#*I highly recommend all of her work buuuuut

[grimm-tales-gamer]

Fallen Hero: Sidestep 7

already at 7, been doing this for a straight week and I am not even half way lol. I play this game too much. Anyway:

Name: Wu Mei

Gender: female she/her

Villain name: Entity

Villainous role: hero hunter

Motivation: justice

Scar: outsider

Reason for gala: money

Where is she now?: free, innocent, and planing

   Mei is probably my most put together sidestep. She definitely has her stuff put together a lot more than the others I’ve gone over! Not saying she doesn’t have problems because she certainly does. As sidestep she never felt that she truly belonged, she was a vigilante, could never show her face, and could never become a ranger; as Chen was so quick to remind her. After heartbreak though it got worse. She felt abandoned, inhuman, like an “other”. I think she’s working through the trauma of heartbreak though, so there is hope of her feeling “human” again.

   Wu Mei wants justice for what happened to her. What is happening to regenes like her. However, due to the enemy being essentially the US government, she doesn’t believe the heroes would ever side with her. They would prefer to side with their own kind. So, she deals with them; however, she rarely kills. She never kills civilians and will usually only kill villains and enemy agents when absolutely necessary. She even saves people when she can. She doesn’t understand why she still feels the need to save others, they’re humans. Humans would never help her, humans would never save her. So why does she feel like she still needs to be a hero?

   Anyway, in terms of relationships Mei keeps her distance.. or tries to. Mortum is simply a business associate, Herald is her student (MUCH to her chagrin), and Argent and her tolerate each other (buuuuut Argent gets along great with Entity). The problems arise with Ortega and Chen. Ortega (Ricardo in this run) is her best friend. Her first friend, her brother, her only family. She tried to stay away, but whenever Ricardo asks for help she comes. She really can’t say no to him, I don’t think Ortega knows the power he has over her. Then there’s Chen, despite how they were during the sidestep days Chen and Mei started to become friends. It was slow, but it seemed that time had made these two compatible for a strong bond. Then Chen told Mei that he had pictures of an “autopsy”. Mei ran, she felt like every fear she had of humans were being proven true. They knew, they knew and they didn’t save her; because she wasn’t worth it. She isn’t human.

   After what happened with Chen all of Mei’s relationships are pending. The future of all of them, including her and Ortega, are dependent on how Revelations go. It could reinforce Mei’s scar and fears or Mei could open up. Actually let someone in and tell them the truth… about being a regene, good god, she’s never telling them she’s Entity.

Fun facts!:

Mei only chain smokes when anxious. People around her might say that she always chain smokes around them. That’s her secret captain… she’s always anxious around humans.

Back when Mei was homeless in the sidestep days she would sleep in particular parks that people didn’t go to as often so the thoughts of pigeons and other birds would wake her up rather than humans.

Even though she has tons of money, Mei lives at her base at the electronic repair shop. She even tries to live within the income of what business she actually gets from business. She thinks that buying “luxuries” makes her feel that she’s “trying too hard to be human.”

There are only a few vibe quotes I have for Mei, if I share one though it’s very simple: “Dreaming is free.”

No romance for her yet, but after reading the lore post with Mortum and Sky-Raider (which I highly recommend reading if you haven’t) I think Sky-Raider may be the one for her!

Now for stats, armor, and appearance:

Mei prefers anonymity at 75%, empathy at 80%, and caution at 89%! She prefers power of mind at 80, though I remember her subtle manipulation not being far off either.

Armor and appearance: scary. Eldritch looking, all black with white pinprick eyes. Actually seeing the details of the armor doesn’t help it be less scary, tentacles like attachments burst from the face and others look like they are wrapping around the arms and legs with what looks like a maw of teeth and eyes on the torso.

Add ons: armor and telepathy

Extra: the voice modulator is made to look sound like multiple voices.

Wu Mei’s appearance:

Race: Asian

Height: medium. I’m imagining around 5ft 6in (1.67m)

Hair: straight black hair that is shoulder length

Eyes: black

Style: edgy military. Pretty much only black and other dark colors, lots of oversized coats and jackets with heavy duty clothes. She can show no one.

[reesewestonarchive]

someone had a birthday and I nearly missed it but reese is a secrety beast

for what lies below, a wip I absolutely adore and highly recommend* from @infinitelyblankpage:

Stealing from anyone is a risk. Stealing from a pirate is downright foolish. But Isaac’s right where he wants to be. On a pirate ship, under the Captain, sailing away from Lowen and the life he was forced into.

reese is a very secrety beast

[dragynkeep]

*SCREAMS* YOU'RE DOING REDESIGN CRITIQUES! NICE! I'm gonna send my friend's for her since she doesn't have a Tumblr lol. Admittedly, she said she changed next to nothing for most of the designs so it's not worth it to critique them...buuuuut she's also pretty bummed about her lack of engagements SO I'M SENDING THEM IN ANYWAY FOR EXPOSURE >:D Happy critiquing!

Overall, these are some brilliant designs. Honestly, if these were in the show as the new Beacon de3signs, I would not mind one bit, that's how much I love these outfits.

The link is in the ask for anyone who wants to go and look, and the post with the notes are here. I highly recommend it. Give the artist some love and spread their art around, I'm gonna do the same on my twitter (hawkswukong)!

Disclaimer: I'm gonna post the art here just so I can talk about the designs and people looking at this post can directly see what I'm critiquing, but just a standard warning not to repost artists' work without permission.

