it provide medication when she’s injured? Why are contestants allowed to request to leave when they’re too badly injured? It feels like the rules consistently change and while that’s acknowledged in text, a lot of it doesn’t make sense imo. At one point we’re told only one person can win the Kejari then we’re told that sometimes two people survive it yet, Oraya had to kill Raihn anyway? 

I feel like the world building could've been way better as well. The Bloodborn vampire curse is confusing, the difference in each vampire house wasn't explained well enough at the beginning of the book so I was confused by all the vampires and why they hated each other. I was confused if there were other continents beside vampire world. Idk there were things that could've been described better. 

And the only other thing that made me kind of mad was the bullshit Raihn does at the end. I understand why he does it, and It’ll definitely make for a very interesting hill to climb in book 2 but oh my god I’m so mad at him but I also still really ship him with Oraya. 3.5 stars.

[loulicate-recs]

Hello Hanis love! I might as well tell you, but I’m not in the best mood–first, my nose is still stuffed, second, I’m on my periods, third, the secret santa experience is almost over and fourth, I was almost finished with writing this message and deleted everything. I’m so stupid! It doesn’t really matter because I’m still happy to answer you, but I was also quite content with my previous answers and I don’t want it to feel less genuine as it did before I deleted it all. So, sorry let’s take it from the start again.

I hope your 22nd day of December was great and that you could do everything you wanted. What are you doing December 23rd? I’m currently staying in the mountains, so I hope I get to enjoy it despite having to study. Are you already done with your gift for your secret baby? I’m personally not done with yours and entirely too stressed about it cause it’s really my own fault. I should have started it earlier so I’d give myself time to be a proper perfectionist. Either way, I’m sure your gift is perfect–I have no doubt your secret baby will know you poured your heart into it. I personally originally wanted to make a gift both for you and my secret santa but I’m already running out of time for yours, so let’s try to focus on that. And I really hope you like what I’ve made for you too, cause I’ve made it with you in mind.

To answer your question, I don’t think this is the flu–just a cold that won’t go away. I’m pretty sure I’m almost done with it so thank you universe for showing mercy. I wish I could I could tell you my coping mechanisms but I’m not sure I have one–I’m just downright unsufferable til I get better. I would say I usually get sick at least once during winter time, but it’s usually a common cold, so nothing to complain about. I’ve been a weakling this year though, because I’ve already been ill quite a few times since August. And what happened to your sinus for them to get blocked in such a way? That must really suck! I’m sorry for you. Do you get sick often? I’m realizing it might have been super inconsiderate of me to complain in such a way when this is a minor inconvenience and I don’t know how healthy you are. I’m sorry!

I don’t remember mentioning snow in my previous message dsdlsqkk but I can explain how it works here either way. Maybe it will give your one more clue (or not?) about my identity but hey, it’s December 22nd and I’m too tired to lie dsk3qdhjs so! In my country, some parts get snow quite often while others don’t. I live an area that doesn’t get snow, or once a year at best and it doesn’t stick. But further away, it does snow. Because of climate change, temperatures are all over the place though, so it’s difficult to predict when and for how long it will snow. When you know who I am, I might send you pics of the snow I’ve taken in the past year of you want!

I think popcorns are still fun, once in a while. They still hurt my wallet when directly bought at the cinema though. Have you seen Avatar? My friends went to see it the other day and I didn’t because I can’t even remember the first one; they found it predicable though very beautiful. Is it the kind of movie you like to see or?

I don’t know if I’m a dedicated student or just a very stressed one haha! Tbh, I think I’m pretty flexible in my relationships in my life, but being late has always stressed me out a lot. What about you, what kind of student or you? The procrastinator/cram-worker? The perfectionist? Both? I have about 18 to 20 hours of classes a week at the moment (I’ll have more next semester, I think) and it doesn’t feel like that much because I used to have a lot more. And a class usually lasts 50 minutes! What about you? I’m actually very curious about this because it is very interesting to compare school systems across the worth to find where the strengths and weaknesses of each of them lie. And I’ve lived in another continent before, so in that aspect I’m very lucky.

Now that you’ve mentioned HP, I feel like I have to ask–who are you favourite characters, and what do you think is Louis’ house? It is a question of an upmost important so please take your time to answer.