This outfit is so adorable.

Obviously, none of these outfits stray far from their original designs, but the artist has added and changed some bits that I really like with Ruby.

The short ponytail at the back is adorable. It sells Ruby's youth and more child personality to really show that Ruby is the youngest out of the entire group of students. The addition of the cross hairpiece adds a dash of silver against her dark hair, and I love it when more crosses are added to Ruby. It just helps with her gothic theme and connection to Qrow.

The overall structure of the outfit is great. All of Ruby's main features are kept; the puffed skirt, long boots, puffed out sleeves, the cape with some modifications. I like that the sleeves are really puffy with the silver bands to keep them in place, they mimic her original sleeves but in a more exaggerated way.

The segment with the lighter grey on her chest honestly adds a bit of interest there. The lighter grey isn't too light that it would be too distracting, but it's a nice touch and helps the eye to move right to the red segment of her corset. Which I also appreciate, 'cause now her corset isn't being lost in the black of her shirt.

The addition of more silver is good! It's not too much, just added to the tip of her boots and on her wrists, but when combined to the silver on her belt, chest, earring and hair, it travels through the design and looks more coherent.

It's also helped by Ruby's skin tone. Her having more of a tan just makes the silver pop, especially her eyes.

I know that I have repeatedly said that trying to put all of RWBY's colours on each member is a sure fire way of making an ugly colour palette, but this honestly makes it work and that's because they are so small. The tips of the bullets each have the four colours, but because it's so concentrated there and small to begin with, it's not clashing much with Ruby's overall dark colour scheme. Now she has some yellow for Yang in a way that doesn't look bad!

The only thing I'm not a fan of is the gloves. I like the red gloves, but the two fingers exposed look is just something I'm not a fan of. But really, that's the only thing I dislike on this design.

Very solid. Wish her later outfits took some inspiration from this.

This ain't a snow princess, this is a snow QUEEN-

First thing I have to say, I like how the red is used here. Weiss' original outfit pretty much restricted the red to her collar and inside her boots, which isn't a bad thing, but this outfit really highlights how you can use this accent colour in ways without making it too much. The main sources are still the collar and boots, but the additions are small and scattered throughout enough that it isn't too much compared to Weiss' blue and white colour palette.

I especially like it in the crown. It adds a bit of pop at the top of Weiss' head with all the white, but it's small enough not to distract the viewer from the rest of her. It also has the same RWBY colours as Ruby, with the same positives in being small enough not to distract. Same with the painted nails, it feels like such a Weiss thing that I'm surprised she didn't have painted nails in Beacon.

Really, all the jewellery and intricate lace does the job in selling Weiss’ rich background.

I really like the jacket. The shorter sleeves and gloves combo keeps the white travelling through her arms, while looking more suitable for both Beacon's temperate climate and Weiss' fencer fighting style. The shorter sleeves also keep the bell shape, which is neat!

The dress is very similar, but the additions are something I love. I think the added detail of the silver on her dress helps with separating it from her white jacket, and the added black provides more contrast between all the white and light blue that she wears in the sash, chest piece and inside her sleeves. It also stops the white gloves from blending into her white sleeves.

The gradients are really pretty and keeps the outfit more interesting. I'm not sure about it on the jacket, rather than keeping that the light blue with the white dress, but it's not that big of a deal and it looks good regardless.

And I noticed that she's blind in one eye! I love when Weiss is drawn like that, I do it all the time now, so it's great to see other artists doing it too. I think it just adds a more unique detail to Weiss' design apart from the other girls, and I like more disabled rep thank you.

Look at this dapper cat.

Really, the biggest changes to these are the boots and the hair. After the trauma that was Blake’s short hair in Atlas, this is an adorable rendition of her short hair. It looks curlier and sells the French aesthetic she has, while now giving Blake a more unique hairstyle in the team rather than the long, slightly wavier version of Yang’s in canon. 

It also frees up the design to have the black travel through more coherently, rather than having the black blob behind her all the time. It’s more concentrated on her head, with her outfit picking up more of the black throughout her body. Great job!

Really, I like that she seems to be wearing a white bodysuit underneath her black vest. While I miss the lace on her vest, the change of it’s style still looks good and I actually really like the style of the shirt. The RWBY buttons add the same style that I see going throughout the girls, and I really like it. Once again, it’s not being used too much, so you don’t have all these colours fighting for attention, especially with how easily the black can be overpowered. 

Also, with colour, Blake having darker skin works really well with her design. They make her yellow eyes pop more and contrast the bright white, but the black doesn’t blend in with it either. Wow, who would’ve thought,,,,,,

Despite what Ais says because they’re wrong, I like Blake in thigh highs. I know they’re not practical, I know they’re uncomfortable, but I don’t care because she looks good in them. I’m not sure of them being connected to her jacket rather than her shorts, it looks a bit weird for when Blake isn’t in that pose, but I still like them.

Now, what I’m more on the fence with is the use of purple. I read the notes and it says the purple is downplayed on her legs, but the issue is they’ve been downplayed a bit too much. I can see that the purple is used for her emblem, but the emblem is now so dark against the black boots that it’s difficult to see. It might help to lighten that and the gradient on her boots a bit more just so it’s easier to spot.

Still, this is a great outfit for Blake. 

This outfit screams Yang and I love it. The reduced colour palette really helps with not only Yang looking more coherent, but helps her fit with her team and allows the yellow to stand out rather than being buried in 50 different colours. Black instead of brown works for her, please everyone, use black for her. It will help the design, I promise.

The lighter grey helps break up the all black jacket and is a cute connection to Ruby’s design! It adds a bit of interest to what would otherwise be pretty boring, and helps the gold buttons stand out against the dark fabric. The clamped sleeves make sure they don’t fall down without the added collar of her original outfit, but the added necklace keep from her neck looking too simple in comparison. 

I think it would’ve helped more if the jacket did have something going over the neck and collarbones, similar to Yang’s V2 jacket where it had the collar and then the strap going over. Not only would the black separate the yellow from her skin more and have that contrast, but it’d make the jacket look more complete and protective. Right now, it kinda looks half done. 

That being said, I love how saturated the purple is now. Yang’s purple is always washed out in the show, so I like that it’s returned in this piece. It’s an added bold colour that compliments Yang’s yellow. It also helps that it’s placed more throughout her design rather than just on her face and leg. It’s disappearance on the leg is helped because of the tattoo instead, so her left leg doesn’t look boring in comparison to her right with the longer yellow sock. 

Also, her nails! I like the idea of having this small bundle of the RWBY’s colours on each girl in different ways. It helps ties the girls together but also has a lil’ cute design choice to add something to each individual design. I love that it’s on Yang’s nails, it just feeds into her design as a feminine party girl.

Really, this design helps the main issue with Yang, that either her colour is nowhere to be seen, or too much is used. The splotches of yellow on her outfit helps carry it through with her giant mass of hair picking up the work. The reduced colour palette and use of black helps this, with the purple stopping her colour scheme from looking too boring while Yang’s skin tone just makes the yellows feel warmer. Skin tone is honestly really important when designing a character and colour scheme.

I love how the hair is styled, especially the big scrunchie. It keeps the hair out the way while still stylised, something that shows Yang values her hair while being practical about it.

Overall, these are some really good designs. Your friend did a great job with them!

[pizadowa]

Jules + Ivy headcanons? :-)

YAY!!!! This is absolutely going to become a shippy post lol

I have some thoughts I posted already here and here as a primer, but let's see what else we can chat about eh anon? ^p^

Ivy had zero interest in Julia before ACME, whereas Julia had always been at least little curious (the line between professional and homosexual interest has been blurred from the start).

Julia is slightly jealous of Ivy’s natural hair color and finds it mesmerizing. On the flip-side, Ivy thinks Julia’s hair is cool and slick and says she’s always wanted to dye her hair black at least once but thought it’d look ridiculous. Julia reassures her that it’d look great even if she does love her orange hair as it is already. (Cue their love meter rising and then having a disastrous attempt at dying each other’s hair their dream colors.)

On their first dinner date (I’m thinking Korean BBQ), Ivy finds herself infatuated with and intimidated by the amount of food and beer Julia can fit in her stomach.

In the beginning whenever they had to pair up with each other, they’d bicker about who would drive since neither of them are very fond of getting behind the wheel but they also didn’t trust the other to drive yet. Eventually they settled the decision making process with things like Rock Paper Scissors and other back-and-forth playful bets/dares.

Julia and Ivy find a lot of healing in each other, though I personally do think it's Ivy who has way more pain to address, and like I say constantly she is terrible at it. Julia is wise beyond her years, naturally more mature than Ivy and Carmen combined, and a great communicator—all things that catch Ivy off-guard because she's so not used to it. Julia, having gained a bit of a playful attitude from working with both Chase and Carmen, messes with Ivy just a teensy bit in this way :) which is how she gets them to both open up to each other about their past and present struggles.

Ivy is absolutely not above calling Julia names like ���Webster,” “Mouse,” and “Specs” (←not even after Ivy herself has to wear a pair of ACME glasses).

Julia is quick to catch on to Ivy’s hidden love of sentimental (often romantic ooo~~) fiction. In their early days as coworkers, she plants a new book in Ivy’s desk before Ivy gets to work, with a single note that reads “Tell me what you think - our little secret.” Ivy is taken by the gesture, looking around the room for answers and landing upon Julia, who seems to understand exactly what’s going on and offers a gentle smile and handwave to the book. The next week, Ivy does the same for Julia with her own book recommendation and a note detailing her reactions from the previous one. Fast forward to the rest of the month and they’ve started their own little book club :)

Ivy actually spends a great deal of time bonding with Chief after a while, and it’s there that she ends up asking for advice about Julia. Chief reminds her that romantic fraternization is highly discouraged in the workplace—cue Ivy on the brink of panic lol—buuuuut that she’s willing to look the other way because she knows how their line of work has never been of the norm, anyway.

FRECKLE BUDDIES!!! They bond over their freckles and look for them on each other’s bodies, yes yes.

Julia has a way of getting Ivy to rest her head in her lap while she strokes those orange curls. Oh yeah did I mention she really loves Ivy’s hair?

I got more but as usual they are ~*~spicy~*~ (maybe if I get another ask I’ll share those..hwheheh)

[runfast-runfar]

5/30/20

So today ended up being a super nice day!

✨ woke up, ran and did self guided yoga for 20 minutes before going to work.