What you said about English and it being a first language made complete sense, I’m just not the sharpest tool in the shed dsqkldjlksq it’s just that not many people around here would say it’s their first language so I didn’t understand you meant it like that. Was clear though, I just deformed your words. Anyways. Dsqqjdlk. I feel like I’m speaking to a smartie, hm? Level 3 sounds like something but I’m not actually sure. Either way, it’s super cool that you invested yourself in learning a new language. I think it’s important to have this kind of curiosity at first, even though it’s tough to train on the daily. Nice try, though, I won’t tell you the language I speak today :p

I think your perception of relationships is really interesting! I like how you envision things. It makes me question my own habits and beliefs. I hope you find people along the way who share the same philosophy as you! And you answered the question perfectly, no worries. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!

I guess it is? Some people go to the mass on Christmas, so I guess they do celebrate the birth of Jesus? I’m literally the worst person ever to answer this question but even though many occidental countries celebrate ist because of capitalism it has the world “christ” in it. Even though the origin of the celebration, is disputed there must be some religious part to it. I think that’s very cute it was a celebration meant to celebrate snow. Makes me think of winter fairy!zayn in your fic :) and I think you’re wrong, you can avoid big gatherings! I personally “celebrate” Christmas only with my parents and siblings. It is probably because we do not associate it with something holy, though. My family is also part of the few who think you shouldn’t force yourself to see people. Some years, we see our relatives more than others and that’s the way things are. We love each other, but we do not necessarily have a super close bond with them. I feel much closer to my parents and siblings than I ever will to my cousins (like most people) but I don’t miss the relationship I could have had with them. I’m happy when I see them but I don’t do things differently just because they’re my family. This makes me think, do you think you should always forgive people, especially your family? I know that in Christianity, forgiveness is a very important part of your faith, so maybe it touches aspects of your own faith and you don’t have to answer this question. I was just wondering because one of my friends has a very tough relationship with her family and everyone keeps telling her she should forgive them when I’m not quite sure I agree with that. She’s not burning with anger or sorrow or anything like that, if you’re wondering. So for example, do you think you should forgive people, because “they’re still your parents”? I don’t know if I should be asking all these questions when I know they’re very polarizing but I feel comfy with you so you get an insight of my thoughts at the moment. Please, don’t feel like you have to answer though!

Ahahaha it does happen sometimes because we all have different tastes in music but my siblings and I grew up listening to some tunes my mum loves so it kinda got ingrained into our brain to sing it in the car haha

What you say makes a lot of sense! I think UK promo is often Louis paying a tribute to his English fans and his country in general whereas US promo looks a lot more like a promo. I think for that reason US promo is more likely to make his career move in a certain direction. So yeah, I do agree with you, though I love have convenient it is when we get UK promo cause there is no or little to no timezone problems. At least, now I know that it’s more convenient for you when he does US promo so instead of grumbling I’ll think of you <3

I also NEED to day I love the way you talk about Louis!! Wanna kiss you too all over <3<3

I don’t really know about a perfect pair slkdjkqls I think they clash a lot. They’re definitely more a pair of opposite; my dad being a lot more laid back than my mum who stresses over any and every think. I think I get along with both of them in different ways so I’m very lucky.

Arrrrgh, I think I’ve only written about myself in this one letter and for this, I’m sorry. I just always want to answer everything and give unnecessary details or digress. I hope it still wasn’t too boring to read and that I get to finish your gift on time for… well, next time. I’m sending you so, so much love and kisses. Thank you for making me smile and giving me an insight of your beautiful, beautiful thought process. You’re the comfiest person to talk to! I hope you feel as listened to as I do.

Love, kisses, hugs, and head pats, xx

hi secret santa! i intentionally waited until today to answer you so you won’t have to send anything else as i do the closure for us (for this secret santa thingy!!) damn i feel horrible and your behalf… you went through a LOT. is your nose still stuffed? by the way seems like we have the same period cycle, our love is so strong. and ngl, accidentally deleting the stuff you’ve been working on is one of the most unfair unlucky things that could ever happen to someone and i’m sorry you fell as the victim. and the way you still decided to re-write the whole thing when you could’ve just let me know about what happened… you’re literally the best secret santa ever. i’m sure your deleted answer was a perfection, i still appreciate her as much as i do with this one!