✨ worked from 10:30-3:30pm, and got to work with 2 out of 3 of my favorite bosses :))

And then tomorrow my all time favorite boss will be there with another boss who isn’t my fave buuuuut my top favorite is there sooo that’s cool! :)

✨ came home from work and did a 45 minute yoga class. It was a nice class too!

✨ then we had some family friends come over for a bit to hang out in the backyard social distance style lol, which was nice!

✨ I got two packages in the mail which made my freaking day!

I got a shirt in memory of Beans, a kitten who sadly passed away and the shirt I purchased was money that would have gone to his life saving surgery. But unfortunately, at a month old, it was too much on his little body. So the shirt is in memory of him, but the money has now gone towards a spinal surgery for a kitten Mellie who now has the chance to walk one day! Charlie’s Army is the organization and I highly recommend checking it and and supporting if you can ❤️

✨ and then I got my order from #alittlewiredandstone @stolenfootprints shop and OMG..... I. love. it. all!!! I’ve gotten quite a few orders from her and this is my favorite by far! Currently wearing my little moonstone necklace and 😭😭 I love it 🥺

No but I seriously, love it all! I went on etsy and bought like 4 snake chain necklaces (I had one but it brought a few weeks ago it broke!) They’re my favorite style chains, so dainty and pretty and I’m excited to wear ALL these stones 🥰

✨ now I’m layin my in bed watching Friends before calling it a day!

✨ I hope you all had a good Saturday! ❤️

[sealers100]

A (brief) review of every Donald Sutherland movie (so far)

I’m not coping well with quarantine at all and no one else seems to be either (which makes me feel a bit better) So what started out of boredom back over christmas break has turned into a quest to find and watch every Donald Sutherland movie ever. Probably not my best idea since a lot of them are very old and hard to find and would need to be bought online (which isn't an option right now.) Don’t ask me why, this kinda just happened and I’m not gonna fight it. So stick around for an unprofessional review of a very professional actor’s long film career. 

(if anyone has any suggestions or knows where to find more hmu) 

M*A*S*H*

Ah talk about a movie that didn’t age well (but neither did Holiday Inn and we still watch that) I’m not here to bash on it for being problematic because apart from the way they treated Houlihan, I genuinely loved this movie. It had be rolling the whole time just like the show and I still catch myself whistling like Hawkeye all the time. Probably still like the show better and Alan Alda’s Hawkeye (sorry Donald) but its definitely been a go to when I’m having a rough day.

Kelly’s Heroes

I think this was the first movie of his I ever saw as a little girl and I remember being very confused. (since it didn’t match my dad’s military stories at all) so this ended up being the first one I went out of my way to hunt down and watch and sorry to Clint Eastwood but Donald stole this movie from literally everyone. He’s hilarious, he’s sexy, he steals the show and it’s definitely one of his more underrated movies (the movie itself is a bit long) which is a damn shame since he (literally) died filming this one. (if you don’t know the story, look it up its wild)

Alex in Wonderland 

Wow, who knew he could be such a convincing asshole! At least he becomes aware of it by the end of the film but I just felt so lost by the end. Like ,what did I watch, what happens now? Not one of my favorites but definitely interesting and a sure product of the early 70s. Overall, he does have a lot of good scene (a scene with THE Federico Fellini) that are sometimes light-hearted, dumb, cute, irritating, and just...what? The relationship between him, his wife, and children is probably the only redeeming factor since its pretty accurate for how his actions strain his relationships. I am gonna be honest though, I only watched this one to see him as a long haired hippie 😂 (sorry). 

Klute

Leave it to Jane Fonda to remind me why I’m bisexual (I wish she wasn’t always a prostitute) Although there was a lot more of her and a lot less of him, even though he is John Klute. I am an absolute sucker for those old black and white noir movies and this is no different. It leaves some feelings to be desired at times (Donald apparently felt the same way) but you can really tell there’s a fascinating chemistry between him and Jane (because there actually was) Overall the story was entertaining but the character’s themselves seemed somewhat drab. I wish we got to know more about them and had more scenes with more emotion apart from just the sex and love scenes. Oh well, it was still a pretty damn good movie and I’d definitely watch it again if I got the chance.

Lady Ice

Basically Magnum before Magnum was even a thing. Now just because a movie is bad doesn’t mean it can’t be entertaining. I love the whole Miami Vice vibe I get from this and again, huge fan of private investigators, detectives and dirty schemes. His acting might not be exemplary but I don’t even care. The movie is fun and not every movie has to be deep and meaningful. Nothing wrong with just watching a movie for the hell of it. And that moustache, it’s my kryptonite. 😆

Don’t Look Now

If you haven’t seen this movie, stop reading my bs and go watch it right now. (its free on crackle) This is such a good movie I could make a whole post on it alone. Donald and Julie Christie (I’m still not over her either) put so much into every scene, giving us such a beautiful relationship that’s been fraught with tragedy. Every scene is beautiful and eerie and enchanting Iloveitsomuch!!! I don’t wanna spoil too much because the ending turns everything on its head. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a horror movie but it really walks that uncanny valley with the whole setting of Venice in it’s off season, the dark corridors, creepy premonitions. I will spoil this, I love how for once, the man is the psychic instead of the woman, which is a trope that waaaaaay over done. AND THE SCANDAL! Okay sex scenes in movie isn't exactly scandalous but this one was surprisingly realistic (no they didn’t actually have sex) so everyone in the 70s pitched a hissy fit over it and I can’t understand why. It’s by far the most realistic and beautiful sex scene I’ve ever watch, hats off to Donald and Julie. God Bless Nicholas Roeg for this masterpiece, aaaaahhh just go watch it its so good!

Fellini’s Casanova 

Alright but bear with me on this. I think I had a religious experience while watching this movie. I was overly exhausted and had my eye on it for a while said ‘fuck it let’s watch something weird.’ This what actually started by quarantine marathon (how appropriate) and I can safely say, I think this is the most beautiful, most grotesque, most enchantingly beautiful and yet dark and bizarre movies I’ve ever seen. Donald makes such a convincing 18t century venetian lover and they really went all out with his appearance, acting and the scenery of the whole movie. Everyone in the film seems to genuinely enjoyed everything they’re doing (which says a lot they do some crazy shit in this one) and the whole time, everything is erriley whimsical, almost like a fever dream (which is what this film might have been I dunno). And the fact it spans the entirety of Casanova’s life, from his highest point to his absolute lowest decent into squalor just proves that Fellini holds nothing back AT ALL. Again, no spoilers (I don’t really think I can spoil this film) but there’s just copious amounts of sex and its just plain strange but if you find it in your heart to give it a try, please do. If you’re not sure about it that’s fine definitely not for everyone. However I highly recommend Fellini’s other works. (go watch La Strada)  

Invasion of the Bodysnatchers 

Hahaha oh man I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this movie. My friends and I in college had a horror movie night and this one seriously freaked out my roommate (i’m so sorry). I love me some sci-fi (I run a star trek blog) and this not only gave me lots of Donald but also Leonard Nimoy, (along with a very young Jeff Goldblum) so yes, this is now one of my favorite sci-fi movies (I did a film analysis on it too). I don’t recommend watching it in quarantine unless you’re into freaking yourself about a global pandemic. I will say, this movie is an anomaly  since I think it might be the only movie that is not only better than its remake, but also better than the book (which I also read) This one gives us Donald (and his moustache) playing of all things, a health inspector (I’m dying) whos put into some creepy scenarios of apocalyptic proportions. This is one of those horror movies that’s fun without being funny. It’s got plenty of drama and awkwardness between to characters while also reaching it’s cult classic status. All the actors in this film manage to give such a convincing performance that you can’t help but feel like you’re right there with the characters, which makes for a fun and terrifying ride. 10/10 would scare my roommate again.

The Great Train Robbery

Donald Sutherland AND Sean Connery? Sounds like a great pair right? Well they are, sort of. Okay this movie looks like a typical british drama, buuuuut I’m not so sure about this one. Donald is pretty great in this one and so is Sean, but I’m just very confused if it’s trying to be serious or funny? The plot itself makes sense and its pretty good but the execution is just...what? Oh well, Donald and Sean make an entertaining pair with their odd “train heist” I felt this movie would have done much better if it went for either one side or the other instead of jumping all over the place, and it played out much more like a soap opera. It’s not bad though but its not a favorite of mine. 

Bear Island

Okay I’ve been pretty nice so far, but this...the only real redeeming part of this movie is Donald and his beard. Which is such a shame because I feel like this could have been SUCH a good movie. The story itself is really good and enthralling but somebody somewhere dropped the ball. No, they didn’t drop it. They threw it off a cliff. Nothing about this movie makes sense, most everyone’s acting is subpar, and I don’t blame them because the script was probably the main offender of this film. Even Donald’s acting is uncharacteristically bad. I know shoot me, criticized his acting.  It’s just so strange to see what could have easily been a fantastic film. Someone send this to Philip Kaufman and ask for a remake because this one needs it. 

Ordinary People

Oh God, this movie. This movie means so much to me. Again, watched it with my roommate, we sobbed like children and its now a must see in our group. The fact that Donald wasn’t even nominated for an oscar for this film is a travesty. A story like this is something that in a way I’ve lived myself. Everyone’s acting in this film is superb and as someone who would know, yes, all of this is very really and very heart wrenching to watch. I don’t mean to get sappy or anything, but I have been Calvin Jarrett, I (and I’m sure others) have been that mediator who eventually is broken by the two fighting forces. Watching his eventual collapse is so surreal and wow this movie really broke me in some spots. Uhg god this movie, I wanna cry just thinking about it. I’d totally watch it but I’ll just spend the whole time wanting to hug him. 

Eye of the Needle 

If any of you know me personally, you’ll know I’m absolutely terrified of needles, so this might not have been the best movie for me to watch, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This whole movie is actually pretty fantastic. For once, Donald plays a bad guy, but you can almost root for him (if he wasn’t a nazi) I felt so conflicted because while yes I wanted him to take her away from her horrible husband, hes a damn dirty Nazi, and we don’t stan. Of course, Donald’s character is extremely charming but I’m left wondering if his character really did have feelings for Kate Nelligan. I have a feeling that I could really run with this story. This one is a thrilling story with a thick plot that tears its characters apart. I can’t help but love it.

Crackers

Fight me, I thought it was funny. Not really but this is one of those “entertaining but not really good” movies. Donald’s character is...well, he reminds me a lot of most of my exes. He’s just down on his luck, he’s not a bad guy. Yeah that sums up how I feel about his character. However, the movie overall is pretty damn funny. At least it knows it’s a comedy and it even has a sweet(ish) ending. I will say its not great, but there is a good scene with Donald falling flat on his ass which was so worth the whole rest of the movie. This one is still on my quarantine go to for when I just wanna forget about life for a while. 