my day have been great from 22nd until today despite having to work everyday, even on the christmas :( you’re on top of the mountain! it must be so pretty over there 🥺 i hope the atmosphere up there made your studying much easier and less stressful. i’m done with the gift btw, can’t wait to show them later. please, i’m not sure whether you’ve done with it or not by now, but if you haven’t, you don’t have to worry about rushing to finish it. you can even gift me on another day, it doesn’t have to be today! we make the rules, remember? :) and i WILL love it, whatever you’re doing for me. i love gifts, no matter what it is. it’s always the thoughts that count! and i know that you’re putting so much efforts into it so it makes it more special. i want to ask you a lot of questions honestly… but you won’t get to reply me anymore, at least not here. so if i accidentally slip in some questions just ignore.

a cold that won’t go away… i’m glad that it’s surrendering. you deserve to have a good time in a healthy condition before your papers! i myself have a cold intolerance, or whatever you call it. i can’t even work in an air conditioned place without ending up getting a flu, so i can’t imagine being in your place. it’s also one of the reasons why i get my sinusitis often, especially during a rainy night. vicks inhaler is a compulsory on my beside table. my body is just built that way ig </3 please acknowledging the capability of your body is never inconsiderate! and it’s certainly not simply a minor inconvenience when it clearly impacts your body and comfort!

i might’ve confused your and my santa babie’s descriptions, my bad! some of the things we discussed about are quite the same as our topics and my brain is tiny 😞 also, this is actually a new information for me! call me stupid or ignorant for this but i’ve never thought of the fall of snow to be that way. i thought all places in europe receive almost the same amount of snow and the thickness only varies just by a few inches. my already dumb little brain has been deceived by the media portrayals. and PLEASE, show me the snow pics 🥹 tbh i’ve only seen it on the tv or pictures posted by random people on twitter/instagram so if u wanna send some later i’ll be honoured to see them :’)

yes popcorn has its fun side, i honestly enjoy it more during mindless eating rather than watching movie. and no, i… haven’t seen avatar and probably will take me some more years to see it? sgdfjkf embarrassingly admitting i’ve never watched any avatars films before </3 and tbh i’m not really big on that kind of movie or marvels.

it’s amazing to have a student like you in any uni, i like your thinking. tbh i can work under stress to get the job done but i always try to complete things a little earlier than the due date. maybe a day earlier? because then if anything i’ll at least have time to do any correction if i have to. but also not to early to avoid any misunderstanding on the instructions that’ll make me waste my energy and time doing something incorrectly. 20 hours per week :o i think we’re quite the same! it honestly depends in the lecturers too, some tend to ALWAYS cancel the class last minute and assign us tutorials so i don’t really consider those hours as classes. and i also think the same, especially the elementary school system because that’s where the major differences lie. tbh i don’t quite like my country’s education system especially the primary schools, there’s just so many weaknesses that would take me a 10 paragraphs essay if i were to complain.

oh my hp questions… would you cancel me if i said louis is a slytherin? it has sth to do with him being a little too spiritual ever sincd fitf. but also for so long i used to think he was hufflepuff! and i will cry draco my loml is my fav! my baby was WRONGED.

i am definitely not a smartie if french people heard me utter a word in their language my mouth’d be stuffed with bread and kicked on the butt into the sea </3 i look so stupid speaking french.

i see, thank u for clarifying it! it amazes me to see there is variety of celebrations for christmas being done in each family. sdfjfk winter fairy zayn might just be a tiny part of my little self’s misunderstanding of the snow and christmas thingy :3 your parents are so realllll for that, i mean to have a day meant to be joyous for yourself shouldn’t include seeing just everyone. there are more things to enjoy if we look for something that appeases our own happiness. to answer your question, definitely no! i’m not gonna lie to myself and say that i won’t forget what people did to me because truly, i’m not easy to forget AND forgive </3 and if it’s my family especially, it will go straight to my core memory. of course im still gonna treat them nicely but unless they really make up and apologise sincerely, i… hold grudges secretly. ik this sounds toxic and not very “forgiving and considerate first daughter” of me but i grew up thinking that my family was perfect and it’d be so wrong to assume the bad in them, but now that i’m older i’ve learned that even if someone is your family, doesn’t mean they’re perfect is actually more accurate than the vice versa. and about your friend, i honestly do feel her though… i myself don’t feel comfortable sharing my family problems with my friends because most of them probably have a good relationship with theirs and they’d say the same thing too because they’re not in our place, and everyone who is unaffected is always the quickest to “reassure” us with “the right thing” to do. it kinda feels invalidating actually because sdgfjf you’re MY friend not my family’s. but luckily i have one friend that goes through almost the same things as i did whenever it comes to family problems and we always confide in each other about our “first daughter” problems. i’m glad for your friend because she at least has you to understand her, but i wish other people around her wouldn’t be so tapering towards her issues :(