Rosary Murders

So this little gem I kinda just watched on a whim thinking it would be some campy horror movie that was very pro-catholic and woooweee was I wrong. I loved this movie so much I ended up watching it twice, two nights in a row. It really was a thrilling movie with a plot thicker than pea soup, all while throwing some (slight) shade at the catholic church. This movie goes less for the horror side of things and more for the shock and drama and it does it well. Not to mention he makes one hell of a cute priest. I loved the hell out of this one and I’m glad i decided on this one the other night. I might even watch it again who knows. 

Pride and Prejudice

Everyone in this movie is neurotic as hell except for Donald Sutherland and Keira Knightly. Sorry I was never a huge Jane Austen fan but I admire her ability to write hell of a good slow burn and that exactly what this is. Hell most of you know what this movie is about so I’m not gonna talk about it too much. Its one of those movies everyone else seems to have seen and I haven’t so mom and I sat down and watched it together. She just laughed as I sat there yelling at the TV, waiting for an exasperated Donald to come on. His final scene though, so sweet. I did like how the movie showed a father daughter relationship that wasn’t toxic (not like the last one) but I was kinda over the whole song and dance after a while. I’m sure most people think its a really good movie but I just don’t get it. 

The Hunger Games (All of them) 

As I understand it, this movie actually means a lot to Donald, as it does to a lot of people, and that he really enjoyed working with Jennifer Lawrence, so that’s nice. Yes I’ve seen all three (four) movies, read all the books and I couldn’t think of anyone else to better play Katniss Everdeen’s antithesis than someone like Donald. I feel like this is one of those roles that was just made for him. He was such a scary and venomous villain that played so well off of the main protagonist. Uhg I really do love the Hunger Games Series, it was a huge part of my childhood, I just hate how the fans destroy people who love the main villain, like many fandoms do (looking at you star trek). I wish I could just enjoy these movies in peace without everyone being so polarized on them. 

Oh wow there’s definitely gonna be a part two but as of now, this is all I got. I’ve got a long way to go and (with the way things are looking here in the U.S.) I’ve got plenty of time to do so. I really do enjoy doing these kinds of things so if you want me to watch and ramble about any other movies (no, it doesn’t have to have Donald Sutherland) I’m gonna be in quarantine for a while, so let’s at least do something fun to pass the time. 😊

[lunap95]

Tag game!

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

Tagged by the beautiful @itscinnafox​ in all her foxiness! Gods I love these games so much, let’s the party begin!

Three ships: AKAFURI (Kuroko no basket), He Tian/Mo Guan Shan (19 Days), DamiJon (Super sons, DC comics)

Last song: Okay this is totally my flatmate’s fault because she is playing “Agua” by J. Balvin non-stop and now I hear the Sponjebob flute even when I’m in the bathroom XD.

Last movie: “The Old Guard” in Netflix. Highly recommend it, it has wonderful action scenes, a good plot (even though a bit predictable), super great characters and Charlize Theron kicking asses and being my lesbian dream.

Currently reading: Nothing because I have so much work to do (cries on a corner), but I do read fanfiction oneshots in the meantime. I’m trying to write something for AkaFuri day on Novembre, does that count?

Currently watching: I like to put on a series while I eat but right now I only have an 1 hour break so it needs to be something sort, ergo “The Owl House” or “Midnight Gospel”. I’m still confused by “Midnight Gospel” but “The Owl House” is the cutest thing ever and if you haven’t watch it I don’t know what you’re doing.

Currently Consuming: Unhealthy doses of coffee (and chocolate!)

Food I’m craving: ICE CREAM!! I DON’T CARE WHICH FLAVOR JUST GIVE ME ICE CREAM

Tags: ANYONE, really, you want to do it? Do it! Say that I tagged you, doesn’t matter buuuuut, as I have to put people in this (not really gonna tag 9 because I’m lazy): 

@courtingstars, @cerberosthehellguard, @dreamingspark, @kichimiangra, @el-pintor, @call-me-ala

[daydream-hobii]

Do you have any other blogs that write hybrid fanfics that'd you'd recommend?

Let’s do this fam. Hell YEAH I GOT SOME HYBRID FANFIC BLOGS! What a great ask on Fanfic Appreciation day~ As I appreciate all these blogs and even more~~~~~

@hollyhomburg of COURSE! The Queen of hybrid fanfics, if you ask me~ Do I praise her enough? No, no I don’t think so. Is anyone really surprised with me recommending her anymore? Like come on, she’s my favorite writer and blog, like 15/10 content man.

@worldwidebt7 okay but listen, just hear me out... hybrid fan fics in webtoon form. Absolutely genius, I love this artist and everything about their ideas man. Highly HIGHLY recommend.

@moonlit-puddles​ is a fresh new writer and I reaaaaaaally enjoyed this authors first fic??? Like it’s a hybrid AU with the boys and it’s just very great, highly recommend everyone going and reading, as well as giving their support. ^_^

@sugamoonv been following this authors stories for quite a while, absolutely love!! Definitely head over and read everything, especially their hybrid fic I’ll Still Stay cause WOO absolutely love. ^_^ Also lowkey the reader in that fic cause I’m definitely the type of women to leave for like MILK and to come home with adopted animals.... 

That’s the most RECENT Hybrid Fanfic authors I’ve been following up on, there’s plenty more that I could add, buuuuut these are the primary ones for now to make this post not so long!! ^_^ I hope you enjoy there works~

[habibialkaysani]

30, 37, 50.

30. Favourite line you’ve ever written.

ooh, so this is a lil snippet from the ginormous lauryssa fic that’s been in the works, in the earth-1 section. the only thing is I can’t really pick a favourite line? it’s more this part really:

Her fingers were outstretched, curved towards her, inches from Laurel's, practically inviting Laurel to take Nyssa's hand. And unbidden in Laurel's mind, she wondered if in some faraway alternate universe, another version of her, a braver version, would muster up the courage to hold Nyssa's hand like she had wanted to for weeks now. 

But she wasn't that person. She didn't have the guts - somewhat ironic given she was getting used to whipping across rooftops and she faced danger every night already. 

Giving in to a feeling she wasn't even sure she wanted to name, though? That took a different kind of daring. The warmth of that kind of fire was enticing, sure. Sometimes the flames of something more would dance dangerously in Nyssa's eyes when she stood a little too close, her hand lingering on Laurel's hip a moment too long as she corrected her posture with nothing but good intentions - yet Laurel had been burned far too much all the times she'd touched it before.

37. Most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

okay. so this one may not make a whole load of sense unless you’ve read the book, but given said book is so very gay, I highly recommend it (disobedience by naomi alderman). it’s a book that addresses religion and sexuality, and it’s split in two different narratives - one, in first person, is from the point of view of the main protagonist, ronit krushka. the other narrative thread is a more impersonal third person perspective that really beautifully explores the religious side of things. it’s gorgeous and currently my favourite book ever.

“In the beginning, therefore, the most important work is of separation. It is of pulling apart the tangled threads. It is of saying “This shall be separate from that. This shall be water, this shall be sky, and this shall be the line between them, the horizon.” It is of setting a line between them.”

anyway. this is inspirational to me mostly because it’s got me to try experimenting with the more formal prose style, which has been a key part in my novel in progress. that’s all I can say on that for now ;)

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

I mean, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t think I really know what is actually weird anymore. buuuuut! the most recent idea I had was for a lauryssa au, which is basically lauryssa on earth 52 as shawmila which I think I mentioned to you before, i.e. laurel and nyssa as singers who collaborate a couple times, laurel leaving the girl band she was part of (but hopefully with less of the bitterness with 5h). I had a great idea where I structure it as a 3+1 fic, I’m thinking for it to be three performances of a song that they did as “just friends” and one where they were something more. 

ask game for writers

[books--andt]

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Review!

Hey everyone! CoBaB has gotten sooo much hype lately, I'd be surprised if you haven't heard about it. Buuuuut just in case you haven't...

Children of Blood and Bone is a high fantasy world revolving around West African mythology. Our main character, Zelie has maji (magic) blood running through her veins, which is signified by her white hair, but an evil king has torn magic away from all maji, declaring them evil, villainous, and inhuman. When Zelie crosses paths with the fleeing Princess, Amari, and some sacred artifacts that could truly bring magic back she is set on an adventure that can either end one of two ways; magic is free as are all other maji, or death for those she loves most.

SO! This book had a TON of hype surrounding it. For any book with this much hype, I'm always excited to read it but also bit nervous that it won't live up to my expectations. However, I'm happy to say that this book was great! There were a couple of things that I didn't particularly enjoy, but overall the story was fantastic.

I love that this high fantasy book takes a different road and focusses on West African mythology. I can't speak to how realistic the things mentioned were, but overall it was very interesting and refreshing to read about.

I quite liked Zelie as our main character. She's a bit of the typically type A protagonist, the fierce warrior girl who is the only one to bring peace to her people, but I still enjoyed reading from her perspective and I mean c'mon... I love a good bad ass character!

I really liked her and Tzain's dynamic. There brotherly-sisterly relationship spoke very true to me. I also loved how her and Amari's friendship blossomed. The more I think about it, the more I really liked Amari!!

I liked how we had multi-perspectives. I think without this, the book would've dragged and we wouldn't have understood the full intentions behind each character, especially Inan. I think we clearly saw his motives and that made his more evil side understandable, but still not okay!

If you are on the fence about this book, give it a read! Try to go into it with an open mind, then come back here and read the rest of my review!

*****SPOILERS ahead******

As for the romance in this book... There was one aspect that I really enjoyed, and that would be Amari and Tzain. I liked that their romance was slow moving, and I mean, it was real slow since they haven't even done anything overly romantic yet. I also liked the dynamic of the princess and the Kosidan boy falling for each other. On the other side of things, the romantic relationship that I didn't like so much was Zelie and Inan. I'm just not a fan of hate-to-love relationships (characters who start out hating each other, or being snarky, then falling in love). I don't think the things he did could be justified enough for Zelie to truly fall for him. I also thought their kiss scenes were a bit out of place, considering the serious battle situations they were in. I think it will be interesting to see how Zelie and his emotions will be conflicted in the next books, but overall it just didn't grip me, and I'd rather Zelie was left to be independent.