i agree! UK louis content could be cute sometimes when you think how loyal he is to the country. the idea of him performing somewhere he loves is just so cute ♡

please our parents are almost the same. my dad is literally the epitome of “actions speak louder than words”, my mom has it equal for both. that’s good for you! it’s like you’re flexible to switch your actions to accommodate different people.

please why are you even apologising, i loveree knowing random facts about you. you are such an interesting person to get to know to while you still remain anonymous to me. i love you i love talking to you so much. i’m gonna do the honour of saying goodbye to our secret santa session here so, bye my sweetest anon!

see you LATER :D

[alsjeblieft-zeg]

402 of 2022

1. What makes you a good person? According to the people around me, I'm gentle, soft-spoken, caring, non-judgemental, compassionate and hard working. It's flattering, but when I look at myself, I dsee a ball of anxiety that somehow wants to be everyone's friend and nothing else. 2. What can you work on to improve yourself? Anxiety for sure. I want to be less anxious for sure. Less shy in new situations. Less stressed. Less reserved. More open about my feelings. 3. What are your friends like? + What types of things do you guys do together? I have friends of all types, really. From optimists to pessimists, from crazy to serious. Just all. 4. What makes you happy? My husband, my cats, cats in general, beauty of nature, travelling, my friends, my sister, being alive, being able to work (or at least the possibility to do so in the nearest future), seeing kindness in other people. 5. What is your worst pet peeve? People who interrupt others. 6. What are GOOD coping skills that you use and find helpful? Being occupied with things, like cleaning the house. It helps reaally much. 7. What's an inside joke you have with someone? (You can explain it or not if you don't want to) Well, I'm known as Suikerklonje (sugar cube) among my friends. It's because I pronounce this word with a specific accent. 8. What is a movie that has a really good plot line but is terribly acted/ directed/ done? I've never been interested in movies much enough to actually bring myself to watch any of them, so I have no idea. 9. Do you have any pets? What are they? Names, etc? I have two cats. Victoria is 12 years old grey tabby, and Susanne is a 3 years old tuxedo. 10. How different would your life be if "that one thing" didn't happen? I wouldn't develop an eating disorder. 11. What is "that one thing"? Sexual abuse. 12. What's your most recent obsession? I don't have any. Sometimes I feel I'm too old for this. 13. What kind of music do you listen to? What artists / bands/ genre? Metal, particularly djent and sludge/post metal/you name it. Things that are heavy, dark and/or atmospheric. Music in languages other than English. Dutch hip hop. Some modern rap. Artists like Baas B or XXXTENTACION. Bands like Vildhjarta and HRFTR, or bands like Cult of Luna and Downfall of Gaia. Bands like Katatonia or Paradise Lost. 14. What is something you believed as a kid that is really weird? That people on photos are actually watching me. 15. What is your favorite conspiracy theory? Probably HAARP and Duga radars and their ability to control human minds. 16. What's the most desperate thing you did? I don't think I've ever been so desperate. 17. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Very good with my dad, but he's been absent most of my childhood due to his job. My mum was pretty abusive. 18. What is your favorite meme? Why? I can't think of any at the moment. 19. Are there any habits you wish you could break? Biing my nails due to anxiety. 20. What annoys you the most? Certain types of people. Those who patronise, look down on others, condescend others, know-it-all type of people. 21. What is the funniest thing you've ever heard? Something local, I think. 22. Is there anything you're passionate about? People I love, photography, travels, radio signal identification. 23. How does food make you feel? (Not eating food, just food alone) I don't mind food and I even enjoy looking at food aesthetics. 24. Who is your inspiration/ role model? I don't think there's such a person. Maybe my *celebrity crush*, though. He has a degree in psychology, as far as I know. 25. What is a true story that sounds so crazy that it sounds fake? The case of Sylvia Likens, but it's very sad and pretty disturbing.