Now I can't finish this review without saying this.... YOU MUST READ THE AUTHORS NOTE AT THE END OF THE BOOK! After you finish reading of course. This is where the author explains that this book was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. Tomi Adeyemi felt helpless and alone, seeing the faces of young and old african americans killed by police brutality on the news. This book is proof that you can in fact do SOMETHING to bring awareness to these problems, even if it seems impossible at first. I am so glad to see the Black Lives Matter movement spreading to YA literature. AND!! CoBaB is already being transformed into a movie!!! This means we have TWO Black Lives Matter book-to-movie adaptations in the works; this one, and The Hate U Give!

Tomi Adeyemi is an author I would LOVE to meet. I can't believe she is only 24 years old, a recent graduate from HARVARD, with HONOURS in ENGLISH. I MEAN?????? That's amazing.

AND THE BOOK COVER!! If you're an avid audio book listener, or ebook reader, I would still HIGHLY recommend you buy the physical book because it's just so damn gorgeous. It even looks good naked. ;)

4.5/5 stars. Whats did you think of CoBaB???

Thanks for reading!

- T

[anotherenglishstudent]

Book Review - Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

Though, if this moment really belonged to me, it wouldn’t be happening. Not now, I mean. Not yet.

Rating: 4.5/5

Trigger Warnings: homophobia, bullying

Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read the book, this review will contain spoilers so it’s up to you if you continue…

I’ve been meaning to read Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda for years but (as so often happens) it took the film being released (and my sister buying the book) for me to actually get around to it. I was going to say that now I’ve read it I’m mad I didn’t let myself enjoy it earlier, but actually this book came at the right time for me. I finished A Beautiful White Cat Walks With Me a day before I started Simon and whilst the former meant very little to me, Simon was the perfect thing to remind me that I love reading, and that books can make me feel things so explicitly.

The best way for me to sum it up is that reading Simon gave me the same heart-fluttering feelings I used to get when I read fanfiction. I wanted the characters to be together, to be happy and in love. When they fell out it hurt as if I was the one who had been hurt, and the personal jokes and small gestures touched me as if I had been in on the whole thing. I read it in two days because I was so invested, waiting to get home from work to pick up where I left off at 1am the night before. It’s been a long time since I felt both that eagerness and that emotional investment in a book, and the combination really and truly felt like the excitement of fanfiction. That’s possibly not a good point of reference for most people, but it’s the only way I can express it.

So into the actual review now I’ve had my little fangirl excitement.

First up: I love the format. I like when texts/emails/social media are/is involved in a book because those things are very relatable - obviously, that’s why it’s in there in the first place - but when they get slotted into the text, sometimes it’s difficult to not just read them as part of the whole thing. Giving them their own chapters separates them out and shows the importance they hold. These emails are a Big Deal in Simon and Bram’s lives, so they need to have that prominence to the reader too.

Simon’s family was cool and felt realistic, and I liked the lack of definition within his friendship group. That might sound strange, but compared to a lot of YA books/films, there was such a realistic looseness to his school friends. He had his close friends, and then there was a whole bunch of people around him that he knew and interacted with, and no one felt surplus or unimportant, despite being background characters. Even Taylor, who I thought was going to be ‘stereotypical popular bitch’ wasn’t as annoying as I thought she would be. She came up a couple of times as a ‘look at this funny thing this character said’ but not in an annoying way, just in a ‘yeah that’s what me and my friends would talk about’ way. It was easy and normal and the conversations felt so real.

Gotta put it out there Ms. Albright was a badass. A badass who unfortunately told people off by reading from the school rule book, but a badass all the same.

And Bram is a goddamn cutie. I really related to his shyness, and his jealousy when it looked like something might happen between Simon and Cal; his real life shyness combined with his email confidence accurately reflected how easy it is to say things to someone from behind a screen (but in the loveliest way, rather than the internet hate that is so often connected to this concept). As a fairly shy person myself, his open flirting and flourishing confidence in the emails was really lovely to see because we got to witness that growth in him.

And it grew until he was brave enough to come out. I could give a whole spiel about how you shouldn’t need to be brave to come out because coming out shouldn’t have to be a thing or, as the boys decide, everyone should need to come out because hetero shouldn’t be the assumption. Buuuuut I’ll let the book cover that life lesson. I just want to talk about the way Simon talks about coming out when he does so to his family at Christmas. The quote above is actually from that section and it really resonated with me: coming out should not only be his choice but his moment too. It should be about him, and no one else. I felt like it was an important thing to bring up in this review because I think it can be lost on people. A lot of people may wonder how their friend/sibling/family member’s sexuality may affect them, rather than instantly turning to that person and saying ‘okay, I’m here for you’. Leah said something that highlighted this too, and I can’t remember the exact phrasing but she says it isn’t her place to be angry about Simon telling Abby first. Though she was upset, she was so right in saying this. Yes, it would have been upsetting for her, but it’s about Simon first and foremost.

As for things I don’t like about it?

Sometimes things felt a tiny bit forced. I can only think of two or three instances, but it was in moments when they talk about being gay/coming out and suddenly being white or talking about the ‘default’ person comes up. I just felt a little like Albertalli slid them in to show she was being socially aware or ‘woke’. Great that she is, but it felt a little out of place at that moment of the story. Simon has just found out who the mysterious Blue is and in amongst all that emotion and excitement, he has this moment to think about how his assumption that Blue was a white guy shows the damning unconscious racism built into people because society sucks. There was something unrealistic about those moments.

But I’m really excited to read Albertalli’s other books, and definitely to watch the film, which will probably happen very soon this week! Loved this book, and highly recommend it.